《Out for Karma: One Piece》 Chapter 1: Dawn of a new romance Chapter 1: Dawn of a new romance ¡°It has been a long time Rick¡± In a vast white void a young man was sitting on the floor. Shaking his head around in panic trying to see the owner of the voice that spoke to him. ¡°H-hello? Is anyone here?¡± Suddenly a golden mist appeared before him. By watching carefully the young man could observe the minute change in the mist form, going from a small cloud to an humanoid form. ¡°I almost forgot.¡± The sound of fingers snapping echoed through the never ending white space. The young man then grabbed his head with his hands tightly as if he was trying to hold every part of it together. A pain as he never felt before made him think that his brain would st out of his skull. Though the pain was there for a few seconds for the young man, it was a few seconds too many. The pain left him breathless and after a couple of minutes panting, he finally calmed down. If one would have looked in his eyes before the snap sound and now, they would have seen two different men. Gone was the confused and panic stricken man; reced by a man with assurance, experience. A man who knows. A man who knows the what, where and how of his actual situation and has a good idea of the why, as for the when¡­ only the golden mist knows that answer. ¡° Goddess, long time no see.¡± ¡° It wasn¡¯t that¡­¡± ¡° long for you an immortal Goddess who lived eons and will live for eons, but for a mortal man like me who has a 85 years life expectancy on average, it is. Now that that¡¯s out the way¡­ : What the bloody bell! It hurt! Was it really necessary?¡± ¡±I¡¯m sorry Rick but yes it was, unlocking memories sealed by a divine being hurts a lot, because all memories return at once. All types of them, pure memory to feelings, to physical memory. Everything that your experience in any way bes a memory for your soul.¡± ¡°And an omnipotent Goddess such as yourself can¡¯t find a way for.. I don¡¯t know, unlocking them bit by bit ?¡± ¡°The results of what you¡¯re speaking of were disastrous.¡± ¡°Wonderful.¡± ¡°I¡¯m sorry.¡± ¡°Anyway, why am I here again? I thought you said that by living my life I will restore the karmic bnce. After everything I did, I would have thought that it was done, that I was not in the red again but in something like green?¡± ¡°Well, about that¡­ your good actions did give you enough karma for a dozen lives at most, the problem is, you umted negative karma worth a thousand lives and then some¡­ So 999 more to go ? Good luck bye!¡± ¡°Nu-hu, you stay right here! I still have questions!¡± The goddess sighed, or at least Rick, by watching the golden mist move though she sighed. ¡°Go ahead¡±. ¡°Ok, first thing first: what about my wife?¡± ¡°She lived 5 more centuries, raised your children, and grandchildren etc.. until the 5th generation. Then she had enough and missed you too much so she went for onest journey, she was very happy.¡± ¡°Thank you. Second: What¡¯s my next world? Can I keep my powers? What new powers will I get?¡± ¡° In order: One piece, no, not gonna tell until you¡¯re there¡±. ¡°One piece ? That¡¯s sweet.¡± ¡°Well it is your favorite manga after all, that¡¯s why I chose it, better chances for you to earn lot of Karma¡± ¡°Aww, you do care for this little mortal.¡± ¡°Of course I do, would not have made you my champion otherwise¡± ¡°You didn¡¯t choose me. You had just me and no one else.¡± ¡°Maybe, but I do care, now hurry up through the portal.¡± ¡° Fine, but before that¡­ Going through the portal will sealed my previous lives memories? This ce includes, right?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°And when I get back I¡¯ll go through the all snapping fingers and unholy amount of pain, right?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°Okay, here¡¯s an idea, why don¡¯t you, instead of sealing my memories, just stranger them away to something else.¡± ¡°... Like transferring files from a hard drive to an usb stick?¡± ¡°Yes, you keep the memories stashed somewhere and when I get back you transfer them back to me. Make a file per life and sub-files for each type of memory. That way when I¡¯m back, it¡¯s a transfer of file after file and not everything at once, no more pain for me, and bonus for you, when you¡¯re bored you can watch those memories.¡± ¡°That¡¯s¡­ actually pretty clever. Okay let''s do this¡±. Another snap was heard and some kind of altar rose from the floor .From its center, lines began to be drawn along the white surface of this space and went to the direction of the portal. Once connected to it, the lines lighten up in a gold color. ¡°Aaaaand done. Now every time you pass the portal your unnecessary memories from your previous lives will be transferred and stored. To have them back, you¡¯ll just have to touch the altar.¡± ¡° Good, Now, if you¡¯ll excuse me, I got to go.¡± ¡°Wait, I have a question before you leave: what is the bell?¡± ¡°What is the bell, what now?¡± ¡°Earlier you said ¡° What the bloody bell ¡° ¡° ¡°Ahh that? Well my wife didn¡¯t like me swearing, so with time I learned to swap some words or letters when I swear. Well since she''s not with me anymore, I hope I lost this bad habit because I miss swearing a lot. Now for real this time, if you excuse me¡­ One Piece: HERE I COME ! ¡° Chapter 2: I’ve a feeling I’m not in Kansas anymore Chapter 2: I¡¯ve a feeling I¡¯m not in Kansas anymore ¡®One Piece. A world of pirates and marines. A world full of adventure and romance. A world full of beautifuldies, that I would love to make love to, after dancing the dance of flirting and seduction if¡­ THAT STUPID GODDESS DIDN¡¯T GAVE ME THE BODY OF A 4 YEARS OLD! Seriously!¡¯ Rick sighed at his current situation. He knew that it was not really the goddess¡¯ fault, she¡¯s working with what¡¯s avable. Creating a new body would cost too much karma. Karma that Rick doesn¡¯t have anyway, so the goddess had to improvise by finding and ¡° borrowing ¡° a suitable body for him. Generally, from orphan or people that won¡¯t be missed by anyone. ¡® I can¡¯t really be mad at her, there is progress, at least this time it¡¯s not a baby. Anyway, I wonder if I¡¯ll have a syst¡­¡¯ [System initialization 1%] ¡®Well that answer my question. Will it be the same one than my previous life?¡¯ [System Initialization 50%] If it is, maybe points that I didn¡¯t use would still be there. [System Initialization COMPLETE] [Wee back user #030609 Rick Wald, nice to see you again] ¡®So it IS the same system, great! Now my points, where are my points?¡¯ [My apologies, user #030609 Rick Wald, all your Karma points from you previous life was transferred when you were into the white void] ¡®Figures¡­ System, is there a beginner pack or something like that? And please call me Rick¡¯ [User #030609 Rick Wald¡¯s request acknowledged.] [UserRick, here is the free beginner package avable for you] The beginner pack was not a simple pack with things wisely put in it so anyone could start its adventure well equipped, no it could not be farther from the truth. That package contained 2 types of things:
  1. Points
  2. List of objects.
The number of points is set to a certain amount. Neither high or low, it allows one to buy basic necessities, like clothes or food or currency. The list of objects is not as easy to use. The buyer has 3 free units, meaning of the list one can take for free 3 things. Only there are 3 tiers of items. Low, Medium and High. Objects in tier low cost 1, Medium 2 and high 3. In other words, it¡¯s a very hard choice to make. The buyer has to think about what''s the bestbination of items possible for what he wants to do. Rick is scrolling the list of the high tier when he realizes something. ¡®System, there is no saiyan blood ? Kryptonian physiology? Neither chakra, nor cultivation? Is this a Joke?¡¯ [Negative user Rick, those are not disyed in the beginner pack because they are not from this world.] ¡®I wanted to try being a kryptonian this time, well too bad, next time maybe¡¯ [User Rick, those are not disyed in the beginner pack] ¡®I know, you just tol¡­ wait, that means.. They are present in the shop¡¯ [Affirmative] ¡®Please show me¡¯ [Affirmative] The system opened a new window with every object Rick wished to see. ¡®Holy Moly, that¡¯s more than expensive! It¡¯s more than everything I collected in my previous mission! Howe Saiyan blood¡¯s price is so high,st time it was much cheaper and it was not from that world either¡¯ [User Rick, the saiyan blood was a gift from the goddess hence why so cheap] ¡®Geez, even though every single one of those is god-like it¡¯s really too expensive¡­ I guess, I¡¯ll have to think hard about what I¡¯m going with, in each new world. Anyway what to do, what to do ? And while Rick was scrolling, swiping and zooming objects in the system store, some people walking by wondered what was wrong with that child with eyes focused on something that wasn¡¯t there and moving its arms like he was reading something. After a few hours, a creepy smile appeared on Rick¡¯s lips. Chapter 3: Ready? Set? Go! Chapter 3: Ready? Set? Go! ¡®System, I have decided. From the High tier, I want to purchase the Zushi Zushi no Mi.¡± [Very well user Rick. Starting research on Zushi Zushi no Mi avability ] ¡®Wait, avability? You mean that if someone already ate it I can¡¯t have it ?¡¯ [Yes user Rick, only one devil fruit of a kind can exist at the same time] [Research 66%] ¡® Oh my Goddess! I hope Fujitora hasn''t eaten it yet.¡¯ [Research Complete] [ Zushi Zushi no Mi is avable. Transfer to user Rick] ¡®YEEEESSSSS! I would have been so screwed if it was already taken!¡¯ The reasons why Rick thought this are multiple. First because from his previous experience he had knowledge about gravity, he didn¡¯t want another fruit that he didn¡¯t know extensively the physicsw behind, no matter how powerful the fruit. Second because the only other fruit he would have considered is Ener¡¯s Goro Goro no Mi, but he got the feeling he should not take it. He was right, somewhere an author may have cursed and sued him quoting the fearsome ¡°Copyright¡±. Third, because an Umi Umi no Mi does not exist, and if it did, may have been under copyright too. Suddenly an odd ck purples shaped fruit appeared before him. ¡®With this I¡¯ll be nearly unstoppable¡­ Well time to eat, Itadakimasu!¡¯ Rick took the fruit in his hand and gave it a good look. ¡®It looks like an apple, very deformed, but still an apple.I wonder what Newton would have said if he knew about the existence of this fruit, and what power it gives¡¯ He bit the fruit and grimaced. Devil fruits are known to have a really bad taste after all and Rick nearly puke after one bite. But he held it and then kept going until there was nothing left. ¡®I¡¯m never ever eating another fruit in my life.¡¯ Just as he said this, he felt something inside of him. A change, something being born at his body¡¯s core, spreading from it to every corner of him. ¡°I¡¯VE GOT THE POWER !¡± People who were minding their own business turned around to look at the origin of such a scream. Setting their sight on a kid jumping in ce with his arms up to the sky, they quickly ignore him, thinking it was just a young brat ying. To those that previously witnessed Rick with a focused look and waving his arms they were convinced: that kid has some serious screws loose. None of them knew the truth. That at that exact moment, one of the most fearsome and powerful beings in the world was born. [Zushi Zushi no Mi assimtion by user Rick confirmed. Sleep mode activation in 15 seconds.] ¡®Wait you¡¯re going to sleep? Why?¡± [System¡¯s AI only exists to help users begin their life in a new world, once the beginner package is bought and the user ready it is not needed anymore.] ¡®I see. Thank you for your help¡¯ [May you enjoy your new life user Rick.] [Sleep mode ACTIVATED] ¡®I wonder why I never knew the system had an AI before ¡­ Anyway, now the questions that matter. Where and When Am I ? Status ! ¡® At the thought of ¡°status¡± a window appeared before him. It was a map of the area. At the center of it was a blue dot representing Rick. Many yellow dots surrounded him. ¡®That¡¯s neet, a map of the area and a disy of the living beings around me. It looks like a RPG map, since blue seems to be me, I guess the yellow is for people neutral to me ? Now where is the info about ¡­ There it is.¡¯ At the top right corner of the map Rick could see the name of the location he is and the date. Logue Town. -2 BGAP. ¡® So I¡¯m in Logue town! ce of birth and death of the pirate King, Gol D Roger. Hehehe, what a good town to start an adventure indeed. Now what is it with the date? -2 BGAP ? I guess with the minus the B of BGAP stands for Before, like -52 BC, Before Christ. But what does GAP stands fo.... No way, I¡¯m two years before Gol D Roger is executed? The Great Age of Pirates has not begun yet? I¡¯ll have to wait 20 years to meet Luffy and the Straw-hat Crew! Shit! Wait, wait wait. That means I can witness the death of the greatest man who ever sailed the seas and the birth of a new age! That¡¯s so cool !!! I need to n for the future¡¯ And nned he did. Rick¡¯s ned to join the marines for a time, to do good deeds and rake Karma points until it was time to meet with Luffy & co. He could have chosen his own path but he wanted to help Luffy be the Pirate King, he wanted to be a part of the protagonists¡¯ story of the manga he loved so much. His decision to join the marines for a while was a very careful one. Pirates train on their own, if they even train at all, or learn on the spot. By joining the marines he will be trained by people who know what to do, and will get stronger faster. But first thing first. ¡®I need to train my power, no one will teach me how to do that, no one can, I need to train my body too.¡¯ And so 18 months of hell began for Rick. Chapter 4: IN THE NAVY! IN THE NAVY! Chapter 4: IN THE NAVY! IN THE NAVY! It¡¯s been 18 months now that Rick arrived in the world of One Piece. 18 months of serious training. Gone was the frail little 4 years old boy, instead a youngd of 1.30m (Author note: remember everyone: metric system, best system) reced him. Rick had used his power to enhance his body Goku style. By increasing the gravity around him or on himself, he made his bones and muscles sturdier. His new height was a surprise, he didn¡¯t think he would be nearly as tall as an average 10 years old when he¡¯s not even 6 yet. He had to endured the many days and nights of bone pain, a sign of growth, without any difficulty most of the time. That one time where he grew 2cm in one single night was the worst, but he endured it too. With his new body he really looked like a 10 years old kid. Though a 10 years old kid that could wipe the floor of a dozen average adults, but that is a well kept secret. Rick chose to undergo his training far for praying eyes in the forest near LogueTown. It was not easy at first to substantiate himself quickly with his gravity powers, learned how to hunt and was self-sufficient. Today was the day Rick would join the Marines. He wanted at least to be a 6 month old rookie before the death of the Pirate king, so he may have some ways to witness it with a better view. ¡® I did it in time, I trained and changed enough to join the marines before Roger¡¯s death. Now, direction the marine quarter!¡¯ Rick made his way across LogueTown, news of the capture of the king of Pirates could be heard here and there. He would be executed here in his birthce in six months. He finally arrived at the wanted ce and looked up the symbol of the Marines corps. A blue sea colored board with the word marine in capitale written on it, with the symbol of a flying seagull upon what looked like 2 half moons connected by a line. On the right and left side of the board were floating a g of the world government. ¡®Let¡¯s get started¡¯ Rick entered the building and went straight to the reception deck. There a tall and slim marine was sitting behind the desk, his head resting on his head, clearly bore out of his mind. ¡°Hello sir.¡± ¡°Hello kid if you¡¯re lost there is a map of the map behind you.¡± The marine barely looked at him, as if he was not his problem and if he were that would not matter either. ¡° I¡¯m not lost, sir. I¡¯m right where I want to be.¡± ¡°Well, what do you want from the marines kid?¡± The marine thought of ignoring the kid, but since he was bored to death he decided to at least hear the kid, if not to help him at least alleviate his boredom for a bit. ¡°I want to enroll into the marines corps¡± The bored man was speechless, and looked at Rick with an expression that said ¡° Whaaaaaaat?¡±, then startedughing. ¡°Hahaha, you brat want to join the marine? Best joke of the year, hahaha.¡± ¡°That¡¯s not a joke, I want to join.¡± replied Rick with conviction. ¡° Come back when you don¡¯t have milk around the corner of your mouth, kid. No go back to your mommy before she starts worrying.¡± Two marines arrived from the door in the back, curious about why theirrade wasughing so loud. ¡°Hey, what¡¯s so funny?¡± ¡°Yeah, what is? And why don¡¯t you share it with us? Since vice-admiral Garp came here, there is nothing to do, piratesy low and we¡¯re bored.¡± ¡°That kid want to join the marines corps¡± ¡°What kid?¡± The two new marines passed the front desk to see what their colleague was talking about. They froze when sey saw Rick and startedughing too. Rick was beginning to be irritated. Those three behaviors were not bing of a marine, though it was not surprising, in One Piece the marine was not nearly as righteous as they pretended to be. ¡°What¡¯s so funny about me wanting to join the marines?¡± said Rick with anger. ¡°Oh my God he¡¯s so cute¡± said one while the two others wereughing louder and louder. Rick was about tosh out when he heard a loud and deep voice, full of authority. ¡° What is going on here?¡± The voice came from behind Rick, from outside. The three marines immediately stood to attention, saluting the man entering the building. ¡°¡°¡° Sir!¡±¡±¡± ¡° I asked you a question ¡° The three stooges started to panic, Vice-admiral Garp didn¡¯t seem to be in a good mood. Rick then, took his chance, stood to attention, and did a military salute. ¡°I wish to join the marine, sir!¡± ¡°Ha! You¡¯re too young for that brat, go home!¡± The stooges furtively snickered. ¡°I don¡¯t have a home to go back to,sir, and I will not leave until I¡¯m officially epted as a new recruit, sir.¡± Garp understood why his men wereughing so loud. ¡®He¡¯s so serious for a brat that¡¯s hrious. Though I got to say the determination in his eyes is real. Cute but real.¡¯ Garp stood in silence looking at Rick wondering if he should test him or not, just so he could teach him that enrolling in the marine was a serious matter. ¡®On one hand is just a brat, about what? 10 years old? On the other hand, it seems like the kid has nowhere to go and the marine is not one to reject the applicants. Besides, this determination¡­. Alright let¡¯s test him¡¯ ¡°Are you sure about that kid ? There is no going back, the life of a marine is hard. Always fighting and hellish training.¡± As he said those words, Garp used his aura on the kid before him. Not Emperor Haki per see, Garp was no fool, he just wanted to test the kid and haki would have made him pass out. No, what Garp used was the aura of experience, experience gained after years of fighting, that only veteran possess, the aura of the strong. Rick¡¯s body shook. ¡®Holy shit, that guy is a beast, I mean I knew that, but knowing and feeling it are two different matters. I need to stand my ground. Here, what do you think of that, old man.¡¯ Despite his body shaking, Rick raises his head and looks at Garp dead in the eye, mustering every ounce of his will power. If Garp wanted to pressure him with his aura then he would pressure Garp back. ¡°Yes, sir. I¡¯m sure.¡± He then activated his gravity on Garp and poured everything he could onto him. ¡®What the¡­¡¯ Garp could feel a pressure on him, he didn''t know what it was but he did know it came from the kid. The pressure was strong, an average soldier would be on the ground right now unable to stand it ¡®I pressure you, you pressure me? Ha! What an interesting kid.¡¯ Garp smiled. ¡°You got a whole pack of guts kid. Trying to put pressure on a vice-admiral? I can count on one hand the number of adults that would try that on me. I got to say, I¡¯m impressed¡±. The three stooges were dumbfounded. How could a brat stand Vice-admiral Garp¡¯s aura? Who was that kid? They had so many questions to ask but Garp interrupted their train of thought. ¡°You, go prepare a resting ce for our new recruit, you, go find the papers needed for him to enroll, and you go prepare the training ground, I¡¯m gonna train the kid, I¡¯m in a good mood now.¡± No one had to say anything more to them. They ran to do their duties as if their lives depended on it. Why ? Because their superior took a liking to the kid they made fun of. Knowing how loony Garp was, they certainly didn¡¯t want to stay here. Once his men left Garp asked the kid. ¡°Kid, what¡¯s your name and age?¡± ¡°My name is Rick Wald and I¡¯m almost ten, sir.¡± ¡°Why do you want to join the marine corps?¡± ¡®Don¡¯t say to help his grandson be the pirate king, don¡¯t say it, don¡¯t say it!¡¯ ¡°Oh, embarrassed aren¡¯t you?¡± smirked Garp ¡®Come on Rick you got it. Lie through your teeth, lie through your teeth!¡¯ ¡° I¡­ I want to see the world! I want to protect people who can¡¯t protect themselves!¡± ¡°And.. And most of all¡­ I want to bring to justice every evil doer that I met or hear of! ¡± ¡°You got big dreams kid.¡± ¡°And I want to be the greatest Fleet Admiral the Marine will ever know!¡± Garpughed. Heughed andughed at the kid¡¯s words. They were so big for one so young and so small. After bringing hisughter under control Garp dere to Rick: ¡°Very well kid, follow me, and you may be able to realize your dreams!¡± ¡® He has his heart in the right ce, if he trains well he¡¯ll be a good marine. Time will tell how good. ¡¯ ¡°YES SIR!¡± ¡° That¡¯s the spirit! ¡± Garp started walking towards the training ground followed closely by Rick ¡°Hmm, Sir?¡± ¡°Yes?¡± ¡°What is your name, sir ?¡± said Rick sheepishly Garp almost stumbles to the ground. Almost. He looked at Rick dumbfounded then gathered himself. ¡° My name is Monkey D. Garp, Vice admiral of the marine corps.¡± ¡®Hehe, take that old man, that¡¯s for pressuring a kid.¡¯ Rick will for the next few years regret making fun of Garp as the Vice-admiral didn¡¯t miss the mischievousness in his eyes. ¡®Don¡¯t me me kid, you asked for it¡¯ thought Garp with a smile. Chapter 5: 8 miles Chapter 5: 8 miles Garp and Rick arrived at the training ground. The one stooge that the Vice-admiral ordered was finishing the preparations for the exercise toe. ¡°Everything is ready, sir!¡± ¡°Good, go back to your post¡± The marine said: ¡°Sir, yes, sir!¡± and left. Garp turned to Rick. ¡°First thing first I¡¯ll test your stamina. You have one hour to do 50ps. Begin running! NOW!¡± Rick started running around the field. It was the size of a ser field, so about 290 m for a perimeter. An average adult man''s speed is 10km/h. For 50ps with a constant speed it would take about 1hour and 30 minutes toplete the task. For a 10 year old kid doing so under one hour was impossible. ¡® He¡¯s insane, even a normal adult would not be able to do 50ps in one hour! I¡¯m a 10 years old kid, what does he expect ?! ¡¯ After his tenthp Rick could see Garp lounging on a chair, a cup of hot coffee in one hand and a cookie in the other. ¡°Hurry up kid, you got 40 left to go and you¡¯ve been running for 25 minutes already. If you don¡¯t speed up you¡¯ll fail and no cookie for you.¡± ¡®You damn monster!¡¯ screaming internally Rick. He picked up the pace, his past 18 months of training showing. At the one hour mark, Rick was exhausted, he failed to finish the 50ps. ¡®He went as far as 38, not bad.¡¯ Garp was looking at Rick with satisfaction. A kid just did what most of the adults joining the marines could not. ¡®He sure has stamina. Hehehe I¡¯m going to enjoy breaki.. I mean raising him.Yes, raising him. Hehehe.¡¯ The vice-admiral approached his new recruit. ¡° You failed kid.¡± ¡°Sir! I¡¯m sorry, sir!¡± ¡°Don¡¯t be sorry yet kid. You¡¯ll have time to be sorry after your punishment!¡± Garp looked at Rick with a crooked smile, making him, for the first time since he came into his world, fear for his life. ¡®Joining the marines was perhaps NOT the best idea I had.¡¯ ¡°On top of not having cookies kid, you get to finish theps you didn¡¯t do and do another three set of 50. Take a 15 minutes break between each set. As for the time limit, you have until sunset.¡± Having given his order Garp left the training grounds, soon after a marine came from where Garp went and went to Rick. ¡°Vice-admiral Garp ordered me to watch your progress kid. You have 10 minutes left on your break¡± ¡®I¡¯m gonna die, I¡¯m really gonna die¡¯. ~~~~ One week. It took Rick one week to finally do the 50ps in one hour. The marines in the barracks were so bored that on the third day, they came watching him ¡°run¡± . Yes ¡°run¡± because for Rick, what he was doing wasn¡¯t running, it was torture. It was suffering. When the marines started to make bets about him either quitting or the time he¡¯ll take toplete the task, Rick saw red. ¡®Keep it up you bastards, one day, one day I¡¯m going to pay you all back. With interest.¡¯ On the fifth day Garp came by to do some inspection. Rick¡¯s heart was full of joy. ¡®HAHAHA YOU MOFOS! Who¡¯sughing now, huh? Who¡¯s gonna get trashed by Garp, huh? Mwhahahahaha¡±. This feeling of tionsted 10 seconds. Itsted until Garp went to the betting booth and betted himself. The joy that Rick was feeling turned into pure rage and hatred. ¡®Screw all of you! I¡¯m gonna finish this task before the end of the week, I¡¯ll make every single one of you cry like a little bitch¡¯, I swear!¡¯ Rick kept his words and on the seventh day¡¯s morning seeded. His fellow marines were effectively crying. They lost their pay for the month. Half of them bet that Rick would quit, the other that he would take two weeks to do it. Rick could see some of them passed out on the ground, too shocked about Rick¡¯s sess maybe, or the loss of a significant amount of money. The only one who wasn¡¯t in this state was Garp. Nope, the old man wasughing, happy as a kid the morning of christmas. Rick wasying on his back, breathing hard when Garp came to him. ¡°I knew you could do it in a week kid!¡± He wasughing. ¡°Thanks to you I made shit-load of money, hehehe.¡± ¡®What the¡­ You won?! Of all the people, it was You!¡¯ Rick nearly passed out too from anger. The man who he wanted the most to lose won. ¡°Good job kid, really. Not many can do what you did when they started in the marine, and even less at your age. You can be proud of yourself.¡± All Rick wanted to do was to jump on the old man and beat him to death. Even beyond, he wanted to beat him until all his frustration went away. Unfortunately he was too exhausted to move a finger. ¡°Sir. Thank you, Sir.¡± ¡°Here, take it you earned it¡±. Garp was handing him one of those chocte cookies he promised him. Rock took it and put it in his mouth. ¡®He may be a sadist , but at least he¡¯s a good ma...¡¯ Rick couldn¡¯t finish his thought as he fainted. ¡®The kid passed out of exhaustion, he really gave everything, hehehe.¡¯ ¡°Oi, one of you, take the kid to rest.¡± ¡°Sir, yes ,sir!¡± As a marine came forward to pick Rick up, Garp went away. ¡®I really found a diamond in the rough. I can¡¯t wait to polish him.¡¯ Garp was wrong though. Rick didn¡¯t pass out of exhaustion like he thought. Nope. Rick passed out of frustration. As it was not chocte in the cookie but raisins. Chapter 6: I’ll make a marine out of you Chapter 6: I¡¯ll make a marine out of you ¡°WAAAAAAAAAAAKE UP KID !!!¡± It was with those words that Garp burst the wall of the infirmary open. Rick who was sleeping soundly muttered an almost inaudible : ¡°Five more minutes¡­¡± A bulging vein popped on Garp temple. ¡°WAAAKE UP NOW!¡± He took Rick in his arms and did an olympic worthy demonstration of a german suplex. ¡°Vice-admiral Garp! Rookie Rick is definitively not going to wake up now!¡± Garp had an embarrassed smile. He did knock out Rick with his antics, thenugh at the nickname. ¡°Rookie Rick?¡± ¡° Sir, yes, sir! That¡¯s what the guys are calling him.¡± ¡°He¡¯s not going to like it. The marineughed with Garp. ¡°Sir, no, sir. He¡¯s definitely not going to like it¡±. ¡°Good, good, his anger will serve him well.¡± Garp stood up and was about to leave. ¡°Sir, the wall ?¡± ¡°What about it? Just fix it .¡± ¡°Sir what was the point of breaking it to just fix right after?¡± ¡°I broke it to make a cool entrance! ¡° ¡°Sir, you''re a Vice-admiral, you can¡¯t do childish things like that and expect your subordinate to clean up the mess!¡± said the marine with a reproachful tone. ¡° Alright, alright, but you¡¯re all helping! Because I don''t know how to build things, I¡¯m more into breaking them.¡± Before the full teeth smile of their superior the marines could only sighed in eptance. ¡® I guess we¡¯re never going to change the wild beast of the marine ¡®. ~~~~ Rick ended up waking up to a strange sight. Garp was sitting in seiza and was getting lecture by his subordinates. ¡° Vice-admiral Garp from now on we¡¯re not helping you fix things you break anymore. You¡¯ll have to learn to fix it yourself. Your behavior is not only unbing of your rank but of any marine!¡± ¡°What the bell is going on?¡± ¡°Oi, Rookie Rick you¡¯re up!¡± said Garp Rick frowned. ¡°Rookie what, now?¡± ¡°It¡¯s training time!¡± And with those words Garp grabbed him and went through the window, escaping the rest of his lecture, leaving the rest of the marines bewildered. The one who was lecturing Garp let out a long sigh. ¡°Well at least the window was open and we don¡¯t have to rece it.¡± Many of his colleagues nodded in agreement. ~~~~ Garp and Rick arrived on the training grounds. The Vice-admiral let go of his subordinate. ¡° Rookie Rick, now that you have proven to have the will power, and the stamina to be a marine, it¡¯s time to make a marine out of you.¡± ¡°Sir, what did you call me sir ?¡± said Rick in irritation ¡°Rookie Rick, it¡¯s your nickname, now¡±. ¡°Sir, I don¡¯t like it, sir¡±. The anger was growing within Rick. ¡®Who¡¯s the bastard that came up with it.¡¯ Garp, who had his index up his nose, removed a bogey from it and fired it at Rick¡¯s forehead. ¡°Don¡¯t care kid. What I do care, is to make you a fine marine. For that the real training is going to start. For now the training is simple, fighting. Until you cannd a hit on me we¡¯re gonna fight and fight and fight.¡± ¡°Sir! Yes, sir!¡± ¡®I¡¯m gonna enjoy it so much when I will finally be able to punch your face¡¯ ¡®Hehe look at that pup, dying to give me a good one¡¯ ¡°Though first thing first, we¡¯re going to talk about your devil fruit power.¡± Rick was surprised ¡°You know that I¡¯m a devil fruit user, Sir?¡± ¡° Of course I know brat! Did you really think I wouldn¡¯t after what you did when we met?¡± Rick then remembered that when Garp tested him to enroll into the mirane he answered back by using his gravity powers. ¡°Oh yeah that, Ipletely forgot, sir.¡± ¡°What is your power anyway, kid? That was a lot of pressure you put on me back then. An average man could not have handled it.¡± ¡° Gravity sir! I ate the Zushi Zushi no Mi sir¡±. ¡°Oh, that exins why I felt heavier. What can you do with it now kid ?¡¯ ¡°Sir, right now, I can increase the gravity a lot on a target or in a specific area. The bigger the zone the less the gravity¡¯s increase is important. I can also do the opposite sir, I can decrease the gravity. Right, by manipting gravity I can float a few centimeters above the ground.¡± And to prove his words Rick decreases the gravity on himself and makes a jump as if he was on the moon. Uponnding, he reverses the gravity where he¡¯s standing on and starts to float a bit beforending again. ¡°That¡¯s a powerful ability you have here kid. Be Careful with it, and don¡¯t misuse it okay?¡± ¡°Yes, sir!¡± ¡°Good, let¡¯s start training then.¡± Garp smiled a crooked one. The only thought that Rick had was ¡® Oh shit! ¡¯ Chapter 7: The Great Age of Pirates Chapter 7: The Great Age of Pirates Nearly 6 months passed since Rick started training under Vice-admiral Garp. To Rick however it was more like sixty years. He remembered what Luffy said about him when the two met in Water Seven. How insane Garp was. 5 months ago Garp kicked Rick (literally, Rick was one moment on the deck of a marine ship and the next flying in the sky, a boot mark on his ass) onto a deserted ind full of wild beasts. Once again he was amazed at the difference between knowing and experiencing things. Because those 5 months were hell. Surviving poisonous nts, not ending up as beasts¡¯ food, and at the same time training himself and his powers. But it paid well. Rick now could float a couple of meters above the ground, and even fly a bit, or to be more urate glide a bit. His gravity area reached 15 meters. Though not an outstanding progress, what is, is; no matter where in the 15m area someone is, the gravity change would be the same. That was no small feat. Inbination with the gravity increase, more than 10 times, Rick could make submit and apprehend a lot of criminals effortlessly. It will be soon the day the Roger will be executed. When he learned the date, Rick made Garp promise toe get it out of the ind to witness it. A promise that Garp kept. They were now just arriving in the docks of LogueTown. As soon as they were on the head quarters, the Vice-admiral dragged him to the training ground. ¡°Show me how strong you got¡±. It was hard but Rick finallynded a punch on Garp, who was surprised at his progress. ¡® I knew he had potential, but to grow that much in such a short time.. And his progress with his gravity is no joke. Hehehe, I¡¯m really a great teacher.¡¯ While Garp was, perhaps unjustly, praising himself, Rick was enjoying his victory. He was ted and was massaging the hand that lent the blow on Garp at the same time. ¡®That old bastard, how durable is he ? I almost broke my hand!¡¯ ... Or maybe not. ~~~~ A week passed, and today was the day where a new age would begin by the death of one man. The Pirate King. Gol D. Roger. The man who conquered all seas, went to the end of the world and came back. Rick was patrolling the street, infos from the higher-ups said that even though Roger dissolved his crew two years ago, some of them might still want to be there. As for why Rick was patrolling the streets and not on the za, well¡­ To put it simply he got tricked by Garp. Garp promised him to get him back from the Ind for the execution, but never promised to let him watch. ¡°An execution is no ce for a kid¡± said the Vice-admiral with a smug face. Rick was despairing for not being able to see the moment a new age began and at the same time was mad. More at himself for letting himself get tricked than Garp for tricking him. He quickly put aside his emotions, and started his patrol again, when he saw his ticket to get to see the death of Roger. As stealthily as possible he approached the man from the back and grabbed his coat. ¡° Hey old man. Take this.¡± The man turned back and looked at Rick handing him a Marine cap. ¡°You¡¯re going to cause amotion or worse get caught when the marines spot you, so use it to disguise yourself a bit¡±. The man took the cap and put it on his head. ¡°Thank you, kid.¡± ¡°It¡¯s not, kid, it¡¯s Seaman Recruit Rick Wald¡±. The man chuckled at the kid''s words. ¡°Aren¡¯t you a little young to be a marine kid?¡± ¡° Maybe, but I¡¯m still a marine and instead of making fun of me you should thank me for not alerting myrades that the first mate of the Pirate king, Dark king Silvers Rayleigh is here.¡± Rayleigh¡¯s eyes narrowed. ¡®Who¡¯s that kid ?¡¯ ¡°So here is the deal old man. I helped you, now you help me. Consider not calling reinforcement a freebie. ¡®What an interesting kid. It¡¯s cute how he''s acting all mature before me knowing who I am.¡¯ ¡°Alright, what do you want my help with kid?¡± ¡°I want you to carry me on your shoulders.¡± ¡°What?¡± ¡® Is that kid crazy?¡¯ ¡°Think about it, an old man with a cap going alone to the za is suspicious. Now an old man with a kid on his shoulders? It¡¯s just a grandfather and his grandson going to the execution. The marines won¡¯t even throw a look at us. ¡° Rayleigh was dumbfounded. ¡®That kid is freaking smart !¡± ¡°And why do you want to go to the za, the marines are going to kill my friend there, why would you want to watch that?¡± Rick looked at the dark king in the eyes and full of conviction, respect and admiration said. ¡° I want to witness the end of the greatest man that sailed the seas.¡± Rayleigh could see what the kid''s eyes contained. He could not bring himself to refuse him. Besides, the kid¡¯s n was good. It was a win-win for everyone. ¡°Fine, get on kid, let¡¯s hurry up¡±. Rayleigh turned around and was about to lower himself, when Rick floated up and sat on his shoulder. ¡°Giddy up old man.¡± Rayleigh started to walk. ¡®A really interesting kid, too bad he¡¯s on the marines side¡¯ ¡°Old man, what are you doing?¡± ¡°What ?¡± ¡°The za is the other way.¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°Howe you reached the end of the world when you can¡¯t even find your way in a simple town like LogueTown?¡± A vein popped on Rayleigh temple. But the dark king said nothing and walked toward the directions the kid sitting on his shoulder pointed at. ~~~~ Almost all the town was at the za, here to witness the death of Roger. The media seem to be on the first seats in front, transmitting the event all around the globe. Roger was up on the scaffolds, on his knees, handcuffed. He looked tired, but something was odd. He was smiling, as if his death didn¡¯t matter. As if he would not truly die. Marines were everywhere. Encircling the za from every side. ¡®The kid was right, I would have been spotted long ago if not for him. Nobody threw us more than a nce. I got lucky on that one.¡¯ ¡°Old man, don¡¯t do anything stupid. Or I¡¯ll just me you and say you kidnapped me and threaten me to help you.¡± ¡®Damn, that kid sure is viciously smart¡¯ ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I won''t.¡± Then the execution began. A high officer of the marine was standing near Roger. ¡°Gold Roger, known as the Pirate King, you are to be executed for the numerous heinous crimes youmitted. Anyst word?¡± Roger¡¯s smile widened even more. It was almost ear to ear. What he said next would be remembered in History forever. ¡° My treasure? If you want it, you can have it. Search for it! I left it all in that ce!¡± The high officer realizing what the Pirate King just did signaled the two executioners to act, stopping Roger to say anything more. But it was toote. Gol D Roger¡¯s execution was televised all over the world. Hisst words were enough. They light up the me of piracy in the heart of many men and women, no matter young or old. They brought the dawn of an era with no precedent. An era of adventure and romance. The Great Age of Pirates. Chapter 8: Legends never die Chapter 8: Legends never die Chaos spread all over the world, but in LogueTown? No one moved. No one made a sound. Everyone was too stunned to do anything. Some had already realized, to others? It began to dawn on them. The Pirate Kingst words. The marines chose LogueTown as the location for his execution and to televised it for multiple reasons. It was the birthce of Gol D. Roger. Showing a popce so much against him was a way to rile up the poption over the world against piracy. Then LogueTown¡¯s location. LogueTown was in East blue. For the greatest pirate that ever lived to meet his end in the weakest sea was a great humiliation. It was a warning to pirates all over the seas. The Marine thought to use this execution as a means to scare people, to deter them from bing pirates. But. The Pirate Kingst words... Had the opposite effect¡­ Never would the world ever see so many pirates, so much chaos than in this new Age. Finally the marines moved, they had damage control to do and fast. The people started to move too, everyone was going back home. But among the crowd, two people were immobile. To a passerby, it was just an old man and his grandson on his shoulders. But they were no grandpa and his grandson. They were theDark King, Silvers Rayleigh, first mate of the pirate that just passed away, and a young Seaman recruit of the marine, Rick Wald. Both were crying and smiling at the same time. ¡°What an amazing man. In hisst moment when death smiled at him¡­ he smiled back and with a few words cheated her and went on to live forever.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°Old man, you¡¯re really lucky to have sailed the seas with such a man.¡± ¡° Yes kid. I am.¡± ¡°He made me want to sit with you, a pirate, and hear your stories, your adventures. Really¡­ amazing.¡± ¡°That¡¯s captain Roger for you, kid.¡± Rick sighed. ¡°We should go now.¡± He floated off Rayleigh¡¯s shoulders andnded on the ground. ¡°Our own way.¡± Rayleigh tried to remove the cap to give it back, but Rick stopped him, by a wave of the hand. ¡°Keep the cap old man, you need it. Mix into the crowd, you should be fine and escape.¡± Rayleigh smirked ¡®This kid is really acting cute¡¯ ¡°Not gonna call your marines friends?¡± ¡°Nah. It would not be right to go after you while you¡¯re grieving old man.I¡¯m giving you a few days for a head start. After that be prepared because you¡¯re mine to catch.¡± Rayleighughed. ¡°Right.¡° ¡°I¡¯ll catch you old man, make no mistake. Besides, I didn¡¯t give you my cap, I lent it. And I want it back. So don¡¯t go losing it somewhere, or worse get captured and have it taken from you.¡± And with those final words Rick left the za to go back to the marine quarters. Rayleigh looked at the child¡¯s back. ¡®Everytime that kid opens his mouth he amazes me. Any other kid saying what he said¡­ I would ignore it but him¡­¡¯ After looking at Rick in silence until he disappeared, Rayleigh was thinking. ¡° Fine kid. I¡¯ll believe in you catching me. I¡¯ll take care of your cap, don''t worry. Until we meet again.¡± The dark king took onest look at the scaffolds, and bowed his head. ¡®See you around Roger¡±. And left. ~~~~ Back at the marine quarters, Rick could hear Garpughing. He was talking to someone clearly angry on a den-den mushi. ¡°For the love of god Garp stopughing! You were summoned at Marie-Geoise immediately. Roger¡¯s shit needs to be addressed and you¡¯re needed back at HQ. See you soon.¡± The call ended and Garp was stillughing; he had tears in his eyes. ¡°HAHAHAHA! Roger you old bastard you got them all. you got them all good. HAHAHA¡± ¡°Sir?¡± Upon hearing Rick, Garp brought hisughter under control. ¡°Pack up kid, you and I are going to HQ.¡± ¡°Yes, sir! When do we leave?¡± ¡°Now¡±. ~~~~~~ For the next two months, while traveling to Mary Geoise, Garp ¡°trained¡° Rick. If you could call beating someone up training. Despite the pain, Rick learned a lot and had gotten stronger. The Vice-admiral was more than pleased at the speed his subordinate was growing. The marines had a whole new level of respect for this rookie. Not only was he strong, but he neverined about the beating Garp gave him. Most of all they respected him because Rick could somehow rein the wild beast of the marine back. During their travels they encountered a fairly good number of pirate crew newly formed, thanks to Roger¡¯s deration. More than once Rick stopped Garp, being well¡­ Garp. On those asions, Garp released some steam by ¡°training¡± him. Perhaps because he was too dense or because Garp was too good at hiding it, or simply unaware, a new kind of rtionship was born between the two. Though it began months earlier. The others saw it though but never said anything, too happy that Garp¡¯s attention was focused on Rick and not on doing Garp things. Garp was looking at Rick as if he was his grandson, and in return Rick saw Garp as an annoying grandfather. Garp was missing his estranged son, now leader of the revolution army, openly opposed to the world government¡¯s rule. And Rick was starving for a family. Not having had one in his lives, or not remembering it. Finally after having sailed for two months, they arrived at Marineford : headquarters of the marine. Chapter 9: A whole new world Chapter 9: A whole new world ¡°Wee back Vice-Admiral Garp.¡± A marine officer, who was standing on the docs spoke to Garp. ¡°Hello Brannew. How mad is he?¡± ¡°Oh, the fleet admiral is not mad, sir. He¡¯s beyond furious.¡± Garp sighed. ¡°Gee, I guess I¡¯m in for an earful.¡± ¡°It¡¯s much more than that sir. The fleet admiral swore some words that send chills down my spine. Some of them I had never heard and had to look them up.¡± ¡°Shit.¡± ¡°Oi, Kid. Don¡¯t disembark. I won¡¯t be gone long.¡± Rick was not happy with this order butplied. ¡°Sir. Yes, sir¡±. Rick went back to the ship while Garp and Brannew walked away talking. ¡° So¡­ Who¡¯s the kid?¡± ¡°Him? He¡¯s my newest recruit. ¡°Hmm. Vice-admiral Garp, you do remember that kidnapping is illegal, right?¡± Garp was getting annoyed. ¡°I didn¡¯t take the kid. He came himself to enroll at LogueTown.¡± Brannew was surprised. ¡°Really?He must be what¡­ around 10?¡± ¡° Yes he is.¡±ughed Garp. Then a sudden realisation hit him and he froze in ce. ¡°SHIT!¡± Brannew was rmed, for Garp to make such a panic face,during times where piracy was on the all time high, he feared for the worst. ¡° What is it sir ?¡± ¡°I forgot the kid¡¯s birthday !¡± ¡°The what now, sir?¡± Brannew thought he misheard. ¡°The kid is ten now! I forgot his birthday! It was the same day of Roger¡¯s execution, how could I forget? No wonder the brat has been mad at me for the past two months. I even sent him patrolling the streets instead of giving him a day off. Shit, shit shit.¡± ¡°Wait you were serious, sir? You really recruited that child?¡± He was bewildered, he thought Garp was messing with him, apparently not. ¡°Of course I am, this child has much more talent than anyone I have seen before and I¡¯m not even talking about his devil fruit¡¯s power. It¡¯s on the same level as Whitebeard¡¯s Gura Gura no Mi!¡± Brannew.exe encountered an error, the program closed. ¡°WHAAAAAT?!¡± Looking at Garp''s panicked face, Brannew was in a daze. ¡® How could such a monster be born in East Blue! The weakest sea ! That does not make any sense! And he ate a devil fruit as powerful as Whitebeard?¡¯ Brannew shuddered. Whitebeard¡¯s Gura Gura no Mi allows him to level up mountains and seas alike. It¡¯s one of the most dangerous devil fruits ever recorded. And a no name kid was holding a power that rivals that? ¡°Sir, I would advise you to not tell Fleet Admiral Sengoku about the child, at least not now.¡± ¡°Why do you think I left him on the ship when I heard how pissed Sengoku is?! With the world going Crazy Sengoku would take the child and send him to its death in anger, to clean the mess Roger created !¡± ¡°You should tell him right after your mission. With sess in your pocket Fleet Admiral Sengoku would not be as much¡­ emotional.¡± ¡°That¡¯s a good idea. Thanks Brannew.¡± Garp pped Brannew¡¯s shoulders twice making him wince. ¡®Garp and his stupid strengh.¡¯ ¡°By the way, do you know what a 10 years old kid wants for his birthday?¡± ¡° I¡­ I don¡¯t know¡­ a good sword maybe?¡± ~~~~~ Four hours after leaving Rick on the Ship, Garp came back. ¡°Oi kid, tell the crew we¡¯re leaving.¡± ¡°Yes, sir!¡± Rick was about to follow the order he was given whe Garp spoke to him again. ¡°And kid?¡± ¡°Yes, sir?¡± Garp handed him a cap. ¡°Here, I know I¡¯m a bitte, but happy birthday¡±. Rick was dumbfounded and looked at Garp. ¡®What do you want me to do with that ?¡¯ ¡°That¡¯s the cap of the fleet admiral, he even signed it for you, but if you don¡¯t want it that¡¯s fine I¡¯ll give it back to him¡±. Garp didn¡¯t even finish his sentence that Rick was as fast as lightning. He was soon holding the cap in his hands, holding it delicately as if it was the most fragile thing in the world. His eyes were full of sparkling stars. ¡®Holy shit! The cap of Sengoku the buddha. One of the greatest heroes of the marine corps. And it¡¯s MINE now! MINE MINE MINE.¡¯ Rick excitedly put it on his head, turned to Garp and said: ¡° Thanks Grandpa! ¡± without a care in the world. Garp froze. Every single one of the marine crew smirked as secretly as they could. Garp quickly reacted seeing the reaction of his men. ¡°Oi, who are you calling Grandpa, brat!¡± Rick, realizing his mistake, tried some damage control. ¡° I said thank you sir!¡± ¡°Now, don¡¯t you go and lie brat!¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t lie, Sir. Maybe you¡¯re getting old and misheard me sir.¡± ¡°What?¡± Rick knew he went too far and ran away before Garp gave him another ¡°training session¡±. ¡° Sorry sir, got chores to do!¡± He disappeared inside the ship. Garp looked mad, and went to the front of the ship to look at the sea showing his back to everyone. No one said anything but all could see the ear to ear smile and the tears falling down the cheeks of the Vice-Admiral. If you focus enough you could hear him having a littleugh. *Hehehe* No marine present had any other thought than this one: ¡®They really are two idiots.¡¯ ~~~~~~ ¡°Vice-Admiral Garp, the ind is in sight¡± . Garp stood up from his chair and looked at the horizon. He could see the destination of their mission. ¡°Okay listen up. We¡¯re here to rescue some noble princess captured by pirates. I want you to prioritize their safety first above all else. As for the pirate, they are trash, their captain is a no name guy with a 30Million bounty on his head, the rest of the crew is nothing no mention. Subdue or kill them, I don¡¯t care, only the hostages matter, understood?¡± ¡°Yes, sir!¡± For the first time since he met him, Rick saw Garp as people imagine him to be: a hero of the marine. One who protects the weaks and brings justice to those who deserve it. For the first time, Rick was in admiration of Vice-Admiral Garp. A whisper escape his lips ¡°So cool¡­¡± Few of the marines heard it but all who did had a little smile. Garp included. ¡° Kid, be ready, it¡¯s not only your first fight as a marine but your first real fight. Be brave, have faith in your training and everything will go well!¡± ¡°Sir, yes sir!¡± ¡° Everyone, don¡¯t let your guard down! And no matter what,e back Alive. ¡°¡°¡°¡°Sir! Yes Sir!¡±¡±¡±¡± ¡°Now GO!¡± Thirty marinesnded on the small ind and started the rescue. Rick was ted! ¡®Finally after more than two years sinceing here, I finally have the chance to gain Karma points. It¡¯s been so long that I almost forgot about why I¡¯m in this world.¡¯ (Author¡¯s note: I almost did too¡­) ¡°Time to work! ~~¡± He was getting ahead of everyone, glee on his face. There was no way he would let others steal his precious points. He will get them all! No exception. Rick had to move fast, even though his body was well trained he was still just a kid. He may look like ten be he was still 6 years old! Adults will catch up with him soon.He had 10 to 15 minutes at best. He quickly arrived at the pirates hideout. Two of them were on guard duty. He charged at them, and applied high gravity on their bodies. As they were attracted to the ground, Rick elbowed the closest to him in the head and kicked the second one in the head too. The two pirates were knocked out without even knowing what happened. ¡° Two down, everybody else to go.¡± Rick entered the hideout and moved forward before entering what looked like a hall. He saw 5 men rxing, drinking and ying cards. 3 more were sexually assaulting a woman, while a secondid next to her on the floor, not moving. By having a good look, he could tell that the pirates already had their fun with her. Anger was beginning to build inside of him but he didn¡¯t lose control of his emotions. He needed to take care of the group of 5 first. He hoped that by knocking them out loudly at least one of the other 3 would check on them giving him the opportunity to take him out too. The biggest problem for Rick at the moment was distance. He was too far to apply his gravity zone on the group. He then took a calcted risk. He lowered his posture so he could sneak as close as possible for his power to work. Rick took a deep breath, and moved. The n was seeding without an itch and five meters before he could use his ability he heard a loud voice scream: ¡°Hey! Who the fuck are you?¡± The voice came from a man passing a door on his side that he could not have seen from the position he was in beforeunching his assault. ¡®Shit!¡¯ He reacted fast, attracting the man to the wall next to him. The pirate hit his head against the stone and fell to the ground, blood flowing inrge quantities on the floor. In his panic Rick applied to much gravity, hurting the man more that it should have been. He didn¡¯t know the man''s status. Was he dead ? Dying? Just knock out? ¡®Now is not the time stupid, his mates areing¡¯ Anding they were. They heard their friend''s yell and a big hit sound. That sobered them up immediately. Two of the fights fired their gun at him. Rick used his gravity zone to make the bullets attracted to the ground, then rushed into the group. One of the three came to fight in closebat while thest two aimed their gun at him. The two first one were reloading their weapons. He pushed back the man charging him with great force, towards his mates right behind him. He didn¡¯t stop his own charge and was finally in range. He used his gravity to pull them to the ground, then up to the ceiling, then to the ground again with great force. The five of them were down to the count. ¡®Only three remaining¡¯ When he turned around in their direction he was face to face with a sword falling down on him. Chapter 10: I will survive [R-18] Chapter 10: I will survive [R-18] Announcement Please read the Author''s note at the end of the chapter. There is important information Blood was flowing in profusion on the floor. Rick fell on his back, surprised. He has a deep cut from his left shoulder to his right waist. It was nasty. His mind was a mess. ¡®How?¡¯ He didn¡¯t have the time to fully process what happened when a second blow came to him. He may not have registered it, but his eyes saw it and his body moved by reflex . His hand was raised and swipe the air fast. A big thud was heard. Garp ¡°training¡± was paying off. First because Rick was now used to the pain.It didn¡¯t make it insensible to it but a lot more tolerable. Second because his body reacted on its own. The 5 months of every day near death experience that he had spent on this god forsaken ind was not for naught. Building muscle memory was not an easy thing to do. Only after hours upon hours of severe physical activity can such a thing be obtained. Rick finally gathered his thoughts and with difficulty stood up. He looked in the direction of the thud he heard and saw a deformed mass of flesh and blood on the floor. ¡®Did I do that?¡¯ The pieces of what used to be a body were still sticking to the wall. ¡®But how? My gravity is not strong enough to do something like that.¡¯ Rick''s thoughts were interrupted when he started coughing blood. ¡®No time for thinking. There is still two guys and the big boss, and maybe more pirates hiding somewhere¡¯ With the severity of his wound he needed to hurry, he was losing a lot of blood. He walked towards the location of the two pirates left. Apparently they did hear themotion of their mate that spotted Rick and one of them went to check on things. ¡®Well that was the n. Separate them one by one.¡¯ Being spotted was not part of it though. Thapletely changes things.Instead of taking by surprise the group of five and waiting to take one by one the group of 3. One of thetter snuck up on him while he was dealing with the former. Hence how he got hurt. ¡®I was too hasty, I should have observed the surroundings more¡­ No even by doing that from my position I never would have found the back door the first one came from. It would not have change anything¡¯ From the moment he entered the hideout, Rick could hear the scream of pain and despair of the woman, but as he got closer he could now hear the pounding of flesh and the grunt of the pirates raping her. ¡® Those bastards..¡¯ He greeted his teeth and hit the wall with the side of his hand. ¡®No trial for them¡¯. ¡°Oi! You saw what¡¯s going in on?¡± said one of the pirates. They had heard Rick hit the wall and thought that their friend was back. In a different position than when Rick saw them through the door when he was nning,they couldn¡¯t see rick. The twost pirates were now double prating the young woman on the bed facing away from the entrance of the room unable to see that it was not their crewmate but Rick. Rick went through the door and side step so it would not be obstructed and raised his hand. ¡®Your doom hase¡¯ said Rick The one on top of the woman fucking her ass was projected back with force out of the room and was squished against the wall. Before thest pirate at time to react. Rick used a heavy gravity pull towards the on him and a light pull on the woman toward the ceiling effectively separating the two. The gravity applied on the pirate was so great that all his bones had broken in a loud and disgusting sound. He didn¡¯t even have time to scream before dying. Ricknded the woman on the floor next to her pass out friend. She was in total panic. ¡°It¡¯s okay, miss, it¡¯s over. The marines are here. We¡¯re getting you out of this hell hole and back to your family¡± She was shaking violently, tears running down her cheeks. ¡°Is there anyone else besides the princess that needs to be rescued?¡± Unable to formte words her head moved horizontally from left to right. ¡°Do you know where the princess is?¡± She pointed her finger towards the ground. ¡®So in the basement then¡¯ ¡°Thank you. Myrade will be here in a few minutes and will help you back to the ship where you and your friend will nurse back to health. Maybe not now but soon you¡¯ll be alright again.¡± She nods and Rick exited the room and walked away before coughing blood again. He was holding it in. He didn¡¯t want to show the miss that he was badly hurt. Seeing her savior on the verge of dying would not give her any hope. ¡°I will really be done for if I don¡¯t hurry.¡± Somehow he thought that if he subdued the pirate captain and saved the princess everything would be alright. In a normal state of mind he would never have such thoughts, but now¡­ Or perhaps was it his trust in Garp? Trusting him to save the day as a hero of the marine. Who knows? Rick finally found the stairs. Despite being spacious the hideout didn¡¯t have many rooms. The first he tried was the one the pirate that spotted him came from, thinking that maybe he was back from a discussion with their captain. It turned out that it was urate. Just as he was about to take them Rick heard his name. ¡°Rick, you there? Are you okay?¡± It was his fellow marines, but he didn¡¯t have time for that, he could hear the rhythmic sound of a whip cracking followed by a piercing scream. They were apanied by a mad and loudugh. ¡°Hahaha scream you noble bitch! scream!¡± When he finally reached the bottom of the stairs, what Rick saw was a dungeon. There were crude torture divices everywhere . A tall and fat man was holding a whip and using it on a woman chained to the wall in a star position. Rick¡¯s anger, that he more or less contained exploded. ¡°DIE!¡± he screamed. THe fat man turned around . His eyes were wide. He clearly didn¡¯t expect someone other than his crew to be here. Before he could react, or even understand what was happening, his body separated himself vertically. Right and left parts were each sent to an opposite wall. The much use of his ability were were taking its toll on his gravely injured body. ¡®Not yet, I need to stay awake a bit more¡¯ He applied the same skill he used on the pirate captain to the four chains holding the princess and caught her to avoid her falling down. Or tried. The princess was about 1.65m tall and even though Rick grew up a bit since he joined the marines he was not even 1.40m yet. She just fell on him ¡°You''re a free princess.¡± He released her from his grasp. She was hurt but could still stand on her feet. ¡°Take the stairs, marines are upstairs securing the ce.¡± Rick leaned against the wall and sat. She looked at this child that just saved her. ¡°Sorry, I¡¯m at my limit, I can¡¯t go with you.¡± The princess had a worrying look in her eyes, nheless she turned around and went up the stairs as fast as her hurt legs could. ¡®Geez, can¡¯t believe That I''m gonna die so soon. I¡¯ve been here for two years more or less. I wonder where the goddess will send me next. Well that¡¯s weird, Howe I remember her? Was I not supposed to lose my memory about her and other worlds? Did the memory transfer fail ? I need to talk to her about that, her system failed.¡¯ ¡®Wait the system! Oh My Goddess, I¡¯m a freaking moron!!¡¯ ¡®Store!¡¯ Rick opened the system¡¯s store. A window appeared before him with numerous items. He had forgotten about the system, with no karma points to buy anything there was no need for it but now he just wiped out a pirates crew and saved hostages. He has points now! He can use them on an item with regenerative properties! He could live! ¡®Quick! A potion or something!¡¯ Unfortunately for him, the world of one piece was not really advanced. At least technologically there was a surprising thing, like the den-den mushi or the giant screen the government used to broadcast important news.There even wasVega Punk¡¯s tech but it was useless for him now. On the medical side there was nothing helping him. ¡®Ha! It was a vain hope after all.¡¯ There were items that could help him but they were not from One piece and so were very expensive. Rick didn¡¯t even have a tenth of the points necessary to buy the cheapest one. He then had a stupid idea. If he could not heal his body, why not change the body itself? Devil fruit could change a normal body into something else after all. A body made of rubber, or mes¡­ Rick made a quick search and found what he was looking for. [Imperfect Body] 4500 Karma Points Description: Docteur Vegapunk¡¯s failed experiment. This imperfect body is a result of years of research. Its purpose was to allow a person to eat multiple devil fruits and use their powers. Though the goal was reached, the negative aspects were too much for calling it a sess. The body has a small regeneration property but lost any possibility to use Haki. Though those were not that critical, what makes the imperfect body a failure is his 5 years of life expectancy. ¡®No Haki and a 5 years time limit? No wonder it¡¯s cheap. Well I don¡¯t really have any alternative.¡¯ [You bought [Imperfect body] for 4500 Karma Points] [Karma points remaining: 500] [Changing current body to [Imperfect body]] [1 %]... [5%]... [25%]... [90%]... And before Rick could see 100% he fainted. Chapter 11: Wake me up Chapter 11: Wake me up *purururu* ¡°Hmm?¡± *purururu* ¡°Who¡¯s calling while I¡¯m on mission?¡± Vice-admiral Garp was looking in the direction where his men headed when the den den mushi rang. With his status any call for him while on a mission was not for chit chat. Serious matter only. Garp finally picked up. ¡°Vice-admiral Garp.¡± ¡°Sir, the mission isplete but¡­¡± ¡°Kaza? How did you get a den den mushi? And my number? ¡° Kaza was Garp''s right hand woman. She was leading the group of marines that went to the hideout. Knowing Garp''s personality, Fleet Admiral Sengoku secretly gave her a den den mushi with two numbers in it. His and Garp. In the event that Garp somewhat screwed up she had to call Sengoku immediately. She never had to even once in the ten years since she received it. As for garp number it was in case of emergency. Either when he had disappeared or the crew was in peril. She never had to use that number either. Until now. ¡°Sir, we have ¡­¡± ¡°Sengoku gave it to you right? To keep up in case I go too far? Well I guess that¡¯s¡­¡± ¡°SIR! RICK WAS BADLY INJURED. HE¡¯S DYING RIGHT NOW,AND WILL SOON BE DEAD WITHOUT SEVERE MEDICAL ATTENTION!¡±. Kaza was talking to the wind. When he heard that Rick was injured Garp rushed to the hideout at a terrifying speed. Less than 5 minutester, he was bursting the hideout¡¯s wall to get inside. ¡°WHERE¡¯S THE KID?!¡± Kaza moved fast forward carrying Rick in her arms. ¡°Here,Sir. We somehow stop the bleeding, but the wound is still open. He lost a lot of blood¡±. ¡°I¡¯ll take him back to the ship so the doc can patch him up. Escort the hostages back to it too. Kaza I want a full report of everything that happened here.¡± ¡°Understood, Sir.¡± Garp left the way he came, carrying Rick in his arms. ¡®Hang on kid, Hang on. Don¡¯t you dare die on me.¡¯ As soon as Garp departed, Kaza began giving orders. ¡°Gus and Saul, escort the misses back to the ship.. Walter and Jessie each one of you form a team. Walter I want your team to investigate what happened here. Jessie yours will search every corner of this hideout. I want to know everything, what treasure they have, who those pirates were or were affiliated to, what was their n. Everything. I don¡¯t have to tell you to don¡¯t botch the job, right ?¡± ¡°¡°¡°¡°¡°No Captain!¡±¡±¡±¡±¡± No one wanted to do a half-assed job with Garp in this state. It would end badly for them. ~~~~~ A deathly silence was on the ship Garp was walking in circles on the deck. Worried to death about Rick. Every marines on board were too. They were all wearing the same gloomy expression. To him, Rick was like the mascot of the crew or their little brother. He may have joined them little more than 6 months ago but they quickly have been fond of him. When Garp left in a hurry one member of the crew picked up his den den mushi and spoke to captain Kaza, who rted Rick¡¯s situation to them. Without any dy the marine warned the doc and nurse on board, who quickly prepare themselves and the infirmary for when Garp will be back with Rick. It¡¯s been one hour now since Garp came back with him. Should someone told them it has been a thousand, they would have believed it. Finally a door opened and the doc came out of it. ¡° The little shit is fine. Scared the hell out of me.¡± Garp let out a relieving sigh. Some marines shout out their contentment, some hugged each other and some just sat on the ground with relief. ¡°Ha! I knew it! The kid is a fighter, no way he¡¯s gonna get done by a scratch like that.¡± Everyone knew that it was a lie. Garp was clearly the most worried of them all. But as a Vice-admiral he had to keep some face, so no one said anything. The doc announced to Garp: ¡°The kid was already healing when you brought him. Very slowly though. Never saw such a thing. Anyway, I estimate he¡¯ll be asleep for a few days, and would need at least a month to be back in top condition.¡± Looking at Garp with severity ¡°That means no physical activity for a month, or he won¡¯t heal properly and have permanent damage.¡± Garp gulped. Ha was nning to give him a few days to recuperate after waking up and continue training him. Unfortunately for him the doc knew Garp well, hence the warning. In truth with Rick¡¯s body healing alone on his own he would be fine within 2 weeks. By saying a month we wanted him to take it slow. Because he¡¯s strong, everyone tends to forget that Rick is only a 10 years old child. Too much training would impede his growth. ~~~~~~ The sun was setting when Kaza and the marines with her came back, along with the surviving pirates who were chained. The hostages have been back for a while now and were resting in the infirmary with Rick. She went to report to Garp. ¡°We¡¯re done investigating sir.¡± ¡°Good. So kaza, what happened?¡± ¡°When we left for the hideout, Rick went ahead of us, either for scouting or for saving the hostage as quickly as possible. He knocked out the two entrance guards stealthily as there was no trace of struggle. I believe he then sneaked in. From the traces left by the battle. I think Rick tried to ambush a group of five pirates with his power but got found out by a sixth that came from the basement, from the entrance Rick couldn¡¯t have seen neither him nor the door. It was bad luck. He dealt with the sixth man first then with the group of five. One of them tried to attack him in closebat. He knocked them all out with his power by throwing them to the ceiling then to the ground. I think that it was at his moment he was injured. I think he was nked by a seventh man that came from the room where the princess¡¯ retainers were sexually assaulted. One had already fainted at the time, but the other said that there were three pirates in the room and that one of them left to see what the loud sound they heard was while the two others kept on abusing her. Rick threw the man who hurt him so violently against the wall, that what¡¯s left of him is a mass of flesh and blood. Rick then came to the room and threw one of thest two men through the door. And ended the same way that hisrade. The retainer said that she then floated toward the ceiling while thest man sank through the bed to the floor. She heard his bones breaking. After checking on him, all of them were broken. Rick told her that we wereing and asked for the princess location. Then it¡¯s the princess¡¯ testimony. From what she said, she was chained to a wall and getting whipped by the captain of the pirate crew, when he suddenly turned around and was¡­ spliced in two.¡± ¡°Spliced in two?¡± asked Garp. ¡°Yes sir. Vertically. The right half of his body was on one wall and the left side on another.¡± ¡°Damn!¡± ¡°Yes sir, that was not a pleasant sight.¡± ¡°So what¡¯s next?¡± ¡°Rick freed the princess, told her that we were upstairs, he seems to have heard us when he was walking down the stairs. He sat and leaned against the wall and told her to go without him.¡± ¡°Thank you Kaza, you can go rest now¡±. ¡°Yes, sir. What are we doing now?¡± ¡°We set sail to thedies¡¯ home then back to HQ¡±. ¡°Yes, sir.¡± Kaza was leaving when she stopped and turned around. ¡°Sir¡± ¡°What, now ?¡± ¡°It¡¯s not your fault sir.¡± ¡°¡®Course it is. I send a kid to his death because he¡¯s strong. Completely forgetting that even though he is, he¡¯s still just a 10 years old kid with no experience.¡± ¡°That¡¯s not true sir. First Rick is alive, so your point about sending him to his death is moot. Second he fought against 10 seasoned pirates alone. Captured 6 of them and killed the rest. He also saved the hostages. I would not say that he¡¯s inexperienced. He was just unlucky to be spotted. It could have happened to anyone. But not anyone could have done what he did. So don¡¯t me yourself sir.¡± Garp didn¡¯t say anything. Kaza was right, he was ming himself. Thinking he sent to die the little guy that he now thought of as his grandson. She was also right that he wasn¡¯t responsible.¡± Without facing her, Garp just said: ¡°Thanks Kaza.¡± Kaza smiled and left. Garp could not help it and smile. He was proud of what Rick did. ¡®He¡¯s really going to be one of the best marines.¡¯ ~~~~~ Rick woke up two dayster. ¡®So I made it, huh. Thank the Goddess¡¯. Chapter 12: Houston,we have a problem Chapter 12: Houston,we have a problem Rick felt sore, he tried to sit but it hurt too much. Without the adrenaline¡¯s pain inhibitor effect it could feel now how bad he has been hurt. ¡®Jesus, I look like a mummy with all those bandages. That really was close. I should have learned observation haki from grandpa.¡¯ Rick immediately dismissed the idea. ¡®I¡¯m already a 10 years old monster in the eyes of everyone. If I had haki, I would not be surprised if the marines kidnapped for some dissection. Besides, if I get too strong before Meeting the strawhats I won¡¯t be able to go with them. At best they would not want me. At worst, they will rely on me and won¡¯t get stronger.¡¯ Rick sighed . ¡®That¡¯s supposing that I live longer than 5 years.¡¯ With the imperfect body¡¯s life expectancy of 5 years he was in a bind. ¡®I need to get a better body. For that I must earn points. Lot of it, before the 5 years limit. Thank god I can eat a second devil fruit because without haki I would be totally screwed. I wonder what the store has.¡¯ Rick opened the store and began his research. ~~~~~ ¡®So there is a better version of the imperfect Body¡¯ [ Imperfect body V 2.0] 50 000 Karma points. Description: Latest failed experiment of Doctor Vegapunk. The only difference between the V1.0 is an increase in the life efficiency (expectancy: around 20 years). ¡® Holy shit, it¡¯s expensive. 50k karma points. That¡¯s a lot of pirates to get rid of. I wonder what¡¯s the conversion for the points¡¯ Ricked open the log. ¡®So basically, I got 3k points for the 30 millions Belly guy. And 500 points for each retainer and 1k for the princess. No point for the rest of the crew or the wannabe pirates that we dealt with on the way to HQ. So 1 point is worth 100 000 belly. That means I need to beat the shit of enough pirates for a total worth of 500 Millions.¡¯ Rick was dumbfounded; gathering 500 million in less than five years was a colossal task. Except the worst generation (who all got at least a 100 million bounty, and it was 24 years in the future, where the number of pirates was high) finding 500 million worth of bounty in paradise was a colossal task. ¡®Well¡­. Comining won¡¯t change anything. Now let¡¯s look at my second devil fruit.¡¯ ~~~~~~ ¡®Now that¡¯s interesting. I would have thought that the logia types would be more expensive but not at all.¡¯ Just because a devil fruit was a logia didn¡¯t mean it was a superior fruit. Some zoan types, the mythical ones, were rarer hence more expensive. The same for the paramecia types. Whitebeard Gura Gura no mi was worth a whopping 500K points. As Rick was browsing the store he took a peek at the devil fruit of his favourite characters. ¡®Chopper¡¯s Hito Hito no mi, is just like him, so cute¡¯ He saw Ace¡¯s and Koizuki Toki¡¯s, which respectively were worth 150K and a freaking billion points. ¡®Well no wonder the Toki Toki no mi is that expensive. Time travel and prophecies arepletely OP.¡¯ He went on and looked at Nico Robin¡¯s. ¡®It¡¯s official, Robin¡¯s Hana Hana no mi, is the prettiest one of them all. That¡¯s fitting.¡¯ He was about to search for another devil fruit when his eyes caught something interesting. It was the devil fruit just under Robin¡¯s. ¡®Me Me no mi ? I don¡¯t know that one, but it¡¯s butt ugly. What does he do ?¡¯ [Me Me no Mi - Paramecia Type] 10 000 Karma points Description: The Me Me no Mi is also called the sprout fruit. It¡¯s a lesser version of the Hana Hana no mi. Instead of directly blooming body parts, the Me Me no mi makes sprout appear wherever the user wants. The sprout then blooms into any body parts the user wishes. User proficiency with the Me Me no mi determines the number of sprouts, the time needed for them to bloom and the radius of action. ¡®Bloody hell! It¡¯s just a cheating fruit!¡¯ If Nico Robin had been a fighter she would have been one of the most powerful characters in One Piece. She would just have to train armament haki then bloom two hands and break the neck of any enemy she¡¯s facing. The Hana Hana no mi was worth 50k points and even though Rick was interested in it, he would not take it. For one because it¡¯s 50K points, the same number he needed for the Imperfect body V2.0 and getting that is already more than a challenge. For two, even if he had the capital, it¡¯s Robin¡¯s fruit. There was no way he would take it from her.For three¡­ The fruit was already in use. ¡®Robin ate her devil fruit quite young it seems.¡¯ The Me Me no Mi though¡­ ¡®It¡¯s perfect for me since each body part is a part of me. They would be able to use my Zushi Zushi no mi abilities. I would never again be in the same situation that I was in the hideout. I need to secure it fast. That devil fruit never appeared in One Piece but that doesn¡¯t mean someone didn¡¯t eat it.¡¯ Rick put a bookmark on the two items he wanted, in case he forgot. ¡®Now, let¡¯s find something to help with Tsuru and Sengoku¡¯ He was smart, he knew that soon Garp would introduce him to his closest friends : Vice-Admiral Tsuru and Fleet admiral Sengoku.Theter was probably already aware of his existence, since Rick was wearing his cap. He even signed it himself. ¡®Garp is Garp, he doesn''t really care about my origin or things like that, but Tsuru and even more so Sengoku, have a good head on their shoulders. If Garp brought to them a 10 years old kid as a new recruit who can take all by himself a pirate crew whose captain is worth 30 Million belly, they are going to ask questions. A shit load of them. And I need a perfect poker face for them to believe my lies or it won¡¯t end well for me.¡¯ After half an hour, Rick finally found what he¡¯s been looking for. [Acting LV1] 100 Karma points [Trainable skill] Description: The most basic skill of the art of deception. It allows the user to fake their facial expressions and bodynguage. The higher the level the more people will believe in the user¡¯s expressions. ¡®Exactly what I need. Now,what to do? Each level cost 100 more points. Do I buy the max Level and use all of my remaining points, or do I buy a lower level and train the skill and keep some points ? Rick pondered a moment before buying the highest level. ( Level 5 ) ¡®That¡¯s a shame but I don''t know how much time I have and how hard it is to train the skill. At least now I¡¯m ready. Probably.¡¯ ~~~~~~ Days passed, and Rick was finally allowed by the doctor to get up and exit the infirmary. ¡°Listen, you little shit. I didn¡¯t bring you back from the brink of death just so you could stupidly go fuck yourself up again by training.¡± ¡®Man, the doc has such a foul mouth.¡¯ ¡°No training for you for two weeks. Or that¡¯s what I should have said if your teacher wasn''t Garp.¡± ¡°What?¡± Seeing the look of confusion on Rick, the doc smirked. ¡°Yeah, I told him you needed a month to healpletely¡± He wink at Rick who finally got it. ¡°Thanks doc, despite your foul mouth you¡¯re a kind man.¡± And darted out the infirmary door. ¡°You little shit! Who¡¯s a foul mouth?!¡± ~~~~~~ While he was resting, Rick got the visit of the princess and her retainer. They thanked him for rescuing them. The princess was from the Bourgeois Kingdom in south Blue, her name was Azalea. She was curious about Rick. ¡® How could such a child do all that?¡¯ She could not understand. She was looking at him Like a predator looks at its prey. That was making him ufortable. ¡®What does this american blonde bimbo want? She¡¯s scary ring at me like that.¡¯ Azalea had long tinum blonde hair, and deep royal blue eyes. Her lips were on the thin side and she had a perfect nose. A small beauty mark was under the corner of her right eye. ¡®She will be a total knockout in the future!¡± thought Rick. Yes ¡° will be¡±. Despite thinking of him as a child, Azalea was barely older. She was around 14 or 15 for Rick. (Author note: Sorry dear readers, no underage sex in this story and Goddess forbid: NO LOLIS) ¡®I could be wrong though. I¡¯m 6 and look 10¡¯. Kaza visited him regrly, updating him on thest stories and gossip on the ship.She knew how boring it was to be forced to rest. Especially for an hyperactive child like Rick. He liked her, she had a nice big sister vibe, and if he was right a mischievous side too. Though on the job, she was always professional and merciless. He was more scared of her than Garp. Garp never visited him. He didn¡¯t know what to make of it. ¡®Is it a good sign or a bad sign?¡¯ Not knowing was making him anxious. ¡®Well I¡¯m about to find out.¡¯ Rick arrived on the deck, everyone was busy doing something. He saw Garp standing in front of the ship, arms crossed, showing his back to everybody. ¡®That can¡¯t be good.¡¯ He walked to the Vice-admiral. His fellow marines stopped doing whatever they were doing and were waiting expectantly. Kaza tailed Rick at a good distance. Finally he arrived behind Garp. Every single cells of his body were screaming: ¡®ABORT THE MISSION! ABORT THE MISSION!¡¯ But sometimes, you have to take the Garp by the horns. ¡°Vice-Admiral Garp, Seaman Recruit Rick Wald, reporting for duty!¡± Garp didn¡¯t make a move nor a sound. The sound of both the waves and wind aside, silence was reigning on the deck. The wild beast of the marine turned around slowly then lowered his head to look at Rick. ¡°Seaman Recruit? Where? I only see a stupid little brat who almost got himself killed!¡± Garp was clearly not happy. Rick¡¯s brain was working a mile a minute ¡®I¡¯m in deep shiiiiit! Quick damage control! Damage control! The acting skill! Quick!¡¯ He lowered his head and looked at the floor, crocodile tears were running effortlessly on his cheeks and dropped to the deck. He let out a sob. ¡° ¡®M SOWWWWYYYYY!¡± Everyone was bewildered. Rookie Rick was crying? The kid that has been enduring Vice-Admiral Garp unholy training for the past 8 months and wiped out a pirate crew worth 30 Millions alone, who neverined or shed a tear, was now crying ? ¡°I¡­ I wanted to save the hostages as fast as pwossible. ¡®M soy grandpaw.¡± *sob* *sob* Garp was frozen. He didn¡¯t know what to do. He never expected Rick to cry either. Fortunately for him, Kaza had his back. ¡°Sir, you should be ashamed of yourself! Making a kid cry just when he¡¯s discharged after a life threatening injury. I¡¯ve seen pirates with more heart than you! Vice-admiral Tsuru will not be happy when I tell her.¡± Or not. Rick was secretly cheering for her. From now on Kaza would forever be his hero. ¡®Yeah go Kaza! Tell him off!¡± Garp waspletely lost. He looked around and saw the disapproving looks his subordinate had. And the threat of Tsuru knowing about this event sent chills down his spine. He was in total panic. ¡°Huh¡­ It¡¯s good that you¡¯re alive kid, but next time you may not be so lucky, so learn your lesson, never go alone.¡± *sob* ¡°Yes grandpaw.¡± *sob* Garp turned around looking at the sea again and added: ¡°We¡¯ll start training again when the doc gives you the green light. For now get some rest. You¡¯re dismissed.¡¯ ¡°Undwerstood.¡± Rick then turned around. And strike a pose, did a victory sign with each of his hands, winked and stuck his tongue out. Kaza held back augh, the rest of the crew had their jaws dropping to the floor and eyes out of their orbit. Every single one of them had the same thought. ¡°¡°¡°¡°¡°THAT CROOK!¡±¡±¡±¡±¡± Chapter 13: Fasten your seatbelts. It’s going to be a bumpy night Chapter 13: Fasten your seatbelts. It¡¯s going to be a bumpy night After two weeks of resting Rick couldn¡¯t stand it anymore. He needed to move, he needed to train. To spend the surplus of energy had. So he started to train on the deck during the night when almost everyone was asleep. Why at night? So Garp would not find out and start his ¡°training¡±. Hested two nights, before Garp caught him. Garp caused such a ruckus that everyone went on the deck in their Pyjamas. They wereughing and cheering at the fight between grandpa and grandson. Suddenly, the door of the infirmary opened and everyone froze. For the doc it was an interesting view. Everybody was looking at him. No one said a word. Garp was holding Rick up in the airby his cor in one hand. The both of them had a deer caught in headlights. The doc took a deep inspiration and let out a long sigh. ¡°You know what ? I¡¯m too old for this shit. I don¡¯t give a damn anymore.¡± Then turned around and went back to the infirmary, closing the door with force. And that¡¯s how Rick¡¯s ¡°training¡± officially started again. ~~~~~~ It¡¯s been a week now that Garp and Rick started to fight all day. Or to be more urate Rick tried to beat Garp up while Garp was effortlessly doing so to Rick. Rick was annoyed. He constantly felt someone watching him but could not pinpoint who. Garp and Kaza knew who it was tough. They were having a conversation with their eyes. ¡®Ah! Seems the brat has a secret admirer¡¯ ¡®Our little Rick is growing up so fast. He¡¯s now getting thedies attention.¡¯ ¡®Should we shake things up a bit?¡¯ ¡®You? No! Me on the other hand hehehe¡¯ ¡°Alright, Sir, Rick, time for break!¡± ¡°Oi!, the kid¡¯s training is not over.¡± ¡°Yeah! And I¡¯m about to kick his ass.¡± ¡°Sure, sure you are. But while you¡¯re training someone else is doing your chores!¡± ¡°So what Kaza ? I¡¯m the vice-admiral here, I say who does what.¡± Kazapletely ignored her superior. ¡°It¡¯s your turn to watch over princess Azalea.¡± Garp finally got it. ¡°Huh. Right! Rick you heard her, go stand guard next to the princess.¡± ¡°What? Less than 10 seconds ago you wanted to keep training, sir!¡± ¡°Your Captain gave you an order, Seaman recruit.¡± ¡°Sir, you just said that you were the one inmand here!¡± ¡°That¡¯s right and right now, I¡¯m ordering you to fulfill the order your captain gave you.¡± ¡°Sir, yes sir!¡± Rick couldn¡¯t help but muttered ¡° How childish¡± Drawing a smile on Kaza and Garp¡¯s faces. He finally arrived at the princess¡¯ side. ¡°Good morning princess, I¡¯ll be the one standing on guard today. You ever need anything please tell me.¡± Princess Azalea didn¡¯t look at him, she didn¡¯t even nod. She kept reading a book that Captain Kaza lent her and just didn¡¯t acknowledge his existence. Rick had a sarcastic thought ¡®This is gonna be so great!¡± After an hour or so, without looking up from the book the princess asked him: ¡° Why did you almost die saving us ?¡± ¡°Because one of the pirates cut me pretty deep, your highness.¡± She looked up and red at him. ¡°That¡¯s not what I meant! You could have waited for the other marines to treat you, yet you came to save me! It was basically suicide in your condition, so why did you do it?¡± ¡°Oh that?¡± She was getting more and more irritated with him. ¡°YES! THAT!¡± ¡°Duty.¡± ¡°Duty? A marine¡¯s duty is being suicidal?¡± She was frowning now. ¡°No your highness. A marine¡¯s duty is to protect and save the people who can¡¯t do it themselves. Who knows what could have happened to you had I chosen to wait for backup and be treated? Your life was my top priority, not mine. My conscience didn¡¯t allow me to let you like that.It was the right thing to do. But what do I know? I¡¯m only 6¡± ¡°You liar! That¡¯s impossible, no 6 years old could do what you did. No 6 years old looks so old and no 6 years old can enroll in the marines!¡± ¡°Oh, that? Since I look like I¡¯m ten,I lied about my age.¡± ¡°Fine let¡¯s say it¡¯s true. Why would a 6 years old kid want to join the marine?¡± ¡°Well to make it short, I had no parents, no home, no memories, no money. Just my devil fruit abilities and my big build so, why not join the marines?¡± The princess said nothing, she just looked at him. Finally she went back to reading the book she was holding. At the end of the day she didn¡¯t turn the page once. ~~~~~~ Three weeks passed, and on a fine evening the marine ship boarding Garp and Rick arrived at Marineford. During the journey Garp ¡°trained¡± Rick again and again. When they were not training, thetter''s only chore was guarding the princess. While training, he felt like every breath he took, every move he made, every step he took, someone has been watching him. He felt that the stare was more intense than before but since he couldn¡¯t tell from who it was he just bear with it. ¡®I got a feeling, somebody¡¯s watching meeeeeee, and I have no privacy.¡¯ Kaza, who was watching on the sidelines, tried her very best not to explode inughter. When she was unable to hold it anymore, she just left for another part of the ship. When they came to the Bourgeois kingdom to bring princess Azalea home, Rick advised her to start learning to fight so she could defend herself. ¡° Your highness, you¡¯re the princess of the kingdom, many ill intent people will try to go after you. You shouldn¡¯tpletely trust in your guards and learn to defend yourself.¡± She stared at him but didn¡¯t say anything, she just oompfh and went to say goodbye to Garp and Kaza and give them her thanks. For many years toe, it was said in a hushed tone in the kingdom that after the princess was rescued from her kidnappers,she went a bit crazy, as she took great interest in the marines corps, getting every single news she could get her hands on. Rumors were that she fell in love with the young, handsome and dashing marine who has saved her. She trained herself harshly in the way of the sword, bing a well known swordfighter across the world and no one tried to mess with her again. Rick couldn¡¯t not feel someone watching him anymore. You would think that after at least two lives, and being married for a long time, he would recognize the loving gaze of ady on him. But nope, despite being smart and calcting, he never made the connection with the princess'' departure and the end of this annoying feeling he had. Kaza just shook her head in dejection, muttering ¡° He¡¯s too dense, there¡¯s no hope for him¡±. Once at Marineford, Garp took Rick with him. ¡°Come with me kid, there are some people I want you to meet.¡± ¡°Who are they, sir?¡± ¡°My best friends, I started in the marine and did my whole career with them. They¡¯re the only people I would entrust my life to and the lives of my family.¡± ¡®Yay! It¡¯s finally time to meet Sengoku and Tsuru.Thank the goddess I took Acting level 5, I would not have had the time to level it up.¡¯ ¡°Really?¡± ¡°Yes, but keep it to yourself I don¡¯t want anyone else to know.¡± ¡°I promise, sir!¡± ¡°Good kid.¡± ~~~~~~ Garp led Rick to one of the houses on the ind, in a small vige built for the marines¡¯ families. He knocked at the door and entered when he heard a ¡°Come in!¡± from the other side. ¡°Good to see you back Garp, how did the mission go?¡± ¡°Great, no casualties except the pirates, but that¡¯s not why I schedule this meeting tonight.¡± ¡°Oh? What¡¯s the reason then?¡± ¡°I came here to introduce you to someone. Oi kid ! Get in here.¡± Rick entered the house since he was invited and joined Garp Sengoku saw him for the first time and turned to his friend ¡°You do remember that kidnapping children is illegal, right? Put him back where you find him.¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t kidnap him!¡± said Garp annoyed. Sengoku faced Risk and asked him if it was true. ¡°Is it true kid?¡± ¡°Yes sir.¡± When he was about to exin things, a voice came from outside. ¡°Coming in! Sorry I¡¯mte¡­. guys¡± It was Vice-Admiral Tsuru, she stopped in mid-sentence when she saw Rick. She too turned to Garp. ¡°You do remember that kidnapping children is illegal, right?¡± Garp exploded, Sengoku smirked and Rickughed loudly. ¡° I DID NOT KIDNAP HIM! FOR THE LAST TIME, I DID NOT¡±. ¡°Is it true kid?¡± ¡°Yes Miss.¡± ¡®I¡¯m tempted to say yes, though, just to see how deep in shit Garp will be¡¯ Sengoku broke the argument. ¡°Why don¡¯t we all sit down and enjoy a nice cup of tea and cookies.¡± Rick¡¯s acting was in full throttle; he was ying the innocent child card through and through. With wonder and joy he said: ¡° Cookies ?¡± Sengoku chuckled. ¡°Yes kid, cookies.¡± ~~~~~~ The four of them were seated on opposite side Garp next to Rick and Sengoku next to Tsuru. Sengoku was the first to speak. ¡°So Garp, what¡¯s the story? Wait first, is that my cap?¡± Rick didn¡¯t miss the opportunity. ¡°Your cap? YOU¡¯re the fleet admiral sengoku the buddha ? He quickly stood up straight and did a salute. ¡°Seaman Recruit Rick Wald, at attention sir!¡± Garp put his head in his hands, exasperated. Sengoku chuckled and Tsuru was impassive. She did think one word though. Cute. ¡°Rx kid, It¡¯s 8 pm, I¡¯m off duty, there is no fleet admiral here.¡± ¡°Sir, yes, sir!¡± Rick sat down and made himself have stars in his eyes. ¡°So you like it?¡± asked Sengoku. ¡®Time to be shy now.¡¯ ¡°Ye.. Yes.¡± Garp added his grain of salt. ¡°Oi! Yes? Is that all you have to say.¡± He turned to his friends. ¡°He loves it so much that he wears it in his sleep¡± heughed. ¡°GRANDPA!¡± Garp keptughing, Sengoku smiles and Tsuru¡­ still the same, impassive and thinking ¡°cute¡±. ¡°So, what¡¯s the story?¡± ¡°Well, 8 months ago I was returning to the HQ at LogueTown, when I saw this kid at the reception desk. He wanted to enroll, I asked his age, he said ¡°10 sir¡±, since he was the right age to engage in the marines I tested him and he passed and here we are.¡± Rick seized the opportunity ¡® Let¡¯s go with the ¡° scared kid because he did a bad thing¡± act. Let¡¯s add some bodynguage. He lowered his head, brought his hands together in hisp and dropped the bomb. ¡°A¡­ Actually grandpa, I¡¯m not 10, I¡¯m 6.¡± ¡°¡°¡°WHAT!¡±¡±¡± Even Tsuru shouted. ¡°Stop lying kid, you told me you were 10! Besides you¡¯re too big to be six years old.¡± ¡°I.. I lied.. Bu.. But I put my real age and birthdate on the paper!¡± ¡®A bit of stammering,eh! They won¡¯t see through this lie¡¯ ¡°Kid, nobody would have if you didn¡¯t say anything? Why tell the truth now?¡± asked Sengoku. ¡®Cute recruit Part II Begin!¡¯ Rick stood up straight and did a salute again. ¡°Because you don¡¯t lie to the fleet admiral, Sir!¡± Garp rolled his eyes, Sengoku smirked, Tsuru¡­ was still in ¡°cute mode¡±. ¡°You¡¯re right! Does that mean it¡¯s okay to lie to an Admiral or any other superior?¡± ¡°Sir! no ,sir!¡± ¡°Good. You can sit down now. Still no fleet admiral here.¡± Rick sat down and picked up once again the remorseful kid who got with his hand in the cookie jar. ¡°So why did you lie to Garp.¡± ¡°I.. I didn¡¯t want to! But I knew you have to be at least 10 to enroll, so I did. And I couldn¡¯t tell the truth to grandpa afterwards because¡­¡± ¡®A little pause here to build the tension¡±. ¡°Because?¡± Rick lowered his head again, he clenched his hands that were on hisp, leaned a bit forward as if he was hurt and made tears at the corner of his eyes, as if he was doing his best not to cry. ¡®PAYBACK IS HERE!¡¯ ¡°Because Grandpa would have ¡° trained ¡° me again¡± said Rick in a whisper. Both Sengoku and Tsuru read his bodynguage. The kid clearly was scared. More than that, it was fear. The way he said ¡°trained¡± and the look of pain he had when he said it. Whatever Garp did to him, it had traumatized the kid. They were furious. Sengoku yelled. ¡°GARP! WHAT DID YOU DO TO THAT KID?¡± ¡°What? I didn¡¯t do any¡­¡± He couldn¡¯t finish his sentence as Tsuzru was already upon him. Chapter 14: You’ve got to ask yourself a question: ‘do I feel lucky?’ Well, do ya, punk? Chapter 14: You¡¯ve got to ask yourself a question: ¡®do I feel lucky?¡¯ Well, do ya, punk? Sengoku was hanging up his den den mushi. ¡°Well¡­ you told the truth, you did write your real age and the correct birthdate.¡± He had called someone still in the office and ordered him to find a copy of Rick¡¯s contract to the marines. Rick was still ying the innocent, timid and wrong kid, albeit a bit different. Why ? To know that, let¡¯s back up the time a bit. ~~~~~~ ¡°GARP! WHAT DID YOU DO TO THAT KID?¡± ¡°What? I didn¡¯t do any¡­¡± He couldn¡¯t finish his sentence as Tsuzru was already upon him. Aaaaaand she wiped the floor with him. Literally. She used the power of her Washo Washo no mi on Garp and cleaned the floor with him (the floor was clean though). She left him there, and went to sit next to Rick. He looked at her as if she was a goddess of vengeance who came down this mortal ne to fulfill his prayer. The veneration he had in eyes was not faked by his acting skill. It was genuine. Sengoku smirked as he could see the stars in the kid¡¯s eyes. ¡®I think Tsuru has a fan for life now, she just stole his heart¡¯ Tsuru was just drinking her tea, but Rick could see a little teeny tiny curve in the corner of her mouth. He didn¡¯t hear Sengoku talk to him. His sight was fixed on her beautiful face. (Author note: YES! I know at that time Tsuru was full of wrinkles and looked like an olddy. The same for SEngoku Being fleet Admiral. Remember, this is a fanfiction, some changes are bound to happen.) (Author note 2: not many though¡­) ¡°Whoaaaaa. Big sis, that was amazing! Can you teach me?¡± Impassive, Tsuru answered that maybe one day she will. She was still in ¡°cute mode¡± though. Sengoku thought ¡®Adorable¡¯ before coughing, attracting Rick¡¯s attention. ¡°Kid, What don¡¯t you tell us about your story from the beginning? Rick turned his head to face him. ¡®And now the watery part.¡¯ He put up a really sad face and looked at the ground. As he started talking he took Tsuru¡¯s hand in his, making it seem as if it wasn¡¯t intentional and was just reaching for some sort offort. She didn¡¯t take her hand away, instead grabbed his, in a way that, without actually saying anything she conveyed the message : ¡®It¡¯s okay, I¡¯m here with you.¡¯ Feeling her hand Rick was ecstatic. ¡®Yes, the n is working, let''s keep it up¡¯. ¡° About 2 years ago, I woke up at the edge of the forest near LogueTown. I¡­ I couldn¡¯t remember anything. Neither my parents, or where I was and where I lived. I just knew that Rick Wald was my name, that I was 6, that my head was frobing a lot. I had a weird fruit in my hand. It looked like an apple but deformed and it was dark purple. I remember that I was hungry so I ate it. It wasn¡¯t very good. In fact the taste was horrible.¡± Sengoku and Tsuru exchanged a look. ¡® A devil fruit ¡¯ ¡°I went to town and tried to ask for help but no one did. Except one granny, that told me to go to the marines and that if I was ten they would take me in. I knew that I didn¡¯t look like a 10 years old kid, so I went back to the forest and built a shelter with branches and big leaves that had fallen to the ground.¡± He stopped talking to add a dramatic effect, and faked a sob. Tsuru squeezed his hand a bit tighter. Garp said something but in the state he was in, no one could understand his speech. Rick fake his anger, red at him and said with authority: ¡°Shush grandpa, the adults are talking and you¡¯re being punished for the bad deeds you did!¡±. Sengoku chuckled and Tsuru, she couldn¡¯t help it, she smirked. Rick continued his tale. ¡°Soon I discovered that I could move objects towards me or send them away without touching them. I could squish fruits that were on the ground or make them fall faster if I focused enough.¡± ¡°Oh! So your power is to control gravity?¡± Rick nodded. ¡° Then I trained for a year and a half. I heard that marines sometimes used weight for training so I used my power on myself while exercising. I don¡¯t know how but I grew big and when I was big enough to be mistaken for a 10 year old kid, I came back to town and went straight to the marine office and tried to enroll. The marine at the deskughed at me so loudly that two others came from the back and when they heard that I wanted to join, theyughed too.¡± ¡°That¡¯s not the behavior of a good marine.¡± said Sengoku with a frown. ¡°No, but then grandpa came in ! And when he learned what I wanted, he asked my age and then I felt as if I had weight on my shoulders. It was so heavy my legs were shaking. But I knew it was grandpa¡¯s doing, so I put weight on his back with my power too!¡± Rickughed as he said that. Garp was trying to talk but everyone ignored him. ¡° You use your gravity on Garp?¡± Sengoku was dumbfounded! ¡°Yes! And then the weight was gone and grandpa smiled, he gave a different order to each marine and asked me why I wanted to join.¡± At that point Garp was really loud. ¡°Big sis, can you turn grandpa back to normal? I think he was punished enough.¡± Tsuru waved her free hand towards Garp and he was¡­ Garp again. He sat next to Sengoku who advised him to stay quiet when he tried to talk. ¡°So, why did you want to enroll? What did you tell Garp?¡± ¡°I told grandpa that I wanted to join the marine because I wanted to see the world, and protect the people who couldn¡¯t protect themselves and bring justice to all evil doers that I meet or hear about!¡± said Rick with pride. ¡®All of you take that! Cuteness level is over 9000!¡¯ ¡°Come on kid, that¡¯s not all you said to me.¡± ¡®Oh shit the beast is rebelling. y it cool, y it cool¡¯ ¡°I... I¡­¡± ¡°Come on kid, A lie by omission is still a lie, besides where are the guts you showed me that day? Come on show them again.¡± ¡°I...I¡­¡± For a dramatic effect Rick nearly shouted. ¡°I want to be the greatest Fleet Admiral the Marine will ever know!¡± You know the drill: Garpughed, Sengoku smirked and Tsuru went full ¡°cute mode¡±. ¡°Oh? Should I be worried about my job?¡± ¡°Yeah!¡± ¡®And now,dies and gentlemen, the drop of Fat Man!¡¯ ¡° But not for now. I heard you must be really old to be Fleet Admiral. At least 30!¡± The temperature in the room dropped abysmally. ¡®Hehehehe¡¯ Besides Rick, everyone else was either in theirte forties or already in their fifties. Garp and Sengoku had a twitching eye. Tsuru¡¯s expression would have scared Death herself. ¡°Don¡¯t worry big sis, you have plenty of time before trying to be a Fleet Admiral.¡± Garp and Sengoku went full Tsukkomi. ¡°¡° HEY!¡±¡± Tsuru returned to her impassive face and gave a short answer: ¡°What? You heard him, I¡¯ve got plenty of time.¡± At that, the two men grumble some inaudible words. Truth was, Tsuru looked way younger than her actual age that was XX (Author note: Never say a woman¡¯s age). Her appearance wasn¡¯t so young that she could pass for a woman in her early twenties but she truly did look 15 to 20 years younger than her age. Maybe because of her devil fruit that kept things smooth and clean? ¡®Really, who knew that messing with the three of them was so much fun!¡¯ ¡°Then grandpa took me to the training grounds and ordered me to run 50ps in an hour.¡± ¡°Garp! The average man does it in 90 minutes! What were you thinking?¡± ¡°Really? I thought it was an hour.¡± ¡°Grandpa said that I could have a cookie if I did it. In the end I only did 3ps.¡± Tsuru and Sengoku opened their eyes wide and looked at Garp who nodded. ¡° Since I failed to do 50ps. Grandpa said that I had to finish them, take a 15 minutes break then do sets of 50ps until the sun set, with no time limit and a break between each set. Every morning I tried and failed to do 50ps under an hour, and went on to do the punishment. At the end of the week I was so mad that I did it.¡± ¡°Wait, wait, wait. You did it ? 50ps in 60 minutes?¡± ¡° ¡®Course he did. You think I would have taken him under my wing otherwise?¡± Sengoku didn¡¯t know what to say, it was surreal. Surprisingly it was Tsuru that spoke up. ¡°Rick, why were you mad?¡± ¡°Because after the 3rd day the marines made a betting booth. They betted if I was going to give up and if not if I would do it under, at best, two weeks.¡± Sengoku yelled: ¡° THEY DID WHAT?!¡± ¡°No wonder you were mad.¡± said Tsuru. ¡°Oh, I was angry but not mad. I was mad on the fifth day.¡± Rick looked at his ¡°grandpa¡± in anger. Garp was clearly ufortable and squirming in his seat. ¡°When grandpa came back on the fifth day, I was happy, I thought he would punish them all but he went and betted himself!¡± His tone was full of reproach. ¡®Take that old man! Karma is a bitch!¡¯ ¡°¡°GARP!¡±¡± He was in big doodoo and knew it. ¡°YOU! A Vice-Admiral of the Marine!¡± ¡°It was just a bit of fun! It was to motivate him. In the end it worked, right?¡± Garp was trying to defend himself best as he could but it was not a pretty sight. ¡°True, I don¡¯t think I would have done it otherwise. Though What made me madder that HE WON!¡± ¡°WHY? I had faith in you kid! Everyone one else was against you!¡± ¡°You gave me a fake cookie!¡± ¡°A fake cookie?¡± asked Sengoku? ¡°Yeah! Grandpa gave me a cookie but it was not chocte it was full of raisins!¡± Rick was ring at Garp who didn¡¯t seem to see the problem. Sengoku gasped. ¡°What? Raisins are good for your health.¡± It was Tsuru that said what everyone but Garp was thinking. ¡°There is a special ce in hell for people like you Garp.¡± ~~~~~~ After a short argument about why cookies with raisins are not real cookies, Rick continued his tale. He talked about his first month of fighting with Garp and his abandonment on the deserted Ind for 6 months to which Garpmented. ¡°I knew he would pass with flying colors on the test and he did!¡± That didn¡¯t stop Tsuru from jumping on him. Now his face looked like a Mister Potato head. Rick went about the day the pirate king was executed. ¡° I wanted to go to the za to see the pirate king, but grandpa refused. He said that it was not something a kid like me should see.¡± Sengoku and Tsuru looked at him like he had a third arm on his forehead. ¡°What?¡± ¡°Nothing. Just¡­. That¡¯s the first time I hear that you acted withmon sense.¡± ¡°Oi, who do you take ¡­¡± Tsuru squeezed Rick¡¯s hand, indicating him to continue. ¡°Because grandpa forgot my birthday, he didn¡¯t give me a day off and send me patrolling the streets.¡± Rick faked a pout. ¡°I said I was sorry! And didn¡¯t I get you Sengoku¡¯s cap?¡± He smiled and said: ¡° Yes you did.¡± Back to his tale¡­ ¡°I was patrolling the streets when I saw Dark King Rayleigh. ¡®Bomb number 3, droppred.¡¯ ¡°¡°¡°WHAT!¡±¡±¡± Even Tsuru yelled? ¡°Kid stop lying!¡± ¡°I¡¯m not grandpa!¡± ¡°You really saw the Silvers Rayleigh?¡± ¡° I even made a deal with him!¡± Rick went on about the deal and his time with rayleigh. ¡°Why didn¡¯t you tell me kid?¡± ¡°I was about to! But when I came into your office, you were on the den den mushiughing, then you hung up and told me to pack my bag because we were leaving immediately for here. Don¡¯t worry Grandpa, I promised that I will catch him and I keep my promises.¡± The next part of the tale was the mission Garp and Rick returned from. When he rted that Garp made him cry in front of the whole crew, neither Sengoku and Tsuru were happy. Seriously, what kind of man makes a child cry? Once Rick was done with his story, Sengoku spoke: ¡°Tsuru I want you to join Garp on his ship.¡± ¡°What? Why?¡± ¡°Because I want her to supervise you with training Rick¡­¡± Tsuru nodded. ¡°Kid, go back to the ship and ready a room for her.¡± ¡°Yes, Grandpa¡±. ¡®Time for the grand finale!¡± Rich stood up and dered, while looking at her with eyes full of stars, still holding her hand: ¡°Big sis when I¡¯m all grown up, I¡¯m going to marry you!¡± Sengoku eyes were big and wide. Garp froze. No one dares to say such words to Tsuru. The Ice queen of the marines. Actually one guy tried. They still haven''t found his body and that was more than 25 years ago. Rick then kissed her cheek. Tsuru simply answered: ¡°Sure¡±. And smiled beautifully. Sengoku dropped his jaw to the floor and Garp¡­ Well Garp wasn¡¯t doing anything because he fainted in the position he froze, his face still looking like a Mister Potato head.The shock was apparently too much for him. Rick ran out of the house yelling ¡° Bye uncle buddha!¡±. Another shock for Sengoku. He didn¡¯t think he could take another one and not pass out. Tsuruughed. ¡°Fufufu. Uncle buddha.¡± Sengoku fainted. Chapter 15: The night is dark and full of terrors Chapter 15: The night is dark and full of terrors While Rick was cleaning and preparing a room for Tsuru on the ship, thinking he duped three of the greatest heroes of the marines. The three greatest heroes in question were having a serious conversation. ~~~~~~ Garp and Sengoku had woken up. Tsuru made a new port of hot tea and brought another batch of cookies. ¡°Garp, How much of what the kid said is true?¡± asked Sengoku. Garp let out a sigh. ¡°All of it.¡± ¡°Really?¡± Sengoku was surprised for good this time. He was not faking it like he did most of the time while Rick talked. ¡°Yeah¡±. ¡°The battle with the pirate crew and even the meeting with Rayleigh?¡± ¡°Kaza formed a team to investigate what happened and with the hostages'' testimonies, she confirmed that Rick told the truth. As for meeting the Dark King¡­ Probably true too, the kid¡¯s not one to lie.¡± Tsuru interjected. ¡°He did lie to you about his age.¡± ¡°His life was on the line, he was desperate. He had just spent 18 months in the wild surviving after all. Other than this time, he never exaggerated or hid anything, not the part where he was mad at me or anything else, even when in trouble.¡± Sengoku nodded. ¡°What you¡¯re saying does make sense. ¡± ¡° He did twist the truth a bit though. Not with his words but in the way he told them.¡± ¡°What do you mean?¡± ¡° Remember the part where he said he didn¡¯t want me to train him again?¡± Both his friends noded. ¡° Well, the way he said it, you both thought that I severely abused him somehow.¡± ¡°You didn¡¯t ?¡± ¡°Of course not, he''s just a kid !¡± ¡°By the way what¡¯s your training anyway?¡± ¡°Oh? Well, I beat him up.¡± ¡°¡°WHAT?¡±¡± ¡°I¡¯M HOLDING BACK! JESUS! As I said he¡¯s just a kid! I only used the amount of strength he can handle! And it¡¯s working, at first he was all defensive! But now he has started to fight back!¡± ¡°You and your way of teaching¡­¡±mented Sengoku. Tsuru¡¯sment was more on track with the conversation. ¡°So, he used a specific tone to rte the truth in a way to get you into trouble for some pay back¡­ That¡¯s smart.¡± ¡°Yeah it is. I¡¯m still pissed off that he did though!¡± said Garp with a frown, clearly not happy about that. ¡°Well, from what I understand, for beating him up constantly you deserved it. Couldn¡¯t do it himself so he tricked someone else to do it.¡± ¡°As Tsuru said. The kid is smart.¡± shrugged Garp. ¡°What a peculiar kid,¡± said Tsuru, pensive. Sengokuughed ¡°The way he looked at you after you moped the floor with Garp was truly a sight to behold. I think you won an eternal dying fan Tsuru. Or should I say husband? He looked at you the same way when he proposed.¡± he said with a smirk. ¡°Yeah, those both times were the most genuine he ever was during the conversation. By the way, I didn¡¯t know you were a cradle robber Tsuru.¡± said Garp in a teasing tone. Teasing tone that disappeared immediately with one cold re from her. ¡°Anyway, Garp, why did you introduce that kid to us?¡± ¡°The kid is strong, he has great potential, and his devil fruit¡¯s power may be on par with Whitebeard''s. With the new Pirate Age that Roger created, the marine could use someone like him. He¡¯s honest and his heart is in the right ce.¡± Sengoku raised one eyebrow at hisstment. ¡°He did kill 4 pirates in a gruesome way.¡± ¡°I know what you¡¯re thinking, I thought the same, so I asked him. The kid said that he was angry and disappointed with himself. Said that he was weak, because someone strong would just have knocked out the pirates and captured them. That since he was injured he didn¡¯t have any other way to ensure the safety of the hostages. The first one, his survival instinct kicked in, as he was about to get killed. For the captain, he was on the verge of copsing so he acted quick. He did admit that he was angry and disgusted at the man but said he didn¡¯t like being a judge and executioner and that nobody should be allowed to be both. He was very chagrined about his failure, and I quote ¡° I have the most amazing power, to subdue any one in the word and yet I couldn¡¯t do it. He¡¯s been training even harder ever since. I¡¯m telling you Sengoku he¡¯s really a good kid.¡± Tsuru and Sengoku pondered about what Garp just said. Finally the man spoke up. ¡°From what I understand, you brought him to us so we can give you our thoughts about him...What I don¡¯t understand is why.¡± Garp looked at the floor and took a deep breath. ¡°I¡­ I already screwed up my kid¡¯s education. To the point he went and created a movement working against the world government. I didn¡¯t want to make the same mistake again.¡± ¡°So you hoped we could help?¡± said Tsuru Garp nodded. ¡°Well, good thinking I had to post Tsuru with you!¡± said Sengoku with a chuckle. ¡° On a more serious note Garp, I think you¡¯re right. Trained well, the kid could be one of the best assets of the marines. And even though I¡¯m sending you Tsuru, to watch over him because I¡¯m a bit worried, from what I saw and heard, his moralpass is in the right direction.¡± Garp seemed pleased with Sengoku decisions. After his failure with Dragon he was not sure he could raise Rick properly. He was ready to get rid of him permanently if the kid showed any sign of going against the world government, despite the great attachment he had to him. That¡¯s why he asked his best friends for help, they were always there to correct any mistakes he made. ¡° Garp from now on you¡¯ll stay on patrol in paradise. Let the kid gain some experience fighting pirates.Tsuru I don¡¯t think I need to say it, but I¡¯m counting on you to keep this idiot in line. And if you could teach a thing or two to Kaza about how to handle him I¡¯d be grateful.¡± ¡°HEY!¡± Tsuru and Sengoku had a goodugh. ¡°And Garp ?¡± ¡°What?¡± ¡°Bring the kid back from time to time.¡± ¡°Why?¡± ¡° ¡®Cause I like him, he¡¯s adorable and fun to have around!¡± Garp rolled his eyes and Tsuru nodded. ¡®Cute.¡¯ ~~~~~~ On the way to the ship Garp and Tsuru were walking in silence. Silence that surprisingly Tsuru broke. ¡°Garp, let it go.¡± ¡°What?¡± ¡°You¡¯re still pissed at the kid, I can tell. Just let it go.¡± Garp didn¡¯t say anything more nor did Tsuru. ~~~~~~ A month went by since Vice-Admiral Tsuru joined the crew. She mostly ignored the men (and women) working on the ship. She spent her days overseeing Garp training Rick and her evening teaching Kaza how to deal with Garp, for which the young captain was more than ted. All were not all roses though. Everyone could feel that Garp and Rick¡¯s rtionship was somehow strained ever since they left Marineford. ¡®Damn old man! How long will you hold a grudge?¡¯ Yes, Garp was still pissed at Rick for the trick he pulled on him. He did go a bit harder on him during training. Not as much,as Tsuru was keeping an eye on him. So he chose to be dismissive or sometimes ignored him. Rick had an idea and went to Kaza for help. ¡°Captain, I need your help.¡± ¡°What do you need me for?¡± ¡°It¡¯s been a month and he¡¯s still mad at me. I have an idea to fix the situation but I can¡¯t do it alone. ¡°I¡¯m listening.¡± Rick told her about his idea. ¡°That¡¯s a great n! Count me in!¡± ~~~~~~ They¡¯ve been stationed on a small ind for a few days. They were celebrating theing of the new spring with a festival. Coincidently it was also Garp¡¯s birthday, so he gave everyone a day off. Rick and Kaza were counting on that. The former followed Garp everywhere and tried to bond with him but Garp''s attitude towards him didn¡¯t change. They finally came to a crowded area, where people were watching some kind of street show. Rick was too small to see anything but saw the opportunity. He sent a signal to Kaza who was tailing them and nodded back, meaning she was ready. ¡°Grandpa I can¡¯t see! Can I get on your shoulders?¡± He never called Garp Grandpa in public, only when the two were alone. But since they were off duty today, he called him that way. Rick didn¡¯t wait for an answer and just climbed on his back. Once in position, Kaza acted. ¡°Sir! Smile for the camera!¡± Garp turned around to see what she was about and saw her take a picture. He didn¡¯t pay any mind and went back to watching the performance. Kaza signaled Rick the sess of the mission with a thumbs up. He nodded. Now the second part of the n. He thanked Garp and climbed down so he could regroup with Kaza. They had somewhere to be now. ~~~~~~ Everyone was back to the ship. The festival was over but the party was not! It wasn¡¯t everyday that all the crew got a day off. They danced, drank, ate andughed a lot. Finally it was time to give presents. All the crew put a bit of money together to offer Garp a new marine coat. The coat was special though, it had a hood shaped as a dog head. A symbol meaning that Garp was the faithful guardian of the marines More than 20 yearster, Garp was still wearing it and never used another. It was Rick¡¯s turned. Kaza motion to go ahead. He came close to Garp and handed him a small box. ¡°Here grandpa, your present.¡± Garp looked at the kid then at Rick. ¡°Oh! What is it? A poisonous bug?¡± He made no move to take the box and just said: ¡°Sorry kid, don¡¯t want it. Don¡¯t wanna get tricked again.¡± ¡® Seriously? Did I went too far with my payback ?¡¯ ¡°I.. I see.¡± said Rick with a stutter and a dejected look. ¡®Ha! You just doomed yourself Old man!¡¯ For the party the Deck was transfigured. They put tables in a circle so everyone could see everyone during the feast. He put the present on the table in front of Garp and went back not to his seat but inside the ship. Silence was reigning. You could hear a pin drop. Tsuru was about to reprimand Garp when Kaza acted. The moment Garp told off Rick, her body started to shake. She was doing her best to restrain herself. She didn¡¯t want Rick to see what she was about to do. Once he was back inside? She exploded ! She was shading tears of pure rage and went to yell at her superior. ¡° SIR! HOW HEARTLESS CAN YOU BE?¡± Garp¡¯s eyes were as big as saucers. He never saw Kaza act like that. Never. She took the small box and tore it open and tok what was inside. ¡°HERE! IT¡¯S A NECKLACE WITH A LOCKET. INSIDE YOU WILL FIND A SMALL PICTURE AND SOME CARVED WORDS.¡± As she was saying it, she opened it and mmed it on the table right under Garp¡¯s nose. ¡° RICK PLANED IT FOR WEEKS! HE USED EVERY SINGLE BELLY HE EARNED SINCE HE JOINED US TO BUY IT AND HAVE SOMEONE CARVE IT. NOW IF YOU¡¯LL EXCUSE ME, I¡¯M GOING BACK TO MY QUARTERS. I¡¯M DONE WATCHING YOU ACT LIKE A BASTARD, SIR!¡± One she was done talking she rushed inside the ship. Nobody said anything. They couldn¡¯t. Garp extended his hand and took the ne in it. There was a picture of him with Rick on his shoulders. Under it was a small carving ¡° My grandson and I.¡± A tear rolled down his cheek. ¡° I really fucked up by acting like a mean bastard, didn¡¯t I?¡± He looked up to meet the disapproving res of his crew. In harmony, in one unique voice, they all answered : ¡°¡°¡°¡°¡° YES! ¡±¡±¡±¡±¡± He looked back down at the locket. Brushed the words with his thumb. Tears were flowing freely now. ¡°I¡¯m sorry.¡± ¡°Then you better apologize to him in the morning.¡± said Tsuru. Without any other words, the marines stood up and either went back inside to sleep or went on the other side of the ship to do their night guard¡¯s duty. Garp raised his head, looked at the beautiful full moon in the starry night sky and got lost in his thoughts. Tears, still falling. Chapter 16: Life is like a box of chocolate. You never know what you’re gonna get Chapter 16: Life is like a box of chocte. You never know what you¡¯re gonna get In the end, Garp never apologized. He did wear the ne proudly though. He never called Rick ¡°kid¡± again and used his name instead. Perhaps was it his own way of apologizing? For the past 8 months they sailed paradise, capturing as many pirates as they could. Since Garp was all about vigor and strength, Tsuru decided to partake in Rick¡¯s training. She taught him a fighting style focused more on agility and skill, just so he could be a more bnced fighter. Rick was apparently more suited to this style and took Tsuru¡¯s teachings like a duck to water, provoking in Garp a small annoyance. Kaza was a bit jealous of the way Rick was looking at Vice-Admiral Tsuru. She WAS his big sister. She didn¡¯t want to be left behind so she taught him how to fire a gun and a rifle and to swing a sword around. Though, this littlepetition to be the big sister was only in her own head, as Tsuru didn¡¯t care. She did find Kaza¡¯s attitude ¡®cute.¡¯ Rick had now received the full basic training that any recruit must undergo. He was now a full fledged marine. Even more than that actually, since Garp kept his promise to Sengoku to bring him back from time to time. During such asions, he learned to y chess, and to strategize in general from the Fleet admiral known as the best strategist in the world. Sengoku was always delighted to spend time with Rick as he was quite smart and interested in what he had to teach him. Many subordinates asked him why he was not wearing his cap anymore to which he always answered: ¡°I gave it to the future of the marines¡± with an ear to ear smile. The time spent with Rick made the three friends somewhat more approachable to others. Garp was still impulsive but a bit less. Sengoku was less stern. Tsuru? Well, rumors in marineford about the Ice queen of the marine smiling were many. Rick was on the way to be an outstanding marine, not only because of his feats but because he could cheer up and calm every person he interacted with. His nickname Rookie Rick was beginning to be known in Marineford¡¯s vicinity, to his disappointment. Sengoku was pleased at the regr report he was receiving about him., and never regretted giving a chance to a child who could have harmed the world government greatly if he had been a pirate, once older. It would be soon the anniversary of the Pirate King¡¯s death. Meaning it would be soon Rick¡¯s 7th birthday, or to the rest of the world his 11th. He had just finished capturing the captain of a pirate crew giving trouble to the inhabitant of a small ind. His bounty was 50 Million Belly. It was rather low but it was still the biggest bounty he saw since his first mission (30 Million at the time). Most of the time the pirates he captures had a bounty about half a million on average. Sometimes they didn¡¯t have any at all. Speaking of his first mission, he never killed another pirate. He trained hard so he would never have to do that again. Rick was looking at something invisible in front of him. To any onlookers, they would think he had a stroke. He was actually looking at the system¡¯s store. He finally has enough points toplete the first part of his n. Eating a second devil fruit. [Me Me no mi - Paramecia type] 10 000 Karma Points Thanks to hisst catch he had now 10 352 points. [User bought Me Me no mi] The devil fruit appeared in his hand. It took a few moments to look at the ugliest fruit he ever saw then took a bite. ~~~~~~~~ A few minutes earlier. Garp and Tsuru entered the pirates¡¯ hideout, they saw Kaza rounding up a pirate and giving orders to some marines. ¡°Oi,Kaza, what¡¯s the situation?¡± asked Garp ¡°Sir! Every pirate but the captain had been apprehended, sir! Rick went after him. He should be done with him by now. Please follow me.¡± Kaza led them to the room Rick pursued the pirate captain. Once in the room they saw the pirateying down on the floor, handcuffed. They saw Rick with a very weird and ugly fruit in his hand that he brought up to his mouth. ¡°NO!¡± But it was toote. ~~~~~~ Rick had already taken a bite from the devil fruit before his superiors could stop him. It tasted even worse than it looked. Before he could take another bite, Garp was already on him pping the fruit away from his hands. ¡°YOU FOOL! WHAT DID YOU DO!¡± Rick¡¯s panic was genuine but not for the reasons Garp thought. ¡®Shit! They saw me eat the devil fruit. How stupid am I? I should have eaten it in secret.¡¯ ¡°Wh.. What?¡± ¡°QUICK! VOMIT IT, IT MAY NOT BE TOO LATE!¡± Rick had a bewildered look. ¡®What the hell is he on about?¡¯ Tsuru had a grim look. ¡°It is Garp, the first bite is the one that does the trick.¡± Garp screamed in rage and went on destroying the surroundings. ¡°I¡¯m sorry Rick¡± she said in a sad and apologetic tone, tears forming in the corner of her eyes. Kaza was on her knees, her eyes empty and was crying. ¡°Ma''am, you¡¯re scaring me! What did I do?¡± Tsuru had a confused look on her face. ¡°WAIT! YOU¡¯RE FINE?!¡± ¡°Well yes, this pirate was rather weak.¡± ¡°That¡¯s not what I meant you idiot!. Garp! Garp!¡± She tried to call her friend but he was blinded by rage and grief. ¡°MONKEY D. GARP STOP IT RIGHT NOW!¡± Hearing Tsuru scream his full name, Garp came to an abrupt stop. ¡°What?¡± ¡°Rick is fine!¡± ¡°What?¡± ¡°Rick is fine! Look he¡¯s still alive!¡± Garp took a look at Rick, who had an embarrassing smile and waved his hand at him. ¡°HOW!¡± ¡°Ma¡¯am, sir, what¡¯s going on?¡± ¡° WHAT¡¯S GOING ON IS THAT YOU¡¯RE NOT DEAD YOU STUPID BRAT!¡± ¡°Why should I be?¡± Despite her shock and unlike Garp, Tsuru was able to control the volume of her voice. ¡° Because you ate a devil fruit!¡± ¡°It was a devil fruit?¡± ¡°¡°YES!¡±¡± ¡° Why should I be dead then? I mean, I ate one when I was 4 and I didn¡¯t die back then.¡± Garp smacked his head with his hand. It was Tsuru who exined. ¡°Because no one can eat a second devil fruit and survive! If one were to eat two, the devils contained in each fruit start fighting. The sh of power is so great that the body of the person who ate them explode!¡± ¡®Oh yeah there was that in the story, but it¡¯s never really spoken about, just that you can¡¯t eat a second one, like can¡¯t as unable not as should not do it.¡¯ ¡°Well I didn¡¯t explode, so maybe it wasn¡¯t a devil fruit? Just a new kind of fruit which tastes bad and looks ugly?¡± Garp smacked his head again. ¡°No it was definitely a devil fruit. The question is, how are you still alive?¡± said Tsuru. Garp started poking his cheek with his finger. ¡°Kid. Tell me the truth. Are you a god?¡± ¡°What ?¡± ¡®What the hell is he talking about, now?¡¯ ¡°I am asking you if you¡¯re a god.¡± ¡°Sir! Respectfully, If I was one, I would not be the one getting beaten up, It would go the other way around!¡± answered Rick clearly annoyed. ¡°True.¡± ¡°Well, the how doesn¡¯t really matter. Him being alive does.¡± Garp nodded. ¡°Rick, do you feel any different? Do you feel like you have a new power?¡± ¡°Now that you say it, yes I feel a bit different. I don¡¯t know anything about a new power though.¡± ¡°Okay. Try to, I don¡¯t know, do something out of the ordinary?¡± Rick awkwardly waved his hands and felt something. His gaze was attracted to the top of Garp¡¯s head.Tsuru followed the direction his eyes were looking at and her eyes grew wide out of astonishment. On the top of Garp¡¯s head was a sprout. Before the stunned appearance of Tsuru and Rick Garp asked: ¡°What? Got something on my head?¡± With one hand he reached the top of his head and grabbed the sprout. The sprout bloomed into a grown size forearm with a wrist and a hand. He tried to rip the body part off when Rick screamed in pain, holding his arm. ¡°GARP! Stop! Don¡¯t touch it !¡± Garp let go of the arm wondering what was going on. ¡°Rick please tell me what happened.¡± Tsuru asked. ¡°I¡¯m not sure. When I was waving my hands, I was thinking it would be nice if I could have an arm on top of Grandpa¡¯s head so I could smack him back when he does it to me.¡± ¡°Oi! You brat!¡± ¡°Quiet Garp! Anything else Rick?¡± ¡°Yes, when I thought that, I felt like a part of me was on Grandpa¡¯s head, so I looked and there was¡­¡± ¡°A sprout, yes I saw it too.¡± ¡°And then it bloomed into an arm.¡± ¡°And you felt pain when Grap hurt it, right?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°Well I guess that¡¯s your new power then.¡± ¡°Big sis?¡± ¡°Tsuru, would you mind exining?¡± ¡°I can do better than that Garp. Rick remember what you were thinking before the sprout appeared, and try to make one on the floor.¡± Rick did it, and soon a sprout appeared on the floor. It then bloomed into an arm. ¡°What a weird power.¡± said Garp. He turned to Tsuru ¡°Tsuru, you seem to know about that fruit. Howe?¡± ¡° 2 years ago, I stopped on an ind on the way to HQ for supplies. There I saw a little girl with the same powers. Though she didn¡¯t make sprouts. She directly created other parts of her body. I guess Rick ate a lesser version of the devil fruit.¡± Rick was pensive. Not about Tsuru¡¯s story he was already aware of One piece story after all. No he was thinking something totally different. ¡®Come on, are we done? All his drama for something I already know, is tiring. Should I do a quick experiment with the sprouts before them to get things going ?¡¯ ¡°Rick, can you use your gravity with your sprout?¡± asked Tsuru. ¡®Oh? Ask and Tsuru shall give you.¡¯ He made an arm bloomed on the ceiling and tried to attract the pirate captain¡¯s body. Suddenly the body moved quite fast upwards. Garp and Tsuru were speechless. Rick¡¯s gravity was already powerful enough, and now it was brought to a new height with his new power. ¡°Rick, no matter what, you must never use his new ability in public and never tell anyone about it. Do you understand?¡± ordered Tsuru, worried. ¡°Not really, but I¡¯ll do what you say.¡± ¡°We need to report it to Sengoku, we can¡¯t not tell him.¡± said Garp. Tsuru nodded. ¡°What about the Captain?¡± The two Vice-Admiral were confused. Rick then pointed his finger towards Kaza. She was still on her knees, out of it, like a mindless doll. ¡°I¡­ I don¡¯t want to lie to the captain.¡± ¡°Garp?¡± ¡°Kaza will keep quiet. After you and Sengoku she¡¯s the person I trust the most. Besides she¡¯s crazy about Rick, she would rather die than sell him out.¡± Rick walked to her. He felt bad as Kaza was always good to him. He was very fond of her. ¡°Captain? Are you alright? Captain Kaza?¡± Hearing her name Kaza came out of whatever trance she was in. Seeing Rick, she jumped at him and trapped him in a tight hug. ¡°You¡¯re alive!¡± She hugged him so tightly that he had trouble breathing. ¡°Captain.. can¡¯t.. breath!¡± Unfortunately,Kaza had fainted. Seeing him alive was too much of a shock to her. She was still squeezing him though¡­ ¡°Heeeelp!¡± Chapter 17: What I’ve done Chapter 17: What I¡¯ve done A very odd and heavy atmosphere was on the ship on the way back to Marineford. Tsuru and Garp seeded in removing Kaza from Rick saving him from a very very painful death by asphyxia. Tsuru¡¯s Washo Washo no mi may have been used for that, but it was a secret between Garp and her rick having passed out fromck of oxygen. Garp took Rick and Kaza on his shoulders while Tsuru just dragged the still unconscious pirate captain back to the ship. On the journey back Kaza woke up and was behaving hysterically. Tsuru calmed her down, notifying her that Rick was indeed alive and was outside training with Garp. The moment she heard the news, Kaza felt immense relief but quickly went into what the other crew members came to call ¡° hellhound mode¡± She got out of bed and rushed outside, every person on her way to Rick was sent flying away (3 of them ended up in the sea). He was totally focused on his fight with Garp when he felt a dread he never felt before. For the second time in his life Rick feared for his life. He didn¡¯t have the time to react, Kaza was already on him hugging him tightly from behind, crying and thanking god for him being alive. She never let him go. For 3 days. 3 days of torture for Rick who was unable to move. Garp tried once to get her to release him. Once. The re he got from her scared him so much he quickly retreated muttering ¡°Tsuru taught her too well.¡± Speaking of Tsuru, even her regretted it a bit, not for Garp though but for Rick who was now a prisoner of a prison made of flesh. You may think our protagonist was in heaven and you may be right, after all Garp¡¯s second inmand was quite a beauty with generous assets. Rick thought so too. However after 3 hours of total incapacity heaven turned too hell. He wanted to move! To do something! He tried, Goddess knows he tried, but to no avail. He resigned to his fate. All day and all night Kaza was glued to him. Even during bath time! Unfortunately she put a blindfold on him. You may wonder how they could clean themselves without letting Rick go? An eptable question. The answer was¡­ well, let¡¯s just say that it¡¯s one of the many secrets women will never share. Currently, Kaza was sitting at one table as it was dinner time. Rick was sitting on her knees, unresponsive or perhaps too embarrassed to say anything. Many felt sorry for him. When Garp entered the mass and saw Rick¡¯s situation heughed hard. After his failed attempts to save his adoptive grandson Garp made himself scarce and wasn¡¯t aware of his captain''s antics and her hostage¡¯s plea. The sound of Garp¡¯sughter activated Rick¡¯s survival instinct. He turned his head up and looked at his captain. ¡°Captain?¡± ¡°Yes?¡± ¡°You know what day is tomorrow, right?¡± ¡°Of course I know. It¡¯s the day the pirate king was executed! Can¡¯t believe it¡¯s been a year already.¡± Rick was dumbfounded. For her to not know it was his birthday, was somethingpletely out of reality for him. Kaza caught his expression. ¡°Fufufu, it¡¯s also your birthday.¡± He got HAD! Him! By this crazy big sister . ¡°Ye.. Yes. And the only gift I want is for you to let me go!¡± Sheughed. ¡°Nice try! But I already got you a gift, too bad. You¡¯re not getting away from me.¡± ¡® Then there is only one choice left. I didn¡¯t want to use it for something like this but I just can¡¯t take it anymore. I have to go with everything I have!¡¯ ¡°Big sis, if you let me go, I¡¯ll ¡­ I¡¯ll ¡­¡± Rick was having difficulties saying the words. They were too terrifying. Calling that crazy captain of his ¡°big sis¡± was already a huge effort for him. But he needed to coax the beast holding him captive. ¡®Come on Rick, it¡¯s just a few words. Do it! JUST DO IT!¡± ¡°I¡¯LL MARRY YOU TOO!¡± he yelled. Everyone present in the mass stopped moving. Garp¡¯sughter couldn¡¯t be heard anymore, as his jaw was on the floor. Like every single marines present actually. You could have stabbed or shot someone, no reaction would have happened. ¡°Really? You Promise?¡± ¡°Ye.. Yeah!¡± ¡°No fingers crossed?¡± ¡®Dammit! She¡¯s too smart!¡¯ Since he was in a body of a kid, Rick thought that he could use kid¡¯s tricks to get himself out of his promise. Too bad for him, Kaza knew him too well ¡°No¡­ No finger crossed. I¡¯ll promise that when I¡¯m all grown up I¡¯ll marry big sister Kaza too!¡± ¡°DEAL!¡± said the captain and let him go, he darted away. She was so happy! She kept reying his proposal in her head. ¡®I¡¯LL MARRY YOU TOO!¡¯ ''MARRY YOU TOO!'' ''YOU TOO!'' ''TOO!'' Finally the most important word of the proposal entered her mind. She exploded. ¡° WHAT DO YOU MEN MARRY ME TOO ?! WHO IS THE OTHER WOMAN?! RICK! I WON¡¯T ALLOW IT! YOU¡¯RE MINE! NO ONE ELSE''S!¡±. Rick fled through the wall by reflex. If Garp wasn¡¯t stunned he would have been proud! He was being chased by the most terrifying beast in the world that even sea kings would run away from. A jealous woman! Kaza was on his trail and you could hear her chanting a curse repeatedly. ¡°MINE! MINE! MINE! MINE!¡±. Garp was the first toe out of it. ¡°What the f*ck just happened?¡± The crew members presents, as usual, all thought the same thing: ¡®¡®¡®¡®¡®¡®¡®¡®¡®¡® Rookie Rick, the best crook of the marines had strike again!¡¯¡¯¡¯¡¯¡¯¡¯¡¯¡¯¡¯¡¯ ~~~~~~~ Rick found refuge in the only ce he knew Kaza would never find him. Tsuru¡¯s room. He knocked on the door in panic, he could hear his captain¡¯s cursed chant getting closer and closer. Vice-Admiral Tsuru opened the door. ¡°Big sis please save me!¡± Rick pleaded . He didn¡¯t have to use his acting skill. There was no need. He was genuinely scared and in panic. Tsuru could hear the ¡°MINE! MINE! MINE!¡± getting louder and louder. She didn¡¯t understand what was going on but seeing Rick in that state she let him in and close the door. Once inside Rick¡¯s tension left him and he fell on the floor. ¡°I¡¯m d you escaped Kaza¡¯s clutches but what is it all about?¡± He took a few deep breaths before answering. He left nothing out of his tale to Tsuru. ¡°You¡¯re very bold Rick.¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t have a choice, I could not take it anymore!¡± ¡°That¡¯s not what I¡¯m talking about.¡± ¡°What do you mean then ?¡± Tsuru made a predatory smile. ¡°Didn¡¯t you say that you''d marry too when we met?¡± ¡®OH SHIT!¡¯ Chapter 18: SURPRISE MOTHERF*CKERS! Chapter 18: SURPRISE MOTHERF*CKERS! Rick woke up to a nice view. ¡®Tsuru may be old, but she¡¯s still got it, even though they¡¯re not Kaza level they look like they could fit a hand nicely, really nice cleavage big sis!¡¯ Rick kept looking for a while until a thought came to him. ¡® I wonder if¡­¡¯ She was still sleeping soundly, he snuggle up to her and¡­ well You¡¯re free to imagine the rest. He did his best to not motorboat, because ¡® That¡¯s inappropriate¡¯ in his opinion. You may wonder: ¡®Howe is he still alive?¡¯ (Author¡¯s note: I¡¯m wondering too, narrator, he should have died in thest chapter¡­) The answer to that question will be found in a shback. *shback* Tsuru made a predatory smile. ¡°Didn¡¯t you say that you''d marry too when we met?¡± ¡®OH SHIT!¡¯ ¡°Fufufu, teasing you is really fun! Don¡¯t worry Rick, I don¡¯t mind sharing you as long as I you don¡¯t forget about me¡± ¡®Wh.. What? Is she serious?¡¯ Seeing his astonished face, she chuckled. ¡°Alright, it¡¯ste, time to go to bed. Turn around I need to change. And no peeking!¡± ~~~~~~ And that¡¯s how Rick survived ¡®I didn¡¯t think I could respect and admire her anymore than I already did but I guess I was wrong.¡¯ Tsuru began to stir. ¡®Crap! Retreat! Retreat!¡¯ He separated from her quietly, went out of bed and left the room¡­ ¡°What an energetic boy. Quite naughty too.¡± If Rick could have heard her would have trip to the ground. ~~~~~~ Thanks to his fellow crewmates, the Kaza problem was no more. She had spent the night roaming the ship after Rick and finally copsed, exhausted. One of the marines had an idea and everyone unanimously agreed. They brought her up the infirmary, and bandaged her head. The story went like this: ¡°Captain, you¡¯re in the infirmary because 4 days ago during the mission, you took a nasty blow to the head. You¡¯ve been asleep ever since.¡± ¡°So everything was just a dream?¡± ¡°What dream?¡± ¡°N.. Nothing, I guess I''m still a bit out of it.¡± ¡°That¡¯s okay captain, take your time we got you covered¡±. They were all relieved when Kaza believed their story. They did not trick her for Rick. Far from it. They tricked her because she scared the shit out of them. That ¡°little incident¡± gave birth to two myths. ¡°The enraged hellhound ¡° seeking her prey in the dead of the night and ¡°the screaming witch¡± searching for her unfaithful lover aboard marines ships, became favorites scary stories that marines told children. ~~~~~~~~ Today was Rick¡¯s birthday; he was officially eleven (though seven in reality). Unfortunately since thest time they came back to HQ was four months ago they would have to spend the day debriefing.They would celebrate the day after. Since more and more pirates were surging across the seas, very few marines were left at Marineford as most marines set sail to deal with them and bring peace. As theynded they were wee by Brannew. Rick salute ¡°Hello, Sir!¡± ¡°Hello marine,and wee back.¡± ¡°Thank you,sir!¡± ¡°Come on kid you don¡¯t need to salute me everytime, you can go see the Fleet Admiral.¡± ¡°Thank you!¡± said Rick. He then darted away to see Sengoku. ¡°He¡¯s really a special one¡± said Brannew as he watched Rick¡¯s back. ¡°¡®Course he is, he¡¯s gonna be the next Fleet admiral after all.¡± Brannew turned around to see Garp and Tsuru. He saluted them both ¡°Sir! Ma¡¯am! Wee back! Do you really think he¡¯d be Fleet admiral?¡± ¡°Yes, but not before a long time.¡± said Tsuru ¡°Not before he¡¯s really old.¡± joked Garp ¡°Yes, at least 30!¡± Joked back Tsuru. They looked at each other andughed. Brannew thought that he was missing something here, but didn¡¯t ask.It was not his ce. He was surprised to see the Ice queen of the marinesugh and make a joke. The rumor mill of Marineford will be in full throttle soon. ¡°Is Sengoku busy?¡± ¡°Not right now he is no... Wait!¡± Brannew remembered who was with the Fleet admiral at the moment. This was bad! Really really bad. ¡°Shit! I told Rick that the fleet admiral was free but he¡¯s with three Vice-admiral¡± ¡°Oh? Which one?¡± ¡°AokiJi, Akainu and Kizaru.¡± ¡°That won¡¯t end well.¡± remarked Garp Tsuru was already running when she yelled: ¡°No, it won''t, that''s why hurry up!¡± ~~~~~~ Rick was running towards Sengoku¡¯s office, when he was opening the door he said : ¡°Uncle Budda! I¡¯m back!¡± Then froze. Sengoku was not alone like Brannew said. With him were the most famous Admirals in One Piece. (Author¡¯s note: I will try my best to keep my opinion about Akainu to myself.) Aokiji, Kizaru and that c**t of Akainu. (Author¡¯s Note: Please forgive me, I failed.) Well it was more than twenty years before One Piece''s story, so they were just Vice-Admiral right now. ¡®Damage control¡¯s mode: ON¡¯ ¡°I.. I mean¡­¡± Rick was quickly at attention and was making a salute. ¡°Seaman Recruit Rick Wald reporting for duty!¡± Never was he ever been in a situation with a silence so awkward. Everyone was looking at him like he had three heads. Then Sengoku bursted outughing. He wasughing so hard he had tears in his eyes and was starting to have trouble breathing. The three Vice-Admirals were looking at him as if he¡¯d gone utterly mad. Rick was sweating so much he was drenched! Aokiji asked: ¡°Sir, Are you alright?¡± Sengoku brought himself under control: ¡®Yes, yes I¡¯m fine. Sorry for the disy. This is my nephew Rick.¡± ¡° I didn¡¯t know you had a nephew sir.¡± said Aokiji ¡°He sure is energetic.¡± It was Kizaru¡¯s turn. ¡°What an ill-mannered brat.¡± remarked Akainu. Rick was not happy with Akainu¡¯s remark and couldn¡¯t help but mutter perhaps a bit too loud. ¡°Well at least, I¡¯m not a no name Vice-Admiral that a hardcore marine fan like me doesn¡¯t even know.¡± ¡°What did you say brat?¡± Still at attention he asked to no one particrly: ¡°Permission to speak freely, sir?¡± ¡°DENIED!¡± yelled Akainu. ¡°Granted.¡± Too bad for Akainu the boss here was Sengoku. ¡°Since you have an earring problem, sir, I don¡¯t mind repeating myself. I said: WELL AT LEAST, I¡¯M NOT A NO NAME VICE-ADMIRAL THAT A HARDCORE MARINE FAN LIKE ME DOESN¡¯T EVEN KNOW!¡± Akainu was pissed and moved to strike. ¡°SAKAZUKI!¡± But it was toote he was already striking at Rick. Rick¡¯s survival instinct was quicker though and ttened Akainu on the floor by the heaviest gravity he could make. It was many times more powerful than the first time he killed someone. It¡¯s been 8 months since then after all. Kizaru and Aokiji had their jaw on the ground. Sengoku was more than pissed. Akainu was out of it. It was too unreal for him. And Rick¡­ well Rick didn¡¯t yet register what just happened. When he did though¡­ ¡®Okay, y it cool, y it cool.¡¯ ¡°Vice-Admiral Tsuru always said ¡° Keep your guard up at all times, no matter what¡±. You were not keeping your guard up. Are you sure you¡¯re a Vice-Admiral?¡± ¡®Oh shit, why did I say that? For f*ck sake, WHY?¡¯ What Rick said was not untrue though. If Akainu had his guard up, he wouldn¡¯t even have been stopped by the gravity. To his defense he wasn¡¯t expecting the brat that insulted him to be that strong. Akainu was enraged, he was humiliated twice now in a minute by a kid that was still wet behind the ears. He got up ready to teach this kid a lesson when Sengoku yelled. ¡°ENOUGH! Sakazuki, Borsalino you both have your orders, remember time is of the essence so hurry.¡± Akainu sent a murderous re at Rick before leaving. Borsalino made a curious face and followed him out of the room and closed the doors. ¡°Rick please, start making tea and ready the chess board.¡± He followed Sengoku¡¯s instructions and went further into the room. He was too far to hear what Sengoku and Aokiji were talking about. ¡°Wow! Is that kid¡­¡± Sengoku knew what he was going to say. ¡°Garp raised him.¡± ¡°Oh!, So he¡¯s not crazy but has balls of steel.¡± ¡°Knowing Garp I¡¯d say both.¡± he chuckled ¡°I have to say what he did was amazing.¡± ¡°Yes, and pretty satisfying too, I''ve been wanting to do that to that asshole for years.¡± ¡°I know the feeling. But still, even if Sakazuki had his guard down¡­ What a monster.¡± ¡°And he just turned eleven today.¡± ¡°WHAT?! Really?¡± ¡°No, I¡¯m pulling your leg.¡± Aokiji let out a sigh of relief. What kind of monster one has to be to humiliate like that one of the strongest marines while being eleven. ¡°He¡¯s actually turning seven today.¡± Aokiji¡¯s mind went nk. ¡°Surely you¡¯re joking sir! ¡° ¡°Nope.¡± ¡°He¡¯s really 7?¡± ¡°Yep.¡± Too many questions went through Aokiji¡¯s mind. ¡°It¡¯s a long story, Kuzan. A story that I will share with you but not today. And please don¡¯t say a word about him. Sakazuki has too much pride for talking about what happened, and Borsalino will soon forget it because he doesn¡¯t care.¡± ¡°Understood, sir. Now why did you want to talk about.¡± ¡°Nothing actually, I just wanted the two of you to be acquainted.¡± ¡°Why, sir?¡± ¡°Because in a few years I will put him under your care. Right now he¡¯s under Garp, I¡¯ll soon have him under Tsuru. I want him to learn different things and gain different experiences. ¡°I see. Guess I¡¯ll introduce myself then.¡± Sengoku smirked. ¡°Believe me, he already knows who you are.¡± ¡°He doesn¡¯t hurt to be introduced properly. Wait, didn¡¯t you say it was his birthday today? Should I give him something?¡± ¡°No need, Kuzan, but if you want to, something simple will do.¡± ¡°Like what?¡± Sengoku pondered for moment ¡°How about your sleeping mask? Don¡¯t forget to sign it.¡± ¡°My sleeping mask? Are you sure, sir?¡± ¡°Oh yes, I¡¯m sure. I¡¯m telling you you¡¯re in for a surprise.¡± Aokiji did as Sengoku suggested and approached Rick. ¡° Hello, I¡¯m ¡­¡± ¡°Kuzan! Also known as Aokji, the blue pheasant of the Marines!¡± ¡°You heard of me?¡± ¡°Yes! Your motto iszy justice, and you ate the Hie Hie no mi, making you an ice man!¡± ¡®Seems like I have a fan¡¯ ¡°That is correct. You know a lot about me kid.¡± ¡°I heard from my crewmates. Is it true that sometimes, you use your ice abilities to freeze the sea and then ride on your bicycle for travelling?¡± ¡°Sometimes.¡± Rick was having his action skill at full power. ¡°That¡¯s so cool!!!¡± he said stars in his eyes. ¡°Wait, can I say cool to an ice man? Is it offensive? If it is I¡¯m sorry!¡± ¡®What an interesting child.¡¯ Aokiji chuckled softly. ¡°No it¡¯s not. Well at least not to me. I can¡¯t speak for the previous and future ice men though.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll remember.¡± ¡°The Fleet admiral told me it was your birthday today, is that right?¡± ¡°It is!¡± ¡°Then here, a little gift.¡± Aokiji took his sleep mask from his head and handed it to him. ¡®OH MY GODDESS, AOKIJI SLEEPING MASK! YESSS'' Rick took the mask and reacted the way he did when Garp gifted him Sengoku¡¯s cap. ¡°I even signed it, that way no one would say it¡¯s fake.¡± Rick¡¯s eyes were even more full of stars when he heard that. He rushed to Aokiji and hugged ¡­ his leg. He may have grown in the past year but he was still 1.45m. To the 2.98m of the iceman, that was quite a difference in height. He didn¡¯t even get to half his foreleg. ¡°Thank you, Thank you, Thank you uncle ice!¡± ¡®OH MY GOODNESS, THIS KID IS FREAKING ADORABLE!¡¯ ¡°It¡¯s time for me to go kid, it was nice meeting you. ¡°Me too uncle ice!¡± said Rick excitingly. As Aokiji was about to open the door, it bursted open. Behind it were Tsuru and Garp. ¡°¡°RICK!¡±¡± ¡° Rick is over there.¡± and pointed to Rick with his thumb. ¡°Kuzan? You know Rick?¡± Aokiji smiled ¡°Yes, we just got acquainted.¡± ¡°He didn¡¯t cause trouble, right?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll let Sengoku tell you about it. I have to say I¡¯m a fan of your boy Garp. See you around! And wee back!¡± Then he left. Garp and Tsuru went to Sengoku who was working on some documents, while Rick finally put the sleep mask on his head (above his cap) and went on making tea and finished preparing the chess board. ¡°Both of you wee back.¡± ¡°¡°Thank you¡±¡± ¡°It¡¯s a shame really, had you arrived a few minutes earlier you would have been in for some fun.¡± Garp and Tsuru looked at each other and turned back to their friend. ¡°¡°What did he do?¡±¡± ~~~~~~ Garp was rolling on the groundughing hysterically, Sengoku was barely controlling his ownugh and Tsuru was face palming. She couldn¡¯t hide a little smile though. Rick was too busy on the game of chess to pay any attention to them. Sengoku really was a master strategist. Rick didn¡¯t even win once since he got initiated. ¡° OH MY GOD. The kid is too much!¡± ¡°I would have paid a lot to see Rick put Sakazuki in his ce.¡± ¡°And it would have been worth every belly, I¡¯m telling you!¡± Rick gave his grain of salt. ¡°Actually, if he wasn¡¯t so prideful he would have noticed the w in what I said.¡± ¡°Come again?¡± ¡°How did I know he was a Vice-admiral in the first ce when it was our first meeting? Because I knew who he was, obviously. How could a diehard marine fan like me not have known? Was he less prideful he would have noticed it and just retorted back. I would have lost the exchange.¡± ¡°Your trickery is getting better and better. I have to say I¡¯m proud.¡± said Sengoku. Garp wasughing even harder and Tsuru agreed with Sengoku. ~~~~~~ The three friends went to discuss the past 4 months they have been away. Itsted a few hours and it was nowte in the night. Rick was frustrated, he didn¡¯t win even once in 6 parties and Sengoku was only half in the game since he was talking with Garp and Tsuru. They finally got to thest mission they did. Tsuru was direct. ¡°Rick ate a second devil fruit.¡± Sengoku dismissed what she said as a joke. ¡°Tsuru, you shouldn¡¯t make jokes, this one was quite bad.¡± With an unusual seriousness that Sengoku knew it meant business, Garp supported her im. ¡°She wasn¡¯t joking, Sengoku¡±. Sengoku was silent for a moment. ¡°That¡¯s impossible, he wouldn¡¯t be alive if that was the case.¡± ¡°Rick?¡± ¡°Yes big sis?¡± ¡°Show him.¡± ¡°Show what?¡± ¡°Your new power.¡± ¡°Oh that?¡± Garp smacked his head ¡°Yes! That!¡± Rick grumbled but made a sprout, who bloomed into an arm, on the table. Sengoku didn¡¯t know where he was anymore. ¡®Maybe I¡¯m dreaming. Sakazuki being put in his ce and now that?, 100% a dream.¡¯ ¡°It¡¯s not a dream Sengoku?¡± ¡°But.. How ?¡± ¡°We don¡¯t know.¡± ¡°Who knows about it ?¡± ¡°Everyone in this room and Kaza.¡± ¡°Well maybe not Kaza anymore.¡± ¡°Huh ?¡± Tsuru exined the Kara episode to Sengoku. Who was dumbfounded. ¡®Cute little Kaza ? No, way!¡¯ ¡°I know what you¡¯re thinking and I¡¯m telling you : Yes way. It doesn''t matter anyway, Kaza won¡¯t tell a soul, she¡¯s loyal, and loves Rick that much.¡± ¡°Good. If some people were to know about it, Rick would be more than in trouble. Anyway it¡¯s prettyte, I guess it¡¯s time to give the birthday boy his present.¡± ¡°Really? I thought we were doing tomorrow.¡± ¡°With the crew, yes. Just with us, no.¡± Tsuru said. Meanwhile Sengoku went to a cab and took a long but slim box. ¡°Here, I heard Kazapleted your training so we thought you could use this.¡± Sengoku handed him the box. Rick was hesitant. This was a real gift. Not like the cap or the sleeping mask he got but a real, expensive, gift. Knowing that one day he would betray the marines to join the Strawhat, he felt bad. ¡°Go ahead, open it.¡± He did and found a sword inside. ¡°This.. ¡°This is a sword made by a Wano¡¯s swordsmith. Its name is Ryusei.¡± ¡°What does it mean?¡± ¡°From what the smith told me, it means meteor or in a more poetic way it means falling star.¡± Rick unsheathed the de from its ck scabbard. The de was ck in color with tinies little white dots all over it. It made him recall the sky at night. ¡°She¡¯s beautiful.¡± He didn¡¯t know what more he could say. He was speechless. ¡°It¡¯s one of the 50 skillful grade swords.¡± ¡°I.. I can¡¯t ept it.¡± ¡°Sure you can, it¡¯s your birthday gift.¡± ¡°But it¡¯s wasted on me. I just know a bit about swinging a sword that¡¯s all.¡± ¡°That¡¯s not what Kaza said.¡± ¡°No one should listen to Kaza when she talks about me, uncle.¡± ¡°That may be true, but Garp and Tsuru said the same thing.¡± Rick turned to them. Garp acted like it wasn¡¯t his concern to avoid his gaze and Tsuru had a small smile and just nodded. ¡°Are you sure? Uncle ice¡¯s gift is more than enough already.¡± ¡°Uncle ice?¡± asked Tsuru. Sengoku smiled. ¡°He meant Aokiji. He signed his sleeping mask and gave it to him.¡± Garped smacked him in the head again. ¡°Don¡¯t be rude and just ept it !¡± He was right, Rick was being rude. It was a priceless gift they gave him. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, I¡¯ll take it¡± said Rick seeing that Garp was about to smack him again. ¡°I¡¯ll train hard with it!¡± ¡°¡°¡°Good!¡±¡±¡±. The four of them talked about his new powers and how he could use it inbinaison to his gravity. Just because he should not use it in front of anyone it didn¡¯t mean that he should not train him. He could have saved his life and the life of others if he was smart about it. Rick was demonstrating his ideas of using it stealthily when the office wall giving a view to the outside exploded. ¡°SURPRISE MOTHERF*CKERS! TIME FOR PAYBACK!¡± Everyone except Rick knew who that voice belonged to. Shiki the golden lion. Chapter 19: HERE’S SHIKI!! Chapter 19: HERE¡¯S SHIKI!! ¡®^*$¨´#@<[^$¨´$* ¡® ¡®Freaking Shiki! What the hell is he doing here? Wasn¡¯t he in level 6 at Impel Down?¡¯ Tsuru was standing in front of Rick protecting him. Garp and Sengoku were already in a battle stance and were confronting the pirate. ¡°How did you escape Impel down, Shiki?¡± asked Garp. Sengoku asked the real question there. ¡°What¡¯s your purpose for attacking Marineford?¡± ¡°Well the former, I just cut my legs! Without your seastone chains I was as free as a bird, no one even noticed I wasn¡¯t in my cell anymore!¡± Shiki wasughing at his own ¡° ingenuity ¡±. By getting a good look at his legs you could see that it was no leg at all! The crazy pirate had cut them off and reced them with des! ¡°As for thetter, well it¡¯s simple. I¡¯m here to make you pay for Roger¡¯s humiliation!¡± He was clearly furious about what the marines did to Roger. Killing the greatest pirate that had ever lived in the weakest and most peaceful sea was the biggest insult for a pirate of such renown. ¡°It didn¡¯t end well for you one year ago Shiki. It would be no different tonight.¡± announced Sengoku.¡± ¡°Ha! We¡¯ll see about that!¡± Shiki charged, and Garp moved forward to intercept him. Sengoku transforms into his Buddha form. The constant exchange of blows of the three made the ind tremble. Each hit parried made a huge shockwave! ¡°Uncle looked so freaking cool!¡± ¡°Rick, now is not the time! Stay behind me!¡± With two people against one the two marines should have had the upper hand on the pirate. It was not their first fight with him and knew his fighting style well. The problem though was Shiki didn¡¯t use his usual fighting style. Normally he¡¯d float around and use the swords in his hands. Normally. Because Shiki was using his swords as legs. Or in the present case, his legs as swords! Meaning his hands were free. This was off putting Garp and Sengoku a lot. They were holding out but bit by bit injuries started to umte. They were losing terrain. They were losing the fight. The worst was Shiki floating around. They had difficulties attacking because of it. If it was just the barrage of attacks Shiki was sending to them, they would have just pulled through and smacked him like a little bitch. But everytime they did, Shiki just floated away. Tsuru wanted to join the fight but couldn¡¯t. Rick would have been unprotected. ¡°Big sis I can help!¡± ¡°You think you can join them and fight? Don¡¯t be stupid Rick, what could you do in this monster fight?¡± ¡° I won¡¯t join them big sis! I¡¯m not suicidal! But I can use my gravity , if not to pin him down, to at least restrict him. Even if not much, that could help them! Shiki won¡¯t know where this annoyance woulde from! Certainly not from a kid on the sideline! He would have to focus harder on the fight that way and won¡¯t pay attention to me! That means I¡¯d be pretty safe and you¡¯d be free to join the fray!¡± Tsuru was conflicted. This was a really good n. 3 vs 1 Shiki would have no chance but Rick would be unguarded. She made her decision, she had faith in Garp and Sengoku but before she could answer Rick surprised her. ¡°Vice-Admiral Tsuru, I¡¯m a marine before being a kid.¡± He looked at her with eyes full of determination. Tsuru froze. It was the first time she saw him like this. ¡®If this was the look he had when he tried to enroll, no wonder Garp took him in¡¯. She was proud of him, he clearly didn¡¯t belong in a fight of this level. Yet here he was, willing to do anything to stop a pirate. Even giving his life if he had to. He was not being reckless; he had a clear mind and had analyzed the situation well. How many marines could act like that after a year in the corps in this situation? Not many if not none at all. And he was only 11. She was reminded of a special Rick was. Tsuru closed her eyes and let out a sigh of resignation and eptance. ¡°Don¡¯t do anything until I¡¯m there. Try to stay hidden as much as you can.¡± Rick didn¡¯t dare to tell her that he could not. The three titans were now fighting in an open area. No cover was close enough to use his power on Shiki, he would have to be in the open. ¡°Understood, Ma¡¯am¡±. Tsuru left to join the fight at high speed and Rick tried to, but failed, to keep up with her. Since he didn¡¯t have to go as far as her, he arrived in position before she could join the fight. Tsuru finally reached them and tried to ambush Shiki to no avail. ¡°What are you doing here! What about¡­¡± yelled Garp but she interrupted him. ¡°You two idiots can¡¯t do anything right without me, besides WE have a n.¡± Garp didn¡¯t understand what she meant. They had no n at all. ¡°What are you¡­¡± ¡°NOt NOW GARP! FOCUS!¡± Sengoku had understood Tsuru¡¯s words. ¡®She said ¡°We¡±. It definitely is not Garp and me she¡¯s referring too. So it must be Rick¡¯ Sengoku was not known as the best strategist in the world for nothing. He quickly understood what the n was. Rick was too weak to participate in the fight yet he was somehow involved. ¡®But what can he do that could¡­ Oh!¡± Realization hit him. ¡® That''s a really good n, it could work!¡¯ He nodded to Tsuru to indicate that he understood. ¡°Let¡¯s go!¡± Tsuru coordinated with him, Garp as he didn¡¯t get what was going on dyed a bit but joined too. Rick waited for the four of them to really be into the fight to act. He put everything he had on his gravity and targeted Shiki. ¡®Holy shit that guy is a monster¡¯ The effects were minimal at first, Shiki didn¡¯t seem to be affected. After some time though, he was starting to slow down. The weight put on him may have been insignificant at first but the longer the fight the longer his stamina depleted. The added weight was slowly but surely taking its stoll. It was harder for him to float, and was starting to lose ground. He needed to end this fast. Rick was on the verge of copsing, since he started bothering Shiki, he had been at full throttle. It¡¯s been 10 minutes already. ¡®I need to hold on. The fight will be over soon.¡¯ Yet he had reached his limits. Blood was starting to flow from his eyes. The effort was too great. Shiki was cornered and he knew it. But luck was on his side. Garp who had finally understood what the n was saw the state Rick was in. ¡°RICK!¡± and rushed towards him. With the formation broken, Shiki didn¡¯t miss the opportunity to strike at Tsuru, the weakest. Without Garp to support her, she half-dodge the blow and was sent flying away. Garp finally reached Rick and knocked him out. Sengoku was now alone and could not do anything against Shiki who wasn¡¯t restricted anymore. But Shiki was no fool, he was too spent and did the smartest thing he could do right now: retreat. With the fight over, the marines on standby approach, ready to administer first-aid. Sengoku and Garp had many cuts and bruises but were mostly exhausted. Tsuru was exhausted too but with thest blow she took broke a few bones. Of the four marines that participated in the battle only one was in critical condition. Rick. The overuse of his abilities had left him in a very precarious situation. He was quickly transported to the infirmary. Some of his internal organs ruptured. The foul mouth doc and the other doctor on site were doing their best. They have been for thest 6 hours and they were not done. ~~~~~~ In what was left of the fleet admiral office. ¡°WHAT THE HECK GARP! WHY DID YOU BREAK THE FORMATION?!¡± Sengoku was furious! Shiki got away because of Garp¡¯s actions. ¡°ARE YOU FOR REAL? RICK WOULD HAVE DIED! HE MAY STILL DIE AS WE SPEAK!¡± ¡°UNLIKE YOU HE WAS DOING HIS JOB!¡± ¡°YOU¡¯RE REALLY GONE CRAZY SENGOKU! HE¡¯S JUST A KID! HE SHOULDN¡¯T HAVE BEEN FIGHTING TO BEGIN WITH!¡± ¡°HE¡¯S MARINE BEFORE BEING A KID!¡± Tsuru hearing those words had a bitter smile. ¡°That¡¯s what he said.¡± ¡°¡°WHAT?¡±¡± Both men turned to her. She sighed. ¡°When Rick exined the n to restrict Shiki, allowing me toe support you. I¡­ I thought it was a good n, but couldn¡¯t bring myself to go with it. I was about to tell him no but before I could he said ¡°Vice-admiral Tsuru, I¡¯m a marine before being a kid¡±¡±.. Her two friends stood in silence. ¡°I¡­ I was so proud of him at this moment. He had so much determination in his eyes. I¡­ I couldn¡¯t tell him no.¡± ¡°YOU SHOULD HAVE!¡± ¡°ENOUGH GARP! RICK ACTED LIKE A TRUE MARINE, UNLIKE YOU!¡± That shut Garp up. Sengoku rposed himself. ¡°What¡¯s done is done Garp. Am I happy with the result? Of course not! Rick is in critical condition and Shiki has gotten away. We failed! We failed because we were not strong enough! We¡¯re the ones to me for the state Rick¡¯s in.¡± ¡°You¡¯re wrong Sengoku. It¡¯s Shiki¡¯s fault.¡± ¡°Potato Po-tah-to Tsuru.¡± An ufortable silence installed itself in the room. Sengoku suddenly spoke: ¡°Garp, I want you and your crew to go after Shiki. Turn over every rock if you have too but I want you to find him. Once you do contact me and I will send Kuzan, Borsalino and Sakazuki to support you. DO NOT engage him alone!¡± ¡°Understood.¡± ¡°Tsuru I want you to go to Impel Down and tear a new one to the one to let Shiki escape without even knowing about it. While you there I want you to check on everything that¡¯scking and reinforce the system. We can¡¯t have another prisoner escape! One escapee is already one too many! Once you¡¯re done I want you back here.¡± Tsuru nodded. ¡°I¡¯ll keep you posted on Rick¡¯s condition everyday, now go.¡± Garp and Tsuru left for their respective mission. Sengoku started to deal with the paperwork Shiki¡¯ visit caused. All three of them had one thing in mind. Rick. Chapter 20: Did someone get the number of that ship? Chapter 20: Did someone get the number of that ship? Rick was waking up, he could hear some voices around. ¡°He¡¯s waking up, call the Fleet Admiral and tell him the news¡± ¡°Yes doctor.¡± He opened his eyes. His vision was blurry but it went back to normal pretty quick. Or not, since someone had the bright idea to put a light directly before his left then right eyes. ¡®OW! Who the fuck¡­ That¡¯s not how you¡¯re supposed to do things, Who¡¯s that quack?¡¯ ¡°Wee back among the living you little shit.¡± ¡®Oh! It¡¯s him¡­ Of course it¡¯s him...¡® Rick was trying to sit up, his vision back to normal. His throat was sore. You could hear the tardiness in his voice. ¡°Wa.. Wa...ter.¡± ¡°Here, take it slow.¡± The doc was holding the cup and was making Rick drink. He clearly was too weak to do anything right now. Even something as simple as picking up a cup a drink. The door opened and Sengoku came in. ¡°Hey!¡± he said. Rick hey-ed him back. ¡°Did someone get the number of that ship? Oh, never mind I remember it was 5348494b49.¡± was said with difficulty. ¡°I was going to ask you how you were doing but¡­¡± ¡°One look at me did the job.¡± ¡°Yeah.¡± ¡°Fleet admiral, he just woke up. You have five minutes no more.¡± ¡°Alright. I¡¯ll call Garp and Tsuru to tell them you¡¯re awake.¡± ¡°How¡­ How¡­ Long was I¡­¡± ¡° A month and a half .¡± ¡°Aw, Shit.¡± ¡°You little shit! Do you know how lucky you are? Thanks to your body healing so fast you¡¯re still alive! Anyone else would have been long dead!¡± ¡°How¡­ Bad ?¡± ¡°The only organs which were not ruptured were your skin and your eproductive ones. Nice package for a little shit by the way.¡± ¡°Totally¡­. Inappropriate ¡­ Doc.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t care. What are you gonna do about it anyway?¡± Sengoku was trying not tough.¡± Feeling himself go Rick closed his eyes and went back to sleep. ~~~~~ Another week had passed, Ha had a rythme. Awake for a few minutes then asleep for hours. His waking time was getting longer and his sleeping one shorter. The doc was pissed because even for a devil fruit user, Rick was healing too fast. The doc was frustrated because he didn¡¯t know why. ¡®That¡¯s vegapunk research for you Doc!¡¯ Vice-admiral Tsuru was back from Impel Down. When she got there she saw the Chief Wardenzing around without any care in the world. She was so pissed she threw him down to level 6. In Shiki''s former cell to make him understand why he was there. She nominated the vice-warden Magen as the chief warden who in turn, nominated Hannyabal to take his previous position. She reinforced the majority of the security system. Level after Level. One day she got a call from Sengoku telling her that Rick was awake. She left some orders to Magen and left immediately back to HQ. She¡¯s been here for three days and never left Rick¡¯s bedside. In one of his ¡°awake¡± moments, he asked her if she had any sleep. ¡°Don¡¯t worry about me.¡± He joked that he could move a bit and share the bed then was out again. ~~~~~~ Two weekster, he was sleeping normal hours. The doc was pulling his own hair in frustration. After testing everything he couldn¡¯t tell why Rick was healing so fast. In the end he just gave up saying his famous words. ¡°You know what ? I¡¯m too old for this shit. I don¡¯t give a damn anymore.¡± Garp was finally back; the ship was not yet into the port that he jumped andnded on the Ind, he ignored Brannew and quickly ran towards the infirmary. There he found Tsuru and Sengoku sitting and enjoying tea while discussing with Rick. ¡°Wee back Grandpa.¡± ¡°Hey Rick! How are you doing.¡± ¡°I¡¯m doing great! Would be doing better if someone would let me out of bed so I could stretch a bit¡±. He was ring at Tsuru who had a little smirk. ¡°I¡¯m not letting you get up from this bed until the doc says you can.¡± Garpughed. ¡°I hope you didn¡¯t try.¡± ¡°I¡¯m injured grandpa, not stupid. I don¡¯t want to end up like you did that night.¡± Sengokuughed at that. Garp being used as a mop to clean the floor will forever be one of the funniest things he had the chance to witness. ¡° What about Captain Kaza? Why am I not being suffocated right now ?¡± ¡°Yeah, about that....¡± Garp was being contrite. ¡°Don¡¯t tell me you chained her from head to toe and gagged her?¡± ¡°Wait! How do you know?¡± was astonished ¡°Wait! You really did?¡± and Rick had an incredulous look, he was joking! ¡°¡°GARP!¡±¡± ¡°Oi! You have no idea how scary she is now. Thanks to Tsuru¡¯s teaching she has turned into a demoness. I was not enough to restrict her! 10 of my men had to help!¡± Sengoku had a satisfied face. ¡°You taught her well Tsuru, congrattions.¡± ¡°Of course! She¡¯s the most outstanding student I ever had, she makes me proud¡±. ¡°Don¡¯t be smug, right now she¡¯s terrorizing everyone on the ship!¡±. It was fine, Rick knew how to deal with her. ¡°Grandpa is there a den den mushi on the ship?¡± ¡°Yes, there is why.¡± ¡°Call it, I¡¯m going to take care of the captain. Tell them to bring her the den den mushi, but to not release her.¡± Garp did what Rick asked and handed him the den den mushi. ¡°Hello! Big Sis ? it¡¯s Rick, I¡¯m just calling to tell you I¡¯m doing fine. grandpa told me that you were scaring everyone on the ship, but I don¡¯t believe it. There is no way that the person I look up the most for her professionalism would be acting so disappointingly. I¡¯ll be discharged soon and if I hear that grandpa was telling the truth, not only will I not speak to you for a while, but I will not go with just you on a walk. So I really hope grandpa is just joking with me. Bye. Rick was done and gave back the den den mushi to Garp who started asking questions. ¡°So, How is he now ?¡± The marine on the other side of the call answered. ¡°I don¡¯t know what Rick said to her sir, but she stopped struggling. She¡­ She just has a very satisfying face right, now. Full of glee.¡± ¡°Good. Release her.¡± ¡°Are you sure, sir?¡± ¡°Yes, yes she¡¯s inoffensive now. You can let her go¡±. He hung up and looked at Rick speechless. ¡°You owe me big time grandpa.¡± ¡°I guess I do.¡± Sengoku was dumbfounded. ¡°What just happened?¡± Tsuru wasughing at him. ¡°You just witnessed the greatest crook in the marines corps in action.¡± ~~~~~~ Rick wasn¡¯t being discharged but was allowed to wheel himself outside. Kaza took the opportunity to smother him in her bosom. ¡®You can say whatever you want about how crazy the Captain is, her pillows are heavenly! Big and soft, perfect!¡¯ Long gone were his gentleman¡¯s thoughts of ¡® Motorboarding is inappropriate¡¯. It¡¯s not like Kaza minded anyway, quite the contrary. They did have a long walk in Marineford vige. ¡®She¡¯s really cute when she¡¯s not acting all crazy¡¯. When it was time for Rick to head back he kissed her on the cheek. She fainted. Too much happiness had overloaded her brain which shut itself down. He tried to wake her up but had no sess. Finally, he just left her there and wheeled himself back to the infirmary. Chapter 21: I’m gonna make him an offer he can’t refuse. Chapter 21: I¡¯m gonna make him an offer he can¡¯t refuse. The sun had already set and Garp¡¯s crew were worried. Their captain left a few hours ago to take Rookie Rick on a walk but never came back. Some were already specting what happened to her. ¡°Maybe she lost it for good and kidnapped Rick?¡± said one ¡°Had him chained somewhere and is currently abusing him.¡± said another. ¡°Oi! It¡¯s Captain Kaza we¡¯re talking about! There is no wa¡­.¡± said a third and then paused.¡± Everyone went silent. ¡°We should call Vice-admiral Garp and ask about Rick¡¯s safety.¡± They all nodded. Maybe it¡¯s because they had spend years together or by some kind of magic but once again all of them thought the same thing: ¡°¡°¡°¡°I hope Rick is okay.¡±¡±¡±¡± ~~~~~~ Finally Garp was back on the ship with Kaza. When his subordinates called and told him of the situation with his captain he told them that Rick went back safely to the infirmary. As for Kaza¡¯s well being? ¡°Don¡¯t care, she¡¯s a big girl.¡± It was when Tsuru and he walked back from Sengoku¡¯s house that they found her on the floor. She was sprawled like a cat and was apparently having a good dream since she had a big smile full of glee and kept repeating the words ¡± I do! I do!¡±. Garp started walking again,pletely ignoring her when Tsuru caught his ear and pulled it. ¡°Garp, she¡¯s your captain! You can¡¯t leave her like that.¡± ¡°HA! Watch me!¡± She pulled harder. ¡°Alright! Alright! Stop pulling damnit, I¡¯ll look like a buddha.¡± ¡°Well you¡¯ll have a thing inmon with Sengoku then.¡± ¡°Not happening!¡± He picked his captain up and went back to his ship. He was nning to just drag her but a cold stare from Tsuru dissuaded him. ~~~~~~~ It was finally the time for Rick to be discharged. They had nned a party for it and for his birthday as they didn¡¯t get to celebrate it. They partied all night and except Tsuru everyone was dead drunk, Rick included. Kaza had offered him earrings in the shape of a falling star. She knew about Ryusei and wanted to stay on the star theme. The earring wasn¡¯t for the ear lobes though. You wore them over the Helix and Scapha of the ear. They were made of steel and had a dark silver color. When Garp had proposed a toast and saw that his grandson had a cup of water and not a mug of rum he pped it out of this hands ¡°You proved yourself to be a true marine! No water for you when we celebrate! ¡°GARP! HE¡¯S UNDERAGE!¡± Yelled Tsuru ¡°Wasn''t it you and Sengoku that said he¡¯s a marine before he¡¯s a kid? Besides my ship, my rules! And my rule is: when we celebrate no marine shall drink water! Don¡¯t like it? Then you can get the hell out of my ship!¡± Garp was already inebriated . Surprisingly Kaza didn¡¯t say anything. She even was the one who brought Rick a mug of rum with a cheshire cat-like smile. Rick felt a chill down his pine. ¡®I should not drink this, I should definitely not drink this. THERE IS NO WAY I¡¯M DRINKING THIS!¡¯ Too bad for him, Garp took the mug and made him drink everything to thest drop. ~~~~~~~~ Rick woke up without, surprisingly, a hangover. He didn¡¯t want to open his eyes, he was enjoying too much the heavenly feeling that was against his cheek ¡®That must be the nicest pillow I ever had. Not too soft or too firm, just really well bnced. I don¡¯t know to whom it belongs, but they can say goodbye to them, it¡¯s my pillow now, all mine.¡¯ He then moved his head further into those perfect pillows when he heard a small moan. His eyes shot open full of panic. ¡®....¡¯ His mind waspletely nk, he recognized that moan and realized what this pillow was and more importantly whom it belonged to. With a trembling hand he grabbed the sheet and looked under it. Relief gained him. ¡®I still have my clothes on. Thanks to the Goddess!¡¯ And let the sheet drop before lifting it back up. He was sleeping on top of Kaza and from what his body didn¡¯t hide she waspletely N.AK.E.D. ¡®I need to get out of here before she wakes up and finishes the job!¡¯ Thanks to Tsuru¡¯s training his agility was top level and got out of bed without waking his captain up. He still had the sheet in his hand though. And the view that awaited him was spectacr! ¡®Holy shit! That¡¯s what she looks like under this ugly marine uniform?¡¯ He was almost drooling. ¡®Damn! Maybe I should stop fighting her?¡¯ He thought about it for a while then shook his head. ¡®No, no. If I do that, I¡¯d end up cored and chained to a bed.¡¯ Would it really be that bad? (Author¡¯s note: Oi narrator! Keep your fetishes to yourself! Besides Rick is still a young and innocent kid. Now readers, you know what this story is NOT about ! Let¡¯s do it together! *Wave of hand* This is not the story you¡¯re looking for.) Rick put back the sheet on her. He was about to leave, when he turned back and kissed her on the forehead. ¡®Thanks for the earrings, captain.¡¯ Kaza let another moan escape and whispered his name. She stirred a bit. Rick sped out the door. He arrived on deck. Dead drunk bodies were all over. ¡®That really was one hell of a party.¡¯ he smiled. He remembered little of what happened. But the little he did? Priceless! He yawned. Still tired he decided to go back to sleep. Not to Kaza obliviously. ¡®I wonder if I can sneak into Tsuru¡¯s room?¡¯ ~~~~~~ Rick, Garp and Tsuru were in Sengoku¡¯s office that had long been rebuilt since Shiki destroyed part of it. It was for marine business. Rick was wearing his marine uniform. Ryusei was on his side and on his head he was wearing Sengoku¡¯s cap where he put Aokiji¡¯s sleeping mask, his ears were adorned with the earrings Kaza¡¯s gifted him. Sengoku spoke up: ¡°I have good news and bad news. The good news is, Rick you¡¯ve been promoted to Master Chief Petty Officer. The outstanding job you did since the past year should have earned you the rank of Seaman Apprentice. However in front of a several times more powerful enemy, you demonstrated qualities way superior to what a Seaman Apprentice should be capable of. If it were up to me I would have promoted you to ensign already, but because of my rtionship with you I¡¯m not allowed to do that. Any high rank officer starting from the rank of Ensign can rmend a marine for one. Kaza, Garp, Tsuru and I all rmended you. Your actions against Shiki spread in all the marines corps. Many officers rmended you too. Now to get a promotion only someone at the rank of Vice- admiral or above can give one. Tsuru, Garp and I can''t authorize it for obvious reasons. The only ones left having the authority to do so are Kuzan, Borsalino and Sakazuki.¡± Rick frowned. ¡°Let me guess Sakazuki opposed it?¡± ¡°You¡¯re correct, I won¡¯t even bother to tell you what he said, but it was not nice. Kuzan refused citing ¡°conflict of interest¡±. ¡°Wait! You mean Borsalino authorized it?¡± ¡°Yes. He said, and I¡¯m quoting here: ¡° The kid is strong, got guts and he¡¯s smart. Plus I like the way he messed with Shiki that was both sneaky and vicious. I like that.¡±¡± Rick was speechless. ¡°However he only authorized the promotion up to Master Chief Petty officer, iming it was not good to skip too many ranks at once and that you¡¯re still a bit too young to fully understand and be burdened with the responsibilities of being Ensign.¡± ¡°Well he¡¯s not wrong, until now I just followed orders. I don¡¯t think I¡¯m ready to lead or be responsible for the lives of others. ¡° ¡°It is nice to see that you are aware of your limitations. Anyway Congrattions!¡± he said with a big smile. Garp ¡°patted¡± him on the back and Tsuru ruffled his hair. Bth congratted him. Sengoku spoke up again. ¡°Now for the bad news: We got a lead on Shiki.¡± Garp was surprised, for months he sailed after the Golden Lion but didn¡¯t find anything. ¡°Well it¡¯s good, right? Why is it bad news?¡± asked Rick. ¡°Shiki have been seen in the New World. Garp I want you to give him chase.¡± Tsuru frowned. ¡°Sengoku, Rick is not strong enough to go to the New World.¡± ¡°I know, the bad news is that Rick won¡¯t go with you Garp.¡± ¡°WHAT?¡± ¡°Rick will join Tsuru¡¯s crew for a while. I was nning on doing it anyway, Shiki or not. I want him to experience different leadership.¡± ¡°If it¡¯s Tsuru, it¡¯s fine then.¡± ¡°I was thinking of Aokiji, to have a radical change but he¡¯s currently on a secret mission with Sakazuki.¡± The meeting ended and before leaving rick asked ¡°innocently¡±: ¡°Wait! Does that mean I finally can share a room with big sis?¡± At that point Rick felt closer to Garp like never before. Because for the first time, He was used as a mop by Tsuru. ~~~~~ Rick had to promise another walk with Kaza to stop her from rampaging. He could see behind her a dozen marines armed with chains ready to neutralize her if she did. Once the Kaza-Bomb was defused they quickly hid the chains and went back to their chores as if nothing ever happened and their captain none the wiser. Everything went well in the end. Garp owed favors to Rick increased by one though. They have been sailing for about a year, doing what marines do, catching pirates and bringing order and peace. One day amotion on the deck caught Rick¡¯s attention. They just receive the new wanted posters. One in particr was heavily discussed. Nico Robin the demon child, wanted dead or alive for having sunk six marines ships. Reward 79 millions Belly. ¡®So the tragedy of Ohara finally happened¡¯. ¡°How can an 8 years old child sink 6 marines ships ?¡± Tsuru raised an eyebrow. ¡°Does it really surprise you?¡± ¡°Well, yeah.¡± ¡°And yet can¡¯t you do it too?¡± ¡°Yes but I have been trained to.¡± ¡°The world is vast Rick, you¡¯ll many impossible things actually happening or being true.¡± ¡°I see...¡± Tsuru sighed. ¡°If I knew what that girl could do I would have arrested her.¡± Rick remembered what she said about a girl with the same power as him when he got the Me Me no mi, but still asked. ¡°You know her?¡± ¡°Remember when you.... Scare both Garp, Kaza and I when you captured that 50 million belly Pirates more than a year ago?¡± She caught herself before revealing the existence of his second devil fruit. ¡°Yes, wait! It¡¯s that girl?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°From that picture she doesn¡¯t seem like a criminal to me. She¡¯s more like¡­ a very frightened child?¡± ¡°Evil can take many forms Rick, never forget that.¡± Rick nodded. ¡®Ohhhhh! How right you are Tsuru. How right you are¡¯. Chapter 22: Hail to the king baby Chapter 22: Hail to the king baby It¡¯s been three years now that Rick was ced under Tsuru¡¯smand. He was stunned at first with the difference of leadership between Garp and her. She was a lot stricter than Garp, if he was ever strict. There was no talking back orders or anything. What she said, went. It was as simple as that. There was no funny business on her ship. ¡®So this is the real marine experience. I would never have known that had I stayed with Garp.¡¯ Even though Rick missed the antics of his former crew, he enjoyed his new one. The camaraderie was still present. What he liked the most was the order on the ship. They were on their way back to Marineford. Have been there for 18 months. He was longing for time with Sengoku and his lesson about strategy. He still didn¡¯t get one single win from him at chess. His return at HQ was not the only reason Rick was excited. After trying his best and hardest he finally got the 50K karma points needed to by the imperfect body V 2.0. Actually, thanks to hisst mission he now had 65K Karma points. Meaning, he will live! It was not easy though. He only had two months left of life. Since he didn¡¯t really know how the system changed his body, he waited to be in his room and at night to make the change. Rick opened the system store and searched for what he wanted. [Imperfect body V2] 50 000 Karma points He bought it but wanted to look for something else first. He opened the devil fruit tab and started scrolling then stopped. ¡®The description of the imperfect body said that it allowed the user to use multiple devil fruit but never specified how many.¡¯ Not wanting to test it as the failure would mean death, he was thinking about just buying it and keeping it when he¡¯ll know more about it. ¡°Still he doesn¡¯t hurt to take a look.¡± He filtered his search for devil fruit under 15k Karma points, and read the list. ¡®The Mini Mini no mi has not been eaten by anyone yet ?That would be useful for Shiraoshi, her giant size makes her an easy target. Let¡¯s take it.¡¯ After buying the devil fruit, Rick was left with 3k Karma points. He switched to his status window. There wasn¡¯t any stat here. On one panel he could see his good deeds he did and the Karma points he earned for it. A second one indicated what he bought in the store and hasn¡¯t used yet. Thest one was showing his actual status. -[Imperfect body V 1] -[Zushi Zushi no mi] -[Me Me no mi] -[Imperfect body V 0] ¡®Imperfect body V0 ? What is that? Even though the name was greyed out, meaning not active anymore, Rick could still see the description. [Imperfect body V 0] Description: Originally named ¡°Enhanced body¡±. First tentative of Doctor Vegapunk to create a body enabling the use of multiple devil fruits. Normal human body modified by Doctor Vegapunk. Faster growth and lowest rank of regeneration. Can use Haki Life expectancy 15 years. Because it needed too many test subjects, Doctor Vegapunk chose to create himself the bodies. That gave birth to the Imperfect boddy series. Since the Enhanced body was the foundation of the Imperfect body series, Doctor Vegapunk renamed it Imperfect body V 0. ¡®So my original body was a failed project of Vegapunk? And It can use Haki? Howe the Imperfect body series can¡¯t use it anymore then? Does ite from the possibility of using multiple devil fruits?¡¯ Rick thought about it for a while but then gave up. ¡®Unless I ask Vegapunk himself or get to read his research I won¡¯t know.¡¯ Then had a stupid idea. He opened the store and started a search under the term ¡°Vegapunk¡±. ¡®The store has everything the world of One Piece has. So maybe I can find Vegapunk¡¯s research.¡¯ And he did. [Imperfect body series research] 2000 Karma Points ¡®Good I have enough.¡¯ He bought the item and started reading. The research was quite detailed and answered the two questions Rick had. First the reason why the imperfect body allowed the use of two devil fruits at the maximum. ¡®So , there is a limit, good thing I didn¡¯t bought and ate a third¡¯ ¡®So basically every living being has a soul contained in a vessel, the body. When someone eats a devil fruit they fill their body with a part of the devil of seas¡¯ soul since apparently the soul does not take all the space.. Eating a second devil fruit makes the vessel ¡±overflow¡± meaning: explode. Since the imperfect bodies are not naturally but artificially made, they have no soul, they can house two parts of the sea devil¡¯s soul. Vegapunk discovered that fact when he tried to breed the artificial bodies. He impregnated a normal woman with the seed of an artificial male and impregnated an artificial female with the seed of a normal man. Both children could use Haki and only eat one devil fruit. When he tried to breed artificial bodies together, they could not use Haki but could eat two devil fruits. This discovery helped him understand why his creations could not use Haki. Haki is born from will power that exists because of the Ego. ording to vegapunk the Ego is the proof of existence of a living being itself; in other words: the ¡°soul¡±. Since the artificial bodies were mindless dolls and had no will, Vegapunk theorized that they could not use Haki because they had no will and had no will because they had no Ego /soul. Descartes was right : Cogito, ergo sum. I think therefore I am.¡¯ Since the children born of one artificial parent could use Haki it meant they had a soul. So a soul creates soul(s).¡¯ Rick stopped his train of thought. ¡®Damn Vegapunk is a nasty bastard. What he did ispletely amoral, hical and totally against nature. I¡¯ll have to take care of him, the karma I would get would be enormous I bet.¡¯ Even though he had found the answers he looked for, two questions popped in his mind. ¡®Why can I use two devil fruits? I mean when the goddess sends me into a world she¡¯s actually sending my soul. I should have exploded when I ate the Me Me no mi. And why can¡¯t I use Haki?¡¯ Despite the description from imperfect body V1 stating that the body could not use Haki Rick did still try without any sess. ¡®Is it because my soul does not originate from the One Piece world? It can use the body but is notpletely tuned to it or something like that? That would prevent me from using Haki?¡¯ Rick read thest part of the research. ¡®So Vegapunk is theorizing that by either strengthening or expanding the vessel it would be possible to eat a third devil fruit? Maybe even more? And he¡¯s been trying to create an artificial soul to allow Haki to be used ? That¡¯s insane!¡¯ He had enough; he needed to rest, this was too muchplex information at once. He used the imperfect body V2. and went to sleep ¡®At least now I have 20 more years to live.¡¯ ~~~~~~ While Rick was sleeping soundly. In East blue amon event was happening. A young woman was holding in her arms a new born baby boy and had a tired smile. ¡° Dear, did you already think of a name for him ?¡± she said to the man by her side. ¡°Of course I did.¡± and went to whisper it in her ear. ¡°What do you think?¡± ¡°I love it!¡± She looked at her sleeping son. She was rocking him gently. ¡°Wee to the family Monkey D. Luffy.¡± Chapter 23: Lacrymosa Chapter 23: Lacrymosa ¡°Tsuru, Rick! Good to have you back!¡± Sengoku weed them in his office. ¡°Sengoku.¡± ¡°Uncle!¡± ¡°So, Tsuru, tell me, how did the youngest Master Chief Petty Officer in the marines do hisst 18 months?¡± ¡°He performed outstandingly.¡± ¡°Good!¡± He turned to Rick. ¡°So what did you learn?¡± ¡°A lot of things actually. Like how to properly lead a crew for once.¡± Sengokuughed at that. ¡°Please don¡¯t tell grandpa!¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry I won¡¯t.¡± Tsuru gave Sengoku a pile of files ¡°Here the reports from the past 18 months.¡± ¡°Wait, we have written reports? Rick was astonished. ¡°Of course, How do you think we can keep up with information from all over the world?¡± ¡°Grandpa didn¡¯t have any everytime he brought me here!¡± ¡°And that¡¯s why I put you under Tsuru, Garp is not really the best marine when it¡¯s not about fighting or motivating troops.¡± ¡°He¡¯s actually one of the worst regarding paperwork¡± chided Tsuru ¡°Then how.. Captain Kaza?¡± ¡°Right Kaza.¡± ¡°She really must have it hard.¡± ¡°That she does.¡± he sighed. ¡°She is properlypensated though, despite being a captain she has the sry of a rear admiral. But keep that to yourself.¡± ¡°Anyway Sengoku, any new mission for us.¡± ¡°Of course there is. There are always troubles somewhere in the globe. I won¡¯t give you any new one though, at least not right now. I¡¯m giving you two weeks vacation.¡± ¡°Two weeks?¡± ¡°Sengoku that¡¯s too much¡±. ¡°Yes it is, but Garp ising back by the end of the week, and I don¡¯t want any problem.¡± ¡°I know grandpa is wild but I don¡¯t think he¡¯ll do anything worse than throw a fit.¡± said Rick frowning. ¡°Oh that¡¯s not Garp I¡¯m worried about¡­¡± Tsuru and Rick looked at each other then back to Sengoku. ¡°¡°Kaza¡±¡± ¡°Yes. Garp called and told me things¡­ well, Rick you better spend some time with her okay ?¡± Sengoku was almost pleading. Rick closed his eyes and sighed. ¡°Okay. But you know, one day I will cash in all those favors I¡¯m owed. I hope you and Grandpa will be able to pay.¡± Sengoku had a wry smile. ~~~~~~ Garp finally arrived before having the chance to talk to his grandson, he was Kaza running away with him. Three years without seeing was too much for her. She held it in as best as she could but the moment the shipnded at the base all hell broke loose. She was promised a walk and she wanted it now! By the time Rick got back to Sengoku¡¯s office he was exhausted. The trio when they saw his face went into aughing fit. Even Tsuru. Garp was rolling on the ground hitting it with his face. Sengoku had the tead he was drinking. Rick¡¯s face was covered in lipstick. No corners were spared. He had a murderous re in his eyes. ¡°YOU. OWE. ME. BIG TIME!¡± ~~~~~ Finally, Tsuru and Rick departed for their new mission, not before Kaza coerced him into a real date. ¡®I know I look like a 15 years old but I¡¯m eleven for f*cks sake! Why is no one locking that shotacon up?!¡¯ Their destination ? North blue. Some conflict between pirates was happening there. They were ordered to lock everyone up. During the journey Rick kept practicing with Ryusei. He was not a talented swordsman but was better than the average marine with it. He mainly used it to help him focus when he was using his gravity. By pinpointing a location his aim has gotten better and his abilities were less taxing for his mind and body. He could have done it with his finger but he thought he was ridiculous doing it. ¡®It would be great if I awaken my Zushi Zushi no mi. I could imbue my gravity into Ryusei and make gravity shes. Let¡¯s not forget the possibility to directly change the maic field of an object instead of using mine to change it. Can¡¯t wait to make meteors attract objects or repel them, falling down from down the sky. Maybe I can even make a ck hole?¡¯ Rick was dreaming the impossible but he didn¡¯t care, he just kept on training. ~~~~~~ In another part of the world. Three sisters were being held by ves traders. They were being sold to someone noble or so they guessed since the prize for each one of them was in the million range. They were cruising on a civilian ship when it was attacked by the traders. Everyone who was not killed was handcuffed and an explosive cor put on them. The door of their dark cells opened. ¡°Congrattions girls! You¡¯ve been bought by gods!¡± The eldest took the front, trying to protect her little sisters but to no avail. They were dragged by the chain link to their cor. Finally they were led to a room with a man sitting in front of a furnace burning and a pillory in the center of the room. The eldest was the first one to go. They locked her in the pillory and ripped her shirt off. The man stood up, took the iron rod that was heating in the furnace and approached the girl¡¯s back. The girl screams with all her strength from pain. The man had applied the rod on her back then once the work was done lifted it. Onto the very flesh of the girl¡¯s back... Was burned a mark in the shape of a hoof. Chapter 24: Rock you like a hurricane Chapter 24: Rock you like a hurricane Rick sailed two more years with Tsuru. Once again they were in Sengoku¡¯s office presenting their reports. This time though, he wasn¡¯t alone. ¡°Uncle nice!¡± yelled Rick when he saw Aokiji! ¡°Uncle nice? I thought I was uncle ice.¡± raised an eyebrow. ¡°Well yes you are, but you¡¯re nice too and in nice there is ice so¡­¡± Aokijiughed ¡°You have the worst naming sense ever kid.¡± ¡°Really? Uncle Buddha neverined.¡± ¡°Actually Rick¡­¡± started Sengoku, but couldn¡¯t finish his sentence. The look of betrayal on the young marine stopped him dead in his tracks. ¡°Ahem, actually Rick, if you don¡¯t mind I would like to talk business first.¡± Tsuru and Aokiji both thought: ¡°¡°Nice save Sengoku.¡±¡± They all sat down in a corner of the office. ¡°Tsuru reported 6 months ago to me that she¡¯ll give you a small number of marines to make and lead a team. Is that right?¡± ¡°Yes, sir. I¡¯ve been leading a 3 marines team.¡± ¡°Tsuru was very vague about it, can you tell me more?¡± Rick was astonished. ¡°Really?¡± He looked at Tsuru. ¡°That¡¯s not like you to not report something like that bis sis, how so?¡± ¡° When you were with Garp, Kaza was doing the reports, with me, I was doing it. I wanted you to learn how to do it and to see how you¡¯ll fare without any guidance. So go on.¡± He nodded. ¡°Sir, for the past six months I¡¯ve been leading a three man team. We specialized in scouting, gathering information and ambush. Each one of us depended on the other as each was clearly more proficient at one thing than the two others. I specialized in the ambush part. Once Morgan had gathered enough intel on the target, Chuck went scouting the area. Once he was done I nned how to ambush them based on their numbers, abilities and the terrain. If their number was too high for us, or their abilities unknown or too problematic or the terrain not favorable for an ambush, we called Vice-Admiral Tsuru for reinforcements. For the past six months the team seeded in eight missions in total. 5 of them were done alone. Zero failure. The biggest target apprehended was a pirate named Two skulls for the two skulls he was wearing around his neck. His bounty was 25 million belly.¡± Sengoku stayed silent. He was pondering something. ¡°Tsuru, Kuzan, what do you think?¡± They both looked at each other and Kuzan nodded. ¡°Excellent report. Rick went straight to the point for every information he had to report on. It was short and concise. The only thing I would''ve done differently was to report first about the team sess and then talk about how the team operated.¡± It was Aokiji¡¯s turn. ¡°Vice-admiral Tsuru is right. Rick when you do a report the first thing you must do is bring out the results. Everyday hundreds of reportse in, we can¡¯t have the people reading them spend time reading everything to get the information they want.¡± ¡°Why make a full report then?¡± aske Rick. Sengoku spoke up ¡°Because we still need the details. Having the results put first in the report allows the one reading to react fast. Can you imagine it? Hundreds of reports of a few pages everyday? If they had to read everything to get to know the results they would be years behind the report of today. There are two teams assigned to analyze the reports. The first one, read the results and decide which once is important enough to readpletely or not. A report about Shiki? Straight to the second team that studies the report in detail. A report about a two belly pirate crew terrorizing a vige? Reading the how, when and where about it is not important.¡± ¡°So by putting the results of the mission first, the team in charge of the reports can more easily filter the information decreasing the reaction time if new orders need to be given immediately.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°Well that makes sense.¡± ¡°Years and years of experience.¡± Rick had a disappointed face. ¡°Don¡¯t be disappointed Rick. My first report wasn¡¯t nearly as good as yours.¡± Said Aokiji ¡°Really?¡± ¡°Yes¡± Tsuru spoke up ¡°Mine was too detailed. I wrote 15 pages just for a pirate crew kidnapping a noble. I got an earful ¡­ I¡¯ll never forget it.¡± ¡°What about you uncle?¡± Sengoku just smirked ¡°Who do you think invented this system ?¡± ¡°No way!¡± ¡°Yes way! As for Gar, his first report was something like that. ¡° I came, I saw the pirates, I beat them up.¡± Rickughed ¡°I¡¯m surprised grandpa even wrote a report at all!¡± That¡¯s sprung hrity to everyone present in the room. ~~~~~~ At the same time somewhere in the new World. Achoo!! ¡°Someone is talking about you sir!¡± ¡°Nah, I must have caught a cold.¡± ¡°Impossible sir, idiots don¡¯t get sick.¡± ¡°Oi! Kaza!¡± ~~~~~~ Back to Marineford. ¡°I have read the reports of your two teammate about you, Rick. I have to say I¡¯m pleased.¡± Rick was d to hear this news¡­. For two seconds. ¡°They were correctly done.¡± Aokiji burst outughing and Tsuru had a little smile trying to contain her own. Sengoku had the biggest smirk Rick ever saw him having. ¡°Uncle!¡± he protested. ¡°What ? It¡¯s true! That aside, they were bothudatory. Both of them stated that they wouldn¡¯t have any problems if you were their direct superior. Tsuru anything to add?¡± ¡°No. You were outstanding Rick. Out of the five solo missions your team did, for two of them I thought you would have called reinforcements. Yet you analyzed the situation perfectly and did it on your own with your teammates.¡± ¡°A drastic difference to your very first mission¡±. Rick remembered, he almost died back then. ¡°I swore to never repeat the mistakes I made that day.¡± ¡°Good thinking. Learning from your mistakes will help you stay alive. Now from the other business. Actually, that is why Kuzan is here. Starting from now, you will be under hismand and act mainly on the Grand Line. Your first mission is to help the royalty of the kingdom of basta. In the past two years, three attempts to kidnap the princess of the kingdom happened. All failed thanks to the royal guard. They can protect the princess but they don¡¯t have enough manpower to both guard her and track down the group after her. That¡¯s where youe in.¡± ¡°I track them down, and arrest them then.¡± ¡°Yes, but you may have to also help keep the princess safe. As for why you¡¯re now under Kuzan.¡± ¡°To gain a different perspective in leadership?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°Kuzan you should leave within the week, it is not quite an urgent matter, but still it¡¯s royalty.¡± Aokiji nodded. ¡° Last thing on the agenda Rick. Tsuru is giving you a rmendation for the rank of Ensign.¡± Rick turned to Tsuru. ¡°Really?¡± She nodded. ¡°Yes. The only thing you wereckingst time, your age aside, was experience in leadership. You proved to be a capable leader, so there is no reason to not rmend you.¡± ¡°Tsuru¡¯s reports on you for thest three years will be sent to Borsalino. I¡¯m optimistic about his answer.¡± Rick smiled. He would be the youngest marine ever reaching that rank at the age of 13. Well not officially since for the marines corps Rick was 17. You couldn¡¯t tell just by looking that he was in his early teens. He was around 1m83 ( 6 feet) with a good build. No one would believe he¡¯s only 13. Officially he tied with a previous marine. It was Kaza. She too was promoted to Ensign at 17. If it wasn¡¯t proof enough of herpetence, it took her only six years to reach the rank of Captain at 23 (5 rank above Ensign and only 3 ranks below Vice-Admiral) breaking the previous record too. ¡°By the way Garp will arrive in two days and now that the business talk is over let me make some more tea and discuss about anything but work.¡± Sengoku stood up and went to make a new pot. Rick, hearing that Garp will be back in two days, remembered that he had promised a date to Kaza the next time they met. He recalled how thest ¡°walk¡± with her went. ¡®Yeah, I''m not doing it. There¡¯s no way I¡¯m doing it.¡¯ He leaned over Aokiji and whispered to him. ¡°Uncle nice, are you willing to mess with uncle buddha and Grandpa?¡± Tsuru was close enough to hear and frowned. Aokiji was silent, thinking about it. ¡°I¡¯m listening.¡± Rick told him the situation and how to do it. The Vice-admiralughed. ¡°I like it, let¡¯s do it!¡± Quickly they got up and sneaked outside the office without Sengoku noticing. When the Fleet Admiral came back with a new fresh pot of tea, he was surprised that only Tsuru was left. He served her and himself then asked. ¡°Where did the two of them go?¡± ¡°They left for basta already¡± ¡°Really, how concenscious of¡­.¡± Sengoku had realized what they did. His face paled. They had doomed him. Why? Because with Rick gone, no one will be able to stop Kaza¡¯s insanity. She hadn¡¯t seen Rick in three years, and from what Garp said she was at her limit. She needed her fix of Rick. Sengoku¡¯s face then turned red out of anger. You could hear him scream Aokiji and Rick''s names through the whole base. The two of them were already leaving the HQ when they heard their names and had aughing fit. Tsuru had a little smile and just enjoyed her tea. ~~~~~~ On their journey to basta they received terrible news. Adventurer and former ve Fisher Tiger, a fisherman that escaped Mary Geoise a year ago, climbed the Red Line back and started a rebellion that freed all the ves. The celestial dragons secretly ordered to track and bring back every ve that escaped. Every marine ship not in a top priority mission was to follow this order. That¡¯s included Rick¡¯s. Two months before the new year, they stopover a rather popted ind. They did the job they were ordered to do and found some escapee. Rick was walking down the street, vignt when from the corner of his eyes he saw a familiar face. The girl looked younger than in his memories. She was around 15 or 16. She was trying to be as discreet as she could. She was quite good. Too bad for her Rick saw her. ¡°Hey! Miss!¡± Without even turning back she started running. He went after her. She turned into a back alley that unfortunately didn''t have any exit. He approached her slowly. She formed a heart with her hands. ¡°Mero Mero Mellow!¡± A pink aura in a shape of a heart shot from her hands and passed through Rick. Time stop The girl froze not believing that her power didn¡¯t work. Rick checked himself. ¡®I¡¯m surprised it didn¡¯t work on me. I mean she¡¯s cute. Well not Kaza level. Wait! Was I saved because I don''t find her arousing at allpared to Kaza in all her glory? Nuh-hu. No way I¡¯m acknowledging it. No way seeing Kaza¡¯s naked body saved me from the Mero Mero no Mi.¡¯ Rick had to y the part. After checking himself he checked behind him, then looked at Hancock. He tilted his head on the side. ¡°Was it supposed to do something?¡± She was terrified, her only way of protection didn¡¯t work on the marine boy chasing her. She fell on her knees and started crying. She was caught and will be sent back to Mary Geoise to be a ve again. ¡®Go for it Rick, time to bullshit your way into her heart. Don¡¯t let her be wasted on Luffy¡¯ ¡°Miss, do you believe in fate?¡± Hancock didn¡¯t understand. Why was he talking about fate? Why wasn¡¯t he handcuffing her? ¡°You see when I got on this ind, I had a strange feeling. Like something was leading my steps. And it led me to you.¡± ¡®That boy is deranged!¡¯ Rick started to walk towards her. ¡°Please don¡¯t send me back, don''t send me back! Please!¡± She was crying a river right now. He finally was close to her. He raised his hands. Hancock started shaking out of fear. Then she felt his hand on her head. Rick started patting her and said: ¡°Don¡¯t worry I won¡¯t arrest you or report you. I won¡¯t take your freedom away.¡± She raised her head and looked at him. He had a sincere smile on his lips, and what he was doing felt good. ¡°Oi! Rick, did you catch one?¡± ¡°Nah¡± answered Rick to the voice at the entrance of the alley. ¡°You¡¯re sure? Let me check¡± Hancock started trembling again. Rick whispered to her. ¡°Don¡¯t do anything, follow my lead and you¡¯ll stay free, I promise¡± She didn¡¯t trust the boy, but she didn¡¯t have any other choice and simply acquiesced. The dubious marine was upon them. ¡°Girl show me your back.¡± Hancock grabbed her clothes and she took a look at Rick who smiled and winked at her. She turned around and showed her back still trembling. ¡°See? Nothing, I told you. What? Don¡¯t trust me.¡± ¡°I do but she¡¯s around your age and quite beautiful so I thought¡­¡± ¡°That I would let my emotions interfere with the job?¡± He red at his colleague.¡± ¡°Yeah sorry, my bad. Anyway that wasn¡¯t why I was searching for you. Vice-Admiral Aokiji said we were leaving.¡± ¡°Got it.¡± The marine left. Hancock had already put down her shirt. She stopped crying. ¡°See, I kept my promise.¡± She didn¡¯t understand ? She couldn¡¯t understand why that boy was helping her. How did the other marine not see her brand? ¡°Ho¡­ How?¡± ¡°How did I hide your mark? Well.. like this.¡± He made a sprout appear on the palm or his hand that soon bloomed into a finger. She was surprised. ¡°See I can bloom wherever I want parts of my body. What I bloomed on your back was my skin. It covered everything.¡± ¡°Why did you help me?¡± ¡°Told you, fate led me to you.¡± ¡°There is no such thing as fate.¡± ¡°And yet, here I am.¡± he smiled. He pulled her up on her feet. ¡°Here take this.¡± Rick took out his wallet and gave it to her. ¡°There is enough in there for you to eat for a week and to buy three sets of clothes¡± ¡®One set for each of you sisters¡¯ ¡° Don¡¯t buy second hand clothes, nobody will ever think you¡¯re a former ve if you¡¯re dressed well.¡± She didn¡¯t know what to say. She just nodded. ¡°Now, I have a few questions for you. Is your blood red? Are you crying when you¡¯re in pain or sad? Are you angry or annoyed when something or someone bothers you? Are you scared when you think you¡¯re in danger?¡± ¡®What are those stupid questions for?¡¯ ¡°If the answer is yes for every single one of them, then you¡¯re human. The mark on your back doesn¡¯t define what you are, it¡¯s just a mark, a memento of the horrible things you went through, nothing more. And certainly not something that makes you less than a human. You are human, never forget that.¡± Hancock¡¯s eyes open wide. It was the first time since she became a ve that someone told her that she was human. That she was NOT a lesser being. She was stunned and tears started to fall again. For the third time he patted her head. ¡°Okay? Never forget it.¡± She nodded violently. ¡°Time for me to go. Oh! Please, keep the power that I showed you a secret.¡± She nodded again. When Rick reached the alley¡¯s entrance he stopped and turned back. ¡°One more thing.¡± ¡®Oh god, he¡¯s finally taking me in. Just like the celestials dragons! They make you feel hope and then once you do they crushed it¡¯ ¡°I¡¯ve got the feeling¡­ that you are fated to meet someone soon I¡¯m acquainted with, he will bring you back home. He¡¯s tall, has blond hair, round sses, a vertical scar on his right eye and four ck stripes for a beard. Please, tell him that ¡°Old man, I hope you¡¯re taking good care of my cap¡±. Thank you... By the way I also got the feeling that we¡¯re fated to meet again. Until then, bye.¡± He started walking again when Hancock¡¯s voice unconsciously slipped out of her mouth. ¡°Please, your name!¡± He looked at her onest time. ¡°Rick Wald.¡± Then he left her alone. ¡®Pirate Empress Boa Hancock? Checked! Now Vivi¡¯s next!¡¯ ~~~~~~ One monthter. Hancock and her sisters, Sandersonia and Marigold were finally tracked down by the marines corps. The bit of joy that Hancock was feeling since she was saved by Rick evaporated. They were cornered. But luck was on her sides, the marine ship that was after her suddenly sank. Behind it a smaller ship was harboring a familiar g. The g of Amazon Lily, ind of women. They were saved. Aboard the small boat that saved them, was a man. She recalled the description of Rick¡¯s acquaintance. ¡°Don¡¯t worry girls, you¡¯re safe now. We¡¯ll bring you back to Amazon Lily.¡± Hancock was dumbfounded, she couldn¡¯t believe it. Everything Rick has said happened. Did fate really exist? ¡°Sir, a month ago someone saved me from the marines and helped me and my sisters to hide. He told me that when I meet someone that looks like you, to give you his message.¡± ¡°Oh? That¡¯s interesting. Are you sure I¡¯m the man he was talking about?¡± ¡°You fit his description perfectly sir.¡± ¡°I see. Truly curious. What¡¯s the message?¡± ¡°He said, and I¡¯m quoting here, sir. He said ¡° Old man, I hope you¡¯re taking good care of my cap.¡±¡± Rayleigh was dumbfounded . He never expected to hear again from the kid he met back then in LogueTown when Roger was executed, not outside the newspaper anyway. ¡°How did he..¡± ¡°He said it was fate. ¡°Fate?¡± ¡°Yes. That him meeting me was fate, and that I was fated to meet you.¡± ¡°Rick Wald¡­ Truly an interesting guy.¡± thought Rayliegh. ¡®Fate uh ? Maybe it¡¯s real.¡¯ Hancock was pensive too. ¡®Like he said, I met his friend and he¡¯s bringing me back home too. Then will I really see him again?¡¯ She thought about it and was convinced. Her heart started beating faster and faster and her face blushed. ¡®Rick Wald... When will we meet again? Chapter 25: Friend like me Chapter 25: Friend like me The new year had passed. The crew did celebrate, but Rick didn¡¯t enjoy himself as he normally would. He never really connected with the men and women on the ship on a personal level. That¡¯s not saying there was tension or anything; they just didn¡¯t ¡°clicked¡±. He missed being on Tsuru¡¯s or Garp¡¯s ship. He even missed Kaza a little bit. Just a little. He did connect with Aokiji though. Uncle nice and him were both alike. Rick might be on a mission to gain Karma and had trained like a madman since he came to this world, the truth was; he liked toze around all day. That¡¯s why if you had been aboard that ship, you would often see the both of themying on a deckchair, sleeping masks on their eyes, enjoying the breeze and the warmth of the sun. ¡°Haaaa! This is life, I¡¯m telling you Rick.¡± said Aokiji with a sigh of contentment. ¡°It is uncle. It is.¡± They had a ss with a straw in it in their hands? Why do you say? They were celebrating. Aokiji got a call from Sengoku. He told him two news. One, that Borsalino after studying Rick¡¯s reports and evaluation, agreed to his promotion to Ensign. Two, that the basta kingdom finally tracked down the group trying to kidnap the princess hence their help wasn¡¯t needed anymore. ¡°Still too bad about basta, I heard it is a beautiful and peaceful country. I would love to visit it.¡± ¡°We have our whole life before Rick, so who knows ? Maybe one day you¡¯ll go there.¡± ¡°You¡¯re right. Though if that¡¯s the case that would mean there is trouble. I¡¯m not sure I like that part.¡± ¡°Well get up the rank and let your subordinates do the job¡±. That was the biggest difference with Aokiji from his previousmander, Tsuru and Garp. Tsuru was hands on on everything. She rarely acted herself but she was always there, supervising the current mission watching or the situation and her people in case she needed to act in response to an unpredicted event. Garp was either on the front line doing everything himself and letting his men clean up his mess. Orzing around but still at the ready in case something¡¯s gone wrong like Rick¡¯s first mission. Aokiji? Well, Aokiji was doing nothing. His crew was quite independent. He gave the order and that was it, his men did the job. A problem arised? They had to deal with it themselves. Though if the situation was way beyond them, like a shichibukai or a yonko, the Vice-admiral would not hesitate to step up, do his job and protect his people. ¡®Maybe that¡¯s why I can¡¯t really get along with the crew? They are too independent.¡¯ Since he¡¯s started sailing with, not even once did Rick see him act. He spoke twice in the six missions they did. Once was to tell Rick to not bother with the remaining bandits that were fleeing. ¡°Don¡¯t bother chasing them, they¡¯re just road bandits, not worth the hassle.¡± After some interrogation, it turned out they were bandits not by choice. The local lord was a greedy man and raised the taxes to the point they could not take it anymore, and resorted to banditism to provide for their families. A few dayster the lord mysteriously disappeared and was reced by his son who was a far better man and leader. Aokiji had looked questioningly at Rick but didn¡¯t say anything in the end. Since the problem was solved at the root, the marine won¡¯t have toe back to arrest another group of bandits. The second time Aokiji spoke was when Rick was dealing with a small and weak pirate crew. Rick had put the scare on them and was sure that their pirate life was over. ¡°Go after their captain.¡± ¡°Why? They are so scared, I doubt they will hurt anyone again.¡± ¡°The captain tried to kidnap a noble¡¯s children, we can¡¯t have someone like him on the loose, he must pay for his crime. Rick, he''s not like the bandits from back then.¡± In the end He caught the pirate captain. He hade to understand the way Aokiji was dealing justice. ¡° Lazy justice¡­ Really a fitting motto for him.¡¯ ~~~~~~ With basta''s mission over (or not even started) they just patrolled on the Grand Line. Sengoku asked them to report to him at HQ but both Aokiji and Rick smelled the bullshit. Rick whispered: ¡°It¡¯s 100% sure he wants me to deal with Kaza. Plus it¡¯s a pain to go back.¡± To Him Aokiji whispered back ¡®You¡¯re right, besides, aren''t we good here?¡± Rick smiled To Sengoku the ice man was firm. ¡°Sorry, sir can¡¯t do it, we¡¯re currently investigating a new pirate group. From what we heard they are trying to bring a country down. We¡¯ll report back in a year or two.¡± Then hung up. He put his sleeping mask back on his eyes andy down again. Rick and him both resume their napping. ~~~~~~ On the other side of the Grand Line in Marineford. Sengoku was in the infirmary. Rumors said that after a call he was so angry that he passed out. Many wondered and worried about what horrible thing could have happened to make the Fleet Admiral known for having nerves of steel, faint. ~~~~~ Rick¡¯s 18th birthday, his real 18th birthday, was only months away. ¡®I¡¯ve been in this world for 14 years already. What a long time.¡¯ Roger¡¯s death was only 12 years ago. He has spent 2 years and a half with Garp, then 7 with Tsuru and thest 3 he¡¯s been on Aokiji. ¡®Time sure does fly fast.¡¯ Thanks to the sight before him he was feeling a bit nostalgic. ¡°So this is Nanohana¡­¡± ¡°Yes Rick, City port of the kingdom of bast and known for their really good perfume.¡± This was the first time in all those years that he came to a ce that changed thanks to the straw-hats. ¡¯LogueTown doesn¡¯t count. Their real adventure began when they went through reverse mountain and met Crocus and Laboon.¡¯ While capturing pirates they learned of a nefarious plot, the kidnapping of basta¡¯s princess. ¡°I thought basta¡¯s royal guard dealt with them years ago already.¡± ¡°Apparently they weren¡¯t as through as they thought they were. They just captured the cells in the kingdom and the one who managed them, thinking he was the boss¡± ¡°I don¡¯t understand why they want the princess, ever since she was born they tried to take her away.¡± ¡°Well, she¡¯s the only daughter of King Cobra, so by having her as an hostage¡­¡± ¡°They can force the king to do whatever they want. Secretly ruling the kingdom.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°But howe they were silent for so long? I mean they tried four times in two years. Why did they stop and started moving again now? I mean they¡¯ve been preparing now for nearly four years waiting for their chance. From the intel we got from them, this year is the year.¡± ¡°Probably because of the Reverie.¡± ¡°The Reverie?¡± ¡°Every four years on Mary Geoise leaders of the world gather to discuss the state of the world.This year is the year the Reverie is happening. That means king Cobra will leave basta with a small troop to travel to Mary Geoise. Sometimes the Marine escorts them, but you know how dangerous the journey can be. I doubt the king would take her daughter with him.¡± ¡°So since the troops are not at their full potential , they believe they have a chance to kidnap the princess? ¡°That¡¯s likely.¡± Rick smiled ¡°Too bad for them, we¡¯re here.¡± Aokiji smiled back ¡°They¡¯re truly unlucky.¡± ~~~~~~ After theynded in Nanohana and taking care of their supplies they moved towards Alubarna, the capital of the kingdom. The n was simple. Aokiji with a small number of marines will go to see the king under the pretext to pay their respect to the ruler and to negotiate the right to make a temporary marine base in the basta kingdom. They would deal with the problem in the nearby ind until it was time for them to escort the king to the reverie, in a few months. Meanwhile, another team of marines under Rick¡¯s order, would disguise themselves as tourists or people of the Kingdom. Aokiji¡¯s team was the bait, their objective was to be seen and heard to make the criminals after the princess, sweat and not normally behave. Rick¡¯s team was to detect their abnormal behavior, unmask them, track them and arrest them. For that they had to be living in Alubarna for a bit to get to know the people and make some connexion. Meanwhile Aokiji would be sailing back again and return in two weeks to see the king and move forward with the n. ¡°See you in two weeks uncle!¡± and waved at Aokiji before departing. ¡®Now let¡¯s get to work¡¯. ~~~~~~ Rick had found a job in a tavern as a bartender. Because he was handsome and had a nice personality he brought more clients. The owner was happy to have hired him. Some members of his team were hired as help for stall marchants or found work in construction. Others as bodyguards or as thieves for hire. They had not yet uncovered any people after Vivi but they were patient. Aokiji had arrived yesterday and was paying his respect to the king. Rick working the night shift was strolling around the streets of the capital, saluating some patrons he may meet while they were working. He stopped at a fruit stall. He wanted to try some new fruit and make new cocktails for the tavern. He was most interested in fruit that only existed in this world. The merchant was trying to sell him some of them but it was obvious that he was trying to scam him. The merchant caught up on the fact that Rick didn¡¯t know anything about fruits and thought he could sell him his worst bach at a higher price. Too bad for him, a 6 years old girl with blue-sky hair didn¡¯t let him. ¡°You should not buy those fruits.¡± she said to Rick. Rick turned his tead to look at the person speaking to him. ¡®Well I¡¯ll be damned! Vivi!¡¯ ¡°Oh? And why is that youngdy?¡± ¡°Because they are no good.¡± ¡°How so?¡± ¡°This fruit here is originally of a pale yellow color before maturing. When they are bright yellow they are good to eat.¡± ¡°Youngdy, those fruits are orange!¡± ¡°That¡¯s because they matured too much. They are still good to eat but their taste turns bitter. The more orange, the more bitter.¡± Rick looked at the merchant with a serious gaze. ¡°Is it true?¡± ¡°Nonsense! I¡¯ve been selling fruit for 40 years and I know my business. What does a kid know inparaison?¡± He kept looking at the scammer then, while still looking, spoke: ¡°Youngdy, would you be so kind as to bring me to a good fruit stall? I¡¯m new in the capital and don''t know my way around yet.¡± ¡°Sure, but in exchange you buy me some fruits!¡± Rick gave her a smile. The Merchant was enraged! Vivi just cost her a big sale! Rick was buying in bulks! ¡°You stupid brat! I¡¯ll teach you about messing with my business!¡± He grabbed her with his left hand so hard she screamed. He raised his other hand to hit her when he felt a lot of paining from his left wrist. Rick had caught him, and had his eyes too were full of anger. ¡°Trying to scam me, that, I can let it go. But hurting an innocent and honest child, that I can not ept it! ¡° He squeezed the old man¡¯s wrist harder. ¡°Let her go or I break it.¡± The merchant was squirming in pain and finally let go of Vivi. Rick then hit him in the neck and knocked him out. ¡®Time to win some princess¡¯ heart.¡¯ And before the author could rally the readers to wave their hands chanting the mantra ¡®this is not the story you¡¯re looking for¡¯, Rick kneeled to her level and spoke. (Author¡¯s note: I don¡¯t like it when you¡¯re doing my job,narrator >:( ) ¡°Youngdy are you alright? Are you hurt?¡± his voice was full of sincerity. ¡°I¡­ I¡¯m fine, thank you.¡± she was holding her arm, a big dark bruise was already appearing where the bastard grabbed her. ¡°Are you sure? I have some medicinal cream and bandages on me if you need it.¡± ¡°I¡­¡± she was hesitant but it really hurt a lot. ¡°Please.¡± she whispered. Rick smiled. ¡®She¡¯s such a cute child¡¯ Whether in uniform or in civilian clothes, he always had a small first-aid kit on him. ¡®You never know what can happen¡¯. ¡°It will be hot for a little bit but don¡¯t worry, that''s normal.¡± He delicately took her arm in one hand and applied the cream with the other.Vivi winced a bit but gritted her teeth. Once done he took a bandage and wrapped it around the big bruise. ¡°And done!¡± ¡°Wow, I don¡¯t feel anything anymore!¡± she was amazed. ¡°That¡¯s the cream, it blocks the pain for a while. By tomorrow morning it will only hurt if you put pressure on it. So you know, don¡¯t go doing it.¡± Sheughed. ¡°I won¡¯t!¡± ¡°Good! Now youngdy, I should go. Everyone was so busy that they didn¡¯t see anything, but I did knock this bad guy out. I could be in real trouble.¡± Vivi took his hand. ¡°Thene with me. You promised to buy fruits for me if I brought you to a good stall, and I want my fruits!¡± He chuckled a bit. ¡°Alright, youngdy. Lead the way!¡± ¡°Vivi. My name is Vivi¡± ¡°Rick Wald, but you can call me Rick.¡± ~~~~~~ They visited many fruit stalls. He didn¡¯t buy at all of them but did get some good fruits from some. Rick handed her a small bag of a dozen of the fruit she was eyeing secretly. ¡°Here Vivi, it¡¯s for you!¡± She took it, looked inside and gasped. ¡°Rick! I can¡¯t eat all of them!¡± ¡°Well, share with you family and friends.¡± She was stunned, this kind of fruit was really expensive, to give her a dozen¡­ ¡°Oh! What¡¯s that?¡± She looked up to see what he was talking about. ¡°That¡¯s a travelling circus. They perform some trick to the audience in cities to show they are here. And in the night people go see their show at their camp outside the city.¡± ¡°That seems interesting, do you wanna watch?¡± Vivi nodded, she had only heard about them. She couldn¡¯t sneak out of the pce often, she couldn¡¯t miss this opportunity. A big crowd was surrounding them and at 6 years old, she was too small to see anything. She looked at the floor sadden and without knowing it, squeezed Rick¡¯s hand. He looked down at her and saw the problem. ¡®Fufufu, poor you". ¡°Here we go!¡± he said. And picked her up and put her on his shoulders. She let out a surprise yell. ¡°Better?¡± ¡°YES!¡± she said with a smile. ~~~~~~ At the same time in the royal pce. Aokiji was meeting the king. ¡°Greetings your Majesty. ¡°Wee, Vice-admiral Aokiji. To what do I owe your visit?¡± Before he could give an answer. A man entered the throne room yelling. ¡°Your majesty! Princess Vivi is nowhere to be found!¡± ¡°WHAT?!¡± ¡°Nobody has seen her since this morning!¡± ¡°And you¡¯re telling me now!¡± ¡°She must have sneaked out a gain after her morning sses as she had the afternoon free!¡± ¡°Send the royal guard to the city!¡± ¡°Yes your majesty!¡± Aokiji spoke to Cobra. ¡°Your majesty, please let my men assist yours, we¡¯ll find the princess faster with more men looking.¡± ¡°Thank you Vice-admiral. I¡¯m sorry but we have to postpone our talk.¡± ¡°Actually, you¡¯re majesty ¡­¡± Aokiji exined to the king the situation. Thetter was not pleased with it, but understood the marines n. ~~~~~~ ¡°That was fun!¡± eximed Vivi ¡°It was!¡± ¡°The juggler was amazing! Juggling with 13 rings! I didn¡¯t know it was possible!¡± The circus performance had ended, Rick with Vivi still on their shoulders were walking away. While they were watching, seeing the time flies, Rick had promised her to walk her home to which Vivi hesitated before agreeing and that¡¯s where they were going. She thought that it would surprise Rick to know her home was the pce. They were too preupied, talking about what they just saw to really pay attention to their surroundings.that¡¯s why they didn¡¯t see the people that started to walk close to the walls on either side of the street.. Their talk was interrupted when they heard a loud voice yell. ¡°YOU! LET GO OF THE PRINCESS! NOW!¡± ¡®Time for some acting.¡¯ He turned around nonchntly to see what was going on, then turned back and started walking again. ¡°DID YOU NOT HEAR WHAT I SAID SCUM ?¡± ¡®Oi! Dude! Language there is a little princess here.¡¯ Rick and Vivi were quickly surrounded by guards. He stopped walking and looked up at her ¡°You¡¯re the princess?¡± She nodded in shame, she didn¡¯t want to but still caused him trouble. ¡°Let me guess, you sneaked out of the pce? She nodded again. ¡°Neet!¡± he said and smiled at her. She smiled back. She let her down gently on the floor. The yelling man saw that the princess wore a bandage and got enraged. ¡°YOU BASTARD! YOU DARE HURT THE PRINCESS ?! GUARD SIZE HIM!¡± ¡®Okay, I have enough of you.¡¯ ¡°Kneel!¡± With this one word Rick used his gravity and made them kneel. The loud guard was still yelling so Rick use more gravity to tten him on the floor. ¡°Listen well, prick. First you¡¯re in the presence of a child, a princess at that, so watch yournguage! Second there is no need to yell! I bet they heard you at Mary Geoise! Being loud doesn''t meanyou¡¯re strong, it just means you¡¯re annoying.¡± The loud guard was looking at him with pure hatred. ¡°What¡¯s going on here?¡± ¡°Pell! Chaka!¡± Vivi, recognizing the voice of Pell, the head guard turned around to see him. He was with Chaka the second head guard. ¡°Princess Vivi?¡± said Pell ¡°Princess! Get away from that man!¡± Said Chaka. Rick looked at her. ¡°Hmmm, Vivi? I would not mind a little help here.¡± Vivi nodded ¡°Chaka this is my friend Rick, he¡¯s a good person he was walking me back to the pce.¡± ¡°Princess he attacked the guards.¡± ¡°Oi! Your ¡°guards¡±(he did a quote motion with his hands) Insulted me, falsely used me of a crime I didn¡¯tmit and charged at me. Do you really think I would let myself get killed? Would you, in my ce? Besides they¡¯re not hurt they are incapacited I think that¡¯s highly merciful of me.¡± ¡°It¡¯s true¡± said Vivi ¡°Rick didn¡¯t even know I was the princess until he yelled it to the world. She was pointing at the foul mother guard. ¡°Look, I¡¯m a man of my word and I promised Vivi to walk her home. So I WILL walk her home. Now there are only two ways it can go. One, you escort us to the pce and Vivi will tell you all about the exciting day she had, together with me, on the way. Or two, you keep being stubborn and I kick all of your asses to the ground then I walk Vivi home. Either way as I said, I¡¯m walking her home. The choice is yours. Pell and Chaka looked at each other and had a silent conversation. ¡®That man is strong¡¯ ¡®A devil fruit user not doubt, and a powerful one at that¡¯ ¡®I think we can handle him¡¯ ¡®But the princes¡­¡¯ ¡®Yes the princess¡¯ They saw their men struggling on the ground and Rickpletely fine. They nodded to each other. They hade to a decision. ¡°We will escort you to the pce, please release our men.¡± Rick smiled and stopped using his ability. The guards stood up once again, sore. He smiled. ¡°Good¡± Vivi took his hand and started to lead him. ¡°I¡¯m going ahead to tell the king the princess was found and is fine¡± He transformed into a falcon and flew away towards the pce. ¡®Oh yeah he¡¯s the falcon guy. I didn¡¯t recognize him.¡¯ On the way, still holding Rick¡¯s hand, Vivi told everything that happened today to Chaka. The meeting with Rick, the merchant that hurt, Rick healing her and their adventure in the streets. Chaka thanked him for protecting the princess and tended to her. He was pleased when he heard that Rick had knocked out the merchant. He was less pleased about how his men dealt with the situation. He was asked earlier what he would have done if it were him and he would have done the same. ¡®I need to speak with Igaram about this. We must train them to deal properly for situation like that¡¯ ~~~~~~ Pellnded in front of his king. ¡°Your majesty we found the princess! She¡¯s fine!¡± ¡°Good! I suppose you went ahead to warn me and Chaka is bringing her back?¡± ¡°Yes your majesty. However the princess is apanied by a young man.¡± Cobra¡¯s blood ran cold. ¡°A young man? What young man? Who is he?¡± ¡°Apparently from what princess Vivi said he¡¯s her friend and had spent the days with him. I¡­ don¡¯t know more about him. I do believe that by the time they arrived here Chaka would know everything.¡± ¡°I want to meet that young man.¡± ¡°Your majesty, he¡¯s strong, he incapacited 10 mens without moving a finger. It would not be wise to meet him when we don¡¯t know anything about him.¡± ¡°Well, aren¡¯t you, Chaka and Igaram here to protect me?¡± ¡°Your majesty even with Igaram¡¯s help Chaka and I don¡¯t think we could win. At best we could draw.¡± ¡°He¡¯s that strong?¡± ¡°Yes he has a powerful devil fruit¡± Cobra pondered a bit. ¡°I¡¯ll still meet him, Pell.¡± ¡°Very well your majesty.¡± Aokiji entered the throne room again ¡°My apologies, your majesty, my men didn¡¯t find the princess. They are still looking.¡± ¡° It¡¯s okay Vice-Admiral, my daughter has been found, she¡¯s unhurt. You can thank your men and tell them there is not no need to search for her anymore¡± ¡°I¡¯ll tell my men. It¡¯s good that the princess is safe. ¡° At that Vivi, still leading Rick by the hand, Chaka and the guards entered the throne room too. ¡°Daddy!¡± ¡°Vivi!¡± Cobra stood up from his seat, ran to her and hugged her. ¡°Vivi you can¡¯t sneak out of the pce like that, I was worried to death!¡± ¡°I¡¯m sorry daddy.¡± ¡°Rick?¡± ¡°Sir?¡± ¡°What are YOU doing here? This is not part of the n.¡± Cobra looked at both the men? ¡°You know each other?¡± ¡°Know? Your majesty, this is Ensign Rick Wald, he¡¯s my right hand man.¡± Rick did a little bow. ¡°Ensign Rick Wald. It¡¯s an honor to meet you, your Majesty¡± Vivi was surprised ¡°Rick, you¡¯re a marine?¡± ¡°I am!¡± ¡°But you told me you were a bartender.¡± ¡°I am too sometimes, when I have to catch bad guys off guard!¡± Rick felt like an adult conversation was needed here. ¡°Vivi, why don¡¯t you take the fruit you earned to the kitchen and ask the maids to prepare them, we¡¯ll wait for you.¡± Vivi said ¡°okay!¡± and darted out of the room towards the kitchen she was followed by the loud mouthed guard and another. Before she went too far she came back and handed him one of her fruit. ¡°Princess, those fruits are for your family and friends.¡± ¡°I know! That¡¯s why I¡¯m giving you one.¡± she said and ran out again. ¡°What a sweet little girl.¡± he said with a smile. He turned to look at Cobra and Aokiji. ¡°Your majesty, sir, I think we should talk.¡± ¡°I think indeed, young man. Why don¡¯t we start with ¡° why were you with my daughter?¡±¡± ¡°Well, actually, Vivi found me this morning . As for the rest of the story... I don¡¯t want her mad at me so I¡®ll let her tell you. Your head guard knows though.¡± mentioning Chaka with his head. ¡°It¡¯s alright your majesty, nothing bad happened.¡± ¡°Nothing bad? And yet my daughter¡¯s arm is bandaged!¡± Cobra was really not happy. ¡°Everything has been dealt with, your majesty. Please don¡¯t rob the princess of the opportunity to tell you the story herself. She was quite expectant.¡± The king sighed. They talked about the ¡°n¡±, as Igaram, Pell and Chaka were not aware, for a while. They were furious with themselves, they had failed to properly deal with the people wanting to take their princess away. ¡°If you need to contact me I¡¯m working the night shift at a Tavern called ¡°basta nights, pleasee in civilian clothes if that¡¯s the case. As for my team members I ...¡± A guard came running into the room ¡°Your Majesty! Princess Vivi has been kidnapped by ddin and Abu!¡± Chapter 26: Devil Trigger [R-18] Chapter 26: Devil Trigger [R-18] Announcement It¡¯s a gore chapter people. Sorry for the expectant pervert (like me). I would love some sexual content but¡­* wave of hand* this is not the story you¡¯re looking for. ¡®Vivi¡¯s been kidnapped?¡¯ Rick was dumbfounded. It happened right under their nose. He quicklyposed himself. And rushed towards the guard. ¡°How did that happen?¡± ¡°The princess was on her way to the kitchen! A maid saw ddin and Abu putting the princess to sleep.¡± ¡°It was an hour ago! Why do we learn about it now ?¡± Rick was terrifying right now, the guard was fearing for his life. Neither the king or the chiefs of his royal guard dare to move. They could feel his rage and murderous intent and Rick was 30 feet away! Aokiji just looked with interest. This was a new development. Rick never demonstrated such a behaviour before him. The reports didn¡¯t say anything either. ¡°They¡­ they attacked the maid. Someone just found her passed out on the floor bleeding. She woke for a few moments and told one of the guards the bad news!¡± ¡°Sir!¡± Turned to Aokiji. ¡°Go ahead! Den den mushi me when you have found them.¡± Rick nodded and left. King and his retainers finally regained their senses. ¡°Pell, Chaka, search every corner of the city turner over every stone!¡± ¡°Yes your majesty¡± They went on their way rallying the rest of the royal guard.¡± ¡°Vice-admiral Aokiji, would you please lend me your help and the help of your men?¡± ¡°There is no need, your Majesty.¡± Cobra thought he heard him wrong. Aren¡¯t the marines here to help? ¡°Your Majesty Rick is hunting them. He¡¯s more than enough. I almost feel sorry for them.¡± ¡°Sorry for them? They took my daughter! What can that young man do?¡± yelled Cobra getting frustrated and angry. ¡°This young man is the best tracker in the Grand Line. He¡¯s one of the best elements the marines corps ever recruited. He joined at 10, was adopted and trained by Vice admiral Garp, Hero the marines, he also was trained by Fleet Admiral Sengoku and Vice-admiral Tsuru before being put under mymand. And if that¡¯s not enough for you. His first track and rescue mission was when he was 12. He has done about 200 hundred missions of this kind since then. His sess rate?100%. Total number of casualties? Zero, absolutely none. So your majesty, my advice? Sit down, rx and drink some tea. Before the sun rises you¡¯ll have your daughter back. ~~~~~~ They may have been infiltrated for only two weeks in the capital, but his team and him were really good at gathering intel. And intel about the group? They were none. It¡¯s like they were not in the city. They spected that their base was near the capital. It could not have been the south, since they find nothing at Nanohana, neither the South East in Katorea? Aokiji sent a team there and didn¡¯t find anything. The West was a no go either as the river was toorge to allow a swift retreat . Likewise for the North, there was nothing there and the terrain was impractical. All sand and nothing else. That left the East. The terrain was mountainous, perfect for creating a hideout. Well hidden, desert and close to the capital for supplies. ¡®We spected, but didn¡¯t have time to search.¡¯ Rick was actually floating in the air , supported by a big boulder he applied his reverse gravity to. He was scanning the horizon towards the East. After a few minutes he saw a small cloud of sand moving forward. ¡®It¡¯s them!¡¯ Still on his rock, he started chasing them, they were quite far. ¡®I wont catch them before they enter the mountain.I hope I¡¯m near enough to sprout some eyes on them.¡¯ Over the year, he trained in secret hi Me Me no Mi abilities. The radius of those abilities was far greater than his gravity. He tried and failed. He could have made a sprout and use his gravity but so far he couldn¡¯t have controlled it properly and may have hurt Vivi. He closed the distance enough to make a sprouts on one of them And make them bloom into eyes. ¡®I got you now, bastards!¡¯ He recognized one of the guard, it was the loud and foul mouthed asshole he put in his ce. ¡®So you panicked when I trashed you and you saw a Vice-Admiral present? Good thinking, kidnapping her right when we let our guard down thinking she was safe in the pce. But guess what Asshole you and your friends won¡¯t get away with it! FOR. I. AM. HERE!¡¯. From the sight he nted on the man, he could see they had dismounter their mounts and went straight to a hidden cave. ¡®Gotcha bitches!¡¯ Rick took out the den den mushi in his bag and called Aokiji. ~~~~~~ *purururu* *purururu* Aokiji was sitting on a chair enjoying some tea while Cobra was walking in circles. When the den den mushi rang the king stopped in his tracks. And the Vice-Admiral picked up. ¡°Kuzan.¡± He quieted. The king could hear the other side talking to Aokiji and was more nervous than ever. ¡°Understood.¡± Aokiji looked at Cobra. ¡°Told you he¡¯s the best, your majesty¡± The king was astonished. ¡°He found them already?¡± He couldn¡¯t believe it, Rick left less than an hour ago after all! ¡°Yes, they are in the East of the capital.¡± ¡°There are only mountains in the East.¡± ¡°Yes, their hideout is inside the mountains, the entrance is in a hidden cave.¡± ¡°There may be some old maps about those mountains in the archives. One of my ancestors was searching for habitablend and sent many explorers and cartographers across the kingdom.¡± ¡°With some luck the hidden cave would have been found and her location recorded.¡± ¡°Do that your majesty, Rick said he didn¡¯t have time to mark the way, meanwhile I¡¯ll notify my men so they can spread the message to yours. ~~~~~~ ¡®So How do I proceed?¡¯ He had his eyes on the asshole guard, disapeared. In the night they were difficult to see even with a torch, but in a well lit hideout? Not so much. Since the base was inside the mountain, and didn¡¯t have the time to search them for an alternate entrance, he had no choice but to go through the front door. ¡®If peaceful infiltration doesn¡¯t work¡­ there is always the might is right way¡­.¡¯ He approached the door. *Knock Knock* ¡°Who¡¯s there?¡± ¡®Don¡¯t make a joke, don¡¯t make a joke¡­.¡¯ ¡°It¡¯s me! I heard we finally got the brat, so I came as fast as I could. The guards are everywhere in the city!¡± ¡°Please be a moron.¡± ¡°Damn those bastards are fast! ddin and Abu just came back with the princess. Come in.¡± ¡®Thanks you Goddess for the existence of moron¡¯ The door opened and Rick pushed it violently. The gatekeeper took it right in the head and passed out. ¡®Infiltration: sess. Now where is the princess?¡¯ He didn¡¯t know where to hide the body, so he just put it outside. ¡®Nobody would think to look for him outside the base and not inside.¡¯ Nobody stopped him on the way, simply because no one was there. ¡®That¡¯s weird. Are they all celebrating? Is that why there is no one?¡¯ He followed the only pathway there was. He could hear peopleughing and others screaming. ¡®I have a really bad feeling¡­¡¯ He entered the room, the tunnel led him to. What he saw there was a hundred times more than the dungeon where he found princess Azalea Animals. A hundred. All in human skin. Raping, torturing, mutting many women. The sight disgusted him. He felt something rising in him. More than anger, more than rage. A pure burning fury. A burning fury, that wanted tosh out at those monsters, to tore them apart. Piece by piece, limb by limb, bit by bit. He saw Vivi disyed in the middle of the room, still sleeping but chained to a pole. He made a finger just behind her and with his gravity, just like he did for Azalea¡¯s chain, broke the one restraining Vivi. Before the eyes of every beast present, her body started floating and was pulled towards him. He caught her in a princess carry. Every single one of them stopped what their one doing too stunned about what happened. ¡®You got the princess now! Good, Good! Let the hatred flow through you! And let it out, let it all out!¡¯ ¡°None of you will see the sun rise.¡± ~~~~~~~~ When Rick came outside. He was met by Chaka, Pell and their men. Vivi was still sleeping soundly in his arms. She seems to find them cozy. Chaka and Pell were taken aback. Rick''s expression was¡­ nonexistent. Absolutely devoid of emotion. ¡°The princess is just sleeping, she¡¯s safe and unhurt.¡± Even his voice didn¡¯t have any emotion in it. ¡°Good! What about the kidnappers?¡± ¡°There are more kidnappers.¡± He passed by then and stopped. He turned his head halfway. ¡°Inside you will find around 50 kidnapped women who need help, and for a long time. What those animals...no even animals don¡¯t do what they did. What those monsters have done was unforgivable. They met a fitting end. But hear my advice. Don¡¯t go there if you¡¯re not ready to have nightmares for the rest of your life.¡± He then left back to the pce. ~~~~~~ Announcement This is the gory part. I tried to make it short. If this is not your thing DON''T worry! You can skip it by just not reading the spoiler! Spoiler span> Pell and Chaka were anxious. Rick¡¯s advice was more like a warning. ¡®No one should go there¡¯ Yet they had to make sure the criminals were dead, and saved the kidnapped women. When they arrived at the giant room. Their faces paled. Some of their men puked. As before there was pandemonium. The women were battered, some were missing limbs, some had been burned, some were used as target practice. Disfigured? Carved by a knife? Whatever atrocities were recorded in humanity¡¯s history, it happened here. But it was not the worst. No, it was not. Every surface of the room was covered in blood. From the floor to the ceiling, no corner was ignored. Brain matter spreading a few feet from a bursted head. Corpses split apart in more ways than one. Guts and fecal matter everywhere, mass of flesh, sometimes shape in a cubic form. Entrails and other organs stuck to the ceiling, dangling. The worst was the smell. So many different and so disgusting smells. The soldiers rescued the women that could be saved. How many will ever have a normal life again? How many were still there, and did not have a broken mind? Too few. ~~~~~ [copse] On the way back Pell and Chaka were having a discussion. ¡°What do you think?¡± ¡°That I will probably never sleep well again.¡± ¡°Me too, but that¡¯s not what I meant.¡± ¡°You were talking about him?¡± ¡°Yes, from what I heard from the princess and his demeanor during the walk back to the pce, I did notice a lot of kindness and honesty from him and yet¡­¡± ¡°And yet he did that.¡± ¡°I¡¯m having a hard time believing his attitude, they¡¯re so different. It¡¯s¡­ like the man we met this afternoon was not the same that we saw exiting this cursed ce. Like there were two.¡± Pell nodded. ¡°Do you think it¡¯s safe to let the princess near him?¡± Chaka pondered a long moment. ¡°Yes I do. I don¡¯t see that man doing something like that to innocent people. But to scum like those¡­Honestly they deserved deaht, that¡¯s what I believe, but like that? I...¡± ¡° I know what you mean. I don¡¯t know either.¡± ¡°I just hope that I never face him in battle.¡± Once again Pell nodded. Chapter 27: Lethal weapon Chapter 27: Lethal weapon Rick was back to the royal pce. He brought Vivi to her father who took her in his arms shedding tears of relief. ¡°Thank you¡±. Rick just nodded. Cobra brought Vivi to her room, put her in bed and watched over her all night. As he watched the king leave, Rick addressed Aokiji. ¡°Uncle, We¡­ I need to talk to you¡± Aokiji served them both tea. ¡°Come and sit. Let me hear what you want to say.¡± He did, drank his cup and one go. ¡°Uncle¡­ I...I .¡± ¡°Calm down. Take a deep breath. He followed the advice he was given. Once. Twice. Then thrice. And finally spoke. ¡°I did something bad. So disgusting and¡­ and I don¡¯t remember doing any of it. He was staring at his empty cup. He couldn¡¯t even look up at all. And he started talking¡­ ~~~~~ There was only silence between the two. For a long time. The sun was rising and its first rays were shining through the ss of the window, illuminating bit by bit, as time passed, the room. Aokiji wasn¡¯t quite sure what to say. He wasn¡¯t quite sure what to think either. What Rick told him over the night was worrying him. For what happened was very disturbing. The strangest thing was, he didn¡¯t remember it. He knew it was him since there were no one else who could. But memories of it? He had absolutely none. ¡°We need to talk, and I mean talk not report; about it to Sengoku. The Doc too. ¡°The doc? Which one?¡± ¡°Rick in the marines corpses there is only one person called Doc. It is the doctor that¡¯s always patching you up. ¡°Really?¡± ¡°It¡¯s an unofficial title. But he earned it, he¡¯s the best in all the marine. Still has a breath in you? Your chance of living is above 80%. He is also a specialist of the mind. Marines are always fighting, trauma is bound to happen, one way or another. Sadly only a handful of people have the courage to go to him. ¡°He¡¯s that scary?¡± ¡°He¡¯s not Rick. What people are scared of, is to relive and confront what scared them.¡± He finally raised his head for the first time since Aokiji invited him to take a seat. ¡®Did Aokiji¡­¡¯ ¡°Yes, I did. I was a bit older than you when it happened. I was on a very dangerous mission and only I survived. It was Garp that brought me, forcefully I may ad, to the Doc. The survivor¡¯s guilt he called it. It was not easy, especially at first. The first step was the biggest hurdle, it always is. With time, the obstacles became smaller and smaller, and I kept getting better and better. Silence took ce again. After a few moments Rick spoke up ¡°Uncle, Do you think the Doc will see me? Aokiji smiled. ¡°I¡¯m sure he would.¡± ~~~~~ Aokiji reported to Sengoku about the mission. He didn¡¯t say anything about Rick, this was a conversation that needed to happen face to face with Rick present. Princess Vivi woke up, she did remember she was attacked by two guards but somehow looking at her father she thought it best to not ask anything about it. She could always get the answers from Pell or Chaka. She went out every day, escorted by Igaram, to see Rick work. At his demand Aokiji temporarily relieved him of his duties, until the day they would depart for the Reverie. Rick then asked the owner of the tavern to be on the day shift, so Vivi could visit him. He refused, and by the evening received two important guests from the royal guard. ¡°Princess Vivi, would like it very much if your employee Rick Wald could be on the day shift from now on.¡± Who was he to refuse basta¡¯s greatest jewel? Besides, he was a father himself, and never could say no to his daughters, even now that they were married and with children. So Vivi spent her time with Rick when she didn¡¯t have any sses or leading the Suna Suna n, a little group made of children around her age. She was his little taster. Every new non-alcoholic drink he created, she tried, some were good, some were bad, some were aplete no-no¡­ The alcoholic ones? Vivi threatened Igaram to make him drink them. Igaram yed her game as a children¡¯s threat didn¡¯t mean anything to him. Besides it was only once a week Rick did such drinks and it was only soft alcohol. He appreciated the mindfulness of the young marine. Unlike the virgin cocktails he made for the princess, his, tasted all good. ¡®I wonder why? I know many alcoholic beverages but never heard or tasted the ones he made.¡¯ Rick was actually mixing alcoholic drinks from his past world(s). He did change their names though. King Cobra came back on his decision to not bring Vivi to the Reverie, to her pure delight. Despite the kidnappers¡¯ group demise, he was still worried to leave her . Since his ship would be escorted by a Vice-admiral and the best tracker in paradise he felt he could take her on the journey. Pell and Chaka had reported to him his actions in the mountains. It didn¡¯t matter to him. Rick fought for her when he didn¡¯t even know her; went searching for her the moment he heard of her disappearance; brought her home safe and sound and made sure the people after her would never do so again. That was enough for him to give Rick his total trust for anything concerning Vivi¡¯s well being. No matter how vicious or cruel might he be. After hearing his daughter speaking of her fun time at the tavern every day she went, and the additional reports for Igaram, Cobra grew curious and wanted to try the drinks the captain of his guard was talking about in quiteudatory words. For some reason he could exin, he didn¡¯t want Vivi to know, so he visited one of her Suna Suna n¡¯s days. Chaka and Pell went with him, they could not let the king unprotected, they were adamant about it and would not budge even if he ordered them. He did get one concession though. They would go incognito. The basta nights was not very crowded at this time of the day, it was still a bit early for lunch¡­ ¡°Hello! Wee to the basta night sirs. What can I do for you?¡± Rick recognized his customers, they were not THAT incognito and beside, best tracker of the marines. Remember?¡± ¡°Hello young man! For long I have heard of the delicious drinks you made. From both my daughter and Igaram. My friends will have the same.¡± ¡°¡° Your maj ...¡±¡± Before they could finish saying the most taboo word to use when royalty is in disguise, Cobra red unhappily at them. ¡°One drink, and we go home.¡± They sighed and just nodded. He then turned to Rick. ¡°I want your best drink please!¡± ¡°With alcohol or without, sir?¡± Cobra pondered a moment. ¡°Both! I like alcohol, but I want to know what my daughter is enjoying too.¡± ¡°Very well, sir.¡± He mixed three drinks and served his three patrons. ¡°Here sirs, please enjoy yourselves¡±. They did! ¡°That¡¯s terrific! The best drink I ever had¡±. ¡°It¡¯s strong! ¡°. ¡°But at the same time it has the right amount of sweetness¡±. ¡°That¡¯s because there is a bit of apple juice in it , I¡¯ll give you the recipe since you like it so much.¡± ¡°Thank you! What is called?¡± ¡°From where I came from, its official name is Cobra Kaiser, the King of Cobras, but it is moremonly known as Cobra Kai. Fitting isn¡¯t it?¡± he said with a smile. Cobra was dumbfounded with his jaw hanging low. Chaka and Pell contained aug. Badly. ¡° Yes it is!¡± said the king with a smile and with pride. ¡°Now the non-alcoholic one!¡± ¡°Then please eat that. The Cobra Kai is strong so it dulles the tongue a bit. This fruit takes the dullness away.¡± They took and ate the portion of the fruit he gave them. Rick bagan to mix three new drinks. ¡°This one, is a creation of mine. I made it when I saw there wasn¡¯t any drink dedicated to women. Perfect when ady is pregnant. Of course since it¡¯s non-alcoholic, anyone from children to adults, both men and women can drink it. I¡¯d like to think that maybe one day it would make History¡±. Rick ended the mix, and served them once again. ¡°Here, sirs. Please enjoy yourselves¡±. They drank again, but this time they didn¡¯t say anything. They couldn¡¯t. They couldn''t find the words to describe what this drink made them feel. ¡°Sweet, soothing and at the same time energizing, making you feel like you were floating, right?¡± ¡°Yes!¡± ¡°That¡¯s amazing!¡± ¡°You put into words what I felt.¡± said Cobra. They drank again and finished their ss. ¡°That¡¯s so¡­ What is called?¡± ¡°I called it: Vivid Dream, sir¡±. The three patrons just looked at him in silence. Cobra smiled and spoke up. ¡°Quite fitting name too.¡± ¡°I had hoped so, sir¡± said Rick with a smile. Cobra couldn¡¯t tell the first time, but he did the second, this drink was made with Vivi¡¯s favorite fruit. ¡® Made a drink for women? Bullshit! This young man created it with my daughter in mind and even used her name when naming it. What a rascal.¡¯ ¡°I¡¯m sure my daughter will love it.¡± ¡°I hope so, sir. Here¡¯s the recipe.¡± Rick handed him the recipe for Vivid Dream, along with Cobra Kai¡¯s. They were quite detailed. ¡°My friends, time for us to go! Thank you Rick.¡± ¡°Be careful on your way home sirs.¡± They stood up from their seats and left. When Cobra was at the door, he stopped and turned around. ¡°Rick, I think your Vivid Dream will really make it into History.¡± and left. ~~~~~ Back at the pce, they discussed their time at the tavern. ¡°Really, what a rascal!¡± ¡°That he is, your majesty.¡± ¡°You have to admit, the names are fitting!¡± Cobra Kai would be known as ¡° The Beverage of the kings¡± while Vivid Dream, the national drink of the Kingdom of basta and renowned across the world. Many rumors circted about the origin of the names, especially for Vivid Dream. Every bastan knew in their heart the truth though. It was named in honor of the greatest queen they ever had, when she was just a little princess. ~~~~~~ They finally left for the Reverie (Vivi included). While the gathering was happening Rick and Aokiji had a private talk with Sengoku about what was not written in basta''s report. The Fleet admiral openly showed concern, both for the act that happened and Rick¡¯s well being. He was in agreement when Rick told him that he would pay the Doc some visits. Their talk just ended when the door of the office burst open¡­ And was sent flying across the room ending up stuck in the wall a few cm above Sengoku¡¯s head. The three men¡¯s faces paled. At the entrance of the room was Kaza with bloodshot eyes. Sengoku had a sadistic smile, one which said ¡°Ha! Take that! That¡¯s what you get for forcing this problem on me for the past four years¡¯ Or something like that. In less than a second Rick was restrained and dragged out of the office by a banshee muttering: ¡°You¡¯re 18 now, that means you¡¯re legal!¡± and followed by a creepy ¡° hehehe¡±ugh. All Rick thought was: ¡®Well it was bound to happen sooner orter. At least she¡¯s smoking hot¡±. He refused to admit it to anyone, himself included, but he did love Kaza in a certain way. He had no problem about what was about to happen. He grinned and made two thumbs up towards Aokiji and Sengoku, and disappeared at the angle of the corridor. ¡°I¡¯m never going to get him back for letting me deal with Kaza, am I?¡± said Sengoku. ¡°Nope¡±. The Fleet admiral sighed, admitting his defeat to Rick for the first time since they knew each other. ~~~~~ The reverie was over and¡­ Wait! Wait! Wait! Author, what is this? (Author¡¯s note: What is what?) This! You can¡¯t skip the snu-snu part with Kaza! (Author¡¯s note: Sure I can. I just did. Besides do you see a [R-18] in the chapter¡¯s title? No! So no snu-snu.) Nu-hu. You can¡¯t! What would the readers think? They waited years for this moment! (Author¡¯s note: ¡­ The story is a week old.) What about Kaza¡¯s fans?! You can¡¯t do that to them! You can¡¯t hype them that much and then leave them blue balled! (Author¡¯s note: THAT DEGENERATE HAS FANS?!) Sure she does! Kaza best waifu! (Author¡¯s note: ¡­ Fine go ahead.) YEEEEESSSS!! *ahem* Kaza brought Rick to her room and ripped his clothes to shred! Before he could understand that he was now butt naked, she threw him on the bed and grabbed his big¡­ (Author¡¯s note: Still no [R-18] tag¡­) His big hands! She threw him on the bed and grabbed his big hands into hers. ¡°I waited way too long for this.¡± she was dead serious. ¡°Me too¡± he smiled. ¡°I¡¯m not letting you go. Not until I¡¯m satisfied or you break¡±. ¡®I¡¯m beginning to think I made a mistake¡¯ ~~~~~~ Three dayster. Rick was admitted in the infirmary for a dislocated hip. ¡°Why am I too old for this shit?¡±mented the Doc... Chapter 28: Goodbye, Halcyon days Chapter 28: Goodbye, Halcyon days Rick was discharged just in time for the trip back to basta, thanks to the low regeneration of his imperfect body V2. ¡®I should have remembered : ¡° Don¡¯t put your Rick in crazy!¡¯ While he was in the infirmary Tsuru, Garp, and Sengoku smiled. Kaza has been there for a few hours, listening to Rick telling her about the 7 years they were apart. Tsuru was looking coldy at her. Kaza could only blushed and turned her head away. No tomato was ever that red. Sengoku had a smudged face. Seeing Rick¡¯s smile going ear to ear. Garp asked in a jest the Doc if he could have what he gave his grandson for such a smile. Kaza and Tsuru gave him such a look, Garp froze and dropped his fake cookie to the ground. ¡°You¡¯ll never get any, sir.¡± Yep, Garp didn¡¯t know how Rick ended in the infirmary. Sengoku just lost it and had a fit ofughter which stopped immediately when Tsuru smacked him behind the head. Hard. ~~~~~ On the journey back to the Kingdom of sand, a small fleet of pirates ship were stupid enough to try to raid the bastan ship. Before they even reached 50 feet away Rick had sunk them all with his gravity. The rest of the journey was peaceful. ~~~~~~ The Royal family was back home. Vivi wanted Rick to stay a bit more as her birthday wasing soon, but he couldn¡¯t. ¡°Don¡¯t worry Vivi, I already gave your present to your father.¡± ¡°Really? But when? We were always together Daddy and me.¡± ¡°Before we left for the Reverie.¡± ¡°Can I know what it is?¡± ¡°Nope, It won¡¯t be a surprise if I tell you, besides it¡¯s bad luck!¡± She wasn¡¯t happy about it but she won¡¯t have long to wait. She tried onest time to make him stay. She was crying this time. ¡°Vivi, I got a feeling, that one day, we¡¯ll meet again. So it¡¯s not really a goodbye but more like¡­ a see youter?¡± He smiled, patted her head and after saluting the king, Igaram, Chaka and Pell, simply left. With everything going on, he didn¡¯t have the time to properly celebrate his own birthday. Vivi had gifted him a bracelet on their way to Mary Geoise. Rick had thought that Kaza¡¯s gift was¡­ what put him in the infirmary. But she assured him it was not. ¡°That was just a 7 years long fix I needed. You¡¯ll have your gift when we really have more time together¡± she had said with a knowing smile. The small party with Sengoku, Garp and Tsuru was dyed as she had to go on an urgent mission. Rick was in this room thinking. ¡®I need to revise the n I made when I came into this world.¡¯ Rick¡¯s idea at the time was to get trained by the marine, get a lot of Karma along the way, then when the time was right to quit the corps and join Luffy¡¯s crew. By being a pirate he would have more freedom to act. And he could deal properly with the corrupted marine that was nothing more than a dog to the celestial dragons. What he didn¡¯t take into consideration was that he woulde to care for the people he had met. Garp had be his grandpa, nothing more and nothing less. Sengoku and Aokiji, both teachers and friends, looked at for him in his darkest moments. His big sis Tsuru, who he¡¯s spent the most time with and had learned so much from. More than Aokiji and Sengokubined. And of course Kaza. She had always been in his corner since the day she met her and now was his lover. He wasn¡¯t sure anymore that he could really leave the marine. ¡®Perhaps, I don¡¯t have to?¡¯ He was searching for ways to fulfill his mission while still having the opportunity to enjoy his life. So far he had not had any ideas to make it happen. ~~~~~~~ Kaza¡¯ gift was well liked by Rick. After a very intense ¡°training¡± session with her he was spent. Kaza just excused herself for a few minutes and came back wearing the prettiest lingerie set he had ever seen. The bright red color matched her drape perfectly. The sight was so endearing for him, that he had a second wind. This time he didn¡¯t end in the infirmary, but Kaza did. ¡®Now that¡¯s what poetic justice is all about¡¯. Tsuru finally came back and they could celebrate. When the little party ended Garp waspletely wasted andying down on the cold floor in a corner of Sengoku¡¯s living room. The fleet admiral did not drink that much, but thanks to his job was pretty tired and was out for the count on one of his couches. Only Tsuru and Rick were left, both a bit tipsy. They were sitting really close to each other on the couch opposite to Sengoku¡¯s ¡°You know big sis¡­¡± ¡°What?¡± ¡°I¡¯m all grown up now.¡± ¡°I have notice, you¡¯re now an handsome and dashing marine, gone is the cute and adorable little boy¡± ¡°Thanks. But you now, that means I can finally marry you.¡± Tsuruughed softly. ¡°Aaahhh! I remember like it was yesterday, 6 years old you sitting on this very couch saying that you¡¯ll marry me and kiss me on the cheek. Your feet barely touched the floor¡±. ¡°So, Interested or not?¡± he winked at her. She pped his chest. ¡°Don¡¯t tempt me, you rascal.¡± ¡°Or what?¡± She didn¡¯t have an answer to that. Rick leaned over her and kissed her. That was not a chaste kiss. Tsuru was too shocked to move, but as he kept kissing her, she answered back his advance. She had pondered for a moment and came to a conclusion ¡®Why not? I won¡¯t marry him for sure, but if he wants to have some fun with an olddy like me¡­¡¯ Once they stopped kissing, they looked at each other''s eyes. There was a burning passion, a burning lust. They both stood up and hurried towards her private quarters. That night, Tsuru washed him up good and without the use of her Washo Washo no mi. Rick learned many things from this special time with her. Among them, two stood out the most. One, that older women¡¯s sex drive was seriously no joke Two, that he really needed to do something about his dislocating hips of his. ~~~~~ The official story was that Rick, because he was drunk, fell down and hurt himself again after walking back Tsuru to her private quarters. Because she herself drank a bit too, she was feeling too hot to sleep, so she dressed back and left her room to enjoy the sea breeze and the dawning sun with a walk when she found Rick. Kaza still in the infirmary since she didn¡¯t have Rick¡¯s regenerative abilities, squinted her eyes. ¡®Suspicious¡­¡¯ That story was fishy for her. But she couldn¡¯t read anything from Tsuru¡¯s impassive face. Neither from her lover¡¯s. He was asleep. Actually he just had his eyes closed and was reminiscing aboutst night events. ¡®Back to the infirmary, great¡­. Well it doesn¡¯t matter, had snu-snu¡¯ Tsuru, for her part, was having more and more trouble keeping her poker face up before Kaza¡¯s stare. In the end she excused herself iming that she has worked to do. Her mind was in turmoil. ¡®I should not have done that! I¡¯m the Ice queen of the marines! I break young men with just a re, not sleep with them! But I really needed that¡­ Girl it was Rick! Not some anonymous sailor that you won¡¯t see again! He was good though, he really scratched that itch. Not bad for an old gal...¡± She was going back and forth into their head, finding her behavior uneptable then was justifying herself. In the end she didn¡¯t regret doing it, and herst thought before entering Sengoku¡¯s office was: ¡®I wonder if Rick would like to go at it again¡¯. ~~~~~~ Rick was out of the infirmary before Kaza. Aokiji had been sent to the New World for a secret mission and wouldn''t be out for a while, so Rick was without a crew. Not for long though as Sengoku put Rick under Tsuru¡¯s care one again. Garp refused to sail without Kaza. Not by loyalty for her, but because without her he would have to do all the annoying things of his job. Rick would alter between the two vice-admiral¡¯s crew for about a year. It took a bit of time but Rick had broken through Tsuru¡¯s defenses. While traveling with her, he never spent a single night anywhere else than her bed. They were so discreet that no marines on board knew what was going on between them. When he was with Garp the same thing happened with Kaza. She caught Rick and Tsuru one night back at Marineford. She was not happy about it but finally tolerated the rtionship by stating. ¡°I understand, after having me, Rick can¡¯t stop himself anymore, at least it¡¯s you Vice admiral Tsuru, and not some whores from some ind port¡±. Tsuru, too happy about her eptance, didn''t bother to break her out of her disillusionment. Finally it was time to leave the marine, not because Rick wanted to but because he had to. Sengoku had said that once his break was over he would start learning Haki. If it came to be known that he couldn¡¯t use Haki, things might not go well. Even though it was just a possibility Rick didn¡¯t want to take any chances. But he didn¡¯t want to up and leave without a trace like that. Rick wanted to properly quit the marine. Learning that some members of Garp¡¯s crew were going to Sabaody Archipgo for their break, he saw his opportunity and left with them. ¡®For once in their lives the celestial dragons would be useful for something¡¯. It didn¡¯t take him long to find one of the world''s nobles. Rick saw him shoot a man and proceed to force himself on her, in front of his victim that was bleeding out. Rick¡¯s expression turned cold. He knew that the celestial dragons were the kind of the worst scum there was. He knew that, what he was seeing was the sort of thing he expected to see. Yet now that he was actually seeing it his anger surged! He was about to rip that punny noble apart when he was restrained on the ground by multiple members of Garp¡¯s crew. ¡°Don¡¯t do that Rick, it¡¯s a world noble¡± said one ¡°Let me go! I¡¯m gonna kill that motherducker!¡± ¡°I know how you feel, but you¡¯ll get all of us killed if youy a finger on that bastard.¡± said another. They could feel Rick trying to break free with all his strength. If they moved an inch they knew they would be doomed. Rick was forced to hear the pleas and screams of the woman for the next 10 minutes before the noble was done with his business and shot her dead iming unhappily that she wasn¡¯t as good as she looked. It was only when the scum was long gone that Rick was released. He looked at his fellow marines with contempt in his eyes. He then used this gravity on a nearby rock, climbed up on it and flew at great speed towards Marineford. On the way, he calmed himself a bit. ¡®The first part of the n may have seed but what a fucking shitty part it was! Now How should I y it¡­.¡¯ ~~~~~~ He blew away the door of Sengoku¡¯s office, and entered with righteous fury! There was Sakazuki in the room but Rick ignored him. ¡°UNCLE! DID YOU KNOW?¡± Sengoku was speechless, he never saw Rick like that. He tried to calm Rick down with a calm voice and attitude ¡°Know about what?¡± ¡°The celestial dragons! What those bastards are doing at Sabaody Archipgo!¡± Sengoku didn¡¯t say anything. ¡°So you knew! How... How can you look at yourself in a mirror? How could you stand here, leading the world¡¯s justice, when you let those scums roam free without repercussions! ¡°They are the world nobles!¡± ¡°They are nothing more than trash that we should clean up! Nobody would miss those guys and they are not irreceable!¡± ¡°You don¡¯t know what you¡¯re talking about!¡± ¡°And you don¡¯t know what justice is! Did grandpa and big sis know?Don¡¯t answer that of course they do¡­ I can¡¯t believe that I looked up to all of you, that I admired all of you!¡± ¡®Now let¡¯s do some eye y.¡¯ Sengoku felt bad when he heard Rick words, he saw his tears falling down, and the hurt of betrayal in his eyes clenched his heart. ¡°Rick, that¡¯s not¡­¡± ¡°Save it, I don''t want to hear your lies anymore! And I hope you all had your funughing behind my back at my dreams because I won''t let you do it anymore. I''m done!¡±. ¡°What?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t want to be part of such a hypocritical organization. Knowing that I dedicated almost half my life for it makes me want to puke.¡± Rick took his cap off, it was once Sengoku¡¯s, on it was Vice-admiral Aokiji¡¯s sleeping mask he received for his 7th birthday. He threw them with force on the ground. He took his sword Ryusei, it ended on the ground too. Rick looked Sengoku¡¯s right in the eyes and said. ¡°I quit.¡± Turned around and left. Or tried. ~~~~~~ Akainu was pissed, this brat interrupted his meeting with Sengoku andpletely ignored him. When Rick was about to leave, he saw the opportunity to pay him back for the humiliation he suffered years earlier. He attacked him. ~~~~~~ Rick barely dodged the hit. He didn¡¯t even know how he did it since he didn¡¯t even see iting. Akainu was sending a second one. Rick activated his gravity and used every ounce of strength he had to push him back. The Vice admiral was sent back. He may be a logia user but magma still had a mass. Before he could get up, Rick brought down the ceiling onto him. Such an attack was useless against a logia, but it blocked Akainu¡¯s sight. Allowing Rick a long enough moment to flee using the now destroyed wall. Sengoku couldn¡¯t do anything, simply because when he heard Rick announcing he was quitting, his mind froze. ~~~~~ A week has passed since then. News spread around the world. In basta, King Cobra and his retainers were looking at the newspaper. ¡°Your majesty, that can¡¯t be true.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t believe it either.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t let my daughter know of this, it will devastate her.¡± Right on cue, Vivi entered the throne room crying, holding her own newspaper. ¡°Daddy! It¡¯s a lie right? They are lying! Rick would never do that!¡± Cobra sighed¡­. ~~~~~ On the Ind of women: Amazon Lily. ¡°Elder Nyon! Something is wrong with sister!¡± ¡°She¡¯s all hot and her face is flushed!¡± Elder Nyon rushed towards Hancock¡¯s room. She found the young woman in her bed clutching her chest. She was delirious. ¡°Haaa, Rick!¡± Elder Nyon knew that name, that was the name of the young marine that saved Hancock and her sisters from the marines before Rayleigh and her rescued them. The pirate empress was holding a newspaper in her other hand. The former empress snatched out and looked at it. Her eyes went wide! She couldn¡¯t believe what she was reading. If what was written there was true, no wonder Hancock was sick! ¡°Elder Nyon, what is wrong with sister?¡± asked Sandersonia. Elder Nyon sighed. ¡° She had contracted the deadliest disease in the world. Many empresses had fallen to it before.¡± ¡°Is there no cure?¡± asked Marigold worried. ¡°s, no. But Hancock is strong and she will ovee it!¡± ~~~~~ Back in Marineford. Tsuru and Kaza had grimed looks, they were in Tsuru¡¯s private quarters. They didn¡¯t believe the reports, there was no way they were true. They thought that it couldn¡¯t get any worse. They thought wrong and they needed to act fast. ~~~~~ Garp had almost started a fight with Sengoku from what he had done to Rick! ¡°How could you Sengoku! Rick is like a nephew to you!¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t have any choice, Garp! That¡¯s all that damn Sakazuki¡¯s doing. He contacted the press before I could do anything!¡± ¡°I¡¯m gonna kill that asshole!¡± ¡°And then what? That would not help Rick in any way.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t see you helping him!¡± ¡°I did everything I could while the five elders were breathing down my neck! I made his reward 4 times lower than it should be and changed it to ALIVE only!¡± He handed Garp a wanted poster. On it was Rick''s smiling face. RICK WALD WORLD¡¯S WORST TRAITOR FORMER ENSIGN OF THE MARINES ALIVE ONLY Wanted for attempt murder on a Vice Admiral of the marine Wanted for attempt murder on the Fleet admiral of the marine Wanted for attempt murder on a celestial dragon REWARD: 79,000,000 belly Not a chapter but fun facts Not a chapter but fun facts Each chapter¡¯s title was carefully chosen. All of them, with two exceptions ( Chapter 3 & 7), are a reference to either a song¡¯s title, or a movie/tv show quote. Chapter 1: A ref to the first arc of One Piece: Romance Dawn; but you knew that right? Chapter 2: A ref to the Wizard of OZ Chapter 4: A vige people song. Since Rick is joining it. Chapter 5: 8 miles¡¯ sound is really motivational and since Rick was running for some miles¡­. Chapter 6: I¡¯ll make a man out of you. Song from the one and only Mn film (199x) Chapter 8: Title of an against the current song. Chapter 9: One of the songs of ddin. Chapter 10: A Gloria Gaynor song Chapter 11: an Avicii song Chapter 12: Quote from the movie Apollo 13. Chapter 13: I kinda forgot, sorry : / Chapter 14: Dirty Harry Chapter 15: A quote from Game of Thrones Chapter 16: THE quote from the movie Forest Gump Chapter 17: A linkin park song Chapter 18: A Dexter ref ( Tv shox) and a meme Chapter 19: Famous quote from the movie Shining Chapter 20: Amon trope ! Chapter 21: From the godfather Chapter 22: Army of darkness ( evil dead 3) or Duke Nukem reference. Chapter 23: part of Mozart¡¯s requiem Chapter 24: Song from the band Scorpion Chapter 25: from din Chapter 27: Title of a bunch of good movies Chapter 28 : Name of thest chapters just before Bleach became boring. Finding a tittle that way is not efficient. It''s the hardest part when I write actually. But I''ll do it until I can''t do it anymore. Chapter 29: Voyager Chapter 29: Voyager *sigh* Rick was looking at the sky right now. ¡®Damn Akainu. You¡¯ll pay for screwing me over, you asshole.¡¯ When Rick fled Marineford, he went straight to Sabaody Archipgo. To lose anyoneing after him by mixing into the crowd. After some time he then defeated a pirate crew, stole their ship and set sails. His n half worked and half failed. He did leave the marine as intended, but not as white as snow, thanks to one big asshole. Rick knew that now he was in trouble. He didn¡¯t know how much until a seagull delivered the new wanted posters. ¡®World¡¯s worst traitor¡­¡¯ *sigh* ¡®At least it¡¯s a cool nickname. Way better than Rookie Rick¡¯. He was in a bind, he was wanted now and could not move as freely as he wished. That means he would not be able to stay in the same ce for long anymore. He would have to be on the move constantly for the next 10 years or so. He had looked at his system. ¡®So ever since I bought the Mini Mini no Mi and the imperfect body V2 I got close to 400k Karma points. The scums from basta really gave me a lot. What should I do with the points now¡¯. He wondered if he should buy and keep under lock some devil fruit that would fall into the hands of Luffy¡¯s enemies But he didn¡¯t remember them well enough to do that. So in the end he decided to stockpiles points and to use them in an emergency. He did use some of them for Doctor Vegapunk¡¯s research. There were no new entries for the imperfect body series to his disappointment. ¡®Hurry up mad man! I want to be able to use Haki!¡¯ There was a new project that caught his eyes. [Artificial Devil Fruit Project] ¡®Well since, he started this project, not all is lost.¡± Devil fruit contained a fragment of the sea devil¡¯s soul. Since Vegapunk seeded at creating some in the future, he had to have, somehow, made progress with his soul research. That meant hope for Rick, to one day use Haki. ¡®If I only knew where that mad man was¡­ I could pay him a visit and make a deal. No that¡¯s stupid, even if I knew, he¡¯s on the marines side. He must be protected. Besides, even though my bounty is not that great, I must be one of the most wanted people in the world. I would be captured before even making a step in the ce Vegapunk is.¡¯ He thought about his next step. He didn¡¯t really think about this part of the n. Actually if it had worked perfectly, he would just travel through the Grand Line, exploring the many inds that the original story didn¡¯t show. But now that he was wanted dead by the pirates ( he did send a lot of them in impel down over the years) and wanted by the marine too.... Rick didn¡¯t have this luxury anymore. ¡®What to do ?¡¯ He needed to hide, but at the same time didn¡¯t want to do nothing for the next decade or so¡­ ¡®Safety first, boredom second. Where can I go ? I need a ce that no one wants or needs to go to. From both the marine and pirates. A ce that won¡¯t have any trouble for the next 10 years and more¡­¡¯ He tried to remember the events of the original story as best as he could. Especially the little details. Finally a light bulb went on above this head. ¡®Of course! There is only one ce in the Grand Line that I know of that meets all the criteria! ¡® His destination was set! Direction O¡­. ¡®Wait! How can I get there? I don¡¯t even know where I am.¡¯ He pondered for a moment and opened the system¡¯s store. ¡®Is there a tab for¡­. Oh! There is! Wow that¡¯s freaking expensive! Howe the difference in price is so big from one to another. Is it because nobody goes to this ce hence why it¡¯s pricey and this one is cheap because a lot of people do? Well, doesn¡¯t matter anyway.¡¯ Rick bought what he was looking for. [Eternal Pose - Ohara] 200 000 Karma Points Chapter 30: Somewhere I belong Chapter 30: Somewhere I belong The way to Ohara was uneventful. Rick did came across one marine ship, but since he¡¯s not stupid, he had long removed the jolly roger floating up on the mast, so the marine left him alone. ¡®They didn¡¯t even check what kind of ship it was, they saw no pirate g and ignored me¡­ What kind of marines are they?¡¯ He had sailed the seas for the past 12 years with three Vice-Admiral. (Author¡¯s note: Remember, he started at 6 and he¡¯s 18 now. To the world his ¡®official¡¯ age is 22. ) And even though Aokiji and Garp had their own way to do the job, their men would not have botched work like that. What Rick forgot was that those were the elites of the marines! He got incredible luck to have met Garp In LogueTown all those years ago. Not only would he not have been able to join the marines at his age but he would have been among the marines plebs. His life would be quite a different one right without Garp. So a marine crew not doing its job properly, was not really as extraordinary an urrence as he thought. It was notmon either at least not on the Grand Line or the New world. On seas like East Blue ? That was the norm. It took a long time for Rick to reach Ohara. Not because it was far, but because of supplies. He could have used the system to get some food or repair the damages done by the weather to the ship but¡­ ¡®A 100 karma points for a single steak?! WHAT THE HELL! That¡¯s 10 thousands belly! HELL NO! Not buying it even if it¡¯s the best steak in the universe!¡¯ That¡¯s right, the mundane things like food, tools or wood weren''t costing much rtively speaking . A hundred points here, a hundred points there. But points were hard to get. And even though Rick has close to 200k Karma points left, with an average use of 400 points a day, he would not pass the 2 years mark like that. Since he wasying low he couldn¡¯t get points easily. Bounties? ¡®Sure¡­ ¡°Here officer, here¡¯s the head of a wanted pirate. Please give this 79 millions belly criminal the reward for his hard work.¡± Would work like a charm.¡¯ So he was stuck to make some stops to resupply. Preferably on a small ind to avoid being detected. The problem was , since the inds were small, the quantity they had to sell were small too. A bigger ind might have a marine quarter, so it was a no go. It was really a hard situation. He didn¡¯t miss money though. This was a pirate ship he stole after all. There was a non negligible amount of treasure on it. ¡®All this gold and I can¡¯t spend it...Now that¡¯s irony.¡¯ He only took a few months to arrive at his destination. ¡®So this is Robin homnd.¡¯ What waited for him were only ruins. The town? Some buildings were still standing but most of them were just a pile of rubbles. There were some skeletons here and there. They were probably the people that couldn¡¯t get on the evacuation ships. The Tree of Knowledge was gone, naturally. A third of the forest was left standing. He did find theke of books. Apparently the marine didn¡¯t even bother to destroy them. Probably thinking that the weather will do the job. They were not wrong, Many were done for, a smaller number was just damaged, and an even smaller number was more or less intact. If Rick wanted to live here he would have to work hard. Since it will be his home for the next 10 years, he would have the time to rebuild the ind. ¡®Okay, the first thing to do is to protect theke of books from the weather. Next is to gather and bury the inhabitants. After that well, I¡¯ll think about it when the timees¡¯ He thought about storing the books. But the only ce for it was his ship and not only was full with supplies but didn¡¯t even have the ce for a 10th of their total number. He decided to use the system. He had found a canvas for a good price. It was actually quite cheap. Until he saw the price was for one square meter. After some calction it would cost him 10k points. He nearly fainted when he saw the price. But apparently, saving the knowledge of the world was a very good deed so he earned back half the Karma once he was done installing the canvas. For the burial of the inhabitants he just dug a big grave. He had used his gravity to create a hole into the ground. After putting them there and filling up the grave, he move one of the still standing walls to it and carve into it the following words: HERE LIES THE VICTIMS OF OHARA. FALSELY ACCUSED AND MURDERED BY THE WORLD GOVERNMENT He then carves the date of the Ohara incident. Among them were the body of Saul, the giant that helped Olivia and Robin escape. Since there was no way he could have known his same Rick just put him with the others. There was one other body he had recognized while he was gathering them. Its location and its clothes; he knew who it was. Robin¡¯s mother: Nico Olvia. He didn¡¯t bury her with the others but took her into a secluded ce. Her tombstone was also different: HERE LIES NICO OLVIA TRUTH SEEKER AND MOTHER MAY SHE RESTS IN PEACE And carved the date of her death too. If asked how he knew, he could simply answer that he had seen her wanted poster and the clothes matched. Yes it was a bit weak of an answer but usible. ¡®Okay, what''s next now?¡¯ He decided to clean up the ce. It took him weeks, but there was nothing left of the town ruins. With his gravity he put everything into the sea. The ce was now just a really big t area. Since his ressources were getting low he went to get some to some inds nearby. Not too close so he would not attract people''s curiosity. He bought some construction tools too. He couldn¡¯t build a house with his bare hands. Before leaving he got the idea to be self-sufficient. He bought a lot of different seeds and some gardening tools. It took him around 6 months to build a house and make different plow fields. He made many mistakes and ended up restarting from scratch time and time again but since he could make appear from thin air a hundred hands the development advanced at quite a fast pace. He diverted part of a river so it could go towards the fields. Rick couldn¡¯t wait for his first harvest. He build a small mill that worked with the flow of the river ¡®I¡¯m so smart. No need for me to run the mill myself now.¡¯ In the end he rarely used the system. Only for the stuff that was above hispetence, like the toilets and the evacuation of wastes. He thought about buying animals and raising them. Both for thepany and the meat, but quickly gave up on the idea. In case of any injury or sickness he could treat them. That means for everything that wasn¡¯t a fruit or vegetable he would have to take the sails and buy it on a nearby ind. He did find hobbies. He got hooked on gardening really quick and everytime he left the ind ask for tips from some farmers. He didn¡¯t grow food, but also flowers and other nts . He had started to rent trees and make the forest whole again. His second hoby was reading. With a shit load of books at his disposition he learned a lot. Rick thought about restoring the damaged books, but knew nothing about it nor what the books were talking about. He did build a gigantic library to store them. He never did forget his favorite pace time though. Lazing around. He did it quite a lot. In the end in ten years he did quite a bit. Soon it would be time to go to basta and meet Luffy. Right now he was on an ind he never had the asion to go, buying food. He had not changed a lot over the years. The manualbor kept him in shape. The only noteworthy difference was his grown beard that he didn¡¯t have before. Appearance wise well, he looked like a beggar. He never paid attention to his clothes and after 10 years they were quite used. That was the reason why he was in the situation he was in right now. The sun was setting and he was thrown out of a store as the 8 feet tall owner took him for a pauper. ¡®Bastard! Never hear the saying: Don¡¯t judge a book by its cover?¡¯ ¡°Hey! Can you move, you¡¯re kinda heavy!¡± ¡®Oh shit! Inded on someone.¡¯ ¡°Oh my god I¡¯m sorry!¡± Rick got up and offered his hands to the person who hended on. ¡°My apologies, young man. Here take my hand. ¡± The young man took it and raised his head. ¡®Seriously, first Hancock, then Vivi, now him? Of all people I had tond on?¡¯ ¡°That¡¯s fine. It wasn¡¯t your fault anyway, I saw what hap...¡± Ace froze, recognition on his face. ¡®Shit!¡¯ ¡°Hey, aren¡¯t you..¡± ¡°d you¡¯re not hurt, have a nice day.¡± said Rick and started to walk away. The hood he usually used to hide a bit of his face had slipped when he was thrown on Ace. ¡®Shit! Shit! Shit! This is bad, I can¡¯t deal with Ace right now.¡¯ Rick didn¡¯t know what could happen if he interacted with him right now. Soon Ace would meet Luffy in Nanohana. It could potentially derail everything if him meeting Ace somehow changes something. Rick wasn¡¯t able to go far as a ring of fire surrounded him. ¡®Damnit!¡¯ He could have used his powers to get away but people were starting to gather around themotion. Using them could get the marine back on his track if someone else recognized him. ¡°Where do you think you¡¯re going? I just wanna talk. I don¡¯t meet celebrities every day after all.¡± Rick was cornered. He finally relented. ¡°You wanna talk? Fine, have it your way but not here.¡± ¡°Suit yourself, lead the way¡± ~~~~~ He brought on board his ship. ¡°Wow, quite the ship you have here. You should have it repaired¡± The ship had seen a lot over ten years. Rick couldn¡¯t ask a carpenter for help, it would take too long so it took it upon itself to do as much as he could. ¡° I¡¯m one of the most wanted men in the world, on the run for the past 10 years, with no money. How the hell would I do that exactly?¡± Ace ¡®s mouth was like a globefish''s. He didn¡¯t know what to say. ¡°You wanted to talk to me, pirate? Then talk!¡± ¡°My name''s Portgas D. Ace. Nice to meet you Rick Wald! As for the talk, well I kinda forgot what I wanted to ask you.¡± ¡®Perfect¡¯ ¡°Then get off my ship! With themotion you caused I need to leave!¡± ¡°Come on, we just met! Why don¡¯t we get to know each other better¡± Ace said with a smile. Rick sighed. ¡®Those damned D. . Bunch of nutcases I tell you!¡¯ In the end they talked, for a long time. Ace asked a lot about Rick¡¯s adventures while he was in the marines, and his life as a fugitive but never asked what happened for him to be branded a traitor. Rick had avoided any subjects rted to Ace directly or not. Meaning no talk about Garp. He didn¡¯t talk about Ohara either. He did bring out food and alcohol, making the conversation smoother. Ace had talked about his own experiences about his brothers. How one had passed away and how the other wanted was a big dreamer and wanted to be the pirate king. Hearing those words made Rick cry. ¡®Damnit, I¡¯m hearing from none other than Ace that Luffy wants to be the pirate king! Too much feels! Right in the childhood!¡± ¡°Hey man, why are you crying?¡± asked Ace. ¡°It¡¯s just¡­ your little brother¡¯s dream, it¡¯s beautiful. It¡¯s so big and.. And that made me remember mine. How they were just as big and then how they got burned to ashes.¡± Ace fell silent. ¡°If you don¡¯t mind me asking, what happened?¡± ¡°It¡¯s a long story. I don¡¯t...¡± ¡°It¡¯s fine, I got time.¡± Rick sighed. ¡®Jesus this guy can talk. I finally got him to talk about Luffy after 3 HOURS. Now if I don¡¯t fuck it up everything will be alright¡¯ ¡°Fine. So Where do I start..¡± ¡°From the beginning would be better.¡± Rick rolled his eyes. ¡°So, one day when I was four I woke up with, for memories, only my name and my age¡­¡± He had already told Ace about his missions with the marines, but never went personal. This time it was the other way around. That since he was an orphan he wanted a family and the marine was perfect for that. He went on about how he joined the marines and trained to one day be Fleet admiral and protect and help the people who couldn¡¯t do it themselves. How he met good people that became his family, still leaving Garp¡¯s name out, the time spent with them. How he ttened Akainu on the floor humiliating him. How he befriended the young princess of basta. And how he discovered the truth about the marine and the celestial dragons. The pain of the betrayal from the people closest to him. The way he quit and finally how he was branded a traitor. ¡°My family, my friends, my hopes and dreams, everything¡­ gone. And I can¡¯t get it back. To be honest, I¡¯m just tired of it all. I wonder sometimes if it would not be better to just surrender myself to the marines and just end it...¡± Ace that was crying caught him by the cor. He was pissed ¡°Don¡¯t say that! Don¡¯t throw your life away!¡± ¡°What Life? I don¡¯t have anything.¡± ¡°They join my crew! You¡¯ll be part of a family again, and this one won¡¯t be betraying you! I guarantee it!¡± Rickughed ¡®I like where this is going¡¯ ¡°Me? Joining a pirate crew? Never! I spent my life chasing pirates, I¡¯m not about to be one¡± ¡°Never say never! But fine I get it.¡± Ace released him and smirked. ¡°You never said anything about having a pirate as a brother though. ¡®Huh?¡¯ ¡°What?¡± ¡°I¡¯ve decided. From now on we¡¯re brothers!¡± ¡°What?¡± ¡°Well if those bastards in the marines don¡¯t want you as a family, I on the other hand, am taking you in mine!¡± ¡°You¡¯re not serious.¡± ¡°¡®Course I am. From now on I¡¯m your big brother.¡± ¡°Dude, you¡¯re insane and I¡¯m like, ten years older than you, I should be the big brother¡± ¡°Yeah, not happening?¡± ¡°Happening.¡± ¡°Not¡±. That started a fist fight that ended in a draw. Both were on the floor, breathing heavily. Both startedughing. They raised themselves from the floor. And went to sit back on their chair. Ace poured alcohol in two sses and gave one to Rick. He took his, in his hand and went to toast. ¡°To family.¡± Rick looked at him, and hit Ace¡¯s ss with his own. ¡°To family.¡± The morning came and each went their own way. Promising to meet again one day. ~~~~~ It was time for Rick to depart to basta. ¡®Time to start my new adventure!¡¯ Unfortunately for him as he was about a few days to reach his destination, a storm happened. With his battered ship Rick was in dire straits. ¡®SHIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIITTTTTTTT!¡¯ ~~~~~ ¡°Pops! I¡¯m back!¡± ¡°Wee back son. You seem quite happy, something good happened?¡± ¡°Yeah you can say that! I made a new brother!¡± ¡°Oh really ? Tell me about it.¡± ¡°Sure!¡± Chapter 31: Smooth criminal Chapter 31: Smooth criminal ¡°Oi, Ussop! There is something in the sea! What is it?¡± Ussop took his telescope out and looked at the direction Luffy was pointing. ¡° That... looks like the wreckage of a ship.¡± His eye roamed all over the area. ¡°Hey! There is someone on a board there!¡± ¡°Let¡¯s Pick them up!¡± ¡°But what if he¡¯s a pirate?¡± said Chopper ¡°Or worse a Marine?¡± added Ussop ¡°We can¡¯t leave him alone! ¡°. It was Vivi¡¯s turn ¡°Vivi¡¯s right! We can make him pay us for saving his life!¡± ¡°That¡¯s brilliant Nami-swaaaaan!¡± ¡°Oi, curly-brows drop the volume!¡± ¡°Go sleep somewhere else Marimo!¡± Sanji and Zorro started fighting. Chopper and Ussop kept arguing with Nami and Vivi. In the end, the Going Merry just passed by the unconscious man . ~~~~~~ ¡°Chopper how he is?¡± ¡°Dehydrated and malnourished.¡± ¡°He looks like a bum.¡± ¡°There is no way he could pay us¡± said Nami in disappointment. ¡°Shouldn¡¯t we bring him inside?¡± asked Vivi. ¡°I¡¯m not touching that bum¡±. ¡°Me neither.¡± In the end Chopper used a rumble ball to move him. Vivi moved forward ¡°Let me help you Tony-kun¡± ¡°Thank you Vivi¡±. Chopper took the bum¡¯s legs while Vivi took his arms. While moving him, one of his sleeves slipped down his forearm. Vivi gasped and brought her hands to her mouth. Effectively dropping him on his head. He didn¡¯t wake up one bit though. ¡°Vivi?!¡± Vivi took a good look at the man, fell on her knees and started crying. ¡°Vivi what¡¯s wrong?!¡± Alerted by Chopper¡¯s shout the rest of the crew went to her. ¡°Did he wake up?¡± ¡°Did he do anything to you?¡± asked an angry Sanji Vivi couldn¡¯t find the words. She was so happy! ¡®With him here, basta will be saved!¡¯ She just knew it. She couldn¡¯t stop her tears of joy and relief. In the past she had gotten the truth from Pell. She had been kidnapped and in less than 4 hours, had tracked her and the kidnappers down, took care of them and their organisation and brought her back to the pce. Naturally, Pell didn¡¯t say a word about what Rick did in that ce. That was not something you say to a child. She snapped out of it just before Luffy and Sanji could throw him overboard. ¡°Please stop! I know him! He¡¯s a friend.¡± ¡°Really?¡± asked Luffy ¡°There is no way that bum is friend with Vivi-chan¡± ¡°Please put him down¡± ~~~~~~ Rick was on a bed inside. Everyone was waiting for Vivi¡¯s story. ¡°So Vivi, who¡¯s that guy?¡± ¡°He¡¯s an ex-marine¡­¡± ¡°I knew it! We need to throw him overboard before he arrests us all! Chopper help me!¡± eximed Ussop, scared. Nami smacked his head. ¡°She said EX Marine idiot!¡± ¡°So you¡¯re friend with a marine?¡± asked Luffy, totally missing the ex part. ¡°He¡¯s not anymore but was when he saved my life when I was six.¡± ¡°He saved cute little Vivi-chan?¡± ¡°Why would a marine save you?¡± ¡°That¡¯s what marines do Luffy¡± ¡°Quiet! All of you! Vivi¡¯s is telling her story!¡± ¡°Thank you Nami. So where was I¡­¡± ¡°The guy saved your life when he was a marine and you were six.¡± ¡°Oh! Right. So one day I sneak out of the pce. I have heard of a circus arriving in town and I wanted to go see them. I found out that they were performingter in the day so I took a stroll into a stall street I¡¯ve never been to before, when I saw a young man getting scammed by a fruit merchant. I told him what the merchant was doing and he believed me.The merchant was not happy and grabbed me violently¡­.¡± When he heard that Sanji had the aura of the demon. ¡®I¡¯ll find that guy and kick his ass!¡¯ ¡°When the young man grabbed the merchant back, lectured him and knocked him out!¡± ¡°So he¡¯s a nice guy then?¡± ¡°Luffy he¡¯s marine, they are the nice guys¡± ¡°Oh, right that¡¯s true.¡± A vein popped on Vivi¡¯s forehead. ¡®Will you stop interrupting me already!¡¯ ¡°Anyway he asked me if I knew some good fruit stalls and if I could lead him to them. I agreed but he would have to buy me some fruit in exchange.¡± ¡°Hehe, nice, I¡¯m proud of you Vivi¡± said Nami. Vivi cut short the story. ¡°In the end we spent all day together and even watched the circus. When the royal guard found me they let it out that I was the princess, they thought he had kidnapped me and attacked him. He wiped the floor with them, and said something like¡±. She tried to do a deep grave voice¡± ¡°Princess or not I promised her to walk her home, so I¡¯m walking her home!¡° ¡°A man of his word, I like that¡±. ¡°That¡¯s so cool!¡± ¡°My father caught wind of the situation and wanted to meet him. Then I went to the kitchen to ask the maids to cook the fruit he bought for me. After that, well I was just told what happened. Two of the royal guards were traitors and kidnapped me. It took an hour before anyone knew about it but when he did he started chasing after them. In less than 4 hours he found me, took care of the kidnapper and their organization and took me back to the pce.¡± ¡°Wow! That¡¯s amazing!¡± ¡°Pell, one of the head chief of the royal guard, said that he was the best tracker the marines had on Grand line and that his sess rate was 100% without any casualty ever.¡± ¡°Man, that guy is a beast.¡± ¡°Luffy we need to get rid of him! We¡¯re doom if he wakes up¡± ¡°What are you talking about, he¡¯s Vivi¡¯s friend!¡¯ ¡°He escorted my father and I to the world¡¯s summit that was happening at the time and brought us back in basta. On the journey I made him a unique bracelet. And when I saw it on his arm, I had hoped it was him. I had to take a good look at his face because it¡¯s been 10 years and he didn¡¯t have this big beard by then.¡± ¡°So, what¡¯s his name, he must be pretty famous!¡± ¡°Oh! He is famous.¡± said Vivi with augh ¡° His name is Rick Wald.¡± ¡°¡°¡°¡°¡°¡° Never heard of him ¡±¡±¡±¡±¡± ¡°Well you may know him by his nickname: the world¡¯s worst traitor.¡± The crew was shocked. Everyone had at least heard of him once. Of the legend. Ussop fainted with foam out of his mouth. ¡°You mean the marine that tried to murder a Vice-Admiral?¡± ¡°And the Fleet admiral?¡± ¡°And a world noble?¡± ¡°Yes, that¡¯s him¡±. ¡°That¡¯s so cool!¡± said Luffy with stars in his eyes. ¡°I thought it was just a story to scare children¡±. ¡°It¡¯s not. But I believe he¡¯s innocent and was framed.¡± ¡°Why do you think so?¡± ¡°Because he¡¯s the nicest person I have ever met. I refuse to believe what the marine says about him, it¡¯s just not true.¡± ~~~~~~ The strawhats finally arrived at Nanohana. Luffy met Ace there and introduced him to his friends. Ace gave him a piece of his vivre card and helped them leave the port by sinking the ships of Baroque Work without ever knowing that his new brother was resting a few feet away. They were now sailing to the west side of the Sandora River¡¯s delta when Rick woke up, scaring Chopper. ¡®HOLY SHIT! It¡¯s Chopper! That means, I¡¯m on the Going Merry. I got swept up by a storm and got picked up by the Strawhats. Am I lucky or not? Anyway time for my trusted friend acting Level 5 to shine!¡¯ ¡°Do you happen to have some food and water perhaps?¡± Chopper snapped out of it. ¡°Guys he¡¯s awake!¡± he yelled while running outside. Rick got up and followed him. ¡°Hello, my name is Rick Do you hap¡­¡± He couldn¡¯t finish his sentence as he was tackled down by a fluff of light blue hair. ¡°Ouch! What the ¡­¡± The fluff then moved, disying a crying face with lips tightly shut to not let a sob escape. ¡°Vivi?!¡± She nodded vehemently, then rested her head on his chest. ¡°Alright, alright, stop crying, everything will be fine.¡± She kept crying and didn¡¯t seem to stop . Rick patted her head and saw the rest of the crew. ¡°Hello, I¡¯m Rick! Do you have anything to eat?¡± ~~~~~~ Vivi finally stopped crying but would not let go of Rick. Perhaps she was scared that he would disappear if she did. Rick was fed a steak by Sanji. ¡®Too salty. Did he cry on it?¡¯ ¡°Vivi isn¡¯t it time that you introduce your friends to me? This silence is making me ufortable.¡± ¡°I¡¯m Luffy and I¡¯m gonna be the pirate king!¡± ¡®That¡¯s a big dream! Good luck¡± ¡°Thanks!¡± ¡°Is it true what the stories say about you?¡± ¡°There are stories about me?¡± ¡°Yes! You try to kill a bunch of very important people.¡± ¡°Oh, that? Nope, not one bit, I don¡¯t kill people.¡± ¡°I knew it!¡± said Vivi with happiness. ¡°Yeah they med me, because I humiliated a Vice-Admiral twice. That guy was a real prick to me, so I put him in his ce and held a grudge for years. When I quit, he used the opportunity to frame me.¡± ¡°Wow what bastard!¡± ¡°That¡¯s the marine for you! Though not all marines are bad people¡­¡± ¡°Wait, you quit the marines?¡± asked Vivi surprised. ¡°I did, turned out they¡¯re worse than pirates scum!¡± Said Rick unhappily. ¡®I wonder how they will take it¡¯ ¡°Hey!¡± said Luffy, offended. ¡°Oh, sorry! You¡¯re Vivi¡¯s friends, so pirates or not, you¡¯re not scum.¡± smiled Rick. ¡°You trust her a whole lot for someone you haven¡¯t see in 10 years¡± said Zoro. ¡°Of course! If I didn¡¯t, she would not be my friend!¡± This answer seemed to satisfy Luffy. Vivi asked the question she wanted to ask the most. ¡°Rick, what were you doing in the bastan¡¯s sea?¡± ¡° I went through a big storm and go shipwreck¡± ¡°You went into that Giant Storm near basta?¡± asked Nami dumbfounded. ¡°Yep¡± ¡°ARE YOU CRAZY? YOU MIGHT HAVE DIED!¡± screamed Vivi in his ears. ¡°Well, I¡¯m not, so that¡¯s fine right?¡± The biggest vein they ever saw popped on Vivi¡¯s head. She grabbed his ear and pulled! ¡°Vivi! It¡¯s gonna rip, it¡¯s gonna rip!¡± ¡°DON¡¯T YOU EVER DO THAT EVER AGAIN!¡± ¡° I won¡¯t! Please let go!¡± ¡°PROMISE ME!¡± ¡°I promise, I swear. Please, I don¡¯t wanna be a buddha!¡± ¡°Shishishishi¡± Luffy wasughing heartilly. Everyone had a warm smile at Vivi¡¯s and Rick antics. ¡° So Rick, why did you go through the storm?¡± ¡°Oh that! Well that¡¯s because I heard that a certain princess had disappeared.¡± he said while looking severely at vivi who just turned her head away in embarrassment. ¡°So I came here to check¡± ¡° You could have visited in 10 years!¡± she oomphed. ¡°Suuuure the basta¡¯s Royal family in cahoots with one of the world¡¯s most wanted men. How could anything go wrong, I wonder.¡± said Rick rolling his eyes. She just hugged him tight. ¡°I¡¯m d you''re alive.¡± ¡°They¡¯re gonna have to try a little harder than that if the marines want my head¡± he chuckled. ¡°Anyway what¡¯s the deal Vivi? Why did you disappeared?¡± ¡°It¡¯s a long story.¡± ¡°I have all the time in the world, so start talking.¡± And she did, for a long time. Not a chapter but good news. Not a chapter but good news. If you have read the note in chapter 33: Friends (Forver) you''ll know that I wasn''t satisfied with some part of the basta Arc. I got some good feedback as well. As for the reason why I''ve not posted any new chapter these past few days is simple: I decided to rewrite chapter 32 and Chapter 33. It took some time to think about changes that I wanted to make (and write them). To here''s what''s up: Chapter 32: I changed some things and added a lot. Chapter 33 : will be entirely rewritten and longer . I will delete the current version of chapter 32 and 33 and rece them with their V2. My apologies, I didn''t gave you a good basta arc, but I promise to do my best to fix that. Chapter 32:The truth? You can’t handle the truth! (V2) Chapter 32:The truth? You can¡¯t handle the truth! (V2) ¡°I am going to kick that fastard¡¯s bass so hard he¡¯s going to fly to the moon!¡± Rick had murder in his eyes. ¡°Nobody treats Vivi like that without hurting a lot as a result¡±. Vivi blushed and turned her head to the side to hide it. Nami saw it and smiled though. Chopper and Ussop were scared at his outburst, they could feel his bloodthirst. Sanji and Zoro had a serious expression. ¡®That guy is no joke.¡¯ And Luffy¡­. Well¡­ ¡°Shishishi.¡± ¡°By the way, since I don¡¯t think I did it yet; Thank you for saving me. And thank you for taking care of Vivi, I know she can be a handful sometimes.¡± ¡°Hey!¡± She protested. She pped his shoulders hard. Rick was all muscles though, so she ended up hurting her hand. She didn¡¯t let her pain show and just pouted. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, Vivi has been more helpful than anything.¡± ¡°And we couldn¡¯t let her friend die in the sea!¡± ¡°Hmm. Luffy we didn¡¯t know he was her friend before we picked him up¡± said Ussop¡± ¡°Oh yeah that¡¯s right¡±. ¡°By the way. Where are we and what¡¯s the n?¡± ¡° We¡¯re on our way to the west side of the Sandora river. We n tond on Erumalu and from there we¡¯re going to Yuba, it¡¯s the rebel army base.¡± ¡°The rebel army? Why do you want to go to them?¡± ¡°Their leader is Koza, a childhood friend of mine, I hope he can listen to me and stop the rebellion so we can go after Crocodile¡± ¡°Speaking of him, where is he?¡± ¡° North of Yuba at the rainbase¡± ¡°So we¡¯re stopping near Erumalu, go straight to Yuba, stop the rebellion and get their help to take care of Crocodile further north¡­¡± Vivi nodded. ¡°It¡¯s simple on paper¡­¡± ¡°Yes. I know defeating Crocodile will be difficult, but I have faith!¡± ¡°Good! Because without faith you can¡¯t achieve anything¡± Rick patted her head. ¡°Stop doing that!¡± ¡°Why? Don¡¯t like it?¡± ¡°Because I¡¯m not a kid anymore!¡± ¡°If I remember correctly, you¡¯re 16, so not an adult. That still makes you a kid no matter how mature you are.¡± Vivi grumbled and escaped away from this reach. Rick had a littleugh. ¡®Ten years may have passed but still as cute as ever.¡¯ He was right. Vivi had matured a lot and in many ways, yet she was still the stubborn princess that wanted to taste every single drink he made when he was a bartender in basta nights. What changed the most with her growing up, was her beautiful a¡­.. (Author¡¯s note: *frowns* She¡¯s still 16) ¡­attentive heart. She was ready to help someone in need when she was little, sure, but she wasn¡¯t ready to sacrifice herself to do it. At only 14, she took upon herself to do what was necessary to save her people, no matter what happens to her. Her determination and her caring nature, won the heart of many fans, including the author. (Author¡¯s note: Excuse you?) What? Don¡¯t you dare tell me that you¡¯re not a fan of hers and that you didn¡¯t n to make her a member of Rick¡¯s harem? (Author¡¯s note: STILL 16!) Yeah, yeah, but after the time skip she won¡¯t be anymore,so ¡­. (Author¡¯s note: BACK TO THE STORY! NOW!) ¡®Let¡¯s try to familiarize myself with the crew, It would suck if they don¡¯t ask me to join after saving the country¡¯ thought Rick He was right to think so. Or worse, he¡¯s asked to join but has never really interacted with them, forcing the author to rework some parts of some chapters already done. (Author''s note: Well narrator, this is my first story ever, I¡¯m bound to make mistakes and I¡¯m not afraid to admit and correct them.) And so Rick went to meddle with the crew, Vivi excluded since he already knew her. ¡°So Luffy, since you want to be the pirate king, I¡¯ll take that you''re interested in Gol D. Roger?¡± ¡°Of course! He¡¯s the greatest pirate who ever lived!¡± ¡°Want to hear what happened the day of his execution by someone who saw it?¡± ¡°Yes!¡± He was ecstatic. ¡°Wait, you witnessed the death of the pirate king?¡± asked Nami incredulous ¡°Lot of people did Nami it was broadcast around the whole world.¡±Said Sanji ¡°Yes but not all people around the whole word were a fresh 6 months old recruit of the marine in loguetown at the time, Sanji.¡± ¡°¡°¡°You were there?!¡±¡±¡± Rick nodded ¡°Come on tell us already!¡± said an impatient Luffy ¡°Short version or long version?¡± ¡°Long version!¡± ¡°Okay. So, that day I was supposed to have a day off because it was my birthday. BUT. My idiot superior at the time forgot it and sent me to patrol the streets because kids are not supposed to watch execution, he said.¡± ¡°WHAT? What an ass.¡± said Luffy ¡°He¡¯s right though, execution is not something a child should see¡± answered Nami. Vivi was nodding in agreement. ¡°So, I¡¯m patrolling the street when I saw the dark king.¡± ¡°The dark king? Who¡¯s that?¡± asked Luffy, puzzled ¡°Luffy, the dark king is Roger¡¯s first mate, how can YOU not know that.¡± Luffyughed embarrassed. ¡°Wait you met the dark king?¡± asked Sanji suspiciously. Rick smirked. ¡°I did more than met him. See, at the time, his face was still very well known, and he was walking in in sight without any disguise. So I sneaked up on him.¡± ¡°You sneaked up on him?¡± questioned Zoro, doubtful. ¡°Yep. Nobody pays attention to a child after all. Anyway, I strike a deal with him. I helped him not being seen by the marines and he took me to the za where Roger was to spend hisst moments. I gave him my marine cap to hide his face a bit, and climb on his shoulders.¡± ¡°This story is more unbelievable the more it goes.¡± Rick ignored Sanji¡¯s remark and continued his tale. ¡° A middle-age man with a cap alone is suspicious; a middle-age man with a cap and a kid on his shoulders, just looks like a kid and his grandpa. The marines didn¡¯t even spare a look towards us. We finally came to the za. Roger was handcuffed and on his knees. He was smiling. It was as if his death didn¡¯t matterred. And when the marine officer asked if he had anyst world his smile grew bigger, ear to ear. You know what happened next¡­ but Roger never stopped smiling.¡± ¡°That¡¯s amazing!¡± Ussop and Luffy said in once voice. ¡°Do you have more stories like that?¡± ¡°Well, I was a marine for more than ten years, so I have a lot, want to hear them too?¡± ¡°¡°YES!¡±¡± Luffy, Ussop and Chopper yelled. And Vivi too! She was really curious about Rick¡¯s life, she didn¡¯t know much except the time he was with her. ¡°Where should I begin¡­¡± ¡°How you became a marine. Roger¡¯s death was 22 years ago. And despite your beard you¡¯re what? Early thirties at best? You should have been young when you joined the marines.¡± ¡°Okay. So everything started when I woke up one day¡­¡± ~~~~~ ¡°So that¡¯s how you ended up seeing the pirate king¡¯s death. I have to say it¡¯s an unusual story.¡± Said Nami. ¡°And what¡¯s your devil fruit powers?¡± ¡°To make it simple my power is allowing me to control gravity.¡± ¡°To increase it or the negate it¡± Rick made Luffy float a bit above the ground. ¡°That¡¯s so cool!¡± he eximed. ¡°¡°Me Too! Me too!¡±¡± Chanted Ussop and Chopper And soon, they joined Luffy in the air. ¡°That¡¯s an incredibly useful ability¡± said Sanji ¡®He can lift skirts at will!¡¯ ¡°I can do much more than that. Many people don''t realize but there is more than just using the powers that a devil fruit gives you. You need to think outside the box. Then your power will decuplicate. To give you an exemple, when I train my body, I increase the gravity around me. It¡¯s like you have more weight on you, and your muscles develop faster since they work harder. Hearing that gravity could help in his training Zoro was interested. ¡°Can I try?¡± he asked. ¡°Sure! Please move away from the others.¡± Zoro distanced himself from everyone, and nodded to Rick, letting him know he was ready. ¡°I don¡¯t know how strong you are so I¡¯ll start small and increase bit by bit.¡± ¡°Nah, Just give me a good dose straight.¡± ¡°Are you sure? Don¡¯t me me if you get hurt.¡± ¡°Do it!¡± He was suddenlyying on the floor face first ¡®If you want to be cocky, fine.¡¯ ¡°Try to stand up. If you can¡¯t do it anymore, just say it.¡± Everyone was dumbfounded, Zoro has been tten on the wooden floor and could do nothing. He tried to stand, even with all his strength he could only push himself up a few centimeters off the ground before falling down. Rick quickly stopped pressuring him. Andnd him his hand. ¡°Not bad for the first time.¡± he said with a smile. Zoro was catching his breath, and grabbed his hand. Rick pulled him up. ¡°You know, it¡¯s good to train hard your body just a bit above it¡¯s limit. But too far beyond¡­ at best you won¡¯t develop, at worst you will permanently hurt yourself. Zoro nodded. ¡°Take some rest, and if you want to try again we will, but this time will find you an appropriate gravity. ¡°Thank you¡± was all Zoro said. ¡°You got the will, though, and that¡¯s what is the more important.¡± he said to him smiling. Both went back to their audience. ¡°Rick, why did you enter the marines? That¡¯s the one thing you didn¡¯t tell in your story. With your power you could have joined a crew and be a famous pirate. Even young, you would have fare well.¡± ¡°Well¡­ Since I was an orphan, I guess I wanted a family and the marines is kinda like one. Besides I wanted to see the world.But Mostly I wanted to protect and help the people who couldn¡¯t do it themselves. What about all of you? What made you sail the seas?¡± Zoro first spoke up: ¡° I want to be the best swordsman in the world. I didn¡¯t start as a pirate though. I was a bounty hunter. Got caught by a corrupt marine. Luffy saved me and asked me to join me and here I am.¡± ¡°Good luck! Defeating Hawkeye Mihawk won¡¯t be easy.¡± Zoro has a bitterugh. ¡°Don¡¯t I know it.¡± Seeing the confusion on Rick¡¯s face, thanks to acting Level 5, Sanji exined. ¡°He got trashed by Mihawk in East Blue¡±. ¡®Now, let¡¯s make a bewildered face¡¯ ¡°And you survived?! That¡¯s impressive!¡± ¡°One day I¡¯ll take his head.¡± said Zoro with determination. ¡°My dream is to make a map of the world.¡± announced Nami. ¡°That idiot over there needed a navigator so I joined.¡± she was pointing at Luffy. ¡°Mine is to be a great warrior of the seas like my father.¡± ¡°Mine is to find All-blue. ¡°I want to be a great doctor who can cure any diseases and to travel the world with my friend. Rick smiled. ¡®You knew that one day, I would be witnessing the strawhats telling me their dreams. I¡¯m so d to be in this world¡¯. Vivi was curious and asked. ¡°Rick, what about you?¡± ¡°What about me?¡± ¡°What is your dream?¡± Everyone was interested to know about that. They were looking at him with attention, waiting. ¡°I¡­ don¡¯t have a dream anymore. My dream was to be Fleet admiral of the marine, and I don¡¯t see that happening anytime soon now¡± His voice was full of sadness, regret and bitterness. ¡®Come on, take the bait.¡¯ ¡° THAT¡¯S NOT GOOD !¡± yelled Luffy ¡®Hook, line and sinker.¡¯ ¡° You can¡¯t sail the seas and don¡¯t have a dream! You need to found a new one!¡± Rickughed. ¡°That¡¯s more or less what a recent friend said.¡± ¡°You should listen to him!¡± ¡°Well I was, then I heard Vivi had disappeared so I put that thought in the back of my mind.¡± ¡°Good!¡± Zoro asked for a second round, this time Luffy and Sanji joined him. Luffy was the first to stand on his feet followed by Zoro and Sanji. The gravity was at a more eptable level but it was still hard for them. ¡°That was impressive. Doing that every day is a no go, but it¡¯s a good way to see if you¡¯ve gotten stronger or not. If you still want me to help you train, I¡¯ll use a gravity heavy enough to allow you to move with difficulty. That way you¡¯ll progress in no time. Rick turned to the rest. ¡°You guys want to train too? At a lower level of course.¡± ¡°No thanks, they¡¯re the fighters¡±. ¡°They won¡¯t always be here to protect you Nami. You should be able to defend yourself a bit.¡± Nami thought about it a bit, and nodded. ¡°I guess you¡¯re right.¡± ~~~~~ Theynded at Erumalu, finally. There they saw an animal near the water. ¡®Yes! I always wanted to train some of them!¡¯ ¡°Vivi! What¡¯s that?¡± Rick pointed at it. ¡°That¡¯s a Kung-fu Dugong !¡± Ussop approach one. ¡°Kung-fu.¡± ¡°Ussop, get away!¡± But before Vivi could warn him Ussop was already defeated. ¡°So what¡¯s up with them ?¡± ¡°They are sea fighter animals. It¡¯s Kung-Fu Dugongw that the loser of a fight bes the winner¡¯s student.¡± ¡°It seems we have two winners over here.¡± said Nami pointing at Luffy and Rick. ¡° You should not beat them up either! They will follow them forever now!¡± Next thing she knew, Luffy was teaching them to fight. ¡°No, the stance goes like this!¡± and he showed them his punch stance. Rick was teaching them the marine salute. ¡°Perfect! That¡¯s how you pay respect to your teacher, never forget it!¡± ¡°HOW DID YOU GET SO MANY!¡± ¡°Well the one I beat went back to the sea and came back with his friends.¡± ¡°Mine too.¡± ¡° Why did the two of you have to defeat a master..¡± She was face palming andmenting. ¡°¡°Is that bad?¡±¡± asked Luffy and Rick She sighed. ¡°When you defeat a master every single one of his students bes your student too.¡± ¡°That¡¯s awesome!¡± ¡°Luffy! Let¡¯s find the Dugong¡¯s grandmaster and build an army!¡± ¡°Yes!¡± But before they could march towards the sea Vivi had punched them both with the deadly fist of love. ¡°ENOUGH! We don¡¯t have time for this!¡± ¡°¡°Sorry...¡±¡± After Chopper negotiated with them the Dugongs stopped following the group. They had to give them half their food though. They walked a bit and were in front of the town entrance. ¡°We¡¯re finally at Yuba! But it doesn¡¯t seem that anyone is here.¡± Vivi was looking sadly at the town. ¡°This is not Yuba Luffy, this is Erumalu the Green city, or what¡¯s left of it.¡± ¡°What happened here? Erumalu was a verdoyant city full of people. This..., is just a ghost town.¡± Rick was acting to the max. He already knew why the town was like that, but he had to y the part. ¡®Always acting ignorant is really tiring.¡¯ ¡°Crocodile happened.¡± said Vivi with anger. ¡°Because of the change in weather it didn¡¯t rain anymore. Droughts happened everywhere in the kingdom. Except at one ce. Alubarna the king¡¯s city. One day a scandal broke out. Dance powder was found in the pce.¡± ¡°Dance powder?¡± ¡°That¡¯s a powder, which smoke makes it rain. It elerates the formation of water in clouds in the sky. The downside is that the surrounding areas suffer a drought since the clouds who should have made water by the time they arrived in those areas couldn¡¯t form any.¡± said Nami. ¡°People used my father of using the dance powder to make it rain in the capital and by doing so deprive the rest of the kingdom of rain. Towns dried up, people died of hunger and rebels formed an army against an innocent country. Crocodile stole everything! The kingdom¡¯s peace, the trust in the royal family, the rain and people''s lives!¡± She was crying by now. Rick walked up to her, and patted her head. ¡®I don¡¯t know why, but I really like giving her pats¡¯ ¡°Long ago I made the decision to capture criminals no matter what instead of killing them. But for Crocodile, I¡¯ll make an exception.¡± ~~~~~ After a few hours walking they were exhausted.The sun and the heat was too much. Luffy rushed to the shade of the big rock they had seen and like in the original got our stuff stolen by the birds. But when he tried to get our stuff back and came back with a big giant Lizard chasing him Rick saw a golden opportunity. Before they could kill him, He tten it to the ground with his gravity violently. Everyone was dumbfounded at what happened. ¡°I don¡¯t know what¡¯s happening but let¡¯s kill that guy and eat his meat!¡± Rick used his gravity to stop it in his tracks. Luffy, Zoro and Sanji took care of it in one attack. ¡°So that¡¯s how you did that back then. I didn¡¯t realize on the ship.¡± said Vivi with a sudden realization. ¡°Vivi?¡± ¡°Well, you remember, when I told you about the time when the royal guards surrounded us when Rick walked me home?They all fell on their knees to the ground, that was you right?¡± she said turning to him ¡°Yep. They deserved it, what kind of royal guards doesn¡¯t bow or kneel before a princess, especially theirs.¡± ¡°You didn¡¯t bow either.¡± chidded Vivi. ¡°Well for one, I¡¯m your friend, for two I¡¯ll only ever bow to my wife!¡± ¡°¡°¡°¡°¡°YOUR WIFE?!¡±¡±¡±¡±¡± ¡°Is it that surprising?¡± ¡°You¡¯re married?¡± Vivi started hyperventting. ¡°What? No, not yet why?¡± Vivi hit him so hard his head was stuck into the sand and he looked like an ostrich. ¡®THAT IDIOT!¡¯ she thought The guys were scared shitless. Vivi had somehow learned from Nami the love punch. But the one she just gave Rick¡­. Even Nami never hit so hard¡­ Nami justughed ¡®You shouldn¡¯t y with ady¡¯s heart like that Rick. Poor Vivi, she¡¯s in love with a dense idiot. Well I understand why this idiot particrly though.¡¯ Luffy and Ussop were freeing Rick while Nami could hear Vivi mutter to herself. ¡°I¡¯ll make you kneel to me one day.¡± Rick was finally free and was spitting sand. ¡®Damn, Vivi knows how tond a punch.¡¯ Zoro was about to cut the lizard when he stopped him. ¡°Wait Zoro!¡± ¡°What?¡± ¡°Do you think you could skin a part of his back?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know. Probably? I cut things normally, not skin them. Why do you need me to do that anyway.¡± ¡°The lizard lived in this weather, so I guess his skin is somewhat resistant to the heat. If it isn¡¯t, we still would have an umbre. ¡°Umbre ?¡± ¡°Yes I could make the port of his skin you cut float above our heads protecting us from the sun.¡± ¡°Zoro, skin that thing.¡± Ordered nami with authority. Everyone nodded vehemently in agreement. He seeded in his task then cut part of the lizard¡¯s flesh. ¡°Well now we have food again.¡± said Sanji looking nastily at Luffy. ¡°You can cut more, I¡¯ll make it float too. We can give any surplus to the people of Yuba.¡± ¡°Your ability is really a cheat.¡± ¡°That¡¯s really a neat power.¡± ¡°Yes, but it¡¯s very taxing if you don¡¯t have a well trained body and the stamina that goes with it. Over exhaust yourself and the best oue for you is dying or you¡¯re in for months of rehabilitation.¡± ¡°Speaking from experience?¡±asked Sanji, curious. Rick had a littleugh ¡°You have no idea?¡± ¡°What happened, if you don¡¯t mind me asking?¡± ¡°I participated in a fight against Shiki.¡± ¡°Who¡¯s that?¡± asked Luffy. ¡°Wait! Shiki, as in Shiki the Golden Lion?¡± ¡°You know of him Nami?¡± ¡°Yes! He was one of the pirate King¡¯s rivals. Last time he was seen was when he attacked the marines headquarters around twenty years ago.¡± ¡°Yeah, almost died that day. Worst birthday ever.¡± Everyone had a dubious look. ¡°Riiiiight¡± ¡°What?¡± ¡°You¡¯re like what? In yourte twenties, early thirties? You would have been around ten back then, and you¡¯re telling us that you fought shiki?¡± ¡°Oh no,I didn¡¯t.¡± ¡°But you said that you fought him!¡± said Luffy with a frown. ¡°No, I said I participated in the fight. While the Fleet admiral and two Vice admiral were the ones fighting him, I stood as far as I could and used my gravity on him. That didn¡¯t bother him at first. But over time, his stamina was depleting faster and faster. For around 10 to 15 minutes I used it at the maximum output. In the end I could not handle it and almost died. Spent months in aa, and much more healing.¡± Rick was very careful to be evasive about the fight, so that Garp¡¯s name would note out. That¡¯s why the situation was what it was. They were not convinced. Even Vivi had some doubts. Rick smiled. ¡°Think whatever you want. Whether you believe it or not, it won¡¯t change that it¡¯s the truth.¡± ~~~~~~ They arrived at Yuba; the lizard¡¯s skin was indeed not heat resistant but it blocked the sun well, making the temperature drop a bit under it. As expected the rebel army wasn¡¯t there. Vivi met Toto, Koza¡¯s father, who told her the army relocated in the Katorea oasis east of Nanohana. Vivi wanted to go back. ¡°We need to go back to Nanohana and intercept them.¡± ¡°We can¡¯t Vivi! Stopping them won¡¯t change a thing as long as Crocodile is not taken out. He¡¯s been nning for years, he must have ways to still keep the war going!¡± said Luffy, surprisingly ¡°We can take care of him afterwards!¡± ¡°That won¡¯t stop casualties!¡± Rick intervened before the both of them started to fight. ¡®If I remember correctly the fight ended with vivi crying. Not gonna happen this time.¡¯ ¡°Vivi, Luffy is right. Besides, Crocodile is a lot closer than the rebel Army is.¡± Vivi relented. They spent the night in Yuba and left for Rainbase in the morning. Toto had dug all new to find a bit of water. Everything he found he put it in a barrel then gave it to Luffy. Chapter 33: Friends (forever) (V2) Chapter 33: Friends (forever) (V2) The group travelled quickly to Rainbase. The town seems prosperous. A stark contrast to Erumalu and Yuba. A lot of people were around, making the town full of life. ¡°Let¡¯s kick Crocodile¡¯s ass!¡± started Luffy. ¡°Luffy, I propose we take a short break, we¡¯re all tired and thirsty.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll buy some supplies, we¡¯ve only been eating lizard¡¯s meat recently, it would be good to have something else.¡± ¡°Let¡¯s all gather here in one hour?¡± Luffy and Ussop went to a pub. Sanji went to buy food and water as he said. The rest of the group stayed together. Rick had an uneasy face. ¡®I had the feeling I forgot something¡¯ Zoro saw his look and asked. ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know why, but I got a bad feeling.¡± ¡°What kind of bad feeling?¡± ¡°The really bad kind. Like I should not have let something happen¡± ¡°Don¡¯t start raising gs!¡± said Nami. Just as she said that. Ussop and luffy came running to them pursued by marines and Smoker. ¡®I knew I forgot something!¡¯ Nami yelled ¡° RIIIIIIIICK!¡± ¡°SORRY!¡± ¡°Let¡¯s get out of here.¡± They all started to run. ¡°Since it¡¯se to this let¡¯s go to Crocodile! Hiding will waste too much time. Vivi, do you know where he is?¡± ¡°The casino!¡± ¡°We should split and try to lose the marines. We can¡¯t fight crocodile and the marines at the same time¡± ¡°I¡¯ll bait smokey! Everyone let¡¯s meet back at the croc¡¯s house!¡± Vivi and Zoro went together, Rick was with Nami. Ussopn and Sanji formed their own group. ¡°Go on ahead! I¡¯ll slow them down!¡± said Sanji. ¡°Be careful!¡± Rick could have taken care of the marines but he wanted to save his strength against Crocodile. He never fought a logia before, and he wasn¡¯t sure his gravity would have any effect on the sand. ¡®And I can¡¯t use the water of the room where Crocodile is, since it¡¯s underwater we could be doomed.¡¯ The marines were gaining ground. Even though Nami has trained a bit under his gravity it was too short a time to have any significance. She had a bit more stamina but that was it. He picked her up. ¡°Rick what are you doing ?¡± she yelled in protest. ¡°We¡¯re too slow, we¡¯re going to get caught.¡± He sped up enough to lose the marines and soon they were at the entrance of the casino. Ussop was arriving too. ¡°You lost them too?¡± ¡°Yes, it wasn¡¯t easy though. Nami started hitting Rick. ¡° Will you let me down already?¡± ¡° Oh? Yes, yes, sorry, I was kinda caught up in the moment, and you¡¯re so light, I forgot I was carrying you.¡± ¡°Fine, I forgive you this time.¡± ¡®Did I get some affection points from her? I really need to look for something like that in the system¡¯s store.¡¯ Just then Zoro arrived. ¡°Zoro? Wasn¡¯t Vivi with you?¡± ¡°Yeah! But I don¡¯t understand she was the one that went ahead, she should be here¡±. ¡°GUYS !! LET¡¯S GO INSIDE!!!¡± Luffy wasing, followed by Smoker. Everyone went inside. ¡°CROCODILE!¡± Yelled Luffy ¡°You think he showed himself to the first guy that yell his name?¡± said Rick ¡°Do you have another way? We don¡¯t know his face, only Vivi does!¡± ¡°That doesn¡¯t mean we can¡¯t find him. Since he¡¯s the boss around here, he should be in the boss¡¯ room. Let¡¯s search for a ce where people are not allowed to go.¡± ¡°That¡¯s smart, Rick!¡± said an impressed Luffy. ¡°I¡¯ve got you now strawhat!¡± ¡°Smoker¡¯s here!¡± ¡°Let¡¯s move!¡± Security was approaching the crew, but they were quickly sent flying away by Luffy, Zoro and Rick. The chief of security received orders ¡°Bring them to the VIP room¡± ¡°Understood, Manager¡± He went to the group and invited them. ¡°Lady, and sirs, you¡¯ve been invited to the VIP room, pleasee this way.¡± ¡°VIP? What¡¯s that?¡± asked Luffy. ¡°Kinda the boss¡¯ room. It¡¯s probably a trap though.¡± ¡°Fond you strawhat!¡± ¡°Let¡¯s go!¡± They went through the door and the corridor behind it. ¡®Soon, we¡¯ll be at the corridor¡¯s plit way. Should I let the story follow his course or .... No, if we defeat Crocodile here, Robin will never join the crew¡­¡¯ ¡°The way splits in two! To the left VIP and to the right pirates!¡± said Ussop. ¡°To the right!¡± ¡°¡°Luffy I think it¡¯s a¡­¡±¡± said Nami. Toote. Luffy went straight right and everyone followed him, Smoker included. ~~~~~~ Meanwhile, Vivi was surrounded by Crocodile¡¯s men. ¡°Quite the fight you put there princess, but your resistance ends here.¡± Before they could approach her closer, they were attacked from the sky. ¡°What? What¡¯s that giant bird?!¡± ¡°Pell!¡± Hended in front of her, in a position to block any attacksing Vivi¡¯s way. ¡°It has been a long time princess. Please wait here a moment while I take care of them.¡± He then proceeded to quickly do what he said. ¡°Thank you Pell! Now I have to hurry and join the others. ¡°I can help you with that, princess.¡± ¡°Who?¡± Vivi looked up and saw Miss All-Sundays. ¡°You¡¯ve been invited, princess.¡± ~~~~~~ The crew, minus Sanji and with, along with Rick and Smoker were trapped inside a cage made of seastone. ¡°What a cunning trap¡± said luffy ¡°CUNNING MY ASS!¡± yelled Nami ¡°The only way it could have been more obvious would have been to write ¡°trap¡± instead of ¡°pirate¡± on the sign.¡± said Rick face palming. Luffy grabbed the bars trying to break them but lost his strength. ¡°It feels like all my strength is being sucked out.¡± Smoker took his seastone sword and rushed Luffy. Rick intervened and blocked him. ¡°That¡¯s because it¡¯s made of seastone, it¡¯s a metal with the same properties as the sea. Devil fruit users are weakened when they touch it. And their power diminished. Otherwise smokey here would already be out.¡± he said while looking him in the eye. ¡°Who are you?¡± ¡°No one you should know.¡± Smoker stayed silent for a moment then spoke. ¡°He¡¯s right though, if the bars were not made of seastone I''d be out, and all of you arrested.¡± ¡°Seeing how ipetent you are, I highly doubt that.¡± ¡°What did you say?¡± answered an gered Smoker. ¡°I said you were ipetent. This whole country is about to go to hell, because the marines gave this guy privileges, and are not even aware of what he¡¯s doing here.¡± said Rick pointing to Crocodile. Crocodile that was eating, stopped and started talking: ¡°That beard man is right. I¡¯ve been nning and acting in the shadow for years, right under the nose of the marines.¡± At that moment Vivi was brought in by Miss All-sundays. ¡°Ha! The star of the show. Take a good look Smoker! Despite being so young princess Vivi here did a better job than the marines!¡± He turned to Vivi. ¡°I would love to entertain you, Miss Wednesday, but the rebellion will start their offensive in about 8 hours, and it¡¯s quite the distance from Rainbase to Alubarna. I don¡¯t want to bete for the beginning of the show.¡± He took a key from one of his pocket. ¡°This is the key to the cage your friends are in.¡± He dropped it into the hole in front of Vivi. Under it was a big room where giant crocodiles with a banana shaped protrusion on their head, were. ¡®Time to get that key¡¯. While Vivi was looking at Crocodile and not the key, he made the key float. ¡°I¡¯m giving you a choice princess. In about four minutes this room will be flooded and your friend will die drowning. So you can either leave now and try to get to Alubarna before the fight starts, or take the time to help your friends.¡± Vivi looked down and saw a bananadile where the key used to be. ¡°Vivi get the key!¡± said Luffy. ¡°I can¡¯t! A Bananadile ate it!¡± ¡°Then kick his ass and take it!¡± ¡°Luffy that¡¯s a bananadile! Sometimes they even prey on sea kings!¡± Crocodile and Miss All-Sundays were living. He turned around and addressed Vivi. ¡°Hurry princess, and make your choice.Your friends or the son of that stubborn old man in Yuba and all his men in the rebellion.¡± ¡°You know Toto?¡± asked Luffy, surprised. ¡°Oh yes! I took great pleasure sending sandstorm his way all those years. ¡° heughed ¡°What?¡± ¡°Did you really think that those sandstorms were natural?¡± He raised his hand and a mini sand tornado appeared in it. ¡°That was just me. Hahahaha.¡± He left whileughing. ¡°¡°I¡¯m gonna kill that guy.¡±¡± Said Luffy and Rick. Water was rising. The devil users lost their strength. ¡°Zoro, support me!¡± Rick climbed onto Zoro¡¯s back to not be affected. ¡°What are you¡­¡± ¡°I need to stay out of the water! When Crocodile dropped the key I made it float. If I touch the water the key will just fall.¡± ¡°Nicely done!¡± said Nami. ¡°The problem is, I know the key is floating but I don¡¯t know where exactly, so I can¡¯t bring it up through the hole in the floor.¡± The water was rising dangerously fast. The room below was already full and a bananadile broke the floor. He was threatening Vivi. ¡°Vivi run!¡± At that moment Sanji appeared and knocked him out! ¡°Sanji!¡± ¡°Sorry I¡¯mte.¡± ¡°Doesn¡¯t matter! Guys I¡¯m pulling up the key watch where it is. With a big part of the floor destroyed, Rick hoped the key would rise above the water. ¡°There!¡± said Ussop while he was grabbing Luffy ¡°Sanji quick !¡± Sanji rushed to the key and grabbed it. He threw it to Vivi who was closer, as a second bananadile was approaching. Now that they were free and Rick didn¡¯t have to focus on the key, he made everyone float. Including Smoker. ¡°Let¡¯s get out of here!¡± ~~~~~~ Once outside, everyone was panting. Rick climbed down off Zoro''s back. ¡°Sorry, I was in a hurry.¡± ¡°That¡¯s fine, it allowed us to survive.¡± Luffy and Smoker were regaining their strength and were looking at each other. ¡°You¡¯re all under arrest.¡± ¡°Really?¡± said Rick. ¡°We just saved your life, and you¡¯re arresting us? You¡¯re fitting well into the marines. Bastards to the core. Now let me tell you what¡¯s about to happen. We are going after Crocodile, and save this country and there is nothing that you can do about it.¡± Without adding anything more, the group went their way. Smoker didn¡¯t do anything. He had recognized Rick when he made them float. ¡®He¡¯s right. About everything. The marines failed this country, they saved my life and I was about to let it all go to hell.¡¯ One of his men approached him. ¡°Sir, we¡¯re ready to pursue them.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t.¡± ¡°Sir?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll exinter, right now I need you to call HQ. Tell them to send every avable marines ship in the area to make a blockade around the coast.¡± ¡°Sir, they will never..¡± ¡°I don¡¯t care, just do it!¡± The marine was about to execute his order when Smoker added: ¡°Tell them too, that Rick Wald has resurfaced and is with the strawhats.¡± ¡°The world¡¯s worst traitor? He disappeared over 10 years ago!¡± ¡°Well he¡¯s back! And that¡¯s worrying me!¡± ¡°Understood!¡± ¡®Rick Wald¡­ why are you back after all this time? And with the strawhats at that.¡¯ ~~~~~~ ¡°Nami-swaaaan do you still have some of the perfume you used in Nanohana?¡± asked Sanji? ¡°Yes, why?¡± ¡°Put some on! Chopper went to search for a ¡­ vehicle. He would be able to find us with the perfume.¡± They went out of Rainbase through the East. ¡°Hey! Guys!¡± Chopper arrived on top of a giant crab. ¡°That¡¯s amazing! It¡¯s an itinerant crab, they lived under the sand. Most people, never seen one before.¡± ¡°And it¡¯s fast too! We¡¯ll be in Alubarna in no time.¡± As they were just departing, Vivi was grabbed by Crocodile that came from nowhere. Luffy reacted fast, he grabbed Vivi himself and threw her back onto the crab and got caught by Crocodile instead. ¡°Go ahead, I¡¯ll take care of him!¡± ¡°Luffy!¡± Yelled Vivi. ¡°Chopper don¡¯t stop.¡± said Zoro. ¡°What?¡± ¡°Listen Vivi, Luffy is strong, he''ll hold Crocodile down. We can¡¯t waste time.¡± ¡°Vivi, you¡¯re the only hope to stop everything. No matter what happened, no matter who falls down, you must continue without looking back.¡± Said Sanji. ¡°You left your country years ago without knowing anything to stand where you are now. You¡¯re not fighting alone anymore, trust us.¡± Said Rick She looked at luffy from afar, thinking. ¡°Luffy! We¡¯ll be waiting for you at Alubarna!¡± ~~~~~ They arrived at Sandora¡¯s river. The giant crab could cross it. ¡°What are we going to do?¡± asked Vivi. ¡°I don¡¯t see what¡¯s the problem.¡± said Rick. ¡°We can¡¯t cross¡­¡± Before she finished her sentence she was already floating in the air. ¡°What were you saying?¡± ¡°Nothing¡­.¡± The group safely went to the other side. ¡°Why didn¡¯t you bring the crab our way?¡± asked Sanji. ¡°It was too heavy. I couldn¡¯t have made it float over here.¡± ¡°We have to walk now.¡± Ussop was looking into the distance, he spotted a sand cloud. ¡°Something ising!¡± ¡°Enemies?¡± Ussop used his Telescope to get a better look. ¡°No that¡¯s¡­ Karoo! And he¡¯s not alone!¡± ¡°Who¡¯s Karoo?¡± asked Rick. ¡°Karoo is my pet. He¡¯s a member of the super spot-billed duck. They are the fastest mounts in basta.¡± Karoo and the other members reached them. Sadly there were not enough as Rick ended on foot. ¡°That¡¯s fine, I can float.¡± Everyone prepared themselves. ¡°Crocodile had probably posted his agents ahead to stop you Vivi.¡± said Rick. ¡°We¡¯ll deal with them.¡± said Zoro. ¡°Actually, I don¡¯t think we should.¡± ¡°What do you mean Rick?¡± asked Vivi. ¡°They are after you. But what if they don¡¯t know who you are? We cover our face, and once we meet with them we scatter.¡± ¡°They¡¯ll have to split no knowing which one of us is Vivi¡± continued Nami ¡°Yep, meanwhile Vivi, you¡¯ll be far behind us and once we baited them all you¡¯ll be free to go.¡± finished Rick. Everyone agreed to the n. The problem was that Rick couldn¡¯t be used as a bait, as he would be floating. ¡°What do you want me to do Vivi? Go with you?¡± She nodded. ¡°I need to speak to Koza but he¡¯s charging here with the army. If you could stop them please.¡± ¡°Stopping two million men?¡± ¡°I know it¡¯s impossible, just stop as many as you can.¡± She had a look of determination and plea in her eyes. Rick also saw hope, born from her faith in him. He drew a long sigh. ¡°I can¡¯t say no to you when you look at me like that. You cheater.¡± They were ready and moved towards Alubarna. ~~~~~ Everything went ording to the n. The strawhats baited the agents of Baroque Works, allowing Vivi and Rick free passage towards the south gate to intercept the rebel army. ¡®Why didn¡¯t I just kick Crocodile¡¯s ass when I could?¡¯ thought Rick when he saw theming their way. ¡°Vivi, stand behind me. I wouldn¡¯t be surprised if some Baroque Works agents had infiltrated the rebellion. I don¡¯t want you to be an easy target for them.¡± When the rebellion was within reach, Rick used the opportunity of the sand cloud they were making to use his Me Me no mi and create sprouts on them. Thanks to the sprouts, he could use his gravity farther than he could normally. He used everything he had and more. Thest time he drew so much power was against Shiki 21 years ago. He couldn¡¯t stop them all but he didn¡¯t have too. The soldiers leading all fell, and the ones behind them had to either slow down or trample them. A heavy nosebleed began. ¡®I won¡¯tst long.¡¯ ¡° Vivi go find Koza now! ¡± She started running, but before she could cross over half the distance,a cannonball was shot towards the ground, raising sand and smoke in the air. Rick could not keep up with the gravity. The rebels downed started to stand up while the ones from the back were still advancing. Vivi was yelling for them to stop, but her voice couldn¡¯t be heard with the surrounding noise. The royal army began firing at the rebellion. Since there were so many rebels they didn¡¯t really need to aim. ¡®How could I forget that Baroque Works had infiltrated the royal army too. The first shot that made the smoke just when Vivi was reaching the rebels was on purpose. Damnit!¡¯ The rebels finally invaded the city. Some had fallen during the fire barrage of the canons but most survived. Vivi has been protected by Karoo, who took a hit for her. She was approached by Ussop. ¡®No that¡¯s Bon Kurei! Run!¡¯ Rick¡¯s stamina was really at rock bottom and fainted. ~~~~~~ Rick woke up. A sandstorm was on the capital. ¡®So Crocodile is still here and Luffy hasn¡¯t defeated him yet. I need to hurry and deal with the bomb.¡¯ Helping with the bomb and saving Pell would grant Rick a lot of Karma. Even after living frugally for the past 10 years, he used the few points he had left to acquire basta¡¯ eternal pose toe here. And he needed to get a lot of them, it was his mission after all. ¡®Thanks the goddess, the karma points are a reward for the karma earned by my good deeds. I¡¯d be totally screwed if the two were one and the same.¡¯ He picked himself up and started running towards the clock tower . ¡®I hope I¡¯m not toote.¡¯ On his way he saw Pell flying ahead! ¡°PELL! PICK ME UP I CAN HELP!¡± ¡°Rick ?¡± Pell was surprised, he never thought he would meet him again after all this time, especially right now. Despite what the marines had said about Rick, Pell never believed it. Knowing how strong he was, Pell didn¡¯t hesitate twice and grabbed him with his talons. ¡°Good to see you again Rick.¡± ¡°Likewise.¡± ¡°What are you doing here in those times?¡± ¡°I heard Vivi disappeared so I crawled from under the rock I was hiding toe here and help. I met her at sea near the delta of the Sandora rivern we just got separated. I passed out after trying to stop the army.¡± ¡°You tried to stop two million men alone?¡± asked Pell dumbfounded. ¡° More like I failed. It was Vivi¡¯s order. Anyway we need to go to the clock tower, I heard some Baroque Works agents talking about a giant bomb there ready to explode!¡± ¡°I know! I was on my way there.¡± ¡°Then let¡¯s hurry!¡± In a couple of minutes theynded at the top of the clock tower. Vivi was there, desperate. ¡°Rick! Pell!¡± she said hopeful at the sight of both of them. ¡°I hope I have time to disarm it.¡± said the former. He walked to it unsteady and began working on the bomb. ¡°Shit!¡± ¡°¡°What now?¡±¡± ¡°I don¡¯t have time to disarm it.¡± ¡°Then there is only one thing left to do.¡± said Pell With his ws he grabbed the bomb handle. ¡°You¡¯re going to need my help. Once high enough, I¡¯ll use everything I have left to push it towards the sky. You¡¯ll have to catch me as I don¡¯t think I¡¯ll have the strength to float safely to the ground.¡± he said as he climbed onto Pell¡¯s back. They both turned to Vivi. ¡°Princess¡± ¡°Vivi¡± ¡°¡°See you soon.¡±¡± And departed. ¡°Let go when I tell you to and I¡¯ll take care of the rest.¡± They rose higher and higher and when only 5 second were left Rick yelled ¡°NOW!¡± Pell dropped the bomb and Rick pushed her away with everything he had! The bomb exploded. However Rick miscalcted something. The power of the st. Both him and Pell were pushed towards the ground with violence. Pell was projected through multiple buildings. Rick towards the ground. It took a great toll on him but managed to stop his fall just before crashing. ¡® Good, now that the bomb¡¯s been taken care of, I need to earn some affection points with Robin and Luffy.¡¯ He raised himself on his feet and started moving towards the temple where they were. When he was about to enter the temple he felt the ground and the walls tremble. Crocodile¡¯s body suddenly broke through the ground towards the sky. ¡®Hehe, Nice job Luffy but that means the temple will copse soon, I need to reach them before he gets Robin and the king out.¡¯ When he arrived there luffy was about to st a big boulder away. He once again used his gravity and stopped the falling debris. He didn¡¯t have enough strength anymore to push them away, but had enough to stop the fall, barely. ¡°Hurry!¡± he said as he walked to them. Cobra looked at the bearded man that had just appeared. ¡®That power, is that Rick? What is he doing here?¡¯ Luffy was carrying Cobra and Robin. ¡°Give her to me, we¡¯ll be faster.¡± Luffy handed Robin to him and he took her in his arms like he did Vivi. Rick winked at her and said: ¡°Don¡¯t worry we¡¯re all getting out of here¡± They walked as fast as they could, Rick still using his power. Far beyond his limit. His nose and eyes were bleeding. ¡°Hang on Rick! We¡¯re almost out¡± said Luffy. They finally reached the exit, and were out of danger. Luffy copsed bringing the king with him while Rick fell on his knees, still carrying Robin in his arms and passing out in this position. Rain has started pouring. ~~~~~~~~ It¡¯s been three days, and it was still raining a light rain. With the exception of Luffy and Rick everyone had woken up already. Vivi was looking after them. The two men that saved her, her kingdom and her people. Cobra has given permission to Nami to take as many books as she wanted from the royal library, he had already read them all. Sanji and Ussop were in town, buying supplies. Chopper was helping the royal physicists or more like impressing them. And Zoro against Chopper¡¯s order was back to training. Rick woke up before Luffy. Thest time he pushed himself this much was against Shiki. However he wasn¡¯t seven anymore, and the damages of the overuse of this Zushi Zushi no mi were not as severe, his body was well trained after all. When she saw him awake Vivi rushed to his bedside and hugged him tight making him wince. She was crying and got patted on the head. ¡°Vivi, don¡¯t you think it¡¯s about time to graduate from being a cry baby?¡± She almost hit him with a reflex. ¡°I¡¯m the princess of bast and a grown woman! I do what I want, and If I want to cry then I cry!¡± Rick startedughing but stopped as the pain was too much. Then Luffy woke up, energetic as ever. ¡®The Monkey D. are really a bunch of monsters regarding vitality, I¡¯m almost jealous.¡¯ A great feast was prepared in the honor of the heroes. Rick was in a wheelchair, he was too weak to stand on his feet. Chopper had said that it was a miracle that it was still alive. ¡®I already survived once with a lesser body, I wasn''t going to die this time either¡¯ When he tried to use his gravity to make the food float to his mouth Vivi went nuts. ¡°YOU¡¯RE INJURED, YOU IDIOT!¡± In the end she fed him. Rick has never been so embarrassed in this life and everyone smirked except the king who had a deep frown. It was time for a bath. Rick was sitting into the hot water when Sanji asked Cobra where the girl¡¯s bath was. ¡°It¡¯s behind this wall!¡± said the king. Except Zoro and Rick who couldn¡¯t move, all try to peek. Vivi caught them spying and Nami dropped her towel a little. ¡°It¡¯s 100K belly for each one of you!¡± Done with their antics Cobra spoke. ¡°I would like to thank all of you. For protecting my daughter, bringing her back home and saving this country. Everyone smiled. Except Luffy whoughed and Rick who voiced his thoughts. ¡°It¡¯s fine, your majesty, at this point it¡¯s almost a habit¡± he saidughing. Meanwhile on the girls side¡­ ¡°We¡¯re nning on leaving today.¡± ¡°What? Why?!¡± ¡°Well Luffy woke up so we don¡¯t have any reason to stay here anymore, besides, the marines are guarding the coast, our ship is in danger.¡± Seeing her sad face, Nami changed the subject. ¡°So Vivi, what are you going to do?¡± ¡°About what?¡± ¡°About Rick.¡± Vivi slipped and almost fell. ¡°Wh.. What do you mean? What about Rick?¡± ¡°Come on Vivi, a handsome young marine saving a young princess and 10 yearster, went through a gigantic storm just to save her again with her country? You think I didn¡¯t notice?¡± ¡°He created the Vivid dream for me too, but I don¡¯t know what you¡¯re talking about Nami.¡± Vivi was inplete denial. ¡°Wait! What? Back up a little, he created the Vivid dream ? basta¡¯s national drink? One of the most popr drinks around the globe?¡± Nami was dumbfounded. ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°And you dare tell me that you don¡¯t have feelings for him?Les! I remember when you freak out when you believed he was married, and let¡¯s not forget how you fed him during the feast like a good little wife. Come on spill it girl, tell me how you feel about him! ¡°I¡­ I¡­¡± ~~~~~~ ¡°Tonight?¡± ¡°Yes¡±. ¡°Leaving here¡­ I think it''s about time.¡± Luffy turned to Rick. ¡°What about you?¡± ¡°Me?¡± ¡®Yes! Finally¡¯ ¡°Want toe with us?¡± ¡®Let¡¯s y hard to get for a bit.¡¯ Rick turned to the rest of the crew. ¡°Is he serious?¡± ¡°¡°¡°¡°100 %¡±¡±¡±¡± ¡°Luffy I¡¯m an ex-marine, I¡¯m one of the most wanted men, I¡¯ll just put a bigger target on you than you already have.¡± ¡°So what? You¡¯re a good guy, and you¡¯re strong. Besides, don¡¯t you have to find a dream? We¡¯ll help you find one.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll put you all in danger.¡± ¡°Is it a yes or a no?¡± saidLuffypletely ignoring him. ¡°What good can I bring to your crew? I only know how to track people and be second inmand.¡± ¡°Well, the vice-captain seat is vacant so if you want it, it¡¯s yours.¡± ¡®YEEEEEEEEESSSSSS!¡¯ He turned to the crew again. ¡°I have absolutely no chance, have I ?¡± ¡°¡°¡°¡°¡°¡°None¡±¡±¡±¡±¡±¡± Rick sighed ¡°I, Rick Wald, ex-marine, best tracker on Grand Line, and the world¡¯s worst traitor ept to join the pirate Strawhat Luffy and his crew.¡± ¡°¡°¡°¡°¡°¡°Wee on board!¡±¡±¡±¡±¡±¡± ¡°Shishishishi¡±. ~~~~~~ ¡®No matter what happens Rick, don¡¯t cry.¡¯ The crew had just escaped from the marines thanks to Bon Kurei sacrifice and was now waiting for Vivi near the coast. She arrived with Karoo and started the speech that she should have done two years ago when she was 14. ¡°Everyone! I am here to say goodbye.¡± ¡°What did she say?¡± asked Luffy ¡°I.. can¡¯t go with you all! Thank you all for what you have done for me! Even though I still want to go with you but right now I really love this country! So I can¡¯te along!¡± ¡®Come on Vivi, don¡¯t cry or I¡¯m going to cry!¡¯ And Vivi started crying, followed by Rick. ¡°Even though I want to stay here, if there is a day where we meet each other again, will you all take me as a friend?!¡± Luffy tried to yell yes, but was stopped by Nami as the marines were nearby. ¡®God damn it you fluffy princess, Yes I will!You know I will!¡¯ He was showing her his back, because he didn¡¯t want to show her his tears. He looked at his wrist where the bracelet she made for him all those years ago was. And raised his fist into the air disying it. Each member of the crew did the same thing, and even though they didn¡¯t have a bracelet like Rick did, they had their ¡°X¡± mark they used to counter Bon Kurei power that mimicked faces. Mark that Vivi bears too. The mark of a friendship that willst forever. ¡°And I wanted to thank one special marine! I wanted to thank him for creating and naming the Vivid Dream for and after me. It¡¯s my favorite drink! And one day, I¡¯ll make you kneel before me!¡± The guys wondered what she was talking about while Nami smirked looking at an embarrassed Rick. Chapter 34: To beard or not to beard? Chapter 34: To beard or not to beard? It¡¯s been a couple of days since the crew had left bast, and the morale was at an all time low. ¡°What¡¯s wrong with you?¡± asked zoro ¡°¡°¡°¡°¡°We¡¯re lonely.¡±¡±¡±¡± ¡°I get it, I miss Vivi too! That¡¯s no reason to behave like that! Look at Rick, he¡¯s not moping around!¡± They all looked at their newest member. Still in his wheelchair his eyes had a vacant look. ¡°What are you talking about Zoro? Rick is in a state of shock!¡± said Chopper. ¡°What?!¡± Zoro was dumbfounded, it¡¯s been two days! ¡°Well, no surprise here. Vivi basically told him that she¡¯s gonna be his wife.¡± said Nami with a smirk. ¡°¡°¡°¡°¡°WHAT?!¡±¡±¡±¡±¡± The guys had their jaw on the floor and their eyes out of their orbit. ¡°Nami-swan, what are you talking about?¡± said Sanji with quivering lips. ¡°Well Rick said he would only kneel to his wife, and Vivi¡¯sst words to us, were and I quote: ¡°And one day, I¡¯ll make you kneel before me!¡±¡± ¡°But didn¡¯t she speak to a marine?¡± said Ussop ¡°Yeah a special marine she said.¡± Luffy added ¡°One who named and created the Vivid Dream for her.¡± ended Sanji ¡°That was Rick, he did that when he was in basta 10 years ago.¡± ¡°Are you serious?¡± asked Sanji bewildered ¡°Vivi told me herself.¡± Nami was enjoying Sanji¡¯s reaction. Sanji grabbed Rick by the cor and was shaking him. He was so angry you couldn¡¯t understand what he was mumbling, while Rick was still in shock. That was not surprising though as Rick has been purposefully gaining affections points with Vivi since way back. It was obvious she would be the first member of his harem. (Author¡¯s note: She¡¯s still 16. And nothing is sure yet.) No one would believe that Author. (Author¡¯s note: I¡¯m telling you: nothing is set in stone.) Sure, sure...As if a Vivi¡¯s lover writer would not put her in her harem. (Author¡¯s note: I¡¯m not a¡­) The narrator (aka me) interrupted the author because at that moment, someone unexpectedly came out of the ship with a yawn. (Author¡¯s note: Hey! Don¡¯t you dare ¡­) Everyone froze. ¡°Seems like we finally left the ind, well done.¡± said the unknown 8th passenger. (Author¡¯s note: Are you reallyparing her with the xenomorph from Alien?) The crew came out of it and each one had his own reaction. ¡°Here to get revenge? No problem I¡¯ll be your adversary.¡± said Zoro hand on the hilt of one of his swords. ¡°Of all the people, why are YOU here?¡± Nami was in panic. ¡°BEAUTIFUL!!!¡± Sanji was ecstatic. Another beauty was on the ship. Ussop hadpletely lost it ¡° ENEMY ATTACK! ENEMY ATTACK! ¡° he sounded like a broken record. Chopper tried to hide behind the mast poorly asking ¡° who¡¯s she?¡± ¡°Ah! It¡¯s you! So you¡¯re alive?¡± simply said Luffy ¡°Wee on board Miss All-Sundays!¡± stated Rick who came out of his state of shock from Vivi¡¯s confession. Zoro had taken out one of his swords and Nami her clima-tact; it was the weapon Ussop had made for her in basta at her demand. They were ready to fight. But before they could do anything a hand appeared on their waist pping their weapons away. ¡°Please don¡¯t point those things at me, it''s dangerous.¡± ¡°When did you get on the Merry?!¡± asked Nami ¡°Probably when we were staying at the pce, the ship was unguarded after all.¡± said Rick Miss All-Sundays opened apartiment below the stairs of the Merry and took out a folding chair. ¡°Monkey D. Luffy, you haven¡¯t forgotten what you did to me, did you now?¡± Sanji was angry and like he did to Rick, grabbed his captain by the cor and shook him. ¡°Luffy what did you do to such a finedy?¡± ¡°She¡¯s lying! I never did anything to her!¡± ¡°Oh but you did! And I want you to take responsibility for it!¡± ¡°You make no sense. What do you want me to do anyway?¡± ¡°It¡¯s simple, I want to join your Crew.¡± ¡°¡°¡°¡°¡°¡°WHAT?!¡±¡±¡±¡±¡±¡± Rickughed. ¡°It¡¯s seems like it would be fun¡± ~~~~~~ Let¡¯s rewind the time a bit, to just after Crocodile¡¯s defeat. (Author¡¯s note: You know you can just say *shback*) The temple where the Poneglyph stood was copsing. (Author¡¯s note: So you¡¯re ignoring me now¡­) Giants rock, that once were part of the ceiling, were falling down on Cobra, Miss All-Sundays and Luffy. ¡°Why did you lie to Crocodile about what is written onto the Poneglyph?¡± aske Cobra to Robin. A Poneglyph is a mysterious stele with history written on it in an ancientnguage. Scattered across the world it is said that they contain many secrets, including the story of the void century, a century that no books have any records off. The marine had forbidden the study of Poneglyph and of the ancientnguage. They could have just destroyed the stele, but to this day and with all their means they couldn¡¯t even put a dent on those giant stones. ¡°Oh, you knew that it gave the location of the ancient weapon Pluton?¡± said Miss All-Sundays.¡± ¡°Of course, the story of this country is not carved onto that stone. If that was the case, records of it would be in the royal library. So I guess it only contains the ancient weapon location. I¡¯m asking again, why did you lie to Crocodile.¡± asked Cobra. ¡°I couldn¡¯t care less about the ancient weapon.¡± ¡°Why did youe here then? Why join Crocodile?¡± ¡°I¡­ had hoped that this Poneglyph would be the Rios Poneglyph. Out of all those stones it is the one that contains the true History. I¡¯ve been searching for 20 years. This one was myst hope and turned out he wasn¡¯t what I was looking for. I¡¯m fine with dying here, I¡¯m¡­ just too tired, to go on. All I wanted to know was history but my dream had the world itself as an enemy.¡± ¡°The world¡­ Wait, you¡¯re talking about the untold history from 900 years ago?!¡± He wanted to ask more questions but he felt himself being picked up. Soon Miss All-Sundays was picked up as well. ¡°Alright, let¡¯s head up¡± said Luffy carrying both of them. ¡°Wait! I¡¯ve no purpose left in life! Just leave me here.¡± she yelled. Luffy nced at her and just said: ¡± Why the hell should I listen to you?¡± He started walking towards the exit. On the way, the boulders stopped falling in mid-air. From the front Luffy heard Rick¡¯s voice. ¡°Hurry!¡± ~~~~~~ ¡°You forced me to live when I didn¡¯t want to. I have no ce to go nor return to, so let me stay on this ship.¡± said Miss All-Sundays after retelling what Luffy did to her. ¡°That sucks! Guess there is no other choice then, you can stay. Though it was Rick that got you out and saved your life. He should be the one to take responsibility.¡± ¡°¡°¡°¡°LUFFY!!!¡±¡±¡± ¡°That¡¯s not nice to throw a friend under the ship!¡± eximed Rick. ¡°Don¡¯t worry guys, she¡¯s not a bad guy¡± said the strawhats captain. Miss All-Sundays turned to Rick ¡°Is right, you should take responsibility too.¡± He was stunned. ¡®Did I get owned? That¡¯s not how it was supposed to happen!¡¯ ¡°I¡¯ll¡­ do my best¡± he answered sheepishly. Ussop brought out another chair and a table and started interrogating her. Rick joined him. ¡°I¡¯m the vice-captain, it¡¯s my duty!¡± ¡°What is your real name?¡± was Ussop¡¯s first question. ¡°Nico Robin¡±. ¡°Tell us about yourself, please.¡± asked Rick. ¡°I became an archeologist when I was 8.¡± ¡°Archeologist?¡± was Ussop¡¯s second question. ¡°Sort of my family trade!¡± answered Robin. ¡°That¡¯s amazing!¡± said Rick with stars in his eyes. ¡®Hehehe. Forget about dogs, acting skills level 5 is a man''s best friend! You''ll soon be mine Robin. ALL MINE!¡¯ Robin saw the twinkles in his eyes. ¡°Interested in history?¡± she asked him. ¡°YES! I.. I mean yes, I am.¡± ¡°Maybe we could talk about it.¡± ¡°I¡¯d really like that.¡± Ussop was watching the two interacting with squinted eyes. ¡®What¡¯s going on, Rick is so assertive andposed normally.¡¯ He coughed. *ahem* ¡°Please continue.¡± ¡°Oh, sorry. For twenty years I¡¯ve had to live hiding from the marines. Since a child can¡¯t sail alone, I had to enter many viins organizations. Thanks to that I learned to move behind the scenes quite efficiently.¡± ¡°You sound pretty confident, what¡¯s your speciality?¡± asked Ussop Robin tilted her head on the side and with the brightest smile Rick has ever seen said: ¡°Assassination <3.¡± ¡°Luffy! After careful investigation, my conclusions are that she¡¯s way too dangerous!¡± Yelled Ussop in fright ¡°Robin can you please do a demonstration?¡± Asked Rick ¡°Sure!¡± She turned towards Luffy and Chopper sitting on the deck. An arm sprouted before them and started moving to the left, the hand waving as an invitation to do the same. They leaned in the same direction and Luffy¡¯s head was grabbed by a hand that Robin made behind him. She then sprouted more hands and started to tickle them both. She didn¡¯t miss the look of admiration Rick had towards her. ¡°Is it good enough?¡± ¡°Yes it is.¡± smiled Rick. Nami¡¯s voice was heard from the upper deck. ¡°You guys are pathetic, a few parlor tricks and she gets to stay?¡¯ She looked at Robin ¡°You were the vice-president of a secret criminal organization! A artner to Crocodile. I¡¯ll keep an eye on you at the first sight of something suspicious from you, I''m kicking you out!¡± ¡°Will giving you those jewels, taken from Crocodile, be suspicious?¡±said Robin. At the word ¡°jewel¡± Nami was already glued to Robin, and weed her to the crew. Right then Sanji came out from the kitchen, coffee in his hands, with some weird dance move and served Robin. ¡°THAT, was to be expected from that idiot.¡± said Zoro ¡°It seems only the three of us are left to monitor her.¡± said Ussop to Zoro and Rick. ¡°Hey! Ussop look!¡± Ussop turned around to see Luffy with two arms sticking outside his straw hat. ¡°Chopper¡± said Luffy. Ussop startedughing so hard he was rolling on the floor. Zoro was silently pissed. Rick spoke to him. ¡°Give her a chance, if she fails, you and I will take her out.¡± ¡°Fine.¡± answered Zoro ¡°Besides, aren¡¯t you the first one Luffy recruited?¡± ¡°I am, so?¡± ¡°Well, can you say that he¡¯s a bad judge of character after recruiting everyone?¡± Zoro pondered what Rick just said for a moment. Sanji aside, no Luffy didn¡¯t make any mistakes. ¡°No, I definitely can¡¯t.¡± Zoro said, shooking his head. ¡°Then that settles it. Despite not being the brightest tool in the shed, let¡¯s trust in our captain.¡± smiled Rick. He continued: ¡°Up for some training?¡± ¡°Always!¡± ¡°I¡¯ll ask the others.¡± Rick asked Luffy and Sanji and even Ussop if they¡¯d be interested. The only one reluctant was Ussop. ¡°Ussop, all great warriors of the seas started weak and became strong because they trained hard!¡± were the words he used to bait Ussop. They worked. ¡°Rick, you¡¯re still healing, so no more than half an hour¡± said Chopper ¡°Okay!¡± smiled Rick. While the four guys were training, Nami was talking with Robin, Rick watched the training session and Chopper watched his condition. A seagull delivered the new wanted posters. Everyone stopped doing what they were doing and looked at the new bounties hoping, or not, to be among them! ¡°I¡¯m worth 100 millions now!¡± eximed Luffy, happy with his bounty. ¡°How can a stupid marimo like you have a bounty and not me!¡± said Sanji angered . ¡°Because I¡¯m stronger¡± said Zoro with a smug face ¡°Not bad Zoro, but still only makes you number four in the crew.¡± Said Rick with a smirk. ¡°What? I¡¯m worth 60 millions! No one here except Luffy is higher than me!¡± retorted Zoro. Rick exchanged aplicit look with Robin, they both smiled at each other. Robin was the first one to spoke: ¡°I''ve been worth 79 billions since I was 8.¡± Rick followed suit: ¡°I¡¯ve been worth the same since I was 18.¡± Zoro was dumbfounded and Sanji was justughing at him. ¡°Well at least you have a bounty Zoro, keep training hard. Who knows, maybe one day you¡¯ll rise to number three¡± said Rick, barely containing hisughter. Those words made both Sanji and Zoro mad! ¡°¡°Rick increase the gravity!¡±¡± they ordered him. ¡°Okay, don¡¯te crying if it¡¯s too hard ~~~¡± They went back to training with a new determination. ¡°Gravity?¡± asked Robin, curious. ¡°Oh, you didn¡¯t know? Rick can increase gravity a lot, or negate it making things or people float.¡± said Nami. At that moment Robin and her chair started to float in the air before gently falling back on the floor. ¡°That¡¯s an interesting power.¡± smiled Robin. Apparently she quite liked this little disy. Rick kept reading the bounties when he froze. Chopper thought something was wrong. ¡°Rick do you feel unwell? Did you use your power too much?¡± What made him freeze was his own wanted poster! The picture had been updated, and showed him with a big thick beard and very long hair. He really let himself go. He ignored him and turned to Nami and Robin. ¡°I would like the opinion of two women.¡± Bothdies were taken aback a bit, Rick was suddenly so serious after taking a look at the poster he was holding. ¡°Should I shave my beard and cut my hair?¡± he said showing them his wanted poster. They were both dumbfounded. Nami gave him a round of love punch yelling. ¡°That¡¯s for worrying me over you stupid beard! You looked like the end of the world wasing, you idiot!¡± ¡°I¡¯m sorry! But that¡¯s a serious matter!¡± he was pleading with puppy eyes. Nami was ready to hit him a second time, but couldn¡¯t. Not when he looked at her like that. She could just sigh. She looked at Robin who nodded slightly. ¡°¡°Yes¡±¡±. Rick looked sad. ¡®I guess I¡¯m not going to have a badass beard in this world¡­ Well at least this gives me an opportunity.¡¯ He asked Robin: ¡°Robin could you help me shave and do my hair please?¡± ¡°Me?¡± she was surprised. Why was he asking her? ¡°Well yeah, you¡¯re the only one who can do it.¡± He lifted his arms and it was shaking a bit. ¡°Can¡¯t do it myself, the four idiots back there don''t even know what shaving is, Chopper too, and I¡¯m broke, so I can¡¯t ask Nami.¡± ¡°Hey! I¡¯m not that money hungry.¡± Chopper and Rick looked at her as if she had two heads but didn¡¯t dare say anything about it. ¡°So you¡¯ll help me then?¡± ¡°No.¡± Rick turned to Robin with a pleading look. ¡®How can this man be one moment wise andposed and the next behave like a child?¡¯ she thought. He kept looking at her. ¡®Let¡¯s tease him a bit.¡¯ ¡°You¡¯re not worried I might do something? ¡°Should I?¡± he said raising and lowering his brows in session. He was taunting her. ¡®He can change his facial expression so fast. What an interesting man¡¯ ¡°Fufufu... fine, let¡¯s do this.¡± she smiled Robinpletely shaved his beard, and cut his hair short, no marine style, just a bit longer. That was fine with Rick though. Once done he turned to Robin, Nami and Chopper. ¡°So, how do I look?¡± he asked. ¡°I did a nice job, If I can say so myself¡± ¡°You did Robin. He doesn¡¯t look like a beggar now.¡± said Nami. To Rick she added ¡°Quite handsome for a thirty something man.¡± ¡°What are you talking about? I¡¯m 28.¡± He answered with a puzzled face. ¡°That¡¯s not what your poster says!¡± she said showing his bounty. ¡°Oh that? That¡¯s because you can¡¯t enter the marine if you¡¯re not at least ten, so I lied about my age.¡± ¡°Wait, that means you enter the marine at¡­ 6 ?¡± Nami was dumbfounded. Robin and chopper were surprised too. Rick nodded. ¡°I was taller than kids my age and had bigger build too.¡± ¡°Unbelievable,¡± Nami said. ¡°It¡¯s true though. I did put my correct age and date of birth on the marine¡¯s contract, but I got caughtter. Since it would have brought trouble, my superior falsified the document when they found out.¡± ¡°Why would anyone want to enter the marines at such an age?¡± she asked. ¡°Well, I was an orphan, no memories except my name and age and I was starving, didn¡¯t have much of a choice, remember?¡± Nami and Chopper couldn¡¯t understand but Robin did. She was only 8 when she found herself alone in the world with a bounty on her head. She had to do everything she could do to survive. Now she understood how Rick could disy different moods so fast. ¡®He had to learn to survive too, in his own way.¡¯ She felt a bit of empathy for him. The atmosphere was a bit tense after Rick¡¯s deration so he tried to change it. ¡°Well, at least I¡¯m quite handsome, so I got that going for me,¡± he said, winking at Nami who blushed. ¡°Now I just have to find a good wife.¡± Robinughed. Rick gasped loudly, put a hand on his chest feigning being hurt. ¡°What? You don¡¯t think I can? I¡¯ll show you! Heck, I¡¯ll make you my wife!¡± Robin keptughing at his absurdity. ¡°Keep dreaming¡± she said. ¡°Challenge epted!¡± he dered Robin rolled her eyes and shook her head. ¡°I¡¯m not sure Vivi would agree with that.¡± said Nami with a sadistic smile. Rick¡¯s face paled so much he was almost transparent. ¡°What about the princess?¡± asked Robin, curious. ¡°No.. nothing, there is nothing!¡± said Rick in panic. Nami wasn¡¯t done with him yet. ¡°You see, Robin, Vivi and Rick¡­¡± Rick tried to wheel himself to Nami to shut her up when something crashed on the table. ¡°What the ¡­¡± Soon many things crashed on the deck. Everyone looked at the sky and saw a gigantic galleon falling down. Chapter 35: Reaching the sky Chapter 35: Reaching the sky ¡°How could a galleon fall from the sky?¡± asked Sanji. They were lucky, the huge ship missed them by a hair. Despite the huge wave that resulted from the fall, each member of the crew had grabbed a part of the Merry and were fine. All except one. Rick being in a wheelchair couldn¡¯t secure himself and was sprawled on the floor. He got a few bruises but nothing serious, his condition didn¡¯t worsen. ¡°It probably came from a sky ind.¡± he said. They turned to Rick, and looked at him like he lost his marbles. When they saw him lying face down on the deck, Chopper rushed to examine him. Robin was the closest to him when the ship was hit by the wave, picked up the wheelchair, and put him back on it once Chopper was done. ¡° An ind in the sky?¡± Luffy had star shaped eyes. ¡° That¡¯s impossible!¡± said Nami. They all looked up at the sky. ¡°I don¡¯t see anything resembling an ind though¡± noted Ussop. ¡°It¡¯s more urate to talk about a ¡°sea¡± floating in the sky than an ind.¡± said Robin. ¡°¡°AWESOME!¡±¡± yelled Luffy and Ussop in excitement. ¡°I want to explore that sea! Set full sail ahead!¡± ordered the captain. ¡°That¡¯s absurd!¡± eximed Nami ¡°Nami, if a log pose is round it¡¯s not because of an aesthetic design. Inds at the bottom of the sea or high up in the sky exist. Honestly I would be surprised if ours isn¡¯t pointing toward the sky right now.¡± said Rick. She took a look at the log pose on her wrist. Indeed the needle was pointing up. ¡°It must be broken!¡± ¡°There is one and only one irond rule on the sea, always follow the direction your log pose is pointing¡± said Robin to Nami. ¡°You should be less focused on ¡±fixing¡± the log pose and more focus on how to bring us to the sky ind .¡± added Rick. Ussop and luffy boarded the wreckage of the galleon, curious. They brought back an upied coffin and a journal. Robin got her tools and started to study the skeleton in the casket. Meanwhile Rick began to read the journal. ¡°Chopper, if I¡¯m correct, this man here had a trepanation surgery done on him.¡± said Robin to Chopper. She handed him the skull she was holding. Chopper took a good look and saw the man made drills into the skulls. ¡°Yes, those holes are a result of such surgery. It was used to treat intracranial diseases, but that kind of treatment has not been done in a very long time.¡± ¡°I¡¯d say around 200 years ago.¡± added Robin. ¡°To be more specific 208 years ago¡± said Rick holding the journal up. ¡°It¡¯s said here, that the galleon¡¯s name is St. Briss from the Briss kingdom of¡­.¡± he was showing to the crew a picture of the ship in the journal ¡°South Blue.¡± Robin interrupted him. ¡°You heard of it?¡± asked the vice-captain. ¡°No, but the skull still has all his teeth after 200 years. It means that something was used to stick them to it, probably with tar. That¡¯s a custom that originated from South Blue¡± finished Robin. ¡°That must have been an exploration ship.¡± said Sanji. Robin and Rick nodded. ¡°There is probably a mountain of information on that ship.¡± noted Rick ¡°Logs, documents, samples.¡± guessed Robin. They turned towards the St. Briss, it was sinking. Before beingpletely under water Ussop and Luffy that went back after having brought the casket, returned. Luffy was smiling ear to ear. ¡°Check this out! A map of a sky ind!¡± He was holding in both hands a map of a sky ind named Skypeia. ¡°So the sky inds really do exist!¡± eximed Ussop. ¡°There are plenty of fake maps in the world you know.¡± said Nami. Luffy, Ussop and Chopper looked at her with despair. ¡°Give it up Nami., we¡¯re going to skypeia¡±ughed Rick ¡°And how am I supposed to do that?! I have no clue how to do it!¡± ¡°No clue yet, there may be something on the ship.¡± said Robin. Luffy asked Rick. ¡°Can you make the galleon float back to the surface?¡± ¡°I¡¯m too weak now to do it.¡± he answered, shaking his head. In the end Ussop worked on something and created three diving suits made out of barrels for Luffy, Zoro and Sanji. They dive into the sea. Chopper was pumping air to them, while Ussop and Nami were listening to their reports. Rick and Robin were searching the journal, hoping to maybe find the method used by the crew of the St. Briss to get to Skypeia. Sadly, only historical and geographical information was recorded. ¡°You seem very knowledgeable.¡± shed noted. ¡°Well, the ind where I was hiding for the past ten years had a lot of books. Reading became a hobby of mine.¡± he smiled. ¡°What ind was¡­¡± But before she could finish her sentence. A very loud music attracted their attention. A giant monkey sculpture ornated the bow of the ship the music came from. ¡°Hey! What are you doing in my territory!¡± said a giant monkey to the crew on the Merry. ¡®Shit, that¡¯s not good. ¡® Rick wheeled himself to where he could talk to the three under the sea. ¡°Guys, a pirate ship hade. They¡¯re not hostile, yet. Apparently they salvage wreckage that sank. So if you see someone, don¡¯t attack them.¡± ¡°Okay!¡± said luffy ¡°HEY! I asked you a question!¡± yelled the monkey. ¡°Sorry! We were on our way when a huge galleon almost fell on us. It sank, so some of the crew dive to explore it.¡± ¡°WHAT! You dare steal my property!¡± ¡°No! We¡¯re not interested in any of the treasures!¡± ¡°WHAT!¡± screamed Nami in his ear. ¡°Not now Nami!¡± whispered Rick to her. ¡°Our log pose is pointing to a sky ind, so we were hoping that the wreckage held some information on how to get to it! We¡¯re not interested in anything else beyond that.¡± ¡°Oh?! Well in that case, I know someone that can help you with that.¡± said the monkey? ¡°Really? That¡¯d be nice thank you!I¡¯m gonna tell my friends exploring the ship, to resurface. By the way, can we watch how you work?¡± ¡°Sure, I¡¯ve no problem with it.¡± Rick wheeled himself tomunicate to the guys below the sea. ¡°Guys, I got good news. The captain of the ship said he knows someone that can help us reach the sky ind.¡± ¡°Really? That¡¯s neet!¡± said Luffy ¡°Yeh but I had to y it nice, and give up on any treasure on the galleon.¡± ¡°What?!¡± the captain wasn¡¯t happy with that news. ¡°Just grab one or two things that you think are valuable and bring them behind the Merry, I¡¯ll make them float up and they won¡¯t see anything.¡± Rick said, winking at Nami. ¡°It¡¯s an exploration ship, they were not after gold, but rather samples of fauna and flora, and after 200 years I doubt there is any of that still valuable, so we¡¯re not really giving up anything¡±. He exined himself. ¡°That¡¯s¡­ actually that¡¯s a fair point.¡± admitted Nami. Zoro and Sanji brought a chest, Luffy something even bigger, and Rick made it float without the monkey¡¯s crew knowing anything about it. Thetters salvaged the St. Briss. They secured it with some kind of big metallic ws. Their captain then took a deep breath and blew a huge amount of air into a long tube linked to the galleon. With less water inside it, they could lift it up to the surface. ¡°That¡¯s some lungs power that monkey has.¡± said Rick He was the only one to speak but the others were dumbfounded. Rick was readying himself. ¡®Normally, now is the time when a giant turtle appears and eats the wreckage¡¯. To his surprise nothing happened. The monkeys secured the St. Briss without any problems. ¡®Now that¡¯s weird. Where is the turtle? Did History change? If so, why?¡¯ ¡°Hey guys! We¡¯re done here with the ship. We¡¯re going back home, follow us, the man that can help you is there!¡± Said the monkey captain. ¡°Thanks....¡± started Rick but stopped, not knowing his name. ¡° Masira! I¡¯m the salvage king Masira!¡± Suddenly the sky darkened. ¡®That still does happen, it seems.¡¯ Day turned to night and a light fog appeared. Gigantic figures, with small wings and a harpoon in hands could be seen. ¡°¡°MONSTERS!¡±¡± screamed Luffy and Masira. In a heartbeat both captains ordered to move immediately. ~~~~~~ The day turned to day again and the crew was safe. During their flight they got separated from Masira and his crew. ¡°Man, those monsters were big¡± said Luffy ¡°Yea¡­ Never want to see them again.¡± said Ussop. Rickughed. ¡°Guys, those were not monsters. They were proof that Sky inds exist.¡± ¡° What do you mean proof?¡± asked Nami ¡°Have any of you ever heard of shadow shows?¡± answered Rick. ¡°What¡¯s that?¡± asked Chopper. Robin spoke up to him. ¡°Shadow shows are spectacle, where you use a light to cast shadows on a sheet. With your hands you make some shapes. People on the other side of the sheet only see the shadow.¡± ¡°And the closer your hands are from the light the bigger the shadows.¡± added Rick ¡°So? What¡¯s the link between those monsters¡± asked Luffy, not seeing the connection. ¡°They were shadows of people, Luffy. To make shadows so big, you need to be close to the sun or have a lot of distance between the shape and its shadow.¡± exined Rick. ¡°So there are really sky inds. I can¡¯t believe it¡± mumbled Nami. ¡°Nami, on grand line logic andmon sense have no ce. Only believe in your log pose.¡± said Robin. Nami¡¯s morale was rock bottom and Rick tried to cheer her up. ¡°Now why don¡¯t you take a look at the treasure the guys brought back!¡± ¡°YES! TREASURES!¡± her mood did a radical 180¡ã. She emptied the chest on the floor. Everyone examined the junk. Yes, junk because in the end nothing valuable was found. ¡°There is nothing of worth.¡±mented Nami ¡°Not exactly.¡± Robin presented an eternal pose to her. ¡°That eternal pose shows the way to an ind named Jaya.¡± ¡°We really are lucky.¡± said Rick ¡°How so? This pose doesn¡¯t help us to go to a sky ind.¡± said Ussop. ¡°No, but at least we¡¯re not stranded at sea anymore.¡± Robin answered him. Confusion was on the face of the crew. ¡°Since the log pose is pointing towards a sky ind, we can¡¯t find our way towards another ind. But with this Eternal pose we can reach Jaya. Once there, the log pose will find another ind to go.¡± said Nami. ¡°No way! We won¡¯t be able to go to the sky ind anymore!¡± yelled Luffy. ¡°Don¡¯t worry Luffy, it takes days for a log pose to sync with a new ind. If we don¡¯t stay too long on Jaya we won¡¯t lose the directections of the sky ind.¡± exined Rick ¡°Then let¡¯s go to Jaya!¡± ~~~~~ After a few days of sailing, and training, the crew finally arrived on Jaya. Rick had healedpletely and Chopper gave him the green light to move around and exercise. ¡°Let¡¯s group into teams and search some clues about how to get onto a sky ind.¡± said Rick ¡°MURDER!!!!!¡± yelled a voice from far away. Ussop immediately spoke: ¡°I.. I¡¯ll be on the team that guard the ship!¡± ¡°Me too!¡± announced Chopper. ¡°I¡¯ll take care of supplies.¡± said Sanji. ¡°I¡¯ll go with those two idiots.¡± said Nami, pointing at Zoro and Luffy. ¡°I¡¯ll keep them in line.¡± She then left with them but not before getting them to promise to not fight or make trouble. Rick turned to thest member of the crew. ¡°Want to team up?¡± he asked Robin. ¡°Sure. Where should we start?¡± she answered. ¡°Why not stay around the port and the market? Maybe some other crews are in the same situation than us and know more.¡± ¡°That¡¯s a good idea.¡± she acknowledged. They left the Merry and went their way. They saw many pirate ships docked and that made Rick stop. ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± asked Robin, seeing him stop walking. ¡°Most of those pirate ships are either unguarded or with a few members to defend them¡­¡± he said to her with a crooked smile. Robin immediately got what he was implying. ¡°Fufufu¡­ I like the way you think.¡± ¡°I hope that it will cheer Nami up. She¡¯s been down since the log pose got synced to the sky ind.¡± ¡°You¡¯re surprisingly caring.¡± ¡°I¡¯m the oldest on the ship. Got to take care of the others.¡± he shrugged . ¡°I¡¯m 28 too you know, so maybe not.¡± said Robin. ¡°Really? ¡° Rick feigned astonishment. ¡°Yes. Born onFebruary 6th.¡± ¡°Damn! I¡¯m your junior.¡± he thought for a moment then continued. ¡°That¡¯s fine, I¡¯m the vice-captain and you''re the newest recruit, I¡¯ll take care of you too.¡± he said and winked at her. Robin just rolled her eyes. ¡°How are we going to proceed?¡± she asked him. ¡°Like that.¡± She saw him board the ship and five minutester came back with a few chests floating behind him. ¡°What did you do?¡± ¡°Well I boarded the ship, told them why I did, asked for their treasures, they refused and I told them who I was. They were so scared, they immediately put everything they had in those chests.¡± heughed. Robin was dumbfounded. ¡°Sadly they didn¡¯t have any info on the sky ind. I guess we need to pay more visits to those pirate ships.¡± They ¡°visited¡± ship after ship. Robin didn¡¯t know if she shouldugh or cry at the situation. ¡®How can he be so domineering with that smile on his face?¡¯ She couldn¡¯t reconcile his easy going attitude with his dominant side. On the sixth ship they met some resistance. The pirates were not intimidated, they had tattoos of a smiling face which was crossed with a line. Rick tten them on the deck. ¡°I''m giving you an offer you can¡¯t refuse. Give me every single treasure you have and I sink your ship.¡± he dered. He didn¡¯t have to say it twice. They were the fastest crew to gather all they have. ¡°By the way, do you know anything about the sky ind?¡± ¡°Tha¡­ That¡¯s a myth sir!¡± said one, being overly polite because he was terrified. ¡°There is this guy on the other side of Jaya, he¡¯s an explorer maybe he knows something?¡± With this new information, they disembarked the boat, and started to go back to the Merry. But not before Rick used his gravity on the ship as he said he would. ¡°Wait, you did sink it.¡± Robin asked, astonished. ¡°Just like I said I would.¡± ¡°I thought you misspoke!¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t.¡± was the only words he said and winked at her with an evil smile. Once on the Merry, Rick put down everything they collected in their stroll. ¡°What¡¯s all that?¡± asked Chopper. ¡°A gift for Namy.¡± Rick smiled. ¡°Where did you get all this.¡± It was Ussop''s turn to ask questions. Rick looked at Robin then back to Ussop ¡°Some offerings from some pirates. Apparently being the world¡¯s worst traitor brought me a fan club.¡± he said with a deadpan face. Robin let out a littleugh, she was shaking her head. ¡°I even had to do my signature move for one of the crew!¡± smiled Rick. She couldn¡¯t help herself anymore and started tough loudly. Chopper and Ussop looked at Robin like she had gone mad. ¡°What¡¯s wrong with her?¡± asked Ussop. ¡°Who knows? Anyway, we got some info about the sky ind so I¡¯m going back to pick up everyone, see youter!¡± ¡®Knowing Luffy and Zoro they must be in the nearest tavern¡¯ He was right and found them there, though something was wrong. ¡®Guess Bemy already entered the scene.¡¯ ¡°Stop dreamin¡¯! Sky inds don¡¯t exist¡± a voice said. A round ofughter came from every patron in the ce. ¡°W-What¡¯s the big idea?! Our log pose is pointing straight up at the sky!¡± said Nami. That got her a second round ofughter. They even mocked her by imitating her. ¡°B-B-But our llllllllog pooooooose is pointin¡¯ straight up at the skyyyyyyy¡­!¡± said one of them in a childish and high pitch voice. Nami¡¯s face flushed to a deeplys red, deeply embarrassed. ¡®Ok, that¡¯s enough.¡¯ ¡°Nami, don¡¯t bother with these bottom of the barrel pirates.They¡¯re not worth it. Robin and I found what we¡¯re looking for, no need for us to stay here anymore.¡± said Rick in a cold voice and left the tavern. He could hear Bemy loudly mocking Luffy, saying the era of pirates with dreams was over. ~~~~~~ The trio he left in the tavern finally came back on the Merry. ¡°Luffy! Zoro! What¡¯s with those wounds? What happened?¡± Yelled Ussop, seeing the two of them hurt. ¡°Some pirates. It¡¯s fine, it¡¯s over and done with.¡± answered Luffy. ¡°It may be for you guys! But I¡¯m still mad! Why didn¡¯t you beat them up?¡± yelled Nami, clearly unhappy. ¡°You¡¯re the one that said to not fight no matter what.¡± said Zoro. ¡°The past is the past ! Don¡¯t bring it out to the present!¡± She was having a fit. ¡°Nami, I brought you something back for the stroll Robin and I took. It¡¯s back inside. Go take a look!¡± said Rick. Nami, though still mumbling her mecontentement went inside to see what it was about. ¡°You think she¡¯ll like it?¡± he asked Robin. She nodded. ¡°KYAAAAAAAA!!¡± was heard from inside. ¡°NAMI-SWAN!¡± yelled Sanji. He rushed inside the ship. Or, tried, as Nami came out and sent him flying. She ran towards towards Rick and tackle him to the ground, chanting: ¡°Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! ¡° ¡°It finally happened, Nami lost her marbles.¡± said Ussop. ¡°I DID NOT!¡± She let Rick go and was looking at Ussop nastily. ¡°Someone mind doing some exining?¡± said Zoro ¡°Yes, how did you get all those treasures?¡± Nami asked Rick. ¡°¡°Treasures?¡±¡± Luffy and Zoro were confused. Before Rick could open his mouth Robin spoke: ¡°Rick thought that some pirates may have information about sky inds, so we paid them a visit. We stole everything we could on their ship.¡± They were all dumbfounded. ¡°Offerings my ass!¡± said Ussop. ¡° Well I just gave them my name, they recognized me and they offered me everything they had.¡± smiled Rick. Robin remembering how it went, controlled herself this time, to notugh. She was biting her lower lip to seed though. ¡°During our¡­¡± he turned to Robin ¡° Little walk¡± shepleted. ¡°During our little walk we got the info that some explorer may know about the sky ind.¡± said Rick ¡°He¡¯s knowledgeable about them no doubt. He lives on the other side of the ind. He has been chased out of town because he was talking of dreams like the sky inds.¡± Rick gave her a questioning look. ¡°I went back to town after you left, for some clothes. I can¡¯t always borrow Nami¡¯s. By the way, I found a map of this ind along the way.¡± ¡°Then let¡¯s go meet that guy!¡± said Luffy. ~~~~~~ Along the way, they heard a familiar music getting closer. ¡°Look, another ship!¡± said Ussop. ¡°This music¡­ is it a friend of Masira?¡± asked Rick. ¡°Dunno, let¡¯s ask him.¡± answered him Nami. ¡°HEY! ARE YOU A FRIEND OF MASIRA?¡± yelled Ussop when the ships were close enough to each other. ¡°OH?! You know Masira?¡± asked a big orangutan. ¡°We befriended him a few days ago, He was supposed to bring us to a guy that knows about sky inds but we got separated.¡± said Rick ¡°I¡¯m the underwater survey king: Shoujou. Any friend of Masira is a friend of mine!¡± said the orangutan. ¡°I¡¯m on my way to that man, he lives on this ind, I¡¯ll lead you there.¡± he announced. ¡°So the man Misara wanted us to meet is the same man that was chased out of town.¡± said Robin. Theynded on Jaya¡¯s coast, near a castle. To be more urate half a house, which a veneer panel of a castle had been applied to. ¡°The boss is out, but will probably be here soon.¡± said Shoujou. Knowing they just had to wait, each found his own upation. Rick went to explore the forest for two reasons. One to capture a south bird that they would need to get to Skypiea, and to take a look at the system. ¡®I should have looked at it sooner, after leaving basta. I wonder how many points I got.¡¯ He opened the system and looked at his Karma Points. He had about 312 500 000 points. ¡®HOLY FUCKING SHIT!¡¯ That was the most points he ever had. ¡®That¡¯s almost 600 times more than the total I earned when I was in the marines!¡¯ He looked at the log, he wanted to know how he could earn so much with just saving basta. ¡®Haaaa. So that¡¯s what happened.¡± [ For saving 5 millions people from death with help, user won 357 142 858 Karma points.] ¡®So saving everyone by sending the bomb away earned me that much points. Wait, when I saved Azalea¡¯s retainers years ago, each gave me 500 points. I should have 2 Billion and a half. Why is the score so low then? Is it because of the help part?¡¯ Rick remembered the number of people involved with the bomb. ¡®Vivi, Pell, Zoro, Sanji,Nami, Ussop,Chopper. So 7 people. 8 with me.¡¯ He quickly did the maths and got 312 500 000 as a result. ¡®So the number of points is divided by the number of people helping me. That¡¯s fair I guess. I wonder why I never knew that.¡¯ Rick pondered about this new information on the Karma points. ¡®Well, I never paid attention to how the point was calcted back then. I was focused on the numbers.¡¯ He opened the system¡¯s store and began looking for any advancement on the imperfect bodies. ¡®So he failed to create an artificial soul. He did seed in putting a devil fruit power in weapons though; along the creation of artificial devil fruits, so that¡¯s some progress. I should really pay him a visit.¡¯ Rick then looked at the devil fruits tab. Every devil fruit that could give the crew some problems, was already taken so he could not guy and block them. He did find one free. ¡®The Ara Ara no mi, would be perfect for Nami.¡¯ It made the one who ate it a weather person, giving them the power to control the weather at will. ¡®With her genius level talent in reading the weather she would be one of the strongest in the world. Too bad it cost 750 millions.¡¯ Rick bookmarked it. And closed the system. ¡®Now time to capture that bird¡¯. It took him hours to find traces of one and a second to capture it with his Me Me no mi. It worked for Robin in the manga, why not for him? The bird has been sending animals after animals to messe up with him. The sun had set for a while now and on his way back he met Nami,Sanji and Ussop. ¡°Hey! Rick! Where were you? '''' asked Ussop the forest. ¡°I was exploring the forest. Any news about the guy who lives here?¡± ¡°Yes, he¡¯s been back for a while, he¡¯s a nice guy and agreed to help us reach the sky ind.¡± answered Sanji ¡°Wow that¡¯s great!¡± said Rick ¡°Yes, but we need to find a special bird that points to the south for us to do that. He sent us in this forest to catch one.¡±added Nami. ¡°Oh, What does it look like?¡± Rick asked. ¡°A big bird with a big head always turned in the same direction.¡± said Nami ¡°Well, you¡¯re in luck, here.¡± The South bird was restrained by a rope and was hanging behind Rick¡¯s back. ¡°That¡¯s the bird?¡± ¡°OH MY GOD! YES!!¡± yelled Nami. ¡°This rascal was sending beasts after beasts after me. In the end I got tired of it and caught him.¡± ¡°Man, your luck is a cheat.¡± said Ussop. They had nned to all gather at a specific location in the forest at a specific time. The group of four went there and waited for the others. When they came back to the ship they saw a very frantic man. ¡°Is that him?¡± asked Rick. ¡°Yes, his name is Montnc Cricket. He¡¯s a descendant of Nond the liar.¡± said Ussop. ¡°The famous explorer?¡± said Rick. A nodded was all he got. ¡°Hey. What¡¯s wrong?¡± asked Luffy ¡°What¡¯s wrong is that someone stole my gold!¡± said Cricket. ¡°What?¡± asked Nami. ¡°Yes, the chest where I put the gold we find when we dive was empty! Except for this note.¡± The note he showed them had only a jolly roger on it. A smiling face which was crossed with a line. ¡®I thought that by sinking Bemy¡¯s ship he would not be able toe here.But somehow he stole the gold way before he was supposed to. Another change in the story¡­¡¯ ¡°I know that symbol! Zoro, didn¡¯t the guy who made fun of us in the tavern bore it?¡± said Luffy. ¡°Yeah that¡¯s the same symbol.¡± the swordsman answered. ¡°I¡¯m going to kick his ass and get back your gold!¡± said Luffy rushing towards the town he met Bemy. ¡°Robin, isn¡¯t that the symbol of thest pirate we visited?¡± asked Rick. ¡°Yes. You think¡­¡± answered Robin. ¡°Yes¡­.¡± He turned to Cricket. ¡°Earlier in the day, we raided pirate ships. One of them had his symbol, so we may have your gold on our ship. Want to take a look?¡± ¡°Sure!¡± Indeed Cricket¡¯s gold was on the Merry. He thanked Rick and Robin. ¡°Thank you really. This gold is so valuable to me. Not because it¡¯s gold but it¡¯s because it¡¯s the proof of our hardworkd to reach our dreams to Masira, Shoujou and me.¡± ~~~~~~ Luffy got back at dawn. ¡°I beat the hell out of the thieves but they didn¡¯t have your gold anymore.¡± said Luffy sadden. ¡°Oh, that¡¯s okay! Your friend got it back.¡± said Cricket ¡°What?¡± Luffy was surprised. ¡°Long story short, the gold was on one of the ships we raided, so it was with us all this time.¡± said Rick. ¡°Good!¡± shouted Luffy. ¡°The modifications on your ship are done, and we got the south-bird. We¡¯re good to go or you will be out of time.¡± They departed to their destination. Along the way Rick finally asked: ¡°I didn¡¯t ask anything yesterday because I was beat, but¡­ What are we doing?¡± ¡°We¡¯re going back to the zone where we saw the giant shadow. Once there, we¡¯ll have to position the Merry on some kind of huge geyser of water. It¡¯s supposed to send us up the sky ind.¡± answered Nami. ¡°That¡¯s insane!....But I like it.¡± Rick said. The sea started to move violently, and a whirlpool formed. ¡°That¡¯s where you need to go.¡± Said Masira. ¡°WHAT?!¡± answered the crew. ¡°The geyser wille from there!¡± added Shoujou to Marisa¡¯s words. The ape captains retreated with their ship. The Merry was attracted by the whirlpool and was quickly going down. The whirlpool ceased suddenly. ¡°What happened?¡± asked Luffy. ¡°How could such a gigantic whirlpool vanish just like that?¡± said Ussop. ¡°No¡­ the whirlpool¡¯s already been negated at the ocean floor!¡± eximed Nami worried. ¡°HOLD IT RIGHT THERE! ZEHAHAHA!¡± said a voice. Turning around Rick saw ckbeard. ¡°Who¡¯s that guy? A friend of yours?¡± he asked. ¡°A guy we met at the tavern. He¡¯s certainly not a friend.¡± answered Zoro. ¡°Yeah. No way I can be friends with someone who has such a bad taste in food.¡± added Luffy. ¡°I¡¯VE COME FOR THAT 100 MILLION BELLY HEAD OF YOURS! SAY YOUR¡­!¡± He didn¡¯t get to finish his sentence as Rick sent him, his crew and his ship below the seas with his gravity. ¡°¡°¡°¡°¡°¡°¡°....¡±¡±¡±¡±¡±¡±¡± They all looked at him weirdly. ¡°What?¡± Rick asked confused. ¡°¡°¡°¡°¡°¡°¡°¡°Nothing.¡±¡±¡±¡±¡±¡±¡± They all thought the same thing: ¡®¡®¡®¡®He¡¯s a devil.¡¯¡¯¡¯¡¯¡¯ The sea started to rise. ¡°Everyone grab something! The geyser ising!¡± Yelled Nami. They barely had the time to secure themselves that the Merry was shot up toward the sky. It was riding the upward stream. A sea king was falling right on them and Rick dispatched him to the side. ¡°Open the wings now!¡± Shouted Nami. Zoro and Sanji cut the ropes that were holding the wings that had been put on the Merry, allowing it to fly. Luffy yelled. ¡°Let¡¯s break through the clouds!!!!¡± Chapter 36: 10 000 feet above the sea. Chapter 36: 10 000 feet above the sea. The Merrynded on a white sea made of clouds. Her ascension through the sky was difficult and the air pressure destroyed her newly added wings; the sail had a hole in it but its position didn¡¯t make it unusable. In the end she was fine, the crew wasn¡¯t. The speed and air resistance nearly knocked off some of them. Rick used his gravity to stick everyone against the cabin¡¯s wall or the floor and it went without any problem until they reached the white sea. Apparently no matter what the sea is made of, devil fruit users were affected regardless, and crossing it until the surface didn¡¯t do any good to Luffy, Chopper, Robin and Rick. Soon everyone was coughing, trying to breathe some air. Zorro was the first one to get his breath under control. ¡°What happened? Is everyone alright?¡± ¡°We went through a sea, that¡¯s what happened.¡± answered Rick ¡°Hey guys look!¡± They turned towards Luffy who had called out to them. Amazement was on each one of them ¡®s face. They were surrounded by white clouds. There was nothing else. ¡°You were right Rick. It is a sea; a sea made of clouds.¡± said Nami. While Luffy and Chopper were panicking because Usopp was not breathing, Robin, Nami and Rick were discussing their situation. ¡°The log pose is still pointing up.¡± announced Nami. ¡°Maybe this is only the middle part of the millennium cumulonimbus.¡± wondered Robin ¡°Or the lowest part. Anyway, we need to find a way to go up. There is nothing here that looks like an ind so no synchronisation with the log po¡­ Usopp Stop!¡± said Rick as Usopp was about to dive into the sky sea. ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± asked thetter. ¡°What do you think you¡¯re doing?¡± ¡°Diving to see what¡¯s in there? Why?¡± ¡°Usopp we flew ten thousand feet up and crossed from the bottom of this sky sea to the surface. What do you think you¡¯ll find at the bottom if you dive too deep?¡± Usopp immediately jumped back to Merry¡¯s floor, understanding what might have happened. Luffy on the other hand didn¡¯t. ¡°New kind of fish?¡± Nami pped the back of his head. ¡°He¡¯s going to fall ten thousand feet you idiot!¡± ¡°Besides we know what kind of fish this sea has, the journals we find with the Galleon that almost fell on us were quite detailed.¡± said Rick. Seeing Luffy getting all depressed Rick added: ¡°It said nothing about their taste though. So fishing time?¡± ¡°Hell Yeah!¡± Without missing a beat Luffy¡¯s cheerfulness was back at his maximum. Rick already went back inside to get the fishing rods. ¡°I don¡¯t think so! First we have to get out of here and find the sky ind!¡± said Nami ¡° Before her captain could say anything Chopper interrupted them. He saw a ship sailing not far with binocrs. Everyone looked the way Chopper was. They saw a silhouette rushing towards the ship which suddenly blew up. Still looking with the binocrs Chopper warned the crew. ¡°Guys, the guy that blew up that ship is going straight for us!¡± Luffy, Zorro and Sanji readied themselves for the imminent fight. Their opponent was gliding on the sea of clouds and was approaching fast. Reaching the Merry he jumped in the air. He was wearing a tribal mask and holding a shield on his left arm. He tried to attack Sanji first but he dodge. The next target was Zorro who blocked then Luffy who dodged too. He was too fast for them to counter-attack effectively but they managed him well. However their breath quickly became heavy and soon they were panting and slower. Luckily for them Rick got outside with the fishing rods and propelled the enemy in the air with a kick. ¡®I thought with the gravity training I gave them they wouldn¡¯t have any problem with theck of oxygen here; it seems I was wrong. They did better than in the manga though, so it was not a waste.¡¯ As Rick was doing a status report on his mates, the masked enemy still in the air was attacked by someone in armor riding a bird and armes with a joustingnce. The neer was relentless in his assault and the mask man decided to run away. With his adversary gone the knightnded on the ship. He removed his helmet showing his aged face and long beard. ¡°Is everyone alright?¡± ¡°Yes sir, we¡¯re fine. Those three just need to catch their breath.¡± said Rick pointing to Luffy, Zorro and Sanji with his chin. ¡°I couldn¡¯t move my body well.¡± stated Sanji. ¡°And breathing became hard very quickly.¡± addes Zorro. Robin immediately understood the reason why. ¡°That¡¯s because of theck of Oxygen.¡± ¡°You¡¯re lucky you trained under a greater gravity than normal. Your lungs and all your organs got tougher and stronger along your muscles. Without the training I don¡¯t think you would have been able to even dodge a single hit. Now take some time and regte your breathing, you¡¯ll adapt shortly.¡± exined Rick. The knight was surprised by this conversation and asked the question that came to him. ¡°Are you citizens from the blue sea?¡± ¡°The citizens from the blue sea?¡± asked Nami ¡°That¡¯s what is called people living under the white sea. Considering your friend''s predicament I thought you came from there.¡± The trio of fighters was done adapting and stood up. ¡°Okay, I think we¡¯re good,¡± said Luffy. ¡°I don¡¯t think that¡¯s how it works.¡± answered the knight. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, as I said, their lungs are tough and used to different levels of oxygen. It¡¯s nothing new for them.¡± rified Rick. ¡°You seem well versed in this subject, young man.¡± ¡°I trained under different levels of gravity for the past 22 years. I learned a thing or two.¡± The conversation continued. The crew learned that the knight''s name was Gan fall and his bird was called Pierre. They questioned him a bit about where they were and where to go before Gan Fall cut it short. ¡°Let¡¯s talk business. I¡¯m a mercenary knight. I help people in distress, for a fee. Now my helping from earlier is a freebie. But from now on if you need my help, you can use this whistle and I wille to you. Each saving cost 5 million extol.¡± Everyone was quiet and looked at the knight in silence. ¡°It¡¯s quite cheap, you know.¡± ¡°We wouldn¡¯t know, we don¡¯t know what extol is. Though I bet it''s the currency here.¡± said Rick.¡± ¡°You don¡¯t ¡­ You came here through the Top of High West right?¡± ¡°Nope.¡± ¡°Then how do you not¡­¡± Gan fall stopped talking when he got an epiphany. ¡°You came from the montruous stream?¡± ¡°Yep.¡± ¡°I can¡¯t believe there are people still brave enough to reach here that way.¡± Hearing that Nami grabbed Luffy and shook him violently, berating him that they should have gathered more information to go through the safe route instead or almost dying with the upward stream. Fan fall was really dumbfounded. He hadn''t seen such courageous or perhaps foolish people in many years. He found that group quite interesting. He took a whistle from his pouch and tossed it on the ground. ¡°Here, take it. A reward for your bravery. The first whistle is free, after that it¡¯s 5 million. Now if you excuse me, I have somewhere to go.¡± ¡°Twost questions before you leave! In the blue sea the currency is the Berry. Do you know how much Berry an Extol is worth? Where do we go from here?¡± asked Rick. ¡°I¡¯m sorry I never heard of Berry before. As for a way to Skypiea, go towards the waterfall there.¡± answered the knight pointing on the left of the Merry. He bit the crew goodbye and left on his bird. Except for his name and the way to Skypiea he didn¡¯t give them any useful information. Luffy tried to use the whistle to call him back but was shot down by Nami before he could. The crew sailed and reached the waterfall, where Luffy, Chopper and Usopp tried to climb its side only to discover that like the sea it was made of clouds, those ones though were mellow. To Nami¡¯s relief they found a passage under the waterfall while climbing. Big enough for the Merry to go through. After sailing a bit, they arrived before a huge door whose name, if the board above it was any indication, was ¡°Heaven¡¯s Gate¡±. It was more a big tunnel than anything, leading to another waterfall. This one was huge however and it was impossible to see where it started. As the Merry was about to go into the tunnel, they were stopped by a very short and old Lady with little wings behind her back. ¡°If you want to go up it¡¯s 1 Billion extol per person.¡± ¡®Oh, I remember that hag. She¡¯s the one that snitched on the crew, causing them to be wanted. She even was charging the people fleeing the destruction of Angel Ind and photographing everyone not paying.¡¯ While Luffy was more interested in seeing his first ¡°angel¡¯ and Usopp shocked at the price, Nami stated to the woman that they don¡¯t have any money. ¡°It¡¯s fine you can still go up if you want. I¡¯m not the guardian or anything, I just wanted to know what your intentions were.¡± ¡°Well, we¡¯re going up then, Bye!¡± said Luffy. ¡°Wait Luffy, it¡¯s a bad idea.¡± cut in the vice-captain. ¡°What? Why?¡± ¡°This olddy is fishy, she was taking pictures of us as we were approaching. My guess is, we¡¯re going to be in a lot of trouble if we don¡¯t pay.¡± ¡°So what?¡± ¡°Luffy, do you prefer eating in peace in a restaurant, all new kinds of food or with thew enforcement constantly trying to arrest you and ruin your meal?¡± ¡°Eating in peace!¡± ¡°See! ¡° ¡°But how do we pay ? Nami said we don¡¯t have any money.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry Captain, I got an idea.¡± Rick turned to the rest of the crew and gave his directive. ¡°Nami and Chopper try to get from her how much Extol is worth one Berry. Sanji and Zoro start a dispute on the side of the ship for diversion, and no fighting! Robin get my wanted poster. Usopp get a rope.¡± ¡°What¡¯s the n?¡± asked Luffy. ¡°I don¡¯t believe that one billion Extol is that expensive, no one would pass otherwise. So the n is to see how much it costs in Berry, once we know; Zorro and Sanji restrain me, Usopp ties my hand behind my back with the rope. Then you negotiate me for the entrance fee, that¡¯s why my wanted poster is important. With a bit of luck I¡¯m worth more than the entrance fee and we can get some Extol to cover the difference from her. You go up the waterfall, I escape her, float up and join you,without being seen.¡± Everyone looked at Rick in silence, as if he had grown a second head. ¡°That could work.¡± said Usopp. ¡°Are you sure you can escape?¡± asked Zorro. ¡°I doubt she has seastone cuffs, and even if she had it wouldn¡¯t be a problem for me.¡± answered Rick. ¡°Alright let¡¯s do it then.¡± said Luffy. The n went without an hitch. It turned out that 10 000 Extol was worth 1 Berry. That meant that Rick¡¯s bounty was worth a whooping 790 billion Extol. Surprisingly the olddy epted the trade, and even though she didn¡¯t have enough Extol, the crew ended up with a 100 billion. Rick was put in a cell, chained to the wall by his mates. The existence of cells was proof that it wasn¡¯t an umon deal. Leaving Rick behind the crew went further down the tunnel. After fifteen minutes the old woman came to visit Rick; she was gloating. He could see the look of sadism in her eyes. ¡®Yeah, I had nned to just escape but I changed my mind.¡¯ By sprouting skin around his wrist, Rick was not directly affected by the seastone.The supplement skin was but not his body. He used his gravity to break the cuffs and grabbed the olddy. ¡°Yeah, you¡¯re definitely a piece of trash.¡± While holding the hag by her neck, choking her, he exited the ce and threw her into the white sea before using his gravity on her. ¡°Enjoy a 10 thousand feet fall bitch.¡± Without looking back he started floating, following the way the Merry went. Soon he saw the board with ¡°Skypiea¡± written on it and reached the upper level of the sea. He flew towards the ship which was near the beach. On board were only Robin and Zoro, everyone else was ying either in the water or the sand. Landing on the deck Rick let the others know he was back. ¡°I¡¯m back~~~¡± ¡°Wee back. Any problem with the escape?¡± said Zoro. ¡°None.¡± Zoro answered with a simple and short ¡°good¡± when he was called by Luffy. Thetter had found a fruit he couldn¡¯t eat because it was hard as rock and hoped the swordsman could cut it. The former disembarked and went on to his task leaving Robin and Rick alone on the Merry. ¡°I never thought, navigating andnding could be adventurous too.¡± said Robin looking at the rest of the crew having fun. ¡°Neither did I. I spent all my life doing it in the marines; people to save, bad guys to arrest, yet I never really had the chance to think about it that way. It always was about the mission or the next one.¡± ¡°It¡¯s quite refreshing and exciting.¡± ¡°And rxing too. Never thought I could enjoy something like that one day.¡± While he was observing the crew too, Robin looked at him from the corner of her eyes. After a few moments of silence she spoke. ¡°You got rid of her, didn¡¯t you?¡± ¡°I did. She came to gloat. Apparently she¡¯s paid to sell out pirates. We never would have been safe. Right now she¡¯s probably about to hit the blue sea.¡± ¡°That¡¯s not all true. He was leaning against the ship rail when she said that. He controlled his instinct to straighten up and just turned his head to look her in the eyes without saying anything. ¡°You¡¯re really good at acting Rick but you can¡¯t fool me.¡± ¡°I should have known. You¡¯ve been at it twice as long as I¡¯ve been.¡± ¡°Sadly I am. Learning to act and to read people is the basics for survival when the whole world is after you.¡± ¡°Indeed. ¡° ¡°...¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°You can¡¯t fool me either, you know.¡± ¡°Oh really? And what am I hiding?¡± ¡°Your desire.¡± ¡°My desire?¡± ¡°Yes. You like to be with them and want to stay with them, yet you distance yourself, ready to leave at any moment. That¡¯s why you call everyone by what they do. You call Nami, miss navigator, Zoro, mister swordsman and so on. The only one you¡¯re calling by their name is me. Probably because of some kinship; we both lost everything because of the marines, who wish nothing more than to erase our existence ,and have been on the run for years. Trusting no one, betraying everyone, stealing and murdering just so we could live.¡± ¡®You never failed me before, don¡¯t start now acting skill!¡¯ Robin didn¡¯t say anything, she just looked at him. After a few moments of heavy silence she finally gave him an answer. ¡°Perhaps.¡± ¡°Perhaps my ass!¡± ¡°I do note you said ¡®them¡¯ and not ¡®us¡¯¡±. ¡°Even though I¡¯m the Vice-captain, it¡¯s only temporary. I can¡¯t stay with them, I can¡¯t be a part of them. I¡¯m the greatest stain on the marines public image. If they caught you, you¡¯ll be executed or locked up in impel down in the greatest secrecy. Me? They would parade me like they did the pirate king, showing my execution to the world. Sending some bullshit message about justice or whatnot. If they had to choose between getting you or me, they¡¯ll go after me. You may be more dangerous with your knowledge of the poneglyphs but I¡¯m more useful to them.¡± ¡°That¡¯s a long little speech to dodge the question.¡± Rick sighed. ¡°I guess we can¡¯t hide anything from each other.¡± ¡°It seems so.¡± ¡°Every single one of them has a dream. Being the pirate king, the greatest swordsman of the sea, being the first one to draw a map of the whole world, finding the missing history. I¡¯m the only one who doesn¡¯t have one. At least not anymore and that¡¯s why I said them, because I don¡¯t belong. Because they train and fight hard for their dreams...¡± He didn¡¯t finish his sentence, it was quite obvious what he was going to say and words weren¡¯t necessary. ¡®I hope I threw her off a bit.¡¯ Once again silence prevailed. Robin didn¡¯t know what to say, Rick was right about her and she didn¡¯t want to pursue that subject deeper than it already is, as for his situation she was at a loss of words. Her dream is what kept her going for twenty years, she couldn¡¯t even fathom not having it. She couldn¡¯t put herself in his shoes. The silence was broken by Luffy calling out to them. ¡°Hey guys! We made a friend! Come meet Conis.¡± Chapter 37: Why isn’t there a god of tits and wine? Chapter 37: Why isn¡¯t there a god of tits and wine? Robin and Rick joined the rest of the crew to meet Conis. A young and pretty blond woman born and raised on Skypiea. She had shown Luffy how to deal with the fruit he found and that Zoro did cut it in half but made it inedible. The fruit was some kind of coconut and you had to carve a hole in it to drink its juice. They were soon joined by her father, he wasing from the sea on some kind of vehicle he named ¡®waver¡¯ and that allowed someone to glide on water or apparently clouds. Luffy wanted to try riding it. ¡°Ten Berry he falls off of it.¡± betted Rick. ¡°Deal.¡± said Usopp. The strawhat pirate started doing pretty good on the waver, but quickly lost control and was ejected. Rick was ready however and made his captain and the waver float and brought both back on the beach. Nami asked to have a turn too. ¡°Do you want another go Usopp? 100 berry Nami rides it with no problem.¡± ¡°She will fall too, you know. It takes ten years to properly know how to drive a weaver.¡± said Conis. Hearing those words Usopp agreed to the second bet, sure that it would be his win. Unfortunately for him Nami proved him wrong. She operated the weaver skillfully as if she had decades of practice, astonishing everyone, including Conis and her father. That made Luffy really jealous and threw a little fit, meanwhile Usopp was crying silently about his loss thinking how he could pay Rick the 110 Berry he owed him. After all he didn¡¯t have any money, when he did, it was because Nami allowed him to have some and she was stingy. If he said it was to pay his debt to Rick there was no way she would agree. The cute navigator asked if she could use the waver for a while to tour the coast a bit. She got permission to do so by Conis¡¯ father who brought everyone else back to his home. Along the way Usopp asked how the waver was working. ¡°How does the waver work? It isn¡¯t using a sail to be pushed forward by the wind, so how can it move?¡± ¡°It uses a breath dial to propel itself forward.¡± said Pagaya. Wait! Who is Pagaya? (Author¡¯s note: Conis¡¯ dad) And you just drop the name like that, expecting readers to already know about it? (Author¡¯s note: Even *I* the almighty author didn¡¯t know it.) Then how did¡­ (Author¡¯s note: One Piece¡¯s wiki. It wasn¡¯t told in the manga.) If it wasn¡¯t told in the manga why the hell did you use it? (Author¡¯s note: Conis¡¯ dad / father is too long to write and redundant.) ¡­ I can¡¯t even begin to ¡­ (Author¡¯s note: Back to the story, it won¡¯t narrate itself.) Usopp raised an eyebrow at what Pagaya said. ¡°Breath dial?¡± he asked the older man. ¡°My apologies, I forgot you¡¯re from the blue sea. A dial is a device made from the remains of particr shellfish. There are many different types of dials. The one on the waver is a breath dial. It¡¯s a dial that stores air currents in it and releases it when used. The air current is sent backwards, propelling the waver forward. They are also handy for storing gases, smells or poisons. They are very useful.¡± exined Pagaya. ¡°Can you tell me more about dials?¡± said Usopp with fascination. Pagaya simply gave a nod for answer and invited the crew into his home. Conis served tea to everyone while her father was showing Sanji the kitchen and the food found in Skypiea at thetter askance. Usopp kept asking questions about dials, which Conis happily answered by doing some demonstration with the ones she had around, like the tone dial that could record sounds and y it back again or simply amp dial that makes light when activated. The crew¡¯s sniper¡¯s excitement was so strong that when Sanji and Pagaya came back from the kitchen he asked where he could procure some of them. ¡°At the market, but they are rather expensive and some more than others as they are quite rare.¡± said Conis¡¯ father. Usopp immediately asked if he could show him the way to the market, prompting Sanji to support him as he wanted to buy some sky food. Hearing his chef talk about food got Luffy¡¯s interest in trying it in some establishment. Food establishment also meant alcohol, piquing Zoro¡¯s curiosity. In the end, since more than half the crew wanted to visit the market the father and daughter pair agreed to show them around. They made two groups, the first one was the group ¡®food¡¯ led by Conis and made of Luffy, Zoro, Sanji and Chopper. The second group was the group ¡®business¡¯ led by Pagaya with Usopp, Robin and Rick. Once at the market the two groups separated to do their own things. Usopp and Pagaya were, without any surprise talking about dials, thetter showing the former the different types on disy and what they could do. Rick had warned Ussop to be moderate in his purchase and to not buy any dials dealing with clouds when Pagaya talked about them, as there is none on the blue sea making them useless once they get back. ¡°I guess it¡¯s just you and me then.¡± said Rick to Robin. ¡°It seems that way.¡± was the answer he got. ¡°...¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°It looks like there aren¡¯t any pirates to make some kind of offerings, that¡¯s too bad.¡± Robin rolled her eyes and shook her head but couldn¡¯t help but have a small smile remembering their ¡®little walk¡¯ on Jaya. ¡°Well, let¡¯s find some information on this ce the old fashioned way.¡± he said. ¡°Coercing and threatening people?¡± asked Robin with an eyebrow raised. ¡°A woman after my own heart, aren¡¯t you? But no, I was thinking about finding a library or going to the town hall to see some records but we can do it your way if you want. I''m not really picky.¡± ¡°I... didn¡¯t expect that from you.¡± ¡°Because I was raised by the marines or because I¡¯m a pirate?¡± ¡°Neither, well actually more the pirate thing, I mean until now, coercing and threatening is what I¡¯ve seen you do.¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°Fair enough. However, do know that I am a man of culture though, I read like¡­ three or four books.¡± that was said with fake enthusiasm and pride. Robin caught on his jest and yed along. ¡°Wow, that''s impressive. That you could read, I mean.¡± she smirked Thateback surprised Rick a bit. Robin wasn¡¯t the joking type, at least not so early in the story. He was about to sass her back but thought it wouldn¡¯t be a good idea and changed what he was about to say. ¡°I know how to write and count to a hundred too!¡± He looked around as if checking if someone was in hearing range then got close to Robin and whispered in her ear. ¡°I even know that babiese from two people kissing.¡± That stunned Robin. Of everything he could have said she wasn¡¯t expecting that. It was so ridiculous, so childish. She couldn¡¯t help herself, sheughed. Rick had already distanced himself, a smile on his face, and started walking again. She didn¡¯t quite know what to make of him. Despite his situation he was carefree, without any worry in the world and allowed himself to act like a child. His attitude was effective on her and it made her worried. In less than a month she hadughed more heartilly than she did in twenty years. That he could go past her defenses wasn¡¯t good, as being unguarded is how you got caught and killed. She couldn¡¯t let that happen, she couldn¡¯t be vulnerable. She had to do something about Rick. Murder? That would be the best solution but difficult to pull off, he was an experienced fighter after all. Poison? The crew would know right away, they may have epted her but some like Zoro or Usopp were still a bit suspicious of her. ¡°Hey Robin! You¡¯reing or what ?¡± Yelled Rick . Robin decided to put on hold her thoughts about how to deal with him and joined him. Soon they arrived at the town hall where an angel led them to the records of the ind. He was quite surprised, almost no one ever came here to look at his people¡¯s history. Rick chose to start with the beginning of the ind History and Robin by the end to be knowledgeable about the current state of the ce. They had more than 1000 years to cover and dividing the work would help them do it faster. Rick found out that Skypeians were a race that came from the moon. They lived there with two other races but left because of ack of resources. The skypeians settle on sky inds with one of the two other races, the third one settling somewhere on the blue sea. It was all new to him, the origin of the skypeians were never really mentioned in the story, with the exception of some front pages for some chapters that told Ener¡¯s journey and adventure on the moon. He quickly got to the part where the holynd appeared 400 years ago and where the god at the time proimed it a miracle, starting the war against the shandia followed by their defeat and exile from their home. ¡°Rick! I found something interesting.¡± said Robin to him across the room. ¡°Me too but Ladies first.¡± He joined her at her table and she showed him a book about the ruler of the inds. ¡°It says here that Skypiea is ruled by a god, overlooking all the area from a ce called ¡°upper-yard¡±. Apparently it¡¯s the highest ind and it¡¯s made of both clouds andnd. How could there bend in the sky?¡± she stated. ¡°I know the answer to that one. Around 400 years ago a massive spot of vreath, that¡¯s what the skypiea call earth,nded on the highest ind. The god at the time proimed it was a miracle and appropriated thend but...¡± ¡°But it was already inhabited by people called shandia.¡± ¡°Yes, they lost and were exiled from their home.¡± ¡°It says here that the fight has been going on since then. The previous god tried to negotiate peace but was reced by the current one who is, by reading between the lines, a tyrant.¡± ¡°Hugh. This is not gonna go well.¡± ¡°What do you mean?¡± ¡°A four centuries war still going on, a tyrant in power, and Luffy in the mix? It¡¯s almost basta all over again.¡± ¡°Do you think we¡¯ll end up in the middle of it?¡± ¡°Oh, I don¡¯t think, I know.¡± ¡°What makes you so sure?¡± ¡°Too many coincidences. The vreath that appeared? It¡¯s highly likely that it is the missing part of Jaya.¡± ¡°You¡¯re kidding right?¡± ¡°Nope. I think it arrived here the same way we did.¡± ¡°The upstream?!¡± ¡°Yes. Now look at the dates, around 400 years ago Nond the liar discovered Shandora the gold city, when he came back to pay a visit the city was gone. Now at the same time still 400 years ago a massive amount of vreathnded on this ind. Jaya was not far from the upstream that brought us here so¡­¡± ¡°So an even bigger upstream could have elevated part of the ind.¡± ¡°Yes. Furthermore when the vreathnded a very beautiful and distinct sound was heard all over Skypiea.¡± ¡°You think it was the golden bell ringing?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t see how anything else would fit the bill. Andst but not least; shandia, Shandora? See the resemnce?¡± Robin took a moment to digest the new information Rick provided her to finallye to a conclusion. ¡°If the bell is there, there is no way Luffy won¡¯t want to ring it, meaning¡­¡± ¡°We¡¯re going to fight god, his people and the people of shandia.¡± ¡°Wait, I agree everything seems to fit perfectly but we don¡¯t know for sure if it¡¯s true.¡± ¡°You¡¯re right, but I got a feeling it is and when I got a feeling, it¡¯s never wrong.¡± Robin had a dubious look on her face. ¡°It¡¯s true, I''ve never been wrong when I get a feeling.¡± stated Rick ¡°Oh, really? Then if I ask you who was the former god that tried to negotiate peace? Have any ¡®feeling¡¯ about that?¡± ¡°Actually yes. I got the feeling it¡¯s Gan Fall.¡± Robin was dumbfounded, she didn¡¯t expect him to have the right answer. ¡°What¡­ How did you¡­¡± ¡°So I was right? Told you so.¡± ¡°There is no way! You must have learned about it in one of the books you research.¡± ¡°Nope, feel free to check though.¡± And she did and as Rick¡¯s books didn¡¯t cover their current time period she found nothing. ¡°I can¡¯t believe it. You were just lucky.¡± He just shrugged his shoulders. Now that they had the information they were looking for, they put back the books in their rightful ce on the shelves. Just before exiting the town hall, Rick asked the angel behind the reception desk where they could find a map of the ind. It turned out that they were selling them from a few extol so he took one. ¡°We already have a map of Skypiea.¡± said Robin ¡°Yes, but we don¡¯t know if it¡¯splete or not. Besides, it¡¯s 200 years old. That¡¯s not the main reason I bought one though.¡± ¡°What is it then?¡± ¡°You¡¯ll see when we get back on the ship.¡± They found Pagaya and Usopp where they left them. Thetter had purchased many dials and kept talking about what they could do and what he was going to do with them. They were joined by the food group soon enough, and departed towards the beach to pick up Nami. Once on the beach They saw the navigatoring back, however the appearance of soldiers with white beret crawling on the sand towards them was what caught their attention. Once close enough they stood up and what seemed to be their leader spoke. ¡°You! You¡¯re a pirate of the blue sea! You¡¯re an illegal trespasser!¡± he said, pointing at Rick. Conis and Pagaya were shocked to hear that. If Rick was an illegal trespasser and a pirate, since he was with the rest of the crew were they too? ¡°That¡¯s a serious usation you¡¯re making here. Do you have any proof of what you¡¯re iming?¡± stated Rick. ¡®Damnit, I had hoped to avoid confronting those guys which originally led to a separation of the crew. That old hag must have reported me beforeing to my cell. At least I got rid of her.¡¯ The leader of the squad produced a picture from his breast pocket. It showed Rick and his wanted poster. ¡®Well shit¡¯ ¡°There is no point denying it. We received this picture from the keeper at heaven¡¯s gate.¡± ¡°Well congrattions you got me! Now what are you going to do about it?¡± ¡°ording to heaven¡¯s judgment illegal trespassing is only a ss-11 crime. After serving the punishment, you will be a regr tourist.¡± ¡°And what is the punishment?¡± ¡°For a ss-11? Ten times the entrance fee.¡± ¡°10 Billions? No problem then.¡± When Rick heard a ¡®cough¡¯ sounding from behind him he turned to look at the rest of the crew. ¡°Between Luffy¡¯s food and Zoro¡¯s alcohol we¡¯re almost broke.¡± said Chopper, prompting Rick to look at Usopp. ¡°The dials are expensive, you know.¡± was all the sniper could say as an excuse. The vice-captain let out a single but short ¡®great¡¯ dripping of sarcasm. Before he could say anything else the leader spoke again. ¡°That¡¯s for being an illegal trespasser, but since you¡¯re a pirate it¡¯s a ss-3 crime and the punishment for that is public execution.¡± ¡°n B it is then,¡± said Rick before using his gravity to tten the soldiers violently on the ground. ¡°n B?¡± asked Zoro. ¡°B for beating the shit out of them.¡± answered Rick with a smirk. ¡°Hahaha. You fool. It would have been fine if you had surrendered. We, the withe berets, are the nicestw enforcers in godnd. They, on the other hand... won¡¯t be so forgiving! With this you have be a ss-2 criminal. No matter how much you cry or scream¡­ the priests of ¡®upper-yard¡¯ will personally judge you! It¡¯s a fate worse than death!¡± warned the white berets leader before following his men in unconsciousness. ¡°Well shit.¡± At that moment Nami came back on the shore, seeing the unconscious men on the sand she had to ask. ¡°What did I miss?¡± ¡°Well Rick¡¯s escape reached the authorities.¡± began Luffy pointing at the white berets. ¡°They came to arrest him, apparently not paying the entrance fee is a crime and you¡¯re fined 10 times the price, so Rick was right about insisting to pay.¡± followed Zoro. ¡°There is no way we¡¯re paying 10 billion extol!¡± yelled Nami. ¡°We can¡¯t pay anyway, Luffy, Zoro and Usopp used all the money.¡± said Chopper ¡°WHAT?!¡± Nami was now furious. ¡°It¡¯s irrelevant because since Rick is a pirate the punishment is death. And well Rick beat their ass.¡± said Sanji, continuing the story. ¡°All is good then.¡± dered Nami. ¡°Not really. Beating the authorities is an even more serious crime than being a pirate. Rick will be judged by some priests and it appears the punishment is worse than death.¡± added Robin. ¡°Who cares?! If theye, we''ll beat them!¡± announced Luffy. ¡°Actually we may have to go to them¡­¡± said Rick. ¡°Why would you want to go to people who will give you a fate worse than death?¡± yelled Nami. The Vice-captain gave a look to Robin who nodded. The two of them rted to the rest of the crew what they found in the town hall. From the appearance of vreath 400 years ago to the rise of power of the new god. ¡°Wait, wait, wait. You can¡¯t say for certain that the gold city that was on Jaya is now on skypiea. I mean, yes, plenty of things fit but you can¡¯t be sure that whatnded on skypiea 400 years ago is the missing part of Jaya.¡± said Usopp. ¡°I can. Nami, do you have the map of Jaya?¡± asked Rick. ¡°Sure, here.¡± He took the map of skypiea that he bought in the town hall with the one he received from Nami and put them both together. ¡°Do you see what I see?¡± asked the former marine. ¡°It¡¯s a skull!¡± yelled luffy. ¡°The two inds perfectly fit together.¡± said Nami. ¡°And that¡¯s not all. The city of gold is called Shandora, it means¡­¡± began Rick ¡°The skull¡¯s right eye.¡± cut Robin. ¡°And what is depicted on the right eye on the map?¡± added the ex-marine. ¡°A city.¡± answered Sanji. ¡°So Shandora really ended up in Skypiea.¡± said Robin. Nami was ecstatic, she had a berry sign on her eyes. Luffy, Usopp and Chopper had stars in their own eyes. The prospect of finding a lost city full of gold was the dream adventure for pirates after all. Each one was already talking about what they were going to do with all this gold. ¡°Guys! I know you¡¯re excited about the gold but there is a big problem. The guy pretending to be a god, his priests and the shandia are in the way.¡± said Rick, reminding them of the situation. ¡°Well, we were already going to kick the priest''s asses, what¡¯s a few more guys?¡± announced Zoro. Hearing the swordsman both Conis and Pagaya gasped loudly. ¡°Don¡¯t say that out loud or you''re going to summon God''s wrath upon you!¡± said Pagaya. ¡°And you¡¯re talking about God! God can¡¯t be defeated!¡±added Conis ¡°Conis. He is no god. A powerful guy acting as god maybe but God with a big capital ¡®G¡¯? It¡¯s not possible.¡± announced Rick. ¡°Stop saying things like that!¡± implored Conis. ¡°Now a goddess? I may believe but a God? Prespopetrous. If there really was a God the world would be full of food, alcohol, tits and ass everywhere.¡± dered the Vice-captain. His deration brought silence to the group. Everyone looked at him with his own expression. Finally the silence was broken by Pagaya. Tilting his head on the side he said. ¡°That makes sense.¡± ¡°FATHER!¡± Nami started beating Rick with her fist of love. The poor guy ended up looking like an ostrich with his head firmly nted in the sand. ¡°I get the food and alcohol, but why asses? And what are tits?¡± asked Luffy. The reaction was immediate among the crew. All of them thought the same thing. ¡°¡°¡°¡°¡°¡°¡°How can this guy be our captain?¡±¡±¡±¡±¡±¡±¡±¡± ¡°Anyway, I¡¯m still hungry so I¡¯m gonna get some food, you guys go ahead and prepare for our adventure!!¡± was all he said before running towards Conis and Pagaya¡¯s house followed by Usopp, Sanji and the owners. The rest of the crew made of Zoro, Nami, Chopper, Rick and Robin embarked on the merry and began following Luffy¡¯s order when the navigator yelled. ¡°Oh my god I forgot!¡± ¡°What?¡± asked Zoro. ¡°When I was touring with the waver I got close to the forest and I saw some guys fighting! Then suddenly an enormous column of light came from the sky and pulverised the guys and thend around. Their enemies were aware of your trespassing Rick!¡± ¡°An enormous column of light that pulverizes everything? If I didn¡¯t know any better I¡¯d say it¡¯s god¡¯s doing but I do know better, so I¡¯m going to guess and say devil fruit user.¡± said Rick. ¡°Another ¡®feeling¡¯?¡± asked Robin. ¡°Not this time. Anything unusual happened before, during or after the attack, Nami?¡± answered Rick. ¡°Well, not really¡­ Oh wait! Before the column appeared there was a very loud rumbling sound.¡± He just nodded in a way that let the others think that he knew something. Zoro intended to ask what answer Rick came too when the Merry Shook violently. ¡°What¡¯s happening?!¡± screamed Nami. Two red ws took hold on each of her sides, raising her in the air. They belonged to a giant red crab with the word ¡®GOD¡¯ carved on its forehead. ¡°It seems we received an invitation.¡± Chapter 38: Mad world Chapter 38: Mad world ¡±Well¡­ I guess this is a blessing in disguise.¡± said Rick. The giant red crab had taken the Merry across the sky sea towards the forest before entering it. Soon enough they arrived at an altar surrounded by sea clouds. Their kidnapperid the Merry 9n the altar then left. The crew tried to leave the ship early during their abduction but giant sea monsters blocking any retreat dissuaded them. ¡±What blessing?! We¡¯re separated from the rest of the crew and the Merry is stuck on this¡­¡± yelled Nami. ¡±Altar.¡± said Robin. ¡±It doesn¡¯t matter we¡¯re stuck anyway.¡± answered the navigator. ¡±The Merry is stuck, we¡¯re not. Besides we¡¯re now closer to Shandora.¡± said Rick ¡±How do you know that?¡± asked Chopper. ¡±The architecture of the altar is not unlike the one of Cricket Montnc¡¯s house on Jaya.¡± dered Robin. ¡±And from the carvings on the wall over there it¡¯s a sacrificial altar. Normally those kinds of altar are built in a remote ce not far from cities¡± added the ex-marine. ¡±You¡¯re really knowledgeable about ancient civilisation¡± remarked the archeologist. ¡±Told you I¡¯ve read three or four books¡± replied Rick, sending a wink her way. In the end it was decided to explore the area. Chopper had stayed behind on Merry to guard it while the rest went into the forest. For some reason, Zoro tried to reach it by swimming but got attacked by a sky shark. He defeated it but soon many of its friends made themselves known. The Vice-Captain made them all float and Zoro didn¡¯t miss the opportunity to make some food out of them. With the sea around the altar now safe, the swordsman tried again to swim towards the forest before Rick made him float, like everyone else but Chopper, and brought them to the forest floor. They walked a few hours when they found the ruins of a well partially covered by a giant tree¡¯s roots. Robin didn¡¯t miss a beat and started to study it. Zoro guarded her while Nami and Rick floated to a really high branch of the same tree. The swordsman was getting impatient, he was not much for historical stuff. ¡°Nami! Rick! See anything?¡± he asked Nami was looking around with binocrs and stopped when something caught her eyes. ¡°Holy¡­ Rick, you were right!¡± ¡°I¡¯m always right, so you¡¯re going to be more specific here.¡± answered the ex-marine. Nami rolled her eyes and gave him the binocrs. ¡°Look.¡± He took them and looked towards the direction Nami was pointing. He finally locked on what the navigator saw. Some houses, in the same architectural style as the house Cricket Montnc live in. This discovery further proved that Shandoranded on Skypiea. ¡°So Shandora is really on upper-yard. We really must go there and take a look.¡± Nami agreed and both of them floated down to ground level to tell of her findings. Robin had to see it with her own eyes. Despite everything she still had some doubt. The most real evidence that Rick might have been right was the architectural simrities but it wasn¡¯t foolproof as after all civilisation spreads. There still was a possibility that Shandora was not on Skypiea. They decided to walk branch to branch, as doing so made an easier journey. The ground was uneven and full of giant roots making reaching their destination a lot more difficult and physically taxing. On the other hand the branches were sorge that they were almost t, t enough to walk on without any problem at least. They reached their destination soon enough and among the few houses there was one that interested them in particr. ¡°May that be a lesson to you all. Never doubt me!¡¯ joked Rick. The others were too dumbfounded to say anything. The house they were currently looking at was bordering the cost, split in half vertically. ¡°That¡¯s¡­¡± began Nami. ¡°The other half of Montnc¡¯s house.¡± ended Robin. ¡°So Robin¡­ Convinced or do you still have any doubts?¡± asked Rick. She had no words and just shook her head sideways. ¡°What are we doing now?¡± asked Zoro. ¡°Right now, I think it would be best to regroup. Go back to Merry and search for Luffy, Usopp and Sanji. I don¡¯t really want to go to god¡¯s domain with more than half our fighting force missing.¡± answered Rick Zoro agreed, he may want a good fight but taking gods, his priests andckeys with only him and Rick as Nami and Robin were not really fighters, was not a good idea. ¡°Besides, if we go explore any further Luffy may throw a tantrum.¡± joked the Vice-captain. ¡°May?¡± said Zoro, an eyebrow raised. No one added anything but everyone smirked. They went the way they came from and after a long while finally reached Merry. Something was amiss, The Merry¡¯s mast was nowhere to be found. Zoro was about to yell, probably to Chopper to ask him what happened but Rick stopped him in time by covering the swordsman''s mouth with his right hand and making a shush sound with his left. ¡°The enemy may still be there. If they are, they don¡¯t know we¡¯re here. We can¡¯t let go of that advantage.¡± whispered Rick. He floated high in the air before flying at high speed towards the Merry. Once above it he observed what was going on on the ship for a few moments, waiting to see if the enemy was inside or hiding somewhere. He didn¡¯t have too, he knew Shura, one of Ener¡¯s priests was already gone but he had to y the part in front of the other. Once he deemed enough time had passed, he attracted Nami, Zoro and Robin to him andnded everyone on deck. Chopper was hiding behind what was left of the mast and jumped in fright when Zoro asked what happened. ¡°A guy on a giant bird attacked the Merry! He had ance that burned things it touched and¡­¡± ¡°HEY GUYS!¡± Chopper was interrupted by Luffy¡¯s yell. Everyone on board turned towards the direction of their captain¡¯s voice. They were riding a small boat and looked like they had a big fight. Chopper¡¯s exnation was put on hold. Once on the deck the three mates newly arrived rted their encounter with one of the priests. Usopp was shocked and saddened to see Merry without a mast but d that Chopper was alright. That relieved the little doctor, he knew how much his friend cared for Merry, it was a gift from the girl he loved after all. Usopp¡¯s words fired up Chopper more than ever to be a dependable crewmate. ¡°That guy was really annoying, with explosive cloud balls and all, but we kicked his ass so that¡¯s that.¡± said Sanji. ¡°I was attacked too! A guy on a giant bird with ance that set on fire everything it touched! He set ame the Merry¡¯s mast and I didn¡¯t have any other choice to rip it and toss it into the sea. Thankfully the old¡­ Ha! The old knight!¡± Chopper cut his story short and rushed inside the ship. The crew followed and saw him tend to a sleeping Gan Fall. ¡°I couldn¡¯t fight and protect the Merry at the same time and the enemy was flying too, so I used the whistle. He came fast and fought hard. In the end he got injured but made the enemy run away.¡± ¡°To go that far for a free whistle¡­¡± said Nami. ¡°That¡¯s not surprising actually.¡± dered Rick. ¡°What do you mean?¡± she asked ¡°Gan fall is the former god. He may not be in power anymore but apparently he still bears the burden of protecting people¡± Robin answered. Besides Rick who was already aware everyone was astonished by this revtion. ¡°I have a lot of things to ask him. Until then why don¡¯t we camp outside? Oh, and many thanks for helping us.¡± said Sanji to Pierre, Gan Fall¡¯s mount that was in the corner of the room. The bird answered with a short ¡°Pii¡±. ¡°Camping outside?! In the middle of the enemy¡¯s territory?!¡± yelled Usopp. ¡°That¡¯s a good idea. If we had to fight it would be on the forest shore, Merry would not get damaged any further.¡± noted Rick. ~~~~~~~~ They ended up grilling one of the sharks Rick and Zoro ¡®fished¡¯. Usopp was done processing everyone¡¯s testimony about what they went through and was devising a n. The crew was enjoying a good evening meal when Zoro asked about mantra. ¡°What about that mantra thing?¡± he asked Sanji ¡°The only thing I know is that he was using it to predict my move.¡± answered the cook while making shark soup for the former god as his gullet has been injured. ¡°Mantra? So that¡¯s what it is called in sky inds¡± said Rick.He was hoping introducing the group to haki before the time skip would be a good idea. ¡°You know about it?¡± questioned Zoro ¡°Yes. In the blue sea it¡¯s called haki. It¡¯s¡­ a mysterious power that utilizes your own spiritual energy for various purposes. There are three types of haki. What the guy you fought used was the haki of observation. It is like a sixth sense of the world around you. It gives limited precognitive abilities. People using it can sense someone¡¯s presence, strength, emotions and intentions. There are even stories of people mastering it to such a level that they could see into the future for a few seconds.¡± ¡°That¡¯s insane! To think some people are able to see the future.¡± eximed Sanji ¡°Everyone has the ability to do it Sanji, as long as you know how to train for it.¡± ¡®Unless you¡¯re an artificial human like me.¡¯ ¡°You said there were three types of haki, what about the other two?¡± asked Zoro, really into this conversation. ¡°The second one is armament haki. That one too is innate to everyone and needs training. It makes the body harder than anything. The higher your mastery the harder your armor. A good armament user can use it not only on his body but on objects too.¡± ¡°Like swords?¡± said Zoro. ¡°Like swords. However, it can do much more than just raising your attack and defense. Logia type devil fruit user? With this haki you can nullify their power. Luffy wouldn¡¯t have to use water to beat Crocodile if he could have used it.¡± ¡°So logias are not only weak to their opposite element?¡± asked Sanji. ¡°Nope.¡± ¡°You said people who mastered the first haki could see the future, what can a master of this one do?¡± wondered Zoro. ¡°Nasty things. An advanced haki user can emit it a short distance away without any medium. Beyond that level, they can flow the haki into a target''s body and destroy it inside out. You don¡¯t even have to touch the target or put strength in your hit.¡± answered Rick. ¡°That¡¯s almost as much a cheat than seeing the future.¡± Usopp noted. ¡°You said ¡®that one too is innate to everyone and needs training¡¯, I¡¯m guessing that¡¯s not the case for the third one ?¡± asked Robin. ¡°Correct. The third one is the conqueror haki, it¡¯s¡­¡± ¡°Conqueror?¡± interrupted Luffy. ¡°Yes because it allows the user to exert his own willpower over others, making them submit. This type of haki cannot be attained through training and only one in several millions are born with it. It is said that whoever has this type of haki has the qualities of a king.¡± ¡°Do you know how to train them?¡± asked Zoro Rick shook his head sideways. ¡°I was supposed to begin my training when¡­ well¡­ shit happened.¡± He didn¡¯t borate, he didn¡¯t need to and none of his crewmates asked. They knew the reason why he stopped. His parting with the marines was not done on good terms and they knew it was a sore subject for him. Surprisingly it was Luffy that lifted up the mood. ¡°So there really is gold, eh?! I¡¯ve been waiting for an adventure like this!¡± ¡°Yup! With you interested it will makes things easier¡± said Nami ¡°Oi, oi, Luffy did you forget that raider¡¯s warning?¡± was the answer Usopp gave Luffy. ¡°The god will be angry!¡± added Chopper. ¡°Hehe¡­ Sounds interesting.¡± dered Robin. ¡°With treasures up for grabs, pirates can¡¯t stay silent, right?¡± ¡°With plenty of enemies!¡± ¡°Yoooooooooshhhh it¡¯s decided! We¡¯ll go and find gold!¡± Yelled Luffy ¡°And ring that golden bell for old man Montnc!¡± added Rick. ¡°¡°¡°¡°¡°¡°¡°¡°YES!¡±¡±¡±¡±¡±¡±¡±¡±¡± The guys went back to the Merry for their camping gear. While Zoro and Sanji were putting up the tent for the girls, Nami, thanks to Rick bringing her stuff, began drawing a map of theplete Jaya. She had changed her hairstyle and was wearing sses. That was a new look on her and Rick was mesmerized. ¡°Do I have something on my face?¡± she asked. ¡°Hmm?¡± ¡°You¡¯ve been looking at me for a while now.¡± she added. ¡°Oh! Sorry, no you don¡¯t have anything.¡± he answered. ¡°Then why the look?¡± ¡°I¡¯ve never seen that look on you before. The pigtails and sses suit you well. You¡¯re cuter than you usually are like that.¡± ¡°Thank you. You should stop it though or it will be 50 thousand berry.¡± ¡°It¡¯s fine, you already owe me a 100 thousand for making you float around all day.¡± ¡°IN YOUR DREAMS!¡± she screamed. ¡°In my dreams you¡¯re not paying in berry¡± the Vice-captain said adding a wink towards her. That was a bad idea. Namiunched so many love punches at him that he had lumps on his lumps. ¡®How the hell does she do that?!¡¯ He didn¡¯t miss the slight blush on her face, signaling him that his words were effective. He raised himself from the ground and sat next to her to look at the map. ¡°I¡¯m surprised Sanji is not doing his¡­ thing around you right now.¡± he whispered. ¡°That¡¯s¡­ true. Must be really focused on putting up the tent.¡± she whispered back. ¡°Or you unknowingly find a way to deal with him.¡± ¡°You think it¡¯s the sses ?¡± she asked ¡°Maybe. It requires further research. That would be funny if it is. You could make him behave whenever.¡± ¡°That¡¯s a really interesting idea! I¡¯m going to have so much fun finding out!¡± ¡°It¡¯s decided then, the next ind first thing we do is shopping for clothes.¡± ¡°We?¡± asked Nami with an eyebrow raised ¡°You, Robin and me. Can¡¯t let Robin out on a shopping trip, it¡¯s criminal.¡± ¡°I was referring to you! Why would you be part of it?¡± ¡°To have a male opinion on what would work and what wouldn¡¯t! I¡¯ll be your test subject.¡± ¡°Trantion: ¡¯So you could ogle me legitimately.¡± That was said with a deadpan face. ¡°Ooooh Nami¡­ I admit you¡¯re gorgeous but you¡¯re too young for me. If I have to ogle someone it would be Robin.¡± ¡°You¡¯re lucky Vivi isn¡¯t here.¡± she smirked. ¡°Please don¡¯t talk about Vivi.¡± Rick¡¯s face paled, a lot. Goddess knows what the princess would have done to him if she had heard him. ¡°Too young for you too? She won¡¯t give up, you know she¡¯s relentless.¡± ¡°Please don¡¯t remind me¡­ Can we change the topic?¡± ¡°Sure. So¡­ What about ogling Robin?¡± ¡°Oh my god!¡± ¡°Hey, you started it, not me.¡± ¡°Why is my love life so interesting to you? I¡¯m so NOT talking about it.¡± ¡°HEY ROBIN!¡± she yelled. ¡°Shhhhhhhh! Are you insane?!¡± Unfortunately for him, Nami was too loud and Robin heard. She approached them and asked : ¡°Yes, What is it, miss navigator?¡± ¡°Rick was talking to me about his desires to¡­¡± ¡°Buy some clothes. I didn¡¯t think of buying some on Jaya, so I was asking Nami if you girls could help me with it. My fashion sense is terrible.¡± ¡°Sure, I don¡¯t have any problem with that.¡± answered Robin before going back to her book. The ex-marine turned his head towards Nami and whispered angrily. ¡°You really have a mean streak.¡± ¡°What? That was fun! Nice save by the way.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t do that again!¡± ¡°That¡¯s entirely up to you.¡± ¡°... You¡¯re not gonna drop it aren¡¯t you.¡± ¡°No ~~¡±. ¡°Fine, what do you wanna know?¡± ¡°Besides her age, what does she have that makes you tick?¡± ¡°She has really nice curves.¡± ¡°Well duh, captain obvious.¡± Nami looked at him as if he was an idiot. ¡°Alright, alright. She has beautiful legs that never seem to end, making her quite tall.¡± ¡°That¡¯s it?¡± ¡°Nami, I¡¯m 188cm (6¡±2) tall. Do you know how rare it is to meet someone my height? The average height for women is 160cm (5¡±3) and for tall people like me it¡¯s really tiring to always look down or lean.¡± ¡°Okay I get it. What else?¡± ¡°She has nice blue eyes, that¡¯s not somethingmon.¡± Nami just contented to nod as an answer. She understood and agreed with Rick, most people in the world had brown eyes. Robin¡¯s were beautiful and a nice change. They were somewhat exotic. ¡°What else?¡± ¡°She is smart and knowledgeable. After 12 years in the marines I can tell you that it¡¯s a rare sight. I¡¯m really d to journey with her. Hanging out with her is both fun and refreshing. She has a good sense of humour.¡± ¡°Wait, wait, wait. Robin has a sense of humour?¡± ¡°Oh yes, a pretty good one. She has a really melodiousugh too.¡± Nami was surprised, she never saw Robin make a joke or anything remotely close to one. She had seen her smile and had a littleugh but nothing like Rick described. She wondered if he was pulling her leg for a moment but the way he looked furtively at the crew¡¯s archeologist and smile told her it wasn¡¯t the case. ¡°I see. However my intuition tells me that¡¯s not everything.¡± she noted. ¡°True. What I like most about Robin is that she knows and understand.¡± said Rick. Nami looked at him; he was still watching intently at the subject of their conversation. She didn¡¯t understand what he meant at first, but the sad and lost glim in his eyes gave her the hint. ¡®They both had the same life.¡¯ ¡°You know something about her that we don¡¯t.¡± stated Nami. The Vice-captain stopped looking at the archeologist and redirected his gaze on the navigator next to him. He didn¡¯t say anything, he just stared. ¡°What is it?¡± she asked. ¡°Nami, this is Robin¡¯s personal business.¡± ¡°Do you want me to call her again?¡± ¡°Go ahead.¡± Seeing him not budging an inch, she understood that it was a serious matter. Still Robin was the only other girl on the crew. She was probably the only person in here that she could get really close to so she needed to know. ¡°Please Ric, tell me.¡± She was looking at Rick with a look of sincerity, worry and care. ¡®Perhaps I should tell her. The events of Water Seven may y differently.¡¯ The Vice-captain drew a long breath and sighed heavily. ¡°This is between you and I. Nobody must know, especially Robin. Do you understand?¡± Nami nodded and waited for him to start the story. ¡°What do you know about Robin?¡± ¡°Besides the fact she''s been running away from the world government by joining criminal organizations since she was 8 ? Not much.¡± ¡°So you don¡¯t know why she¡¯s wanted?¡± ¡°Her wanted poster says she sank six marines battleships.¡± ¡°Let¡¯s start with that. It¡¯s not true. The reason she¡¯s wanted is because she¡¯s the only one to know how to read the poneglyphs. The marines are scared she will find the location of ancient and forgotten weapons whose power is a threat to the world. And most of all she could uncover the story of what happened 800 years ago and from what I gathered the government doesn¡¯t want that at all cost.¡± ¡°Why?¡± ¡°My guess? Because 800 years ago was when the world government was created. And knowing how corrupt it is, I¡¯d bet anything that the true story is not what is being taught in textbooks. They are covering up for something really bad that could jeopardize the world order.¡± ¡°Really?¡± ¡°You don¡¯t know how bad it is behind the scenes Nami.Trust me you don¡¯t want to know.¡± ¡°Howe robin is the only one who can read the poneglyphs?¡± ¡°Because the world government murdered everyone else who could.¡± ¡°Everyone?¡± Rick nodded. ¡°It was a genocide Nami. Robin¡¯s home ind was known for their archeologists. Many came to theirnds to know more about history, culture, well basically everything. But in secret all of them were studying the poneglyphs, trying to record and uncover the events of the void century. I don¡¯t know how, but that got leaked to the marines who decided to use the buster call on the ind.¡± ¡°What¡¯s that?¡± ¡°The buster call is the most terrifying assault force of the marines. It is their ultimate attack. Five vice-admirals and ten heavy battleships gather at the location designated and start firing their cannons at the target. They only stop once the target has been obliterated.¡± ¡°My god! That¡¯s insane!¡± she eximed. ¡°What is?¡± asked Robin from her seat, father away. Fortunately for them, she couldn¡¯t hear their conversation as they were whispering but she was suspicious. ¡°¡°Nothing¡±¡± was the synchronised answer she got. ¡®Truly suspicious...¡¯ In the end she decided to let it go. Rick signaled nami to lower her voice and be quieter. ¡°That¡¯s not the worst. It¡¯s not about the infrastructure only, it¡¯s about the people too. No survivors are to be left alive.¡± ¡°And Robin¡¯s home suffered from that?¡± ¡°Yes. The results are horrifying. Buildings and bodies; nothing is left intact, everything is torn apart. It¡¯s a genocide pure and simple, to the marines it¡¯s just erasing a dot on a map. ¡± Nami noted that Rick spoke from experience. She had to ask. ¡°You saw one didn¡¯t you?¡± ¡°No, but I saw the results. When I fled the marines I needed to hide in a ce they would never think to look¡­¡± ¡°Holy¡­ You fled there! You were hiding on Robin¡¯s home ind.¡± ¡°Yes. When I saw the consequences of the buster call, I was even more disgusted with the marines than I already was. I spent ten years there. I buried the dead, cleaned the ce and rebuilt it.¡± ¡°Why didn¡¯t you tell Robin?¡± ¡°Are you crazy?! I¡¯m an ex-marines! She may think it¡¯s some kind of ploy to capture her. Like I¡¯m a double still working for the marines or something!¡± Nami took a good look at him before saying: ¡°You¡¯re not, right?¡± ¡°Of course not!¡± ¡°Then you have nothing to fear. Tell her.¡± ¡°Nami for fugitives like Robin and I, trust in others is a luxury we can¡¯t afford to have. You trust the wrong person and you¡¯re dead or worse. We¡¯ve been at it for so long that distrusting people is more than a reflex, it¡¯s an instinct.¡± Nami didn¡¯t know what to say. After Arlong, she was used to distrust, she was a pirate after all, she couldn¡¯t remember how many times she betrayed someone for her goals. The difference is, she was never wanted by the entire world government. She tried to put herself in Robin¡¯s shoes for a moment. ¡®Rick is right, nothing good woulde to Robin knowing about the restoration of her home.¡¯ Nami was suddenly ovee with emotions. All this time Robin has been alone with no one to trust. No one to confide in or find support. That didn¡¯t sit well with her. She stood up and rushed towards Robin to hug her. ¡°Wow. What is that for?¡± asked the archeologist. ¡°Robin, Rick is bullying me!¡± said Nami. She sounded like a victim and even added some crocodile¡¯s tears. ¡°Oh really?¡± answered Robin. Nami had her head in Robin¡¯s bosom and nodded. Thetter was scowling at Rick. ¡°HE DID WHAT?¡± Sanji, who was just done with the tent, heard Nami¡¯sint and went Berserk. He rushed Rick at a frightening speed. ¡°Oh that¡¯s bullshit!¡± the Vice-captain said before dodging a fasting kick from the cook. He dodged another and another again. He soon had enough and used his gravity to send Sanji into the sea to cool him down a bit. That worked. Rick looked at Nami who was still in Robin¡¯s embrace. She was sticking out her tongue to him. He swore to pay her back another time. Chapter 39: Snake? Snake?! SNAKE!!! Chapter 39: Snake? Snake?! SNAKE!!! The crew spent a good part of the night partying as per Luffy¡¯s wishes. His thoughts were that a celebration was needed for the start of a new adventure. Zoro and Sanji were tasked with making a huge bonfire. Usopp and Rick, the hunt for food, the shark Sanji cooked was good but it wouldn¡¯t have been a proper party without meat. Robin came back from the shore with a big rock which apparently contained salt. She was not for it at first, she rightfully noted that a big bonfire would alert the enemy of their position. She changed her mind after Usopp and Luffy ¡®exined¡¯ to her that making a campfire on a camping night was the way of life, even if they had to die. At least it¡¯s the official version. The truth of the matter was that Rick told her that he would be on guard duty all night and that she had nothing to worry about. That quelled Nami¡¯s fears, wild beasts lived in the forest after all. ¡°Let¡¯s get this party started!!!!¡± Yelled Luffy. And it did. Everyone was having fun around the bonfire. Almost every crew member was dancing around, including the cloud wolves that somehow the Strawhats captain had tamed, with the exception of Zoro who was nursing a drink and Robin and Rick who were having fun watching the others¡¯ antics. ¡°Not so much for dancing?¡± he asked. ¡°No. What about you?¡± she answered back. ¡°I¡¯d rather get caught by the marines than to be seen dancing.¡± he joked. ¡°You¡¯re that bad?¡± she said with a smirk. ¡°No¡­ I¡¯m worse.¡± he smirked back. ¡°Haha. There is probably nobody else that would dare make so much noise in Ener¡¯s home.¡± The voice came from behind them. When they turned around to know whose the owner was, they saw Gan Fall slowly walking towards them. ¡°You¡¯re awake, Should you not be resting?¡± asked Robin. ¡°I¡¯m quite fine, thank you. I¡¯m just sorry to cause you so much trouble when I wanted to be helpful.¡± said the old knight. ¡°What do you mean? You helped enough, thank you.¡± stated Zoro. ¡°Hungry? We have plenty to share.¡± asked the Vice-captain. ¡°Thank you but I really don¡¯t have an appetite.¡± declined Gan Fall ¡°...¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°I overheard your conversation earlier, about thatnd being part of an ind called Jaya. But to the people of the sky it¡¯s a holynd. Do you know why?¡± he asked. ¡°Because there is nond in the sky.¡± said Robin ¡°Greenery and soil are not found on it. Sure the clouds can nurture nts and animals and very well at that, just by looking at those trees they grew vastly differently from the ones on Jaya in the blue sea but without vearth nothing is born.¡± stated Rick. ¡°You¡¯re correct. I¡¯m surprised you know so much.¡± said Gan Fall astonished at their answers. ¡°We may have studied a book or two about Skypiea history.¡± said Robin ¡°It was very interesting, we learned a lot, notably about you.¡± added Rick. ¡°Oh? So you know I used to be god.¡± ¡°And good one at that.¡± dered Robin. ¡°Thank you for thepliment youngdy, but I doubt that.¡± ¡°You tried to bring peace and peacefully end a 400 years old war. Just because you failed doesn''t mean you were bad at the job. Besides it can¡¯t even be said you failed, you were reced before seeding.¡± The former god pondered the young ones¡¯ words. For the past six years since his defeat against Ener he was ridden with guilt and shame. His mercenary work was some sort of atonement. He saw the truth yet it was difficult to ept it. ¡°There is no shame in being weak. Knowing about it and doing nothing to change it is shameful though.¡± Those words resonated within Gan Fall. Ever since his defeat, despite being old he trained hard his body to help those in need. He may not have been god anymore but he still shouldered the responsibility of the position. ¡°That¡¯s some wise words you said, I¡¯m impressed.¡± said Robin. ¡°She¡¯s right, you¡¯re very wise for your age.¡± agreed the old knight. ¡°Let me give you a few more words then. Someone wise learns from others¡¯ mistakes. Someone foolish learns from his own. And I¡¯m definitely not the former.¡± stated the Vice-captain. ¡°I see¡­ I guess life is difficult for everyone.¡± ¡°There is a saying for it on the blue sea. ¡® Life''s a bitch so get used to it.¡¯ ¡° intervened Zoro. Hispanionsughed merrily at the idiom. ¡°This is a good saying. I might use it from now on.¡± said the previous god with a smile on his face. The party went on well into the night before everyone went to sleep. Rick stayed awake for ¡®guard duty¡¯, in truth he hoped to see the manifestation of the Merry repairing itself. When Usopp woke up to empty his dder he knew it was time. Hearing amotion towards the ship he knew it was time. He floated there and stayed a reasonable distance away. ¡°Do you need help?¡± he asked. The spirit fixing the mast jumped in surprise and turned towards the ex-marine. ¡®I¡¯m surprised you approached me, Usopp fainted from fright.¡¯ the spirit said. ¡°He probably thought you were a ghost, Merry.¡± replied Rick. ¡®You know?!¡¯ ¡°I heard stories. I¡¯m both happy and sad that they are true.¡± ¡®Sad? Why?¡¯ asked Merry. ¡°How long do you have left?¡± asked Rick in return. ¡®So you really know¡­ I¡¯m a ship, so I can¡¯t really die but I can probably carry all of you for one or two more trips.¡¯ ¡°I see.¡± Merry started working on the mast again and despite his question never being answered Rick used his gravity to maintain it in ce. ¡®Thank you.¡¯ ¡°After everything you¡¯ve done for the crew it is the least I could do.¡± Merry kept hammering, nail after nail, sometimes stopping to get a steel te to put on the mast. Rick didn¡¯t let her and used his powers to lift them up and put them in ce. ¡°Is there any wish you have that I can realise?¡± asked Rick. ¡®My only wish is to sail every part of the world with all of you. I doubt you can fulfill it.¡¯ ¡°No. But an alternative is possible.¡± ¡®An alternative?¡¯ ¡°When the timees we can take a piece of you with us. We¡¯ll still sail together but we¡¯ll be the ones bringing you with us not the other way around. You¡¯re part of the crew after all and we don¡¯t leave a mate behind.¡± Merry stopped hammering. She considered Rick¡¯s proposition, it was a really good alternative. Would she still exist though? What part of the ship was ¡®her¡¯? Or was she the entire ship? She didn¡¯t know but she liked the idea of a part of her always with them, to be considered part of the crew. In the end it didn¡¯t matter if she kept existing. ¡®The figurehead. When it¡¯s time, please take my figurehead with you.¡¯ ¡°I promise I will.¡± swore the Vice-Captain. Before adding ¡° Should I keep our conversation to myself?¡± ¡®Yes please, my kind are not supposed to interact with people.¡¯ ¡°Why did you then?¡± ¡®I¡­ don¡¯t know. Somehow, you ¡­ feel different from the others?¡¯ ¡°Well, I always felt that I was different, so I¡¯m not really surprised. Anyway, I will tell them that you need repair though. That way they can be prepared a bit, is that okay with you?¡± ¡®It¡¯s fine, it¡¯s better that way actually.¡¯ Merry was done with the repairs and Rick floated towards Usopp but not before leaving somest words to Merry. ¡°It was nice speaking with you Merry.¡± He didn¡¯t get an answer, Merry was already ¡®gone¡¯. Picking up Usopp he brought him back to camp and put him in his sleeping bag. ~~~~~ Morning came and one by one the crew members woke up. Luffy as usual was excited to the maximum and began rushing everyone. To upy him, Sanji quickly made him breakfast. It didn¡¯t take long for them to pack away their camping gear and go back to the Merry. ¡°Look! I told you somebody was here before! It wasn¡¯t a dream after all!! Someone fixed the Going Merry.¡± yelled Usopp with conviction. ¡°Yup¡­ Even the broken mast was reattached¡± noted Nami. ¡°Whoever they are, they weren¡¯t very good at it.¡± stated Sanji ¡°I thought it was some kind of ghost.¡± said Usopp ¡°Well, you¡¯re kinda right and wrong on that one Usopp.¡± dered Rick. ¡°You know who did the repairs?¡± asked Zoro ¡°Yep. It was a bautermann.¡± ¡°¡°¡°¡°¡°A What?¡±¡±¡±¡± ¡°They are a myth.¡± said Robin. ¡°Well I thought too, untilst night.¡± replied the Vice-captain. ¡°What¡¯s a b. ba..¡± asked Chopper. ¡°bautermann. It¡¯s a water spirit that dwells on ships and is basically an incarnation of a ship that has been well cared for. It is a merry and diligent creature that is said to warn sailors when a ship¡¯s in danger and help in bigger ways sometimes. It¡¯s a myth though.¡± answered Robin. ¡°Well excuuuuuuuuuse me miss Sceptical but Usopp and I disagree big time with you on that one. We both saw it.¡± ¡°Wait, you saw it too?¡± asked Usopp ¡°Yep, Since you were taking rather long for a simple leak I searched for you. You were ¡®asleep¡¯ on the shore. Then I heard a hammering noise and saw a little silhouette fixing the mast.¡± ¡°Wait, wait, wait! Merry is alive? That¡¯s awesome!¡± eximed Luffy. ¡°Who cares if it¡¯s alive or not ? We need to go.¡± said Zoro. As he was done being rude towards Merry, the sail detached itself from the mast and fell on him. ¡°Apparently Merry cares, so don¡¯t be rude to her.¡± joked Rick. ¡°It¡¯s a coincidence, nothing more!¡± replied the swordsman. ¡°Whether you believe it or not doesn¡¯t change the truth. Anyway I¡¯ll take the warning seriously. Merry is heavily beaten up, we should prioritize fixing her by a professional carpenter as soon as we can. There is a limit to how much she can take before she¡¯s beyond fixing.¡± The conversation didn¡¯t go any further, it was not the time for it. Instead Nami exined the n. The crew would be divided in two. One group would go East towards Shandora on foot, while the other would sail on the Merry and get around the ind by sea. The purpose of getting the Merry closer was double. First to provide an escape route, second to avoid transporting the gold through half the forest. The group on foot wasposed of Luffy, Zoro, Chopper, Robin and Rick. Except for Sanji all the heavy hitters were there which was natural as this group would be the one facing the enemy. Robin was there to help guide the group in the right direction by studying any ruins they would find on the way. Finally, Chopper was tasked to take care of any injury as the ship doctor. As Luffy dered the start of the adventure, Chopper held him back. Rick was missing. That didn¡¯t sit well with the straw hat. Fortunately his Vice-captain showed up before he couldin. ¡°Rick, where were you? You¡¯re dying us!¡± eximed the Captain. ¡°Sorry Luffy, I had to do something really quick in the kitchen. I¡¯m ready to go now.¡± replied the ex-marine. The captain didn¡¯t even bother to listen as he was already stretching his arm to get to the forest¡¯s shore. Rick made everyone else float and followed him. ¡°So¡­ What was so important that you werete?¡± asked Chopper. ¡°I had to take a weapon.¡± replied Rick. ¡°A weapon?¡± Zoro was surprised, until now he never saw Rick using anything else than his gravitational powers, so him needing a weapon was a curiousosity. Besides, what weapon could he find in the kitchen? ¡°Sanji won¡¯t be happy with you taking one of his knives.¡± stated the doctor. ¡°Oh, I didn¡¯t. I took something else, something he won¡¯t miss.¡± ¡°What did you take then?¡± asked Robin. ¡°I¡¯m not going to spoil the surprise~~ Besides, if I tell you and I end up being wrong I don¡¯t think I could survive the shame.¡± ¡°Wrong about what?¡± it was Zoro¡¯s turn to ask. ¡°Ener¡¯s abilities.¡± ¡°You know what devil fruit he ate?¡± eximed Chopper. ¡°I¡¯m not sure, but if I¡¯m right, only Luffy will be able to defeat him and maybe, and it¡¯s a big maybe here, me with Nami¡¯s help.¡± ¡°Fortunately you¡¯re always right.¡± joked Robin. ¡°Oh~~ Be careful guys! She¡¯s learning!¡± He winked at her and earned rolling eyes and a small smile. ¡°What do you think his abilities are then?¡± asked Zoro. ¡°Lightning.¡± ¡°Lightning?¡± repeated Chopper, to which Rick nodded. ¡°It makes sense that Luffy would be able to defeat it then, but why only him?¡± wondered Zoro out loud. ¡°From Nami¡¯s description, the column of light was actually a huge thunderbolt. That much power over an element indicates that it¡¯s the power of a logia.¡± ¡°Well shit. What about your weapon then?¡± asked Zoro. ¡°And Nami !¡± added Chopper ¡°Well I¡¯m not confident that I could dodge a lightning bolt. On the other hand Nami with her clima-tact could be able to redirect it. She¡¯d y defense, I¡¯d y offense.¡± Somewhat Robin had an epiphany. She knew what Rick took in the kitchen. She imagined Rick fighting god with it, with Nami on his back and the idea was so ridiculous that she startedughing hard. Zoro and Chopper looked at her as if she¡¯d gone mad. Rick started sweating bullets. ¡®No¡­ She couldn¡¯t have found out, did she?¡¯ ¡°I know what you took in the kitchen! And you¡¯re right, this is definitely something someone would die of shame if Ener¡¯s power is not lightning. ¡®Shit!¡¯ ¡°Don¡¯t say anything!¡± Rick urged her. ¡°Oh, don¡¯t worry I won¡¯t. There is no way I¡¯d pass on watching everyone''s face when they find out.¡± she assured him. Chopper tried to get the information from Robin but to no avail. They finally reached the shore with Luffy and started their journey towards Shandora. After an hour or so walking through the forest (and a dozen redirects of Zoro and Luffy who kept going the wrong way), Rick suddenly stopped everyone. ¡®How could I forget about that guy?¡¯ ¡°Did you find something Rick?¡± asked Luffy ¡°More like something found us.¡± the ex-marine replied. ¡°What are you talking about?¡± said Chopper. Rick didn¡¯t say anything at first. He raised his head slowly towards the sky and with his right hand near his waist pointed upward with his finger. ¡°That.¡± was all he said. They all turned around to see what he was looking at. Nobody said anything or dared to move a single muscle. They were looking at a giant snake and the snake was looking back. It was as if time had stopped. ¡°It¡¯s a snake! RUN!¡± yelled Luffy. The group scattered as the snake attacked. Robin and Rick used their powers to position themselves on a high branch of some trees, hoping to be out of reach. Zoro tried to cut it but despite how massive his body was the snake was too fast. He nearly ate Chopper who dodge sideways and Luffy who chose to jump in the air. In the end the snake nted his fang onto a tree¡¯s trunk. Releasing it, the beast¡¯s poison had already dissolved half of it. ¡°Don¡¯t touch that poison, no matter what!¡± Yelled zoro. ¡°For once, I¡¯m down to running away!¡± said Rick from his branch. ¡°I agree!¡± cried Chopper. Everyone agreed to flee their separate ways. Luffy tried to draw the snake¡¯s attention but failed as it had noticed Robin just above him. She dodged by a hair¡¯s breadth and was about to bloom some hands to catch herself on a branch but Rick was faster and attracted her to him right onto his arms. ¡°I got you.¡± The giant predator noticed Chopper running away but he was too far. He set his sight on Zoro who was a closer target. ¡°Oh shit!¡± Thanks to Rick, Zoro was pushed away from the snake¡¯s assault. ¡°Thanks Rick!¡± he yelled while running deeper into the forest. The Vice-captain, still holding Robin, flew as far and as fast as he could from the snake. The group had barely begun their exploration that they were already separated. ~~~~~ ¡°Rick.¡± called out Robin. ¡°Rick!¡± She said his name a third time but he still didn''t hear her. Finally she bloomed hands around his head and covered his eyes. The effect was immediate and the ex-marine stopped abruptly on his track. ¡°What the¡­¡± ¡°We lost him, you can¡¯t stop now.¡± ¡°Oh! Sorry, I was so focused on getting away that I didn¡¯t pay attention.¡± Robin had dismissed the hands covering his view, and looked at him.They were looking into each other''s eyes. ¡°...¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°You can put me down.¡± ¡°But do I have too?¡± said Rick with a smile. ¡°...¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°Now, please.¡± Reluctantly he put her down. ¡°For once, I¡¯m carrying a gorgeousdy that is not screaming my ears off. I can¡¯t even enjoy it.¡± he muttered. Unfortunately she heard him. ¡°Does it happen that often?¡± ¡°You have no idea! During my time in the marines the only one who did not was Vivi and she was six and asleep.¡± ¡°I noticed her namees up often when Nami and you are talking.¡± ¡°Nami brings her up, I don¡¯t.¡± ¡°You seem to know her well. More than the rest of the crew.¡± Robin asked with curiosity. ¡°I do. It¡¯s¡­ a long story from long ago.¡± ¡°I see.¡± she didn¡¯t pry further, but she¡¯ll definitely ask Nami whenever she could. Rick took a look around to get some idea of their position. Normally in un unknown forest it would be stupid to do so as there was no way to know where one were in this situation. However,dy luck was smiling upon him. ¡°Shit! I flew too far, we¡¯re at the border of the forest now.¡± The forest ended a dozen feet forward where the ground was reced by clouds. ¡°All is not lost. Look.¡± said Robin pointed to their right. Rick followed with his sight the direction her finger was pointing at when he caught on what she saw. Or more urately, who. Someone was kneeling on the clouds. The person was showing them their back so they couldn¡¯t tell what they were doing. ¡°We¡¯re in luck. You think that person could help us?¡± asked the Vice-captain. ¡°It doesn¡¯t hurt to ask.¡± He made them float andnded a few feet behind the person, who turned out to be a woman, they were hoping could help them. ¡°Excuse me! Hello!¡± greeted Rick. The woman, surprised by his voice, jumped forward and turned at the same time, brandishing a gun and shooting at Rick. Chapter 40: Close encounter of the third kind Chapter 40: Close encounter of the third kind ¡°Well¡­ That was rude.¡± said Rick. He didn¡¯t expect to be shot at and by pure reflex diverted the bullet with his gravity. ¡°Who are you?¡± asked the woman with a scowl, still on the defensive. She lowered her gun but was ready at any moment to use it again. ¡°I¡¯m Rick and this is Robin. We¡¯re sailors from the blue sea.¡± he replied. ¡°You¡¯re here to take some vearth? I won¡¯t let you!¡± She raised her gun but it didn¡¯t matter. Rick pulled it towards him fast and caught it. ¡°No, no really. Vearth is amon thing on the blue sea so we''re not really interested in it.¡± said Robin. The aggressivedy didn¡¯t understand what happened, she only knew that right now she was without any weapon. She took a good look at the people before her. They were calm; not searching for a fight. She didn¡¯t let her guard down, however she chose to talk with words instead of fist. A physical confrontation would do her no good, it was two versus one. Add to that the weird powers the man manifested, she was certain she would not win. ¡°Why are you here and what do you want?¡± she asked. ¡°Do you want the short version or the long one?¡± Rick replied. ¡°...¡± ¡°...¡± Robin sighed, and was getting tired of this exchange. She spoke up. ¡°We got attacked by a giant snake in the forest. We fled as far as we could and ended up here.¡± ¡°That takes care of the why as for the what¡­ We¡¯re here to kill god, find the lost city of Shandora and its gold and ring the giant golden bell.¡± That one was too much for the woman. Kill god? Find her ancestral home? Ring the giant bell? And what was that gold he talked about? Those were the questions that ran through her mind. She needed context here. ¡°And the long version?¡± ¡°Oh! Okay.. well¡­ All began when I was 4, I woke without any memories in a forest with¡­¡± He couldn¡¯t finish his tale as Robin smacked him hard in the back of his head. ¡°Stop acting like an idiot!¡± He was stunned, Robin hit him! She never did that to anyone. She wasn¡¯t a violent person like that. She threatened with her terrifying re and people behaved. That¡¯s how it normally went. This behavior was new. ¡°We came to this sky ind with the help of a man named Cricket Montnc. He is thest descendant of Nond the explorer.¡± started Robin. ¡°Nond you say?!¡± thedy was surprised. Of all the things she thought she could have heard, that was definitely not on the list. ¡°Yes, he¡¯s still searching for Shandora to honor his ancestor¡¯s promise. He thinks it sank under the sea, but when we arrived here we quickly understood that Shandora was propelled into the sky andnded on this sky ind.¡± the archaeologist replied. ¡°Then..¡± ¡°Yes, that¡¯s why we¡¯re going to ring the bell. To fulfill the promise between your people and Nond¡¯s family. You see, all the diving Cricket does is slowly killing him. And he¡¯s too nice a man for us to let it happen. By ringing the bell we can tell him that he can stop diving and risk his life.¡± said Rick. ¡°My people?¡± asked the woman. ¡°You¡¯re a shandia, right? The original inhabitants of Shandora, exiled from their home 400 years ago by the god of the time, correct?¡± he replied. ¡°How¡­ How do you know that? How do you know so much?¡± Robin took a turn. ¡°Your people and Nond¡¯s story was recorded in a book where we came from. And the story of your people from 400 years ago is also recorded in documents and books on Angel Ind.¡± ¡°As for how we know you¡¯re a Shandia it¡¯s simple, angels don¡¯te to upper-yard, too scared of god¡¯s judgement. And your appearance is nothing alike, from your clothes to your tattoos.¡± the Vice-captain added. ¡®Could it be true? Are they really here to fight god and fulfill the promise between our people and Nond?¡¯ The woman stayed silent. After so many hardships she almost lost hope for her people. But here, were two strong looking people, with the objective to take down god. Her leader, Wyper, was hell bent on taking back theirnd, making any sacrifice he deemed necessary like leaving behind unattended a woundedrade. She couldn¡¯t agree with that way of thinking and leading but didn¡¯t have any other choices. He was the descendant of their great warrior Kalgara, revered leader of the Shandia tribe. That simple fact made it impossible to go against him. She was scared of him and his predisposition to violence. He couldn¡¯t be talked or reasoned with and that may lead the tribe to its doom one day. But now? Now the tribe may have new allies in their fight. But they were only two. What could two people do? How could they tip the scale in her people''s favor? ¡°What can you possibly do with the two of you alone?¡± she asked ¡°Oh! We¡¯re not alone. We got a whole crew with us. The snake attack ? it separated us. That¡¯s actually the reason we approached you. We were hoping you could tell us where we are on this map, so we could know in which direction to go.¡± said Rick holding the map of Skypiea in his hands. The knowledge that there was a whole crew ready to defeat god quelled any worries thedy had. ¡®Maybe we can do it then.¡¯ She imagined a big number of seasoned sailors ready to fight. Fortunately for Rick and Robin, he was vague about their numbers otherwise she may not have agreed to help had she known the truth. She took a loop at the map and with her finger pointed where they were. ¡°We¡¯re here.¡± ¡°Shit, we went way off course. At least, now, we know where to go, thank you.¡± said Rick. ¡°Raki. My name is Raki.¡± replied the woman. ¡°It was nice meeting you Raki despite, you know, the whole shooting me thing¡± he joked. ¡°I¡¯m really sorry about that. I..¡± ¡°It¡¯s fine, I understand the position you were in.¡± The ex-marine made himself and Robin float and was about to depart when their new friends stopped them. ¡°Wait! Take me with you! My friends will attack you thinking you¡¯re with god without me!¡± Rick had to agree. With her around the chances of getting assaulted by the shandia warriors along the way dropped drastically. He made her float too. ¡°Just to be sure, are you good with high speeds?¡± he asked. ¡°Yes, every Shandia¡¯s once theye of age are trained to use hoverboots. I won¡¯t have any problem with it, don¡¯t worry¡± Rick nodded. And starting to fly fast. The same speed he used when he fled with Robin. He could have gone faster but the stamina consumption was a lot higher so he didn¡¯t. Now, they were too far from their friends and had to pick up the pace. He elerated bit by bit to the point where the trees on their sides began to blur. The Vice-Captain lomed with great agility between the giant trees. They were flying for a bit more than a quarter when Robin asked Rick to stop and go back a bit. Despite the frightening speed, her eyes caught the existence of some ruins. They may have known the general direction which to go but the ce was gigantic. They could have passed on the side of the city without knowing it until they reached the shore of the ind on the other side of the forest. By taking the time to study the ruins they may find some information allowing them to avoid such a disaster. Rick backtracked a bit andnded Robin on the ground. ¡°You¡¯re awfully quiet.¡± she noticed. ¡°You spoiled my fun and you hit me, so I¡¯m not talking to you anymore, you bully.¡± was all that he said. She just rolled her eyes towards the sky. It had be a habit when dealing with him. ¡®Ugh... Sometimes he¡¯s even more childish than Luffy.¡¯ The Vice-Captain set himself and Raki on a tree branch to watch the surroundings in case one of her people came close or one of Ener¡¯s men. Robin took her time and was astonished by what she found. The ruins were some sort of memorial, built there after Shandoranded on Skypiea by the shandoria when they had to flee. She uncovered writings behind moss and vines rting to the gold city¡¯s history. It began 1100 years ago, around the same time Skypiean left the moon to settle on skys inds. What was really important to her though was the disappearance of Shandora to the world 800 years ago. Right about the time of the void century. She hoped that maybe she could find what she has been looking for for the past 20 years in Shandora. Because Rick and Raki were on the lookout for potential neers they had their back turn to Robin, who had to get farther away to study the entirety of the ruins. That¡¯s why they didn¡¯t see one of Ener¡¯s men attacking her. When they finally realised what was going on, Robin was already disying some nasty bruises. ¡®Shit, I forgot about him! Heck, I kept forgetting things about this entire arc. I¡¯ll need to keep track of events or it could turn out really badly.¡¯ Raki raised her rifle ready to support her new ally but was stopped by Rick shaking his head sideways. ¡°What are you doing?!¡± she asked. ¡°She won¡¯t like it if we interfere.¡± he replied. ¡°What do you mean?¡± ¡°Robin is an archaeologist. History is all her life and that dude she¡¯s fighting? He keeps destroying it. It became personal for her. This is her fight.¡± the ex-marine exined. Raki couldn¡¯t believe what she was hearing. His friend was hurt and fighting an opponent stronger than she was and he stood by because the fight was personal? ¡°In case you didn¡¯t notice she¡¯s losing!¡± ¡°For now, but she will win.¡± ¡°You¡¯re crazy!¡± ¡°Everyone who has faith is crazy and I have faith in her.¡± he joked. She took a look at him. There was no trace of worry in his eyes. Perhaps was he right? He knew her better than she did after all. His conviction won her over; she lowered her file and watched the battle. Robin¡¯s opponent was a tough bastard and had a belt of impact dials across his big belly. Those dials were very deadly, they could store the impact they received and send it back with multiplied power. Since he was really fat, the power behind his charge was enormous andbined with the half dozen of impact dials he was wearing on hit may have really well killed Robin. Thankfully she was smart. She put herself between a tree and her enemy. When he charged at her she covered his eyes with two hands she bloomed, while with two others she turned his belt making the dials face inward. She dismissed the four appendages and dodge at thest second. Her opponent collided with the tree¡¯s trunk and experienced the full might of the impact dials. By some miracle he was still alive but fortunately passed out. ¡°See? Told you she¡¯d win.¡± said Rick with a smug face. They floated towards Robin who was sitting on the grass catching her breath. ¡°Are you alright?¡± asked Raki. She only got a nod for an answer, clearly Robin was not ready to talk yet. ¡°I wanted to support you with my rifle but Rick said this fight was personal and that I should not.¡± Robin, still breathing heavily, looked at Rick from the corner of her eyes and just smiled before nodding again. It took a few minutes but she got her breathing under control. ¡°Those ruins were a memorial built by your ancestors. It contains the history of your people as far as 1100 years ago. It¡¯s not detailed though, it¡¯s just dates coupled with events.¡± said the archaeologist. ¡°They are records of our history?! That¡¯s... That¡¯s great! Ever since we were driven away from ournd we didn¡¯t have any! It was passed on orally from elders to elders.¡± eximed Raki. Robin had rested enough, she stood up and delivered the rest of her findings. ¡°That wasn¡¯t everything. I found a map of Shandora, I know where to go.¡± At that moment when everyone¡¯s guard was down, the man she had defeated raised suddenly and tried to attack her. Tried because before he could do anything Rick used his gravity on him and pushed him over the cliff that was near. When he was in the air he was drawn and pushed, at the same time, 30 feet below onto the ground. Bothdies looked at Rick with an indescribable face. Before that sight he just shrugged his shoulders. Raki leaned towards Robin and whispered in her ear. ¡°Is he always that ruthless?¡± ¡°Not always. Only when someone is in danger. He¡¯s very protective.¡± smiled Robin. ¡°I can see that.¡± replied Raki. Robin walked with slightly unsteady legs towards her Vice-Captain and looked him in the eyes. ¡°...¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°I¡¯m exhausted.¡± was all she said before putting her arms around his neck and jumping on him. By reflex, he caught her sideways and ended up carrying her in a princess carry, still looking into each other¡¯s eyes. ¡°...¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°Happy?¡± she asked ¡°Very.¡± Raki couldn¡¯t help but smile at the dynamic they had between them. ¡°My, you two make a cute couple.¡± she said. ¡°I know, right?¡± was the beginning of Rick¡¯s answer, but before he could say anything more, Robin pinched his neck hard and sent him a murderous re that froze his blood. ¡°Do you want me to scream your ears off?¡± ¡°No, Ma¡¯am.¡± ¡°Then be quiet.¡± ¡°Yes, Ma¡¯am.¡± That exchange prompted Raki to giggle. ~~~~~ The trio was on the move again, following Robin¡¯s direction. She was still being carried and had a peaceful and content face. Rick was unaware, too busy looking forward and dodging trees. As they went over a river of clouds Raki asked him to stop. She had seen a friend of hers on the riverbank heavily wounded. Theynded next to him. ¡°Kamikiri!¡± ¡°Ra.. Raki, you must...go¡­ Stop him¡­ Wyper can¡¯t¡­ win¡­ Ener is¡­ is¡­ invincible.¡± Saying those words took all the strength he had left. Raki checked his pulse and let out a sigh of relief when she felt one, albeit very weak. She stood up and asked Rick: ¡°Are you sure you can defeat Ener?¡± ¡°If I can''t, my captain will. I¡¯m 100% sure of that. Before dawn tomorrow, Ener will be gone.¡± he answered. ¡°Then let¡¯s go.¡± They resumed their journey towards Shandora when Raki pried into Rick¡¯s abilities. ¡°I¡¯ve been meaning to ask¡­¡± she said to the one the ex-marine carried as he was once again too focused on the ¡®road¡¯.¡± ¡°What is it?¡± replied Robin. ¡°What are Rick¡¯s abilities?¡± ¡°He controls gravity. By manipting it he can attract or repel things, make them heavier or float.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t see how he can defeat Ener with it. He¡¯s a logia.¡± ¡°He can¡¯t, that¡¯s why he prepared a secret weapon.¡± ¡°A secret weapon?¡± ¡°Yes. Logia are not invincible, they are weak to an opposite element.¡± ¡°What do you mean?¡± ¡°Let¡¯s say someone ate the suna suna no mi making them a sand person. To defeat it you would have to use water. Water would solidify the sand and counter the intangibility of the logia.¡± ¡°What kind of element can counter lightning?¡± ¡°Rubber.¡± ¡°What¡¯s that?¡± ¡°Rubber is a material made from very specific trees. It¡¯s durable and can stretch but most of all is isnt. Lightning is not conducted by it.¡± ¡°And Rick as a weapon made of rubber?¡± ¡°... You can say that. If it doesn¡¯t work it¡¯s fine, our captain ate the gomu gomu no mi making him a rubber man.¡± ¡°Then Rick was right then, Ener is really going down.¡± ¡°¡°I¡¯m / He¡¯s always right.¡±¡± was said in perfect sync, making Rakiugh. ¡°Are you sure you¡¯re not together?¡± ¡°¡°Yes!¡±¡± ¡®Could have fooled me¡¯ thought Raki. Soon enough they reached their destination. A big structure made of stones stood before them. At his center, a tunnel leading to somewhere. ¡°What do you want to do Robin? Fly over or take the tunnel.¡± asked Rick. ¡°Let me down, I¡¯ll take the tunnel, you can survey the area by the air.¡± she replied. He did as instructed. Raki decided to join him, she wanted to see from a bird view her ancestral home. Once high enough, she was disappointed with the sight. She had imagined plenty of tall buildings, towering in the sky, not¡­ that. There were some buildings, true but not in the numbers she had dreamed of. They weren¡¯t tall either, barely half a dozen feet above the clouds. ¡°Something is not right. This does not match the description Nond did of shandora. I mean the architecture is correct, but the city itself is all wrong.¡± said Rick. He knew the reason why but he couldn¡¯t say anything. Shandora was actually under the clouds and the few edifices visible were actually the top of the tallest building. Robin needed to find it herself the actual city as she was destined to meet with Ener. It was too soon for Rick to confront him. Luffy, Zorro and the giant snake were nowhere in sight and they were needed for the fight. Speaking of Robin, he saw her exiting from the other side of the tunnel. He descended with Raki to cloud level and joined her to share his discovery. ¡°Did you learn anything?¡± he asked ¡°From the mural carvings I got the confirmation that we really are in Shandora.Yet ...¡± she replied. ¡°Yet something¡¯s wrong.¡± ¡°You noticed?¡± ¡°Yes, it doesn¡¯t look like a city at all.¡± ¡°I agree.¡± ¡°I might know why though.¡± ¡°¡°Really?!¡±¡± this time it was Robin and Raki who were in sync. ¡°I¡¯ve seen plenty of cities from the sky, and almost all of them follow the same basic structure. Without any exception they all have a big central building. Most of the time the city is built around it in a circle, the other times half a circle. But it¡¯s always connected to every part of the city. Looking at the area the only building that fits that description is that one. He pointed at some kind of pyramid ce just in front of a giant bean growing towards the sky through anotheryer of clouds. ¡°It looks like a temple, but it¡¯s too short.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t see how that helped you know what¡¯s wrong.¡± said Raki Robin was pensive. There were clouds all around and they proved themselves to help greatly with the growth of the fauna and flora. Yet the city was made of stone, there was no way the clouds would have any effect on it. ¡®Perhaps those clouds have corrosive properties, effective on minerals reducing the city to debris on the ground.¡¯ ¡°The ground!¡± eximed Robin ¡°What about the ground?¡± asked Raki. ¡°Shandora was built on vearth, yet do you see any around you?¡± said Rick ¡°No, only clouds.¡± replied the shandia. ¡°That''s because we¡¯re not on ground level! We¡¯re actually at a higher altitude! That¡¯s why the buildings are so short, the clouds we¡¯re walking on are covering the city.¡± exined Robin. She took out a knife from her backpack, kneeled down and started carving the clouds with it. Raki looked at her go; her heart was beating really fast. Her home was here, just under her feet, separated by a thickyer of cloud. She could barely contain her excitement. Rick looked up at the bean, wondering if Chopper had already reached the upper level when he saw Wyper climbing it. ¡°Raki, is it a friend of yours?¡± he said pointing to the shandia¡¯s leader. ¡°That¡¯s Wyper! We need to get to him!¡± she answered. The Vice-captain used his gravity to push the clouds down to the ground of Shandora. ¡°Robin, let''s find the bell. Raki I¡¯m sending you to your friend. If you could brief him of the situation, that would be great.¡± ¡°He can¡¯t be reasoned with but if I exined you¡¯re here on behalf of Nond''sst descendant he may listen.¡± she replied ¡°I hope he does. Onest thing, you may encounter some friends of ours, just tell them you¡¯re with me. They are easy to recognize. One has a weird hat and a scar under his left eye, another is using three swords, and thest is some kind of small animal that can talk.¡± ¡°Understood.¡± He sent her to the upperyer of clouds so fast, she screamed out of surprise. He turned to Robin and raised his arms before him. ¡°...¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°I¡¯m not exhausted anymore.¡± Rick dropped his head with a sigh in defeat. Chapter 41: Thunderstruck Chapter 41: Thunderstruck Robin and Rick were at ground level. Actual ground made of soil and dirt. She was fascinated by what she was seeing. While she was searching on foot Rick was in the air surveying the city. Or he looked like it. He knew where the golden bell was and it certainly wasn¡¯t here. No, what the ex-marine was doing was nning. ¡®How can I get the most Karma in this situation?¡¯ The final fight with Ener would start soon. If he wanted a buttload of points he would have to save the people of Angel ind. That implied lots of pain and hurt for everyone to get to that point. If Ener was defeated too soon the skypieans would never be in danger to begin with and the gain in karma would be astronomically lower. Toote and the ind and inhabitants would be gone. In the original story, Luffy did it before that could happen, but that was scripted. This is real life, and it may not go the same way. ¡®It¡¯s best to defeat him sooner thanter. Either way, Ener must die.¡¯ After his defeat the fake god went to the moon and stayed there but once again: this is real life. If, for whatever reason, he came back that would be disastrous. Rick decided his course of actions andnded next to Robin to report his findings, orck thereof. ¡°Forget the golden bell, there isn¡¯t even any gold. At least from what I saw from up there.¡± ¡°I found a stele with poneglyphs on it¡± announced Robin. ¡°That¡¯s great! What did it say?¡± ¡° ¡®Truth in the heart and the mouth sealed. We are those who record history together with the sound of the great belfry¡¯.¡± ¡°Record history? As in Shandora and the shandia or as in¡­¡± ¡°The void century. Shandora disappeared in the same time period as the void century. My guess is some poneglyph were brought here, in the city, and that an enemy attacked it for it.¡± ¡°And they were with the bell which is nowhere to be found.¡± ¡°Yes but from Nond¡¯s journal it says ¡®the belfry positioned in the center of the fours altars¡¯. But it isn¡¯t there, instead there is¡­¡± ¡°This giant bean. You think the bell is at the top of it? On a very highyer of clouds?¡± ¡°Most likely.¡± At that moment an intense and angry primal cry was heard. They both looked towards its origin, up. ¡°That¡­¡± ¡°Is not good.¡± finished Rick. They both looked at each other. ¡°You keep on exploring the city and I¡­¡± he started ¡°Go take a look at what it is.¡± ¡°With our luck today, I¡¯d bet Luffy is in the middle of whatever it is.¡± ¡°Got any feeling about it?¡± ¡°Yeah, a really bad one.¡± He flew fast upward and blew away the ceiling made of clouds which was on his way, getting back to where he, Robin and Raki arrived earlier. He didn¡¯t stop and ascended until he reached the cloudsyer where everyone was fighting. It was pandemonium. The giant snake they ran away from was there attacking everyone in sight. Zoro was fighting one of the priests and his pet. A giant dog standing on his hind legs doing some martial arts moves. Wyper was against the snake and Raki supported him with her rifle. Both their attacks were ineffective. ¡°WHAT THE FUCK IS GOING ON HERE ?!¡± yelled Rick. ¡°Rick!¡± yelled back Zoro. Before he could say anything more, the Vice-captain barely dodged a shot from Wyper¡¯s bazooka. ¡°Wyper he¡¯s with us! He¡¯s the guy I told you about!¡± screamed Raki. ¡°Sorry! My bad!¡± replied the shandia warrior. ¡®Okay, that¡¯s new? Wyper apologising? That¡¯s definitely new. It¡¯s so out of his character. Okay, I have a good guess of the situation but it¡¯s better to check with Zoro.¡¯ ¡°Zoro, what¡¯s going on? What happened?¡± ¡°To cut the story short, after we separated I got lost. Got picked up by the south bird we came here with. Bastard tried to steal my lunch. The Giant snake chased us and the south bird dropped me here. I found Chopper unconscious and wounded by that bastard with the sses over there. Then the guy with the bazooka showed up, followed shortly by the old knight. Then Ener showed up, made a little speech, left and the battle became a free for all after that. Then the girl arrived, said she knew you and Robin and went to talk to bazooka guy who stopped attacking me and the knight and focused on the snake.¡± ¡°Holy shit¡­¡± ¡°And that¡¯s not over! Nami showed up too, with a kid to boot, on a waver. She got attacked by Ener¡¯s guys but was saved by the old knight, just before the snake gobbled them up.¡± ¡°WHAT?!¡± ¡°Yeah I know, I wouldn¡¯t believe it either if I didn¡¯t see it with my own eyes. Apparently the kid with Nami is acquainted with bazooka guy and the girl, that¡¯s why he has been attacking it and her the rest of Ener¡¯s men. As for me, I''ve been dealing with those two assholes.¡± concluded Zoro, pointing one of his swords towards the priest and the dog. ¡°Okay, which one do you want to take on?¡± asked Rick ¡°The guy, he¡¯s pissing me off with his sword made of clouds.¡± ¡°I¡¯m taking the doggie then.¡± They both took a fighting stance. ¡°Oh? You¡¯re done talking?¡± asked the priest. ¡°That was really nice of you to wait for us.¡± replied the ex-marine. ¡°You¡¯re wee. It doesn¡¯t really change anything anyway, you¡¯re all going to die here.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t be so sure!¡± said Zoro, charging towards the priest. Rick got close to the dog and ttened him on the ground. Being against animal abuse, he didn¡¯t order it to knock himself out like Zoro did in the manga, instead he ordered him to never obey anyone¡¯s order but his and to go down the giant bean then run to the forest to have a nice life. As a, perhaps too well, trained dog he did what he was told to do and was out of the battle. With this fight done the Vice-captain went to assist Raki in dealing with what was left of Ener¡¯s guards which didn¡¯t take too much time as in front of him they were just babies¡­ Once the guards were defeated, it only left the giant snake to deal with as Zoro joined the group after kicking the priest¡¯s ass. ¡°How are we going to bring that thing down?¡± he asked ¡°Honestly? I don¡¯t know.¡± replied Rick. ¡°My bazooka annoys him but his skin is too tough to do actual damage.¡± cut in Wyper who regrouped with them. ¡°And my rifle ispletely useless.¡± ¡°I can always try to cut his belly open but¡­¡± ¡°You may hit them, since we don¡¯t know where they are inside.¡± finished Rick. Zoro nodded in agreement. The snake was facing them, waiting for an opportunity to attack. Rick tried to remember how Nami & co got out in the first ce but couldn¡¯t. His thoughts were interrupted when an enormous thunderbolt fell down on theyer of clouds they were standing on,pletely destroying it. ¡°Shit! The ground is copsing!¡± Yelled Zoro. ¡°Got you guys!¡± answered the Vice-Captain. With his gravity he attracted everyone to him to protect them from flying debris created by the explosion resulting from the thunderbolt on the ruins around them. Making them float to avoid the fall, he gently descended everyone two levels below as Ener¡¯s attack also destroyed the ¡°ceiling¡± that was covering the entire city. ¡°Thank you Rick.¡± said Raki. He answered her with a yful wink before looking around trying to find Robin. ¡°Robin!¡± he called out. ¡°I¡¯m here!¡± The archaeologist exited a building where apparently she took shelter, and moved towards the group. ¡°Where are we?¡± asked Zoro ¡°The gold city Shandora, the gold is gone though.¡± replied Robin. Hearing her words Wyper and Raki took a good look around them. ¡°This is¡­¡± he began ¡°Our homnd¡­¡± In front of the beauty of their ancestral home they could not help but be speechless. Their people fought for centuries to get it back, toe here once again but no one ever seeded until today. They were moved beyond belief and silent tears of relief fell down their cheeks. Raki¡¯s disappointment at her first sight of it earlier today was gone. The city was everything she had dreamed of for so long. The giant snake, which had fallen too, raised and looked around as everyone else had done. He recognized this ce. There was no way he could not even after 400 years. That was the ce his friends lived, where he yed with them. A time when he wasn¡¯t alone. He started crying loudly both of joy and grief to be once again here. He didn¡¯t do it for long as another thunderbolt, as massive as the one that destroyed the upper cloudyer, hit it right in the head. ¡°Nami! Yelled Zoro while Wyper and Raki screamed their own friend¡¯s name ¡°Zoro? Robin, Rick you¡¯re here too?¡± came a voice behind a destroyed wall. ¡°WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE?! How did you get out?¡± asked Zoro, surprised at seeing Nami out of the giant snake. ¡°Eh, nevermind that, I¡¯m fine¡­ but Luffy is¡­¡± she started. ¡°Inside the snake¡± stated Rick ¡°How do you know?!¡± asked the navigator in shock. ¡°Another feeling?¡± half jested Robin. She couldn¡¯t believe that her Vice-captain had an intuition that good. ¡°No, just logic. This is the most improbable ce Luffy could be so he must be there.¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°...¡± They didn¡¯t know what to say. ¡°I don¡¯t know what scares me the most, the logic in itself of the fact that it¡¯s the truth.¡± said Nami ¡°Can you even call that logic?¡± added Robin. They couldn¡¯t dwell any further on the conversation as they heard Wyper fire his Bazooka. He had caught sight of Ener and had immediately attacked him. Nami went back into hiding behind her wall taking Chopper¡¯s unconscious body with her while Zoro, Robin and Rick to Wyper¡¯s side. ¡°What was that for? Such bad manners! That¡¯s no way to return the favor of bringing you back to your homnd! Just wait a bit longer, the game is almost over.¡± said the logia. ¡°What game?!¡± asked the shandia¡¯s leader. ¡°You and the others behind you, are all contestants of my survival game. The rules are simple. Three hours after the start of the game we see how many are still alive. Of course I¡¯m a contestant too, it would not be fair otherwise. My prediction was five. Five people will be left standing. And since we¡¯re seven it means two of you have to go, god¡¯s prediction can¡¯t be wrong after all.¡± announced Ener. Rick turned to the other fighters. ¡°Do any of you want to die?¡± he asked. ¡°¡°¡°¡°¡°No.¡±¡±¡±¡±¡± ¡°Nami? What about you?¡± the Vice-captain asked again. ¡°I¡¯m not here!¡± ¡°Okay¡­ So¡­ Ener, right? Do you mind if I sit this one out? I¡¯ve been awake for two days now, I desperately need some napping time.¡± ¡°Yes, I do.¡± answered the god. ¡°Well, I¡¯m going to cut that fight short then.¡± Rick took something from his backpack, something that the others couldn¡¯t identify at first. It was only when he began to put it on his hands that they did. It was gloves that went just before half his forearms. Zoro immediately recognized them thanks to their pink color. ¡°The gloves for the dishes?!¡± he announced. ¡°Yahahahaha. Gloves for the dishes? What are you going to do with that? Wash everyone? And nice color by the way, it suits you well.¡± mocked the logia. ¡°I¡¯m going to put my fist on your face, leave a mark and send you flying.¡± answered Rick. ¡°Yahahahaha! Go ahead, try, I won¡¯t even move.¡± mocked Ener. ¡®It¡¯s too bad I won¡¯t see his face for real when I hit him with it. That was the best of someone astonished and scared in the manga.¡¯ ¡°Thanks, that¡¯s very generous of you.¡± smiled the Vice-captain. ¡°Of course! I am god after¡­¡± Rick didn¡¯t let him finish. He used his gravity to attract Ener at a scary speed and at the same time pushing himself forward. His fist connected perfectly on the logia¡¯s left cheek, hard. Ener¡¯s arrogance and ignorance mixed with Rick¡¯s power and ambush was costly for the fake god. He was sent more than a hundred feet backward, going through some buildings¡¯ walls along the way. ¡°Holy crap, you were right!¡± eximed Zoro. ¡°¡°¡°I¡¯m / He¡¯s always right.¡±¡±¡± said Rick, Robin and surprisingly Raki. ¡°I didn¡¯t know you joined my fan club Raki! Wee! Meetings are on every Wednesday night.¡± She rolled her eyes to answer his antics. ¡°That was some nice punch you gave him.¡±said Gan Fall. ¡°Very satisfying to watch.¡± added Wyper. ¡°And to give too. Sadly it¡¯s not over. He¡¯ll be back soon, we really need Luffy on that one. Raki, Robin and Zoro have Nami lead you to him, we need him. Wyper, Gan fall and I will stall Ener as long as we can.¡±ordered the ex-marine. ¡°Why me?¡± asked Zoro. ¡°In case you¡¯re stuck inside the snake or worse it wakes up before you take Luffy and the kid out of it. With your swords you¡¯ll just be a big lightning rod for Ener.¡± exined Rick. Nobody had anything to say to the n. The rescue group departed towards the snake, leaving the shandia¡¯s leader, the former god and the Vice-captain of the straw hats to deal with Ener. ¡°Wyper, do you have any other weapon beside your bazooka?¡± asked Rick. ¡°Yes, in my right palm I have a reject dial.¡± ¡°What does it do?¡± ¡°The same thing as an impact dial but the power output and recoil is ten times stronger. I can use it one more time. It¡¯s mixed with seastone so it should be effective against Ener.¡± ¡°Good, it will be our trump card. You¡¯ll support Gan fall and I with your bazooka, but not from too far. When the time is right, rush in close and end him. Gan Fall be careful, your armor is made of metal, try dodging instead of blocking. Don¡¯t try to hit him with yournce; he''ll shock you through it.¡± ¡°What should I do if I can¡¯t attack him then?¡± asked the old knight. ¡°Oh, you can attack alright, just aim not directly at him. Your task is to restrict his movement, not hurt him.¡± ¡°Understood.¡± ¡°Now, I hope you¡¯re both ready for the fight of your life because he¡¯sing!¡± Indeed, Ener came and he was furious. His nose was bleeding, his cheek had more than just a mark, it had an imprint of Rick¡¯s fist. You could see the detail of every finger of his hand. The logia¡¯s cheekbone waspletely destroyed, and blood was umting under the skin, so much that he would have needed to cut the wound open to let it flow to be able to see with his left eye. In the end the ambush was more effective than Rick thought. Ener had now a blind spot. ¡®But will it help? Ener can use mantra, so in theory, it should not. But being hurt like that for the first time of this life must have been a huge hit to his ego and mental state. Would he be able to use his mantra at all the way he is? Regardless, I''m the most dangerous one to him right now. Chances are high he will focus on me and that makes Wyper¡¯s job easier.¡¯ ¡°YOU!¡± screamed Ener. ¡°How did you do that? How did you hurt me, god?¡± ¡°That¡¯s simple.¡± replied Rick. He raised in the air with his gravity to look down on Ener, to be intimidating and domineering; hoping that it would further damage his already wounded psych. ¡°Because unlike you... I¡¯m not a false god.¡± said Rick, smirking evilly at his opponent. He did a descending charge toward Ener and threw a punch. The tyrant didn¡¯t dodge but blocked. That clued Rick in about the logia¡¯s mantra being sealed for now. Gan Fall took this opportunity to thrust hisnce which as intended didn¡¯t hit Ener but forced him to dodge and focus on it. That allowed Rick to do a follow up and punch the tyrant again. If he had been in a right state of mind thetter would have noticed Gan Fall¡¯s attacks were actually harmless; here to distract him when he didn¡¯t even have to pay attention to him. He tried to put some distance with the two fighters but to no avail as Rick pulled him back with his ability or had his retreat cut off by one of Wyper¡¯s bazooka¡¯s shots. He tried to change tactics and attack with his staff but the old knight countered it with hisnce. Had he taken a moment to think about it, he could have sted everyone with a lightning bolt. ¡®We got him restricted, it¡¯s better than what I hoped for.¡¯ thought Rick. Ener had had enough. The damage Rick did was umting. Somehow that calmed him down a bit. Fear override his anger and his survival instinct kicked in. He realized all the distraction the old knight and the shandia¡¯s leader made was actually useless against him. Because Rick unexpectedly hurt him, he unconsciously believed the other two could as well. But that was not the case. This realisation prompted him to focus on Rick solely. That didn¡¯t mean he would leave the others alone however. When Gan Fall thrusted his spear again, he grabbed it and delivered a massive electric shock, knocking his assant out. ¡®Shit! He came around the situation, this is not good for us.¡¯ ¡°I have to say, that was a good n. Hitting me when no one ever did before¡­ That was a surprise. I was so mad that I didn¡¯t even realise that I don¡¯t have to fight you in closebat. I didn¡¯t even think of using mantra, or my powers. But now¡­ now your opportunity is over. And so is your life.¡± he dered. Wyper was the first to go. Ener sent a lightning bolt to each. Rick, who was too close, could only block it with his rubber gloves. With the ex-marine busy the logia moved fast and grabbed the shandia¡¯s leader, who barely dodged his attack thanks to the distance, and fried him. ¡°That left only you.¡± said Ener with a sadistic smile. ¡°Or not. You needed two people out and now you got them. Now that the game is over, what do the winners get as a reward?¡± replied Rick. ¡°Yahahaha¡­ You really have an adaptive mind. Unfortunately for you, two new contestants entered the game, so two still need to go down. ¡° ¡®So Luffy and the kid must have been rescued. Good. Now let¡¯s try not to die.¡¯ While Ener was doing his little speech, he was charging, way up high in the air, an attack even more powerful than the one he used on the giant snake. ¡°Your life will be the most satisfying one of all the ones I have ever taken.¡± admitted Ener A massive thunderbolt felt down on Rick. Before he could understand anything, darkness took hold of him. Chapter 42: God is dead Chapter 42: God is dead ¡±...up!¡¯ ''?¡¯ ¡±..wake up!¡± ''Whaaa?¡¯ ¡°Rick Wake up! We need you!¡± Rick opened his eyes; his vision was blurry. He could make sense of anything around him. There were just colorful shapes moving around. He focused on one which was stationary, it was the closest to him. Soon that shape became more and more detailed and he recognized a hat. ¡°He¡¯s waking up guys!¡± The Vice-captain mind was confused. What happened? Where was he?. ¡°Chopper, can you do something? There¡¯s not much time left.¡± ¡°He shouldn¡¯t even be alive, Zoro, not after what hit him. It¡¯s nothing short of a miracle he¡¯s still breathing.¡± ¡®Cho¡­ Chopper?¡¯ Rick¡¯s sight had cleared up enough for him to recognize Chopper. A feat that the doctor didn¡¯t miss when he looked into his patient¡¯s eyes. ¡°Rick! Can you hear me?!¡± ¡®I..¡¯ ¡°do¡±. His body was too weak to properly make aplete sentence. ¡®What hap..¡¯ ¡°pened?¡± ¡°What is he saying?¡± ¡° ¡°pened¡± ¡° answered the deer. ¡°Pened?¡± asked another voice. ¡°Pened, pened¡­ What happened?¡± said a third voice. ¡°Y...es¡± replied Rick. ¡°Ener hit you with a gigantic thunderbolt.¡± ¡°Who cares?! We need him to make that damn bean fall!¡± His vision was back to normal, he could distinguish the people around him with Chopper now. With the exception of Luffy and Nami the whole crew was assembled. His thoughts were still murky but less than a few moments ago. ¡°He¡¯s not in a state to do anything Sanji!¡± said Chopper. ¡°I¡­ can.¡± said the ex-marine. ¡°Like hell you are!¡± admonished the doctor. ¡°Help¡­ up. Need¡­ see.¡± ¡°What is he saying now?¡± asked Zoro. ¡°I think¡­ he wants us to help him up, he needs to see the bean. Is that it?¡± announced Robin looking at Rick for confirmation. ¡°Y...es¡±. Was the reply she got. ¡°Well you heard him.¡± said Zoro. ¡°You¡¯re insane!¡± eximed Chopper. Rick saw Sanji and Zoro crouch on each of his sides, grabbed him and raised him up. He didn¡¯t feel anything, his sense of touch was gone, maybe because his nerves got fried? His view changed from a sky filled with dark clouds to a panorama with a giant bean right in the middle. ¡°You need to make it fall in this direction.¡± indicated Usopp with his finger. ¡°¡®Kay.¡± said Rick. He focused on the bean and started to apply his gravity on it. Seeing the damage already done to it, he could tell that Zoro tried to cut it and Wyper used hisst shot of his reject dial but it wasn''t enough. He knew with just a look where he needed to hit, the correct direction and angle for the bean to fall as intended. He tried to do it but failed, he didn¡¯t have any strength left to make it or couldn¡¯t muster enough of it, he couldn¡¯t tell. When Zoro saw the purple glow of Rick''s gravity appear briefly on the bean before disappearing, he knew Rick couldn¡¯t do it. ¡°Chopper, he doesn¡¯t have enough strength to pull it off, do you have anything to help him? A stimnt or something?¡± he asked. ¡°I can¡¯t do that! The way he is, that will kill him!¡± ¡°Do¡­ it.¡± ordered the Vice-captain. ¡°I can¡¯t.¡± said the deer, shaking his head sideways. ¡°Vice¡­ order¡±. ¡°Chopper if you don¡¯t do it everyone on Skypiea will die.¡± said Sanji. The little doctor greeted his teeth. He knew that, but he was a man of medicine, a man who healed people and did not bring them harm. One person¡¯s life, for a few hundreds, maybe a thousand. That was an easy choice to make if one only looked at the numbers. But people were not numbers, they were people and it changed everything. ¡°Chopp¡­ er. I¡­ tough.¡± said Rick. Chopper looked at his Vice-captain and saw the determination in his eyes. He made his choice and opened his backpack. From it, a tiny bottle and a syringe was pulled. He removed the bottle¡¯s cork and put the syringe needle in it. Once the stimnt was ready, the doctor got close to Rick and injected him with it. Thetter¡¯s heart immediately beat faster and faster giving its owner some kind of second wind. The Vice-captain focused again and let out his power. For a second andst time a purple glow was on the bean. It was bigger and constant. Rick was at the same time pulling and pushing for a maximum effect. He put everything he had left on that simple act and it paid. The bean started to lean little by little but still, it wasn¡¯t enough. Just a bit more and it would have passed the falling point, making it fall on his own. ¡°Robin take my ce!¡± said Sanji before rushing toward the bean followed by Zoro immediately. The archaeologist nearly didn¡¯t make it. She bloomed hands and feet to secure Rick¡¯s position until she could hold him herself. ¡°I got you.¡± she said. The cook and swordsman reached the base of the bean where it was damaged. More specifically the part where Wyper¡¯s reject dial left a big hole in it. The former¡¯s kick and thetter¡¯s hit, made with the blunt part of his swords, delivered an impact powerful enough to push it beyond the bncing point, making it fall for good . That was fortunate as Rick couldn¡¯t hold on anymore and his gravity stopped. They did it, their n worked and now everything was in their captain¡¯s hands. The ex-marine turned towards Robin. ¡°Ex.. hausted. Carry¡­ me?¡± he half-asked half-pleaded. ¡°Just this once.¡± She smiled; despite her worry, she smiled brightly and genuinely. Jesting in this kind of moment was typical of him. He was at the brink of death and he didn¡¯t miss the asion to joke around. After everything he did and had gone through today, going way beyond his limits, there was no way for her to rebuffed him and even if there was, she couldn¡¯t have. She wouldn¡¯t have it in her to do it. ¡°My... Hero¡­¡± As soon as those words left his lips, his legs failed him. He fell down but notpletely as Robin still held him. ¡°¡°¡°¡°Rick!¡±¡±¡±¡± everyone eximed. He wasid on the ground and Chopper rushed to his side to examine him. The doctor¡¯s face went from disying worry to grimness. He searched his backpack in a frenzy. ¡°Chopper what¡¯s going on ?¡± asked Usopp. ¡°His heart stopped beating.¡± ~~~~~ ¡®God¡¯ was no more. And everyone was¡­ Wait a minute, the chapter is still going on? (Author¡¯s note: yes.) Why? (Author¡¯s note: What do you mean ¡° Why?¡¯) That¡¯s a cliffhanger we got here, so why is the chapter not over? (Author¡¯s note: Because the average chapter is 3k words long and we¡¯re about one third of it. Couldn¡¯t make a chapter so short.) You just didn¡¯t know what to write I bet¡­ (Author¡¯s note: I don¡¯t know what you¡¯re talking about. Now back to the story.) ¡®God¡¯ was no more. And everyone was more than happy with it. The gold city of Shandora became a rallying point for every fighter who could still move. Once she was sure Wyper was in good hands ( aka Chopper ), Raki, driven by Nami on her waver, went back to the hidden vige of the shandia tribe. There, she exined to her people what happened. Ovee with joy and relief, not a single person decided to stay. They all departed for their ancestral home.The journey was not long, a few hours at best, and they all arrived in the gold city as the sun was setting down. Some healthy shandia split from the group to go search the forest for any fighters missing. Amazingly the number of casualties was null. All the wounded have been treated by the medics of the tribe under Chopper¡¯s supervision. Whether they were shandias or skypiean didn¡¯t matter. Yes skypiean; they were members of the god¡¯s guard that Ener had enved when he came to power. He made them build his giant flying ark with shandora¡¯s gold. That was the main reason why Gan Fall fought to get to god¡¯s domain, to free them from Ener. He couldn¡¯t have done so alone. The shandia would have never helped him, so he waited six years for an opportunity. Opportunity that came with the strawhats. He knew when he met them, they were not the average pirates. Adapting to theck of oxygen in the air in a few minutes was no small feat. It was yesterday night when he saw them taming heaven¡¯s wolves, and partying in the most dangerous ce on the ind without a care in the world that he was convinced; they were perhaps his only chance to reach his goal. It turned out to be true. A huge bonfire was erected in the middle of the city. Alcohol flew freely and no one was left hungry. Knowing they would not likelye back to their vige, the shandias took everything with them making this feast possible. Everyone able was dancing and celebrating. For some, the return into her true home, for others their freedom. All did for the fall of Ener. On the side of the party were the tents sheltering the most badly hurt. One among them was weing a very small group of people despite having enough space for arger number of them. It was the tent reserved for the shandia''s leader, Wyper. Raki and one elder were present, rting to him what happened after he busted a hole in the giant bean and passed out. ¡°So our people settled back into our home.¡± He still couldn¡¯t believe it. After 400 years, the dream of the shandia has been realised. What moved him the most was that the promise made to Nond was fulfilled. When Luffy had defeated Ener, he sent him flying right to the golden bell, ringing it. The strawhat kid had re-light the light of Shandora and that was even more significant for the shandia than taking back their city. Thinking of the bell he raised himself. ¡°The bell! We need to guard it! We can¡¯t¡­¡± ¡°Calm down, Wyper, there is no need to guard it anymore.¡± said the elder, interrupting him. ¡°But, the angels¡­¡± ¡°Look.¡± The elder raised the tent¡¯s cloth blocking entrance, allowing Wyper to see shandia and skypieans partying wholeheartedly without an ounce of hostility toward each other. ¡°Listen wyper, in the past, the warriors had a reason for war but us? For our generation the sky is our home.¡± ¡°The vearth had never rejected anyone, it was us who rejected each other.¡± added Gan Fall to the elder¡¯s words. He was there to look over Wyper and another. ¡°You can¡¯t own what you¡¯re a part of.¡± Everyone turned around looking at the one whose voice was heard. ¡°Rick!¡± eximed Raki. ¡°Hey¡­¡± the ex-marine replied weakly. ¡°Are you alright? How are you feeling?¡± ¡°Right now, the only thing I can feel is my hand and it¡¯s hurting like a bitch.¡± he joked. The jest had the desired effect as all presents either chuckled or smirked. ¡°What did you mean by that?¡± asked Gan Fall. ¡°Vearth is nature itself. It gives birth and nurtures everything, the nts, animals, us. We are part of it. Thinking we can own it, is pure foolishness. It owns us, not the other way around as when we die we go back to it.¡± The old knight sighed hearing those words. ¡°Your wisdom never ceases to surprise me.¡± ¡°If only we, old people, were as wise.¡± said the elder,menting. ¡°Well, now you know, so betterte than never. You all can go forward now.¡± dered Rick. ¡°True, it won¡¯t be easy though. With angel ind gone the skypieans will soone here as they have nowhere to go.¡± announced Gan Fall in a stressed tone. Wyper would have violently replied that it wasn¡¯t going to happen no matter what. But Rick¡¯s words and the sight of everyoneing together to celebrate made him think. The shandia knew the pain of losing their home, fortunately they got it back but the skypieans¡¯ was gone forever. A choice needed to be made. Deny entry into theirnd to them and start the war again or sympathize, ept and wee them. To Wyper the choice was easy. ¡°They will be wee. We just achieved peace after a 400 years long war, let¡¯s not start another one by denying them the right to live here. They would have to follow a few rules, notably concerning the bell but otherwise they will be epted.¡± he dered to the relief of the former god. Rick cut in the conversation with an important matter that could not wait. ¡°What happened to Ener?¡± The logia being mentioned everyone frowned. ¡°We don¡¯t know. After your captain sent him flying no one bother with him.¡± said Gan Fall ¡°They should have, he must not be allowed to live any longer.¡± stated the Vice-captain. He tried to rise, with difficulty as he didn¡¯t feel anything but his hand right now. Unfortunately he was stopped and pinned down by Raki. ¡°You¡¯re not going anywhere. Not in his state. Not after dying and being brought back.¡± she told him sternly. ¡°I died?¡± ¡°Yes, after making the bean fall your heart stopped beating. Your doctor barely saved you.¡± Now that was some news he was shocked to hear and gave him an epiphany. ¡®I¡¯m really an idiot. I got one of the most powerful devil fruits in the world, one that can rival Whitebeard¡¯s and Ized around for 10 years because I didn¡¯t want to have a power gap too wide with the crew and grew in strength with them. How childish.¡¯ He realised way toote the consequences of his actions, of his stupid n. He thought that all would go well even if there was some struggle. He didn¡¯t expect to die however. This was not a game; subconsciously he must have thought so, otherwise he would have trained even harder than he did in the marines. He couldn¡¯t die yet. Not without gaining enough karma and ¡®saving¡¯ the world. The goddess would not have been happy with him, heck his entire existence was on the line should he fail. ¡®Now I understand why the memories of my situation are taken from me every time Ie to a new world.¡¯ He needed to step up and train like a mad man. Sure, during his time in Ohara he kept himself in shape but nothing more. That was his own undoing, worse than stagnating, he regressed. He didn¡¯t have Ryusei anymore to use his gravity to the best of his ability and that made him weaker. How stupid it was to have left it when he quit the marines. He would need a new sword, but was a bit reluctant. He got so used to Ryusei that somewhat it felt wrong to think of using another de. As if he was betraying a close friend. ¡®Maybe I should have a talk with Zoro about that.¡¯ he thought. ¡°Rick?¡± asked Raki. ¡°Yes?¡± ¡°You were kind of spacing out. Should I call your friend to examine you?¡± ¡°That won¡¯t be necessary, I was just thinking of something. Anyway, we need to find Ener and end him.¡± ¡°You¡¯re still on about that?¡± asked the elder. ¡°Should he live he maye back and this time there won¡¯t be a rubber man to stop him. Right now I¡¯d guess he¡¯s wounded badly and that¡¯s our best shot.¡± Wyper offered him his support. ¡°I agree, we can¡¯t let Ener go. Besides, he has to pay for his crimes and for the many lives he has taken.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll warn Luffy.¡± said Raki as she stood up. ¡°Don¡¯t!¡± Rick replied in panic. ¡°Why? He¡¯s the only one who can do it.¡± she asked. ¡°Luffy is¡­ most of the crew are just kids. They might fight and beat up people but kill someone? They don¡¯t have it in them. Besides, we don¡¯t need Luffy. Wyper, do you still have your reject dial?¡± ¡°I do. You want to use the seastone in it?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°Even though I agree with what you want to do, we don''t know where he is.¡± stated Gan Fall. ¡°If you bring me to where he was seen for thest time I¡¯ll find him in less than a quarter of an hour. Tracking and hunting down people is what I am best at.¡± ¡°Alright, let¡¯s say you can track him down, you can barely move. How would you do that?¡± ¡°Tie me up with you while you ride on Pierre.¡± ¡°... I¡¯m baffled at how crazy and at the same time how wise you are. But fine, I¡¯ll go along with your n.¡± ¡°I¡¯ming too. There is no way I would miss Ener¡¯s end.¡± said Wyper. ¡°Not alone. Wait a bit and I¡¯ll have a waver we can both ride on.¡± interjected Raki. ¡°Old man, can you stay on guard while we¡¯re gone? I don¡¯t want my friends to know about what we¡¯re going to do.¡± asked Rick. ¡°I¡¯ll keep everyone out, you have my word.¡± answered the elder. They ¡®escape¡¯ the party without being noticed. Raki and Gan Fall brought them to thest seeing of Ener. When asked, the old knight rose to the sky to show Rick the area. It didn¡¯t take long for him to locate where the flying ark came down. Neither did it when, once at the crashing site, he followed the logia¡¯s tracks. True to his words they found him in under 15 minutes. Ener was limping very badly and slowly, going who knows where. Raki being the only one really in any condition to fight ambushed him with the seastoned reject dial. She made her target fall by smacking him with the dial and left it in contact with Ener¡¯s body so he wouldn¡¯t be able to use what was left of his stamina to use his lightning abilities. ¡°Where do you think you¡¯re going?¡± said Rick looking down on their captive. ¡°YOU!¡± ¡°Yes, me, still alive. Surprised? Anyway, we¡¯re here to finish the job, can¡¯t let you roam free after all. But before we do I have a question. What was your goal?¡± Ener knew this was the end he had nothing to lose giving that information. He could have messed with Rick but didn¡¯t think it was a good idea. ¡°I wanted to go to very vearth, to make it mine and rule it.¡± ¡°Very vearth?¡± ¡°That¡¯s that.¡± said Gan Fall pointing to the moon. Rick knew of Ener¡¯s goal. He may not have remembered much of Skypia¡¯s arc but he remembered that. That was too stupid to forget. Hearing Ener saying it out loud made himugh hard but not for long as his body hache. ¡®Oh great, I''m starting to feel again.¡¯ he sarcastically thought. ¡°What¡¯s so funny?!¡± eximed Ener. ¡°On the blue sea it¡¯s called the moon. It had been studied from every angle possible. I¡¯mughing because it¡¯s a deadnd. Nothing grows there as the vearth is sterile.¡± ¡°You¡¯re lying!¡± ¡°Oh, I¡¯m not. What¡¯s even more hrious is that the skypiean had records about it. I saw them in Angel Ind¡¯s town hall. I learned quite a few things there. Notably, the reason skypieans live in the sky is because they departed the moon for itsck of resources as the vearth died. You spend years doing something for nothing. That¡¯s so precious.¡± he finished in a mocking tone. Ener, the almighty god, thunder itself was now crying. Crying like a little bitch after hearing that his dream was just a pipe one. ¡°Well, time for you to go. It was not a pleasure meeting you.¡± Rick signaled to Raki who executed the n. She glided along his body the reject dial and put him in his mouth before closing it and gagging him with a cloth. That way Ener couldn¡¯t get rid of it for sure. The Vice-captain made the condemned float and pushed him towards the sea of clouds. ¡°Why did you do that?¡± asked Wyper. ¡°He will fall to the blue sea where he will drown.¡± ¡°And here I thought you were going easy on him.¡± said Raki. ¡°When I¡¯m dealing with those kinds of monsters, never.¡± he replied. ¡°Well, that¡¯s good enough for me. I have to say though, seeing him cry was even more satisfying than seeing him get punched.¡± dered Wyper. ¡°By the way, is it true? About the skypiean and the moon.¡± asked Gan Fall ¡°Oh, yes, it is. Three tribes lived in peace on the moon. When the vearth didn¡¯t provide any more resources they all left. Two ended up on Skypiea and mingled together.¡± ¡°Do you know what happened to the third tribe?¡± said Raki. ¡°I don¡¯t have concrete evidence, but yes. From what I gather they lived on the blue sea until 400 years ago when theynded here.¡± Rick dropped that bomb as if it was nothing. Wyper and Raki¡¯s eyes grew asrge as saucers. ¡°You mean¡­¡± ¡°Yes, the shandia are the third tribe. From the few historical records that I saw, the tribes left the moon around 1100 years ago. And from what Robin told me, the story of the shandia starts about the same time, or so their records say. It¡¯s a bit of a stretch really, but I got a feeling that it is the case.¡± ¡°Wait, we have records?!¡± eximed Wyper. ¡°Yep, all over some walls in Shandora.¡± ¡°And on some ruins too. Remember the stele Robin found in the forest?¡± added Rakito to which Rick nodded. ¡°Life is just getting better and better.¡± said the shandia¡¯s leader. ¡°Except for Ener.¡± joked Rick, making his travelpanionsugh. ¡°To think everything he did was for naught.. Your friend was right, life is a bitch.¡± said Gan Fall, d to use the idiom he took a liking to. That brought another round of chuckles which were really painful for the ex-marine. In the end they came back to Shandora, their absence went unnoticed. Chapter 43: Mercy is for those that don’t deserve it Chapter 43: Mercy is for those that don¡¯t deserve it [ user¡¯s Karma : 357 642 858 ] ¡®So, taking care of Ener wasn¡¯t really rewarding. For the difficult battle it was, that¡¯s a shame but I guess considering the number of people who fought him it¡¯s not really a surprise. At least the Goro Goro no mi is avable, meaning Ener is dead for good. The amount of points from saving the Skypiea was not great either. Well, golden bell now, systemter.¡¯ Rick had woken up early in the morning. After getting back to his little adventure yesterday¡¯s night he went straight to rest, not participating in the party. He was lucky the lightning bolt he took didn¡¯t do any intensive internal damage. He was hurt but nothing like the fight with Shiki or the one at basta. This time he didn¡¯t overuse his power, it was just his body¡¯s stamina that was depleted. Sure his organs took a hit, especially his heart but the imperfect body¡¯s regeneration was doing his job perfectly well. He was not ready to fight or do a marathon but walking around for a while was no problem. His nerves had mostly recovered and the numbness was gone. The only indication he fought Ener and survived was the Lichtenberg figure, coursing from his right hand to his right pectoral. ¡®That¡¯s some pretty scar, too bad getting it hurts so much.¡¯ He discreetly left the tent making sure to not wake up his tent mates. Wyper, had invited Gan Fall under advice of the shandia¡¯s elder to stay and spend the night in it to show everyone that war was really over and that it was time to move forward together peacefully. It was decided that Gan Fall will retake his title of god, guiding both skypiea and shandia towards a better future in harmony. The old knight was reluctant but agreed on the condition that Wyper be the new god¡¯s guard captain and the elder his advisor. He didn¡¯t know much about shandia¡¯s culture and the elder could help a lot. Rick floated a couple inches above the floor to avoid making any sound. More than waking up and getting caught, he didn¡¯t want someone up with a huge hangover. His direction was the golden bell, he wanted to see it with his own eyes; the poneglyph and Roger¡¯s message also. The faint memories of the bell didn¡¯t do any justice to how magnificent it was. It was not in gold, some kind of hieroglyphs were carved upon it. It didn¡¯t take all the space on the bell though, so he wondered if it was actually the shandia¡¯s history recorded. ¡°Shouldn¡¯t you beying down resting?¡± The Vice-captain didn¡¯t have to turn around to face the person this voice belonged to. It couldn¡¯t have not recognized it, he knew it so well. ¡°Good morning Robin. A bit early for work don¡¯t you think?¡± She frowned, ¡° I could say the same, at least I wasn¡¯t the one who died yesterday.¡± ¡°Well I¡¯m alive and kicking, must be another guy.¡± ¡®Ooooh, I finally have a conversation with Robin that will get me a good number of points. I must not fuck it up. Please goddess, don''t let Acting fail me!¡¯ ¡°Stop joking around! Your heart stopped!¡± she berated him. She was clearly not happy with his dismissive attitude about the ordeal. ¡°My heart stopped.¡± That was said with a neutral note like it was not an important matter. ¡°That¡¯s it? That¡¯s all you have to say?¡± Rick just shrugged his shoulders to emphasize his point.Robin was more than unhappy now. His answer rubbed her the wrong way. For the always stoic archaeologist that outburst was umon. She had gotten attached to Rick. His quirkiness, his love for history, the alternance between being serious and childish, the way he could n ahead of time and so many other things made her quite fond of her Vice-captain. She didn¡¯t even realize it but not having him around didn¡¯t sit well with her. ¡°It wasn¡¯t the first time I almost died and it won¡¯t be thest. That¡¯s not a big deal.¡± ¡°You didn¡¯t almost die, you did die! Chopper barely started your heart again!¡± The ex-marine let out a long sigh then sat on the ground. ¡®Well shit, it didn¡¯t go as I expected at all.¡¯ ¡°Aren¡¯t you here for work? Here¡¯s a hint; I think Shandora¡¯splete history is carved onto the bell, well at least until 400 years ago. And the stele on the altar has some poneglyphs written on it.¡± She didn¡¯t say anything and just looked at his back. Slowly she walked towards the altar and started reading the lostnguage. Neither say a word. When she was done with the stele she walked towards the altar¡¯s stairs leading to the bell. ¡°Did you read the ones on the side of the stele?¡± She took another look and saw the little inscription. The message left more than two decades ago by the pirate king himself. More than a surprise it was a shock. That Roger could read and write the poneglyphs was amazing. ¡®Did he learn it at O¡¯hara? Not more likely someone in his crew was from there, but who ?¡¯ Those questions were quickly forgotten by the information it contained. ¡® ¡°We came here, found the text and followed its guidance¡±. Follow the guidance of the text?¡¯ She thought for a moment about the meaning of those words, especially the guidance part. ¡®Does that mean that by following the direction, the guidance, told by the poneglyphs I¡¯ll find the true history?¡¯ She thought a bit more about it. What could be the final destination where the true history is hidden? Then it hit her. ¡®Laugh Tale! Of course it¡¯s there! No one but Roger and its crew reached thest ind of the Grand Line. Now I know why! You need the guidance of the poneglyphs to get there!¡¯ Rick saw Robin¡¯s agitation. He already knew what the poneglyphs said. The ones on the stele talked about the ancient weapon ¡°poseidon¡± without getting too much into details. ¡°Robin? Did you find what you were looking for?¡± She was still mad at him for his earlier attitude and ignored him and made her way to the bell. She discovered that he was right, the bell contained Shandora¡¯s history but also the shandias¡¯. In absolute silence she started recording it, her back turned to Rick. ¡°Robin?¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°Thanks for caring.¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°And you know¡­ it¡¯s probably not the right time to say this but...¡± ¡°...¡± Despite her behavior she was listening attentively to him. Robin was surprised when he thanked her. She only ever cared for herself since she survived O¡¯hara¡¯s destruction. Caring for someone else was new. She was worried about Rick''s effect on her but now? Now she was scared. Caring never ended well for people in her situation. Hisst words didn¡¯t help a bit. Her whole body tensed trying to ready itself for the revtion he was about to say. ¡°You still owe me a princess¡¯ carry.¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°...¡± Nothing could be heard, but the wind and the sound of leaves moving thanks to it. Then an arm bloomed on his shoulder and smacked his head. *smack* ¡°O! Why did you hit me? It''s true!¡± *smack* ¡°You want to y that game? Fine, it¡¯s not one but two princess¡¯ carry now!¡± *smack**smack* ¡°Aren¡¯t you ashamed?! Hitting someone who died yesterday?¡± *smack**smack**smack*... She was hitting non-stop now. ying the ¡°I died¡± card after not caring about it made her upset again. ¡®That will teach him.¡¯ *smack**smack**smack* ¡°Okay, Okay! I give up! Geez¡­¡± The onught stopped to his delight. *smack* ¡°Come on! What was this one for?¡± His question went unanswered and since she was showing him her back he didn¡¯t see the heartful and yful smile Robin had on her lips. ~~~~~ [Goro Goro no mi] 500K Karma points ¡®That¡¯s on par with Whitebeard¡¯s Gura Gura no mi. Well¡­ that¡¯s not really a surprise, electricity is damn powerful. Thank the goddess, Ener was an idiot and didn¡¯t use his power either correctly or at full capabilities.¡¯ Rick pondered on the price a bit more. He remembered the price of his Me Me no mi and how hard it was to gather the karma points needed to buy it. At the time a fruit like the Goro Goro no mi was an impossible goal. Now? If it was possible he could buy more than 700. The Toki Toki no mi was still out of reach though. 1 billion Karma points was not a small amount, nor was it easy to get. ¡®What should I do? Should I block the fruit or not?¡¯ He pondered for a while and finally decided not to. By training immensely he could deal with any lightning bolting his way. Electrons have a mass after all. Insignificant maybe but still a mass. It would take a lot to reach the level of his gravity having any effect on lightning but not impossible. Another reason he decided to not get the fruit was the Tenki Tenki no mi. The weather fruit. [Tenki Tenki no mi] 500M Karma points ¡®With it Nami would be unstoppable and we wouldn¡¯t have any weather problems at sea.¡± This particr devil fruit¡¯s power was tremendous. It allowed the users to manipte the particles in the air. Meaning, someone could move clouds or make wind. Create lightning or rain and snow. Agitate or slow the particles to make it cold or hot. ¡°That''s basically a cheat! Why didn¡¯t I think to look at the store before choosing the Zushi Zushi no mi?! What a dumbass I am! If Nami trained her abilities she would be at the peak of the food chain.¡¯ Lamenting and cursing over his own stupidity, which he¡¯s been doing a lot recently, Rick took a look at Vegapunk''stest research. It hasn¡¯t been that long since he checked them on Jaya, but Vegapunk was a genius so who knew what he could have thought of between then and now? With a sigh he opened the weapon tab of the shop as no new development for his condition happened. There he saw numerous des, some famous, some forgotten. In the end he didn¡¯t buy anything, still feeling wrong about the idea of using another sword than Ryusei. While he was browsing the system, a group of shandia led by the elder arrived on site. He saluted Rick who was nowying down looking at the sky (in truth the system) and when he didn¡¯t get an answer, saw that the pirate was lost in his own thoughts and didn¡¯t insist. Next he greeted Robin and when he saw her taking notes he asked if she could read the marking on the bell. Her nod led to a lot of questions that she was happy to answer. He almost passed out when she told her of the poneglyphs meaning on the stele. It was the same text she found with Rick and Raki in the forest. She made a copy of her notes and added her own about the shandia¡¯s writing as it has been lost to their own people because of the war. The shandias were more thankful than ever, everything was going their way since the strawhats had arrived on Skypiea. They didn¡¯t hesitate to give Rick and Robin the broken pir of the bell made of gold. The pir was tall but not that thick and most of all heavy. There was no way the Merry could have taken care of all of it. That was fine Rick had an idea to not waste all the gold. Rick removed his jacket, ready to give a hand to the warriors but was caught by the wrist by Robin. ¡°And what exactly do you think you¡¯re doing?¡± she asked. ¡°Helping them, why?¡± ¡°Injured as you are ?¡± she was showing him his own arm with the lightning burns. ¡°Yes?¡± She inhaled slowly but deeply then exhaled the same way. Then start hitting him again. But this time with her own real hands and with another major difference. ¡®When did she learn the fist of love from Nami?!¡¯ ¡®The women of the blue sea are scary! A wolf in sheep¡¯s clothing¡¯ was the shared thought for every shandias warriors present. When Robin, Rick, who was dragged by Robin holding his cor, and the shandias got back to Shandora, the rest of the crew was fleeing. ¡®Those idiots.¡¯ ¡° Hey Robin! Rick! Hurry up! We¡¯re stealing their gold!¡± Yelled Luffy ¡° Damnit! Why did you blurt it out, don''t you see the shandias behind them ?¡± said Sanji. ¡°Rick! Why are you up?!¡± eximed Chopper. Each member had something to say while running away. Confusion was on tribe members¡¯ faces. Robin and Rick looked at each other and thetter let out a sigh. He made his crew mates float and attracted them towards him. ¡°Rick, what are you doing?!¡± yelled Luffy. ¡°The shandias are offering us the gold you idiots!¡± ¡°Wait, what?¡± asked Usopp. ¡°They gave up one of the broken pirs of the golden bell for defeating Ener, saving everyone and helping them with their history.¡± exined Robin. ¡°It¡¯s the least we can do.¡± intervened the elder. ¡°No need to run away guys. Besides Luffy, do you want us to leave when we didn¡¯t catch a single fish and didn¡¯t get to eat every delicacy of the ind?¡± announced Rick. ¡°Heck no!¡± answered the captain. ~~~~~ In the end they stayed a few more days rxing. Chopper berated Rick for getting out of bed and charged a crew member to watch him at all times so he would stay in it. They did all participate except Luffy for obvious reasons. The shandias and Usopp were working on cutting the pir by using dials. The idea came from Rick; by using the same beam produced by Whyper¡¯s bazooka they easily could take a third of the pir off. It would take a few days though. Currently, he is guarded by Nami. ¡° So, Rick¡­¡± she started. ¡°Yes?¡± ¡°I heard you spent an awful lot of time with Robin since we separated yesterday.¡± ¡°Nope.¡± ¡°Oh really? That¡¯s not what Raki said.¡± ¡°Nope, nope and nope. I¡¯m not discussing this topic with you.¡± ¡°Ohhh that¡¯s too bad. I guess I¡¯ll go ask Robin then.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t you dare!¡± ¡°What is it then?¡± ¡°You¡¯re really a mean one you know? I always bring you treasures to cheer you up and this is what I get?¡± heined. ¡°Oh pleeeeeaaaase, as if it were true.¡± ¡°Who were the idiots, who were going to leave without the 20 tons of gold from the pir? I¡¯m almost your sugar daddy at this point.¡± ¡°Okay fine, but you¡¯re not my sugar daddy.¡± she admitted. ¡°Yeah, a sugar daddy got fucked the good way.¡± ¡°Oh my¡­ I thought you weren¡¯t interested in me? ¡°You. Are. Impossible.¡± ¡°Well tell me what I want and I¡¯ll stop.¡± ¡°She kept hitting me this morning. Happy now?¡± ¡°Well that¡¯s great!¡± ¡°Hitting ME! Not ON me.¡± ¡° She must have had a reason.What did you do?¡± ¡°I thanked her, and reminded her she still owes me something that is inconsequential.¡± ¡°That¡¯s it?¡± ¡°That¡¯s it.¡± She was not believing a single word he was spouting but didn¡¯t pursue her interrogation any further. When the time for her shift to change came up Robin and Chopper came into the tent. Thetter was there to check on Rick, the former to take Nami¡¯s ce. The navigator grabbed Robin and dragged her outside. ¡°Why don¡¯t we have a talk Robin. Chopper, take Robin¡¯s shift please. See youter Rick!¡± ¡°Naaaaaaaaaaaaamiiiiiiiiiiii!!!!!¡± yelled Rick. ¡°Be quiet and rest!¡± said Chopper. Rick could only cry anime tears, stuck in his duffle bag under Chopper¡¯s watchful eye. ~~~~~ They took two days to cut the pir. Everyone worked on shifts to achieve it in that short amount of time. Thus the crew was ready to go. Well almost. They had a big problem; Rick was gone. During the first night, as Usop was ¡°watching¡± him his eyes closed, to ¡° train observation haki¡± he said, the Vice-captain skittered away. The search was unfruitful the second day and the crew decided to go back to the ship and just wait for him. As they reached the Merry, dragging their gold. They saw Rick on the deck sunbathing. Nami, Chopper were furious. Robin too but had her poker face on. ¡°Where were you?!¡± said Nami, grabbing him by the cor and shaking him. Chopper was not silent either. ¡°I told you to rest, do you know what that means?!¡± ¡°I was on the Merry, resting in afortable bed instead of the hard ground. And I¡¯m fine Chopper, I heal fast and I know my body better than anyone!¡± ¡°And you couldn¡¯t warn us ?¡± asked Nami ¡°I did warn Usop I was leaving while he was¡­ training his observation haki.¡± said Rick with a smirk. ¡°See! I told you I was training!¡± ¡°He was sarcastic, you idiot!¡± yelled Nami. She tried her punch of love on him, but seeing her hiting he floated upward, out of reach. ¡°Not this time!¡± he saidughing at her. He didn¡¯tugh long as a hand on his shoulder appeared and delivered its own version of Nami¡¯s famous punch, breaking his focus and throwing him on the deck¡¯s floor right at Robin¡¯s feet. Nami and Chopper went to her side. ¡°... Mercy?¡± ¡°Fufufu¡­ No.¡± said Robin with murder in her eyes. ~~~~~ The crew was sailing on the sea of clouds and soon would be reaching the ind exit. Escorted by Conis and Pagaya, they bid their goodbyes and passed ¡°Cloud End¡±, a giant gate like ¡°Heaven¡¯s Gate¡±. ¡°Everyone be careful! You¡¯re going to start falling soon!¡± Yelled Conis to them. ¡°Wait. What?¡± The Merry reaching the end of the sea of clouds found herself in the air. Every crew member panicked, except Rick who was tied to the mast knocked out. Thankfully, Conis summoned, with a whistle, an Octoballoon; a giant Octopus which grabbed the Merry and inted his own body using it as a parachute. The fall took a few minutes and was smooth but with the added weight of the pir, the Octoballoon deted around 50 feet high up from the sea. Thankfully, Rick woke up from his induced minia and made everyone float around ten feet above the sea. Merry crashed against the water so violently that the mast broke once more and fell into it before the crewnded on the deck, abruptly but without suffering any injury. ¡°I really thought we were goners.¡± said Nami. ¡°Yeah! Thanks Rick!¡¯ said the captain. Not hearing any answer Luffy looked around searching for his Vice-Captain. ¡°Guys, where is Rick?¡± he asked. ¡°Did anyone let him loose from the mast?¡± said Robin. ¡°¡°¡°¡°¡°¡°Not me.¡±¡±¡±¡±¡±¡± said everyone else in sync. ¡°¡°¡°¡°¡°¡°¡°...¡±¡±¡±¡±¡±¡±¡± Zoro and Sanji were the first to react and dive into the sea, searching for the mast and Rick. They quickly found both and brought them up to the surface. They unrestrained their Vice-captain and brought him back on deck. Chopper quickly came to his side. ¡°Anyone interested in doing some CPR?!¡± he dered. ¡°Girls are out.¡± quickly said Nami. ¡°Not me¡± ¡°Not me¡± ¡°Not me¡± ¡°Not me¡± ¡°Not me¡± ¡°Usop you lost! Get to it!¡± ordered Luffy. ¡°Hell no!¡± ¡°Pretty sure Rick is almost gone for good, guys.¡± said Nami ¡°That¡¯s a shame. At least we¡¯ll get him a nice tombstone.¡± Robin added her two cents. Usopp grumbled andined but approached the ex-marine nheless, he drew his face closer to the drowned man. When his lips almost made contact with him, the former disappeared and thetter started to cough, expelling the water in his lungs. ¡°What the¡­¡± asked Zoro ¡°Where did Usopp go?¡± followed Sanji. They heard a faint sshing from the sea. Looking towards the sound location they saw the sniper of the crew floating. Chopper was eximing Rick, who was breathing heavily and with difficulty. ¡°Are you alright?¡± the doctor asked. ¡° *cough* I am *cough* NOT.¡± He stopped coughing and soon his breathing was not erratic anymore. ¡°Holy¡­ I really thought I was done and over this time.¡± Luffy had brought back Usopp on the Merry by extending his arm and grabbing him. Thetter was knocked out cold. ¡°I don¡¯t know why but I¡¯ve got the feeling I escaped a fate worse than death.¡± Nobody said anything, at least out loud. No one could hold Rick¡¯s questioning gaze. Seeing his fainted crewmate he asked: ¡°What happened to Usopp?¡± ¡°¡°¡°¡°¡°¡°...¡±¡±¡±¡±¡±¡± ¡°He¡­ was ejected overboard when the Merry hit the sea.¡± quickly said Nami. ¡°Really? I thought I made everyone float.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it, it doesn¡¯t matter.¡± she replied just as fast. Rick didn¡¯t pursue the conversation any further and justid on the deck to rest after this near death experience. Nami leaned towards Robin and whispered in her ear. ¡°Do you think Rick subconsciously pushed Usopp away?¡± asked the red head. ¡°I think so. That¡¯s some impressive survival instinct he has.¡± Since Rick and apparently Usopp didn¡¯t have any recollection of what happened everyone else kept their mouths shut and started sailing again towards the next ind the logue pose was leading them to. Chapter 44: Even death can’t cure idiots Chapter 44: Even death can¡¯t cure idiots Back on the blue sea, the crew was now sailing towards their next destination. Right now they were in the quarterdeck enjoying lunch when they started talking about the repartition of the gold and what they were going to do with it. The state of the Merry was worrying, with its mast breaking easily now. Everyone agreed that it was the top priority and surprisingly Luffy had his once in a lifetime idea. ¡°Ok, I¡¯ve decided. Our next crew member will be a ship-repairman. That way when Merry gets damaged he would fix it immediately and we won¡¯t have to find an ind to do it.¡± announced the captain. Everyone was gobsmacked, that was a smart ideaing for their stupid captain. ¡°Did he just¡­¡± asked Sanji. ¡°Yeah he did say these intelligent things.¡± answered Zoro. With lunch over and the discussion about the gold done, the crew members went to do their own things. Luffy, Usopp and Chopper yed a game, Zoro slept, Nami and Robin were talking about something and Sanji was doing¡­ Sanji¡¯s thing. Rick was near the figurehead sitting cross legged in a gravity field. ¡®Okay, this is my limit for now. Let¡¯s warm up a bit before going beyond.¡¯ He changed position then started to do multiple series of push ups and sit ups. Once his body was ready for extreme activity he started increasing the gravity around him greatly in one go. So much that he was tten to the floor immediately without even being able to resist. The goal was the same it always was: to adapt. The first step was to endure it as long as he could before passing out. A rather drastic method but effective. Doing this training reminded him of his early days in this world and made him feel nostalgic. He really missed those days, they were happy ones after all andmon were the times he wondered about his leaving the marines to join the strawhats. By following Luffy he was more or less aware what would happen making gaining karma an easier task. On the other hand, staying in the marines corp was¡­ a real adventure. Not knowing what will happen next was really interesting. Rick came to the conclusion that he made the right decision. The number of karma points he earned during his time in the marine was insignificant in front of the number he gained with the crew. Saving Vivi and her kingdom brought more points than his 12 years in the navy. There was his haki problem too, perhaps he would have met Vegapunk when Sengoku and Garp would have been aware of it. Considering he could use two devil fruits but not haki, that would have been enough to bring him to the mad scientist. ¡®It doesn¡¯t matter in the end, I can¡¯t go back in time.¡¯ Even with the Toki Toki no mi it was impossible. Time always goes forward. When Rick was tten on the deck he made a loud ¡®thud¡¯ sound waking Zoro up and attracting everyone¡¯s attention. The swordsman got closer and after careful consideration decided to try the gravity field. It didn¡¯t end well for him. The hand he passed through was soon on the ground and the rest of his body connected to it followed. Under the pressure he was barely conscious and his bones started to creak a bit. Luffy grabbed one of his legs and pulled him out of the dangerous area. ¡°Zoro you¡¯re okay?!¡± Chopper had rushed to his side and was checking him. Zoro, trying to catch his breath, now that he could again, was unable to give an answer but raised his thumb up to signal that he was. Everyone looked towards Rick, stillying face down. ¡°Is he alright?¡± asked Nami. ¡°I don¡¯t think so but at least he¡¯s awake otherwise the gravity field would have disappeared.¡± answered Sanji. The ex-marine started to move. Slowly he pushed with his arms the floor, trying to raise himself from it. Greeting his teeth he summoned every ounce of strength he had to be in a push up position. He failed andid face down once more. After many tries he finally did it, and held the position for half a minute before removing the gravity field. ¡®Not bad for a first day. I¡¯d say in a day or two I¡¯d be on my feet.¡¯ He raised himself up and stretched and turned around facing the bewilderment of his crewmates. ¡°Is there something wrong?¡± he asked. ¡°What were you doing?¡± replied Usopp with his own question. ¡°Training.¡± ¡°Training?! You call that training?!¡± (Nami) ¡°Zoro¡¯s bones almost broke.¡± (Chopper) ¡°Oh shit! Zoro you tried to enter the gravity field?!¡± (Rick) ¡°Yeah¡­¡± ¡°Don¡¯t do that again when I¡¯m in it, you could die!¡± ¡°Oh, I won¡¯t anymore, once was enough.¡± ¡°Isn¡¯t it a bit extreme?¡± (Robin) ¡°I wouldn¡¯t know about that. That¡¯s the way I trained since I was four.¡± ¡°F¡­ four?¡± (Usopp) ¡°Yeah! At first it was difficult. I didn¡¯t control my ability well and tended to go overboard so I passed out many times. Now I have a good grasp of it so it doesn¡¯t happen that often.¡± (Rick) ¡°It¡¯s still happen?!¡±(Sanji) ¡°Sometimes, when I go too far or I¡¯m not focusing enough.¡± ¡°Can I try?¡± (Luffy) ¡°¡°¡°¡°¡°¡°¡°Luffy!¡±¡±¡±¡±¡±¡± ¡°I¡¯d advise against it but you¡¯re a rubber man so maybe it won¡¯t do anything with such a high gravity won¡¯t do anything to you.¡± (Rick) Despite the rest of the crew against the idea Luffy went for it. It wasn¡¯t the first time he trained under Rick¡¯s gravity, like everyone else, but the gravity they were subjected to was child y. They felt heavier and had a bit of a hard time moving. Zoro particrly remembers how he was ttened to the ground on his first time, his recent experience was on a whole other level. Rick had been easy on him back then. ¡°Are you ready?¡±(Rick) ¡°Heck yeah!¡±(Luffy) ¡°Okay let¡¯s start ¡­ wait!¡±(Rick) ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡±(Luffy) Rick went inside the Merry and came back with a very long rope. The crew took it from the cloth covering the golden pir in Skypiea, it would have been a waste to leave it there. He tied one end to the mast and the other to one of his captain¡¯s ankles. ¡°What¡¯s that for?¡±(Luffy) ¡°Precaution, let¡¯s call it a safety.¡± (Rick) The ex-marine took position and activated his gravity field. Both Luffy and him ended up on the floor. Thetter raised himself once again in a push up position, this time his goal was to stand even though he knew that was not possible yet. He took a look at Luffy. The strawhat¡¯s leader was not lying face down like him but was forming some kind of puddle. The experiment done, Rick dispersed the gravity field. As he had foreseen, without any kind of pressure on him and thanks to a rubber body, Luffy shot straight to the sky. Everyone raised their head to look at their captain flying away. ¡°Good thinking on tying him up.¡±(Sanji) ¡°I didn¡¯t think it would really happen.¡±(Rick) ¡°I hope this time he won¡¯t get snatched by a giant bird.¡± (Zoro) ¡°¡°¡°¡°This time?!¡±¡±¡±¡± (Usopp, Chopper, Robin, Rick) ¡®Oh I forget that happened. It was very early in the manga. Zoro and Luffy hadn¡¯t met Buggy yet.¡¯ ¡°It¡¯s a long story.¡± (Zoro) ¡°¡°¡°¡°...¡±¡±¡± (The crew) ¡°Do you think he¡¯ll reach a sky ind?¡± (Rick) ¡°Don¡¯t raise gs!¡± (Nami) The rope unrolledpletely and to everyone''s surprise, without any exception, the mast, instead of ying its part of anchor for Luffy, broke for the fourth time and followed the captain into the air. Rick¡¯s quick reflexes and gravity prevented that. While he was holding the mast in position, Zoro and Sanji grabbed the rope and tucked on oit hard. A few secondster, they saw Luffy falling down. His fall was stopped when Rick made him float. ¡°THAT WAS SO FUN!¡± yelled Luffy. ~~~~~ Days passed and nothing much changed with the crew''s respective activities. Except Luffy, who sometimes could be seen pondering something. Their captain using his head was a dreadful sight for everyone but since he wasn¡¯t really doing anything they let it go. After Rick''s previous disy of his training Zoro, which surprised no one, asked him to train the same way, albeit to a more suitable regiment. It was a mix of body training and swinging swords. The ex-marine had progressed a lot, right now he was walking around in his own gravity field at a speed that was borderline jogging. They had escaped, a few hours earlier, from a giant wave created by sea monkeys. With no wind if it was not for Rick¡¯s intervention, pushing the Merry forward, they would have ended up like the pirate ship that tried to board up. Sunk with the crew. ¡°No one is going to talk about that weird pirate ship?¡± (Usopp) ¡°What is there to talk about?¡± (Sanji) ¡°No sails, no jolly roger, very few and very dispirited crew members? Doesn¡¯t anyone find it odd?¡±(Usopp) ¡°They must have lost a fight and they were the only ones left, or it was a storm.¡±(Sanji) ¡°Their ship was in too good condition for any of that.¡±(Nami) ¡°Nami¡¯s right, it certainly was no storm and no battle.¡± The Vice-captain added his two berry as he was done with his training. ¡°Do you know anything about it?¡± (Usopp) ¡°Everything points to a Davy Back Fight.¡±(Rick) ¡°What¡¯s that?¡± (Nami) ¡°Oh shit! No wonder¡­ it¡¯s apetition between pirates¡¯ crew.¡± exined Usopp. ¡°Apetition between pirates?¡± Luffy joined the conversation excited by what he heard. ¡°Yes. It¡¯s a kind of game where the winner can take everything they want from the loser. From the pirate ship we saw they seem to have lost quite a lot.¡± (Rick) ¡°I want to participate in one!¡± (Luffy) He was smacked in the head by a furious Nami. ¡°Are you crazy?! What are we going to do if we lose, you idiot!¡±(Nami) ¡°There is no way we¡¯re going to lose, I¡¯ll beat everyone!¡±(Luffy) ¡°The Davy Back Fight is not only a brawl Luffy. It¡¯s a session of trials, brawling, racing, hide and seek or a simple coin toss.¡±(Rick) ¡°That sounds awesome!¡±(Luffy) ¡°Hearing it like that it is but the truth is this is not a fairpetition.¡±(Rick) ¡°What do you mean?¡± (Chopper) ¡°It¡¯s apetition between pirates, do you really think they will y fair? They bend the rules, outright break them, find loopholes, bribe the referee and many more things just so they can win.¡±(Rick) ¡°What kind ofpetition is this? It¡¯s even worse than the stories I¡¯ve heard.¡± (Sanji) ¡°Apetition where the winner is the most ruthless and cunning. Your team may be the weakest but win if you¡¯re smart enough to do so.¡±(Rick) ¡°That¡¯sme! I want to win fair and square!¡± (Luffy) He was interrupted by Robin¡¯s warning about an ind in sight. Hisining stopped and was reced by his excitement at the perspective of a new adventure. Soon enough they reached that newnd, a vast in which you couldn¡¯t see the end of. Luffy, Usopp and Chopper were the first to disembark and went to explore immediately. ¡°Why are they so excited? It¡¯s just a boring in with no end in sight.¡± ( Sanji) ¡°Every ind on the Grand Line is special in some way or another, I¡¯m sure they¡¯ll find something interesting.¡± (Rick) ¡°Guys, we gotpany.¡± said Zoro in a serious tone. Turning around to see what he was talking about they saw a huge ship with a Fox as a figurehead. The word ¡°FOXY¡± was written in huge capital letters on the front sail. ¡®So it begins. Should I skip the event and go deal with Aokiji? Luffy, Zoro and Sanji are a lot stronger than they are supposed to be, he may not let them go this time.¡¯ While Rick was thinking about his next course of action, the Foxy-ship let down his paw-looking anchors on each side of the Merry, blocking all escape. ¡°Who are you people?¡± (Zoro) ¡°...¡± (Robin and Rick) ¡°Come on down and fight!¡±(Sanji) ¡°What do you want from us?¡±(Nami) ¡°We¡¯re the Foxy pirates! Don¡¯t be anxious our duel will begin shortly.¡± said a voice from the ship ¡°So, they are those assholes. Sorry Nami, I guess I raised another g.¡± (Rick) ¡°You know them?¡± (Sanji) ¡°They must be the one who stripped everything for the pirate ship we saw.¡±(Robin) ¡°Then when they say duel¡­¡± (Nami) ¡°They want to challenge us in a Davy Back Fight¡± (Rick). ¡°Interesting!¡± said Zoro with a smile before being smacked in the head by Nami. ¡°There is no way we¡¯re participating in this stupid game!¡±(Nami) ¡°Nami, the Davy Back Fight is an ancestral tradition for pirates.¡±(Rick) ¡°It¡¯s a gamble where you bet your friends and pride as pirates.¡±(Sanji) ¡°That¡¯s not up to you anyway girl, but your captain. It doesn¡¯t matter if the rest of the crew agree or not to participate.¡± said a member of the Foxy crew. ¡°It can¡¯t be helped, Nami, this is the w¡¯ of the sea. No matter how foolish it sounds, if you run away or y tricks you will be theughingstock of everyone in the world.¡±(Sanji) ¡°So? Let themugh, who cares?!¡±(Nami) ¡°¡°I do¡±¡± (Zoro and Rick) ¡°I¡¯d rather die¡± added Zoro ¡°Me too.¡± ( Sanji) ¡°What the heck is wrong with you ?!!¡± (Nami) ¡°Give it a rest¡­ Men are always like that.¡± (Robin) ¡°Women are too. Besides, it''s not really a matter of pride but self-respect. Fleeing before those losers¡­ I¡¯d die of shame.¡± (Rick) ¡°Fine! Then we have to stop Luffy now!¡±(Nami) ¡°Not ¡®we¡¯, you¡¯re alone on that one Nami¡±(Rick) Nami was already running in Luffy¡¯s direction when two consecutive gun shot were heard. ¡°He epted it¡­¡±(Sanji) ¡°I¡¯m surprised it took him that long¡± (Rick) ¡°Perfect¡± (Zoro) ¡°This should be interesting.¡± (Robin) ¡°You¡¯re all crazy!¡± (Nami) ¡°Yourck of faith is disturbing, you know?¡± (Rick) ~~~~~ They may be a bunch of losers but the Foxy pirates knew how to entertain. They made a huge fair with many, many stalls so that everyone could enjoy the game. Everyone was having fun, except the strawhat crew. They were assembled in one corner discussing the game. ¡°What are we going to do?¡±mented Nami. ¡°Nami, I told you, the Davy Back Fight is a game of cunningness and ruthlessness. The three of us are more than enough.¡± dered Rick. ¡°The threes of us?¡± asked Usopp. ¡°Robin, Rick and me.¡± (Nami) ¡°Are you saying we are idiots?¡± (Usopp) Nami, Robin and Rick turned toward Usopp to look at him. ¡°¡°¡°...¡±¡±¡± Then turned back and continued their conversation, ignoring the ¡°OI!¡± of protest from the rest of the crew. ¡°We need to know the rules, so we don¡¯t get any nasty surprises.¡± announced Robin. ¡°Yes but not all of them, only the ones for the games we¡¯re ying.¡± (Nami) ¡°And be careful about who we send to each one of them because we can only be part of one of them¡± (Rick) ¡°So for the second event it will be Chopper, Zoro, Sanji and Me¡± The three thinkers turned around to see Luffy talking to what seems to be an official. ¡°¡°What are you doing?!¡±¡± (Nami and Rick) ¡°I¡¯m giving the names of the ones participating in the second game, why?¡± replied innocently Luffy. ¡°You idiot! You should have waited for us to make a n.¡± (Nami) ¡°Oh right! Well we can always change.¡± (Luffy) ¡°Actually you can¡¯t. Once a name is registered you can¡¯t change it.¡± said the official. Hearing that key information Nami and Rick started beating their captain up. ¡°You moron!¡± (Nami) ¡°You *censored* of a *censored* that *censored* with a *censored* during a *censored*! What are we going to do now?!¡±(Rick) ¡°Wow! I never heard Rick talking like that before.¡± said a bewildered Usopp. Sanji¡¯s jaw hung low and his smoke had fallen to the ground, the ever stoic Zoro had eyes big like saucer. The Foxy¡¯s pirates were shocked too. Some of them even put their index in their ears. ¡°Usopp, what does *censored*, *censored*, *censored*, *censored* and *censored*?¡± asked Chopper innocently before being nose to nose with robin who had crunch down to be at his level. ¡°Chopper, never, ever says those bad words again.¡±(Robin) The reindeer got scared and nodded affirmatively. There was no way he would ever do so now. Their captain, now beaten ck and blue, Nami and Rick let him go and asked the official what the games were. ¡°The first game is the ¡®Donut Race¡¯. You have to circle around the ind on a makeshift boat and reach the finish line while avoiding obstacles. The contestants from your team are Nami, Usopp and Nico Robin, the demon child. The second game is ¡®Hit and Dead Ball¡¯. You have to¡­¡± (official) ¡®What did he say? Hit and Dead Ball? But that¡¯s from the anime! Is it a mix of the two? Oh, that¡¯s no good.¡¯ ¡°The participants are Chopper, Zoro Roronoa the pirate hunter, Sanji and the captain of the strawhat pirates, straw hat Monkey D. Luffy. The third game is a fight one on one on the Foxy pirates¡¯ ship. Your team participant is by default...¡± (official) He looked at Rick as he was the only one not on the list yet. ¡°Rick Waaaaa¡­¡± (official) The official stopped stalking in the middle of saying Rick¡¯s name. He had recognized the man. He had been lucky once, years ago to survive one of his hunts. ¡®OH MY GOD! HE¡¯S A PIRATE NOW?! WHAT THE HELL! I need to tell the captain!¡¯ were his thoughts. ¡°A problem with my name?¡± said Rick in a passive aggressive tone. ¡°N-.. No, no. Rick Wald the world''s worst traitor. He will fight against the captain of the Foxy pirates: Foxy the silver fox.¡± (official) He ran away pretty quickly to warn his captain of his new piece of information and because he was deathly scared of Rick. ¡°Wait! I wanted to fight Gori face!¡± said Luffy clearly not happy. ¡°Well maybe next time you won¡¯t be an idiot and let the smart ones do the thinking for you!¡± (Nami) ¡°Rick, let¡¯s change ces!¡± he insisted. ¡°We can¡¯t, you moron!¡± (Rick) ¡®Damnit! It¡¯s imperative we lose the Donut Race so Chopper can mature a bit mentally. And there is no way to win the Hit and Dead Ball with its thousand rules¡­ Ugh! I guess I¡¯ll have to pull a Nami on Foxy.¡¯ ¡°MAY THE PARTICIPANTS FOR THE DONUT RACE GATHER AT THE DESIGNATED PLACE! THE GAME WILL START SOON!¡± Chapter 45: Game Over Chapter 45: Game Over As predicted, team strawhats lost and¡­ Seriously?! You¡¯re skipping the Donut Race? (Author¡¯s note: Well, yes¡­ It happens just like in the manga and readers already know about it.) Ooookayyy¡­ So¡­ (Author¡¯s note: Go on with the story.) As predicted, team strawhats lost and it was now time for Foxy to take Chopper. The crew was bummed but also tensed, besides Rick, nobody knew who would be selected. ¡°I already made my decision. I want you!¡± said Foxy pointing his finger. ¡®WTF!¡¯ Rick was dumbfounded ¡°You; the red-head. The way you read the currents during the race was exceptional. I want you in my crew! Besides, we don¡¯t have red-head women.¡± (Foxy) ¡®This... Since when does that idiot have an eye for talent?! Oh, he¡¯s so going to pay for that.¡¯ Before Nami could be taken to her new crew, he attracted her to him in a tight hug. ¡°Rick!¡± (Nami) ¡°Don¡¯t worry we¡¯ll get you back.¡± he said while patting her head. She was about to love-punch him when he whispered something in her ear that calmed her immediately. She looked up to him with stars in her eyes and hugged him back just as tight. ¡°You¡¯re the best!¡± (Nami) ¡°I know.¡± he said with a wink. Sanji, who was restrained by Usopp and Chopper because of his berserk state when Nami was chosen, was now lying on the ground, tears falling and foaming at the mouth. ¡°Sanji, instead of crying like a little bitch, work hard to win her back in the next game.¡±(Rick) The cook suddenly stood up, fire burning in his eyes. ¡°I¡¯M GONNA GET YOU BACK NAMI-SWANNN!!!¡± he yelled before going to the next location. ¡°You really know how to manipte people.¡± said Robin to Rick. ¡°I prefer calling it ¡®motivate¡¯ as it¡¯s good for him, good for Nami and good for the crew.¡± he answered with a smile earning him a horizontal shake of her head with an almost invisible smile at the corner of her lips. They followed the rest of the crew towards the Hit and Dead Ball¡¯s field. ¡°*Sigh* Honestly, I think we¡¯re screwed.¡±(Rick) ¡°What makes you say that?¡±(Robin) ¡°In the first game, there was Nami, Usopp and you, meaning two smart people and a half.¡± ¡°Half? Really?¡± ¡°Usopp is ingenious but he needs time to n, in the race he didn¡¯t have much to do it. And you lost because they cheated. Now this group...¡± ¡°There is Chopper.¡± ¡°Yes, but I don¡¯t think it will be enough. And Chopper is not the leading type, especially with those brutes around him.¡± ¡°I see what you mean.¡± ¡°Furthermore, Hit and Dead Ball is the most annoying game of all, there are like a thousand rules, and I bet they know them all when¡­¡± ¡°We don¡¯t know any¡­¡± ¡°Well, thanks to their idiot captain we may still have a chance to win this.¡± ¡°How so?¡± ¡°He could have picked me. That way for the third game¡­¡± ¡°He wouldn¡¯t have any contestant and win by default.¡± ¡°Yeah.¡± ¡°He may have some honor.¡± ¡°After every stupid ns he used against you in the race? No he¡¯s just dumb. Thankfully I¡¯m still in the game.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t see how that helps with the situation. When you win¡­¡± ¡°When ¡®I win¡¯ ? Not if? That¡¯s some faith you have in me. No pressure at all.¡± ¡°I doubt any one in their crew can stand up to you. Actually, in our crew as well. Anyway, when you win, we¡¯ll only be able to take Nami or the person they chose in the second round, back.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry I have a n.¡± ¡°That won¡¯te to fruition if he chose you at the end of this round.¡± ¡°He won¡¯t.¡± ¡°Now you¡¯re the one who¡¯s confident.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll ¡®motivate¡¯ him like he did Luffy to agree to this Davy Back Fight.¡± ¡°Taunt him, goad him and ensnare him?¡± ¡°Good to see I¡¯m not the only one good at motivation. We should y together sometimes.¡± he said with a smile. They arrived at the H&DB¡¯s field. It was small and clearly favored the opponent team a lot as they were all around. H&DB was just a pirate version of dodgeball, the basic rules were the same so in theory it was notplicated however the number of added rules was insane. Each one was an obstacle towards victory. There was no way they could win. Rick and Robin received a book listing every single rule of the H&DB. They did their best to read it as fast as they could to increase the chances of their crewmates, but it was not enough. Team strawhats fought well, eliminating group of ten opponents by group of ten but as expected, not knowing the rules was their undoing. ¡°And another win for us! Now, guys warmly wee our new member¡­¡± said Foxy pointing at Chopper. ¡°See? I told you he was dumb.¡± (Rick to Robin) Unfortunately for him one of the foxy pirates called out to his captain. ¡°Wait captain! If you take Rick Wald you win by default in the next round!¡± Those words made Foxy stop in his choice. ¡°You were saying?¡± replied Robin ¡°I¡¯m still right, he was too dumb toe up with it himself.¡± ¡°Fine I chose you Rick Wald.¡± (Foxy) ¡°Nah, you don¡¯t.¡± (Rick) ¡°Oh?! And why is that?¡± ¡°That would make you a coward. This is one thing to take one member of the opponent team to weaken them in the next round, it¡¯s another to do it to win by default. The Davy Back Fight is a sacred tradition between pirates where you put your pride on the line. If you chose me you¡¯re showing to every pirate''s crew out there that you don¡¯t have any balls. What about the image you¡¯re giving to your own crew? Do you think they will still respect you? Furthermore you¡¯re depriving everyone the enjoyment of the festivities, since they will be cut short. And let¡¯s not talk about the fight itself.¡±(Rick) ¡°The fight itself?¡± asked Foxy. Rick looked around to the crowd and called out to them. ¡°Raise your arm and yell if you want to see the fight!¡±(Rick) ¡°¡°¡°¡°¡°¡°YEAH!!!¡±¡±¡±¡±¡±¡±¡± ¡°Raise your arm and yell if you want to see your captain defeat one of the most hated sailor by every pirate on the Grand Line!¡± ¡°¡°¡°¡°¡°¡°YEAH!!!¡±¡±¡±¡±¡±¡±¡± ¡°So what is it gonna be, silver fox Foxy? Will you let down your subordinates? Every single pirate with an ounce of honor on the sea? Or will you fight like any true captain of more than 500 men and women would do?¡± ¡°Fine! I chose that little roon!¡± ¡°Nooooo!¡±(Chopper) Chopper was immediately taken back on Foxy¡¯s side and given one of those awful masks that every member wore. The ex-marine turned to Robin and whispered in her ear. ¡°Hook, line ¡­¡± ¡°And sinker. That doesn¡¯t solve the problem of getting both Nami AND Chopper back.¡±(Robin) ¡°Just watch.¡±(Rick) He turned back to Foxy. ¡°Good! But¡­ Are you satisfied with just that?¡± (Rick) ¡°What do you mean?¡±(Foxy) ¡°It¡¯s the final round, why not increase the ante?¡± ¡°¡°Rick! What are you...¡±¡± asked Usopp and Luffy before being interrupted by bloomed hands that covered their mouths. ¡°Let him talk, he¡¯s getting everyone back.¡± said Robin in a low voice. ¡°.... I¡¯m listening.¡± (Foxy) ¡°The strawhats are betting everything.¡±(Rick) ¡°Everything?¡±(Foxy) ¡°Everything. Our ship, all of our members, all of our gold, our sail and our g.¡± (Rick) ¡°Is he insane?!¡± (Sanji) ¡°Oi! Rick, aren¡¯t you going too far?¡±(Zoro) ¡°Fine I ept! I bet 500 of my crew members!¡±(Foxy) ¡°That¡¯s too much! Everything we have is not equivalent!¡±(Rick) ¡°That¡¯s fine, your descendants and their descendants and so on, will inherit your debt until it¡¯s paid in full!¡±(Foxy). ¡°... Deal!¡±(Rick) ¡°Okay, You¡¯repletely out of your mind. There is no way¡­¡±(Sanji) ¡°Rick.¡± He was interrupted by Luffy, who Robin had let go and had the most serious gaze in his eyes. ¡°Crush him.¡± ¡°Aye, captain.¡± ¡°MAY THE CONTESTANT FOR THE FINAL ROUND GO TO THE ARENA OF THE FIGHT!¡± The announcer¡­. announced. An official game to Rick. ¡°Please select one of your mate as a coach and follow me.¡±(Official) ¡°I don¡¯t need a coach.¡± (Rick) ¡°Those are the rules, you need a coach.¡±(Official) ¡°Fine. Robin, please.¡±(Rick) She didn¡¯t say anything and apanied her crewmate. They were led inside Foxy¡¯s ship, in a secluded room where weapons, armors, and disguises of all kinds were presented even some stupid or useless objects were there. ¡°You can equip yourself with whatever you want, and how much you want. You have 15 minutes.¡± said the official before leaving the room. Robin had noticed that her Vice-captain was now in a really sour mood and was doing his best to control his anger. She wondered what happened to change his mood from triumphant to¡­ the one he had now. ¡°Angry?¡±(Robin) ¡°Furious.¡±(Rick) ¡°Why?¡± ¡°There are four things I absolutely can¡¯t stand. Failing at my job, someone hurting my family and friends, injustice and above all child abuse.¡± ¡°And Foxy ticked them all boxes.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°Why did you choose me?¡± ¡°Because you¡¯re quiet. Everyone else would have babbled or offered some help.¡± He looked around the room to see what could be useful to fulfill Luffy¡¯s order. He finally found something he didn¡¯t expect to find. A n formed in his head and a creepy smile ended up adorning his lips. That wasn¡¯t lost on Robin. ¡°What did you find?¡± ¡°This.¡± He showed her what he was going to use in theing fight. Robin had a confused expression looking back and forth between Rick and the object. ¡°I¡­ don¡¯t see¡­¡± ¡°Luffy ordered me to crush them but he didn¡¯t say how.¡± ¡°I still don¡¯t understand.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll crush both their spirits and bodies.¡± ¡°Their?¡± ¡°All the members of the Foxy pirates.¡± She was about to ask more about his n but someone knocked on the door. ¡°It¡¯s time, I hope you¡¯re ready.¡±(Official) Before leaving the room Rick said one final thing to Robin. ¡°Tell the rest of the crew to stay one hundred feet away from the ship. It¡¯s for their safety. Signaled Chopper and Nami to do the same. They have one minute to get away once the fight begins.¡± She just nodded and rushed outside to share the information. While joining Luffy & co she saw Nami and Chopper. She bloomed a mouth next to one of their ears and ryed Rick¡¯s words. ¡°We need to move.¡± (Robin) ¡°What? Why?¡± (Luffy) ¡°Rick said that for our safety we should move at least a hundred feet from the ship¡± (Robin) ¡°What¡¯s his n?¡± (Zoro) ¡°I don¡¯t know exactly. What I do know is that he¡¯s beyond angry, he¡¯s furious, and he intends and I¡¯m quoting ¡® to crush everyone''s spirit and body.¡¯ .¡± (Robin) ¡°Oh boy¡­ I don¡¯t know about you but I¡¯m moving.¡± (Usopp) Everyone agreed and moved as fast and as far as they could. They were way beyond the bleachers and the Foxy pirates sitting on them. Thankfully for everyone, the announcer was flying high in the sky, filming the arena and disying it on the ship''s big sail thanks to a special den den mushi. ¡°AND NOW THE LAST ROUND OF THIS DAVY BACK FIGHT!¡± (Announcer) ¡°¡°¡°¡°¡°¡°YEAH!!!¡±¡±¡±¡±¡±¡±¡± ¡°IN THE RIGHT CORNER, WITH A BOUNTY OF 24 MILLION BERRY, THE ONE, THE ONLY, SIIIIIIIIIIIIILVER FOX FOXYYYYYYYY!¡± (Announcer.) ¡°¡°¡°¡°¡°¡°YEAH!!!¡±¡±¡±¡±¡±¡±¡± ¡°IN THE LEFT CORNER, WITH A BOUNTY OF 79 MILLION BERRY, ONE OF THE MOST HATED MAN ON THE SEA BOTH BY PIRATES AND MARINES ALIKE! THE WORLD¡¯S WORST TRAITOR, RIIIIIIIIIIIIICK WAAAAAALD!¡± (Announcer) ¡°¡°¡°¡°¡°¡°BOOOOO!!!¡±¡±¡±¡±¡±¡±¡± ¡°Wow. What a difference of wee.¡±(Usopp) ¡°That¡¯s fine! We¡¯re better at cheering! GO RICK!¡± yelled Luffy. Both fighters at the call of their names exited the inside of the ship by the ear of the fox-like figurehead. Foxy hadpletely changed his clothes. He was now shirtless with a simple short wearing purple- blue boxing gloves. Rick was still clothed the same. ¡°Wasn¡¯t he supposed to arm himself?¡± (Zoro) ¡°Yes, but he chose not to.¡±(Robin) ¡°He didn¡¯t take anything?!¡± (Sanji) ¡°No, he did but¡­¡± (Robin) ¡°But?¡± (Usopp) ¡°...You¡¯ll see.¡± (Robin) Foxy was staring at his opponent. No he was doing more than that, he was studying him from head to toe. He spoke up. ¡°I don¡¯t know if you¡¯re brave or foolish to not take anything that was at your disposal.¡± ¡°Oh! But I did. Look.¡± He brought out from his pocket a small object easily fitting in his hand. ¡°...¡± (Luffy) ¡°...¡± (Zoro) ¡°...¡± (Sanji) ¡°...¡± (Usopp) ¡°¡°¡°¡°ROBIN!¡±¡±¡±¡± they yelled in sync. ¡°I don¡¯t understand either! ¡° she defended herself. ¡°Hepletely lost his marbles¡± (Zoro) ¡°NO!!! NAMI-SWAAAN!¡± (Sanji) ¡°We¡¯re doomed!¡± (Usopp) The spectators wereughing their ass off. ¡°An rm clock? Really? What are you going to do with that.¡± mocked Foxy. ¡°I¡¯m giving you 60 seconds. Not 59. Not 61. One minute. To attack me with everything you have. I will not move an inch. I will not dodge. I will not block. But if at the end of this minute you didn¡¯t defeat me¡­ well you¡¯ll see...¡± said Rick with a smile. ¡®That¡¯s official, Nami and I are the only smart ones on this crew.¡¯ thought Robin. Rick put down the rm clock and timed it exactly with the start of the fight, then simply stood straight with his arms crossed in front of his chest. When the fight started Foxy used first his Noro Noro no mi abilities on Rick to slow him down then followed up with his special attack Megaton Kyubi rush. ¡°That¡¯s not good.¡± (Zoro) ¡°Why? Rick can take punches.¡± (Luffy) ¡°He¡¯s been slowed down. When the slow effect disappear he¡¯s going to feel every single punch he received at the same time.(Sanji) ¡°Oh crap.¡±(Usopp) ¡°WHAT A FEAT OF ENDURANCE FROM FOXY! HE DIDN¡¯T STOP HITTING HIS OPPONENT AND IT¡¯S ALMOST BEEN 30 SECONDS¡± (Announcer) ¡°What bastard! They telling Foxy that he need to re-apply his slow effect on Rick¡± (Sanji) And Indeed before 30 seconds passed the silver fox slowed down the ex-marine again before assaulting him again. ¡°Ugh, it¡¯s painful to watch.¡±(Usopp) ¡°4! 3! 2! 1!¡± (Announcer) Zero came. Everyone stopped making noise, leaving a deathly silence. The rm-clock rang, Foxy had stopped his assault, exhausted. Rick¡¯s head, which was the focal point of attack for his opponent, surprisingly didn¡¯t move. The skin on his face was moving in all directions, indicating that indeed it had been hit, his nose was soon broken and blood was falling from his nostrils. When the ex-marine¡¯s face stopped acting crazily, he sent Foxy a murderous re, and said only one word. ¡°Kneel.¡± Suddenly a gravity field appeared with Rick at his center. Let alone Foxy, even his crew in the bleachers and on the ground were affected. Everyone standing up was immediately on their knees. That included his opponent. But he was not done and spoke once more. ¡°Prostrate.¡± The gravity rose. The wood of the ship was creaking, the same for the bleachers. Some people were already passed out cold from the pressure. Nobody could move, all were lying face down. The vice-captain walked very slowly towards Foxy. Once in front of him he used once again his gravity on his head to raise it. Determination was still filling the eyes of the down man. Then Rick said one final word. ¡°Forfeit.¡± The gravity raised even higher. The bleachers copsed, the ship began to sink into the water despite its resistance. Foxy¡¯s determination was gone. Reced by a primal fear. He, and his whole crew were done for by the pressure, the ship itself was breaking and sinking and yet the man in front of him was perfectly fine. ¡°Holy¡­.¡±(Sanji) ¡°That¡¯s the first time I ever saw Rick fighting seriously.¡± ( Zoro) ¡°I¡¯m...I¡¯m never pissing him off. Nope. Not happening.¡± said Usopp, trembling. Neither Robin or Luffy said anything but both were not indifferent in front of this show of strength. ¡®He really did what he said he would. They arepletely crushed, both in spirit and body.¡¯ thought the archaeologist. The Vice-captain released the pressure. Everyone who was under it could now breathe again albeit with great difficulty. ¡°I¡­ I ¡­ For...feit¡± said the captain of the foxy pirates out of breath. Without another word, or another look, Rick floated towards his friends. Chapter 46: Doubt is an illness that come from knowledge and leads to madness Chapter 46: Doubt is an illness thate from knowledge and leads to madness After their humiliating defeat, by Rick¡¯s hands, even if he didn¡¯t use them, the Foxy pirates were not in position to do anything. Nami and Chopper joined once more the small crew, along with 500 other members that the strawhats'' captain didn¡¯t want. The 500 losers didn¡¯t want to change crew either, too terrified of Rick, so in the end Luffy being Luffy just took their big sail with the jolly roger on it. He even gave them another one where he had painted their symbol on it. It was butt ugly but they didn¡¯t care, they just wished to be as far away as possible. Currently, our protagonists were looking at their former opponent¡¯s ship sailing away at great speed. Nami and Rick stood side by side. ¡°So. Did you get anything?¡±(Rick) ¡°The correct question would be ¡®what didn¡¯t I get?¡¯ .¡±(Nami) ¡°How long before they notice ?¡±(Rick) ¡°With how broken you made them? A week at least.¡±(Nami) They didn¡¯t look at each other, their eyes were glued on the ship at the horizon. Rick raised his left hand and presented it to Nami, who in turn raised her right. The both high fived each other for a work well done. ¡°Why are the two of you high fiving each other exactly?¡± asked Usopp, suspicious. ¡°The sess of our masterful heist.¡± (Rick) ¡°Heist? What¡¯s that?¡± (Luffy) ¡°A robbery.¡± (Robin) ¡°Can you exin a bit more?¡± (Zoro) ¡°When Nami got taken from us, I didn¡¯t attract her to me for the only purpose of hugging her.¡± dered Rick eyeing Sanji from the corner of his eyes. The cook was still not over that. ¡°Rick yed the concerned crewmate for¡­¡± (Nami) ¡°I didn¡¯t y, I was concerned.¡± cut in Rick with a frown. ¡°... Anyway, he whispered to me an idea he had on the spot. Since I was a new member of the foxy pirates, I could go wherever I wanted.¡±(Nami) ¡°So?¡± (Zoro) ¡°No way! You didn¡¯t!¡± (Robin) ¡°¡°Oh yes she/I did.¡±¡± (Rick and Nami) They both answered with a smile from ear to ear. ¡°Did what?¡± asked Chopper. ¡°Well since those guys were utter morons...¡±(Rick) ¡°Except the guy who told their captain to pick you at the end of the second round.¡± said Robin with a smirk. ¡°Well except THAT guy; Nami had total freedom to do whatever she wanted and as a master thief¡­¡±(Rick) ¡°I went inside their ship and stole everything valuable without anyone even asking me what I was doing. It was mainly gold and medicinal herbs.¡±(Nami) Luffy, Zoro, Sanji and Usopp had their jaws touching the ground. ¡°Where is everything then?¡±(Chopper) ¡°I took a spare sail they had and put everything in it, then threw it overboard, while everyone was watching the Hit and Dead Ball match. Now Rick if you please, itnded around here.¡± she said pointing her finger and an area in the sea before them. Rick used his gravity and made a big square of water float. Luckily the depth was not that great. ¡°Anyone see anything?¡± (Rick) ¡°No.¡±(Usopp) ¡°Then in that case let¡¯s use another method.¡± (Rick) He focused on the sea and separated it in half. ¡®So that¡¯s what Moses felt.¡¯ he thought. The effort was strenuous but nothing he couldn¡¯t handle and when he didn¡¯t find anything he just ¡®moved¡¯ his gravity to the side to cover a new zone. Quickly he found their booty and made it float andid it on the ground. Nami opened the sail and presented its content to the rest of the crew. The loot wasn¡¯t inconsequential, far from it. ¡°I¡¯m so d you two don¡¯t work often together and that you¡¯re on our side.¡± (Usopp) Chopper was looking at the medicinal herbs with happiness, plenty of them he needed badly and the rest were some he only saw in books. They all would be useful. He gathered them and went to put them in the Merry. Not before checking onest time on Rick. After Foxy¡¯s onught on the Vice-captain face, there were bruises everywhere. But everything was already healing, including the broken nose which was mending nicely. It was a bit past lunch when Luffy decided to go through the forest to hunt for food. Chopper was leading and Robin and Rick closed their formation. ¡°Hey guys! What do you think is that trail on the ground?¡±(Chopper) ¡°I don¡¯t, but it¡¯s really uniform.¡± (Usopp) ¡®OH SHIT! How could I have forgotten about HIM!¡¯ Seeing panic on herpanion¡¯s face Robin asked. ¡°Something¡¯s wrong?¡± ¡°I really, really hope not.¡±(Rick) ¡®I can¡¯t have them fight, I can¡¯t have them fight. Please goddess, don¡¯t let them fight.¡¯ ¡°Another feeling?¡±(Robin) Rick just nodded. ¡°Bad?¡±(Robin) ¡°Very.¡±(Rick) ¡°Hey! I found a giant ck mushroom.¡±(Chopper) The ex-marine barely contained a growl. Chopper ran towards the big rock standing in the middle of a clearing. Behind it you could see some kind of mushroom protruding over it. The doctor got around the boulder and disappeared out of view from everyone. He reappeared a few secondster rolling backwards and stopped on his ass. Luffy ran to him and looked in the direction his deer friend was looking. ¡°Hey! Who¡¯s that guy?¡± At the mention of the word ¡®guy¡¯ everyone regrouped around Chopper. Robin and Rickgging behind. ¡°Oh? Who are you guys?¡±. Rick recognized the voice, it could never forget it, not after all the time spent with its owner, even after ten years. It made him nostalgic but also panicked. ¡°Shit! Shit! Shit! Shit!¡±(Rick) He said it out loud, Robin didn¡¯t say anything but the look on his face said it all. The stranger was bad news. When the two of them arrived behind the others Robin froze and fell backwards, fortunately for her, Rick was there and caught her in time. She was having a panic attack. ¡°It¡¯s okay Robin, breath, just breath.¡±(Rick) Everyone turned around to look at her, and were confused about her state. ¡° Oh my... That¡¯s some faces I haven''t seen in a decade or two. Rx, I¡¯m not on mission right now. Well I am but I decided to take a break for a day or two¡± (Aokiji) ¡°On a mission? For who?¡± (Zoro) Robin following Rick¡¯s instruction was now breathing normally, but she was still tense as proved by her hand squeezing Rick¡¯s. She was not aware of it but the reason why she recovered so fast was because he was holding her. ¡°He¡¯s a marine. An admiral for the marine HQ. His name is Aokiji.¡±(Robin) ¡°¡°¡°¡°¡°¡°An admiral?!¡±¡±¡±¡±¡±¡± ¡°That¡¯s not just anyone.¡± (Sanji) ¡°There are only three people in the marines with this rank. Only the fleet admiral is above them. They are the most powerful people working in the marine corp. This man is one of them.¡±(Robin) ¡°Why is an admiral here? Don¡¯t you have bigger pirates to catch?¡±(Usopp) Aokiji ignored the sniper as he saw Nami close to him. ¡°Wh.. What?¡±(Nami) ¡°You¡¯re a beauty with nice curves. Are you free tonight?¡± was all he said while towering over her. In a sh she was pulled back towards Rick. Sanji was yelling profanities at him. ¡°You didn¡¯t change one bit.¡±(Rick) Robin raised her head to look at him and let go of his hand. Doubt was on her face. He didn¡¯t miss that. ¡°Rick you know him?!¡±(Luffy) ¡°Of course he knows me. We met when he was seven and he sailed under mymand for a few years.¡±(Aokiji) ¡°¡°¡°¡°¡°¡°What?!¡±¡±¡±¡±¡±¡± She couldn¡¯t help herself, the lone survivor of O¡¯hara escaped Rick¡¯s hold and put some distance between them by hiding behind Nami. Despite his Acting skill at max level he failed to maskpletely how much her action hurt him. ¡°I have to say, I¡¯m not surprised to find you in a pirate crew Nico Robin, however Rick, when I heard the report from a smoker that you joined one. I couldn¡¯t believe my ears, neither did your uncle.¡± (Aokiji) ¡°...¡± (Robin) ¡°...¡± (Rick) ¡°Wait! I thought Rick was an orphan? Who¡¯s that uncle then?¡±(Usopp) ¡°Fleet admiral Sengoku.¡±(Aokiji) ¡°¡°¡°¡°¡°¡°What?!¡±¡±¡±¡±¡±¡± That was a festival. Revtion upon revtion. ¡°That man is nothing to me, Aokiji!¡±(Rick) ¡°Aokiji? Where did ¡®uncle nice¡¯ go? It¡¯s disheartening. I¡¯m sure your uncle would be too when he¡¯ll hear what you said about him.¡±(Aokiji) ¡°That doesn¡¯t matter to me!¡±(Rick) ¡°Wait! You¡¯re his uncle too?¡±(Sanji) ¡°Oh, no! It¡¯s the nickname he gave me when he was a kid.¡±(Aokiji) ¡°ENOUGH! What do you want?¡±(Rick) ¡°Right now take a nap.¡± *yawn* ¡°Otherwise, I was investigating Nico Robin''s disappearance after basta. As expected she¡¯s with you all. I¡¯d have to make a report to HQ about it.(Aokiji) ¡°Gomu.. Gomu no¡­¡± (Luffy) ¡°Luffy are you crazy?!¡±(Ussop) Before Luffy could attack he was squashed on the ground by gravity. ¡°Rick, what the hell?!¡± (Sanji) Zoro was ready to strike his Vice-Captain. The revtion that Aokiji delivered made him start to doubt him too. ¡°I¡¯m saving your lives you idiots! Even twenty of me wouldn¡¯t be able to do anything against him.¡±(Rick) ¡°You should listen to him, he¡¯s right on that.¡±(Aokiji) ¡°I won¡¯t let you take Robin!¡± yelled Luffy from his position on the ground. ¡°I told you, I¡¯m on break. And my mission is just to report her whereabouts. Although¡­¡±(Aokiji) ¡°Oh crap!¡±(Usopp and Nami) ¡°I have another mission, I must deliver a message to Rick, from the Fleet admiral.¡±(Aokiji) ¡°No.¡±(Rick) ¡°He wants you back in the marines.¡±(Aokiji) ¡°No.¡±(Rick) ¡°A press release is already made. Exonerating you for your crimes. The story is¡­ You went undercover for the world nobles and now your mission is done.¡±(Aokiji) ¡°NO.¡± This time, Rick¡¯s tone was forceful. ¡°Rick, this is yourst chance to realise your dream.¡±(Aokiji) ¡°...¡± (Rick) The conversation was cut short, as people dressed in rags entered the clearing. ¡°Who are those guys?¡±(Sanji) ¡°Are you... Are you really from the marine?¡± asked one of the new arrivants to Aokiji. ¡°I am.¡± ¡°Can you¡­ Can you help us, please? We¡¯ve been shipwrecked on this ind for a month now.¡± They were clearly malnourished and wounded. Chopper took the time to do a check up on everyone while Rick went back to the Merry to pick up what was left of their food. Nami followed him out of worry. ¡°Are you alright?¡±(Nami) ¡°Why the question?¡±(Rick) ¡°Sorry, it was a stupid question, you¡¯re obviously not.¡± ¡°What made you think that? Was it Zoro ready to cut me down if he had to? Or was it everyone not standing up for me? Personally I¡¯d bet my money on Robin getting as far away as she could from me like I was the most dangerous disease in the world.¡± ¡°It¡¯s not like that!¡± ¡°Yes it is and you know it. You all had doubts about me on your faces when Aokiji asked for me toe back. But it¡¯s fine, and I¡¯ll be fine. It won¡¯t interfere with my job, you don¡¯t have to worry.¡± He patted her head then walked again towards the Merry. The conversation was done and over. Inplete silence they gathered the bit of food they had left and went back to the clearing. Nami was carrying a small bag on her back, she didn¡¯t have to as Rick could have made everything float, but she insisted on it. The civilians were thankful for the meal, they didn¡¯t really have one in a month. They all were fine, some bruises and scratches here and there, and suffered from a bit of exhaustion but it was all good. When all had their stomachs full, Aokiji led everyone toward the other side of the ind. On the way the strawhats gathered food for them and made a makeshift cart. Once close to the sea, Aokiji signaled everyone to stay back. ¡°Everyone stay back, it¡¯s dangerous.¡± He came close to the water and dipped his hand into it. ¡°What is he doing?¡±(Usopp) ¡°He¡¯s making a way for the civilians to reach the other ind.¡±(Rick) The admiral had told them about the particrity of the ind they were currently on. It was a gigantic ring made of ten little inds, that with the tide of the sea, it was overwhelmed by water. Inhabitants were nomads going from one ind to another periodically. Right now they were on the next one. The n was for the civilians to join them and wait for a marine ship toe and rescue them. ¡°Making a way?¡± (Sanji) Before he could do anything a sea king surfaced and attacked the admiral. Unfortunately for him the marine was faster and turned him and the sea into ice in a sh. ¡°Holy¡­¡± It was Usopp who voiced what everyone present was thinking. ¡°Do you understand now? We can¡¯t beat him. Just like Ener was a logia of thunder, he is a logia of ice. And even in the remote case where we could deal with his devil fruit, which we don¡¯t, he¡¯s a master of the first two Haki. We wouldn¡¯t even be a warm up for him.¡±(Rick) These pieces of information brought down any desire to fight from Zoro and Luffy. They may not have been the brightest but even they knew when they were severely outssed. Rick to everyone¡¯s surprise broke the sea king ice statue. ¡°We don¡¯t need to hunt anymore now. And as a bonus it¡¯s perfectly preserved. Sanji, have you ever cooked sea king¡¯s meat?¡±(Rick) ¡°No, but I¡¯m willing to try.¡±(Sanji) ¡°Cool! We have sea king for dinner!¡±(Luffy) Aokiji just looked at the crew with interest and was pondering something. ¡°Yeah, maybe I should change my mind and get rid of you.¡± Those words sent a chill down everyone¡¯s spine. Zoro, Luffy and Sanji took a fighting stance. ¡°But no, I don¡¯t need to do it myself.¡±(Aokiji) ¡°What do you mean?¡±(Usopp) ¡°Every group, every organization, every pirate crew that Nico Robin joined was destroyed, one way or another by her betrayal. She will do the same to you too.¡± ¡°There¡¯s no way Robin would ever betray us!¡±(Luffy) ¡°If not her then¡­¡± he didn¡¯t go further but it turned towards Rick. No one said anything except, surprisingly to everyone, Nami. ¡°That won¡¯t happen too.¡±(Nami) ¡°He is a traitor. It¡¯s in the poster description. You take a dictionary and search for ¡®traitor¡¯ and there is just his portrait. I don¡¯t know what he¡¯s doing in that little group of yours but that can¡¯t be good, he loathes pirates. Your crew is doomed with one of them let alone two¡­ and in the end Nico Robin will be dealt with and Rick will be back in the marines where he belongs.¡±(Aokiji) That was too much for Luffy and he charged at the admiral followed by Zoro and Sanji. They didn¡¯t go very far as they soon were lying face down on the ground. ¡°Enough with your bullshit Aokiji. Leave us alone.¡±(Rick) ¡°Very well.¡±(Aokiji). He walked towards the trees and came back with a bicycle. ¡°You¡¯ve been warned.¡± were thest words he left them with before riding his ride on the sea. Once the admiral was gone, the ex-marine released everyone under his gravity. He let out the breath he was holding andid down. Some of his crewmates were not very happy with him. ¡°What¡¯s the deal Rick!¡±(Luffy) ¡°I saved your lives again, you¡¯re wee. And you should feel lucky it was Aokiji. Kizaru would have let us go before stabbing us in the back and Akainu would have burned us to ashes on the spot.¡±(Rick) ¡°Who are they?¡±(Chopper) ¡°They are the other two admirals.¡±(Robin) ¡°And they are just as strong.¡± (Rick) No more was said and the crew went back to the Merry. Chopper was once again leading the way but this time with Robin. Rickgged behind alone, before Nami joined him. ¡°Hey.¡±(Nami) ¡°Hey.¡±(Rick) ¡°...¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°I don¡¯t believe him.¡±(Nami) ¡°About?¡±(Rick) ¡°You, betraying us. After our conversation earlier, I thought about the situation of the crew since we met a lot.¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°You know what I found?¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°You¡¯ve been taking care of us all this time. Training the boys, saving our lives, making sure everyone is having fun.¡±(Nami) ¡°That could be a ploy to deceived all of you.¡±(Rick) ¡°Yes, but I don¡¯t believe that for a second.¡± ¡°What makes you so sure?¡± ¡°You could say¡­ I¡¯ve got a feeling.~~¡± ¡°That¡¯s some. Do I sound like that?¡± ¡°Nah, you sound better.¡± Rick patted her head by reflex. ¡°I understand now why Vivi liked it so much and wanted more.¡±(Nami) ¡°How do you know that?¡±(Rick) ¡°She confided it to me. She said it felt good, warm, making her feel safe, protected and peaceful.¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t know any of that. I just did it because her hair is as smooth as silk. It felt good to the touch.¡± ¡°I¡¯m sure she¡¯d be happy to hear that.¡± The Merry was noticeable not so far ahead, when Rick sighed loudly, Nami asked him what was wrong. ¡°You all are probably going to have a talk about what to do soon. Without me being present.¡±(Rick) ¡°Why would you not be there?¡±(Nami) ¡°Because the talk will be about how to deal with me.¡±(Rick) ¡°They won¡¯t do that!¡± ¡° ¡®Course they will. Aokiji nted doubt in their heads.¡± ¡°Well at least you¡¯ll be with Robin.¡± ¡°No, Robin will be part of the talk.¡± ¡°Why her and not you?¡± ¡°Because Robin has always been a criminal whereas me, I yed for the other team and that¡¯s all the difference. If I have to bet, I¡¯d say I¡¯ll still be part of the crew but I¡¯ll be watched all the time for a while. Until their doubts disappear or they are consumed by them.¡± Chapter 47: Formate (Times Two) Chapter 47: Formate (Times Two) Chapter 47: Formate (Times Two) Everything was always as it was on the Merry, at least in appearance. If one was to pay a close look there was an underlying tension. Their confrontation with Aokiji was three days ago and did a lot of damage to the unity of the crew. Rick was currently reading a book in the crow¡¯s nest, it was his turn to watch out for any ind in sight. Zoro signaled Sanji with a movement of the head. It was time they all had a long overdue conversation. The Vice-captain yed the oblivious one, not noticing everyone going inside the Merry. He knew though and sprouted an ear on Usopp¡¯s boot as he was thest one joining the meeting. ¡°Shouldn¡¯t we call Rick?¡± asked Luffy. ¡°No, you idiot!¡±(Zoro) ¡°This meeting is about him.¡± (Sanji) ¡°What about him?¡±(Luffy) ¡°Can we trust him or not?¡±(Usopp) ¡°Of course we can!¡± replied Luffy, very unhappy with the topic. ¡°Did you forget about what Aokiji said?¡±(Zoro) ¡°Who?¡±(Luffy) ¡°The admiral!¡±(Sanji) ¡°Oh, him!¡±(Luffy) ¡°Yes! Him!¡±(Usopp) ¡°I don¡¯t see any problem.¡±(Luffy) ¡°You really don¡¯t see any problem with Rick being a former marine, being asked to join them back? Him having served under the guy who is after Robin?¡±(Sanji) ¡°No, why? Rick is with us now.¡±(Luffy) ¡°He may be ying us!¡± (Usopp) ¡°Rick? No way!¡±(Luffy) ¡°Yeah!¡±(Chopper) ¡°Think about it. You don¡¯t find it suspicious that a guy whose dream was to be fleet admiral, recing his own uncle, and loathing pirates is now a member of a pirate crew?(Zoro) ¡®Everything is going as Rick said it would.¡¯ thought Nami sadly. ¡°I trust him. And you should too!¡±(Nami) ¡°¡°What Nami said!¡±¡± (Luffy & Chopper) ¡°Nami, there are too many coincidences.¡±(Usopp) ¡°So? Robin has an obscure past too and nobody is doubting her, rightfully so I might add! Why shouldn¡¯t we do the same for Rick?¡±(Nami) ¡°Once again, because he¡¯s a former marine! Robin is not.¡±(Zoro) ¡°The three of you are all mad! That admiral messed with your heads. If you can¡¯t see that then we¡¯re doomed, just as he predicted. Now excuse me but I¡¯m out of this conversation.¡±(Nami) She raised herself from her seat and went out, followed by an equally upset Luffy and Chopper. ¡°They are too trusting.¡±(Usopp) ¡°Robin what do you think?¡±(Zoro) The archaeologist has been silent the whole time. Her mind was a mess, she didn¡¯t know what to think anymore. Rick had been overly friendly with her, down right flirty sometimes but was it genuine or an act? She couldn¡¯t read him like an open book like everyone else, and the fact he always catches her off guard was unsettling. His connections to Aokiji of all people and fleet admiral Sengoku didn¡¯t help either. ¡°I¡­ I don¡¯t know.¡±(Robin) She exited the room to go to the deck. ¡°It¡¯s the three of us then.¡±(Sanji) ¡°Let¡¯s keep an eye on him.¡±(Zoro) ¡°We should write a journal about everything he¡¯s doing.¡±(Usopp) Agreeing to watch their Vice-captain covertly they joined the rest of the crew outside. Nami was climbing the mast hoping to talk with Rick when he started to float andnded in the crow¡¯s nest. ¡°You were right.¡± she said with her eyes downcast. ¡°I¡¯m always right.¡±(Rick) ¡°Well sometimes it sucks.¡±(Nami) ¡°I know.¡± ¡°I left the talk. It was making me mad.¡± ¡°Let me guess, Zoro, Sanji and Usopp are more than worried. You¡¯re here so you trust me, Luffy probably forgot my situation and didn¡¯t even consider anything other than trusting me and Chopper followed Luffy¡¯s lead.¡± ¡°That¡¯s the jist of it¡±. Looking up Rick saw an ear on the mast just above their heads. ¡®Naughty, Robin. Very naughty, it¡¯s bad to spy on people¡¯ thought the ex-marine without realising it was very hypocritical of him. ¡°You know Nami¡­¡± ¡°What?¡± ¡°One of the most, if not the most beautiful woman I have ever met¡­¡± He floated towards the ear Robin had bloomed, making Nami confused since she didn¡¯t see it, and ended his sentence. ¡°Is Robin¡± and blew some air on it. The ear disappeared immediately and hended back on the nest. ¡°I¡¯m so...¡±(Nami) ¡°It¡¯s fine. I told you, for people like Robin and I, trust is a luxury. She¡¯s scared now and probably a mess. Oh, she doesn¡¯t show it, but she is, so if spying on me can bring her peace, it¡¯s fine.¡±(Rick) ¡°It may help if you weren¡¯t so secretive about your time in the marines.¡± ¡°It¡¯s not that I¡¯m secretive, it¡¯s just¡­ it¡¯s difficult to talk about it.¡± ¡°Do you mind if I ask you some questions then? It¡¯s fine if you don¡¯t answer them.¡± ¡°Go ahead.¡± ¡°What is your rtionship with Aokiji exactly?¡± ¡°Right in the heart of the matter!¡± heughed. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, it¡¯s just¡­¡± ¡°You¡¯re curious, I get it. And stop always apologizing, it''s bing annoying!¡± ¡°Hey!¡± ¡°So I met Aokiji when I was seven I guess. I was just back in Marineford from a mission and went directly to see my uncle. I barged into his office like a kid doped on sugar. There with the fleet admiral was Aokiji, Kiazu and Akainu. They were just vice-admiral at the time. Anyway, I had some kind of fight with Akainu, who by the way is an asshole, and used my gravity on him. He went right down on the floor face first. ¡°What?! No way!¡± ¡°Yes way! The idiot thought that since I was a kid I couldn¡¯t do anything to him. Well, things happened and Sengoku ordered Kizaru and Akainu to leave for their mission. That¡¯s when he introduced me to Aokiji, who was very pleased with the way I dealt with Akainu, he couldn¡¯t stand the asshole.Actually I think nobody does. Anyway, he was¡­ nice. Before leaving he gave me as a bted birthday gift his eye mask which he had signed for me.¡± ¡°Really?¡± ¡°Yes, I didn¡¯t own anything back then and I was a diehard marine fan, that was a big deal for me.¡± ¡°I find it hard to imagine that.¡± ¡°Yet I was. That eye-mask, that was the second gift I ever received. The first one being the fleet admiral¡¯s own cap. Signed too. Anyway, we kinda fit well together, he¡¯s azy guy but he was always interested in going along with my pranks on Sengoku and grandpa.¡± ¡°When did you start serving under him?¡± ¡°Around 13 or 14. Hismand was really different from what I had seen until then. He was letting his crew deal with everything except important matters. A way too powerful pirate? He took care of it. Diplomatic talk? He took care of it. Few people know, but he¡¯s caring, in his own way.¡± ¡°How so?¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°Is that the hard part to talk about?¡± ¡°Yes and no.¡± ¡°Then you don¡¯t have to..¡± ¡°It¡¯s okay, it¡¯s just a very unpleasant memory. Or to be more precise ack of it. ¡°What do you mean?¡± ¡°Did Vivi tell you how we met?¡± ¡°Yes, You were getting scammed by a fruit stall owner!¡± said Nami mockingly ¡°That¡¯s about right. Did she tell you anything else?¡± ¡°That she was kidnapped and you rescued her, but I guess there is more to it?¡± ¡°A lot more. She was brought up in her kidnappers¡¯ hideout in the mountains, east of basta. I infiltrated the ce and for the first time in my life I was confronted with the worst of humanity. I won¡¯t get into details, no need for you to have nightmares but it¡¯s how I dealt with the kidnappers that matters.¡± ¡°What did you do?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡± ¡°You don¡¯t know?¡± ¡°No. I remember Vivi being asleep and chained in the middle of the room. I use my gravity to free her and attract her to me, then I remember being angry as I¡¯ve never been before¡­ Next thing I know I¡¯m holding Vivi and¡­ well the only ce not painted in red was where I stood. I brought Vivi back to king Cobra and had a talk with Aokiji. I told him about everything I could remember and about the part that I could not. Now another superior would have told me to suck it up, that it¡¯s part of the job. Aokiji? He listened and shared his own trauma then advised me to go see the doc.¡± ¡°The doc?¡± ¡°That¡¯s the nickname of the best doctor of the marine. He has the foulest mouth ever but he¡¯s the best at healing physical or mental scars. Anyway after this incident I served under him for a few more months before being reassigned. Soon after I ¡®quit¡¯ the marines and haven¡¯t seen him since, well¡­ until 3 days ago.¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°Are you really not interested in going back to the marines?¡± ¡°I¡¯m not. No matter what they say, no matter what they offer me, I can¡¯t, won¡¯t and don¡¯t want to go back because the marine itself is the problem. Besides, taking care of all of you is a fulltime job that I enjoy very much so I¡¯m good.¡± ¡°We¡¯re not that bad!¡± ¡°I had to restrain Luffy twice against Aokiji.¡± ¡°Luffy doesn¡¯t count!¡± They share a goodugh about how true that was when they caught sight of something umon. ¡°Is that¡­¡±(Nami) ¡°A giant frog swimming freestyle? Seems like it¡±(Rick) He called out to the rest of the crew on the deck. ¡°Hey guys! There is something you might want to see!¡±(Rick) He pointed with his finger at the frog. The first thought that Luffy had was that it was awesome, the second was if it tasted good. He ordered everyone to take out the paddles to follow it so they could have him for barbecue. As they were getting closer, Nami and Rick saw what looked like a small ind with a lighthouse. ¡°That doesn¡¯t make sense, why is there a lighthouse in the middle of nowhere?¡±(Nami) ¡°Oh! I know where we are and what are next destination is.¡±(Rick) ¡°What is it?¡±(Nami) ¡°I¡¯m not spoiling the discovery.¡± said Rick, sending a wink her way. ¡°Guys! I don¡¯t think we can eat that frog!¡±(Rick) ¡°What? Why?!¡±(Luffy) ¡°It¡¯s heading towards a lighthouse, it must belong to someone.¡±(Rick) The small ind was divided into two parts, linked by a bridge high in the air. The frog stopped itself in the water between the two parts of the ind waiting for something. ¡®Oh shit, I forgot about the sea train!¡¯ The ex-marine pushed the Merry out of the way and took along the frog before they could be persecuted by the sea train passing through at an unbelievable speed. ¡°What was that?!¡± (Luffy) ¡°That ship was fast!¡±(Usopp) ¡°And it was blowing smoke!¡±(Chopper) ¡°THAT, was the sea train.¡±(Rick) ¡°Sea train?¡± (Sanji) Rick picked Nami up and went down on the deck from the crow¡¯s nest as he was tired of yelling. ¡°The sea train is a means of lotion, following a railroad from one ind to another. It doesn¡¯t use wind to move but steam.¡±(Rick) ¡°¡°That¡¯s awesome!¡±¡± (Luffy & Chopper) ¡°Wait, railroad? How can they be a railroad on water?¡±(Usopp) ¡°I don¡¯t know the exact workings, but the track is just below the surface of the water and sways along the movement of the sea.¡±(Rick) ¡°Granny! It¡¯s terrible! Pirates are here!¡± ¡°What?!¡± ¡°Someone is here.¡± said Zoro. He had a hand on a sword, ready to draw it. ¡°Probably the lighthouse¡¯s guard.¡±(Robin) They disembarked and went to check it out. To their surprise it was just a little girl and a very drunk old woman. ~~~~~~ The young girl, Chimney and her grandmother Kokoro lived on this small ind. The former told everything she knew about the sea train, notably that it is called the ¡®Puffing Tom¡¯ in honor of his creator. Learning that the frog, whose name was Yokojima, was trying to test his strength by stopping the train, Luffy changed his mind about eating him. Why didn¡¯t he change his mind when Rick warned him that he may be a pet? Nobody knew. Why did he wanted to eat it in the first ce? Nobody knew either but Luffy is Luffy and everyone already understood that trying to understand what goes around in his head is a waste of time as the only thing you¡¯ll get is a massive headache and nothing more. ¡°So where do you want to go? The ¡®city of the queen of spring¡¯ Sento Popura, the '' city of cuisine¡¯ Poochi or the ¡®city of carnivore¡¯ Sun Furato. They¡¯re all interesting ces¡±(Kokoro) ¡°EEEEh?! City of cuisine?¡±(Luffy) Before his thoughts go any further he was smacked in the head by Nami and Rick ¡°Don¡¯t even think about it! We have the Merry and we¡¯re not leaving it behind to take the train.¡±(Rick) ¡°And we have to follow the logue post.¡±(Nami) ¡°Oh? Where is your logue post pointing at?¡±(Kokoro) ¡°To the West.¡±(Nami) ¡°Oh. Then you¡¯re going to ¡­¡±(Kokoro) ¡°Water Seven¡± (Rick) ¡°You already knew ?¡±(Kokoro) ¡°Yes.¡±(Rick) ¡°Wait, Rick you did?¡±(Usopp) ¡°Why didn¡¯t you say anything?¡±(Sanji) Anyone could hear the not so subtil suspicion in his voice. ¡°When I saw Yokojima, I knew in what area we were but wasn¡¯t sure. Seeing the Puffing Tom made me certain. As for why I didn¡¯t say anything, I didn¡¯t want to spoil the surprise, it¡¯s a very interesting ind and currently the perfect one for us to visit.¡±(Rick) ¡°Perfect for us?¡±(Chopper) ¡°Water Seven is also called the ¡®city of water¡¯. The train you saw actually came from the blue station from there. That ce is true to its name as it¡¯s a city with the world¡¯s best ship factories!¡±(Kokoro) ¡°Many ships of the marines and the world governmente from there.¡±(Rick) ¡°Then there are good ship mechanics there?!¡±(Nami) ¡°Not just good, the best carpenter in the world.¡±(Kokoro) ¡°We may find one of them willing to join the crew.¡±(Usopp) ¡°Or at the very least repair the Merry.¡±(Rick) Kokoro went into her house and came back with two papers. ¡°Take this. It¡¯s a map of Water Seven and rmendation.¡±(Kokoro) ¡°I understand the map, but why a rmendation?¡±(Usopp) ¡°Since they are the world¡¯s best, the demand for their services is high. The waiting list is as long as the Grand Line if not more.¡±(Rick) ¡°Chimney and I n to go back to visit some old friends soon. If we meet again I¡¯ll definitely take you to a nice bar for a few drinks.¡±(Kokoro) ¡°I¡¯ll take you up on that.¡±(Zoro) The crew thanked Kokoro for her help and said their goodbyes. On the way back to the Merry Nami approached Rick ¡°Nami, if you came to me to apologize I swear I¡¯m spanking you.¡±(Rick) ¡°I¡¯m not!¡±(Nami) ¡®How did he know?!¡¯(Nami) Sanji¡¯sment didn¡¯t sit well with her. She knew that it affected Rick but wasn¡¯t showing it. She just wanted tofort him somehow but got caught in her endeavor. ¡°Uh-huh.¡±(Rick) ¡°I. AM. NOT.!¡±(Nami) ¡°What do you need then?¡±(Rick) ¡°Water Seven is a big popted ind, right?¡±(Nami) ¡°It is the biggest since we left basta, why?¡±(Rick) ¡°Well I was wondering if you still wanted to buy some clothes?¡±(Nami) ¡®Nice save girl, nice save.¡¯(Nami) Rick stopped in his tracks and looked at her. ¡°...¡±(Rick) ¡°Nami, are you¡­ asking me out? On a date?¡±(Rick) That earned him a love punch. ¡°No, I¡¯m not!¡±(Nami) ¡°You really need to learn how to take a joke¡­ But to answer your question, yes I still want to go shopping for some clothes.¡±(Rick) ¡°Good.¡±(Nami) They walked a bit further and got on the Merry. Before separating, Nami decided to satisfy her curiosity. ¡°It was a joke right? You wouldn¡¯t spank me?¡±(Nami) Rick smirked. ¡°I will enjoy it a lot more than I should.¡±(Rick) He quickly floated up towards the crow¡¯s nest before Nami could deliver another love punch. If he didn¡¯t have, he would have seen her blushing furiously. ~~~~~ It didn¡¯t take them long to reach Water Seven, and the view of the city awed everyone. ¡°It¡¯s a giant fountain!¡±(Luffy) ¡°That¡¯s not a city, it¡¯s a metropolis!¡±(Usopp) ¡°Look! It says ¡®Blue Station¡¯ over there. Isn''t that what Kokoro was talking about?¡±(Nami) ¡°Where is the dock?¡±(Sanji) ¡°There isn¡¯t, it¡¯s where people take the sea train.¡±(Rick) ¡°Where do we dock then?¡±(Chopper) The crew was called out to by a lone fisher on a small boat. ¡°Hey! You, there!¡±(Fisher) ¡°Yah?¡±(Luffy) ¡°Pirates can¡¯t go in from the front like that. Go to the back entrance!¡±(Fisher) ¡°OK!!¡± (Luffy) ¡°Thank you, sir!¡±(Chopper) They circle around the ind giving them a way better view of it. What the crew saw amazed them even more. ¡°Wow! Water Seven is so cool!¡±(Usopp) ¡°This city is the best!!¡±(Luffy) ¡°Everything is floating on water, even the houses!¡±(Chopper) ¡°That¡¯s not it, Chopper. This city is just built on a sunken ind. Look closely at the base of the buildings.¡±(Robin) ¡°Wow! Pirs!¡±(Chopper) ¡°I see... So that¡¯s why it¡¯s the city of water.¡±(Sanji) ¡°It¡¯s also because of the Aqua Laguna.¡±(Rick) ¡°The Aqua Laguna?¡±(Usopp) ¡°The Aqua Laguna is an annual high tide. It engulfs the lower parts of the city with a huge wave, flooding everything. After each Aqua Laguna the lower parts need repair, and that¡¯s mainly how so many carpenters ended on this ind. It¡¯s also the reason the ind is sinking.¡±(Rick) The crew was once more redirected to another part of the ind by a client of a cafe enjoying his tea near the water. ¡°Howe no one is afraid of us? We¡¯re pirates!¡±(Usopp) ¡°Many piratese here to repair their ship or buy a new one, it¡¯s not an umon urrence for the people of this city.¡±(Rick) ¡°That doesn¡¯t exin why they are not scared.¡±(Sanji) ¡°They¡¯re not for two reasons. One the ind of justice is not far from here, so pirates tend toy low and not start a mess. Two, in the unlikely event of it happening, because those pirates are retarded, the carpenters are no weaklings. They are perfectly capable of dealing with them.¡±(Rick) ¡°They¡¯re really deal with pirates?!¡± (Chopper) ¡°Yes, so it¡¯s better to stay on our best behaviour as long as we¡¯re here.¡±(Rick) ¡°You know a lot about this ind, you¡¯ve been here before?¡±(Usopp) ¡°No, but I had to make a few trips to Enies Lobby, that''s how I learned about it.¡±(Rick) ¡°Enies Lobby?¡±(Usopp) ¡°The Justical Ind.¡±(Robin) ¡°Wait you made a reference to it, Rick. What exactly is it? I mean with the name I get that it has something to do with justice but what?¡±(Nami) ¡°It¡¯s a ce you never want to go.¡±(Rick) ¡°What do you mean?¡±(Usopp) ¡°Every criminal arrested is judged there.¡±(Robin) ¡°It¡¯s one of the three major strongholds of the World Government. At any time there are always ten thousand soldiers there at minimum.¡± ¡°Te.. ten thousand?¡±(Usopp) ¡°It¡¯s one of the greatest symbols of power of the World Government, there is no way they would not heavily guard it.¡±(Rick) ¡°That exins why most piratesy low in Water Seven since the ind is close.¡±(Sanji) While they were talking they arrived at a rocky penins where they docked the Merry. It was decided that Zoro would guard the ship while Nami, Usopp, Luffy and Rick would take the gold and visit the man named Ice Burg that Kokoro mentioned in her letter of rmendation. Sanji would buy food as the sea king''s meat was almost gone thanks to Luffy. Chopper and Robin would tour the city to buy some books. ¡°Alright! Let¡¯s get back to the Merry for dinner!¡±(Luffy) Chapter 48: Descent to Hell Chapter 48: Descent to Hell Chapter 48: Descent to Hell Luffy, Nami, Usopp and ¡­. *sigh* Really Author? (Author¡¯s note: What?) You¡¯re not going to answer why you named chapter 47 ¡®Formate (Times Two)¡¯? (Author¡¯s note: Should I ?!) YES!!! (Author¡¯s note: Well, formate is the conjugate base of formic acid. Its form is CHO2...) Yes, so? (Author¡¯s note: so in full it¡¯s CHOO¡­) OH¡­ (Author¡¯s note: And since it¡¯s times two, it¡¯s CHOO CHOO... ) MY... (Author¡¯s note: For the Puffing Tom, get it?) GOD! (Author¡¯s note: Yes?) THAT¡¯S SO LAME! (Author¡¯s note: I know, that¡¯s why I picked it.) I¡­ I¡­ don¡¯t know what to say anymore. (Author¡¯s note: The rest of the story?) ¡­ That¡¯s actually the first good idea you had in a long time. Luffy, Nami, Usopp and Rick had made their way to a shop exchanging gold for berry. They had to visit a few more as the quantity they had was too much for a single shop. The result? One billion berry. That was definitely no small change. To think that not so long ago they had only 50 thousand to their name. That¡¯s being a pirate for you. They went on their way towards the shippany Kokora gave them the rmendation to but Rick stopped everyone when they passed in front of a clothing shop. ¡°Guys, do you mind if I stop for clothes?¡±(Rick) ¡°Why do you need clothes?¡±(Luffy) ¡°Because I¡¯ve been wearing the same clothes for the past ten years and they are more than worn out¡±(Rick) His clothes were ragged, they had holes of every size almost everywhere. Thanks to the coat/jacket he wore they were concealed but if anyone bothered to take a close look¡­ ¡°The ones I¡¯m wearing now are not even the worst.¡±(Rick) ¡°You look like a beggar.¡±(Luffy) ¡°I know, thank you! That¡¯s why I want to stop so I can buy something.¡±(Rick) ¡°If you couldn¡¯t wait for me to take you there why didn¡¯t you go shopping with Chopper and Ro¡­¡±(Nami) She cut her sentence short, realising exactly why he didn¡¯t. Right now Robin was avoiding Rick like the gue and it soured his mood a lot. Before Usopp could pick up on it Rick, fortunately, reacted without missing a beat. ¡°Because despite how strong Luffy is, he would not have been able to drag the pir alone.¡±(Rick) ¡°That makes sense.¡±(Usopp) ¡°You can go ahead, I won¡¯t be long.¡±(Rick) Nami gave him an apologetic look, some cash and left with Usopp and Luffy but not before her Vice-captain whispered in her ear ¡°Sorry but I couldn¡¯t wait, I can''t stand the fabric anymore, it itches. A lot.¡±(Rick) ¡°It¡¯s fine. Next Time?¡±(Nami) ¡°Next time.¡± (Rick) The ex-marine entered the shop and immediately started looking for what he wanted. ¡®If I want the n for dealing with the Enies Lobby arc to work I need to find those clothes.¡¯ Not finding what he wanted he asked the clerk for help. The employee seeing Rick¡¯s appearance wasn¡¯t really helpful until he was shown berry bills. The shop had exactly what Rick wanted, there were many items for the same thing and he took his time to choose, by the time he did it he was more thante. He rushed towards Dock #1 when he saw Paulie on a yagara bull. ¡®So I¡¯m not toote.¡¯ He made the two suitcases containing the crew¡¯s money float and attracted them to him. Since in the manga Paulie didn¡¯t get very far from the crew before being caught by Rob Li it meant that he was really close to them. Indeed by looking down on his right he saw Nami, Luffy and Usopp. ¡°Hey Guys!¡±(Rick) ¡°Rick!¡±(Luffy) ¡°Rick! Catch that guy!¡±(Usopp!) ¡°He stole our money!¡±(Nami) ¡°You mean this money?¡±(Rick) He raised his arms with a suitcase in each hand. He floated down from the bridge he was standing to his crewmates. Nami was so happy with him she tackled him to the ground. ¡°Thank you! You¡¯re the best.¡± (Nami) ¡°I aim to please!¡± (Rick) He raised both of them up with his gravity and Nami let him go. ¡°Did you met the person Kokoro send us to?¡±(Rick) ¡°Yes, it¡¯s that guy over there.¡± Nami signaled Iceburg with her head. At the same time, Paulie has been brought back by Rob Li and was berating him. To be more precise it was Li¡¯s pigeon Hattori doing the talking. ¡®His ventriloquism is really exceptional. Can¡¯t wait for Luffy to beat his ass down.¡¯ ¡°Wait a minute, the guy that stole our money is ship maker?¡±(Rick) Ice Burg heard Rick and decided quickly to diffuse the situation. ¡°My apologies for my employee¡¯s wrongdoing. That¡¯s not quite exactly what happened however¡± ¡°It¡¯s true, Rick. Some guys stole the money first and he justnded on the yagara bull they were using and dealt with them. He did try to flee with it afterwards though¡±(Nami) ¡°Once again my apologies, you had to take care of a domestic problem.Wepletely lost face.¡±(Ice Burg) ¡°Well the pigeon guy did bring him back, Rick was just lucky to get the money faster, so no big deal.¡±(Luffy) ¡°Thank you.¡±(Ice Burg) The crewmates were led into Dock#1 where a lot of people were busy building a huge galleon. Many stopped at the sight of Ice Burg to salute and wee him. ¡°Wow, Mister Ice Burg is really popr around here.¡±(Luffy) Kalifa, Ice Burg¡¯s secretary, officially, exined to him why. ¡°Of course! In this town, skill is everything. Long ago this ind has been specialized in carpentry. There were 7peting shipyards at the time. The one day Mister Ice Burg came and amazed everyone with his genius carpentry techniques. Then five years ago he united all shipyards into onepany, the Galley. He did so much for the ind than people naturally gave him the job of Mayor. Despite his new duties he never lost his love for carpentry nor his skills. The workers respect him even more for it. This is no small feat as the only thing carpenters respect is skill. They won¡¯t bow to any pirates or political powers.¡±(Kalifa) Kalifa, who had her eyes fixed on her boss, turned around to the group with a smile. Expecting to see Luffy, she went into a rage when she heard him asking Ice Burg if he wanted to be a pirate and join his crew. At that moment, Rick noticed the arrival of someone from the air. His long nose made him think of Usopp, but where the sniper¡¯s nose was round this man¡¯s was rectangr. ¡®Kalifa, Rob Li, and now Kaku. Three members of the CP9... Which one of them should I bait / threaten?¡¯ was thinking Rick. After consideration he chose none of them. They were all working close to Ice Burg, the approach would have been too direct. ¡®Yeah, Blueno is the one I should contact. From what I recall he¡¯s a bartender, he should be too hard to find.¡¯ Blueno was never seen in his undercover persona in the manga. The only information given was that he owned a bar where the the chief carpenters of Dock#1, that include Li and Kaku, go for a drink after work. Thankfully they were all right in front of him. He was brought back from his thoughts by a nudge on his side. ¡°Rick?¡±(Nami) ¡°Yes?¡±(Rick) ¡°That guy who justnded, is the guy that went to check on the Merry, is ready to report to us.¡±(Nami) ¡°Let¡¯s go then¡±(Rick. As expected, Kaku exined tha Merry was doomed, her Keel was damaged and nothing could be done about it. No matter what the skilled carpenters said Luffy refused to acknowledge it and threw a tantrum. Nami and Rick let him vent, they understood his feelings, they felt the same about the sad news. It came to the point where Ice Burg berated Luffy and basically told him that he was a shitty captain in a well mannered way. Rick put his hand on his captain and lowered it. ¡°My apologies for my captain''s words. His head is empty, that¡¯s why he thinks and speaks with his heart.Right now he¡¯s just speaking with his pain and grief.¡± (Rick) ¡°Rick, what are you talking about! There is no way the Merry¡­¡±(Luffy) ¡°Luffy! We knew, the moment Usopp and I saw the bautermann, that Merry was perhaps beyond help.¡±(Rick) ¡°Wait! You saw a bautermann?¡± (Ice Burg) ¡°Yes.¡±(Rick) ¡°Then all the reason more for you to give up on it.¡±(Paulie) ¡°She.¡±(Rick) ¡°What?¡±(Paulie) ¡°Not it, she. The merry is not just our ship, it¡¯s our home, our crewmate. That¡¯s why it¡¯s so difficult to ept the fact that we have to say goodbye to her.¡±(Rick) ¡°Then send her off well.¡±(Ice Burg) ¡°We will.¡±(Rick) ¡°Rick we¡¯re not going to¡­¡±(Luffy) ¡°I think it is enough for today. Take some time and think about it. With the amount of money you have you can easily afford the best ships we can make. Kalifa, would you be so kind to¡­¡± (Ice Burg) ¡°Yes, sir.¡±(Kalifa) Kalifa approached Rick and gave him a really thick catalogue listing everything from second hand to the newest products the Galley makes. The ex-marine thanked her and started to read it. Knowing that in the end they won¡¯t have any of those he didn¡¯t need too but did because soon some official governments would be here to talk to Ice Burg, prompting Nami and Luffy to hide and discover that the money was gone as well as Usopp. It was the perfect time to ask the chief carpenters about the bar. ¡°Excuse me, miss?¡±(Rick) ¡°Yes?¡±(Kalifa) ¡°Are you familiar with every ship in the catalogue?¡±(Rick) ¡°Of course! I helped in this making so I can answer any question you have.¡±(Kalifa) ¡°Oh my, dutiful, beautiful and knowledgeable, if you were single I might fall in love.¡± joked Rick. ¡°That¡¯s sexual harassment, sir!¡±(Kalifa) ¡°You¡¯re right, my apologies. I really do have some questions though. Should we step aside to talk so we don¡¯t bother anyone working?¡±(Rick) ¡°It is thoughtful of you, sir. Please follow me. And by the way, sir, I¡¯m married to my job.¡±(Kalifa) ¡°Oh,I understand. Perfectly I might add.¡±(Rick) ¡°My apologies sir, but I doubt that.¡±(Kalifa) ¡°I may be a pirate because of circonstances but it is not my job. I don¡¯t steal, or murder or anything condemnable. I am just taking care of people¡¯s needs and wants. Have been doing so for as far as I can remember. It¡¯s a hard and stressful job, especially with an idiot captain like mine. And even though it¡¯s not always rewarding when it is¡­ well I¡¯m sure you know.¡±(Rick) ¡°... I guess you do understand, sir. My apologies for doubting you.(Kalifa) ¡°It¡¯s alright, miss.¡± (Rick) ¡®I hope she got the hint/bait I gave her.¡¯ The hint/bait he gave her was subtle. Rick assured her that he was not doing anything illegal and that he was working for some people who had needs and wants. The underlying meaning was ¡°I¡¯m working for some people that want some things done and have been doing so all my life.¡±, added to that the fact that he was in the marines since he was kid ( ¡®As far as I can remember¡¯), Rick basically told her he was an undercover agent for the World Government. Since he was well known and Kalifa was a member of CP9, the chances were high she would understand. While they talk about the different ships presented in the catalogue, Ice Burg, received the government officials. As expected, Nami and Luffy hid, and found out the money and Usopp were missing, prompting the captain to begin a search for them. It was time for Rick to make his move. His best bet was to find Blueno but in all honesty, he would rather spend some time with the beautiful Kalifa than a middle-age man to further his n. ¡°Miss, would you like to rx andpare our experiences about our work as caretaker? Perhaps over dinner?¡±(Rick) ¡°I¡¯m sorry sir, I don¡¯t have any time for rxing, there is just too much work¡±(Kalifa) ¡°Rick! We have a problem!¡± yelled Nami, thirty feet away. ¡°That¡¯s a shame but I understand. Thank you for your help.¡±(Rick) ¡°You¡¯re wee, sir.¡±(Kalifa) She left Rick to join Ice Burg who was back to his office entertaining the government officials. ¡®Well¡­. n B it is.¡¯ He approached Nami who was panicked. ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡±(Rick) ¡°Usopp got kidnapped with a huge part of the money! Luffy went to search for him, we need to go.¡±(Nami) Rick close his eyes, inhaled longly and let out a very long sigh. He turned towards Paulie, Li and Kaku. ¡°Wouldn¡¯t you know of a bar where I can have a more than decent drink and a rxing time?¡±(Rick) ¡°Rick, it¡¯s not the time for that!¡±(Nami) ¡°I¡¯m making the time.¡±(Rick) ¡°There is the ¡®Bull Seat¡¯ in the upper part of the city between Dock#1 and #2. It has a sign of a bull¡¯s head with its horn. It¡¯s rather big, so you can¡¯t miss it. We go there to unwind when we have time after work.¡±(Paulie) ¡°Thank you.¡±(Rick) ¡°Are you done now ?! Can we go?¡±(Nami) ¡°Yes, yes.¡±(Rick) Hepicked her up just like he did Robin at Skypiea and ignored her protest as he raised up very high in the air to get get a bird view of the city. Upset at his careless attitude Nami let him know. ¡°What¡¯s wrong with you?! The money and Usopp are gone and you¡¯re just taking your sweet time? For a drink? You don¡¯t even drink! Why do you need one?¡±(Nami) ¡°Well for starters, after all the shit that¡¯s been going on since we¡¯ve met Aokiji, I¡¯m a bit worn out. So I don¡¯t see what¡¯s wrong with me wanting some alone and peaceful time so I can enjoy a well deserved, earned and needed drink.¡±(Rick) ¡°...¡± ¡°Second. Luffy is already after those bad guys. From what I overheard when you called me, Usopp has been missing for more than half an hour, if something had to happen it already has and we can¡¯t do anything about it.¡±(Rick) ¡°Don¡¯t say that!¡±(Nami) ¡°I don¡¯t like it either but it¡¯s the cold hard truth. Now quiet, I¡¯m searching.¡±(Rick) He looked down on the City, trying to find a crowd forming, which would indicate something going on. After all, people tend to gather when something unusual happens. When he found what he was looking for he flew fast to the location, making Nami scream and hold him tight. They found Usopp badly beaten up but conscious, he was apologizing for getting the money stolen. ¡°Usopp, it¡¯s just money. Ites and goes; you didn¡¯t need to go that far for it.¡±(Rick) ¡°I had to! We can¡¯t fix the Merry anymore now.¡±(Usopp) Rick sighed. ¡°Let¡¯s get back to the ship, Chopper would treat your wounds.¡±(Rick) ¡°No! Just... leave me alone for a while.¡±(Usopp) ¡°Usopp¡­¡±(Nami) ¡°Alright. I¡¯m giving you the time for me to drop off Nami to the Merry and get back with Chopper. See you soon.¡±(Rick) ¡°What? Rick, we can¡¯t...¡±(Nami) He didn¡¯t let her finish before taking the skies again and heading towards the penins where the ship was docked. He knew what was about to happen and didn¡¯t like it but it needed to happen so Rick didn¡¯t do anything. ¡®If I go wreck the Franky house now, Franky would never be able to buy Adam¡¯s wood. That would be really bad.¡¯ ¡°Why did you leave Usop ?!¡±(Nami) ¡°Because that¡¯s what he needed right now.¡±(Rick) ¡°What he needs is to be treated by Chopper.¡±(Nami) ¡°It¡¯s a man thing Nami. His pride was hurt, because he couldn¡¯t protect the money, and he felt guilty for it. He needed time to process his feelings first.¡±(Rick) ¡°You men and your ego¡­¡±(Nami) ¡°Don¡¯t say that. A man¡¯s pride is what pushes him to do the impossible.¡±(Rick) ¡°The impossibly stupid you mean.¡±(Nami) ¡°Sometimes.¡±(Rick) Theynded on the deck and the Vice-captain put her down. ¡°We¡¯ve got a problem.¡±(Rick) ¡°We¡¯ve got one too.¡±(Sanji) ¡°Usopp has been kidnapped, beaten up badly and the money he was keeping was stolen, by some weird guys.¡±(Nami) ¡°What?¡±(Zoro) ¡°Chopper, I''m taking you to him, he needs medical assistance.¡±(Rick) "Give a second to take my bag and supplies¡±(Chopper) "Where is Luffy?"( Zoro) "I don¡¯t know, when we realised Usopp was gone we heard one of the workers tell one of his colleagues that looked like Usopp, why he was hanging with the Franky family. We asked where they went and Luffy rushed to the direction he pointed at.¡± ¡°How could you lose Usopp?¡±(Zoro) ¡°We didn¡¯t lose Usopp. The guy Kokoro sent us to is the big boss here and he gave us a tour of the Dock. It was huge and everyone separated more or less to look around¡±(Rick) Chopper came back from inside the ship with his back full. ¡°Rick, I¡¯m ready!¡±(Chopper) ¡°Let¡¯s go then. See youter guys.¡±(Rick) He picked up Chopper and flew to the ce they left Usopp. Sanji and Zoro exchanged a look. They didn¡¯t tell Nami about Robin¡¯s disappearance yet. That and Usopp¡¯s situation, it was too much at the same time. Especially since Usopp was suspicious of Rick like the two of them were. ¡°Nami, start from the beginning. From the moment you left the Merry¡±(Sanji) She didn¡¯t get why they wanted to know but she did. It wasn¡¯t until Sanji spoke up that she understood. ¡°So while You, Luffy and Usopp went to meet that Iceberg¡­¡±(Sanji) ¡°Ice Burg¡±(Nami) ¡°Rick was alone?¡±(Zoro) ¡°Seriously? That¡¯s the first thing thates to your mind? That Rick is somehow responsible?¡±(Nami) ¡°¡°Yes¡±¡±(Zoro & Sanji) ¡°I can¡¯t believe it! For your information, the clothes he bought are in that bag over there. When we were touring he was right next to me, when he wasn¡¯t he was asking question about ships in the catalogue we were given to Ice Burg secretary. I had to call out to him that we had a problem!¡± (Nami) ¡°He could have bought the clothes really fast and hired some people to take care of Usopp and the money.¡±(Sanji) ¡°I don¡¯t believe he did and we can always ask the store¡¯s clerk for verification! Stop being suspicious of him, he doesn¡¯t deserve it!¡±(Nami) ¡°Between Usopp, the money and Robin, that¡¯s¡­¡±(Zoro) ¡°Wait, Robin? What about her?¡±(Nami) ¡°Nami, Robin disappeared.¡±(Sanji) ¡°What?¡±(Nami) ¡°I was shopping for groceries and she was with Chopper. He said that she was right behind him and the next moment she wasn¡¯t anywhere.¡±(Sanji) ¡°He didn¡¯t find her.¡±(Nami) ¡°No, he searched around for a while and when I got back to him I helped searching but we didn¡¯t find her.¡±(Sanji) ¡°Ok, so you lost Robin¡­¡±(Nami) ¡°We didn¡¯t¡­¡±(Sanji) ¡°YOU LOST ROBIN! What does Rick have to do with it? And if you say it¡¯s because he¡¯s a former marine I¡¯m kicking you in the balls.¡±(Nami) ¡°...¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°There are plenty of reasons as to why Robin is gone. Don¡¯t just focus of the one you want the most for whatever stupid idea you have. I¡¯m telling you you¡¯re being really unreasonable right now¡­ Being sure Rick did something when it physically impossible for him to have done so. Now I¡¯m guarding the 300 million we have left while the two of you go help Luffy find our missing money and kick the asses of the guys who hurt Usopp.¡±(Nami) Chapter 49: Kicking names and taking asses Chapter 49: Kicking names and taking asses Chapter 49: Kicking names and taking asses ¡°Where is Usopp?¡± asked Chopper. ¡°Nami and I left him here but I guess he had other ns.¡±(Rick) The Vice-captain was pointing at the trail of blood starting from where he had left Usopp to the lower parts of Water Seven. ¡°Where do you think he went?¡±(Chopper) ¡°Probably get the money back.¡±(Rick) ¡°In the state he is in? Is he mad?¡±(Chopper) ¡°Considering that I told him the money didn¡¯t matter and that he still went, I¡¯d say yes.¡±(Rick) ¡°What do you mean the money doesn¡¯t matter? How can we fix the Merry without it?¡±(Chopper) ¡°We got 1 Billion for the gold. We still have 300 Million, we can still easily afford the best ship with it.¡±(Rick) ¡°Really?!¡±(Chopper) ¡°Yes.¡±(Rick) ¡°Wait! Why buy a new ship? I thought we were fixing Merry.¡±(Chopper) ¡°The carpenters said Merry is beyond repair. Luffy hasn¡¯t made his decision about it yet.¡± (Rick) ¡°I¡­ don¡¯t want to leave Merry behind.¡±(Chopper) ¡°Me too, but she had already done more than we could have asked for. I think, if she¡¯s really at her end¡­ I think it¡¯s best if we send her off properly instead of using her like an old mule. I think it would be disrespectful to selfishly force her to sail again, and dangerous, we could sink with her. Does that make sense?¡±(Rick) ¡°Yes. Doctors are sometimes confronted with something simr. The patient is beyond help, yet we can dy the end for a bit. In some cases it¡¯s just more pain and suffering for the patient.¡±(Chopper) ¡°Did you ever¡­ ?¡±(Rick) ¡°Thankfully, no. I still don¡¯t want a new ship.¡±(Chopper) ¡°Luffy hasn¡¯t made any decision yet.¡±(Rick) Following the blood trail, they encounter Sanji and Zoro. ¡°Guys? Weren¡¯t you supposed to go to Ussop?¡±(Sanji) ¡°He was gone when we arrived.¡±(Chopper) ¡°Gone?¡±(Zoro) ¡°We¡¯re following him¡± said Rick pointing once again at the blood on the ground. ¡°This is Usopp¡¯s blood? God they really did a number on him.¡±(Sanji) ¡°Yeah, the sight is not pretty, I¡¯m amazed he had the strength to even stand up.¡±(Rick) They heard a scream from a familiar voiceing from the sky. Looking up they saw Luffy falling, fast. He collided with a wall and bounced back onto the ground before bouncing once again into the canal. ¡°...¡±(Rick) ¡°...¡±(Zoro) ¡°...¡±(Sanji) ¡°...¡±(Chopper) ¡°¡°¡°¡°I don¡¯t even want to know.¡±¡±¡± (Everyone) As Luffy was drowning, Rick made him float and brought him back onnd. ¡°Hey guys! Some people kidnapped Usopp and stole our money!¡±(Luffy) ¡°¡°¡°¡°We know¡±¡±¡± ¡°Ah? Really?¡±( Luffy) They exined to Luffy what happened while he was on his own and resulting in the captain being very upset. ¡°Let¡¯s go find those guys!¡±(Luffy) They arrived on a penins not unlike the one they docked the Merry. A huge edifice was there, near the sea, with ¡®FRANKY HOUSE¡¯ written in bright letters above the door. But that wasn¡¯t the only thing they found. Usoppid there on the ground unconscious, his state worse than before. So much that they wondered if he was still alive. Chopper quickly administered first aid when Rick raised his hand, to blow the Franky house away, with everyone inside. ¡°Rick, wait.¡±(Luffy) The ex-marine looked back at his captain with a questioning face. ¡°It¡¯s going too easy on them if you blow everything away. Zoro, Sanji, Chopper and I will take care of them. Bring back Usopp to the ship.¡±(Luffy) Rick nodded and lowered his hand. As soon as Chopper was done, he made Usopp float and before departing said a few words. ¡°Give them a good one for Usopp. And for Nami, Robin and I.¡±(Rick) ¡°Sure.¡±(Zoro) He went back to the Merry and met Nami there. ¡°Oh my god, Usopp!¡±(Nami) ¡°He¡¯s going to be fine. He does need a lot of rest though.¡±(Rick) He put inside the only bed the Merry had and asked Nami to watch over him, before exiting the cabin. ¡°Wait! Where are you going?¡±(Nami) ¡°Have that drink.¡±(Rick) ¡°Really?! Right now?¡± ¡°I can¡¯t do anything for Usopp and Luffy doesn''t want me to participate in the beating of the frankies so yeah right now.¡± ¡°You could search for Robin.¡± ¡°Search for Robin?¡± ¡°She disappeared earlier in the day.¡± ¡°Great, just great! *sigh* Guess I¡¯ll search for Robin then. See youter.¡± He raised in the air and flew towards the Bull Seat. ¡®Actually, it may be a good idea to search for her. It¡¯s never shown where she stayed during her disappearance.... Nah, it would mess up the n.¡¯ He found the Bull seat pretty quickly andnded on the ground. Entering the bar he was d to see that very few people were there. That made things easier. He approached the bar and sat on a stool. A tall and muscr man with his hair shaped like horns got close and asked what he wanted to drink. ¡°Surprise me, I have a preference for something strong and also smooth, for rxing.¡± The barman turned around and picked different bottles. He mixed the alcohol, added ice in the ss and served his customer. ¡°This is a Cobra Kai. It originates from¡­¡±(Blueno) ¡°I know where ites from, I created the drink, thank you.¡±(Rick) ¡°No offence sir, but I doubt that.¡± ¡°You can ask Aokiji, he was with me in basta at the time. Made the Vivid Dream too.¡± said Rick before emptying the ss in one go. ¡°Now, I¡¯m here because your blonde colleague didn¡¯t seem to get the hint.¡±(Rick) ¡°Blonde Colleague?¡±(Blueno) ¡°Interfere, directly or indirectly with my mission and the consequences would be dire for all of you CP9.¡±(Rick) Blueno¡¯s face stayed impassable except a little twitch of his eyebrows. Rick got up and left but not before saying a fexst words. ¡°You¡¯ve been advised, follow it.¡± ~~~~~ Rick went back to the Merry as the sun was setting. The crew was just missing Robin . ¡°No luck finding Robin?¡±(Nami) ¡°None, as if she was gone into thin air.¡±(Rick) ¡®Well, with Blueno¡¯s power that is more or less what happened.¡¯ ¡°How is Usopp?¡±(Rick) ¡°I¡¯M SORRY EVERYONE! I LOST OU MONEY!¡± ¡°Awake apparently.¡±(Nami) They both entered the ship to see Usopp grabbing Zoro by the leg yelling apologies. ¡°It¡¯s fine Usopp, we kicked their asses and destroyed their house.¡±(Luffy) ¡°What about the money?¡±(Usopp) ¡°Gone with their boss, Franky.¡±(Zoro) ¡°So in the end we still don¡¯t have it.¡±(Usopp) ¡°No but we still got 300 Million.¡±(Luffy) ¡°It¡¯s possible to fix the Merry then? Maybe make it stronger?¡¯(Usopp) ¡°Nope.¡±(Luffy) ¡°You made up your mind about it?¡±(Rick) ¡°Yep¡±(Luffy) ¡°What do you mean nope? Made up your mind about what?¡±(Usopp) ¡°I¡¯ve decided to change ships! Going Merry helped us a lot, but its sailing days will end right here.¡± This announcement from his Captain left Usopp confused and speechless. Luffy picked up the catalogue on the table behind him. ¡°Let¡¯s talk about which ship to buy. With 300 million we can buy any ship in the catalogue that is bigger than ours.¡±(Luffy) ¡°Hold on! Stop joking for a minute because that¡¯s not funny. Is Merry¡¯s repair so costly than 300 Million is not enough? Because I lost the money we don¡¯t have enough?Is it because it¡¯s a world ss shipyard and has world ss prices?¡±(Usopp) ¡°No, no, that¡¯s not it!¡±(Luffy) ¡°Usopp I told you the money didn¡¯t matter.¡±(Rick) ¡°Then what is it?! Tell me! Don¡¯t worry about hurting my feelings! Come On! If it isn¡¯t about the money, why do you want to change ships?!¡±(Usopp) ¡°Merry can¡¯t be fixed!¡±(Rick) He intervened. It was not nned, he just did it by reflex. He didn¡¯t want to see Luffy and Usopp fight. ¡°Rick is telling the truth, no matter how much money we have, we can¡¯t fix it no matter what.¡±(Luffy) ¡°But this ship, it took us all the way here didn¡¯t it?¡±(Usopp) ¡°Yeah, but it¡¯s only a matter of time before it sinks.¡±(Luffy) ¡°...¡± (Usopp) ¡°What are you talking about, Luffy?(Usopp) ¡°The ship mechanic guy said that no matter what, Going Merry won¡¯t reach the next ind no matter what. That it was a miracle it brought us here in the first ce.¡±(Luffy) ¡°So some guy you don¡¯t know said he can¡¯t get to the next ind ? Do you listen and trust every stranger youe across? Just because a few carpenters say it can¡¯t be saved, It¡¯s going to die?! Bullshit! Be it giant waves or deadly sea battle, the ship is a friend that came through it all with us! And now you want to leave it to die?! Was it just a tool to you?!¡±(Usopp) ¡°Usopp, no one here ever thought of her as a tool. That¡¯s why Luffy decided to properly send her away and to change ship.¡±(Rick) ¡°What do YOU know ?! Are you a carpenter?¡±(Usopp) ¡°You¡¯re not a carpenter either, Usopp!¡±(Luffy) ¡°I fixed it! I¡¯ve always fixed it, and I will do it again. I just need to by some woods and nails from the shipyard, time to get busy.¡±(Usopp) ¡°Usopp, she CAN¡¯T be fixed. And even if she could Luffy has decided to change ships so we changing ships.¡±(Rick) ¡°It was you, wasn¡¯t it?!¡±(Usopp) ¡°It was me what?¡±(Rick) ¡°You did it! You put the idea of changing ships in Luffy¡¯s head! Already back in Skypiea you were talking about it. What You didn¡¯t like Merry? Too small for you because you prefer Marines¡¯ ships¡¯ size? Or was it the order you got from Aokiji?! Strand us here for long enough so we could get arrested?! It was you that hired those guys to steal the money I bet! You know the area well after all! And that¡¯s why money doesn¡¯t matter to you! You got it stashed somewhere!¡±(Usopp) ¡°¡°Usopp!¡±¡± (Nami & Luffy) ¡®Okay, that one I didn¡¯t seeing.¡¯ ¡°What! It¡¯s true! He¡¯s a traitor! He may have joined us honestly but he betrayed us when Aokiji offered him to clean his te! He loathes pirates after all, he settled for us because he didn¡¯t have any other choice! We should have kicked him out of the crew back then! Because now you wants a new ship just as he suggested, and you know what? I¡¯ll never give up this ship!!! You¡¯re all idiots to listen to this marine dog and crooks passing themselves as carpenters! The straw-hats I know, would never give in to a marketing scheme or be swayed by their enemy! They would believe ine the Going Merry¡¯s strength and fortitude! So don¡¯t say ¡®I¡¯ve decided¡¯ like you¡¯re a real captain. I¡¯v misjudged you Luffy!¡± (Usopp) ¡°If you don¡¯t like your captain¡¯s decision and leadership you¡¯re free to go, Usopp.¡±(Rick) ¡°¡°Rick!¡±¡±(Nami & Sanji) ¡°It¡¯s you who should be leaving this crew! You don¡¯t belong here!¡±(Usopp) ¡°Usopp!¡±(Nami) ¡°I¡¯ve made my decision and I won¡¯t change it Usopp! We¡¯re changing ships and we¡¯re going to say goodbye to Merry right here!¡±(Luffy) Luffy and Ussop continued to argue. By yelling at each other. In the end the argument became physical. Luffy easily pinned Usopp to the ground. ¡°Fine! If you don¡¯t like my decision, just like Rick said you¡¯re free to go!¡±(Luffy) Having heard that, Sanji kicked Luffy away, hoping he could snap out of it. ¡°What are you thinking Luffy! Calm down and watch what you say!¡±(Sanji) ¡°Sorry, I didn¡¯t mean to¡­¡±(Luffy) ¡°No, that¡¯s fine Luffy! Keep being Rick¡¯s puppet. I don¡¯t care. I don¡¯t want to be part of it.¡±(Ussop) ¡°What did you say?!¡±(Luffy) ¡°Leaving behind the crewmates that are useless to you one by one! That¡¯s not like you! But hey! If that¡¯s what you want; sorry if that¡¯s what Rick wants, then I¡¯ve no problem being left behind with the merry too.¡±(Usopp) ¡°Usopp, you can¡¯t mean that!¡±(Chopper) ¡°I. am. I refuse to stay one moment longer in this crew as long as Rick is in it. So I quit. But since the ship belongs to the captain, I¡¯m challenging you Luffy! If I win, the Going Merry is mine!¡±(Usopp) ~~~~~ Luffy was in his hammock being berated by Nami. She ordered him to apologize to Usopp and stop all his nonsense which Luffy refused to do. Not going through, she exited the sleeping carter and saw Zoro and Sanji verbally fight together trying to put the me on the other for the current situation. Rick was watching and couldn¡¯t stand it anymore. ¡°ENOUGH! What you¡¯re doing is useless, it won¡¯t bring Robin and Usopp back!¡±(Rick) ¡°Good wordsing for the guy who made Usopp leave in the first ce!¡±(Sanji) ¡°Usopp defied Luffy¡¯s order. His captain¡¯s order. No sailor, either marine or pirate, should be allowed to do that and stay in the crew. It causes dissension ! You two fighting is proof enough.¡±(Rick) ¡°Rick is right, there¡¯s no point in you two arguing. I don¡¯t agree with telling Usopp to leave though!¡±(Nami) ¡°I do.¡±(Zoro) ¡°¡°What?¡±¡± (Nami & Sanji) ¡°Who are we following? Luffy or Usopp?¡±(Zoro) ¡°¡°Luffy.¡±¡± ¡°Exactly. Because he¡¯s our leader. If we start doing our own things despite Luffy, we won¡¯t go anywhere. Hell, what''s even the point of being together in that case? We can¡¯t have our captain¡¯s leadership defied.¡±(Zoro) That quieted them up. At that moment Chopper came back looking down. ¡®Chopper, didn¡¯t you run after Usopp?¡±(Zoro) ¡°I wanted to finish treating him but he forced me back¡­ He said.. He said that we were not friends anymore. That our friendship was over and to go back to the ship.¡± said Chopper in tears. ¡°Everyone was so happy just this morning and we still don¡¯t know Robin¡¯s whereabouts. It feels like the whole group is falling apart....¡±(Nami) Rick sat next to Nami, made Chopper float andnd on his knees and started scratching his back. ¡°It¡¯s gonna be fine. Usopp is letting his misced and hurt pride and his love for Merry talk. Thetter pushed him into denial about Merry¡¯s situation and the former challenged Luffy. Once he epts that Merry can¡¯t go any further, he¡¯ll just have to apologize for what he did to Luffy toe back. As for Robin¡­ She¡¯s been on the run for 20 years, she knows how to take care of herself. She¡¯ll be back to us one way or another. The situation may be shity now, and maybe it will get worse but it will change for the better soon.¡±(Rick) ¡°¡°Really?¡±¡±(Nami & Chopper) Rick nodded and patted Nami¡¯s head. He put Chopper down and went to talk to Luffy. ¡°Hey.¡±(Rick) ¡°...¡±(Luffy) ¡°Do you believe what Usopp said? That I¡¯m still working for the marine and that I manipte you?¡±(Rick) ¡°...¡±(Luffy) ¡°...¡±(Rick) ¡°If my presence is not wanted in the crew, I have no problem leaving you know. That way Usopp would be back.¡±(Rick) ¡°No! Usopp made his choice and what he said was bullshit. You¡¯re always taking care of everyone, there¡¯s no way you¡¯re working with the marines. If he can¡¯t trust you then that¡¯s one more reason for him to leave.¡±(Luffy) ¡°...¡±(Rick) ¡°...¡°(Luffy) Rick started to leave when Luffy asked him something he never thought he would hear from him. ¡°Rick¡­ Am I a good captain?¡±(Luffy) ¡°If you weren¡¯t I wouldn¡¯t have joined you in the first ce. You still have a lot to learn though, but you¡¯re getting there like you did today with Ice Burg and Usopp¡±(Rick) ¡°Usopp?¡± ¡°As I was saying to the rest of the crew, a captain leads. His orders are absolute. His crew entrusts their life to him. They won¡¯t do it if his resolve is weak. To be honest if you had let Usopp¡¯s actions go unpunished, I would have been the one to leave. Same thing if you haven¡¯t decided to change ships.¡± ¡°Really?!¡± ¡°Yes, You would have shown me that you don¡¯t have what it takes to be a captain, that you¡¯re not ready to shoulder the responsibilities of the position.¡± ¡°What it takes to be a captain?¡± ¡°The ability to make hard decisions.¡± ¡°Leading is not easy Luffy, and hard decisionse often. Good leaders make them even if they don¡¯t like them.¡± ¡°... When you were in the marines did you have to¡­¡± ¡°Yes, plenty of times.¡± ¡°Are there any you regret making?¡± ¡°...¡±(Rick) ¡°...¡±(Luffy) ¡°Rick?¡±(Luffy) ¡°My first official mission in the marines¡­ I was around six, maybe seven years old, I had to save a princess and her maids captured by a pirate crew hiding on a deserted ind. Time was of the essence, and honestly I was really excited too, it was my first mission after all, so I went ahead of the group I was with. I quickly reached their hide out and knocked out the two guards at the entrance without alerting anyone. I infiltrated the ce, most of them were in a hall ying cards and drinking around a table. At the time, my gravity¡¯s range wasn¡¯t so wide, so I had to get closer without them seeing. Unfortunately from my starting point I didn¡¯t see a door which one of the pirates came from when I started my assault. I knocked him out, but that dy alerted his friends and when I turned around one of them was already shing his word at me. He cut deep, really deep and by reflex I used the full power of my gravity on him. What was left of him after hitting the wall was just a mass of flesh. The wound was really bad, I was losing a lot of blood and I made the decision to not hold back because if I didn¡¯t take care of them they may have killed the hostages, before the rest of my group came. So I took their lives too. I found the princess¡¯ maids being abused by two pirates and did the same to them. I couldn¡¯t breathe properly and my vision was starting to blur. When I found the princess, she was chained to a wall and being whipped by their captain. I knew I only had a few seconds left before losing my consciousness and dying. So I split him in half and used myst ounce of strength to free the princess and tell her that my friends wereing to rescue her. I took the lives of 10 people that day and more than twenty yearster I still have nightmares about it. Yet, I don¡¯t regret it. Do you know why?¡± Luffy just shaked his head sideways. It was the first time Rick talked about his time in the marines like that. Sure he talked about the good times, but never went into details. The bad times? He never even indicated that he had one beside his leaving the marines. ¡°When after weeks of journey we brought back the princess and their maids to their homnd, despite all the suffering they endured in that hideout, they smiled and thanked me. That experience will probably haunt them forever, but they were d to be alive and home. Just for that, I don¡¯t regret what I did. And you should not regret your decisions Luffy, not if they are for the well being of the people you care about, even if they haunt you for the rest of your life.¡± ¡°...¡± Luffy didn¡¯t say anything. He was pensive about what his Vice-captain just told him. ~~~~~ The time for the duel came and as expected by everyone, Usopp lost. When Chopper tried to leave the ship to tend his wounds, Sanji prevented him from doing so. ¡° He lost a duel and was then pitied. Think about how he must feel right now! Think about how this kind of kindness pains the loser. He entered this fight knowing this might happen.¡±(Sanji) ¡°Sanji, release Chopper. The decision to treat him or not is up to the winner. And that¡¯s Luffy.¡±(Rick) ¡°Don¡¯t you care about Usopp¡¯s feelings?!¡± (Sanji) ¡°Less than Chopper¡¯s.¡±(Rick) ¡°Is it because of what Usopp said about you?! You¡¯re upset and now you add salt to his wounds!You don¡¯t care about Usopp at all.¡±(Sanji) ¡°Chopper is a member of the crew, that¡¯s why. Luffy, what do you want Chopper to do?¡±(Rick) Luffy was back near the ship looking down. ¡°That¡¯s what a captain is. Don¡¯t hesitate. If you can¡¯t be decisive, who can we believe in?¡±(Zoro) ¡°... Chopper, go treat him.¡±(Luffy) Chopper tried once again to leave but this time Rick stopped him by making him float. ¡°No matter what, don¡¯t talk to him. For Usopp¡¯s sake.¡± said the ex-marine before letting the reindeer go. ¡°Oh! Sure, now you care about his feelings?¡± (Sanji) ¡°I never said I didn¡¯t care. I said that Chopper¡¯s are more important because he¡¯s a crewmate. All of you, your physical, mental and emotional well being, will alwayse first before anyone else and that includes Usopp now by his own choice.¡±(Rick) They gathered their belongings, despite Luffy winning and keeping ownership of the Merry, the couldn¡¯t stay there anymore. Chapter 50: An ounce of behavior is worth a pound of words Chapter 50: An ounce of behavior is worth a pound of words Chapter 50: An ounce of behavior is worth a pound of words Sanji opened a door and entered the rooftop, he saw Zoro sitting cross legged against a rail and Chopper and Rick were discussing something. ¡°Where is Luffy?¡±(Sanji) The Vice-captain pointed to his left with his chin and the reindeer with his little hand. Their captain was sitting on the top of a roof, knees to his chest. ¡°Where did you go Sanji?¡±(Chopper) ¡°I was keeping watch at the penins. I thought that¡­ maybe Robin woulde back.¡±(Sanji) ¡°We should n our research. We can¡¯t go look for her aimlessly.¡±(Rick) ¡°Aren¡¯t you supposed to be the former best tracker of the marines? What haven''t you found her yet?¡±(Sanji) Sanji¡¯s tone when speaking to him was starting to be annoying. Yet Rick endured and let it slide. ¡°I was tracking pirates, most of them were dumb, and the few who were not didn¡¯t have the experience needed or men smart enough to hide from me. Robin? She¡¯s more than smart and has 20 years of experience. If she doesn¡¯t want to be found, she won¡¯t be found.¡±(Rick) ¡°Why are you talking about searching for her then?¡±(Sanji) ¡°Because she¡¯s Robin, our crewmate, and we do everything for them even if it¡¯s useless.¡±(Rick) ¡°...¡±(Sanji) ¡°I think I¡¯ll search around the streets today, if anything happens let¡¯s regroup here at the inn.¡±(Sanji) ¡°I¡¯ll go to!¡±(Chopper) ¡°You may want to disguise yourself.¡±(Rick) ¡°¡°Why?¡±¡±(Sanji & Chopper) ¡°So Robin doesn¡¯t spot you. Even though I don¡¯t like the thought at all, it¡¯s possible she¡¯s avoiding us.¡±(Rick) ¡°Robin won¡¯t do that!¡±(Chopper) ¡°I know, but there is a reason she¡¯s gone and we can¡¯t be careless.¡±(Rick) Nami came running. ¡°Big news guys! Last night someone tried to murder Ice Burg! He was shot multiple times.¡±(Nami) ¡°Ice Burg was... ?!¡±(Luffy) ¡°Who¡¯s that?¡±(Chopper) ¡°It¡¯s the mayor and also the guy Kokoro sent us to and also the president of thepany making ships.¡±(Rick) ¡°Wow, that¡¯s one important guy.¡±(Sanji) ¡°It says in the paper that it¡¯s the greatest catastrophe to ever happen in this city.¡±(Nami) ¡°... I¡¯ll go take a look¡±(Luffy) He jumped from the rooftop he was sitting to the ground below but was brought up by Rick. ¡°Rick!¡±(Luffy) ¡°That guy is respected by everyone around here and right now they must be pretty mad and desperate to find his attacker. Since you¡¯re a trouble ma I won¡¯t be surprised if people go after you just because you¡¯re a pirate, so I¡¯ming with you.¡±(Rick) ¡°I¡¯ming too!¡±(Nami) ¡°What about the three of you?¡±(Rick) ¡°Chopper and I will keep looking for Robin¡±(Sanji) ¡°I¡¯ll wait and see what happens next.¡±(Zoro) To not attract anyone attention Luffy, Nami, and Rick went to Dock#1 by using a yagara bull. They were surprised by the number of people who were there. Many were on ground but also on yagara bulls. More than a hundred people were present. Nami asked a citizen on the bull next to her how to get to the Galley HQ. ¡°You have to pass through the Dock#1 door but it¡¯s useless only a selected few may enter, they¡¯re mainly reporters. For everyone else here, they¡¯re just hoping to get news first hand. They¡¯re so worried about Mister Ice Burg.¡± Everyone suddenly heard a very catchy but very loud music. ¡°What¡¯s that?¡±(Nami) ¡°That¡¯s that thug Franky! I¡¯m sure it¡¯s him that tried to kill Mister Ice Burgst night.¡±(Citizen) On top of the Dock#1 door was a pink curtain disying the shadow of a man with a woman on each side. They were singing and dancing to the rhythm of the music. When the curtain was removed Franky called out to Luffy. ¡°Come out, straw hat! You¡¯re going to pay for what you did to my men and my home!¡±(Franky) He was pissed! Rightfully so¡­ or maybe not, if his cronies didn¡¯t beat up Usopp and steal 700 Millions, they would be safe and sound and his home still standing. ¡°What the hell is with that weirdo?¡±(Luffy) ¡°Did he just say Franky?!¡±(Nami) ¡°We already paid with the blood of our friend and 700 Millions asshole! Now be a man and own up to your and your cronies'' actions because you won¡¯t get anything more from us! Or do you want us to pay them a second visit? He didn¡¯t end well for them thest time he won¡¯t end well for them this time either!¡±(Rick) ¡°Rick, don¡¯t provoke him!¡±(Nami) ¡°Wait! It¡¯s him?! (Luffy) Franky looked down to see who dared to talk like that to him and belittled his men. After a quick nce around he found the man with a straw hat he was looking for. ¡°Found you, straw hat!¡± ¡°Yeah, I¡¯m Luffy.¡±(Luffy) The citizens were evacuating the ce, they knew well that when Franky went berserk no one should stick around. After exchanging insults and threats Luffy and Franky started to fight. When Franky dived into the water, Luffy and Nami, believing he was a devil fruit user after he spat fire, were surprised when they saw him resurfacing and punching to pieces their yagara bull. Rick grabbed Nami preventing her to fell into the water and floated towards the ground near Dock#1 door. The door where luffy ended up collided with after he got punched in the stomach. The fight went on into Dock#1, Luffy and Franky¡¯s battle destroyed every infrastructures inside. They were interrupted when Paulie, Li, Kaku, and two other guys entered the scene. Franky started a verbal fight with Kaku about the destroyed shipyard and the interruption of the fight. ¡°Just wait Kaku, we¡¯ll settle that letter. There¡¯s something more important than that right now¡­¡±(Paulie) He called out to Luffy. ¡°Hey, straw hat¡­ How dare you show your face here after what you¡¯ve done!¡±(Paulie) ¡°What? We heard the news about old man Ice Burg ande to see if¡­¡±(Luffy) ¡°You couldn¡¯t get enough with just my family, huh? You went after the Galley too? What are you a teenager hitting puberty?¡±(Franky) ¡°We didn¡¯t do anything!¡±(Luffy) ¡°If you¡¯re going to lie I¡¯ll just have to tie you up!¡±(Paulie) He threw ropes at Luffy to capture him with no avail. The fight started again but very differently, Luffy was not against Franky anymore but Franky and the galley chief workers. 1vs 6 Luffy held up as well as he could. Fortunately for Rick, Nami was too focused on what was happening to ask him to support Luffy. It would have derailed his n a bit otherwise. ¡°What the hell are you attacking me?!¡±(Luffy) ¡°You¡¯re the ones who snuck into the HQ and shot Ice Burgst night!¡±(Paulie) That news shocked everyone, Franky, the citizens, and Luffy and Nami. The civilian crowd went into a frenzy, and wanted the blood of the crew. One man restrained Nami from behind. ¡®Okay that¡¯s enough, time to act.¡¯ The ex-marine punched the man holding Nami in the face and knocked him out, sending him several feet backwards. When the citizens surrounding them started to approach, he carried Nami, floated high in the air and used his gravity on the area to make them fall on their knees. He attracted Luffy to him before yelling at the crowd. ¡°LISTEN UP YOU RETARDED PEOPLE WITH SHIT FOR BRAIN!¡±(Rick) That caught the attention of everyone too busy to wonder what was the pressure on their shoulders and why couldn¡¯t they get up. ¡°Rick what are you doing?¡±(Luffy) ¡°Innocenting us, please let me do my thing¡±(Rick) ¡°...¡±(Luffy) ¡°Okay, do it.¡±(Luffy Turning toward the crowd the Vice-captain spoke up again but not so loudly. ¡°We didn¡¯t attack Ice Burgst night and we can prove it!¡±(Rick) ¡°Yeah right! You think we¡¯ll believe you?!¡±(Paulie) Rick, who had purposefully left the members of the galley free, used a lot more gravity on them to make them kneel too. Surprisingly Li and Kaku didn¡¯t resist. ¡®That¡¯s weird¡­ Why are they acting like it¡¯s affecting them? With their training they wouldn¡¯t even feel a thing.¡¯ ¡°Us? No? But the owner of a respectable inn we spent the entire night in? YES! Now second proof that we aren¡¯t the one responsible for Ice Burg current condition...¡±(Rick) He made the heavy iron door of Dock#1 float so everyone could see what he was about to do. He tore it apart easily in multiple pieces. ¡°If we wanted Ice Burg dead, that¡¯s how we would have done it. We wouldn¡¯t have used a gun, shot him multiple times and not even checked if he was really dead. Third proof, Why would we have tried to murder him when we have no ship to leave this ind? We would have done it AFTER we had a means to disappear.¡±(Rick) ¡°You could have taken the sea train!¡±(Paulie) ¡°Sure and get arrested by every single government official there? Man you¡¯re really are one retarded bastard.¡±(Rick) ¡°...¡±(Paulie) ¡°Fourth proof, we don¡¯t have any reason to attack him, we met him yesterday afternoon and you were there asshole, running away with our money to pay your debts!¡± ¡°¡°¡°You¡¯re lying!¡±¡±¡± ¡°¡°¡°Lies¡±¡±¡± ¡°¡°¡°Paulie would not do that!¡±¡± ¡°Oh yeah? What about it Paulie, care toment?¡±(Rick) ¡°It wasn¡¯t like that! I was escaping creditors! I saw some frankies on yagara bulls and kicked them into the water to take their ride. On it was your money! And you got it back, with my apologies as a bonus!¡±(Paulie) Paulie¡¯s confession quieted down the few protestors in the crowd. ¡°That¡¯s true. What is important here are Frankies! You see the frankies tried again to steal our money, but this time they kidnaped our friend guarding it and beat him to an inch of his life! In retaliation we beat them up and destroyed the Franky house. Now let¡¯s see. Who holds a grudge against our crew and Ice Burg and he¡¯s here destroying everything and ying the victim? Who else but Franky?!¡±(Rick) ¡°What?! That¡¯s bullshit! I didn¡¯t even know that Ice Burg had been shot! And what do you mean I have a grudge against him? I don¡¯t.¡±(Franky) ¡° You were jealous of him. He¡¯s the mayor, the greatest carpenter in the world and you''re just a failure of a ship worker who became a thug and ship dismantler. My take is, you thought you could get rid of us and Ice Burg in one go! Pinned his murder on us and attacking us next, just so you can be a hero in the eyes of everyone. Franky the one who brought justice to the pirate crew who Killed everyone¡¯s hero, Ice Burg!¡± ¡°That¡¯s a lie!¡±(Franky) ¡°Oh really?¡±(Rick) ¡°Yes!¡±(Franky) Rick turned towards the crow. ¡°Alright people, be honest here. How many of you had the reflex to think that Franky was the one responsible for Ice Burg¡¯s assassination attemp? Come on, raise your hand.¡±(Rick) He stopped using his gravity and let the people go. Standing up in silence, many hands were then raised. ¡°So on one side we have a pirate crew which met Ice burg yesterday and have no biff with him, on the other you got the thug of the town alway causing trouble and was holding a grudge. Who do you think is more likely to have done the deed?¡±(Rick) The silence was still there, people didn¡¯t know what to say anymore. It was Paulie who broke it. ¡°Ice Burg said that he saw one of your crewmatesst night before being shot! Nico Robin¡±(Paulie) ¡°That¡¯s bull! Robin would never do that!¡±(Luffy) ¡°He knows what he saw!¡±(Paulie) ¡°For your information, she disappeared from us yesterday before we even met you. And Luffy is right, she''s not the type to do that. Furthermore, are you sure the testimony of someone who narrowly escaped death after being shot way more than once and who just woke up from aa is reliable? Now, we came here to day to see how Ice burg was doing like everyone else but I understand he needs some rest, so we¡¯ll go for now and be back at ater time.¡±(Rick) ¡°No way in hell you¡¯re going anywhere! You hurt my men, destroyed my house, used me of trying to kill Ice Burg and you think you can go just like that?¡±(Franky) ¡°Yes.¡±(Rick) One of Franky¡¯s hands enclosed the other. ¡°COUP DE VENT!¡±(Franky) The cyborg used his famous attack towards Rick, still carrying Nami with Luffy by his side. The ex-marine made everyone dodge by raising into the sky. Not willing to stay here any longer he flew out of the area fast. ~~~~~ ¡°Rick what the hell?¡± Luffys said to his Vice-captain. He was not very happy with how things turned out apparently. ¡°What? I more or less cleared us of any usations by shifting the me on Franky, now people will go after him.¡±(Rick) ¡°You should have let me beat him up before leaving!¡±(Luffy) ¡°Wait, you¡¯re mad because I prevented you from kicking Franky¡¯s ass?¡±(Rick) ¡°Yes, what else?¡±(Luffy) ¡°Luffy, what Rick did was right, now we don¡¯t have all the city after us, they¡¯re too busy to be after Franky, we can sneak into Galley HQ and see Ice Burg. Look where Ricknded us.¡±(Nami) Luffy look around and saw that they were on the rooftop of the building facing the Galley¡¯s HQ were Ice Burg was currently recovering. ¡°You brought us here?¡±(Luffy) ¡°You said you wanted to talk to him, right?¡±(Rick) ¡°Thanks!¡±(Luffy) ¡°Now we just have to wait to go inside without anyone¡­¡±(Rick) ¡°See youter guys!¡±(Luffy) Without saying anything more, Luffyunched himself into the HQ, breaking a window andnding inside. The ship workers immediately gave the rm and everyone both inside and outside went after him. ¡°...¡±(Rick) ¡°...¡±(Nami) Rick closed his eyes and breathed in very slowly then sigh. ¡°You know ¡®wait¡¯ is not a word he knows¡­¡±(Nami) ¡°Is it so wrong of me to hope he would learn it?¡±(Rick) ¡°No, but I think you are hoping in vain.¡± ¡°... I guess you¡¯re right¡­But did he have to enter through the lowest window when Ice Burg is probably in thest floor?¡± Nami justughed at that and changed topics ¡°Thanks for saving from that guy by the way.¡± ¡°You don¡¯t need to thank me, it¡¯s my job.¡± ¡°Well I¡¯m d you¡¯re the one doing it because you¡¯re really good at it.¡± ¡°Yeah, I¡¯m not so sure about that.¡± ¡°What do you mean?¡± ¡°Usopp quitted, Robin is gone. And even though I know they¡¯ll be back, still, I feel like I failed.¡± Nami didn¡¯t have any retort to that, so she just put her hand on his head and started to pat it. ¡°Hey! I¡¯m the one doing the patting!¡±(Rick) ¡°Perhaps, but you seem like you need it.¡±(Nami) He let out a sigh and leaned to rest his head on herp. ¡°Pat away then.¡±(Rick) ¡°Getting awfullyfy aren¡¯t you?¡±(Nami) ¡°What can I say, Vivi was right about it. If you don¡¯t like it, why don¡¯t you just stop?¡± ¡°It¡¯s surprisingly rxing. Is that why you do it?¡± ¡°Not telling.¡± ¡°Fine, keep your secret.¡± They stayed like that and waited for Luffy toe back. Whatever was going on inside, made a lot of noise. Rick reached in the pouch on his lower back and brought something out that he gave to Nami. ¡°Nami, when the time is right¡­ give it to Robin, please.¡± ¡°What¡¯s this?¡± She was looking at a small wooden box. ¡°Inside this box, is an Eternal Pose to O¡¯hara.¡±(Rick) ¡°That¡¯s the one you used to get there 10 years ago?¡±(Nami) ¡°Yes. There is only another one of those that I know of and it¡¯s in the marines'' possession, so don¡¯t lose or damage it.¡± That wasn¡¯t true or perhaps it was. The truth was that Rick didn¡¯t know, he got his via the system, but he had to keep his lie up about how he got it. ¡°Why are you giving it to me and not directly to Robin?¡± ¡°Because she¡¯s not here?¡± ¡°Smartass! Why give it to me now and not to herter?¡± ¡°A feeling that it¡¯s what I should do.¡± ¡°A feeling again?¡± ¡°Yeah¡± ¡°Don¡¯t you have one about our situation?¡± ¡°Yeah¡­¡± ¡°You said that everything will be fine but your answer just says otherwise.¡± ¡°Let¡¯s say, everything is going to get worse before being fine. Is that an eptable answer?¡± ¡°It worries me more than anything.¡± ¡°Then I should keep my special ¡®feelings¡¯ for myself for now on.¡± At that moment, Luffy came through the highest window in the building and reached them. ¡°Did you get to talk to Ice Burg?¡±(Rick) ¡°Yeah¡­¡±(Luffy) ¡°Is it true? Was it really Robin?¡±(Nami) ¡°He really did see Robin.¡±(Luffy) ¡°Why would Robin do such a thing?¡±(Nami) ¡°She didn¡¯t. I refuse to believe she did. He said he saw her, not that she was the one who shot him and that¡¯s because she didn¡¯t do it.¡±(Rick) ¡°I won¡¯t believe it either!¡±(Luffy) ¡°We need to find her and fast. Since Ice Burg is certain it was her then my shifting the me on Franky earlier is now useless. It won¡¯t be long before we¡¯re hunted again by the whole ind. We have to be careful.¡±(Rick) Rick made them float and left the ce towards the inn where they were staying, on the way Luffy saw Zoro hiding from some pursuers and the ex-marine made him float too. Arriving at the hotel, they saw some workers from Galley searching the ce. They decided tond on a rooftop nearby and wait for Sanji and Chopper. Thetter soon joined them after climbing the building they were on. He found them by their smell. He told them that Sanji and him did find Robin. ¡°She said she won¡¯t go back with us, that it was a farewell.¡±(Chopper) ¡°¡°¡°WHAT?!¡±¡± ¡°She also said that she was there when mister Ice Burg was shot. That the reason we¡¯re all being wanted is because she made us her scapegoats, then said we won¡¯t ever see her again after today and goodbye.¡±(Chopper) ¡° IS THIS TRUE? DID ROBIN REALLY SAY THAT?¡±(Luffy) Chopper just nodded his head, looking at the ground. ¡°It¡¯s time for everyone to wake up. Robin started out as our enemy then we let her on our ship. She wouldn¡¯t have left out of fear after all this time. We need to figure before the sun goes down if she¡¯s a friend or a foe.¡±(Zoro) ¡°Ice Burg is still alive. If she said she was the one that attacked himst night, then we need to be by his side tonight because she will probably finish the job.¡±(Rick) ¡°Why do you mean?¡±(Nami) ¡°She said we won¡¯t ever meet her after ¡®today¡¯. It¡¯s like she¡¯s announcing she is going to do something that makes things worse for us. And right now the only thing that I can think of is¡­¡±(Zoro) ¡°A sessful assassination on the Mayor.¡±(Nami) ¡°But that could be a trap¡­¡±(Rick) ¡°For us to be found at the crime scene, we¡¯ll be framed for good.¡±(Zoro) ¡°You two are talking as if she¡¯s our enemy!¡±(Nami) ¡°I don¡¯t think she is, she wouldn¡¯t have warned us otherwise.¡±(Rick) ¡°I don¡¯t understand, why give a warning if she¡¯s putting the me on us? Wouldn¡¯t it be counter productive?¡±(Chopper) ¡°The only way to find out is to be at the Galley¡¯s HQ tonight.¡±(Rick) ¡°The question is, do we go to the crime scene?¡±(Zoro) Everyone turned towards Luffy, waiting for his order. He looked at them all. ¡°We go.¡± The crew decided to progress slowly and stealthily toward the Galley¡¯s HQ however Rick was not with them. He told them a half-lie, that he had to warn Usopp, as he was a former strawhat he could be implicated too, and that he had something to check, that it was important and left before any of them could say anything. When he arrived at the Merry, no one was present so he went back to the hotel to prepare the next step of his n. The workers were gone; he sneaked into the room he slept in and changed his clothes for the ones he bought the day before then left for his final destination. ~~~~~ CP9, Robin, a captured Franky and Usopp reached thest sea train at ¡®Blue station¡¯. The trained assassins for the government were done with their mission. They finally had the two people they have been looking for for years. Franky the cyborg whose real name was Cutty m, the inheritor of the n of the ancient weapon Pluto and Nico Robin the only one who could read poneglyphs and resurrect those same ancient weapons. Franky and Usopp were dropped in the 6th wagon and the group went up the train. When they reached and entered wagon number 2 they were surprised to see someone there since this wagon was for the members of the CP9 only. His suit, hat and overcoat were all white. The man was sitting in one of the train¡¯s seat drinking tea in a rxing manner. ¡°I warned you there would be dire consequences if you interfered in any way with my mission. Now please enlighten me as to why Nine chose to defy Zero.¡± Chapter 51: The devil’s finest trick is to persuade you that he does not exist Chapter 51: The devil¡¯s finest trick is to persuade you that he does not exist Chapter 51: The devil''s finest trick is to persuade you that he does not exist ¡°Are you done shitting your pants? I want an answer CP9. What makes you think that it was a good idea to meddle in my affairs.¡±(Rick) The member of the CP9 didn¡¯t say anything. Actually they didn¡¯t know what to say. Simply because Blueno didn¡¯t report anything. Neither did Kalifa, but she didn¡¯t understand Rick¡¯s hint. She didn¡¯t even know who he was. Even though she was some years younger, at the time she was busy training to be an assassin for the world government. When she was activated as an Agent Rick had already disappeared for a few years and no one was actively searching for him as there were more important figures in the world making waves. Out of the four of them only Blueno and Li knew who he was. The former believed Rick was just a marine under cover. It was not the first one to be branded a criminal and secretly working for the marines. But as a member of the CP9 he worked directly for the world government not the marines, making him higher in the hierarchy. He thought that Rick was below him and didn¡¯t take his threat seriously. But just now the man in front of them announced he belonged to Cypher Pol 0. The only CP unit working directly for the world nobles, meaning the five elders and the celestial dragons, who were above the world government itself. ¡°My apologies it was my fault.¡± said Blueno ¡°Blueno?¡±(Li) ¡°He came yesterday¡¯ste afternoon at the bar to warn us. I thought he was just a marine undercover marking his territory. I didn¡¯t even think that he would be a member of CP0. I don¡¯t even know what his mission is.¡± (Blueno) Li was clearly not happy with the situation. Furthermore he was suspicious of Rick. Just because he said he was from CP0 meant it was true. He is or was a member of the strawhats meaning a former crewmate of Nico Robin. He may be ying them to try and take her back. On the other hand, how did he know they were CP9 agents? He left the marine more than 10 years ago and even if he didn''t, only a few high ranking officers knew about their identities. ¡°What is your mission?¡±(Li) ¡°My mission is¡­ not for you to know.¡±(Rick) Li¡¯s finger twitched a bit, he was about to attack when Rick continued to talk. ¡°But since you fucked it up, I don¡¯t mind telling you. It¡¯s imperative that you keep your mouth shut about it, for both our sake. THEY would not be happy about it if THEY learned that I had to blow up my cover for a half sessful mission. Knowing how THEY are, all of our heads may roll. If we¡¯re lucky only that ipetent Spandam¡¯s will. Anyway, my mission was to find Nico Robin and keep more than a close eye on her. Whatever the case, help her be free and somehow find a way to learn the location of the ancient weapons from her. Now that you have arrested her it changes the n a bit. You could have made do with just the ns of Pluto but nooooo, you had to rope her in.¡±(Rick) Robin, who didn¡¯t say anything, was shocked. First to see Rick here, then to learn that he was an agent of CP0 and finally that he was ordered to get close to her. The thought that their time together was just a ploy to use her, pained her a lot, to her greatest surprise. Rick¡¯s confession is something she should have seening. Everyone always betrays her. ¡°Why would the world nobles want Nico Robin free?¡±(Li) ¡°Do I look like a world noble to you? How should I know? If I had to guess though¡­ So she can keep destroying illegal organizations and pirates¡¯ crews? She¡¯s very effective after all. The work she¡¯s done with Crocodile and his Baroque Works. Splendid. All so she could read some poneglyphs. Now, why waste assets to deal with those kinds of people when we got her doing the job for us? She¡¯s like a parasite, shetches onto something and sucks everything out of it, until it dies.¡±(Rick) ¡°Why stick with her then?¡±(Kaku) ¡°So I can guide her a bit towards certains direction I would have been told. Let¡¯s not forget any information about the ancient weapons.¡±(Rick) ¡°I¡¯m curious how you would have done that.¡±(Kalifa) ¡°Love makes one blind. Right Robin, darling?¡±(Rick) Robin had an impassable face but her eyes were not. Disgust was what filled them. That told everything the CP9 wanted to know. They stumbled on something they shouldn¡¯t have touched. His mission was seeding and they screwed it up. ¡°Aren¡¯t they scared that she could bring back the ancient weapons? Did you find anything about them?¡±(Li) ¡°Why should I tell you?¡±(Rick) ¡°...¡±(Li) ¡°Fine, don''t make that face, you¡¯ll be stuck like that forever. Not good for someone going under cover often. If you want to know, during a trip to a sky ind, we found out that one: The pirate king knew or had someone in his crew who knew how to read and write poneglyphs and two: that he found the location of the ancient weapon Poseidon. And as if they¡¯re scared or not.. Not really. From what I¡¯ve been told, if she wanted to bring them back she would have worked fully with any organisation, one of the yonko, made one herself or just joined the revolution. Since she didn¡¯t, it has been determined that even though she¡¯s a risk, she¡¯s an eptable one, but just in case she does anything funny, I am to separate her cute little head from her shoulders.¡± (Rick) Rick was baiting them with truth. Well, mostly truth, he was hoping that by giving them some truthful info they will trust him moderately at least. By the new look Robin was giving him, the CP9 thought he wasn¡¯t telling lies. ¡°If the pirate king knew about Poseidon¡¯s location, why didn¡¯t he use it?¡±(Kaku) ¡°Maybe he couldn¡¯t get to it? Frankly, I don¡¯t know, and I don¡¯t care. The guy¡¯s been dead for more than twenty years, I have better things to do than wonder what was going on in his head. Now enough with the twenty questions, the sea train will depart soon and I want my mission to be secure.¡±(Rick) ¡°We will keep an eye on you. Until we got confirmation of your status.¡±(Li) ¡°Whatever, call fleet admiral Sengoku once we¡¯re on Enies Lobby if you want, I don¡¯t care.¡±(Rick) He finished his tea andid the cup on the tray beside him on the bench. He stood up. ¡°I will be with Nico Robin in wagon number one. Meanwhile, I encourage you to think of a way to get everyone out of the mess you created. Feel free toe by anytime if you want to check on her.¡±(Rick) He signaled to Robin to follow him but she didn¡¯t move an inch, clearly not wanting to spend any kind of time with him or to be in his proximity. ¡°Fine, we¡¯ll do it my way then.¡±(Rick) He made her float and led her into the next wagon. ¡°Leave the doors open.¡±(Li) ¡°Sure, sure, whatever you want.¡±(Rick) He put her down on a seat and sat on the bench in front of her. They were almost at the end of the wagon. They could be seen but not heard by the CP9. Thest sea train departed, and an ufortable silence reigned between the two of them. When Rick couldn¡¯t handle it anymore he spoke up. ¡° Are you going to stay silent forever? It''s a few hours of travel to Enies Lobby, you know.¡±(Rick) ¡°...¡± ¡°You really don¡¯t make my job any easier.¡± ¡°Good.¡± ¡°Finally! I thought I would have to talk myself to death.¡± ¡°I would have been fine with that.¡± ¡°You wound me, Robin. After all the fun times we had together.¡± ¡°They were not fun times.¡± ¡°Really?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°So you didn¡¯t have fun when we paid a visit to those pirates in Jaya?¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°Neither during our trip in the forest on Skypiea?¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°And Shandora? The exploration and discovery of Shandora? I know it was fun!¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°Our time in the town hall on Angel Ind?¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°You didn¡¯t have a good time during any of those?¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°What about me carrying you like a princess to escape a giant snake?¡± ¡°No! Those moments were lies. Nothing was real!¡± ¡°Oh?! You really liked that one, I have to say it¡¯s my favourite too.¡± ¡°I said no such thing.¡± ¡°You don¡¯t have to, Robin, the simple fact that you reacted to it is enough .¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°Maybe one day we¡¯ll do it again.¡± ¡°I¡¯d rather die.¡± ¡°Hearing you say that saddens me immensely. What would the others think?¡± ¡°As if you cared what they think.¡± ¡°I do and always did.¡± ¡°Right, that¡¯s why you betrayed them?¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t betray them, I¡¯m doing my job. What about you? Care toment on your little stunt?¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°You know no one believed it?¡± ¡°..¡± ¡°They probably found an improbable way to go after the sea train. Maybe some of them are already on board fighting everyone on their way to get to you.¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°So that¡¯s it? You gave up?¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°You ran for twenty years, did anything to survive and now that you found people you can really rely on, you give up on life? That¡¯s pathetic, Robin.¡± ¡°WHAT DO YOU KNOW?!¡± ¡°A lot. For one, that you don¡¯t want to be here. That you could have run but didn¡¯t, meaning you¡¯re here for a reason. If I had to guess¡­ you¡¯re protecting them. I don¡¯t know from what though. They can take care of the CP9, albeit with difficulty but they can do it, you should know that. So what¡¯s keeping you here?¡± ¡°...¡± Amotion was heard from the wagon number two where the CP9 were. ¡®So Sanji, Usopp and Franky must be in the kitchen wagon or almost. That means Usopp will be here soon¡­.¡¯ ¡°Robin, do you want to live?¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°I can snatch you away if you want to live. It wouldn¡¯t be a problem.¡± ¡°And spent the rest of my life as a ve to the world nobles? No thank you.¡± ¡°ve? As if I¡¯d do that.¡± ¡°As if I¡¯d believe you.¡± ¡°Take your time to think about it. Anyway I¡¯m giving you 5 minutes for the two of you to talk.¡± Robin looked at Rick confused. He stood up and exited the wagon number one, closing its door to go to stay between the junction with wagon two. Soon after his departure She heard something knocking on the window on her left. She saw Usopp on the other side. Despite his mask hiding his entire face she couldn¡¯t mistake his very long nose. She opened the window and let him in. ¡°Why are you here?! You shouldn¡¯t be here!¡± ¡°Nice to meet you, I¡¯m sogeking, as for why I am here¡­ To make a long story short to save you.¡± ¡°Long-nose..¡± ¡°I¡¯m not alone, though. There¡¯s a chief named Sanji and a hoodlum named Franky on the train. Furthermore, the strawhat found their own sea train and are in pursuit. Them and some other people.¡± ¡°Long-nose, you need to ¡­¡± ¡°I peeked through the windows on my way here. The four people inside look really strong.¡± ¡°You need to leave!¡± ¡°Yes, we should leave before Sanji and the others confront those guys. Here take these, they are Octopucts, with them you can attach ...¡± ¡°If you want to live you need to go! Rick will be back soon! He knows you¡¯re here.¡± ¡°What?¡± ¡°Rick is here!¡± ¡°He¡¯s working with them? I knew it! I knew he was a traitor!¡± ¡°He¡¯s not with them, he works for the world nobles.¡± ¡°Isn¡¯t it the same?¡± ¡°No, it¡¯s way worse. Now go! I cut my ties with you and the others, I¡¯m not one of you anymore.¡± ¡°They know your reasons, you know? Ice Burg told them everything.¡± ¡°He¡¯s alive?!¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°Then¡­ No, it doesn¡¯t change anything. I can¡¯t go back.¡± ¡°You still don¡¯t get it do you? You should have talk to them first before making your stupid deal. Do you really think they would abandon a friend for their own survival? Now that they know why you left, they¡¯re more pumped up than ever to get you back and kick the ass of everyone in the way.¡± ¡°You really don¡¯t understand what you¡¯re saying! I never wanted you guys to save me! I won¡¯t let you have your way!¡± ¡°Geez Robin, keep it down will you!¡± Rick came back inside and sat back at his ce. ¡°So, are the both of you done talking?¡± No one said anything, but Robin was clearly seated on Usopp, her rainproof poncho thingy that she was wearing. ¡°Usopp, it¡¯s time for you to go. Be careful, the door is open, they can see you.¡± At that moment someone came flying through the door of wagon number two from wagon number three. Taking a good look, that person actually came all the way from wagon number four. Sanji made his appearance, joined by Frankying from the roof after smashing through it his opponent. That was Nero, the sea weasel, a new recruit of the CP9. He hadnded near Kalifa and Blueno, badly beaten. ¡°Well, you¡¯re in luck, they are distracted. Don¡¯t miss your chance. Robin, what are you going to do ?¡± Li got rid of Nero, apparently to be a CP9 member you need to have mastered the six forms of the rokushiki and Nero clearly didn¡¯t. Sanji attacked Li out of range when thetter said that Robin¡¯s very existence was a sin needed to be purged for the sake of the world. She got up, revealing Usopp, and walked towards wagon 2 and Rick followed her. The sniper tried to attack him from behind but was soon face on the floor. ¡°Really Usopp? Sucker punching? Don¡¯t you have any honor as a pirate?¡± He was soon floating in the air and pushed with moderate speed across the wagon towards Sanji and Franky, who caught him. ¡°Rick? What are you doing here?¡±(Sanji) ¡°He¡¯s working for them, Sanji!¡±(Usopp) ¡°What?!¡±(Sanji) ¡°Ugh. No, I¡¯m not working for CP9. I have my own job, and different standards, thank you!¡±(Rick) ¡°So all this time spent searching for Robin was a lie! You knew where she was, right from the beginning!¡±(Sanji) ¡°Not really.¡±(Rick) ¡°I told you he was a traitor working for the marines Sanji! Luffy should have listen to me!¡±(Usopp) ¡°That doesn¡¯t matter! Robin I¡¯m taking care of those guys, Rick included and then we¡¯re running away together!¡±(Sanji) Before he could do anything, arms bloomed on his body restraining him and threw him to the ground.. ¡°It seems that words are meaningless to you people.¡±(Robin) Sanji ordered Franky to cut the third car loose to prepare their escape. Usopp threw a smoke bomb on the ground, and dived into the smokescreen. A few secondster he came out carrying Robin under his arm and joined Sanji and Franky on wagon number three. The car was already unhooked from the rest of the train and the distance between the two grew fast. They were celebrating their escape and getting Robin back when unfortunately for them Rick exited the smokescreen and raised his hand. Without any of them able to do anything Robin was pulled towards him fast and was caught in his arms. ¡°Wee back ~~¡± He turned towards the CP9 and raised an eyebrow. ¡°Really? Done by a smokescreen?¡± This little taunt had the desired effect. Annoying them. He walked by the four agents and went back to the first car. He mustered everything he could from his acting skill to not smirk at them. He sat back down on his seat, still carrying Robin. She fought, got out of his grasp. She sat down too, looking at him with disdain. ¡°You really don¡¯t like me carrying you.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t like you, period. Don¡¯t touch me ever again.¡± ¡°You say that now but I¡¯ve got the feeling that¡¯ll change soon.¡± ¡°...¡± She ignored him and stared at the sea on the other side of the window. ¡°No really, I mean¡­ I¡¯m going to stick to you forever, so you better get used to it.¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°You know, I thought about why you would quietly go with the CP9. ¡°...¡± ¡°You''re scared of them, but nothing like when we met Aokiji. But more than that, you¡¯re scared for the crew. So I wondered¡­ What could possibly threaten a whole crew and scare you enough to sacrifice your own life to protect them?¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°Buster Call.¡± His two words made her react. She turned her head fast to look at him with genuine fear in her eyes. ¡°Guess I was right. Well I¡¯m always right so that¡¯s not really a surprise.¡± ¡°Then you know why it was the right decision to leave them.¡± ¡°Not really. The Buster Call sure is a terrible thing with unrivaled fire power but it¡¯s just ten warships.¡± ¡°Ten warships?! Just ten warships?! Ten warships destroyed my home when I was eight!¡± ¡°One day, if the asion presents itself, I¡¯ll show you that ten warships doesn¡¯t really mean anything. Sure the destruction is phenomenal, but it¡¯s not something invincible.¡± ¡°...¡± Robin was more than angry, he was talking about what destroyed her whole ind and its people as if it was something trivial. Her anger induced a loss of words. ¡°You should have faith, Robin, it will make your life better.¡± The door to the wagon suddenly opened, and Franky was tossed into it, his hands restrained. ¡°That¡¯s a shame I quite loved our alone time.¡±(Rick) He made Franky float and made him sit next to Robin. ¡°Oh, well, the more the merrier.¡±(Rick) ¡°YOU!¡±(Franky) ¡°Yes, me? What about it?¡± ¡°What Kind of bastard are you?! First you put the me on me for Ice Burg¡¯s assassination attempt, then you betray yourrade! What a piece a shit.¡±(Franky) ¡°Well, I couldn¡¯t have the whole ind go after my friends with pitches and forks. And you did so much shit that you deserved it. For many people you were the first person they thought about as to who could have Shot Ice Burg, so don¡¯t goining to me, people made their choice. Not my fault they¡¯re dumber than a brick.¡± Franky was about tosh out when Robin tried to calm him down. ¡°Stop it, you¡¯re ying his game, and you¡¯re not going to win. He¡¯s a master at railing people up, you¡¯ll be some kind of entertainment for him.¡±(Robin) ¡°...¡± ¡°That¡¯s not nice of you to spoil my fun Robin, but I do admit this is a bad hobby.¡±(Rick) ¡°Nothing to say about betraying the strawhat?¡±(Franky) ¡°Did I really?¡±(Rick) ¡°What the... After all you¡­¡±(Franky) ¡°Don¡¯t! He¡¯ll probably say something along the lines of ¡®I never was on their side, so it¡¯s not a betrayal.¡¯ or something like that. I told you you can¡¯t win.¡±(Robin) ¡°...¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°I have to say, your presence here doesn¡¯t please me Franky.¡±(Rick) ¡°I¡¯m not pleased either!¡±(Franky) ¡°That means you have the blueprints for Pluto.¡± ¡°How do you..¡± ¡°He¡¯s working for CP-0.¡±(Robin) ¡°What?!¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry, my boss doesn¡¯t care about the ancient weapons.¡± ¡°Lies!¡±(Robin) ¡°I did tell otherwise to CP9 but that¡¯s the truth. It¡¯s my own curiosity I wish to satisfy but I¡¯m not interested in reviving them or using them. Those things are better forgotten and that¡¯s why I¡¯m displeased to see you here. You have the blueprints of Pluto and Robin has the power to awaken it. The World Government has now the way to destroy the world and shape it to its liking and that¡¯s not good.¡±(Rick) ¡°... Aren¡¯t you working for them?¡±(Franky) ¡°Power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely.¡± ¡°Then why aren¡¯t you letting us go? I could go back to my men and her to her crew.¡± Rick didn¡¯t answer and just turned his head slightly to look intently at Robin. ¡°I can¡¯t go back. If I do, I''ll just put them in danger.¡± ¡°Why? You¡¯re the only one in danger.¡± ¡°The World Government will forever be after me because my very own existence is a crime!¡± ¡°¡°It¡¯s never a crime to exist.¡±¡± Robin was shocked by the reply she got and that made her think. ¡°We arrived.¡±(Rick) The Puffing Tom stopped at Enies Lobby¡¯s station. They were ¡®wee¡¯ by a crowd of marines. One poor guy put changes around Franky to restrain him even more. Bad move on his parts as he ended up with his head being bitten by the cyborg. Robin, then Rick were next to exit the train¡¯s car. The four CP9 agents were on solid ground too and at their sight the marines and agents present formed rank and stood at attention but you could hear some of them whispering . ¡°The CP9 sure is great, they solved a 20 years long problem just like that.¡± ¡°Wait, who''s that guy in a white suit?¡± ¡°That¡¯s.. That¡¯s Rick Wald!¡± ¡°What?! They got him too! Man, CP9 are really the best.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t think he¡¯s their prisoner.¡± ¡°What do you mean?¡± ¡°Look.¡± Rick got closer to Li. ¡°I hope you thought of how to deal with this mess. My advice? Throw Spandam under the boat.¡±(Rick) ¡°...¡± Li didn¡¯t say anything and started walking towards the front gate. His colleagues followed up, and Rick just went back to Franky and Robin walking behind them. Soon the battle of Enies Lobby will start. Chapter 52: Hard it is to suffer through stupid people Chapter 52: Hard it is to suffer through stupid people Chapter 52: Hard it is to suffer through stupid people A group of seven people entered the office of the CP9¡¯s director Spandam. ¡°I¡¯m d to see you all back with your targets, and apparently a bonus too.¡± was the greeting Spandam gave. He took a good look. Four were returning agents who until now have been on a mission undercover in Water Seven. They were Rob Li, Kaku, Blueno and Kalifa. The other three were Nico Robin the demon child, Cutty m known as Franky the cyborg andst but not least Rick Wald the world¡¯s worst traitor. It always made Rick wonder about his title. There were way more powerful people who left the marines in¡­ not so good terms. The best tracker of the marine, THAT would have been fitting. Sure there were plenty of people in the marine and in the first half of Grand Line with the haki of Observation who probably could find people faster but in a limited range. The haki of observation was useless if the pirate you¡¯re looking for is already sailing to another ind or thend to search is too vast. What earned Rick his title is the speed at which he gathered, analyzed, and acted upon the information he got. All in all he would have been a perfect agent for any Cypher Pol unit, especially the nine as he could tear apart someone from afar without being seen. Why was Rick never recruited? He didn¡¯t know. In any case while Rick was musing about his past glory, Spandam was focused on Robin. The key to his n to awaken Pluto and take over the World Government. ¡°Why isn¡¯t she cuffed?!¡± He walked towards her and tried to grab her. Tried. Tried and failed, because before he could even finish his mouvement he was pushed a few feet back and fell on his butt. Rick walked forward and ced himself between the CP9¡¯s director and her. ¡°I would appreciate it if you don¡¯t try to touch my target. And she¡¯s not cuffed because I said so.¡± said the ex(?)-marine. ¡°What the.. Li! Why isn¡¯t he cuffed too?!¡± asked Spandam. The one addressed was feeling the start of a headache. ¡°He¡¯s possibly an agent of CP0.¡± ¡°Possibly?¡± Interjected Rick with an eyebrow raised. ¡°What?¡± eximed Spandam. ¡°We don¡¯t have concrete proof that you¡¯re indeed a member of CP0, or that you¡¯re working for the marines for that matter.¡± said Kaku supporting his leader. ¡°I let it go because you showed no interest in getting Nico Robin back or interfering with our mission and prevented two members of your former crew from abducting her.¡± announced the ventriloquist. ¡°Or the bunch of you were simply too scared to ¡®possibly¡¯ anger a celestial dragon though, I don¡¯t really me you for that. I would have done the same if I were in your position.¡± replied Rick. Spandam lifted himself from the ground and stood up. ¡°And what does that have anything to do with Nico Robin?¡± he asked. ¡°Apparently she¡¯s his mission. He was tasked to stick to her and let her infiltrate and destroy any group she could as she was running away from the marine like she did for the past 20 years. The goal was to direct her to any specific target his superior would have designated.¡± exined Li ¡°And now that CP9 got involved my mission is more or less a failure. Thank you very much.¡± said Rick frowning at Spandam. ¡°I didn¡¯t know any of that.¡± ¡°And no one was supposed to, especially not HER. Now how are you going to clean this mess?¡± ¡°Clean this mess? Why should we?¡± asked Spandam. Rick facepalmed. ¡°Can someone exin it to him before I do something that I will NOT regret please?¡± he almost begged. ¡°Sir, we unknowingly interfered with the business of a world noble. And since it was your order to capture Nico Robin, you¡¯re the one in trouble.¡± exined Kalifa. ¡°What?! No, no,no no no, it wasn¡¯t my fault! I didn¡¯t know.¡± ¡°And you think it would matter to a world noble because?¡± said Rick. ¡°What should I do?¡± ¡°How someone like you ever got to where he is, is a miracle.¡± muttered Rick. To the four CP9¡¯s members he traveled to Enies Lobby and the three that were already here when they came in, and that nobody cared about, his muttering was lost. It drew a smile to some. It was Li who solved the problem. ¡°We could keep Nico Robin locked up for a while, extracting from her any information she has and then release her into his care.¡± ¡°That¡­ could work. Everything must be done covertly.. Should the public learn that she was captured and then somehow see her roaming the seas¡­ It won¡¯t do any favor for the World Government¡¯s image, especially if she¡¯s travelling with me. And we would have a very displeased world noble on our back.¡± ¡°Let¡¯s do that then!¡± said Spandam, too happy to get out of this mess. ¡°First thing first, you should call Fleet Admiral Sengoku and ask him about my situation. Not explicitly of course.¡± interjected Rick ¡°Why?¡± asked Spandam. ¡°Oh my goodness¡­.¡± ¡°It¡¯s still uncertain if he¡¯s really a member of CP0, sir. Despite every action he made proving it¡¯s indeed the case, we need confirmation.¡± exined Kalifa. By asking himself to check his own credentials Rick was showing his good faith. Aokiji didn¡¯t lie to him, considering Rick¡¯s leaving¡¯s circumstances and his abilities there was no way Sengoku would not try to bring him back. Not forcefully though. He knew Rick¡¯s temper well, if he coerced him then he would never join back. Rick knew that and that yed in his favor. ¡®Now all I need to do is direct that idiot to ask the question the right way otherwise I¡¯m toast and fleeing with both Robin and Franky will beplicated.¡¯ As Spandam picked up one of the den den mushis on his desk, which among them was a small golden one, Rick made his move. ¡°Remember, no one is supposed to know I¡¯m an agent. Just say your men saw me in Water Seven or something, and that since Aokiji made contact with me they didn¡¯t know what to do.¡± ¡°Won¡¯t he ask why I call him instead of Admiral Aokiji ?¡± asked Spandam which earned him a sneer from Rick. ¡°You don¡¯t know Aokiji very well do you? Don¡¯t worry it will be fine, just say you tried to contact him and got no answer.¡± Spandam dialed the number for the marines HQ, Marineford, identified himself and asked to speak to Sengoku. ¡°Sir, this is director Spandam of CP9.¡± ¡°CP9? Why are you calling me?¡± replied the fleet Admiral. ¡°Sir, one of my men undercover spotted Rick Wald in Water Seven. I.. have been made aware that admiral Aokiji made contact with him. For what purpose I do not know¡­¡± ¡°So? I fail to see the point of this call.¡± ¡°Rick Wald is wanted, Fleet Admiral, my men wanted confirmation if they should apprehend him or not as this could interfere with any business Admiral Aokiji is having with him. I tried to call the admiral but¡­¡± ¡°Aokiji is being Aokiji¡­¡± said Sengoku before sighing. ¡°Should my men proceed?¡± ¡°No, under no circumstances should your men approach him.¡± ¡°Thank you for confirming, sir.¡± After ending the conversation with Sengoku, Spandam hung up the phone. ¡°Satisfied?¡± asked Rick ¡°Yes.¡± said Spandam. ¡°No. He didn¡¯t confirm that you were an agent of CP0, he just said to not approach you.¡± noted Li. Rick put his wrists together and moved them forward. ¡°Go ahead then, cuff me. Oh! Use seastone ones by the way.¡± That was either audacious or really stupid for a normal person. Well it didn¡¯t matter for Rick, he already had sprouted skin all over his wrists. Should he be restrained with seastone cuffs he would still be able to use his powers. Since the body parts he created never disappeared unless he wanted to, seastone would just weaken the parts and not depop them, unlike Robin¡¯s. That was the advantage of his Me Me no mi over Robin¡¯s Hana Hana no mi. The disadvantage was the appearance¡¯s speed was slower. His powers worked like so: first a seed appeared and from that seed grew a body part. Rtively it was fast, but nothing almost instantaneous like Robin. Li looked at Rick before speaking up. ¡°No, there is no need.¡± Rick lowered his arm, as Spandam moved around his desk andid back against it while holding a medium size wood box. He addressed his subordinates. ¡°Well, since that problem is resolved... Li, Kaku, Blueno and Kalida, I want to congratte you and wee you back after five years of absence. I have secured two unknown devil fruits, Kaku, Kalifa, they¡¯re yours.¡± He opened the box, and showed the devil fruits inside. He tossed them one after the other to the people they were destined with and put the box behind him.Then, as in the manga he proceeded to make his little speech about his frustrations, his n, his dream of ruling the word, beating Franky and when she dared to ask why Aokiji would entrust him with the power of the buster call, Robin. Or once again, tried to beat Robin. This time Rick didn¡¯t just send him back a few feet. No this time he sent him crashing in his seat a dozen feet away. Without any surprise, none of the members of CP9 reacted. ¡°It is your second warning, there won¡¯t be a third.¡± said Rick. ¡°Right, right, my apologies. I was caught up in the moment.¡± Spandam walked back again to her and as the sadist tried to break her. ¡°I hope you enjoyed your freedom, because from now on you will suffer so much pain you¡¯ll wish for death countless times over. A bitch to the world nobles, that¡¯s all you are now! Hahahaha. Oh yeah, by the way¡­ The moron from earlier that tried to take your filthy and lowly self back is here.¡± ¡°That¡¯s not possible¡­¡± replied Robin. ¡®So Luffy is here, right on time.¡¯ thought Rick. ¡°Well, he¡¯s probably been caught by the guards right now. How retarded is he? Thinking he could defeat the might of the ten thousand soldiers of Enies Lobby? Ha! At any rate, shipping him off to impel down should be a fair souvenir for you!¡± ¡°That¡¯s not what you promised me! I only agreed to cooperate with you as long as they could escape freely!¡± screamed Robin. ¡°Haaaa! I love it when I crush the hopes of criminals¡­. Li, would you mind reminding her of the exact condition of our deal?¡± ¡°The seven, well now six, members of the strawhat crew, excluding Nico Robin, will depart from Water Seven in peace.¡± ¡°Wait, you included me too? Aww I knew you cared!¡± interjected Rick, sadly he was ignored by everyone. ¡°And as promised, they sailed from Water Seen safely. Too bad for them they came here.¡± ¡°Y- You!¡± Robin could find any words. Spandam and CP9 had found and used a loophole in their agreement. The CP9¡¯s director¡¯s attitude was irritating Rick for two reasons. One he tricked Robin. Two, crushing the criminals'' hopes, finding loopholes in the deal¡­ That was what he did best. But more importantly it was something he enjoyed and that didn¡¯t sit well with him. ¡®To have the same quirks as him¡­ Ugh. I think I¡¯ll vomit.¡¯ Spandam ordered the CP9 to retreat to their room, but before they did chained Franky to a pir against the wall. Spandam asked the same for Robin but Rick rebuffed him. ¡°She¡¯ll behave.¡± then turn to a broken spirited Robin ¡°Right?¡± to which she gave a barely discernible nod. ¡°Good.¡± Spandam invited Rick to take a seat, which he did, and brought coffee. ¡°If you don¡¯t mind me asking¡­ How did you get recruited by Cypher Pol 0?¡± ¡°A bit more than ten years ago, at the time of the Reverie, I was escorting, with Aokiji, basta¡¯s Royal family to Marie Geoise. There we met some members of CP0. They had a short talk with Aokiji. It was only some timeter that he told me they were interested in my skills.¡± ¡°If I may, what kind of skills?¡± ¡°Gathering and analyzing intel, alone and undercover.¡± ¡°Why not recruit a member from another Cypher Pol unit then?¡± ¡°You know, I asked myself the same question. Apparently, they needed someone young, from the marines preferably, with a particr set of skills for a certain mission. They couldn¡¯t spare one of the few members they had, it seems.¡± ¡°What mission?¡± ¡°That I can¡¯t tell you. However, I can tell you that the mission was sessful, cherry on the cake? I survived. They were somehow impressed as it was not expected of me. And they kept giving me work. The problem was, I still had my marines¡¯ duties to uphold and with thetest mission they needed me to go deep undercover for a long time. I needed some kind of bad reputation, so they came up with the idea, with the participation of Fleet Admiral Sengoku, to stage my treason.¡± ¡°So you trying to kill Sakazuki, Sengoku and a celestial dragon was really made up?¡± ¡°Of course, however, to make it look real, we did fight in the fleet Admiral¡¯s office. The marines needed to believe the story too, so you could say that part of it is true. Sakazuki was not aware of the n though, and trust me he doesn''t y around. I almost lost my life¡± ¡°So for the past ten years you¡¯ve been on that mission? Was it finding Nico Robin?¡± ¡°No, the mission went quite faster than expected, thanks to dumb luck actually, the next two however¡­ Well In the end around two years ago I was set on a new target. You guessed it¡­¡± ¡°Nico Robin?¡± ¡°Yes. She was not easy to find. She¡¯s quite smart and cunning, more than anyone that I ever tracked down, and she had decades of experience too. In the end, I found her trail which led me back to basta and the rest is history.¡± At that moment a Cypher Pol agent entered the office in a panic. ¡°Director Spandam!¡± ¡°What the¡­ Gosh you scared me! Did no one teach you to knock?¡± ¡°I¡¯m terribly sorry sir, but there is an emergency!¡± He presented a den den mushi to Spandam. ¡°It¡¯s from the main Ind, sir, it¡¯s¡­¡± ¡°Why the hell did they send you instead of calling the den den mushi in this room. It¡¯s a direct line!¡± ¡°Probably because the line is open, look.¡± said Rick pointing to the den den mushi which was not hung up on the desk. ¡°What? Who¡¯s the idiot who did that?!¡± eximed Spandam ¡°Sir the emergency¡­¡± ¡°Ah yes! I know what it is, you can go.¡± Despite being doubtful the agent gave the den den mushi he came with to Spandam and left. ¡®How can the director be so calm when the main ind is in utter chaos?¡¯ he thought. Spandam approached Robin to gloat and abused her mentaly. When the den den mushi rang and Spandam picked it up. It didn¡¯t take long for him to lose his marbles when he heard the report. Quickly he ran towards a window to see what was going on in the main ind. What he saw shocked him so much he fell down on his ass. Blueno, one of the members of CP9, lost to Luffy. He quickly ordered the other member of the unit to his office. Meanwhile Franky was talking to Robin. ¡°They havee this far¡­ Do you know how outrageous this is? And they did it for you. That idiot Spandam broke the deal you had, so there is no need for you to sacrifice yourself anymore.¡± said Franky ¡°...¡± ¡°Why are you running away? Scared that one of them will die? If you look away, they won¡¯t be able to rescue you because they need you to want to be rescued for them to seed.¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°Fine, I¡¯ll force you then.¡± Rick turned his head towards the prisoners and spoke to Franky. ¡°Franky, I don¡¯t care what stupid thing you¡¯re going to do but if you hurt her¡­¡± Spandam, who went out of his office to gather some men, made his entrance. Unfortunately for them Franky was already ready to ¡®explode.¡¯ The marines and agents ran away, scared for their life. He grabbed Robin with his legs and did a ¡®coup de boo¡±. Sending him through the thick wall behind him reaching the Tower of Justice¡¯s balcony. Rob Li and his colleagues arrived and, with Spandam, went after them. ¡®Now is my chance.¡¯ Rick went to Spandam¡¯s desk and pocketed the golden den den mushi. ¡®This is so going to be fun. I¡¯m gonna get max affection points with Robin if everything goes ording to the n.¡¯ He picked up the den den mushi which was connected to the marines HQ and let it Ring. ¡°Marineford.¡± he heard. ¡°Hello, I would like to speak with Fleet Admiral Sengoku please.¡± ¡°Identification?¡± ¡°Just tell him that Rick Wald wants to speak to him.¡± There was a brief silence before the voice answered him. ¡°... One moment please¡± He didn¡¯t have to wait long. ¡°Rick?!¡± ¡°Uncle.¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°It¡¯s been a while.¡± said Sengoku. ¡°Ten. Very. Long. Years. Thanks to the bounty you put on my head.¡± Rick knew it was Sakazuki¡¯s doing. After all Sengoku would just have let him go, he was no criminal at the time. But he needed to y the game so he acted ignorant. ¡°That was Skazuki¡¯s doing.¡± ¡°Right. You¡¯re telling me he bypassed your authority? Just like that?¡± ¡°Not just like that. That night when you told me you quitted¡­ Well, I didn¡¯t take it well.¡± ¡°Sure.¡± ¡°I¡¯m ashamed to admit it but¡­ I copsed. By the time I came to, Sakazuki had already issued your bounty.¡± ¡°Fine. Let¡¯s say I believe you, was the proposal Aokiji told me true? About me being reinstated.¡± ¡°Yes it is. Everything is ready.¡± ¡°And I shoulde back, just like that?¡± ¡°There won¡¯t be any problem. Your time among the strawhats will be overlooked.¡± ¡°That¡¯s not what I meant! Do you really expect me toe back as if nothing ever happened? That I didn¡¯t have to live the life of a fugitive and a beggar, always having to look behind my back?¡± ¡°I¡­¡± ¡°Oh my goodness you did¡­ You know what? You want me back, then you must do two things for me.¡± ¡°...I¡¯m listening.¡± ¡°First, you let go of Nico Robin. I want her status as a criminal void. She¡¯s no threat to the world as she¡¯s not interested in the revival of the ancient weapons. What matters to her is history, you know which part, and there is no way she could ever seed in her endeavor. From what she told me, in thest twenty years, the few poneglyphs she found only contained history that has not been made forgotten by the World Government.¡± ¡°That¡¯s not possible but I may push things a certain way so she¡¯s not actively sought. Is that eptable?¡± ¡°Not ideal, but better than nothing.¡± ¡°What¡¯s the second condition?¡± ¡°I want, for the next ten years, Sakazuki to be disgraced and live the life he forced upon me.¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°No.¡± Sengoku said firmly. ¡°No?¡± ¡°No. Sakazuki is one of the three admirals in the navy. He is one of the faces of the marines. I can¡¯t and I won''t disgrace him.¡± ¡°Then we have nothing more to say uncle. Say hello to big sis and Kaza for me and stay healthy. Goodbye.¡± ¡°Rick! Wait¡­¡± The ex-marine hung up. Sengoku made the choice for him. What choice? To go back to the marines or stay with the crew. He hadn¡¯t expected Aokiji¡¯s proposal, and it would have been a lie to say he wasn¡¯t tempted. After all, the time spent in the marine was long, way longer than the time spent with the crew. A part of him longed to go back, just as much as he had wanted to one day sail with Luffy. Of course no matter his decision he still nned to get Robin back where she belonged and saved every single one of his friends¡¯ asses. So now, his n had to go till the end. As he walked towards the hole in the wall, he saw Franky holding a bunch of papers. "OH SHIT!" Chapter 53: Never gonna give you up, never gonna let you down Chapter 53: Never gonna give you up, never gonna let you down Chapter 53: Never gonna give you up, never gonna let you down ¡°OH SHIT!¡± Franky was about to burn the blueprints of Pluto and Rick couldn¡¯t have that. He didn¡¯t know what awaited him beyond Dressrosa. Having an ancient weapon would help dealing with the marines and the World Government. So by reflex Rick attracted the blueprints to him, just before Franky burned them to ashes. ¡°I¡¯ll be taking that, thank you.¡± He ignored Spandam, holding Robin, who was thanking him and asking him for the blueprints. Seeing a bruise on Robin¡¯s face. He put Franky in a gravity choke hold and made him float right in front of himself. ¡°I told you not to hurt her.¡± ¡°Was..n¡¯t...me.¡± tried to say the Cyborg. ¡°Rick! Let him go!¡± yelled Luffy. The ex-marine looked intently in Franky¡¯s eyes. And pushed him towards the crew, on the roof of the court house. ¡°You can keep him, we don¡¯t need him anymore.¡± he said to his captain. ¡°Rick! What the hell?!¡± ¡°I told you he¡¯s with them, Luffy.¡± said Sanji. Spandam was still asking for the n when Rick Just pushed him away towards the CP9 members. ¡°I told you not to touch her. Are you deaf or retarded? Now if I heard correctly what was happening¡­. You guys want Robin back and dered war on the World Government. Is that right?¡± ¡°You bet your ass we did!¡± said Luffy. Turning to Robin he added a few words. ¡°And you want to live? Well that made my job easier. Now what to do¡­ Oh I know, Let¡¯s y a game!¡± ¡°What the hell is he talking about?¡± said Kaku. Rick attracted Robin to him and held her tight. From his pocket he retrieved a golden den den mushi. ¡°Do you know what this is Robin? This is a special den den mushi which can start a buster call.¡± Robin''s eyes showed fear. Spandam was outraged because it belonged to him and the CP9 tensed. ¡®Where is he going with this?¡¯ was the question on everyone''s mind. ¡°My little game is simple. You have between 30 minutes to one hour to get out of this ind alive.¡± And in front of everyone present he pushed the button on top of the small golden snail he was holding. ¡°NO!¡± screamed Robin. ¡°Toote ~~~~¡± He made every single member of the strawhats and Franky float and pushed them far away inside the main ind with his gravity. ¡®Now they need to choose.¡¯ Rick¡¯s n was simple. More than half the crew didn¡¯t trust him, and that was no good. He needed something radical, to make them take a decision. Was he a friend or a foe? The ball was on their side. Right now, they got Robin back so nothing was holding them on this ind. They could take the Puffing Tom and get out of here and leave him behind. Ore back for him. He hoped that thest few actions he did regarding Robin and Franky and everything else before leaving Water Seven would be enough. Really that was a stupid, moronic n. Nothing more, nothing less. The buster call? An incentive pushing them to choose. That and a big jackpot in Karma. It will destroy this ind of ¡®justice¡¯, razing it to the ground. One of the three symbols of the World Government. That will undoubtedly weaken it. Or so Rick thought. Nothing was certain after all, not all marines and Cipher Pol agents were bad people. Rick¡¯s actions could well earn him bad Karma. That was his miscalction. Anyway, if his crewmates left, he was wanted alive and Sengoku still wished for him to be back in the marines. Starting the buster call didn¡¯t hold any consequences for him. He could always me Spandam and since the CP9 will certainly go after Robin and Franky, and lose against his crewmates, he was more or less free of any repercussions. He dodged by a hair¡¯s breadth Li¡¯s foot. ¡°What? Don¡¯t wanna y? Or did you finally realise I''ve been ying you from the start? Goodness, are you sure you¡¯re all super agents ? ¡®cause coning you was easy.¡± He punctuated his words with augh. ¡°Give me the blueprints.¡± ordered Li. ¡°Come and get them.¡± challenged Rick. ~~~~~ The strawhats and Franky were back at the entrance of the ind. Luffy had grabbed everyone beforending and no one was hurt. There were no marines or Cipher Pol agents around as all of them were still inside the main ind near the courthouse; the crew was thest seen at that ce. They were rejoicing to have Robin back. ¡°Ha! Joke¡¯s on him! We can leave using the sea train!¡± said Sanji ¡°Yeah! We should leave before the buster call arrives.¡± added Usopp under his identity of Sogeking. ¡°You two can go if you want, but I¡¯m going back for Rick.¡± said Nami. She started walking with determination toward the gate leading back to the center of the ind. ¡°Why?¡± asked Zoro. ¡°He¡¯s a traitor Nami!¡± added Usopp. ¡°If that¡¯s what you think then you¡¯re all fools.¡± replied Nami. ¡°Nami, what do you mean?¡± asked Chopper. ¡°Rick is giving us a choice.¡± stated the navigator. ¡°What choice?¡± That time it was Luffy who asked. ¡°To once and for all, decide if we can trust him or not. To decide if he¡¯s one of us or not.¡± she dered. ¡°After everything he did, he¡¯s certainly no friend.¡± answered Sanji. ¡°You mean, saving us and helping Vivi in basta? Or were you talking about the Davy Back Fight when he took the worst beating I have ever seen someone take, just so he could take Chopper and me back since you all failed to do it? Perhaps were you thinking about the time he saved your lives twice when you wanted to fight an Admiral of the marines? No, I''m sure you¡¯re talking about the time when he was on the brink of death after being hit by a giant thunderbolt and gave everything he had left to make a giant bean fall. Going so far as to take a stimnt in his state which, let¡¯s not forget, ended up killing for three minutes! After all that, I can honestly say, yes Rick is a friend of mine and I won¡¯t leave him behind. And all of you should be ashamed for thinking the way you do about him.¡± she said with anger. ¡°Nami, he said that taking Robin away was his job.¡± replied Usopp. ¡°His job is to take care of us! When Robin was gone, he took action and found her. He risked his life for her, lying through his teeth to those guys. At any moment he could have been discovered but he did it anyway. Robin, how did he act with you when the two of you were alone?¡± Nami asked. The archaeologist took her time to answer. Recalling Rick¡¯s attitude with a new perspective¡­ she could see the possibility that Nami was right. ¡°He was¡­ protective. He didn¡¯t handcuffed me, or restrained me. When Long-n¡­ When Sogeking infiltrated the car I was in, he knew he was there and gave me a few minutes to talk with him. When spandam got too close or tried to hit me he didn¡¯t let him.¡± ¡°See? He was taking care of Robin while we weregging behind. Heck! He gave her back to us!¡± said Nami. ¡°Then why all the acting?¡± asked Sanji. ¡°I don¡¯t know. I think he might have guessed about the buster call and formted a n to counter it. But I also think he had another personal agenda ining here. All I know for sure is that he helped every single one of us every way he could whenever he could and never asked for anything back.¡± ¡°In the sea train he did guess about the buster call, maybe he had guessed earlier¡­¡± said Robin. ¡°Why did he activate it then?¡± asked Zoro. ¡°As I said, to force us to make a choice. We can all quit this ind right now, before the buster call destroys it and leave Rick behind. Or go back for him. He¡¯s pressing us with time and knowing him to also raze this ind which is a symbol of the World Government off the map.¡± ¡°That¡¯s crazy!¡± said Chopper. ¡°We didn¡¯t leave him any other way. Sanji every time you spoke to him your tone was dripping with suspicion. Robin, you avoided him like the gue! Usopp used him right to his face, in front of everyone, of everything going wrong and being a traitor. Zoro you kept constantly an eye on him. We isted him. Had I been in his shoes I would have left, but Rick? Rick stayed, for us.He took everything withoutining even once! Even when half of the crew was against him. And now? Now he took Robin¡¯s ce. Because between the two of them only he is wanted Alive only. He sacrificed his freedom, for god knows what they will do to him, just so we could get away with Robin. I won¡¯t stand for it!¡± said Nami Franky, who was listening on the sideline intervened. ¡°She¡¯s right.¡± ¡°How would you know? You don¡¯t even know him.¡± replied Usopp. Franky pulled out something from his shirt. ¡°I know he had in his hands the blueprints for one of the most powerful weapons in the world. Blueprints the World Government wants desperately and he gave them back.¡± He was waving the blueprints of Pluto in his hands. ¡°I may not know him, but I know he¡¯s not part of the World Government, that¡¯s for sure.¡± said the cyborg. ¡°Now I don¡¯t know about you, but that guy risked his life for Nico Robin and to prevent the World Government from getting its hands on my mentor''s legacy. In my book he¡¯s a good guy and I¡¯m going back for him, I owe him my freedom. Besides, my family is still there.¡± he announced and left the way Nami was going before being stopped by Sanji. Luffy who was silent until now looked at his crew. He thought about everything Nami said, everything Rick did since he joined him. One moment came into his mind. The time just before his duel with Usopp. Rick came to advise him. That was good advice, one that Zoro gave too after the duel. But Luffy was not thinking about that. He was thinking about Rick¡¯s story. The one where he took people¡¯s lives and confessed that decadester this act still haunted him but that in the end, he didn¡¯t regret it because of the people he saved. ¡®He¡¯s still ying the bad guy for the sake of others.¡¯ ¡°I¡¯ve made my decision but I would like to know what you think. Raise your hand if you want to leave the ind right now.¡± No one did. That made him smile. ¡°Then let¡¯s get him back!¡± They rushed through the entrance door. Luffy, Zoro and Sanji were leading the way, defeating any marines they met, followed and supported by Chopper and Usopp. Nami and Robin brought up the rear. Nami pulled something for her jacket and gave it to her friend. ¡°Rick asked me to give you this when I thought the time was right.¡± Robin took a look at what she received. It was a small wooden box. She opened it and saw an Eternal Pose for O¡¯hara. ¡°How did he¡­¡± ¡°When he left the marines he knew he needed somewhere to hide. Where no one would look for him. Apparently there is a room in the marines HQ containing a lot of Eternal Pose. He took one of them.¡± exined Nami ¡°Then¡­¡± ¡°Yes, for thest ten years he was living on your home ind. Cleaned up the ce, buried your people, built a house and a library for the books he could save, he even grew crops. If he didn¡¯t catch wind of Vivi having disappeared and met us he probably would have spent the rest of his life there.¡± ¡°How do you know all that?¡± ¡°When we camped in Skypiea, I¡­ kinda ckmailed him to talk about that among other things...¡± ¡°Other things? Like what?¡± ¡°Like if you don¡¯t want him Robin, I¡¯m taking him.¡± ¡°What?!¡± ¡°Oh please! Don¡¯t tell me you don¡¯t know.¡± ¡°I¡­¡± ¡°You know what he said? He said that he likes your curves, that you are as tall as him and smart and knowledgeable. He loves your sense of humor and finds yourugh and I¡¯m quoting here ¡¯melodious¡¯. But what he likes the most about you is that you know and understand. His words.¡± Nami didn¡¯t add anything more. She had said all she had to say. Robin just kept quiet digesting all the new information she heard. Rick living on her homnd was a shock, true, but what shocked her more was that he wasn¡¯t just flirting and ying with her. It was way more than that. She didn¡¯t quite know what to do about this. Along the way they saw Kokoro fixing the Rockectman they had taken toe to the ind. She told them that, to get to the Tower of Justice from the courthouse they¡¯ll need to lower the bridge. Soon enough the crew was almost to the courthouse when things got a bit moreplicated. All the able soldiers were there, still thinking the pirate crew that invaded the ind was still inside the building since the franky family was there fighting. Franky was trying to breach through the horde of marines to join his family. ¡°Let¡¯s help Franky!¡± ¡°Luffy we don¡¯t have time! The buster call may begin any moment now.¡± said Nami. The time they took to discuss Rick¡¯s rescue took around 15 minutes. The journey from the entrance to the courthouse? Ten more. From what Rick said, they had between 30 minutes to one hour before ten heavy battleships would arrive and start cannoning everything higher than the ground on this ind. At best they still had 35 minutes, at worst, five. They couldn¡¯t afford to waste time. ¡°Those guys came with us, we¡¯re helping them!¡± ¡°Fine. Everyone move out of the way!¡± warned Nami. Luffy grabbed Franky and brought him back as Nami used her clima-tact to create for the second time a giant thunder cloud and make lightning rain. That didn¡¯t take care of every soldier, but that cleared the way to the inside of the courthouse. Franky was reunited with his men but didn¡¯t linger. He had a good guy to save and time was ticking. Thankfully the frankies were spread out and they had no problem lowering the bridge. Luffy couldn¡¯t wait and went back to the rooftop, hoping to propel himself to the other side. What he saw there stunned him. The building was badly damaged. The balcony where Robin dered she wanted to live and the wall behind it were gone. Luffy could see inside and saw the members of the CP9. All of them were somehow wounded. Two were on the ground not moving. Li was catching his breath when he saw Luffy across the chasm. He smirked and picked up something red on the floor. It was Rick. ~~~~~ ¡°Give me the blueprints.¡± ordered Li. ¡°Come and get them.¡± challenged Rick. Rick used his gravity and pushed his opponent away. ¡®Now I¡¯ve done it. I¡¯ve reached a new level of stupidity never seen before. Even Luffy never went that far in the path of the stupid. Was it because I spent so much time with Garp? I meane on, I¡¯m a smart guy! What was I thinking when I chose to stand behind and fight ALL of the CP9.¡¯ His thoughts were interrupted when this time Kaku and Jabra rushed at him. That was how the fight started. Rick fought hard, and well and didn¡¯t hold back on the use of his gravity. He dodged, blocked and took hits, but gave back just as much if not more. During the battle the wall of Spandam¡¯s office, which Franky made a big hole in,pletely copsed with a part of the roof. This was not an easy fight. Yet at six versus one, he held his ground. The tekkai that the CP9 used proved itself problematic for him as they were not affected by the increase in gravity as much as they should have. That was not the only reason, they were the elite and their bodies were trained beyond the limit. Rick had to increase the gravity more and more. He did seed in knocking out Kumadori and Fukurou, after all in terms of physical power Rick was no slouch and could give a run for his money to Li. But sadly no matter how strong he was, his defense was not as strong as his offence. Since he always subdued his opponents with his gravity he never really got hit. Sure, he tanked everything Foxy threw at him in the Davy Back Fight but who was that guy? A joke of a pirate, whose bounty was 24 Millions berry. In the end ? Rick lost. Chapter 54: Where there is unity there is always victory Chapter 54: Where there is unity there is always victory Chapter 54: Where there is unity there is always victory Rick lost. That was a hard pill to swallow. Gravity was a powerful ability that no one could resist. Unless you were a logia like Smoker or Ace. An intangible element with no mass. Among the members of the CP9, none were a logia. So Rick could have butchered them all. Some easily some¡­ not so much, but he would have been able to do it. The question was¡­ Why didn¡¯t he? What bullshit reason did Rick have to not tear them apart, limb from limb? Why did he only knock out Fukurou and Kumadori? Kalifa was an easy target; he could have dealt with her too. Heck! He could have dealt with them all at once! Yet he didn¡¯t. He made the fightst as long as he could. His objective was to lose. Really¡­ What pushed him to do that? Author? (Author¡¯s note: Look at the members of the CP9, especially the ones down.) Fukurou and Kumadori? What about them? They¡¯re not important, they only fight ¡­.. Oooooooooooooh. (Author¡¯s note: Seems like you found out.) In the manga and anime Fukurou and Kumadori were not important opponents. Not because they were weak, which they were not, but because their opponents didn¡¯t need to fight them. Chopper, Franky and Sogeking were the ones to deal with them and gain nothing out of it. On the other hand by challenging Li, Kaku and Jabra, Luffy developed his Gear 3rd, Zoro his asura move, and Sanji his diable jambe. They were necessary fights for the three of them. They needed the power up since they didn¡¯t really get one in the Skypiea arc. Why fight at all the CP9 then, they were fated to fight anyway? The answer was simple, because of Rick''s intervention. By sending them right back at the ind¡¯s entrance they would have to fight their way again to the Tower of Justice. The crew would be a lot more tired than they originally would have been and may not have been able to win against the CP9. Now with everyone weakened on each side, everything was bnced again more or less. That was a very convoluted n. At every moment something could have gone wrong, could still go wrong. Rick nearly failed to secure Pluto¡¯s blueprints because of his call to Sengoku. It was just a two minutes call and yet it almost screwed up his n. If you could call that a n. Rick was on the ground, beaten up. His white suit was now dyed red. He was still alive. Unfortunately for them he was wanted alive only, meaning the World Government had a need for him. Finishing him off was an option they could but shouldn¡¯t take. Especially after the Fleet Admiral himself said to not approach him. Well, Rick approached them on his own will, so they were covered, but if he died they didn¡¯t know what kind of problems they would have. ¡°To think he could fight against the six of us for so long¡­.¡± said Kalifa ¡°And take out Kumadori and Fukurou.¡± added Jabra ¡°I don¡¯t think in a single fight any of us would have won.¡± said Kaku ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter. He¡¯s down, get the blueprints.¡± ordered Li Despite his cold attitude, Li was thinking about what Kaku said. It was true, in a one on one fight he would have probably lost. That didn¡¯t sit well with him. With most of the office destroyed he now had a nice view of the main ind. When he saw Luffy arrive on the courthouse¡¯s roof, he drew a smile. ¡®Perfect.¡¯ Li grabbed Rick¡¯s head and raised it so the strawhats¡¯ captain could see better. ¡°This is what happens when you defy the World Government.¡± He then threw the unconscious man violently towards the office entrance where Spandam was. When the fight started the CP9¡¯s director had run away. He was no fighter after all, worse he was weaker than the average marine, and a coward. Now that the battle was over he came back, Rick was still in possession of Pluto¡¯s blueprints. Or so he thought. ¡°Good job, everyone. Do you have the blueprints?¡± ¡°We were about to get them from him when Li threw him your way sir.¡± replied Kaku. Spandam crouched and started to search Rick¡¯s pockets. His frustration and irritation grew after each empty one until he exploded with rage not finding them. ¡°They¡¯re not there!¡± ¡°What?¡± asked Li. ¡°He doesn¡¯t have the blueprints!¡± yelled Spandam. ¡°Hehehe.*cough*¡± Rick was conscious again. He raised one of his hands and flipped them the bird. That was too much for Spandman who started kicking him with all his feeble strength. ¡°WHERE ARE THEY?! WHERE ARE THE BLUEPRINTS!¡± That was too much for Luffy who was watching from afar. After Li had thrown Rick away, he wanted to cross over the chasm and fight. But he knew he couldn¡¯t take everyone. So for the time in his life he held himself back and waited. Waited for the bridge of the courthouse to lower and his crew to go to the other side. Now? Seeing what Spandam was doing to his friend he couldn¡¯t do that anymore. He grabbed what looked like battlements, one in each hand, stretched and propelled himself. His wee in the office was not a warm one. Li immediately charged him, and when his colleagues tried to intervene he forbade it. ¡°He¡¯s mine!¡± Spandam was still kicking the shit out of Rick when Kalifa called out to him. ¡°Sir at this rate you will kill him.¡± ¡°WHAT ABOUT IT?! HE¡¯S JUST A FILTHY PIECE OF SCUM OF A PIRATE!¡± replied Spandampletely unhinged. ¡°He¡¯s the only one who knows where the blueprints are sir.¡± That made Spandam stop. It was true, Rick was thest person to hold the blueprints. If he died they may be lost forever ruining his ns and dreams for good. ¡°Besides he¡¯s wanted alive, sir.¡± said Kaku The CP9¡¯s director took a moment to collect himself and think about the situation. At that moment he heard a loud noise he was familiar with. The bridge had been lowered. ¡°Kaku, Jabra take care of the annoying pests crossing the bridge. I want all of them dead. Kalifa I want you to go and bring back Nico Robin no matter what! As for that thing, I¡¯ll bring him myself to Impel Down for interrogation.¡± ordered Spandam ¡°What about Franky sir?¡± asked Kaku. ¡°What about him?¡± ¡°I think Rick Wald gave him back the blueprints while he was choking him. He was showing us his back, and with his size and his overcoat we couldn¡¯t clearly see what was happening with Franky.¡± answered Kaku. ¡°... Kalifa, if you find Franky, capture him too. However Nico Robin is still your top priority.¡± Spandam ordered. Kaku had been right on this one. When Rick was choking Franky, they were really close. When Rick moved his hands to put the blueprints in the inside pocket of his overcoat he actually put them in Franky¡¯s shirt, and no one saw anything. Spandam grabbed Rick by his cor and started dragging him towards his destination; the bridge of hesitations. Kaku, Jabra and Kalifa moved as well, they thought about exiting the tower by Spandam¡¯s office but the battle between Luffy and Li was still raging in it and decided against it. Besides, by now the intruders must have been in the tower, so Kaku and Jabra took the stairs down to meet them and do their duty. Kalifa opted to follow and help them along the way. 30 minutes had passed since Rick used the golden den den mushi and at any moment the Buster Call could start. ~~~~~ Rick felt vibrations from, what he believed correctly, the ground under him. Someone was talking to him and fiddling with his hands. He opened his eyes and saw Sogeking trying to lockpick the shackles on his wrist. ¡®When was I handcuffed?¡¯ thought Rick. Spandam, unable to go back to his office because of the battle going on, had to make a detour in the Tower of Justice to procure a pair and put them on Rick. He couldn¡¯t leave that traitor like that, not after defeating two of the CP9 in a one versus six fight. Sure Rick was unconscious and badly beaten up but the possibility was still there for him to try something if he ever woke up. That was a smart move born from his cowardice. Explosions could be heard nearby. ¡®I guess the Buster Call already Started.¡¯ Looking at Sogeking, Rick greeted him. ¡°Hey.¡± said Rick weakly. ¡°Hey.¡± replied Sogeking. ¡°You... came.¡± ¡°Of course we did!¡± ¡°We?¡± ¡°Everyone. Even Franky.¡± ¡°Rea...lly?¡± ¡°Yeah.¡± ¡°What¡­ about¡­ Usopp?¡± ¡°...¡± Usopp/ Sogeking was the one who has been the most harsh with the way Rick has been treated. So Rick teased him a bit as a petty revenge. ¡°Usopp¡­ was too ashamed toe himself, that¡¯s why he sent me to begin with.¡± ¡°Ha! I knew he... liked me.¡± joked Rick. Sogeking muttered something unintelligible and kept fiddling with the shackles¡¯ lock. His frustration was increasing as he couldn¡¯t unlock them. ¡°What happened?¡± asked the ex-marine ¡°Soon after we arrived at the tower, we were attacked by three members of the CP9.¡± ¡°Ugh.¡± ¡°Yes, you can say that. They taunted us and that pissed off everyone. Some more than most.¡± ¡°Taunted?¡± ¡°About what they did and were going to do to you.¡± ¡°Oh boy¡­¡± Hearing that, Usopp let out augh. ¡°You have no idea. Zoro and Sanji took one guy each. Nami and Robin fought the blonde. You¡¯re lucky you didn¡¯t see how Nami was. I¡¯ve never been so scared of her. Actually I have never been so scared in my life.¡± Rick tried tough at that, before groaning in pain. ¡°Wow, easy there.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t make¡­ Meugh then.¡± ¡°Sorry about that. Anyway, Franky, Chopper and I were not about to intrude in any of those fights, especially thedies¡¯. So we went ahead to get you. We met soldiers along the way and around that time the Buster Call started. That was really a shitty idea you got.¡± chastised Sogeking. ¡°Sorry¡­ Only one I had at the time.¡± ¡°Well, can¡¯t really do anything about it now. So where was I... Ha yes, Franky and Chopper engaged the soldiers and told me to go on. Thanks to the CP9 bbing we knew where their director was taking you. Kokoro filled us in about the underground passage to get here. I went as fast as I could and caught up. I shot him right in the head with a fire bird star.¡± ¡°Good. That piece of shit deserved it.¡± ¡°Plenty. He¡¯s down for the count now.¡± said Sokeking, pointing with his chin to the side. ¡°What about Luffy?¡± ¡°When we crossed the bridge we saw him, briefly in the office where everyone came out. He was already fighting the pigeon guy.¡± An explosion happened behind them. It was Luffy and Li fighting; they broke the upper part of the tower at the end of the underground tunnel, allowing people to go up the surface and get to the bridge of hesitations. ¡°We should go.¡± ¡°Yes, at this rate we¡¯ll be coteral damage of their fight. Damn it, I can open those cuffs!¡± ¡°There is no need.¡± Rick had waited for Sogeking to open the lock, even though he didn¡¯t need to. The skin he sprouted around his wrist was still there, meaning he could still use his gravity to break his shackles. Why didn¡¯t he do so right from the beginning? Simply because that would have raised a lot of questions. How could a devil fruit user use his power when restrained with seastoned cuffs? Rick didn¡¯t want that hassle so didn¡¯t do anything. It had been ingrained in him long ago to never speak about his second devil fruit ability that it was now almost second nature to hide it. Now, however, with Luffy and Li battling so close, having his hands restrained could be problematic, he might need them after all. So in the end he broke them to Sogeking¡¯s stupefaction. ¡°What the¡­ How did you..¡± ¡°Trade secret that I¡¯ll tell youter. We need to go.¡± Thanks to his imperfect body he had healed more than enough to move. His breath was not a bit ragged anymore and had recovered enough strength to move. He was not ready to fight in any way but he could walk without any problem. Not very fast though. When explosions started to happen closer Rick told Sogeking to go ahead. Apparently the marines decided to start the destruction of the stronghold from the main ind before switching to the Tower of Justice. After that, the bridge of hesitations would be the next target to be turned to ashes. ¡°There is a ship and the end of the bridge. You need to prepare it for our escape.¡± ¡°Me?¡± ¡°I can¡¯t move as fast as you and we can¡¯t waste time, so go ahead I¡¯m right behind you.¡± Sogeking looked at Rick then nodded. ¡°Don¡¯t make mee back for you.¡± ¡°No chance of that.¡± Sogeking started running towards the end of the bridge. Rick turned around and looked at Spandam lying on the ground. ¡®Nah, he¡¯s not worth it. He¡¯s done for anyway.¡¯ he thought. Choosing not to kill the director of the CP9 Rick started walking towards the ship. Ship that sooner orter would sink under the heavy fire of the marines'' battleships. But that was fine, Merry will be there for them. ~~~~~ Sogeking was fast and in no time reached the ship and started to prepare it to depart. He heard a loud ssh followed by something hitting the deck. He turned around his kabuto at the ready when he saw everyone gasping for air. ¡°Where the hell did you alle from?¡± ¡°From the sea.¡± It was Kokoro who answered him. She was putting back her pants and exined what happened. Zoro, Sanji, Nami and Robin had defeated their opponent and went further into the tower meeting Franky and Chopper who were about done with the soldiers. They went through the underground tunnel when water came fast from the front and swept them away. Kokora arrived and thanks to her being a mermaid pulled everyone and brought them here. ¡°Where are Rick and Luffy?¡± asked Nami. ¡°Rick is on his way, he couldn¡¯t walk fast so he sent me ahead to prepare the ship for our escape. As for Luffy, he''s battling pigeon guy over there.¡± he indicated with his finger towards the ce where debris was flying all round. Their respite didn¡¯tst. One of the marines¡¯ battleships changed targets, seeing someone trying to escape the ind and fire at the bridge destroying part of it, cutting off Rick''s path. Another cannonballnded even closer. ¡°That¡¯s not good, we can¡¯t stay here like sitting ducks. We need to move!¡± said Sanji. ¡°What about Rick and Luffy?¡± asked Chopper ¡°We¡¯ll see to thatter!¡± replied Sanji. As they were leaving something came flying out of Luffy and Li¡¯s battle area and collided with the huge mast of one of the warships. It was Li. Luffy had finally defeated him. The crew was overjoyed with their captain¡¯s victory. Sailing near the area while dodging cannonballs, a rubber hand grabbed the ship¡¯s rail and Luffy tracted himself towards it. They were now just missing their Vice-captain and were good to go. Sadly it didn¡¯t go as expected. The entire fleet was done with Enies Lobby with the exception of the bridge of hesitations which had half of it still standing. The ten warships focused on the ship, the crew was on, their firepower hitting it pretty badly. Thankfully Merry was there and everyone jumped on her before they could sink. Now on a smaller vessel they were harder to shoot with the warships¡¯ big cannons which were not made for precision. While not stopping using them, it forced the marines to use rifles and bazookas. Bullets and small cannonballs in high quantity were flying towards the crew. On each of the people on the Merry an arm appeared. ¡°Robin? What are you¡­¡± asked Nami ¡°That¡¯s not me.¡± denied Robin. A purple glow surrounded them and repelled any projectilesing their way. They knew that glow well. ¡°Rick?¡± said a puzzled Luffy. They turned towards the bridge and saw their friend in a bad state but standing. His arms raised forward. ¡®Okay, next the warships¡¯ he thought. The warships were too far for his gravity to reach, but the power of his Me Me no mi? No problem. Hundreds of hands appeared on the ten vessels. Mainly on the cannons and used his gravity to orient them towards each other and provoked a friendly fire. Three of them were badly damaged enough to sink and the others to keep sailing. That move depleted the little bit of stamina he had recovered since he woke up. Now entirely spent he fell down to his knees and waited for the crew toe for him. They did but not the way he thought. Luffy¡¯s rubber hand grabbed him and brought him back to the Merry. They could leave now. They waged war against the World Government and won but more importantly¡­ They were all back together. Chapter 55: Hell hath no fury… Chapter 55: Hell hath no fury¡­ Chapter 55: Hell hath no fury... They have done it. They got everyone back together and were now sailing away from Enies Lobby to Water Seven. All was well. Actually not everything. Rick, sitting against the mast, was facing Sanji, Zoro and Sogeking. ¡°...¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°...¡± Nobody was saying anything and the air was tense. Nami had had enough and smacked the head of the three idiots facing their Vice-captain. ¡°Will you apologize already?¡± she yelled. ¡°¡°¡°Sorry.¡±¡± said the three in perfect sync. ¡°Sogeking, why are you apologizing too?¡± asked Chopper. ¡°Ah! Hmm... Usopp asked me to apologize on his behalf if I had the chance.¡± ¡°He could have done it himself.¡± ¡°It¡¯s fine Luffy, I¡¯m sure Usopp would have done it had he been here. Let¡¯s put everything into the past and let¡¯s not think about it anymore.¡± said Rick. ¡°¡°I agree!¡±¡± replied Nami and Chopper. ¡°Not so fast.¡± Someone didn¡¯t want to end things here, not like that. It was Robin. She bloomed hands and pulled Rick on his feet before restraining him against the mast. He couldn¡¯t move an inch. ¡°Robin?¡± said the ex-marine. *p* She had pped him! So hard his head turned to the right. ¡°That was for not telling me about O¡¯hara.¡± *p* This time his head turned to the left. ¡°That was for not telling me about Aokiji.¡± *p* ¡°That was¡­¡± And she didn¡¯t stop. She pped him again and again, faster and faster, for whatever reasons she could think of. Some were reasonable and some were not. Rick¡¯s cheeks were swollen, that definitely were not regr ps. In fact it was love ps, a variant of the love punch. ¡°Robin, you''re going to disfigure him!¡± said Luffy in panic. *p* ¡°That one, for being irritating!¡± She grabbed his ¡®face¡¯, if you could call that a face anymore, with both hands and looked him in the eyes intently. ¡°Robin Stop!¡± said Luffy, now being restrained by Nami. ¡°This one is to thank you for always taking care of me.¡± She drew her head closer and gave Rick a smoldering kiss. Everyone¡¯s jaws dropped to the floor with the exception of Nami who had a smile from ear to ear. The archaeologist ended the kiss; she was blushing more than a bit. Embarrassed, she didn¡¯t turn around and went straight inside the Merry. ¡°What just happened?¡± asked Sogeking. ¡°Robin just kissed Ric. Ah! He¡¯s passed out! Not good!¡± answered Chopper before going to Rick seeing how he was doing. ¡°So kissing someone makes them pass out?¡± wrongly realized Luffy which earned him a smack on the back of his head from Nami. ¡°No it doesn¡¯t! That was the ps you idiot!¡± ¡°We got another one down here.¡± interjected Sogeking pointing at something on the floor. Sanji had copsed. There was foam in and around his mouth; his eyes were shedding tears of blood. Was it from pain or jealousy? With him, probably both. ¡°Wow, what happened to him?¡± asked Luffy. ¡°It¡¯s better if you don¡¯t know.¡± replied Sogeking. Nami left the idiots alone and joined Robin in their cabin but not before warning them that someone may be hiding on the ship, as Merry couldn¡¯t havee by herself to rescue them. The tall brte wasying face down on the bed, head buried in a pillow. Thetter sat down next to her cross legged, put a hand on her friend¡¯s back and started stroking it. ¡°That was very bold of you, Robin.¡± Robin tried to disappear by burying her head further into her pillow. Her embarrassment was at its peak. It wasn¡¯t the first time she ever kissed someone, far from it. After 20 years on the run she was used to such physical things and more. But it was the first time it wasn¡¯t a means to an end. No, for the first time it meant something. That¡¯s why the always calm and collected Robin was in that state. Her emotions were all over the ce. She didn¡¯t know what to feel anymore. The kiss was more than a thank you, she couldn¡¯t exin what exactly. Perhaps was it relief? The Buster Call was her trauma, her demon haunting her since she was eight years old and Rick destroyed it. Just as he said he would. ¡°Pfmmffppmphf.¡± was what she answered. ¡°So, I guess I¡¯m not having him?¡± ¡°Hmmphmfmf.¡± ¡°It¡¯s fine. I¡¯m a bit sad about it but not heartbroken.¡± Robin turned her head to the side to look at Nami. And to breathe because she was starting to suffocate. ¡°I don¡¯t know, okay?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t know what?¡± ¡°What I¡­¡± ¡°What you¡¯re feeling?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°So I still have my chances then.¡± ¡°Nami!¡± Robin¡¯s reaction made Namiugh. That was so much not like her friend to act the way she was right now. ¡°Fine, I won¡¯t do anything while you¡¯re sorting out your feelings. That doesn¡¯t mean I¡¯ll stay away from him.¡± ¡°That¡¯s¡­ alright I guess. Thank you.¡± ¡°Now, do you know the mess that ¡°little¡± kiss created?¡± said Nami with an evil and sadistic grin and punctuating the word ¡®little¡¯ with air quotes. It was definitely not a ¡®little¡¯ kiss. She was going to enjoy Robin¡¯s torment. Every. Single. Second. ~~~~~~ It wasn¡¯t long before Robin, followed by Nami, were on the deck again. The former decided that going back to everyone would prevent thetter¡¯s ¡®torture¡¯. During their talk, Rick woke up and Chopper had reanimated Sanji who apparently forgot why he had fainted in the first ce. No one dared to remind him. ¡°Did you find anyone on board?¡± asked Nami. ¡°No. There¡¯s only us.¡± replied Zoro. ¡°Were you expected to find someone?¡± asked Kokoro. ¡°Yeah. Merry couldn¡¯t havee alone from Water Seven.¡± said Sanji ¡°And I definitely heard a voice telling me to jump into the sea when the marines¡¯ ship began sinking.¡± added Robin. ¡°I¡¯m telling you it was Merry¡¯s voice!¡± yelled Luffy. ¡°Idiot, there is no way a ship can talk.¡± said Zoro. ¡°Really? Inds in the sky, a guy made of rubber or lightning, those are fine to believe but a living ship talking is beyond reality?¡± questioned Rick. ¡°Yeah.¡± affirmed Zoro. ¡°You heard what that heathen said, Sogeking? Do you think Usopp would agree?¡±asked Rick ¡°There is no way he would. The voice belonged to Merry.¡± supported Sogeking. The argument stopped there as Luffy noticed a shiping from ahead. It was a huge vessel with the name and logo of the Galley. Captained by Ice Burg who had for a crew every worker of the Company. They were surprised and relieved that the strawhats survived the Aqua Laguna and came back alive from Enies Lobby. The joyous reunion didn¡¯tst though, as the Merry broke in half. She held on as much as she could for her crew but now with the galley ship present to bring them back safely, she didn¡¯t have to anymore. Luffy asked onest time Ice Burg for help fixing her but there was nothing anyone could do, no matter how good a carpenter they may be. The only thing the president of the Galley said was to let her rest for good. Luffy and finally Usopp understood that asking her to do more was a selfish act. They had reached eptance and now needed to say goodbye to their friend. Ice Burg lent them a small boat so the entire crew could stand on it while Luffy, on an even smaller one, was in front of them holding a lit torch ready to give Merry a viking¡¯s funeral. ¡°Merry, the bottom of the sea is dark and lonely. We¡¯ll see you off here. Thank you, for carrying us all this time Merry¡± dered Luffy before setting Merry on fire. The most emotional ones of the crew started crying and Rick, positioned between Nami and Usopp, grabbed the hand of the former and the shoulder of thetter to bring them support. ¡°I¡¯m sorry. I wanted to carry you to the end of the world. To go and share all your adventures while getting you there but I couldn¡¯t.¡± ¡°That¡¯s not your fault merry! It¡¯s ours! We kept hurting you! Destroying many things! Every time Usopp tried to fix you up but he was never really good at it! We¡¯re the ones who are sorry! Because of us¡­ Because of us you..¡± yelled Luffy in tears. ¡°That¡¯s okay, because I was happy. Without your love and care I would never havee to life. A happy life. I thank you for it.¡± Rick let go of Usopp¡¯s shoulder and with his hand used his gravity to tear Merry¡¯s figurehead from the body. ¡°RICK! WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!¡± yelled Luffy. The Vice-captain didn¡¯t say anything because Merry did. ¡°He¡¯s honoring the promise he made to me.¡± ¡°What promise?¡± asked Luffy, upset. ¡°I want to stay together and since I can¡¯t carry you anymore, and I was hoping that perhaps you would be willing to carry a piece of me with you.¡± ¡°OF COURSE WE¡¯RE WILLING!¡± ¡°Thank you. I¡¯m really d to have met all of you.¡± Those were Merry¡¯sst words. The mes were covering her entire body and soon enough what didn¡¯t turn to ashes sank deep into the sea. ~~~~~ Back to Water Seven everyone slept for an entire day. Not so much because they were physically drained but more because they were mentally and emotionally exhausted. Luffy was the only one still sleeping. Rick wondered why, as his fight against Li didn¡¯t tire him as much since he still could move after his victory. Perhaps was it the result of saying goodbye to Merry? While Luffy was eating asleep, Franky paid the crew a visit. He told them about the treasure tree Adam and announced that the money he stole from them was to buy wood from that legendary tree. That was the same wood the Oro Jackson, Gold Roger¡¯s ship, was made of. His news didn¡¯t stop there, he asked for the crew to sail on the seas with the ship he would built with this special wood. Everyone was overjoyed! They were currently stuck on the ind, without any means to sail but soon they would be able to continue their journey. ¡°The blueprints for the ship are done but it would not be your ship if I don¡¯t incorporate some of your wishes.¡± said Franky. ¡°A lock on the fridge and every cupboard in the kitchen.¡± said Sanji ¡°I guess ab for Chopper.¡± added Nami. ¡°And a library for Robin with a desk to work on.¡± Rick tagged in. ¡°Probably a training area for Zoro.¡± Nami ¡°If possible an indoor garden with a removable roof¡± Rick ended ¡°¡°A garden?¡±¡± said Sanji and Nami with astonishment. ¡°What? I like gardening. Who do you think took care to change the soil of your mandarin trees?¡± ¡°You did what?!¡± said Nami ¡°Soil is not an infinite source of nutrients, you know. When I joined the ship, the one used for your mandarin trees was almost devoid of it. A month more and they would have died. So I took and added some dirt from every ind we visited since then. I even took a bit of the cloud sea so I could experiment its effects on nts. The trees of Skypiea fed on it and grew huge!¡± exined Rick. Nami didn¡¯t know what to say or do. Should she love-punched him for touching her trees or thank him for keeping them alive? She didn¡¯t have to choose as Robin and Chopper entered the room. ¡°We¡¯re back! I examined the Frankies injuries, they¡¯re all fine. And I didn¡¯t take my eyes off of Robin either!¡± said Chopper with pride. ¡°Good job Chopper.¡± replied Sanji before going back to the kitchen. ¡°Once again, it¡¯s not fair! Why can Robin go out and I can¡¯t?¡± protested Rick. ¡°Because Sanji is cooking for Luffy and I¡¯m keeping an eye on him in case he wakes up, meaning there is no one to chaperone you!¡± said Nami. ¡°I¡¯m the oldest here I don¡¯t need¡­¡± ¡°You¡¯re not, I am.¡± intervened Robin. ¡°Fine! Second oldest here, I don¡¯t need a chaperone.¡± ¡°One you¡¯re being punished for your stupid n!¡± said Nami ¡°Two, you need to rest. I don¡¯t believe your fast healing isn¡¯t without consequences.¡±added Chopper ¡°And three, everytime you go into a town you create some trouble.¡± finished Robin. ¡°Oh! That¡¯s not true! Name one time I caused trouble!¡± ¡°When we went to see Ice Burg, you punched a guy in the face then subdued everyone with your gravity.¡± started Nami. ¡°The guy was molesting you and everyone was after us!¡± ¡°In Skypiea when you tten on the sand the entire toon of White berets.¡± continued Chopper ¡°They wanted to arrest me!¡± ¡°You plundered every single pirate ship and even sank thest one in the port of Jaya.¡± concluded Robin. ¡°... Okay, that one is valid.¡± agreed Rick. ¡°And that¡¯s why you¡¯re not allowed to go into town.¡± said Nami with finality in her voice. ¡°For my defense you were with me at the time, Robin.¡± ¡°What can I say? I had just joined the crew, I followed my Vice-Captain¡¯s lead.¡± said Robin, ying innocent. ¡°Oh you!... You¡­ You...I¡¯m never going to win that argument am I ?¡± ¡°¡°No!¡±¡± Frankyughed out loud at the situation. He couldn¡¯t ever get bored of how crazy this pirate crew was. Rick did the only thing he could do about his loss, he sighed. When he got up from his seat Nami called out to him. ¡°And where do you think you¡¯re going?¡± ¡°To the bathroom! Why? Do I need a chaperone for that too?¡± Nami let it slide and let him pout. She was harsh on him but that was out of worry. When Luffy told them the state he was in after facing by himself all members of the CP9, on the way back to Water Seven while he was resting, she was horrified and swore to keep an eye on him at all times. They almost lost him in Skypiea and now Enies Lobby, that was twice too much for her taste. After all, Rick was watching over them but who was watching over him? ¡°Rick is grumpy.¡± noted Chopper. ¡°You can¡¯t really me him, he¡¯s used to his freedom and to floating around. Now he¡¯s caged.¡± said Robin. ¡°It¡¯s for his own g-...¡± Nami didn¡¯t get to finish her sentence as one of the walls bursted open. From the huge hole walked a tall broad-chested marine with a dog mask. ¡°You¡­ are the strawhats crew aren¡¯t you?¡± asked the neer ¡°What if we are?!¡± said Sanji ¡°Good. Now where are my grandsons?¡± Chapter 56: Families are like fudge – mostly sweet with a few nuts. Chapter 56: Families are like fudge ¨C mostly sweet with a few nuts. Chapter 56: Families are like fudge ¨C mostly sweet with a few nuts. ¡°Good. Now where are my grandsons?¡± Looking around Garp saw Luffy eat-sleeping and that angered him. Without anyone able to do anything he got closer to him fast and punched him in the head. ¡°WAKE UP LUFFY!!¡± That had the desired result. Luffy woke up screaming in pain and holding his forehead. ¡°So, I heard you¡¯ve been doing reckless things, Luffy!¡± ¡°Gr- Grandpa?!¡± said a panicked Luffy. ¡°¡°¡°¡°¡°¡°What?!¡±¡±¡±¡±¡±¡± ¡°That¡¯s right! I¡¯m Garp the fist! This scoundrel¡¯s grandfather!¡± ¡°Wait! Garp the fist? As in THE hero of the marines?¡± said Nami, shocked. ¡°The one and only!¡± ¡°Luffy, is he really your Grandpa?!¡± asked Sanji. ¡°Yup! Don¡¯t mess with him, you¡¯ll get killed! Grandpa nearly killed me on many asions in the past!¡± ¡°Don¡¯t say such scandalous things! Now, where is the other one?¡± ¡°The other one?¡± asked Chopper. With the best timing, or perhaps the worst, Rick exited the bathroom. ¡°Come on guys, I can¡¯t go to the bathroom for two minutes without you breaking¡­.¡± He stopped his sentence short when he saw Garp in the room. ¡°Oh shit!¡± He tried to run but wasn¡¯t fast enough. Garp was already upon him and grabbed him by the cor. ¡°HERE YOU ARE, YOU UNGRATEFUL BRAT!¡± Garp threw a fist that Rick tried to dodge, despite his situation, and got counter attacked. That didn¡¯t please the old man in the least, making him stop being nice and pummel his grandson into the ground. ¡°Is that how you treat the one who raised you after not seeing them for more than a decade?!¡± ¡°¡°¡°¡°¡°¡°...¡±¡±¡±¡±¡±¡± ¡°¡°¡°¡°¡°¡°WHAT?!¡±¡±¡±¡±¡±¡± ¡°Hmm? Oh, well I more or less picked up the little shit when he was a kid.¡± ¡°It was borderline kidnapping!¡± Interjected Rick. ¡°What are you talking about? You came to me when you were six, wanting to join the marines.¡± ¡°Perhaps but the story going around is that you kidnapped me! How many people told you that kidnapping was still illegal and to put me back where you found me?¡± That was mostly true. Back in the days many marines officers had told Garp those exact words. Unfortunately he was used to Rick spinning things the way he wanted with half truth. A decade without seeing him didn¡¯t change that. ¡°I didn¡¯t! And even if it was true it doesn¡¯t matter! I trained both you and Luffy to be marines and you became pirates!¡± ¡°Wait, what? You trained Luffy? How do you even know him?¡± said Rick, ying the ignorant. ¡°Well, he¡¯s my grandson!¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°WHAT?! What do you mean grandpa?¡± eximed Rick ¡°Grandpa?¡± asked a puzzled Nami. ¡°Then that means¡± began Sanji. ¡°Rick is¡± then Chopper. ¡°His grandson too.¡± finished Robin ¡°¡°¡°¡°¡°¡°HOW?!¡±¡±¡±¡±¡±¡± ¡°Hold on! You¡¯re saying that Rick and I are rted?¡± said a dumbfounded Luffy ¡°Well, not by blood but yes.¡± ¡°So we¡¯re like brothers then, awesome!¡± screamed Luffy in joy. ¡°I don''t know if I should be happy to have even more family or sad to be my little brother''s subordinate.¡±mented Rick. ¡°Oh,e on!¡± said Luffy, putting his arm around Rick¡¯s shoulders. The joyful moment didn¡¯tst long as Garp punched them again. ¡°¡°What the hell?!¡±¡± ¡°That¡¯s for bing pirates!¡± ¡°I always said I wanted to be a pirate!¡± ¡°And I¡¯d rather be a pirate than a marine after knowing how corrupt they are and how they fucked me over!¡± ¡°Why¡­ you¡­¡± Garp gave them another round. Rick tried once again to dodge and hit back which really pissed Garp for good. The results? Rick ended up outside and unconscious after going through a wall. When he came to, he was in one of the beds the Galley had provided them. Garp and his men were fixing the walls he destroyed. Apparently the Vice-admiral and his grandson already had their talk, as well as Coby and Luffy. ¡°Ugh¡­¡± ¡°Guys, Rick is awake!¡± said Chopper. ¡°Not so loud¡­¡± His head was hurting a lot. After a punch of Garp though, that was not surprising. He raised from bed and went to lend a hand fixing the wall. ¡°So you¡¯re up.¡± said Garp. ¡°Yeah, no thanks to you. Seriously, did you have to hit me so hard?¡± replied Rick. ¡°It was good for what you have.¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°Why did you use this power in front of everyone? The marines know now. They will be more determined than ever to arrest you and study you.¡± ¡°Wait, what power?¡± asked Chopper. ¡°Those hands, they were your doing right?¡± stated Sanji. ¡°It looked like my own.¡± added Robin. Garp stopped hammering to look at Rick. ¡°You didn¡¯t tell them?¡± Rock shook his head sideways. ¡°I didn¡¯t intend to use them in front of anyone, ever, like big sis and you told me to do but this time, my safety was less important than theirs.¡± He turned towards his friends. ¡°When I was around eleven, I ate a second devil fruit.¡± That news shocked everyone. That was impossible, no one could eat a second devil fruit. Anyone who ever tried died. That¡¯s one of the irond rules of the world, like always following the logue pose. And now, Rick was telling them that he did and survived? That sounded preposterous. ¡°That¡¯s impossible, you would have died.¡± said Nami. Rick made two hand sprouts and gave them his hammer and some nails to keep working on the wall. ¡°Except I didn¡¯t.¡± ¡°But how?¡± said Sanji. ¡°I don¡¯t know. And since the only three other people who knew about it had no knowledge of biology, we couldn¡¯t really investigate why.¡± ¡°Why hide it?¡± asked Chopper. ¡°The World Government would have probably studied his body without any morals or ethics.¡± answered Robin. ¡°It¡¯s painful to hear and even more painful to admit it but you¡¯re right Nico Robin¡± said Garp before adding a few more words. ¡°We couldn¡¯t let them do that to Rick so we hid everything. Besides Sengoku, who needed to know there were only three people who witnessed Rick eating another devil fruit, so it was pretty easy to do.¡± Speaking of witnesses, Rick remembered who was there at the time and suddenly his mind clicked. His face paled and was almost deathly white. ¡°Oh god!¡± He stopped doing what he was doing and rushed to pack his things. ¡°Rick, what are you doing?¡± asked Luffy. ¡°I- I- need to go! Right now! I need to get off this ind!¡± the Vice-captain said in panic. He was reaching the nearest exit when Garp grabbed him.¡± ¡°What are you doing? If she finds me I¡¯m dead meat! Let me go!¡± yelled Rick while trying to break free. ¡°She¡¯s not here.¡± said Garp. ¡°But you are! So she will be soon!¡± replied Rick. ¡°Okay, what is going on?¡± asked Sanji. ¡°What¡¯s going on is that Rick is running for his life...¡± ¡°AND MY ASS!¡± ¡°... Yeah, knowing her, you should probably run for it too.¡± admitted the Vice-Admiral with a serious tone. It was a first for the crew to see Rick panic. They saw him joking, serious, sad and utterly furious but scared? Never. Who was he trying to run from? ¡°Who is ¡®her¡¯? ¡° asked Nami. ¡°His ex-girlfriend.¡± answered nonchntly Garp while picking his nose with his free hand. ¡°She was not!¡± objected his grandson ¡°You did make the promise to marry her so it was serious enough for her to be your girlfirend.¡± reminded him the Vice-admiral. ¡°¡°¡°¡°¡°¡°¡°YOU WHAT ?!¡±¡±¡±¡±¡±¡±¡± Garp had dropped a bomb. Every member of the strawhats had a different reaction. Nami and Robin didn¡¯t seem to be pleased by the news. Sanji, Chopper and even Zoro had their jaws hanging, and Luffy was confused because he didn¡¯t know what marrying someone meant. ¡°I was trapped okay! It was the only way to get my freedom back! Now grandpa, I¡¯m begging you, please let me go!¡± Rick exined. ¡°That¡¯s not necessary Rick. When I said she was not here, I meant on the ind.¡± ¡°There is no way she¡¯s not here when you are!¡± ¡°She left the marines!¡± Rick stopped trying to break free, shocked by the news. ¡°... What?¡± ¡° Less than a month after you left, she did too.¡± ¡°... Why?¡± ¡°... I¡­ don¡¯t know.¡± said Garp. ¡°...¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°Can you tell us more about his ex-girlfriend?¡± asked Nami, putting an emphasis on the word girlfriend. ¡°Yes! Why is Rick so scared of her?¡± said Chopper. ¡°Is she ugly?¡± asked Sanji which earned him a smack on the head by Nami. ¡°Kaza? Ugly? Bwahahahaha! She¡¯s one of the most beautiful women I have ever met. And she¡¯s strong too! As for why Rick fears her, well¡­ She can be... rather overly affectionate.¡± ¡°Affectionate?! Affectionate?! She¡¯s bat shit crazy! Do you remember how long I was in the hospital after¡­¡± He didn¡¯t finish his sentence, too embarrassed to discuss his sexual life in front of his friends. ¡°After. What?¡± questioned Nami, determined to get everything out of this conversation. ¡°When they met again after 8 years, Kaza gave him a choice¡­¡± ¡°Grandpa!¡± Garp used the same hand he used to pick his nose to cover Rick¡¯s mouth. ¡°Go at it until she¡¯s satisfied or until he breaks. He held on for three days before ending up at the hospital with a dislocated hip.¡± ¡°Hmmmmphf!¡± replied Rick ¡°Holy crap!¡± said Sanji. Everyone else was speechless. ¡°Affectionate indeed.¡± finally said Robin with a hint of jealousy that Nami didn¡¯t miss. ¡°Well, that was not the worst she did.¡± confessed Garp. ¡°Because there is more?!¡± said Sanji ¡°Plenty!¡± ¡°Would you mind telling us more?¡± asked Nami. ¡°Don¡¯t you dare grandpa!¡± ¡°Be quiet, you friends want to know more about you and I don¡¯t see the problem with that!¡± ¡°But..¡± ¡°When Rick ate his second devil fruit, she passed out from shock.¡± ¡°Wait, she was there?¡± asked Sanji. ¡°Of course, she was his captain after all and always watched over him.¡± ¡®Oh MY GOD, Rick had sex with his superior!¡¯ thought Sanji. ¡°When she woke up and saw him alive, she hugged him tight and never let go. For three days Rick was her prisoner. Eating, sleeping, even bathroom breaks, he was stuck. So he bargained with her; if she let him go he would marry her too when he came of age.¡± ¡°Too? As in, he already asked someone else before?¡± questioned Nami ¡°Yes, but that¡¯s a story forter. Anyway, unlike you, Kaza was too busy being full of glee with his proposal to notice the ¡®too¡¯ part immediatly. When she did, she had already released him. She was not a happydy I tell you.¡± ¡°That¡¯s not surprising.¡± replied Nami. ¡°Rick fled by going through a wall and she followed him. She searched the ship for the rest of the day and all night for him before fainting due to exhaustion.¡± ¡°That remind me of a story.¡± said Nami ¡°Yes, the screaming witch.¡± added Robin. ¡°What¡¯s that story about?¡± asked Chopper ¡°It¡¯s a scary story sailors tell children about a witch searching for her unfaithful lover in the dead of the night on ships.¡± said Robin. ¡°To think that you and Kaza¡¯s love affair gave birth to those stories¡­ Being young sure is nice.¡±mented Garp. ¡°Wait, what?¡± asked Nami. ¡°The screaming witch and the enraged hellhound were stories born out of that event.¡± answered the Vice-admiral. ¡°No shit!¡± said Sanji Robin couldn¡¯t help herself andughed. ¡°d to see that my misery entertains you Robin.¡± said a reproachful Rick. ¡°I-... I¡¯m sorry, I¡­ I was picturing an eleven years old you running around for your life for something so silly and I just¡­ I¡¯m sorry.¡± she apologized trying to get herughter back under control. Since the story hade to an end, Nami tried her luck to know more about the other woman Rick asked to marry. ¡°Who did Rick propose to besides her?¡± ¡°Tsuru.¡± answered Garp. ¡°As In vice-Admiral Tsuru?¡± asked Nami which prompted Garp to nod in agreement. ¡°¡°¡°WHAT?!¡±¡±¡± ¡°I was six, okay?! And she had just beat the shit out of Grandpa for bullying me! She literally mopped the floor with him! She was my idol from that moment of course I wanted to marry her.¡± ¡°I was training you!¡± replied Garp, offended. ¡°My.. Six years old and already proposing todies.¡± said Nami with a smirk. ¡°Oh you! Don¡¯t start!¡± said Rick. Nami decided to be merciful and didn¡¯t say anything more. The wall was repaired and it was time for Garp to leave. He threw something at Rick who caught it. ¡°Grandpa that¡¯s¡­¡± ¡°Yours. Always has been.¡± Rick didn¡¯t say anything. What Garp handed him was his sword Ryusei. He had meant to talk about getting a new sword with Zoro but with the recents events forgot about it. Now he didn¡¯t have to. Garp addressed both Luffy and Rick. ¡°Now you guys are my grandsons! That¡¯s why I won¡¯t be arresting you on this ind. That¡¯s how I¡¯ll report it to HQ so don¡¯t worry about anything and enjoy your stay here as long as you like.¡± ¡°Sir, that¡¯s not an excuse. Should Fleet Admiral Sengoku learn of this¡­ It¡¯s better to say they got away.¡± said one of Garp¡¯s subordinates. ¡°Well that¡¯s fine, I¡¯m just tagging along with the kids.¡± replied Garp, referring to Coby and Helmep. Turning to both his grandsons he bid them goodbye. ¡°Okay, bye.¡± said Luffy ¡°Why are you still here?¡± was Rick¡¯s answer. ¡°That¡¯s not how you say goodbye to your grandfather, you ill mannered brats!¡± yelled Garp before giving them another andst beating. ~~~~~ ¡°Now that everyone is awake, shouldn¡¯t we celebrate ? You know, with a big party.¡± proposed Rick. ¡°Hell yeah!¡± screamed Luffy overjoyed with the idea. ¡°Just us?¡± asked Chopper ¡°Hell no!¡± replied Luffy ¡°I guess we should invite the guys from the Galley and the frankies. Well Sanji, it¡¯s up to you to warn everyone one.¡± said Rick ¡°Why me?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t think you¡¯ll let Nami and Robin do it. Luffy WILL be distracted by something, and Chopper would probably be kidnapped because of how cute he is.¡± ¡°Hey!¡± protested the reindeer. ¡°What about you?¡± asked Sanji ¡°Nami?¡± Nami, who was reading the newspaper, didn''t even raise her head from it and just answered with two words. ¡°Still grounded!¡± ¡°So that¡¯s that.¡± said Rick ¡°Zoro?¡± ¡°¡°¡°¡°¡°¡°...¡±¡±¡±¡±¡±¡± ¡°Yeah, okay I realized it was stupid as soon as I said it.¡± admitted the cook. ¡°Oi!¡± protested Zoro who was ignored by everyone. Sanji left to give the invitations and in less than two hours everyone gathered in the huge pool area. More than two hundred people showed up. Eating, dancing, joking and singing, everyone was having fun. Rick saw Robin leaning against a wall, apart from the crowd and was enjoying people-watching. When he saw her tense he knew he was there. He floated from this position to the top of the wall and looked down at Aokiji. ¡°Now, I don¡¯t think you were invited, uncle nice.¡± ¡°Rick.¡± greeted the Admiral. ¡°You know it¡¯s borderline sexual harassment.¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°Going after Robin again and again, not sure uncle would approve.¡± Aokiji just sighed. ¡°I guess, I¡¯m not the only one who didn¡¯t change. You still have your weird humor.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t y the jaded man, you love my humor.¡± ¡°Keep telling yourself that. Anyway, I¡¯m done with what I came to do. See you around.¡± ¡°See, you! And don¡¯t ever try to pick up my girlfriend ever again!¡± That remark made Aokiji stumble and almost fell to the ground. He turned around and saw Rick with a big grin on his face sending him a wink. The admiral shook his head sideways and smiled back then left. Ricknded next to Robin. ¡°Are you alright?¡± he asked. ¡°Yes, I am.¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°So, I¡¯m your girlfriend now?¡± she asked with her poker face on. ¡°You got a problem with that?¡± ¡°Aren¡¯t you engaged?¡± ¡°You know what? If I ever meet her again and she still wants to marry me then I¡¯ll keep my word and marry her. I do wish to never see her again though and if we ever meet again that she forgot about it.¡± ¡°She was that bad?¡± ¡°... No. She was pretty nice, and taught me a lot but at the same time she was just too¡­ suffocating.¡± ¡°I see.¡± ¡°So, is it still a problem?¡± She didn¡¯t answer. Rick pulled her to him and just kisser hotly. When they separated he spoke up. ¡°So?¡± ¡°I-...¡± Robin started an answer but couldn¡¯t go further, so Rick kissed her again. ¡°I¡¯m warning you I won¡¯t stop until I get a yes.¡± ¡°Rick, I¡¯m..¡± And he kissed her again, interrupting her. ¡°Will you stop doing¡­¡± And he did it again. ¡°You know Robin, the only answer you¡¯re not straight out giving me is a resounding no. Find all the excuses, all the lies you want but the answer isn¡¯t no. And you know why? Because you enjoy me kissing you as much as I do. You could restrain me and leave easily but you don¡¯t because you don¡¯t want to say no.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve never¡­¡± For the fifth time he shut her up with his lips on hers but this time he put every he felt for her into it. When they separated both were panting. ¡°Okay fine! Yes!¡± ¡°See? Was it so hard?¡± ¡°Rick, look.. Love isn¡¯t really my thing. I¡¯ve never experienced this before and¡­¡± he kissed her again. ¡°And my only experience was bat shit crazy, and a bit older, woman obsessed with me. So I don¡¯t really know much either. And that¡¯s fine because we are together and that¡¯s all that matters. We¡¯ll find our own way. Now, we can go back to the party or go to some ce where there would only be the two of us and where we could enjoy ourselves in whatever way we want. Your choice.¡± She looked him in the eyes and for the second time initiated a kiss. ¡°Let¡¯s go¡± was all she said. Chapter 57: Clever as the Devil and twice as pretty Chapter 57: Clever as the Devil and twice as pretty Chapter 57: Clever as the Devil and twice as pretty Morning came and Rick woke up in an unfamiliar room. What was familiar was the tall brte snuggling with him. ¡®Oh yeah, that happened.¡¯ The memory ofst evening and night brought a smile to his face. *shback* When they left the party the day before they went to a secluded ce with a beautiful view of the sea. What did they do there? Well¡­ Talk, mostly. Robin had a lot of questions for Rick. To begin with, she asked why he chose O¡¯hara to hide. She already knew why from Nami but wanted to hear it from him. Then what he did there exactly. ¡°Well first I covered the books left inside the hole left by the destruction of the tree of knowledge. The weather had damaged many, couldn¡¯t let it damage some more, you know? Then I started cleaning the ce. Gathering the bodies and burying them was the first step.¡± ¡°Did you¡­¡± she started to ask but stopped midway and shook her head sideways. ¡°Find your mother?¡± Robin¡¯s eyes grew big. How did he know it was the question she wanted to ask? ¡°Don¡¯t look at me like that, it was obvious. And yes, I did find her.¡± ¡°How? It has been more than a decade, you couldn¡¯t possibly have identified her.¡± ¡°By her clothes.¡± ¡°Her clothes? That doesn¡¯t¡­¡± ¡°Robin, ever since I saw your poster, I have had questions about O¡¯hara. How could the marines do what they did? That was not easy, but I found out a lot of things, notably, that Spandine, Spandam¡¯s father was the one to start the Buster Call, that Sakazuki is the one who ordered to kill everyone for his absolute justice and that your mother was involved. As to how I could identify her with her clothes, the body and her wanted poster wore the same outfit. And before you say it could have been someone else with the same clothes, remember that just like you, your mother was very tall.¡± ¡°So you really did find her.¡± whispered Robin. ¡°Yes. Since she was the only one I could put a name on, I buried her in a nice ce alone.¡± ¡°Thank you.¡± she said and gave him a kiss. ¡°That was not necessary, I did it for her, for them, not for you.¡± ¡°Thank you nheless. What else did you do?¡± ¡°Well¡­ Once the ce was clean of ruins and bodies, I built a house. To be exact, houses, ¡®cause I failed a lot. Then a library to stock the book and a water mill.¡± ¡°A water mill?¡± ¡°To make some flour. I had to be self-sufficient, so at the beginning of my new fugitive life I bought all kinds of seeds that I could sow and grow. It¡¯s not the prettiest mill in the world but it works.¡± ¡°One thing that I wonder is; How did you deal with people reaching the ind?¡± ¡°No one reached the ind. And before you think something nasty no I didn¡¯t sink any ships. No one ever showed up.¡± ¡°No one in ten years?¡± ¡°Yep, but I¡¯d say no one since the incident.¡± ¡°How is that possible?¡± ¡°My guess is¡­ The World Government must have either destroyed the previous ind leading to O¡¯hara. From the few maps of Grand Line I saw back in HQ, just before they edited it to remove your home, it was rather close to Calm Belt and destroyed it, which doesn¡¯t make sense as they could have done that to O¡¯hara itself. Or they amplified the maic field of another ind, that way O¡¯hara¡¯s own field would have been weaker and never picked up by a logue pose.¡± ¡°That¡¯s¡­¡± ¡°Borderline an insane theory, I know but that¡¯s the only two exnations I coulde up with.¡± ¡°What did you do all this time, I mean once you were installed?¡± ¡°I mostly kept in shape, and read books,ze around. At one point I was so bored I stopped using my powers and started to take care of the crops myself. In the end I developed a thing for gardening and on the few trips outside the ind for meat I bought different nts and flower seeds.¡± They talked more about O¡¯hara but mainly the books Rick had read. Their content but also which were fine and which were not. He couldn¡¯t remember every single one of them, there were thousands after all, but it was good enough for Robin. Satisfy with the knowledge that her home is not a pile of rubles anymore and that her people were honored. She asked about their simr powers. ¡°Since there has never been two identical devil fruits, what¡¯s the difference between your powers and mine?¡± ¡°From what I could see of your abilities, you ¡®bloom¡¯ body parts almost instantly. Me? I create seeds that sprout into body parts, the time is short but it¡¯s not as fast as yours. I¡¯m curious about how yours disappear. Is it automatic after some time, or do you have to think about making them go away?¡± ¡°Hmm. A bit in between? When I think that the purpose for which I bloomed them is fulfilled they just disappear otherwise they don¡¯t. I never really paid that much attention to it. Is it different from you?¡± ¡°Yes, they don¡¯t go away unless I wish for it.¡± ¡°That¡¯s a bit inconvenient.¡± ¡°Yes and no. Sure if I left an arm somewhere and that someone hurt it I would feel it no matter how far I am. On the other hand it¡¯s very useful when my mind is focused on something else. For example if I sprout skin around my wrist and if someone ever cuffs me with sea stone the skin doesn¡¯t disappear. I can still use my powers. Well, they are greatly weakened but I can still use them.¡± ¡°That¡¯s a cheat! If the part I bloom is touched by seastone it¡¯s gone in a sh! And wait! You can create skin?¡± ¡°You can¡¯t?¡± ¡°No!¡± ¡°... Did you try?¡± ¡°... Actually I don¡¯t think I have.¡± ¡°That¡¯s what I thought.¡± She hit his shoulder out of dissatisfaction then took his arm in hers and leaned on him. They were enjoying the moment for a few minutes when Robin spoke up. ¡°We should go back, we¡¯ve been away long enough. The others would not like it if they found out we¡¯re gone.¡± ¡°Yeah. Nami will ground me for life.¡± He said that in a serious tone. He meant it. ¡°Then let¡¯s go.¡± They went back to the party hand in hand but before joining the pool area Robin stopped. ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± Rick asked. ¡°Stay here. I¡¯ll be back in a few minutes.¡± she said before going alone. ¡°Okay¡­¡± Robin entered the area and searched for Nami. She quickly found her and got close. ¡°Robin! Where have you been? I was starting to worry.¡± asked Nami. ¡°I was¡­ It doesn¡¯t matter. I need a favor from you.¡± ¡°Oh? What do you need?¡± ¡°I need¡­ youtoungroundRickfortonight.¡± She was so embarrassed that she said it really fast. To most it would have been unintelligible, to Nami? Robin was doomed. The navigator understood perfectly what her friend wanted but decided to have some fun. ¡°I¡¯m sorry I didn¡¯t quite catch that. Can you repeat please¡± said Nami in a sweet tone with a smile. An evil smile. ¡°Please, unground Rick for tonight.¡± Robin was blushing, making Nami enjoy the moment even more. ¡°Fine, but on one condition. One for you and one for Rick. Tomorrow Rick must pat my head for a whole hour.¡± ¡°That¡¯s reasonable, I don¡¯t think he will object.¡± ¡°As for you¡­¡± ¡®Oh god! What is she going to ask me?¡¯ thought Robin, fearful. ¡°You. Tell me. Everything.¡± ¡°What?!¡± ¡°Every single detail about your time together. I want to know.¡± She didn¡¯t expect that. If it was Rick he would have, he would even have made the proposition himself so that Nami didn¡¯t ask for more. ¡°I¡­¡± ¡°The deal is gone in 5, 4, 3...¡± ¡°Nami!¡± ¡°2,1¡­¡± ¡°Okay fine!¡± ¡°Then it¡¯s a deal!¡± She hugged Robin tightly and whispered in her ear. ¡°Have fun, you both need and deserve it.¡± The tall brte gave her a sheepish smile before going back out, to her ex-marine. ¡°Did you do what you wanted?¡± ¡°Yes. We can go now.¡± said Robin, taking his hand in hers. ¡°Go?¡± ¡°I.... negotiated your freedom, just for tonight.¡± ¡°Please don¡¯t tell me you gave her your soul¡­¡± ¡°Fufufu, no. But you¡¯re hers for one whole hour tomorrow.¡± ¡°I can¡¯t believe you sold your newly acquired boyfriend to Nami.¡± he jested with a hint of worry. ¡°It¡¯s Nami so it¡¯s fine! And it¡¯s just one hour of patting, you won¡¯t die from it.¡± she grabbed one of his cheeks with her free hand and gave him a peck. *shback end* She had brought them to an inn and rented a room for the night. What a night it was for the both of them! He kissed her longily to wake her up, and that worked. She smiled during the kiss, putting an end to it and opened her eyes. ¡°Good morning Miss Happy.¡± greeted Rick. ¡°Good morning indeed. The best of my life, hands down.¡± ¡°I agree.¡± She buried her head in the crook of his neck and whispered. ¡°I don¡¯t want to go, I want to stay like this forever.¡± ¡°Me too but we can¡¯t.¡± ¡°You¡¯re right. They would turn the whole ind upside down to find us.¡± They both sighed. It was a sigh mixed with dejection and contentment. They kissed onest time and got out of bed and went for their clothes, to dress. To be more urate Robin dressed and Rick watched. ¡°Stop staring.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not starring.¡± ¡°What do you call looking fixedly at someone then?¡± ¡°Someone? Yes, it¡¯s staring. You? It¡¯s admiring.¡± ¡°You like what you see then?¡± ¡°I love it.¡± ¡°Too bad we don¡¯t have the time for more¡­ admiration.¡± ¡°Sadly.¡± Once both were clothed they talked about what they were going to do. They had decided the night before that their rtionship was to remain a secret to everyone. Except Nami obviously. ¡°So, what¡¯s our excuse?¡± asked Robin. ¡°Hmmm. You needed help to explore the ruins of the ground floor of the city, and you brought me with you out of pity?¡± ¡°That could work. Let¡¯s go with that.¡± They share onest kiss before exiting the room and the inn. When they got back to the quarters provided by the Galley everyone was having breakfast. ¡°Hey guys! Where were you?¡± asked Luffy ¡°I got dragged against my will yesterday evening to explore the ruins of the city. We camped there for the night.¡± said Rick. ¡°Against your will¡­ sure. Anyway you were grounded and you left! So it will cost you one hour of your time today just for me. And with the hour you already owe me it makes two.¡± dered Nami. ¡®What the¡­ that crook!¡¯ thought the Vice-captain. ¡°You!... You d¡­¡± ¡°Do you have a problem with that?¡± asked ¡®innocently¡¯ Nami with an evil smile. ¡°No Ma¡¯am.¡± He surrendered. He may have been the best crook of the marine as a child but he couldn¡¯t hold a candle to Nami. ¡°Good. Now I¡¯m up for some girl time, what about it Robin? Interested?¡± ¡°Su-sure.¡± ¡°Then let¡¯s get going!¡± She grabbed Robin¡¯s hand and dragged her outside. Rick ate his breakfast and wondered about what to do with Ryusei. Should he keep it and use it, or lend it to Zoro for Thriller Bark? Rick was already powerful and with Ryusei he would be even more. On the other hand Zoro was down to two swords, meaning he wasn¡¯t at his top fighting power. The decision was easy. ¡°Zoro, do you have a minute?¡± ¡°Sure.¡± ¡°Let¡¯s talk outside, we¡¯ll need space.¡± The swordsman was puzzled at Rick''s request but followed him. ¡°What do you want to talk about?¡± ¡°Your sword problem.¡± ¡°What about it?¡± Rick pulled out Ryusei from her sheath. ¡°This beauty here is Ryusei. It means meteor or falling star. Personally I prefer thetter. Anyway, this is the sword I received on my seventh birthday and spent all my career in the marines with. She¡¯s one of the 50 skillful grade swords. I¡¯m lending it to you on one condition.¡± ¡°Which is?¡± ¡°Prove you¡¯re worthy of my little baby.¡± As soon as he finished speaking Rick charged Zoro who drew his two swords and parried. ¡°Interesting. I didn¡¯t know you knew how to use a sword.¡± ¡°It¡¯s mandatory in the marines but I¡¯m not that great of a swordsman to be honest. I use it for something else though.¡± ¡°For what?¡± ¡°This.¡± Rick channeled his gravity into Ryusei and unleashed a gravity de which pushed backwards Zoro a dozen of feet. ¡°What the hell?!¡± yelled Zoro ¡°If you want her,e and get her.¡± taunted Rick. He continued his assault and sent more of his attacks. Zoro understood really quickly that blocking was not an option anymore. If he did it would end badly for him, so he dodged and sometimes redirected the gravity de. Little by little he moved forward. Rick could have ended the fight anytime now, but it wasn¡¯t the point. The point was to make his opponent sweat for his own enjoyment. Zoro sent a flying sh prompting Rick to block with Ryusei.He didn¡¯t really need to, he just had to make a barrier but once again he was just testing Zoro. Taking advantage of his Vice-captain blocking his strike, Zoro charged at him. The exchange was fast and ended with Zoro¡¯s Kitetsu against Rick¡¯s throat. ¡°Good enough for me.¡± The spar over, they both rx their stance and sheath their swords. Rick tosses Ryusei to his friend. ¡°She¡¯s heavy.¡± he noted. ¡°That¡¯s because of the metal she was made with. It¡¯s from a meteor, or so I¡¯ve been told.¡± Zoro pulled her out and scrutinized her from every angle and seemed satisfied by what he was seeing. ¡°I¡¯ll take good care of her.¡± dered Ryusei¡¯s new, temporary, owner. ¡°You better.¡± ¡°Say¡­¡± ¡°Yeah?¡± ¡°Thoses shes you made, you channeled your gravity in it right?¡± ¡°I did. That¡¯s why I never bother training beyond my current abilities in swordsmanship. I didn¡¯t need to. ¡°You went easy on me.¡± ¡°Yeah. I wasn¡¯t going to destroy the ind for a test.¡± ¡°Destroy the ind?¡± said a skeptical Zoro. ¡°When I use my gravity it¡¯s¡­ all around, there isn¡¯t any real focus in it. I use a sword as a medium to ¡­pressed it should we say. It¡¯s focused and condensed. What do you think would have happened if I had charged Ryusei with the highest level of gravity I can make and thrown a gravity sh at you?¡± Zoro¡¯s face paled. Rick didn¡¯t use a heavy gravity in his sh as Zoro was just pushed back a few feet. But if Rick had charged his sword with a level of gravity equivalent to that one time against Foxy in the Davy Back Fight¡­ ¡°Everything behind me would have been gone.¡± ¡°Yep.¡± ¡°That makes me wonder... Why haven¡¯t you used a sword since we met?¡± ¡°I¡­ didn¡¯t want to.¡± ¡°?¡± ¡°That was something I wanted to talk about with you actually. I knew I needed a new sword but somehow I could bring myself to. It felt wrong.¡± ¡°Oh! That¡¯s normal. When you spend so much time with a sword you bond with it somehow. You can develop this bond with other swords but only one will make you feel the way you do. I¡¯m saddened by the loss of Yubashiri but that¡¯s it. If it had been wado-ichimonji¡­¡± ¡°I see.¡± Both went back inside while talking about swords in general. ~~~~~ *15 Minutes before the end of Zoro and Rick¡¯s spar.* Nami was dragging a reluctant Robin through the street. When thetter found an empty cafe near the water they went to it. Once seated her interrogation began. ¡°So Robin¡­¡± ¡°Y-yes?¡± ¡°Did you have a good time?¡± ¡°That was¡­ okay.¡± ¡°Suuuure. With the ten thousand watt smile you had on your face when the both of you came back I think it was more than okay.¡± Robin was trapped and she knew it. She did hope she could avoid talking about her time with Rick and downyed it a lot making it trivial but to no avail. Nami was way too smart to get conned. So she just gave up. ¡°It was great, okay! More than great!¡± ¡°I bet it was! Come on! Details! Give me details!¡± Robin just sighed in resignation and told her everything. From Rick butting in, in her conversation with Aokiji to this morning. Nami kept asking questions upon questions not wanting to miss anything. Soon enough, perhaps too soon for the navigator¡¯s taste, Robin¡¯s tale ended. ¡°He¡¯s really¡­?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± answer a sheepish Robin. ¡°Lucky girl! Ahhhh, I knew I should have gone after him¡­ You get all the fun now.¡± ¡°Nami!¡± ¡°What? You can¡¯t me me for being envious after what you just told me!¡± ¡°I¡­ I suppose that¡¯s true.¡± ¡°So¡­ What was your favourite moment? The walk though the ind or the torrid night of sex?¡± ¡°Nami!¡± ¡°I¡¯m just asking!¡± The brte sighed once again at her friend¡¯s antics. ¡°You¡¯re bad you know that? And to answer your question, it was neither.¡± ¡°Neither? Then..¡± ¡°It was this morning.¡± ¡°Oh? I didn¡¯t expect that.¡± ¡°What can I say? It was¡­. Comfortable. I felt warm and happy. No it was more than happiness, it was¡­ bliss.¡± ¡°Wow.¡± ¡°Yes, wow. To be honest, I didn¡¯t want to ever leave this room, or this bed for that matter.¡± ¡°Aw.¡± ¡°And the way he looked at me when I was dressing? It made me so hot! I had to restrain myself to not throw him on the bed and go at it again.¡± Nami hearing that let out a cuteugh. ¡°I¡¯m d you¡¯re happy Robin.¡± ¡°Thank you.¡± They had been gone long enough and it was time for them to go back. When they reach the front yard of their quarters Robin thought it was time for a little payback. ¡°You know, if you want to try him, you can. Go ahead.¡± ¡°Really?!¡± said a dumbfounded and excited Nami. ¡°No, he¡¯s mine. I¡¯m just pulling your leg.¡± replied Robin in a neutral tone. ¡°Robin! Why did you get my hopes up?!¡± ¡°Payback for all the embarrassment you put me through.¡± ¡°Okay, fair enough.¡± The twodies entered their quarters and Nami immediately went for Rick. ¡°Rick, I heard an incredible story about how good you are with your hands¡­¡± The ex-marine gulped. ¡°Apparently you were holding out on me¡­ and that¡¯s not eptable. Lucky me, I got you for TWO hours so¡­ Get to patting. And it better be the best pats in the world, get it?¡± said Nami with murder in her eyes. Chapter 58: Be wise today so you don’t cry tomorrow Chapter 58: Be wise today so you don¡¯t cry tomorrow Chapter 58: Be wise today so you don''t cry tomorrow ¡°Nami, can I stop now?¡± said Rick. ¡°Nope.¡± she answered. ¡°Come on, it¡¯s been half an hour already.¡± ¡°And you¡¯re mine for one hour and a half more." Rick sighed. It¡¯s been 30 minutes since Robin, Nami and him went to the backyard to rx. The couple had sat next to each other on the grass and leaned against the wall of their quarters. Nami had taken position in front of Rick,id her head down on hisp, closed her eyes and ordered to start patting her. ¡°Can I at least change hands? I¡¯m starting to feel a muscle cramp.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll allow it.¡± ¡°You know, I¡¯m your Vice-captain, I should be the one giving you orders.¡± ¡°Don¡¯tin to me,in to your girlfriend, she was the one who sold you to me.¡± Rick turned his head to look at the said girlfriend who had her poker face on and was drinking coffee. ¡°I still can¡¯t believe you did that.¡± he said to her. ¡°Are you saying it wasn¡¯t worth it?¡± she replied back. ¡°No it was.¡± he said before adding ¡° That doesn¡¯t change the fact that I¡¯m the one giving you orders Nami and that I don¡¯t have to obey yours.¡± ¡°Of course you have to obey my orders.¡± ¡°And why is that?¡± ¡°Simple, you don¡¯t want me to tell everyone how good you gave it to Robinst night.¡± Hearing that, Robin spat the coffee she was drinking and started to cough. ¡°What the hell?!¡± said Rick, dumbfounded, to Nami ¡°What? Did you think I wouldn¡¯t know?¡± ¡°HOW?¡± ¡°Ask her.¡± was her reply. Rick turned to Robin once again for an exnation. She tried to deflect a second time. ¡°Are you saying it wasn¡¯t worth it?¡± she said, repeating word for word what she said earlier. ¡°That¡¯s not the point, Robin!¡± ¡°Look, the price for your freedom was what you¡¯re doing now. Mine? Telling her everything.¡± ¡°Everything?¡± ¡°Everything.¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°Even the¡­¡± ¡°Yes, even that.¡± ¡°Oh, yes, even that.¡± intervened Nami. ¡°My¡­ I didn¡¯t know you were kinky like that Rick.¡± she continued with a very irritatingugh full of glee and triumph. ¡°Robin, you and I are going to have a very long talk about our private life.¡± ¡°Already nning for some pillow talk?¡± joked Nami. ¡°¡°NO!¡±¡± The navigatorughed even more and louder. She couldn¡¯t help herself, they were too much fun to tease. ¡°Okay, what¡¯s your deal about our love life you devil?¡± asked Rick. ¡°That¡¯s the most interesting thing around! I mean, I love the guys but they are so dull!¡± ¡°So we¡¯re just your entertainment?¡± asked Robin. ¡°Of course not! Well not entirely¡­ Besides, what do you want me to do? You two have always been unting your rtionship right in front of my face, and now that you¡¯re together it¡¯s even worse! So it¡¯s a little payback.¡± confessed Nami. ¡°Aaaah! I get it, you¡¯re jealous.¡± dered Rick. ¡°Yeah, keep telling yourself that.¡± ¡°It¡¯s true. You¡¯re always telling me that you should have gone for him sooner.¡± said Robin, supporting Rick. ¡°Really? Interesting.¡± said Rick with an evil smile. Robin grabbed his head and turned it to face her. She kissed him forcefully before retreating. ¡°Don¡¯t even think about it! You¡¯re mine. Get it?¡± she announced. ¡°I better be.¡± said Rick with a frown. ¡°Ugh, you two are so sweet you¡¯re giving me diabetes.¡± ¡°That would be too bad¡­¡± ¡°For Sanji.¡± ¡°God, you¡¯ve been dating for less than a day and you¡¯re already finishing each other''s sentences. It¡¯s giving me goosebumps.¡± ¡°You started it so stopining.¡± said Robin. ¡°I didn¡¯t¡­¡± Before she could say anything more, arms bloomed and sprouted all over her body, restraining her. ¡°What are you¡­¡± Onest hand appeared and covered her mouth. Rick turned to Robin. ¡°Oh, you¡¯re bad.¡± ¡°Me? You¡¯re the one who restrained her, I just covered her mouth.¡± ¡°Hu-uh. That¡¯s not my hands on her breasts.¡± ¡°Hmfph!!¡± ¡®said¡¯ Nami. ¡°Okay, I admit, I¡¯m bad. But don¡¯t act like you don¡¯t like it.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know what you¡¯re talking about.¡± ¡°Oh really? And if I do this you¡¯ll still deny it?¡± Robin used her hands to grop Nami¡¯s breast hard, making her moan. ¡°Okay, You win. I love it.¡± They both stared at Nami with wicked grins. ¡°Now what should we do with this naughty girl?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know but I quite like the fact that she¡¯s at our mercy.¡± ¡°Payback?¡± ¡°Payback.¡± ¡°Hmpfph!¡± ¡°Shush, that¡¯s what you get¡­¡± ¡°For toying with us.¡± Nami let out many sounds of protest but to no avail. For the quarter they had her way with her and the only thing you could hear was her muffled screams. ~~~~~ When the rest of the crew came back for lunch they saw Nami yelling at both Rick and Robin. ¡°I can¡¯t believe you did that to me!¡± She was blushing furiously, pointing with her finger back and forth between the secret couple and holding her own body with her free hand. When Sanji saw that he lost it and tried to attack Rick. ¡°What did you do to Nami-swaaaaan?¡± He ended up floating in the air. That was quite hrious actually as he kept trying to kick Rick and with his strength it just made him spin around. A hand over his mouth quieted him down immediately. That disy made Luffy, Chopper and even Zorough. Without even bothering to look at his blond friend, the ex-marine spoke to Nami. ¡°Maybe that will teach you to respect your elders.¡± said Rick. ¡°And it wasn¡¯t so bad, it was just for 15 minutes.¡± added Robin. ¡°I can¡¯t believe you helped him, Robin!¡± yelled Nami. ¡°Help me? She started it, I was the one who helped.¡± ¡°Hmm, guys, what happened?¡±asked Chopper. ¡°Nami...¡± ¡°Misbehaved.¡± Luffy was about to ask what it was all about when a loud voiceing from outside called out to them. They got out and saw some of the frankies. ¡°Hey guys! What are you doing here?¡± asked Luffy. ¡°We¡­ We have a favour to ask of you. Did you see the wanted posters?¡± replied the leader of the group. ¡°The wanted posters?¡± answered Luffy. ¡°Yes! You all got a bounty on your heads!¡± In a sh, nine wanted posters were presented before him. They were the new bounties issued to the world after the chaos they brought on Enies Lobby. The reactions to them were quite mixed among the crew. Zoro and Luffy were the happy ones. Nami and Chopper were drowning in despair. The former for having a bounty and thetter for the reward¡¯s amount itself. Finally thest group, Rick and Robin just didn¡¯t care. ¡°Woo Hoo! Mine increased!¡± yelled Luffy in joy. ¡°Heh, 120 Million? Not bad.¡± said Zoro, satisfied with himself. ¡°Indeed, not bad number four.¡± jested Rick with a smile. ¡°What?! That can¡¯t be! No way!¡± ¡°Did you think only your bounty would go up?¡± said Robin. ¡°How much are the both of you worth?¡± asked Zoro. Robin showed him her wanted poster. ¡°Devil¡¯s child¡± Nico Robin DEAD OR ALIVE 160 000 000 Berri That new bounty surprised Rick when he saw it. In the story her bounty just went up from 79 to 80 Millions. A measly one million gain. ¡®Now that I think about it, it never made sense. 79 Millions at 8 years old, what did the marines expect of her twenty yearster? But howe it became so high? Is it because of her fight against Kalifa?¡¯ thought Rick. ¡°Damn it! What about you?!¡± said Zoro, turning to Rick. ¡°You¡­ don¡¯t wanna know.¡± he replied. ¡°Come on, show me!¡± ¡°If you insist.¡± that was said with a sigh. The ex-marine handed his wanted poster to Zoro whose mind nked for a second. ¡°Oh! That¡¯s bullshit!¡± ¡°What? What is it? How much is Rick¡¯s bounty?¡± asked Luffy. Zoro handed him the poster so he could take a look. ¡°The world¡¯s worst traitor¡± Rick Wald DEAD OR ALIVE 450 000 000 Berri ¡°Holy crap! It¡¯s higher than mine!¡± said an astonished Luffy. ¡°Well that¡¯s not surprising. Considering he duped the marines and CP9, stole the blueprints of the ancient weapon, started a Buster Call to destroy Enies Lobby and then destroyed the said Buster Call. Let¡¯s not forget the reveal of his second devil fruit too and he defeated two of the CP9 in a six vs one fight. That¡¯s quite a lot.¡± exined Robin. ¡°I¡¯ll beat you next time!¡± dered Luffy. Zoro was dejected, despite all his training his bounty was still the 4th highest. ¡°Don¡¯t be like that Zoro, Sanji is just 77 Millions and besides your picture is cool, did you see his?¡± said Rick before showing the wanted poster. ¡°Oh, that¡¯s exactly him!¡± Zoro had a fit ofughter at Sanji¡¯s picture. That was a hand-drawn sketch which looked like it was made by a kid. While Nami was on the groundmenting her new situation, a bounty of 16 millions, and Chopper who passed out standing and was muttering ¡°fifdy¡± in a loop, the leader of the frankies addressed Luffy again. He showed him Franky¡¯s wanted poster and asked him to take him in his crew when they would leave Water Seven. ¡°If he stays here his life would be at stake and we know we won¡¯t be able to save him in that case. That¡¯s why we¡¯re begging you, please take him with you.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± answered Luffy ¡°Okay?¡± ¡°Yeah, he¡¯s a nice guy and he¡¯s building us our ship, so why not?¡± ¡°Then you will have to use force because there is no way he would leave us behind, he worries too much about us.¡± ¡°No problem. Rick?¡± ¡°Sorry not doing it.¡± ¡°¡°Why?!¡±¡± ¡°Because I think we should all participate. That would show him we all want him with us. That would be a warmer wee than me making him float and bringing him back. I¡¯m pretty sure he¡¯ll leave us as soon as he can to get back here if we do it like that.¡± ¡°That makes sense.¡± admitted Luffy. ¡°We have some time toe up with a n. The ship will not be ready for a few days, so let¡¯s go back inside and eat something then think about it.¡± said Rick. Everyone agreed. The frankies, except their leader, left and everyone else went for lunch. Inside, Sanji was still gagged and in the air, clearly not happy with his situation. At least he had stopped spinning. Zoro grinned and went to him. ¡°Hey, bounties are out and you got one. 77 Millions, good job.¡± said the swordsman. ¡°Am I dreaming or Zoro is being nice to Sanji?¡± asked Robin. ¡°¡°Wait for it.¡±¡± replied Nami and Rick in sync. Zoro raised his hand with Sanji¡¯s poster in it to show him. ¡°Here, take a look.¡± Sanji¡¯s reaction was priceless. His face went from showing happiness, to despair then to rage. In less than a second. Hepletely forgot what happened earlier and was focused on his poster. Meanwhile Zoro wasughing his ass off. Rick finally let him down and ungagged and unrestrain him. ¡°¡°See?¡±¡± Robin was a bit annoyed by that. Not Zoro mocking Sanji but something else. ¡°Rick and I may finish each other''s sentences but you two being in sync¡­¡± ¡°Great minds think alike.¡± dered Nami with a smug face. ¡°I¡¯m not sure I like what you¡¯re implying. If you did have a great mind you wouldn¡¯t have been caught in a tickling nightmare for a quarter.¡± said Rick. ¡°Yeah! What¡¯s up with that!¡± seethed Nami. ¡°That was your punishment¡­¡± ¡°For being naughty with us.¡± ¡°Okay, that thing you¡¯re doing is starting to be irritating.¡± ¡°What are you¡­¡± ¡°Talking about?¡± ¡°Ugh¡­¡± ¡°Whatever.¡± said Rick He attracted Nami to him, carried her over his shoulders and went back outside in the backyard. ¡°What are you doing?¡± said an unhappy Nami. ¡°What? You still have 90 minutes of patting left. Don¡¯t you want them?¡± asked Rick. ¡°... No interruption this time?¡± ¡°None.¡± ¡°No tickling?¡± ¡°That depends on you behaving but no.¡± ¡°Then go ahead.¡± They were followed by Robin and the three ended up like they were earlier enjoying the warmth of the sun and the shade of the building they were leaning against. ~~~~~ Five days passed for the crew. Everyone had his own upation. Chopper still went to see the frankies to see their healing progress and otherwise spent his time with Luffy ying around in the city. Zoro had familiarized himself with Ryusei and adapted quickly to her heavier than normal weight. He got quite a good feeling from her but something was bothering him. He didn¡¯t know exactly what and decided to find out without any sess for now. Besides cooking, Sanji went to many cafes and restaurants to learn new recipes. Robin and Rick, who was ungrounded as long as he was chaperoned by either Robin or Nami, actually explored the flooded ruins of the city. The gravity man pushing the water out of the way made that possible. When they were not exploring they just spent their time together. It was difficult for them to repeat the night they had during the party but Nami helped them out once for the same conditions which surprisingly the couple didn¡¯t care anymore to Nami¡¯s disappointment. That didn¡¯t stop her from enjoying a sexual life even if it was by proxy with their night¡¯s tale. It was finally time to see their new ship. Rick wondered how big it would be since Franky used four times the sum he originally did. Arriving at the designated ce, they were wee by Ice Burg and Paulie. Apparently they both, with the other chief carpenters of the galley, helped Franky build the ship. When the Water Seven¡¯s mayor removed the sheet hiding their new home, the crew wowed. It was exactly like the original Thousands Sunny but at least twice as big. They didn¡¯t even have the decency to thank the carpenters as they immediately went on board to take a better look. ¡°Where is the garden?!¡± said an enthusiastic Rick. ¡°Woo hoo! There is a big slide!¡± yelled luffy sliding down the aforementioned slide. ¡°The deck floor is made of grass.¡± noted Robin, who quite liked this innovation. ¡°Do you think we can grow things on it?¡± asked Rick. ¡°Hell no! You have your garden for that Rick.¡± objected Luffy ¡°YEEEEESSSS! There are locks everywhere!¡± yelled Sanji from inside the ship. He probably was in the kitchen. Nami came back from inside. ¡°The library is nice! There are even shelves for maps along the ones for books and desks to make them! It¡¯s quite spacious.¡± she eximed. Rick decided to find and take a look at the garden he had asked. It was situated at the far back of the ship and it was amazing. What he loved the most about it was the movable roof which let the sun or the rain enter and the big sliding ss door at the end wall leading to a small balcony where enough space was there for a small round table giving the opportunity to enjoy a break from work with a nice view of the sea while drinking tea or coffee. Being so remote from the rest of the ship the ce was rather quiet. ¡®BEST. GARDEN. EVER!¡¯ was all Rick could think. Exiting the area, he saw Robin and Nami enter the room opposite to it. He followed them and ended up in the library. Nami didn¡¯t lie, the room was spacious. It was separated in two. On one side was the rxing area with shelves for books and enough space to put a sofa, some seats and a table; everything to rx. The other side was more for work, with drawing tables made for drawing maps or blueprints. ¡°That ce is amazing!¡± said Rick. ¡°I know right!¡± agreed Nami. ¡°We¡¯re going to need to buy some furniture though.¡± announced Robin. ¡°¡°Yes!¡±¡± ¡°I say the first thing we should get is a nice sofa and a coffee table.¡± said Nami. ¡°If we still have money after the party.¡± ¡°What do you mean Rick?¡± ¡°Well, Luffy used our money for the food at the party.¡± ¡°But there were more than two hundred people!¡± ¡°Actually when we came back I think the whole city was there.¡± said Robin. ¡°Oh my god! LUFFY!¡± the navigator yelled before running out of the room making the coupleugh. Now alone, Rick didn¡¯t miss the opportunity and attracted Robin to him really close and put his hand around her waist which she did back. He looked in her eyes and smiled. ¡°Should we search for the bedroom?¡± he said with a meaningful smile. That prompted her to move her hands from his lower back to his ass, grabbed it and gave him a kiss. ¡°Tempting¡­ really tempting but we don¡¯t have the time.¡± Rick just sighed and nodded. She was right; with everyone moving around discovering the ship they would get caught. He gave her a peck and led her outside the room. ¡°Let''s see how our captain looks now after typhoon Nami.¡± That made the tall brteugh, and the couple went back towards the deck. There, they found Luffy looking like a Mister potato after kids had yed with him. Ice Burg was on deck too and asked the straw hat to take out on sea Franky with him. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, we¡¯re taking him no matter what! We even have a n!¡± announced Luffy. ¡°Really?¡± said Ice Burg. ¡°Yes, but¡­¡± began Nami. ¡°You may have to overlook some things¡­¡± added Rick. ¡°I don¡¯t like the sound of that.¡± was all the Mayor said. ¡°¡°We neither.¡±¡± Luffy ordered his crew to begin the n and less than 15 minutester a butt naked Frankynded head first into the ground, disying his manly parts to the whole city. The weakest of hearts fainted and many high pitched screams could be heard from the somedies watching what was happening, along the rest of the city, from the upper Level of Water Seven. ¡°So that¡¯s what you meant.¡± said Ice Burg. ¡°¡°Sorry.¡±¡± said Nami and Rick. ¡°It¡¯s fine. A misdemeanor for public indecency is not really that big of a deal. I just hope no children saw him, they would be scared for life.¡± Franky¡¯s underwear, which got stolen by the frankies, ended up in Luffy¡¯s hands. He was taunting the cyborg by spinning it around his index finger. ¡°You want it back? Then join my crew.¡± As expected, Franky refused and made his famous pose, disying his ¡®thing¡¯ in all its glory. ¡°I think I¡¯m going to throw up.¡± said Rick. In front of Franky¡¯s stubbornness, Robin acted. She bloomed two hands, on each of his inner thighs, and grabbed his family jewels. HARD. The cyborg let out a very loud scream, and every male present witnessing the scene grabbed their crotch. The faintest of them passed out, joining thedies from earlier. After a rather long but very emotional discussion between Luffy, Ice Burg, the timely intervention of the frankies and Franky himself, thetter epted to be a member of strawhats. He got his underwear back and joined his new crewmates on board who weed him warmly. Meanwhile Rick whispered to Robin. ¡°Don¡¯t you ever dare do that on me.¡± ¡°No promises, that depends on you.¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°I better be the only guy whose manly parts you touch.¡± ¡°That I can promise.¡± she answered with a smile. The joyful moment didn¡¯tst as a cannon ballnded in the water, barely missing the ship. ¡°Hey Luffy, Rick! Can you hear me? This is your grandpa.¡± Chapter 59: Carpe Diem Chapter 59: Carpe Diem Chapter 59: Carpe Diem ¡°Hey Luffy, Rick! Can you hear me? This is your grandpa.¡± The crew looked towards the direction the cannonball which missed them wasing from. They saw a huge marine ship sailing their way. ¡°Hey! Grandpa!! What¡¯s going on? You told us that you wouldn¡¯t arrest us here!¡± yelled Luffy. ¡°Yeah, things happened. So I¡¯m Sorry to say this but I¡¯ll ask you to just drown and die. I know it isn¡¯t really a constion but I¡¯ll be the one alone to do it.¡± announced Garp. ¡°Since you¡¯re aiming as well as you do your reports, I sincerely doubt that grandpa!¡± Yelled Rick. ¡° Why¡­ You¡­¡± Gapr turned around and asked one of his subordinates for another cannonball. He got it and threw it towards the crew. The projectile missed by a lot and exploded onnd. ¡°Ah! Point proven! You¡¯re too old Grandpa! So either retire or get some sses!¡± ¡°Rick! Don¡¯t provoke him!¡± urged Luffy. ¡°That¡¯s it! I have enough, now you¡¯re gonna get it.¡± yelled Garp. The Vice-Admiral ordered his men to bring a thousand cannonballs at once. He removed his coat and loosened his necktie. Garp the fist was ready to make rain lead on the strawhats. ¡°One thousand or a billion won¡¯t change anything! Your aim will still suck!¡± screamed Rick. He kept on taunting Garp hoping that if he was pissed enough he would forego the bit of uracy he had for more strength. Luffy ordered them to go full speed ahead not as his grandpa¡¯s ship was getting closer to their own. He didn¡¯t want to be a big enough target for Garp to not miss. That was at that moment that Chopper yelled that Usopp was here. Rick created a big gravity barrier around the ship to deflect any missiles, yes missiles because with Garp¡¯s strength they weren¡¯t simple cannonballs anymore. Rick almost regretted irritating his grandfather as the missiles came with more power than he thought, it was still manageable though. Meanwhile Usopp was yelling bullshit, not saying the only thing he had to say to be wee back. Chopper was urging Luffy and Zoro to stop refusing his friend but they didn¡¯t budge. Zoro and Rick had been quite clear in the morning with everyone, especially Luffy. *shback* ¡°This crew is not a mill where you cane and go whenever you want!¡± said Zoro with authority. ¡°But Zoro¡­¡± said Chopper. ¡°Chopper, Zoro is right. I told you the night of the duel, Luffy is our captain, we entrust our lives to him. Opposing your captain shows that you don¡¯t trust him and his choices, meaning you don¡¯t trust the people around you chosen by the captain.¡± ¡°But you said that we will all be together.¡± protested Chopper. ¡°Yes, and I still believe it. But for that to happen Usopp has to apologize sincerely for his actions.¡± replied Rick. ¡°Luffy, if he tries to put under the rug what he did and you take him back, I¡¯ll be the one leaving.¡± dered Zoro. ¡°Zoro, you don¡¯t mean that!¡± said Chopper ¡°And you won¡¯t be alone.¡± Rick added in support to Zoro. ¡°You too?!¡± asked Chopper, astonished. ¡°This is not a game, Chopper. We are pirates, not kids pretending. I will not sail on a ship with people I don¡¯t and can¡¯t trust with my life.¡± replied Rick ¡°And Usopp acting on a whim is anything but trustworthy.¡± ended Zoro. The talk didn¡¯t go any further and everyone went back to their own business. *shback end* Usopp finally broke down in tears and apologized. He had stopped with his excuses and deflections and asked if he could take back what he had said. Luffy stretched his hand towards him. ¡°Idiot! Hurry up and grab my hand!!¡± yelled Luffy while crying too. That made everyoneugh. ¡°You¡¯re the idiot.¡± said Zoro to his captain. ¡°Bunch of crybabies.¡± added Rick. ¡°Ahahaha, seriously you guys are some.¡± said Nami with tears ofughter and relief in the corner of her eyes. ¡°Now that everyone is together, let''s get away from his bombardement!¡± dered Luffy. ¡°We can¡¯t go yet!¡± announced Franky. ¡°What? Why?¡± asked Luffy. ¡°We can¡¯t sail without naming our ship, it¡¯s bad luck. That¡¯s why I propose calling it¡­¡± ¡°I know! Let¡¯s call it ¡®Bear Pr Bear Lion¡¯!¡± eximed Luffy before being smacked in the head by Usopp. ¡°How can a ship have a name like that?!¡± ¡°Ice Burg¡¯s name is ¡®Thousand Sunny¡¯ because of the figurehead looking like a sun and its goal to take us on a thousand cruel seas. But it¡¯sme. Mine is ¡®Lion Gang Champion¡¯, and is far better¡± said Franky. Sadly for him everyone adored the name ¡®Thousand Sunny¡¯ and didn¡¯t care about the name he proposed. ¡°It¡¯s better than my ¡®Lionel the boss¡¯.¡± admitted Zoro. ¡°Better than my ¡®Monsieur Sunflower¡¯.¡± said Sanji. ¡°And better than my ¡®The Darkness¡¯.¡± ended Robin. ¡°ARE YOU NUTS?!¡± yelled Usopp. ¡°Actually ¡®The Darkness¡¯ is a good name but not really fitting for this colorful ship¡± said Rick. ¡°Then it¡¯s decided then, let¡¯s go with Mister Ice Burg idea!¡± dered Luffy. While the crew rejoiced to be finallyplete and to the naming of their new home there was one Vide-Admiral who had had enough. He ordered the men and women under hismand to get his giant ball and chain. While waiting for it his youngest grandson called out to him. ¡°Grandpa! And Coby! I was d to see you again! But now we will be running away seriously! Until we meet again!¡± ¡°You think I will let you, you impudent punk?!¡± yelled Garp. He grabbed the big chain a subordinate gave him and pulled on it so hard that the huge ball of steel attached to it went directly flying towards the Thousand Sunny making the strawhat crew panicked. Rick turned towards Zoro. ¡°Zoro, do you mind if¡­¡± ¡°No, go ahead.¡± replied the swordsman tossing him Ryusei. ¡°Wait Rick is using a sword?¡± asked Luffy in surprise. ¡°What can he do with it against a giant steel ball?!¡± Usopp yelled, scared shitless. ¡°Shut up and watch.¡± announced Zoro. Rick let his gravity flow into Ryusei at a very high level and just before the giant ball connected shed at it. The ball was pushed back right towards Garp¡¯s ship. Every marines on board couldn¡¯t believe what just happened and started running around when they understood that the ball would fall right on them with the exception of Aokiji who was napping on his deckchair and Garp who just smiled. The Vice Admiral wasn¡¯t worried at all and when the ball was in his range he just¡­ punched it back. ¡°¡°¡°¡°¡°¡°¡°WHAT?!¡±¡±¡±¡±¡±¡±¡± ¡°Ohe on grandpa! Really?¡± yelled Rick. Seeing the balling back to him he let out another gravity sh sending it back once again. Neither the marines, nor the crew and certainly not the citizens of Water Seven watching from the ind ever saw something like that. A giant steel ball was going back and forth from one ship to the other as if it was a tennis table game in the middle of the sea. ¡°Guys we have a problem. I won¡¯t hold much longer.¡± announced Rick. ¡°It¡¯s fine, just give me a minute and we¡¯ll be far away from here.¡± said Franky. ¡°Hurry then.¡± Franky said to everyone to raise the sail and to hold on tight to something, then went inside the Sunny. As he said, one minuteter just when Rick waspletely worn out and the balling back the Sunny was propelled forward into the air at an incredible speed leaving far behind the marine ship after them and Water Seven. ¡°Holy crap! We¡¯re flying!¡± Luffy yelled in excitement. ¡°I had to use three barrels of coke to do that but we can fly for around one kilometer with this. Whatever the going merry did, Sunny can do it as well! It will even surpass it on every point. And if it breaks I¡¯ll be there to fix it without w! Whether it is the ship or weapons you can count on me! ¡± announced Franky. To celebrate the joining of Franky and their new home they threw a party. ¡°NEXT STOP! FISHMAN ISLAND!¡± ~~~~~ Rick was alone in the garden or to be more urate his garden as no one was really interested in it. Now that he was not watched by anyone or had anyone around him, he took a look at the system. [ User¡¯s Karma: 657 642 858 ] Seeing that huge number Rick whistled. ¡®Holy cow! I earned 300 Millions Karma points?! Damn, the beating was worth it!¡¯ Actually if it were not for innocent marines losing their lives during the Enies Lobby incident he would have gotten more. The death of those marines earned negative karma and that wasn¡¯t a good thing. But the loss of points was insignificant inparison to what he won. A few Million at best. Thankfully among the people killed most of them were because of the Buster Call, otherwise the negative Karma would have been higher. ¡®Now let¡¯s look at the Tenki Tenki no mi.¡¯ He entered the shop and looked at his favourites. On disy was the Tenki Tenki no mi. The weather fruit he wanted to get for Nami. Fortunately for him no one has eaten it yet as it was still avable. Without second guessing himself he bought it. Once done, he peeked at any new scientific breakthrough Vegapunk may have had on the imperfect bodies and the creation of souls but there was nothing. ¡®Do I really have to meet the guy myself and let him study me? Now that I can¡¯t go back to the marines, the only way for me to see him is Kuma when we will be on Sabaody.¡¯ Rick sighed and took a look at his character and inventory page. There he saw the Mini Mini no mi he intended to give Shirahoshi and the newly acquired Tenki Tenki no mi. Satisfied he closed the system. Or was about to as he saw on his character a warning icon. That intrigued him and he clicked on the icon. [ Imperfect Body V2.0 . Time left : 4 months, 3 days, 12 hours] ¡®WHAT THE ACTUAL FUCK!!! How?! I thought I would have more time! At least two years! What¡¯s going on?¡¯ He looked up the information of the imperfect body V2.0 and was astonished by what he found. [Imperfect Body V2.0] 50 000 Karma points. Description: Latest failed experiment of Doctor Vegapunk. The only difference between the V1.0 is an increase in the life expectancy (around 20 years). ¡®AROUND 20 years, not 20 years! How could I miss that?! I¡¯m so screwed! We need to get to Sabaody and fast! Who knows how long it would take for Vegapunk to find a solution if he ever finds any!¡¯ Suddenly a pair of arms embraced him and a head came to rest on his shoulder. That made him jump out of fright. ¡°Wow! I didn¡¯t think you would react like that.¡± ¡°Robin?¡± ¡°Yes, who else would hold you like that?¡± she asked, confused. ¡°No one.¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°Are you alright?¡± ¡°Yes, why would I not be?¡± ¡°Well, you didn¡¯t hear me calling out to you multiple times and you jumped out of your skin when I embraced you.¡± ¡°Oh! I was a bit too deep in my thoughts I guess.¡± ¡°What were you thinking about?¡± ¡°Where I would be in life if I didn¡¯t quit the marines.¡± he lied. ¡°Do you... regret it?¡± ¡°I used to.¡± He took one of her hands, raised it to his lips and kissed it. ¡°But not anymore thanks to you.¡± He turned around to face her and embraced her too. ¡°Good. Don¡¯t you ever forget it if the idea of going back to them ever crosses your mind.¡± ¡°That will never happen.¡± ¡°I won¡¯t let you go anyway.¡± ¡°Oh my¡­ Aren¡¯t you a possessivedy?¡± ¡°What can I say? For once, I have someone making me happy. I won¡¯t let anyone take you from me, not even yourself.¡± ¡°And I won¡¯t have it any other way.¡± ¡°You say that, but Nami is ready to take a shot at you and let¡¯s not forget princess Vivi.¡± ¡°You¡¯re really cute when you¡¯re jealous.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not jealous! I don¡¯t mind if I have to share as long as you''re mine first.¡± ¡°Wait, what? Are you serious?¡± She nodded while looking him in the eyes. ¡°Wow¡­ Okay I didn¡¯t expect that from you. Is that why you pimped me to Nami?¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t ¡®pimped¡¯ you to Nami but yes.¡± ¡°How did youe to that?¡± ¡°Well... I was thinking that I was really fortunate that you were mine despite all the other women.¡± ¡°Other women? There aren''t any other women.¡± said Rick with a frown. ¡°To you maybe but if you look at the bigger picture, there is me, Nami, princess Vivi whose intent is to make you her husband andst but not least you obsessive ex-girlfriend.¡± ¡°Robin,e on, they¡¯re not¡­¡± ¡°You¡¯re a charismatic and handsome man Rick. It¡¯s not surprising that you¡¯re attracting women and I would rather share than fight and lose you.¡± ¡°You don¡¯t give yourself enough credit Robin. You¡¯re my perfect¡­¡± ¡°Woman. I know, Nami told me.¡± ¡°Is there anything that the two of you are not sharing?¡± ¡°Just you, for now.¡± ¡°For now?¡± ¡°Yes, I want to keep you all to myself a little bit more.¡± ¡°You can keep me all to yourself forever Robin.¡± ¡°Fufufu, I sincerely doubt that.¡± Rick let out a sigh. ¡°There is no way for me to change your mind?¡± ¡°None. Besides, why are you against it? Isn¡¯t it every man¡¯s dream to have multiple women?¡± ¡°To a guy like Sanji maybe. To me you¡¯re more than enough.¡± Those words earned him a passionate kiss. ¡°Does Nami know?¡± ¡°That she will have a shot at you? Not yet, as I said I want you all to myself a bit more.¡± ¡°So no innuendo and no teasing her?¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t say that.¡± Rickughed at that. ¡°You¡¯re really bad.¡± ¡°And you love it.¡± ¡°That I do. Now, I have a question that I wanted to ask you for a while and your willingness to share me, makes me wonder even more.¡± ¡°Go ahead. Ask.¡± ¡°Are you interested in women too?¡± That question surprised Robin and took her aback. She carefully studied his face to find an answer as to why he asked this question but found nothing. ¡°What makes you think that?¡± ¡°Well the way you¡­. molested Nami¡¯s breasts when we punished her back in Water Seven made me wonder, as you seemed to enjoy it as much as I did watching you do it. And now with you being okay with others well¡­ I¡¯d say you were hoping to have a taste too.¡± She didn¡¯t expect him to find out about her bi-sexuality and was bewildered when he spoke about it. That was a secret that no one knew as homo and bi-sexuality was not really thatmon in this world. She closed her eyes and sighed. Her jig was up. ¡°I am. Are you digus¡­¡± ¡°NO!¡± he yelled before exining himself. ¡°It¡¯s just¡­ I would have appreciated it if you had told me. But it doesn¡¯t change anything for us as far as I¡¯m concerned.¡± ¡°Well, I did try to tell you but you kept shutting me up with kisses when you were trying to make me make you my boyfriend. You only have yourself to me.¡± ¡°I guess I do.¡± ¡°So are you okay with it? Me having a¡­. What were your words? A taste?¡± ¡°To be honest¡­ not really. I¡¯m not the sharing type Robin, and even if you being with another woman is really hot the thought of you being with another m..¡± ¡°That won¡¯t happen!¡± ¡°Come on, you can¡¯t really expect me to¡­¡± He couldn¡¯t finish his sentence as Robin grabbed his head with both her hands and kissed him hard for a long time before retreating her lips. ¡°Listen and listen well. That. Won¡¯t. Happen. Do you get it? You are everything I need and want in a man. I don¡¯t need anyone on the side. Besides, none of them can make another limb like you do. You¡¯re worth a thousand men, Rick, with your powers.¡± ¡°If your goal was to boost my ego, you did a very good job.¡± ¡°It wasn¡¯t but I¡¯m d if it did.¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°I¡¯ll kill them all if they try to take you from me.¡± he said in a serious and menacing tone, embracing her a lot tighter. ¡°Who¡¯s being possessive now?¡± she teased him with a smirk before adding a few more words. ¡°I think I badlymunicated what I wanted.¡± ¡°What do you mean?¡± ¡°It would not be me sharing you or you sharing me; it would be us sharing them.¡± He pondered those words. When Robin said it like that, it was a more eptable situation. ¡°I¡­ like the sound of that better.¡± ¡°Good! Now if you don¡¯t mind, all this talk and kissing made me very horny, sooooo ....¡± ¡°My room or yours?¡± Despite being bigger than the original Thousand Sunny, the addition of the garden and the library took a lot of space. The girls had a big room for them and so did the guys. Only Luffy, as the captain, had his own cabin, but since he preferred to stay with everyone Rick asked if he could take it, pretending to enjoy the calm and quiet of solitude. His captain didn¡¯t have any problem with that, thankfully. ¡°Hmm¡­ On one hand, my room is at the opposite of everyone¡¯s but Nami coulde in at any moment. On the other hand, yours is right next to the men but no one will interrupt us.¡± ¡°Only if you keep it down.¡± ¡°Then it¡¯s decided. I don¡¯t want to keep it down and thoroughly enjoy myself. And you.¡± ¡°You¡¯re just hoping Nami surprises us and decides to join.¡± ¡°Maybe there is a bit of that too.¡± she said with a little smile in the corner of her mouth. She took his hand and led him out of the garden towards her room. She would enjoy every second of the next hour. Not a chapter but fun facts #2 Not a chapter but fun facts #2 Not a chapter but fun facts 2 With this ¡°chapter¡± I am putting an official end to Enies Lobby Arc. Let¡¯s start with the not fun facts first. I¡¯m surprised thisst arc went on for so long. At some moments I thought that nothing was happening in some chapters and in others too much and too fast. Now that I take a good look. The more the story moves forward the longer are the arcs. basta was around 3 chapters, Skypiea 10 and Enies Lobby a whooping 16. I¡¯m a bit scared of what¡¯s toe. I see in thements sometimes questions like ¡° Why did Rick do this?¡± or ¡°Why didn¡¯t he do that?¡± To answer the first : Rick is cunning but even cunning people may have brain farts. Hiszing around during his ten years exile is proof of that. That was utterly stupid and he paid the price. It was intended and not just something I made up purely to fit the story. (As you can see since his wake up call after Ener¡¯s fight, Rick seems more powerful than ever.) Even though I defended my decision in some Author¡¯s notes andments, it was to throw everyone off a bit to Rick¡¯s future development not in terms of strength but mentality. Apparently the idea itself displeased some readers a lot and didn¡¯t read any further without thinking that maybe there was more to it. Too bad for them. They can join their friends who left when I blocked haki for Rick. To answer the second: Rick has been in the world of One piece for roughly 20 years now. Don¡¯t expect him to remember everything he read or saw of One Piece. He doesn¡¯t have an eidetic memory, he¡¯s bound to forget things. Furthermore, we don¡¯t know how many worlds he went on before and how many years he spent there. The simple fact that he remembers anything about Once Piece is amazing in itself considering. Now about the system. We don¡¯t see it much, and that¡¯s normal. Its primary function is to give Rick a look at his progress, and buy necessary things for his mission and not to be an overly cheated ability. Which with the store kinda is, I admit. Fortunately, the things he wants to buy are generally expensive, which prevents him from going on a shopping spree for something that would not even help him. He could buy things from other worlds, like Kryptonian or Sayian physiology but there are three reasons he doesn¡¯t not. 1st: That would mess up his situation. He¡¯s not sure a superman body would do any good or even be useful against a logia. Haki is something that belongs to One Piece, would a Sayaian body whiches from another universe have it? If not, how is he going to deal with logias and people having Haki? 2nd: Let¡¯s not forget that things outside of One piece universe are bloody expensive. The chances of screwing himself over by buying non-rted things to Op Universe is really high. 3rd: He spent so many years trying to save points for his needs and be low on Karma points that he kinda forgot that he could do that. Since he never had much Karma points to begin with, there was no need for him to look at things from another universe. Out of sight out of mind. Now boring facts are over. Time for the fun ones!
  • Boa Hancock was not supposed to be in the harem. It was ast minute change and I¡¯m not quite sure how to deal with that in the future. But I went with it and I¡¯ll find a way.
  • The number ofdies in his harem is eleven. Maybe 12 but I¡¯m not decided on thisst one.
  • The identity of one of the harem girls will be shocking.
  • Robin is the one True Queen and the one True wife. She always was supposed to. I hinted at it since almost the very start of the story and not very subtly. The Me Me no Mi, his stay in O¡¯hara, his passion for history. Some were obvious, some not.
  • Robin was not supposed to be bi. Why did I change it? Because I liked the idea of Robin unting her status of Alpha Lady. Rubbing in the fact that the only reason any of Rick¡¯s conquests can have time with him is because she allows it. Why is it rted to her being bi? Well the greatest way to remind the other women that she¡¯s the alpha is to be there when they are intimate with Rick. And since she¡¯s there, why not participate? I like the idea that Rick and Robin are truly a team; doing everything together. (Or more like every one)
  • The idea of Robin being bi came from the scene where they pay back Nami.
  • Nami¡¯s cheekiness and close friendship with Rick was nned from the beginning and will never end! But there will be severe consequences. Way worse than being tickled for 15 minutes. Originally it was just Rick bringing down those consequences but now Robin is in the mix so she will do it too.
Now the name of the chapters ~~ Chapter¡­. 29: A song from Daft Punk¡¯s album Discovery (best album ever) 30: A Linkin Park song 31: Michael JAckson. Anyone? 32: Quote from the movie a few good men 33: From the movie Miami Connection (Far cry blood dragon credit song) 34: From Hamlet.(You know, Shakespear) 35: An instrumental song. 36: Reference to Jules Verne¡¯s 20 thousand feet under the sea. 37: Game of Thrones 38: A really sad song you can hear in Dony Darko iirc. 39: Metal gear solid game over 40: Do I really need to exin that one? 41: And this one? 42: most famous quote of German philosopher Nietzsche 43, 44 : Quote from people 45: Obvious because of the content of the chapter. 46: Quote from people 47: One of my best jokes ever. ( I know; my humor sucks harder than a Dyson vacuum cleaner) 48: Rted to events in the chapter. 49 to 52 : Another quotes from people 53: You¡¯all got rick rolled? You mad? 54 to 59: Another, another quote from people. See you again for a ¡°Not a chapter¡± chapter probably after the Marineford war. Chapter 60: ‘Cause this is Thriller! Thriller night! Chapter 60: ¡®Cause this is Thriller! Thriller night! Chapter 60: ¡®Cause this is Thriller! Thriller night! A few days had passed since Robin and Rick¡¯s talk in the garden. The crew was currently on their way to fish-man ind; it was a journey which wouldst two weeks at least. Luffy, Usopp and Chopper were running around on the deck ying some game while Franky wasying down on a deckchair taking the sun on the side. Zoro was in the crowsnest which, with Franky¡¯s design, was transformed into a training room. Sanji was in the kitchen cooking some snacks for Nami and Robin who were rxing and talking around a table on the deck. Rick was with them reading a book about fish-man ind. To be honest he was bored, the book was not really interesting, so he got up and went back inside the ship towards the garden. As he was leaving he sprouted an eye and an arm under the table. ¡®I wonder how long she can resist¡­¡¯ he thought. In the garden he took a look at his experiments. He had sowed identical seeds into different soil. He was testing which ind he visited had the most fertile ground. Without any surprise the clouds from Skypiea were the one. Flowers were already ready to bloom at any moment now, while for the others the seed had barely germinated or didn¡¯t even start to do so. Rick wondered what was in the clouds to have such an effect and decided to ask Franky to make him a microscope to better study theirponents. As he was writing the results and his observations in a journal the garden¡¯s door opened violently and a dozen of hands grabbed and pulled him towards the floor before restraining him. ¡®15 minutes¡­ that¡¯s not good, I need to step up my game.¡¯ A very red faced and angry Robin was standing at the room¡¯s entrance. She quietly and delicately closed the door before slowly walking towards her prisoner. ¡°Do you have anything to say for yourself?¡± she asked in a cold tone. ¡°I was bored and I love you?¡± Robin bloomed another hand and smacked his head hard. ¡°You get one more try.¡± ¡°I wanted to see how long it would take you toe see me. To see how long you could endure before you couldn¡¯t take it anymore.¡± ¡°Oh, really?¡± was said with a bit of venom. ¡°Do you know how hard it was to not lose it in front of everyone? Especially Nami!¡± ¡°.... No?¡± ¡°Exactly, you don¡¯t! But you¡¯re about to find out.¡± she said with an evil smile. ¡°Come on! Can you really me me? This dress, those stockings and garters and, let¡¯s not forget, you, are making me crazy!¡± ¡°I. Don¡¯t. Care.¡± Rick gulped loudly; he knew wasn¡¯t really going to enjoy the next few minutes. Thinking back on it, leaving a hand to caress sensually Robin¡¯s thigh may have not been the best idea. Fortunately, thanks to the heat, he had opened the sliding ss door which allowed them to hear a very loud bang. ¡°What was that?¡± asked Robin. ¡°We need to find out, punishment can wait.¡± The archaeologist let him go and they left the room in a hurry to reach the deck. Where they saw everyone in a circle around an opened and decrepit barrel. ¡°What happened?¡± Rick asked. ¡°We found a barrel floating in the water.¡± began Usopp. ¡°And there was a sign saying ¡®Treasure¡¯ on it.¡± added Luffy. ¡°So we picked it up and when we opened it something came out of it and went straight to the sky where he exploded in a loud bang and a red light.¡± ended Chopper. ¡®Oooooooh crap. Ipletely forgot about that ce!¡¯ ¡°That¡¯s not good.¡± said Rick, shaking his head from right to left. ¡°Why?¡± asked Nami ¡°This was a trap.¡± ¡°A trap?¡± repeated Usopp. ¡°Yes. I don¡¯t know who put it there but they must be around these parts because the thing that exploded was a re. It¡¯s normally used as a distress signal for ships in a bad situation.¡± exined Rick ¡°But since someone put it there with the purpose of being opened by whoever found it¡­¡± started Franky. ¡°Then we just gave them our position.¡± finished Sanji. Nami felt a change in the wind. It was too sudden to be normal or perhaps it was, it was Grand Line after all. Even though no ships were around with this new development she didn¡¯t hesitate to act. ¡°Everyone to your posts! We¡¯re fleeing South-South-East! A raging storm ising!¡± It was just a stronger wind yet no one doubted her words. When Nami tells them something weather rted she¡¯s never wrong. And in less than five minutes, heavy rain started to pour. Thunder growled and lightning fell. As the wind changed direction, nowing from the front, Franky told everyone to take up the sails and the paddle wereing out. He activated the lever of the soldier dock system from number 1 to 0. The soldier dock system was the cyborg¡¯s creation. It was some kind of spinning wheel divided in parts. Each part was a warehouse containing one of Franky¡¯s new creations. The two Dock 0 were the one holding the paddles. Once in position on each side of the merry the docks¡¯ doors opened and c ingined paddles came out, making the Sunny move rather fast and forward. Quickly they went through the storm and ended in a calmer part of the sea warped by a fog. ¡°It shouldn''t be night yet¡­ The fog¡¯s so thick, it¡¯s giving an eerily dark feeling.¡± said Zoro. ¡°I think¡­ We¡¯ve entered that part of the sea already.¡± announced Franky. ¡°We¡¯ve already reached Mermaid ind?¡± asked Usopp. ¡°Fish-man ind.¡± corrected Rick ¡°There are mermaids there so I¡¯d rather call it Mermaid ind.¡± answered Usopp.¡± ¡°Whatever you¡¯re calling it, that¡¯s not it. This area we¡¯re in is the infamous Florian Triangle, so don¡¯t rx yet.¡± exined Franky. Hearing that name Usopp started to panic. The Florian Triangle was well known as a strange sea where almost everything disappears, shrouded in mystery. Legends said that many evil monsters lived there and were responsible for any disapration urring. Sanji didn¡¯t miss the opportunity to scare his friend even more by telling stories of ghost ships carrying reanimated corpses. The sniper wasn¡¯t the only one stricken with fear, Chopper had grabbed him tightly. He was pleading for Usopp to make the same things thetter was willing to make to ward off any evil spirits they could meet. ¡°Guys, I¡¯m just pulling your leg! Ghosts don¡¯t exist.¡± said Sanji. The world seemed to want to prove him wrong as suddenly the crew heard some music from afar. It was the sound of a violin punctuated with a merryugh. Turning around, they saw a huge galleoning closer to the Sunny. The ship was tumbledowned, with many many holes in the hull and torn apart sails. Chances were high that if you search ¡®ghost ship¡¯ in an encyclopedia there would be a drawing simr to what was in front of them. Everyone panicked at the sight, even Zoro, with the exception of Robin and Rick. No surprises here, Robin was an archaeologist, dealing with corpses so eerie things like that weremon for her as for Rick he knew what this ship was. ¡®Oh yeah that¡¯s where we¡¯re recruiting Brook. Ugh¡­ Thriller Bark will not be easy.¡¯ Originally the only thing that Rick remembered of Thriller Bark was Nami¡¯s nude scene, Zoro getting a new sword and¡­. No, that was it, just Nami¡¯s nude scene and a new sword for Zoro. However, seeing Brook¡¯s huge ship had reminded him of some important things. Mainly the fight with Gecko Moria, one of the Shichibukai, seven corsaires mandated by the World Government. A very restricted club which Crocodile had been a member of before Luffy kicked his ass. The other thing he remembered was the fight against Oars. To date it was the hardest fight the crew had to participate in since everyone was involved against a single enemy. While everyone was specting about what will happen to them, Rick saw a silhouette of a man leaning on the galleon¡¯s rail. ¡°There''s someone on that ship.¡± and pointed with his finger. ¡°Go and deliver Bink¡¯s brew ~~ Yohohohoho.¡± ~~~~~~ Once Usopp was reanimated, Luffy took the decision to explore that ship which had passed the Sunny and was on its way. They caught up to it and Rick made his captain, Nami and Sanji float andnded them on its deck. Since everyone still present was focused on the galleon, Rick took the opportunity to take Robin in his arms and gave her a quick kiss before untangling himself and retreating inside the Sunny. He loved to steal short intimate moments like that with their friends around, none the wiser. What he loved even more was that it both flustered and annoyed Robin a lot. She was a very secretive and private person after all. She didn¡¯t like the idea of the crew knowing of her rtionship with their Vice-captain. Rick had separated from the rest to make a n in peace without anyone bothering him. More and more memories about this arc came back to him. The most important one was Bartholomew Kuma making his appearance. Kuma was also a member of the shichibukai but that was not why he was important. He was the one that sent away every member of the crew to inds fit for training them for two years. Why did it do that? Because he secretly was a member of the Revolution Army, led by none other than Luffy¡¯s own father, Monkey D. Dragon. He sent Robin, because she was the only one reading the poneglyphs hence was a direct threat to the World Government, to an ind where some of hispatriots from the R.A. had a base. And because Rick was a notorious figure fighting the world nobles, chances were he would be sent there too. He couldn''t let that happen. He needed to be sent to Vegapunk in the hope the mad scientist could find a way to fix his body. Rick thought long and hard and came up with something. It was not a perfect n, far from it but it was a n nheless. He went back to the deck where the crew and Brook were there. ¡°Hey Rick! Look at that talking skeleton! His name is brook!¡± said Luffy ¡°Luffy! Now is not the time! We¡¯ve been trapped!¡± interjected Nami. ¡°What?!¡± ¡°The youngdy is correct. The ind you see behind you is the ¡®Ghost Ind¡¯ that wanders through the sea. Thriller Bark.¡± said Brook ¡°A wandering Ind? Is that why the Log Pose is not responding?¡± asked Nami. ¡°Actually no, That¡¯s because the ind came from far away East Blue. Anyway, today was a lucky day! Not only was I able to meet some people but my heart¡¯s desire was fulfilled!¡± announced the skeleton. He jumped on Sunny''s figurehead and tipped his hat to the crew, thanking them and warning them to not stop on this ind. His goodbyes done, he jumped into the sea. ¡°Don¡¯t do that, you''ll sink!¡± Yelled Luffy. ¡°Luffy, he''s a moving skeleton, I¡¯m pretty sure he can swim.¡± said Rick. ¡°He can¡¯t, he ate a devil fruit!¡± replied his captain. ¡°Oh! He ate the Yomi Yomi no mi then? What bad luck he has.¡± What was expected to happen, didn¡¯t. Instead of sinking, Brook ran on water at a really high speed surprising everyone. ¡°Wait! How do you know that? You weren¡¯t there when he told us.¡± asked Usopp. ¡°Well after eating my second devil fruit, I read the Devil Fruit¡¯s encyclopedia and learned every single one of their effect and look.¡± ¡°Why?¡± asked Sanji. ¡°So I wouldn¡¯t eat a third one! I mean I was lucky to survive eating a second. I wasn¡¯t ready to test and see if I would survive eating a third and I¡¯m still not. That way I could differentiate between a weird normal looking fruit and a devil one. Anyway, the only devil fruit that could exin why a skeleton is¡­ alive? Is the Yomi Yomi no mi. I guess his soul went back to his body way toote.¡± ¡°That''s what he said happened.¡± said Chopper. ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter! We¡¯re going to this ind!¡± dered Luffy ¡°Luffy, are you mad?! Brook told us we should not! And he¡¯s right, look at it! That ind is dangerous!¡± eximed Usopp. Too bad for him his captain had already made up his mind. It wasn¡¯t as if they could leave anyway. A fact that Robin was quick to notice. ¡°You remember that big vibration from before? I think it was that big mouth gate we passed through closing. It¡¯s hard to see with the fog but it seems the wall around the gate is circling the whole ind.¡± ¡°So we¡¯re trapped.¡± said Zoro. ¡°Wait! That means the ind is artificially wandering around at sea?!¡± remarks Nami. ¡°If the ind keeps moving we can¡¯t lower the anchor.¡± announced Franky. Chopper and Usopp asked what would Franky want to lower the anchor since they needed to escape and Nami contracted a new disease she called ¡®I can¡¯t go on this ind.¡¯. They werepletely ignored by Luffy who came back with a bug and a pouch. Apparently his goal was to catch the ghost they saw while Rick was in the garden during dinner time. Three groups were formed. Luffy, Franky, Robin and Rick made the first one; Nami, Chopper and Usopp the second and the third was just Sanji and Zoro. Franky activated the Soldier Dock System¡¯s lever and selected the channel #2. Out of it came out a paddle steamer big enough for six people. What was interesting about it was that in the rear was the figurehead of the Merry! Franky had worked on it to make it small enough to fit the small boat. Now no one could sit on it anymore. It still was bigger than the original figurehead that he made from scratch and put in the front. The crew was delighted to know that Merry was still with them. Luffy saying the ¡®Mini Merry II¡¯, as it was called¡¯ wanted to ride it too but was stopped by Sanji. ¡°Just wait a moment, we¡¯ll ride it soon enough. Just let them have some fun for now.¡± While Franky was exining what was in the other channels, a one person weaver and a submarine. The group on the paddle steamer disappeared in the fog. Robin had dragged way further on the deck Rick to have a few words about his earlier behavior when they heard screams. The voices clearly belonged to Nami, Chopper and Usopp.As they started to discuss what may have happened, the anchor dropped by itself followed by the natch opening. Soon enough other things happened. Luffy¡¯s cheeks were pulled, deforming his face, then were released before he moved forward and almost fell into the natch, barely catching himself on its sides. Sanji, who didn¡¯t have time for this jump overboard to join Nami and the rest, sadly something caught his legs and he ended up meeting the hull of the merry with his face, before being raised in the air. ¡°We¡¯re not alone.¡± announced Rick. ¡°Yeah, and it seems they don¡¯t want us to leave the ship.¡± said Franky. ¡°HA!¡± Everyone looked at Robin; she had bloomed two pairs of hands and was fighting off something. ¡°Robin what¡¯s happening?¡± asked Sanji. ¡°Something¡¯s...grabbing me!!¡± If there is something you must not do in Rick¡¯s presence, it¡¯s to touch his Robin. He was more than pissed, and the drool that appeared on her chest didn¡¯t make things better. He pounced where he thought the invisible thing was and punched it with everything he got. His fist connected and he felt something heaving being flown away. Without a second thought Rick went after him. He arrived on the ind and looked around. The fog made it difficult to see the surroundings. He calmed down andnded on the ground. ¡®Tracking this bastard and finding the others is going to be a pain in the ass. Ugh If only I had remembered that.¡¯ He was now alone and had to adapt to the situation. Chapter 61: The only one they fear is him Chapter 61: The only one they fear is him Chapter 61: The only one they fear is him Despite showing a calm exterior, Rick was pretty pissed right now. Nami, Chopper and Usopp were missing and he couldn¡¯t fly because the fog was too dense to see anything. So he decided, with no other choice, to start walking ind. He passed through a forest where he was attacked by¡­ trees. But not ordinary trees, no those ones had a face, an ugly one at that. He also encountered animals which, like the trees, had either a human face or human limbs. All were full of stitches and wore a number which had been either tattooed or carved. Some of those numbers were well into the triple digit. ¡¯Seriously ! How many of these things did Moria create?¡¯ He beat them all up. To be more urate he just ripped and tore them aparts. They were all some kind of reanimated beings so he had no qualms about doing it. The surprising part was they were still ¡®alive¡¯. He thought that at some point they would just die again for good but it seemed it wasn¡¯t the case. When he exited the haunted forest, he ended up in a graveyard and was wee by a horde of zombies. ¡®Well¡­ At least it¡¯s some actual zombies.¡¯ Or so he thought. It turned out those zombies were not the mindless eating brains kind. Noooo, far from it, these ones were sentient and to add to that were quite rude when Rick defended himself. After around twenty he had enough and ttened them all onto the ground. ¡°Listen up! You have two options. Option one: You show me the direction of your master and I won¡¯t make a jigsaw puzzle out of you. Option 2: you don¡¯t show me where your master is and there will be so many pieces of you scattered around this ind that you¡¯ll never be put back together. So what is it going to be?¡± ¡°We give up! We give up!¡± ¡°Good, now where is your master?¡± One of the zombies still with an arm pointed in the direction of the North. ¡°That way! Keep walking that way and you¡¯ll find a big manor. Behind it will be a big tower and our master is there.¡± ¡°Good. Just so you know, if you told me lies I¡¯ll be back to finish the job.¡± That put the fear in them even more. As he was leaving he stopped in his tracks and turned around giving them another warning. ¡°Friends of mine may pass by here. Don¡¯t touch them and send them my way or¡­ well you know.¡± ¡°N-no problem, sir!¡± answered one of the zombies. Rick didn¡¯t need to threaten them. Thest group was made of the heavy fighter of the crew minus him. But if that allowed them to reach their destination faster, all the better. Pretty soon he arrived at the doorstep of the manor the zombies talked about. ¡®The only way to make it creepier would have been to hand bodies on the walls.¡¯ He pondered for a moment how to get inside. Should he just knock on the door? That would alert the people inside of his presence so that idea was discarded pretty fast. He opted option B: infiltrate the ce. He started to float and one by one checked the windows to see what was inside while not showing himself. Just in case someone was there. After two thirds of the windows were done he saw Chopper and Usopp guarding a door and knocked lightly on the ss to catch their attention. That worked a bit too well as both jumped out of fright and Usopp shot a lead bullet at him, breaking the ss, by reflex. ¡°Guys it¡¯s me!¡± ¡°¡°Rick?!¡±¡± ¡°Do you know anyone else being 6¡±2 and floating around?¡± ¡°Sorry, you just scared me!¡± Said Usopp. Rick entered the manor from the broken window and joined them. ¡°It¡¯s fine, after the shit I¡¯ve seening here, I understand why the both of you are tense.¡± ¡°You came for us?¡± asked Chopper. ¡°Not exactly. We were attacked by something invisible on the ship when we heard you scream and I sent him flying, so I ...¡± ¡°Wait, how did you send him flying if it was invisible?¡± asked Usopp. ¡°He sort of was¡­ sticking himself too close to Robin¡­¡± ¡°Is she alright?¡± questioned Chopper ¡°She¡¯s fine, she just needs a shower, that thing kinda ¡­ you know what? Never mind that. I went after that thing without thinking and lost it, because you know...¡± ¡°¡°Is invisible.¡±¡± ¡°Yes, that. Since I had no clue, I chose to search for you and let me tell you, that was not easy. I had to pass through a forest and a graveyard and beat the shit of monsters and zombies.¡± ¡°Wait, you beat them all up?¡± eximed Usopp. ¡°Of course not.¡± Usopp and Chopper sighed in relief hearing that. They had been too scared to do anything and just screamed and ran away. ¡°I left some zombies in one piece; gave them a choice, either show me the way here or end up in a million tiny pieces scattered around all the ind. They were very cooperative after that.¡± ¡®¡®Is a devil.¡¯¡¯ thought his friends. ¡°Now, wasn¡¯t Nami with you?¡± Rick asked. ¡°Oh! She¡¯s behind this door.¡± said Usopp. ¡°She¡¯s taking a bath.¡± added Chopper. Rick got closer to the door and knocked. ¡°Nami, it¡¯s Rick. Are you alright?¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°Nami?¡± he called out to her again. When he didn¡¯t get any answer he sent the door flying and entered the bathroom. There he saw Nami naked and back to the wall. Her arms were pinned against the cold stone on each side of her head and something semmes to block her mouth from screaming. ¡°You again?!¡± yelled Rick. He rushed towards Nami and high-kicked the air just in front of her. Unlike on the Sunny, this time he didn¡¯t hit anything. ¡°Rick! What are you doing?!¡± asked an horrified Usopp knowing that Nami will definitely not be happy with the intrusion. ¡°Stay by the door, the same thing that attacked Robin is here.¡± His friends did what he ordered and Nami was on her knees breathing hard. ¡®I may not have observation haki, but I¡¯m resourceful¡¯ Rick made the bath¡¯s water float and scattered it at high speed around the room. For a brief instant he saw a form emerging from the steam before disappearing. He used his maximum level of gravity where he saw the silhouette and pushed it away. The wall behind broke and made a huge hole notifying Rick that he did get it or the wall would have stayed intact. With the assant gone, the Vice-captain turned around to see how Nami was fairing. And also to leer. ¡°Nami are you alright?¡± ¡°Y-yes. You came right in time.¡± She was pretty shaken and that was understandable. She was molested heavily and who knows what that thing would have done more if Rick didn¡¯t intervene. He removed his overcoat and put it around her shoulders before kneeling, picking her up and carrying her. ¡°Usopp, Chopper, find her clothes and her stuff, we¡¯re going to the room next door. If we stay here with the cold wind blowing from the wall she¡¯ll get sick.¡± Rick exited the bathroom with Nami in his arms. She was trembling and that wasn¡¯t only because of the cold. Lucky them, the next room was a bedroom. With his gravity he removed the bed¡¯s sheets andid her on it. He took hold of her hand and with the other put the sheets back to cover her body. Her reaction was vastly different from the manga where once the intruder kicked out, she was almost perfectly fine. ¡®I guess it was to un-dramatize the scene.¡¯ he thought. ¡°I¡¯m going to kill that thing!¡± she yelled. ¡®Or maybe not.¡¯ ¡°Well, take a ticket and wait for your turn!¡± ¡°What?!¡± ¡°That thing did more or less the same thing to Robin.¡± ¡°Wow. I would almost feel sorry for him. If he wasn¡¯t already screwed, now he is.¡± ¡°You have no idea how much you¡¯re right on that one.¡± ¡°Is Robin okay?¡± ¡°Physically? Yes, as I said to the guys, she just needs a shower.¡± ¡°And mentally?¡± ¡°I... don¡¯t know. I saw red and just went after him.¡± said Rick in shame. Usopp and Chopper came to the room and dropped Nami¡¯s stuff on a nearby chair. ¡°What¡¯s the n?¡± asked Usopp. ¡°To get you out of here.¡± replied Rick. ¡°What about you?¡± this time it was Nami asking. ¡°Find that invisible bastard and make sure he never peeps or molest anyone again for the rest of his life.¡± ¡°We can¡¯t leave!¡± eximed Chopper. ¡°And why is that?¡± questioned Rick. ¡°The owner of this mansion is doctor Hogback that Chopper admires.¡± answered Nami. ¡°Chopper I don¡¯t think you should, the monsters I fought were reanimated corpses. Except a devil fruit user of a fruit I know nothing about, only some mad scientist well versed in biology could do that. But ¡­¡± ¡°Doctor Hogback is a great man! You¡¯re being rude assuming he has anything to do with the zombies!¡± ¡°And I was a well respected marine. Now I¡¯m a pirate. People change Chopper. But as I was going to say before you rudely interrupted me, if you want to stay a bit, we¡¯ll stay a bit.¡± ¡°Really?!¡± asked the reindeer. ¡°Sure. I don¡¯t see the problem in that. I¡¯ll take care of everything hostileing our way.¡± ¡°Then I would like to stay a bit more please.¡± ¡®Then we stay a bit more.¡± ¡°That¡¯s good and all but¡­ CAN YOU TURN AROUND SO I COULD DRESS MYSELF?!¡± yelled Nami. The guys turned around giving Nami some privacy. In less than a minute she was ready to go and signaled her friends. As Usopp and Chopper exited the room, Rick was held back. ¡°Here.¡± said Nami, handing him his overcoat. ¡°I¡¯m never washing it ever again.¡± joked Rick, making the navigatorugh. ¡°You better not. It¡¯s the one and only time I¡¯m wearing something of yours.¡± ¡°Damn it! I should have given you my shirt then!¡± ¡°I¡¯m not sure Robin would have approved. Actually I¡¯m not sure she would have approved of how you ogled me while I was naked.¡± ¡°Ha! Joke¡¯s on you, she would!¡± ¡°Suuuuure.¡± said a skeptical Nami. ¡°I¡¯m pretty sure I know my girlfriend better than you do.¡± ¡°Just because you have sex with her doesn¡¯t mean you know her better. We share everything, Robin and I.¡± ¡°Not everything.¡± ¡°Oh yeah? Give me an example then.¡± ¡°You don¡¯t share me.¡± said Rick before adding a wink and leaving Nami with her mouth open. She had absolutely no retort to that. ¡°Hey! You guys areing or what?¡± asked Usopp. That put an end to the conversation. Nami and Rick joined Chopper and Usopp who led the way. They walked in almost total darkness before they took a pair of candlesticks from the walls and lit them. Now with more visibility they walked until they reached what looked like a diner room. ¡°Doctor Hogback? Miss Cindry? We took our bath!¡± said Chopper in a loud voice. ¡°The two of them have already left.¡± said a voiceing from the ceiling. Looking up, someone was holding onto the chandelier like a bat. ¡°YOU!¡± said Usopp. ¡°You know this guy?¡± asked Rick. ¡°He¡¯s the one who left us in the middle of the graveyard earlier.¡± said Chopper. ¡°I¡¯m very ashamed. It happened while I was looking away as I was tending to the horses.¡± the bat answered. ¡°LIES!¡± yelled Nami. The bat, whose name was Hildon, was sprouting unbelievable excuses that none of the trio who knew him believed. He invited them to follow him through an entrance up some stairs but was turned down. There was no way they would trust, and follow him again. Suddenly a voice came from the side. ¡°HoHoHoHo. You¡¯ve been dumped hildon! Isn¡¯t it alright already? Those kids already started to realize some things, that¡¯s why they are asking questions. So before you mess up and they run away¡­ I¡¯ll catch you little boys!¡± said the woman from a painting near Chopper. She came out of the painting and tried to attack the reindeer. Unfortunately for her, Rick was there and with his gravity ripped her from her frame first, then in multiple pieces. There were more than 3 dozen paintings and ornaments in this room and every single one of them was alive, even the rug which was the hide of a bear. ¡°Get inside the firece. This will get messy.¡± ordered Rick. They didn¡¯t need to be told twice. Without any dy they hide there while Rick blocked the way. The ex-marine butchered every single zombie in the room. Should they have had any blood, the walls, floor and ceiling would have been painted in crimson red. The battle over, he turned around to say that it was okay toe out but saw no one. That made him frown and entered the firece. ¡®There must be a secret passage.¡¯ He tried without any sess to push the wall but nothing happened, even after using his gravity. ¡®Well, I guess I¡¯m on my own now. I better get out of here and search for Moria. Or better yet, find the treasure room since Luffy will kick his ass anyway.¡¯ Not knowing where the entrance door was, he walked back to the window where he entered the manor in the first ce. He was in luck, the fog was gone and he could finally the rest of the ind. Raising above the manor he saw a huge tower. ¡®So that¡¯s the ¡°mast¡± of the ind. It seems smaller in the manga.¡¯ Getting closer to the tower he sprouted some eyes inside it through a window. Since he couldn¡¯t prout a body part where he couldn¡¯t see, those eyes would help him. If they saw a corner Rick could sprout another one that could look further and then sprout another one and so on. When his eyes caught the sight of zombies, he made an ear to listen to what they were talking about. Most of the talks were uninteresting but one in particr was. Sanji and Zoro were caught and their shadows had been taken. ¡®Oh right! I remember now, that¡¯s Moria¡¯s power. He can take Shadows from people and put them in corpses which reanimate them. They have the same skills and some memories of the person the shadow belongs to. For the people without their shadow they can¡¯t go under the sun otherwise they disappear. Shit, that¡¯s really an annoying ability.¡¯ If Moria ever took his shadow it would be a disaster. Rick¡¯s cunningness and ruthlessness that he showed only to his enemies would be the doom of the crew. And even if it wasn¡¯t, they would know that hidden and ugly side of him. Not good at all! Thankfully right now he was pretty far away from the shichibukai. How did he know? The chief viin was always in the highest ce and right now Rick was just 50 feet above the ground. Since the tower was around 500 feet, he was pretty safe. It took time but he finally found the treasure room. It was remote from most parts of the tower and the ess was easy. Well easy for him as there was a window near it. To anyone not able to fly it was either go up two floors and defeat a hundred zombies or a 150 feet difficult climb. He reached the room without getting caught and started to shed every single object of value from each chests. He emptied the chests and closed them so the people taking care of the treasure would not know it was gone. He exited the room then the tower with his booty floating behind him. Being high in the sky and with the fog gone he could see where the Sunny was. Once home, he hid everything in the hull. Going back towards the tower he saw the giant zombie Oars. ¡®I guess the party started.¡¯ Chapter 62: Devil Trigger II Chapter 62: Devil Trigger II Announcement Hi! I have been made aware by some readers (thanks a lot to them) that some guy stole my work and posted it as its own on webnovel. Thankfully he''s an idiot and posted only the first five chapters, so I created an ount and posted the whole story there while saying that I''m the real author of the novel. Now I sent a dmca email to report the guy in hope to get him ban ( he stole another popr story from this site too) and his version of my novel taken down. Honestly when I heard that, I was pissed and wanted to just stop writing but I decided against it because no one f*ck with my works but mainly because of all you reading my story. Now, please enjoy chapter 62! (And please rate my novel it takes less than 5 seconds) Chapter 62: Devil Trigger II From the Sunny Rick flew fast towards Oars. The undead giant was right about to destroy a small tower where Chopper and Robin were with a kick. There was no way for his gravity to have enough effect to even deviate the hit so he just pulled towards him his friends, letting Oars destroy the empty tower. ¡°Why is it that everytime I leave you alone for five minutes, things like that happen?¡± he asked. No answer came as the three of them heard Usopp scream Zoro¡¯s name. The swordsman had tried to cut down their opponent and failed. He was hit hard and sent flying high up in the sky. Rick made him float too and brought him to his side. A fall from that height would have killed him. Oars didn¡¯t stay still, Franky was shooting at him, annoying the giant, so he broke another tower with his hands and threw it in the cyborg direction. Franky and Brook, who was with him, got hit. Their standing support gone, they fell to ground level. ¡°Killer technique ¡®Salt Star¡¯!¡± yelled Usopp, shooting something into Oars¡¯ mouth. The giant froze looking at Usopp, perhaps waiting for something to happen. After a few seconds of nothing happened he smashed down the bridge Usopp was on. Thankfully Rick pulled him towards himself in time. Now was the time to use his best friend Acting LV5. ¡°I¡­ have so many questions right now. Like¡­ What¡¯s going on? What¡¯s that thing? Why is he screaming ¡¯Gomu Gomu no¡¯ every time he¡¯s attacking? And most of all¡­ Usopp what were you trying to do?¡± asked the ex-marine. ¡°That thing is an undead with Luffy¡¯s shadow.¡± said Robin. ¡°Luffy¡¯s shadow?¡± ¡°Yes, it was taken by Gecko Moria and put in this. That¡¯s how the zombies are made, by putting shadows into them.¡± replied Robin. ¡°And the only way to get Luffy¡¯s shadow back is to throw salt in their mouths. That¡¯s what I shot him with but I guess the quantity was too small.¡± added Usopp. ¡°Well, shit. That¡¯s going to be a long battle.¡± said Rick. ¡°We¡¯re pressed by time actually.¡± announced Zoro. ¡°Why?¡± ¡°Anyone without a shadow disappears when under the sun. And dawn is in less than an hour.¡± answer Chopper. ¡°Double shit then.¡± said Rick. While they were talking, Oars tried to attack them but thankfully Rick had put everyone out of reach. Sadly the giant was not that stupid and climbed the central tower before jumping in the air trying to reach them. They dodged by an air breath. ¡°How are we going to beat that thing?¡± asked Chopper. ¡°Well the same way I took care of every zombie on my way.¡± answered Rick. ¡°That is?¡± questioned Robin. ¡°We tore him apart limb from limb. Without arms and legs he can¡¯t really move.¡± said Rick. ¡°I like that n.¡± dered Zoro. ¡°Wait, you¡¯re the one that made a mess of the haunted forest?¡± Robin asked, astonished. ¡°... Yeah¡­ I was a bit¡­ pissed.¡± confessed the Vice-captain. ¡°A bit? There were body parts everywhere!¡± eximed his girlfriend. ¡°Fine! I waspletely enraged!¡± he replied. ¡°Are you done quarrelling? Time is wasting.¡± said Usopp. ¡°Alright, here¡¯s the n.¡± said Rick. The n was simple: Usopp and Robin would be on high ground, with the former shooting at Oars while thetter would take care of movement; taking her and Usopp out of the way if Oars focused on them. Meanwhile, Rick would be on the ground distracting Oars. Zoro and Chopper were tasked to retrieve Sanji, Franky and Brook. Before starting Zoro handed back Ryusei to Rick. ¡°I got better.¡± the swordsman said while showing his new sword. Its name was Shusui and was one of the 21 Great Grade swords. It belonged to a legendary samurai from the country of Wano who was famed for having yed a dragon centuries ago. ¡°Thanks, it will make things easier.¡± replied Rick. He put everyone in position and started his assault. Gravity de after gravity de went flying towards Oars¡¯ ankles, knees and shoulders. Aiming for the joints was the best way to forbid the giant to move and to put him down. Rick thought about crushing him with a wide area gravity zone but decided against it. It wasn¡¯t sure he could do it with how big and heavy Oars was. If he failed he would have used a lot of his stamina for nothing and would probably be a liability. Another option was to use his gravity point, a thrust of the sword with high level of gravity in hit but with Oars speed and agility he could have dodged that too. In the end Rick chose to annoy him by floating around and constantly attacking him with low level gravity des. It worked, the giant was ignoring Usopp¡¯s projectiles and was focused on the gravity man. Zoro and Chopper were free to recover their friends and pull them out of the battle area. They were helped by Robin, blooming arms, who didn¡¯t really have anything to do since Oars was not targeting her and Usopp. The fight went on for a few minutes more when Oars finally had enough. ¡°You¡¯re really annoying!¡± thought Oars out loud. ¡°You just suck at aiming!¡± replied Rick. ¡°RHHHHHHHHHAAAAAAAA!¡± The scream the giant let out was so loud that Rick had to cover his ears as he was too close. Oars didn¡¯t miss this opportunity and threw a punch at the now disoriented and defenseless ex-marine. The hit connected and Rick was sent flying towards the walls of the main tower. Sessful in his endeavor the giant started to dance. ¡°Ha! I got you! I got you! ~~¡± he sang. Zoro charged at Oars. He was supported by Sanji and Brook who had woken up. However it was for naught as the giant spun around and kicked them away. Thankfully the kick was not as powerful as the punch delivered to Rick and unlike him could defend themselves somehow, taking less damage. ¡°Guys! Rick had the right idea! Aim for his joints!¡± yelled Chopper. ¡°Alright!¡± replied Sanji. He went for one of Oars knees and kicked it hard enough. The giant lost his bnce and put his hand on the ground so he would not fall. With his other hand he tried to hit Sanji but was prevented by Zoro hitting it with the heavy nunchaku made of stone pirs that Franky had created earlier in the night. Oars¡¯ arm was moved backwards and robin sealed him behind his back by blooming a thousand hands. The zombie was now only standing on one leg and supported by a steady hand. Unfortunately for him Usopp shot oiled balls right under it making it slip. The assault was not over as Franky and Chopper went into action; the former had built a makeshift staircase to reach Oars¡¯ face. From there theynded two heavy punches in the giant¡¯s jaw. That did the trick. With his brain now shaken, Sanji lept and swept the leg Oars was standing on,pletely turning him upside down. A purple glow appeared on the ground under the giant¡¯s body and attracted it with great strength. The zombie connected with the ground head first. ¡°¡°¡°Rick!¡±¡±¡± ¡°Are you alright?¡± asked Robin. ¡°I¡¯ve been better. It¡¯s just a headache and a few broken bones, I¡¯ll live.¡± The talk was cut short by threats from Oars who was still upside down. ¡°Now you did it! You made me mad you bastards! I¡¯m going to tten you so hard that even your bones will be gone!¡± he screamed. He pushed on his hands to put himself back on his feet but it didn¡¯t work. ¡°My horns are stuck¡­ My horns are totally stuck to the ground!¡± he eximed in surprise. The news rejoiced everyone. That meant he couldn¡¯t defend himself in the position he was in. Each member of the strawhats and Brook wanted their pound of flesh for what he did to them. ¡°Sucks to be you!¡± said Rick before adding ¡° Anyway, we need salt right?¡± ¡°Yes but the bag I brought is¡­ lost among the ruins.¡± replied Brook. ¡°Then I guess I¡¯m in for a trip to the sea.¡± muttered Rick. He started to float and before departing said with a smirk : ¡°Don¡¯t do what I wouldn¡¯t do!¡± The strawhats looked at each other then focused on Oars. All had a different reaction. ¡°So we can¡­¡± started Chopper. ¡°Shot him...¡± continued Usopp with a gleam in his eyes. ¡°Punch him¡­¡± added Franky raising his sses from his nose to the top of his head. ¡°Kick him¡­¡± said Sanji with an evil smile ¡°Crush him without any restrain.¡± said Robin in a cold, icy tone. What about Zoro? Well Zoro was too busy licking his de, being delighted by the opportunity. ~~~~~ Rick was flying towards the sea when he saw Nami on the way. He called out to her andnded on the ground. She was wearing¡­ a surprising dress. ¡°Okay look, I know Robin said you could have me but don¡¯t you think a wedding dress is going a bit too far?¡± ¡°Someone put it on m¡­ Wait! What? Robin is letting me have you?¡± ¡°She didn¡¯t tell you?¡± ¡°It¡¯s the first time I¡¯m hearing it.¡± ¡°Well shit¡­ Forget it! I didn¡¯t say anything about anything! YOU didn¡¯t hear anything either, and certainly not from ME, okay? Good.¡± ¡°Like hell I am!¡± ¡°I¡¯m so screwed¡­. Robin is going to be so mad.¡± Rick muttered. ¡°Don¡¯t worry I¡¯ll take good care of you.¡± she said with a wink. ¡°Oh great¡­¡± he said in sarcasm. ¡°Oh it will be, you¡¯ll see.¡± snickered Nami. ¡°Look, now is not the time. I¡¯m bringing you back to the Sunny so you can change clothes and after that you¡¯re on your own.¡± ¡°Why?¡± ¡°Because I have plenty of sea water to transport where the others are.¡± ¡°Sea wa¡­ Oh! For the giant Zombie? That¡¯s smart.¡± He made himself and Nami float, then went towards Sunny. ¡°You could have carried me like a bride considering my outfit.¡± she pouted. ¡°And have Robin cut my balls in my sleep because she wasn¡¯t the first? No thanks.¡± he retorted. ¡°So you do intend to marry her¡­ I didn¡¯t know you loved her that much.¡± ¡°When you know, you know Nami. But it¡¯s a bit early for a proposal. I mean, we¡¯ve not been together for that long.¡± ¡°But you¡¯re thinking of it.¡± ¡°If I have enough time, yes.¡± ¡°What do you mean?¡± ¡°Nevermind, we arrived.¡± They were at the entrance of Thriller Bark where the Sunny was anchored. To their surprise zombies were upying it, moving around some chests. They were led by some girl with pink hair wearing a crown. ¡®Isn¡¯t she the one that lived with Zoro during the time skip? What was her name again? Pero.. something¡­ Pero¡­ Pero.... Ah! Perona!¡¯ ¡°Stop right there! What do you think you¡¯re doing with that treasure!¡± yelled Nami. ¡°And the Sunny...¡± muttered Rick. ¡°And the Sunny!¡± repeated louder Nami. The pink haired girl turned around to look up at the pair. ¡°It¡¯s you! Horo Horo Horo, is the ceremony with Absolom already over?¡± ¡°Absolom?¡± asked Rick ¡°The invisible guy. And before you get all grumpy, I already took care of him.¡± she answered before provoking Perona. ¡°Who would marry such a pervert?! Besides, I already got myself a handsome and strong boyfriend, so why would I want this ugly beast?¡± She wrapped her arms around one of Rick before taunting her opponent again. ¡°Why don¡¯t YOU marry that ugly friend of yours? With your face that¡¯s all you can get anyway. Certainly not someone like my man here.¡± ¡°Do you think this is the time for that?¡± Rick whispered. ¡°Shh! Be quiet!¡± she whispered back. ¡°OH THAT¡¯S IT! You asked for it now!¡± The pink haired girl was furious and ordered her soldiers to attack Rick and Nami. The zombies dropped the chests and rushed out of the Sunny. In a sh they were¡­ in the water? Shadows raised from the sea and scattered away. ¡°What the¡­¡± wondered the pink haired girl. ¡°Thanks for getting them out of the Sunny, that made things easier.¡± said Rick. ¡°What did you do?!¡± ¡°Pushed them into the sea with my devil fruit ability. Was that your n Nami?¡± he answered nonchntly. ¡°Yup.¡± ¡°Okay! I¡¯m done ying nice! Mini Hollow Squad¡­¡± Perona began but was interrupted by Rick. ¡°Behind you!¡± She turned around and was face to face with Bartolomew Kuma. ¡®Wait, I thought he arrived on the ind at the end of the fight with Moria?! What is he doing here?!¡¯ ¡°Who the hell are¡­ Bartholomew Kuma?!¡± She had stopped mid-sentence as she recognized the man towering in front of her. She quickly overcame her stupor. ¡°What is one of the shichibukai doing here?¡± ¡°Are you one of Moria¡¯s people?¡± he asked. ¡°Lord Moria¡­ I mean Gecko Moria and I don¡¯t have any rtionship.¡± she replied in fright. While Kuma and Perona were having a little talk. Rick didn¡¯t hesitate for even one second. He removed his overcoat and T-shirt and gave them to Nami. ¡°Get rid of the dress, put that on and go.¡± he urged her. ¡°What?¡± she asked, confused. ¡°GO!¡± Telling her a third time wasn¡¯t necessary. She put the T-shirt first, as Rick was way taller than her it reached the middle of her thighs.It allowed her to remove her wedding dress without exposing herself. Soon enough she was ready to go, turning back she saw that Perona was gone and Rick was already facing Kuma. She wondered who that guy was, but for her friend to order her to run he must have been dangerous. Without dying any longer Nami ran to join the rest of the crew. ¡°What are you doing here Kuma?¡± ¡°The world¡¯s worst traitor, a member of the strawhats...¡± the giant man said. ¡°Are you here to help Moria?¡± ¡°Help? No.¡± ¡°Then why..¡± ¡°I¡¯m here to deliver a message from the World Government to him. But it seems I was toote.¡± ¡°Toote?¡± ¡°Announce to Moria the sessor of Crocodile and to be careful of your crew.¡± ¡°Well yeah, it¡¯s a bit toote. Must be getting his ass kicked right now.¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°Why didn¡¯t you join the Revolution Army?¡± ¡°?¡± ¡°You tried to kill the highest rank officers of the Marines and a world noble. You destroyed Enies Lobby, the symbol of Justice, by activating the Buster Call on it.¡± ¡°Well¡­ it¡¯s not like I can meet a member of the R.A. at every corner of a street.¡± ¡°If you could, would you?¡± ¡°... Eh, why not? Bringing down those bastards in Marie Geoise and the corrupt officers of the marines? I¡¯m all for it but I have a duty to do first.¡± ¡°What duty?¡± ¡°Help my captain be the pirate king.¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°I see.¡± ¡°Will you interfere with the fight against Moria?¡± ¡°I will not.¡± They looked at each other for a bit. Rick finally decided to move, he raised at least 20 cubic meters of sea water with his gravity and flew towards the battle ground. ~~~~~~ When Nami arrived where everyone was. She was stunned by what she saw. The giant zombie she caught a glimpse of while she was going back to the Sunny was about to drop an axe kick right on a down Franky. Without thinking twice she used her clima-tact to make a thunderbolt fall on Oars, his raised leg ying the role of a lightning rod. It was effective, as the giant was stopped in his movement, allowing one of her crewmates to take care of Franky. It would even have been perfect if Sanji didn¡¯t have to be himself and go bonkers at her appearance. ¡°There she is! NAMI!!!¡± he yelled looking at her. ¡°Don¡¯t yell, he¡¯s going to notice me!¡± She was on a way higher ground than Oars, who would have needed to look up and search for her as she was quite far away. In other words she was rtively safe but thanks to Sanji not anymore. Oars raised his arm, ready tounch Luffy¡¯s famous ¡®Gomu Gomu no Pistol¡¯. When he did something unprecedented happened. His arm stretched. It stretched far enough to hit Nami¡¯s location. Thankfully Robin was there and saved her in time by blooming hands. That was the worst situation possible. An almost 220 feet tall giant, weighing 102t was now able to stretch his body. There was no way to get out of reach anymore. ¡°That must be Moria!¡± said Zoro. ¡°Oars¡¯ body stretch like Luffy¡¯s after he went inside him.¡± ¡°Kishishishishi! That¡¯s the power of my Kage Kage no mi! You see the shadow is subordinate to the body, that¡¯smon knowledge. But now I put my own shadow inside Oars¡¯! And since the body and the shadow must have the same shape, if I change Oars¡¯ shadow with mine his body will change ordingly!¡± dered Moria. That made the fight, without any doubt, harder. Too bad for him Robin was smart. He bloomed arms around Moria and restrained him, putting an end to Oars¡¯ stretching. However Moria¡¯s own shadow could still move and attack on his own. He threw shadow bats towards Robin to free his master. She couldn¡¯t dodge them all but enough to keep her hold on Moria. ¡°Robin Behind you!¡± yelled Zoro. The bats mixed together to form Moria¡¯s shadow and violently wed at Robin who was badly hurt as a result. Moria who could switch ces with his shadow did so. Now near Robin he grabbed her and took her own shadow before discarding her away. As Moria wasughing for taking care of another Strawhat, a loud and eerie roar resonated. The next moment the shichibukai flew towards the nearest wall at high speed. ¡°What was that?¡± asked Sanji. ¡°I don¡¯t know but it took care of Moria¡± answered Franky. ¡°I think¡­ I think it was Rick.¡± said Usopp, still bewildered at what he saw. ¡°Rick is not that fast.¡± replied Zoro. ¡°I know what I saw!¡± insisted Usopp. The debris stopped falling where Moria ended up and the smoke cleared, revealing Rick choking the shichibukai with one hand with strength. His head was adorned with long ck horns; his eyes had a feral look in them mixed with pure malice and finally, his smile was the most sadistic they had ever seen. ¡°Is that normal for him?¡± asked Franky? ¡°No.¡± answered Zoro. ¡°We never saw him like that.¡± said Nami. ¡°I don¡¯t know what happened to your friend but it doesn¡¯t look good.¡± confessed Brook. What was in front of them looked like a devil, and they would soon find out, that it wasn¡¯t just in look. Not a chapter but pretty serious talk Not a chapter but pretty serious talk Not a chapter but pretty serious talk Like I say previously : A user from is stealing my work. His name? EmporerRed. This that dude is stealing directly from here I will NOT post for a while on scriblehub. Until either his ount is deleted or my story remove from under his name. I will keep posting the story on webnovel however in the meanwhile. After all if I don''t post here, he won''t be able to get new content and if it take it from webnovel itself I''m pretty sure he''ll be screwed. Anyway here is the link for now: /book/out-for-karma-one-piece_20758349505490505 I''m hoping to be posting again on scribblehub soon ''cause I love you people! Chapter 63: Ever danced with the devil in the pale moonlight? Chapter 63: Ever danced with the devil in the pale moonlight? Chapter 63: Ever danced with the devil in the pale moonlight? Gecko Moria was choking. Him, one of the shichibukai, was being choked by a lone man. He couldn¡¯t believe it. For one because it was supposed to be impossible, for two he was too busy trying unsessfully to breathe. When the man holding him applied a lot more pressure on his neck, Moria¡¯s brain jolted for an instant. But that instant was enough, and he changed ce with his shadow which was inside Oars. *cough* ¡°Who ¡­¡± *cough* ¡° Are you?!¡± *cough* He tried to catch his breath with difficulty but sadly he didn¡¯t have the time. The devil facing him was already on him. ~~~~~ Rick, now holding a shadow, squeezed it and made it explode. He turned around and looked for the prey that got away. It didn¡¯t take him long to find it and propel himself with his gravity. The gravity des he threw towards Oars were powerful, each one of them pushed him back a few feet. The Zombie tried to fight back by dodging and hitting with his arms but they were repelled by other gravity des. Each was stronger than the one before and by a lot. Hands started to appear on Oars¡¯ body letting out a purple glow tearing small bits of flesh after small bits of flesh. ¡°What the hell is going on?!¡± asked Sanji. ¡°Rick is taking on Oars and Moria by himself apparently.¡± answered a baffled Usopp. ¡°More than that, he¡¯s winning.¡± added Franky. ¡°Are you sure your friend wasn¡¯t already that powerful?¡± asked Brook. ¡°Yes. I mean, sure with his gravity he can pull off from the ground really heavy things. But the heavier the more taxing it is for his body. He wouldn¡¯t be able to push away our ship like that, so Oars who is many times heavier?¡± replied Nami. ¡°And yet, he¡¯s doing it.¡± said Zoro. ¡°Do you think it¡¯s rted to the horns on his head?¡± asked Usopp. ¡°It¡¯s possible, what I¡¯m worried about right now is how long he can hold it.¡± answered Chopper. ¡°What do you mean?¡± asked Franky. ¡°Look at his body, it¡¯s like he¡¯s breaking from the inside. And I¡¯m not even talking about the blood pouring out of those scars.¡± exined Chopper. They heard a big tear sounding from Oars. Rick had split a part of one of his shoulders, making his arm dangle a bit. Their friend let out a very maniacalughter which send chills down their spine. ¡°You bastard! You will pay for that!¡± Yelled Moria. ¡°HAhaHAhAHahaHA.¡± Rick didn¡¯t stop there, he aimed for the ripped shoulder and thrusted Ryusei sending a powerful purple beam towards it. It hit and made a big hole severing the arm even more from the body. Everything the beam behind it touched just disappeared. ¡°Holy crap!¡± yelled Usopp. ¡°So that¡¯s what he was talking about.¡± said Zoro. ¡°What do you mean?¡± asked Sanji. ¡°When we were in Water Seven, before sailing, Rick and I had a friendly spar with swords. He went easy on me and I asked why. The answer I got was that attack he just did right now. Though when he was talking about it, it was nothing as thin and refined as this.¡± exined Zoro. ¡°Thin and refined?¡± Brook asked. ¡°Rick channels his gravity in his de. The higher the gravity the more powerful the thrust is, obviously but the harder it is to properly refine it. From what I gathered, if Rick had used the same level of gravity he used during the Davy Back Fight a good chunk of Water Seven would have been gone but not in a clean straight line like that. Yet The level of gravity he used on that attack is way higher than back then.¡± said Zoro. ¡°I¡¯m super d it was not aimed at us.¡± replied Franky. Oars¡¯ arm was notpletely useless though. Moria made Oars spin around and with the centrifugal force, use it like a whip. Rick was too busy tough to do anything and got hit hard. He was sent flying past the crew and ended up colliding with a building which fell on him. ¡°¡°¡°Rick!¡±¡±¡± They didn¡¯t have time to worry about their Vice-Captain as Oars started his onught once again. Fortunately, or to be more urate, unfortunately Rick burst out from the ruins of the building and sent gravity des everywhere in front of him. The crew was stuck, one side was Moria on the other their friend. Zoro tried to take care of the gravity de with his own flying shes. He didn¡¯t bother to try to stop them all there were too many but he focused on the one which would have hit the crew. That wasn¡¯t an easy task and he was barely seeding. Meanwhile, Sanji was trying his best with Franky and Chopper to fight off Oars and Moria. Thetter, no longer restrained by Robin, was now free to make Oars¡¯ body stretch again. Usopp and Nami were taking care of waking up Robin, still down after her assault from Moria. This was a nightmare. They couldn¡¯t fight any of their opponents. ¡°Where is Luffy?! We really need him right now!¡± said Usopp helping Nami bandaging Robin¡¯s wound with cloth ripped from Rick¡¯s overcoat. "I don¡¯t know, but you¡¯re right. We can¡¯t hold on any longer.¡± replied Nami focused on her friend. As if their prayers had been answered a giant blue hand came from the side of Oars and smashed him right in the face. ¡°Hey giant guy! What do you think you¡¯re doing to my friends?¡± ¡°¡°¡°¡°¡°¡°Luffy!¡±¡±¡±¡±¡±¡± ¡°Straw hat! You¡¯re right on time! Die with your pathetic crew!¡± yelled Moria. With Oars remaining arm the shichibukai threw a punch towards Luffy who stopped it with one hand. ¡°What?!¡± eximed Moria. ¡°Give everyone back their shadow! ¡° yelled the strawhats captain, before hitting the zombie in the jaw with an uppercut. The strength behind that hit was so monstrous that Oars was sent flying backwards a hundred feet andnded in the haunted forest. Luffy went after him, leaving his crew behind. ¡°I wouldn¡¯t mind a bit of help here!¡± yelled Zoro. He couldn¡¯t hold Rick¡¯s attacks anymore. What infuriated him was that his Vice-captain or whatever it was that faced him was toying with him. The gravity des were not nearly as powerful as the ones Oars took. No, those ones were weak enough for Zoro to deal with but with great difficulty. It was like Rick was enjoying tormenting him, exhausting him des after des. Sanji deflected as many as he could but that put a heavy load on his legs and Franky, who got back his nunchaku that Zoro had borrowed, was hitting them head on with Brook. Chopper joined Nami and Usopp to help with Robin. ¡°How the hell did you fight him for so long?!¡± asked Franky but got no answer from Zoro, too busy holding up. ¡°How are we going to deal with him?¡± questioned Sanji. ¡°Get close and knock him out?¡± answered Brook. ¡°Easier said than done.¡± replied Zoro Meanwhile with the weak trio, Chopper was taking care of the wounds Nami and Usopp hadn''t yet treated. ¡°She¡¯s going to be fine, if she¡¯s careful there won¡¯t be any scars.¡± said the doctor. ¡°That¡¯s good,¡± said Nami. ¡°Now what are we going to do with Rick?¡± asked Usopp. ¡°I don¡¯t know,st time I saw him, he faced a dangerous guy that came on the ind.¡± answered Nami. ¡°Is he the one responsible for Rick¡¯s change?¡± wondered Chopper out loud. ¡°I don¡¯t think that¡¯s the case. When I left they were facing each other and were talking. If a fight would have broken out we would have felt and heard it from here.¡± replied Nami. ¡°Then why did he be like that?¡± asked Chopper, again. ¡°I don¡¯t know but when he was choking Moria he was really scaring me.¡± replied Usopp ¡°Yes it was like¡­ he was taking pleasure in hurting him.¡± added the reindeer. ¡°Why Moria?¡± muttered Nami? ¡°¡°Huh?¡±¡± ¡°Why Moria and not us?¡± ¡°Do you need sses?! He¡¯s attacking us right now!¡± said Usopp. ¡°But not with the same savagery he did Moria! Look! He¡¯s taking his time! He¡¯s enjoying toying with them.¡± retorted Nami pointed to their friends doing their best to fight Rick off. ¡°Against Moria he was relentless and ruthless.¡± remarked Chopper. ¡°But now he isn¡¯t. Why is that? What did Moria do that made Rick lose his mind like that?¡± wondered Nami. ¡°Now that I think about it, that was weird to begin with.¡± dered Usopp. ¡°¡°What was?¡±¡± ¡°When Rick left to get sea water to get Luffy¡¯s shadow back Moria hadn¡¯t appeared yet. How did he know Moria was¡­ Moria?¡± asked Usopp. That was a really good question actually and it prompted Nami to rey the scene in her mind. ¡®Rick suddenly arrived by charging Moria¡­ If he didn¡¯t know Moria why did he go after him? What was Moria doing when¡­¡¯ ¡°ROBIN!¡± she yelled. ¡°¡°What?¡±¡± ¡°When Rick charged Moria, thetter had just attacked Robin!¡± ¡°¡°So?¡±¡± ¡°So Rick is very protective of us, especially her! Now I know what happened with Vivi.¡± she muttered not low enough for the other two to not hear her. ¡°Vivi? What does she have to do with the situation?¡± asked Usopp. ¡°Nevermind that! We need to wake Robin!¡± ¡°¡°WHAT?!¡±¡± ¡°You heard me! She may be the only one who can stop Rick right now! Chopper, can you do something?¡± asked the navigator. The reindeer opened his bag and pulled out a test tube. He opened it by removing the cork on top of it and quickly put one hand to hold his nose and used the other to put the test tube under Robin¡¯s. The effect was instantaneous. The archaeologist opened her eyes and raised herself. ¡°¡°¡°ROBIN!¡±¡±¡± ¡°Wha¡­¡± ¡°We need your help!¡± said Usopp urgently. She was still a bit out of it but quickly enough found her bearings. ¡°My help? What for?¡± she asked. ¡°For this!¡± answered Usopp pointing at Rick still toying with the guys. ¡°Rick? What hap¡­¡± ¡°We don¡¯t know, but we think you¡¯re the only one who can stop him right now.¡± intervened Nami. ¡°Me?¡± ¡°Nami thinks he lost it because you got hurt.¡± replied Chopper. Robin looked at her boyfriend. Horns on his head, his face wearing a sadistic and gleeful smile. He was sending attacks after attacks towards her friends who held their ground, barely. ¡°What do you want me to do?¡± she asked. ¡°I don¡¯t know¡­ something?¡± answered Usopp. Nami leaned and whispered in her ear. ¡°You really think it will work?¡± the archaeologist doubted Nami¡¯s idea. ¡°Probably? I don¡¯t have any other ns.¡± Robin got up and crossed her arms in front of herself. Immediately multiple pairs of arms bloomed from behind Rick¡¯s back and embraced him. Now restricted, his attacks stopped allowing Zoro, Sanji, Franky and Brook to take a break. They were out of breath. Their Vice-captain tried to free himself but stopped in his endeavor when a mouth appeared near his ear and whispered to him. His eyes closed and the horns disappeared before his entire body went limp. He had passed out. ¡°¡°¡°You did it!¡±¡±¡± eximed the weak trio. Chopper rushed to Rick¡¯s side to see his condition, while Nami, Usopp and Robin went towards the guys. ¡°Good job.¡± said Zoro, exhausted. ¡°What did you do exactly?¡± asked Franky. ¡°Woman¡¯s secret.¡± said Robin with a little smile at the corner of her lips. ¡°Well, that was effective, and that¡¯s all that matters¡± replied Brook. ¡°And right on time, I don¡¯t think I would have been able to go on much longer.¡± confessed Sanji. Their little break was abruptly over when Oars crashed right beside them into the main tower and Luffy now back to normal crashed on the ground next to them. However the fight was not over. The giant zombie raised himself ready to continue. Unfortunately for him, the entire crew, minus Rick, was present, ready to finish him off. They did everything to make him stand straight. Nami made a rain cloud above Oars head and made it pour on it; it was followed up by Franky hijacking a pipe from the main tower, and with the freezing gas in it froze his legs. Thriller Bark being a ship ind the helm was gigantic and used a huge metal chain to move. Sanji took it and put it around Oars¡¯ torso. The undead giant was now restrained straight on his two legs. The opportunity was there and Luffy didn¡¯t miss it. He asked Robin to make some kind ofdder on the main tower¡¯s wall so he could climb as high as he could. Once at a good height he jumped and went into gear 3rd. Two giant rubber armsnded right on Oars¡¯ head as he was looking up. The blow was devastating and broke the reanimated giant¡¯s spine, making him unable to move for good. ¡°Woohoo!¡± eximed Usopp. Unfortunately for him the fight was not over yet. Oars may have been defeated but Moria was still kicking. ¡°THAT¡¯S IT! ENOUGH!¡± the shichibukai yelled. ¡°Give us back our shadows!¡± replied Luffy. ¡°Oh, you want shadows? I¡¯ll give you shadows!¡± Moria raised his hands, his shadow expanded in tiny strings that scattered around the whole ind. Soon enough the strings brought back shadows. ¡°How many did you take in your body earlier? A hundred? Then I¡¯ll just have to take more!¡± Hundreds and hundreds of shadows wera absorbed by Moria. His body became bigger to the point he reached the size of Oars. ¡°Kishishishi! What are you going to do now! I have the power of a thousand shadows!¡± ¡°There is no way he can control all those.¡± said Nami. Luffy went into gear 2nd and hit the shichibukai¡¯s belly with his jet bazooka attack. That seemed to work as shadows escaped from Moria¡¯s mouth. Seeing that Luffy kept on attacking, unfortunately his opponent didn¡¯t let him and fought back. With this power up Moria was even stronger than Oars. Now more than ever was the time to im victory as the sun was rising. A few more minutes and everyone not hiding would disappear, killed by the sun¡¯s ray. Out of nowhere a purple beam went straight towards Moria and struck him. The blow was powerful enough to make the shichibukai release all the shadow he stole and knock him out. Everyone turned around to see behind them an exhausted Rick panting, supporting himself on his sword stuck in the ground. ¡°Absorb that *pant* bitch.¡± he said. The fight was over and the strawhats won. The crew started celebrating with the crowd around. They were pirates whose shadows had been taken by Moria and stuck on the ind since then. However, everyone''s joy was cut short by a voice. ¡°The worst case scenario came true. How unfortunate, we just decided Crocodile¡¯s sessor and now we have another vacant seat for the shichibukai.¡± The voice came from a den den mushi held by Kuma. ¡°Who¡¯s that guy?!¡± asked Usopp. ¡°That¡¯s the guy Rick faced when I left him at the Sunny¡± answered Nami. ¡°He¡¯s Bartholomew Kuma, another shichibukai.¡± said Rick. ¡°¡°¡°Another one?!¡±¡±¡± The voice from the den den mushi talked again. ¡°Is Moria still alive? If he was, we can just wait for him to recover. As for what happened here... the news must not reach the world . Understood?¡± ¡°Understood.¡± answered Kuma. ¡°Then we await your report.¡± said the voice. Kuma hung up the den den mushi, and moved. He appeared in the middle of the crowd without anyone knowing how he did it in a blink of an eye. ¡°You said you will not interfere, Kuma!¡± yelled Rick. ¡°In the fight with Moria, yes. But the fight is over.¡± Chapter 64: The most sublime act is to set another before you Chapter 64: The most sublime act is to set another before you Chapter 64: The most sublime act is to set another before you ¡°You said you will not interfere, Kuma!¡± yelled Rick. ¡°In the fight with Moria, yes. But the fight is over.¡± Without saying anything further Kuma started the cleaning up he was ordered to do. Some of the pirates in the crowd tried to attack him but were pushed back violently and ended up unconscious with a paw mark on their chest. ¡°What the hell did he do?!¡± asked Usopp. ¡°He repelled them.¡± answered Rick. ¡°Repel?¡± said Sanji ¡°Those paw marks are from the Nikyu Nikyu no mi. It allows the user to repel anything and everything.¡± exined Rick. ¡°But he didn¡¯t even touch them. I mean I get for the first guy, but what about the guys behind him?¡± asked Franky. ¡°He repelled the air?¡± replied Robin ¡°I think so.¡± answered her boyfriend. Zoro drew his swords from their sheaths and got close to face him. ¡°Pirate hunter Roronoa Zoro¡­ I¡¯ve heard that strawhat Luffy has gathered a number of skilled crew members. It seems like it was true. Even though you were not known before¡­ Now, it¡¯s not just your captain getting notice. After defeating two shichibukai I understand why the World Government wants to get rid of you.¡± Zoro went hard at him, shing and thrusting his swords but Kuma didn¡¯t even bother to defend himself. He just pulled back his hands and did some palm strikes. Zoro was forced to dodge, he knew that even one hit would be the end of him. He dodged so much that a not negligible distance was made between him and his opponent. He unleashed a flying sh towards Kuma who just raised his hand and repelled it to the side. ¡°How did you¡­¡± Zoro started to ask. ¡°My paws repel everything.¡± said Kuma showing the inside of his hands. ¡°Why are you guys even surprised?! I told you about his powers!¡± eximed Rick when he saw his crewmates being bewildered. ¡°So he¡¯s a paw man?!¡± siad Sanji, astonished. ¡°What part of Nikyu didn¡¯t you understand?¡± replied Rick about to lose his temper. ¡°That sounds so gentle!!¡± eximed Franky. Thatment didn¡¯t sit really well with Kuma as he swinged his arm towards the cyborg, repelling the air. Franky was pushed back violently backwards into the wall. ¡°Yeah, insulting him was not the smartest thing to do¡­¡± said Rick with a sigh. Chopper went to Franky to see how he was doing while the rest of the crew kept their mouths shut. That didn¡¯t stop them from thinking of something cute. Rick turned towards Robin and squinted his eyes. ¡°Yes?¡± she asked. ¡°You thought of cute kitties didn¡¯t you?¡± ¡°N-no¡­¡± ¡°We¡¯ll get you one in the next ind.¡± ¡°That¡¯s not¡­¡± She was interrupted by a loud crashing sound. Zoro had been pushed back against a big piece of debris from their fight against Oars and Moria and was now at the mercy of Kuma. The paw man was ready to give the swordsman the final hit when he was struck himself in the jaw by Sanji¡¯s leg. Sadly Kuma¡¯s jaw was too hard for the cook who fell down on the ground and held his leg while screaming. ¡°Now that the strongest fighters who could still fight are weakened, killing you is neither insteresting nor satisfying. The World Government¡¯s order was to destroy you all but honestly it¡¯s not worth it. He spread his arm far before getting them closer. You could see with the naked eye a transparent paw shape being created and getting smaller and smaller as his hand got closer to each other. ¡°That¡¯s not good!¡± said Nami. ¡°What is he doing?¡± asked Usopp ¡°He¡¯s applying pressure to an air ball with his paws.¡± she answered. ¡°With that much airpressed, if it is unleashed that will create a gigantic shockwave.¡± added Robin ¡°What do you mean exactly?¡± asked Usopp. ¡°He made an air bomb.¡± replied Rick. Dumbfounded by the news and Kuma¡¯s ability to make a bomb whenever he wanted, Usopp despaired a bit. ¡°I will spare all of you but the price for that will be strawhat Luffy¡¯s head. The government won¡¯tin if I bring back only him. Now bring him here.¡± ordered Kuma. No one answered positively to that order. Neither the crowd of pirates who were thankful to Luffy for beating Moria¡¯s and giving them their shadows back nor the strawhats. They put up a united front for Kuma and in total synchronisation answered the same thing. ¡°¡°¡°¡°HELL NO!¡±¡±¡±¡± ¡°So be it.¡± Kuma released his air bomb and the resulting shockwave was devastating. The debris around Kuma were firstunched backwards, hitting some of the pirates around, then the pirates themselves. In the end nothing was left around Kuma in a 20 feet radius. The shichibukai started to walk, encountering unconscious bodies here and there stuck under rubble. His search quickly bore fruit; he had found Luffy under a broken wall. As he leaned and reached for him, he was shed twice. Straightening himself he saw Rick in front of him, his sword raised, and turning around, saw Zoro. They had endured the st of his air bomb. His coat had been damaged, enough to give a glimpse of the metal parts substituting for actual organic body parts. ¡°You.. you¡¯re a cyborg like Franky? No¡­ the metal was harder than iron.¡± ¡°A cyborg¡­ Yes I suppose it is the correct designation for what I am. I¡¯m more advanced than the ¡°cyborg¡± Franky though.¡± replied the shichibukai. He opened his mouth and from it a bright light shined. ¡°Dodge!¡± Yelled Rick to his friend. You didn¡¯t have to tell him twice. Zoro barely moved out of the way of theser beam shot from Kuma¡¯s mouth. The beam¡¯s heat was so high that he melted the metal in its way. ¡°I¡¯m called a ¡°Pacifista¡±. An iplete human weapon developed by the government.¡± ¡°You were made by Vegapunk? I¡¯m not surprised.¡± said Rick. ¡°Only a genius of Dr. Vegapunk¡¯s caliber would be brilliant enough to make such a project.¡± dered Kuma ¡°So we have no chance then¡­ Between your body and your devil fruit powers¡­ ¡° said Zoro in defeat. ¡°It¡¯s good that you understand. Now justy down, the both of you.¡± ¡°I won¡¯t let you take my little brother¡¯s head even if it¡¯s quite empty.¡± announced Rick in defiance, raising on his feet while panting. ¡°If you need the head of someone for the government to parade, then take mine. My bounty is higher and I¡¯m perhaps the most hated sailor on the seas. My death would give more publicity to the government.¡± he added. ¡°No, take mine!¡± interjected Zoro. ¡±Rick, the crew need you to take care of them.¡± ¡°If you die, what about your ambition, you moron!¡± Kuma, Zoro and Rick turned towards the voice. Sanji was there, exhausted and hurt. ¡°The two of you are morons! Of the three of us I¡¯m the one without a dream! Being the best swordsman in the world, finding all blue, only you can realise your ambition! Me? I have nothing so I would lose nothing! Besides I¡­¡± he didn¡¯t finish his sentence. He couldn¡¯t bring himself to say the truth. That he was dying. ¡°Each of you is willing to give up your ambition for your captain¡­ Why?¡± asked Kuma ¡°¡°¡°He¡¯s going to be the pirate king.¡±¡±¡± they answered in sync. ¡°I see¡­ To have such subordinates¡­ He¡¯s truly blessed. Very well I¡¯ll take the life of one of you.¡± dered the paw man. ¡°¡°Then I¡±¡± Before they could finish their sentence, Rick had used the little bit he had left of his strength to tten his two friends on the ground. Hard enough to knock them out. ¡°Why did you do that? Your captain''s life was safe, you could have let one of them take his ce.¡± asked the shichibukai. ¡°Because¡­ I¡¯m dying.¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°My body is breaking down. I can feel it. At most I have around 4 months left, and I believe the only one who can cure me is Vegapunk. I don¡¯t know where he is and even if I did and met him, I don¡¯t think he will have the time to find a cure. Besides, I¡¯m the oldest. It''s my job to take care of the younger ones.¡± said Rick with a smile. ¡®I had nned to take Zoro¡¯s ce for the Karma, but I didn¡¯t think I would be that injured. What the hell happened for me to be in that state? Can I take all of Luffy¡¯s pain and fatigue like that?¡¯ Just like the time when he saved Vivi in the bandits hideout his memory was nked. He remembered carrying the sea water to the fight with Oars then next, waking up amongst ruins and a giant Moria. ¡®At least this time there isn''t any blood and body parts everywhere.¡¯ Kuma picked up Luffy with one hand and with the other repelled all his fatigue and pain he umted during his fight against Oars and Moria. The pink paw resulting from this action was enormous. ¡°This is all of your brother¡¯s pain and fatigue. Since you¡¯re ready to exchange his life for his I think you won¡¯t mind taking it.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t.¡± ¡°Good. But do know that hell is waiting for you.¡± ¡°That¡¯s okay, the goddess has a soft spot for me.¡± replied Rick with a smile. Kuma didn¡¯t say anything anymore and sidestepped to let Rick approach the giant paw. Standing in front of it the strawhats Vice-captain said a few words. ¡°My only regret is to leave behind the woman I love but I can¡¯t really do anything about it. Fortunately she won¡¯t be alone.¡± ¡® I guess it¡¯s time. Whether I live or not¡­ I¡¯m d to have been in this world. Ugh the goddess is going to tear me a new one if I die.¡¯ Thinking no further he entered the pink paw. ~~~~~ An entire day had passed since Moria¡¯s defeat. It was not a surprise, after all they had fought hard all night against Moria and his zombies and were quite exhausted. Everyone was somewhat bandaged and still tired with the exception of Luffy that was more healthy than ever. Him, Franky, Usopp and Nami were on the Sunny to get some supplies for everyone still on the ind. Actually Nami was there for the treasure chests Perona had had her people load on the ship. To her dismay they were all empty. Her sour mood didn¡¯tst long when Franky came out from the hull with a big bag. ¡°That¡¯s weird, the supplies that were taken were back. There is even a lot of gold that wasn¡¯t there before.¡± ¡°Gold?!¡± eximed Nami. Without waiting for Franky¡¯s answer she looked inside the hatch leading to the inside of the hull. There, was the treasure that Rick had stolen. At the sight Nami was over the moon. As the group of four went back to the hall where everyone was, they wondered why Kuma left the ind, leaving everyone alive after fighting them. Entering the ce they called out to Chopper. ¡°Chopper!¡± said Luffy. ¡°We brought everything you asked for.¡± added Franky. ¡°Thank you!¡± replied the reindeer. ¡°How is he?¡± asked a worried Nami. She was referring to Rick. Her Vice-captain wasying down on a makeshift mattress bandaged like a mummy. Robin was by his side tending to a wound Chopper didn¡¯t take care of. ¡°Honestly? Not good.¡± he answered Nami with a shake of his head. ¡°What¡¯s wrong with him?¡± asked Usopp. ¡°So much that I don¡¯t even know where to begin.¡± replied Chopper ¡°Is he going to be alright?¡± asked Luffy. ¡°With a lot of time, yes.¡± ¡°That¡¯s good then.¡± said Usopp. ¡°Actually it isn¡¯t.¡± dered the doctor. ¡°What do you mean?¡± Robin asked, stricken with worry. ¡°Rick always healed fast. Way faster than the average person. What took a week to heal for someone only took him a couple of days. Now? His healing factor is nowhere near what it is supposed to be.¡± exined Chopper. ¡°Do you think his weird change during the fight is the cause of it?¡± asked Franky. ¡°That I don¡¯t know. What I do know is that he didn¡¯t have so many injuries when we won against Moria. I wondered how he got the new ones.¡± ¡°Oh! We know! We know what happened!¡± ¡°When that Kuma guy blew everyone up ¡­¡± Two people inserted themselves in the conversation. These two pirates¡¯ words caught the attention of Sanji and Zoro who reacted fast. They dragged the two guys outside out of earshot. ¡°Okay, spill it.¡± said Zoro. ¡°What happened?¡± asked Sanji. ¡°After your friend knocked you out, that Kuma guy asked him why he did that when he could have lived by let one of you die instead¡± said pirate#1 whose name was Laurel. ¡°Yeah! And your friend said that as the oldest he had to take care of the younger ones and also because he was already dying.¡± added pirate#2 named conveniently Hardy. ¡°¡°WHAT?!¡±¡± Sanji grabbed Hardy by the cor and lifted him up. ¡°I-It¡¯s true!¡± ¡°He said that he only had a few months left and that he couldn¡¯t find some guy that could help him.¡± exined Laurel ¡°What happened next?¡± asked Zoro as Sanji put down Hardy. ¡°The shichibukai picked up your captain and repelled all his pain and fatigue making a huge pink paw.¡± Laurel said, continuing to rte the events. ¡°Then your friend entered the huge paw and never let a sound out of his mouth despite looking in extreme pain.¡± added Hardy ¡°When he finished absorbing the paw he just went quiet and fell to the ground. Honestly, I thought he had died.¡± finished Laurel. ¡°Yeah me too.¡± admitted Hardy. ¡°Anything else?¡± asked Sanji. ¡°No, after that, that Kuma guy just left.¡± answered Laurel. ¡°Wait! There is one thing. Your friend said that his only regret was leaving the woman he loved behind.¡± remembered Hardy. Zoro and Sanji looked at each other. Surprise was on their face. ¡°Rick is with someone? I thought he lived alone on O¡¯hara for the past ten years.¡± asked Sanji. ¡°Not our business.¡± said Zoro. ¡°And his condition?¡± ¡°... Not our business either. It¡¯s up to him to tell us.¡± ¡°You¡¯re kidding right?¡± Zoro and Sanji started to argue about telling or not telling the rest of the crew. The argument between the two stopped when Laurel and Hardy tried to leave to tell the crew Rick¡¯s heroic deed. This started another argument with the four of them. Meanwhile an eavesdropper was devastated by the things she heard. ~~~~~ ¡°Robin, what¡¯s wrong?¡± asked Chopper. ¡°Nothing, why?¡± she replied. ¡°You¡¯re crying.¡± stated Nami in worry. Robin brought one of her hands to her cheeks and indeed she was shedding tears. ¡°It¡¯s fine just¡­ fatigue I guess.¡± Robin lied. ¡°I think a bit of fresh air will do me some good.¡± she added, before getting up for her seat near aatose Rick, and exiting the hall. Devastated didn¡¯t even begin to properly describe how she was feeling right now. After 20 years she finally found someone who understood her, someone who cared and loved her no matter what, ready to stand by her side no matter what she was facing and most of all ready to do anything for her. And now that she was finally happy with her life that person would soon be gone forever. ¡°Robin, are you alright?!¡± said the voice of Namiing from behind her. ¡°YES! I¡¯m.. I¡¯m¡­¡± She tried to make up a nice front but ended up breaking down. ¡°No, I¡¯m not.¡¯ she said with tears between sobs. Nami got closer and took her friend in arms, gently patting her back. ¡°What is it?¡± she asked. ¡°He¡¯s¡­ He¡¯s dying.¡± ¡°Who?¡± ¡°Rick.¡± ¡°What?¡± Robin began retelling the talk Zoro and Sanji had with Laurel and Hardy. Nami couldn¡¯t believe what she was hearing. ¡°How can he be so sure? Chopper examined him and didn¡¯t see anything wrong. He expects Rick to recover.¡± asked Nami, trying to be rational despite being affected by the news. ¡°Nami, he¡¯s always right.¡± ¡°Then maybe this time he¡¯s not!¡± ¡°You heard Chopper! His body is not healing as fast as it should!¡± ¡°That doesn¡¯t mean he¡¯s dying!¡± Not in a mood for an argument Robin just left for parts unknown, leaving Nami behind. Not a chapter but fun facts #3 Not a chapter but fun facts #3 Announcement I GOT the staff at webnovel to remove my stolen work!! To be honest I didn''t have much hope for that to happen. But It did and I''m really happy! Thanks again for all the people who help me with this, you''re the best! Now that''s also mean, I can normally post on scribblehub again. To celebrate I''m posting this chapter and chapter 65! Not a chapter but fun facts #3 With the Thriller Bark over it¡¯s time for another NaCB. I know I said the next one would be after the Marineford war but after seeing somements and thinking about it I¡¯m doing it at the end of each story arc. Thriller back was really short. Both in this fanfiction and in the manga/ anime. I guess after the very long Water Seven / Enies Lobby arc which started around the meeting with Aokiji on Long Ring ind, a smaller arc was necessary. To be honest I have mixed feelings about the arc I wrote. Without my notes I had absolutely no clues about what I was nning. I scratched a lot of things and in the end¡­ I just focused on Rick alone. We don¡¯t see much of the enemies besides Oars and Moria and¡­ Rick (Kuma doesn¡¯t count). Lots of changes happened, the most important one being the fog. It disappeared way earlier than in canon. I¡¯m done babbling here are some fun facts:
  • Rick should have been toyed with, stealthily in front of everyone by Robin. Though Nami would have caught on making her jealous, horny and entertained.
  • Rick was supposed to go up on Brook ship with Luffy to meet Brook and share his humor.
  • Robin was supposed to love Rick¡¯s dark humor and beingpletely neutral to Brook¡¯s, because he''s a pervert.
  • Rick should have met Perona and be immune, due to some reason, to her negative ghost.
  • Perona would have had her sanity snapped when finding out that Usopp was immune too.
  • Rick and Sanji should have both entered the Chapel where Absolom intended to marry Nami. While Sanji decided he would be the one to fight Absolom, Rick would have just snatched Nami away.
  • Rick and Nami''s next scene should have made Nami embarrassed for the second time with a really bold and teasing Rick.
  • Rick should have been there when Moria took control of Oars and pulled out the huge bag of salt Brook brought to deal with the giant Zombie. At that moment he was supposed to go fetch sea water and actually seed in pulling Luffy¡¯s shadow out of Oars.
  • Monster Luffy would have then fought Moria powered up with 900 shadows and lost.
  • Luffy and Rick, exhausted, worked together as brothers to defeat Moria.
  • That was scrapped, because I couldn¡¯t take the win from Luffy. With Kuma watching the fight It would have made no sense to just ask for Luffy¡¯s head and not Rick¡¯s too.
Now for the chapters titles : Chapter 60: Saying where ites from would be an insult. Chapter 61: Doom Eternal Chapter 63: From the Tim burton Batman movie of 1989 ( it¡¯s a quote from the Joker yed by Jack Nicholson) Chapter 64: Quote from William ke. I didn¡¯t do chapter 62. I wonder why¡­ It¡¯s the first time I don¡¯t do a chapter title. Oh wait! It¡¯s not! Good luck finding the other one ( it¡¯s easy really), and good luck specting why. See you in another NaCB Chapter 65: I kissed a girl and I liked it, hope my boyfriend don’t mind it Chapter 65: I kissed a girl and I liked it, hope my boyfriend don¡¯t mind it Chapter 65: I kissed a girl and I liked it, hope my boyfriend don''t mind it It has been a week since the strawhats, aboard the Sunny, had left Thriller Bark and continued their journey towards Fishman ind or as Sanji and Brook now referred to it: Mermaid Ind. Brook with his shadow back was free to sail again but after being alone for decades he epted Luffy¡¯s offer to join him. The fact that they had a friend inmon helped a lot. Laboon was a whale living in the sea near Twin Cape Lighthouse, the first stop when ships enter Grand Lineat the base of Reverse Mountain, and has been waiting for Brook¡¯s return for more than 40 years. With the skeleton on board, music to entertain everyone on the boring days at sea was heard quite often. Yet despite the uplifting songs, three people were unaffected. The first one was Rick, still in aa. The lightest of his wounds had healed, but the most severe ones like his broken ribs or his cracked skin and internal organs were notpletely done with their recovery. Robin and Nami were the second and third. They were taking turns watching over him constantly, day or night. Sometimes, Chopper came into the room to see Rick¡¯s recovery¡¯s progress or Sanji brought snacks for the one of the two sitting at the bedside of their Vice-Captain. Zoro and Sanji decided to keep mum about their friend approaching the end of his life. It wouldn¡¯t have done any good for the rest of the crew, unaware that Robin and Nami were in the know. For their part they didn¡¯t disclose the news either for the same reason. After their augment on Thriller Bark their rtionship sour a bit. Nami had asked Chopper to do a full check up on Rick but he didn¡¯t find anything abnormal. She refused to believe her Vice-captain was dying but his prolongedatose state and his own statement birthed doubt. She was in denial but deep inside she knew that it was the truth as Rick is always right. Not for the first time she hated that fact. What she hated as much was her inability to apologize to Robin, it would have meant that she was acknowledging Rick¡¯s state. Robin had fooled everyone. Smiling andughing when she was with the others but in reality she was heartbroken. She only showed her true feelings when she was watching over Rick. It tired her to no end. She spent as much time as she could with him without tipping her crewmates about their secret rtionship. Currently Robin was the one watching him and it was about time Nami took her ce. She was reading out loud a book for her boyfriend and talking to him about its content, hoping to hear an answer that never came. When Nami came into the room to relieve her of her duty, she had had more than enough and spoke up to her friend. ¡°I¡¯m sorry.¡± Robin stopped reading but didn¡¯t look at her, her eyes fixed on the man she lovedying on the bed. ¡°I was in denial, because I was afraid that if I epted it, it would be true.¡± Robin still kept silent but tapped the seat beside her indicating for Nami toe sit by her side which she did. Once seated the brte just took her friend¡¯s hand in her and squeezed it. ¡°That¡¯s okay, I know where that wasing from, so I forgive you.¡± she said. That was true. Robin for the most of her life had be used to epting things and moving forward, doing otherwise would have signed her death warrant. But to Nami who only lost Belle-m¨¨re long ago and was surrounded by loving people it was not an easy thing to do. Though, even if Robin was in eptance of hers and her boyfriend¡¯s situation it didn¡¯t make her pain any less. Hearing her friend forgiving her Nami was relieved and this time was the one to squeeze her hand. They stayed like that for a while before the redhead spoke up again. ¡°I think I know what happened to him on the ind.¡± ¡°Nami, I was the one who told you what happened.¡± replied Robin. ¡°I wasn¡¯t talking about that. I was talking about Rick being¡­ different. With the horns and apletely different personality.¡± ¡°Oh... that. What did you find?¡± ¡°I should not share this because he told me in confidence. But¡­¡± Robin raised an eyebrow. Rick confided in Nami and not her? She didn¡¯t like that. Nami quickly caught on and exined herself. ¡°It was just after our talk about trusting him or not so don¡¯t look at me like that!¡± That actually reassured Robin a bit. ¡°Honestly you would have known if you hadn¡¯t been caught eavesdropping, so you only have yourself to me!¡± That was true. At the time Rick saw the ear she had bloomed to spy on him and blew air into it making her dispel it. ¡°Anyway, considering the situation and because I¡¯m almost 100% sure he won¡¯t be pissed at me for it, I¡¯m telling you: Did he ever tell you how he met Vivi?¡± When Robin answered negatively, Nami proceeded to tell her Rick¡¯s and Vivi¡¯s meeting and the subsequent kidnapping and rescue of thetter. ¡°You¡¯re thinking the same thing happened back then?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°What makes you think that, we don¡¯t know if Rick remembers or not his state during the fight with Moria.¡± ¡°True, but the trigger is the same.¡± ¡°Which is?¡± ¡°Anger for the people he loves Robin. From what I understood of their rtionship, Rick was already quite protective of Vivi from the moment they met and Vivi¡­ you can¡¯t help but love her. So when he saw her chained like an animal¡­ He said that he had never been so angry before. Now on Thriller Bark, you got done by Moria. He must have seen it and been more than furious because less than a secondter Rick is lifting and choking him with one hand, a different personality and with horns. Whatforts me in this is that, just as I spected, you were the only one to calm him down.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know if you¡¯re right but it¡¯s usible. Now the question is¡­ why does it happen in the first ce. Where does that...Transformationes from?¡± ¡°My guess is as good as yours.¡± They didn¡¯t talk anymore about this topic and watched over their man in silence. Yes, their, because ever since Rick let it slip that Nami could have some fun time with him she considered him hers. That was the thought she had at the moment which prompted her to get rification from Robin. ¡°So¡­..¡± she began. ¡°Yes?¡± ¡°Rick said that you agree to let me have him.¡± announced Nami with a grin. ¡°He said what?!¡± ¡°It¡¯s not true then?¡± ¡°He wasn¡¯t supposed to tell you!¡± ¡°It¡¯s true then! Wait, why wasn¡¯t he?¡± ¡°I wanted him for myself a bit longer. We were supposed to rail you up with teasing and innuendo. Why did he b?¡± said amenting Robin ¡°I see¡­ Anyway it wasn¡¯t really his fault, you can¡¯t put all the me on him.¡± ¡°What do you mean?¡± ¡°Well Rick told me that you were attacked by something invisible?¡± ¡°Yes, that thing licked my cleavage! I had to take a shower afterwards!¡± ¡°Well that thing actually attacked me too while I was taking a bath in the manor. Thankfully Rick saved the day before¡­ well¡­ before.¡± ¡°Thank goodness.¡± ¡°Yeah. He got an eyeful though.¡± confessed Nami with augh. ¡°Though not for long. He put his overcoat really quickly over me. Anyway, that invisible guy somehow knocked me out and kidnapped me to make me his wife. Well I shocked him good and ran back to Sunny to change clothes.¡± ¡°Change clothes?¡± ¡°He dressed me up in an actual wedding dress!¡± ¡°Really?¡± ¡°Yes! And that¡¯s what I was wearing when Rick found me on his way to Sunny. His words were, and I quote, ¡®I know Robin said you could have me but don¡¯t you think a wedding dress is going a bit too far?¡¯.¡± that made Robinugh. ¡°I understand why he would let it slip then. I won¡¯t punish him too badly.¡± ¡°Actually you should reward him.¡± ¡°Why is that?¡± ¡°He refused to carry me because of my outfit and just made me float back with him to Sunny, saying that you would cut his balls off in his sleep if you weren¡¯t the first for whom he¡¯ll do that!¡± ¡°What?! He wants to¡­¡± began Robin with an astonished look on her face. ¡°Sorry! I probably shouldn¡¯t have said that.¡± ¡°No no ! Tell me more!¡± the archaeologist asked, eager. ¡°Well I was surprised too at how much he loves you and he replied that when you know, you know. The only reason he didn¡¯t propose was because you haven¡¯t been together that long.¡± Robin didn¡¯t say anything and just thought about it. She knew she loved Rick, but marriage? She didn¡¯t have an answer to that. Seeing her friend retreat in her own world led Nami to change the topic. ¡°So¡­ How do we share him? Do I take even or odd days?¡± That brought back Robin from her thoughts and made herugh. ¡°Oh Nami¡­ I¡¯m not sharing Rick.¡± ¡°But you said¡­¡± Robin put her hands on each side of Nami¡¯s face. ¡°We are sharing you.¡± And proceeded to kiss her right on the lips. Nami was too shell shocked to do anything. It wasn¡¯t until Robin¡¯s tongue entered her mouth that Nami finally kissed her back. That was her first kiss. That it was from a woman, threw her off a bit, that she loved it? Even more. When her friend stopped the kiss and leaned back they looked into each other''s eyes. Robin had worry in hers. She was worried about Nami¡¯s reaction. Nami¡¯s had confusion, her feelings were now all over the ce. They stayed as they were, in silence and face to face for a moment, so close they could feel each other breath. However the moment was soon broken by an impromptu voice. ¡°Is she as tasty as she looks?¡± ¡°¡°RICK!¡±¡± eximed the twodies jumping out of their seats in surprise. ¡°When did you¡­¡± started Robin as Nami ran towards the door, her flight instinct winning over her fight one. Nami didn¡¯t go very far though as hands appeared on the door of the bedroom blocking it. She was trapped. She turned around and saw the couple looking at her. ¡°You didn¡¯t tell her?¡± asked Rick. ¡°I didn¡¯t tell anyone, including you. You just found it on your own. Wait! Nevermind that! How are you? When did you wake up?¡± In a sh, Robin was all over him checking his condition. Which wasn¡¯t really necessary as the only thing that changed was that he was now awake. ¡°Sore all over and really happy.¡± ¡°I can see that.¡± replied Robin in a yful tone seeing the sheets tenting. ¡°Well you¡¯re here of course I¡¯m happy. Plus you were kissing Nami, there was no way I would not have reacted. As for when I woke up I¡¯d say when youughed? Now if you don¡¯t mind I think there is something more important to deal with.¡± said Rick pointing to Nami with his eyes. ¡°Nami are you alright?¡± he asked. ¡°I-I ¡­¡± He made her float and pulled her towards him, making her seat on the side of the bed. She was positioned between him and Robin, who was still sitting on her chair. ¡°That¡¯s okay, take a deep breath and let it out.¡± he advised her. She was too confused to do it so Rick put his hand on her head and patted her slowly and gently. It had the intended effect as she calmed down pretty quickly and rxed her tensed body. ¡°Feeling better?¡± asked Robin who got an affirmative nod from the redhead. ¡°Nami, do you remember on Skypiea when we were camping, you bullshited Robin saying I was bullying you, sicing Sanji on me?¡± this time it was Rick who asked a question to which Nami nodded affirmatively again. ¡°Payback time!¡± he yelled and brought her down for a kiss. Nami didn¡¯t know where she was anymore. In less than five minutes she had been kissed twice and loved every second of it. The tongues¡¯ duel was starting to drag on too much for robin taste and she bloomed hands to separate the two. Rick had a stupid grin on his face and Nami was blushing even more than after Robin¡¯s kiss; her breath was ragged. ¡°Nami... Robin and I, we¡¯re a package deal. So if you can¡¯t ept being with Robin¡­¡± ¡°You can¡¯t be with him. It doesn¡¯t mean that we won¡¯t love you anymore¡­¡± ¡°If you turn us down though. We love you to death, that¡¯s why¡­¡± ¡°We want to share you. But we would understand¡­¡± ¡°If you¡¯re not interested in Robin.¡± ¡°Okay stop it! It¡¯s creepy!¡± yelled Nami. The couple were hurt by her words and Nami caught on; she expressed herself poorly and got misunderstood. She quickly exined her words. ¡°That¡¯s not what I meant! I meant, you,pleting each other''s sentences. It¡¯s on a whole new level than just finishing them.¡± ¡°¡°Oh!¡±¡± ¡°Now if you don¡¯t mind, I have questions. First, how did it go from Rick being shared to ME being shared? And nopleting each other''s sentences please!¡± Nami got her fire back. She wasn¡¯t going to let the two of them control the conversation, there was simply no way of that happening. Robin and Rick looked at each other for a moment. It looked like they weremunicating silently. The brte finally spoke up. ¡°Do you want the long or short version?¡± ¡°Let¡¯s start with the short one.¡± replied Nami. ¡°Okay, so¡­ Rick is the best thing that happened to me since¡­ ever.¡± ¡°It¡¯s mutual.¡± interjected the man in question. ¡°You quiet!¡± ordered Nami shutting him up before signaling Robin with her hand to keep talking. ¡°And with all the women after him and those who will be after him...¡± ¡°What women?¡± ¡°Vivi, his obsessive ex, you¡­ Let¡¯s be honest here, he is adies ma. There is no way he will not catch the eye of others.¡± replied Robin ¡°Fair enough. That still doesn¡¯t answer my question.¡± ¡°Instead of fighting for him and potentially losing him I would rather share but he wasn¡¯t okay with that.¡± Nami had a dubious look on her face and looked at Rick as if she wasn¡¯t sure if he was real or not. ¡°What?¡± he asked. ¡°Why? I don¡¯t think there is a single man on the who would be against that idea.¡± Nami replied. ¡°That¡¯s more or less what I said at the time.¡± said Robin with a smirk on her lips before continuing. ¡°You see, in his dense head of his, if he''s shared then I¡¯m shared too. You know equality in our rtionship ¡­ The problem is he doesn¡¯t want to share me. At least not with a man.¡± ¡°Wait! You¡¯re gunning for another guy?!¡± asked a dumbfounded Nami. ¡°NO!¡± Turning to Rick and taking his hand in hers added ¡° You¡¯re the only man I need, I hope you know that.¡± which earned her a bright smile and a squeeze. ¡°Anyway way¡­ Rick deducted that I was into women too and was more than interested in you. So I spinned the share part around. We¡¯re not sharing each other, we¡¯re sharing others.¡± Nami kept silent, that was a lot to take in. She drew a long breath and exhaled slowly. ¡°Okay. Robin, your idea was stupid. I mean, what would have prevented the woman you shared him with to still take him from you?¡± ¡°That¡¯s not possible.¡± interjected Rick. ¡°For thest time: QUIET!¡± she scolded him. ¡°I thought that he wouldn''t leave two women for just one.¡± answered Robin to Nami¡¯s question. ¡°Somewhat an eptable answer but it¡¯s still stupid. Now my second question: You¡¯re into women?!¡± ¡°What made you realize that? Robin telling you or the hottest kiss I¡¯ve ever seen she gave you?¡± Rick said, clearly mocking her. The redhead blush furiously. She took one of the pillows within her reach and tried to suffocate him. ¡°You¡¯ve been warned! Twice! Now suffer the consequences!¡± Her assault didn¡¯tst long as Robin got up and grabbed her chest from behind and dragged her away from Rick. Nami immediately let out a high pitched scream and let go of the pillow bringing her hands to grab Robin¡¯s. ¡°I would appreciate it if you didn¡¯t hurt my boyfriend Nami, at least not when he¡¯s recovering.¡± Nami simply nodded but didn¡¯t dare move or talk as Robin was¡­ molesting her breasts. She was enjoying it but soon snapped out of it and tried to get away with no avail. Robin¡¯s hold was too strong. When the brte started to kiss her nape it sent an electric shock through her spine. Any idea of trying to get free stopped. ¡°Robin, would you stop please?¡± Rick asked kindly. Robin pouted and released her prey. ¡°Nami we love you, and we want you to be with us. We don¡¯t expect an answer right away, take your time.¡± Still speechless, Nami nodded affirmatively again. Before she got up from the bed, Rick leaned over her and whispered. ¡°If you liked what her hands did, you will love to feel her tongue.¡± The navigator¡¯s face was at its reddest it has ever been. Even her ears had changed color. Without sparing her friend a look she quickly left the room, the arms blocking the door having disappeared. ¡°I think you went too far.¡± said Rick. ¡°I think I should have taken her right in front of you.¡± joked Robin. ¡°I thought I was the insufferable one?¡± heughed She looked at him for a moment, wondering if she should confront him about the time he had left but decided against it. ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± he asked. ¡°What¡¯s wrong is that it¡¯s been a week since we cuddled.¡± Rick raised the sheet on one side. ¡°Thene and cuddle away as much as you want.¡± She did. Chapter 66: Never two without three Chapter 66: Never two without three Chapter 66: Never two without three Rick opened his eyes after a really good night of sleep. Somehow, snuggling with Robin always rxed him. However this morning, instead of seeing the raven mane of his girlfriend he saw red hair. That woke him up instantly and he tried to raise himself, despite his fractured ribs still healing. He was prevented from doing so by arms which bloom over his torso and kept him in ce. He turned his head towards Robin with a questioning look. She bore a gentle smile on her lips and was stroking the intruder''s hair. ¡°When did that happen?¡± asked Rick in a very low voice. ¡°During the night. She came in and made some space for herself.¡± answered Robin. ¡®Some space for herself¡¯ were the right words. The bed was not small but made for one person. It could wee two people if they got close together but three? There wasn¡¯t really the space for that. Yet Namiyed down between Rick and Robin. Her head on his chest and a good third of her body covered him, while she was spooned by Robin. ¡°I guess she made her choice.¡± she whispered. ¡°That was an easy choice, you¡¯re irresistible.¡± replied Rick. Robin moved a bit trying to not wake her friend up and kiss her boyfriend. She failed though, as when she ended the kiss her head was brought down, her lips stolen and the interior of her mouth vited by the intrusion of an eager tongue. She answered in kind and a battle of dominance began. Battle that she won thanks to her experience. ¡°I¡¯m in!¡± said an enthusiastic Nami. ¡°Yeah I think we got that.¡± said Rickughing softly. ¡°To be honest I didn¡¯t think you¡¯d make up your mind that fast.¡± confessed Robin. ¡°What can I say? You both love me and I love you, it¡¯s simple.¡± answered Nami. ¡°So you¡¯re into women too?¡± asked Rick. ¡°Hmmm. I don¡¯t think so. I mean sure, I do find some women sexy and some other beautiful but I don¡¯t have any romantic attraction to them.¡± ¡°Except me.¡± dered Robin. ¡°Hmm, no? I mean, I don¡¯t think I ever met anyone more attractive than you Robin but I¡¯m just curious I guess? Rick did say that you were even more amazing with your tongue than with your hands...¡± ¡°Oh really?¡± said Robin looking at her lover with a knowing look. ¡°What? Don¡¯t look at me like that, it brought her here! I¡¯d say it¡¯s a win for us.¡± ¡°He¡¯s right¡­ I mean, you were very talented with your hands¡­¡± ¡°Wait for when she uses¡­¡± began Rick before being shut down immediately by a bloomed hand. ¡°Spoiling is bad, so don¡¯t spoil the surprise.¡± said the brte. ¡°I¡¯m even more eager now¡­ That¡¯s not the only reason though.¡± confessed Nami. ¡°¡±Oh? /Hmphf?¡± ¡°I felt really alonest night in my bed. I mean, sure we¡¯re all close friends. But the closeness I have with everyone else is nothingpared to the one I have with the both of you. I don¡¯t see myself hugging to death Zoro, or talk about sex with Chopper. Speaking of which¡­¡± Nami raised the sheet and looked under it. ¡°Okay, wow. It¡¯s even more impressive than your description of it, Robin.¡± said Nami looking at Rick¡¯s crotch. Rick pushed down the sheet to cover his nakedness while blushing. ¡°Can we not talk about my anatomy please?¡± ¡°¡±No / Nope¡±¡± That united front prompted Rick to let out a sigh of exasperation. ¡°One of these days, Nami, you''ll get a good spanking.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know about that. Robin? Is he any good at it?¡± joked the redhead. ¡°That¡¯s something you need to experience yourself.¡± replied Robin, implying that she did experience it. ¡°Wait, what?¡± asked Nami, bewildered. ¡°I may have¡­ omitted some things during our talks.¡± answered the brte not looking at her friend. ¡°Oh, you¡­!¡± She didn¡¯t get to finish her sentence as she was kissed with passion by Rick. Robin didn¡¯t miss the opportunity and let her hands roam the redhead¡¯s body. Soon enough Nami was putty in their hands. When they felt she was ready they both stopped their actions, frustrating her a lot. ¡°Why did you stop?!¡± ¡°Because Chopper will be here soon.¡± answered Robin. Nami let out a growl. ¡°You did it on purpose didn¡¯t you?!¡± ¡°Yes!¡± answered Robin with a big grin. ¡°I stopped because my ribs began to hurt too much.¡± confessed Rick ¡°Oh! I¡¯m so¡­¡± ¡°It¡¯s fine, it was worth it.¡± Rick said with a smile before adding: ¡°I do advise the two of you to go back to your room.¡± Nami nodded and got out of the bed then the room. ¡°You¡¯re staying with her tonight.¡± Said Rick. ¡°Was that a question?¡± Robin asked, not happy with what she heard. ¡°No, a fact. I¡¯m pretty much useless right now, I mean the spirit is willing like always, but the flesh? The flesh needs more rest. Besides, you can have her all to yourself. I will miss you by my side though.¡± Robin leaned down and gave him a short but passionate and meaningful kiss. ¡°See youter.¡± she whispered before following Nami out of the room. ~~~~~~ Another week had passed since that morning. Chopper had long given the green light for moderately exercising to Rick. Whether training himself or being intimate with Robin he was d to be allowed to move. Nami finally got him one night when Robin kicked her out of their bedroom and locked the door. Resigned, the redhead went to her newly acquired lover who was very gentle and considerate for her first time. She found out that Robin was right. Waking up cuddling to Rick in the morning was blissful after a night of sexual activity, which she loved too. They haven¡¯t been all together yet but none of them seems to rush things, happy of the current pace they had. Both Robin and Nami told him about the fight against Moria. To be more urate the part which Rick didn¡¯t remember. Nami spections about why his ¡®second state¡¯, as she called it, happened made a bit of sense when she linked it to the incident with Vivi in the kidnappers¡¯ hideout ten years ago. What worried Rick was that this time he attacked his friends unlike back then, where Vivi and all the bandits¡¯ prisoners were spared a cruel fate. They still had no idea why Rick could do that, except Rick who knew more. ¡®Is it because I ate two devil fruits? Does the sea devil really exist? From what they told me, I acted like one and with the horns looked like one too. Was I being controlled or was it me?¡¯ He didn¡¯t have answers but plenty of questions. Vegapunk¡¯s expertise would be really great right about now. Any further talk was prevented by Usopp calling out to everyone. ¡°Guys! Look!¡± Everyone looked at what Usopp was pointing at and saw a gigantic cliff in front of them, spanning as far as the Horizon. ¡°We finally made it!¡± eximed Luffy. ¡°To see it again, it¡¯s been so long.¡± added Nami. ¡°This time we can properly see it. The storm back then made it difficult.¡± said Sanji. ¡°We¡¯ve gotten a lot stronger since.¡± stated Zoro. ¡°Finally, after 50 years¡­¡± said a very emotional Brook. ¡°I¡¯m d we came across half the world without losing anyone¡± said Luffy with enthusiasm. That ruined the mood a bit for his crew members that were in the know of Rick¡¯s situation but they didn¡¯t let anything show on their face. The ex-marine had looked up the system, to see how long he had left. To his dismay the time had shortened more than it should have. He spected that his fast healing factor was the reason for that. Chopper had been right, his quick recovery had consequences. He didn¡¯t really bother to look at his Karma Points, there was no need for that. Moria was not that big of a deal and didn¡¯t threaten millions of people like Crocodile did. Rick found it funny that between the sand-man, Moria and Ener, the strongest gave the least points and the weakest the most. It was the world of One piece after all, logic was nearly nonexistent, so that little fact didn¡¯t surprise him that much. ¡°The next time we see it, we¡¯ll have been around the world, and I¡¯d be the pirate king!!¡± dered Luffy. They almost reached the wall of Red Line when they stopped. They didn¡¯t know where to go or to be more urate they didn¡¯t know how to go to Mermaid Ind. Nami¡¯s Log Pose was pointing down, meaning they would need to go underwater to go onto the second half of Grand Line. Luffy, Brook and Robin were currently in the shark submarine that was usually store in the channel #3 of the Sunny. They were trying to find a tunnel inside Red Line that reached the other side. They encountered a hostile rabbit sea monster and barely dodged his fangs when it tried to eat them. That little misadventure prompted them to go back to the sunny. The beast must have been quite hungry though as it followed them up to the surface and tried once again to gobble them up. That was its mistake as luffy just punched him in the stomach. So hard that he spat something out. ¡®Oh It¡¯s Caimie and¡­ and¡­ that starfish guy!¡¯ thought Rick. When Sanji saw it was a mermaid he lost it and tried to catch her and failed miserably. Caimie, the young mermaidnded right on the top of him. She panicked when she realized that she had tten a human. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, he''s used to it.¡± said Rick with a grin. Turning around to see who spoke, she saw the rest of the crew and panicked even more when most of them were humans. That a reindeer walking on two legs with a hat and a buoy around his waist and skeleton with an afro were there didn¡¯t faze her one bit though. To thank the crew, Caimie invited them to eat takoyaki making Luffy salivate as it was his favourite food. The problem was that they needed to go to her friend who owned the stall selling them. Since the stall was sailing on the sea his location was never set. To know where it was Caimie used a den den mushi to call her friend but it wasn¡¯t him that answered. The takoyaki chief had been captured by a group of bandits; they threatened his life if Caimie didn¡¯t hand herself to them. ¡°I¡¯m so sorry! The takoyaki will have to wait, I need to go save my friend!¡± said an apologetic Caimie. ¡°You do know, this is a trap?¡± asked Rick. ¡°Probably, but I can¡¯t not go.¡± she replied. Luffy didn¡¯t care, what he cared about was the takoyaki he was promised but when Caimie told him that her friend was the cook he ordered everyone to set sail. Rick wasn¡¯t interested one bit about Duval and his men, he did wonder how Sanji¡¯s kick could work as facial reconstruction though. Somehow that fascinated him. In the end Rick didn¡¯t do anything more than just pull towards him Hachi and the cage he was locked up in and let Luffy and the others take care of their opponents. The promised Takoyaki were delivered. Hachi cooked non-stop for the crew, or to be more urate Luffy and his bottomless stomach, and ended up exhausted at the taks. He tried to make amends with Nami but she was rather cold. Not surprising after what he did while he was in Arlong¡¯s crew. She was unforgiving. ¡°Lying is bad, you know that?¡± said Rick to her. ¡°I don''t know what you¡¯re talking about.¡± Replied Nami with a neutral face.¡± ¡°You may fool everyone else Nami, but you can¡¯t fool the two of us.¡± dered Robin. Nami kept her stoic face up, barely, as her lovers¡¯ smirks tempted her to smile. Their yful moment was over when Hachi announced that he knew someone on Sabaody Archipgo that could help them reach Mermaid ind. Rick didn¡¯t like it but knew he had no choice. Sabaody Archipgo was where the celestial dragons roamed freely acting how they pleased. Den of citizens, pirates and marines too. He really hated that ce. Everything will happen there, notably his chance for a cure. ¡®Should I warn them about the celestial dragons? No¡­ that would backfire greatly if Luffy didn''t punch the shit out of one of them. Better¡¯ question is¡­. Can I hold myself back to ughter them all?¡¯ Rick let out a sigh. ¡®Better stick to Robin, she¡¯ll stop me doing some stupid shit. Why not go on a date? We didn¡¯t really get a chance to go on one since leaving Water Seven¡­. Yeah, a date seems nice.¡¯ He looked at her and signaled he wanted a private talk with his eyes before leaving for the garden. Once there, instead of waiting for his lover he took a look at his experiments. All the seeds had bloomed and he was happy to see many different flowers being healthy. The only batch that wasn¡¯t was the one used with the soil from Thriller Bark. It wasn¡¯t much of a surprise though as everything there was dead for a long time. He heard someone open the door to the garden. He knew it was Robin, that could only be her, as she was the only oneing in here. If Chopper wanted some herbs or Sanji some vegetables they would just ask Rick. The others never stepped in there after their tour of the sunny; it wasn¡¯t surprising there wasn¡¯t anything to do here. At least not yet. It wasn¡¯t a proper garden yet. Sure there were the mandarin trees but not much else. Once other kinds of trees and nts had grown enough, the ce would be perfect for rxing and recreational time. Rick had set the ce so his experiments would be in a small corner so it wouldn¡¯t take any beauty away from the future garden. A pair of arms embraced him from behind and a head rested on one of his shoulders. ¡°What do you want to talk about?¡± Robin asked. Rick picked one of the flowers and brought it to her nose, letting her smell the sweet aroma that she seemed to like. He then put her behind one of her ears, along a strand of hair. ¡°I wanted to know if you would be interested in going on a date once we reach Sabaody Archipgo.¡± ¡°Just you and me?¡± ¡°Just you and me.¡± ¡°What brought that up?¡± ¡°Well¡­ We¡¯ve been together for a couple months now and we haven''t really gone on one yet.¡± ¡°What about Water Seven?¡± ¡°If you¡¯re talking about the time I made you submit with kisses and we got together¡­ I don¡¯t really consider it a date. I mean, we just got to know each other better, we didn¡¯t really get to have fun together. Don¡¯t get me wrong I enjoyed my time very much but it was just getting acquainted.¡± ¡°What about the evening and the night after that?¡± ¡°We just got acquainted more¡­ Very intimately I might add, but that¡¯s it.¡± That made Robin frown and tighten her embrace on him. ¡°I loved every second of it Ro, exploring every inch of your body is perhaps the best experience in my life. That mole that I found on your¡­¡± he started before Robin tightened her grip even more. ¡°*ahem* I will always remember that and the few days after, but we never really spend time together doing things. You know, walking hand in hand, visiting ces, shopping together, or going to a cafe. When you think about it we did more together when we were not dating than now that we are. I mean our little walk in Jaya¡¯s port, or when we went to Angel¡¯s ind¡¯s town hall¡­ That¡¯s the kind of memories I want too. Not just you in all your naked glory cuddling with me.¡± The more he talked the more Robin thought. He was right, they were intimate with each other but they didn¡¯t really do much else. When he talked about the kind of memories he wanted that made her tick. ¡®It¡¯s not for him he wants those memories, it¡¯s for me.¡¯ she realized. She was correct. Rick wanted her to have good memories of him, and not just the ones in bed, despite how wonderful they were. That prompted Robin to kiss his neck. ¡°I¡¯d love to go on a date with you Mister. It better not be disappointing.¡± she warned in a joking tone before blooming a hand near the door, closing it then locking it. Chapter 67: You wa Shock! Ai de sora ga ochite kuru Chapter 67: You wa Shock! Ai de sora ga ochite kuru Chapter 67: You wa Shock! Ai de sora ga ochite kuru They reached Sabaody Archipgo rather quickly. During the two days of journey Luffy invited Camie and Hachi to stay on the Sunny. They were friends and there was no way he was going to let them find a ce into the sea to sleep. That¡¯s actually what made the trip faster as they didn¡¯t have to stop the Sunny during the night. Camie slept in the big aquarium in the dinner hall. She was given an open invitation by Nami and Robin to sleep in the girls¡¯ room but she declined saying she was morefortable there. Hachi slept with the guys; he was reluctant at first. Not because of any prejudice from the crew for him being a fish-man but because he was still feeling guilty for his past actions in Arlong¡¯s crew. Too bad for him, he was grabbed by Luffy and Usopp then dragged to the guys quarters. As for Rick? Well He slept in the captain¡¯s room that Luffy had left him. He didn¡¯t stay there for long though as not long after everyone was asleep a really tall brte with blue sky eyes woke him up. She was dressed scantily and her boyfriend thought she was here for a rematch after his victory in the garden earlier in the day. She would have none of that as she escaped his reaching arms and waited for him at the bedroom¡¯s door. When he got up and went for her she just escaped again towards the girls¡¯ room. ¡®So that¡¯s your little game¡­ honestly Robin you just needed to ask but fine I¡¯ll y¡¯ he thought to himself. He entered their room and saw his two lovers waiting for him in bed, leaving a big enough spot between the two. He raised an eyebrow but didn¡¯t ask the question he had. ¡°We always go to your room.¡± said Nami. ¡°For once we wanted you with us. Besides, the bed isrger and can amodate all of us.¡± added Robin. ¡°So up for a cuddle night?¡± finished the redhead. Rick just smiled and joined them, finding his rightful ce between the two. He took one in each arm and brought them closer. With their head nuzzled in the crook of his neck everyone fell asleep with contentment. And that¡¯s how Camie found them in the morning. To say she was shocked was an understatement. From the short time she had been with the crew she knew the three were close but not that close. She wouldn¡¯t have believed it if someone told her. Nothing indicated their rtionship was like that. They stayed rtively at a good distance from each other and their interaction left nothing more than the thought of friends hanging with each other. She came closer to the bed and gently shook Nami awake. The chain reaction was instantaneous, Rick woke up and moved, waking Robin up. ¡°Good morning! Sorry to intrude but the guys sent me to wake you up. We have arrived.¡± said Camie. The trio made each a different face. Nami¡¯s face was red out of embarrassment, Rick was amused, and Robin just gripped Rick¡¯s arm tighter and nuzzled his neck even more, clearly not happy to be woken up and not caring one bit what Camie had to say. Nami stammered something unintelligible before Rick took pity and came to her rescue. ¡°Camie, can you keep quiet about¡­¡± ¡°You three being together? Sure, not my business anyway. I¡¯m interested in knowing how that came to be though.¡± answered the mermaid with a grin on her face. ¡°That¡¯s all Robin¡¯s fault!¡± eximed Nami. Rick turned his head to look at her with an eyebrow raised and Robin raised herself from her little paradise with the same questioning look. ¡°What do you mean it¡¯s¡­¡± the brte started. ¡°Robin¡¯s fault? You¡¯re implying she did¡­¡± continue Rick ¡°Something bad. You¡¯re happy, so it¡¯s not.¡± ended Robin. ¡°Wow, do they do that often?¡± asked Camie. ¡°Being creepy bypleting each other''s sentences? All the time.¡± replied Nami. ¡°No more Rick for you until I say otherwise.¡± dered Robin. ¡°¡°That¡¯s not fair!¡±¡± said Nami and Rick in sync. ¡°Do you prefer it was no more Rick and me ?¡± ¡°¡°NO!¡±¡± her lovers said. That made Camieugh. The situation was silly, they eitherpleted their sentences or said the same thing at the same time. She wondered if because they were like that they got together or if it was the other way around. If only Hachi and her were like.... that was the thought that came to her and made her sigh. She left them arguing alone and went back to the deck. ~~~~~ Rick and Robin were currently enjoying a stroll in themerce district, hand in hand. They had ditched everyone else when Hachi said he was bringing them to see his friend doing the coating for ships. Nami was apparently told by Robin about their date and left them alone but not without pouting cutely. She tried to get a deal out of Robin about having Rick for two consecutive nights but a re from the tall brte cut that out immediately. After all, Rick was Robin¡¯s not Nami, and the redhead was theirs, not the other way around. The couple was window shopping most of the time, except when they had found a library. Unfortunately the small shop didn¡¯t contain any history book they didn¡¯t have in their possession or just already read. Another shop they entered was an essory shop. Rick saw something in the disy window and disengaged his hand from Robin¡¯s before rushing inside. Five minutester he came out with a bag. ¡°What did you buy?¡± Robin asked. ¡°A gift for you and for Nami.¡± he replied. He opened the bag, brought out a small ck box and gave it to Robin. She didn¡¯t know what to do as her mind nked. ¡®Is that¡­ Is that what I think it is?¡¯ she thought in panic. ¡°Come on, take it.¡± said her boyfriend. She did. Looking at the small object in her hand she held her breath without any knowledge of it. With her free hand, which was trembling a bit, she reached the top of the box and opened it. Inside was a beautiful silver locket. Robin let out the breath she was holding in mixed feelings. Relief and disappointment. Rick wrongfully interpreted it. ¡°You¡­ don¡¯t like it? I mean, I know it¡¯s not great or anything but I thought¡­¡± He was interrupted by a very long and very passionate kiss from her. When she stopped it she spoke up before he could. ¡°I love it; it¡¯s beautiful. I don¡¯t care if it¡¯s worth ten berry or ten million.¡± she said, looking him in the eyes. ¡°Why don¡¯t you open it and take a look at what¡¯s inside?¡± he asked. ¡°You just bought it, there is nothing inside.¡± ¡°Is it?¡± he replied with a smug face. She indulged him and did as he wished. Inside she saw a small seed. At the sight of it Robin¡¯s eyes opened wide and she raised her head to look at him with an inquisitive face. ¡°Is that¡­¡± ¡°A seed I sprouted? Yes.¡± ¡°Why?¡± ¡°Because that way we¡¯re always together.¡± he said with a smile. She didn¡¯t know what to say. She knew what she wanted to do though and he was lucky they were in public. That seed had so much implication behind it. She thought she couldn¡¯t love him anymore than she already did but she was wrong. That tipped the scale in her mind. She grabbed his hand and resolutely started walking while looking around, searching for something. She ignored his questions and when shenfound what she was looking for when towards it without paying attention to anything else. Once in a small and secluded blind alley she pushed him against the wall and assaulted him with her lips and hands. ¡°Robin! What are you..¡± ¡°Questionster. Love now!¡± she ordered. Rick didn¡¯t have to be told twice. His girlfriend wanted him, so she will get him, there was no question about it. ~~~~~ The quickie was short but intense. While Robin was flustered but radiating happiness, Rick, for his part, had wobbling legs. Not surprising since he had to carry her for the entirety of their little tryst while doing all the work. He could have used his gravity but thought better, after all what message would it send to his partner but ¡° you¡¯re too heavy so I¡¯m reversing gravity¡±. He liked his penis where it was and how it was. They straighten themselves and their clothes before exiting the blind alley and resuming their date. They didn¡¯t go very far before receiving a call on the den den mushi Nami had left Robin. ¡°Robin?¡± asked the redhead. ¡°Yes?¡± ¡°Camie had been kidnapped! One moment she was there with us and the next¡­¡± ¡°Calm down Nami, it¡¯s going to be alright.¡± said Rick. ¡°Alright?! We don¡¯t know where she is!¡± yelled Nami. ¡°She¡¯s probably at the ve auction, she¡¯s a mermaid after all. 100% sure she was taken by ve traders.¡± announced Rick. ¡°You think?¡± asked Nami, worried. ¡°Told you: 100%. We just have to go there and either buy her, or kick the asshole who does to get her back.¡± ¡°Where is the auction house?¡± ¡°Groove 1. Let¡¯s meet there.¡± Rick hung up and saw Robin giving him a look. ¡°What?¡± ¡°You¡¯re awfully calm.¡± she pointed out. ¡°Why should I not be? We know where Caimie is and how to get her back.¡± ¡°Is it another of your feelings?¡± ¡°Sorry but I¡¯m not talking about them anymore. You¡¯re always asking me questions about them and it¡¯s tiring. And when I said you, I¡¯m including Nami too. Well mainly Nami actually.¡± Robin didn¡¯t ask anything more, respecting his decision. Rick took her in her arms and started flying towards the ve Auction. On the way he asked her a favor. ¡°Ro¡­¡± ¡°Yes?¡± ¡°I may have miscalcted something.¡± ¡°Miscalcted what?¡± ¡°There may be celestial dragons present at the auction. It¡¯s rare but sometimes they get down here to buy some ves.¡± ¡°So?¡± ¡°So can I count on you to prevent me from murdering them all? I¡­ I really hate those bastards Ro. It¡¯s¡­ it¡¯s like an instinct. They are the root of everything wrong in this world and...and¡­¡± Robin saw how agitated the world nobles made him, she could feel the anger and disgust in his voice, it was so intense that his ability to speak was impaired, that, and the fact his hold on her got a lot tighter. She put one hand on his cheek and kissed him. ¡°You¡¯re making me all hot when you¡¯re angry.¡± ¡°Ro... It¡¯s not really the time for that, there is a more important situation at hand.¡± ¡°Actually it¡¯s linked.¡± ¡°What do you mean?¡± ¡°You¡¯re making me all wet and after what you gave me in that alley¡­ Let¡¯s say... I need to make a trip to the bathroom to clean up if you want me to be able to restrain you.¡± Rick looked at her dumbfounded. ¡°Don¡¯t look at me like that, it''s your fault.¡± she said with a surprisingly calm voice. ¡°My fault? How is it my fault? You wanted some loving.¡± he replied with an incredulous look. ¡°Yes, but in case you didn¡¯t know, you¡­ produce a lot. It¡¯s a miracle I¡¯m not pregnant yet.¡± That did it. Rick¡¯s brain short circuited and his body stopped in ce abruptly losing all strength. The consequence of this loss was¡­ Robin falling to the ground. Her scream snapped him out of it and he made her float before she crashed. He brought her to him and spoke up. ¡°What do you mean ¡®it¡¯s a miracle I¡¯m not pregnant yet¡± ? Aren¡¯t you on anything?¡± ¡°Well¡­ no?¡± said and hesitant Robin. ¡°Why is that ?!¡± ¡°I mean¡­ Before you, I didn¡¯t really¡­ I mean I wasn¡¯t active for some years¡­ And I didn¡¯t expect to enter into a rtionship when I joined the crew either.¡± ¡°Okay, fair enough, but since we started dating? Nothing?¡± ¡°I was on it, I bought enough for four months but with Nami¡­¡± ¡°Nami wasn¡¯t either?!¡± ¡°She is now! Well¡­ not since a week ago¡­¡± ¡°Oh my god please don¡¯t tell me she¡¯s¡­¡± ¡°NO! No she¡¯s not. We timed everything. I meant I shared half with her and we didn¡¯t have any more pills.¡± ¡°Wait a minute, it takes weeks before being effective, and you send Nami to me...¡± ¡°I told you we timed it.¡± ¡°Then what about¡­ in the garden the other day?¡± ¡°Timed it.¡± she said with finality in her voice. ¡°So¡­ I¡¯m not going to be a dad?¡± ¡°Nope. Not any time soon anyway. Why don¡¯t you want to?¡± ¡°I...-I..¡± he stuttered, at a loss for words. ¡°It¡¯s fine, it¡¯s a conversation for another time and another ce.¡± she said, caressing his cheek with her hand. Rick just nodded and started to fly again towards the Auction House. Still his mind reyed the little talk they just had. ¡®Me! A dad?! Ohh boy¡­ I¡¯m so not ready for this. Wait! Do I even want children to begin with? Did I have children in my previous lives?¡¯ That was a good question, he had knowledge of his previous lives but no memories of it at least not outside the goddess¡¯ realm. That thought bummed him a bit. Did he leave behind children? Was he a good dad if he did have some? Not knowing began to haunt him and Robin saw his haggard look. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, I shouldn¡¯t have joked about that but now you need to focus.¡± ¡°Easy for you to say. You¡¯re not the one that got the shock of his life.¡± ¡°Think of something else.¡± ¡°Like what?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know¡­ Oh! What did you buy for Nami?¡± ¡°A cor with the word ¡®kitty¡¯ written on it.¡± Rick answered with a grin. ¡°No seriously, what did you get her?¡± ¡°I just told you, check the bag if you don¡¯t believe me.¡± Robin looked at him with narrow eyes before opening the bag and pulling back a cor. ¡°Oh my god! You really did!¡± ¡°Of course I did.¡± ¡°Why?¡± ¡°Because we¡¯re sharing her? Like she¡¯s our little pet or something? And because she¡¯s adorable?¡± ¡°A pet? Are you serious?¡± she said with an incredulous look. ¡°Don¡¯t look at me like that, you love how submissive she is, don¡¯t deny it.¡± ¡°How do you¡­¡± ¡°Know? Easy, we¡¯re the same Ro¡­ We love the same things, we think alike and we have the same kinks. It didn¡¯t take a genius to know you are the one in charge when the two of you are together. Now, do you think it¡¯s a good gift or not?¡± ¡°I mean¡­ I love it. That way it¡¯s proof that she¡¯s ours.¡± ¡°Our little kitty.¡± said Rick with a chuckle. ¡°We better give it to her when it¡¯s only the three of us.¡± ¡°Obviously. I do have another gift for her though.¡± ¡°So she gets two and I get one?¡± said Robin with mock jealousy. ¡°You got the ne and the seed.¡± he reminded her. ¡°Fair enough, but what¡¯s her second gift?¡± ¡°A devil fruit.¡± ¡°A dev¡­ Wait Where did you get it?¡± ¡°Thriller Bark. When I got separated from her, Chopper and Usopp, I kinda infiltrated the ce and found the treasure room and found it there.¡± ¡°Do you know what it does?¡± ¡°Ohohoh yeah¡­¡± said Rick with a very content face. ¡°Come on, spill it out!¡± not liking his answer. ¡°It¡¯s the Tenki Tenki no mi, the weather fruit.¡± ¡°Weather, as in¡­¡± ¡°Commanding the wind, the sea and all that shit? Yes ma¡¯am.¡± ¡°That¡¯s like¡­ she¡¯s going to be a monster if she eats it, it¡¯s perfect for her.¡± ¡°Either at sea or in battle with her clima tact, she¡¯d be a force to reckon with.¡± ¡°If she eats it.¡± ¡°If she eats it.¡± Their conversation stopped as the Auction house was in sight. Chapter 68: Explosive temper Chapter 68: Explosive temper Announcement I promised to be back byte December and here I am a bit early, so I guess I lied. Sorry not sorry, besides I doubt anyone wouldined about it. So yeah I''m back, not for long as my vacations are not forever, but I''ll do the best I can. Here is chapter 68; please Enjoy

Chapter 68: Explosive temper

Aftering back from the bathroom, Robin and Rick joined Luffy, Nami and Hachi in the Auction House. The ce was full, mainly with Royals and nobles from across the world, here to buy some ves for whatever reasons they had. Pirates were here too, notably Captain Kid and Trafalgar Law, worth respectively 315 and 200 Million berry. They were part of what the world called the ¡®worst generation¡¯. A title given to this current generation of pirates, born from Gol D Roger bold deration the day of his death. They were also members of the supernova. Eleven pirates rookies, whose bounty was over a 100 Million. To be more urate, it was not eleven but thirteen now thanks to Rick¡¯s existence and with the highest bounty of the bunch. Robin with a bounty superior to most of the group was also included. She was currently holding her lover¡¯s hand, squeezing hard, showing her support as he was ring intently at the three celestial dragons in the room. Even though she wanted to keep their rtionship a secret, right now she didn¡¯t care. That was way less important than holding him back and most of all, show him that she was there to support him. Nami caught on to it and gave the tall brte an inquisitive look who answered with a shake of her head. While the crew was waiting for the auction to begin Captain Kid tried to say ¡°Hello¡±. ¡°Well, well, well, if this isn¡¯t the strawhats pirates in the¡­¡± ¡°Shut it.¡± replied Rick in a cold and domineering tone without averting his eyes from the world nobles. He may have talked in a friendly manner when he osted them but Kid was a vicious and sadistic man with a very hot and short temper. Rick¡¯s reply and attitude enraged him on the spot. ¡°Do you know who you¡¯re talking to?!¡± ¡°Don¡¯t know, don¡¯t care.¡± ¡°I¡¯m Eusta¡­¡± He didn¡¯t get to finish his introduction as he fell down on his knees, a monstrous pressure on his shoulder. ¡°I told you to shut it, extra. Now you either do it or I make you do it and make it permanent.¡± Rick tore away his gaze from the celestial dragons to look in the eyes of his prey. As he was applying more gravity he was stopped by Luffy. ¡°Rick, let him go.¡± The Vice-captain obeyed, and released his captive, who didn¡¯t wait to put some distance between him and the monster who trapped him. Law, who was seated a few rows below the crew¡¯s position, had his head turned towards them with a smirk on his face. He was about to banter when Rick made Kid kneel and changed his mind. He didn¡¯t want to be humiliated like Kid or end up worse. He did find the interaction interesting. To him, Rick seems to have a very short fuse and nasty temper seeing how he dealt with Kid but what intrigued him the most was the rtionship between Vice-captain and Captain. ''He obeyed straw hat¡¯s order immediately, so he¡¯s not just a mad beast. But why did he obey? Isn¡¯t he stronger than straw hat? The rumours said that he was the real captain of the crew and straw hat just a figurehead but that doesn¡¯t seem to be the case. Unless they are acting¡­ No, with how pissed he is they¡¯re not acting. Then why is a 450 Millions berry pirate taking orders from someone younger with a lesser bounty?'' Law¡¯s thoughts were interrupted as soon enough the auction started and a respectable number of ves went on before Caimie was finally presented. Nami didn¡¯t even have the time to ce a bid that one of the celestial dragons bid for 300 Million stunning everyone. Everything went as expected, from Hachi getting shot to Luffy punching the world noble across the room. Well¡­ Not everything actually. Despite not having a care in the world about Hachi, Rick couldn¡¯t hold himself back anymore in front of the celestial dragon¡¯s behaviour. He didn¡¯t even think he just acted. In a frightening speed, with Robin still holding his hand trying to rein him in, he found himself on the other side of the world¡¯s noble. Thetter ended up with the captain and Vice-captain of the straw hat crew on either side. It didn¡¯t end well for him as two deep imprints of different fists marred his fat cheeks. Silence fell down on the ce. Everyone was looking at what just happened. Some bidders had a face full of shock, others, full of horror at what they just witnessed. Pirates hadid a hand on a celestial dragon. Rick and Luffy looked at their victim, knocked out on the ground, then looked each other in the eyes, their faces bearing a seriousness that didn¡¯t suit those two happy go lucky men. It was only for a moment as Rick¡¯s lips curved upwards. ¡°Nice punch.¡± he said to Luffy. ¡°Nice punch too.¡± answered his captain before letting out a smallugh. Rick turned to Robin with an apologetic look. ¡°I¡¯m sorry.¡± ¡°It¡¯s fine.¡± she said punctuating by a long sigh and releasing his hand discreetly. The audience finally realised what just happened and panic broke out. Nobles, civilians and pirates alike rose from their seats and started running towards the exit. They didn¡¯t want to be here when the admiral arrived, after all they had no wish to be associated with the pirates thaty a finger on a celestial dragon. No matter their status, be it king ormoner, it will not help any when the gods of the world, known for their absurd whims, order to arrest and execute everyone. Not all people fled though. Those that stayed included members of Cypher Pol, two other celestial dragons and their guards. They didn¡¯t have time to snap out of it before Rick mmed them up the ceiling and back to the ground knocking every single one of them out. ¡°Was that necessary?¡± asked Robin to her partner. ¡°Yes.¡± he answered. ¡°Really?¡± ¡°I¡¯ve dreamt of it for the past decade and more. It was¡­ cathartic.¡± Robin just sighed but didn¡¯tment further as she understood what he was feeling. If she had the ones responsible for the destruction of her home in front of her she would have probably done the same. With more ballbusting though. They walked down the stairs leading to the scene where Luffy and Zoro were breaking Caimie out of her water prison while Nami and Chopper were tending to Hachi¡¯s wounds. When they tried to remove their mermaid friend¡¯s cor Rick pulled them away. ¡°Don¡¯t touch that! It¡¯s rigged with explosives!¡± ¡°How do we remove it then?¡± asked Luffy. ¡°The key must be somewhere backstage.¡± replied the Vice-Captain. ¡°Not anymore.¡± Hearing an unknown voice behind them, everyone turned around. From a tear in the curtain a man well into his fifties or perhaps his sixties emerged, holding a keychain with multiple keys on it. Even though twenty years have passed Rick instantly recognized the Dark king, Silver Rayleigh. ¡°Long time no see old man.¡± said Rick with a neutral face. ¡°Hmm?¡± was the only answer Rayleigh gave him, clearly not recognizing the young man that addressed him. ¡°You know you could at least remember the one who allowed you to witness the death of a man and the birth of a legend.¡± Rayleigh¡¯s memory was jolted. He took a good look at Rick¡¯s face and recognized the eyes. The blue grey eyes of a young boy, full of determination that helped me see the end of his captain all those years ago in LogueTown. ¡°Oh my! The little marine has grown up!¡± Without saying anything more Rayleigh got closer to Caimie and tried some keys to unlock her cor before finding the right one. He then toss the keychain to the giant that had followed him through the hole in the curtain and asked him to free the other ves locked up backstage. Meanwhile Robin was mouth agape at the exchange between her boyfriend and the Pirates King¡¯s first mate. ¡°How ¡­¡± she began before being cut off ¡°Do I know him? It¡¯s a long story.¡± Once free Caimie rushed to Hachi to see how he was doing. Rayleigh followed her with his eyes, which grew big when he saw his fishman friend wounded. ¡°We need to leave this ce, it will soon be overrun by marines, and an admiral.¡± announced the old pirate. ¡°Our ship isn¡¯t exactly close. Do you know a ce where ce could bring Hachi and let him rest?¡± said Rick ¡°Yes, a friend of mine owns a bar not far from here.¡± ¡°Oh! Oh! Is it Shaki¡¯s ?¡± eximed Luffy. ¡°You know her?¡± asked Rayleigh. ¡°Yes, Hachi brought us there before exploring the ind, thinking that¡¯s where you were.¡± ¡°Good, If you already know the way we¡¯ll move faster then.¡± Rick picked up everyone with his gravity and departed towards their destination, calling Usopp on his den den mushi alerting him Brook and Franky of the n and new rendezvous point. ~~~~~ While the crew made their way out of the action house, a marine burst open in Admiral Fleet Sengoku in great hurry. ¡°Fleet Admiral!¡± he began panting. ¡°What is it?¡± said Sengoku, focusing on his subordinate who interrupted his conversation with Kizaru. ¡°Sir *gasp* approximately *gasp* fifteen minutes ago *gasp* in Shabaody¡¯s auction house *gasp* three celestial dragons *gasp* were attacked by pirates.¡± announced the marine. ¡°WHAT?!¡± eximed Sengoku. ¡°The entirety of their guards and the members of Cypher Pol apanying them were defeated too.¡± added the messenger after recovering his breath. ¡°WHO DID THAT?¡± ¡°From the reports, two pirates sir, Straw hat Monkey D. Luffy and the world¡¯s worst traitor Rick Wald.¡± Sengoku¡¯s face paled so much ghosts would have been jealous. It didn¡¯tst however before crimson red reced white pretty quickly, followed by an earth shattering scream that could be heard all over the base. ~~~~~ *A few minutes earlier in another office across the other side of the headquarters* Garp, Tsuru and Aokiji were enjoying tea and cookies that Garp had provided. It had been a while since the three of them were together to enjoy some downtime. Usually Sengoku was with them and this tea break happened in his office but it has not been the case in a few months. ¡°You should apologise already.¡± said Tsuru to her oldest friend. ¡°I already did, Sengoku is just being stubborn.¡± ¡°What did you expect? You really messed up this time.¡± ¡°As if it was the first time.¡± ¡°Letting the pirates who destroy Enies Lobbies and sank a buster call free because they are your grandsons is taking the top spot on your blunder¡¯s list Garp.¡± added Aokiji. ¡°I did worse.¡± ¡°But this time what Rick did upset him a lot.¡± said Tsuru. ¡°What he did?¡± asked Garp. ¡°Rick impersonated a CP0 agent, infiltrated Enies Lobbies in broad daylight roaming free on the ind under everyone¡¯s watch. Stole Spandam golden den den mushi and activated the buster call. He shamed the Marines forever thanks to their ipetence.¡± exined Aokiji. ¡°That¡¯s not what I¡¯m referring to.¡± Aokiji and Garp looked at Tsuru with a questioning gaze. ¡°On the ind Rick contacted Sengoku.¡± ¡°¡°WHAT?!¡±¡± ¡°He¡­ was ready to take the deal ande back into the corps.¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t think he would, honestly, though I hoped.¡± said Aokiji. ¡°What happened to change his mind then?¡± asked Garp. ¡°Rick had two conditions for his return. One, to clear Nico Robin''s name. Apparently she¡¯s not interested in revenge against the world government and the ancient weapons, only the missing history. Considering she didn¡¯t find anything for the past twenty years about either, it¡¯s unlikely she ever will if we are to believe Rick.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t see Sengoku agreeing to that, that would be a public blunder from the Marines if he did. Why did he ask that in the first ce?¡± Garp wondered. ¡°Because she¡¯s his girlfriend.¡± dered Aokiji. ¡°¡°WHAT?!¡±¡± Garp was dumbfounded and Tsuru¡­ just¡­ narrowed her eyes and she frowned ever so slightly. She was clearly not happy with the news. They may have been secret lovers a decade ago but she never really moved on. Kaza was one thing as she thought of her as a daughter and the two were really close but another woman? She knew it was irrational, ten years had passed but still, she couldn¡¯t help but dislike the idea of Rick being with someone else a lot. ¡°Setting aside how you know of this Kuzan, you¡¯re right Garp, Sengoku didn¡¯t agree to that, but he did promise to leave her alone and let her go if she was ever apprehended. No, the problemes from the second condition.¡± announced Tsuru. ¡°Which is?¡± asked Garp. ¡°Have Sakazuki disgraced for the next ten years and force him to live by constantly watching behind his back.¡± That didn¡¯t surprise Garp and Aokiji in the least. It was a fair punishment for Akainu after what he did to Rick. ¡°Yeah I don¡¯t see that ever happening. The marines'' public image would be tarnished forever. No wonder Sengoku refused.¡± Garp said. ¡°That took a lot out of Sengoku because when he said ¡®No¡¯ Rick just cut the call off. He couldn¡¯t try to negotiate or anything. He was so close to getting him back. He was hoping with you capturing him he could try again but well¡­¡± exined Tsuru. ¡°I really screwed up this time.¡± said Garp deting. ¡°That you did, but at least now your confined on the base, you can¡¯t do anything stupid for a while and in no time you¡¯ll be out of the dog house.¡± Tsuru said, trying to cheer him up. It was right at this moment that they heard a familiar scream. ¡°GAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRPPPPPPPPPPPPP!!!!!!!!!!!!¡± Tsuru and Aokiji just sighed, and Garp deted even more. ¡°That¡¯s what you get for giving people fake cookies made with raisin instead of chocte.¡± announced Aokiji looking at the partially eaten biscuit next to his cup of tea with narrowed eyes, making Tsuru smirk slightly. ~~~~~~ Back on Sabaody¡¯s Archipgo, our favourite pirate crew were having a talk with a pirate of legend in a deserted bar. ¡°Wait, wait, wait! Rick! You were telling the truth?!¡± eximed Usopp. ¡°I¡¯m offended you thought otherwise.¡± said the ex-marine. ¡°I mean¡­ Riding on the shoulders of the pirate king¡¯s first mate to sneak in to watch his execution¡­¡± began Sanji. Rayleighughed at that. True if someone told him one day that he¡¯d do that he wouldn¡¯t have believed it either. Thinking back on it, it was quite extraordinary, way out ofmon sense but to Rayleigh who spent years with Roger it wasn¡¯t anything new. The man had the knack to find himself in absurd situations and drag everyone around in them. That thought jolted a memory from years ago in his head and pushed him to ask a question he had. ¡°I received your message by the way. I took care of her and her sisters but I do wonder how you knew our paths would cross.¡± Rick just smirked, perfectly aware of what and who Rayleigh was referring to but didn¡¯tment. Sadly the shark of the crew smelled blood and wasted no time attacking where it hurts. ¡°Who¡¯s her ?¡± asked Nami. ¡®OH GODDESS!¡¯ though Rick. ¡°No one.¡± he answered as best he could with a deadpan and detached face. ¡°Right¡­¡± said the navigator, not believing that for a second. She turned to the dark king for an exnation. ¡°Mister Rayleigh?¡± ¡°A young teenage girl he saved a bit more than ten years ago from the marines.¡± ¡°A young teenage girl, eh?¡± said Nami with a Cheshire smile looking at Rick. ¡°One among many I saved during my time in the marines. Nothing to fuss about for an irrelevant random girl.¡± ¡°I wouldn¡¯t call Boa Hancock, the pirate queen and one of the Shichibukai, an ¡®irrelevant random girl¡¯. Especially when she¡¯s madly in love with you. Still, that didn¡¯t answer my question; how did you know?¡± dered Rayleigh with a knowing smirk. Before the sha¡­ Nami could attack again, Rick took the lead. ¡°My intuition is out of this world old man.¡± ¡°WHO CARES ABOUT THAT! YOU MET THE MOST BEAUTIFUL PIRATE IN THE WORLD AND SHE¡¯S IN LOVE WITH YOU ?! HOW?!¡± Sanji couldn¡¯t hold himself anymore and pounced on his vice-captain, grabbing him by the cor and shaking him, hard, while crying rivers of tears. That didn¡¯tst long as Nami love-punched him to unconsciousness. ¡°He does have a point though. Answer.¡± ¡°She was running away from the marines for a crime she didn¡¯tmit. I just gave her money for some clothes and food, that¡¯s it.¡± ¡°Riiiiight.¡± ¡°Believe what you want Nami, it won¡¯t change the truth.¡± Rick replied, clearly done with the conversation. At that moment Shaki, the owner of the bar and Rayleigh¡¯s friend, came back from the backroom behind the counter and handed a wooden box to the Dark King. He thanked her, opened the box and took out something he handed to Rick. ¡°Here, as promised, I took good care of it.¡± The ex-marine took what was given to him. It was his old marine cap. The one he wore proudly when he entered the corps under Garp in LogueTown more than twenty years ago. A symbol of his dream to be Fleet Admiral and spread real justice across the world among other good things for the people. Sure, his n has always been to one day join the straw hats and save the world with them. But Garp''s charisma was strong. He didn¡¯t have to save the world with the crew, just to save the world to earn good karma and at the back of his mind, that early, he wished he could have stayed in the marines. But now¡­ That dream was dead. Rick just stood up without a word and exited the bar, dropping into the trash bin near the door the remnants of his dead dream. Chapter 69: I’m sure there is a dirty joke to make somewhere Chapter 69: I¡¯m sure there is a dirty joke to make somewhere Chapter 69: I¡¯m sure there is a dirty joke to make somewhere ¡°Did I do something wrong?¡± Rayleigh asked as everybody watched Rick leave the ce. It was Nami that answered him, her eyes not leaving the way Rick left. ¡°You just rubbed in his face his broken dream, so kinda.¡± ¡°Oh! I didn¡¯t¡­¡± ¡°It¡¯s fine, Robin and I will cheer him up.¡± she dered before following Robin out the door, on their lover¡¯s tail. Bothdies find their person of interest not far from the bar actually. Their vice-captain was near the shore sitting on the ground looking at the horizon. They wanted to sit by his side but decided against it and just stood a few feet behind him when he spoke without averting his gaze towards them. ¡°I¡¯m¡­¡± Rick began but stopped. It was okay for him to lie to them about everything rted to his mission but when it was about him it wasn¡¯t. That¡¯s why he stopped himself; he couldn¡¯t say he was fine when he clearly wasn¡¯t. ¡°I¡¯m¡­ not ¡­ okay.¡± the ex-marine finally let out. ¡°We know.¡± said Robin. ¡°That¡­ wasn¡¯t what I meant. I mean sure, seeing my very first marine cap again after almost twenty years¡­ Well that hurt right in the childhood. With the impossibility of being Fleet Admiral and all. But that wasn¡¯t¡­ what¡­ makes me not¡­ okay. You see¡­ whether I had stayed in the marines or not I wouldn¡¯t have had the job because I¡¯m¡­¡± ¡°Dying; we know.¡± said Nami. Rick spinned his head around so fast that it¡¯s a miracle he didn¡¯t have a whish. He looked at them in surprise. ¡°How?¡± was all he asked. ¡°Among the pirates crew on Thriller Bark, two of them weren¡¯t knocked out by Kuma¡¯s attack. They saw what happened.¡± exined Robin. ¡°Great¡­ so everyone knows I take it?¡± ¡°No. Only us two and Zoro and Sanji.¡± said Robin ¡°The two pirates tried to tell everyone what you did, but our two idiots, for once, did something smart, and shut them up before taking them to a secluded ce and made them spill the beans.¡± added Nami. ¡°I found this suspicious so I bloomed an ear on one of them and heard everything.¡± ¡°For my part, when I saw Robin cry and leave in a hurry outside, I knew something was wrong so I followed her and she told me.¡± Rick looked down in shame and before he could apologize, Robin was already sitting by his side, gently taking his face in her face and kissing him lovingly. ¡°That¡¯s okay, we understand why you didn¡¯t say anything. Honestly I¡¯m just d you just didn¡¯t drop me to spare my feelings.¡± she dered. ¡°Nor mine, for that matter.¡± said Nami, now sitting on his other side and kissing him too. ¡°You would have been hurt either way¡­ I¡­ I just thought it would be better to spend the remaining time happy than sad or angry.¡± ¡°Are you really sure? About the time you have. I mean Chopper didn¡¯t find anything wrong with you except your healing factor which is almost normal now.¡± asked Robin. ¡°Yes, I¡­ can feel it. And if I had to guess, I¡¯d say it¡¯s because of me eating a second devil fruit and surviving. That shouldn¡¯t have happened, that¡¯s against nature, so maybe nature is correcting itself?¡± ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter to me how or why. I intend to spend all our remaining time together happy. And sexualy satisfied.¡± announced Nami in a joking way. That made both her friends smile, before Rick¡¯s turn into a mischievous grin. Now, Robin knows that grin well, it is the one her lover has when he¡¯s about to tease or prank someone. When she saw him reach inside his overcoat and pull out a shopping bag, she knew what she was about to do and grinned as well. She quickly got up and sat back behind Nami, taking her in a very tight embrace before Rick spoke again. ¡°I¡¯m d you think that way, because I ¡­¡± he started but was cut off by a meaningful fake cough from Robin who looked at him intently. ¡°I mean, because we bought you something.¡± Without waiting for an answer from the redhead, he brought out a small box from the bag and handed it to her. Nami looked at him suspiciously but took and opened it. When she saw the cor, her jaw dropped low. Robin didn¡¯t waste any time and, while raising her hands to firmly grasp Nami¡¯s breasts, whispered into her ear. ¡°Since you belong to us it¡¯s natural that you wear something showing to everyone that you¡¯re spoken for.¡± She then went on kissing her behind the ear down her neck towards her shoulder, when Nami snapped out of it and tried, with no sess, to get away from Robin¡¯s grasp. ¡°A cor? Really, a freaking cor?¡± she asked, a bit outraged among other emotions. ¡°Well, you are the cat burr Nami. So I thought it was fitting perfectly with your moniker. It was a good joke too¡­¡± Rick answered with a smile. ¡°I¡­ I don¡¯t know what to think about it. I¡¯m both mad, happy, scared and a bunch of other emotional states at the same time.¡± Robin didn¡¯t stop her ministrations and bloomed hands that took the cor out of Nami¡¯s hands before putting and locking it on her Neck. ¡°Just don¡¯t think about it my little kitty and let us take care of you. After all, you purr the most when I treat you like my little pet.¡± dered Robin ¡°That you do.¡± added Rick, driving the point further home. The navigator¡¯s face was now very, very red. She was unable to say anything. She just put her hand on her cor, tracing the letters softly with her fingers and finally smiled shyly. ¡°That¡¯s not all we got you though.¡± announced Rick. ¡°It..it¡¯s not?¡± asked Nami in a shaking voice. She was both dreading and waiting with excitement what they were about to give her after this first gift. ¡°Nope.¡± ¡°You see on Thriller Bark when Rick was separated from you after your bath episode; he stumbled upon the treasure room and cleaned it out.¡± ¡°Wait, the gold and jewels on the Sunny was your doing?¡± asked Nami. ¡°Of course it was. Anyway, among everything I found two devil fruits.¡± ¡°Wait two? You said one!¡± interjected Robin. ¡°No, I didn¡¯t. I said I found a devil fruit for Nami, not one fruit. Back to the topic, one of them is the Tenki Tenki no mi, the weather fruit. It makes the person who eats it into a weather man or woman, giving them the power to control the weather. The sea? The sky? The winds? At that person mercy and whims.¡± announced Rick to a dumbfounded Nami. ¡°And you¡¯re giving such a powerful devil fruit¡­ to me?¡± asked Nami in total bewilderment. ¡°Of course. You¡¯re our navigator after all. Besides, it will help you a lot with your clima-tact if you have to fight. Heck you may wipe the floor with the likes of Ener easily.¡± said Rick while he brought the fruit from his overcoat and put it in Nami¡¯s hands. ¡°I.. don¡¯t know what to think. Again.¡± ¡°It¡¯s okay, it¡¯s a big decision, so take your time. There is no need to rush.¡± Nami just grabbed him and kissed him deeply before pulling back as Robin just pinched her nipples to get her attention. She turned her head to the side and kissed her other lover deeply too. Before it could escte quickly the three of them separated and went back inside the bar, where Rayleigh was talking about his time with Gol D Roger. How they met, how they started their journey, their battles against the marines and other renown pirates. ¡°Why did Roger let go of Shiki?¡± ask Rick. ¡°Shiki?¡± wondered Luffy out loud. ¡°Shiki the golden lion, one of the most infamous pirates during the pirake King era. It was said he had the greatest pirate fleet ever seen.¡± exined Robin to her captain to his awe. ¡°You seem well informed.¡± said Rayleigh before adding a few more words. ¡°As for why Roger didn¡¯t get rid of Shiki¡­ Well he wasn¡¯t really worth it.¡± ¡°So I spent weeks in the hospital because Roger was toozy to put the bastard down? Great.¡± the ex-marine muttered sarcastically. ¡°Oh right, you fought him not long after Roger¡¯s death.¡± said Rayleigh. ¡°Nah. Sengoku Garp, and Tsuru did. I was just bringing support with my gravity. I almost died.¡± ¡°That story sounds familiar.¡± said Usopp. ¡°I hope so, I told it when we were on our way to kick Crocodile¡¯s ass in basta.¡± ¡°Wait, that was true?!¡± eximed Sanji. ¡°Yeah. None of you believed it though. Actually, none of you really believe any of my stories, now that I think about it.¡± ¡°Well to our defense, you said you were seven at the time! That¡¯s not really believable.¡± Usopp chimed in. ¡°I never lied a single time about any tales I told you, you know.¡± dered Rick with a pout. It was then that Robin asked the Dark King a very important question. What was the will of D. ¡°Was it what allowed Roger to leave his message on Skypiea?¡± ¡°What message?¡± asked Luffy. ¡°On skypiea Robin and I found Poneglyphs on the altar of the golden bell. Next to it was another message with Roger¡¯s name on it.¡± exined Rick. ¡°Oh you travelled to skypiea? Impressive, very few reach Sky inds and even less get back to the blue sea. As for the message¡­ No, Roger couldn¡¯t read or write in thatnguage but he could hear the voices of all things in the world.¡± ¡°... How did he leave that message then?¡± asked Rick. ¡°Well, we had with us someone who could carve the indestructible material that made the poneglyphs and someone who could read and write thenguage.¡± Rayleigh exined looking warmly at Robin. ¡°You look just like her. Except the hair.¡± That sentence left everyone confused. But Rick and especially Robin knew what Rayleigh was talking about. ¡®Holy shit!¡¯ realizing the implications behind the words. ¡°My.. My mother sailed with you?¡± asked Robin with a shaking voice. ¡°That she did. For a few years before the crew disbanded. She was one toughdy for sure, but also really sweet. She was the only one who could beat any kind of sense into Roger.¡± ¡°Like mother, like daughter.¡± whispered Rick before behind love-pped on the head by a bloomed hand, prompting Rayleigh tough out of nostalgia. ¡°Yes that¡¯s about how it went between the two of them.¡± he said, making Robin blush out of embarrassment. ¡°I¡¯m deeply sorry about what happened to her and Ohara. They deserved better. Did she reach you before¡­¡± ¡°She did. Briefly, but she did.¡± answered Robin in a sad voice. ¡°Then she fulfilled her dream, I¡¯m d.¡± ¡°Her dream?¡± ¡°Getting back to you.¡± said Rayliegh with a smile. ¡°I thought her dream was to find the missing¡­ She found it ?!¡± ¡°That we did. Do you want to hear it?¡± ¡°No thanks.¡± Rick interjected, making Robin¡¯s brow rose. ¡°Why not?¡± asked Usopp. ¡°For the same reasons Luffy is not asking him where the One Piece is or if it even exists.¡± replied the ex-marine to a confused Usopp. ¡°I don¡¯t want to go on an adventure that isn¡¯t fun.¡± dered Luffy. ¡°There you have it.¡± added Rick to Usopp while winking discreetly to Robin, before adding a few more words. ¡°It¡¯s not so much about the destination but more about the journey.¡± Rayleigh smiled at that statement then turned to Luffy. ¡°Do you think you can do it? The new world far surpasses even your wildest imagination. The enemies there will be strong and numerous. Do you think you could conquer such powerful oceans?¡± ¡°I¡¯m not going to conquer anything. I just want to be the freest man in the world, and that¡¯s the pirate king!!!¡± the straw hat dered with a big smile. Rayleigh didn¡¯t say anything but seemed really pleased with that answer. So much that he epted to coat the sunny. The problem was that it would take at least three days and with an admiral on the way to the archipgo they would have toy low and separate. Thankfully Shaki made them a vivre card, so they could reunite at the right time. Before leaving Robin had asked him about her mother as she never really knew her and was too young to remember much before she left her on Ohara. She was pleased about what she learned and thanked the Dark King. Before leaving she told him that Olvia was buried on Ohara thanks to Rick and that if he wanted to visit her he would have to find a way to the ind as the only eternal pose leading to it was in her possession and log poses didn¡¯t seem to direct there. The good mood the crew was in didn¡¯tst long though as they were attacked along the way by a copy of Kuma. Giving everything they had they defeated him but their victory left them exhausted. Too bad for them Kizaru decided to show up nked by his nephew Sentomaru and another Kuma replica. The appearance of Rayleigh taking care of fighting Kizaru was a godsend but was not enough. The crew had no choice but to split. Sadly it was useless as the lone Kuma replica was more than enough to deal with them which was soon joined by the real one. One by one Kuma made them disappear until he reached Rick. ¡°I am surprised you¡¯re still alive. I was sure that your captain¡¯s pain would have killed you.¡± ¡°You need to try a little harder than that to kill me. I¡¯m way too stubborn to let go of the little bit of time I have left.¡± ¡°... Perhaps there is some hope for you left then.¡± Without another word, Kuma swung his arm and Rick disappeared. Chapter 70: The princess is NOT in another castle Chapter 70: The princess is NOT in another castle Chapter 70: The princess is NOT in another castle It¡¯s been a bit more than two days since Rick was sent flying by Kuma and he was bored as hell. He could have used his gravity to go faster by himself but he wasn¡¯t sure where his destination was. He already passed over one ind, who''s to say the next one will be the one he¡¯s supposed tond? So he just waited with boredom as his onlypanion. He had checked the system for any kind of divertisment but sadly there were none and even if there was, how could he have used it at the speed he was going? The thing would have been blown away immediately once he brought it out of the system into the real world. He hoped that Kuma sent him to Vegapunk and not the liberation army. The Shichibukai may have interpreted hisst words wrongly. The chances were slim for his survival. Vegapunk may be the greatest genius in this world, Rick doubted he could fix him before his body reached its time limit if it ever reached it. Afterall Rick had Ace to save and maybe Whitebeard too. If he could save both the karma gain wouldn¡¯t be small and maybe the goddess would be more lenient in his punishment for failing. After all, one of the four emperors and the son of the pirate king are not some random person with no power to change the world, so without Rick alive there was still a possibility of the world to be saved. The odds were not good, perhaps a bit better than his own survival but they were not zero so hope was still there. His thoughts were interrupted when he felt his body starting to lose altitude. Turning himself around he saw a really small ind not far. Clearly this was the end of his flight. As he came closer he saw a small castle in the middle of ake. Not waiting anymore, he used his gravity to take control of the flight andnded right in front of the building. Taking a better look he saw many technological¡­ things, sprouting from the walls and the roof like huge pipes. Rick went to a gigantic double door and used one of the big door knocks to¡­ knock. It didn¡¯t take long before a young maid greeted him. ¡°Hello sir, how may I help you?¡± That was said in a monotone voice,pletely devoid of any emotions.It was in ordance with her eyes, zed as if life had departed from them. That surprised Rick quite a bit. ¡®What is she? Even the zombies at Thriller Bark sounded more alive. Is she¡­ one of the experiments of the imperfect bodies series? But how? The research said that they had no will, how can she move and talk?¡¯ Quickly stopping his thoughts when the maid began to close the door he answered her. ¡°I havee to see the master of the castle.¡± ¡°I¡¯m sorry sir, but Doctor Vegapunk does not receive visitors.¡± ¡°My name is Rick Wald and I¡¯m sure the good Doctor would make an exception for me.¡± The maid just looked at him and nodded slightly in agreement before closing the door for good this time but not before asking him to wait a bit for her to tell her master. As he was patiently waiting, Rick was formting numerous ns to get Vegapunk to help without having to end up as a guinea pig. He knew nothing of him after all. Was Vegapunk a mad scientist? Driven by the search of knowledge with sociopathic tendencies, not caring about the means and only the results? He hoped not, but from experience he knew the smartest the people the less emotional and empathetic they were. He also hoped that the doctor had advanced further his research on the imperfect bodies at least a V3 if anything, haki able or not.He had check the system but found nothing but that didn¡¯t mean it didn¡¯t exist, after all he didn¡¯t know how the system worked and how it had the things it has. Was the research on the shop because it was ¡®public¡¯ or because it just existed? He always thought it was thetter, but now seeing the maid¡­ the former was quite possible. ¡®Whichever it is doesn¡¯t matter, What matters is the time. I need to go save Ace before he¡¯s transferred to Marineford. Nothing goodes out of that war.¡¯ He was once again brought out of his thoughts when the maid opened the door. ¡°Doctor Vegapunk will receive you, please follow me.¡± The young woman led him through the castle for quite a while until they entered a room. Contrary to what the size of the door may imply, the room was quite small. From the furniture it seemed to be a tea room, big windows - giving view to a well maintained garden - a round table with a tea set on it and two chairs. In one of them was a very slim man with greyish hair with half-moon sses drinking tea. The maid got close to the man. ¡°Doctor, I have brought you mister Wald.¡± ¡°Thank you Sarah, you may go.¡± was all the man said, not averting his eyes from the nature he was looking at beyond the big window in front of him. The maid bowed once and left the room. Rick walked towards the scientist and sat down in the unupied chair, serving himself some tea before speaking up. ¡°Hello doctor, I hope you like the surprise.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not one to like them but I have to say¡­ this one is a really pleasant and intriguing one young man.¡± ¡°I would have thought that Sengoku would have warned you about what kind of person I am.¡± ¡°That he did. It was another pleasant surprise, to think that all those years he managed to keep the fact that someone ate two devil fruits and survived¡­¡± ¡°He wasn¡¯t quite sure what the world government would have done to me if that information was known, especially you I¡¯d guess.¡± ¡°Oh, I would have studied you for sure. Nothing barbarous I assure you but studied nheless. You are the living proof of what I tried to achieve for decades after all.¡± ¡°I¡¯m sure you have plenty of questions regarding that and so have I actually but that¡¯s not the main reason I am here.¡± ¡°Oh? What is it then?¡± ¡°I can feel it, my time ising to an end and since I¡¯m one of your creations; If I am to believe your research which I do; you may be the only one that can help me.¡± That piece of information startled Vegapunk and made him turn his head to look at Rick. ¡°One of my creations?¡± ¡°From your notes I believe I am the result of the imperfect bodies V2 series.¡± ¡°How do you know about any of that?¡± asked the doctor, narrowing his eyes. ¡°Well for one no matter what I can¡¯t use haki, as for your notes? Let''s just say¡­ I¡¯m resourceful.¡± said Rick with a smile. Vegapunk kept looking at Rick, maybe hoping to find answers to the questions he had if he looked hard enough. ¡®So someone really did use my research. I knew the destruction of thatb was not an ident. The timing was too perfect for it to be a co?ncidence either.¡¯ ¡°You can¡¯t be a product of the I.B. V2 series, you¡¯re too old.¡± ¡°I know. The V2 average lifespan is twenty years yet I¡¯m 28.¡± ¡®So he does know what he¡¯s talking about.¡¯ thought the doctor. ¡°Well, since you¡¯re saying your time is limited, let¡¯s not waste it anymore.¡± ~~~~~ It wasn¡¯t long before Vegapunk brought Rick into hisb and harvested samples. Blood, sperm, skin. Everything that could be useful was taken. While waiting for the results he asked his subject some questions. ¡°The Fleet Admiral told me about your early life and your memory loss.¡± ¡°Yes, no memories before I awoke in LogueTown in east blue when I was four.¡± ¡°No recollection since you left the marines?¡± ¡°None.¡± ¡°I see. How did you get in here in the first ce? This ind is not on any map.¡± ¡°Batholomew Kuma sent me here with his power. From a previous interaction I told him about my predicament, just before he left me for dead. A few days ago our path crossed again and he was surprised at my will to live. I think he¡¯s curious about my fate. Will I defy it again and survive or just kick the bucket?¡± ¡°That... is something that Kuma would do¡­ Why do you think your time is running out?¡± ¡°I¡­ don¡¯t heal as fast as before. I hav -had an abnormally fast regenerative ability, way above what a normal human should have. But now, I almost heal as fast as a regr human. That¡¯s not counting on this gut feeling of doom that is omnipresent. If I had to take a guess, I¡¯d say my body has reached its limits.¡± ¡°But why now, that is the question. An I.B. V2sted for about twenty years, the longest was twenty four yet you, if you are really an I.B V2,sted twenty eight. Why? And why is your body failing now?¡± ¡°Let¡¯spare how I lived with how others like me did.¡± ¡°They didn¡¯t live. The correct term would be¡­ existed. They had no will so they just withered away.¡± ¡°What about your maid?¡± ¡°Sarah? She¡¯s not an I.B V2.¡± ¡°Really, I would have sworn she was. Anyway, I¡¯m guessing you know how I lived until I quit the marines a bit more than ten years ago so I won¡¯t go over that.¡± ¡°Indeed there is no need.¡± ¡°As for this missing decade from the public view, well¡­ I just lived normally? Building a home, gardening, growing crops while exercising lightly daily to keep my body fit.¡± ¡°That¡¯s it?¡± ¡°That¡¯s it until a few months ago when I came back from my exile and joined a pirates crew. From there it was fights after fights. With plenty of serious injuries, I even die odne time for a few minutes. Oh! And a very active sex life.¡± Vegapunk seemed to ponder for a moment, digesting and analysing the information he just got. ¡°A very different life from the others¡­Perhaps that is the reason. You had a healthy life while they didn¡¯t. You didn¡¯t strain your body much or let it deteriorate at least until a few months ago. My guess is you would probably have lived a lot longer if you didn''t join that pirates crew. Perhaps your body, to deal with your strenuous activities,pensated with its life expectancy? I¡¯m going to research further on that.¡± ¡°That would make sense, healing through use of vitality is not that umon.¡± ¡°True. Now I do have a more important question: how are you, you?¡± ¡°You mean living? As not a mindless bag of flesh and bones?¡± ¡°Yes!¡± ¡°I got a soul?¡± ¡°How do you even know about...¡± ¡°Your notes doctor. Besides, one of my crew mates is a skeleton, and I mean a literal skeleton. He ate the Yomi Yomi when he was alive but his soul only found its way back to his body after a few decades.¡± ¡°Fascinating.¡± said Vegapunk in awe. ¡°So if I had to guess, I¡¯d say this body got a soul. How? I don¡¯t know, but that would exin my memory loss. On the other hand I should be able to use haki, since the soul is the source of the ego which is the source of the will and yet I can¡¯t use it.¡± ¡°That¡¯s¡­ peculiar.¡± At that moment an rm, from one of the machines running tests on the samples Vagapunk took from Rick, rang. The doctor looked at the results and frowned. ¡°Make yourselffortable because we are here for a while.¡± ~~~~~ Four days. Vegapunk had studied Rick for four days before he came up with something. ¡°I have news.¡± said the scientist. ¡°Good or bad?¡± ¡°Oh, they are all bad.¡± ¡°Great.¡± said Rick in a sarcastic tone. ¡°I mean some are good but considering your current situation¡­¡± ¡°You were right, you are dying. Your body has reached its limits. On the other hand I found out why.¡± ¡°That seems pretty good to me, doctor but if you say it¡¯s not¡­ You can¡¯t do anything about it? Or not in the time I have left, right?¡± ¡°You are correct. If I had the time, yes I could. Maybe a year or two at best but you¡­¡± ¡°Don¡¯t have enough time, I get it. So, what¡¯s the reason my body reached its limit?¡± ¡°Well, it¡¯s a bitplicated but in simple terms the soul keeps the body alive.¡± ¡°But I do have a soul.¡± ¡°Yes, I¡¯ll get back to that in a moment. As for how the soul keeps the body alive I don''t know yet but the both are linked, I¡¯m sure of that.¡± ¡°How do you know?¡± ¡°Thanks to Big Mom.¡± ¡°What has that food junkie got to do with it?¡± ¡°Big Mom has the power of the Soru Soru no mi, the soul fruit. Among many things she can take the soul of someone and put in anything. For example she put a soul in her sword making her sword alive. It was more than forty years ago.¡± ¡°If the soul keeps the ¡®body¡¯ alive, why isn¡¯t everyone immortal then?¡± ¡°My guess is because the body naturally reaches its limits. While without a soul the body deperished a lot quicker. Now back to why yours is deperishing while having a soul my only guess is because it''s not properly synchronised to your body.¡± Rick looked at Vegapunk as if a second head sprouted from his neck. ¡°What?¡± ¡°That would exin why the sea devil can influence you and take over your body while you can¡¯t use haki.¡± During the first day of tests, Rick had talked about hisps of memory and his demonic state to the doctor. Thetter hypothesised that since Rick ate two devil fruits and survived because of his body constitution, the sea devil¡¯s influence was a lot stronger. A normal person who ate a devil fruit couldn''t be taken over as the fragment of the sea devil was countered by the person¡¯s soul. By eating a second fruit the sea devil¡¯s would be stronger than the soul and take over should the soul be weak, however the body couldn¡¯t handle that hence why they exploded. But the I.B V2 is artificial, especially made to be a stronger vessel and able to contain two devil fruit powers but since it¡¯s artificial it doesn¡¯t have a natural soul the sea devil can take it over. In Rick¡¯s case since he does have a soul the sea devil can and did take over in moments of extreme emotional weakness. Should Rick''s soul have been fully sync with the body, the sea devil would have had an easier time to take over. ¡® So I couldn¡¯t use haki not because of the imperfect body but because my soul was not properly sync to begin with since the system just updated my body when I changed it for another version. The goddess messed up when she sent me into this world!¡¯ ¡°Well¡­ I guess that¡¯s it. Thank you doctor.¡± ¡°You¡¯re wee! Or not considering the circumstances. I¡¯m sorry I couldn¡¯t help you.¡± ¡°It¡¯s fine. Maybe there are other people like me out there that can benefit from those results.¡± ¡°I doubt it.¡± said Vegapunk with a frown. ¡°You never know. Aren¡¯t I proof of that?¡± ¡°True.¡± ¡°Now if you excuse me, I have to go.¡± ¡°Go? Go where?¡± ¡°Where my family is and spend the little bit of time left with them.¡± With no further talks Rick exited the castle. It was time for him to save Ace from his fate. He had spent longer than necessary here than he wished. If he wasn¡¯t exactly sure when the execution was to take ce. He remembered it was about a week after the crew got separated by Kuma but was not sure. He will have to fly fast. Once in the air, he brought out from the system an eternal pose for Impel Down and followed its course. Chapter 71: There is always some madness in love. But there is also always some reason in madness. Chapter 71: There is always some madness in love. But there is also always some reason in madness. Chapter 71: There is always some madness in love. But there is also always some reason in madness. Rick was on his way to Impel Down and was thinking of a n to get Ace out of there. Of course any n would be useless if Ace was already transferred to Marineford so he had to n for this too. He hoped that once Ace was back into Whitebeard¡¯s hands his crew would escape and not stay to fight. That would change a lot of things. ckbeard would not steal the Gura Gura no mi and goes on to be a yonko. With Whitebeard still alive, at least for a little while longer considering the man¡¯s health, many inds under his protection will be safe from pirates fighting for the scraps of his empire. Any problem between Luffy and Big Mom would be avoided in the future making the straw hatsy low. More or less, considering how Luffy is. The ex-marine was brought out of his thoughts when he saw a familiar ship under the light of the full moon. ¡®So I am toote to get to Ace. Well¡­ Nothing I can do about it now.¡¯ He waited for the clouds to cover the moon, not wanting to be seennding on the ship¡¯s deck by the marine ship escorting it even if the said escort was a good hundred feet in front. One can never be too cautious. As Rick¡¯s was descending he recognized the familiar strawhat belonging to his little brother and captain, making him smile to see he was okay. Of course he knew Luffy would be but he couldn¡¯t help feeling relieved at the sight. Landing on the desk he couldn¡¯t utter a single wordpletely before dozens of arrows charged with armament haki flew towards him. None of them could do anything in front of one of the absolute physicalws of science; all of them stopped their movement and just floated in the air. ¡°Good evening to you too, amazons, now do you mind I would like to greet my little brother?¡± said Rick. He could have unleashed a gravity area on them but they were friendlies and it may have been a problem afterwards with their rtionships no matter his bond with Luffy. ¡°Rick! You¡¯re alright¡± said the stic man taking his vice-captain in a hug before telling the guards still arrows at the ready who Rick was. ¡°He¡¯s still an intruder on the Queen¡¯s ship.¡± one said. ¡°True. Why don¡¯t you go ask your Queen what to do? I promise I¡¯m not moving from here.¡± replied the ex-marine. The amazon looked him in the eye for a moment then nodded slightly before going back inside the ship to deliver the news of this new development. Turning back to Luffy the vice-captain started small talk. ¡°So¡­ The amazons huh ?¡± ¡°Yes, they¡¯re really nice! Though at first they were all after me! And there was that thing with mushrooms that covered my entire body!¡± eximed Luffy trying to tell his story since hended on Amazon Lilly. While not everything was in order, nothing was left out. Nothing of Luffy¡¯s experience and not of the manga¡¯s has not happened nearly the same. Apparently Luffy didn¡¯t have to fight in the arena for one good reason. He was Rick¡¯s captain. Before he could even think about why this reason changed most things a cold voice came from behind them. ¡°Well, well, well. It seems a rat just came on board my ship.¡± Rick wasn¡¯t familiar with the voice, not by a long shot. He only ever heard her once and that was more than ten years ago. Yet considering where he was and the situation he knew whom it belonged to. Turning around he faced its owner. ¡°Nice to meet you again Boa Hancock. I have to say, you¡¯re even more beautiful than thest time we met.¡± Confusion and curiosity were on the face of everyone on the deck except the pirate queen and Rick. Whispers about the identity of the man in front of them who so casually addressed their leader. Sure he was connected to the man with a strawhat their Queen tolerated but that didn¡¯t give him any right to speak so rudely. The ones unhappy about it were about to let go of their arrows when they heard their leader¡¯s say the name of her most famous attack. ¡° Mero Mero Mellow!¡± Pink hearts went straight through Rick who just checked himself and then behind him before turning back to look her in the eye. ¡°This feels¡­ nostalgic. What does that do? Is it even working?¡± asked the ex-marine. ¡°I wondered the same thing! At first I thought it was like the slowing beam from that foxy guy you beat but..¡± started Luffy before being interrupted by the pirate queen with a twitching eye and a vein bulging on her forehead. ¡°You two,e inside.¡± Luffy and Rick looked at each other before following her. They entered her cabin. It was very spacious and from what Rick could gather taking a good chunk of space from the crew quarters. He didn¡¯t get to observe the room any further before being tackled to the ground in a deadly tight hug as kisses were raining on his face making both men¡¯s eyes grow as big as saucer and out of their sockets. ¡®WHAT THE HELL!?¡¯ thought Rick What happened was so much not expected that the gravity man was too stunned to use his power and just yelled at his captain for help. Snapping out of his stupor, Luffy rolled up his arms all around the female assant and tried to get her off his subordinate and family. He partially seeded in his endeavour as Hancock¡¯s torso was brought back up while her lower body was still straddling fiercely the man down. Hancock was not the pirate queen and one of the shichibukai for nothing. She was still fighting her restraints to continue her assault though. ¡°Okay, stop! Time Out!¡± said Rick raising his own hands to take a hold of the girl he saved all those years ago. Surprisingly when he grabbed her wrists her back straightened, and she stopped fighting for her freedom immediately letting a very low and short moan escape her lips. Looking at her with a frown he was trying to process what just happened. ¡®Okay, what the fuck?! I know that me helping her back then would have some effect for this moment but again¡­ WHAT THE FUCK?!¡¯ What Rick didn¡¯t take into consideration was the difference between his meeting with Hancock and the original one with Luffy. When Hancock met the strawhat captain in the manga she fell in love with him and had ¡®ess¡¯ to him immediately but now she fell in love with Rick more than a decade ago, with a promise to meet again to boot. The pirate queen has been waiting and waiting, day after day to see him again, bottling up her growing - fast - feelings. When she saw him again in the flesh, and not from some wanted poster, she barely held herself back, her dignity and pride not allowing her to break in front of her subordinates. Once alone though? The dam broke and every ounce of love and lust she had towards her saviour surged like a tsunami towards the man who gave birth to them. Boa Hancock was a maiden starving for love and physical contact from the man her heart set its focus on and once its target was in sight she was like someone suffering from thirst after years of wandering in a hot desert without a single drop of water. In other words, the already a bit insane Hancock turned into a bat shit crazy woman in need who could easily rival a buxom redhead Rick was very familiar with. The thought crossed the ex-marine¡¯s mind and made him shudder. ¡®No, no, no, no, no, no and no. No way I¡¯m letting a second one take charge. No way, not happening.¡¯ ¡°Hancock what the heck?!¡± asked Luffy ¡°What¡¯s wrong with a wife showering her husband with love after being separated for more than a decade?!¡± replied Hancock. ¡°¡°WHAT?!¡±¡± let out the brothers. The madness of love had deteriorated Hancock¡¯s mind so much that reality was slightly different for her. ¡°Okay, I¡¯m done.¡± dered Rick before adding : ¡± Hancock, Luffy¡¯s is going to release you, and we''re all going to get up and sit to talk about that.¡± The pirate queen nodded vehemently while Luffy looked at Rick with a face asking ¡®Are you sure?¡¯ to which the vice-captain nodded affirmatively too. The younger brother did as he was asked and took a seat, while Hancock hesitantly biting her lower lips finally got up followed by Rick. When thetter sat too, his ¡®wife¡¯ sat next to him really close and grabbed his right arm into hers before nesting it between her breasts. ¡°So¡­¡± started Rick. ¡°Husband? I would remember if I married you Hancock.¡± ¡°Ohh! We were married the day you saved me dear. I don¡¯t need a paper from the world government to attest to it.¡± ¡°That¡¯s¡­ not how things work¡­ And you need the consent of both parties for a marriage.¡± ¡°You have mine! You always had! Never doubt that.¡± eximed Hancock in worry, thinking that was what Rick was referring to, missing the fact that Rick was talking about his consent. She was the pirate queen after all, the most beautiful - arguably - woman in the world, every man wants to marry her, or so she believed,pletely ignoring the homosexual and Luffy¡¯s existence. Rick just sighed and decided to change topics, not wanting to talk about it further in front of Luffy. Oh he was definitely going to have sex with Hancok, afterall the crazier thedy the better the sex but talking about the deal he had with Robin in front of his captain when their rtionship is supposed to be secret was a no go, so the conversation would have to wait to a more intimate setting. Now was the time to dust a bit and bring out his loyal acting skill for some revtions. ¡°Anyway¡­ Luffy what¡¯s the n?¡± asked Rick. ¡°What n?¡± replied the strawhat captain. ¡°Beforending on the ship I was on my way to save my brother but now¡­¡± ¡°You have a brother other than me? Did Grandpa adopt someone else ?!¡± Luffy asked, surprised. ¡°No, no¡­ I met him recently, he¡¯s the one that¡­ Well, let''s say he saved my life and even though I knew him for less than a day, we ¡­ connected somehow? If that makes any sense.¡± Luffy didn¡¯t say anything; he just smiled in understanding. He was aware of how rtionships and bonds with people can develop fast. ¡°He was the one that made me sail again and now his life is in danger so I have to help him. I don¡¯t have much time, the marines are going to execute him soon, that¡¯s why I was on my way to where is locked up.¡± ¡°Me too!¡± ¡°Great, with the two of us it will make things easier.¡± ¡°No! I mean, me too! I¡¯m on my way to save my brother from his execution!¡± A light bulb went on above Hancock¡¯s head while Rick feigned surprise. ¡°Wait a moment here. You¡¯re both brothers having another brother each?¡± ¡°Seems like it.¡± said Rick waiting for the conversation to hurry along. ¡°And from what I gather, Rick you were on your way to Impel Down?¡± ¡°Yes, that¡¯s where the criminals waiting for their execution are locked up after all.¡± Hancock started tough, now sure of the situation, leaving Luffy confused and Rick faking it. ¡°The only man up for execution soon is Ace! You two are brothers with Ace and you don¡¯t even know about it. This is hrious!¡± Luffy had his jaw hanging and turned to look at Rick who had the same look. Thetter didn¡¯t keep it long before speaking after letting a chuckle out. ¡°The world is really small. We have the same Grandpa and now the same brother.¡± That brought Luffy to join theughter too. Soon enough Rick asked about Ace and Luffy¡¯s childhood, interested in knowing more, his knowledge about this period being sparse or almost gone with time. After an hour or two of stories, it was gettingte and the youngest brother asked where Rick had been sent too by Kuma. ¡°Inded on Doctor Vegapunk¡¯s ind.¡± announced Rick, making Hancock gasped. ¡°Who?¡± asked Luffy ¡°Doctor Vegapunk is the greatest scientist the world ever had, Luffy. It is said that he¡¯s so smart, the technology he invents is 500 years ahead of its time.¡± answered Hancock. ¡°Wow¡±. ¡°Wow indeed. He is quite the character, surprisingly very nice.¡± said Rick. ¡°I¡¯m surprised he didn¡¯t lock you up for study, since you ate two devil fruits and survived.¡± ¡°He didn¡¯t lock me up but he did study me, not for the reasons you think though.¡± ¡°What do you mean?¡± asked Luffy ¡°He knew why I survived but not why I was alive.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t get it.¡± said Luffy in confusion. ¡°You are contradicting yourself here.¡± added Hancock. Rick sighed for a few seconds before telling his story. How he was an artificial human created by Vegapunk himself, astonishing both his listeners. What he was created for along with others and the fact that he shouldn¡¯t be conscious. He didn¡¯t get into detail about the soul subject, letting them hang but that was tooplicated for Luffy and not really any of their business. He did talk about the most important thing though. ¡°What amazed him was that I should have died ten years ago.¡± dered Rick. ¡°¡°What?!¡±¡± was the only reaction Luffy and Hancock had. ¡°The artificial humans he created, their life span is around twenty years and I¡¯m twenty 28.¡± ¡°Why are you alive then?¡± asked the strawhat captain. ¡°From what he said, because I took care of my body and didn¡¯t let it rot.¡± ¡°Well you¡¯re good then, right?¡± asked Hancock Rick shook his head negatively and went on to exin his current situation. Luffy went into full denial while Hancock squeezed his arm even tighter than it already was while crying heavily. The ex-marine tried to make his captain see reason but that was for naught. Thetter exited the room saying he was going to sleep. To Rick, this was a good idea actually, he¡¯s been flying non-stop since leaving Vegapunk¡¯s ind and even though he could keep at it for a couple more days, getting some proper rest wouldn¡¯t have hurt him. When he tried to stand up and join Luffy he was brought back by Hancok tugging violently on his arm. ¡°Don¡¯t leave, please.¡± she asked. ¡°... Alright.¡± was the answer Rick gave her after a moment of hesitation, and sat back down. Hancock then straddles him and hugged him tight, resting her head in the crook of his neck. ¡°That¡¯s not fair! I have been waiting more than ten years to see you again and you will be gone soon.¡± she said between sobs while Rick was patting her head. ¡°No it¡¯s not. But that¡¯s how life is.¡± Neither said anything more for a while. Hancock¡¯s sobbing while Rick patted her, was the only sound that could be heard breaking the heavy silence in the cabin. Finally Rick stoppedforting her saying it was time to get some rest. Unfortunately for him, Hancock didn¡¯t take it well and became aggressive. ¡°No. You stay. I won¡¯t let you go.¡± ¡°Hancock it¡¯ste.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t care. I want to stay by my husband¡¯s side for as long as the time he has left permits it.¡± ¡°Hancock, I¡¯m not your¡­¡± ¡°You are! And I¡¯m going to make love to you before you¡¯re gone.¡± ¡°Hancock, I''m already in a rtionship.¡± ¡°Then I¡¯ll get rid of her! She¡¯s not even here! I am! What don¡¯t you realise? I¡¯m not your type? Not pretty enough?¡± She said as shended butterfly kisses after kisses on his neck while smashing her breasts into his chest and grinding herself on his member that hardened with her ministrations. ¡°You know that¡¯s not true, but I can¡¯t betray her love and her trust, no matter how much I want to.¡± ¡°She will never know!¡± ¡°But I would.¡± Not taking no for an answer Hancock removed her dress, letting in in view her amazing bosom. As Rick¡¯s gaze lowered to do some admiration of the woman¡¯s assets, she took his hands in her own and put them on her impressive mammaries. ¡°Please.¡± she begged. Thinking she was ready to ept anything, Rick went on the offensive. ¡°Look¡­ My girlfriend and I have a deal.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t care!¡± ¡°You should, because should you agree to the deal, I would be free to make love to you.¡± That calmed down Hancock instantly. ¡°What¡¯s the deal?¡± ¡°I¡¯m free to be with whoever I want¡­¡± ¡°Good, now let¡¯s get to¡­¡± interrupted Hancock trying to remove Rick¡¯s shirt. ¡°But the person I¡¯m with is hers too.¡± finished Rick. That put a firm stop to the pirate queen¡¯s doing. ¡°What?¡± she asked. ¡°She doesn¡¯t share me, we share others, meaning if I¡¯m with another woman she will be with that other woman too. If you can¡¯t agree to be with her, to be shared between her and me then there is no deal.¡± ¡°Who¡¯s she?¡± she asked with narrowed eyes. ¡°Nico Robin.¡± he answered immediately. ¡°Good, it¡¯s fine then.¡± ¡°What?¡± ¡°She¡¯s gorgeous! Well not as much as me but she¡¯s not a butterface, so that¡¯s not a problem.¡± ¡°You¡¯re okay with being with another woman?¡± Rick asked astounded. While homosexuals and bisexuals were not an umon thing, meeting not one, not two, but three women willing to be with someone from the same sex in a row¡­ Well the odds were very low. ¡°Dear, I¡¯m the queen of the amazons, how do you think I relieved myself with no men around?¡± she asked with a ¡®Duh¡¯ look on her face. ¡°Fair enough. Are you sure though? I mean, Hancock, even once I¡¯m gone the deal is still in effect, you¡¯ll be hers.¡± That was weird for him, Hancock had so much pride and ego that it was almost impossible to imagine her submit to someone else ¡°It¡¯s fine.¡± was all she answered but let her thoughts continue. ¡® That doesn¡¯t mean I¡¯ll be the one submitting though.¡¯ Without saying anything more, Hancock began untying his pants then went on her knees and removed them before doing the same to his boxer. What she saw a few inches from her face pleased her a lot. ¡®I¡¯m going to have so much fun.¡¯ she thought with glee before reaching with her hand. Chapter 72: Good planning without good working is nothing Chapter 72: Good nning without good working is nothing Chapter 72: Good nning without good working is nothing The morning came too soon to Rick¡¯s taste. Afterst night''s activities with Hancock, he would have dly spent the day in bed under the covers. The pirate queen has been as the ex-marine expected: Wild. He seriously had shbacks of his former redhead captain for a moment there. However, as aggressive as she was, she didn¡¯t have the same dominant aura as Kaza, though inparison to Robin - when she was really into it - she fell a bit short in that category but almost equaled her in kinkiness. Rick mentally patted himself in the back for having helped her all those years ago as the results proved to be quite satisfying. Currently the vice-captain of the strawhats was almost being squeezed to death by the beautiful long-haired brte who was using as a mattress. He didn¡¯t quite know what to do to escape from the deadly embrace he was in but knew he had to. Rick needed to have a talk with Luffy; he didn¡¯t want for his little brother to go on in his denial of the inevitable. ¡®Little brother huh.. I wonder¡­ When did I stop fan boying over Luffy?¡¯ That was a good question. While Luffy was never his favorite character in the manga or the anime, the strawhat captain was still in his top 10 and easily at that. The whole leaving the marines thingy was so he could explore (and save) the world while being beside the main protagonist and secretly fan-boying but now¡­ Now that he¡¯s actually at that moment he thought about, there is no fan boy in sight. ¡®I guess I grew up and I¡¯m more mature now. The time in the marines taking care of others definitely helped too.¡¯ He was right; spending time in the marines, taking care of his superiors or subordinates made him develop a big brother mentality. That was obvious as he was currently the vice-captain of the strawhats and taking care of everyone. The whole Enies Lobby, among others events, was proof of that. Rick had never realized though, at least until now. That brought a far more important question to the table. ¡®What if Luffy sees me as a brother too?¡¯ When Luffy lost Ace, he was devastated. He fought so hard to save his brother and failed when he was so close. Losing another brother, in his own arms, after losing his crew was too much for him to handle and without Jinbe there he probably wouldn¡¯t have pulled out of it. Would Luffy act and feel the same for him too? That¡¯d be unlikely, after all Ace and Luffy have known each other since they were kids. Rick, he had known for roughly 6 months. There was noparison, but with Luffy¡­ you never know. ¡®Either way, I need to prepare him for what¡¯s toe. Both with me and for the foreseeable future¡¯ He patted Hancock¡¯s head with one hand while taking a handful of a butt cheek with the other and tried to wake her up. That only made the pirate queen smile in bliss more than anything. The thought of using his gravity popped up but she was hugging him too tightly for that and the amount of force needed to seed would be nothing but harmful. So as tempted as he was, because he really wanted his freedom and vital space, he decided against it, and took his time to think things through. ¡®Okay¡­ So What do I know about Hancock? She¡¯s beautiful, she has an overinted ego, she¡¯s condescending to anyone and everyone¡­ She¡¯s also a former ve, that imply a lot of traumas and insecurities, notably thanks to the brand on her back. She¡¯s also very satisfied afterst night, both physically and emotionally and has a craving to be married. Hmm¡­ I think I got it.¡¯ I brought his face close to her ear and whispered a few words prompting the snake mistress to immediately wake up but still not letting him go out of her grasp. She apparently wasn¡¯t as asleep as she appeared to be. ¡°REALLY?!¡± she asked in surprise. ¡°Yes, if we seed.¡± ¡°You promise?¡± ¡°I do.¡± Two magic words that made her squealed in delight. Two simple words that many people, madly in love, wish to hear from the person they love the most. The answer Rick gave may lead people to believe it was an agreement for his part to marry her. They couldn¡¯t be further from the truth. Rick had yed the promised marriage card once years ago, he was neither ready nor stupid enough to y it again, especially for another bat-shit crazy in love with him woman. One was enough, after all Rick still had nightmares from time to time about this particr event in his youth. Hancock was already giving him lots and lots of deja-vu vibes; he wasn''t about to add more to it. No, this time he promised something but not as extravagant. It would only cost him his time and nothing more. Still high on his promise, Hancock didn¡¯t even fight when Rick rolled her on her back and got out of bed now that he was free. He washed himself up quickly in the bathroom area of the room and dressed himself. He gave his lover a kiss that she gave back and exited the room. Thankfully the ship wasn¡¯t big and he quickly found the cabin where Luffy spent the night. He greeted him but got no answer, his captain not even bothering to look at him. ¡°It¡¯s not the end of the world you know.¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°Well at least not for you and everyone else, for me it¡¯s a whole other matter.¡± the ex-marine said with a chuckle. A chuckle that pissed Luffy off and let himsh out. ¡°HOW CAN YOU LAUGH ABOUT IT?!¡± ¡°Why shouldn¡¯t I?¡± ¡°Because you¡¯re talking about your death! There is nothing funny in that.¡± ¡°True. But that won¡¯t stop me from making jokes about it. It¡­ helps dealing with the fatality of it. Besides, I''d rather die with a smile on my face than tears falling.¡± That answer cut off any reply Luffy had to say. It took him back to that time in LogueTown, when Buggy was about to decapitate him. He couldn¡¯t get out of his restraints, he couldn¡¯t fight it, so he just epted it with a smile on his face. It was his life after all, it was up to him to react the way he wanted about what¡¯s happening in it. Now that Rick was more or less in the same situation he found it hard to have the same eptance he had back then. Because it wasn¡¯t his life, but the life of someone he cared about. It infuriated him to be powerless. To not be able to do anything about, just like on Sabaody, when Kuma sent flying his friends. He thought again about that day in LogueTown and wondered if back then Zoro and Sanji felt the same way he¡¯s feeling now. ¡°That¡¯s not fair. It shouldn¡¯t be like that.¡± said Luffy ¡°No, it¡¯s not but to quote Zoro : Life is a bitch.¡± ¡°What about the others? What am I supposed to say to them when we all get back together?¡± ¡°Robin, Nami, Zoro and Sanji already know.¡± ¡°You told them but not me?!¡± eximed the stic man, clearly not happy about this news. ¡°I didn¡¯t..¡± ¡°You just said they knew!¡± ¡°Not from me!¡± yelled Rick, confusing Luffy. ¡°After Enies Lobby I knew something was wrong with my body. Since Chopper didn¡¯t find anything I kept quiet but I knew it was bad. Then on Thriller Bark when Kuma knocked out everyone, I made him a deal. My life for everyone else.¡± lied Rick. He wasn¡¯t about to spill everything about what happened on that ind, not when Luffy was feeling so down. ¡°What?!¡± ¡°A life that was soon going to end against eight others that still have plenty of years? Best deal I ever made.¡± said Rickughing. ¡°That¡¯s¡­¡± began Luffy but he was cut off. ¡°Miraculously I survived, even Kuma was surprised at that fact on Sabaody. Anyway two of the pirates stuck on the ind saw what happened and when they tried to spill the beans, Zoro and Sanji took them aside. They forbade them to say anything about it but too bad for them Robin was listening into the conversation and shared it with Nami.¡± ¡°Why did they keep quiet too?¡± said Luffy. He was not happy with his crewmates keeping things like that from him. ¡°Because they chose to respect my privacy and I¡¯m thankful for that. I wasn¡¯t ready to announce it to anyone at the time. As for how I know those four knew well¡­ When I left the bar back on Sabaody I felt down. Seriously down. Rayleigh had just rubbed in my face my old dream that I couldn¡¯t realize no matter what¡­ Anyway, Robin and Nami came tofort me and I just blurted it out and the rest is history. So don¡¯t worry about saying anything to the others. You won¡¯t be shouldering the responsibility alone. And it¡¯s not like the crew would be back together anytime soon, water would have passed under the bridge by then.¡± ¡°What do you mean?¡± ¡°The crew was not ready to go to the New World, Luffy. You know that. If it was, we wouldn¡¯t have been separated like we were. So the best course of action we should take is to postpone going into the New World and train like crazy instead.¡± Luffy took a moment to think about what Rick was telling him. It was true, they were weak. Too weak to venture into the most dangerous part of the seas. They needed to regroup and train but how and where? ¡°You¡¯re right but how do we get everyone back?¡± asked the strawhat. ¡°We don¡¯t.¡± ¡°What?¡± ¡°Searching everyone one by one would take too much time. Instead everyone needs to gather in a single ce. ¡°But where?¡± ¡°I¡¯d say the Sunny. I don¡¯t think any of them will wait for the rest of the crew toe pick them up. If anything they would probably go to thest ce everyone was together, meaning Sabaody Archipgo and the Sunny seems like a good rally point.¡± ¡°Great! But how do we make sure they know? What about the time?¡± ¡°To make sure they know¡­ I don¡¯t know honestly but I¡¯m sure you¡¯ll figure it out. As for the time¡­ Two years.¡± ¡°Two years?!¡± ¡°Yes, two years. That would give everyone plenty of time to train.¡± ¡°That¡¯s too long!¡± ¡°But necessary. Kuma gave us an opportunity we can¡¯t afford to miss.¡± ¡°What do you mean? What opportunities?¡± ¡°Think about it. You ended up on an ind the marines don¡¯t have ess to and whose leader is acquainted with Rayleigh and is a shichibukai. Me? I ended up on the ind of the only man in the world that could cure me. I wouldn¡¯t be surprised if everyone else ended up on an ind on which they would find something or someone that could help them get stronger. Heck, I won¡¯t even be surprised if Zoronded on Mihawk¡¯s ind and became his apprentice or Nami on a sky ind full of scientists studying the weather. ¡°You know, if I didn¡¯t know better I¡¯d say you¡¯re crazy.¡± said Luffy with a deadpan face. ¡°But you do know better.¡± ¡°That I do.¡± With a n, or a bit of a n, set in ce, Rick hoped that it would help Luffy. With a n set, the captain wouldn¡¯t be in the dark anymore about what to day and instead be on a set course. A focused Luffy was a force to reckon with after all. They kept talking about many things or to be more urate Luffy asked questions about Rick and Rick just answered. The questions were mainly about the ex-marine. His adventures and time during the marines. When it was time for lunch they joined Hancock in her cabin whotched onto Rick as if her life was at stake. Once done with the food, which took some time thanks to Luffy, they began formting a n to get Ace out. Sure the n would be useless as Ace would already be at Marineford by the time they arrived in Impel Down, but there were plenty of pirates there worth the trouble. Especially Jinbe, so Rick couldn¡¯t really tell them that Ace won¡¯t be there. Even if he did and they decided to go straight to Marineford, he doubted they couldn¡¯t. For one because the marine ship escorting them wouldn¡¯t allow them to do so, for two even if they reach Marineford, There would be a lone ship and crew versus the might of the marines. It wouldn¡¯t bode well for them. For three Hancock was not ready to risk her status as shichibukai and the safety of Amazon Lily. Well For rick maybe, no she definitely would but points one and two were more than enough to stick on the current course and go to Impel Down. ¡°So, here is the n I have in my mind.¡± announced Rick to Luffy and Hancock. ¡°I¡¯ll be Hancock¡¯s prisoner.¡± he added. ¡°What?¡± ¡°YESSSSS!¡± That tidbit of information confused Luffy and overjoyed the pirate queen who was already ying different kinds of kinky scenarios in her head. ¡°Focus Hancock. Anyway, the story goes like this: Inded on Amazon Lily after I disappeared from Sabaody. The amazons captured me and when Hancock knew I was in her custody she decided to bring me to Impel Down.¡± ¡°Won¡¯t themander of the escort find it suspicious that I didn¡¯t tell him about capturing you?¡± asked the brte. ¡°Yes, but you¡¯re a pirate, he''s a marine, so you don¡¯t trust him to begin with, and since I¡¯m worth a whooping 450 Million¡­¡± ¡°So I didn¡¯t announce your capture for fear of getting shafted by the marine? That¡¯s a bit weak, don¡¯t you think?¡± ¡°It is, but that¡¯d be enough, besides it¡¯s not like those marines would see me. I¡¯d be cuffed with non-sea stoned cuffs and a bag on the head to hide my face. The only people who will see me are the ones inside Impel Down. You¡¯ll just have to say that you capture a pirate with a bounty on your ind and the bag is there so I don¡¯t leer at you or something.¡± ¡°But I want you to leer at me or something.¡± said Hancock with a pout. Completely ignoring her, Rick continued. ¡°Meanwhile Luffy you¡¯ll be hiding under Hancock¡¯s coat.¡± ¡°Okay!¡± ¡°What?! That¡¯s not happening!¡± ¡°For me? Please?¡± said Rick with (fake) pleading eyes. ¡°I¡­ But I¡­ Okay fine!¡± ¡°Good. Now here is where things are uncertain. I know they will put me in a cell but I don¡¯t know which one and more importantly in which level.¡± ¡°Level?¡± asked Luffy. ¡°Impel Down is an underwater prison, made of 6 different levels. The lower you go the more heinous and strong the pirates are. Considering Ace is the second of Whitebeard, he¡¯ll probably be in thest level, level 6. Considering my own notoriety I¡¯d be put either in the same level or at least level 5. Once in my cell and the guards away I break out and start searching for Ace. Once I found him, it¡¯s break out time for everyone. We climb up the levels and offer freedom to any pirates on the way to act as a diversion. Meanwhile Luffy you infiltrate level by level. Try to learn the ins and outs about each level, it would make our escape easier. The guards will try to stop us on our way, once they do, you strike them from behind.¡± ¡°Hmm¡­ Okay.¡± ¡°I know it¡¯s not your style, that you¡¯d prefer to go all out punching everyone but we can¡¯t afford to do that.¡± ¡°Fine.¡± said Luffy with a dejected expression. ¡°How does Luffy go from under my coat to¡­ not under my coat without anyone noticing?¡± asked Hancock. ¡°That part is easy, before letting you in Impel Down they will subject you to a body check.¡± ¡°THEY WHAT?! I refuse to let those men touch my body!¡± ¡°They won¡¯t, it will be done by a woman.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t care! Only you have that privilege!¡± ¡°That¡¯s¡­ good to know I guess. Anyway, you¡¯ll just have to turn the people doing the body check to stone. Luffy gets out to begin his infiltration, then you turn them back to normal. At best you will only have to remove your coat. With your dress, anyone can see you don¡¯t have anything to hide.¡± replied Rick with a wink. Hancock mumbled a simple ¡°fine¡± clearly not happy with her part of the n. In any case, that was their n. It may not be the best n ever but that¡¯s what they have and it will have to do. Now, all they had to do was wait to arrive at the prison tomorrow. Luffy left for his cabin to think about what he had to do, both for his brother and his crew. He wasn¡¯t out of the room for more than a second when an infamous pirate queen pounced on her prey. Chapter 73: Go directly to jail do not collect 200 berry Chapter 73: Go directly to jail do not collect 200 berry Announcement I''M BACK! Yes I''m finally back after... nearly half a year... I''m sorry, school and work got in the way. It wasn''t always easy, with my stress and anxiety BUT I managed! But hey! I got my diploma (soon) so everything''s fine. I even got a second nephew born on my birthday! (True story). I''d like to thank every reader, who thought of this story or were worried about me while away. Seriously, Thank you! Now the important news ( because I know my life is not what you''re interested in): I finished to write the whole Impel Down and Marine Ford ARC. And I''m posting everything at once! (Still have the NaCB #4 to write though. >.>) Anyway... HERE IS CHAPTER... CHAPTER... *psssst* 73. HERE IS CHAPTER 73: *pssst* Go directly to jail do not collect 200 berry HERE IS CHAPTER 73: Go directly to jail do not collect 200 berry Chapter 73: Go directly to jail do not collect 200 berry Rick was currently in a situation he never thought he would be in or to be more urate, a situation he thought he would never be outside a bed with either Robin or Kaza present. These two situations are the only ones where he would agree to be cuffed, gagged and blindfolded by a bag on his head. And yet here he was. ¡°I wonder if Hancock isn¡¯t even more crazy than Kaza.¡± Maybe if Rick had taken up themon advice ¡®don¡¯t stick your dick in crazy¡¯ he wouldn¡¯t be in the predicament he is now. He would still be cuffed because that was part of the n, but everything else¡­ He would dly do without. Apparently it was a little payback from the pirate''s empress. Payback for what? Rick hadn¡¯t the faintest idea until his protests - which sounded something like ¡®Huggghh, Huuukk¡¯- alerted his lover. ¡°I¡¯m sorry Rick, that¡¯s my sisters¡¯ doing.¡± ¡°Huk?!¡± ¡°Well¡­ They may or may not have walked on us while we were sleeping and thought you took advantage of me.¡± ¡°Huuuuk!¡± ¡°I know! But with my hair a mess, the love bites and the bruises on my ass¡­¡± ¡°Huk?Huuuk¡± ¡°Don¡¯t bother denying it! I have a handprint on each of my ass cheeks!¡± ¡°Huk huk huk.¡± ¡°Yes, I loved making them too but that¡¯s not the point! The point is, I thought it was actually a good idea to have you like that. My amazons would look morepetent once we¡­ deliver you to the marines. Besides, it¡¯s payback.¡± ¡°Huk?!¡± ¡°I¡¯m limping because of you! Thank god it was my sisters who found us; they will be quiet; but now I have to exin why I¡¯m walking funny!¡± ¡°Huk huk huk!¡± ¡°That¡¯s not something tough at! Anyway, we¡¯re less than half an hour at Impel Down, I¡¯m going to Luffy so we can prepare too.¡± ~~~~~ Luffy hadughed his ass off when he saw his vice-captain restrained. Not long though because next thing he knew he was squashed onto the floor into some kind of puddle of flesh. When Sandersonia entered Hancock¡¯s room, he wrapped himself under her sister¡¯s coat while he pulled Rick on his feet and dragged him towards the deck. The ship entered Impel down with the marines¡¯ one and docked. At the sight of a prisoner, Hannyabal the under warder, in charge of the ¡°weing¡± frowned and demanded an exnation. ¡°Who¡¯s that?¡± ¡°A prisoner, I thought it was obvious with the get up.¡± reapplied condescendingly the pirate empress. ¡°I can see that, I¡¯m asking what¡¯s his identity!¡± ¡°You dare!¡± ¡°Who is he? I won¡¯t ask a third time.¡± ¡°Fine! It¡¯s Rick Wald.¡± ¡°Right¡­¡± replied the man with a face as dubious as his tone. ¡°Is there a problem?¡± ¡°You¡¯re telling me you seeded in capturing the biggest stain the marines had ever had when he eluded everyone for thest decade?¡± ¡°Well, I¡¯m not ipetent so yes, I did.¡± And without letting the marine the chance to utter another word Hancock removed the bag from Rick¡¯s head. ¡°Holy¡­ How?!¡± ¡°As I said I¡¯m not an ipetent marine, now can you stop being one and do you job properly?¡± The marine didn¡¯t have to be told twice. ¡°Warden Magen is in his office in Level 4, Vice head jailer Domino and myself will lead you to him but first we must do a body search. It¡¯s standard protocol and no one can escape it, that¡¯s why Vice Admiral Momonga you¡¯ll have to go into this room.¡± ¡°What about my prisoner?¡± asked Hancock. ¡°Prisoners have their own kind of body search.¡± replied Hannyabal with a sadistic grin. Vice Admiral Momonga went into the room that he was allocated to and Hancock did the same. Left with Under Warden, Rick was once again dragged, this time roughly, to a room further down the corridor. He knew what wasing. Any prisoner brought here was to go under the sterilisation process. It was simple, on one side a giant cauldron of boiling water on the other the prisoner. Thetter was pushed into the former and had to stay there for a while with the people around gleefully smiling or heartillyughing at the screams of pain the ones being boiled let out. Hannyabal didn¡¯t have this pleasure as Rick just gritted his teeth from the beginning to the end. The experience was painful, yes, but it was nothing like being fried by hundreds of millions of volts.To this day that was Rick¡¯s most painful experience. Both during and after it. The scars from Ener still mark his body and were a constant reminder that he went through worse than anything he¡¯s having right now. His ¡±bath¡± didn¡¯tst long, after all Hannyabal had to present him to Magen. It was a privilege reserved only for the very notorious and infamous criminals. If your bounty was under hundred millions you generally end up in one of the first three levels of the prison and are not worth enough to get to level 4 and meet the warden. Naturally, with his reputation, both earned and not, Rick got a first ss ticket for the rumoured level 6. A level which officially doesn¡¯t exist and contains the worst of the worst. Most of the inmates there are either in for life or waiting for their execution. The sterilisation process may have been over but the protocol was not. Each new inmate had to discard his clothes and put on a uniform for identification. That¡¯s where things went off the rails a bit. Rick didn¡¯t mind donning new clothes but he would be damned if he got separated from his overcoat. He had bought it at Water Seven and went through most happenings with it. Sure it was a bit worn out here and there, but it was mostly fine. Rick just wanted to be set apart from the rest of the inmates. He was proud of having been a marine and even though he was a pirate now he will keep to the overcoat style and every important person wore one anyway; Gol D Roger, Whitebeard, Kaidou to name a few. So when the ex-marine went for it he was blocked by Hannyabal. That was a bad move on thetter that earned him a kick in the balls. Rick may have been cuffed and gagged but it didn¡¯t mean he was harmless. In the end he put his overcoat on his shoulders and left the room and Hannyabal then walked towards the end of the corridor where a giant elevator where Hancock, Domino and Momonga were waiting. He didn¡¯t do more than a few steps before two dozen marines bursted out from another room and went straight to him, weapon in hand ready to subdue him. That didn¡¯t stop him in the least and kept walking nonchntly towards his destination. The poor idiots who attacked him were dispatched very quickly and efficiently with powerful kicks learned by simply watching Sanji fight over time. When he reached the elevator Momonga was ready to act. With his demeanour, Domino concluded that Rick wasn¡¯t trying to escape, he would have gone the other way around otherwise and would not be taking a stroll but running fast as hell. This is why she didn¡¯t move. ¡°Where is Under Warden Hannyabal?¡± she asked and was answered by a simple shrug of his shoulders.She didn¡¯t pursue the questioning further and simply motioned him to get on the elevator with her chin. As the gate started to go down Hannyabal made his entrance by running funny and barely made it in time. He grabbed Rick by his cor angrily but was immediately defused by Domino iming they were alreadyte as it was. Soon enough they were to level 4 and entered Magen¡¯s office. ¡°Warden, we have guests and a new member.¡± announced Hannyabal who promptly made everyone enter when he received permission to do so and made the introductions. Rick had to say, seeing Magen and Hannyabal intersecting with each other was fun as hell. Seeing with his own eyes how Hancock walked all over the warden and ordered him around even more so. ¡°Normally a call would have been made about Luffy being spotted with Buggy by now. Did my little show with Hannyabal distracted the people in the surveince room? Whatever, the longer Luffy goes without being seen the better.¡± On his way towards the door while escorting Hancock, Magen was stopped by Domino. ¡°Sir, what do we do with him?¡± ¡°Who?¡± the warden replied. ¡°Rick Wald, sir.¡± Turning around the warden register for the first time the presence of Rick. ¡°Rick Wald?! I never received news that you¡¯ve been caught! Wait, why do you have an overcoat? Inmates are not supposed to have any clothes other than their uniform.¡± ¡°Huk!¡± ¡°What?¡± ¡°Huk huk!¡± Feeling that it will go on for a while at this rate, Domino got closer to Rick and removed his gag. ¡°Thank you Vice head jailer.¡± said Rick before answering Magen. ¡°I have it because it¡¯s mine.¡± ¡°Well that won¡¯t do. Under Warden, take it.¡± ¡°If you want another kick in the berries, go ahead and try it.¡± challenged Rick looking with murder in his eyes towards Hannyabal. ¡°So that¡¯s what happened.¡± said Domino, piecing the puzzle together. ¡°What happened?¡± ¡°Yes sir! We were waiting for Under Warden Hannyabal who brought Rick Wald to undergo the sterilisation process and only thetter came back, alone. On his way he dispatched two dozen guards who tried to subdue him.¡± she answered to her chief, leaving his face frozen in shock before he startedughing loudly, mocking his second inmand. He only stopped when he heard Rick¡¯s next words which anger him greatly ¡°I have to say, I¡¯m really disappointed with the personnel. The personnel is weak and borderline ipetent.¡± ¡°What?!¡± ¡°I mean, I¡¯m cuffed with seastone, and I one hit knockout a bit more than twenty men including the under warden, who brought me alone to the sterilisation chamber. And he¡¯s not even wearing his uniform! How many rules is he breaking by simply standing there! Seriously, it¡¯s a miracle no one ever escaped this ce! It¡¯s a circus. Wait, maybe not, Shiki the golden lion did escape. I hope there are more dutiful people like vice head jailer Domino. Seriously, I haven¡¯t been here long but the only one who acted like a proper jailer was her. If the fleet admiral knew how you¡¯re running this ce you''d be demoted so much that even the bottom of the hierarchy would be above...¡± Rick didn¡¯t get to finish his sentence as a furious Magen pounced on him. Chapter 74: I’m a survivor, I’m gonna make it Chapter 74: I¡¯m a survivor, I¡¯m gonna make it Chapter 74: I¡¯m a survivor, I¡¯m gonna make it Rick came to himself disoriented. Everything was a bit blurry but went back into focus quickly. ¡°Oh? You¡¯re finally awake? ¡° asked a voice. It was a very deep voice which carried strength in every word. Turning his head towards the voice¡¯s provenance Rick saw who was speaking to him. He wasn¡¯t surprised when he saw the figure of Jimbei chained to the wall on his left. ¡°Operation ¡°infiltrate the most secure prison in the world¡±: Sess. I could have been smarter and kept my mouth shut though. Man, Magen hits like a truck. Note forter: not badmouthing and taunting the fucker while being rx.¡± ¡°Hey! You¡¯re with me?!¡± ¡°Oh right, Jimbei¡¯s speaking to me.¡± ¡°Yeah, yeah, I am. A bit disoriented but I¡¯m with you.¡± ¡°Good.¡± Looking around, Rick searched for Ace. ¡°Where is Ace?¡± ¡°Gone.¡± ¡°What do you mean gone? He was supposed to be here.¡± ¡°He was. Wasn¡¯t happy to see you here, more sad than anything really.¡± ¡°Figures.¡± ¡°They took him out when they left you here, apparently his brother is here to get him out.¡± ¡°Brothers.¡± ¡°What?¡± ¡°Brothers. With an s, as in plural.¡± ¡°I knew about the one with the straw hat, but I didn¡¯t know about more.¡± ¡°Well, Ace and I¡¯s brotherly bond is rather recent.¡± said Rick with a pained chuckle? ¡°You?¡± ¡°Yes, me.¡± ¡°I¡¯m surprised, he didn¡¯t really speak about you.¡± ¡°Considering the time we spend together is less than half a day, that¡¯s normal.¡± ¡°And you think of him as a brother with so little time?¡± ¡°It¡¯s moreplicated than that.¡± ¡°Well if you don¡¯t mind telling the story I¡¯m all ears. It¡¯s not like we have anything better to do down here.¡± ¡°That¡¯s true¡­ The short version is: I got thrown out of a food shop because I looked Like a beggar.¡± ¡°A beggar?¡± ¡° I have been on the run for thest decade, having clean clothes, a good haircut and a well groomed beard wasn¡¯t on my list of priorities. Anyway I was thrown out andnded on Ace. He recognized me, I ran, he caught up to me, we talked, shared stories, shared a drink and went our own separate ways.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t see how the two of you became brothers just from that.¡± ¡°I was getting to it! ¡° ¡°Alright, alright.¡± ¡°So, I was raised by Monkey D. Garp.¡± ¡°The hero of the Navy?¡± ¡°Do you know of another Monkey D. Garp?¡± ¡°I can¡¯t help but think you¡¯re being sassy here.¡± ¡°That¡¯s because I am! Anyway, Garp raised me, I quit the marines, ten yearster I met Ace, then some timeter I met my captain, straw hat Luffy whose real name is Monkey D. Luffy, Garp¡¯s grandson.¡± ¡°Haa! I get it you¡¯re like straw hat Luffy¡¯s big brother and since Ace is his brother you consider him yours too! Still¡­¡± ¡°Ace saved my life by giving me a purpose. I¡­ was tired of being a fugitive. Everyone was after me. The marines, the pirates¡­¡± ¡°Well that''s what happens when you put so many of thetter in here and betray the former.¡± ¡°I was framed by Akainu. Don¡¯t ask, it¡¯s a long story.¡± ¡°Well¡­ it was good of you toe rescue him but it seems your n failed.¡± ¡°Yes, I thought I had more time to get him out of here.¡± ¡°Time? You got captured, that¡¯s when your n failed.¡± ¡°Getting caught was part of the n. Luffy was supposed to distract everyone up there while Ace and I went up to join him.¡± ¡°Smart n if it were not for Ace¡¯s execution being moved up. That and the seastone holding you and preventing you from doing anything.¡± Jimbei spoke with a deadpan face and a sarcastic tone which Rick ignored both before using his gravity to rip apart his chains. This time he didn¡¯t forget to sproutyers of skin around his whole body. Removing the chains around himself, he then did the same to Jimbei¡¯s who was sitting with his jawically almost touching the ground and his eyes popping out of his head. ¡°You¡¯reing or not?¡± said Rick as he treated the bars of the cell he was in like he did the chains. ¡°How¡­¡± ¡°Don¡¯t ask and I won¡¯t lie to you. And keep your mouth shut about it. Anyway I¡¯m leaving, you''re free to stay.¡± Jimbei¡¯s mind started working properly again and he rushed out of the cell after his cellmate. The other inmates yelled after them, either insults or pleas to get them out. Too bad for them, Rick wasn¡¯t about to let them free. ¡°Like I would do that. They would only get in the way, as if the ones on the upper floors aren¡¯t a problem already. Besides, I don¡¯t need so much bad karma when I¡¯m about to kick the bucket. And it¡¯s not like they will live long, if everything is going ordingly, ckbeard will soon be here and start a deathmatch to see who''s worth recruiting.¡± The duo didn¡¯t meet any guards which wasn¡¯t surprising as only the minotaurus worked on this level. They did meet him however and Rick knocked him out quickly. He separated him from his heavy two-handed mace and then introduced the two rather intimately face to ¡°face¡± at high speed with his gravity. With the whole prison on lockdown thanks to Luffy¡¯s antics, the elevator wasn¡¯t working so they took the stairs instead. Soon enough, thanks to Rick making them float hence going faster than on foot, they arrived on the freezing hell that was level 5. ¡°I already know the answer but I have to ask. You don¡¯t have a map of the ce don¡¯t you? Or just know our way out?¡± ¡°I wish. That much cold is bad for fish-men.¡± Rick could hear hispanion¡¯s teeth chattering from the cold. And if he was to be honest with himself the temperature was getting to him too. After spending years at the sides of an ice man he thought it was used to the environment way below zero but it wasn¡¯t enough apparently. ¡°This ce is not only huge and a bitbyrinthic but also all white. Can¡¯t see for shit. It wouldn¡¯t be good for me to float us around blindly.¡± ¡°What¡¯s the n then?¡± ¡°First things first, find a way to get ourselves warm.¡± ¡°In this ce? Good luck!¡± That made Rickugh a bit as he looked at Jimbei with a grin. ¡°What? What¡¯s funny with what I said?¡± ¡°Survival is not about luck. It¡¯s about skill with a good amount of determination. You see those trees over there? We can make a nice fire with them.¡± ¡°How? ¡° ¡°Like this.¡± Rick used his gravity to fall down a dead tree and from that point started breaking some branches to make a small pile. He tore apart a bit of his uniform and started to rub two sticks together for a few minutes. Soon enough smoke started to appear from the stick on the ground which Rick was rubbing the other on. Once he thought it was enough he put the piece of cloth on it and blew some air. The fire caught quickly and was put under the pile of wood. To make sure the fire took for good Rick tore down the rest of his shirt and put the bits here and there so the fire would spread further and faster. In no time they had a really nice campfire. ¡°That¡¯s ¡­¡± ¡°Skill, Jimbei, skill, not luck. I take it you never found yourself alone in a forest with nothing but a knife?¡± ¡°Can¡¯t say I had the pleasure. My people tend to stay in the water or under it.¡± ¡°You better learn it, who knows maybe one day fish people would be able to roam thend without being persecuted. Anyway, making a fire is one of my three basic rules for survival.¡± ¡°Three? What are the other two?¡± ¡°Find a source of drinkable water and with all the snow here I think we¡¯re good on that part. Thest one but certainly not the least, identify the fauna¡¯s tracks.¡± ¡°Fauna¡¯s tracks?¡± ¡°You see the snow behind you at 7 O¡¯clock? Around 20 feet?¡± Turning around a bit, Jimbei looked at the snow, he saw some print on it, notrge but big enough to indicate it wasn¡¯t made by a small animal. ¡°A beast went through here.¡± ¡°Yes, and judging by the size of the paw print, not a small one. With the size of the paw you can guess the animal size, with how deep the print is, you can guess its weight. It gives you a rough idea of what¡¯s out there. It doesn¡¯t help you to know if the beast is friendly or not but in case the animal is half as big as you you better be careful.¡± ¡°Can you tell what kind of animal it was which left that trail?¡± ¡°Considering we¡¯re at the border of a forest, I¡¯d say a wolf which probably would not be good in normal circumstances.¡± ¡°Meaning?¡± ¡°Wolves are the social kind, they form a pack and are very territorial. If you spot one you can be sure there is a lot more around. And while generally not big you can be overwhelmed easily, that is for normal people. For a fish-man and a powerful devil fruit user? I¡¯d say it¡¯s a piece of cake.¡± No sooner than that, howls began to be heard around. Rick counted a dozen, so it wasn¡¯t a big pack, though it wouldn¡¯t have mattered anyway, with the power of the Zushi Zushi no mi or even the Me Me no mi, numbers was never a problem for him, so it was without any surprise that less than a minute after the wolves attacked there was twelve dead wolves on the ground. ¡°Food and warm clothes are secure!¡± ¡°Clothes?¡± ¡°Well, those wolves don¡¯t need their fur anymore so we¡¯re going to skin them.¡± ¡°With what?¡± ¡°They do have a lot of long and very sharp fangs.¡± replied Rick with a grin. They didn¡¯t bother to be meticulous with their work, they needed something to keep them warm and fast. One because the fire wasn¡¯t enough, two because they couldn¡¯t waste time. Ace was on his way to Marine Ford after all. Once properly covered they were ready to resume their search for the stairs to Level 4. Chapter 75: I want you! Chapter 75: I want you! Chapter 75: I want you! With warmer clothes Rick and Jimbei moved more easily and a bit less of an hourter arrived in front of a cell. In normal times, asking directions to a pirate was not the sanest of ideas, especially one locked up in a freezing hell when you''re wearing really thick fur on you. Fortunately one ex-marine was thoughtful and negotiated the information they wanted against one of the extra they had. Add to that a threat that made this ce look like a resort and any chance of being sent the wrong way died. ¡°You do know he¡¯s going to get himself killed in less than a minute?¡± ¡°Of course. It¡¯s going to be a bloodbath just to own that fur.¡± ¡°And you¡¯re okay with that?¡± ¡°No, but Ace is more important, it was the fastest way and it¡¯s not like he¡¯s an innocent man. So even though I don¡¯t like it, I won¡¯t cry over the death of a guilty pirate.¡± ¡°That¡¯s awfully cold but then again you¡¯re a pirate yourself.¡± ¡°Not by choice.¡± ¡°I always wonder how one of the most promising members of the marines, from what I heard, ended up one of the most wanted men. You said you were framed by Akainu? Why? He was already an Admiral, why would he bother with you?¡± ¡° Because the first time we met, he may have been very rude and I may have humiliated him in front of Aokiji, Kizaru and Sengoku.¡± ¡°None of them ever said anything? Isn¡¯t humiliating a superior against the rule? And how did you do that anyway? ¡° ¡°Well he didn¡¯t have his guard up and I was around seven, so Sengoku let it slide.¡± ¡°You knew personally the Fleet Admiral at seven? Intimately enough to not punish you?¡± ¡°Well¡­ he¡¯s kinda my adoptive uncle.¡± ¡°Then how did Akainu¡­¡± ¡°He caught Sengoku in a rare moment of weakness. That¡¯s all I¡¯m going to say about this matter.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± In no time they reach the stairs leading out of floor 5 to floor 4. Now that¡¯s where things began to get serious as behind the gigantic door were guards. They had to be swift when dealing with them; with the prison in lockdown and high alert it wouldn¡¯t be easy. Especially since level 4 was the floor where Magen¡¯s office was. Rick wasn¡¯t sure about how to deal with his powers, notably the gas part. He couldn¡¯t use his gravity on it and any sprouts would be useless as making a giant hand out of a thousand arms could be an easy target for the liquid poison. He was in a bind and for once didn¡¯t have any n to pull through. However didn¡¯t have the luxury of choice, so he¡¯ll have to improvise. He looked at Jimbei who sharply nodded that he was ready. Just as they were about to break the door in, they were interrupted by a voiceing from behind them. They immediately turned around ready to fight whoever ambushed them. ¡°Hello.¡± said the man. He had an interesting get up. He was wearing a very nice and warm coat colored like his hair. And just like his hair it was white on the right side and orange on the left. His sses and bowtie were two tone colored too. Everything seemed vertically symmetrical with him, colour aside, except the wine ss held in his left hand. ¡°Who the heck is that guy?!¡± thought Rick while Jimbei was more vocal. ¡°Who are you?¡± he asked with a demanding and slightly threatening tone. ¡°My name is Inazuma.¡± ¡°Nice to meet you Inazuma, despite ambushing us like that. Though since we¡¯re still alive, I gather you want something from us?¡± ¡°Me? No, not at all. My boss on the other hand does.¡± ¡°And who¡¯s your boss?¡± asked Rick. ¡°Emporio Ivankov.¡± ¡°Holy shit¡­¡± Rick began thinking before voicing the end of his thought. ¡°The Miracle Person?!¡± ¡°The what?¡± asked Jimbei ¡°Yes, that¡¯s my boss.¡± ¡°What does he¡­ she¡­ What pronoun should I use?¡± ¡°Whatever you wish.¡± replied Inazuma ¡°Oh, alright. What does he want from us then? Because we¡¯re a bit in a hurry right now.¡± ¡°He knows, that¡¯s why he sent me to you before you started something foolish, like going up and beating down everyone on your way. Right now nobody knows you escaped, well except us, it¡¯s an advantage you can¡¯t waste.¡± ¡°And how does my business matter to him?¡± ¡°Directly? It doesn¡¯t. Indirectly? A lot; he¡¯s very interested in you.¡± ¡°How so?¡± ¡°Your stance against the world government. Now if you¡¯d please follow me, time is of the essence I believe.¡± Rick nodded and followed after him then Jimbei who was still out of the loop about the matter of their discussion. ¡°Not that I¡¯m ungrateful for your help, even though it''s for Rick but can you exin to me what this is about? Who¡¯s that miracle person? Where are you taking us? And how does it have anything to do with saving Ace, stopping the war that¡¯sing, the world government and you, Rick? ¡± ¡°Well the miracle person¡¯s real name is Emporio Ivankov,mander of the Liberation army who¡¯s fighting against the world government because it¡¯s corrupt to the core. Why he¡¯s interested in me is obvious. Every single one of my crimes, true or not, are directly against the government.¡± ¡° What you did at Enies Lobby was incredible! Passing yourself as a member of the CP-0 to infiltrate the ind and the CP-9, saving Nico Robin, stopping the World Government from getting their hands on the ns of one of the ancient weapons and stealing and using the buster call to destroy the ind itself before sinking the fleet. When we heard the news we celebrated like no tomorrow.¡± cut in Inazuma making Jimbei¡¯s jaw drop. ¡°You did what?! I thought your crew just did a raid on the ind to get Nico Robin back.¡± ¡°Well, in the grand lines, yes. I¡¯m not surprised they covered it up, I mean can you imagine the shit storm the government would face if the knowledge of an assassination unit within the marine existed? And that¡¯s the least of it, my entire existence and deeds is much worse. I mean, I stole a freaking buster call! Only 4 people officially hold the ability to call one, the Fleet admiral and the three admirals. Some people receive permission but it¡¯s a very exceptional situation and it¡¯s only for the highest in the hierarchy. Now what would people say of the government if one of the most wanted men of the marines, just walks up leisurely among ten thousands of government agents, steals ess to the greatest fire power of the marine? Their faith in them would drop radically.¡± ¡°True, and that would bolster the ranks of the Liberation army, which is growing day by day.¡± ¡°How are you so knowledgeable about that? Even I, a shichibukai, was not aware and you¡¯ve been here for who knows how long?¡± asked Jimbei. ¡°Years ago a prisoner escaped and used his devil fruit power to create a floor between level 6 and level 5. He also built secret passages all around Impel Down. From there we begin to spin a web so big we have fresh food, drinks, clothes, information from the outside; we even have ess to the surveince room. That¡¯s how we knew you two were free. We had a direct feed of it.¡± ¡°Well, shit they know we¡¯re on the loose then.¡± ¡°Actually no they do not because we may have or not have tempered with their direct feed.¡± ¡°You know I find it pretty hrious that the greatest prison in the world has more holes than a cheese and that it was taken over by its prisoners while the staff is none the wiser. That too wouldn¡¯t bode well for the World government¡¯s reputation.¡± said Rick. ¡°I understand more about the situation, thank you for answering my questions.¡± Inuzuma just nodded to him as acknowledgement. Soon enough they entered a secret passage in a wall which was hidden by trees. It didn¡¯t take long for them to reach level 5.5 as its inhabitants call it. The two colored member of the liberation army led them to some kind of very spacious bar with a scene at the other end of the room. People here were merrily partying. Be it drinking, dancing, eating everyone was having fun. With just a look, you wouldn¡¯t be able to tell that all those people were actually prisoners still inside their cage. Rick didn¡¯t want to go to this ce. Not because of some non-existent bigotry from his part but because it was a detour he wasn¡¯t sure he could afford. That and the contact with Ivankov could potentially offer more troubles than solutions. There were many members of the liberation army here and it would be difficult and time consuming to get them out, furthermore, with just him, Luffy and Jimbei they could escape undetected but with a good hundred people ? That wasn¡¯t possible anymore. Rick let out a long sigh as Ivankov¡¯s introduction began to y out. ¡°We¡¯re pressed by time and he¡¯s ying around¡­¡± He sprouted arms around the newkama Queen and restrained her while using his gravity to bring him/her before him. ¡°Look, I don¡¯t have the time for your little show so let¡¯s get right to it. You help me, I help you deal?¡± Ivankov looked at him, pouting for ruining her fun but Rick was right. ¡°I like straightforward men.¡± ¡°And I¡¯m taken and happy in my rtionship. Now; which way do we have to go to get back to the surface without being seen ?¡± ¡°Oh! I¡¯ll do more than tell you, I¡¯ll show you myself.¡± ¡°And what do you want in return?¡± ¡°You take me and my people out with you and join us.¡± ¡°... I can do the former but not thetter.¡± ¡°Oh I¡¯m sure that I could convince you.¡± said Ivankov with a wink. ¡°I doubt that.¡± ¡°If you know the way out, why are you still here?¡± cut in Jimbei. ¡°Because we don¡¯t have the strength. Once we reach Level 1 we still have to fight to get out, and steal one of the ships docked. Ships that are fully manned.¡± ¡°But with me here that problem is no more, as I can sink them all and deal probably with every single one of the marines alone.¡± dered Rick. ¡°Yes and without much, if any, casualties on our side.¡± ¡°I can¡¯t deal with Magen. My powers¡­ they can¡¯t deal well if at all with his.¡± ¡°It¡¯s fine, the n was never to confront him anyway.¡± ¡°There is something you probably already know but¡­¡± ¡°Your captain is here to save Ace, yes, we are aware but we can¡¯t make a stop and go search for him.¡± ¡°I thought you taped the surveince?¡± ¡°We did and he¡¯s on his way to Level 4.¡± ¡°He¡¯s close, then¡­¡± ¡°He got every high ranking jailer after him.¡± ¡°So?¡± ¡°So Magen is there too and that¡¯s not the end of our troubles.¡± ¡°Oh?¡± ¡°Yes, ckbeard has broken in.¡± ¡°Shit. I thought it would take him longer.¡± ¡°You knew he woulde here?¡± ¡°Oh shit, it slipped!¡± thought Rick. ¡°Yes, that kind of man is not one to be subservient to someone else. My guess is, he came here to recruit for his crew and tell the government they can put their shichibukai title where the sun doesn¡¯t shine. Anyway, I can deal with him, but we need to get my captain.¡± ¡°I told you we can¡¯t!¡± Rick leaned close to Ivankov¡¯s ear and whispered something making theter eyes go wide. ¡°Are you serious?!¡± ¡°Yes, I heard it from Garp himself. What, never knew your boss¡¯st name?¡± ¡°I only knew him under the name Dragon. He¡¯s not the most talkative and open man.¡± ¡°So unlike the other two¡­ Anyway he won¡¯t be happy if we leave Luffy behind, so we¡¯re going to get him.¡± ¡°What about Magen?¡± ¡°I can¡¯t defeat him, but I can deal with his liquid poison. It¡¯s the gas ones I can¡¯t deal with.¡± ¡°Then I guess we¡¯ll have to deal with him before he uses that type.¡± Chapter 76: Home is where one starts from Chapter 76: Home is where one starts from Chapter 76: Home is where one starts from Moving through the secret passages between the walls and floors of Impel Down; Rick, Jimbei, Ivankov and his subordinates were making their way towards the top of the prison. Even though they were moving fast it took some time to reach level 4 from Level 5.5. Not fast enough for Rick but it couldn¡¯t help it; the tunnels were a real maze and he didn¡¯t spend years learning every inch and corner of it. They stopped all movements when Ivankov received a call on his mini-den den mushi from one of the newkama who stayed in NewKama Land. Apparently Luffy was making his way down to level 6, where to his knowledge Ace was supposed to be. Now the kicker was that Magen himself was after him. Rick knew he had to get to Luffy and fast otherwise he would not survive the warden¡¯s deadly poison. ¡°Lead the way.¡± was all Rick said to Ivankov who simply nodded before instructing his subordinates to go on higher and to wait for them. They quickly reached a secret exit, nearly getting caught by a group of guards running fast towards some location. Probably where trouble was, meaning where Luffy was.Following them they arrived at tome kind of balcony circling around a giant room. Down below on the floor, Luffy was fighting the poison man. Without wasting any time, Rick sent the guards flying away and created an arm on Luffy¡¯s shoulder. A purple aura manifested itself around the newly made limb and the liquid poison going towards Luffy was repelled. At the same time Magen was, like his guards a few moments before but more violently, sent flying head first towards the nearest wall. ¡°Luffy!¡± ¡°Rick! You¡¯re out!¡± ¡°I am, but we need to hurry!¡± ¡°Why?¡± ¡°Ace has already been transferred.¡± ¡°Transferred?¡± ¡°He¡¯s probably already at the marines¡¯s HQ for his execution.¡± replied Jimbei. ¡°Who¡¯re you?¡± asked Luffy ¡°That¡¯s Jimbei, one of the Shichibukai, he¡¯s¡­ kinda a friend of Ace. He¡¯s with us.¡± ¡°You¡¯re strong then!¡± ¡°Luffy, focus! We need to leave this ce now!¡± ¡°And you think I would let you?¡± Rick was barely in time when he repelled once again poison aiming at Luffy. It seems the intimate introduction Megen¡¯s head had with the wall was not hard enough to properly knock him out. ¡°Not really, but it would be preferable as it would benefit you and the marines a lot.¡± ¡°As if!¡± answered Magen. ¡°Oh I¡¯m totally serious. I mean the only people who know I¡¯m here are you, your subordinate, Boa Hancock and that moustached Vice-Admiral. Honestly I leave and no one would find out since to begin with I¡¯m not officially here. Neither are everyone else. I mean, Ivankov and his people are supposed to have disappeared and died, Jimbei is here temporarily because he wouldn¡¯t participate in the war, so you can im he changed his mind. See? Everyone wins. Besides, haven''t I been a good inmate? I mean I broke out sure, can¡¯t really me me for that, no one wants to stay here, but I could have broken free everyone in Level 6 and 5, let them cause chaos, free others inmates it would have been hell! And yet I didn¡¯t.¡± ¡°How generous of you.¡± replied the warden in a sarcastic tone. ¡°Oh! I almost forgot.¡± said Rick with a fake surprised face adorned with a smug smile. ¡°ckbeard is here and causing havoc upstairs. My money on why is because he¡¯s intending to do a bit of recruitment here.¡± ¡°You¡¯re lying! I won¡¯t hear anything more!¡± Negotiations ended right there as Magen unleashed a wave of poison from a swing of his arm. At the same time you diverted the dangerous liquiding your way Inazuma acted too and erected a wall by cutting down the floor. ¡°Wow! What kind of power is that?¡± asked Luffy. ¡°I¡¯m a scissor man, I can cut anything as if it was paper.¡± answered Inazuma. ¡°That¡¯s awesome!¡± While Rick agreed that it was a very useful power he was more focused on Magen. He was between the exit of the room and them. They couldn¡¯t go back to the secret passageway, the warden would simply follow them and unleashed his toxic gas. Since the tunnel was tight they would be absolutely doomed. Inazuma could have blocked it but looking at the erected wall before him dissolving rapidly, he knew it wasn¡¯t an option. Rick didn¡¯t have time to ponder more as his fear realised before his very own eyes. Gas was starting to spread their way. ¡°Let¡¯s see how you can block and divert a poisonous gas!¡± yelled the warden. ¡®Damnit, if only there was an air vent¡­ sys..tem.¡¯ thought the straw hats Vice-captain before turning around looking at Luffy with a mischievous smile. ¡°What?¡± was all Luffy could ask before Rick grabbed him and ordered Inazuma to make something very specific which thetter quicklyplied to do. ~~~~~ It took a few minutes for the wall before him to meltpletely before Magen moved forward. He could have used more poison to make it quicker but decided against it. Their group was cornered with nowhere to go but towards him and with the wall blocking their way he just had to wait a bit for his gas to take effect. The fumes of the melted wall cleared and the warden was finally able to see the bodies of his opponents. Or so he thought. Every single one of them were unarmed to his astonishment. ¡°How?!¡± By having a better look he saw Rick waving something big in his hands, looking like a giant fan. ¡°How did you get a fan to blow away my gas?!¡± ¡°I present to you, Monkey D. Luffy, future pirate king, rubber man andst but not the least¡­. My biggest fan!¡± answered Rick with a cheeky grin, waving the giant makeshift fan around. Besides him everyone minus one was dumbfounded, both at his joke and his actions. Asking Inazuma to cut the floor into two long but thin lines connected at one end in a V shape was an odd request for sure, but with no better idea they went with it. When they saw him attached his own Captain and little brother on one side and pulled hard to tie it to the other, they thought had lost his mind. In the end they lost theirs by watching him waving it around with a lot of strength his new ¡°fan¡±, blowing away the gas. The only one not in a state of pure shock was Luffy who looked so green you¡¯d think he would regurgitate hisst meals. ¡°Let¡¯s be real for a moment here. Your poisons, either liquid or gas, are now ineffective so¡­¡± ¡°QUIET!¡± Magen said cutting him off. He fired poisons after poisons; gas, liquid, he sent everything towards Rick and his group, to no avail. Rick quickly got enough of this and sprouted one arm on each wall of the room and one for each of the ceiling and the floor right below and above the warden. Once his limbs were in ce he used gravity to pull Magen from all sides, not heavily enough that he was shredded apart but enough to suspend him in the air unable to move a muscle. ¡°Well, that¡¯s that. We better hurry.¡± Rick said before running towards the exit. The others were stuck where they stood, still ck jawed at what he did and only started following him when he yelled at them to move. Once far away from Magen, Luffy was released from his restraints but was still a bit wobbly and ended up being carried by Rick on his back. They were approaching the central elevator when they saw it descending and stopping at their floor. Out of it came ckbeard and his crew. ¡°Oh?! What a surp ¡­¡± He didn¡¯t get to finish his sentence as Rick threw them against the wall on their right, without him and the rest of the group stopping for the confrontation. They got on the elevator and went upwards. With ckbeard¡¯s antics they were unhindered by any guards or marines and it took them only a few minutes to get outside the prison where they witnessed the results of ckbeard¡¯s assault. A shouting from one of the few ships left intact drew their attention. Invankov¡¯s me.. wom.. people. Invankov¡¯s people had secured one of the ships and were ready to leave immediately, just waiting for their boss. ¡°Great! We can get out of here to where Ace is!¡± said Luffy jiovaly. ¡°Not yet.¡± replied Rick. ¡°What? Why?!¡± ¡°Because the way to Marine Ford is closed. Remember the big door in the sea when we fled after saving Robin?¡± ¡°Yeah? What about it?¡± ¡°We could only escape because the door was open, otherwise we would have been drifting in an endless loop and got caught. Now, there is a simr door on the way to Marine HQ.¡± ¡°Can¡¯t you make us fly over there then?¡± ¡°I can, but not everyone.¡± ¡°What are we supposed to do then?¡± asked Ivankov, interrupting Luffy and Rick''s conversation. ¡°Right now? Get on the ship and start sailing, I¡¯ll go back inside and open the door.¡± Without waiting for anyone to answer, Rick went back inside Impel Down. With everyone either knocked out or on the lower levels because of ckbeard, he was free to search and explore the upper levels. It took some time but he finally found the security room. In there marines were panicking as they watched ckbeard doing his thing and transmitting to the rest of the guard his whereabouts. He quickly knocked them out by sprouting arms on their back and strangling them. Looking around, it didn¡¯t take long for Rick to spot the door¡¯s mechanism. After opening it he was about to go out the door when he saw a door with an interesting name on it. ¡°Inmates¡¯ Property Room? With a bit of luck¡­¡± He entered the room and saw a dozen shelves with cardboard boxes. He opened one and found what he thought: personal effects. ¡°Why keep those? Anyone ending here is in for life.¡± He didn¡¯t ponder any longer, time was of the essence after all. He sprouted arms and eyes to check multiple boxes at the same time. It didn¡¯t take long but he found what he wanted and without any dy turned back where he came from. On his way out he saw ckbeard approaching Magen and released thetter. He doubted ckbeard would die but from what he recalled he only survived because he got help. With a bit of luck he wouldn¡¯t get any this time. Finally being outside he started floating towards Marine Ford. As expected the ship with Luffy and the rest of the crew was already on their way and had just gone through the door. Soon enough their destination was in sight when a huge wave came from behind. Rick quickly split it in two with his gravity so the ship would not be swept away. It turned out to be a really good idea when the wave, as it was about to hit Marine Ford, froze along the sea water in the surroundings. ¡°Ice-guy is there!¡± announced Luffy. ¡°Ice-guy?¡± asked Ivankov. ¡°Admiral Aokiji. Him and probably every high officer of the marines are there.¡± answered Rick ¡°This is war after all, but we may not be toote.¡± added Jimbei. ¡°No, but the path into the port is blocked by the ice.¡± noted Ivankov. Rick turned to the revolution army¡¯s leader thinking before speaking again. ¡°You and your subordinate should go. I¡¯ll take Luffy and Jimbei to the fight.¡± ¡°...Are you sure? ¡° ¡°Yes, this is between Marines and pirates. There is no need for the RA to get involved, besides you helped us a lot already for a fight that isn¡¯t yours to begin with.¡± ¡°Yeah! Thank you for that but we got it from here!¡± announced Luffy with his famous smile. Ivankov looked at the two of them for a moment, nodded and ordered his subordinates to change course. Rick made his twopanions float and took up high in the air. With speed he flew towards the inside port of Marine Ford. ¡°Shall we make a shy entrance captain?¡± the ex-marine asked. ¡°Hell! Yeah!¡± replied Lufy. Rick pushed them down with a good deal of force andnded in the center of the bay after using his gravity to clear the space of people. Everyone stopped what they were doing and averted their eyes to look at what was happening. All they could see was three people standing side by side. A fisherman, a young man in flip flop and a straw hat and finally a tall man with a white overcoat. ¡°Home, sweet home.¡± Chapter 77: You’ve changed me forever. And I’ll never forget you Chapter 77: You¡¯ve changed me forever. And I¡¯ll never forget you Chapter 77: You¡¯ve changed me forever. And I¡¯ll never forget you ¡°ACE!¡± Everyone heard Luffy scream his brother¡¯s name as it broke the silence that the trio¡¯s entrance created. Confusion reigned in the battlefield, some wondered what Jimbei, one of the Shichibukai was doing here when he was supposed to be locked up in Impel Down. With the Straw hat too. Some wondered what the strawhats¡¯ captain was doing here since he was separated from his crew after attacking a celestial dragon at Sabaody Archipgo. Most of them though¡­ Most of them wondered what HE was doing here. The TRAITOR. Sure he was the strawhats¡¯ crew ¡®s vice captain and his captain was here so it made sense he would follow him. That was not what it was about. To them, he had a lot of face to show up. After everything he did. His betrayal, destroying Justice Ind, destroying a buster call, attacking several world nobles and thening here as if nothing never happened? Like he just took a walk to get some milk ande back? That was uneptable. ¡°LUFFY! Why are you here?!¡± screamed Ace. ¡°To get you out of here of course!¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t ask for you to save me!¡± ¡°I don¡¯t care!¡± ¡°That¡¯s not your business!¡± ¡°Wow! You¡¯re one to talk!¡± interrupted Rick. ¡°What? Who even are ¡­. RICK?!¡± yelled a dumbfounded Ace. ¡°In the flesh! Now, did you really expect to mind my business, save my life and not expect that I¡¯ll do the same? For goddess sake what did I do to have two stupid little brother. Luffy is already a handful, but now two.¡± ¡°Don¡¯tpare me to that idiot!¡± ¡°Hey! You¡¯re an idiot!¡± ¡°You only have food and being the pirate king in your brain!¡± ¡°Yeah?! Well, you only have¡­ have¡­¡± ¡°How about the two bicker once you¡¯re out of here.¡± ¡°Do you really think any of you will get out of here alive?¡± Rick¡¯s head turned so fast towards the owner of the voice that it¡¯s a miracle he didn¡¯t break his neck. ¡°Akainu¡­ Long time no see you red bitch. How are you doing? Ordered any genocide of innocent peopletely?¡± ¡°Who¡¯s that guy?¡± Asked Luffy. ¡°Remember the guy that order the murder of Robin¡¯s people, and framed me for something I never did?¡± ¡°Yeaaaaah? Wait, that''s him?!¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Before this conversation could go even further another voice interrupted.This one gave Rick mixed feelings. ¡°You shouldn¡¯t havee here. What¡¯s happening right now doesn¡¯t involve you.¡± announced Sengoku. ¡°Executing my little brother makes me involved, Uncle.¡± ¡°HE¡¯s your Uncle?¡± asked Jimbei out loud. ¡°I am not. Simple delusion of a rude no named orphan boy with amnesia whom Garp picked up twenty years ago.¡± replied Sengoku in a cold voice and an icy re. ¡°Okay¡­ First off, not going to lie, hearing you say that hurts a lot. Second, you do know that you¡¯re in for the beating of your life from Big Sis for saying that, right?¡± Sengoku inly ignored hisment. ¡°As for you being Portgas D. Ace brother¡¯s, it¡¯s impossible. Just as much as your captain being his brother too¡­¡± ¡°Ohh, so he¡¯s announcing it right now¡­¡± ¡°For Portgas D. Ace¡¯s father is none other than Gold Roger, while your captain¡¯s is Dragon the revolutionary.¡± The reaction of the people around was as expected. Everyone was shocked! The news that the pirate king had a secret child and the most wanted criminal in the world had one too, and both were famous pirates gathered here. ¡°It¡¯s time for those ursed blood to be wiped out from the surface of this world. As for you, you¡¯re no one.¡± ¡°Okay, Uncle, you want to y it like that? We¡¯re going to y it like that. I¡¯m so going to fuck with you and the higher ups¡± ¡°Well that¡¯s not true! I remembered my name! Ha! And spoiler alert as a 6 years old kid with amnesia¡­ I kinda pronounced it wrong. ¡®Cause you see just like you marines pronounces the pirate king¡¯s name wrong, which is Gol D. Roger by the way¡­ I pronounced mine wrong too.¡± ¡°Can¡¯t even pronounce his name right, what a joke.¡± said Akainu, who was ignored by Rick. ¡°My real name is Wal D. Rick. Meaning I belong to the D. n and those two idiots here are rted to me that way. So Suck it! And now if you don¡¯t mind I¡¯m taking my brother back to his daddy.¡± ¡°HEY!¡± protested Ace in outrage. ¡°The best of the marines is gathered here between him and you..¡± said Akainu, standing up before adding ¡°I would like to see you try.¡± ¡°Do or do not, there is no try! Now sit back down, red bitch and watch.¡± Without anyone noticing, Rick sprouted an arm on Ace''s shoulder. Using his gravity from him and the sprout, Ace flew faster than a bullet towards the trio. Luffy caught Ace in mid-air and Rick made everyone float andnded on the Moby Dick, beside Whitebeard. Using once again his gravity he broke Ace¡¯s seastone handcuffs and turned to the emperor next to him. ¡°One special son delivery for sir Whitestache; free of charge.¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°What? What did I say?¡± If there was anyone not dumbfounded yet by Ace and Luffy¡¯s parentage, Rick¡¯s casual way of addressing so casually Whitebeard, perhaps the strongest of the four emperors, did the trick. ¡°Wait! That big guy is Ace¡¯s pops? I thought his name was Whitebeard.¡± asked Luffy releasing from his grasp a very disoriented Ace. ¡°Well yeah but look at him, he doesn¡¯t have a beard, just that funny thing above his upper lip. I was going to say Whitemoustache but that doesn¡¯t sound right so I shortened it into Whitestache. Give a bit more panache to the man who¡¯s the closest to be the pirate king, right?¡± ¡°WHAT?! Like hell!¡± Luffy moved and stood straight in front of Whitebeard looking at him dead in the eye. ¡°I¡¯m going to be the pirate king! You better not stand in my way!¡± announced the straw hat captain so loud and so clear that no one in Marine Ford couldn¡¯t have heard him. Silence reigned supreme once again in that moment yet everyone''s thoughts were more or less the same. Mainly ¡° Who were those two nutjobs to speak to Whitebeard like that?¡±. Whitebeard finally broke the silence byughing loudly and heartilly. ¡°You have good brothers Ace.¡± Looking towards the battlefield Rick saw that the fighting resumed. The marines went all out by bringing out the pacifistas and those ones were ughtering the pirates who came to rescue Ace. ¡°This is not good.¡± ¡°Huh?¡± was all Whitebeard let out to show that he was listening. ¡°If you look at the fight, you¡¯ll see that the marines are going mad against the pirates of the new world who came to help you and are not as wild against your crew. Uncle is setting up something.¡± ¡°You know Sengoku¡¯s n?¡± ¡°No. But he taught me strategy for years, so if I had to take a guess¡­ He¡¯ll use the divide and conquer.¡± ¡°Divide us? Ha! As if!¡± ¡°That¡¯s where you¡¯re wrong. Uncle didn¡¯t need to announce to the world that Ace is Roger¡¯s son, it didn¡¯t bring him any benefit. Yet he did, which means it¡¯s important to his strategy. Roger was infamous, I wouldn¡¯t be surprised if some of the older members of your crew or allies got screwed over by him and stupidly carry on their grudge to Ace.¡± ¡°They wouldn¡¯t act on it.¡± ¡°With just that information? No. But knowing Uncle as well as I do. He probably studied every member of your crew and your allies, searching for members that bear a grudge and mentally weak. Once he found them, he probably intended to sell them a bullshit story about how you and the marines made some kind of deal to save Ace at the price of their lives.That would exin why the marines are wrecking the New world pirates so much. To make them believe it¡¯s true.¡± ¡°That¡¯s¡­¡± ¡°Wee to Sengoku¡¯s cunning 101.¡± Joked Rick while wearing a serious face. ¡°My two berry advice? Upstage him. Reveal his n before someone in your ranks betrays you, while making everyone retreat before it¡¯s toote..¡± ¡°Retreat?¡± ¡°You came to take Ace back, right? Well here he is. There is no reason for you to stay any longer. So retreat while you still can, because soon uncle will probably deploy the steel barrier.¡± ¡°What are you talking about?¡± asked Whitebeard. ¡±In the water, all along the walls are thick tes of steel 30 to 35 feet long, if they are deployed everyone here would be trapped. We¡¯ll be sitting ducks while the marines shoot at us from the high ground from all sides and since they will be behind the tes we won¡¯t be able to attack them efficiently. I don¡¯t have to tell you they will not hesitate even if there are some marines in the middle,right?¡± ¡±No, there is no need. After decades of fighting the Marine, I know what they are capable of. ¡± ¡±Pop, what''s the n then?¡± asked Ace. ¡°...¡± ¡°We retreat. There is no reason for us to stay here any longer. Marco, ry the order, everyone must fall back to their respective ship and sail out of here. First the rear so they can prepare the way out. The wing must gradually retreat while supporting the front. Once the rear is done with the preparations the front must fall back immediately.¡± ¡°Yes pop.¡± ¡°That¡¯s going to take too long.¡± said Rick. ¡°You have a better idea?¡± asked Whitebeard. Rick didn¡¯t answer him, he just acted.Thousands of eyes sprouted everywhere on people regardless of who they were. Marines? Pirates it didn¡¯t matter one bit. Arms sprouted then. At first on the marines near canons and just like he did during the buster call, use his gravity to change the direction they were shooting at. Next another batch of arms sprouted. On the pirates, gravity did its job once again and all of them, as long as they were not heavy enough, started to float then fly towards different pirate ships. At the same time the arms on the marines pushed them towards the inside of MarineFord where the scaffold was. Marines and Pirates were almost all separated. So many sprouts took a toll on Rick. The information from the thousands of eyes, the use of gravity at such a widespread level, was a bit much for him and he fell to his knees breathing hard. ¡°Rick!¡± yelled Luffy ¡°Are you alright?¡± asked Ace, grabbing the ex-marine by his arm and pulling him up. ¡°I will be. It was just taxing to do so much at once.¡± ¡°Well, kid. I¡¯m d you¡¯re on our side today.¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t do it for you. Anyway, be ready to act. I haven¡¯t been here in ten years, things may have changed.¡± The pirates were ready fast and some ships were already on their way outside the port , meanwhile marines didn¡¯t sit on their asses. They reorganized themselves, marines'' ships were getting ready to go after the pirates. Pacifistas were shootingsers from their mouths to try and sink the pirates ship. Finally a rumble was heard and soon after thick tes made of steel started to rise from the water, all around the port¡¯s walls and blocked the entrance, trapping the pirates¡¯ ships that couldn¡¯t get away. ¡°So, that¡¯s what you were telling me about.¡± said Whitebeard. ¡°Yes, but I¡¯d gather it won¡¯t be a problem for you.¡± ¡°It won¡¯t but we need¡­¡± began Whitebeard before being cut off. ¡°I¡¯ll do it.¡± said Rick, prompting the emperor to look him dead in the eye and after a short silence nodded. ¡°Do what?¡± asked Ace. ¡°Staying behind to cover the retreat.¡± replied Whitebeard. ¡°What?! Are you mad?!¡± ¡°I joined Luffy¡¯s crew, so most likely.¡± ¡°You won¡¯t be able to catch up with us! You¡¯ll be alone against the whole marine!¡± ¡°I am aware.¡± ¡°Aware?! Aware?! YOU¡¯RE GOING TO DIE!¡± ¡°Definitely.¡± ¡°That¡¯s it?! You¡¯re epting just like that?! What about finding a dream?! Huh? What about living your life!¡± ¡°ACE!¡± shouted Luffy. ¡°I¡¯m not going to let him sacrifice my ass for me Luffy!¡± ¡°Ace, I¡¯ll be dead by the end of the month at best.¡± announced Rick, shutting the beginning of Ace¡¯s rant. ¡°Wha.. what?¡± ¡°My body¡­ has reached its limits. It¡¯s breaking down and fast. At best if I don¡¯t do anything too tiring, I¡¯ll live a month more.¡± ¡°But¡­¡± ¡°There is no buts Ace. The greatest scientist in the world told me himself. And since I¡¯m going to be dead anyway, why not make myself useful?¡± ¡°You knew it would happen?¡± asked Luffy. ¡°I wasn¡¯t sure but¡­ The chances were high.¡± replied Rick to his heartbroken captain. He took off his white overcoat that he took back in the Inmates¡¯ Property Room. and put it around Luffy¡¯s shoulder. ¡°Every captain of a ship wears one. It doesn¡¯t matter if you¡¯re a marine, a pirate or a simple sailor. I wanted to give you one once we¡¯d be in the New World, to celebrate you know, but¡­¡± ¡°Is that why you went back into Impel Down? It wasn¡¯t just to open the big door.¡± ¡°Yes. I got it in Water Seven. It has seen and gone through plenty of shit. Fighting the CP-9 all by myself.¡± ¡°That was really cool!¡± ¡°Hahaha! I remembered it as a really painful experience. But the CP-9, Thriller back¡­ Ha! If you want to annoy Sanji, just tell him that Nami Wore it and was naked when she did! He¡¯s going to go nuts.¡± ¡°Why?¡± ¡°Doesn¡¯t matter, he¡¯ll know. Anyway, I know White isn¡¯t your color, the one I would have bought you would have been red since that¡¯s a color that suits you. Red or blue sky because that¡¯s the color of freedom and from what I gather it¡¯s the perfect color for the freest man on the seas.¡± ¡°Now that I think about it, you¡¯re almost always wearing white, why?¡± ¡°White is¡­ the color of innocence and purity, something I lost when I was a kid. I was stupidly thinking than maybe one day, I¡¯ll get them both back.¡± Any more conversation was stopped by a loud metallic crack sound. Whitebeard, who had left Ace, Luffy and Rick to say their goodbyes, went to prepare himself to break the steel tes blocking their escape. ¡°That¡¯s it boys! Let¡¯s go!¡± the emperor ordered. Rick turned back to Luffy. ¡±Take care of you and of the others. Remember, a captain is..¡± "The one his crew trust their life and dreams with.¡± answered Luffy. ¡±So you do listen sometimes.¡± joked the ex-marine. ¡±Sometimes.¡± smiled Luffy. With lightning speed Luffy warped himself around his vice-captain, his friend, his brother and hugged him briefly before letting him go. Turning to Ace Rick had a few words. ¡°I know you¡¯re probably sick of doing but...¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯m not that sick of keeping an eye on him. At least until he¡¯s back with your crew¡±. ¡°Thanks.¡± He fist bumped Ace and flew towards the giant of a man andnded next to him. ¡°I have a favor to ask of you.¡± ¡°Speak.¡± ¡°Could you¡­ take care of Luffy for a while? He¡¯s not ready yet to enter the New World but he started to awaken himself to Haki. All three of them.¡± Whitebeard turned his head to look at Luffy, he was stretching his body and sanding back cannonballs that came their way. His eyes,nding on the straw hat he was wearing. The straw hat that Shanks wore and that Roger wore before him. He realized all those years ago that Shanks bet his arm on that little guy. He discerned something from him, he didn¡¯t know what but was curious. He was Ace¡¯s brother, owns Roger¡¯s hat, is a D and possesses all Hakis? The desire to see for himself what Shanks saw in him, to see for himself the indescriptible feeling he has when looking at him. Whitebeard nodded solemnly, his eptance. In truth he would have done it anyway, for the simple fact that Rick saved his son and is sacrificing himself so his sons and him could escape. That was reason enough. ¡°Thank you.¡± said Rick. He took to the air once again and moved towards the back of the Moby Dick. It was thest ship breaking out so he didn¡¯t have to wait anymore to act. He used his gravity to break the ice created by Aokiji when Whitebeard used his devil fruit¡¯s power to make giant waves. The fall of huge chunks of ice made the marines on the ice below move and retreat on solid ground. The impact left holes on the ice and some of the bigger chunks started to float like some iceberg. He made float the biggest and blocked the way behind the Moby Dick. ¡°No one is going after them. Not when you all have more important things to do.¡± ¡°There is nothing more important than purging the world of your brothers¡¯ blood and putting down Whitebeard.¡± announced Aikunu who finally decided to move forward and enter the action. ¡°Really? I would have thought that stopping ckbeard for breaking out every simple prisoner in Impel Down would be THE top priority. I mean, some guys in there¡­ ugh.¡± ¡°You¡¯re lying.¡± ¡°Jimbei was locked in Level 6 and I came here with him. Isn¡¯t it proof enough? You want a witness perhaps? How about Boa Hancock or Vice Admiral Momonga? She¡¯s the one who captured me when I was at my weakest and brought me there. And Momonga witnesses her bringing me in, to warden Magen himself.¡± ¡°Is that true?¡± asked Sengoku towards Hancock and Momonga. He has been silent ever since Rick took back Ace. That was something that Rick wouldn¡¯t have liked in normal times, perhaps even feared. But now, with his end at hand? He didn¡¯t care one bit. ¡°It is. The night before my departure, hended on Amazon Lilly. I captured him. And brought him with me secretly to Impel Down.¡± answered Hancock with a perfect bitch face. ¡°That¡¯s the truth, Fleet Admiral. I even went with warden Magen himself to Level 6 To put Rick Wald in the same cell as Jimbei.¡± replied Momonga. ¡°Honestly Uncle, you should know better than to distrust my words. By the way, Impel Down is a freaking Circus. The jailers are ipetent, the vice warden only interest is to be the warden, the warden, from what I heard, spends at least nine hours a day in the privy taking a dump. Of all the people working there, the only one with an ounce ofpetence and work ethics that I saw is the Head Jailer. Oh, Uncle Nice, you¡¯d love her, she¡¯s totally your type. Tall, hourss figure and a big pair of¡­¡± He didn¡¯t get to finish his sentence as a molten rock was shot in his direction. He barely dodged it. ¡°Damn it! You¡¯re really a cunt through and through Red Bitch! We were having a nice time chatting.¡± ¡°Kuzan, melt your ice blocking the exit. You and Borsalino take as many men as you can and go to Impel Down. Sakazuki, this mess is yours. Clean it up.¡± ordered Sengoku. Aokiji moved towards the exit to deal with the ice, while Kizaru reallied the marines. Those that weren¡¯t going to Impel Down readied themselves to fight Rick. ¡°Wohoho. I¡¯m stopping you right there guys. I have absolutely no beef with you. The only one I have business with is the red bitch over there. I would appreciate it if you could just step aside and let me put in his ce the asshole who framed me for crimes I didn¡¯tmit.¡± Despite his words none of them made a move to retreat.. ¡°Okay, let¡¯s be real here for a minute. I have not one, but two devil fruit¡¯s power. The first one allows me to, just in case you didn¡¯t notice, control gravity. It¡¯s on the same scale as Whitebeard Gura Gura no mi in destructiveness. Now with my second I can sprout any part of my body anywhere I want and as many as I want AND use my gravity with them. Do you understand how many of you are outssed? If you still wish to fight you¡¯ll only get hurt if you¡¯re not at least a Vice-Admiral.¡± What Rick said held some merit. It would be a bloodbath for the marines too weak. The marine would lose a lot for just one man. It wasn¡¯t worth it. ¡°Anyone below Vice-Admiral rank, retreat. Sakuziki, I gave you an order, what are you waiting for?¡± Not bothering answering, Akainu lunged himself forward. Chapter 78: Devil Trigger III Chapter 78: Devil Trigger III Chapter 78: Devil Trigger III ¡°I¡¯m leaving.¡± announced Mihawk. ¡°What?¡± said a Vice-Admiral near him. ¡°I was summoned to fight in the war against Whitebeard. Whitebeard is gone with Portgas D. Ace and his crew. The war is over, you lost it. There is no need for me to stay here anymore.¡± He walked away and passed by Hancock. Her face was devoid of any emotion, but her eyes were full of sadness and pride. She was sad that the man she had loved for so long would be gone soon and proud of the way he chose to go. She remember when he chose to help her, aplete stranger, and put his whole career and life on the line for runaway ve. Theparison was easy. Here he stood, protecting strangers with every ounce of life he had left. It¡¯s so like him, she thought. No one would ever believe that the celf-centered empress felt love for someone else other than herself. She wanted to stay. Wanted to witness hisst stand. But she couldn¡¯t. If she did she would be forced to fight him and she couldn¡¯t do that. At least, that¡¯s what she told herself. The truth was, she didn¡¯t have the strength to watch him die. Looking at him onest time before she averted her eyes and walked back towards her ship where she could go back to her quarters and mourn out of view from anyone. The only two shichibukai who stayed were Domingo who enjoyed the show and Kuma who was now nothing more than a soulless puppet to the World Government. On the Marines¡¯ side. Sengoku and Garp, still on the execution tform,were watching Akainu and Rick fight as they were joined by Tsuru. ¡°You should not be here, Tsuru.¡± said Sengoku. ¡°Neither should Garp.¡± she replied. Sengoku was about to retort when Garp spoke up. ¡°Enough Sengoku. She can¡¯t fight him, just like I can¡¯t, and just like you can¡¯t, don¡¯t begrudge her for it when you¡¯re guilty of the same.¡± That shut Sengoku up. Garp was right, he couldn¡¯t do it, and hoped that one of his subordinates would make it quick. As the fight was going though, it was unlikely. ¡°He¡¯s gotten stronger.¡± said Tsuru. ¡°Of course he did. Did you think he would sit on his ass andze around for ten years?¡± replied Garp with a frown on his face. If only he knew the truth. What an irony. ¡°We trained him too well.¡± said Sengoku. ¡°To think he would see through your n, while arriving in the middle of it and then counter it.¡± replied Garp. ¡°Hepletely won the war by himself.¡± dered Tsuru with a slight hint of pride in her tone. ¡°HA! That he did. Taking Ace like that, even you didn¡¯t see that oneing!¡± chided Garp. ¡°I didn¡¯t. I should have and I didn¡¯t.¡± ¡°Getting too old for the job eh?¡± ¡°We¡¯re the same age you idiot!¡± replied Sengoku, angry. ¡°It¡¯s not about age, it¡¯s about the outlook you have of life!¡± ¡°With you doing stupid shit constently, my outlook of life killed itself years ago!¡± ¡°What do you mean stupid shit! I¡­¡± ¡°ENOUGH!¡± yelled Tsuru, pping the back of the head of their friends. ¡°Our.... The kid we raised is fighting and doing a good job of it, despite being outssed.¡± she added in a calmer tone. ¡°He really would have made a great Fleet Admiral.¡± dered Garp. ¡°His sense of justice is too strong.¡± retorted Sengoku. ¡°You¡¯re wrong. Heck, you don¡¯t even believe a single word of what you just said.¡± said Garp. ¡°He would have been better than any of us. He would have done what we never could. He would have brought order to changes he would have made.¡± ¡°You¡¯re right Tsuru. He would have. Damn you Sakazuki! Damn¡­ Damn¡­ me¡­¡± ¡°Sengoku?¡± ¡°What do you mean damn you?¡± Both Tsuru and Garp were looking at Sengoku questionically. He was gritting his teeth and his hands were close into fists. ¡°He¡­ contacted me during the Enies lobby incident.¡± ¡°Yes, and he turned down your offer, that¡¯s not a well known secret around here but it is known.¡± said Garp. ¡°He had conditions. Two to be exact. One I agree without any problem, the other¡­ I could not.¡± ¡°What were they?¡± asked Tsuru. ¡°The first one was to leave Nico Robin alone. From what Rick told me, she¡¯s not interested in the antic weapons. Just the history of the missing century. He argued that the chances of her ever finding it was slim to none. He¡¯s right on this ount.¡± ¡°Eh! That¡¯s my grandson, protecting hisdy. I taught him well!¡± bragged Garp. ¡°What are you talking about?¡± asked Sengoku, looking at Garp like he said something incredulous. ¡°Hisdy?¡± Tsuru¡¯s face was stoic but inside she was having a bout of jealousy. ¡°Didn¡¯t Kuzan tell you? He¡¯s dating her.¡± ¡°He¡¯s what?!¡± eximed Tsuru. A criminal dating her Rick was not eptable. If Rick was here and could read minds, he would have said that she spent too much time with Kaza. Or at least he would have thought so, too scared to confront Tsuru openly. That wouldn¡¯t have ended well for him. Meanwhile Sengoku was rubbing his temples. ¡°Thank god nobody knows. It would have been a nightmare otherwise.¡± ¡°The R.A. would have had a field day if they could have put their hands on them.¡± said Garp. ¡°What was the second condition?¡± asked Tsuru who calmed herself once again and tried to redirect the conversation for her peace of mind. ¡°He wanted Sakazuki disgraced and on the run for the next ten years.¡± confessed Sengoku. ¡°And you didn¡¯t ept?!¡± yelled Garp. ¡°I couldn¡¯t! Sakazuki is one of the three Admirals of the marines! Distracting him would put the Navy in a really bad light.¡± ¡°He¡¯s batshit insane! That¡¯s what he is!¡± ¡°I know! I always knew! And seeing Rick right now, you don¡¯t know how much I regret not agreeing! Especially now that I¡¯m about to retire. With everything that happened, the Gorusei is going to select him as my recement despite my rmendation for Kuzan.¡± Nobody said anything. There was no point, as what was done, was done. ~~~~~ While Sengoku, Garp and Tsuru were having their conversation, Rick was sweating like he never did before. Out of the 23 Vice-admirals that were present for the war, around half went with Aokiji and Kizaru to Impel Down. Of those left, two were not fighting and were sitting on their ass next to Sengoku. That left Rick facing ten of them and the cherry on the top was that Akainu was fighting too. Until now he survived by using his gravity to dodge and to put himself in situations where Akainu¡¯s magma shots were too costly if they hit his allies. Had it been low ranking marines, he would not have hesitated, but fortunately for Rick, they weren¡¯t. That didn¡¯t mean the fight was easy though. Fighting the whole CP-9 was easier inparison. He needed to deal with the vice-admirals and fast, his target was akainu after all. The first thing to do for him was to stop being defensive. Rick propulsed himself high in the air, out of reach for any close quarter attacks even for those marines who had superhuman strength and could jump very high. Once at a good height he unleashed an attack he always wanted to use but was too scared of his destructiveness. Raising one arm above his head he used his gravity. Soon enough a few dozen small meteorites fell down from the sky right onto the battlefield where his enemies were. Between the melted ice¡¯s vapor, the fumes of melted rock and cloud of dust he didn¡¯t see in time the gigantic magma shot sent his way. He dodged toote and lost his right arm in the process. He screamed loudly, and the shock and the sheer pain made him lose control of his gravity and he fell. In a stroke of luck he crashed into one of the few spaces of ice left intact. As quick as he could he tried to get his bearings back, to ignore the pain and bring himself back up. Thanks to a small breeze, what was making the surroundings hard to see was beginning to clear up. Once everything was gone, Rick could see the results of his meteor shower. None of the vice-Admiral were left standing, some were missing, perhaps were they devil fruit users who fell into the sea. He didn¡¯t know, however, was that Akainu was still standing, seemingly unfacted and unscathed. ¡°What¡¯s the matter, red bitch? Having some problem with aiming with your old age? Don¡¯t worry, gramps is having this problem too. Maybe it can help you with it.¡± ¡°Always so arrogant and disrespectful, even with one foot in the grave.¡± ¡°One foot in the grave? A bit presumptuous I¡¯d say.¡± ¡°What do you think you can do with one missing arm?¡± ¡°This?¡± said Rick pointing to his missing limb. ¡°It¡¯s just a flesh wound.¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°One snap of my fingers and the wound is gone.¡± Just as he said, Rick snapped his fingers with his remaining hand, and at the base of the stump a seed appeared and sprouted into an arm. A left arm when the arm he lost was his right. ¡°Oops! Wrong one!¡± The arm quickly disappeared and was reced by the correct one. ¡°Holy shit, I can¡¯t believe that work. Why was ¡°regrow limbs¡± not in the description when I bought the fruit? Wait, how durable does that make me? Can I regrow anything other than a limb like an organ? Could I regrow my heart? The brain? No, probably not the brain since I need to think about what to sprout. Regardless, it doesn¡¯t feel like a sprout does usually but more like my actual arm. That¡¯s crazy.¡± ¡°You¡¯re going to have to try a little harder than that.¡± Rick said with a smirk. That infuriated Akainu beyond reason. Until now, with the presence of the vice-admirals he was holding back, letting them do the work and only attacking when he saw an opening. He was alone now and had his orders. Akainu started to fight for real, and Rick was once more reminded of the strength and power that an Admiral of the Navy holds. The ex-marine had his stamina nearly depleted, ever since he escaped his cell, he was always on the move. His stunt to stop the war and let the Whitebeard pirates and the New world pirates escape? A tremendous effort. Summoning the meteors cost most of the stamina he had left. He was in dire straits, while Akainu had justzed around most of time. Rick began to dodge less effectively to the point that the Admiral got him again. In the waist this time. Without missing a beat, Rick sprouted back the missing part, it did take a few seconds however as he never sprouted such a part of his body before and was not used to it. Finally he couldn¡¯t fight anymore. Rick fell on his knees exhausted. He was picked up by the throat by Akainu who looked him dead in the eye. Not so tight that he couldn¡¯t talk. This was the moment he was waiting for. ¡°Seems like I won.¡± said Rick. ¡°Still delusional.¡± ¡°You kill me now and I will live forever.¡± ¡°Nonsense.¡± ¡°You think it ends with me? No, quite the contrary, that will be the beginning. People will rise, people will stand up for themselves, for freedom. They will fight for it, now that they know that gods can be hurt. That the celestial dragons are just weak, spoiled, entitled garbage of human waste that can bleed. People are tired to be oppressed, to be ves despite having no cor around their necks. To be at the mercy of scums that didn¡¯t earn anything in their life, that were just born and inherited their privileges from their ancestors from 800 years ago when they have to work to death everyday to pay for the heavenly tribute. People will rise. People will make a stand." ¡°Enough. Time for you to burn to ashes. But don¡¯t worry, soon, I¡¯ll send your captain,Nico Robin and the rest of your whole crew to join you.¡± ~~~~~ Back to the execution tform, Sengoku, Garp and Tsuru, kept watching the fight. They were not affected by the meteor shower Rick made. All three of them knew why, but didn¡¯tment on it. No, they were fine just watching in silence. That is until they heard his parting words. ¡°He¡¯s right. So much so it hurts.¡± said Garp. ¡°There is nothing we can do about it now.¡±mented Tsuru. ¡°Fortunately the video feed was cut off a while ago. Blurting out the truth of the world and dying¡­ He may have be a martyr. Put the seed of revolution in the head of people. In one single moment he would have done better than the R.A. did in more than a decade.¡± stated Sengoku. Their conversation was cut short when Rick suddenly moved at lightning speed. Water rose obstructing their view, followed by the eerie sound of torn flesh and a loud bang noise. Something had hit the wall just below them. They took a look, curious, and saw Akainu, embedded into the steel te that was still in ce, unconscious and missing an arm. ¡°What the¡­¡± began Garp before being cut off by Tsuru. ¡°What is that?¡± she said in disbelief her tone carrying a bit of fear. ¡°Need sses? That¡¯s¡­¡± ¡°Garp look.¡± interrupted Sengoku. Garp looked up to Sengoku and saw him pointed forward. Following the direction of his friend¡¯s finger he saw a strange sight before him. ¡°What the heck?!¡± he eximed ¡°You don¡¯t know anything about that?¡± asked Sengoku. ¡°Why would I?!¡± ¡°You raised him.¡± ¡°Tsuru did too! And so did you!¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know what¡¯s happening to him, that¡¯s why I¡¯m asking you!¡± ¡°Do you think he was hiding it from us? I¡¯d understand why, ck horns, ck wings, a gleeful and sadistic smile, he looks like a devil from fairy tales.¡± said Garp. ¡°No. Rick may have had the habit of twisting the truth a bit, but he never outright lied or kept secrets from us. Maybe Kuzan knows something?¡± ¡°HO!¡± eximed Garp in surprise, recollecting a peculiar event Aokiji shared with him years ago concerning Rick. ¡°So you do know something! Spill it!¡± ordered Sengoku. ¡°I¡¯m not sure it¡¯s rted, but remember back when Rick was under Kuzan? There was an incident.¡± ¡°The basta mission? You think that¡¯s what happened there?¡± asked the Fleet Admiral. ¡°What about the basta mission? I thought Rick rescued the princess and dealt with the kidnappers?¡± asked Tsuru, clearly out of the loop. ¡°That¡¯s what the official report says but¡­¡± began Garp ¡°The way he dealt with the kidnappers was never put down on paper.¡± finished Sengoku. ¡°What happened?¡± ¡°We don¡¯t know.¡± ¡°You don¡¯t know?¡± ¡°No, Kuzan didn¡¯t know so he couldn¡¯t tell us and Rick himself didn¡¯t either.¡± said Garp. ¡°What do you mean Rick himself doesn¡¯t know?! He¡¯s the one who did it!¡± ¡°ording to Kuzan, Rick has no recollection of what happened. He remembered infiltrating the kidnappers'' hideout, then seeing what they were doing to the women they kidnapped¡­¡± ¡°So the princess wasn¡¯t the only one?¡± ¡°No. They kidnapped women for their own pleasure. What they did to them was so bad that more than ten yearsters some of them are still in a catatonic state. Anyway, Rick remembered freeing an unconscious princess and taking her in his arms, then, from what Kuzan told me, he felt anger and rage like he never felt before. Next thing he knew, he was standing in the middle of the room. And there was blood everywhere. Up to the ceiling. The kidnappers were just lumps of torn apart flesh.¡± ¡°And none of you bothered to tell me?!¡± eximed Tsuru. ¡°When Kuzan gave his report Rick was already on the run, there was no point.¡± eximed Sengoku. ¡°Doesn¡¯t matter now! He¡¯s moving!¡± yelled Garp. He was right, Rick finally started to move. He was walking slowly towards them, looking at them as if they were prey. Despite being veterans of the navy, they never had felt such dread towards someone. And the feeling was getting stronger the shorter the distance between the two parties became. ¡°I think we¡¯re in for the fight of our lives.¡± said Garp in a serious tone. ¡°More like a fight for our lives.¡± corrected Sengoku. Tsuru didn¡¯t say anything, she just raised her rifle, aimed and shot. It was useless, the bullet was repelled at astonishing speed and scratched her cheek, making her bleed a little. Garp lunged forward trying to stop Rick who was now charging towards Tsuru but was sent flying back. Sengoku didn''t hesitate and immediately went into his buddha form and barely stopped a fisting his way. ¡°Stop ying around you two! We can¡¯t let our guards down!¡± ~~~~~ When Rick came to, he was backed up to a wall. Darting his eyes around he recognized the house he was in or to be more urate what was left of it. It was in this house he met for the first time Tsuru and Sengoku, it was in this house he spent so much time when he was off duty. It was this house that at one time he called secretly ¡°home¡±. He tried to move but to no avail. He was feeling too weak. Taking a look at his body he saw the damages; familiar wounds, the exact same type he had after the fight against Moria. ¡°It happened again¡­¡± hemented. ¡°Again?¡± said a voice outside. Looking up he saw Garp standing, holding his stomach and covered in wounds and blood too. ¡°It¡¯s¡­ the third time it happened. Last time was when we were fighting¡­ Moria. And the first was in basta¡­ ten years ago.¡± ¡°So you knew!¡± Yelled Sengokuing to view. ¡°I only learned of it after Moria¡­ My crew was there to witness it¡­. Almost took their lives.¡± ¡°So you were not aware you grow horns, wings and a sadistic trait until then?¡± asked Tsuruing from behind him, entering Sengoku¡¯s house by the hole in the wall. ¡°Wings? I only had¡­ Hornsst time.¡± ¡°So it¡¯s getting worse then.¡± said Garp. ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter, Garp. What matters is what this form is and where ites from.¡± said Sengoku. ¡°The¡­ sea devil¡­¡± replied Rick, his breath getting shorter and shorter. ¡°What?¡± ¡°Ask¡­ Vegapunk.¡± ¡°He knows?¡± asked Sengoku. ¡°Met¡­ him¡­ week¡­ ago.¡± ¡°How?!¡± asked Sengoku but his question was ignored by an apology. ¡°Sorry¡­ Uncle.¡± ¡°You need to be specific here.¡± ¡°Win¡­ ning.¡± At that moment the wall Rick was back to, broke and he fell forward. Garp who was the closest caught him in his arms by reflex. ¡°Grand¡­pa¡­ Tired.¡± Rick said in a whisper. ¡°You can rest now.¡± the old man replied beforeying him down on the floor. As he did so Rick¡¯s hand got caught in the ne Garp was wearing under his shirt, bringing it out. ¡°Still¡­ wear¡­ ing¡­ it.¡± ¡°Everyday since I put it on. Never took it off.¡± dered the marine Hero. ¡°This¡­ ¡­ ce¡­ Hap¡­piest¡­days¡­ of¡­ my ¡­ of¡­my¡­ my¡­¡­¡­. life.¡± whispering Rick out of breath. And like a puppet having his strings cut off, the hand fell taking along the ne. That wasn¡¯t the only thing that fell at that moment as rain started pouring despite the sky being bright blue without any clouds in sight. Chapter 79: I wish you knew how much I carry you with me – always, everywhere I go Chapter 79: I wish you knew how much I carry you with me ¨C always, everywhere I go Chapter 79: I wish you knew how much I carry you with me - always, everywhere I go A week hade to pass since the war with Whitebeard ended and things went from bad to worse quickly. Aokiji and Kizaru were toote when they came to Impel Down. ckbeard had already left and while most of the prisoners, locked on the regr levels, were still in their cells, level 6 was a bloodbath. From a surviving inmate they learned the now former shichibukai forced them to fight for their lives against each other, recruiting only the ones left standing. Magen was found soundly defeated and the vice warden Hannyabal in critical conditions. ckbeard''s stunt cost a great amount of marines and jailers lives to be lost. Rick hadn¡¯t lied. After careful investigation it was discovered that, while The prison was running smoothly, the people in charge were taking some liberties. Had those liberties been not taken ckbeard would have been stopped from even entering the prison. In Marine Ford, it was chaos. The fight between Sengoku, Garp and Tsuru against Rick destroyed half of the base, particrly the side where people were living. Thankfully no civilians were there and with the help of the low rank marines still on site, but had retreated upon Sengoku¡¯s order when they couldn¡¯t leave to Impel Down, reconstruction had already begun. Out of the ten vice-admirals who fought Rick, two were devil users and drowned. The remaining eight would be stuck in a hospital bed for months. Akainu lost his arm for good. Apparently when Rick transformed, he ripped the arm from the shoulder with his gravity and, still using gravity, ¡°cauterized¡± the wound with sea water. Since the admiral was a magma man, the water solidified the wound into rock. The poisoned cherry on top of that cake of shit was the return of Whitebeard in Marine Ford. And he wasn¡¯t alone. He was there with his second inmand Portgas D. Ace, Strawhat Luffy, the now ex-shichibukai Jimbei and at the surprise of everyone the Dark King Rayleigh himself. Whitebeard and Roger were none to be rivals and yet the pirate king¡¯s first mate was there. Was it because of Ace, son of his former captain? Nobody knew, but the most popr rumor was that Rayleigh and Whitebeard were grooming Ace to be the next pirate king. Regardless of the truth the group quickly dealt with the minimal force on site and proceeded to recreate the ceremony of the new year. Albeit they rang the Ox bell 16 times, eight for Ace and Eight for Luffy, under the watchful eyes of both Whitebeard, Rayleigh and every civilian and news that were there to either help with the reconstruction or trying to investigate for the news. Whitebeard that a new Era hase and the Dark King added that the One Piece was not a tale and that it, in fact, existed. While the navy was able to cover up the incident at Impel Down, they couldn¡¯t cover up this or their loss against Whitebeard. What was more damaging and humiliating to the Navy and the world government as a whole though, was Rick¡¯s fight. Why? Let¡¯s take a look into the soon to be former Fleet Admiral¡¯s office to understand. ¡°If it wasn¡¯t so humiliating for the navy I¡¯d be proud!¡± said Sengoku. ¡°Stop lying to yourself, you¡¯re proud of him, he outsmarted you.¡± replied Tsuru, prompting Sengoku to let out a long sigh. ¡°You¡¯re right. I¡¯m proud of him. Bringing back the video feed by using his Me Me no mi powers, without anyone noticing. After he warned us about Impel Down at that, so we would be able to cover it up. God, that was a masterful move.¡± admitted the marine. ¡°But still! His freedom speech against the celestial dragons did damage! I already received reports of towns from all across the world falling into insurrection!¡± he added. ¡°It was doomed to happen sooner orter. If not for his speech, the R.A would have done it.¡± replied Tsuru. ¡°Ugh¡­ I know.¡± ¡°And it¡¯s not like it¡¯s your problem anymore, now that you and Garp retired.¡± ¡°It¡¯s not effective yet, and I¡¯m still on the job, training the new recruits. Speaking of Garp, where is he?¡± ¡°He¡¯s¡­ visiting a friend.¡± replied Tsuru hesitantly. ¡°He doesn¡¯t have any friends besides you and me.¡± stated Sengoku with a deadpan face. ¡°...¡± ¡°Out with it Tsuru.¡± ¡°You¡¯re not going to like it.¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°At my insistence, Garp kept his mouth shut. I didn¡¯t want to, and he agreed on that, to burden you with this information and put you between a rock and a hard ce.¡± ¡°Tsuru. Out. With. It.¡± Tsuru took a deep breath. ¡°Very well, it¡¯s not like it matters much anymore since you¡¯re stepping down.¡± ~~~~~ Gloom Ind - Ruins of the Muggy kingdom. ¡°You should be ashamed Rononoa. Protrasting yourself in front of your enemy? Where has your pride gone?¡± Ask Mihawk. ¡°I don¡¯t feel ashamed, nor should I feel ashamed for doing that. I knew a great man, who wouldn¡¯t have kneel for anything in the world except his wife. He took insults, beatings, scorn, everything you could send him his way and he would have stood straight and took everything in stride. Yet, for the people he loved and cared about, he wouldn¡¯t have hesitated a single second to bend the knee and offer his life. That man was my vice-captain. What would it say of me if I couldn¡¯t do the same? Failing my captain, my friends because I couldn¡¯t prostrate myself and ask for help out of my own misced pride? I refuse to be that disrespectful towards him, not after everything he did for me and my crew. Besides, your head is the only one left in this ce for me to take and I know I don¡¯t have the skills to do it.¡± replied Zoro. ¡°... Pride in someone else and not in yourself¡­ An interesting concept, I admit. I would have liked to meet your friend. Anyway, go get some rest, training starts tomorrow at dawn.¡± ¡°Yes, Sir!¡± said Zoro, smiling. ~~~~~~ Kamabakka kingdom - Grand Line. ¡°You really met them?¡± asked Sanji with a dubious face. ¡°Yes, we escaped together from Impel Down.¡± answered Ivankov. ¡°Riiiiiiight.¡± ¡°What¡¯s up with your face? Don¡¯t believe me?¡± ¡°No.¡± ¡°If anything your story is the one which is unbelievable. Part of the Straw Hat crew you say? What a joke.¡± joked Ivankov. ¡°It¡¯s the truth!¡± ¡°Oh, really? And what are you? The butler? Yes, with your clothes you¡¯re definitely the butler.¡± ¡°I¡¯M THE COOK!¡± ¡°The cook ? Let¡¯s put that to the test then, show you¡¯re really what you say you are.¡± Half an hourter Sanji came back from the kitchen and served Ivankov a dish who ate it with gusto. ¡°Okay, I believe you.¡± ¡°Ha!¡± ¡°It¡¯s edible, but it¡¯s far from true cuisine. You have a lot to learn.¡± ¡°What?! What do you even know about cooking?!¡± ¡°Me? Absolutely nothing, but I ate enough dishes from the 99 cooking masters on this ind that you¡¯re severelycking.¡± ¡°C-cooking masters?¡± ¡°Yes. You see, your food tastes good. That¡¯s the problem.¡± ¡°Isn¡¯t that the whole point? Tasting good? How can that be a problem?¡± ¡°The problem is, it only tastes good. It doesn¡¯t help your body at all. It doesn¡¯t invigorate you, rx you or make you stronger.¡± ¡°Make you stronger?¡± ¡°A true chef brings more than just taste in a dish, he can make a dish that makes your muscles sturdier, denser, all kinds of things like that. Their food builds and shapes the body.¡± ¡°You mean with my cooking I could make Nami-swan and Robin-chan even more sexy?¡± asked Sanji in disbelief with a nosebleed. ¡°In theory? Yes.¡± ¡°In theory?¡± ¡°Like I would give you the recipes for such fine cuisine.¡± ¡°Fine! I challenged you then!¡± ¡°No thanks.¡± ¡°Wh-what?¡± ¡°I¡¯m not interested, besides I have better things to do, and those recipes are the sacred treasure of this kingdom. But I like your enthusiasm, so I have a good challenge for you.¡± ¡°I¡¯m listening.¡± said Sanji, not knowing that this endeavor would lead him straight to the deepest pit of hell. ~~~~~ Wheatheria - Sky Ind. ¡°Is she alright?¡± asked an old man in a robe. ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡± replied another, clothed the same way. ¡°She¡¯s been looking at this bag for a long time. What may be in it?¡± said a third. A few feet from them Nami was on the ground, looking instantly at the bag Rick gifted her back on Sabaody Archipgo. She has been looking at it ever since she read the newspapers, which has long been discarded on the side. Finally she opened it and pulled out its content with both hands. ¡°Is that...¡± began one of the old men. ¡°A devil fruit.¡± added a second. ¡°And a cor?¡± finished a third. Nami looked at the cor on her right hand. It was just a joke between the three of them. Her, Robin and Rick. But now, it represented something more. This was the one and only gift she ever received for the man she loved. Yes, loved. The realization hit her when she read the news about his death. She had joked plenty of times to Robin that she would like to try him, or steal him from her. And while thetter had no such change to ever happen the former did happen. And it changed her feelings towards him, unknowingly to her. She loved him, She loved his stupid jokes. She loved how he could act like a kid but when the situation called for it, was the one she could depend upon the most. She loved how he made her feel safe and loved and cared for. Making a decision, Nami used the back of her hands to wipe away her tears then put the cor on her neck and locked it. Next, she took a good look at the devil fruit. With eyes full of determination she brought it to her lips and took a bite, then another and another until nothing was left of it. She raised herself, stood on her feet and approached the old men with a big smile. ¡°Okay, guys! I forgive you for making me cry! My name is Nami but I¡¯m allowing you to call me Miss Nami. I¡¯m staying here to study the weather and I need a ce to live in for that, so I¡¯m taking that house. Thank you!¡± she said, before leaving behind her dumbfounded old men. ~~~~~ Amazon Lily - ind of Women - Calm Belt ¡°I told you I will train him!¡± screamed Rayleigh. ¡°And I told you I gave my word to the kid¡¯s brother to take care of him!¡± replied Whitebeard. They had been at it for hours. Fighting to see who gets to train Luffy. Speaking of which he was sitting with Ace and Jimbei on the side, watching the two legends having their spat while eating. The fight was put to a stop when a feminine and sensual voice full of anger yelled. ¡°GET THE HELL OUT OF MY ISLAND!¡± Hancock was furious, men were on her ind and it could not stand! She didn¡¯t mind Luffy and Ace as they were Rick¡¯s brother, but the two decrepit old men that were making her home rumble because they were using their conqueror Haki like babies swinging around their toys in a tantrum, she did mind. ¡°Not until we settle who trains the kid.¡± said Whitebeard. ¡°At least we agree on that.¡± added Rayleigh. ¡°I don¡¯t care! Train him one after the other or train him together it doesn¡¯t matter to me! Just leave!¡± ¡°She does have a point, pops.¡± said Ace. ¡°Indeed, you could both train him.¡± supported Jimbei. ¡°Eh¡­ Don¡¯t I have a say in this?¡± said Luffy. ¡°¡°¡°¡°¡°NO!¡±¡±¡±¡±¡± answered everyone present in perfect sync. ¡°Fine. Old men first, you take him for 3 months, then it¡¯s my turn. I know an uninhabited ind not far away. Plenty of dangerous wild beasts to keep him on his toes.¡± announced Rayleigh. ¡°Deal, now lead the way.¡± replied Whitebeard. ¡°Women¡¯s anger. Putting a stop to fights between men, even when it¡¯s between the most powerful men in the world.¡± said jimbei clearly scared of the pirate empress¡¯ fury. ¡°GOT ANYTHING TO SAY JIMBEI?¡± yelled Hancock. ¡°N-no.¡± ¡°THEN SHUT YOUR MOUTH AND LEAVE!¡± Later, Jimbei was the first one to reach the Moby Dick ready to live the ind. ~~~~~ A giant bridge - East Blue. ¡°WE¡¯RE LEAVING FOR BALTIGO!¡± was screamed by a sailor behind Robin, prompting everyone else to finish faster what they were doing. While she was looking beyond the rail towards the horizon a member of the R.A approached her. ¡°The journey wouldst a few days. Thank you foring with us. Mr. Dragon has wanted to meet you for a long time now.¡± ¡°Had I known the members of the Revolution Army were so nice I would have let you contact me sooner.¡± joked Robin. ¡°M-my apologies, we ¡­¡± ¡°It¡¯s alright, I¡¯m just teasing you and I can¡¯t really me you when I was the one being elusive.¡± ¡°Oh!¡± was all the revolutionary could say. ¡°By the way, why is everyone looking so down?¡± ¡°They¡­ took really hard the death of your Vice-Captain.¡± ¡°Rick? Why would they?¡± ¡°For many in the army, mister Wald was just like you, a symbol.¡± ¡°A symbol?¡± asked Robin curious. ¡°Yes. The revolutionary army has been around for a long time. They overthrew towns, countries, kingdoms, but never directly attacked the World Government and the World Nobles. Perhaps it was an impossible task for the members and the people in general. A feat too great, too out there to be realistic. So the day when the news that a freshly promoted enseign tried to assassinate a celestial dragon and the Fleet Admiral of the navy appeared¡­¡± ¡°It showed everyone that it was possible.¡± finished Robin. ¡°Yes but more than that, it showed that our dream of freedom wasn¡¯t just a pipe and unreacheble one.¡± confessed the young R.A. member. ¡°I understand.¡± ¡°You¡­ don¡¯t seem that affected by his passing, were you not close?¡± ¡°I am¡­ was¡­ We were very close, but I made my peace with his death months ago.¡± ¡°Months ago?¡± ¡°Rick was dying. The number of people he told could be counted on one hand and have some fingers left.¡± ¡°If I may ask, what afflicted him?¡± ¡°It¡¯s fine. As for what he was suffering from¡­ Well, we don¡¯t know. He wasn¡¯t sick, or in pain it was just¡­ It was just his body¡­ Actually I¡¯m not sure myself and I don¡¯t think anyone could tell but his body wasn¡¯t healing as fast as it used to.¡± Said Robin before developing a bit more in front of the quizzical look she was getting. ¡°Rick had a super healing factor. A cut? Healed by the end of the day. A fracture? A week. But some months ago his healing factor became normal for an average person.¡± ¡°And that was enough to think he was dying?¡± ¡°No but he felt it.¡± ¡°Maybe he was wrong?¡± said innocently the R.A. member, prompting Robin tough out loud. ¡°Did I say something funny?¡± she asked. ¡°Yes, quite so. Rick is¡­ was always right.¡± answered Robin. ¡°Pardon?¡± ¡°I¡¯ve only known him for nearly a year, but he is... was never wrong when he said something. Not once. His gut feeling was scarily urate.¡± ¡°Really?¡± ¡°Yes. Even when he blurted out the most improbable of things.¡± smiled Robin, averting from the young woman she was talking to and looking back at the sea, reminiscing times when her love was right and without an ounce of humility bragged about it. Sensing it was the end of the conversation the young woman asked if robin needed anything. Still showing her back to her interlocutor Robin grabbed the ne she was wearing. After a few moments of silence she answered. ¡°If you can, please bring me a flower pot, with some soil and dirt.¡± ¡°...I¡¯ll see what I can do.¡± replied the woman with a big smile. ¡°Thank you¡­¡± ¡°Ko, my name is Ko.¡± ~~~~~ Throne room of the royal pce - basta - Grand Line. ¡°Ingaram, is Vivi still in her room?¡± asked king Cobra. ¡°Unfortunately your majesty.¡± replied Ingaram with a sad expression. ¡°It can¡¯t go on. She can¡¯t stay locked up in her room forever like this.¡± ¡°Your majesty¡­¡± ¡°I know, I know. His death was a shock and a big blow to all of us and especially her but she can¡¯t keep mourning him like that.¡± King Cobra, followed by Ingaram in his most trusted men, Chaka and Pell, left the throne room for Vivi¡¯s. Once in front of the door he knocked. ¡°Vivi? It¡¯s me, can Ie in?¡± asked worried father but got no answer. He slowly opened the door and saw his daughter in front of an open window, giving a view to most of Alubarna. She was perfectly dressed with her hair done, just as a princess should. It was a surprise, as during the past week she had been a mess. ¡°Vivi? Are you alright?¡± asked the king. ¡°No father, I¡¯m not.¡± ¡°Vivi, I know that¡­¡± ¡°But I will be, father. Maybe not today, maybe not tomorrow or the day after, but I will be alright. I will be.¡± ¡°... I see. Can I help you with anything ?Do¡­ Do you want to talk about it?¡± ¡°Thank you but no. But you sure can help me father.¡± she said, still looking outside. ¡°Of course, what do you need my help for?¡± Vivi turned around and looked into her father¡¯s eyes. At that moment Cobra didn¡¯t see his daughter but a ghost. The ghost of histe wife. Her face solemn; her eyes burning with determination. The likeness was so strong that Ingaram, Chaka and Pell gasped in surprised. ¡°Father, things need to change.¡± Shocked, the King of basta could only nod slowly to his daughter''s statement. ~~~~~ Foosha vige - Dawn Ind - East Blue. *Knock Knock* A tall and aged man was knocking on the door of a pub as it was too early in the day for the pub to be running yet. The door opened and a young child stood at the entrance holding it. ¡°Grandpa!¡± yelled the young girl, while rushing to hug to death the man. ¡°Good morning Eri! It¡¯s been a while.¡± ¡°Months!¡± ¡°I¡¯m sorry, but work got in the way.¡± ¡°It¡¯s fine, I understand.¡± The old man at the invitation of the youngdy entered the pub and greeted the owner. ¡°Good morning Makino.¡± ¡°Good morning!¡± ¡°Is she awake?¡± asked the man. ¡°Yes, mom is awake. I¡¯ll tell her you¡¯re here. Maybe she¡¯d cheer up seeing you.¡± said the young child before exiting the room. ¡°I¡­ was afraid of that.¡± ¡°Did you really expect for her to react any other way?¡± asked Makino while cleaning sses without looking at him.¡± The awkward silence was broken by a child''s voice. ¡°Mom, are you feeling better? Don¡¯t worry Grandpa is here, he¡¯ll cheer you up!¡± In an instant ady in her mid tote thirties with red-med hair and bright blue eyes rushed into the room towards Garp. He didn¡¯t move one inch, ready to endure anything that was going to happen. The woman pped him hard, then again and again, finally she started punching his chest with both fists. Garp still didn¡¯t move and let her vent. She was yelling at him with everything she had. ¡°HOW COULD YOU?! HOW COULD YOU?!¡± She punched and punched until she couldn¡¯t anymore. Her knees weakened and she fell but got caught in a hug by Garp. She was sobbing. ¡°Mom?¡± asked the little girl confused while Makino got behind her and hugged her too. ¡°It¡¯s alright Eri. Your mom is just ¡­ letting out the feelings she had bottle up.¡± On the other side of the room the woman was still crying and kept whispering in a loop. ¡°How could you?¡± ¡°I¡¯m sorry. I¡¯m so sorry¡­ Kaza.¡± Not a chapter but fun facts #4 Not a chapter but fun facts #4 Chapter 79.5: Not a chapter but fun facts 4 Here we are. Another arc of OFK: One Piece over. This arc was a bit of a pain to write. Especially the Impel Down part. You¡¯ll notice, the Impel Down chapters are not as long as the chapters normally are. They are quite short to be honest. Why? Because Impel Down is perhaps one of the arcs of One Piece I like the least. It was really hard to force, yes you read that right: FORCE myself to write it. The Marine Ford part almost wrote itself. (I enjoyed writing it immensely.) Some changes had been made from my original ideas in this arc.
  • Whitebeard, or as I like to call him Whitestache, survived. He was supposed to stay behind too. But I wanted the focus to be on Rick, so he had to go. It goes a bit against Whitebeard¡¯s rep of not running away. But technically he didn¡¯t. He came for Ace, he got Ace. There was no point in staying there.
  • Another change in the harem. If you remember I said that the harem would have at least 11dies. I decreased that number for the simple reason that I didn¡¯t want an harem member who would have been just here, just because I like her and she¡¯s pretty. I want to have time for them to interact with Rick and for most of them it was impossible. So Head Jailer Domino had to go. Yes Domino ( the pretty blond with sunsses). She¡¯s not the only one who was dropped but you¡¯ll know in the next NaCBs What I can say is that of the harem, only 2 or 3 (still undecided on thest one) we have not met yet.
  • Ivankov and his Newkama should have been at Marine Ford. It would have been too much, and Luffy being dragon¡¯s son would not have been enough, especially when Ivankov didn¡¯t really have some king of rtionship with him, unlike in the manga.
That¡¯s it for the changes. Now for the chapters titles: 65) Katty Perry song. 66) Popr Idiom 67) First to verse of the opening of the anime: Hokuto no ken. 68) Self exnatory 69) Self exnatory too 70) Never yed Super Mario Bros 1 on NES? You missed something (probably a childhood). 71) Quote from Friedrich Nietzsche. Philosopher. A nihilist who also said some shit like ¡° God is dead¡±. 72) Quote from Dwight D. Eisenhower. 73) Monopoly anyone ? No? Okay¡­ 74) A song from the girls band Destiny¡¯s child. ( Beyonce¡¯s band before she went solo I think). 75) Famous US propaganda poster with uncle Sam. (At least I think it is) 76) Quote from T.S. Eliot. 77) Quote from Kiera Cass ( I think). 79) Poem by Ranata Suzuki. That¡¯s all! See you around in NaCB #5 ! Chapter 80: Music is life. That’s why our hearts have beats Chapter 80: Music is life. That¡¯s why our hearts have beats Announcement This is the start of a new arc. Post time skip of course! I intended to do an interlude like I did when Rick left the marines but in the end... nah. It''s a long chapter, perhaps the longest so far. And it should have been perhaps longer if I didn''t stopped when I did. Chapter 80: Music is life. That¡¯s why our hearts have beats ¡°Hey! Are you going to the concert this afternoon?¡± ¡°Of course I am! Everyone on the archipgo will go, well except the pirates maybe and the tavern¡¯s owner I guess.¡± ¡°You know Bellus?¡± ¡°That¡¯s the guy selling antiques on groove 5, right? What about him?¡± ¡°He heard from a friend who heard it from his cousin who heard it from his girlfriend who¡¯s friend with a roadie, that the concert is supposed tost all afternoon and well into the night!¡± ¡°What?! No way! Soul king didn¡¯t release enough songs tost all that time!¡± ¡°That¡¯s what I said! But Bellus assured me that he heard from that friend that his cou¡­ well he heard that Soul King will actually y for the first time new songs. That he tried some new musical genres. That¡¯s why he hired a whole chorus and an orchestra besides his usual musicians.¡± ¡°That¡¯s going to be the musical event of the century!¡± ¡°And we¡¯ll be there to live it!¡± ¡°Hell yeah!¡± The two young men kept walking while talking, oblivious to their surroundings. That¡¯s why they didn¡¯t see a reindeer walking behind them. ¡°Musical event of the century?¡± asked Chopper out loud. He stopped in his tracks and took a look around. Everyone was very active. Shops owners were packing away their merchandise. Some were already done and were closing the door to their business. Inhabitants and tourists were passing by, all walling in the same direction. Because of his short height a store owner bumped into him. ¡°OH?! Sorry kid, didn¡¯t see you there.¡± ¡°That¡¯s okay mister, no harm done.¡± ¡°Good then. Have a nice day.¡± said the man before following other people. ¡°Wait mister!¡± ¡°Yes? What is it?¡± ¡°Where is everybody going?¡± The store owner looked at Chopper as if he had grown a second head. ¡°You¡¯re kidding right?¡± ¡°Huh¡­ No? I just arrived here, so I¡¯m not really aware of what¡¯s happening.¡± ¡°I see, a tourist eh? Still toe today all day on Sabaody Archipgo and not knowing anything¡­¡± ¡°... Sorry?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t apologize kid, you did nothing wrong. As for what¡¯s happening, take a look.¡± said the man pointing at a poster on the wall. ¡°That¡¯s¡­¡± ¡°Soul King is doing a big concert today, that¡¯s why everyone is gathering in Groove 1. That¡¯s where it takes ce. And while the concert begins this afternoon people want to have the best spot, so excuse me kid but I need to go.¡± Chopper thanked the man for helping him while still looking at the poster. ¡°Soul King? But it¡¯s just Brook with a bigger hat and sunsses!¡± Since Brook was the only crewmate he knew the location of Chopper decided to go join him and departed for Groove 1. ~~~~~ Not far from there an alluring woman and a man were exiting a pub. ¡°Okay, what was that?¡± ¡°What was what?¡± ¡°Nami, you just electrocuted the whole pub, just like that! I mean I know you can do it with the clima-tact but you didn¡¯t use it, heck you didn¡¯t use anything!¡± ¡°Ooooh Usopp, you should know by now thatdies have their secrets!¡± answered Nami with a mischievous grin. ¡°Fine! Don¡¯t tell me. Anyway, can you believe it? Some pirates are impersonating us, that¡¯s crazy!¡± ¡°My guess is, they¡¯re trying to use our fame to get more powerful pirates under them. Fine by me if it gets the marines off our backs.¡± ¡°So you¡¯re fine with that ugly fake red-head hag passing as you?¡± asked Usopp with a dubious face. ¡°Nev¡­¡± ¡°Robin!¡± Nami stopped mid-sentence and with Usopp turned their head towards the voice who screamed. ¡°Chopper!¡± The doctor immediately stopped in his tracks to look around for the person who yelled his name. His eyes stopped on his friends who were waving at him. Without thinking twice he ran towards them! ¡°Nami! Usopp! Robin has been captured by the navy!¡± ¡°What?!¡± eximed Usopp while Nami was more level headed. ¡°I doubt it was her Chopper.¡± ¡°But I..¡± ¡°Chopper, Robin has been avoiding capture for more than twenty years, there is no way she¡¯ll just get caught like that. The person you saw being taken was probably an impostor.¡± ¡°An impostor?¡± ¡°Yes, we just dealt with some pirates impersonating us.¡± exined Usopp. ¡°And they¡¯re bad at it, they don¡¯t even look like any of us. Was the Robin you saw anything like you remember?¡± asked Nami. ¡°Well she was short, and mean. She kicked away the fox she had with her.¡± said Chopper. ¡°Robin loves animals, there is no way she would have kicked one.¡± said Nami. ¡°But, but people change!¡± said Choppe. ¡°Chopper, Robin is 6¡¯2 and you said the one you saw was short, there is no way it was her. You can¡¯t change your height in two years.¡± aded Usopp. ¡°And how do you know how tall Robin is, exactly?¡± asked Nami with a tone full of suspicion. ¡°Eeeeeeeeeh¡­.¡± ¡°But¡­ Why would people pass themselves as us?¡± ¡°Because we¡¯re famous Chopper.¡± said Usopp, trying to change the subject. ¡°Hehe, we¡¯re famous!¡± ¡°Not in the good way Chopper!¡± ¡°I already signed an autograph.¡± bragged the crew¡¯s sniper. ¡°Really? Should I practice signing one too?¡± ¡°You can do thatter, we¡¯re going back to the sunny.¡± ¡°The Sunny? Why? I was on my way to see Brook when I met Ro¡­ fake Robin.¡± ¡°Because Brook left a message at Shakky¡¯s. He invited us to his concert. You won¡¯t spend the whole day with your bag on your back, right?¡± ¡°Well, no.¡± ¡°Besides, others may have arrived too and may have gone to the Sunny first.¡± The weak trio left for their home and kept talking about their experience during those two years they were apart. Usopp shared his adventures and training on the ind hended on. He kept to himself his brief overweight period however. Nobody needed to know that. Chopper talked about the natives living on the ind he was on. Apparently while living primitively there technology and knowledge was very advanced. Two yearster and he still couldn¡¯t reconcile the two. As for Nami, she didn¡¯t talk much about Weatheria. She spoke of the old men there and how they treated her but never really rted what her training was. Finally after a bit of a walk they arrived at the hill overlooking the Sunny and saw two people talking on the deck. ¡°Robin! Franky!¡± yelled Usopp and Chopper while Nami was already running towards the ship. Seeing her move so fast, the two followed and when finally they put their foot on the deck they saw her giving a bone crushing hug to Robin while Franky faked being offended he didn¡¯t get the same treatment. ¡°Hey guys! It¡¯s good to see you!¡± said the Cyborg. From there, two groups formed. On one side the guys with Franky showing his new body and on the other the girls. ¡°I missed you.¡± said Nami, her head in the crook of Robin¡¯s neck. She was hugging her fiercely as if Robin would disappear if she let go. ¡°I missed you too¡± was the simple reply the archeologist gave her while stroking her lover¡¯s back to reassure her that everything was fine. The navigator after being reassured enough stopped the hug to look at her friend with watery eyes. Robin,we could finally have a good look at her, stopped staring when she reached her neck. She raised her hand and gently traced what was written on Nami¡¯s cor. ¡°You¡¯re wearing it.¡± ¡°Of course! Ever since¡­ Ever since¡­¡± she began but couldn¡¯t bring herself to speak further. ¡°I never removed it since I put it on and I never will.¡± dered Nami with fierceness making Robin giggle. ¡°He¡¯d beughing his ass off, knowing you¡¯re taking his joke so seriously.¡± ¡°Probably but that¡¯s the only thing I have of him and besides¡­ I like being your kitten.¡± thest part was said in a whisper in Robin¡¯s ear. As she was about to respond to Nami''s bold deration, she was interrupted by Franky. ¡°Does anyone need some help with putting their stuff away?¡± ¡°No thank you, my bag is not that heavy¡± answered Chopper. ¡°My stuff is back at Shakky¡¯s.¡± ¡°And mine is already in our room.¡± finished Nami. ¡°Robin? Need any help with your nt? It seems heavy.¡± said Franky. ¡°It is, but I¡¯ll manage, thank you.¡± she replied while raising her hands and made feet bloom under the huge flower pot that was on the side. ¡°That¡¯s a neat trick.¡± stated Usopp. ¡°That¡¯s a big flower!¡± said Chopper. Indeed the flower was big. At least one meter in diameter and nearly as tall. It looked like a closed water lily. ¡°What kind of flower is it?¡± asked Usopp. ¡°I don¡¯t know, it was given to me.¡± was all Robin said, before going inside the ship followed by Chopper. Franky turned to Nami and spoke up. ¡°Why didn¡¯t you support me there?¡± he asked. ¡°Support you with what?¡± ¡°Where do you think she¡¯ll put it?¡± ¡°Well, it¡¯s a nt, so in the gard¡­ OOOOOh¡± she eximed horrified. ¡°How did you¡­.¡± was her follow-up. ¡°I¡¯m not blind Nami, I saw it on our way to Enies Lobby while we were hostages.¡± ¡°What are the two of you talking about?¡± asked Usop. Nami gave a look at Franky who nodded and went after Robin inside the ship. ¡°Robin and Rick were close. ¡° ¡°Well yeah, anyone knows that.¡± ¡°They were best friends, Usopp, and the only ce she can put that nt iiiiiis¡­?¡± said Franky, hiding the true rtionship between his crewmates. It was their private life after all and it was no one else''s business but theirs. ¡°In Rick¡¯s garden. Shit.¡± said Usopp facepalming. ~~~~~ On her way to Robin, Nami met Chopper, he was already done apparently. ¡°Nami? I thought you were done with your stuff already?¡± ¡°I am, but Robin may need some help after all. Especially yours since I don¡¯t think I have the strength to lift that flower pot.¡± ¡°But I thought she had it handled?¡± ¡°Except she may not be able to enter the garden.¡± ¡°Why?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll exin to youter.¡± Chopper wanted to know more but Nami was already walking away. When the both of them found Robin, she was in front of the garden¡¯s door, her hand on the doorknob. Just standing, frozen. ¡°Robin?¡± ¡°I¡­ I can¡¯t. I can¡¯t do it. I can¡¯t go inside.¡± the brte replied as tears began to fall on her cheeks. Nami stepped forward and hugged her. ¡°That¡¯s okay. I understand. To be honest, I couldn¡¯t do it either.¡± ¡°That¡¯s okay girls, Chopper and I will do it, and we¡¯ll tidy the room a bit, while we¡¯re at it. Go take some rest.¡± said Usopp who arrived running to assist. Nami mouthed a thank you to Usopp, who simply winked and gave her a thumbs up back, before taking Robin away to the girls¡¯ quarter. Once out of sight Chopper asked his question. ¡°What¡¯s wrong with Robin?¡± ¡°Robin was¡­ more affected than any of us by Rick¡¯s passing. He was the one that understood her the most. With their simr past and all that. That¡¯s why they are.. Were best friends. And now her best friend is gone.¡± ¡°But she still got us!¡± ¡°That she does! But that¡¯s not the same.¡± ¡°Like Dr. Kureha and the crew will never rece Dr. Hiriluk?¡± ¡°Exactly!¡± Chopper transformed into his bi-pedal form and lifted the flower pot. ¡°I miss him.¡± ¡°Me too Chopper, me too.¡± replied Usopp, opening the door to the garden and entering inside. Chopper followed him. The sight that weed them was a sad one. Everything was dead. Not a single nt had not withered. ¡°I¡¯m d Robin didn¡¯t see that.¡± ¡°Me too. That¡¯s such a shame, the garden was so beautiful.¡±mented Chopper. ¡°Really? I¡¯ve never been there after touring the Sunny when we sailed with her for the first time.¡± confessed Usopp. ¡°You missed something. I came from time to time to get some medicinal herbs Rick was growing. He really took care of the ce. It was so colorful, and rxing. Everytime I came he served me tea and asked me questions about the use of this or that nt. I always felt better when I left.¡± ¡°Yeah, he always had that effect on everyone. Making you feel better about yourself or just lifting your mood.¡± They didn¡¯t say anything more. Usopp went back a few steps to close the door, just in case Nami and Robin would walk back. He didn¡¯t want Robin to see the state of the room, it was already hard enough for her as it was. Meanwhile Chopper went to the back of the room and put down the flower pot near the desk. ¡°What are you doing?¡± asked Usopp. ¡°Rick was very meticulous, he noted everything down.¡± ¡°Noted what?¡± ¡°Everything. What nt should be put in what soil for example, and many more things.¡± ¡°You can¡¯t put a nt in a random soil?¡± ¡°No. He said each nt is different from another and needs different nutrients but since he didn¡¯t know which nt needed what, he was experimenting and recorded the results.¡± ¡°And what does Robin¡¯s needs?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know, I¡¯m not an expert. But I don¡¯t think any of the soil here is any good. ¡°Why is that?¡± ¡°It¡¯s been two years, they are probably all out of nutrients.¡± ¡°Should we go outside and take some soil then?¡± ¡°No, I don¡¯t think we should, besides I think I have a better solution.¡± said Chopper. He went behind the desk and opened a big chest. Inside he found Ryusei which Rick seems to have left and what he was looking for. He picked them both up. ¡°What did you find?¡± ¡°Rick¡¯s sword, I should probably bring it back to our quarters so Zoro could take care of it. I also found this!¡± ¡°Is that..¡± ¡°Clouds from Skypiea? Yes!¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t know he brought back some!¡± ¡°The trees on the vearth were the same as the ones that were on Jaya.¡± ¡°Well, it was once the same ind after all.¡± ¡°True, but the trees on the vearth were gigantic. Rick and Robin thought that it was because of the clouds.¡± ¡°So we put Robin¡¯s nt in this and we¡¯re good? It will flower in no time.¡± ¡°Yes, but first¡­¡± ¡°We must clean up the ce.¡± Chopper simply nodded and they began their task. That asked Franky for help to get rid of everything, which he happily obliged as it allowed him to show his new methrower abilities. ~~~~~ As Usopp took charge of the situation, Nami led Robin to their bedroom where she put her on their bed. The brte was still silently shedding tears and the redhead took her once again in her arms. ¡°It¡¯s going to be alright.¡± ¡°I know! It¡¯s just¡­ It¡¯s just¡­ I thought I had made my peace with it. I really did! I didn¡¯t cry when I heard the news, nor did I for the next two years. I thought I was okay but¡­ when I was going to open the door I¡­¡± ¡°Everything felt real for the first time? That if you opened that door, he would be gone for good?¡± ¡°Yes¡­ It¡¯s stupid I know but¡­¡± ¡°It¡¯s not stupid, Robin. When I said that I couldn¡¯t do it either, I wasn¡¯t saying that to make you feel better. I felt the exact same way as you did yesterday when I was in front of that very same door.¡± They didn¡¯t talk more, they just sat there and hugged in silence until Robin stopped crying. ¡°Let¡¯s freshen you up a bit before we go out.¡± ¡°I¡¯m such a mess. I¡¯m the oldest here, and your owner at that. I should be the one taking care of you.¡± said Robin, making an attempt at a joke. ¡°It¡¯s fine. It¡¯s not like it happens everyday. I mean, Robin, you¡¯ve been bottling up all those feelings for years.¡± ¡°I can¡¯t go around the fact that you became even more mature than before. Gone is the young little kitten from two years ago and now a woman is standing in front of me.¡± ¡°Pleeeeease. I became a woman the moment Rick pounded me into the mattress then into oblivion.¡± joked Nami, making Robinugh. ¡°That¡¯s true. God¡­ he really was good at that.¡± ¡°Well, I have no one topare him to so my opinion doesn¡¯t hold any weight but I agree.¡± ¡°Oh believe me, he was the best.¡± ¡°Really?¡± ¡°Really. The thing I did with my tongue? He was way better.¡± Robin answered in all seriousness. ¡°No way!¡± ¡°Uh-huh. And let¡¯s not forget the extra body parts he could make. That alone makes him the best.¡± ¡°Ugh. I¡¯m horny now.¡± ¡°Too bad we need to go.¡± said Robin with an annoying grin. ¡°ARGH!¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry, if you behave, then tonight¡­¡± said Robin, letting the unspoken words hang in the air. ¡°Toniiiiiiight what?¡± asked Nami. ¡°Behave and you¡¯ll see.¡± answered Robin as she left their bedroom. ¡°That¡¯s animal cruelty!¡± Nami yelled. But no other answer came than her owner¡¯sugh. ~~~~ The group on the Sunny went to Shakky¡¯s bar to see if anyone else had arrived. On the way Robin caught Franky and let the others walk a bit ahead in front so she could talk with him privately. ¡°Thank you.¡± ¡°What for?¡± asked Franky. ¡°For trying to help me avoid¡­ I didn¡¯t even think about it until I was in front of the door.¡± ¡°Oh! That¡¯s alright. I did push Nami and Usopp to help, though.¡± ¡°I already thanked them, and Chopper too.¡± ¡°Good.¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°Nami told me that you knew about¡­ Rick and me?¡± ¡°I did.¡± ¡°But how? Nami knew because she was indirectly involved but¡­¡± ¡°I already knew back in the Puffin Tom. To be more urate, that''s when I found out.¡± ¡°But we were not together yet at the time!¡± ¡°Perhaps but I knew he loved you. The way he took care of you, talked to you, looked at you. I¡¯m surprised the CP-9 didn¡¯t catch on, his n would have failed here and there if they did.¡± ¡°Really? I didn¡¯t notice. I mean, yes he was flirty before but I thought that was just that.¡± ¡°Had you been in the right state of mind I¡¯m sure you¡¯d have realized. In fact you did realize. I don¡¯t think anyone will forget that kiss you gave him.¡± snickered Franky, making Robin blush and grin at the same time. ¡°When we left Water Seven, with how you were acting with each other, I just knew.¡± ¡°Thank you for not saying anything.¡± ¡°Bah! It¡¯s alright. Wasn¡¯t anyone''s business but yours. If you wanted us to know, you would have told us.¡± ¡°Were we really that obvious?¡± ¡°Nope. Well you weren¡¯t at least. Rick on the other hand¡­¡± ¡°Aplete open book.¡± smiled Robin. ¡°I confess, sometimes that threw me off a bit, making second guess myself but I became sure when we fought Moria.¡± said Franky, remembering this particr event. ¡°Does anyone else know?¡± ¡°Brook may have suspected something. From time to time I caught him looking at the two of you andughing to himself. But the others? Nah, they¡¯re too dense for that. Why, though? Would that be a problem?¡± ¡°No.. It¡¯s just¡­ that was¡­ ours. Just ours. But now? I do feel some regrets for not being open about it. I wouldn¡¯t have wasted so much time.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t say that. Look at it from another angle, the few private moments you had together were even more meaningful that way.¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°You¡¯re right. That¡¯s surprisingly insightful, for a Cyborg.¡± joked Robin ¡°Well, my human psychology and human interaction programs are really good.¡± replied Franky, making Robin¡¯s eyes grow big. ¡°Do you really have such programs?¡± ¡°Eh, who knows.¡± the cyborg answered with a mocking grin. They caught up with the weak-trio and arrived at Shakky¡¯s bar where everyone paid their respect to Rayleigh and Shakky. Thetter told them that Sanji had arrived and had Zoro with him. Both left towards the stadium where Brook was having his concert, with V.I.P. pass in hands. Those passes were left by a member of Brook¡¯s staff. The only one left to get on the ind was Luffy, and considering how forgetful he is, Nami took his pass with her and asked Shakky to send Luffy their way if he ever came here, to which the bar owner agreed. ~~~~~ ¡°THAT¡¯S NOT THAT WAY EITHER!¡± yelled Sanji. ¡°It¡¯s a shortcut.¡± ¡°NO IT¡¯S NOT! The stadium is literally in front of us and you were going back the way we came!¡± Zoro didn¡¯t say anything and just ignored Sanji going his own way. They had left Shakky¡¯s bar almost 2 hours ago and going to the stadium from there was just a short 30 minutes walk. Sanji was at his wits¡¯ end and his temper began to re. Fortunately, Zoro was met by the rest of the crew, who didn¡¯t get lost. Everyone was happy about the reunion, though it didn¡¯tst long as Sanji passed out from nose bleeding after seeing Nami and Robin. Two years in the Kamabakka Kingdom didn¡¯t do him any good and made him even more weak to women. Chopper didn¡¯t waste any time going full doctor on him. Once the cook was up and about again, they walked towards the Stadium. Once at the entrance, Usopp stayed behind to wait for Luffy and his pass, while everyone else was led to the V.I.P. room. Room was an over reach though, as the space reserved for the crew was actually the roof of the stadium. They had a view of everyone and everything and no one around to bother them. ¡°Isn¡¯t it a bit much?¡± asked Franky to the member of the staff that brought them here. ¡°The Soul King said that everyone could hang out freely without being annoyed by the fans that way.¡± ¡°We¡¯re pretty far, though, how are we supposed to see anything?¡± asked Sanji. ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it! You can¡¯t see it now because of the curtain but there is a giant screen at the back of the scene airing what¡¯s happening on it. You won¡¯t miss a thing!¡± Couches and armchairs were there for them in more numbers than the number of people in the crew. Zoro asked about refreshments and the staff member notified him that once the show began, food and drinks would be brought to them. Brook had apparently briefed his staff about the crew¡¯s appetite and thirst. As the employee was leaving Usopp made his appearance. His face was as white as a sheet. ¡®Usopp? Are you okay?¡± asked Chopper. ¡°Ba¡­ ba..¡± he mumbled. ¡°What about Luffy?¡± wondered Nami. Usopp kept quiet and walked like a Zombie to the nearest seat where he crumbled. ¡°What¡¯s wrong with him?¡± said Zoro. Before Chopper could give an answer, a voice they knew well call out to them. ¡°GUYS !!!¡± Everyone turned their head to see their captain wearing his famous straw hat. He was the only one who didn¡¯t change much after two years, with the exception of his clothes. He was now wearing a white overcoat who felt oh so familiar to them. ¡°¡°¡°Luffy!¡±¡±¡± Most of them gathered around, happy to see their friend again. Chopper was asking question after question when Franky interrupted him. ¡°Luffy, who¡¯s your friend?¡± A few feet behind him stood a tall and beautiful woman, carrying a bundle of cloth in her arms. ¡°Oh?! That¡¯s Hancock!¡± ¡°Hancock as in the pirate empress?!¡± asked Nami. Luffy didn¡¯t have the time to give a reply as Sanji was grabbing him by the cor, shaking him with all his strength while mumbling some sort of cursed chant. Hancock stepped forward and said a simple ¡°Hello¡± to the crew. Now being, so close, everyone could see that the bundle of cloth was actually a very cute baby! Nami immediately squealed in front of this overwhelming cuteness. ¡°A cute baby!¡± she screamed. ¡°BABY!¡± screamed Usopp who was brought back from his trance. ¡°Luffy had a baby!¡± he added. ¡°¡°¡°¡°¡° WHAT ?! ¡±¡±¡±¡±¡± ¡°It¡¯s not mine!¡± ¡°¡°¡°¡° THANK GOD ! ¡±¡±¡±¡± ¡°Hey!¡± protested Luffy clearly offended. ¡°Sorry Luffy, but you¡¯re not exactly the most responsible person. At least when ites to raising a child.¡± said Nami. ¡°... Fair enough.¡± Nami got close to Hancock to have a better look. Sensing what the thief wanted, the pirate empress made an offer. ¡°Do you want to hold her?¡± ¡°I¡¯d love to! What¡¯s her name?¡± ¡°Lynda.¡± replied Hancock while delicately handing her daughter to Nami. Once in her arms, the navigator began rocking the baby gently, who opened her eyes and smiled. Nami nearly dropped her from shock. She knew to whom those blue and gray eyes belong . She raised her head and looked at Robin who was by her side. She got close too to get a better look. To her surprise, Robin was genuinely smiling. The girls formed a group and sat on the biggest couch, while the guys were on the side. It was Hancock who spoke up first. ¡°So¡­ he was telling the truth.¡± ¡°About?¡± asked Robin. ¡°You, not minding ¡­.¡± ¡°Yes, he was. It was my idea actually.¡± ¡°Really?¡± ¡°Really.¡± Robin answered with a knowing smile. ¡°If anything, Rick was against the idea.¡± announced Nami. ¡°Any other man would jump at the opportunity.¡± stated Hancock. ¡°But he wasn¡¯t any other man, and I guess that¡¯s one of the many things we loved about him.¡± replied Robin. The two others nodded in silence. Nami handed Lynda to Robin, who treated her with care. Looking in those familiar eyes her eyes started to water a bit. ¡°Robin¡­¡± ¡°It¡¯s alright. I¡¯m just¡­ both happy and sad. Sad that he¡¯s gone but happy that a part of him is still in this world.¡± She started caressing the child¡¯s cheek lovingly prompting the target of her affection to giggle. ¡°She¡¯s adorable.¡± ¡°That she is. So much that Luffy started ying the role of the protective uncle.¡± ¡°What? No way!¡± said Nami. ¡°Well not at first, but Ace was spoiling her so much he had to intervene.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know what is more difficult to believe in, that Ace is an irresponsible uncle or that Luffy is the responsible one.¡± joked Nami, making the two othersugh. ¡°How has he been doing since Whitebeard¡¯s passing?¡± Robin asked. ¡°He¡¯s been stressed a lot. Many of Whitebeard''s pirate allies deserted when he died along with some members of the crew. They didn¡¯t like that Ace was Roger¡¯s son and got to seed Whitebeard.¡± ¡°Must not have been easy.¡± ¡°No he wasn¡¯t but I think Lynda cheered him up good when he came to visit Luffy, after the funeral. She was just born and he fell head over heels with her.¡± They sat there in silence for a few minutes before an announcement was made that the concert would be starting soon. The stadium was more than full, and a big crowd was gathered outside waiting for the chance to maybe sneak in. ¡°I should go, loud noises are not good for a baby, despite how special this one is.¡± said Hancock raising up from the couch. Robin handed back her daughter, after giving a gentle kiss on her forehead. Just before leaving Hancock spoke one final time to Robin. ¡°If you ever need to hide, you¡¯ll be wee on Amazon Lily. I agreed to the deal and intend to honor it even if he¡¯s gone..¡± stated Hancock ¡°Are you fine with being with a woman?¡± Robin asked, surprised. ¡°No men are allowed on the ind, how do you think I get any relief?¡± answered Hancock with a smirk before departing with her baby girl for good, leaving behind a stunned Nami and Robin. ~~~~~ Lights in the stadium turned off, Except for one who focused on a specific spot on the curtain. The public went silent and the sound of an electric piano ying began. The curtain opened revealing,in the center front, just where the lightnded, their friend Brook and around him plenty of musicians and singers. ¡°The heart is a bloom Shoots up through the stony grounds. There¡¯s no room¡­¡± ~~~~~ ¡°I don¡¯t know that song.¡± said Nami ¡°Me neither.¡± said Usopp. ¡°I heard from people in town that Brook would sing songs never heard before from plenty of different musical genres, and that¡¯s why he has so many musicians with him, and that the concert will gote into the night.¡± informed Chopper proudly. ¡°I hope they¡¯re all as good as this one! I love it!¡± dered Luffy. ~~~~~ ¡°That¡¯s right! It¡¯s a beautiful day isn¡¯t it?¡± said Brook in his mic, after the song ended. ¡°We¡¯re all gathered here today, to spend a good time together. With friends, or with strangers. Some of you may have heard some rumors about what¡¯s about to happen and why this concert is so long. That¡¯s true. I¡¯ll tell you why once the show is over, so please be patient! What I can tell you is that some of those songs are about or for my precious friends. They are here today, somewhere, after a separation of two years. So you see, this concert is in part a celebration for our reunion.¡± At that point the crowd yelled and pped their hands, happy for their idol. ¡°Now guys, let¡¯s y a game. Try to guess what songs are for whom!¡± Without adding another word he started a new song. ~~~~~ ¡°A challenge, eh? Fine, I ept.¡± said Zoro. ¡°As if you could guess even one!¡± chidded Sanji. ¡°No offense Zoro, but I never saw you being interested in music.¡± said Usopp. ¡°That¡¯s because I¡¯m not, but the songs are about us so it won¡¯t be really difficult to guess it right.¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°He¡¯s not wrong.¡± said Franky after a long silence among the group. ~~~~~ ¡°My oh my, do you wanna say goodbye? To rule the Country, baby, you and I?...¡± ~~~~~ ¡°I don¡¯t think this one was about us. It was really catchy though.¡± said Usopp and everyone nodded. ~~~~~ ¡°When I walk in the spot, (yeah), this is what I see (Okay) Everybody stops and they staring at me I got passion in my pants and I ain¡¯t afraid to show it. (Show it, show it, show it) I¡¯m sexy and I know it (ayy¡­)¡± ~~~~~~ The crew wasughing at the lyrics but most of all at the dancers on stage wiggling around in nothing but a speedo. ¡°That¡¯s... That¡¯s definitely your song Franky!¡± said Usopp in a fittingugh. ¡°Damn! Even the dance and the poses are good!¡± the cyborg answered, happy that Brook wrote such a good song with him in mind. ~~~~~ ¡°Every move you make And every vow you break Every smile you fake Every im you fake I¡¯ll be watching you¡­¡± ~~~~~ ¡°While the song is pretty, it¡¯s giving me the chills.¡± said Nami. ¡°Yeah, it kinda has some creepy stalker vibes¡± agreed Usopp. ¡°That¡¯s not one of our songs.¡± announced Sanji. ~~~~~ Foosha vige - East Blue. ¡°Atchoo!¡± ¡°Mom, you¡¯re alright? Did you catch a cold? Do you need your jacket?¡± ¡°No, I¡¯m fine Eri. I guess some people, somewhere are just talking about me.¡± said Kaza. ~~~~~~ ¡° Herees the rain again Falling from the stars Drenched in my pain again¡­¡¯ ~~~~~ ¡°That song is so sad.¡± said Luffy. ¡°Yes.¡± said Chopper with watery eyes. ¡°Not one of them though.¡± stated Robin. ~~~~~ ¡°I knew we''d find you here.¡± said Tsuru to the tall and big man in front of her looking at a tombstone. ¡°...¡± ¡°Garp, It¡¯s been two years.¡± said Sengoku. ¡°Not yet. It would be two years in a week.¡± ¡°You need to move on, old friend.¡± ¡°I did. I just¡­ It¡¯s not like it matters anyway. I¡¯m more or less retired now. But stil, I can¡¯t help but feel that I failed him somehow. Much more than I did Dragon, or Luffy or Ace.¡± ¡°There¡¯s nothing further from the truth.¡± said Tsuru before adding. ¡°You gave him a home, you gave him a family, you gave him a chance to reach his dreams. Any choice he made was his own decision, you can¡¯t me yourself for that.¡± ¡°You¡¯re right. Of course you¡¯re right. I know it. In my head, I know it but in my heart¡­¡± ¡°Come on Garp, let¡¯s get out of this rain for some tea.¡± said Sengoku. ~~~~~~ ¡°What a lovely, lovely night For a drink and a parade. We''ll dance until the morning light, This town should be afraid¡­¡± ~~~~~ ¡°Yep, Brook song, no doubt about that.¡± said Franky. ¡°I like how the voices all have different tones.¡± said Robin. ~~~~~ ¡°So lock up your daughter Lock up your wife Lock up your back door And run for your life¡­¡± ~~~~~ ¡°Sanji.¡± ¡°Sanji.¡± ¡°Sanji.¡± ¡°Dumb-ass cook.¡± ¡°Shishishi, that¡¯s Sanji¡¯s song.¡± On the side, a cook was sitting on the ground, knees up to his chest, crying tears of blood. ~~~~ ¡°We must be swift as the coursing river With all the force of a great typhoon With all the strength of a raging fire Mysterious as the dark side of the moon¡­¡± ~~~~~ Nobody spoke, but everyone was looking at Usopp. ¡°What?¡± he said. ¡°¡°¡°¡°¡°¡°¡°....¡±¡±¡±¡±¡±¡± ¡°What?!¡± ¡°¡°¡°¡°¡°¡°¡°....¡±¡±¡±¡±¡±¡± ¡°Ohe on!¡± ¡°¡°¡°¡°¡°¡°¡°....¡±¡±¡±¡±¡±¡± ¡°Fine it¡¯s mine¡­ It¡¯s my song.¡± he said with anime tears falling down his face. ~~~~~ ¡°She''s a rebel She''s a saint She''s salt of the earth and she''s dangerous¡­¡± ~~~~~ ¡°This one doesn¡¯t really fit any of us but¡­¡± began Usopp. ¡°Yeah it fits her..¡± said Luffy. ¡°Who¡¯s her?¡± asked Franky. ¡°Princess Vivi Nefertari, she was a member of a crew before we arrived at Water Seven.¡± replied Nami. ~~~~~ ¡°Your majesty! Your majesty!¡± ¡°What is it Ingaram?¡± said King Cobra. ¡°It¡¯s the princess !! She suddenly got angry during training and is currently proceeding, and seeding, to give a beating to every single royal guard.¡± ¡°What are you waiting for! Call for Chaka and Pell!¡± ¡°They were the first to fall, your majesty! She took them by surprise!¡± ~~~~~ ¡°Carry on my wayward son There¡¯ll be peace when you are done¡­¡± ~~~~~ ¡°I think¡­ That one is for Chopper.¡± said Robin. ¡°Yeah me too.¡± agreed Nami. ¡°Really?¡± asked the reindeer. ¡°It seems like it.¡± replied Usopp. ¡°I¡¯m d my song is nice.¡± was all Chopper said, sitting on his seat rocking from right to left in the rhythm of the melody. ~~~~ ¡°''Cause I''m rising up Never giving up Never say never This fight ain''t over¡­¡± ~~~~ ¡°That¡¯s mine.¡± said Zoro ¡°Howe HE, of all people, gets a cool song!¡± whined Sanji. ¡°Because I¡¯m awesome and you¡¯re not.¡± ¡°RAAAAAAGH.¡± That was too much for Sanji whounched himself at his rival, starting a fight. ¡°I didn¡¯t miss that.¡± said Nami to which everyone agreed. ~~~~~ ¡°One true alpha female puts you on the level Messing with this broad is messing with the devil She will make sure her lesson you will learn Once you cross her you will never return¡­¡± ~~~~~ Every single one of the guys stood straight, frozen. Staring straight in front of them, no daring to make eye contact. They were holding their breath, stupidly hoping that her vision was based on movement. They knew, should they move an inch, they were doomed. ¡°NOT. A. WORD.¡± said Nami with a deathly re making them sweat cold sweat. They didn¡¯t dare disobey her, but thought nheless. ¡°¡°¡°¡°¡°¡° It fits you to a T.¡±¡±¡±¡±¡±¡± ~~~~~ ¡°Every journey starts a new romance A new world''s calling out to you Take a turn Off the path Find a new addition to the cast You know that any captain needs a crew¡­¡± ~~~~~ The song was so catchy and groovy that the public was dancing, the straw hat crew was no exception. Robin and Nami were dancing together, while the guys were moving around. Even Zoro was moving his head from side to side while tapping the ground with one feet. There was no doubt this was Luffy¡¯s song and the captain seems to like it a lot. ~~~~~ ¡°I''m a survivor, I''m not gon'' give up I''m not gon'' stop, I''m gon'' work harder I''m a survivor, I''m gonna make it I will survive, keep on survivin''...¡± ~~~~~ Nami hugged Robin on one side while Chopper, in his normal form, jumped on the other, hugging her too. The rest of the crew were screaming their agreement to the song and Robin¡­ Robin was just smiling, happy to be here. ~~~~~ The show didn¡¯t have any break, it was hours of music non stop. The musicians, all except Brook of course, took turns ying so they wouldn¡¯t be too tired. The show went on and on and the public was still as energetic as ever but as the night was already well advanced Brook signaled his band to stop. ¡°It¡¯s been hours now that we all enjoy ourselves together¡­.¡± ¡°¡°¡°¡°¡°¡°¡°¡°¡°YYYEEEEEEAAAAAAHHHHHH!¡±¡±¡±¡±¡±¡±¡±¡±¡±¡± ¡°It¡¯s time for me to make an announcement. After the next two songs, I¡¯ll take an indefinite break to travel the world with my friends.¡± ¡°¡°¡°¡°¡°¡°¡°¡°NOOOOOOOO!¡±¡±¡±¡±¡±¡±¡±¡±¡± ¡°I know that during this journey I''ll have plenty of inspiration to write new songs. So this is not a goodbye but more of a see youter.¡± ¡°¡°¡°¡°¡°¡°¡°¡° SOUL KING! ¡±¡±¡±¡±¡±¡±¡±¡± ¡°¡°¡°¡°¡°¡°¡°¡° BROOK! ¡±¡±¡±¡±¡±¡±¡±¡± ¡°Anyway, here¡¯s the penultimate song¡­¡± People quieted down, Brook gave a sign to a drummer,who yed in a simple rhythm. The only other instrument you could hear was the acoustic guitar that he was ying. ¡°Anything for you, All of this is true. But the best story that I could ever tell Is the one where I¡¯m growing old with you¡­¡± ~~~~~~ Back to the roof of the stadium, the entirety of the straw hat crew was standing up in silence. The most sensitive and emotional of them were crying without emitting a single sound. They all knew for whom that song was for. They didn¡¯t have to take a guess, they didn¡¯t have any doubt about it. They knew. It was both sad and happy. Both beautiful and heart wrenching. It was an amazing homage to their dear friend who was now gone. It was a bittersweet moment. A moment that was broken by a gunshot. A fat man with a straw hat was leading a group of pirates into the stage while multiple groups of pirates were blocking the exit of the stadium and threatening people. ¡°My name is Monkey D. Luffy! I¡¯m taking everyone here hostage until I find that redhead bitch that friend of hers with a bob! You have 10 minutes to bring them to me or I¡¯m starting shooting people and I¡¯ll start with Soul King here!¡± said the Luffy wannabe while pointing a gun at Brook¡¯s head, who wasn¡¯t scared one bit. In fact he was more angry than anything. The fat pig interrupted the tribute to his vice-captain and he will not let it slide. ¡°You just made the biggest mistake of your life.¡± Chapter 82: WE GO! Chapter 82: WE GO! Chapter 82: WE GO! The sun has been up for a couple hours now and everyone was in the dining room having breakfast. Despite how draining it was the previous day everyone seems to be in top shape especially Nami who was positively glowing. " Is everyone ready ? " asked Franky. " YEAH !!! " yelled Luffy. " Should we say goodbye to Rayleigh and Shaky? " wondered Usopp. No one had the time to say anything as an explosion was heard from outside. Everyone exited the dining room for the deck. There, they saw multiple marine''s ships on the sea shooting cannonballs in their direction. ¡°That will make things difficult.¡± said Usopp. ¡°Franky, can we leave now?¡± asked Luffy. ¡°Yes but if we¡¯re hit by one of those cannonballs it will break the coating Rayleigh installed and we¡¯d be stranding on the surface.¡± replied the cyborg. ¡°That¡¯s fine, go ahead I¡¯ll take care of¡­¡± ¡°No need, I¡¯m on it.¡± interrupted Nami at the surprise of everyone. ¡°Nami?¡± asked Chopper but didn¡¯t get any answers. Instead Nami moved in front of them and raised her hands. Immediately dark clouds appeared above the marines¡¯ ships and a few dozen gigantics lightning bolts fell on them. Some ships sank immediately being torn apart, others were quite damaged and on fire and would soon join the others. The entire crew had their jaw on the ground wondering what just happened. ¡°N-Nami¡­¡± ¡°How..¡± Brook and Usopp didn¡¯t have the time to ask their questions; a new explosion came from thend this time. Turning around they saw two pacifistas, and Kizaru¡¯s nephew, Sentomaru. A whole bataillon of marines behind them. Without hesitation Sanji and Zoro rushed overboard and ran towards them, each taking one Kuma clone down, while Luffy threw a pistol punch reinforced with armament Haki right into Sentomaru¡¯s face sending him flying away. The marines around were shocked in fear and didn¡¯t dare to move. The monster trio simply ignored them and went back to the Sunny just in time as Franky activated the coting, caging the ship into a giant bubble. They quickly sank under the sea andughed at the sight of all the marines'' ships sinking along with them not far away. The crew was amazed by the surroundings as they were falling to the bottom of the ocean. Both by the fauna and flora. After a very simplified exnation about what to do and NOT to do (along with several punches for Zoro and Luffy who were about to exactly do the forbidden) Usopp finally asked. ¡°Nami what did you do?¡± ¡°Yes?¡± ¡°That rain of lightning? That¡¯s definitely not something the clima-tact can do. Heck! You didn¡¯t even use it! You just raised your hands.¡± ¡°You ate it?¡± asked Robin ¡°I did.¡± answered Nami with a big smile. ¡°Ate what?¡± asked Luffy. ¡°The Tenki Tenki no mi.¡± ¡°You ate a devil fruit?¡± asked a surprised Chopper to which Nami noded. ¡°Wait! Wait! Wait! Where did you get a devil fruit? And howe Robin is at the same time surprised and knows about it?¡± questioned Usopp. The twodies looked at each other and Robin shrugged her shoulders. ¡°Do you remember when we left thriller back? There was plenty of gold inside Sunny?¡± ¡°Yes, wasn¡¯t it the pink haired girl that put it there when she tried to steal Sunny?¡± asked Usopp. ¡°Perona.¡± said Zoro. ¡°What?¡± Usopp. ¡°Her name is Perona.¡± ¡°... How do you¡­¡± ¡°Long story.¡± ¡°Anyway¡­ It wasn¡¯t her who put the gold and treasure there. It was ¡­ Rick.¡± she confessed. ¡°¡°¡°¡°¡°¡°Rick?!¡±¡±¡±¡±¡±¡± ¡°Yes, When Usopp, Chopper and I got separated from him back in Hogbak¡¯s mansion.¡± ¡°Who?¡± asked Luffy. ¡°The guy that made the zombies.¡± answered Chopper, still bitter about that. ¡°But I thought...¡± ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter!¡± interrupted Nami before continuing. ¡°Rick scouted the area and found their treasure room and put everything on Sunny. What the zombies were transporting were just empty chests. Among the treasures were two devil fruits.¡± ¡°Why didn¡¯t he say anything?¡± said Sanji. ¡°He was in aa, remember? And after that, I don¡¯t know.¡± ¡°He told me about them back on Sabaody Archipgo.¡± said Robin taking over. ¡°One of them was the Tenki Tenki no mi and was perfect for Nami. The other¡­ he never mentioned anything about it other than his existence.¡± ¡°I see¡± said Sanji. ¡°But when did he give it to you and what powers did the fruit give you?¡± asked Usopp. ¡°When he stormed out of Shaky¡¯s bar. As for the powers¡­ Well, I can control the weather.¡± answered Nami. ¡°The weather as in¡­¡± began Brook. ¡°The winds, the clouds, the sky¡­ I can make a storm at sea or make one disappear.¡± ¡°Or make lightning bolts rain.¡± said Robin with a smile on the corner of her mouth.¡± ¡°Or make lightning bolts rain.¡± repeated Nami with a big smile. Once again the guys¡¯ jaws dropped to the floor. That was such a powerful ability and it had so many uses. ¡°How did he know?¡± asked Zoro. ¡°Know what?¡± asked Nami. ¡°That this fruit gave those powers.¡± ¡°He memorized the whole devil fruit encyclopedia, remember?¡± said Robin. ¡°He did?¡± ¡°Weren¡¯t you there when he talked about it back on Water Seven?¡± asked Nami. Seeing no recollection from Zoro, the conversation went on. ¡°Wait, if Rick gave you one, where is the other?¡± asked Sanji. ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡± replied Nami. ¡°Perhaps in his room?¡± wondered Franky. Though she hid it well, Robin was panicking and so did Nami. They had spent the night in Rick¡¯s room and with their activities there, much evidence of their rtionship was in in sight. That was no good. ¡°I already checked when I came aboard Sunny the other day and there was nothing there.¡± Nami said quickly. ¡°What¡­ What about the garden? Did you find anything?¡± helped Robin. Usopp and Chopper exchanged a look and shook their heads negatively. ¡°No, the only thing we found were his notes and his sword. By the way Zoro , could you take care of it?¡± said Usopp to which the swordsman nodded. ¡°His notes? About what?¡± asked Franky. ¡°Gardening.¡± replied Chopper to the confusion of many. ¡°He was trying several things to get the best medicinal herbs, best vegetables and the best flowers.¡± he added. ¡°Medicinal herbs and vegetables, I get it¡­¡± began Brook ¡°I don¡¯t! Why grow vegetables?! They are awful!¡± said Luffy making a disgusted face that everyone ignored. ¡°But flowers?¡± finished Brook. ¡°That was his hobby.¡± answered Robin to which the skeleton nodded. Having a look around Nami noticed that it would take some time at the speed they were going to be deep enough to reach one of the currents leading to fishman ind. ¡°Since we have some time, why not talk about what everyone did after we got separated?¡± She said. ¡°Oh! Me first! Me first!¡± dered Luffy jumping from one foot to the other with one hand raised. ¡°Go ahead.¡± ¡°Inded on women''s ind!¡± ¡°SAY WHAT?!¡± yelled Sanji, grabbing his captain. ¡°DO YOU KNOW WHERE I LANDED? DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA OF THE HELL I WAS IN WHILE YOU WERE THE ONLY MAN ON THE ISLAND EVERY MAN DREAM OF?!¡± ¡°No but you can tell us when it¡¯s your turn.¡± said Luffy, frowning. That made Sanji let go and he sat back mumbling. ¡°At first it didn¡¯t go well¡­.¡± he started and went on to rte everything that happened until leaving with Ace and Whitebeard. ¡°Hancock has a fast ship and caught up with Whitestache¡¯s. There she invited us back to her ind, so they could resupply and hide in case the marines went after him.¡± ¡°Whitestache?¡± asked Usopp. ¡°That¡¯s what Rick called Ace¡¯s pops. It stuck.¡± said Luffyughing. ¡°God, I hope he didn¡¯t call him that right to his face.¡± Usop said dumbfounded. ¡°Oh he did, and everytime I called him afterwards during training he was super pissed.¡± replied Luffy, stillughing. ¡°Wait! Training? You trained with Whitebeard?¡± asked Sanji. ¡°And Rayleigh too! They even fought about it on Hancock¡¯s ind.¡± ¡°That¡¯s¡­¡± began Sanji. ¡°Unreal¡± ended Usopp. ¡°They were making the ind shake so much that Hancock kicked them out.¡± ¡°She kicked two of the strongest fighters in the world just like that?¡± ¡°What do you mean ¡®just like that¡¯ ? Hancock is super scary when she¡¯s pissed! You should have seen her while she was pregnant with Lynda.¡± said Luffy, trembling. ¡°So for two years you trained with both Whitebeard and Rayleigh?¡± asked Zoro. ¡°No. The first three months were with Whitestache and the next three with Rayleigh. After that, except the week I spent at Hancock¡¯s side for her delivery and thest month, I was alone on a deserted ind.¡± ¡°By the way¡­ This overcoat, where did you get it? It reminds me of¡­¡± started Usopp. ¡°OH! That¡¯s Rick¡¯s. He gave it to me before he stayed behind. Hancock had it patched up and resized for me.¡± answered Luffy spinning around, showing the clothes. ¡°I never understood why he didn¡¯t buy a new one.¡± asked Chopper. ¡°He said because Nami wore it while naked.¡± replied Luffy,pletely mixing what Rick had told him about it. ¡°¡°SAY WHAT?!¡±¡± yelled Sanji and Brook at the same time before jumping on their captain. ¡°GIVE IT TO ME!¡± ¡°HECK NO! IT¡¯S MINE!¡± The two perverts started a fight that was quickly put to an end by multiple love-punch from a tomato red Nami. ¡°Luffy is that it?¡± asked Robin. ¡°Yep.¡± ¡°Who¡¯s next?¡± said Franky. ¡°Oh me!¡± replied Usopp. For the next hour everyone spoke about their solo adventure. Zoro being trained by Mihawk, Usoppnding on a carnivorous ind, Chopper with the natives he met¡­ Sanji¡¯s turn brought him a lot of sympathy, especially from Brook. Robin was thest to go. ¡°Wait a minute, you went back home? As in Ohara?¡± asked Usopp dumbfounded. ¡°Yes. The Revolution Army needed a ce for their new Headquarters as they believed Baltigo waspromised. So on the promise that they wouldn¡¯t change thendscape too much and keep it a secret I allowed them to create their new HQ there.¡± said Robin, prompting Nami to get closer and hug her sides. ¡°It must not have been easy.¡± she said. ¡°It wasn¡¯t but not as much as I thought.¡± answered Robin with a sad smile. ¡°How so?¡± asked Chopper who somehow got into herp. ¡°There was not a trace left of what the marines did. Rick cleaned everything and even built some habitations. It was perfect for the R.A., food was ready to be harvested, a mill was in working condition; it was like a normal ind, just deserted.¡± ¡°Did you see¡­¡± started Nami hesitantly. ¡°My mother? Yes, I did. He made her a nice tombstone in a secluded and quiet ce. She¡¯s resting in peace in a beautiful ce, that¡¯s more than I have ever dreamt of for her. I always believed that she and everyone else would just ¡­ be there on the ground....¡± replied Robin still with her sad smile on. ¡°Man, the R.A must have had a field day!¡± said Franky trying to change the subject and lift up the mood a bit. ¡°You have no idea. Compared to their former HQ it was paradise for them. When I told them who did everything they lost it. They already respected Rick a lot but after that¡­¡± ¡°Oh my god! They thought he built everything for them?¡± eximed Nami. ¡°Not quite. They thought that he did all of this because he was preparing himself to deal with the world nobles.¡± she began. ¡°They had stars in their eyes, Nami. I- I couldn¡¯t tell them the truth.¡± Robin finallyughed. Once again, Nami looked around and finally saw the downward current leading to fishman ind. She warned everyone, again, of the do and the don¡¯t, which this time Luffy and Zoro listened to. That¡¯s when their adventure really began. Fighting and taming a Kraken? Check! Almost being eaten by an anglerfish and saved by a water spirit? Check! Starting a fight against the water spirit? Double Check and bonus points since it was with the tamed kraken! Escaping an undermarine volcano eruption? Check too! They went from near death experience to near death experience, until finally fishman ind was in sight and after dealing with some hostile fishmen wearing Arlong¡¯s tattoo, they entered the fishman ind. Barely as they had used thest bit of air to get away and ended up in the sea, where everyone lost consciousness. Chapter 82: WE GO! Chapter 82: WE GO! Chapter 82: WE GO! The sun has been up for a couple hours now and everyone was in the dining room having breakfast. Despite how draining it was the previous day everyone seems to be in top shape especially Nami who was positively glowing. " Is everyone ready ? " asked Franky. " YEAH !!! " yelled Luffy. " Should we say goodbye to Rayleigh and Shaky? " wondered Usopp. No one had the time to say anything as an explosion was heard from outside. Everyone exited the dining room for the deck. There, they saw multiple marine''s ships on the sea shooting cannonballs in their direction. ¡°That will make things difficult.¡± said Usopp. ¡°Franky, can we leave now?¡± asked Luffy. ¡°Yes but if we¡¯re hit by one of those cannonballs it will break the coating Rayleigh installed and we¡¯d be stranding on the surface.¡± replied the cyborg. ¡°That¡¯s fine, go ahead I¡¯ll take care of¡­¡± ¡°No need, I¡¯m on it.¡± interrupted Nami at the surprise of everyone. ¡°Nami?¡± asked Chopper but didn¡¯t get any answers. Instead Nami moved in front of them and raised her hands. Immediately dark clouds appeared above the marines¡¯ ships and a few dozen gigantics lightning bolts fell on them. Some ships sank immediately being torn apart, others were quite damaged and on fire and would soon join the others. The entire crew had their jaw on the ground wondering what just happened. ¡°N-Nami¡­¡± ¡°How..¡± Brook and Usopp didn¡¯t have the time to ask their questions; a new explosion came from thend this time. Turning around they saw two pacifistas, and Kizaru¡¯s nephew, Sentomaru. A whole bataillon of marines behind them. Without hesitation Sanji and Zoro rushed overboard and ran towards them, each taking one Kuma clone down, while Luffy threw a pistol punch reinforced with armament Haki right into Sentomaru¡¯s face sending him flying away. The marines around were shocked in fear and didn¡¯t dare to move. The monster trio simply ignored them and went back to the Sunny just in time as Franky activated the coting, caging the ship into a giant bubble. They quickly sank under the sea andughed at the sight of all the marines'' ships sinking along with them not far away. The crew was amazed by the surroundings as they were falling to the bottom of the ocean. Both by the fauna and flora. After a very simplified exnation about what to do and NOT to do (along with several punches for Zoro and Luffy who were about to exactly do the forbidden) Usopp finally asked. ¡°Nami what did you do?¡± ¡°Yes?¡± ¡°That rain of lightning? That¡¯s definitely not something the clima-tact can do. Heck! You didn¡¯t even use it! You just raised your hands.¡± ¡°You ate it?¡± asked Robin ¡°I did.¡± answered Nami with a big smile. ¡°Ate what?¡± asked Luffy. ¡°The Tenki Tenki no mi.¡± ¡°You ate a devil fruit?¡± asked a surprised Chopper to which Nami noded. ¡°Wait! Wait! Wait! Where did you get a devil fruit? And howe Robin is at the same time surprised and knows about it?¡± questioned Usopp. The twodies looked at each other and Robin shrugged her shoulders. ¡°Do you remember when we left thriller back? There was plenty of gold inside Sunny?¡± ¡°Yes, wasn¡¯t it the pink haired girl that put it there when she tried to steal Sunny?¡± asked Usopp. ¡°Perona.¡± said Zoro. ¡°What?¡± Usopp. ¡°Her name is Perona.¡± ¡°... How do you¡­¡± ¡°Long story.¡± ¡°Anyway¡­ It wasn¡¯t her who put the gold and treasure there. It was ¡­ Rick.¡± she confessed. ¡°¡°¡°¡°¡°¡°Rick?!¡±¡±¡±¡±¡±¡± ¡°Yes, When Usopp, Chopper and I got separated from him back in Hogbak¡¯s mansion.¡± ¡°Who?¡± asked Luffy. ¡°The guy that made the zombies.¡± answered Chopper, still bitter about that. ¡°But I thought...¡± ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter!¡± interrupted Nami before continuing. ¡°Rick scouted the area and found their treasure room and put everything on Sunny. What the zombies were transporting were just empty chests. Among the treasures were two devil fruits.¡± ¡°Why didn¡¯t he say anything?¡± said Sanji. ¡°He was in aa, remember? And after that, I don¡¯t know.¡± ¡°He told me about them back on Sabaody Archipgo.¡± said Robin taking over. ¡°One of them was the Tenki Tenki no mi and was perfect for Nami. The other¡­ he never mentioned anything about it other than his existence.¡± ¡°I see¡± said Sanji. ¡°But when did he give it to you and what powers did the fruit give you?¡± asked Usopp. ¡°When he stormed out of Shaky¡¯s bar. As for the powers¡­ Well, I can control the weather.¡± answered Nami. ¡°The weather as in¡­¡± began Brook. ¡°The winds, the clouds, the sky¡­ I can make a storm at sea or make one disappear.¡± ¡°Or make lightning bolts rain.¡± said Robin with a smile on the corner of her mouth.¡± ¡°Or make lightning bolts rain.¡± repeated Nami with a big smile. Once again the guys¡¯ jaws dropped to the floor. That was such a powerful ability and it had so many uses. ¡°How did he know?¡± asked Zoro. ¡°Know what?¡± asked Nami. ¡°That this fruit gave those powers.¡± ¡°He memorized the whole devil fruit encyclopedia, remember?¡± said Robin. ¡°He did?¡± ¡°Weren¡¯t you there when he talked about it back on Water Seven?¡± asked Nami. Seeing no recollection from Zoro, the conversation went on. ¡°Wait, if Rick gave you one, where is the other?¡± asked Sanji. ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡± replied Nami. ¡°Perhaps in his room?¡± wondered Franky. Though she hid it well, Robin was panicking and so did Nami. They had spent the night in Rick¡¯s room and with their activities there, much evidence of their rtionship was in in sight. That was no good. ¡°I already checked when I came aboard Sunny the other day and there was nothing there.¡± Nami said quickly. ¡°What¡­ What about the garden? Did you find anything?¡± helped Robin. Usopp and Chopper exchanged a look and shook their heads negatively. ¡°No, the only thing we found were his notes and his sword. By the way Zoro , could you take care of it?¡± said Usopp to which the swordsman nodded. ¡°His notes? About what?¡± asked Franky. ¡°Gardening.¡± replied Chopper to the confusion of many. ¡°He was trying several things to get the best medicinal herbs, best vegetables and the best flowers.¡± he added. ¡°Medicinal herbs and vegetables, I get it¡­¡± began Brook ¡°I don¡¯t! Why grow vegetables?! They are awful!¡± said Luffy making a disgusted face that everyone ignored. ¡°But flowers?¡± finished Brook. ¡°That was his hobby.¡± answered Robin to which the skeleton nodded. Having a look around Nami noticed that it would take some time at the speed they were going to be deep enough to reach one of the currents leading to fishman ind. ¡°Since we have some time, why not talk about what everyone did after we got separated?¡± She said. ¡°Oh! Me first! Me first!¡± dered Luffy jumping from one foot to the other with one hand raised. ¡°Go ahead.¡± ¡°Inded on women''s ind!¡± ¡°SAY WHAT?!¡± yelled Sanji, grabbing his captain. ¡°DO YOU KNOW WHERE I LANDED? DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA OF THE HELL I WAS IN WHILE YOU WERE THE ONLY MAN ON THE ISLAND EVERY MAN DREAM OF?!¡± ¡°No but you can tell us when it¡¯s your turn.¡± said Luffy, frowning. That made Sanji let go and he sat back mumbling. ¡°At first it didn¡¯t go well¡­.¡± he started and went on to rte everything that happened until leaving with Ace and Whitebeard. ¡°Hancock has a fast ship and caught up with Whitestache¡¯s. There she invited us back to her ind, so they could resupply and hide in case the marines went after him.¡± ¡°Whitestache?¡± asked Usopp. ¡°That¡¯s what Rick called Ace¡¯s pops. It stuck.¡± said Luffyughing. ¡°God, I hope he didn¡¯t call him that right to his face.¡± Usop said dumbfounded. ¡°Oh he did, and everytime I called him afterwards during training he was super pissed.¡± replied Luffy, stillughing. ¡°Wait! Training? You trained with Whitebeard?¡± asked Sanji. ¡°And Rayleigh too! They even fought about it on Hancock¡¯s ind.¡± ¡°That¡¯s¡­¡± began Sanji. ¡°Unreal¡± ended Usopp. ¡°They were making the ind shake so much that Hancock kicked them out.¡± ¡°She kicked two of the strongest fighters in the world just like that?¡± ¡°What do you mean ¡®just like that¡¯ ? Hancock is super scary when she¡¯s pissed! You should have seen her while she was pregnant with Lynda.¡± said Luffy, trembling. ¡°So for two years you trained with both Whitebeard and Rayleigh?¡± asked Zoro. ¡°No. The first three months were with Whitestache and the next three with Rayleigh. After that, except the week I spent at Hancock¡¯s side for her delivery and thest month, I was alone on a deserted ind.¡± ¡°By the way¡­ This overcoat, where did you get it? It reminds me of¡­¡± started Usopp. ¡°OH! That¡¯s Rick¡¯s. He gave it to me before he stayed behind. Hancock had it patched up and resized for me.¡± answered Luffy spinning around, showing the clothes. ¡°I never understood why he didn¡¯t buy a new one.¡± asked Chopper. ¡°He said because Nami wore it while naked.¡± replied Luffy,pletely mixing what Rick had told him about it. ¡°¡°SAY WHAT?!¡±¡± yelled Sanji and Brook at the same time before jumping on their captain. ¡°GIVE IT TO ME!¡± ¡°HECK NO! IT¡¯S MINE!¡± The two perverts started a fight that was quickly put to an end by multiple love-punch from a tomato red Nami. ¡°Luffy is that it?¡± asked Robin. ¡°Yep.¡± ¡°Who¡¯s next?¡± said Franky. ¡°Oh me!¡± replied Usopp. For the next hour everyone spoke about their solo adventure. Zoro being trained by Mihawk, Usoppnding on a carnivorous ind, Chopper with the natives he met¡­ Sanji¡¯s turn brought him a lot of sympathy, especially from Brook. Robin was thest to go. ¡°Wait a minute, you went back home? As in Ohara?¡± asked Usopp dumbfounded. ¡°Yes. The Revolution Army needed a ce for their new Headquarters as they believed Baltigo waspromised. So on the promise that they wouldn¡¯t change thendscape too much and keep it a secret I allowed them to create their new HQ there.¡± said Robin, prompting Nami to get closer and hug her sides. ¡°It must not have been easy.¡± she said. ¡°It wasn¡¯t but not as much as I thought.¡± answered Robin with a sad smile. ¡°How so?¡± asked Chopper who somehow got into herp. ¡°There was not a trace left of what the marines did. Rick cleaned everything and even built some habitations. It was perfect for the R.A., food was ready to be harvested, a mill was in working condition; it was like a normal ind, just deserted.¡± ¡°Did you see¡­¡± started Nami hesitantly. ¡°My mother? Yes, I did. He made her a nice tombstone in a secluded and quiet ce. She¡¯s resting in peace in a beautiful ce, that¡¯s more than I have ever dreamt of for her. I always believed that she and everyone else would just ¡­ be there on the ground....¡± replied Robin still with her sad smile on. ¡°Man, the R.A must have had a field day!¡± said Franky trying to change the subject and lift up the mood a bit. ¡°You have no idea. Compared to their former HQ it was paradise for them. When I told them who did everything they lost it. They already respected Rick a lot but after that¡­¡± ¡°Oh my god! They thought he built everything for them?¡± eximed Nami. ¡°Not quite. They thought that he did all of this because he was preparing himself to deal with the world nobles.¡± she began. ¡°They had stars in their eyes, Nami. I- I couldn¡¯t tell them the truth.¡± Robin finallyughed. Once again, Nami looked around and finally saw the downward current leading to fishman ind. She warned everyone, again, of the do and the don¡¯t, which this time Luffy and Zoro listened to. That¡¯s when their adventure really began. Fighting and taming a Kraken? Check! Almost being eaten by an anglerfish and saved by a water spirit? Check! Starting a fight against the water spirit? Double Check and bonus points since it was with the tamed kraken! Escaping an undermarine volcano eruption? Check too! They went from near death experience to near death experience, until finally fishman ind was in sight and after dealing with some hostile fishmen wearing Arlong¡¯s tattoo, they entered the fishman ind. Barely as they had used thest bit of air to get away and ended up in the sea, where everyone lost consciousness. Chapter 83: Veridis Quo Chapter 83: Veridis Quo Announcement The second part of this chapter was a bit of a pain to write. On one side I needed to tell what''s happening, on the other people who read One Piece already knew of the events taking ce. I tried to make a quick mix of the two so I could start to write the parts that interest me. Please, enjoy Chapter 83: Veridis Quo (I wonder how many will get this obscure reference and out of them how many will get how it''s link to the chapter.) Chapter 83: Veridis Quo Robin woke up. She looked around and saw Nami on a bed next to her. Looking at her surroundings she tried to make sense of where she was. They were not cuffed or in a cell, so the chances of being in an hostile environment were low. She raised herself up to assess the situation better. Suddenly she heard a door open on her right prompting her to turn her head in that direction and raise her hands, ready to do some blooming. ¡±You¡¯re up!¡± eximed the person walking in the room. ¡±Camie?¡± ¡±Yup!¡± answered her mermaid friend with a smile. ¡±Where are the others and how¡­¡± ¡±Mermaid friends of mine found you drowning between the protective bubbles of the ind. They recognized the jolly roger and brought you to me. My ce wasn¡¯t big enough for everyone, so I had to improvise and separate you. Some of your friends are already up and went to explore the ind while you were out cold. I kept Nami and you together¡­¡± exined Camie before being interrupted by Robin. ¡°Thank you.¡± ¡°No need for thanks between friends!¡± said the mermaid with a smile, to which Robin simply nodded in agreement. The brte got out of bed and got closer to Nami to check on her. After kissing her little kitten¡¯s forehead she turned to Camie who had a big smile on her face. ¡±What is it?¡± asked the archaeologist. ¡±Seeing you like that with her¡­I don¡¯t know, it just brings a smile to my face. Are the others still in the dark about your rtionship? I don¡¯t want to make a blunder.¡± asked the mermaid. ¡±We¡¯re still hiding it and they don¡¯t know about Rick either. So please keep keeping our secret.¡± replied Robin earning another nod from Caimie. ¡°Are you two doing alright?¡± That question made Robin pause. And the answer was not an easy yes or no. It wasplicated. For the past two years she had missed him, everyday, despite moving forward, but her breaking down the other day proved that she was not, in fact, alright. Yet with Nami, she could bear it a little better. ¡°I thought I did¡­ It turned out I didn¡¯t. Nami is surprisingly holding it better than I do. We can be okay all day and then something just jolts a memory of him toe to mind. When that happens, it¡¯s difficult but we¡¯re here for each other, so we¡¯re managing.¡± confessed Robin. Caimie nodded again and went to the closet in the room. From it she pulled out Robin¡¯s jacket and sarong. ¡°Here, I washed your clothes while you were asleep.¡± The brte thanked her and took her clothes. She quickly changed from the shirt and short someone had put on her. She searched for her sses when Camie handed them to her. ¡°Are you not waiting for Nami to wake up?¡± the mermaid questioned. ¡°It could take a while, and I¡¯d like to get some fresh air instead of sitting here doing nothing.¡± ¡°I understand.¡± ¡°Does fishman ind have a library, or a town hall with records?¡± ¡°There is a library in Ryugu pce, but you can¡¯t go there. As for a town hall we do have one in the central district. What are you searching for exactly?¡± ¡°I¡¯m an archeologist, so books about fishman ind¡¯s history or the fish folk¡¯s would be great.¡± ¡°Those kinds of records are in Ryugu pce too, however I can have someone show you the way to a bookstore, you might find what you want there.¡± Robin thanked Caimie and one of her mermaid friends led her to the ce. There, the few books she found who were history rted didn¡¯t say much. Mainly about how fishman ind came to be and how its society developed on a social level. Apparently, before the Void Century, fish-men who had the time lived on the ocean¡¯s floor gathered to the only source of lighting from the surface. The how was simple, the sun¡¯s light shone upon what the people called the Sunlight Tree Eve which absorbed it and sent it down to its roots where the light was let out. Robin made a mental note to remember the Sunlight Tree Eve, thinking that maybe it was in some ways rted to the mythical Tree Adam, and continued her reading until she arrived at a part who captivated all her attention. During the void Century, a man named Joy Boy came from the surface and made a promise to the people of the ind. While the promise was not recorded in the book it involved what was called Noah or the ¡®Ship of Promise¡¯, a gigantic vessel half the size of fishman ind. It was currently guarded in the fish-man district, waiting now for more than 800 years for the promise to be fulfilled. The book contained no more information on the subject, she picked another one, this one focusing on the societal aspects of the ind and its geography. She learned that the ind was divided both by ss and by the species of the people who lives there. The richer the people the better the district they lived in. Diggin deeper she found out that Noah was currently in the fishman district, the poorest of them all and the least safe, as the folks living there were preyed upon by many things from simple brigands to vers and with no protection from the ind¡¯s authorities. That piece of information made her change her mind on going there alone to study the famous ship, and without any kind of guide at that. No, she made the decision to go there once the other members of the crew had woken up. Studying a map of the ind, a zone in particr caught her eye. Its official name was the ¡®Sea Forest¡¯ but the book also referred to it as the ¡®Ship Graveyard¡¯. The area was at the bottom of the ind, devoid of any habitations but filled with different species both of flora and fauna. A thought crossed her mind. ¡°Maybe that¡¯s where Sunny is¡­¡± The chances were high for it to be the case as when they entered the protective bubble around the ind they were falling a bit towards the bottom. Furthermore, since many shipwrecks were there, maybe some of them date from the time of the Void century, or close to it, and still keeping any kind of information about it. The trip would be worth it and way less dangerous than going to the fishman district. Making up her mind, Robin closed the book and put it back on the shelf she took it from. Before exiting the store she asked the clerk if detailed maps of the ind were on sale, especially ones leading the way to the Sea Forest. Fortunately for her, that was the case. Now with a goal in mind, the straw hat crew¡¯s archeologist went on her way to her own adventure. ~~~~~ Robin walked and walked for hours to reach her destination, and while she did enjoy being amazed by the diverse fishes and nts the nature of the ind presented before her amazed eyes, this was not what she was looking for. She found better actually, something she didn¡¯t think she would find here in this ce. Getting closer she started to read the poneglyphs in front of her. The content surprised her, as the poneglyphs are separated into two categories. The first one were the historical poneglyphs, rting ancient history and the second were instructionals and led to the first category. But this one was different, it was neither. It was in fact an apology letter from Joy Boy about him breaking his promise to the people of Fishman ind which involved carrying Noah¡¯s purpose. Studying the moss on the cubic stele, Robin determined that the poneglyph hasn¡¯t been there ¡®for long¡¯. Certainly not hundreds of years ago but more like decades. It was obvious that it wasn¡¯t Joy Boy who put the poneglyph here for two reasons. One, he lived during the Void Century. Two, there wouldn¡¯t have been much of a point to leave an apology letter in the backyard of the people you¡¯re apologizing to, especially with how difficult it is to get to fishman ind. Robin wondered who would transport a poneglyph to here. She thought about it for a while until the answer came to her. Gol D Roger. The pirate king himself, with his crew, was the one who brought the ¡®text¡¯ here. She remembers the poneglyph on Skypiea. The stele detailed the location of the ancient weapon Poseidon which was fishman ind. But that wasn¡¯t what led her to her realization. No, what did was the small text on the side of the stele that Rick had told her about. ¡° We came here, found the text, and followed its guidance ¡° quoted Robin out loud. It made sense. Shandora was built around 1100 years ago and disappeared around 800 years ago, during the Void Century, until Nond found it 400 yearster. All along the location of Poseidon was in Shandora. It wouldn''t be far-fetched to think that the man named Joy Boy left his apology letter next to the poneglyph leading to Poseidon meaning, to fishman ind since he couldn¡¯t deliver it himself, otherwise the letter wouldn¡¯t have been needed to begin with. That discovery shocked Robin. ¡°Why would the pirate king deliver the letter here? Am I missing something?¡± she thought. Looking around the poneglyph she noted a subtle difference on the ground near it from the ground in the surroundings. Getting a better look She determined that something heavy, big and in cubic shape used to be there. ¡°Another poneglyph was there! Did the pirate king take it with him when he put the other here? But why? Was it another message? No it wouldn¡¯t make sense. The poneglyph which used to be here was neither a message nor a historical or instructional text, there would have been no point to move it. What was it then? A new type of poneglyph?¡±. Robin didn¡¯t know what to think anymore. She waspletely lost. After examining the area a bit more and not finding any new clues she decided to explore further into the Sea Forest, hoping to find Sunny. That endeavor was an easy task as she heard two voices yelling at each other. One of them, she knew, as it belonged to her captain. Moving a bit faster she saw him fighting with whom she recognized as the former shichibukai Jimbei. Raising her hands she made a clone of herself appear between the two of them. Sanji, who was among the ones present, intervened immediately seeing who he believed was Robin. He just ended up being smacked by the two fighters while the brte made her clone disappear. With the tension gone, Jimbei started telling his story and the one of the fishman ind. Looking around the group, she noticed that Zoro, Brook and Usopp were not there. She got intrigued by the giant mermaid near Jimbei. She was adorably cute despite her size and seemed a bit like a scaredy cat. She reminded her how Nami acted when they began their secret rtionship. It was an enthralling sight. She knew that teasing her would have been a delight. ¡°Rick would have loved going after her.¡± she thought with a pang of sadness and amusement. Nami, seeing her lover watching intently at the mermaid princess, leaned over the former and whispered in her ear. ¡°Is she my new pet sister? You know cats eat fish right?¡± making Robin grin slightly. ¡°Shh you! I admit she¡¯s gorgeous and I would love to have her writhe under me but she¡¯s a bit tall for that. And let¡¯s not forget the whole mermaid anatomy. Besides I¡¯m not one used to ¡­¡± ¡°Seduce? Riiight. Wasn¡¯t it you who seduced me?¡± said Nami with a dubious face. ¡°That was a team effort¡­ He¡­ had the charm, I just reaped any work he did.¡± ¡°Uh-huh. Said the one who gave me out of nowhere a kiss which rocked my world, turned it upside down THEN, proceeded to molest my poor breasts while kissing my neck. ¡°I¡­¡± ¡°Robin, that sent an electric shock to my body, it was tingling all over.¡± ¡°You were not as innocent as she is.¡± Any retort that Nami could have made was forgotten when a visio den den mushi appeared from behind the trees and started disying a direct feed of Hody Jones. With Zoro, Usopp and Brook¡¯s life at stake the crew had no other choice but to confront Hody in battle which changed Jimbei mind to not fight him as Jones himself revealed that he was the was who killed the former queen of fishman ind and framed an human for it, advancing his n of world domination and human envement. Despite having a force of more than 100 000 people the crew of ten dominated the fight. Luffy¡¯s disy of conqueror haki, knocking out half of the numbers, helped a lot. And while the crew was dealing with Jones¡¯manders and the army of fishman ind with the grunts still standing an unexpected danger appeared. The Ship of Promise, Noah, was going to crash onto fishman ind, thanks to the doing of a pirate named Vander Decker, who has been after the mermaid princess for years and got rejected hours ago. He had lost his sanity and decided that since he can¡¯t have the princess, he¡¯d destroy the whole ind, killing everyone. Using his Mato Mato no mi powers, allowing him to target everything he touched with a hand and everything he threw with the said hand would fly towards the target, he targeted the mermaid princess years ago and sent Noah after her. Luffy tried to get on Noah to stop it, hoping that by knocking Vander Decker unconscious the effect of his powers would stop. Meanwhile to save the ind the princess swam away, as the Ship of Promise would follow her. After a hazardous underwater fight between Luffy and Hody along numerous incidents, the former was left with no choice but to destroy the giant ship to the eptance but great sadness of the people of fishman ind. Something unexpected happened however. Thousands of hands sprouted on Noah¡¯s deck where a giant bubble of air was. Luffy was grabbed by one of them and pulled back from his assault against the ship. ¡°Robin! What are you doing?!¡± he yelled to himself as no one was close enough to his location to hear him. Down below Usopp, with his prodigious eyesight and who saw what was happening, was about to ask the brte the same thing when something they believed they would never see again, happened. A dark purple glow began to shine around the thousands of hands. Noah¡¯s fall due to hody getting rid of Vander Decker began to slow down until it stopped for a few moments. That familiar glow was instantly recognized by the strawhat crew. And while separated by their location on the battlefield, they all had something to say or to think. ¡°That¡¯s¡­¡± was all Usopp said. ¡°...Can¡¯t be.¡± ¡°... impossible.¡± ¡°...dead!¡± Nami and Robin werepletely frozen, oblivious to the world around them. Their eyes wide opened, fixed on what was happening.Thetter had tears slowly and silently falling down her cheeks, unaware of it. Even with her sunsses on everyone could see that she was crying. Suddenly the purple light got weaker and faltered until it disappearedpletely. Noah, now free of the force stopping it, began to fall again. Luffy was too out of it and too wounded to continue his destruction of the ship after being stopped in his momentum. All hope seemed lost when Sea Kings appeared out of nowhere, catching in their maws the giant chains attached to the Ship of Promise and leading it away towards the Sea Forest where they couldnd it safely. Everyone cheered; adults, children, the ederly.... Everyone but ten people. They knew why the purple light disappeared. They had witnessed it back on Skypiea when they had to make the giant bean fall. Frantically they began looking around trying to locate him. Right now, more than anyone he needed medical attention because thest time they saw that purple glow faint into nothingness, despite different circumstances¡­. Their Vice-Captain died. Chapter 84: Fatality Chapter 84: Fatality Chapter 84: Fatality Despite being tired everyone, except Luffy who was outside the ind, was frantic. They were searching desperately for Rick all over the ce. ¡°Sanji!¡¯ screamed Usopp to the cook high up in the air, using his own version of Geppo to have a better look at the surroundings. ¡°Did you find him?¡± yelled back Sanji. ¡°No! But take me with you, I have better eyes!¡± Acknowledging the idea, Sanji lost altitude to pick Usopp up and went back where he was. The sniper looked around, analyzing every one on the hills near the za as the rest of the crew were on the ground conducting their own search there, while Sanji was slowly turning him around in a 360¡ã circle. ¡°Wait! Get back!¡± said Usopp. ¡°What?¡± ¡°To the left! Turn me to the left!¡± Sanji did as he was asked and Usopp focused on the highest hill where he had caught a glimpse of movement in the corner of his vision. Taking a better look he saw,dressed in clothes the same color as the coral he was on, someone struggling to get on all four before falling to the ground. ¡°There! It¡¯s him¡± said Usopp pointing his finger in the direction of their friend. He didn¡¯t have to tell Sanji twice as thetter rushed to the hills andnded next to Rick. they both got closer to have a better look at his condition. It was dire. Their vice-captain was bleeding from every orifice on his face. ¡°That¡¯s not good, we need to get Chopper here.¡± said the sniper. ¡°We may not have time.¡± replied Sanji picking Rick up on his shoulder, while grabbing Usopp by the arm. They were in the air once again and saw that Chopper was not far. Faster than a heartbeat he was already moving towards their doctors. Landing by his side he quickly let go of Usopp and put Rick on the ground. ¡°Chopper quick!¡± The reindeer immediately began to assess the situation. Rick had no wounds but was bleeding profusely. ¡°That¡¯s not good.¡± said the doctor. ¡°What¡¯s wrong with him?¡± asked Sanji. ¡°I need to operate now!¡± announced Chopper. As the rest of the crew, including Jimbei, came rushing towards them, Chopper called out to Franky. ¡°Franky, can you sterilize the ce?¡± ¡°What?!¡± eximed Usopp. ¡°You want to operate here!¡± added Sanji. ¡°We don¡¯t have time!¡± yelled Chopper in a grave tone. ¡°Everyone move!¡± Everyone did, and Franky used his methrower andsers right by the side, hoping to kill every germs in the space he was targeting. ¡°Chopper, do you need anything else?¡± ¡°If you can build something,cutting the ce from the outside, do it. I also need a lot of blood.¡± ¡°What type ?¡± asked Usopp ¡°X! Nami please!¡± Nami nodded and came forward, having that blood type. At the same moment Shirahoshinded next to the group with Luffy in her arms. ¡°Mister Luffy is hurt! He needs help¡±. The situation was definitely not good. First Rick in a critical state now Luffy? Chopper took a deep breath before barking orders. ¡°Usopp! Check for the source of Luffy¡¯s bleeding! If it¡¯s a wound, put pressure on it to stop it or at least reduce it.¡± ¡°On it!¡± said the sniper before doing as he was told. ¡°First I¡¯ll make a blood transfusion for Rick, it will give us a bit of time, but I will need a lot more blood than Nami can give, so find me someone with the X blood type. The same goes for Luffy, his blood type is F, and none of us have it.¡± Raising his head to look around he asked the people of fishman ind. ¡°Does anyone have an X or F blood type?!¡± Both types were not rare, but no one in the crew had the same blood type as Luffy, as for Rick, Chopper was also X but was unable to be a donor. Yet no one answered Chopper¡¯s question. Some of the fishmen just hung their heads low, looking at the ground. They couldn¡¯tmit themselves to speak up despite having the correct blood type as exchanging blood between a fishman and a human was taboo. Fortunately Jimbei spoke up. ¡°My blood type is F, take as much as you need.¡± he said, removing his sleeve. Chopper hurried to finish with Nami and Rick before getting more of the equipment needed out of his bag for Luffy and Jimbei. Usopp had stopped the bleeding a bit making it possible for the reindeer to take care of Luffy¡¯s wound in less than two minutes. He then went back to Rick and Nami. While thetter was fine the former was ghostly pale. Franky was finishing the construction of a small wooden room in record time. ¡°Zoro, Sanji, please carry him inside.¡± he asked, but before the two could move, a dozen feet bloomed under Rick and moved him. ¡°I have plenty of hands, Chopper, do you need any?¡± said Robin. She appeared calm and collected but inside she was in turmoil. The man she was in love with was alive and she was perhaps going to lose him again just after getting him back. She would not allow it. She decided that she would do anything she can to save him, and while she may not be knowledgeable in medicine she could still assist Chopper with the power of her Hana Hana no mi. ¡°Yes Robin, thank you.¡± answered Chopper. ¡°Please guide me.¡± ¡°Please wait!¡± Turning around Robin and Chopper looked at the person who stopped them. ¡°I.. My blood type is X.. Please¡­ take as much as you need for mister Vega.¡± said the princess in a shy and worried voice mimicking Jimbei. Her words jolted the mind of the fishmen around. First their hero, Jimbei, ignored the taboo and offered his own blood and now the treasure of their ind, the princess herself did it too. Some let out their voice calling out to the princess but she didn¡¯t seem to care. Chopper was relieved as the mermaid was a good ten meters tall at least. She perhaps had more than five times the amount of blood Nami had. ¡°Thank you princess, it will help a lot.¡± said Chopper with a smile before asking one more thing from Franky. ¡°Franky, do you think you could make a needle big enough?¡± ¡°No problem, I¡¯ll need Zoro¡¯s help though.¡± ¡°What do you need me for?¡± ¡°There are plenty of metal around, I¡¯m sure we can find some with a cylindrical shape and empty inside. I¡¯ll need you to cut one of the extremities in a way that makes it sharp enough to break the skin and a vein. Brook, Usopp if you could find alcohol so I can sterilize the needle ¡­¡± ¡°We¡¯re on it.¡± said Brook dragging the sniper along with him. ¡°What do I do?¡± asked Sanji. ¡°Go back to the Sunny and take as much medical supplies you can, I may not have enough.¡± said Chopper before entering the makeshift room where Rick and Nami were resting, followed by Robin. Sanji was gone and back in a sh, Franky didn¡¯t take too long to find what he was looking for. Once Zoro did his job perfectly the cyborg heated the giant needle and the alcohol it was soaked with. There was no chance for the princess to get an infection now with how through he was with the sterilization process. Meanwhile, all around, people were quiet, some holding their breath here and there waiting anxiously from Chopper toe out of the room with news. King Neptune and his sons got close to Jimbei. ¡°Your majesty.¡± ¡°Jimbei, who¡¯s that man?¡± asked the king. ¡°The one being operated on right now?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°His name is Rick Wald, or as he calls himself now Wal D Rick.¡± said the fishman. ¡°Who is he? He seems important to their crew.¡± asked the first prince. ¡°He¡¯s their vice-captain.¡± ¡°Oh! That exins their worry.¡± ¡°He¡¯s also the man who saved me from Impel Down two years ago, and put an end to the war between Whitebeard and the Navy.¡± ¡°He¡¯s that man? But, didn¡¯t you tell me he died staying behind to let everyone escape?¡± asked Neptune. ¡°I thought too, until I saw that dark purple light on Noah.¡± ¡°That was him?¡± ¡°Yes, that purple light is him controlling gravity. He probably tried to reverse the gravity of Noah and send it away but it was too big. I think that¡¯s why he¡¯s in that state. He must have gone beyond his limits.¡± Neptune didn¡¯t ask anything more to Jimbei, and just stood solemnly, staring intently at the makeshift room. Robin exited the Room, while supporting Nami. She made sure she was alright then turned to the princess. ¡°Princess Shirahoshi, are you still willing?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± replied the princess, not in her usual weak voice. Seeing this her father wondered, why his daughter would do this for a stranger. Turning his head to look at Jimbei he let out the question he had in mind. ¡°Jimbei?¡± ¡°Your majesty?¡± ¡°Why?¡± ¡°Because it doesn¡¯t matter. Fishmen, merefolks, humans¡­ Someone needed my blood, so I gave it. I¡¯m not saying that I would have done it for every human, but this one¡­¡± said Jimbei looking at Luffy with a smile. ¡°He¡¯s a good one. We only have been in contact with humans persecuting us, but the world is vast. I''m sure there are plenty of humans out there who don''t care either if we¡¯re different. Besides, he¡¯s my friend. What kind of friend would I be if I couldn''t help him in his time of need when he just did the same for me when I didn¡¯t even ask for his help in the first ce?¡± Hearing those words Neptune became pensive, still looking at his daughter and the makeshift room. The answer Jimbei gave was so simple and yet¡­ ¡°The man in there¡­¡± began the fishman ¡°He did far more than just put an end to the war by himself.¡± ¡°What did he do?¡± ¡°He dered war on the celestial dragons.¡± The king turned his head immediately to look at Jimbei as if he hadn¡¯t correctly heard him. ¡°Twelve years ago, he tried to assassinate a celestial dragon and two prominent members of the navy, while being a marine himself. From what he said he was framed, but he has absolutely no love for the World Government that¡¯s for sure. And then two years ago, when a mermaid friend of them was capture and brought to the ve auction, both him and his captain knocked out a family of them.¡± ¡°That¡¯s¡­¡± ¡°During the war, while he faced ten vice-admiral and admiral he made a resounding speech about the tyranny of the celestial dragons, how they unjustly enved people just on a whim and treated them like cattle.¡± ¡°Did he really dere war on the World Government?¡± ¡°They both did, for the freedom of others.¡± said Jimbei with a small smile. King Neptune went quiet and looked once again at his daughter, sitting next to the room, a needle in her arm and her blood flowing into a tube that went inside the shack. Perhaps there was still hope for humans and fishmen and merfolk to co-exist. He went to sit next to Shirahoshi. ¡°Father?¡± ¡°My blood type is X too. If you¡¯re getting tired I can take over, I¡¯m not that hurt after all that fighting.¡± said the king with a smile. Seeing the king himself joining their hero and their princess in their endeavor was a declick for their people. Some went to the crew waiting around and told them that if needed they could use their blood too. Looking at his people, Neptune''s smile grew. ¡°Yes there is definitely hope. Do you see that dear? Your dream is still alive.¡± he thought. ~~~~~ ¡°I don¡¯t understand.¡± said Chopper, shaking his side from side to side. ¡°What is it, Chopper?¡± asked Usopp. ¡°He¡¯s healing too fast, faster than he ever did.¡± ¡°You mean Rick?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°How is he alive in the first ce?¡± asked Franky from the side. They were all having breakfast inside the dining room of the Ryugu Pce. They were invited and weed as guests by the entirety of the royal family, for saving their ind and everyone''s lives, after the end of the fight two days ago. ¡°The navy may have lied about his death.¡± said Brook. ¡°They didn¡¯t.¡± said Zoro. ¡°What makes you so sure of that?¡± asked Usopp. ¡°Because at the time Rick had only a few months left to live.¡± answered Nami. ¡°¡°¡°¡°WHAT?!¡±¡±¡±¡± eximed the members of the crew not aware of their vice-captain health two years ago. ¡°Wait! How do you know that?¡± asked Zoro. ¡°He told us, Robin and I, when he gave me the Tenki Tenki no mi.¡± replied Nami ¡°We actually learned about it the same way you two did.¡± confessed Robin, looking at Zoro and Sanji who had a quizzical face. ¡°I knew something was fishy when you took those two pirates outside on Thriller Bark, so before you all went out of sight I bloomed an ear on one of their backs and listened to your conversation.¡± ¡°He told me himself on our way to Impel Down.¡± announced Luffy. ¡°So, Chopper, Franky, Brook and I were the only ones in the dark?¡± said Usopp, clearly not happy with the news. ¡°I¡¯m the crew¡¯s doctor! He should have told me!¡± eximed Chopper ¡°I think he intended to tell everyone next but we got separated.¡± said Nami, trying to calm the four down. ¡°How did he know in the first ce? I didn¡¯t find anything back then.¡± ¡°He just¡­ knew?¡± said Nami, not really knowing either. ¡°I think he had one of his feelings.¡±mented Robin. Upset at what he heard Chopper got up from his chair and left in the direction of Rick¡¯s room, wishing to examine him again. He was followed by Robin who had finished her breakfast and just wanted to be near her lover. When they entered the room, she took her ce right by his side on the chair next to the bed and took his hand in hers while Chopper did what he came in for. Once done he left the two lovers alone. Robin just sat there, his hands in hers. She wasn¡¯t asking herself any question about his survival. No, she was focused on him, lying on this bed and was hoping he would awake and open his eyes. Nothing else matters but him. He was safe and on his way to be sound, but she was still afraid that somehow, someway she would lose him again. She was brought out of her thoughts, when Nami entered the room. The redhead got closer and gave her friend and master a peck on the lips before taking her mistress¡¯ free hands. ¡°You need to take some fresh air Robin. You can¡¯t be here all the time, it¡¯s not good for you.¡± ¡°I know.¡± replied the brte no moving an inch, her gaze fixed on her man¡¯s face. ¡°He wouldn¡¯t like it and you know it.¡± ¡°I do.¡± replied Robin. Inhaling deeply and letting out a long sigh, she stood up and looked at her kitten. ¡°Where are we going and what will we do?¡± ¡°That¡¯s a surprise, but Shirahosi will be with us! Now that she can safely leave the pce she wants to explore fishman ind.¡± said an enthusiastic Nami. That had an effect on Robin who smiled and left the room with her friend to join the princess. ~~~~~ The day had gone so well, everyone had fun and were back at the pce for dinner. Most of the crew were on their way to the dinning hall when they heard some enraged screams. They immediately sprinted towards it as did the pce guards. They knew those voices, they belonged to Chopper, Nami and Robin who went to check on Rick. Entering the room they were ready to deal with everything threatening their friend. What they were not ready for however was Nami with her clima-tact out, Chopper in his bipedal form and between them Robin with her arms raised. What they were even less ready for was seeing their vice-captain being restrained by multiple arms at least half a foot above theground and against the wall in only a shirt and his boxer, his pants dangling in the air around his ankles. ¡°Rick! You¡¯re awake!¡± Yelled Luffy happy. ¡°What the hell is going on?!¡± asked Usopp ¡°We thought an intruder was there,¡± said Franky. ¡°Yeah, about that¡­¡± began Rick. ¡°Silence!¡± screamed Robin while blooming another hand on Rick and pped him with him. ¡°Ouch!¡± ¡°Our vice-captain over there, was caught trying to sneak out.¡± said Nami sending a murdering re to her master, electric spark buzzing at the end of her weapon. ¡°¡°¡°¡°¡°¡°¡°¡°¡°¡°WHAT?!¡±¡±¡±¡±¡±¡±¡±¡±¡± Among them was Jimbei and Shirahoshi who had followed the crew when they rushed towards the room. ¡°I was totally not¡­¡± he said before being pped again. ¡°I said SILENCE!¡± yelled Robin even louder than the first time. This time her tone was murdering cold and everyone in the room shivered. Shirahoshi was so scared that she began to tear up and shrink herself before hiding under Luffy¡¯s straw hat. ¡°DO YOU HAVE ANYTHING TO SAY FOR YOURSELF?!¡± asked the archeologist. ¡°Oh, I can speak now?¡± replied the ex-marine with his own question That was the wrong thing to say to his girlfriend as she let her fury erupt with a banshee scream and began to love-p him again and again while berating me. ¡°Is it just me, or it seems like a d¨¦j¨¤-vu?¡± said Franky. ¡°¡°¡°¡°No.¡±¡±¡±¡± ¡°Shouldn¡¯t we¡­ stop her?¡± asked Jimbei, dumbfounded by the situation. ¡°¡°¡°¡°No.¡±¡±¡±¡± Replied the five who had witnessed the same scene during their escape from Enies Lobby. Brook, who was not part of the crew yet, had a simr answer. ¡°I like to live thanks.¡± It went on and on and the end of the punishment was nowhere in sight. Noticing that Chopper wasn¡¯t doing anything, Usopp asked. ¡°Chopper shouldn¡¯t you¡­ Stop her? He¡¯s still convalescing and he just woke up.¡± The reindeer didn¡¯t spare a look for his friend but spoke up. ¡° Robin¡­¡± ¡°WHAT?!¡± replied Robin turning around to look at Chopper who answered with two simple words. ¡°Finish him.¡± Robin smiled an evil smile and turned around again facing the man she loved before moving her arms. ¡°Dos fleurs¡±. ¡°HO CRAP!¡± yelled Franky having a PTSD shback. He knew what was going to happen. Sanji, Zoro, and Luffy knew too and began to sweat profusely. At the same time bloomed, on each of Rick¡¯s inner thighs, an arm. He immediately realized what was going to happen and his eyes grew as big as saucers before he began to beg her for mercy, and apologizing.. ¡°Robin, please don¡¯t! I¡¯m sorry oka ¡­ aaaaAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRRGH!!!!!!!¡± He was cut off mid-sentence by letting out a bloody scream who went high in the octaves. Usopp passed out right here and there, his eyes rolling in his eyes along many of the pce guards. Brook tried to hide himself under his hat and had his teeth chattering, while Jimbei hadpletely nked out. ¡°Have your high regeneration heal that.¡± said coldly Robin before letting go of his family jewels and leaving the room. Chapter 85: Something About Us Chapter 85: Something About Us Chapter 85: Something About Us This was a very awkward situation. Rick was in his bed, under the covers with a pack of ice on his genitals. What was more awkward was the rest of the crew all looking at him, clearly not happy with his actions. The silence was heavy. ¡°Okay, this silence and your stares are making me quite ufortable.¡± said the vice-captain. ¡°¡°¡°¡°...¡±¡±¡±¡±¡± ¡°Will that go on for¡­¡± ¡°So all this time you were alive.¡± cut in Sanji. ¡°No I wasn¡¯t.¡± ¡°¡°¡°¡°...¡±¡±¡± ¡°Exin.¡± said Usopp, saying aloud what everyone thought. ¡°Well¡­ After I stayed behind at Marine Ford, I fought a few vice-admirals and Akainu. I dealt with the former and¡­ lost against thetter. As he was about to deliver the finishing blow he taunted me and I lost it like I did on Thriller Bark.¡± ¡°He pushed the Robin button.¡± stated Franky, having a good idea what the now fleet Admiral told Rick. ¡°What?¡± ¡°Nevermind, continue.¡± ¡°When I came back to, I was stuck with my back into a wall. Grandpa, Uncle and big sis were there. I knew that was the end, and after a few words exchange, everything went ck. I guess that¡¯s when I died.¡± ¡°And?¡± asked Zoro. ¡°And next thing I knew, I was butt naked on the floor of Sunny¡¯s garden.¡± ¡°Wait! The garden?¡± eximed Robin who had a genuine expression. ¡°Yes ?¡± ¡°Oh my god!¡± ¡°What is it?¡± asked Usopp. ¡°The seed!¡± ¡°What about the seed?¡± said Rick, puzzled. ¡°The what now?¡± asked Franky but was ignored by Robin. ¡°I nted it.¡± ¡°You what?!¡± questioned Rick bewildered. ¡°I nted it.¡± ¡°Okay, once again, what seed are the two of you talking about?¡± asked an irritated Franky. ¡°I¡­¡± began Rick looking at Robin not knowing what he should say. ¡°Rick gave me a seed of himself.¡± the brte said. ¡°Again, a what now?¡± ¡°Unlike Robin, when I sprout parts of my body they don¡¯t appear like that. A seed appears first then it germinates into a sprout then blooms into the body parts I wish for.¡± To make them understand, he raised his hands and made a seed appear in the middle of the bed and used it to show them the process. ¡°Okay, I get it. Doesn¡¯t help understand the problem here.¡± ¡°I have to will it for the seed to sprout. Otherwise it¡¯s just a seed forever. It only disappears if I will it too.¡± ¡°Back on Sabaody Archipgo, Rick gave me a seed of himself as¡­ a joke. And when I learned that he¡­ well I nted it. I don¡¯t know what I was expecting. Actually I didn¡¯t expect anything, I just nurtured and watered the seed until one day a flower began to sprout.¡± ¡°Wait a minute! You¡¯re talking about the big ass nt that you came with on the Sunny?¡± realized the cyborg. ¡°Yes, but I don¡¯t understand how Rick could be¡­ born out of it? The flower never bloomed in two years and it wasn¡¯t ready to bloom anytime soon at the speed it was growing.¡± ¡°Yes, I think we remember that.¡± said Nami, entering the conversation. ¡°So I don¡¯t know how Rick came out of it.¡± ¡°¡°Eeeeeehhhhhh¡­¡±¡± Everyone turned to Usopp and Chopper. ¡°We may be at fault here.¡±said Chopper ¡°What did you do?¡± asked Sanji. ¡°We wanted to nt Robin¡¯s flower into the garden.¡± began Usopp. ¡°But after two years everything was dead and the soil¡­¡± ¡°Waspletely dead.¡±pleted Rick. ¡°Yes, so Chopper remembered about the clouds you brought back from Skypiea.¡± ¡°I remembered you telling me that the growth of any nts with the clouds as soil would be exponential.¡± ¡°That¡¯s correct. So you nted the flower in it and its growth elerated so much that I was¡­ born again.¡± ¡°That¡¯s insane.¡± said Sanji. ¡°Yeah, but I don¡¯t have another exnation. That would make sense though, I¡¯m a seed man after all.¡± ¡°That you are.¡± said Nami with a knowing look. ¡°Hmm?¡± was all Rick said not knowing what his kitten was talking about. ¡°Nothing, it¡¯s a story forter. Now what happened next?¡± asked Robin. ¡°Well¡­.¡± *shback* ¡°Where the¡­ Sunny?¡± said Rick, recognizing his surroundings. ¡°How the hell am I still alive?¡± Getting himself up he exited the garden and went to his room to put some clothes on. Once dressed he went to the dining room to see if someone was there but found no one. By getting on the deck he knew where he was. ¡°Fishman ind¡­ I wonder how much time passed since I died. Is it their first visit?¡± Taking a better of the scenery Rick recognized the trees of the Sea Forest. ¡°Well¡­ it must be their first time here since the Sunny wouldn¡¯t be abandoned here in the first ce. That means at least a couple years had passed. I wonder what has changed.¡± He thought about what to do now. Resurrecting wasn¡¯t really in his n. ¡°What should I do? Regroup with the others or¡­¡± He stopped mid-thought and opened the system. Looking at his avatar screen the same warning as before was disyed. ¡°So I¡¯m still dying¡­. Great¡­ I guess joining the others is off the table.¡± He opened the shop and searched for a new version of the Imperfect body. Vegapunk estimated that it would take one to two years to find a solution to the I.B. lifespan problem, and if Luffy had followed his advice that was exactly the length of the timepse Rick was having. ¡°Imperfect Body V3¡­ V4?¡± He kept scrolling down and was surprised that the I.B. series went on to eleven. Each version being more expensive than the other the higher and newer the version. Each had its pros and cons but the V11 was interesting with its life expectancy of around 40 years. ¡°Yeah¡­ fool me once, shame on you, fool me twice shame on me. I saw you mister ¡®around¡¯ and I¡¯m not trusting you.¡± Around 40 years of life was a good deal, being currently 28, it would die at least in his sixties at worst. The problem was still the same however: no haki. He didn¡¯t buy the V11, no he scrolled down again, hoping for something more and was not disappointed. [Perfect Body V.1] Description: The magnum opus of the genius Dr. Vegapunk. After two years of failures ( giving birth to the I.B series from V3 to V11) the Perfect Body V1 was achieved, through the use of the blood of the D n. The Perfect Body V1, like its name suggests, is perfect in every way. The vessel is big enough to contain the power of two devil fruits and at the same time the use of Haki. ¡°Well that¡¯s great!¡± thought Rick. The life expectancy of the Perfect Body V1 is that of an average human: 85 years. The age process is slower allowing a peak fighting condition for a longer time. Strength, speed, and stamina are at the peak of the human body (providing training and constant maintenance of the body). Rick was ecstatic. Finally, the body he dreamt off since he was seven was a reality. It was within reach. The only thing he had to do was pay the price. ¡°150M Karma points! That¡¯s expensive!¡± Inparaison the I.B. V11 was worth 3M Karma points. That was okay though, as the benefits of the Perfect Body far outweigh the price. The simple ability to use Haki was worth every single point of those 150M easily. Now Rick wouldn¡¯t not be relegated as a support character in the crew. ¡°Now, how many points do I have left?¡± Looking up he saw how much he had. After buying the Tenki Tenki no mi which cost a whopping 500M, he wasn¡¯t sure that he had enough funds. [ User¡¯s Karma: 182 333 765 ] Seeing the number he sighed in relief. ¡°Thank god I have enough.¡± He didn¡¯t wait further and immediately bought the Perfect Body V1. [You bought [Perfect Body V1] for 150M Karma Points] [Karma points remaining: 32 334 849] [Changing current body to [Perfect Body]] [1 %]... [5%]... [25%]... [90%]... [100%] [Body change from [Imperfect Body V2] to [Perfect Body V1]plete] Rick took a deep breath and tried to feel the changes. He was feeling somehow lighter, like a burden had been lifted from his shoulders. Most importantly he felt right. It was an indescribable feeling but it was like finally beingplete. ¡°I¡¯m feeling good¡­ Wow, Vegapunk is really a genius. Should I send him a thank you card? Probably not, he might ask to study me further since I¡¯m still a miracle, being alive instead of dead. Now that I think about it I wonder how he tests the abilities of the bodies. Life expectancy, haki¡­ how can he be so sure of that in just two short years?¡± As he was about to close the system something caught his eyes. ¡° 32 334 849 karma points left? That doesn¡¯t make sense. I had 182 333 765 before my purchase and the P.B. V1 cost was 150M. Where does the 1084 differencee from?¡± Opening the log he found his answer. ¡°So my little freedom speech did work some, since after buying the Tenki Tenki no mi my Karma went down to around 157M and I had 182M and some before my purchase.Good to know that my little n worked somehow. I wonder how Uncle reacted when he found out.¡± Taking the air thanks to his gravity, Rick went straight to Ryugu Pce. ¡°Luffy, I love you but there is no way I¡¯d let you steal Shirahoshi¡¯s heart. The mermaid princess is mine and mine alone. She may be not as pretty as Robin but an 11 meters tall mermaid with big boobs is the dream. There is no way I¡¯d pass up on motorboating those puppies and take a good rest on them. I can hardly wait for Robin and I to tie this perfect submissive up.¡± While Nami was a bit submissive she still had her fiery temper. She couldn¡¯t hold a candle to the pure and innocent Shirahoshi. ~~~~~ Infiltrating the pce has not been easy. Not in a difficult way but more of an annoying way. First the entrance; one needed to ring some kind of door bell for the door to be opened. Fortunately, the ¡°sun¡± wasn¡¯t up yet and Rick was able to use his gravity to open the door, enter and put it back in its ce without being seen. The new challenge he faced was, finding the tower Shirahosi was in while being mostly in the dark. After thinking about it he admitted that searching blindly was not in his best interest and changed his n. ¡°It would be better to first raid the treasure room to avoid some problemster. Then search for my little mermaid!¡± Just like he did on Thriller Bark, he found an open window and sprouted an eye high on the opposite wall. From there he sprouted more and more eyes, mapping a good chunk of the pce. When he saw guards, he sprouted an ear to listen to any conversation they might have. It took some time but he finally found what he was looking for. The treasure room was guarded by two guys. Fortunately for him the ceiling of the ce was really high, probably because of the height of the royal family, so with no difficulty he reached his destination without getting sighted. He sprouted an arm at the hand of the corridor and made some noise attracting the guards attention, who went taking a look. With the door now unguarded he entered the room and realized how of a critical failure this n had been. He couldn¡¯t take everything with him as of now as there was no way he could get out of here with all the treasure and at the same time paying a visit to Shirahoshi. After picking up a few things he could carry in his pocket, he exited the room. The guards were still absent as he was leading them farther and farther away. It took to flying close to the ceiling again and continued his search when one of his sprouted eyes had a glimpse of the tower Shirahoshi was in by looking outside a window. The edifice was easy to identify as plenty of weapons were embedded into its walls. It couldn¡¯t ess it from the outside though as the tower was surrounded by water. The only way for him to get inside would have been by finding the way through the pce. That wasn¡¯t aplex task and soon enough was in front of a gigantic door. Just like with the treasure room he had distracted the guards and had a few minutes to sneak in the princess¡¯ bedroom. ¡°Now¡­ How should I approach this situation? Can¡¯t walk on her like Luffy did.¡± He opened the door and went inside and it was pitch ck, limiting his options. He raised his arms in front of him and walked slowly forward. After a dozen metter his hands made contact with something warm. He let them fumble a bit when what he was touching moved. ¡°Just like I thought, it was her tail. Quite nice.¡± ¡°Who¡¯s there?¡± asked a melodious voice. Next thing he knew he was violently blinded by the light from the ceiling that was turned on. ¡°Haaaaa!¡± ¡°Haaaa!¡± ¡°My eyes!¡± ¡°Who are you!¡± Rubbing his eyes, Rickpletely ignored Shirahoshi. It certainly was going the way he had nned it. ¡°Have youe to Kill me too? I¡¯ll have you know that I¡¯m not afraid of you! I¡¯m the daughter of King Neptune and I¡¯m not afraid! ¡° she said with a fierce face before breaking character immediately by crying. ¡°Help! Father! Brothers!¡± ¡°Yeah¡­ So much for avoiding that by doing differently than Luffy. Guess it¡¯s time to use my secret weapon then.¡± He sprouted multiple hands on the mermaid princess¡¯ head and began patting her. ¡°There, there.¡± he said. ¡°I¡¯m not here to hurt you, miss.¡± ¡°You¡¯re¡­ not?¡± replied Shirahosh,i calming down thanks to the patting. ¡°No, I didn¡¯t even know you were here, I thought it was the treasure room.¡± ¡°The treasure room?¡± ¡°Yes, with all those weapons stuck on the tower I thought that people thought to get what was inside. And I thought it was gold.¡± ¡°Really? You came here for the pce treasure? Not to assassinate me?¡± ¡°Yes!¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°Sorry to disappoint you, there is just me here, no treasure.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not sure about that, not all treasures are made of gold.¡± said Rick with a grin, making Shirahoshi blush. Finding her calm enough he made his hands on her head disappear. ¡°Ho!¡± eximed the princess. ¡°What is it?¡± ¡°Something was caressing my hair and it suddenly stopped. It was quite nice.¡± ¡°Oh! That? That was me.¡± ¡°You?¡± ¡°Yes¡±. Rick sprouted an arm in front of her and exined his powers. ¡°I can make copies of any part of me wherever I want. Since you were agitated I made some hands on your head to pat it and calm you down.¡± Shirahoshi just looked at the tiny arm in front of her. He could see she wanted to ask for more patting but was too shy to ask. ¡°Do you want me to continue?¡± ¡°I¡­¡± ¡°It¡¯s alright, I don¡¯t mind.¡± he said with a heartfelt smile. She bit her lips and nodded slightly while blushing. It was enough for Rick, who did what she wanted. ¡°Poor thing, stuck in this tower for a decade or more with only her family visiting from time to time. She must be starved for some physical contact.¡± Shirahoshi was in her own world enjoying silently, with her eyes closed, what she had craved so much for years. ¡°I guess I should introduce myself, my name is R¡­.¡± ¡°R ?¡± ¡°Ha! No! I¡­ I was going to tell you my name, but I¡¯m a pirate so it might not be the best idea. You can call me¡­ Vega! Yes Vega, it¡¯s perfect.¡± ¡°You¡¯re a pirate?¡± said Shirahoshi, getting agitated again. ¡°Yes, but a good one I swear!¡± ¡°There are good pirates?¡± ¡°They are rare but yes.¡± ¡°What¡¯s the difference between a good and a bad pirate?¡± ¡°Well¡­ The bad pirate is selfish. They don¡¯t care if they hurt innocent people to get what they want. Sometimes, they even enjoy it.¡± ¡°And the good pirate?¡± ¡°Hmm¡­ They are more interested in adventure, finding treasure, making friends, sometimes stealing gold, sure. But they don¡¯t hurt good people.¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°Shirahoshi.¡± ¡°Yes?¡± ¡°That¡¯s my name.¡± ¡°Well, Shirahoshi, nice to meet you!¡± said Rick putting his hand in front of him for a handshake. The princess raised her hand and with her thumb and index shaked his. She seemed happy. ¡°I¡¯m sorry I woke you up, Shirahoshi. I¡¯ll let you go back to sleep, I have treasure to find!¡± said Rick as he waved at her, made his hands disappear from her head once again and started leaving. He didn¡¯t get far as the giant mermaid caught him in her hands. ¡°Please stay!¡± she said with her eyes watering. Fortunately for him, his back was turned to her and she didn¡¯t see the very evil and satisfied smile on his lips. ¡°I caught myself a mermaid~~ I caught myself a mermaid!~~ Sanji will be so jealous about it.¡± ¡°I¡­ Okay I can stay a bit.¡± Shirahoshi released him and he floated towards herp, close to her knees. ¡°You can fly?¡± she said, astonished. ¡°No, it¡¯s more like, I¡¯m making myself float and use gravity to push me where I want to go.¡± ¡°Gravity?¡± ¡°I¡¯m a gravity man.¡± said Rick. He raised his right hand and attracted to him an object that was sitting on the nightstand near the princess then pushed it back. That amazed her and made her confused. ¡°You can also manipte gravity?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°Are all humans like you?¡± ¡°Oh, no, not at all. Some humans may have some powers, but they are all different. I''m unique because I have two.¡± ¡°Oh!¡± ¡°You don¡¯t seem very knowledgeable about humans.¡± remarked Rick, prompting Shirahoshi to lower her head in sadness. ¡°I''ve been stuck here for the past twelve years.¡± ¡°Twelve years?!¡± ¡°That¡¯s¡­ different. If I remember it correctly I thought it was ten.¡± ¡°Shirahoshi, I¡¯m sorry if I¡¯m being rude for asking this but¡­ How old are you?¡± ¡°Eighteen, why?¡± ¡°Eighteen! Oh My Goddess! She¡¯s eighteen! Change of n!¡± ¡°So you¡¯ve been locked in here since you were 6! Who does that?! That¡¯s wrong!¡± ¡°It- it¡¯s not father¡¯s fault!¡± the princess said, defending her father. ¡°Your father did this to you?! That¡¯s it! I¡¯m kicking his ass!¡± ¡°No please!¡± she yelled, grabbing the ex-marine in her hands again while crying. ¡°But..¡± ¡°He¡­ He did it to protect me.¡± ¡°... From what?¡± ¡°There is a bad pirate with the Mato Mato curse.¡± ¡°The Mato Mato curse?¡± ¡°Yes, the curse allows him to aim at whichever target he touched with his hands. He touched me when I was six, and ever since he''s been sending¡­¡± ¡°Those awful axes stuck on the tower¡¯s wall?¡± Shirahosi didn¡¯t say anything, she just nodded. Making Rick fake a sigh. ¡°Fine, I won¡¯t kick your father¡¯s ass¡­. But I¡¯ll deal with that pirate!¡± dered the straw hat¡¯s vice-captain making the mermaid princess smile. Looking up at her, trying to focus on her eyes as her breasts were in the way, he simply asked her. ¡°Do you want to get out of here?¡± She didn¡¯t immediately give an answer, instead she kept quiet until she finally found the courage to speak. ¡°I-I¡­ I can¡¯t. It¡¯s not safe.¡± ¡°Shirahoshi, I¡¯m not asking you if you can or not, I¡¯m asking you if you want to.¡± ¡°I¡­ Yes¡­¡± she replied in a whisper. ¡°Then I¡¯ll take you outside.¡± ¡°But the¡­¡± ¡°It¡¯s okay, I¡¯ll protect you.¡± the ex-marine announced, after floating up right in front of her face, so close that by extending his arm half its reach he could touch her nose.¡± ¡°I may be small, but I¡¯m plenty strong.¡± ¡°...¡± Shirahoshi didn¡¯t know what to say. She always wanted to go outside to visit her mother¡¯s grave and pay her respects but with her situation she never could. No one could protect her from the weapon flying towards her. She wanted to say yes, with every fiber of her being but couldn¡¯t. Rick suddenly touched one of her cheeks with his hand. ¡°I¡¯ll protect you, I promise.¡± His voice was sweet and warm but most of all was full of confidence. The same confidence she saw in his eyes. She wanted to believe in it. And she did. ¡°Please, Mister Vega, bring me outside, I want to visit my mother¡¯s grave.¡± ¡°Sure. But it¡¯s just Vega to you! Not mister.¡± ¡°But¡­¡± ¡°You don¡¯t call friends Mister Shirahoshi.¡± ¡°Friends?!¡± ¡°Yes, what? You don¡¯t want to be friends?¡± ¡°No! I mean yes! Yes, I want us to be friends.¡± she said sheepishly. ¡°Good! We¡¯re friends then!¡± ¡°Just like that?¡± ¡°Just like that. Why? Do you want to do something to be friends?¡± ¡°No, it¡¯s just¡­ my only friend is Megalo¡­¡± she said with a sad voice as a giant shark pet came from behind her bed and approached her. ¡°If you want we can seal our friendship with a kiss.¡± Rick joked. ¡°A-a-a K-k-...¡± tried to say the princess but her mind was clearly melting. ¡°I¡¯m joking! I¡¯m joking! A Hug, a handshake or even a fist bump is fine!¡± Shirahoshi sighed in relief and extended her fist. ¡°Friends?¡± she asked. ¡°Friends!¡± replied Rick with a smile. Realizing that for the first time in more than a decade she had made a friend, Shirahoshi giggled happily with happy tears in the corner of her eyes. ¡°You really do cry a lot.¡± teased the ex-marine embarrassing the mermaid. ¡°I¡­¡± ¡°It¡¯s alright, cry all you want. It¡¯s not good to bottle up your feelings for too long. But there is a time and ce for that.¡± ¡°I¡¯m sorry. I¡¯m just¡­ weak.¡± she said in shame. ¡°Aww, Shishi, don¡¯t be ashamed. There is nothing to be ashamed of.¡± ¡°But I¡¯m..¡± ¡°I met an old man once on a sky ind I visited. He was a fierce warrior, and yet he felt shame and guilt for being weak and unable to protect his people. Do you know what I told him?¡± ¡°N-no.¡± ¡°There is no shame in being weak. Everyone one day has been weak, or will be. Everyone. That¡¯s why there is no shame in that. The only reason you should be ashamed is knowing you are weak and do nothing about it.¡± ¡°Then what should I do?¡± ¡°First, try not to cry at everything, like people berating you. That¡¯s a good start. Stand straight, and firm.¡± ¡°O-Okay¡­¡± ¡°What¡¯s important is to have faith in yourself. And if you ever doubt, that¡¯s alright your friends would support you.¡± ¡°Really?¡± ¡°Yes! If they don¡¯t, then they¡¯re not really your friends¡±. That answer seemed to satisfy her and she stopped crying before letting out a small and cute yawn. ¡°Go back to sleep Shishi, I¡¯ll wake you up when we¡¯re going.¡± ¡°It¡¯s the second time you¡¯re calling me that.¡± ¡°What? Shishi?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°Your name is long, so I gave you a cute nickname.¡± ¡°I¡­ like it.¡± she said,ying on her bed. ¡°Mister Vega?¡± ¡°Just Vega.¡± ¡°Can you pat my head more please?¡± ¡°Sure.¡± This time he used his own hand and not sprouts, to do it and the mermaid princess went back to the dream world with a blissful smile on her face. ~~~~~ ¡°Shishi, wakey wakey. It¡¯s time to go.¡± said Rick, shaking Shirahoshi¡¯s cheek. The princess woke up and took her surroundings in, with her eyesnding on Rick. ¡°Hello again, Mister Vega.¡± ¡°Just Vega.¡± ¡°Did I sleep long?¡± ¡°A few hours. I wanted to wake you up sooner but I couldn''t bring myself to do it.¡± ¡°Why?¡± ¡°You were too adorable, sleeping the way you did.¡± was the honest answer he gave, making her blush a bright red. ¡°The guards brought you some food earlier.¡± ¡°They didn¡¯t see you?¡± ¡°I hid under the nket.¡± That information made her blush even harder. ¡°How are we going to leave, I¡¯m big, the guard will see me from far away.¡± ¡°Well¡­ I thought of that and I have to say, you¡¯re really a luckydy.¡± ¡°Why is that?¡± ¡°Because I have with me the solution to this problem.¡± Opening his coat he brought out a fruit. It was the Mini Mini no mi that he had bought all those years ago for her. ¡°This is the Mini Mini no mi. The person who eats it can shrink their size at will.¡± ¡°You mean, I could be the same size as you?¡± ¡°Yes, but that¡¯s not all. You could even be so small that people would need a magnifying ss to see you. You could sneak wherever you want!¡± ¡°Really?!¡± ¡°Yes!¡± ¡°So, I¡¯ll have to shrink myself a lot so you could bring me out?¡± ¡°Yes, but it¡¯s day time now, so the risk of me getting caught by the guards is rather high.¡± ¡°What should we do then?¡± ¡°I thought that you could shrink into a size small enough you could hide in my breast pocket. As for my own escape, I nned to ask for Megalo¡¯s help?¡± ¡°Megalo?¡± said Shirahoshi, surprised, with Megalo by her side confused. ¡°Megalo is big, and the guards are used to seeing hime and go right?¡± ¡°Well, yes.¡± ¡°If it¡¯s okay with him, I¡¯d like to hide inside his mouth. At least until we¡¯re out of the pce and back into the ind bubble.¡± Shirahoshi looked at Megalo who looked at her back and nodded. ¡°He¡¯s okay with that.¡± ¡°Goog! Now, the fruit.¡± Rick said, handing the fruit to her. ¡°Fair warning the fruit doesn¡¯t taste¡­¡± he didn¡¯t have the time to finish as the princess ate it in a single bite. ¡°The taste is awful.¡± she said. ¡°... Okay¡­ Hmm. Try wishing to¡­ I don¡¯t know, be smaller?¡± The mermaid closed her eyes and in a moment shrunk to the point of being the same height as Rick. ¡°Did it work?¡± she asked with her eyes still closed. ¡°Open your eyes and look for yourself.¡± She opened one eye then a second, and saw Rick just in front of her. Quickly looking at herself she contemted her new form. She was ecstatic and hugged Rick. ¡°I¡¯m small! Thank you Mister Vega! Megalo! Look! Look! I¡¯m small!¡± ¡°Okay, that¡¯s weird, the Mini Mini no mi changes the default height of the person who eats it, making them around 20 cm tall. What didn¡¯t she change when the fruit took effect?¡± ¡°Not that small Shishi. You¡¯re about my height.¡± ¡°Oh! I.. I¡¯m sorry.¡± ¡°It¡¯s fine I¡¯m just pulling your leg or rather your tail actually.¡± ¡°Pulling my tail?¡± ¡°It¡¯s a human idiom. ¡®Pulling someone¡¯s leg¡¯ means making fun of that person.¡± ¡°Oh, I get it.¡± ¡°Shishi, you need to get smaller.¡± ¡°How small?¡± ¡°Hmm¡­ Small enough to stand on my hand ?¡± She nodded and soon enough shrank and shrank until she reached around 10 cm. ¡°Is it good enough?¡± ¡°It¡¯s perfect.¡± Rick bent over forward and extended his hand so Shirahoshi could jump on his palm. He then straightened himself and put her in his breast pocket. ¡®Is itfortable enough?¡± ¡°Yes, and it¡¯s warm.¡± ¡°Good. Megalo, it¡¯s your turn now." ~~~~~ The n worked. The guards didn¡¯t even pay attention to the big friendly shark. They exited the pce and reached fishman ind, where Rick led Megalo to a secluded ce where he could get out of thetter¡¯s mouth and let Shirahoshi go back to her normal size. ¡°We¡¯re out, Shishi. How do you feel?¡± She closed her eyes and inhaled deeply. A content smile drew on her lips. ¡°Free.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t forget that moment.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t think I ever will, Mister Vega.¡± ¡°So, where are we going?¡± ¡°To the Sea Forest, that¡¯s where my mother is buried.¡± ¡°Lead the¡­¡± Rick abruptly turned around, and used his gravity to push onto the ground a flying object who came his way. It turned out to be an axe with the mark of a rose on it, just like the axes on the tower Shirahoshi was locked up, had. ¡°Mister Vega¡­¡± ¡°I promised you that I would protect you. I keep my promises.¡± he said with a smile which the mermaid answered with her own. The trio began their little stroll towards their destination, surprisingly Shirahoshi chose to not go back to her original size and settled with a height of 2.5m. When Rick tried to pry as to why she only gave him a ¡°I like this size.¡± while blushing. He knew there was more to it but didn¡¯t push the issue further. In less than an hour they arrived at the grave. Surprisingly the Sunny could be seen not far from there. What surprised them more (though not for Rick as he already knew) was that Jimbei was waiting at the grave. ¡°Jimbei?¡± ¡°You know Sir Jimbei?¡± ¡°He¡¯s a friend of mine.¡± ¡°Really?!¡± ¡°Yes, let''s greet him.¡± Theynded behind him silently and Shirahoshi called out to him. ¡°Sir Jimbei!¡± The ex-shichibukai turned around to see who called his name. His eyes went out of their orbit when he saw the mermaid. ¡°PRINCESS?!¡± ¡°Hello.¡± she simply said with a small wave of her hand. ¡°Why are you so small?! And why are you here? It''s dangerous!¡± ¡°I wanted to visit mother.¡± said Shirahoshi who began to tear up but stopped when shi felt Rick¡¯s hand patting her back. ¡°And It¡¯s not dangerous, Mister Vega is here to protect me.¡± she added and pointed to Rick by her side. When Jimbei finally had a good look at the person on his princess side he went deathly pale. ¡°B-b¡­ But you died!¡± ¡°I did.¡± ¡°You did?¡± asked Shirahoshi. ¡°Yes, but I came back. It¡¯s not the first time. I¡¯m slowly getting used to it.¡± *shback Interruption* ¡°WAIT A MINUTE!¡± screamed Usopp. He pointed an usatory finger at Jimbei who was in the room. ¡°You knew ?!¡± ¡°Ehhhhh.¡± was the only answer the fishman could formte while he began sweating because of the pressure the stares of the crew were emitting. ¡°It¡¯s not his fault.¡± came Rick in his defense. ¡°Why do you mean it¡¯s not his¡­¡± ¡°I asked him to not say anything.¡± ¡°Why?¡± asked Luffy. ¡°Let me finish the story first.¡± Everyone ignored the fact that for thest half hour, Rick talked about how Shirahoshi knew about Rick being alive too and yet did not tell them. *shback* ¡°When?! And How?!¡± asked Jimbei. ¡°About¡­ a few hours ago? I don¡¯t know about the how.¡± ¡°Do the others know?¡± ¡°The others?¡± asked Shirahoshi ¡°My friends and crewmates. And Jimbei, they must not know.¡± ¡°Why?! Do you know how much Luffy¡­¡± ¡°I know! Who do you think you¡¯re talking to? He¡¯s my brother and my captain! Of course I know.¡± ¡°Then why?!¡± Rick sighed then took a look at his mermaid friend. ¡°Shishi, would you mind giving us a moment please?¡± ¡°Of course Mister Vega.¡± she replied before moving a few feet away. ¡°Mister Vega?¡± ¡°That¡¯s the name I gave her and before you say anything I told her it wasn''t my real name.¡± ¡°... I have so many questions right now.¡± said the fishman. ¡°And I probably know all of them and their answers. So let me talk.¡± ¡°Okay, go ahead.¡± ¡°First: yes I died. It was too freaking people for it to have been a dream. Two: No, I don¡¯t know why I¡¯m still alive, honest. Three: I found Shirahoshi when I¡­ was exploring Ryugu Pce.¡± Four: I was exploring the pce to¡­ borrow some money from the treasure room, so I could pay a merchant ship to bring me back to the surface.¡± Five: I didn¡¯t find the treasure room but I did find a treasure.¡± He said while pointing with his thumb towards Shirahoshi behind him who was talking with Megalo. His other hand has all his fingers deployed, as he extended one each time he counted. ¡°Six: We became friends, that¡¯s why I call her Shishi. Seven: Two years ago, I knew I had, at best, a month left to live. Now I died, the crew mourned me and they moved on...¡± ¡°But you¡¯re.. Here.¡± interrupted Jimbei. ¡°And I still feel myself dying. Do you really want me to get back into their lives just so they have to mourn me again a monthter? That¡¯s cruel, Jimbei.¡± ¡°... Are you sure about...¡± ¡°Yes, I¡¯m sure. I had the feeling back then, I have the same feeling now.¡± ¡°Hell¡­¡± ¡°Yes, you can say that.¡± ¡°Why did you bring Shirahoshi here?¡± ¡°She¡¯s been locked inside her room for more than half her life. Children should be free, Jimbei. I can protect her.¡± Just as he talked about his ability to protect her, another axe came flying. He took care of it the same way it took care of the other before. ¡°See? She¡¯s safe with me. And It¡¯s not like she¡¯d never go back. She just wanted to see her mother.¡± Jimbei looked at his princess and sighed in eptance. ¡°There will be chaos..¡± ¡°Oh, please! Luffy is on the ind. What did you think would happen with him around?¡± Rick said with a smirk making his friendugh. ¡°You¡¯re probably right. I do hope you¡¯re wrong though.¡± ¡°Yeah¡­ I¡¯m never wrong.¡± ¡°If you don¡¯t want to meet with your crew, you should go, I¡¯m supposed to meet them here.¡± ¡°You take care of her?¡± ¡°Of course.¡± With the conversation over, both walked towards Shirahoshi and Megalo. ¡°Is everything alright she asked?¡± ¡°Yes, Shishi, everything is fine.¡± ¡°Princess, I still don¡¯t know how you became so¡­¡± ¡°Small?¡± ¡°Yes¡± ¡°Mister Vega gave me a fruit giving me the power to change my size!¡± said the mermaid proudly and did a demonstration before returning to her height of 2.5. Jimbei¡¯s jaw hung on the floor before turning to Rick and grabbing him by the cor, furious. ¡°You gave her a devil fruit! Are you mad she¡¯s a mermaid!¡± ¡°Yes, so?¡± ¡°SO MERMAID LIVES IN WATER!¡± ¡°I don¡¯t see your point!¡± ¡°Because she ate the devil fruit she can¡¯t swim in water anymore!¡± That information stunned Rick into silence. He spent so much time flying around that he forgot that little tidbit of info about the devil fruit. ¡°Oh¡­ I think I screwed up.¡± Jimbei was ready to murder him here and there when Shirahoshi intervened. ¡°Hmm. Sir Jimbei, I can swim.¡± ¡°Princess, people who ate a devil fruit are cursed by the sea devil and can¡¯t swim anymore.¡± ¡°But I can! I had to swim to get here from the ind!¡± Both guys looked at her as if she had two heads. ¡°Oh my goddess, she did!¡± eximed Rick. ¡°Really?!¡± ¡°Yes!¡± ¡°But¡­ How?!¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know!¡± The fishman let the ex-marine go and both looked at the mermaid with a tone of question flooding their minds. ¡°Hmm¡­ Is it¡­ bad?¡± ¡°No Shishi, it¡¯s great. That means you won¡¯t have to live out the water forever. But there is a problem¡­¡± ¡°If people knew that you can swim and that you ate a devil fruit, they would stop at nothing to capture you and study you.¡± ¡°I¡¯m sorry Shishi, I said I¡¯d protect you and I just painted a bigger target on your back.¡± ¡°It¡¯s alright.¡± was all she said. Surprising both Rick and Jimbei with her smile. ¡°Princess?¡± ¡°Shishi?¡± ¡°I¡¯m the mermaid princess of the Ryugu Kingdom. People have been after me the moment I was born. What¡¯s a few more? Besides, you promised to protect me, so I¡¯m not afraid.¡± They looked at her strangely. Jimbei was moved. ¡°You grew into such a strongdy, princess. Your mother would be proud.¡± he said with a lot of emotion in his voice.¡± ¡°Tsk. She was always strong but since she was locked up in that tower nobody ever saw it. Look at her, outside for less than half a day and she¡¯s already putting us to shame with her strong heart.¡± That made Jimbeiugh hard. ¡°You¡¯re right. I¡¯m sorry princess.¡± ¡°I-it¡­ It¡¯s fine Sir Jimbei, I¡¯m not that strong anyway..¡± ¡°And the shy part of her is back.¡± stated Rick in a deadpanned voice. ¡°I-it¡¯s fine! Because I know and I¡¯m doing something about it!¡± she replied, making him smile. ¡°Good.¡± ¡°Did I miss something?¡± asked Jimbei.¡± ¡°She¡¯ll tell youter. I need to go now. Can I count on you to¡­¡± ¡°Yes, I don¡¯t like it but I understand, so yes, you can count on me.¡± ¡°Thank you.¡± ¡°It¡¯s fine, I owe you anyway.¡± They both nodded to each other in understanding and Rick turned to the princess. ¡°Shishi, I¡¯m leaving you in the hands of Jimbei. I have to go somewhere¡± ¡°Can¡¯t Ie with you?¡± she asked in a sad voice. ¡°Sadly, no. But friends areing soon and they are really nice. I¡¯m sure they would want to be friends with you.¡± ¡°Really?¡± ¡°Really.¡± ¡°When will I see you again?¡± ¡°Soon I promise.¡± He floated to her eye level and patted her on the head, before going away. *shback end* ¡°After that¡­ Well, the big fight with Hody Jones happened. Since you had everything in hand, there was no need for me to take part. That is until¡­¡± ¡°Until Noah.¡± interrupted Jimbei. ¡°Noah?¡± said Rick faking not knowing. ¡°The big ship you tried to stop.¡± ¡°Ha, yes, until Noah. Anyway, that¡¯s it.¡± The entire crew looked at him in silence. Of course, the part about his thoughts and the system were omitted but the rest was still a lot to take in for them. ¡°And you, trying to sneak was¡­ What? What did you expect? That we¡¯d thought it was all a dream? That Chopper didn¡¯t spend hours operating on you assisted by Robin just to save your life?¡± said an irritated Nami. ¡°I¡­ Panicked.¡± said Rick in shame. ¡°YOU panicked?! Of all people YOU panicked?!¡± she started yelling. ¡°Okay, I¡¯m in trouble now.¡± ¡°Is it that surprising?¡± he asked tentatively. ¡°Surprising, no. A big fat lie YES!¡± ¡°Nami has a point.¡± said Zoro, entering the conversation. ¡°You never panic. No matter what¡¯s happening, no matter how dire the situation gets. You. Do. Not. Panic.¡± the swordsman added. ¡°You have onest chance.¡± warned the redhead, with some agreeing nods from some of her crewmates. Rick took a deep breath. That was the performance of his life he had to make right now, he couldn¡¯t fail. ¡°I was ashamed.¡± ¡°Ashamed? Only Luffy beat you in shamelessness.¡± said Usopp. ¡°Ashamed of what?¡± asked Brook ¡°Of not finding a way to not be a burden to you.¡± ¡°What do you mean?¡± This time it was Luffy who spoke. ¡°Because of what I am, I can¡¯t use haki.¡± ¡°Okay, I¡¯m done.¡± said Sanji as he began to make his way out of the room, He was stopped by Rick sprouting hands blocking the door. Being blocked, Sanji turned around. ¡°Every human can use haki, you told us yourself back on Skypiea.¡± ¡°But I¡¯m not exactly human.¡± ¡°¡°¡°....¡±¡±¡± ¡°Come again?¡± said Franky. Looking around Rick saw confusion on his crewmates face. ¡°Didn¡¯t Luffy tell you?¡± Everyone turned towards Luffy who clearly didn¡¯t know what Rick was talking about. ¡°I should have known it was tooplex for him.¡± he said with a long sigh. ¡°Listen up and keep quiet because it¡¯s long and difficult to understand. When Kuma sent us away, Inded on ¡­" ~~~~~ ¡°That¡¯s¡­¡± began Usopp. ¡°So hard to believe.¡± finished Franky. ¡°And yet it¡¯s the truth.¡± ¡°So because your soul is.. Not in sync with your body correctly, you can¡¯t use haki at all¡­¡± stated Chopper. ¡°Chopper, do you think it¡¯s possible or he¡¯s still bullshitting us.¡± asked Sanji. ¡°Honestly I don¡¯t know. Souls? It¡¯s so unscientific.¡± ¡°It¡¯s true though. Aren¡¯t I the living proof? Or is it dead proof? Yohohoho¡± said Brook. ¡°Okay, fine, let¡¯s say you¡¯re telling the truth¡­¡± began Nami ¡°I am, I swear!¡± ¡°Fine. I still don¡¯t understand why you¡¯re ashamed of being a burden? You never were one.¡± ¡°That¡¯s not it.¡± said a voiceing from under Luffy¡¯s hat. ¡°Whimposhi?¡± said Luffy. She appeared from under his hat and jumped in the air, taking her 2.5m size. ¡°You¡¯re ashamed that you can¡¯t do anything about it.¡± she said looking at her friend. ¡°Yes.¡± he said with a sad smile. ¡°I still don¡¯t understand.¡± said Nami. ¡°Nami, I¡¯m a heavy hitter. I hit hard and take as much as I give, but in the New World, without haki, I can¡¯tpete. I¡¯m useless, and I don¡¯t see any way for me to not be.¡± ¡°You¡¯re plenty useful with your gravity, and your limbs popping around.¡± said Sanji. ¡°And you¡¯re pretty cunning.¡± added Usopp. ¡°You¡¯re an idiot.¡± It was Robin who spoke. It was the first time she did since Rick began telling his story. ¡°Do you really think we don¡¯t need you because you can¡¯t fight anymore?¡± ¡°I¡­¡± ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter if you can fight or not. What matters is that you are you.¡± ¡°Yeah! As long as you''re with us that¡¯s all that matters.¡± said Luffy smiling. ¡°You always took everything on your shoulders.¡± stated Chopper. ¡°Let us do the same for you for once!¡± added Usopp. For the first time since more than two decades, Rick had tears in his eyes. He wasn¡¯t faking it, it was genuine. He really felt cared for. Not as a friend, or badly like he felt during his time in the marines but truly cared for and loved. ¡°Usopp! You made him cry!¡± ¡°It¡¯s not my fault!¡± ¡°Well if you had said to me what you just said I would be crying too out of fright.¡± said Nami. ¡°Oiiii! Nami!¡± And the banter began. Something was said and someone reacted. Sanji and Zoro began fighting and, well¡­ the usual happened. Looking at his crewmates, at his friends, Rick knew the answer he has been asking himself for the past ten years. Leaving the navy was the right decision. ~~~~~ The crew was back together again. Fully, and for good this time. Chopper asked many questions about Rick¡¯s biological situation, fascinated by how advanced it was. He couldn¡¯t help but respect the Genius of Dr. Vegapunk. The n was simple: when they¡¯d reach the New World, Rick would leave for the Dr.¡¯s ind for a cure for his condition. He had talked about it during the revtion of who he was. And Luffy agreed for him to go. After all, if there was a chance for Rick to live he had to take it. Even if he couldn¡¯t use haki, as long as he lived everything was fine. The truth was he intended to use the time away to learn haki from Rayleigh since his longevity and haki problems were no more thanks to the Perfect Body V1 he had bought. As everyone was partying in the dining hall, celebrating the crew reunion, Rick noticed Robin missing. He looked around for her and found her outside on a small balcony looking towards the ind. He got closer and stopped right behind her. ¡°I¡¯m sorry.¡± was all he said. ¡°I¡¯m sorry I failed you. I¡­ I just didn¡¯t want to hurt you more than I already have and¡­¡± He couldn¡¯t finish his apology as Robin turned around and said two words he didn¡¯t expect to hear from her. All the while looking at him dead in the eye. ¡°Marry me.¡± she said. He was stunned and his mouth hung open. She got closer and took his hands in hers still looking him in the eyes and spoke again. ¡°I¡­ I need you more than anything in my life. I want you more than anything in my life. I¡¯ll miss you more than anything in my life and I love you more than anything in my life. So please¡­ Marry me.¡± ¡°I¡­ always wanted to ask you the same question. Ever since we got back from Skypiea.¡± ¡°Then ask.¡± Rick put a hand in his pocket and pulled out what he had taken from the treasure room. He knelt in front of her and heard her holding her breath. He looked up into her eyes and raised his hands with a ring in them. ¡°Nico Robin, will you marry me?¡± She extended her left hand and separated her fingers. ¡°Yes.¡± she said, tears running down her cheeks and smiling. Rick put the ring on her ring finger. It was a bit too big, but none of them cared. Suddenly they heard ss breaking and they turned their head to look inside. The entire crew stood in line and were looking at them. Jimbei and Shirahoshi were there too. There were three groups. The first one had the ones shocked and not in the know of their rtionship. That is Luffy, Zoro, Usopp, Chopper and Jimbei. The second group were the ones heartbroken and not in the know too. It includes Shirahoshi and Sanji. Both were on the ground crying silently but profusely. Thest group was the ones in the know and happy for their friends, that is Nami, Franky and Brook. They all had a big grin on their faces. ¡°Ro¡­¡± ¡°Yes?¡± ¡°I think we got caught.¡± Robin rolled her eyes and picked her fiance from the ground before taking his face in both her hands and gave him a smoldering kiss. Chapter 86: Too Long [R-18] Chapter 86: Too Long [R-18] Announcement This is officially the longest chapter I ever wrote. Please take a moment to rate the story! Thank you. Chapter 86: Too Long [R-18] Nami was the first one to move. She ran towards the couple and embraced them. ¡°YEEEEEESSSSS!¡± she yelled. ¡°Okay, since when?¡± asked Usopp who got his bearings back. ¡°When, what?¡± replied Rick, ying coy. ¡°Since when have the two of you been together?!¡± ¡°Oh, that?¡± ¡°YEAH THAT!¡± yelled Usopp, clearly done with his vice-captain''s nonchnt attitude. Rick was about to keep going when Robin put one of her hands on his mouth, and took the lead. ¡°When we got back to Water Seven.¡± ¡°That long?!¡± ¡°That long.¡± said Robin with a smile, removing her hand from her fiance¡¯s mouth and using it to take his hand in her own. Chopper got closer. ¡°I¡¯m happy for the two of you!¡± he said genuinely. ¡°Thank you, Chopper.¡± replied Robin. ¡°At least one of you is happy about it.¡± said Rick, sending a pike to Usopp. ¡°I¡¯m happy for you of course!¡± ¡°Hey! I was the first one to be happy for you!¡± said Nami. ¡°¡°Me too!¡±¡± said Franky and Brook in sync. ¡°Yes, but the three of you already knew we were together.¡± announced Robin. ¡°¡°¡°¡°Say what?!¡±¡±¡±¡± eximed everyone who wasn¡¯t aware, including Rick. ¡°How?¡± asked Luffy. ¡°I don¡¯t know about Brook, but I¡¯m observant. I got an idea of it when the three of us were on our way to Enies Lobby, that among other things¡± ¡°The fight with Moria¡± added Brook. ¡°The fight with Moria.¡± nodded Franky. ¡°I don¡¯t get it.¡± said Luffy. ¡°That¡¯s because you were not there at the time.¡± replied Nami. ¡°Basically Moria hurt Robin and the next second, Rick was looking like the devil and destroying Moria and Oars.¡± exined Usopp to his captain. ¡°He pushed the Robin button, he shouldn¡¯t have done that.¡± joked Franky. ¡°What button?¡± asked Luffy not understanding. ¡°Nevermind.¡± replied Franky. ¡°Were we that obvious?¡± wondered Rick ¡°Robin wasn¡¯t, you were.¡± answered Franky. ¡°Rea¡­¡± ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter.¡± said Robin, interrupting Rick. ¡°Yeah, what matters is the wedding!¡± said Nami. ¡°What wedding?¡± asked Luffy. ¡°THEY¡¯RE GETTING MARRIED STUPID!¡± yelled the redhead love punching him. ¡°And to think he¡¯s the one that will officiate it.¡± said Rick in a whisper that was heard by Robin. ¡°It¡¯s going to be fine.¡± she answered. It wasn¡¯t missed by Usopp. ¡°What do you mean, Luffy would be officiating at your wedding?¡± ¡°Unless there is a priest in it, in a crew the only one with the power to marry two people is a captain.¡± replied Rick. ¡°I can do that?!¡± eximed a surprised Luffy. ¡°Yes, now do you want to do it or do we have to find some religious dude on the ind?¡± ¡°Heck yeah I¡¯m doing it!¡± ¡°Let¡¯s celebrate!¡± yelled Usopp! ¡°¡°¡°¡°¡°YEAH!!¡±¡±¡±¡±¡± Brook began to y some music and the celebration started. Robin let go of Rick¡¯s hand and, together with Nami, went to see Shirahoshi who was still crying on the ground. Everyone ignored Sanji lost in his own world. ~~~~~ Rick was already in bed when he felt someone slyther in behind him. The intruder put their arms around him,id their head against his back and inhaled deeply his scent. He tried to turn around gently but was locked in ce. ¡°To me, it has only been barely a week since we got separated from each other and I missed you like crazy. I can¡¯t imagine how it was for you those two years. I would have just wasted away in grief while you got stronger and even more beautiful.¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°Are you sure about this? It may be the shortest marriage in history.¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°I feel so¡­cking. So¡­ out of my league.¡± confessed the ex-marine, taking her hands in his. ¡°Are you having second thoughts?¡± asked Robin. ¡°Never. You¡¯re my perfect woman. I just don¡¯t want you to regret it.¡± ¡°I already did, two years ago.¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°What¡­ Do you mean?¡± ¡°I should have asked you back then. I just¡­ didn¡¯t realize at the time. I knew you were perfect for me but¡­ I was scared to take that step, with your condition. I was scared to lose everything on terms that were out of my control again, aftermitting.¡± ¡°And you¡¯re not anymore? My condition is still the same.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not. And I have a feeling that you¡¯ll be back to me.¡± ¡°Oh? Got those too now?¡± ¡°After the time spent with my fianc¨¦, it was a given he¡¯ll just rub off his powers on me.¡± ¡°Your fiance sounds awesome.¡± ¡°He¡¯s an idiot. Bragging about being right all the time, always behaving like a child and so much more¡­¡± ¡°Wow, thank you very much.¡± ¡°But most of all, he knows and understands my pain. And he¡¯s mine. All mine.¡± Rick turned around to face Robin. This time she didn¡¯t stop him. They both looked into each other¡¯s eyes. ¡°That, I am. Yours, all yours, no matter what happens.¡± ¡°I know. Just as I know you¡¯ll find a way to live ande back to me.¡± He brought up a hand to cup one of her cheeks and she melted in it. He kissed her sweetly and let his other hand roam her naked body, from her waist to her back then to her ass. That¡¯s when Robin put a stop to it. ¡°Nu-huh.¡± ¡°Uh-uh.¡± ¡°Nu-huh. Not before the wedding.¡± she said. ¡°Ro¡­ It¡¯s kinda two years toote for that.¡± heughed. ¡°That¡¯s not what I meant. I want you to be at your peak for our wedding night.¡± ¡°I guess I¡¯ll have toply with my future wife¡¯s demands.¡± ¡°As if you could refuse me anything.¡± ¡°You¡¯re right I can¡¯t.¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°So you being naked and all touchy is just some kind of tease?¡± ¡°Hmmm. no. I just wanted to feel you with my whole body. The tease is just a bonus.¡± ¡°You¡¯re evil.¡± ¡°And you love it.¡± ¡°And I love it.¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°...¡± Rick broke eye contact and rolled on his back, bringing Robin with him, positioning her right on top of him. ¡°You know¡­ I thought you¡¯d be with Nami tonight.¡± ¡°She¡¯s with the princess.¡± ¡°Oh yes, what¡¯s up with her? I saw you and Nami leaving the party for a while.¡± ¡°The princess was a bit heartbroken by our wedding news. Somehow my fianc¨¦ stole her heart in less than a day.¡± she answered with a knowing smile. ¡°Well¡­ when I saw her, the first thing I thought was ¡° Robin would love to tie her up.¡±¡± ¡°Can you me me? She¡¯s the perfect submissive!¡± ¡°No I can¡¯t. I wanted to bend her over and spank her before doing some motorboating.¡± ¡°Hmph.¡± said Robin, pping his chest. ¡°There is no need to be jealous, they¡¯re not as big or as perfect as yours. It¡¯s just¡­¡± ¡°I get it, she¡¯s 11m tall¡­¡± ¡°Did the two of you have the talk with her?¡± ¡°We did.¡± ¡°And?¡± ¡°And she¡¯s indecisive.¡± ¡°So that¡¯s why Nami is with her. To corrupt her.¡± ¡°More or less.¡± ¡°Poor girl, she has no chance.¡± ¡°She had none the moment she met you. But yes our kitten will have some fun with that little fish.¡± ¡°Speaking of kitten¡­ She¡¯s wearing the cor.¡± ¡°She does.¡± ¡°I remember she kept it a bit on Sabaody after you put it on her but removed it before joining the rest of the crew. Now she¡¯s wearing it in in sight.¡± ¡°That¡¯s because she loves you and me.¡± ¡°She already did before, what changed?¡± ¡°The nature of her love. She realized that it was romantic, not just a really close friendship.¡± ¡°She matured so much in all the right ces.¡± ¡°That she did.¡± ¡°She¡¯s not the only one whose body changed for the better.¡± ¡°You can tell?¡± ¡°Of course I can tell. I have every inch of your perfect body stuck in my mind.¡± ¡°Oh, really?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°Prove it.¡± ¡°What?¡± ¡°Prove it.¡± ¡°Two years ago your three sizes were : 99-59-89. Now, to my greatest delight they¡¯re : 100-60-90.¡± ¡°... You do have every inch of my body in your head.¡± ¡°Did you expect anything less from me?¡± ¡°In insight? No.¡± ¡°Let that be a lesson. My love for you is beyond reason.¡± ¡°More like obsession.¡± ¡°Love, obsession¡­ Would you have it any other way?¡± ¡°Absolutely not.¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°You know¡­ I really like your new hair style.¡± ¡°Is it now?¡± ¡°Yes, now I can easily do this.¡± Rick lowered his head and kissed her on her forehead, making her smile. ¡°I like your new clothes too. That Jacket? Just wow, it makes your boobs even better. And that sarong? Shows plenty of your beautiful and unending legs. I have to ask though, you¡¯re tying it pretty low, and I don¡¯t see any hint of panties, so are you goingmando all day?¡± ¡°Fufufu. You can find out tomorrow.¡± ¡°I guess I will.¡± They looked at each other a few more moments before Rick decided to reverse their position, making him on top of her. Robin was not worried about him trying something, he gave his word and he always kept it. He did go down a bit though, and let his head rest on the valley of her breasts while embracing her. ¡°Goodnight¡± he said. ¡°Goodnight¡± she answered, putting her hand in his hair, caressing it before falling asleep. ~~~~~ Nami had dragged Robin to the upper district of fishman ind, along an absent minded Shirahoshi, who was in her normal size. The secret about her devil fruit abilities and her ability to swim had only been known to the crew, Jimbei and her family for her own protection. As for why she was with the two others¡­ Well Nami thought that stores would give her an ever better discount with her present. They were on their way to a clothing store that could make some adjustments. The merfolk being from all sizes and origin, those kinds of stores were not rare but it was rmended by Pappag (Camie¡¯s starfish friend). As for what needed adjustments? The wedding dress Nami wore, against her will, on Thriller Bark. The dress was beautiful and it would have been a waste to get rid of it, furthermore after the conversation with Rick back then, the redhead thought it would be in Robin¡¯s best interest to keep it. Speaking of the bride, while she liked to be dressed nicely, she didn¡¯t care that much about her wedding dress but got along with her friend''s antics for the sole and unique reason that she wanted to take Rick¡¯s breath away. She was by no means a Bridezi. A small ceremony with her friends around to celebrate it, on Sunny was enough for her. That was not surprising, she only had two things in her mind for as long she could remember. History and survival. The thought of one day falling in love and getting married never came up. Nami on the other hand was the maid of honor from hell. She reluctantly epted Robin¡¯s wishes for a simple ceremony. And by reluctantly epted it means that Robin had put her feet down and used her authority as her owner to reign her in. That wasn¡¯t going to stop the redhead to get the best for her friends though and she went all out. As the new measurements were done the tailor spoke up. ¡°Again, I¡¯m good. I have everything I need, the dress will be ready in three days.¡± ¡°THREE DAYS?!¡± ¡°Yes, three days?¡± ¡°You got one, it must be ready for tomorrow morning.¡± ¡°That¡¯s impossible I¡­¡± ¡°SHIRAHOSHI!!!¡± called out Nami. ¡°Y-Yes?¡± came the answer from outside the window. The mermaid princess, since she was too big to enter the store, waited outside and was looking through a window. ¡°P-p-p- PRINCESS?!¡± said in surprise the tailor. ¡°He said he can¡¯t make the dress for tomorrow.¡± ¡°R-really? Y-you can¡¯t d-do it for tomorrow?¡± she asked in a really sweet voice with tears at the corner of her eyes. That had the desired effect on the tailor. ¡°THIS DRESS WILL BE DONE FOR TOMORROW EVEN IF I HAVE TO DIE FROM EXHAUSTION AFTERWARD!¡± ¡°You evil little kitten¡± whispered Robin into Nami¡¯s ear whileughing softly. In the end the navigator even got to have everything for free, even her own dress. ~~~~~ Now let''s take a look at the groom''s side. ¡°Wait a minute, why am I out of the best man selection?!¡± Asked Usopp. ¡°Me too!¡± said Chopper! ¡°And me!¡± chimed in Luffy. ¡°Luffy you¡¯re the one marrying me, you can¡¯t be the best man at the same time.¡± answered Rick. ¡°Oh, right, I forgot.¡± ¡°Chopper, I have a job that only you can do.¡± ¡°What is it?¡± ¡°I know it would mean a lot to Robin if you were the flower boy and the ring bearer.¡± That was true. Robin loved cute things and was always having Chopper in her arms when he was in his normal form. ¡°Really?!¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°Then I¡¯ll do it!¡± said Chopper, fired up. ¡°Usopp, I have a task for youter.¡± Turning around he looked at Sanji, Zoro and Jimbei. The three candidates for the position of best man. Speaking of Sanji, he had recovered from the shock of the discovery and congratted Rick, while he was still crying. The vice-captain thanked him and cheered him up, saying that he¡¯ll find his specialdy someday. ¡°So who won?¡± ¡°I did.¡± said Zoro holding the longest stick out of the three ¡°Good.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t understand why I was even selected as a candidate.¡± ¡°Because you¡¯re my friend Jimbei.¡± ¡°I see. It was an honor.¡± said the fishman. ¡°Let''s do a recap. Franky you have to build chairs for the guests, remember the royal family is there and they are all big.¡± ¡°No problem.¡± answered the Cyborg. ¡°Don¡¯t forget that you¡¯re the one walking Robin down the aisle. Brook, thank you for ying, how is the search for musicians going on?¡± ¡°Great, I already found all that I needed.¡± ¡°Sanji, do you have everything you need for the food?¡± ¡°Yes, Robin and you will have the best wedding cake.¡± ¡°Thank you. Zoro the alcohol?¡± ¡°The best I could find, but I¡¯ll need Nami¡¯s help to haggle down the prices.¡± ¡°I may find some in the fishman district, now that it¡¯s closed.¡± said Jimbei. ¡°What about me?¡± said an impatient Usopp. Rick took him apart from the group and had a private talk. What he asked was a bit difficult. ¡°But I don¡¯t even know¡­¡± ¡°You just have to change the hair''s color.¡± ¡°That¡¯s it?¡± ¡°That¡¯s it.¡± ¡°How big do you want it?¡± ¡°Hmm.. big enough to take a seat?¡± ¡°Hmmmmm. Okay I can do it but I have to start now, I can¡¯t waste any time.¡± ¡°Thank you Usopp, I didn¡¯t want Robin and I to get married without it.¡± ¡°No problem, you can count on me.¡± ~~~~~ The day had passed and a new one began. Everyone was in position. Their friends were where they needed to be. Camie, Pappag, Jimbei and the entirety of the royal family was here. Luffy was in the front and facing everyone. Just before him were Rick and Zoro on his left and Nami on his right, which was the bride''s side. ¡°Getting jitters?¡± asked Zoro to the groom who couldn¡¯t stand in ce. ¡°No. Just worried that she¡¯d change her mind.¡± ¡°That would make things awkward in the crew if she did.¡± replied the swordsman which earned him a smack on the head by Nami. ¡°Worst best man ever! You¡¯re supposed to reassure him!¡± she said before turning to Rick. ¡°There is no way she¡¯d change her mind.¡± ¡°I know, I know but¡­¡± Rick stopped mid-sentence when Brook and the band started to y music. He turned around to look at his bride, at his future wife. The woman he had schemed to get in the sheets and ended up fallingpletely in love with, to the point of madness. His eyes were focused on her, nothing else existed in that moment. A hundred buster calls could have been happening around and he would not have noticed. He was mesmerized by beauty and appearance. Robin walked down the stairs of Sunny at the arm of Franky, with a beatific smile on her face that everyone could see despite the veil that covered it. Arriving on the deck she went slowly towards the makeshift altar the cyborg built for the asion. She was led by Chopper, in a really cute tuxedo, who was throwing flowers from a basket, paving her way. Just like Rick was focused on her, she was focused on him. She held out onughing seeing his facial expression, he was enchanted with his mouth open, hanging low. From the moment he saw her his eyes never left her. She was now by his side looking at the front, towards Luffy. But he was still fixed on her. Sounds of people talking could be heard but he didn¡¯t pay attention to any of it. Only Robin existed in this world. Everyone was silent, and looking at Rick. It was his turn to speak and he was quiet, just looking at Robin. He was brought out from whatever world he was in when Zoro smacked the back of his head. ¡°You can admire her all you wantter. Get married first.¡± That made everyoneugh, except Luffy. He took the ring Chopper presented and put it on Robin¡¯s ring finger and she then did likewise. ¡°I¡¯m not repeating all that I said because it¡¯s too long so¡­ Rick, do you want to marry Robin and be together until death?¡± ¡°I died twice and even death couldn¡¯t stop me from getting back to her. So yes, I do.¡± ¡°Robin, same question.¡± ¡°I do.¡± ¡°Good.¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°¡°¡°¡°¡°¡°¡°¡°¡°¡°¡°...¡±¡±¡±¡±¡±¡±¡±¡±¡±¡±¡±¡± ¡°That¡¯s the moment when you say he can kiss the bride YOU IDIOT!¡± yelled nami love punching his captain in the face! ¡°Ya may kith the bride.¡± said Luffy with busted lips and some missing teeth. Rick didn¡¯t care, he didn¡¯t spare a single second and turned to Robin, took her by the waist with one hand, removed her veil with the other and poured out everything he felt at this precise moment for her in the kiss. Everyone cheered loudly! When they broke it up they both looked at each other with nothing but love. ¡°Thank you.¡± said Robin. ¡°What for?¡± ¡°My mom¡¯s portrait.¡± That was the task he had assigned to Usopp. Making a huge portrait of Olivia so she could, in spirit, assist at her daughter¡¯s wedding. That was an easy thing to do, Usopp being quite the artist and Robin looking exactly like her mother except with ck hair instead of white. ¡°She¡¯s my mother-inw. I couldn¡¯t let her out of our wedding.¡± ¡°Always thoughtful of others. I love that about you.¡± ¡°Do you think she would approve of me?¡± ¡°If I¡¯m anything like her, she would have.¡± ¡°Good enough for me.¡± he replied before kissing her again. ~~~~~ ¡°Almost three years ago, on our way to the kingdom of basta, we found a wreck floating on water. We picked him up on our ship. Oh boy was it a sight. Dirty long hair and dirty long beard, worn out clothes with holes everywhere. It turned out it was Rick. One of the most wanted sailors by the navy. I had heard about the awful stories about him but none of them were true. He was an outgoing person, fiercely loyal and protective to his friends. Almost three years ago, in the kingdom of basta, we met Robin. She was working for the enemy¡¯s side. Well¡­ Magic happened and she ended up joining the crew. She was reserved and very detached outwardly but was caring just as much. They are two sides of the same coin, so different from each other and yet so simr. I¡¯ve never seen two people fit more perfectly together than those two.¡± said Nami, making a speech. ¡°I wish nothing but the best for the two of you, you earned it and you deserved it.¡± was with what she ended, tears of joy falling on her cheeks. Rick made her float and brought her between Robin and him. They both gave her a kiss on her wet cheeks and a hug, thanking her, before letting her go. Everyone was partying. Dancing, eating, singing and doing some weird disy of skills. The usual party that the crew was used to. Robin was leaning onto her husband''s shoulder, people watching, when he seemed to have a revtion. ¡°What is it?¡± ¡°Nami talking about basta reminded me of something.¡± ¡°What?¡± ¡°Remember when that huge galleon fell from the sky and almost crushed us?¡± ¡°Yes?¡± ¡°Do you remember what we were doing just before?¡± ¡°Hmm¡­ I cut your hair and removed that awful beard.¡± ¡°Yes, but I meant, do you remember what we were talking about?¡± ¡°Can¡¯t say that I do but it seems like you do.¡±she replied, making himugh. ¡°Oh, yes I remember alright.¡± ¡°Come on. Out with it.¡± ¡°I was joking that now I could get a good wife. And youughed as if it was impossible.¡± ¡°...¡± she tried to recall that moment until a sh of recollection hit her. ¡°I remember now! You took it as a challenge to find a wife and¡­¡± ¡°And I said that I¡¯d marry you.¡± he smiled at her. ¡°And you did.¡± she answered with the same happy smile he gave her before kissing him. ¡°And I did.¡± ¡°Was it one of your feelings?¡± ¡°No. It was just a joke on the spur of the moment. Yet when we got back from Skypiea, I knew you were the one. Do you know what that means?¡± ¡°That everything you say happens?¡± she joked. ¡°I wish, but no. To me it means that you beat thews of nature.¡± ¡°Thews of nature.¡± ¡°Trusting your guts.¡± he rified. She just rolled her eyes and repositioned herself so she could melt in his embrace, her head nuzzling his neck. Finally, the party slowed down. And some people started going home. They caught Nami refusing a drunk Sanji¡¯s relentless advances after she had caught the bouquet of flowers. That made everyoneugh for a while. ¡°Mrs Wal D Robin, would you like to retreat to our chamber?¡± ¡°Wal D Robin?¡± she repeated with an eyebrow raise. ¡°You don¡¯t like it? I thought you always wanted my D.¡± he joked, earning him a p on the chest. ¡°Ouch! That was uncalled for!¡± he said feigning ignorance and injury. ¡°Stop making stupid jokes and lets go.¡± ¡°Is it a bad time to remind you that you owe me a princess carry?¡± She didn¡¯t answer his question, instead she put her arms around his neck and pulled herself up. By reflex he caught her and was now the one doing a princess carry. Robin looked at him dead in the eye and said a two wordmand. ¡°Bedroom, now!¡± He just smiled and brought her inside Sunny while she closed her eyes and let her head rest in the crook of his neck with a smile on her face. ~~~~~ Thanks to his Me Me no mi powers he didn¡¯t have to let go of Robin and opened the door to their bedroom by sprouting a single arm. Once inside he walked towards the bed with the purpose ofying his new wife gently on it but was stopped. ¡°Please let me down.¡± she asked. He looked at her questionnaire when she exined herself. ¡°I like this dress, I don''t want you to tear it apart.¡± ¡°I like it too and I definitely want to tear it off of you violently but I agree with you. It would be a good reminder to keep intact. However, I want to do something before you remove it.¡± he announced as heid her down on her two on feet. Robin didn¡¯t say anything but was curious. She watched him go down on his knees and took her left leg in his hand. He started raining slow butterfly kisses from her ankle and was making his way up. His head went under her dress and kept its ministration. Robin felt something she hadn¡¯t felt in two years. A heat at her core, which was getting hotter and hotter to the point that she started secreting fluids that dripped slowly down her thighs. When Rick got a taste of her during a kiss he started licking her, following her love juice¡¯s trail with his tongue, very very slowly. Letting it roam towards the source of what he thought and believed the best nectar he had ever tasted. The best in the world which he was addicted to. Just as he was about to reach his ultimate panty d goal, he deviated from it to go higher, making his wife groan in frustration. She needed to feel him in that ce, to feel his warm tongue and his breath on it. But more than a need that she had, she had a craving for it, but she didn¡¯t do anything to stop him. She knew that he had a n and that letting her husband do as he pleased would make her reach bliss. Rick started his butterfly kisses on her once again just above her snatch. Meanwhile Robin was already breathing hard, letting small but cute moans out of her mouth. When she felt him going down towards her other thighs, she almost lost it in frustration and grabbed his head to shove it just where she wanted. But she held on with, mustering every ounce of willpower she had. As her husband got near his goal while kissing down her right thigh, he suddenly broke the rhythm and gave her a powerful but quick lick on herher region. From the bottom to the top of her covered lips. The effect was instantaneous, Robin let out a loud and guttural moan, grabbing his head and shoving it against her pussy for more. She hadn¡¯te but was close to it as the amount of secretion she was producing exploded. Rick pulled down her white panties which werepletely drenched, and lost himself for a moment in the searing heat and sweet smell that were now free to overload his senses. While his face was pushed forward, he grabbed one ass cheek of her perfect bubble butt in each hand, to steady her. Gently of course, they were only beginning, the rough part wouldeter. Next, he finally startedpping at her pussy, his pussy now, like a man who was dying of thirst after days in the desert without water. Robin didn¡¯t bother to try to subdue her voice. She was too far gone by what her lover was doing. She was tortured mercilessly. She felt every single act of his tongue. When he licked both her lips at the same time, or when he put his tongue inside he licked just one before doing the same to the other. Finally he licked her beautiful bud and started sucking hard on it. That was it for Robin. She screamed as she never screamed before. Screamed like a banshee but out of pleasure. She pushed forward her pelvis while pushing his head against it. She squirted like she never did before. It wasn¡¯t a rare urrence for her to do so but notmon either. It was only when Rick went beyond and gave her a shattering world orgasm. And this one was the best she ever had. Rick had sprouted arms to hold her steady in a sh when he felt his wife''s body shaking violently in his hands. His face was flooded, but he didn¡¯t care, quite the contrary he loved it, that was proof that his love was in bliss and that he did a good job. The bigger the amount the better for him. He got out from under her dress and the ground. Standing up he brought her into his arms embracing her in a tight loving hug, while making his sprouts go away. Her breath was ragged. Not wanting her to catch her breath yet he kissed her with passion. His tongue led the dance. It was only when she pushed him away to get some air that they stopped. Still holding her he waited for her to get her bearings back, which she did after a few minutes. ¡°That¡­ That¡­ was¡­¡± she said in a whisper still catching her breath a bit. ¡°It was.¡± ¡°God, I needed that.¡± ¡°d I could help.¡± ¡°Did I always taste so good on your lips?¡± ¡°I¡¯m surprised too. You always tasted good but this time it was out of this world.¡± She put her hands on each side of his head, and started licking what was left of her on his face. That led to another tongue battle. ¡°I really love tasting myself from your lips and tongue.¡± ¡°I sadly can¡¯t say the same.¡± he joked, making her smile. ¡°And yet you still do it on the rare times I go for it. For me.¡± ¡°For you. Anything for you.¡± he whispered, taking her face in one of his hands and rubbing her cheek gently with his thumb. ¡°I need you in me now.¡±she whispered in his ear before pushing him on the bed. She started to remove her dress, slowly, to tease him. Giving him a good look at what she was going to give him. Rick started to undress himself without letting his eyes look at anything but the sight in front of him. He nearly jumped on her when she bent forward, letting her huge, perfect breasts hang and swing a bit as she was putting her dress down. He wanted so much to put his head in there, to squashed shem with his own two hands, lick her beautiful dark pink ares; suck and bite those oh, so delicious dark pink nipple. But he resisted. When the dress had passed the level of her belly button, Robin stopped and turned around, still bent over, she continued to remove her dress showing bit by bit her big and perfect bubble butt. That did it. Rick couldn¡¯t restrain himself anymore. He wanted to bury his head in this ass and nothing would stop him. Except his wife. She knew she would break him. She had noticed long ago that after her eyes, her ass was his favorite part of her body. He was always fondling it or trying to reach it unconsciously. So when he tried to raise himself for the bed she was ready. She instantly bloomed hands which grabbed him and put him back down. ¡°I don¡¯t think so, dear husband. It¡¯s my turn to lead now.¡± He let out a very angry and irritated groan, making herugh. She finally got out of her dress. Almostpletely naked, she was only wearing her garter belt. No bra, no panties, no stockings. To make him even more mad, she had her left hand hiding her pussy and her right hand horizontally pressed against her breasts, hiding her nipples, and making them overflow a bit from the top and bottom. She observed him and he waspletely lost in lust. For her. Only for her. She grinned, satisfied with what she was doing to him and started walking towards their beds. The closer she got, the less he fought his restrain. After a few seconds she was standing above him, each leg on either side of his thighs. ¡°Are you ready?¡± ¡°YESS! DAMNIT YESS!¡± That was it. Robin crouched down and grabbed his dick in one hand. ¡°God I love his dick. My dick now.¡± she thought. It was big and thick, the best she ever had. It was veiny too, and she loved to feel them when he was deep inside of her. It scraped her walls like nothing ever did. She was letting her hand explore up and down that tower made of flesh as she was lost in nostalgia about what pleasure it gave to her. Suddenly she decided to take a page from her husband¡¯s book. She broke the rhythm. She impaled herself in one go, taking every single inch in her until her mound was against his groin. After two years with absolutely no action she was tight. Tighter than she had ever been for him. A wave of pleasure and acute pain mixed together left her core to the rest of her body. She gritted her teeth hard, right in disy, silent tears falling from the corner of her eyes. She put her hand on his chest to support herself while the bloomed ones restraining him faded, allowing him to grab her breasts roughly, which were way bigger than his own hands. His fingers buried themselves into them, letting her flesh overflow. Robin had climaxed. Hard would be the biggest understatement in History. Even the shattering orgasm she had a few minutes prior which was the best she ever had couldn¡¯tpare to the one she was having right this instant. Feeling him, the man she loved more than anything, inside her again after so long was what helped. The difference between this orgasm and the one before was immense. Right now, her senses, her mind and her emotions were in perfect sync and at their peak. [Art belonging to "potatopanicking"] (While I do not share most of his kinks, I do find his art beautiful) She squirted again¡­ and again, stream after stream,pletely drenching her husband and the bed like she never did before. She did it for half a minute until her eyes zed and rolled into her head. Strength left her body and like a ragdoll copsed forward on a shocked Rick. Robin had never reacted that way before. Sure from time to time when they were really going at it she happened to faint but not like this. She never came that hard and just from pration, even if it was in one full thrust. ¡°Ro?¡± he asked, not feeling her breathing, but got no answer. ¡°Robin?¡± he asked again but still no answer. He was starting to panic and asked again when he heard inhale. That simple sound relieved him. He embraced her back with one arm and started patting the back of her hair with the other. He waited for her to regain consciousness, for her brain which had short circuited to reboot. Which she did after ten minutes. ¡°Are you alright?¡± he asked. ¡°...¡± she didn¡¯t answer verbally but made a small nod, her face still buried into his chest. ¡°I was worried.¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°You never did that before, what happened?¡± She didn¡¯t answer either, but lifted her head and kissed him on the lips longingly as if she was thanking him. After breaking the kiss sheid back her head sideways on his chest and gave him an answer. ¡°The moment I learned that you¡­ died, I¡­ My libido went down the drain.¡± ¡°What do you mean?¡± ¡°I had absolutely zero sexual desire anymore. Absolutely no urge, no itch needing to be scratched¡­¡± ¡°For two years?¡± ¡°Yes. When you died, my sex drive died with you.¡± ¡°That¡¯s why you were so tight? No action at all?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°But you were tighter than our first time together.¡± Hearing that sheughed softly. ¡°Why am I not surprised that you remember perfectly how narrow my pussy was back then.¡± ¡°My pussy.¡± She raised her head, looked at him in the eye and gave him a quick peck. ¡°Your pussy.¡± she agreed. ¡°As for your question, at the time I was perhaps single but I was taking care of myself.¡± ¡°Crocodile?¡± ¡°E no! Can you imagine how hard it would be to remove sand that deep! I took care of myself by myself thank you!¡± she protested in disgust making her husbandugh aloud. ¡°If your sex drive was inexistant howe¡­¡± ¡°It¡¯s because of you. I can¡¯t really exin it, but it¡¯s like the moment you were buried inside of me, a dam broke, letting out everything that was held back during those two years. It was¡­ cathartic. So¡­ blissful.¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°You know, we¡¯re going to need to change the sheets now.¡± he teased. ¡°Not now.¡± ¡°Not now?¡± ¡°No. Do you really think I¡¯m done? I¡¯ve got two years of orgasms to catch up to. And you didn¡¯te once yet. Besides there is no way I would stop at two no matter how great they were, on our wedding night.¡± She dered. To prove her point, she raised herself from his chest and turned around. Moving around the bed on all four, she reached the other end,id down her torso while raising her ass. ¡°I¡¯m ready to be rough. Are you?¡± she said while swinging her bubble butt right and left to entice him. She knew what she was doing as in a heartbeat he was on her. One hand on each of her ass cheeks,spreading them, grabbing them hard while his head took a dive into it, licking her rosebud. ¡°Haaan¡­. No! Not there!¡± Pulling himself out of those two glorious buns he replied. ¡°Since when are you against anal? That¡¯s your favorite.¡± ¡°I¡¯m role ying the innocent wife who doesn¡¯t know anything about sex.¡± That made Rickugh. That was one of the many reasons he loved her so much. She always knew how to keep things interesting in bed. ¡°Don¡¯t worry my dear, I¡¯ll lubricate it so much you won¡¯t feel any pain.¡± ¡°I hope nope, dear husband, I love a little pain.¡± ¡°Then let¡¯s not waste time anymore.¡± He pulled himself on his knees and put his cock at the entrance of her ass, putting a bit of pressure but not entering her. ¡°Is my dear innocent bride, ready to discover the pleasure of anal sex?¡± ¡°Yes! Show me!¡± yelled Robin, pushing her ass backward so she could take him in. In vain as he holds her firmly in ce. ¡°That¡¯s not the way an inexperienceddy should talk!¡± He reprimanded, her pping one of her ass cheeks with force making her moan. ¡°Please, dear husband, teach me about sex!¡± ¡°Better!¡± he said as he prated her in one go, burying himself to the hilt making her scream in pain and pleasure. He loved doing that, feeling her ass against his groin, hearing her screaming the way she did. Most of all he knew she loved it when he did that. Rick didn¡¯t move, letting Robin adapt to his intrusion. While she loved the pain and he loved giving some to her both didn¡¯t want for her to get hurt. Robin was breathing hard. That was not a small object she just took in her rear end. And despite how much the man she loved had lubricated it, it was still a difficult task. After a minute or two, she was alright. And began slowly, very slowly moving her ass back up. Rick knew that she was the one in charge until she said otherwise or screamed otherwise, and let her pick her own pace. When all was left was the crown of his cock inside, she moved her ass back down at the same speed, moaning a little. Meanwhile Rick used one of his hands to put it on her lower back, caressing her gently. After a few back and forth, Robin began to take up speed. Bit by bit, until she had a really good rhythm. Rick took control using the hand caressing her back to grab her hair in a ponytail and pulled. His partner raised her torso from the bed and was back on all four, her head pulled towards the back. He began giving her powerful thrust while giving her a good spanking. ¡°YES! YES! YES!¡± ¡°Do you like it?!¡± ¡°I LOVE IT!¡± ¡°More?¡± ¡°MORE! HARDER! DO IT HARDER!¡± Rick stopped the spanking and let go of her hair. His hands now free, found themselves on her swinging breasts, gripping them hard then squeezing them brutally, until the flesh overflowing between his fingers became pale. He had his chest against her back and began to pound her with everything he had. ¡°HAhaHAhaHA!¡± she screamed. ¡°How is it?!¡± ¡°YES! YES! GOD YES!¡± Everytime he thrusted into her, his testicules hit her clitoris, sending small electric shocks to the rest of her body. Itsted a few minutes until Rick decided to change position. He buried himself inside his ass as far and deep as he could and straightened himself bringing her with him as he was still gripping her breasts tightly. ¡°Noooooo! Don¡¯t stop! Please!¡± ¡°Oh, I¡¯m not stopping, baby!¡± He let go of her breasts and lowered his hands just behind her knees and picked up her legs. He stood up and got out of the bed, still balls deep inside her ass. Robin was trying to move along his shaft but he held her in ce. He walked towards the standing mirror on the side. ¡°Look at you, the perfect bride. My bride.¡± ¡°Yours! Yours!¡± she said as she began to pound her again. He raised her knees until they were close to her head, he extended his hands and started ying with her nipples while her thigh squeezed her magnificent breasts together while she put her arms behind her to circle his head and hold on to it. He thrusted again and again and when he felt her approaching her climax. He pinched her nipples hard and bit the crook of her neck with so much pressure that he drew blood. That did the trick for Robin and for the third time this night, came. She let out another banshee scream and squirted again. Not as much as she did previously but enough. Her ass contracted so much that it made Rick cum and flood it. She went limp and so did Rick¡¯s cock which got free of her ass. With her asshole gaping a lot all the cum began to drop like a waterfall. Catching their breath a bit, Robin turned her head and started giving him small kisses. Rick turned around and went back to bed where heid her delicately on it and turned her around so she could be on her back. Her hair was disheveled and he came to her side and put them behind her ears. He put his cock on her lips and without saying anything opened her mouth and started to clean him up. Bobbing her head up and down his shaft as if it was the most natural thing to do. Her cleaning up blowjob made him hard again and once he was ready he pulled it out of her mouth. It wasn¡¯t easy as she didn¡¯t want to let him go and tried to apply pressure on his cock while at the same time sking so hard her cheek caved in. Sadly it was for naught as Rick extracted himself with a loud pop, making Robin whine at the loss. ¡°More, please.¡± she whispered. ¡°Robin, at the rate you are going, we¡¯ll need to take a break or you¡¯ll dehydrate yourself.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t care.¡± He sighed but didn¡¯t reply back. Instead he moved around and positioned himself for the missionary position, putting his cock above her pussy grinding up and down. ¡°Are you sure?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± The answer came from behind him as two arms circled his chest and a head came resting upon one of his shoulders. He turned his head and saw a second Robin looking at him. Turning back to the first, he feigned his surprise. ¡°You can clone yourself?¡± ¡°Among other things.¡± ¡°Oh my goddess, please marry me.¡± ¡°I already did, you idiot.¡± she replied, smiling at his stupid joke. ¡°That you did, thank you for that.¡± She didn¡¯t reply but her clone, who was naked, moved from behind him and straddled the original on her stomach facing Rick. She bent forward and took him in her mouth and bobbed her head a few times before letting him go and taking him in her hands. He grabbed the original legs and brought them up. The clone then guided him slowly inside the real Robin¡¯s pussy and he began thrusting gently. If the session from before was violent and animalistic, this one was diffrent from a good fuck. They were making love and taking their time for it. After a few minutes, while he was thrusting into her and kissing her clone he asked her to get rid of it. She did so because he asked but she was curious as to why. She didn¡¯t have to wait long for an answer before she got an answer. ¡°Even if she¡¯s you, it wasn¡¯t the two of us anymore.¡± he said, putting her legs around his waist and bringing himself down. Robin locked her legs as he put his arms behind her back and grabbed her shoulder, pressing himself against her chest while still moving in and out of her. ¡°Though, I won¡¯t mind if she could make another appearance next time.¡± he said with a smile, his nose touching hers. ¡°I¡¯m sure she and her sisters would be interested to try my handsome husband again.¡± ¡°Goddess, I hope so.¡± he replied before kissing her as she wrapped her arms behind his neck. After ten minutes of this slow rhyme they both wanted more from and for each other, and Rick began to thrust faster and harder into her. Robin had another idea in mind. She wanted him to orgasm as hard as she did and she knew how to do it. She knew every single one of his kinks and knew which ones she could use for that. Blooming hands, she reached toward her nightstand, took her reading sses and put them on. ¡°Oh?¡± he eximed, wondering what she was ying at. ¡°Pound me baby! Pound me into the bed! USE ME AS YOUR MATING PRESS!¡± Rick didn¡¯t make her wait. Once again he grabbed her legs and raised them up until her knees were on each side of her head. He started pounding her harder like he ever did before and Robin began her dirty talk. ¡°HARDER! POUND ME HARDER!¡± she screamed as she yed with her nipples Rick didn¡¯t think it was possible but he did and every time he thrusted in his cock collided with cervix. ¡°RUIN ME FOR ANY OTHER MAN! RUIN ME! MOLD YOUR PUSSY! GIVE IT THE SHAPE OF YOUR COCK! DO IT! SO IT CAN ONLY ACCEPT YOUR COCK!¡± Her dirty talk was effective, he was now thrusting into her so hard and so fast that she began to be painful. She didn¡¯t care, she liked that kind of pain. She felt her climax approaching and felt his dick expanding a bit. He was about to reach his limit and she decided to go all out. ¡°INSIDE! I WANT IT INSIDE! GIVE ME YOUR SEED! BREED ME!¡± she yelled. Rick went balls deep into her and let out a torrent of cum that flooded her womb as he let out a very primal grunt and made his wife climax for the fourth time this night. When her baby chamber was full, the surplus of cum went the other way and started leaking out of her pussy, running down her asshole who wasn¡¯tpletely close yet. He copsed on top of her.Both were exhausted and probably done. After a few minutes to catch their breath Rick rolled them around and ended up on his back with Robin on top of him. ¡°This¡­¡± he began. ¡°Was the best¡­¡± ¡°Session¡­¡± ¡°Yet.¡± They looked at each other andughed. It was the first time since they had been reunited that they did their thing. Taking off her sses and putting them down back on the nightstand, Rick started to pat her head and caress her lower back, while Robin rested her own head against his chest. They didn¡¯t do anything, enjoying the aftermath of a great night of sex. Suddenly Rick snorted, prompting Robin to look up. ¡°What is it?¡± she asked, curious. ¡°I was thinking about what you said earlier.¡± ¡°What did I say?¡± ¡°That if you were anything like your mother she¡¯d approve of me.¡± ¡°I¡¯m sure she would.¡± ¡°That¡¯s not what I was thinking.¡± ¡°What were you thinking then?¡± ¡°If she would have been interested in a mother-daughter threesome.¡± he joked. Robin snorted and rolled her eyes before pping his chest. ¡°Idiot.¡± ¡°Your idiot.¡± ¡°My idiot.¡± They didn¡¯t say anything else. They shared onest kiss and slowly fell asleep, with Rick still inside Robin. Neither of them wished otherwise. Not a chapter but fun facts #5 Not a chapter but fun facts #5 Chapter 86.5: Not a chapter but fun facts 5 Here we are again for NacB #5 I loved writing his arc. While it¡¯s not my favorite by far ( It will Always be Water Seven / Enies Lobby), I took real pleasure making it. Proof of that is, the length of the chapters. The ones going beyond the 2K words mark went really beyond, with some reaching 7k+ and 8k+. I have to admit though, the chapter on fishman ind with Rick absent was boring to do. The next two with him back were a thrill! I couldn¡¯t stop writing.. In the first chapter, I tried my best to find songs that fitted each character as best as possible with different genres. The one that made meugh the most is Nami¡¯s! It¡¯s serious heavy metal and with the guy is whispering out of fright at the beginning¡­ I just thought it was perfect for her, all the while heavy metal not suiting her. Sanji¡¯s was hrious too. The only one I¡¯m still unsure about is Chopper''s. Oh well¡­ What I like the most in his arc is the introduction of little Lynda ( which we may or may not see again before the epilogue), The development of Rick¡¯s character ( a bit) but most of all, Robin¡¯s. I love writing about their rtionship. This arc is also the first one with sex in it. I mean¡­ there was sex before, but never shown. Now it¡¯s time for the fun facts:
  • Since Hancock was NOT supposed to be in the Harem, little Lynda was not supposed to exist. (On the other hand Eri was always nned. By me, not by Rick.)
  • Since Hancock is now part of the harem, I debated if I should have given her a child or not. In the end I did.
  • Robin was supposed to be the one to get pregnant, but it would have created a parallel between my fan fiction and Imbreak¡¯s Ultimate Fruit so I scrapped the idea and since Hancock was there and wasn¡¯t going to have a lot of screen time, I thought ¡±why not?¡±
  • Rick¡¯s reunion was not supposed to go like that at all. He was supposed to take Shirahoshi away and bring her to Sunny when Jimbei, Luffy and the rest of the crew would meet her while Rick was inside taking a nap. As the fight between Jimbei and Luffy stopped. Rick was supposed to burp loudly. Everyone would have turned towards the origin of the noise and stunned into silence at seeing him. He would have said something along the lines of. ¡° Sorry, soda always makes me burp. What¡¯s up?¡± and got a severe beating from Robin and Nami. Revealing Rick and Robin rtionship.
  • Franky and Brook were not supposed to know about R&R but I decided otherwise, and I thought it turned out great.
  • Rick wasn¡¯t supposed to get his Perfect Body until AFTER leaving fishman ind. ( Like immediately after)
  • I aged Shirahoshi a couple of years. Or rather I made it so she was born two years earlier making her 18 and eligible for being a member of the harem. No underage sex in this story and no Lolis. I hope I don¡¯t need to wave my hand again.
That¡¯s it for the fun facts. Now here are the chapters titles:
  1. Chapter 80: Quote from Carlton Pennington
  2. Chapter 81: From the ¡°Little Prince¡± by Saint-Exup¨¦ry
  3. Chapter 82: Opening n¡ã15.
  4. Chapter 83: Track 11 of Daft Punk¡¯s album Discovery.
  5. Chapter 84: Mortal Kombaaaaaat!
  6. Chapter 85: Track 9 of Daft Punk¡¯s album Discovery.
  7. Chapter 86: Track 14 of Daft Punk¡¯s album Discovery.
That¡¯s it! See you around in NaCB #6. Chapter 87: All you need is love, and a cat [R-18] Chapter 87: All you need is love, and a cat [R-18] Announcement New ARC! Please don''t forget to rate the story! Thank you! (The Pic of the chapter had its link reced. Pic should be disyed correctly now) Chapter 87: All you need is love, and a cat [R-18] After a long overdue night of passion, morning came. The newlywed couple were sound asleep when a little thieving cat entered their room, silently. She sniffed deeply the air and restrained a moan which she was about to let out. Tiptoeing towards the ends of the bed. She sneak under the sheets where she found what she wanted and needed. Carefully she let out her desires take over her. The effect was not immediate but after a few minutes, her owners began to stir up. ¡°Hmm¡­ Robin.¡± moans Rick in a low voice. ¡°Nooo¡­ I¡¯m too sore.¡± she whined in a whisper. That made her husband tick. Rick opened his eyes in an instant and saw his wife sprawled on his chest, clearly asleep and talking in it. He suddenly felt a tongue going from the bottom of his balls and go up, licking his cock then nothing while Robin began to whine again. He knew what was happening and decided to y the game too. ¡°Ro¡­ Wake up, it¡¯s time to feed our kitten.¡± ¡°Hmm¡­¡± ¡°Just so you know I¡¯m not the one making you feel good right now.¡± Hearing that, Robin raised herself from his chest, with her hands on it so she could support herself. She looked at him in the eyes quizzically when she felt lips sucking herher lips. ¡°Haaann.¡± She reacted immediately and bloomed hands, removing the sheets and restraining the little minx ying with her. ¡°Good morning, Nami.¡± said Rick, finally seeing the redhead. ¡°Good morning, indeed.¡± repeated Robin in a cold tone. ¡°Wow, that''s a cold greeting.¡± noted her husband, surprised at the coldness but ignored. ¡°Do you have anything to say for yourself?¡± Nami was on her belly, restrained by a dozen hands and gagged by one of them. ¡°Ro, don¡¯t expect an answer while gagging her.¡± he said, making her sigh. ¡°Alright.¡± Her hands went away and Nami was let go. As Rick was still inside of her and her kitten behind her back, it wasn¡¯t the best position to have a talk. She raised herself and winced as her husband¡¯s cock slipped out of her, then turned around before sitting in hisp as he too had repositioned himself. He put his arms around her midsection and grabbed a breast with one of them. Robin melted in his embrace and pushed herself back against his torso, while putting her head between his neck and shoulder. ¡°Again, what do you have to say for yourself?¡± ¡°I couldn¡¯t hold it anymore!¡± ¡°¡°What?¡±¡± ¡°The two of you were so loud that I couldn¡¯t sleep!¡± ¡°Oh! Sorry about that.¡± replied Rick a bit embarrassed, but not as much as Robin who¡¯s face became redder than a tomato. ¡°That¡¯s not the worst! You made me so horny!¡± She came forwards on her knees and grabbed Rick¡¯s erect cock in one hand. It was a funny sight as Robin¡¯s pussy was just above its root, leaking an ungodly amount ofst night cum that was left in Robin. ¡°I¡¯ve been missing this for two years now.¡± she said, starting to pump it. ¡°And this too.¡± she added before using her other hand¡¯s finger to probe the inside of Robin¡¯s pussy, making her sigh both in pain and contentment and making the cum flow more. ¡°Nami I yed with you the night before we left for fishman ind.¡± ¡°Yes, you yed with me but I didn¡¯t get to y with you back. You wouldn¡¯t let me.¡±ined Nami while pouting. ¡°You didn¡¯t tell her?¡± said Rick ¡°Tell me what?¡± ¡°A story forter. Now, we¡¯re talking about your punishment.¡± replied Robin. ¡°Punishment for what? The way I see things, I came to wake you up in the best way possible AND to clean up your mess! I should be rewarded!¡± ¡°You¡­¡± Robin¡¯s reply was caught in her throat when Nami dived in and startedpping and sucking every drop of cum dripping for Robin¡¯s pussy. She didn¡¯t take long to get everything before going down and cleaning everything else, finishing by bobbing hungrily her head up and down on her owner¡¯s cock. Her job done, she pulled back and straightened herself, looking at the two. ¡°The two of you really taste good together.¡± shemented. ¡°...¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°I wouldn¡¯t mind being woken up like this everyday.¡± said Rick, immediately regretting it as Robin took his balls in her hand and squeezed. ¡°Don¡¯t give her any idea.¡± ¡°Okay, okay, okay.¡± he agreed in a hurry. ¡°I don¡¯t mind, I just don''t want to be left out. I mean, you guys are married now, that changes things.¡± Rick and Robin looked at each other then at Nami. ¡°There is no way¡­¡± ¡°We would ever¡­¡± ¡°Abandon you.¡± ¡°You¡¯re our kitten¡­¡± ¡°Forever.¡± ¡°... It bothers me so much when you do that, but god did I miss it.¡± she said as she jumped in Robin¡¯s arms. The brte embraced her and let her kitten¡¯s head rest on her cleavage, while Rick used the hand that was doing some fondling to pat her head. Nami was in heaven. ¡°I do want my husband all for myself from time to time though. Just like I want you all to myself from time to time too.¡± ¡°Can I have our kitten all for myself sometimes too?¡± ¡°Of course.¡± ¡°So nothing actually changed then?¡± said Nami with her eyes peeking from Robin¡¯s cleavage and looking at the two people she loved. ¡°As far as I¡¯m concerned no.¡± announced Rick looking at his wife for confirmation. ¡°No, nothing changed.¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°Can I get in bed between the two of you until it¡¯s time to get up?¡± ¡°Sure.¡± Nami moved backwards letting Robin move away from Rick''sp. They allid down on the bed and the redhead put herself in the middle. The newlywed couple spooned her and Nami gave a long kiss to Rick. ¡°I missed that.¡± She turned around and faced Robin and did the same. ¡°So why didn¡¯t you let me y with you, Robin?¡± ¡°Well, after..¡± ¡°Wait!¡± Nami directed her hand towards her thighs where Rick¡¯s cock was nestled between them, rubbing her pussy by just being there. She took it in her hand and inserted it letting out a long cute moan. ¡°Nami, I don¡¯t think we have time for that.¡± said Rick. ¡°I just want you in me, it¡¯s been too long.¡± replied Nami as she pushed her ass back, taking his length until it touched his groin. Putting her hand above her pussy she could feel him making a big bump. Satisfied she grabbed Robin¡¯s breasts andid her chin at the top of her cleavage, allowing the possibility to look at her. ¡°I¡¯m good now, you can continue.¡± Robin smiled, and shook her head slightly side to side while Rickughed out loud. ~~~~~ The girls had gone to take a quick shower. Robin had a lot to wash up and having Nami there help to scrub, was a blessing. Meanwhile, Rick cleaned up the room. The sheets were reced, and the floor and mirror sparkling after getting a good polish from a rag. He picked up his clothes and put them in the dirtyundry basket. When he did the same for Robin¡¯s wedding dress and undergarments, he did quite know what to do. He was aware he couldn¡¯t put them in the same basket as the other stuff. The fabric was more delicate and needed to be clean differently. That much, he knew at least the details , that he didn¡¯t. As he was pondering what to do. Robin entered the room in nothing but a towel, still wet. ¡°Hey.¡± ¡°Hey¡± she replied, getting closer and giving a hot searing kiss. Instinctively one of his hands reached for her ass, making her break the kiss. ¡°Really? What is it with you and my ass?¡± ¡°Okay, first things first: It¡¯s my ass now. Second, it¡¯s so perfect and out of this world that my body reacts on its own.¡± She sighed in fake exasperation and gave him a quick peck before going to the closet and drying herself. ¡°Why are you holding my clothes?¡± she asked, her back to him as she began to change. ¡°...¡± She had dropped the towel and was putting on a shirt. She turned around as she was not done, giving him a nice view of underboobs, to see why he wasn¡¯t answering her. The reason was simple, he was looking at her like a hungry wolf while biting his lower lip. She didn¡¯t think she could ever get tired of that look he was giving her. It made her feel like the most beautiful woman in the world. She bloomed a hand on his shoulder and gently smacked his head to put him out of his trance. Not for him mind you, it was for her because anymore admiring and she would have started to get wet. They didn¡¯t have the time for more exercise. ¡°You were staring¡­¡± ¡°I wasn¡¯t staring, I was¡­¡± ¡°Admiring, I know.¡± She got closer and took her clothes from him. ¡°I¡¯ll take care of it.¡± ¡°Thank you, I didn¡¯t know how to¡­¡± ¡°It¡¯s fine. Now go take a shower.¡± ¡°But I don¡¯t want to get rid of your fragrance.¡± he whined. ¡°Fragrance? Really? You¡¯re going with that?¡± ¡°You prefer I use the word stink?¡± he said, stopping his childish behavior and raising an eyebrow quizzically. ¡°Fragrance it is. Now go.¡± ¡°Can¡¯t I go after you¡¯re done dressing?¡± ¡°No, you won¡¯t be able to restrain yourself.¡± ¡°Fair enough! See you in a bit.¡± He gave her a kiss and went out of the room. As he was closing the door he took onest look at his wife wearing only a shirt but was caught. ¡°GO!¡± ¡°Yes!¡± he replied, closing the door. ¡°Married for less than 24 hours and she¡¯s already leading me around. Nu-huh. Not going to go that way Robin. I won¡¯t let you¡­¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°Damn I¡¯m lucky.¡± ~~~~~ Rick was thest one to get to the dinning room for breakfast and sat between Robin and Nami. Every single one of the guys were having a huge hangover. Greater than usual. Only Brook was fine since alcohol didn''t affect him, he was, however, giggling like a teenage girl. ¡°Are you okay Brook?¡± ¡°Yes, yes! I¡¯m perfectly fine!¡± he answered before taking a look at Robin and Rick before whispering ¡° Haaaa, youth.¡± Whisper that the couple heard, making Rick grin and Robin blush despite her best effort to keep herposure. Nami grinned too and Shirahoshi had her head in her hands, trying to hide her red face as she was sitting on the other side of the redhead. ¡°Shirahoshi?! What is she doing here?¡± ¡°Good morning Shishi, are you well?¡± She let out a surprised little scream as she shrank into her smallest form. Rick got up from his seat and picked her up in one of his hands. ¡°Are you alright?¡± ¡°Y-y- yes!¡± Nami got behind Rick back and whispered in his ear. ¡°Her father let her stay the night. She roomed in with me, and couldn¡¯t sleep either.¡± ¡°Ohhhh. So she heard me and Robin. Perfect.¡± It was time for the both of them to have a talk, so Rick went onto the deck with the princess still in his hand. ¡°Shishi, can you please change your size?¡± She nodded and went back to her 2.5 height. ¡°I¡¯m guessing that like Nami, you heard Robin and Ist night?¡± Once again she nodded while looking at the floor, her face still red. ¡°I¡¯m sorry about that.¡± he said and she nodded again. ¡°Did they tell you about Robin and I¡¯s arrangement?¡± She was about to nod again when Rick put his hand under her chin and stopped her before lifting her head, holding her in ce. ¡°The two of us, we have a big capacity for love, Shishi. We¡¯d dfully love you if it¡¯s what you want.¡± ¡°...¡± Shirahoshi didn¡¯t reply. Her eyes darted to the side, not daring to meet his. ¡°Well¡­ Shock therapy it is.¡± Floating up to reach her height he kissed her longly and lovingly. He could feel the heat radiating from her face. He broke the kiss and spoke up. ¡°I changed my mind. We are making you ours, regardless.¡± ¡°Eh?!¡± was the first vocal kind of answer she gave since going on the deck. He kissed her again and intended to do it as much as needed. After all, It worked for Robin, there was no reason it wouldn¡¯t work for Shirahoshi when she wasn¡¯t mentally as strong. ¡°I¡¯m saying, I¡¯m making you ours. You¡¯re too cute and adorable to let some other schmuck make you fall in love with him. We won¡¯t stand for it.¡± he dered and kissed her again. This time he used his tongue to probe her lips. Not gaining ess he raised one of his hands and let it slide under her top. Quickly finding her nipple, he squeezed it gently between two fingers. That had the desired effect as she moaned and opened her mouth slightly. He didn¡¯t miss the opportunity and inserted his tongue in her mouth and started caressing her with his. She didn¡¯t fight back but didn¡¯t participate either, she waspletely frozen. Rick navigated his tongue slowly and finally Shirahosi answered. It was some tentative moves she made but he adapted his movement for her. He put his other hand on her lower back and started stroking her gently while he went from squeezing to rubbing her nipple. She moaned a bit more, before Rick put an end to it and stepped back, releasing her breast and taking her hands in his. ¡°How was it?¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°You know, Robin is even better at kissing than I am.¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°Shishi?¡± he asked since she wasn¡¯t answering. For a moment he feared her mind and nked out. ¡°I-is it always¡­ like that?¡± ¡°Like what?¡± ¡°Good?¡± ¡°Not always, there are some bad kissers out there but when it¡¯s a person you love it generally is.¡± ¡°Wa-was I¡­¡± she couldn¡¯t finish her sentence, too embarrassed and afraid of the answer. Rick noticed it and just kissed her again. ¡°Does that answer your question?¡± he said with a smile. She couldn¡¯t help herself and smile, proud of herself. ¡°Would I have to..¡± ¡°To?¡± ¡°To¡­¡± she could bring herself to say it. ¡°Have sex?¡± he asked and got a nod for answer. ¡°Not if you don¡¯t want to. Sometimes Namies just into our bed just to cuddle and spoon.¡± ¡°Spoon?¡± ¡°It¡¯s when two people are cuddling together on their sides. One is behind the other and holds their partner towards their chest.¡± ¡°Ho! Nami and I did that yesterday.¡± ¡°Were you the little or the big spoon?¡± ¡°The little spoon is the one in front.¡± ¡°That was me, but Nami asked to make myself smaller.¡± ¡°That was nice, right?¡± ¡°Yes¡± ¡°Well that¡¯s what we do most of the time, with Nami between Robin and I. As for sex¡­ that¡¯s okay. We won¡¯t love you any less if you don¡¯t participate. Love is so much more than just sex, you¡¯ll miss on a lot of fun though.¡± ¡°Really?¡± ¡°Yes. That¡¯s because it¡¯s fun that Robin and I do it a lot together. Or Robin and Nami, or Nami and me.¡± ¡°How can it be fun? Robin was screaming.¡± ¡°Oh?! That¡¯s¡­ Robin was screaming out of pleasure, not out of pain.¡± ¡°Pleasure? That loud?¡± ¡°Sex is the only way to make someone scream of pleasure that loud.¡± said Rick with a grin. ¡°She really sounded like she was in pain.¡± ¡°With how I treated her, of course she did, thank the goddess she loves it.¡± ¡°Robin is not really the best of exemple actually. Because a bit of pain is pleasurable for her.¡± ¡°Pain pleasurable?¡± asked Shirahoshi, not understanding. ¡°I don¡¯t get it either, you¡¯d have to ask her. All I know is that she likes it.¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°Shishi, we won¡¯t do to you what you don¡¯t want. It¡¯s as simple as that. We respect you and your choices.¡± ¡°And if I don¡¯t want to be part of it.¡± ¡°Then you¡¯re not a part of it and we¡¯re still friends¡­¡± He interrupted himself to kiss her once more. ¡°But I¡¯m still going to keep kissing you, because I can¡¯t help it.¡± That deration made her smile slightly. ¡°I wouldn¡¯t have made you mine if that wasn¡¯t the case. Anyway, whatever you decide to do, we love you, no matter what.¡± He let go of her hands andnded on the deck. He turned around and started leaving when she caught him by her arm. ¡°I.. I don¡¯t have an answer yet but¡­¡± ¡°Yes?¡± ¡°C-can we¡­¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°Can we.. kiss again like¡­¡± He didn¡¯t wait for her to finish her sentence and put his lips on her, his tongue sliding into her mouth. This time, she was active immediately. Rick didn¡¯t reach for her breasts this time and went for her rump, fondling it. After a minute they broke the kiss with Shirahoshi letting out a cute sigh of contentment, lost in the aftermath of their moment. ¡°Fwwaaa.¡± Rick gently pped her rump, making her scream ¡°eeek!¡± before leaving back to the dining room. ¡°You¡¯re really good at kissing.¡± ~~~~~ The crew was not ready to depart fishman ind after how hard they had partied the night before. That was the statement made by the guys, acting sick. But Luffy was so bad at it, that Rick caught on. The truth was that surprisingly, Luffy had decided to dy the journey for one more day, giving a bit of time to Robin and Rick to be together, as thetter would leave the moment they reached the surface. They brought back Shirahoshi to her family at Ryugu Pce. Her father had allowed her to stay with the crew on Sunny the day before so she could spend more time with her new friends. He wasn¡¯t worried one bit about her safety. Vander Decker was behind bars and so were every member of the New Fishman pirates formerly led by hody Jones. Furthermore, the straw hat crew were stronger than his whole army making the Sunny the safest ce for her. When king Neptune learned that the crew was actually leaving the day after, he couldn¡¯t say no to Shirahoshi¡¯s puppies eyes and again gave her permission to stay with them until then. The crew separated in small groups. Franky and Usopp went visiting shops hoping to find some material they didn¡¯t know or never worked with. Luffy, Chopper and Zoro, toured restaurants and pubs, to taste the food and alcohol. Surprising no one, Sanji and Brook camped all day at the mermaid caff¨¦. Nami, as to not make an exception, went to try on some clothes with Robin and Shirahoshi. Rick was back at the Sea Forest. He was sitting down against a tree and looked at Noah from afar. ¡°What is the purpose of Noah? I mean, with his size it¡¯s obviously an ark. His name is not random either. The ark of Noah. But why was it built? Can¡¯t the merfolk build smaller ships to get all the way to the surface? Why the need for Poseidon? Isn¡¯t it a ship? It shouldn¡¯t need Sea Kings to pull it. Now Poseidon¡­ Why is it considered one of the three antic weapons? Sure the Sea Kings can do a lot of damage but they are pretty useless out of water. Not like Pluto, which is a battleship. Speaking of Pluto, where is it? Robin obviously knows but I can¡¯t ask her¡­ Since Poseidon was the Greek god of the sea and we found it on the ind under the sea, is Pluto as the Roman god of death in thend of the dead?¡± Rick opened the system and searched in the shop for any map or book rted to the dead. Except for things rted to Thriller Bark he didn¡¯t find anything. ¡°What about Uranus? Greek god of the sky¡­ Is it on a sky ind? The moon? What even is it? An airship or just like Shirahoshi a living being? Perhaps a descendant of one of the three tribes who left the moon?¡± He regretted not knowing how to read poneglyphs. During the time he spent on Ohara he had searched for books that he could learn from but didn¡¯t find any. Either they were destroyed or the knowledge was transmitted orally. He envied Robin, being the only person in the world able to read them. The only person in the world privy to their secrets. He had looked in the system but didn¡¯t find anything either on the subject. That was peculiar, the system had stuff from other universes but was missing things for this one? Unlikely to be a coincidence. Perhaps it was the goddess¡¯ doing? But why? What would be the reason? Rick didn¡¯t have enough, if any, information to get answers to his questions so instead he roamed the devil fruit side of the shop. ¡°Oh? The Goro Goro no mi had found a new owner? Interesting, I hope the person who ate it is good. Dealing with one Ener was more than enough.¡± Scrolling down he saw one particr fruit avable. ¡°Can¡¯t believe Whitebeard passed away due to his age. Still, saving his ass was the right thing to do.¡± Without a second thought he bought it. [You bought [Gura Gura no mi] for 500K Karma Points] [Karma points remaining: 31 834 849] Looking into his inventory he saw the icon for the fruit confirming the transaction really took ce. ¡°Suck on it ckbeard! I wonder what you''re gonna do now.¡± He looked into the shop a bit more but didn¡¯t find anything interesting and just closed the system and then his eyes, enjoying the quietness of nature. About an hourter someone sat on hisp and rested their head on his chest. That person''s ass was bubbly but more on the smaller side so it couldn¡¯t be Robin. Besides if it was Robin, since they are the same height, her head would not have been against his chest but between his neck and shoulder. He knew who it was, he didn¡¯t have to open his eyes to know. It seems his little kitten wanted some affection as she took his arms and put them around herself and held them there. ¡°Very sneaky of you, like always. I thought you were with Robin and Shirahoshi.¡± ¡°I was.¡± she replied. ¡°What happened if I may ask?¡± ¡°Shirahoshi had questions aboutst night for Robin. I think she wants to be in what we have but she¡¯s scared. I can¡¯t me her, you made Robin scream like a banshee.¡± ¡°I just did my best to make her happy.¡± ¡°Oooooh~~ Happy that she was.¡± ¡°Let me guess, she told you everything back in the shower?¡± ¡°That she did.¡± ¡°And you want the same treatment?¡± ¡°God no! I like to be able to walk and sit! Thank you very much!¡± That made Rickugh. ¡°I already have difficulties fitting you whole inside my pussy, there is no way you¡¯re going to fit in my ass. I don¡¯t know how she does it.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t either.¡± ¡°Still I¡¯m surprised you didn¡¯t make a move on our mermaid princess.¡± ¡°I thought it would have been too much, so we just cuddled with me spooning her. I was a bit handsy though.¡± ¡°Haaa! I knew you couldn¡¯t resist.¡± ¡°Of course I couldn¡¯t! With how cute, and vulnerable she is, there was no way I could.¡± she said, making himugh. Suddenly, Nami turned around, so she could sit facing him. Once in position she put her arms around his neck and kissed him lovingly. During the kiss, she started to grind herself on him, making him hard. Shifted a bit andnded her pussy on his cock and began grinding harder as Rick grabbed her ass. ¡°Oh my! Is my little kitten in heat?¡± ¡°Yes! That morning was just enough to satisfy me a bit. But I can¡¯t deny myself anymore. I need you.¡± ¡°Then go ahead.¡± She didn¡¯t waste a second. She slid back onto his leg and reached for his pants. She pulled them down along his underwear then dive head first against his crotch, rubbing her face on his cock. ¡°I missed it so much. I missed the smell, the feel, the warmth.¡± she said. She couldn¡¯t wait any longer, and licked the underside of his shaft from bottom to top. Once, twice, thrice. After the third time she didn¡¯t get back down but took the crown in her mouth, letting her tongue explore it while she moaned in contentment. She began to suck on it and began to take more in her mouth, slowly going down then back up at the same speed. Her mouth was small and she couldn¡¯t take all of it to her regret, but she was okay with it as she was making progress. At the beginning she couldn¡¯t take half the length she was taking now but with practice she learned to take more and with more practice perhaps one day take the entirety of it. After going down as far as she could a few times, she decided to change tactics and to not go as deep but faster. ¡°She¡¯s no expert and certainly no Robin, but god is she good at it.¡± He put one hand on her head and caressed it while pushing her down a bit. After a few minutes Rick was ready to cum and signaled Nami by tapping her head. Her only answer was a moan. When the time came, she took as much cock as she could. She couldn¡¯t swallow it all and backed up her head releasing his cock from her mouth and with her hands and directed it the rest of his ejaction wouldnd on her face. In the end, her face was entirely zed. ¡°Sorry I made a mess.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t be, that was amazing!¡± eximed Nami, very happy with herself. ¡°Though you dide a lot more than usual¡± ¡°Really?¡± ¡°Yes. I mean, you always came a lot but this¡­ it¡¯s way more.¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t know, Robin never said anything yesterday. She did say that I came a good amount back on our date on Sabaody but that was the only time she ever talked about it.¡± ¡°You should ask her, because the amount is clearly not normal.¡± Nami said as she was using her fingers to clean herself and put what she got into her mouth. That made Rickment on it. ¡°At least you like it.¡± ¡°That I do.¡± ¡°Should I make bottles of this special made milk for you?¡± he joked. ¡°No thanks, I prefer when ites fresh from the source.¡± she replied, diving back to clean him . ¡°I guess it¡¯s my turn now?¡± ¡°I would love to but not now. Now¡­¡± she began as she removed her own pants and panties.¡± ¡°Now I need you inside me.¡± She lowered herself and unlike Robin the day before, took her time crouching down. [Art from Saberfish: ] It was agonizingly slow for him, contrary to her. She went back and forth, each time taking a bit more of his cock inside of her, until shepletely had inside him at which point she just stopped and enjoyed the feeling. She fell forward and put her hands on his shoulder to support herself, her forehead against his with her eyes closed. ¡°I love you.¡± she whispered. ¡°I love you too.¡± he replied with a voice as low as hers. ¡°But not as much as Robin.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t love Robin, I¡¯m in love with her.¡± ¡°I see¡­¡± ¡°Jealous?¡± ¡°A bit.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t be.¡± ¡°Easy for you to say. I can¡¯tpete.¡± ¡°Then don¡¯t. It¡¯s not like it matters if I love you more or less. I just do, focus on that.¡± ¡°It¡¯s difficult when I know that you turn all devilish for her. And for Vivi, but not for me.¡± ¡°You don¡¯t know that. You never were in a situation like they were.¡± He put his arms around her and kissed her, trying to transmit as best as he could his love to his fiery redhead. She started riding him slowly as she shifted her hands from his shoulder to behind his neck. ¡°Nami.. If¡­ If it¡¯s too hard for you¡­ I would understand if you want to stop our rtionship.¡± ¡°It¡¯s¡­ Tooooo¡­ Late¡­ Foooooooooor. Yes! Yes! Right there! For that.¡± ¡°Nami¡­¡± ¡°No, I¡¯ve made my decision.¡± she said as she stopped moving after burying him once again to the hilt in her pussy. She opened her eyes and looked into his blue gray ones. ¡°I don¡¯t want anyone else but you. Besides I don¡¯t think I could feel anyone else after you.¡± ¡°Hmm¡­ A giant ?¡± he joked. ¡°I like my organs organized the way they are, so no.¡± she replied with a small smile. She started moving again but this time with more speed. The surprising thing with Nami was, while she was ready to try many thing, she wasn¡¯t so much into rough and violent sex. She prefered going at a good pace and not trying to break some speed record. She liked sex but she was more into making love than anything. For a fiery temperamental redhead it was a shocking discovery. Rick moved his head forward and started kissing her behind her ear and went down bit by bit. Sometimes it was a kiss, sometimes a lick and sometimes he just nibbled. ¡°Goddess, I want to mark you so much, to show everyone that you¡¯re mine. To leave proof of my ownership of you on your neck.¡± ¡°Nooooooo.¡± she said. ¡°The others¡­ would know¡­ they must¡­ not.¡± she added with difficulty as she was gasping between words more and more. ¡°But I want to!¡± Without stopping, she pushed him away from her and removed her shirt then her bra and discarded them on the side. She took his head in her hands and plunged it into her cleavage and held it there. ¡°Here¡­ is¡­ okay.¡± Rick didn¡¯t ask and began to suck on her breasts, leaving,every time he removed his lips from her flesh, a hickey. Finally he pushed her tits together and started sucking on both her nipples at the same time. It was effective as she began to ride him faster and faster, her breath being more ragged. When he bit them with a bit of pressure, she came, moaning loudly. Her back arched, her chest pushed forwards as she pressed his head harder onto her tits. Her pussy, which is naturally tight, tightened even more and triggered his own orsgam. As their climax stopped. They looked into each other''s eyes and then kissed. ¡°Thank you.¡± Nami whispered. ¡°No, thank you, Nami. For being so amazing.¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°Was it enough?¡± he asked. ¡°For now.¡± ¡°We can go another round if you want. I¡¯ll do all the work this time.¡± ¡°We can¡¯t. We have an audience.¡± she said, turning her head on the right. Rick turned his head in the same direction and saw a smiling Robin holding a dazed and blushing Shirahoshi. ¡°Hey! Have you been there long?¡± ¡°Since Nami¡­ clean you up.¡± ¡°Oh.¡± ¡°It¡¯s fine. It was a good show and very educational for Shirahoshi.¡± ¡°T-that¡¯s not how I imagined sex to be after hearing youst night.¡± said the mermaid, looking at the ground, too embarrassed to meet her friends eyes. ¡°That was our feeling getting the better of ourselves. But sometimes Rick and I we¡¯re just like you saw.¡± ¡°Really?¡± ¡°Yes, Shishi. It just depends on the mood and what you like.¡± ¡°I like it wild, while Nami likes it sweet and Rick likes everything, as long as he¡¯s making us happy.¡± That gave a bit more to Shiraoshi who was still thinking about the situation. ~~~~~ The day ended, and the crew reunited on the Sunny. The thinkers nned for the journey to the surface while the others mostly yed. Rick had approached Franky for a talk. ¡°Franky, I have a favor to ask.¡± ¡°Shoot.¡± ¡°Could you, perhaps, soundproof Robin and I¡¯s room?¡± The cyborg looked at him for a few moments, not understanding the request, when he got it and a knowing grin stered his face. ¡°Sure, no problem.¡± ¡°Thank you. Nami and Shirahoshi couldn¡¯t sleepst night because of us and we don¡¯t want it happening again.¡± ¡°I understand. Don¡¯t worry. I just need the right materials for that, and it will be quick.¡± With that done, It was time to go to bed, they were leaving early. Rick spent the night in the girls room as the bed was far bigger than his own. Shirahoshi forwent her 2.5m height for the Nami¡¯s as they were in the center of the bed, Rick spooning her and Robin spooning Nami. She had shared with them that she would like to be included in what they had but that she didn¡¯t feel ready yet for the most intense physical activities. She felt relief when they agreed and hugged her, and felt in heaven when all three of them kissed her good night on the lips while Rick patted her head. Morning came and it was time for the crew to go. Lot of people had shown up to send away their heroes. Shirahoshi was by her family''s side and sobbing to see their friends go away despite their promise toe back for her. The way to the surface was almost uneventful, Luffy¡¯s antics aside, until they met Laboon¡¯s former pod. Brook immediately started crying while ying Bink¡¯s sake. The whales enjoyed it so much that one of them pushed Sunny faster to the surface. Where hell waited for them. Chapter 88: Me? Crazy? I should get down off this unicorn and slap you Chapter 88: Me? Crazy? I should get down off this unicorn and p you Announcement No snu-snu in this chapter. No snu-snu for a while actually. Please rate the story! Enjoy! Chapter 88: Me? Crazy? I should get down off this unicorn and p you ¡°This is nostalgic.¡± said Zoro. ¡°What do you mean?¡± asked Franky. ¡°Back when we entered the Grand Line at the reverse mountain, the weather was the same.¡± replied Sanji. ¡°Yeah, a huge storm, a lot of rain, thunder and lightning .¡± added Usopp. ¡°There wasn¡¯t any sea on fire in the horizon though.¡± chimed in Nami as she raised her hand and used her abilities. Immediately the sky began to clear out around them. The rain and clouds were gone, reced by a blue sky with the sun shining. It was a funny sight to see as beyond a certain distance the storm was still raging on all sides. ¡°Nami! Why did you do that?! Asked Luffy ¡°That broke the moment!¡± said Ussop. ¡°Because I didn¡¯t want Rick to be hit by a lightning bolt while flying!¡± ¡°¡°¡°¡°...¡±¡±¡±¡±¡± That shut them all up and reminded them that Rick was leaving them, perhaps for good this time. The atmosphere got heavy. They didn¡¯t know if there was a cure for his condition. God knows Chopper tried but never found anything wrong with his body, to his frustration. He couldn¡¯t even begin to understand, especially when Rick''s healing factor was even faster than before. It didn¡¯t make sense as two years ago it almost was average. The vice-captain had bullshitted the reindeer with an actual fact. That, like thest moment of a candle¡¯s me, it suddenly bes bigger and brighter for a single moment before being snuff out. ¡°It will be alright. You¡¯re all pretty strong right now.¡± ¡°It¡¯s you we''re worried about!¡± said Sanji. ¡°Meh, don¡¯t be.¡± ¡°You got one of your feelings, again?¡± asked Usopp ¡°Who knows?¡± ¡°Well you! Duh!¡± stated Luffy ¡°Yes, but if I told you¡­ Where would be the fun in that?¡± he said with a smirk. That answer didn¡¯t sit well with Nami who love-punched his head into the deck, followed by Usopp, Luffy, Chopper and Sanji. ¡°You idiot!¡±yelled Chopper ¡°Don¡¯t make a joke about your own life!¡± Usopp They were well into it when hands bloomed stopping them from doing further damage. ¡°Robin!¡± Luffy. ¡°I would appreciate it if you didn¡¯t hurt my husband so much.¡± she said with a serene smile. ¡°But Robin-chwan!¡± ¡°It¡¯s alright, he¡¯ll be back.¡± she announced while picking up the man she loved from the ground. ¡°I will¡± he answered as he took her in his arms and kissed her. The kiss was interrupted when Nami spanked his ass, making him jump in surprise. ¡°What the hell, Nami!¡± he eximed. ¡°Where is my hug!¡± For an instant he was tempted to make a joke about that spank coasting her money but decided otherwise. He just hugged her and whispered in her ear. ¡°When I¡¯m back, I¡¯m marking you all over again, okay?¡± She just nodded into his chest and he let her go as he felt Chopper grabbing his pants. Crouching down he hugged him too. ¡°I¡¯ll try to see if he has any research for you.¡± ¡°Really?¡± ¡°Of course.¡± He stood up and looked at the rest of the crew. ¡°See youter!¡± was all he said as he winked at them and took to the sky at high speed. Everyone watched him leave in silence. ¡°He¡¯ll be back¡± stated Robin once more. ¡°Robin is right. He died back on Skypiea, he died back at Marineford. Death can¡¯t get a hold on him, for long.¡± said Zoro. ¡°And even if she does¡­ Who knows maybe he¡¯ll be back as a skeleton like me? Yohohoho.¡± joked Brook. ~~~~~ With Fishman ind directly under the Red Line, the crew surfaced close to it. It wasn¡¯t difficult then for Rick to know where to go. He rose up in the sky far above the tall ring of rocks and flew over it. In less than a quarter he was back on the first side of Grand Line. Not far from his location he could see Sabaody Archipgo, his destination. ¡°Get in contact with Rayleigh, get him to teach me the basics of Haki as fast as possible. Find a way to announce to the world I¡¯m alive why fucking over the navy and the W.G.. Then finally see Hanock and our daughter. Goddess, I can¡¯t believe I¡¯m a dad.¡± That piece of information was revealed to him by Robin and Nami during their ascension to the New world. At first he looked at Robin thinking she was the one, remembering their talk about pregnancy during their date on Sabaody but she quickly denied it. He then turned to Nami who denied it too. He was at a loss when he remembered the short time he spent with the pirate queen. Bothdies confirmed that it was indeed her who was the lucky one and that only Hancock knew who the father was until his girls saw his daughter instantly knowing he had fathered her. He was ecstatic at the news. While he was scared of being an awful dad, he was happy to be one. That brought up a long discussion with Nami and Robin. Did they want children? Robin answered she would love to rebuild O''hara and bequeath to their children her knowledge of the poneglyphs. Of course that it would be his children was the main reason she wanted some in the first ce. Nami opted out, for now. She felt too young to think about having and raising children, especially while they were on their adventure. She wasn¡¯t against the idea to have some someday in the future, just not right now to which Robin agreed. Until then they would both enjoy training at making one they joked. He stopped remembering this conversation and flew towards Shaky¡¯s bar. He had a lot of things to do and little time for it as he had nned to join back the crew at Dressrosa or on their way to it. Remembering the map of the new world he memorized back in his marines days it was at least 3 weeks of journey from Punk Hazard to Dressrossa. He was anxious about that ce. While in his first life he had read over and over many times One piece, Dressrossa¡¯s arc was thetest and after all the time that had passed he couldn¡¯t remember very well what happened there. Furthermore after that, he didn¡¯t know what was happening. He¡¯d be totally in the dark and that terrified him a bit. Landing in front of the bar, he used his gravity to open the door violently and entered. ¡°Good morning! A pint of beer please Mrs Shakky.¡± Rayleigh was sitting at the counter reading the newspaper and didn¡¯t care for his entrance, probably not caring who this new customer was. Shakky on the other hand dropped the ss she was cleaning as she froze recognizing the young man. A young man who died two years ago. Rick took the seat right next to the Dark King and started a conversation. ¡°How you doing, old man? Busy? ¡®Cause I could use your help for a while.¡± Getting annoyed to be disturbed Rayleigh turned his head to look at the annoyance and was so shocked he fell from the seat onto the ground on his ass. ¡°You.. You..¡± ¡°Are alive? Yes. I found death boring so I came back. It¡¯s more fun on this side. I mean, after dying twice you¡¯d think that you¡¯d get used to the boredom but nope.¡± ¡°¡°HOW?!¡±¡± eximed Rayleigh and Shaky who finally finished her reboot. Rick raised himself from his seat and extended a hand towards Rayleigh, which thetter took, and raised him on his feet. ¡°It¡¯s a long story, about clouds, flowerpot and true love.¡± the ex-marine answered with a smile. He spent the next quarter to half hour talking about hisst stand at Marine ford, his death and resurrection. ¡°Wait, wait, wait. So you.. Grew? Out of a seed.¡± asked Shaky. ¡°That¡¯s about right. I mean, that is the only exnation we have and it''s not so far fetched. After all, I can sprout other parts of me recing everything that¡¯s missing.¡± ¡°Damn! You¡¯re practically immortal.¡±mented Rayleigh. ¡°In a fight more or less. As for outside of fights¡­ Well Robin nurtured the nts for two years and it wasn¡¯t anywhere close to bloom. So unless you have a shit load of clouds full of nutrients¡­¡± ¡°I see.¡± ¡°What I¡¯m more curious about is the ring on your hand. You didn¡¯t have onest time you were here.¡± Asked Shaky pointing at his wedding ring. ¡°That¡¯s because it''s a fairly recent acquisition.¡± Rick said with a smile, proudly showing her his hand so she could see the ring better. ¡°You¡¯ve been resurrected for less than a week. You move fast.¡± stated Rayleigh. ¡°Who proposed, you or Robin?¡± asked Shaky, shocking Rick and Rayleigh but not for the same reason. ¡°She did first but how did you know?¡± ¡°Woman intuition.¡± the bar owner replied with a smirk. Finally the Dark King spoke about business. ¡°You said you needed my help, what for?¡± ¡°I want you to teach me Haki.¡± ¡°Sorry I don¡¯t have six months to teach you.¡± replied the first mate of the pirate king as he brought his mug to his mouth and started drinking whatever was inside. ¡°You have a week.¡± That answer made what was drinking Rayleigh go down the wrong way. He coughed for a bit before turning to Rick. ¡°A week?! Are you mad!¡± ¡°Of course I¡¯m mad. And I just need you to teach me the basics, the rest I¡¯ll figure out on my own.¡± The Dark King looked at him as if a second had popped up on his shoulders, then startedughing. ¡°My god, life is never boring when you¡¯re around. You¡¯re just like Roger and Luffy.¡± ¡°Well, Luffy and I are brothers and with Roger with both a D.¡± ¡°Ha! That¡¯s true. Always doing something crazy those D. To think you were one all along. Iughed when I saw you announcing it to the world via the video feed.¡± ¡°That¡¯s the only thing I could remember actually. My name.¡± Rayleigh finished his drink and started leaving. ¡°Let¡¯s go! We only have a week.¡± Rick tried to pay for his pint but this proved to be difficult as he didn¡¯t have any money. Thankfully Shaky was gracious. ¡°It¡¯s on the house, as a celebration for your return.¡± Rick leaned over the counter and kissed her on the cheek. ¡°Thank you.¡± he said and followed Rayleigh outside. ~~~~~ ¡°So¡­ Let''s start our lesson with: What do you know about haki?¡± ¡°A lot.¡± ¡°Go on.¡± ¡°There are three types. Observation, Armament and Conqueror. The first two are innate to all living beings but very few ever awaken it during their lives. Thest one is seen only in one of several millions people. It¡¯s also the only one you can¡¯t train.¡± ¡°Continue.¡± said Rayleigh, gesturing with his hand. ¡°Observation is about reading the spiritual energy of things giving the possibility of predicting others actions. The advance version is said to allow a short glimpse into the future.¡± ¡°That¡¯s correct so far. What about Armament?¡± ¡°Armament is¡­ the ability to cover a body part, or the entire body or even a weapon with one¡¯s spiritual energy. It¡¯s an armor of sorts that also can be used in offense as it makes attacks more potent. At high level it¡¯s possible to emit it in a short range without a medium. At the highest level it¡¯s possible to infuse it in things or people and destroy them from the inside out.¡± ¡°Good good! The conqueror?¡± ¡°Conqueror haki the ability to unleash one¡¯s own will power and dominate another if his will is weaker.¡± ¡°Anything else?¡± ¡°Not that I know of.¡± ¡°What about spiritual energy?¡± ¡°Spiritual energyes from the will. The stronger the will, the stronger spiritual energy. Or the stronger the soul the stronger the will.¡± ¡°The soul?¡± asked Rayleigh, not knowing what Rick was talking about. ¡°Two years ago when we got separated, Inded on the ind of Dr. Vegapunk. There I learned that the willes from the Ego which is one''s own existence. And the Egoes from the soul. Without a soul there is not Ego and without Ego there is no will. Without will there is no haki.¡± ¡°That¡¯s¡­ rather interesting information.¡± ¡°Vegapunk had tried for years to create artificial humans capable of eating two devil fruits¡­¡± began Rick as he went on to exin what he learned back then. ¡°Okay, you do know a lot indeed. Not all but more than most, at least more than me on specific aspects. I mean the part about the soul¡­ Quite unbelievable. Anyway, I¡¯m guessing you want to train both Observation and Armament, so which one do you want to start with?¡± ¡°Which one? Old man, why not both?¡± Rick said with a grin. ¡°Yes, you¡¯re definitely insane, but it¡¯s your time, use it however you want.¡± ~~~~~ Silvers Rayleigh, has been the first mate for the Pirate King, he has roamed the ocean and Grand Line for decades, saw plenty of extraordinary things, reached thest ind on Grand Line, Laugh Tale, learned about the secrets of the world and the missing history and yet¡­ Never has he been as shocked, as dumbfounded, as bewildered that he was right now. At the end of the first day Rick had awakened his Observation Haki. While blindfolded he had to dodge or ck attacks from Rayleigh. As the sun set he seeded about a tenth of the time. Armament Haki came naturally to the ex-marine. The principle was simple: use his will to make part of his body covered in armor. At the end of the second day he could recover his hands with it. It was a small area and not that strong but it was a sess nheless. As the week came to an end Rick¡¯s progress has been exponential. He could dodge the simple blows from Rayleigh ten out of ten perfectly and coat any part of his body with an eptably strong armament. He hadn¡¯t dabbled into the advanced forms but that was okay. He could use Haki moderately well and that was enough. His mastery would only grow with experience and time. ¡°If I hadn¡¯t witnessed it with my own two eyes I wouldn¡¯t have believed it. What kind of monster are you?¡± Asked the Dark King. ¡°Since my soul had probably crossed over countless worlds and lived many lives it must be strong, hence make my Ego and will strong. That¡¯s probably why I learned Haki that fast, but I can¡¯t tell you that.¡± ¡°Remember my story about artificial humans?¡± ¡°Yeaaaahhh. ¡° ¡°I¡¯m giving you three guesses at what I am.¡± ¡°But you said that those experiments all failed.¡± ¡°Yes. I don¡¯t know where Ie from or who made me, neither does Vegapunk in that regard, but after plenty of tests he certified me that I was indeed an artificial human. Just one with a soul.¡± ¡°If the World Government starts to mass produce soldiers like you¡­¡± ¡°Not happening. While the W.G. funds Vegapunk, all that matters to him is to verify his ideas and theories. He couldn¡¯t care less about what they want. I don¡¯t see him sharing that knowledge, especially since it¡¯s not his findings and still didn¡¯t make any sess yet. He just¡­ fixed me, but didn¡¯t create me from scratch.¡± ¡°Fixed you?¡± wondered Rayleigh aloud, not understanding. ¡°Let¡¯s go back to Shaky¡¯s. If I am to talk about this subject I¡¯m gonna need a drink or ten.¡± ~~~~~ ¡°So if I get it right, you were supposed to be one of those mindless dolls.¡± ¡°Yep.¡± ¡°But somehow your body got a soul and you became¡­ you.¡± ¡°Correct.¡± ¡°But since your body is artificial your life expectancy is or rather was short.¡± ¡°That¡¯s right.¡± ¡°And you just came back from Vegapunk, who, after yourst visit two years ago, worked and found a way to extend it to the point of being the same as regr humans.¡± ¡°You got it all right.¡± Rayleigh took a long sip of his drink to deal with what he just learned. ¡°It¡¯s one thing after the other with you.¡± he joked. ¡°You have no idea.¡± replied Rick with a sigh making Shakyugh behind the counter. ¡°How does your crew deal with it?¡± ¡°They don¡¯t, they¡¯re too busy dealing with Luffy.¡± he joked, making his audienceugh heartilly. Suddenly Rick¡¯s tone turned serious. He put his hands into the right pocket of his overcoat and was ready to use the object he had bought in the system¡¯s shop. ¡°You know, it¡¯s time for me to keep my word.¡± ¡°Hmm?¡± In a sh the ex-marine put handcuffs around the Dark King¡¯s wrists. ¡°Really?¡± said the prisoner, not amused. ¡°I promised to catch you and even though it took me more than two decades I finally did.¡± said Rick with a grin before removing the cuffs from a Rayleigh rolling his eyes. ¡°So¡­ The week is over, you learned haki, miraculously I might add, I guess it¡¯s time for you to go back to your crew?¡± ¡°Not yet.¡± ¡°You still have things to do?¡± ¡°A few, one of them I hoped to rope you in. Some kind ofst adventure where you get to stick it to the Navy. Deep with no lube.¡± ¡°... I¡¯m not interested.¡± ¡°And if I tell you that the reward for your help is an eternal pose to O¡¯hara, where you could pay your respect to Olvia?¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°I¡¯m listening.¡± ¡°Great! So, I intend to tell the Navy and the W.G. that I¡¯m still alive, and I have the perfect idea to make it the shiest possible.¡± he announced with an evil smile. Chapter 89: When you’re a snake charmer, you’re gonna get bit [R-18] Chapter 89: When you¡¯re a snake charmer, you¡¯re gonna get bit [R-18] Announcement I LIED! Never two without three! Please rate the story! Enjoy! (Sorry I forgot the Picture!) Chapter 89: When you¡¯re a snake charmer, you¡¯re gonna get bit [R-18] It has been a week since the events of Punk Hazard. The crew was currently sailing towards Dressrosa.The journey wouldst another two weeks at least. There were additions to the list of people on Sunny. Trafalgar Law had made an alliance with Luffy to fight against Domingo, and was currently discussing with Chopper about medical stuff. On the other side of the deck with Brook and Zoro was a samurai from Wano Country called Kin¡¯emon, who was talking about his Fox fire style giving him the ability to cut through fire which interested Zoro a lot. Brook began to cry when he began looking towards the girls and that didn¡¯t escape Kin¡¯emon attention. Turning his head to look in the same direction and began crying in frustration. A young kid was sitting in Robin¡¯sp and was burying his head in her cleavage to the anger and envy of the skeleton and the samurai. ¡°You shouldn¡¯t be envious of him.¡± said Zoro. ¡°Everyone should be envious of this little goblin!¡± replied Brook, angry. ¡°Because of his age he can perv all he wants and know heaven,without any consequences!¡± ¡°It would have been any other woman in the world perhaps. But this is Robin.¡± replied the swordsman. That it was Robin, gave Brook a revtion and he began tough sadistically to the confusion of Kin¡¯emon. ¡°What¡¯s the problem with Miss Robin?¡± ¡°Not Miss. Mrs.¡± corrected Zoro. ¡°Oh! Is her husband a jealous man?¡± ¡°I wouldn¡¯t say that¡­¡± said Zoro. ¡°Yohohohoho. No Rick is not jealous, he¡¯s worse.¡± ¡°What do you mean?¡± ¡°He¡¯s really possessive, and protective towards her.¡± replied Brook. ¡°One man hadid his hand on her. And well¡­ he got destroyed. He was so enraged that he almost killed us all.¡± Exined Zoro ¡°Last time someone talked bad about her he ripped the guy¡¯s arm off.¡± The information made Kin¡¯emon pale, cold sweat running down his back. ¡°Is he that monstrous? He wouldn¡¯t hurt a small child, right?¡± asked the samurai. ¡°Rick is a really nice guy all the time, except when Robin is concerned. He literally turns into a devil and loses reason.¡± answered Zoro. ¡°Though in normal time, I don¡¯t see him hurting a child, he is a good caretaker actually.¡± added Brook. That reassured Kin¡¯emon a bit but he was still worried. He nned to have a talk with Momonosuke to not be so close with Mrs Robin, for his safety. On the girls'' sides, they were around a table talking. Sanji came up to them with drinks. ¡°Nami-swaaan, Robin-chwaaan, here¡¯s your coffee.¡± ¡°Thank you Sanji.¡± replied Nami while the brte gave him an appreciative smile. ¡°Oh! And here is the newspaper.¡± he added. The redhead took it and began to read it. Thest newspaper they had received revealed Luffy and Trafalgar¡¯s alliance, among others, and Domingo abdication of Dressrosa throne, which was just a ploy. She brought the coffee to her lips and began drinking while reading. Suddenly she spat her drink in shock on Sanji who was just there and didn¡¯t mind one bit the heat of the liquid. ¡°Nami?¡± asked Robin, curious. ¡°T-that idiot! Robin! Your husband is a bigger moron than Luffy!¡± ¡°What about me?¡± said Luffy getting on deck. ¡°Apparently there is news about Rick.¡± said Sanji, cleaning his face with a tissue. ¡°Really?! Hey guys! There is news about Rick!¡± yelled the captain to the rest of the crew. Everyone stopped what they were doing and came together to hear about it. ¡°What did he do?¡± asked Usopp. ¡°Is he alright?¡± wondered aloud Chopper. ¡°Here, read it for yourself.¡± Said Nami while discarding the newspapers on the floor and leaving for the inside of the ship. Luffy took it in his hand and everyone read the article from above his shoulders. ¡°...¡± ¡°¡°¡°¡°¡°¡°HE DID WHAT?!¡±¡±¡±¡±¡±¡±¡± Only Robin wasughing at the news. Her husband was insane and she loved it. ~~~~~ Marine new HeadQuarters - New World. ¡°Did you read the newspapers today?¡± asked Sengoku. ¡°Yes and?¡± ¡°Garp, it says it was him.¡± said Tsuru. ¡°Non-sense.¡± ¡°Garp¡­¡± ¡°That can¡¯t be him, Sengoku! You were there! Both of you! He died in my arms, remember?! You even helped me bury his body, it can¡¯t be him! It¡¯s just some stupid pirate, thinking he¡¯s clever impersonnating him or the R.A.¡± ¡°I believe it.¡± replied Tsuru. ¡°You?! You¡¯re getting old, Tsuru.¡± ¡°While I don¡¯t share her belief, It is possible it¡¯s him.¡± ¡°HE¡¯S DEAD! BEEN FOR TWO YEARS!¡± ¡°Garp, Rick always did the impossible, It wouldn¡¯t be impossible for him to actually be alive.¡± stated Sengoku. ¡°You¡¯re both mad!¡± ¡°I¡¯ll find out. And if it¡¯s not him¡­¡± said Tsuru, letting hand in the air her threat. No one would steal Rick¡¯s identity and get away with it. ~~~~~ Royal Pce - basta Kingdom ¡°Your majesty!¡± ¡°Ingaram, you¡¯re in quite a hurry today, what did Vivi do this time?¡± said King Cobra. The man had aged ten years in only two thanks to his daughter''s antics. He now had more than a few gray hairs on his head. Ingaram didn¡¯t answer him and just gave him the newspapers. He was shocked at the content and his first thought was for Vivi. She¡¯s been in love with the man since she was six, and never moved on after his death two years ago to the despair of her many suitors. ¡°Does Vivi¡­¡± ¡°Your majesty!¡± He was interrupted by a royal guarding into the room, not unlike Ingaram did. After two years he was used to it now. ¡°So she knows¡­ What did she do this time?¡± ¡°Princess Vivi stormed out of the pce! She¡¯s heading to Nanohana!¡± ¡°Your majesty she¡¯s leaving the kingdom!¡± eximed Ingaram. ¡°Why didn¡¯t the royal guard stop her?!¡± ¡°She defeated them all sir! No one could stop her.¡± ¡°We need to get her back! The reverie is in a few months, she worked too hard to miss it!¡± ~~~~~ Foosha Vige - East Blue ¡°Mom! Did you read the newspaper?¡± asked Eri. ¡°No sweety, why? What happened to get you so excited?¡± ¡°It says that two days ago Mary Geoise was attacked by one man and that he kidnapped more than a thousand people! They were all working for the world nobles!¡± ¡°Oh my! I wonder who would be mad enough to do that.¡± replied Kaza. ¡°It says that it was Wal D Rick. That he¡¯s alive!¡± Kaza had to grab the counter hard to not faint from the news. She couldn¡¯t give any hints to her daughter that she knew him. Garp¡¯s visit two years ago and her reaction were already suspicious. She couldn¡¯t add to it. ¡°Don¡¯t worry mom! I¡¯ll catch him one day!¡± ¡°I¡¯m sure you will.¡± ¡°If only you knew sweety.¡± ¡°But I need to be a marine for that!¡± ¡°Nu-huh. We already had this conversation, Eri. You can enroll once you¡¯re eighteen.¡± ¡°But Mooooom!¡± ¡°But nothing youngdy, you¡¯re too young to join the navy.¡± ¡°But the minimum age is ten! I¡¯m almost twelve!¡± Kaza sighed in exasperation. ¡°Sweety, one day, you¡¯ll enter the navy and from that point you¡¯ll be so busy that we won¡¯t see each other much. Even worse than grandpa Garp.¡± ¡°Oh!¡± ¡°That¡¯s why I want you to stay with me a little longer. I want us to spend as much time together as possible.¡± she exined while hugging her daughter ¡°Okay mom.¡± ¡°Besides, you''re far from ready to leave for the navy with the level of swordsmanship you disyed yesterday!¡± said the redhead with a teasing grin. ¡°Mooooooooom!¡± ~~~~~ Amazon Lilly - Calm Belt ¡°Sister, did you see?¡± asked Sandersonia. ¡°Yes! To think, this man¡­¡± replied Marigold. ¡°I hope our empress doesn¡¯t find out.¡± said elder Nyon. ¡°HAAAAAAANNNNNNN!¡± was heard from behind the door making the elder sigh. ¡°Toote.¡± ¡°What did you expect? She¡¯s a shichibukai, there was no way she couldn¡¯t know.¡± stated Sandersonia. ¡°Fortunately for us, our empress fell in love with a good man.¡± said the elder to cheer herself up. ¡°He is our niece''s father at least.¡± dered Marigold. ¡°You don¡¯t know that!¡± replied Sandersonia. ¡°It¡¯s obvious.¡± ¡°I hope not, that would bring all kinds of¡­¡± began the elder. ¡°YOU HEAR THAT LYNDA? HE¡¯S ALIVE! DADDY IS ALIVE!~~¡± Elder Nyon closed her eyes and sighed in exasperation. ¡°I¡¯m too old for this shit.¡± ~~~~~ On a Galleon on its way to O¡¯hara - Grand Line. ¡°Hmm, captain?¡± asked a passenger. ¡°Yes?¡± replied Rayleigh. ¡°The man who rescued us¡­¡± ¡°Nope! Nope, nope, nope! I don¡¯t know him, don¡¯t want to know him, don¡¯t know anything about him and I¡¯ve never seen him in my life.¡± replied the Dark King in a hurry. ¡°I¡­ see¡­ If I may ask, where are we going?¡± ¡°A ce the Navy and the World Government doesn¡¯t know exists.¡± The passenger nodded and left Rayleigh alone, understanding that sometimes it was better to not know things for their own safety. He still couldn¡¯t believe it. Neither did the 500 other people on the galleon and the 500 more and the one following behind. A day ago during the darkest hour of the night, him and one thousands ve, were rid of their explosive cor. Next thing they knew they were floating in the air and transported down Red Line on two different galleons. There, only one man was still flying, and told them that they were free now and that the old man who seemed to captain one of the Galleons would lead them to a safe ce. People were still scared of being caught by the navy and brought them back to Marie Geoise. Only shackles and torture would await them. They all hoped that they were free for good. ¡°This crazy kid! ¡®I just need you to transport a few people to O¡¯hara, Rayleigh. Don¡¯t worry I¡¯ll get the ship Rayleigh. Don¡¯t bother with the supplies, I''ll take care of it, Rayleigh.¡¯ A FEW PEOPLE MY ASS! ONE THOUSAND! ONE THOUSAND! AND THEY¡¯RE SLAVES!¡± was what the Dark king was thinking. Looking at the eternal pose leading to O¡¯hara he sighed. ¡°Well at least he did stick it to the W.G. And here I am sticking it to them too by helping in hiding them. Yeah, that onest adventure feels good.¡± Two weekster they arrived on the ind. Unfortunately Rick had not informed him that O¡¯hara was now the HQ of the R.A and cursed him in his mind. They were held at gunpoint. But after seeing the dragon¡¯s talon on some of the people some of the members of the R.A. understood. ¡°We were sent here by¡­¡± ¡°The Messiah.¡± said a high ranked, making his way towards Rayleigh while member of the R.A. gasped in shock. ¡°The messiah?¡± ¡°Wal D Rick. He¡¯s the one who led you here.¡± ¡°He calls himself the messiah?¡±ughed Rayleigh. So hard that tears appeared at the corner of his eyes. That didn¡¯t go well with some of the soldiers. ¡°Why you! Show some respect.¡± Rayleigh ignored them and spoke to the officer. ¡°Yes, he¡¯s the one who led me here.¡± he replied, showing the eternal pose. ¡°He¡¯s truly alive then.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°... Those people are wee for a while. They will have to follow the rules, but they can help and rest. Interested in joining us, Dark King?¡± The mention of his nickname made the people around whisper. ¡°No, I only came here to pay my respect to a dear friend.¡± ¡°... Who?¡± ¡°Nico Olvia.¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°Where do you know her from?¡± ¡°She sailed with Roger and I when he wasn¡¯t the pirate king yet.¡± That tidbit of info finally shocked the officer. ¡°Lovelydy, just like her daughter.¡± added the old man. ¡°You know Robin?¡± ¡°Of course, I trained her captain and vice-captain after all.¡± ¡°Is she doing well?¡± ¡°Considering she married Rickst month, I¡¯d say pretty well.¡± ¡°¡°¡°¡°¡°¡°¡°¡°WHAT?!¡±¡±¡±¡±¡±¡±¡±¡±¡±¡±¡± ¡°The light of revolution and the messiah married?!¡± said the officer dumbfounded. For the more fanatical members of the R.A., this was a sign. A sign that their cause was right and that they will seed in getting rid of the celestial dragons. Soon enough this information would be known by every member on the ind and would spread to every R.A. outpost around the world. To those who had the chance to meet and get to know Robin, they were happy for her. ¡°Come with me, I''ll bring you to your friend.¡± said the officer. ~~~~~~ Let¡¯s rewind time a bit, to the day after the news of Rick¡¯s doings had reached Amazon Lily. Hancock had just put Lynda to bed when a voiceing from her balcony called out to her. ¡°Good evening, Hancock.¡± Turning around immediately, she saw the man of her life, the one who haunted her dreams. The man who gave her, her daughter, their daughter. She ran towards him and jumped into his arms; kissing with every ounce of love she had. She put her legs around him, forcing him to put his hands on her ass to hold her, making her moan in the process. When she broke the kiss she rained some more all over his face. ¡°I missed you! I missed you so much! A part of me died with you until¡­¡± ¡°You found out you were pregnant with our little Lynda.¡± ¡°You know?!¡± ¡°Robin and Nami filled me in. I came as soon as I could.¡± ¡°She¡¯s over there.¡± said Hancock motionning the cradle some feet behind her. Rick started walking towards it while carrying Hancock. Not like he had any choice in the matter. Two yearster and she was still stuck to him like a leech. Reaching his daughter he freed one of his hands and caressed her cheek lovingly. ¡°She¡¯s beautiful. Just like her mother. I pity the men whose hearts she¡¯ll break.¡± Hancock stayed silent but blushed furiously at hispliment. They stayed that way for a while until she asked him some questions. ¡°Why didn¡¯t youe to me? I would have hid you.¡± ¡°Because I died, Hancock.¡± ¡°What?! You could at least find a believable lie!¡± Rick sighs and for the third time talks about his resurrection. ~~~~~ ¡°That¡¯s crazy.¡± she said while sitting in hisp on the bed, resting her head against his shoulder. ¡°I know right, still can¡¯t believe it either.¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°What about¡­¡± ¡°Me dying?¡± She nodded. ¡°Met Vegapunk again,and he fixed me. I¡¯m good for four to five decades.¡± ¡°Thank god. I don¡¯t think I could handle losing you twice.¡± ¡°You won¡¯t.¡± he answered, raising his left hand and caressing her cheek. That was a bad move as Hancock saw his wedding ring on his finger. ¡°YOU MARRIED?!¡± she screamed in anger waking up their daughter. ¡°Hancock!¡± eximed Rick with a whisper. He pushed her out of hisp and went to pick up his crying daughter. Realizing what she¡¯s done, Hancock suppressed her rage in silence and looked at the both of them. ¡°Shhh, little one, daddy he¡¯s here. There is no need to cry.¡± he said sweetly while rocking her gently. That sight melted the pirate empress''s heart and dissipated her anger. She kept on looking at the scene, noticing the quickness with which her daughter stopped crying in her father¡¯s arms. ¡°She never quieted down so quickly.¡± Once she was back to sleep the little one got a kiss on her head and was put back in her cradle. Her daddy¡¯s job done, he walked back to her mother. ¡°I¡¯m sorry.¡± whisper Hancock looking at the ground. He put his arms around her and did likewise in response. ¡°That¡¯s alright.¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°Who¡¯s she? Robin?¡± ¡°Robin.¡± ¡°That¡¯s not fair. I knew you for longer. You always were my husband, in my head, my dreams, my heart. And now¡­¡± she began sobbing. ¡°And now you just need Robin¡¯s approval to be my second wife.¡± Her response was instantaneous, she raised her head in a sh and looked up at him. ¡°W-what?¡± ¡°You heard me. I¡¯ll be your husband and you¡¯ll be my wife as long as Robin approves.¡± ¡°Really?!¡± ¡°Really.¡± ¡°Since when can people marry multiple people?¡± ¡°Since I decided that I wanted marry the women I love.¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°I won¡¯t be your first wife.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t be like that. You knew about it when you agreed to our deal. And besides. Who gave me a child first? Robin or you?¡± ¡°Me.¡± ¡°That¡¯s something she could never take from you.¡± ¡°You¡¯re right.¡± ¡°Still want to marry me then?¡± ¡°Uh-huh¡± was her answer as she kissed him longly. ¡°A bit of advice, Robin loves history and good sex.¡± ¡°It¡¯s in the bag then, I¡¯m really good at sex.¡± she boasted. ¡°Is that a fact?¡± ¡°Yes!¡± ¡°Let¡¯s see if it¡¯s true then.¡± He turned her around and began to kiss the back of her neck towards her shoulder. He untied her belt and opened her dress and let it fall down as he put his on her belly stroking it softly. One hand moved downard and rested just above herher region while the other went upward grabbing a breast. Hancock moaned loudly. ¡°Shhh. You don¡¯t want to wake Lynda again, don¡¯t you?¡± She shook her head negatively while bringing her right hand to muffle her moans. That went on and on until she couldn¡¯t take it anymore. She escaped from his grasp and turned around. She went for his pants while he removed his upper clothes. When she pulled down his underwear she was hit in the face by the cock she loves so much, the one who gave her her Lynda. She inhaled the scent it was emanating, making her even wetter than she already was. Rick looked at her with fascination with his lover. She was in some kind of trance. Slowly she went downwards, sliding his dick on her face, until she was right onto his balls. She inhaled deeply once again through her nose and let out a deep sigh of content. She kissed one of them, then the other, leaving red lipstick marks on his sack. Finally she finished kissing and took one in her mouth, swirling her tongue around it while sucking strongly. The effect was immediate as Rick groaned loudly. Hearing this, Hancock sucked even harder and let go, before doing the same to the other testicle. She gave onest kiss to both of them, before grabbing his cock in one hand and began to lick and kiss from the root to the top of it. She positioned his shaft on her mouth, right under nose and with her eyes closed sniffed it onest time. She opened her mouth and looked at him dead in the eye. Rick could see the love and devotion in them and it excited him to no end. Finally she opened her mouth and took it in. Very slowly she moved forward, taking inch by inch. She moaned when the crown of his cock reached her throat and kept going further down until her nose touched his skin. While she took everything all his length, her eyes never left his and she never blinked. [Art by Mikanberry : ) Now that he was fully sheathed in her, Hancock started moaning which sent vibrations through his cock. Rick grunted and put his hands on each side of her head to hold her in ce. ¡°You¡¯re a naughty, naughty slutty mommy, aren¡¯t you?¡± he said. She tried to nod but couldn¡¯t. ¡°Since you like to worship my cock so much, I wonder how long you can keep it in your throat.¡± She knew instantly what he was going to do, and she was delighted at the knowledge making her pussy throb. Quickly she began to need oxygen but Rick was still holding her in ce. Hancock¡¯s survival instinct took over and she put both of her hands on his thighs, trying to push herself away, as tears began to fall, ruining her mascara as they fell on her cheeks. He sprouted a hand on one of her legs, which inserted two fingers into her snatch and did some back and forth with good speed. This was too much for Hancock who came hard. Her throat constricting itself around his cock made Rick reach his peak and came too. As he did so he pulled himself out quickly and painted her face in white. The pirate empress was out of it, breathing heavily. Her mouth,still linked to his cock by multiple strands of saliva. ¡°Hancock! Are you alright?!¡± said Rick in panic. He had tried that many times with Robin before and she had loved it though, at the beginning it was difficult with her gag reflex and she couldn¡¯t yet take all of him that way. But he had found out two years ago that Hancock didn¡¯t have one and could take all of him. So he tried and it was an out of this world experience, physically, mentally and emotionally. However if the price for it was to hurt his lover he would not do it again. Hancock didn¡¯t answer his question, instead took back his dick in her mouth and began bobbing up and down. ¡°Hancock stop!¡± But she didn¡¯t hear him, as she was unconsciously doing it. Seeing that she didn¡¯t respond, he stopped her and took her into her arms and went to bed where heid himself down with her on top of him. He put his hand into her hair and startedbing her slowly. He did until she came to. ¡°Hey¡± he said sweetly, seeing her disorientation. ¡°Hey¡­.¡± she answered with a hoarse voice. Confirming the experience did, do a number on her somehow. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, I shouldn¡¯t ¡­¡± he couldn¡¯t finish his apology as she gave him a kiss. ¡°I.. love it.¡± ¡°Hancock¡­¡± ¡°Again.¡± Rick sighed, in relief and exasperation. ¡° She¡¯s as crazy as Kaza.¡± ¡°Another time, but not tonight.¡± he said, kissing the top of her head. She pouted and buried her hand onto his chest in prostestation, but she knew he was right, her throat was burning and couldn¡¯t take more. She wasn¡¯t done though. She moved down and oriented herself in a way where she could look at him and have his thick cock between her breasts. She started slurping loudly and lewdly on it and once it was sufficiently hard, used her tits. ¡°God you¡¯re crazy.¡± he whispered. ¡°About you.¡± ¡°No blowjob and certainly no deepthroat!¡± She gave a kiss on the tip of his penis and nodded. ¡°That¡¯s not why I¡¯m doing this anyway.¡± ¡°No?¡± ¡°I¡¯m only giving you a titjob to make you hard.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t let me stop you then, because it¡¯s working.¡± ¡°Of course it¡¯s working, did you see those beauties?¡± She said as she fondled her breasts and disyed them with pride. ¡°They¡¯re marevelous.¡± ¡°Dear goddess, they are even bigger than Robin¡¯s.¡± Soon enough Hanock¡¯s hard work bore fruit and Rick was as hard as steel. She didn¡¯t waste any time and positioned herself. Ever so slowly she lowered her ass, taking his dick in her pussy until she could sit on his thighs. ¡°God, I missed that too.¡± ¡°Hancock, please don¡¯t ¡­¡± ¡°I¡¯m fine, really.¡± she said, interrupting him. She took his hands and put them on her breasts as she started not to slide along his cock up and down but to gyrate slowly. Rick tried to raise himself but she pushed back down. ¡°Just watch.¡± she ordered, to which he nodded. He didn¡¯t move as instructed and let her have her fun. It was only fair he had a few minutes earlier after all. He kept one hand on her left tit, still fondling it and ying with her nipple while with the other caressed her side, sometimes going before her and squeezing her ass. Before long she leaned forward and put her hand on his chest for support. It allowed her to move faster and to rasided herself up and down a bit. While she picked up a bit of speed, she wasn¡¯t in a rush and was enjoying every second of this intimate moment they shared. She was so happy that she was doing a mix of moaning and humming that Rick found incredibly sexy. Once she had found a good rhythm she began to contract then release the walls of her pussy, effectively massaging his cock. That made Rick grunt in appreciation and fuelled her lust more. She stopped gyrating,id down on him, her boobs squashed on his chest, and began to move her ass up down at a frightening speed as Rick grabbed her ass cheeks and spread them. They¡¯ve been at it for more than twenty minutes now and Hanock felt her orgasm approaching, she went even faster and kept at it until her lover couldn¡¯t handle it anymore. He gripped her ass roughly then pushed it down impaling her with every single inch of his cock and exploded inside of her, flooding her baby chamber. His climax started her own and she had to bite hard on his shoulder to not scream in ecstasy, less she woke up her daughter again. His orgasm didn¡¯tst long but after a minute or two, Hancock¡¯s body was still having some spams. When it calmed down she let his shoulder go and felt guilty. The bite was deep. ¡°It¡¯s alright. It doesn¡¯t hurt and it will be healed by the morning¡± he said, taking her face in one hand and giving her a kiss. ¡°Thank you¡­¡± she whispered with her head on his chest, listening to his heart beat. ¡°What for?¡± ¡°For letting me lead, letting me make love to you.¡± He kissed the top of her head, andbed her hair with his hand again. ¡°When are you leaving?¡± ¡°A bit before dawn.¡± ¡°Can¡¯t you stay a bit longer?¡± ¡°Can¡¯t you stay forever?¡± ¡°I can¡¯t, my crew is waiting for me.¡± ¡°They don¡¯t need you.¡± ¡°I need you.¡± ¡°You know they do, with Luffy as the captain.¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°...¡± The only recourse she had left to make him stay was Lynda, but she refused to use their daughter like that. Out of options, she epted what she knew all along. He would leave her. "By the way, you''re not good at sex." "What?!" she whispered angrily, murder in her eyes. "You''re excellent. Robin''s approval is in the bag." he said and kissed her on the lips and pulled her down with him, letting sleep take both over, with Hancock having a very proud and satisfied smile on her face. ~~~~~ Came morning and Hancock didn¡¯t find herself alone in bed. Though the one with her was not the one she wanted to. By her side was Lynda, soundly sleeping. She noticed something about her daughter. She was wearing a small cap with a dark purple star sewn on it and holding into her tiny hand a small snake plushy. Her daughter''s adorableness was overloading and she took her in her arms. As she did so a small note fell on herp. She picked it up and started reading. ¡°I changed and fed our daughter then put her near her beautiful mom so thetter wouldn¡¯t feel lonely without her daddy. I hope she likes her cap and her plushy. I¡¯m sorry for leaving without waking you up but I didn''t want to see your heart break, I don¡¯t think I could have handled it. To both my Empress and my little snake, all my love.¡± He had signed the note by his name even though it wasn¡¯t necessary. Hancock opened the drawer of her nightstand and put the note inside. She then focused on her daughter, loving how beautiful she was with her cap while she was fiercely holding her new toy. She only had one question in mind. ¡°Where and when did he get all that?¡± Chapter 90: It’s called karma, and it’s pronounced ha ha Chapter 90: It¡¯s called karma, and it¡¯s pronounced ha ha Announcement I seriously dislike Momonosuke. And the recent event in the manga didn''t change my mind. Chapter 90: It¡¯s called karma, and it¡¯s pronounced ha ha One more week and Sunny would have reached her destination: Dressrosa. The news of Rick¡¯s doings at Mary Geoise had somehow divided the crew. One group found it hrious. To that group belong Luffy (obviously), Zoro who thought the Navy would be chasing them even more (meaning strong opponents), and Franky who hated the World Government with passion after what they did to my master Tom. A second group was scared shitless. Unsurprisingly, it wasposed of the weak trio, Nami, Usopp and Chopper. Now they would be in even more danger than ever, as if sailing with Luffy was not dangerous enough. Lastly the third group: Robin, Sanji and Brook who didn¡¯t really care and were just waiting for him toe back. Thest two were too busy cursing momonosuke with his perverted ways more than anything. They were waiting for retribution for the lecherous kid. Retribution who¡¯s name was Wal D Rick. All of them however were united in their feelings of happiness. When Rick had left, his time had almost run out. When he died he had only one month of life in him. Doing some calction, the crew stayed on Fishman ind for about a week and a bit more than a week had passed since they received the news on his attack against Marie Geoise. To them, the attack was proof enough that he had found Vegapunk and was going to be alright. While his actions could have been ast hoorah before he passed away, it never crossed their mind to think about it like. If they did, they discarded it, and chose to hope and to believe in their friend. To the outsiders things were a bit different. Law has been a bit out of sorts since the news. Spending time with Luffy made him second guess his choice for an alliance. And now he was pretty sure it was the worst idea he ever had. Kin¡¯emon wasn¡¯t concerned about it. He felt respect for this man he didn¡¯t know. After all, wasn¡¯t he too fighting against a corrupt Tyrant? Rick was bold enough to openly do it and by himself at arger scale. He wanted to meet the man, though was a bit worried for Momonosuke. Speaking of which, the little goblin, despite the warnings he had given him, was stuck to Robin almost all the time. Right now was not an exception as the back of his head was firmly nesting between her valley of softness with a smile of contentment. Suddenly a loud ¡®thud¡¯ was heard. Something hadnded on the deck. Everyone turned their head to look and were happily surprised at the sight. Rick hade back. Dressed as he usually was with his trademark overcoat. He had changed the color from white to ck since Luffy was still wearing the white one he had gifted him two years prior. In his hands were two huge bags that seemed full, their content was anyone''s guess. ¡°Hey! I¡¯m back!¡± said the Vice-captain. Luffy, Chopper and Usopp came to circle him and began to ask him some questions when Rick¡¯snded on his wife. The joy of seeing her actually never came. In a murderous tone he spoke. ¡°Kid. You have five seconds to move.¡± ¡°Get rid of him!¡± Momonosuke didn¡¯t care who that new guy was and he didn¡¯t care either about the order. He did what he always did with the other perverts of the crew. He turned himself around and dived into Robin¡¯s cleavage and gropped them as he gave a smug face to Rick. What happened next was expected. Rick grew two long ck horns on his head. ¡°Shit! Rick¡¯s horny!¡± yelled Usopp. ¡°Eh! Eh! Eh!¡± ¡°Yohohoho.¡±ughed Brook with Franky to what their friend said. The next second Momonosuke flew from his position to Rick who grabbed him by the head with his outstretched hand. Except Zoro who knew that would happen and Brook and Sanji who secretly were rejoicing, everyone became worried. ¡°Let me go! Do you know who I am? I¡¯m¡­¡± ¡°DEAD!¡± in a very creepy and raspy voice. ¡°YES! DEAD MEAT! CRUSH HIS HEAD!¡± Some of the crew acted. Luffy warped himself around him, while hands bloomed on the arm Rick used to hold Momonosuke. Robin was applying as much pressure as she could on his joints and muscles to force him to release his grip. It somehow worked as her husband couldn¡¯t muster the strength to crack the little goblin¡¯s skull. ¡°Rick let him go!¡± yelled Robin. Hearing her voice, he regained a bit of his sanity back and did as asked. Momonosuke fell down on his ass in a smelly puddle and Rick took a deep breath calming himself, making the horns disappear. He looked at Robin who looked back. She was clearly angry with him which in turn made him angry. He picked the two bags he arrived with and without a word went inside the Sunny as Luffy entangled himself from him and Robin¡¯s arms went away. Everyone on deck looked in silence at the close door the Vice-captain had passed. ¡°Called it.¡± said Zoro. ~~~~~~ Getting inside Sunny Rick immediately went to the garden and locked the door behind him. He needed to be alone right now to think about what just happened and didn¡¯t want any interlopering to annoy him. ¡°WHAT. THE. HELL.¡± he screamed in his head. ¡°Sure, Momonosuke is a perverted little shit, but popping his head off? WHAT THE FUCK!¡±. He was pacing around trying to wrap up his head about the situation. ¡°Okay, okay, okay. Breath moron, breath. Let¡¯s think about it again. Younded on the deck, talked for a few seconds with Luffy, Usopp and Chopper while looking around for Robin. Found Robin with this little shit sitting on herp enjoying MY BREASTS! MINE!¡± His breath became ragged at the thought and he gripped hard the rail of the little balcony he was in. So hard that the wood creaked. Would the wood have been anything other than the Adam wood it would have broken. ¡°Breath¡­. Breath¡­. In and out. In and out.¡± Rick was trying as best as he could to calm himself down which took long minutes to do. ¡°Now what happened next was¡­ Usopp saying I was horny? As in with horns? The same horns it seems I have when I ckout and the sea devil take over? That doesn¡¯t make sense, I wasn¡¯t unconscious this time and remembered everything! Pulling the little shit to me, grabbing him by the head and¡­ The voice! I remember that voice! I heard it before but where?¡± He exited the balcony and was back to the garden, pacing again trying to remember where he had heard that voice before. It was very distinct, cold and raspy, just like his own voice has been. But there was more to it. A¡­ sadistic tone to it, pushing him to hurt, to inflict pain, to kill and to revel in it. ¡°basta¡­¡± Rick said the memory shing in his mind. ¡°When I got Vivi in my arms, back at the kidnappers'' hideout, that¡¯s where I heard it from¡­. Back then it was the first time I¡­ had an episode¡­ Yeah lets call it that, an episode. So I had an episode then and I had half of an episode just there. Is it the sea devil¡¯s voice? But why didn¡¯t I hear it on Thriller Bark or Marine Ford?¡± He paced around, again and again, trying to connect the dots of what happened each time and Vegapunk¡¯s research. In the end he had a wobbling theory but a theory nheless. ¡°So¡­ With a normal person who ate a devil fruit, the person''s soul and the sea devil¡¯s influence are at odds, but in some kind of bnce¡­ No actually the soul is dominant otherwise, DF users turning to devils would have been public knowledge. To people eating two DF the body explodes because it can¡¯t contain two strands of the sea devil AND the soul. With artificial humans, like me, the body/vessel is strong enough to contain the three. Since my soul wasn¡¯t in perfect sync with the vessel, the sea devil couldn¡¯t take over it. Notpletely at least, since I only had an episode when I was feeling extreme anger and could turn back with exterior help. Actually¡­ is that really the case? I didn¡¯t have help back in basta all those years ago. I did it at Thriller Bark and I didn¡¯t at Marine Ford. That one was because my body had reached its limits. Considering I only had horns on TB but had also wings at Marine ford¡­ The sea devil was clearly gaining more influence on me. That would answer why I didn¡¯t hear his voice again after the basta episode. He didn¡¯t need to tempt me anymore since he already had a foot on the door so to speak. That was with the Imperfect Body V2 though. Now that my soul is correctly sync with the Perfect Body V1¡­ Could it be that the sea devil lost his influence since the ¡°backdoor¡± has been shut? That would exin why he spoke to me again, he needed a connection through my anger. Goddess if my soul had been weaker he wouldn¡¯t even have had the need to speak he would just have taken over.¡± At the revtion of the situation, Rick rested his back against the wall and slid down towards the floor. ¡°This is not good. Heck I¡¯m totally fuck.¡± The only effective way to be free would have been for Rick to never feel anger to an extreme. With Akainu, the celestial dragon and Robin, it was mission impossible. ¡°What should I do?¡± ~~~~~ ¡°Has anyone seen Rick recently?¡± asked Usopp. The only answer he got was negative. ¡°It¡¯s been three days, I¡¯m worried.¡± said Chopper who today looked with envy at Momonosuke who yet again took his ce on herp. ¡°He¡¯s just upset.¡± replied Robin. ¡°It¡¯s more than that.¡± replied Sanji, serving snacks and left to join Franky and Brook farther away to talk without borating wha he had said ¡°Now that¡¯s weird. Sanji didn¡¯t do his usual thing.¡± thought Nami. Looking towards the trio discussing on the side, Nami noticed the conversation seemed serious. She got curious and went to them. ¡°You¡¯re talking about Rick, right?¡± she asked. ¡°Yes.¡± replied the cyborg. ¡°Robin is wrong. He¡¯s not just upset.¡± stated Sanji again. ¡°He¡¯s not the type to get upset for so long. Usually he¡­ just immediately forgets about it.¡± said Brook. ¡°That¡¯s true.¡± thought Nami. ¡°I don¡¯t understand why he reacted like that towards an innocent kid.¡± The trio looked at her as if she sprouted a second head. They looked at each other and had a second conversation before turning back to her. ¡°And that¡¯s the problem Nami.¡± said Franky. ¡°What do you mean?¡± ¡°Momonosuke isn¡¯t just an innocent Kid.¡± exined Brook. ¡°He¡¯s not innocent at all.¡± finished Sanji. Nami rolled her eyes. ¡°You¡¯re talking about an eight years old child here. I¡¯m sure is no thief or murderer.¡± replied Nami with a deadpan face. ¡°That¡¯s where you¡¯re wrong, Nami.¡± replied Sanji ¡°He may be eight be he¡¯s a full fledge pervert already.¡±added Brook ¡°Trust us on that, WE¡¯re perverts and we recognize our own¡­¡±exined Franky. ¡°Riiiiiight.¡± She was getting tired of this conversation. ¡°You don¡¯t see it simply because you can¡¯t believe it. But we can show you, Brook?¡± ¡°I¡¯m on it.¡± Brook left the group and made his way towards Robin. ¡°Keep your eyes on Momonosuke, especially his facial expression.¡± said Franky. Nami sighed but did what her friend asked. Soon after, Brook taunted Momonosuke and acted like a pervert. Nami was shocked at what happened next. Momonusked yed the bullied child card and reacted the same way he did when Rick told him to move from Robin¡¯sp. Robin dispatched Brook easily while the little goblin showed the exact same perverted smug face. She couldn¡¯t believe it. They were right. This kid was not innocent at all! ¡°You saw. Good.¡± said Franky. ¡°Yes¡­ No wonder Rick went bonkers. Robin is his everything¡­¡± ¡°And a perverted little shit treated her like she¡¯s his property right in front of his face and took some liberties that anyone else would have taken would have ended in pieces spread at every corner of the world.¡± ¡°God this is a big mess.¡±mented Nami. ¡°What are you going to do?¡± asked Brook who hade back. ¡°First¡­ Talk to Rick, then to Robin and deal with momonosuke.¡± ¡°If Rick speaks to you.¡± said Sanji. ¡°Why wouldn¡¯t he?¡± asked Nami, surprised. ¡°Chopper went to see him to examine him but the garden¡¯s door was firmly shut. I brought him food yesterday; left it in front of the door. As of this morning he didn¡¯t touch it. I don¡¯t think he went out of the garden since he locked himself inside.¡± ¡°He actually did.¡± replied Brook. ¡°When?¡± asked Nami. ¡°During the night when everyone was asleep. He took a shower.¡± Nami bit her lower lip, thinking. She didn¡¯t like the way her owner acted right now. And she didn¡¯t like that both of them were having a fight. She had to try. She thanked the guys and went inside Sunny, reached the door of the garden and knocked but got no answer. She knocked again. ¡°Rick, it¡¯s me, can Ie in?¡± Still no answer. She wasn¡¯t pleased with that. One way or another she¡¯d get her way and talk to him.She suddenly had an idea of how to get inside. She went back onto the deck and made her way to the back of the upper level, finding herself above the garden. There she found what she was hoping for. The part of the ground/ceiling was retracted, so the sun or rain could enter the garden. Without thinking twice she jumped down. As she was about tond on the floor she floated. ¡°What are you doing?¡± asked Rick behind her, sitting behind his desk. ¡°I came to talk to you.¡± ¡°If I wanted to talk I would have opened the door.¡± ¡°Well I¡¯m here now so you don¡¯t really have a choice.¡± One of Rick''s eyebrows raised and Nami started floating towards the hole in the ceiling. ¡°Wait! Please! I just wanted to help! Please!¡± yelled Nami. ¡°Help with what?¡± he asked as he stopped pulling her up. ¡°Robin!¡± ¡°Ugh! Always meddling with my love life.¡± he replied, making her go up again. ¡°OUR love life.¡± That made him stop. ¡°She¡¯s not wrong. Robin and I may be married but Nami is a part of us. Pulling myself away affects her too. Goddess, I have to make some lies about the situation now.¡± He pulled her down to the floor and attracted a chair and put it in front of his desk. ¡°Alright, you want to talk? Talk.¡± Nami went to the chair and sat down and began talking. ¡°I don¡¯t know where to start¡­¡± ¡°The beginning perhaps?¡± ¡°Haha, very clever.¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°So¡­ everyone is more or less a bit worried about you, since except Brook, no one saw you in three days after¡­ you came back.¡± ¡°Let me guess, Robin is rather less than more?¡± ¡°...Yes, she thinks you¡¯re just upset.¡± ¡°And that I¡¯m stupid of being jealous of a ¡°innocent¡± kid?¡± replied Rick making air quotes when he said innocent. ¡°Not so innocent but yeah.¡± ¡°Oh?! You¡¯re aware?! That¡¯s a miracle!¡± said Rick, mocking her. ¡°Was it Franky, Sanji or Brook? No, no, no to break through your delusions all three of them must have banded up together.¡± ¡°How do you¡­¡± answered Nami but was interrupted. ¡°They¡¯re perverts. Not of the same kind mind you; Franky is an exibitionist, Brook an underwear addict and Sanji¡­ is actually the standard pervert.¡± Nami never thought about it but now that it was said she agreed it was a fitting description. ¡°They exined to me, and at first I didn¡¯t understand but then they showed me his true nature and¡­ well I can¡¯t unsee it now. Who could have imagined an 8 year old child could be¡­ acting like that?¡± ¡°Like an adult?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°Me, Robin¡­ you.¡± ¡°What?¡± asked Nami, confused. ¡°Robin became wanted at 8 and had to learn fast the ways of the adult world. At 8 I already killed almost a dozen pirates, lived alone in a forest for 2 years, lived alone on an hostile ind for 6 months, almost died twice with one of them during a fight against Golden Shiki.¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°You yourself are aware.¡± said Rick, referring to her own past. ¡°...¡± ¡°Just because they¡¯re kids doesn¡¯t mean they¡¯re just kids. Momonosuke understands a woman¡¯s curves. Being a child doesn¡¯t absolve him of the consequences of his actions especially when he knows what he¡¯s doing and what those consequences are. ¡°I know¡­ I don¡¯t fault you for getting mad at him but was it necessary to act like you did?¡± ¡°Remember his face?¡± ¡°Can¡¯t forget it¡­¡± ¡°What would you have done if it wasn¡¯t Robin but one of your mikan trees or a bag of your gold and he showed you that face?¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°Well?¡± ¡°I would have punched him so hard he would have flown off the Sunny.¡± confesses Nami. ¡°But I wouldn¡¯t have killed him!¡± she added. ¡°In normal circumstances neither would I have.¡± ¡°Normal cir¡­ What do you mean?¡± asked Nami, as she frowned, not understanding. ¡°A lot happened when I left.¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°Don¡¯t let me stop you from talking about it.¡± said Nami. ¡°You may have guessed already, but I was sessful. Just as he had said, Vegapunk found a way to fix my body.¡± ¡°Considering the time you have left, yes.¡± ¡°Indeed With his previous body¡¯s life span he would have died a week ago, give or take a few days. ¡°Which is great news but not as great as we thought?¡± ¡°You¡¯re correct. As for my life span, it¡¯s normal now.¡± ¡°Good.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not so sure.¡± ¡°Ugh! Will you spill what¡¯s wrong already?!¡± said Nami, who had enough. ¡°I can use Haki.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t see how it¡¯s a problem, it¡¯s quite neat actually.¡± Rick just sighed and began to exin the problem he was now facing. ~~~~~~ ¡°That¡¯s not good.¡± said Nami, worried. ¡°No shit!¡± ¡°Can¡¯t Vegapunk do something?¡± ¡°He isn¡¯t even aware and left for who knows where.¡± ¡°To think the sea devil wasn¡¯t just a myth¡­And every time you get angry he tries to take over?¡± ¡°No.¡± ¡°No? But you said.¡± ¡°I said he used my anger, but I think he can just use all negative emotions. I mean in normal time I would just have sent Momonosuke flying but¡­¡± ¡°But¡­¡± repeated Nami in understanding. ¡°He just¡­ channeled everything I¡¯ve been suppressing. My anger, my frustration, my pain¡­¡± he said without giving any details. Nami got up from her chair and went behind him pulling his head into her breasts. ¡°Talk to me.¡± she said in aforting tone. ¡°I¡­ took a detour to meet my daughter.¡± he confessed, making Nami¡¯s eyes go wide. She did keep silent though, not wanting to interrupt his unburderning of his feelings. That¡¯s what he needed the most right now. ¡°Nami she¡¯s¡­ goddess, I don¡¯t think I have ever seen something so cute. Her silky ck hair, just like her mother. Actually everything is her mother, everything but her eyes. She got them from me.¡± said Rick with a smile and looking nowhere. The redhead began to put a hand through his hair and make some back and forth. ¡°She¡¯s going to grow up into a beautiful woman. More beautiful than her mother and she will break even more hearts. And¡­ And¡­ I¡¯ll never be there to witness it. To raise her.¡± ¡°You don¡¯t know that.¡± ¡°She lives on the ind of women where no men are allowed.¡± ¡°Her mother is their leader, maybe she can...¡± ¡°Haaa yes! Hancock. That¡¯s a whole other problem. She¡¯s obsessed with me! I didn¡¯t mind it though and it¡¯s not like I don¡¯t love her back, but I could physically hurt her all I want if she''d just love it.¡± ¡°What do you mean?¡± asked Nami. Quickly, Rick rted what happened during the night he spent with Hancock. To say that Nami was a bit shocked would be an understatement. ¡°She took all of it?¡± ¡°That¡¯s what you remember out of all I¡¯ve said?¡± ¡°Yes. I mean everything else, she loved it, she told you as much.¡± ¡°Nami, I hurt her.¡± ¡°And she loved it, so see no problem.¡± ¡°I treated her like a celestial dragon would have!¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°I don¡¯t mind inflicting pain Nami, Goddess knows I do it often with Robin¡­ And the degradation? We do it half the time. But doing it to Hancock¡­ and the way she reacted to it¡­¡± ¡°Just talk with her about it.¡± ¡°That¡¯s the problem, I can¡¯t, because she would just say what she thinks I want.¡± ¡°...¡± Nami didn¡¯t know what to say, so she said nothing and just kept on letting her fingers roam through his hair. ¡°All I wished during the journey back was to jump into Robin¡¯s arms and just cuddle.To just forget for a moment everything¡­¡± ¡°And you found a perverted kid taking advantage of Robin without her even knowing about it.¡± ¡°I just¡­¡± ¡°Blew up, and with the sea devil, it didn¡¯t make things better.¡± ¡°No¡­ But what hurt the most is that Robin was angry with me.¡± ¡°You felt betrayed because she didn¡¯t acknowledge you were protecting her.¡± ¡°... yes.¡± ¡°But she didn¡¯t know.¡± ¡°I know! But it hurt nheless, Nami. I know I was just being stupid, that she loves me and all but¡­¡± ¡°But?¡± asked Nami the end of his sentence noting. ¡°Trust is a luxury for me, Nami.¡± ¡°I know. You told me back on Skypiea.¡± ¡°I just felt the same way I felt when I found out about the celestial dragon all those years ago.¡± Nami couldn¡¯t say anything. That was a serious matter. Garp, Sengoku and Tsuru had hidden the truth of the navy, the world government, and the celestial dragon for more than half his life from him. She couldn¡¯t imagine how he must have felt at that moment, that most of your life was just a lie your family kept on¡­ And have felt the same way for Robin¡­ The situation was worse than she thought. ¡°Okay, maybe I went a bit far with the lies there¡­ On the other hand I can¡¯t just say that I hate Momonosuke and was just jealous¡­ Well I guess I have to roll with it now.¡± ¡°It¡¯s our first fight¡­¡± ¡°What?¡± ¡°Robin and I, we never fought before.¡± ¡°Never ?¡± ¡°Well, there was Enies Lobby but we weren¡¯t dating then. Otherwise we never fought. We always have been on the same wavelength or if not epted the other¡¯s¡­ whatever.¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°I¡¯ll talk to Robin.¡± ¡°And say what exactly?!¡± ¡°The truth about Momonosuke.¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°The two of you, fighting¡­ It¡¯s not right.¡± She went from behind him to his side and kissed him lovingly. ¡°Everything¡¯s going to be fine in no time.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know about that.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t you have a feeling about it?¡± ¡°Apparently when it¡¯s about Robin I don¡¯t. Don¡¯t bother, ask Robin.¡± said Rick as Nami was about to ask. Nami nodded and kissed onest time before leaving the garden through the door. ~~~~~ ¡°Is he still upset?¡± ¡°No.¡± ¡°Does that mean my husband will be back in our bed tonight?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t count on it, at least not for a while.¡± Robin frowned, she didn¡¯t like what she heard. ¡°I don¡¯t understand. He has never been upset for that long before, especially for something as trivial.¡± ¡°He¡¯s not upset Robin, he¡¯s hurt.¡± ¡°Momonosuke is just a child, there is no reason for him to be hurt because of his bout of jealousy.¡± ¡°That¡¯s not¡­ Look, there is much more going on than what happened the other day.¡± ¡°He had some trouble during his journey?¡± Robin asked, standing up for her seat. She immediately started to walk to the garden when Nami caught her arm and held her back. ¡°Not now.¡± ¡°Nami, he¡¯s¡­¡± ¡°Not. Now. You need to see something first, then we¡¯ll talk. Afterwards you can go to him, but I¡¯m warning you he¡¯s not ready yet.¡± Robin was looking at Nami¡¯s eyes and saw how serious she was. ¡°... What do I need to see?¡± ¡°Franky, Sanji, Brook!¡± called out the redhead. ¡°Yeah?¡± ¡°Nami-swaaaan?¡± ¡°Yohohoho! Are you finally showing me your panties?¡± said Brook showing up by Nami¡¯s side out of nowhere. ¡°NO YOU PERVERT!¡± she yelled love punching him onto the deck. ¡°Can you show Robin what you showed me this morning?¡± ¡°Sure.¡± Replied Franky. Nami turned to Robin and signaled her to follow them, which she did. Afterwards Nami had called Momonosuke, who was ying with Luffy, Usopp and Chopper, to her. Just life a few hours earlier Brook yed his role and everything happened the same. If Robin was shocked her face didn¡¯t show any sign of it. ¡°Fufufu¡­¡± ¡°Robin?¡± ¡°Robin-chwan?¡± ¡°Momonosuke¡­ you naughty boy. Fufufu¡­¡± If Franky had not been a cyborg he would have had cold sweat running down his back. Sanji definitely did. ¡°ying innocent and making me mad at the man I love¡­ Fufufu¡­¡± She raised her hands and in less than a second Momonosuke was pulled from Nami¡¯sp and suspended in the air. Robin had bloomed harms and hands and caught his four limbs. ¡°M-miss Ro-Robin?¡± said the little goblin scared. Robin walked toward him and stopped a foot away. ¡°Naughty boys are punished, Momonosuke.¡± ¡°I-I- didn¡¯t do anything wr-wrong.¡± ¡°The game is over, you got caught, Momonosuke.¡± said Nami. ¡°Brook!¡± called out Robin in a cold voice. ¡°Yes?¡± ¡°Cut his top knot please.¡± ¡°Yohohoho, with pleasure.¡± ¡°Kin¡¯emon help!¡± cried out the little goblin as his face pale. The samourai was watching on the side, so did everyone actually and waited. ¡°Momonosuke, every action has consequences. None can escape them. Your behavior was a disgrace, now ept your punishment like a man.¡± Momonosuke lowered his head and began to cry. In no time Brook did what Robin had asked of him. ¡°You¡¯re sleeping and taking a bath with the guys from now on.¡± stated Nami as she hurried to stop Robin who had already released the lecherous child and was making her way to her husband. ¡°May that be a lesson you will never forget Momonosuke. Being a child doesn¡¯t absolve you of your wrongdoings. Especially you.¡± said Kin¡¯emon. ¡°Franky, what happened?¡± asked Luffy. ¡°A bad kid has been punished.¡± ¡°What did Momo do?¡± asked Chopper. ¡°Hmm..¡± the cyborg didn¡¯t quite know how to respond to Chopper, fortunately Sanji was there. ¡°Let¡¯s say¡­ He stole all your cotton candy or meat and ate it right in front of you and he¡¯s acting smug since he¡¯s a kid and you can¡¯t punch him because of it.¡± ¡°What?! That¡¯s awful!¡± cried out Chopper ¡°Then he deserves it for stealing meat!¡± said Luffy unhappy. ¡°Luffy he didn¡¯t¡­ Oh, why do I bother.¡± said Usopp, giving up. ~~~~~ ¡°Robin, wait!¡± said Nami catching up to her friend. ¡°I can¡¯t! He was just¡­¡± ¡°I know, but there are things I need to tell you first, remember?¡± Robin stopped. The garden was just at the end of the corridor. She looked at the door then at Nami, then back to the door. She lowered her head and nodded. The redhead took her by the hand and led her to the married couple¡¯s room, though for the past three days had been just Robin¡¯s. They sat on the bed and Nami began to talk. Chapter 91: Joke(r)’s on you Chapter 91: Joke(r)¡¯s on you Announcement Please, take the time to rate the story, thank you! Enjoy! Chapter 91: Joke(r)¡¯s on you Against Nami¡¯s advice Robin went to talk to Rick. First to apologize; it wasn¡¯t his fault Momonosuke was an old pervert in the body of an eight years old and duped her. It was hers for reacting the way she did believing her husband was just being jealous. She remembered what he had told her when he had epted that she also liked women; he wouldn¡¯t allow another man toy a finger on her, that he would kill them all. So when he grabbed Momonosuke she got scared he would hurt an innocent child. In the end she was half right but not as she thought. The second was to support him; between his new situation with his body and the situation with his daughter, he was not really in the best frame of mind. Sadly, when she opened the garden¡¯s door, who¡¯s not been locked again after Nami¡¯s departure, she found no one inside. She didn¡¯t bother to search for him around Sunny as she knew that if Rick didn¡¯t want to be found he wouldn¡¯t be. Going back to their room she slid under the bed and hugged Nami. ¡°He wasn¡¯t there.¡± stated the redhead. ¡°He wasn¡¯t.¡± ¡°I thought so. It¡¯s alright, give him time.¡± ¡°I can¡¯t, he needs me.¡± ¡°He does but he also can take care of himself.¡± Robin didn¡¯t answer, while Nami was right, it still didn¡¯t feel right for her. She will try again tomorrow. ~~~~~ Dressrosa was in sight, many members of the crew were excited. Trafy tried to remind everyone of the n they talked about at length the day before but without any sess. ¡°Wait! Where is your Vice-captain?¡± he asked. ¡°Eh?! He¡¯s not here?¡± replied Luffy. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, he¡¯s not one to mess up ns.¡± said Sanji. ¡°He¡¯s probably already on the ind, getting some info.¡± added Franky. ¡°That¡¯s not fair! He should have¡­¡± began Luffy. The conversation was tuned out by Robin who felt a pang of guilt hit her. Her chance to talk with him went away and she didn¡¯t like that. She was actually starting to get angry at not being able to make it up to her husband because of her husband himself. ¡°That¡¯s it! I may apologize, but he¡¯s going to get it for avoiding me for so long!¡± ~~~~~ Meanwhile Rick, unlike what everyone was thinking, was in the training room at the top of the mast. After using the dirt from Marie Geoise, he had collected into the two bags he hade back with, he worked on the garden again, nting seeds of different nts or vegetables. Picking up his experiments from two years ago, he either continued or started anew. Now that the garden was back into order he could practice his haki for more than just during the night. That¡¯s where he¡¯s been since Nami left the room. He had left the way Nami got in and without anyone finding out reached the training room where he¡¯s been ever since. The objective was twofold. One: develop his observation haki to the scale of Ener of Fujitora. Thetter being the original owner of the Zushi Zushi no mi and blind had trained his observation haki inbinaison to his gravity to see despite being in total darkness. There was no reason Rick couldn¡¯t do the same. Second: applying armament haki to his gravity. The idea came to him while working on his observation. ¡°If one can use their DF abilities inbination with observation, what reason would there be to not be able to do the same with armament? After all, armament is all about reinforcing one¡¯s body or weapon. Where observation is the reading of others'' spiritual energy, armament is the emission of one¡¯s own through a medium. It¡¯s an infusion of spiritual energy, something intangible. Theoretically one should be able to infuse it into intangible things, like gravity.¡± And so he spent his time switching between training the two. He had made no progress with the first, but with the second he had a minor sess. After many tries he had pushed away a dumbbell harder than the actual amount of gravity he had applied should have allowed. He had focused on repeating this sess over and over. In the end what limited him was the amount of haki he was infusing. He had wanted to test a new attack, something he had thought would be the peak of gravity, but just like the meteor rain he couldn¡¯t do it around others. If it worked and something went wrong¡­ a hundred meteor showers would have been better. Satisfied with his morning training he exited the training room for ate breakfast. Landing on deck he saw only Brook, Nami, Chopper and Momo ( who made sure to stay away from him.) ¡°¡°¡°Rick!!¡±¡±¡± ¡°Good morning!¡± ¡°What are you doing here ?!¡± eximed Nami. ¡°Eeeeh¡­ I live here?¡± Wrong answer. The redhead love punched him to the ground. ¡°We thought you were already on the ind, you idiot!¡± ¡°Oh?! We finally arrived at Dressrosa?¡± ¡°Yes, this morning.¡± replied Chopper doing a check up on him by reflex ¡°Did everyone else leave already?¡± ¡°Robin, Law, Usopp and Caesar, left for Green Bit. The rest of the crew went to explore the city with Kin¡¯emon.¡± exined Brook. ¡°Where were you anyway?¡± asked Nami. ¡°In the training room, experiencing with¡­ you know what.¡± he gave a meaningful look to Nami. ¡°...¡± ¡°What is what?¡± asked Chopper. ¡°A surprise!¡± replied Rick with a grin. He started to float but was grabbed by the leg by his kitten so hended back on the deck. ¡°And where do you think you¡¯re going?¡± ¡°To the city. I¡¯m the best suited to destroy the smile factory after all.¡± ¡°Nu-huh. We need you here to protect the Sunny.¡± ¡°You¡¯re kidding right? You alone could deal with most of the attackers and Chopper and Brook are no slouch either.¡± ¡°It¡¯s¡­ just in case.¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°I¡¯ll send Sanji back here. He¡¯s more suited to fight people than destroy buildings.Is that good enough?¡± ¡°... I guess.¡± she said with a sigh. Rick thought the conversation was over and began to take to the air again but was grabbed once more. He looked at Nami in confusion. ¡°Robin wants to talk to you. Actually she went to the garden yesterday but you weren¡¯t there.¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°Is she still mad?¡± ¡°At herself. Though since you¡¯re avoiding her she might be mad at you for that.¡± ¡°... That I can handle.¡± ¡°She¡¯s sorry.¡± ¡°I know, Nami. She¡¯s my wife, I know how she thinks and feels well.¡± ¡°... I really don¡¯t like it, you two¡­ not together.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t like it either.¡± he said as he came close and leaned before whispering into her ear in a teasing tone. ¡°Once Robin and I have made up, what do you say I keep my promise and mark you again?¡± ¡°You better! You¡¯re three dayste already.¡± she said, faking a pout. She let go of him for good and the ex-marine flew towards the city. ~~~~~ While he was flying he recognized Sanji and Kin¡¯emon talking actively about something. Hended next to them. ¡°Hey guys! What are you doing?¡± ¡°Rick?¡± ¡°Sir Rick?¡± ¡°That¡¯s me, yes.¡± ¡°Where were you?¡± asked Sanji. ¡°In Sunny¡¯s training room. I slept in, sorry.¡± ¡°We thought you¡­ Nevermind. We lost Zoro.¡± ¡°That¡¯s not unusual.¡± ¡°A fairy stole one of his swords.¡± ¡°Shisui! Wano¡¯s treasure! That will teach that thief!¡± said Kin¡¯emon outraged. ¡°Not now! We need to find him, we have things to do.¡± interrupted Sanji ¡°Okay, what about Luffy?¡± ¡°He¡¯s participating in the tournament.¡± ¡°What tournament?¡± ¡°At the coliseum. He wants to fight.¡± ¡°Well that¡¯s Luffy for you. What¡¯s the price anyway, a year worth of meat?¡± said Rick, jesting. ¡°An eternal pose to some ind named Lodestar. Everyone seems to want it for some reason but we didn¡¯t find what.¡± ¡°Lodestar?!¡± ¡°You know about it?¡± asked Sanji. ¡°Know abo ¡­ Sanji, Lodestar is the name of thest ind reachable with a log pose on Grand Line! The only ind after that is Laugh Tale where the One piece is supposed to be!¡± ¡°What?!¡± eximed the cook in surprise. ¡°I don¡¯t know how Domingo got it, but Luffy needs to win this tournament! If this eternal pose is real, whoever gets it would be the closest to the One Piece, we can¡¯t let anyone else get it!¡± ¡°Goddess! Saving Ace changed everything, since he¡¯s not dead, there is no Mera Mera no mi in cirction. I need to remember what happened in this arc.¡± ¡°Okay, here is what we¡¯re going to do. Kin¡¯emon and I will locate Zoro. Once done we¡¯re going to the coliseum. Sanji, Sunny needs to be defended. There is no heavy hitter left there and Green Bit is not far away. If the negotiations with Domingo fail, and they probably will, neither Brook, Chopper or Nami would be able to handle him.¡± Sanji nodded and left for Sunny, obeying his Vice-Captain order. Meanwhile Rick turns to Kin¡¯emon. ¡°I¡¯m sorry for acting the way I did with your son.¡± he said bowing. ¡°Usually, I would have just tied him to the mast, or made him do a good and exhausting workout, but¡­¡± ¡°I understand. Men tend to lose reason when it¡¯s about their wife. I apologize too for not raising him properly.¡± replied the samurai bowing in return. ¡°My first impression was perhaps the worst but I promise you I¡¯ll do better.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll patiently wait then.¡± Kin¡¯emon answered with a smile. ¡°Now about Shusui... It was stolen from Wano along with the corpse of its owner by a pirate named Moria. Moria used his powers to make him a Zombie.¡± ¡°Zombie?¡± ¡°A reanimated corpse.¡± ¡°What?!¡± ¡°Yes, It¡¯s awful. Anyway, Zoro fought and won against the samurai who rewarded him with Shisui for his victory as he didn¡¯t need it anymore.¡± ¡°I see¡­ He still can¡¯t keep it, Shisui is a national treasure of wano.¡± ¡°I think he would be inclined to give it back if Wano would offer him another sword in exchange.¡± replied Rick, making Kin¡¯emon ponder. ¡°... It¡¯s not impossible. There are plenty of swords in Wano but of the same quality or higher than Shisui¡­ It would be difficult.¡± ¡°Higher?¡± ¡°Yes, while there are better swords than Shisui, none has as much history and reputation.¡± ¡°Let¡¯s hope we find one who picks Zoro¡¯s interest.¡± The samurai nodded in agreement and each left their own way to find Zoro, agreeing to meet up at the coliseum. ¡° An eternal pose to Lodestar. That would considerably cut the adventure short. Though, it would not help to get to Laugh Tale since no pose leads there. How did Roger and his crew do it? The most experienced sailor failed where a band of illiterates pirates seeded. Wait a minute, that''s not true! Olvia was with them! She was literate, and not just a bit, she was an archeologist and could read poneglyphs. Poneglyphs¡­ Are they the key to finding Laug Tale? To find the One Piece?¡± He was brought out of his thoughts when someone bumped into him violently making him fall backwards onto the ground. The only thing he saw was long ck hair and a red rose adorning them. What he felt though¡­ he liked it a lot. Two very big and bouncy tits were pressed firmly against his chest. ¡°Slightly bigger than Robin, but not as enjoyable against me.¡± he thought. Thedy who had pushed him down raised herself and looked at him. ¡°Please! Help me!¡± ¡°I remember her, isn¡¯t she working for Domingo? Did I just take Sanji¡¯s ce?¡± ¡°Are you alright?¡± ¡°N-no, I need help!¡± ¡°Alright, alright calm down, let¡¯s get both ourselves up and you¡¯ll tell me what you need my help for.¡± The woman who was straddling him moved and stood up allowing Rick to do the same. ¡°First thing first, my name is Rick, what¡¯s yours?¡± ¡°V-violet.¡± ¡°Okay Violet. Despite the circumstances, nice to meet you. Now what do you need my help for?¡± ¡°I-I need you to k-kill a man!¡± ¡°... Okay,e again?¡± ¡°My ex-l-lover. I¡­ He didn¡¯t take well me breaking up with him. He already killed some men who got too close to me. When I told him I didn¡¯t want to have anything to do with him anymore, he swore that if he could have me nobody will.¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°I-I-I c-cant live like that anymore!¡± she began to cry. ¡°Looking over my shoulder constantly, leaving in f-fear, I can¡¯t.¡± She hugged him tightly and sobbed against his chest. ¡°She¡¯s really a good actress. No wonder Sanji fell for her bullshit.¡± ¡°Alright, alright. I¡¯ll help you.¡± ¡°R-really?¡± she asked in fake surprise, lifting her head to look at him. ¡°Yes. Do you know somece we could talk? Preferably not in the open like we are now. I need to know more about this ex-lover of yours.¡± ¡°... There is a warehouse not far, we can use for a while.¡± ¡°Then lead the way violet.¡± ~~~~~ ¡°How dumb are you?¡± said Violet sitting on a big chair. Had it been a bit more luxurious it could have been called a throne. She had her legs crossed and was looking down haughtily at a tied up Rick on the ground. Rick was just looking at her exposed legs. ¡° Damn, those legs are beautiful.¡± Not liking being ignored she signaled with her head one of her subordinates behinds Rick who took pleasure to hit him a few times in the head. ¡°Sorry, you were saying? I was admiring your legs.¡± said Rick nonchntly. ¡°Men. All pigs without exception.¡± ¡°If you were in my ce, you''d be admiring your legs too.¡± replied the ex-marine with a grin. That earned him another beating. ¡°It¡¯s alright if you don¡¯t talk, I don¡¯t need you to to get the information I want.¡± she smirked. She made a circle with both her index and thumbs and put them against her eyes as if they were goggles. ¡°Oh?! You ate the Giro Giro no mi?¡± ¡°H-how do you¡­¡± she asked, shocked. ¡°Learned every devil fruit and their powers when I read the devil fruit encyclopedia when I was a kid.¡± ¡°... Who does that?!¡± ¡°Well... me?¡± ¡°That¡¯s¡­ How¡­¡± ¡°You know if you wanted to see me naked you just needed to ask. I would have appreciated a romantic dinner first bef¡­¡± He didn¡¯t get to finish his sentence as Violet moved as fast as lightning and kicked him in the face hard, sending him flying backwards. She was livid. ¡°Man your ex must have been really bad at sex if you treat all men you¡¯re interested in like that.¡± heughed, earning him another kick in the face. ¡°You¡¯re going to shut up now, and I¡¯m going to read your thoughts. Every secret you own, including your crew¡¯s n. Doffy will be pleased.¡± As soon as she said that, she used her ability on Rick. Probing deep into his mind she searched for the answers she needed. She wasn¡¯t about to find out about the system, the multiverse and the goddess that¡¯s for sure. The deity had put in ce safeguards to avoid that. What she found though was Robin. Or to be more urate she found RobinS. One Robin was wearing the purple dress and stockings she wore at Thriller Bark. Another wore the ck one piece from Enies Lobby. One was just in a towel bath wrapped around her. ¡°What is this?¡± Violet eximed. She kept looking and just found more Robins. When she looked at the Robin in her white wedding dress she blushed. Thest one sheid her eyes upon was Robin with nothing but ck silk lingerie;ce panties, stocking reaching mid thighs and a garter belt who was supporting her breasts with her arms under them. ¡°YOU PIG!¡± she said, kicking him again, knocking out the air in his lungs. *cough*¡± What? Can¡¯t a man think non stop at his beautiful wife? How does that make me a pig?¡± ¡°Your wife? And you went away with me? Wow. What a faithful husband you are. I should get rid of you for her.¡± She raised her leg for onest kick but started floating. ¡°What the¡­¡± Rick pulled himself up having removed the seastone cuffs he binded with. ¡°You¡¯re so quick to judge.¡± he said. He sent all her men to the ceiling and back down to the floor with brutality, none of them were left conscious. At the sight Violet got scared. ¡°You see, my wife loves men AND Women. So¡­¡± he began getting close, so close that he took her chin in his hand while restraining her with some sprouted hands. ¡°When I see a beautiful woman I know she would like, I seduce her.¡± He kissed her right on the lips, forcefully. Violet tried to fight and bit him, drawing blood but Rick ignored the pain. Finally he broke the kiss. ¡°Yes, she would like you a lot.¡± ¡°There is no way I¡­¡± ¡°They all say that.¡± ¡± Well all is just Nami for now¡­¡± ¡°And all wanted more by the end.¡± ¡°I will not!¡± she denied vehemently. ¡°With how much you blush while you propped my mind, I doubt it. Anyway, back to your question of ¡®How dumb am I?¡¯, considering I knew right from the beginning you were a member of the Domingo family and that I¡¯m currently in a position of dominance; I¡¯d say not much.¡± ¡°What?! How?!¡± ¡°I know I¡¯m handsome, but a gorgeousdy, bumping into me, pressing her bountiful chest against mine and asking for help¡­ especially in a city where I¡¯m the authorities are looking for me¡­ That doesn¡¯t happen. It was a great act though, a weaker man would have fallen for it.¡± ¡°Another thing is, I know when people are lying to me and you only told me the truth once.¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°Who do you want me to kill?¡± Chapter 92: Our journey isn’t perfect, but it’s ours…And I’ll stick with you ’til the end Chapter 92: Our journey isn¡¯t perfect, but it¡¯s ours¡­And I¡¯ll stick with you ¡¯til the end Announcement Please, take the time to rate the story, thank you! Enjoy! Chapter 92: Our journey isn¡¯t perfect, but it¡¯s ours¡­And I¡¯ll stick with you ¡¯til the end "W-what?" Violet couldn''t believe her ears. Her enemy, who she tricked, captured, vited his privacy by reading his mind and finally beat up, was asking the name of the man she wanted gone for so long. She did not understand. " I said I would help you so I''ll help you." " Why ? " " Because it''s the right thing to do?" " Riiiight" said Violet with a dubious face. " I''m serious but if you feel indebted to me, take your time to think about what to give me when I''m done with the job." " ¡­" " ¡­" "Domingo¡­I want you to kill Domingo. " Rick released andnded her on the ground. "That''s your ex ? Domingo ? " asked Rick in surprise. Fake surprise. "YES! NO! I mean¡­" He was dumbfounded. That was a joke. " That''s not why I want you to kill him ! " " You know, if the guy was some random dude and innocent, I wouldn''t have gone for it but Domingo? The ruler of Dressrosa ? I''m in! For my own reason though, What''s yours ?" " ¡­" " So he really was that bad in the bedroom?" "He took my father''s throne and plunged the country into darkness. In a single night everything went to hell because of him." confessed Violet with tears in her eyes. " You ¡­You''re the daughter of the former king? " He didn''t remember that. " My name is Vi Riku, eldest daughter of the former king Doldo Riku the third." " Okay ¡­Tell me everything." ~~~~~ " Sooo¡­He''s a Celestial Dragon?" " Former." " Well, one more reason for me to kill him." " Why? " " I have a big problem with them." " Which is ? " " They exist." "¡­" "..." "That¡¯s it?" "That¡¯s it." "I just told you my life story and you gave me a two word answer in exchange?" Violet, or Vi, since it was her real name replied in an irritated tone. "You¡¯re the one who needs my help. Not the other way around, so I don¡¯t really have to share." "Oh you¡¯re going to y it like that?" "What do I get for telling you?" "Get? Where is the man who told me ''because it¡¯s the right thing to do?'' " "Helping you and giving you my reasons are two different things." "Fine! Keep it to yourself, I don¡¯t care anymore!" "A kiss." "What?!" "That''s the price." "In your dreams, pig. " "It¡¯s your choice. Doesn''t matter to me." Rick walked out of the warehouse and Violet followed him. ¡°Wait.¡± he said as he stopped suddenly, making her bump onto his back. ¡°Dofus is out of town right now, right?¡± ¡°Dofus?¡± ¡°Domingo.¡± ¡°He¡­ He left for his meeting with Trafalgarw.¡± replied Vi, unsettled by the nickname Rick has given Domingo. ¡°Goooooood.¡± said Rick with a wicked smile. ¡°I don¡¯t like that smile you¡¯re having.¡± ¡°You should.¡± he answered and began to walk again. ¡°Why¡­ Dofus?¡± ¡°Because he let you go. I mean it¡¯s not everyday you get to find and date a woman like you." "Like me?" asked Vi, an eyebrow raised, waiting for the bullshit she had heard so often. "You know, pretty face, big bouncy and juicy tiddies and legs so tasty people could start a religion about them." He replied nonchntly without even looking in her direction. "..." She didn¡¯t know what to respond. So many men had flirted with her, had courted her. Everypliment, every flowery words that one could say to tter her¡­She has heard. But this? Such bluntnguage? It never happened, not like that, not said with total disinterest in the voice. Yet he had kissed her against her will while restrained and asked for another kiss afterwards, his seduction for, admittedly, his wife¡­ Nothing made sense. He didn¡¯t make sense. "Start a religion?" "Hmm?" "You said I have legs so tasty people could start a religion about them." "I did." "You¡¯re the worst flirt I ever met." "I wasn¡¯t flirting, I¡¯m married remember? Which is proof enough that I¡¯m not the worst at it." Vi didn''t have any retort to that. Both kept silent and made their way towards the pce. As they got closer she saw something concerning his crew and shared with him. ¡°A huge lightning bolt just hit your ship.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± he replied nonplussed. ¡°Okay? Your ship and probably your crewmates were hit by a lightning bolt and that¡¯s all you have to say?¡± ¡°It¡¯s probably my kitten who got pissed.¡± ¡°Your kit¡­ I get it now, you¡¯re insane! Right? Dear lord, I asked for help from a mad man, he has more screws loose than anything.¡± shemented. ¡°And that¡¯s probably why my friends and I will be sessful in taking down Dofus while everyone else failed.¡± ¡°What do you mean?¡± ¡°Because you all thought inside the box to fight Dofus, you failed to find the possibilities which he would not predict and would work. Just wait and see by the end of the day he¡¯ll be gone.¡± ¡°The more you talk the less I trust your ability to do it.¡± ¡°Want to bet on it?¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°Good thinking you would have lost.¡± ¡°That¡¯s my life you¡¯re talking about! If you fail to kill Doffy I¡¯m dead too.¡± ¡°Now, now; I can¡¯t let that happen. Robin would kill me if I got a bombshell like you killed.¡± ¡°Robin?¡± ¡°My wife. So you see, I¡¯m even more motivated now. Though Doffus being an ass was enough. Celestial dragon or not.¡± Vi didn¡¯t speak anymore as talking with him was giving her a headache. She silently prayed to any god listening that she hadn¡¯t been wrong to put all her hopes on this man and his friends. Twenty minutester, after they had made their way from across town they finally arrived at the royal pce as fast as they could without being seen by the Donquixote family¡¯s members. ¡°Okay we¡¯re here¡­ Any knowledge of a secret entrance would be helpful right now.¡± ¡°There is none. The only other way is through the smile factory but it¡¯s under the pce. What is your n anyway?¡± ¡°To begin with, my objective was to destroy the smile factory.¡± ¡°It¡¯s under the pce, deep underground.¡± ¡°Who¡¯s inside the ce right now?¡± ¡°Mainly low rank grunts. Pica, Baby-5 and dius.¡± ¡°The ones you named, are they important?¡± ¡°Pica is one of the three elite officers of the family. Directly under Doffy. He ate Ishi Ishi no mi, above 4m in height, very very muscr and go berserk if someone makes ament about his voice.¡± ¡°His voice?¡± ¡°Despite his size his voice is very high pitched.¡± ¡°How high pitched are you talking about here?¡± ¡°Soprano high.¡± ¡°... Dude shouldn¡¯t have used stero?ds.¡± ¡°What?¡± ¡°Neverming, what about the others?¡± ¡°dius ate the Pamu Pamu no mi, there is not much to say about him.¡± ¡°And thest one?¡± ¡°Baby-5 ate Buki Buki no mi and she¡¯s¡­¡± ¡°She¡¯s what?¡± ¡°Nevermind it¡¯s irrelevant.¡± ¡°If you say so¡­ So a Stone man who abused steroids while growing up, a rupture man who can blow up everything inanimate he touches and a full-body weapon woman who can turn into any weapon she desires¡­ Thest one could be a probem.¡± ¡°Baby-5? Not Pica?¡± Vi asked, confused. ¡°That Pica is not a logia, meaning he needs to be in contact with stone to use his power, I can deal easily with him, same for the other guy. Her¡­ She can turn in any weapon like a bomb. I can survive that¡­ probably¡­ but I can¡¯t counter it.¡± replied Rick as he paced around thinking of a n of action. Vi just observed him, that was a new side of him she was discovering. Being all serious, that was definitely new. ¡°Ok, I¡¯ve got a n. You enter the pce, take your time to make your way up, but not too much time, with information on me.¡± ¡°On you?¡± ¡°Yes, on me. Like you saw me in town taking care of some weak members of the family, or something like that. Whatever, improvise. That way it won¡¯t blow your cover up.¡± ¡°How much time do you need?¡± ¡°Five minutes.¡± ¡°Five minutes what can you¡­¡± ¡°That¡¯s for me to know. Now go!¡± Vi began making her way out of the small alley they hid in before being stopped. ¡°Wait!¡± She turned around to see what he had to say. Turned out Rick didn¡¯t have anything to say and just grabbed her by the waist with one hand, grabbed her thigh with the other and gave her another kiss. ¡°For luck, or just in case I die.¡± he said with a smirk before taking the air and breaking in through a window on the highest floor. Vi was too shocked to react in time and began running towards the pce¡¯s entrance, her face redder than a tomato. Was it anger or something else? Nobody knew, not even her. ~~~~~ Rick broke through the window and immediately took action sprouting hands on the floor and the ceiling and capturing Pica and dius in mid-air unable to do anything.However Baby-5 was fast enough to transform her arm into a cannon but he directly restrained her with arms all over her body. ¡°Greetings people! I¡¯m a tourist searching for someone to guide me to the smile factory, does anyone know where it is?¡± ¡°AS IF WE WOULD GUIDE A SCUM LI¡­¡± dius couldn¡¯t finish what he was saying as an arm sprouted and kept his mouth shut. ¡°Now that was rude, so you¡¯re being muted indefinitely.¡± As he was joking around Baby-5 transformed into a de by passing Rick hold and tried to attack him but was tten to the ground and reverted to her human form. ¡°Feisty! I like it. Now congrattions to the cutedy in a maid outfit for volunteering. That¡¯s very brave! The world needs more people like that. Now what I need, is you showing me the way if you please.¡± ¡°O-okay.¡± she said blushing. ¡°Baby-...¡± began Pika in his high pitched voice but got silenced too just like dius. ¡°Don¡¯t worry I won¡¯t hurt your friends. I only need you.¡± ¡°I-it¡¯s this way.¡± she said, blushing even more. She led Rick outside the room and into a very long corridor. Reaching the end of it was an elevator. They got inside and Baby-5 pushed the lever toward the basement floor. ¡°T-the smile factory is underground.¡± ¡°And here I thought I would have to fight or something. She¡¯s surprisingly docile.¡± ¡°Do you need me for anything else?¡± she asked fidgeting. ¡°No thank you.¡± ¡°Are you sure you don¡¯t need me anymore? Anything, I¡¯ll do anything!¡± ¡°What the¡­ Oh my goddess! It¡¯s the need girl! That¡¯s why she¡¯s like that!¡± Remembering who Baby-5 was, Rick thought about the situation. Her devil fruit¡¯s abilities were no joke. ¡°If Franky could have eaten that devil fruit he would have been a force to reckon with. That¡¯s too ¡­ Wait a minute, I can use her! She¡¯d be very useful! Come on Rick, y your cards right!¡± ¡°Thank you¡­ Baby-5? Your name is Baby-5 right?¡± ¡°It is!¡± she said with a smile. ¡°You seem verypetent at assisting people. Is that why you¡¯re wearing a maid outfit?¡± ¡°Yes! I always help people in need!¡± ¡°Correct me if I¡¯m wrong but since you ate the buki buki no mi, you must be very proficient and knowledgeable with weapons?¡± ¡°I am! I couldn¡¯t turn into them otherwise.¡± she answered proudly. ¡°Then you¡¯re perfect for the job!¡± ¡°A job? What job?¡± ¡°You see, a friend of mine is an inventor and he loves to build new weapons. He needs an assistant though as he has so much work. I¡¯m sure you¡¯ll be able to help him.¡± ¡°Really?!¡± she asked, her eyes full of hope. ¡°Yes, though I said assistant, but you would actually be more like a wife. You know, helping with his work but also being careful that he does not exhaust himself and let his health deteriorate.¡± ¡°W-wife?!¡± ¡°Yes. He¡¯s a nice guy, alway needing something or someone to help. Are you interested ?¡± ¡°YES!¡± ¡°That¡¯s great!¡± ¡°Where can I meet your friend?¡± ¡°He¡¯s in town. I don¡¯t know exactly where but he¡¯s easy to recognize. He¡¯s around 2m40, has azur hair, and his haircut is really entric. And you know what the best part about him is?¡± ¡°No?!¡± ¡°He turned himself into a robot with plenty of weapons!¡± ¡°No way!¡±. At this point Baby-5 had hearts in her eyes. ¡°Finding a wife for Franky? Checked.¡± ¡°His name is Franky, if you happen to see him tell him that Rick sent you to him, okay?¡± ¡°Okay!¡± The elevator stopped at the basement floor, the door opened and just as he exited, Baby-5 tried to follow him. ¡°That¡¯s okay, I can find my way on my own now. But my friend, he really needs you right now so you should probably look for him. Oh! He might be a bit suspicious so don¡¯t hesitate to show him your abilities.¡± Baby-5 nodde and took the elevator back to the first floor. ¡°Now if Franky isn¡¯tpletely dumb he¡¯ll take care of her.¡± With the cyborg¡¯s possible future wife now gone, Rick turned around and saw a window. Getting closer he had a good view of the ce. It was a huge underground forest, around what he thought was a tower that he was currently in. Beyond the forest were wooden boxes from different sizes and several buildings, some of them having been destroyed recently. ¡° Someone fought there. I better be careful and sneak around.¡± He went through the window and floated quickly to the ground. The forest wasn¡¯t actually a forest after all. The trees were organized in rows and columns perfectly, and small dwarves were picking weird fruits from them. They clearly weren¡¯t doing this willingly as a human guard was there with a whip in his hand. He observed the field and found a path that would allow him to sneak without being seen. Finally arriving at the buildings¡¯ area he stayed hidden and bloomed eyes on top of them. He saw a lot of toys, some broken and some not. He was about to move to another location when he felt something pull on his leg. Looking down he saw a little doll. ¡°Oh my! Aren¡¯t you a cutie!¡± he said. The doll waved a hand to signal him toe closer. He kneeled to do so thinking the doll wanted to be picked up but he was wrong. The cute toy grabbed his left hand and showed it to him. ¡°What the¡­ Okay who did that? That¡¯s not a funny joke.¡± he eximed after seeing a ring on his ring finger. That had made him frown. ¡°Was it Usopp? Luffy? Seriously putting a wedding ring on me¡­ There is little chance someone would genuinely love a broken thing like me to the point of marriage. And even if it happened I¡¯d need to trust thatdypletely; I don¡¯t see that happening in this life.¡± He removed the ring and dropped it on the ground. Patting the doll head he went back to what he was doing before being interrupted. Deciding on a way to go he was stopped again by the doll. This time she hugged his leg. ¡°Sweety look. You¡¯re very cute and all but unless you know where the smile factory is, I can¡¯t stay with you.¡± The doll answered with simple hand movements. ¡°You know where it is?¡± Rick asked, astonished as the doll nodded. ¡°Can you show me the way?¡± The toy lifted her arms up and made some jumps. Understanding what it wanted, he picked it up and put it on his shoulder. The doll presented him with the ring. ¡°You can keep it, who knows maybe someday you¡¯ll find a partner to give it to?¡± The doll retracted her arms, still holding the ring and lowered her head. ¡°Don¡¯t be like that. You¡¯re cute and you¡¯re smart, I¡¯m sure plenty of guys would court you!¡± Clearly not interested in this conversation anymore, the little thing pointed towards a direction. Walking towards it he suddenly felt immense pain in his forearms, making him stop. The doll seemed worried as she touched his face. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, someone just cut the arms I left on the surface. The pain will go away soon.¡± ¡°That means, someone freed Pica and dius. Dammit I should have left an eye there to watch.¡± Finally he heard somemontio up ahead and moved faster. He found Usop being badly beaten and a ten years old child trying to feed him something while his friend was being held by ck bear toys. Just as Usopp raised his hand to swat what the little girl was holding, from his hiding ce Rick used his gravity and violently pushed the girl away. She collided head first with the wall who then fell on top of her. Under his very eyes the toys began to take human form. ¡°What the¡­¡± He finished his sentence as he was hugged fiercely from behind. ¡°You idiot¡­¡± said the person holding him into a death grip, while resting their head in the crook of his neck. ¡°R-Ro?¡± Robin didn¡¯t answer and just stayed like she was. ¡°How did you¡­¡± ¡°I was the doll.¡± ¡°The doll?¡± Letting go of him she moved so she could face him. ¡°Yes, I was transformed into it when the girl you knocked out touched me. Since she¡¯s unconscious now she can¡¯t maintain her abilities, and everyone who she has touched turned back to normal.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know that fruit. Making someone into toys that¡¯s¡­¡± ¡°That¡¯s not all she could do. She could force a contract upon the toys and make them her ve, but the most horrific part of her abilities is that people turned into toys are forgotten by everyone.¡± As she finished her exnation, she took his left hand in hers and put his wedding ring at the tip of his ring finger, not putting it back. ¡°Robin¡­¡± ¡°I¡¯m sorry.¡± ¡°You don¡¯t¡­¡± ¡°I¡¯m sorry I hurt you. I didn¡¯t mean to but I did it nheless. I should have known better. I¡¯m sorry to have let you down, when you just wanted to protect me.¡± ¡°I.. I was jealous too, so it wasn¡¯t your fault. I reacted badly. I just¡­ I just can¡¯t stand¡­ Gosh I spent too much time with my ex, I became as obsessive as she was, if not worse.¡± realized Rick. ¡°That¡¯s alright. I love you the way you are, and I won¡¯t change a thing about you if I could, not for anything in the world, because you wouldn¡¯t be the man I fell in love with anymore. ¡°Robin¡­¡± ¡°The only question is do you trust me, do you trust my love enough?¡± she asked, looking at him in the eyes, searching for something. ¡°You love her more than anything you idiot, and now with your stupid lies and acions you hurt her. Just because you couldn¡¯t just say you¡¯re an obsessive and possessive asshole. Enough!¡± Rick didn¡¯t break eye contact as he used his right hand to grab one of hers. The one holding his wedding ring to be precise and with one single motion, without any hesitation pulled on it, putting back the ring where it belonged. Robin had a happy smile on her face and was crying tears of joy. She jumped into her husband''s arms, locked her legs behind his lower back and kissed him deeply. By reflex Rick took her ass in his hands to hold her. They broke the kiss and smiled stupidly at each other. That didn¡¯tst as Robin frowned and pped his face hard! ¡°That¡¯s for avoiding me for four days!¡± she said in an angry and cold tone. ¡°I¡¯m sorry. I just¡­ I was too ashamed among other things.¡± ¡°It¡¯s alright, Nami told me. WE¡¯re going to get through this together.¡± ¡°I can¡¯t really ask you to help with my daughter.¡± ¡° Our daughter.¡± ¡°Our?¡± ¡°Yes; you, me and Hancock. I mean, I¡¯d be Lynda¡¯s step mother soon after all.¡± ¡°You.. You¡¯re okay with me marrying her? I mean, I told her that in the spur of the moment to calm her down.¡± ¡°I¡¯m fine with it. I¡¯m the first. I¡¯ll always be the first. That¡¯s all that matters.¡± ¡°You know¡­ Sometimes, I wonder if of the two of us, you¡¯re not, in truth, the crazy one.¡± ¡°We both are. I¡¯m as crazy about you as you are about me.¡± ¡°... Doubtful.¡± he whispered before getting another loving kiss. ¡°You¡¯ll see one day.¡± she grinned ¡°Oh, I can¡¯t wait.¡± he grinned back. They just stayed like they were seeing the love in each other until Rick started to fondle her ass. ¡°You couldn¡¯t help yourself¡­¡± said Robin with a deadpan face. ¡°You know I can¡¯t, not after being away from it for weeks! And that dress didn¡¯t make it any easier.¡± he replied as he slid his hands under the very short dress, touching her perfect bubble butt. ¡°You like it?¡± ¡°I love it! You¡¯re definitely keeping it on for a few rounds tonight.¡± ¡°Only if you don¡¯t rip it.¡± ¡°You got yourself a deal, dear wife.¡± he joked, pecking her on the lips. ¡°YOU HEARD HIM?! GOD USOPP WILL LEAD US TO SALVATION!¡± Turning their head to the side, they saw something they didn¡¯t expect. Usopp was held up high in the air by a giant as the light of the sun descended upon him. ¡°GOD USOPP!¡± ¡°GOD USOPP!¡± ¡°GOD USOPP!¡± Robin and Rick looked at each other. ¡°What is happening?¡± asked the former. ¡°I think they believed he defeated Sugar, turning everyone back into human.¡± ¡°So I do the job, he reaps the credit?¡± ¡°Pretty much.¡± ¡°You know what? It¡¯s fine. If it can boost his self-esteem a bit, I¡¯m okay with it. Not like I could prove it was me.¡± ¡°Uh-huh. You¡¯re mainly interested in the birth of a new religion and how it will go from here.¡± ¡°Noooo¡­¡± he answered but Robin looked at him with a ¡®don¡¯t bullshit me face¡¯.¡± ¡°Maybe?¡± he tried but she still made the same face. ¡°Okay yes!¡± he confessed, making her smile. ¡°Now we just have to destroy the smile factory.¡± she said, changing subject. ¡°That¡¯s the big building over there?¡± asked Rick pointing at an edifice farther ahead. ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°Well, No sooner said than done.¡± he replied, sprouting hands all over the factory and using his gravity with each one of them. The walls were torn apart from multiple and opposite sources of high gravity and the building crumbled. ¡°ROBIN!!!¡± came a yell from behind the couple. Both turned around just in time for an orange missile to collide with the brte. ¡°Ko-Ko?¡± Robin asked, surprised. The only answer she got was a nod of the head right in her cleavage. ¡°Friend or conquest?¡± the ex-marine asked his wife. ¡°Hmmm¡­ Work in Progress?¡± ¡°Conquest?¡± asked the young girl raising her head from Rick¡¯s favorite pillows. She gasped in shock when she saw Rick! ¡°MESSIAH!¡± she yelled and jumped on him hugging him. ¡°Ko! That¡¯s inappropriate!¡± called out a blond man with a scar over his left eye area, apanied by a fishman; the two of them making their way towards the couple. Ko let go of Rick and apologized profusely while bowing. ¡°I¡­ have so many questions right now.¡± stated the strawhats vice-captain. ¡°Hi! This over-excited girl is Ko and my friend here is Hack, my name is Sabo. '''' said the blond man extending his hand for a handshake that Rick took. ¡°Sabo? As in Ace and Luffy¡¯s elder brother? He¡¯s alive?¡± ¡°Well that answers the ¡®who are you¡¯ question that I had, partly.¡± ¡°We¡¯re members of the Revolution Army.¡± said Ko. ¡°What is the R.A. doing here?¡± ¡°Domingo is an underground arms dealer and everythinges from here. So we came to put a stop to it.¡± answered Hack. ¡°I see. With our crew fighting Domingo you were free to act.¡± ¡°More or less.¡± replied Sabo. ¡°More or less?¡± ¡°Sabo ditch the mission for a while so he could meet with Luffy.¡± answered Ko. ¡°You know Luffy?¡± Rick said, feigning surprise. ¡°Of course, he¡¯s my little brother!¡± was said with a big smile on Sabo¡¯s face. ¡°By the way, here.¡± Sabo picked something from his coat¡¯s inside pocket and gave it to Rick. ¡°That¡¯s¡­ the eternal pose to Lodestar.¡± ¡°Lodestar?!¡± asked Robin, surprised. ¡°Or so the Domingo family says.¡± replied Sabo. Rick looked at Sabo with fondness. ¡°Finally a brother who¡¯s not causing trouble but is helpful to me.¡± ¡°Brother?¡± said Sabo, confused. ¡°Ace kinda adopted me almost three years ago, then I met Luffy and it turned out that the man who raised me and that I consider my grandfather is actually Luffy¡¯s grandfather.¡± ¡°Wow. This is such a small world!¡± replied the blond, amazed. ¡°You¡¯re brother with the Messiah! That¡¯s amazing!¡± yelled Ko in excitement while being back into Robin¡¯s embrace. ¡°Okay¡­ what¡¯s up with this messiah thing?¡± ¡°That¡¯s how the members of the R.A. refer to you.¡± said Robin with an amused grin. ¡°... Why?¡± ¡°Because you¡¯re awesome!¡± dered Ko switching from Robin to Rick once again. ¡°I don¡¯t get it.¡± ¡°You were the one who showed the world that celestial dragons were not gods, and that the World Government was corrupt. Yourst stand at Marine Ford inspired a lot of people to stand up and fight for their freedom.¡± exined Hack. ¡°If I may ask, how did you survive? The navy said you sumbed to your wounds after fighting ten vice-admiral and fleet admiral Akainu?¡± asked Sabo. ¡°Well that¡¯s bullshit, I didn¡¯t sumb to my wound after fighting those guys. I did it after fighting Garp Tsuru and Sengoku.¡± Rick implied that he died and that was not missed by the R.A trio who had a doubtful face. Thankfully Robin came to the rescue. ¡°Yes, he died. And he came back, remember that nt I was growing?¡± ¡°How could I forget it? You brought it everywhere with you.¡± said Ko. ¡°That nt was actually¡­.¡± began Robin. The story didn¡¯t take long but Ko had many questions. ¡°Ko¡­¡± ¡°Yes?¡± she asked, still hugging Rick. ¡°Can you let go of me? I¡¯ll keep you forever otherwise.¡± That made Robin tick. She pped the back of his head and pulled her friend off of him. ¡°I would appreciate it if you didn¡¯t try to steal my husband.¡± ¡°Hu-hus-husband?!!!¡± scream the orange headed girl. ¡°¡°You¡¯re married?¡±¡± said Hack and Sabo, astonished. ¡°Since a month ago, approximately.¡± replied Robin. Ko had a big smile on her face and hugged them both. Rick looked at his wife with pleading eyes. ¡°No.¡± ¡°Robin¡­¡± ¡°No.¡± ¡°Come on, let''s keep her!¡± ¡°NO!¡± ¡°You¡¯re no fun.¡± pouted Rick. ¡°Keep me for what?¡± asked a curious Ko. ¡° Passionate se¡­¡± he couldn¡¯t finish his sentence as Robin just kissed him. ¡°We don¡¯t talk about that.¡± ¡°Yes, my queen.¡± replied Rick giving her a kiss back. ¡°That¡¯s too bad, she seems like she would be fun in our bed.¡± As the girl who was lucky to get away from Rick¡¯s clutches was about to speak, Domingo made an announcement in real time with a video den den mushi. The real fight was about to begin. Chapter 93: Where the sun doesn’t shine. Chapter 93: Where the sun doesn¡¯t shine. Announcement Please rate the story, thank you! Enjoy! Chapter 93: Where the sun doesn¡¯t shine. With Sugar out for the count, the citizens of Dressrosa remembered the people who were turned into toys. The truth of Domingo¡¯s deeds was exposed and everyone was not happy about it. The former celestial dragon had locked down the country with his birdcage ability for one purpose only: not let out the news out into the world. He had made a game, where people who kill members of the crew and key leader would receive millions of berries depending on the rank of the target. It didn¡¯t matter in the end as he nned to kill everyone but infighting between people would allow him and his forces to keep their strength. The one most affected was Usopp since Domingo thought he was the one responsible for knocking Sugar out and starting everything. ¡°Perhaps I should have taken the credit instead of letting Usopp get it.¡± said Rick. ¡°What¡¯s done is done.¡± replied Robin. ¡°Yes, but now he¡¯s the most wanted man on the ind.¡± As he said that many of the former toys turned their back on their ¡®God¡¯, lured by the prospect of millions of berries. They were stopped by a lone pirate that blocked their way, using some kind of barrier. Rick didn¡¯t care though and tten to the ground all the backstabber while infusing armament haki into his gravity. He took Robin in his arms and made everyone on their side float towards the hole in the ceiling, including the dwarves friends Usopp and Robin made. Turned out the name of their race was Tontata. Theynded on a field of flowers where they met with the previous king of Dressrosa and Vi. ¡°Rick!¡± she called out. Robin turned her head to her husband with a meaningful look. ¡°She¡¯s my apology present to you.¡± making Robin look again at Vi with scrutiny in her eyes. ¡°You really have good taste. ¡°Of course I do, I married you.¡± ¡°Good answer.¡± she said, rewarding him with a peck on his lips. When vi reached Rick she saw Robin and instantly blushed, remembering the different state of dress she had seen her previously while probing Rick¡¯s mind. ¡°Vi, I think you recognized her but this is my wife Robin.¡± ¡°H-hello.¡± ¡°Recognized me?¡± asked the archeologist curious. ¡°She ate the Giro Giro no mi. She can see through anything, like walls, clothes or through one¡¯s mind. Basically she¡¯s a voyeur and got a good eyeful of you when she probed my mind.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not a voyeur!¡± said Vi but got ignored by the couple. ¡°A good eyeful?¡± ¡°You¡¯re always in my mind Ro, in many, many states of dress.¡± grinned Rick. ¡°That¡¯s an understatement.¡± whispered Vi but not low enough for Robin to not have heard her. ¡°I like her.¡± stated Robin, looking at Vi up and down. ¡°I knew you would! Wait to have her legs right in front of your face¡­¡± ¡°ENOUGH!¡± yelled the princess. ¡°We have better things to do!¡± ¡°She¡¯s also sexually frustrated because, no good men are around. Her ex is Dofus, probably really bad in bed.¡± said Rick to Robin barely whispering thest part. ¡°I said ENOUGH! We don¡¯t have time for that!¡± ¡°It¡¯s alright, Luffy is on his way to beat Dofus and from what I¡¯m seeing from here Zoro is handling Pika.¡± replied Rick pointing at the several stories high stone man not far from where they were. ¡°You don¡¯t understand, the Birdcage will get smaller and smaller! It will destroy and cut in pieces everything on its way!¡± ¡°Well, shit.¡± He began to think for a moment, something needed to be done about that, but he didn¡¯t know what. Sure, the fastest way was to defeat Domingo but he wasn¡¯t sure he could do it with the mastery of haki he currently had. Perhaps it was time to try his new technique he thought about. ¡°If I use it on the appropriate spot, I might be able to destroy the cage. It¡¯s far from everyone so there won¡¯t be any danger for the people. Now for me it¡¯s a whole other matter.¡± He sighed in eptance and looked up at the sky. ¡°What¡¯s your stupid idea?¡± asked Robin. ¡°Stupid idea?¡± replied Rick feigning ignorance. ¡°I know you. I know that sigh, I know that look. You are going to try something very very stupid that could save everyone at the price of your well being.¡± she said in an usatory tone. ¡°Am I that predictable?¡± ¡°No, but I¡¯m obsessed with you so¡­¡± ¡°Keep that up and I might believe that.¡± he smiled and kissed her. ¡°Please don¡¯t die¡­¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°Oh, who am I kidding, even death can¡¯t hold you.¡± she joked. ¡°There isn¡¯t a seed of me in some flower pot Robin.¡± ¡°Maybe. But you¡¯ll just find a way to get back to me, now go do your thing.¡± ¡°... Marry me again?¡± he said trying to convey how much he loved her at that moment. ¡°As many times as you wished.¡± She kissed him and pushed him away, signaling him it was time for him to go do his thing. As he departed Robinid her eyes on Ko and Vi who had different facial expressions from each other. The former had stars in her eyes, loving the lovey-dovey moment the married couple shared. Vi was shocked to see Rick¡¯s attitude with Robin. He definitely was in love with her, anyone could see. She felt something inside of herself that she didn¡¯t quite recognize but looking at Robin, for the first time in her life felt inferior towards another woman. ~~~~~ Rick was making its way to the top of the cage, where every thread started from and were all connected. He had thought of using a meteor shower instead of what he was about to do, but flying up he saw the bars of the cage cutting through into stone like it was butter, so decided against it. Meteors were after all giant molten rocks falling from space. Back to n A it was. A for Absolutely stupid. Reaching the convergence spot, he could see the thread moving bit by bit. At the speed they were moving, they had one hour at best and Rick wondered if he had enough time to seed. He put his hand in front of him, opposing his palms to each other. He began channeling his gravity in a single point. He needed to go beyond any gravity he ever made and used, as what he wanted to do required an insane amount of it. A dark purple orb began to form between his hands, he brought it up to the point of connection of the strings but nothing happened. ¡°Figures, I need to do more channeling.¡± He put more and more and more but nothing changed. ¡°I can¡¯t¡­ put much more into it. ¡° Thinking quickly to find a solution he analyzed the way he used his gravity. The push, the attraction, the confronting two opposite gravity¡­ None of that helped. It was when He thought about the way he used Ryusei that he got the answer he was looking for. ¡°I just need topress it.¡± Focusing on the orb, Rick began topress it, making it smaller and smaller into one single point. Channeling so much gravity into one small orb was already taxing for him but changing the orb into the size of a marble was even more of a challenge for his stamina. His idea was the right one apparently as the space around the marble began to distort. ¡°Okay, the ripples around the gravity show that what I''m thinking is possible. I just need one little push of power.¡± Putting his hands as close as possible he began to infuse armament haki into the marble. He didn¡¯t seed at first but tried again. After a dozen tries the distortion got worse from a fraction of a second. It was a small sess that he needed to repeat and maintain. He tried again, and noticed during one of his tries that infusing slowly and in small constant quantities his armament Haki was his best sess so far. ¡°So small first, and bit by bit increase the amount I¡¯m sending.¡± That¡¯s what he did and the space distorted more and more until he believe that he had the hang of it and put the highest power of Haki he could muster into the marble of gravity between his hands. It worked! The space broke and the marble expanded. He had just created a ck hole. He didn¡¯t have the time to rejoice as its newly made creation devoured everything in reach, and the first thing in reach was his hands. He screamed loudly. The pain was nothing like he had ever felt before. His bones were crushed to dust, his muscles and skin torned apart absorbed. That was his saving grace as between the pain and his hands gone the gravity dispelled making the ck hole disappear. He lost consciousness, as the pain and the exhaustion were too much, and began free falling to the ground. ~~~~~ ¡°May I ask you a question?¡± asked Vi to Robin. ¡°Yes?¡± ¡°How¡­ How did he¡­ get you to marry him?¡± ¡°He didn¡¯t.¡± ¡°But you¡¯re married!¡± ¡°We are. But he didn¡¯t ask me, I did. Well to be honest, I asked him and he asked back.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t understand how you could marry this..¡± ¡°Lunatic, exasperating, maddening and perverted man?¡± ¡°Yes. He¡¯s always changing his attitude, so¡­¡± ¡°Carefree. That¡¯s the word you¡¯re looking for. His mood swings as much as kids do.¡± ¡°How do you deal with that?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t. He¡¯s doing his own things and I know that by the end of the day everything will be well. I know that when it¡¯s needed he¡¯s the most serious and dedicated one. It¡¯s all about the situation. He adapts because he¡¯s ever changing. I haven¡¯t known a single boring moment since I got to meet him as he always makes things interesting.¡± ¡°... He¡¯s still a pervert.¡± ¡°And I¡¯m d he is. As I say he always makes things interesting.¡± replied Robin with a smile. ¡°The only thing in his mind is you! I only probed the surface of his deepest secrets and all I saw was you in a different risqu¨¦ outfit. Had I probed further¡­ ¡°You would probably have found every single fantasy of his about me. I would have loved to see that.¡± ¡°Doesn¡¯t that bother you?¡± ¡°What? That he fantasizes about me?¡± ¡°That he thinks of you as a piece of meat?¡± That made Robinugh. Nothing was further from the truth. ¡°No. I think the same about him too and it¡¯s more than that.¡± ¡°What do you mean?¡± ¡°He¡­ borderline worships me. Every ounce of what I am; my mind, my heart, my body. And he should because everything is his. Just like everything he is, is mine. When we have sex it¡¯s¡­ It¡¯s the most perfect way for him to show it to me and I answered him in kind.¡± ¡°...¡± Vi was a bit lost at the answer she got. She never saw someone talking about their rtionship with their significant other like that. So opened, so blunt, so passionate and epting. The feeling she had felt earlier watching the both of them together came back but she knew what it was now. It was jealousy. in old jealousy. Domingo has been a very selfish lover, not treating her well. Perhaps because she was the former princess and thought she would just betray him, perhaps not. But despite all the love words he had told her, they seemed so fakepared to what Robin had just described. They hadn¡¯t pronounced the word love to each other, but they radiated it for one other. She wanted the same thing. Someone she could give her everything to while they would give their everything to her. Unknowingly she began to list the good parts about him. He¡¯s handsome, strong and kisses very well. He counter trapped her, proof that he was smart. And Robin was right, he¡¯s ever changing. She hadn¡¯t felt such a range of emotions in such a short time when they were together. She felt jealous of Robin to have such a man. To have him. She may not have been in love but she was definitely infatuated. ¡°You¡¯re interested in him.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not!¡± Vi denied vehemently. ¡°It¡¯s alright, you¡¯re not the only one who fell for his particr charm. I fell for it too, among other things, so there¡¯s no need to be ashamed.¡± ¡°I¡­¡± ¡°Go ahead, try him if you want.¡± ¡°W-what?!¡± ¡°Go ahead, spend the night with him.¡± ¡°Aren¡¯t you married to him?¡± ¡°It may shock you but I¡¯m aware, I was there when it happened.¡± joked Robin. ¡°And you have no problem with that? Him sleeping with me?¡± ¡°You wouldn¡¯t be the first.¡± ¡°What?!¡± Vi had an incredulous face. ¡°Rick and I have a deal. I like both men and women and Rick is a woman ma, so we sort of decided that he would share with me his¡­ mistresses?¡± Vi¡¯s brain turned to mush. ¡°S-so¡­ So when he said that he was seducing me for you, he was telling the truth?¡± the princess asked with eyes as big as saucers out of shock. ¡°He¡¯s always telling the truth. Except to people he doesn¡¯t like, in that case Rick is a very good liar.¡± ¡°Would I.. Would I have too¡­¡± ¡°Be with me? Hmmm, good question. I wouldn¡¯t mind, quite the contrary¡± replied Robin with a predatory re before taking Vi¡¯s chin in one hand and lifting up her head. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, no woman has ever left my bed not satisfied.¡± Vi gulped loudly. Every fiber of her body screamed at her to get away or she would be doomed. But she didn¡¯t have to as Usopp, sprawled on his back on the ground, called out to Robin. ¡°Robin! Something is falling from the sky! I think it¡¯s Rick!¡± She looked up and saw a figure falling down. Not even wondering who that was, she bloomed a giant hand and caught her husband in his fall. Putting him down in front of her she was panicking inside because of what she saw. Most of both hands and half his forearm were gone and he was bleeding a lot. ¡°Oh my god!¡± screamed Vi. ¡°Robin?! What¡¯s wrong with him?!¡± asked Usopp, unable to move because of his exhaustion. The brte thought fast, at the speed her husband was losing blood he would die in a few minutes. That wasn¡¯t going to happen, not on her watch. She pulled her hand back and smacked him in the face. ¡°What are you doing?!¡± yelled Vi. Robin ignored him and smacked him a second time and a third. That did the trick as Rick woke up. ¡°I¡¯m awake! No need to p me anymore!¡± ¡°Fix yourself, you didiot!¡± pointing to his wound. Rick followed the direction her finger was pointing out and was horrified at how mangke his arms were. Quickly he sprouted new arms making the bleeding stop. ¡°There, better.¡± Robin tackled him to the ground and hugged him tightly. ¡°Stop scaring me like that.¡± ¡°Can¡¯t promise that but I can promise you to do my best to avoid things like that happening.¡± ¡°Good enough for me.¡± ¡°Okay, WHAT THE HELL?!¡± screamed Vi not understanding what just happened. ¡°How did you¡­ regrow your arms?!¡± ¡°Oh that?¡± ¡°YES! THAT!¡± ¡°I¡¯m a seed man.¡± ¡°A seed man?¡± Rick did a demonstration and sprouted an arm in front of her. ¡°I make seeds appear and they sprout into whatever body parts I want. It¡¯s basic though. I can¡¯t make a copy of myself or just my head.¡± ¡°I¡¯m guessing that what you tried to do failed?¡± asked Usopp from his lofty ce. ¡°Yes and no. What I did worked, but since it was my first time doing it I didn¡¯t think of all the precautions necessary and it backfired greatly.¡± ¡°It¡¯s up to Luffy then.¡± replied Usopp. ¡°Yes. Anything happened while I was up there?¡± ¡°The people had banded together. Citizens, pirates, adventurers, bandits, the marines. They all around the city trying to push back the birdcage advance. Or at least stop it.¡± answered Vi. She has been looking through everything that was happening. ¡°Domingo?¡± ¡°He¡¯s fighting Luffy here and there. They kept moving around. As for the Donquixote family some officers are still in¡­ Ghyaaa!¡± Vi cut her sentence short as a massive headache hit her. ¡°What¡¯s wrong?!¡± ¡°Mansherry, she¡¯s¡­¡± ¡°Who¡¯s mansherry?¡± asked Rick. ¡°The Tontatas princess. Domingo is holding her hostage and using the Tontatas¡¯ naivety to have freebor to the production of his smiles.¡± replied Robin. ¡°Okay, Dofus, just checked the number one box on my no-no list!¡± ¡°¡°Oh Oh.¡±¡± said both Robin and Usopp. ¡°Oh oh ?¡± said Vi, still holding her head in her hands. Rick took to the sky again and sprouted eyes all over himself. With his 360¡ã angle view he sprouted thousands of arms. On people, on building. Anything close to the birdcage¡¯s bars. Every single one of them began to be covered in armament haki and emitted a dark purple light,trying to push away the threatening threads closing down on everyone. ¡°I¡¯m sooo going to feel it tomorrow.¡± he thought. Looking down he sprouted an eye, a mouth and an ear between Robin¡¯s throat and her cleavage. ¡°Vi, where is Mansherry?¡± ¡°She¡¯s on the 9th floor of the pce.¡± Without an instant to lose Rick rushed to the ce and began searching. He didn¡¯t have to do it for long as he just followed the fighting sounds. Some Tontatas soldiers were fighting Donquixote family members while an ugly hag was holding in one hand a very cute Tontata¡¯s princess and pping her with the other. The princess¡¯ tears seemed to have a healing effect as the hag¡¯s subordinates got up and went back to fight the littles soldiers. Rick was enraged! He took a page from Robin¡¯s fighting book and sprouted arms covered in armament Haki over the bodies of his opponents and disabeled them all the while attracting the Tontata¡¯s princess to him, catching her delicately in her hands. ¡°You¡¯re safe now,¡± he said, smiling at her. ¡°Princess!¡± yelled the leader of the soldiers climbing on the hand Mansherry was. As Rick looked happily at the reunion all his strength left him and he fell onto the ground. Fortunately neither the princess nor the leader, who¡¯s name was apparently Leo, were hurt in the fall. ¡°¡°¡°Rd!¡±¡±¡± called out some of the Tontatasing to his head. ¡°Rd?¡± ¡°Are you hurt?¡± asked Leo. ¡°I¡¯m just¡­ exhausted. I lost a lot of blood¡­ earlier and I¡¯m currently having¡­ thousands of my¡­ arms trying to stop¡­ the advance of the¡­ birdcage. I¡¯ll be¡­ fine.¡± said Rick with a short breath. His eyes were closing which was bad as while his harms would still be there, the Haki infusion and the gravity would disappear, stopping his help. The fiasco / sess with the ckhole took a lot out of him and when he had acted to stop the birdcage he had used thest of his stamina. Thisst fight, he was working on pure willpower. The situation was dire. ~~~~~ ¡°Rick, Leo and the others just saved princess Mansherry.¡± announced Vi, to the joy of the Tontatas that stayed with her and Usopp. ¡°Rick is exhausted though. I don¡¯t think he can fight anymore.¡± she added, making Usoppugh. ¡°Did I say something funny?¡± ¡°Yes. Rick not able to fight while the fight is still going on? I only saw this happen once and it was because he was more or less dead. Luffy and Rick, as long as they have some asses to kick, they won¡¯t stop, they won¡¯t give up. They always find a way to get back up and win the fight.¡± Vi wished she could have Usopp¡¯s faith in his crewmates but she saw what she was. Their only hope was Luffy. Looking up to Flower Hill she prayed that Robin would be in time to save Reba who was fighting Diamante, thest one of the elite officers of the Donquixote family. ~~~~~ ¡°This is not good.¡± said Robin looking up, seeing countless of spike metal balls falling. She bloomed hands and cut as much sunflower and as fast as she could, making a giant bouquet. Blooming two giant hands she held it just above her and Reba¡¯s head. It worked at first but the sheer number of balls falling and the umting damage they did, began to tear through the made up flower shield. One of them made it through and hurt her back and she held back a scream of paint, instead she covered Reba with her own body. She waited for the pain inflicted by other spike balls but nothing ever came. Looking up she saw one single arm making the weapons float and sending them away. Robin didn¡¯t say anything and just smiled. ~~~~~ ¡°Thank you for healing me princess.¡± said Rick to Mansherry, holding her and Leo in his hands. ¡°Leo told me you were a fwriend of the Tontatas, I couldn¡¯t leave you like that, besides it¡¯s just healing it¡¯s not much.¡± she replied, making the ex-marineugh. ¡°Rd?!¡± asked Leo. ¡°You did more than just heal me princess. You just saved everyone.¡± ¡°I did?!¡± she eximed, surprised. ¡°Yes. Let me show you.¡± Rick made every Tontatas float and attracted every single one of them. ¡°Hold on to me¡± he said and all of them did. He flew through a window, exiting the Royal Pce and once again went up high in the sky. Just like he had done earlier he sprouted thousands of arms, coated them in Haki and used his Gravity. The number of arms were far greater now that Mansherrypletely healed his wound and restored his stamina fully. Rick was in peak condition and everyone will know about it as the birdcage stopped moving. Some people stopped pushing and took a rest while they could, not knowing when they would have to push again. Some took the opportunity to help the wounded and lead them towards the center of the city which was a safer ce. The remnants of the Donquixote family were all defeated by either the former royal army or by the pirates and adventurers who fought in the coliseum tournament. ¡°Now Luffy just needs to¡­¡± His thought was interrupted by threadsing out of his stomach. ¡°Rd!¡± screamed the Tontatas. ¡°Did you really think I would let you stop my n?¡± said Domingo flying behind him. ¡°Oh!... You¡¯re still alive?!¡± ¡°Of course! Like that strawhat captain of you and Trafalgar had any chance against me to begin with.¡± ¡°Eh!¡± smirked Rick, spitting blood from his mouth. ¡°What?¡± asked Domingo, annoyed at his smug face. ¡°Is your dick as thin as those threads of yours, Dofus? No wonder Vi dumped your ass. Sex must have been awful! God my ass.¡± joked Rick. That was so out of the blue that Domingo nked for a moment, before he pulled himself together and sent a razor edged thread towards Rick who pushed himself away and sessfully dodged. ¡°You¡¯re crazy if you think you can best me in an aerial Battle.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t think, I know. I¡¯m not the one who will beat your ass though.¡± ¡°MINGO!!!¡± Luffy came from the ground in his Gear 4 form and sent Domingo away with a punch. He looked at his vice-captain who just winked at him, and pursued the shichibukai. The fight was not over. Despite his new wound Rick kept the birdcage to a stop not with a bit of struggle. Mansherry was there, but he wasn¡¯t going to ask her to heal him, she had already cried enough tears for the day. A few minutester a big crashing sound resonated in all the city and two huge parts of the ground were seen rising up. As if she was never there, the birdcage vanished, the pressure against his gravity stopping. Making his arm go away, Rick took a deep breath, feeling the recoil of constant stamina use. ¡°So Luffy finally defeated Dofus. Damn! To level the ground like that, what did he hit him with?¡± He flew towards Flower Hill andnded next to Robin where he dropped off the Tontatas he had with him. ¡°Are you hurt?¡± asked Rick to his wife. ¡°No, at least not as much as you.¡± she replied, lifting his bloodied shirt to look at his wound. ¡°I don¡¯t think he damaged anything important.¡± ¡°Can¡¯t you patch yourself up?¡± ¡°Not those kinds of wounds. They are too unfamiliar and small. I¡¯m not regrowing parts any way I want. If half an organ is gone, I won¡¯t be able to regrow the missing part, as I can only regrow the entirety of it.¡± ¡°But you regrow your arms ?¡± ¡°I regrew the entirety of my forearms and hands. They are separated units making the whole arm.¡± ¡°I see.¡± replied, understanding what he was talking about. Vi came closer to the couple. ¡°Thank you for saving princess Mansherry.¡± ¡°Let¡¯s say it was to make up for my failure to kill Dofus.¡± ¡°It¡¯s alright, he¡¯s gone now. That¡¯s all that matters.¡± Vi replied with a tiny smile before leaving to join her family. ¡°She¡¯s mine tonight.¡± announced Robin, her eyes fixed on Vi¡¯s ass. ¡°I¡¯ll wrap her in a big purple ribbon.¡± joked Rick, making the brte roll her eyes. ¡°Sometimes¡­ I just want to smash your head.¡± ¡°As long as it is with your perfect bubble butt, I¡¯m fine with it.¡± he grinned. ¡°Don¡¯t tempt me.¡± ¡°Is that a challenge that I¡¯m hearing?¡± ¡°Perhaps¡­¡± Robin said as she left to join Usopp and the Riku family while swinging her hips sensually. ¡°Oh, it¡¯s on!¡±. Chapter 94: Let’s get it on (or not) Chapter 94: Let¡¯s get it on (or not) Announcement Please, rate the story, thank you! Enjoy! Chapter 94: Let''s get it on (or not) Luffy had given everything in his fight against Domingo to the point that hourster he was still sleeping. He wasn¡¯t the only one, many of the people who either fought against the Domingo family or did their best to stop the birdcage were in the same situation. Currently the straw hat crew, minus the members who were on Sunny, were resting in a small wooden house on Flower Hill, far from anyone else. The R.A trio was there too. ¡°To think Luffy had a third brother.¡± said Zoro. ¡°Yes, I always thought he had only two.¡± said Sabo grinning at Rick who grinned back. ¡°I didn¡¯t even know he had other brothers than me until we were on our way to save Ace from Impel Down.¡± ¡°Luffy is not the type to speak about anything other than the present.¡± noted Robin. ¡°Robin, Luffy didn¡¯t even know he had a father, so I think it¡¯s more than just talking about the present.¡± said Franky, making everyoneugh. ¡°One thing I don¡¯t understand is that Luffy thought you were dead.¡± ¡° Years ago, since I was the oldest I was the first to leave but there was an incident. The ind we lived on was separated in two. The rich side and the poor side, thetter being a big dump. I was the son of a noble living on the rich side and one day my father received the news that a celestial dragon would be visiting. The entirety of the rich district wanted to look their best and curry favor from that world noble, so they decided to get rid of the dump and during the night started a fire. I fled on my small ship; unfortunately the celestial dragon arrived at the same time and shot my ship down. I was saved by Dragon. ¡°Luffy¡¯s dad?¡± asked Rick. ¡°Yes, he brought me onto his ship and let the doctor on board save my life. That¡¯s how I got my scar.¡± he said pointing to his left eye. ¡°Thoughplications urred.¡± ¡°What kind ofplications?¡± asked Zoro. ¡°Amnesia.¡± ¡°Well shit.¡± said Franky. ¡°I know the feeling¡± Rick sympathized. ¡°Yes. I couldn¡¯t remember if I had a family, where I live, or even my name. So I entered the Revolution Army and started a new life. Until two years ago when I saw in the newspaper, Ace and Luffy side by side paying their respect at Marine Ford. I suddenly got a splitting headache and my memories came back. I was out for days though.¡± ¡°Please, tell me they didn¡¯t¡­¡± ¡°Went back to honor you? Fine I won¡¯t tell you then.¡± replied Robin next to him. Rick just pinched the bridge of his nose and mumbled along the lines of ¡°those morons.¡± ¡°They could have just had an interview. Since I stopped the war plenty of marines were still healthy and ready to fight. That could have ended badly.¡± ¡°When we were tasked to put a stop to Domingo¡¯s arms dealing we came here but then I learned that Luffy was here, I couldn¡¯t help myself and went to search for him.¡± ¡°Thanks again for winning the eternal pose.¡± said Rick ¡°¡°What eternal pose?¡±¡±¡± asked Zoro and Franky. ¡°The winner¡¯s prize at the tournament¡­¡± ¡°An Eternal Pose to Lodestar.¡± finished Robin. ¡°What¡¯s that?¡± wondered the swordsman. ¡°Lodestar is thest ind you can reach with a log pose on Grand Line.¡± ¡°You¡­ mean, it leads to thest ind before the one with the One Piece?!¡± Franky said, astonished. ¡°If it¡¯s the real deal, yes.¡± replied Rick. ¡°Knowing Domingo, it¡¯s real.¡± Sabo said. ¡°It¡¯s not like it would be useful to us¡­¡± Robin began. ¡°But at least others can¡¯t use it.¡± Rick finished. ¡°Not useful? Why wouldn¡¯t it be? Isn¡¯t being the pirate king Luffy¡¯s dream?¡± asked Hack. ¡°There is no way Luffy would use it.¡± Zoro proimed. ¡°He¡¯d probably destroy it.¡± added Franky. ¡°Hack, for Luffy bing the pirate king, it¡¯s just a fact, so for him what matters is the journey, the adventure, not so much the destination.¡± Sabo exined. ¡°I see.¡± ¡°What are you going to do now?¡± asked Robin. Hack and Sabo looked at Rick intently. Ko would have done the same if she had been awake. Currently she had her head in Rick¡¯sp getting her head patted with a very happy sleeping face. ¡°Nope.¡± ¡°Why? Aren¡¯t you fighting against the celestial dragon?¡± asked Sabo ¡°I do, but I have more important things to do first.¡± ¡°What can be more important than defeating the world nobles and gaining freedom.¡± Hack asked. ¡° Help Luffy be the pirate king and most of all find the truth about the void century.¡± he replied matter of factly. Which earned him a kiss on the top of his head as Robin was higher since she was sitting on a chair and Rick on the floor by her side. ¡°Besides, people need to stand up for themselves. If they don¡¯t make the decision to fight for their freedom and let others fight for them¡­ It would just be a lost cause. ¡°...¡± ¡°You¡¯re right on that.¡± Sabo admitted with a sigh. ¡°That doesn¡¯t mean I can¡¯t help, though. I¡¯d be very happy to smash a world noble to shred should I encounter one.¡± ¡°That¡¯s good enough for me.¡± replied the fishman. ¡°That is not the only kind of help I can provide the R.A.¡± ¡°What do you mean by that?¡± Sabo asked. ¡°My luck is exceptionally good for one thing: finding devil fruits.¡± Everyone one looked at Rick confused. ¡°I ate my first devil fruit at four, ate a second at eleven. Found two others on Thriller Bark and¡­ found one in the Royal Pce while I was on my way saving princess Mansherry.¡± ¡°Another one?¡± asked Robin. ¡°Damn, that¡¯s a lot of devil fruits you found.¡± stated Franky. ¡°You would give it to the Revolution Army?¡± Sabo asked. ¡°To the R.A.? No. To you? Yes.¡± Activating the system, Rick discreetly put the Gura Gura no mi, from his inventory to the inside pocket of his overcoat on his avatar disy. Immediately the fruit appeared in the same pocket in reality. Rick put his hand inside the said pocket and brought out the fruit disying it to everyone. ¡°Do you know what devil fruit it is?¡± ¡°Can¡¯t say I do.¡± ¡°Let me give you a hint. In the whole world, you are probably the only person Ace would be okay with if you ate it.¡± Sabo frowned, not understanding right off the bat. After a few moments he connected the dots and raised himself so fast from his chair that it fell behind. ¡°T-that¡¯s¡­¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°Okay, stop with the suspense, what fruit is it?!¡± Franky asked. ¡°That¡¯s the Gura Gura no mi. The person who ate before reforming was.¡± ¡°Whitebeard.¡± Sabo replied. ¡°Holy shit!¡± Franky eximed. Rick tossed the fruit to Sabo who caught it with two hands and looked at it like it was an heirloom. ¡°What are you waiting for? Eat it.¡± The R.A.mander didn¡¯t waste any time and did as instructed. Within seconds nothing was left of the fruit. ¡°God, it tasted awful.¡± ¡°And you only ate one. It¡¯s even worse the second time.¡± ¡°Really? I still remember the taste of mine and I ate it at six. I have never tasted something more awful. I can¡¯t believe something could taste even worse.¡± Robin asked. ¡°Believe me, it¡¯s true. And Sabo¡­¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I won¡¯t test its power now. Not with so many people around the ind.¡± ¡°It is really weird to have a brother with an ounce ofmon sense. I¡¯m so not used to it.¡± ¡°Someone had to reign those two idiots.¡± Sabo, joked, making Rickugh. ¡°Speaking of devil fruit¡­ The marine admiral on the ind has the same power as Ener.¡± Zoro said entering the conversation ¡°So Fujitora was the one who ate the Goro Goro no mi? Could have been worse.¡± ¡°Oh? I guess I¡¯m paying him a visit tomorrow morning.¡± ¡°Why?¡± Robin. ¡°I want to see what kind of person he is. The Goro Goro no mi is too powerful to be in the hands of someone bad.¡± ¡°He¡¯s¡­ an alright guy I¡¯d say.¡± Franky replied. ¡°Well, he has nothing to fear then.¡± ¡°What I don¡¯t understand is how did he get it? Ener disappeared after Luffy defeated him. With how powerful he was I doubt someone killed him.¡± Robin asked. ¡°Excuse me, but who¡¯s Ener and what power gives the Goro Goro no mi?¡± Hack wondered out loud.¡± ¡°The Goro Goro no mi is a logia type devil fruit, making anyone eating it a lightning person. Ener was a skypiean, passing himself as god with his powers, a tyrant who had no problem destroying an entire sky ind and murder thousands of people along the way. As for what happened to him¡­ Wyper, Gan Fall, Raki and I are responsible. I tracked him down and Raki used the seastone in Wyper¡¯s reject dial to immobilize him, after that I just sent him down to the blue sea where he drowned.¡± That confession made everyone awake in the room and dropped their jaws in astonishment. ¡°Why didn¡¯t you say anything?¡± asked Zoro. ¡°Two reasons. One: At the time none of the crew except me and perhaps Robin had taken a life. No offense but you were still babies freshly arrived in the world of adults at the time.¡± ¡°Fair enough, and the second reason.¡± ¡°I may or may not have awoken during the party feast and¡­¡± ¡°And you went to search for him?!¡± eximed Robin, not happy about the news. ¡°Eh¡­ What¡¯s wrong with that?¡± Franky asked. ¡°What¡¯s wrong with that is that a couple hours earlier that idiot died!¡± Robin exined. ¡°For three minutes, no big deal and as I say I may have not done that.¡± If Ko wasn¡¯t sound asleep in Rick¡¯sp, Robin would have pped him until her frustration was gone. She would endure for now. ¡°I may or may not have a word with you about your instinct of self-preservation.¡± the brte said sending him a murderous re. That made everyone aroundugh. ~~~~~ Morning came and the R.A members said their farewell. Rick had asked Sabo to send a message to O¡¯hara saying the ves he had saved would arrived on the ind soon led by Rayleigh. Sabo agreed of course and watched down with curiosity and amusement the showdown between spouses. ¡°Robin please.¡± ¡°No.¡± ¡°Come on, look at her!¡± said Rick holding Ko in front of her like he would hold a child. ¡°No, Ko¡¯s ce is in the Revolution Army. Both Rick and Ko had the same puppy dog eyes, but Robin didn¡¯t flinch. ¡°You two can look at me like that all you want the answer is still no.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t want to go!!¡± said Ko, wrapping her arms around his neck. As they had things to do and a long journey to go, Sabo gripped Ko by the cor and forcefully detached her from his new found brother. Waving with his free hand he said farewell to the crew. ¡°She could have been Nami¡¯s twin! Without the money obsession.¡±mented Rick. ¡°I know.¡± replied Robin. Getting closer to him she whispered. ¡°Ko is like a little sister to me, that¡¯s why I don¡¯t want her in our bed. And I was being serious about the R.A. needing her.¡± she added. ¡°Alright, alright. ¡° Rick said, admitting his defeat. Robin grabbed his head in her hands and gave him a small kiss the after ending it took his hand in hers. ¡°Isn''t it about time we go?¡± the brte said. ¡°Go? Go where?¡± ¡°Visit the admiral? What else?¡± ¡°No, no, no, no, no, NO!¡± ¡°No?¡± ¡°I won¡¯t bring you to the heart of the marines forces on the ind.¡± ¡°Why not?¡± ¡°If something goes wrong¡­¡± ¡°Then my dear husband would be there to protect me.¡± ¡°Robin, I¡­¡± ¡°I¡¯ming with you and that¡¯s final.¡± ¡°... Why?¡± ¡°Last time you confronted someone with the Goro Goro no mi¡¯s power, you died. I¡¯m reminded of that everytime I see your right arm.¡± That was true, the scars left by Ener on his body were always there even when he regenerated the said arm or sprouted them around. Looking in her eyes, she saw the determination in them. She squeezed his hand tighter. ¡°We¡¯re not getting separated from each other, not if I can help it.¡± She announced. ¡°... I love you, I hope you know that.¡± ¡°I know. And I feel the same.¡± Rick took her up in his arms and started to float. He didn¡¯t bother to try to dissuade her at least one more time, it was a futile endeavor, instead he just flew while carrying her to the marines¡¯ settlement on the coast. In a few seconds they were above the main ship. Looking down they saw Fujitora roll a die. ¡°So I''m finally meeting the guy¡­ I wonder what his importance was in the story. I mean one thing I remember about the Dressrosa¡¯s arc was him.¡± ¡°What, number rolled up?¡± the admiral asked. ¡°¡°One¡±¡± replied the couplended on the deck a few feet away from the man. ¡°You! You¡¯re under arrest!¡± said the subordinate. ¡°Captain, did the die rolled a one?¡± ¡°Admiral?¡± ¡°Yes or no?¡± ¡°Y-yes.¡± ¡°Then stand down. That¡¯s Strawhat''s number, so we won¡¯t be going after them today.¡± ¡°B-but Sir.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t warn the others, that¡¯s an order.¡± ¡°Y-yes sir.¡± The captain said before leaving. ¡°To what do I owe this visit in this fine morning?¡± ¡°Curiosity.¡± Rick replied. ¡°Oh? And what are the two of you curious about?¡± the blind man asked. ¡°How did you¡­¡± began Robin but was answered by Rick. ¡°Observation Haki. Inbination with the Goro Goro no mi, he¡¯s able to see his surroundings, just like Ener did.¡± ¡°That¡¯s correct, you seem well informed.¡± ¡°I was the one who killed the previous lightning man. A tyrant who enved and tried to kill thousands of people just so he could own the moon.¡± ¡°That¡¯s¡­¡± ¡°Stupid I know, but the people on sky inds have very little knowledge about the stars.¡± ¡°I guess, I should thank you for your deed.¡± ¡°No need. Taking his life was the right thing to do. You, finding the fruit was your own luck. ¡°... May I know who I am speaking to?¡± ¡°Wal D Rick.¡± ¡°Nico Robin.¡± ¡°The traitor and the demon child? I feel honored.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t call my wife like that.¡± ¡°Wife?¡± Turning to Robin he asked a question that has been bothering him for a while now. ¡°Why is everyone surprised that I¡¯m married?¡± ¡°Because most of the time people only get to know your childish side which is not nearly mature enough to have a wife.¡± Robin answered with a serious face which was betrayed by her amusement in her eyes. Fujitora didn¡¯t miss it in her voice andughed. ¡°I apologize if I offended you.¡± ¡°It¡¯s alright with me, I¡¯m used to it. My idiot over there isn¡¯t.¡± She replied, giving him a peck on his cheek. ¡°You said curiosity? What are you curious about?¡± ¡°What kind of person you are. Depending on the answer, the Goro Goro no mi may soon be in cirction again.¡± ¡°I see. That¡¯s very blunt.¡± ¡°I believe it¡¯s the best way tomunicate.¡± ¡°And what decision did you take?¡± ¡°That the fruit is in good hands.¡± ¡°Just like that? After just a few minutes of conversation.¡± ¡°I was already aware of what you did when Dofus made the birdcage. I just wanted to see if it was an act or not. The fact that a full marine bataillon is not yet surrounding us hostile is proof enough it wasn¡¯t.¡± ¡°...You¡¯re nothing like the stories said you are.¡± ¡°If the stories are from the Navy, you better not trust any of it. Mainly lies born from the red bitch¡¯s¡­ ¡± ¡°Wounded pride.¡± said a voiceing from behind the couple. Turning around they were face to face with Tsuru and Sengoku. By reflex, Rick put himself in front of Robin and took a protective stance. ¡°There is no need for that. Admiral Fujitora said that today we were not going after your crew, so we won¡¯t.¡± ¡°And, you think that I¡¯ll believe you, of all people?¡± ¡°Tsuru, Sengoku, why are you here?¡± Fujitora asked. ¡°We were already on our way when Kazuki told us to hurry to provide support.¡± Tsuru replied. ¡°...¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°...¡± Tsuru came close to Rick and stopped right in front of him. She raised her hand slowly and put it on his cheek. ¡°I¡¯m d you¡¯re alive. When I heard the news of the Marie Geoise incident and that you were the one responsible, I hoped it was true.¡± She replied , a ghost of a smile appearing at the corner of her lips. ¡°Eh! Sakazuki was enraged.¡± Sengoku joked. ¡°I don¡¯t know what pissed him off more. That you are alive, that you brought chaos on Marie Geoise just under his nose or the message you left him. ¡°A message? The newspaper never reported that. ¡± Robin asked. ¡°It was censored.¡± Sengoku exined. ¡° ¡®How is your arm, Red Bitch?¡¯ signed WDR. You always liked taunting people. That¡¯s why I hoped.¡± Tsuru said with augh. ¡°What can I say? I was taught by the best to go right for the weakness. And his, is his pathetic misced pride.¡± replied Rick, looking at Sengoku while Fujitoraughed at the truth of the matter. ¡°The only subject you ever surpassed me in.¡± the former Fleet Admiral said. ¡°That¡¯s not true. I remember myst words to you, Uncle. What did defeat taste like?¡± the ex-marine replied, making the old man frown. ¡°Bittersweet. He was both furious and proud of being outsmarted.¡± ¡°TSURU!¡± ¡°Oh, give it a rest Sengoku. You¡¯re not the Fleet Admiral anymore, rx a bit and be honest with yourself.¡± ¡°Like Garp?¡± ¡°¡°NO!¡±¡± yelled Tsuru and Rick in sync. ¡°¡°¡°...¡±¡±¡± The three of them looked at each other in silence thenughed heartily at the surprise of Robin and Fujitora.They did not witness a pirate speaking to marines, but a family having a reunion after a long time. It was heartwarming. Fujitora, feeling he was intruding, discreetly left. Whatever Tsuru and Sengoku hade to tell him could wait. Theughter stopped and the conversation became serious when Tsuru spoke up. ¡°Rick, we need to talk.¡± ¡°About what?¡± ¡°Family matters.¡± Tsuru said, looking at Robin. ¡°Anything you have to say, you can say in front of my wife.¡± ¡°¡°Wife?!¡±¡± That was a surprise for both of them. They knew that two years ago they were dating but marriage? ¡°Ugh. Yes, wife, so anything you have to say, she can hear it. I keep no secret from her, and if she doesn¡¯t know anything it¡¯s either because I didn¡¯t have the opportunity to tell her yet or because it doesn¡¯t matter to me.¡± Tsuru and Sengoku looked at each other and nodded. His funeral. ¡°You have a twelve years old daughter.¡± announced Sengoku. ¡°W-what?!¡± ¡°When you left the navy, Kaza found out she was pregnant. With how high the tension was after your leaving, she feared for your baby¡¯s life. That¡¯s why she left a monthter. Garp found her a safe ce and hid her. ¡± Horns materialized on Rick¡¯s head. To say he wasn¡¯t happy by the news was an understatement. When he had met Garp on Water Seven he didn¡¯t tell him anything about it, despite his right to know. His sudden change in appearance made Tsuru and Sengoku tense. They remembered those horns too well. They were dumbfounded when Robin hugged him from behind and whispered something in his ear. Rick seemed to calm down and the horns went away. ¡°Where is she? Where are they? Why do I only learn about it now? Why didn¡¯t Grandpa tell me when we met at Water Seven?¡± ¡°Only Garp knows where they are. The less people know the safer they are.¡± ¡°You¡¯re learning about it now, because you deserve to know.¡± Sengoku replied. ¡°And I didn¡¯t years ago?!¡± yelled Rick. ¡°Rick, Sengoku didn¡¯t know about it until after¡­ after you died.¡± ¡°I¡¯m still pissed about Garp and you keeping me in the dark for a decade.¡± ¡°You would have used them to get him back!¡± Snapped Tsuru. ¡°... You¡¯re right.¡± confessed Sengoku with a sigh. ¡°It wouldn¡¯t have worked. Where I was hiding I didn¡¯t have ess to any newspaper.¡± ¡°Back at Marine Ford, there wasn¡¯t any opportunity to tell you.¡± Tsuru exined. ¡°Not that it would have mattered considering the time you had left.¡± ¡°You spoke to Vegapunk?¡± asked Rick, astonished. ¡°We did. It was very informative.¡± ¡°And shocking. Artificial humans¡­ madness.¡± Tsuru added, shaking her head. ¡°I have one question though¡­¡± Sengoku began. ¡°How am I still alive? Well¡­ that¡¯s a long, unbelievable story, so let¡¯s sit down.¡± ~~~~~ ¡°That¡¯s¡­¡± ¡°Insane, I know.¡± ¡°I was going to say ¡® so like you¡¯ but it works too.¡± said Tsuru. ¡°Just like me?¡± Rick asked. ¡°Always doing something that redefined reality and/or logic.¡± Robin replied. ¡°She knows you well.¡± said Sengoku with a smile. ¡°I wouldn¡¯t have proposed to him if I didn¡¯t.¡± the brte replied, making the two marinesugh. ¡°What¡¯s so funny?¡± she asked, confused. ¡°Rick being proposed to, and not doing the proposing.¡± answered Tsuru. ¡°I¡¯ll forever remember him looking at Tsuru with stars in his eyes with a good deal of determination dering ¡® Big sis when I¡¯m all grown up, I¡¯m going to marry you!¡¯.¡±ughed Sengoku with tears in his eyes. ¡°Yes! What happened to marrying me?!¡± Tsuru teased. She was not ready for the retort she got. Neither was Sengoku. ¡°If you can get Robin¡¯s approval, I¡¯d have no problem marrying you. You¡¯re still my hero and the person I admire the most. And the sex was really good.¡± Tsuru froze and a faint blush appeared on her cheeks. Sengoku? Sengoku had his jaw on the ground and was frozen too. Unlike his friend though, his brain seemed to have checked out. Rick rose from his chair, got close to the older woman and gave her a very hot and sensual kiss. She didn¡¯t react at first but got into it. When the kiss ended she was blushing a lot more. The out of this world experience didn¡¯t stop when Robin arrived from nowhere and kissed her the same way too. ¡°Sorry but seeing you kiss her made me hot¡­ Hmm. I understand why you went after her. I like her, so marry her if you want.¡± was all she said. Rick took her in her arms and took up to the sky. Their direction? The nearest inn, his wife was turned on and so was he. Back on deck Tsuru¡¯s mind was aplete mess and Sengoku¡¯s brain hadn¡¯t rebooted yet. ~~~~~ It was a bit in the afternoon when the married couple left the inn and a very embarrassed and horny innkeeper. How did they know? Her nipples were rocked hard through her cotton dress. Rick dropped off Robin to the wooden house where the crew was resting with the addition of Bartolomea who was guarding the perimeter and Baby-5 who hung out near Franky already assisting him, giving him the tools he asked for while fixing his damaged left eye. ¡°I rented the room for the whole day and night.¡± ¡°Oh? Another session scheduled tonight?¡± ¡°Yes~~¡± Rick answered. He gave her a quick kiss and left for the Royal Pce to find Vi. He had to be discreet. The marines may not be after them today, but that didn¡¯t mean they could parade themselves in front of them in public. He found the princess speaking with Reba in a bedroom. Thetter was being dressed by servants. Entering through an open window he attracted Vi right into his arms. ¡°This is a kidnapping. Don¡¯t worry I¡¯ll bring her back tomorrow in the morning, so if you could keep quiet about it that¡¯d be nice, thank you!¡± Was all he said and left the way he came in. Vi was hitting his chest with her fists but with the position she was in, she didn''t have enough space to hit hard. Seeing how high in the air they were she gave up and let herself be led away. Rick found a secluded ce andnded there, lowering her down on her feet. Immediately she pulled away, putting her hands on her hips, clearly not happy about her kidnapping. ¡°...¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°What was that for?!¡± she yelled out. ¡°The kidnapping?¡± ¡°No, I was talking about ¡­. OF COURSE THE KIDNAPPING!¡± she yelled again but this time right in his face. ¡°To have a talk?¡± ¡°You couldn¡¯t just go to the pce and ask for me?¡± ¡°To have a private talk?¡± ¡°And it needed to happen here? Not in a secure room?¡± ¡°To have a nice private talk?¡± She threw her arms up in the air and sighed. There was no winning with him as she started to realize. ¡°You want to talk then talk!¡± ¡°I¡¯m sensing some hostility here¡­¡± ¡°YOU THINK ?!¡± ¡°Alright, alright, no need to yell. I wanted to talk about Robin.¡± ¡°Robin?¡± ¡°Yes, are you interested or not?¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°Why should I sleep with her to begin with?¡± ¡°Well, she¡¯s gorgeous, very flexible, really kinky and very talented in¡­¡± ¡°THAT¡¯S NOT WHAT I WAS REFERRING TO!¡± ¡°What is it then?¡± ¡°Why should I do you that favor?¡± ¡°... Because you owe me, duh.¡± Rick said, ying the incredulous one. ¡°I owe you nothing.¡± ¡°Sure you do, didn¡¯t we get rid of Dofus?¡± ¡°I thought you helped me because it was the right thing to do and not for a reward.¡± ¡°You didn¡¯t seem pleased with that, so if you remember, I gave you time to think about a reward. Time¡¯s up you don¡¯t have any idea, so I gave you mine.¡± ¡°Okay¡­ First: you didn¡¯t get rid of Dofy, your captain did. Second: I asked you to kill him and he¡¯s still breathing.¡± ¡°I did stop the birdcage¡¯s destruction it was causing and saved your people, by giving time to Luffy to put Dofus down. ¡° ¡°...¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°Okay¡­ I''ll give you that one.¡± Vi replied reluctantly. ¡°And I saved princess Mansherry too but I¡¯ll consider it a freebie.¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°If you¡¯re really not interested that¡¯s fine but I need a definite answer before tonight.¡± ¡°Before tonight? Why?¡± ¡°Speaking from experience, Luffy will probably wake up tomorrow or the day after. Once he does, we¡¯re leaving immediately, with the marines around¡­ they haven¡¯t acted against us because of luck. If anything has to happen between Robin and you it¡¯s tonight.¡± ¡°... Alright.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll drop you off back at the pce, I¡¯ll be back in early evening to hear what you decided to do.¡± ¡°No, I meant¡­ alright, I¡¯ll do it.¡± Vi said shyly while blushing. ¡°Don¡¯t feel obligated, I was joking about you owing me. I don''t want you to feel coerced either. Do it if¡­¡± ¡°I don¡¯t feel that way. Obligated or coerced I mean. I¡¯ll do it because I want to.¡± ¡°Yet, you seem reluctant.¡± ¡°I¡¯m¡­ not it¡¯s just¡­¡± ¡°It¡¯s just?¡± ¡°I¡­ feel¡­ threatened? By Robin.¡± ¡°Threatened?¡± ¡°That¡­ may not be the right word to express what I feel. A better word would be¡­¡± ¡°Scared?¡± ¡°Not exactly¡­ ¡± ¡°Hmm¡­ Inferior?¡± He had just pinpointed her feelings and Vi felt embarrassed, lowering her head, looking at the ground and fidgeting with her hands. ¡°Why though?¡± ¡°She¡¯s¡­ everything you said she was. I¡¯m the princess of the whole kingdom, an incalcble number of men court me either for the power I held or to get between my legs. I know I¡¯m beautiful, yet when you look at her I feel¡­ less. ¡°Okay, first of all: you¡¯re a ten out of ten. You got a pretty face¡­¡± Rick said, beginning to list her good points but was immediately interrupted. ¡° ¡®Big bouncy and juicy tiddies and legs so tasty people could start a religion about them.¡¯, I remember.¡± ¡°The enticing hips and the narrow waist and the very kissable luscious lips.¡± he finished before kissing her. She immediately kissed back in a frenzy putting her arms around his neck and pulling him down to her, while Rick took his time to caress up and down one of her legs with one hand and fondled her ass gently with the other. She moaned in appreciation and pulled harder, squashing her chest against his. For years since she put an end to her rtionship with Domingo she has been frustrated, perhaps even before.Rick was pushing some really good buttons and she wanted more. While she had been cold and didn''t react to his actions with her when they met it was simply because she was too much focused on the shichibukai¡¯s downfall. The pressure on her shoulders didn¡¯t allow her to be responsive. The kiss didn¡¯tst long but was really passionate as Vi was breathing heavily when they stopped. ¡°Wow. You really were pent up.¡± The princess mumbled something back unintelligible. ¡°What?¡± ¡°YOU WERE RIGHT!¡± ¡°I¡¯m always right, that¡¯s like¡­ nature¡¯sw, so I need more¡­¡± ¡°Dofy! He was an awful lover!¡± She tried to kiss him again but was stopped. ¡°Why?!¡± she asked in a whining tone. ¡°Because you¡¯re ready to explode.¡± ¡°I AM!¡± Vi answered and took his hands to put it under her dress where he could feel how wet she was. ¡°Now do something about it !¡± ¡°No?¡± ¡°NO?! WHAT DO YOU MEAN NO?!¡± ¡°I want you like that for Robin tonight. Eager and highly frustrated.¡± Rick replied as he started to take the air. ¡°WHERE DO YOU THINK YOU¡¯RE GOING?!¡± ¡°I have some preparations to make. Don¡¯t worry I¡¯ll be back in a couple hours.¡± ¡°COME BACK HERE! RIGHT NOW!¡± Vi kept screaming at him but he was already gone. ~~~~~ Evening fell and Rick had brought Robin to the inn they had visited in the morning. Just before they entered the room he had blindfolded her. ¡°Why?!¡± she had asked. ¡°For the surprise.¡± She kept quiet and went along with it. When they entered the room a familiar smell hit her nose. She knew that smell very well and loved it. She bit her lower lips and couldn¡¯t wait to have the blindfold removed, hoping that he had realized her wishes. ¡°Do you smell it?¡± ¡°God yes! It¡¯s so strong!¡± She heard him walk away from her then heard a short muffled moan. He walked back towards her and the smell hit her even harder. ¡°Straight from the source? Do you like...¡± he began as Robin, understanding he had put his fingers right in front of her nose moved her head to take them in her mouth. She loved the taste even more and started to suck as if her life depended on it. Rick removed his hands and went behind her, hugging her with one hand pawing one of her tits and the other caressing her mound. Kissing her neck he stated: ¡°Nipples as hard as diamonds, pussy overflowing¡­ Do you want her that much?¡± ¡°YES!¡± ¡°Then open your gift Ro.¡± The blindfold was gone, Robin was in front of her a very naked and very tied up Vi on the floor. She was on her knees, legs spread apart. Her arms extended above and behind her head. She was binded by a thick and long purple ribbon. Her thighs and calves were bounded together and the said ribbon wrapped her entire body. From her legs it went up towards her pussy, splitting into two, on each side before going higher then behind her back. It reappeared in front, delimiting her bountiful and firm breasts before reuniting between them and going towards Vi¡¯s throat where it split again and circled her neck. The princess was positioned in a manner that she was rubbing her pussy on the floor, making a small puddle. ¡°This.. This is the best apology present I ever got.¡± she said, turning her head to give him a kiss full of love and appreciation. ¡°We¡¯re going to have so much fun with her.¡± ¡°Just you.¡± ¡°Just me?¡± she asked in surprise. ¡°I had Hancock twice when you didn¡¯t. So in the spirit of fairness I want you to have Vi, just for you.¡± ¡°I¡­¡± she didn¡¯t know what to say. He kissed her on the lips and released her from his hug. ¡°I have to bring her back tomorrow to the pce, so you have all night. Have fun baby!¡± Rick said, kissing her onest time and leaving the room. Robin turned her head to look at Vi, dozens of ideas rushing through her head. ¡°I love this man.¡± Chapter 95: Dancing is the normal prelude to intercourse [R-18] Chapter 95: Dancing is the normal prelude to intercourse [R-18] Announcement This is Dressrosa arcst chapter (not counting the NaCB)! Next arc is Zou/ Whole Cake Ind. I''m taking a bit of time to read that part of the manga again. That way, I can think about the rest of the story. (I already know the big picture for the rest of the story but arc by arc... Not there yet. When I say I''m taking time, it won''t be a month or more but a few days. Who knows, if I''m fast enough in my reading I might begin writing to day ( though don''t expect a chapter other than NaCB tomorrow). Good news, I got an editor! A guy who , unlike me, have english as his mother tongue. So no more grammar mistakes! Yay! (If there is, you can me him.) Honestly I think he just wanted to do the editing so he could have the chapters faster... >.>" I know he''s reading the chapters here anyway, so BIGT THANK YOU to him. ( And a sincere f*** you from the bottom of my heart ;)) Please rate the story, thank you! Enjoy! Chapter 95: Dancing is the normal prelude to intercourse [R-18] Rick woke up in the wooden cabin on Flower Hill. Silently getting up and exiting the room he went to take a quick shower before going to themon area where the smell of food wasing from. ¡°Good morning!¡± ¡°Good morning!¡± Baby-5 replied. She had found Franky like he told her to do and never left his side since then. The cyborg was impressed with her devil fruit abilities and acknowledged their usefulness for him and his work. That she pampered him was not lost on him too. Currently, she was cooking breakfast for everyone. ¡°Can you make two serving to take away please?¡± ¡°Sure no problem.¡± Rick looked at her, she was humming happily while taking care of his request. He mentally pat himself on the back for recruiting her. Now, all he had left to do was push Franky her way. Not the most difficult thing. In no time Baby-5 was done and gave him two boxes in a bag. He made them float and gave her a kiss on the cheek as a thank you. ¡°If it tastes as good as it smells Robin and I are in for a really good time. Thank you.¡± ¡°What should I say to the others?¡± ¡°That we¡¯d be back before noon.¡± Baby-5 nodded as Rick excited the cabin. The sun had only begun to rise, chasing the night away. The morning air was chilly but it didn¡¯t bother him, on the contrary he quite liked it. He took a big breath of fresh air and flew towards the inn. The innkeeper was already up and behind the desk as he entered the inn. He gave her a wink on his way up the stairs. The room he had picked was the only one on thest floor. It was some kind of VIP room which allowed for silence and the possibility to make as much noise as they wanted. He opened the door very slowly, making as little noise as possible. Surprisingly the only ce not intact was the bed. The sheets were all over the ce but it didn¡¯t matter next to the sight of two beautiful and very nakeddies sleeping together. Robin was on her back, her hair disheveled, with a small smile on her face. She seemed to be having a good dream. Perhaps because of Vi. If Robin¡¯s hair were disheveled, the princess¡¯ was all over the ce, so much that you couldn¡¯t see her face. She was resting on Robin, one hand on thetter breasts. Putting a big strand of hair behind her ear Rick saw that she had his wife''s other tit in her mouth. He smiled at the situation and leaned down over the woman he loved. He gave her a kiss on the lips. Robin didn¡¯t react so he gave her another whichsted a bit longer this time. Still no reaction. A third kiss even longer than the previous one didn¡¯t change anything but Rick knew better as her breathing rhythm changed. He moved his head next to her ear as he picked the one free nipple she had, between two fingers and began to y with it. ¡°I wonder if that will wake up my dear wife.¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°I guess not, that¡¯s too bad, I wanted to try the breakfast in bed right after ramming my cock in my pussy in one go. Another time maybe.¡± He straightened himself and was about to leave when Robin grabbed him with her arm and pulled him down for a passionate kiss. ¡°Good morning.¡± She said with a smile. ¡°Good morning to you too.¡± ¡°I had a funny dream.¡± ¡°Oh really? What was it about?¡± ¡°Ummm. You, me, something about ramming, cock and pussy.¡± ¡°That seems like a nice dream.¡± ¡°Too bad it ended too soon.¡± ¡°Well, dreams are supposed to be realized.¡± Rick replied as he sat on the edge of the bed taking her hand in his. ¡°How wasst night?¡± Robin asked. ¡°Lonely without you but I should be the one asking you that question.¡± ¡°It was wild. Not us wild, not even close, but she was unhinged. Your work I suppose?¡± ¡°Uh-huh. I awakened the volcano a few hours before but didn¡¯t give it any way of release, not even when I tied her up.¡± ¡°Thank you for that, it was really fun ying with her and when I let her go, she jumped on me!¡± ¡°I¡¯m d you had fun.¡± Rick replied. They didn¡¯t say anything anymore. Rick had wanted to give her one of the breakfast he brought but Robin wasying down and couldn¡¯t straighten herself as Vi was still on her. ¡°Should I wake her up? I told Reba that I¡¯d bring her back in the morning¡­ And I kinda want to cuddle.¡± ¡°No, need, I¡¯m on it.¡± Robin bloomed a hand on Vi¡¯s back and used it to p her ass so hard it left a bright red handprint on it. It had the desired effect as Vi woke up in a jump and let out a scream. ¡°¡°Good morning.¡±¡± the married couple greeted. ¡°DID YOU HAVE TO WAKE ME UP THAT WAY?!¡± she said looking at Rick. ¡°Don¡¯t look at me, I have nothing to do with it. What I did though is bring you two breakfast.¡± Rick replied, raising up the bag with the boxes in them. Vi¡¯s face reddened in embarrassment for jumping to conclusion and took the box he had offered her. Bothdies were sitting with their backs against the headboard of the bed and ate in silence. In no time they were done with it when Rick spoke up. ¡°I¡¯m surprised, you don¡¯t seem to mind me seeing you naked Vi.¡± ¡°That¡¯s because it would hinder me.¡± ¡°Hinder you for¡­¡± He didn¡¯t get to finish what he was saying as she jumped on him, tackling him so hard he fell off the bed backward right onto the floor. ¡°Last night was fantastic, I haven¡¯t cum like that in years. But one thing I needed that Robin couldn¡¯t give me was three or four good dickings to scratch a very deep itch. And you¡¯re going to give them to me.¡± ¡°Right now?¡± ¡°Right now!¡± Vi replied, beginning to remove his coat and shirt. Rick looked at Robin who just smiled, raised her hands blooming two of them on his thighs and began to undo his pants. ¡°Robin? Are you okay with that? She was¡­¡± ¡°It¡¯s okay.¡± ¡°You¡¯re participating too?¡± ¡°No, I¡¯ll just enjoy the show for now.¡± ¡°Enjoy the show?¡± ¡°When I saw you make love to Nami in the Sea Forest it got me really hot.¡± Rick was dumbfounded. Until now Robin and him may have shared a partner but never at the same time or to be more urate with the situation not in the same room. This was a new development he didn¡¯t know if he liked it or not. On one hand, Robin was there which is always great and she seemed to like it, on the other he wasn¡¯t sure he liked fucking someone else with her present. Meanwhile Vi was done with her ministrations and leaned forward kissing him aggressively, pulling him out of his train of thought. She only stopped when she felt something big collide with her ass and nest itself between her ass cheeks. Her eyes were wide open as she straightened herself. ¡°There¡¯s no way it¡¯s¡­¡± She reached tentatively behind her with one hand and grabbed what was there, once she found it she couldn¡¯t fit her hand it properly. ¡°Oh my god !¡± She knew how thick Ric was now but she wanted to know how long so she let her hand explore. ¡°Can that fit inside me? ¡° ¡°Scared?¡± Rick asked, smirking. That little taunt had the desired effect as Vi frowned and squeezed his cock in her hand making him grunt. ¡°Not in the least.¡± She raised herself and positioned the tip of his penis at her entrance. Slowly lowering her body her pussy was invaded by the biggest cock she ever had. Not that she had had many; she wasn¡¯t a whore, but she had some rtionships over the years. Her vagina was being stretched like never before and that hurt a lot, as if she was a virgin again. ¡°Definitely bigger than Doffy. God! And Robin said she¡¯s taking that as often as she could?¡± Thinking about Robin made her insecure again but this time she didn¡¯t let it get to her, instead it brought out herpetitiveness. ¡°I can do it too! I just ¡­ need some time to¡­ adjust.¡± she thought as her ass collided with his thighs, indicating that she had taken the whole thing. The realization made her smile and showed her that it was indeed possible for her to handle such a monster. She didn¡¯t move but waited for her pussy to get used to him. Meanwhile Robin was on the bed and watching with rapt attention the scene before her with one hand fondling a tit and one hand on her mound. She didn¡¯t know why, but the sight of her husband balls deep into another woman aroused her immensely. She knew that he was satisfied with her, that he didn¡¯t need anyone else but it wasn¡¯t always like that. At first, she had proposed the idea of him having lovers for two reasons. Firstly, because she was scared that she would lose him with all the women vying for him. By being okay with mistresses she had hoped he would not leave as a mistress would probably have not agreed to the same thing if she wanted to take her ce. Secondly, because she wanted a woman¡¯s touch on her. With time she hade to trust his words, that she was his dream woman and that nody would ever take her ce but by then Nami was already in their rtionship dynamics. With this discovery, she felt empowered, a lot. The only reason Nami, Vi and Hancock could have intimate time with him was because she allowed it. Sure, Rick could lust after them, love them even but she knew that one word for her and he¡¯d be hers and hers alone. A part of her loved the idea but she wasn¡¯t about to do that; not right now at least, she was having too much fun with the girls. The simple knowledge of having this power over them was arousing but to see it happen right in front of her eyes¡­ was on a whole other level. Before meeting Rick she never had any kind of control of her life. Always running, always fleeing, but now she had some control and she loved that feeling. She knew though that it was him truly in control, that he could decide to leave her but she had faith he would never do so. Vi had started to shake her ass up and down slowly, moaning in pleasure as she did so. That made Robin even wetter, and she started to y with her nipple and fingered herself. When Vi reached a good rhythm, she had enough. Grabbing the dress Rick appreciated so much, she put it on and left the bed to join the lovers. She positioned herself above her husband, her feet on each side of his face, giving him a great you of her pussy and ass. ¡°Baby! Couldn¡¯t bear to be alone anymore?¡± ¡°Yes. How is she?¡± ¡°She¡¯s really tight. Not Nami tight but tight enough that at this pace in a few minutes I¡¯ll flood her.¡± he replied as he pped Vi¡¯s juicy ass making her yelp. She was too busy feeling his cock giving a new shape to her pussy to pay attention to what was happening around her.¡± ¡°I hope you¡¯re ready because it¡¯s time I smashed your head with that ass your love so much.¡± That made him smile. ¡°What are you waiting for? Do it!¡± She did as she was asked and crouched, positioning her pussy right on his mouth while facing Vi who was in her own world. Rick didn¡¯t waste any time and got to work immediately. He didn¡¯t start slow, Robin was already too wet for that, and he knew that¡¯s not what she wanted. The brte leaned forward and grabbed the princess¡¯s tits and pulled her in a very lusty kiss with a lot of tongue and a lot of saliva involved. Robin grabbed Vi¡¯s ass while thetter grabbed her breasts, both very rough with what they had now in hand. Rick was pushing his tongue as far as he could inside his wife while putting his finger in her asshole while she was riding his face in reckless abandon. The brte was the first to climax much to her husband¡¯s joy. As she did so she pushed the princess¡¯ ass down impaling her fully on the cock that was ravaging her inside. When she found a good rhythm Vi took a good part of Rick¡¯s inside of her but always left a couple inches out, with this sudden addition she had her climaxe crashing down on her. With the princess'' pussy''s pressure Rick couldn''t hold himself back anymore. [Art by nel-zel form: ] The twodies were in a post orgasm high, still kissing. The sun was notpletely up yet; the morning was just beginning. ~~~~~ Three hourster Vi waspletely messed up. On her back in bed, her eyes were zed. The facial that Rick had given her a few minutes ago was not the only reason why. She was spent. All her pent-up needs had been fulfilled. Near the bed the married couple were still at it, not wildly though. No, they were going at it quite slowly, the objective being to enjoy the feel, the touch of the other rather than to orgasm. Rick was facing her, carrying her with his hands firmly on her ass as Robin had his arms around his neck and her legs around his waist. Their foreheads were touching each other and from time to time exchanged a brief kiss. Tenderly, he was thrusting in and out of her, taking all the time in the world to give her his entire length. ¡°When we¡¯re like this¡­ The only thing I have in mind is to go back to O¡¯hara with you and start making hundreds of children.¡± Rick whispered ¡°Hundreds?¡± ¡°I know, I know. It¡¯s not possible but you know what I mean. To live in peace, making children, you, beautiful with your growing belly.¡± ¡°You forgot the bigger breasts.¡± ¡°And the milk. Goddess I can¡¯t wait to drink your milk right from the source.¡± ¡°One day. Once our journey is over, we¡¯ll do all that.¡± Robin promised him. ¡°I can¡¯t wait. Me teaching our children how to fight and you teaching them history and their legacy.¡± ¡°We¡¯ll rebuild our home.¡± ¡°Your home, Robin, because wherever you are is where my home is.¡± It was silly and cheesy but that made her smile. ¡°Seeing the two of you like that¡­ It¡¯s really beautiful.¡± said Vi from the bed. ¡°Sorry we left you alone.¡± ¡°It¡¯s alright, the sight I have before me is good enough. Besides, I don''t think I can go on another round.¡± The princessughed. ¡°I¡¯m getting close too Ro.¡± ¡°Then put me down next to Vi, finish in our mouth.¡± she whispered. The ex-marine nodded and walked towards the bed where heid her down next to their lover. Pulling out, he stood in front of Robin who grabbed Vi and pulled them up on her knees. She took the tip of his cock in her mouth and started sucking while using her tongue to stimte him, meanwhile the princess didn¡¯t stay still, she kissed the side of his shaft while sliding up and down. Finally Rick orgasmed, discharging a reasonable amount of seed after three hours of intense sex. Robin took it all but swallowed nothing, keeping everything in her mouth. Suddenly grabbing Vi by her hair, she pulled her head back and let the cum drop directly into the princess mouth. Once the archaeologist was done, she kissed her lover and they exchanged with their tongue what Rick had discharged before swallowing everything. ¡°That was the hottest thing I''ve ever seen.¡± Rick confessed. ¡°We¡¯ll try it with Nami, I¡¯m sure she¡¯ll love it too.¡± replied Robin as Vi was busy cleaning his cock. ¡°I have to say¡­ Not bad for a pig.¡± replied the princess with a smirk between two licks, making Rickugh. It was gettingte and the morning was almost over, they took a quick shower together where they simply washed each other. They didn¡¯t have enough time for more funny business. Finally everyone was dressed and they left the inn. Vi wore a hood so the people would not recognize her. Rick led them to a secluded alley where he took both into his arms and flew very high into the sky so that no one would see her. He dropped off the princess at the top of the Royal Pce and thetter gave the couple a very loving goodbye kiss before leaving with a noticeable limp. The couple just smirked while looking at her ass. Returning to the wooden cabin they were happy to see their captain awake eating as much as Baby-5 could cook. She was no Sanji but what she made was good nheless. It was good enough for Luffy at least. Franky told Rick and Robin that he had asked their captain for Baby-5 to join the crew and that for once their captain had asked what she could do. When she transformed her arm into a rifle shootingser he agreed immediately with stars in his eyes. ¡°Where were you?¡± Luffy asked the couple. ¡°Exploring the rest of the ind. Since Domingo was hoarding important things, we tried to find out if he had more than Whitebeard devil fruit. Notably some poneglyphs perhaps.¡± ¡°You found Ace¡¯s pops devil fruit?¡± Luffy asked, spitting food out of shock. ¡°Yep. I gave it to Sabo, I thought Ace would have been okay with him eating it. Keeping it in the family you know?¡± ¡°He would. Wow, Sabo is already strong, he¡¯s going to be even stronger now.¡± he said with a smile. ¡°There is one more thing¡­¡± Rick said, picking from his pocket the eternal pose. ¡°What¡¯s this?¡± Luffy asked. ¡°It¡¯s an eternal pose leading to thest ind on Grand Line reachable with a pose.¡± ¡°You mean¡­¡± ¡°That Lodestar is thest ind before potentially the One Piece.¡± replied Rick. Luffy looked at the pose then at Rick with a smile. ¡°Break it?¡± ¡°Break it.¡± replied Luffy. ¡°WHAT?! Are you mad?!¡± yelled Baby-5. ¡°I don¡¯t want to be the pirate king that way. I want to pave my own path.¡± answered the strawhat captain, shocking Baby-5 into silence. ¡°Get used to it.¡± said Zoro. ¡°The only shortcut Luffy doesn¡¯t like is one to be the pirate king.¡± exined Robin. ¡°Heck yeah!¡± screamed Luffy spitting food everywhere. ¡°Don¡¯t talk while eating you mannerless idiot!¡± yelled Rick with some meat and cheese on his face as he began to beat his little brother up. Once done, he turned around. ¡°By the way, who are you guys?¡± Rick said looking at some sort of clown, apparently some friend of Kin¡¯emon, a blond man with sses and a tall muscr man with only one leg. ¡°I¡¯m the owner of this cabin!¡± said thetter of the three. ¡°Oh my bad.¡± ¡°His name is Kyros.¡± said Robin. ¡°He¡¯s Reba¡¯s dad!¡± added Luffy. ¡°Okay¡­ And the two of you?¡± ¡°I¡¯m Kanjuro, loyal friend of Kin¡¯emon.¡± ¡°Oh so you¡¯re the guy. And you blondie?¡± ¡°An acquaintance.¡± ¡°Of who?¡± ¡°Of me! I beat his ass for stealing Montnc¡¯s gold back on Jaya! We¡¯re friends now!¡± said Luffy. ¡°Oh?! My apologies for your gold.¡± ¡°Gold?¡± ¡°And the sunken ship too, don¡¯t forget.¡± Robin said. ¡°My ship?¡± ¡°Eh¡­ You know what? Nevermind, it¡¯s nothing important.¡± Bemy looked at Rick for a moment confused and suddenly had an epiphany. ¡°It was you! You stole my gold and sank my ship!¡± ¡°I said I was sorry!¡± ¡°You did what?!¡± eximed Luffy. ¡°I was trying to impress a specialdy¡­¡± ¡°You stole my gold and sank my ship for a woman?¡± said Bemy dumbfounded. ¡°Eh¡­. yes?¡± Bemy was about to scream every profanity he knew but held himself back. There was no point getting mad, it was two years ago, nothing could be done about it now. ¡°Did it work?¡± Baby-5 asked. ¡°I don¡¯t know, Robin?¡± ¡°No.¡± ¡°Wait, it was for Robin?¡± Zoro asked, surprised. ¡°Uh-huh. Can¡¯t believe it didn¡¯t work.¡± Rick replied as he deted a bit. ¡°I had fun though.¡± Robin replied, kissing his cheek. ¡°Good enough for me!¡± he beamed. Suddenly Bartolomeo bursted in the cabin. ¡°The marines are on the move! Every single one of them!¡± Rick exited the wooden home to see for himself the situations, the others were already fleeing in the opposite direction. It was time to leave the ind. The only one not moving beside Rick was Luffy. ¡°What are you up to?¡± ¡°I need to speak to Reba.¡± ¡°Do you want some help?¡± ¡°Nah, I¡¯m good. Take care of the others.¡± Rick nodded and used his gravity to take up the air. He flew in the direction the crew and friend ran to and made them float. Bartolomeo showed him the direction to his ship, graciously lending it to the crew as the Sunny was probably on its way to Zou now. Every pirate that had been on the ind had gathered at the port, ready to leave, thanks to the citizens of Dressrosa who mingled with the wanted men and women, preventing any attack from the navy. To block the ess to the port Rick used his gravity on the numerous ruins of buildings destroyed by the birdcage. Plenty of rocks and stones were put right on the small ess to the ind coast. ¡°We¡¯ll be good for a while, unless Uncle gets himself involved but I doubt that.¡± Half an hourter Luffy joined them, seemingly satisfied with himself. ¡°Done with your thing?¡± ¡°Yep, we can go now!¡± ¡°Actually¡­¡± Many, if not all, of the pirates wanted to pledge allegiance to Luffy thanks to his charisma. Anyone knowing Luffy a bit, knew he would have refused which he did. ¡°But don¡¯t you want to be the pirate king?¡± said one of the pledges. ¡°Yes, so?¡± replied Luffy not understanding. ¡°Guys, for my captains, being the pirate king is not about money, or territories, or the number of subordinates you have.¡± Rick began to exin. ¡°Well no, duh.¡± Interjected the strawhats¡¯ captain. ¡°To him the pirate king is just the freest man on the seas, that¡¯s all.¡± ¡°¡°¡°...¡±¡±¡±¡± That revtion left everyone quiet for a moment. ¡°I don¡¯t want subordinates, I want friends! Friends, I could help if they were in trouble and could help if I was in trouble. There¡¯s nothing more to it, just do your own thing.¡± The pledges looked at each other and seemed to be of the same mind. They all decided that they didn¡¯t care what Luffy wanted and they¡¯ll be his fleet whether he wanted it or not because that¡¯s what they wanted to do. Luffy had no retort to that, making everyoneugh. One by one the pirates of the new Strawhat fleet left for their ship and departed. Finally, the blockade Rick had made got pulverized by Sengoku, and marines surged through. ¡°Seriously Uncle? What do you expect here?¡± ¡°That you would turn yourself in? We need to have a serious talk.¡± ¡°A talk about what?¡± ¡°Tsuru!¡± ¡°Heck no!¡± replied Rick as Bartolomeo¡¯s ship began to take the sea. ¡°Come back here!¡± ¡°Nope! And don¡¯t bother following us! You know what will happen!¡± ¡°This is not over!¡± ¡°Bye Uncle!¡± Turning his back to Sengoku he went towards Robin, the crew on his way to Zou. ~~~~~ *sigh* ¡°Father?¡± asked Vi. ¡°Yes?¡± ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± ¡°Lamenting how strong the blood is in our family.¡± ¡°What do you mean?¡± ¡°Reba refused to take up the throne after me so she could live with Kyros happily and in peace, just like her mother.¡± ¡°To think I would have to take up the mantle twice¡­¡± ¡°That¡¯s not all.¡± ¡°Father?¡± ¡°My daughter disappeared at night and only came back a quarter of a hour ago¡­¡± ¡°Umm. Father I..¡± ¡°Two daughters and both went on gallivanting with either a diator or a pirate¡­.¡± ¡°...¡± She didn¡¯t know what to say, she was too embarrassed to respond. ¡°Can I at least expect another grandchild?¡± ¡°FATHER!¡± Vi eximed in indignation, with her face as red as the rose in her hair, provoking the hrity of her father. Not a Chapter but fun facts #6 Not a Chapter but fun facts #6 Not a Chapter But fun facts #6 Wee to NaCB #6. I don¡¯t have much to say this time. I had to read the entire Dressrosa arc again to be sure of what was happening. I kept what interested me and focused on it. Some of you may already know, but I greatly dislike Momonosuke, but he was a great opportunity to write some drama between R&R. I loved writing the part with Rayleigh. He¡¯s so out of character, like an old Grandpa that gets pulled into Rick¡¯s bullshit, despite being a freaking badass. Anyway here are the fun facts:
  • Vi was one of the harem members right from the beginning. She¡¯s the one that I intended to drop. Currently¡­ she¡¯s not out of the harem but not in either. She¡¯s just a fuck buddy for now, I¡¯m not yet decided.
  • Fujitora was always supposed to get the Goro Goro no mi since chapter 1.
  • Sabo was not supposed to eat the Gura Gura no mi. It was supposed to be locked forever in Rick¡¯s inventory.
  • The scene with Rick and doll Robin has been nned for a long time.
  • Ipletely forgot about Bemy and Kanjuro.
  • Reba is not in the harem because one : I prefer Vi, Two: she¡¯s 16! Three: I don¡¯t like her much.
  • The talk with Sengoku and Tsuru wasn¡¯t supposed to go that way. The existence of Eri existing was nned but the part about Tsuru having sex with Rick wasn¡¯t. Instead Rick would have asked them to leave Robin alone as he already knew where two of the antics weapons were without knowing how to read the poneglyphs. It¡¯s a bit of a lie since he doesn¡¯t know what ind/ kingdom is the ind of the dead where Pluto is. The fact that Rick knows where the weapons are without the poneglyphs¡¯ knowledge would have been seen as catastrophic by the WB. They would think that poneglyph were actually not necessary at all and that anyone could find them. It would have brought a shit storm. I decided otherwise as It would have at the same time put Robin in less danger.
  • Baby-5 was always meant to be Franky¡¯s partner. I love her devil fruit, and I find her funny. I couldn¡¯t leave her out of the crew. I think she fits well with him as Franky has a constant need to expose himself ( naked or not ) but ever since joining the crew we don¡¯t see him do it that much. With his need to have people watch him and Baby-5¡¯s own needs to be needed I thought they made a good pair.
Now for the chapters:
  1. Chapter 87: Title of a book by Samantha Snyder
  2. Chapter 88: From MSquard Designs
  3. Chapter 89: Quote from LaVar Ball
  4. Chapter 90: Quote from Unknown
  5. Chapter 91: From the expression and Joker( Domingo alias)
  6. Chapter 92: Quote from Anonymous
  7. Chapter 93: A joke about ck holes and assholes.
  8. Chapter 94: Marvin Gaye song. Appropriate to the chapter
  9. Chapter 95: Quote From Sylvia Path. (Because Vi is a dancer)
That¡¯s all see you around in NaCB #7. (After Zou¡¯s arc) Don¡¯t forget to rate the story! Thank you! Chapter 96: One doesn’t simply name their children Chapter 96: One doesn¡¯t simply name their children Announcement I was faster than I thought. The whole Zhou arc is nned and will be about 3 chapters. Here''s the first part. Please rate the story, thank you! Enjoy! Chapter 96: One doesn¡¯t simply name their children The strawhat crew has been sailing for a few days now towards the ind named Zou, where the rest of their crewmates and Sunny fled to when they were attacked by Domingo then some Big Mom¡¯s subordinates. Bartolomeo and his crew were a fun bunch. They all may have been dropped on their head once or twice when they were babies, but they were fun to have around. ¡°Mistah Luffy! Mistah Luffy!¡± yelled Bartolomeo. ¡°Yeah?¡± ¡°They arrived! The new bounties arrived!¡± Suddenly a red carpet was unrolled in front of the strawhat captain and led to a board on one of the walls of the ship. On it were the new bounties for every member of the crew. Luffy was ecstatic when he saw he was now worth 600 Millions Berries. It wasn¡¯t the only one though as Rick¡¯s new bounty was the same amount. ¡°Eh! You finally caught up¡± the vice-captain teased. ¡°YES! Next time I¡¯ll win though.¡± replied Luffy. ¡°I won¡¯t make it easy for you.¡± ¡°You better not! That won¡¯t be any fun otherwise.¡± Truth was Rick¡¯s small gain of 150 Millions to his previous bounty was because he didn¡¯t really fight on Dressrosa. He had taken down Sugar but the credit went to Usopp. The gain actually came for his stunt at Marie-Geoise. It only came thiste because the navy wasn¡¯t sure it was actually Rick who had freed the ves, despite the message he left since he was confirmed dead two years prior. His meeting with Tsuru and Sengoku confirmed that he was indeed alive and a new bounty was issued. Zoro was smiling delightfully on the side. He had every reason to, as he went from 120 millions to 320 Millions Berries Rick couldn¡¯t help but rain on his parade. ¡°Happy with your results, number four?¡± the ex-marine said, referring to the time on Water Seven when the new bounties were issued. ¡°Nu-huh. I¡¯m number three now.¡± ¡°What makes you say that?¡± ¡°Robin¡¯s bounty is 250 Millions Berries.¡± ¡°So?¡± ¡°So I beat her!¡± ¡°Yeah but Nami beat you.¡± ¡°What?!¡± Zoro replied astonished. Nami, was worth more than him? The scaredy cat? A member of the weak trio? The notion was impossible to him and for a moment thought it was a joke. Until Rick pointed out her bounty. She had gone from a small 16 Millions to a whooping 400 Millions. ¡°HOW?!¡± ¡°My guess is, someone from the navy saw her use her devil fruit abilities when they fled Dressrosa. The Tenki Tenki no mi is really powerful. Controlling the weather in a world mostlyposed of water? She¡¯s like the mistress of the seas.¡± ¡°Ugh.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t be so bitter, in a way you¡¯re right. Since Luffy and I have the same bounty we¡¯re both number one, Nami is number two and that makes you number three.¡± ¡°That¡¯s.. Not really a great constion.¡± ¡°Perhaps the fact that you surpassed Robin¡¯s when Sanji did not will? And did you see his portrait? It¡¯s even worse than thest one!¡± Rick joked. Zoro seemed to agree as the smile on his face was back. Sanji¡¯s picture was of him, with his eyes heart shaped, his mouth wide opened. That was the picture of a pervert. Rick took a look at the rest of the bounties. Most had passed the 100 Millions mark. The exception being Chopper who had double his worth making it a sad 100 Berries. ¡°It¡¯s really not right. He should be way over the 100 Millions milestone.¡± Everyone¡¯s bounty had jumped up a lot. Usopp or ¡®God Usopp¡± as he was now called, reached 200 Millions when it was only 20 previously. That was ten times more. ¡®Soul King¡± Brook was now worth 110 Millions and Franky ¡®the cyborg¡¯ 150. Robin was now 250 Millions. ¡°If the navy knew she was aware of where Pluto, and Poseidon are, she¡¯d probably be in the Billion. Yet again, me too.¡± Surprisingly his picture and Robin''s were the same. He was holding her from the back and both were smiling. "How did they get that?" One thing surprised him though. It was the bounty of someone new. ¡°I-I have a bounty?¡± said Baby-5. ¡°100 Millions, that¡¯s not bad for a first time!¡± Luffy said. ¡°It¡¯s actually quite good.¡± added Rick. ¡°Howe it is so high?¡± asked Franky. ¡°Since Dofus was a shichibukai, none of his subordinates the navy got to know afterwards were given a bounty. He¡¯s not one anymore so that was rectified. I mean you worked for him for years, Baby-5.¡± ¡°Ever since I was a small kid.¡± ¡°Then that¡¯s why.¡± Rick walked to the side where no one would pay attention to him and opened the system. [USER¡¯S KARMA : 123 456 201 ] ¡°That¡¯s not bad. It isn¡¯t as much as I earn with basta but considering Dressorosa is just one big city as a kingdom and bast an actual kingdom with multiple cities that¡¯s normal.¡± He looked at the shop for any devil fruit that could be useful for the R.A. but didn¡¯t find anything interesting that was avable. With the fruit¡¯s search done it was now the turn of the item shop. That¡¯s where he got the cap and the snake plushie for Lynda, maybe he¡¯d find something for his daughter he just learned about. He scrolled and scrolled until his eyes caught a familiar object. ¡°That¡¯s perfect for her.¡± Without any hesitation he bought the shooting stars earrings, the same ones Kaza had offered him all those years ago and lost when he died as he was wearing them back then. It was actually the gift he had received that meant the most to him. Sengoku¡¯s cap, Aokiji¡¯s sleep mask, even Ryusei¡­ those earrings came for someone who despite being unhealthily obsessed, never turned her back on him. He took them out from his inventory and put them in his hands. As he was taking a good look and reminiscing about the day he got them, he was hugged from behind by Robin who put her head on his shoulder and tried to take a look. ¡°That¡¯s your earrings.¡± ¡°They are.¡± ¡°Found new ones on Dressrosa?¡± She asked knowing that he died with them on. ¡°Uh-uh.¡± ¡°Why didn¡¯t you put them on yet? They suit you.¡± He thought about telling her another lie since he just got them now but decided against it. He was tired of lying to her and felt wrong about it. And while he will always have too because of his situation he didn¡¯t want to do it more than necessary. ¡°I¡­ I don¡¯t think I deserve to wear them anymore.¡± ¡°Why?¡± Robin asked, intrigued. ¡°Those earrings¡­ well the ones from before, they were a birthday gift from Kaza.¡± ¡°Your ex?¡± replied Robin, surprised, without any hint of any other emotion in her voice. ¡°Yes. Despite our¡­ weird rtionship, she always had my well being and happiness in mind first. Sometimes too much.¡± ¡°Like you with me.¡± this wasn¡¯t a question, this was a statement Robin made. ¡°Like me with you.¡± Rick replied with a small smile before adding more. ¡°I let her down. I left the navy without a word. Left her with our baby¡­¡± ¡°You didn¡¯t know.¡± Robin said, hugging her tighter. ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter. What matters is that I wasn¡¯t there for her, for them. She had to leave the navy too because of it and carry and raise our daughter for twelve years¡­ Alone. And what was I doing for ten of those? Wasting my time on O¡¯hara.¡± ¡°Okay enough! First: you didn¡¯t waste your time on O¡¯hara; you rebuilt my home, our future home. Second: Had you known, you would have done your best to find them and take responsibility for your daughter.¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°You did for Lynda. You went to see her as soon as you could when you learned of her existence.¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°Goddess, I know you¡¯re right but I still feel like a crappy father.¡± ¡°You shouldn¡¯t. Situations happened that prevented you from being the good father I know you can be, that I know you are. They were out of your control.¡± ¡°... You always know how to make me feel better.¡± Rick replied putting his hands on hers while leaning his back on her. ¡°Of course, I¡¯m your wife after all.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t think that¡¯s how it works.¡± heughed softly. ¡°Perhaps, but that''s the exnation I chose.¡± Moving her hands she took the earrings from his and put them on his ears. ¡°There, that¡¯s better.¡± ¡°Thank you.¡± Rick replied then turned around and took her in his arms while giving her a loving kiss. ¡°You¡¯re going to leave to find them.¡± ¡°I¡­ have too. I can¡¯t go on as if I didn¡¯t know. Could you, if you were in my shoes?¡± ¡°No I couldn¡¯t and I won¡¯t stop you from going. I know how hard it is to grow up knowing your parents have been out there since you were born.When I finally saw my mother after all those years, I¡­ I felt relief when she hugged me. All the doubts were gone. Despite how scared I was with what was happening around me I felt happy. I¡¯m sure she would feel the same.¡± ¡°She may react differently, she had Kaza with her growing up. Though She may not even know who I am. If her mother left to keep her safe she probably wouldn¡¯t have told her of me, or told her a lie. What if¡­ What if she hates me? Or worse, just doesn¡¯t want anything to do with me?¡± ¡°Then you don¡¯t give up and keep going relentlessly. She will ept you, it¡¯s just a matter of when.¡± ¡°Do you also know that because you¡¯re my wife?¡± he smiled. ¡°Yes, but I¡¯m more speaking from experience. That¡¯s what you did with me and now take a look, can¡¯t live without you.¡± Rick shook his head at the silliness. ¡°Speaking of children¡­¡± Robin began. ¡°Back in the inn, when you said legacy¡­¡± ¡°I meant O¡¯hara¡¯s library but also the knowledge about the poneglyphs. You¡¯re the only one with that knowledge. Once you pass away no one else would know. It would be their birthright and duty to not let that knowledge disappear from the world. I¡¯m not gonna lie, I¡¯d be jealous as hell.¡± ¡°You want to know how to read ¡­¡± ¡°No. I mean¡­ in a way yes, because I¡¯d be sharing something special with you and only you in the whole world, that no one else could. But it¡¯s yours and yours alone. Besides any history you¡¯d find you¡¯d share with me and the rest of the world, as for the antic weapon? I don¡¯t need to read poneglyphs to know where two are and have a guess at the location of the third.¡± Thatst information made Robin¡¯s eyes grow big. ¡°You know about¡­ How?!¡± ¡°Back on O¡¯hara I read a book about a forgotten religion, dating farther than a thousand years ago. This religion had a full pantheon of gods. Among them were Poseidon, god of the seas, living at the bottom of the ocean; Pluto, the god of death, living in the underworld; and Uranus, god of the sky. I remembered about it back on Fishman-ind and saw Shirahoshi order the sea kings.¡± ¡°That¡¯s¡­¡± Robin didn¡¯t quite know what to say. ¡°Hrious.¡± ¡°What?¡± ¡°The World Government wants those weapons in their control and yet almost destroy the only way for them to find them without the knowledge of the poneglyph. They basically shot themselves in the foot. What¡¯s even more hrious is Shirahoshi being an ancient weapon. I mean Shirahoshi? Like¡­ Come on!¡± That made Robin¡¯sugh, as it was spot on. The mermaid princess was way too naive and kind hearted to be an ancient weapon. ¡°You said you know the location of two and have a guess at the third, please enlighten me.¡± ¡°As if you didn¡¯t know where Pluto was.¡± ¡°I do but I want to see how right you are.¡± ¡°I¡¯m always¡­¡± ¡°Right, I know but please humor me.¡± ¡°Since Poseidon was at the bottom of the sea like the god was, Pluto who is the god of the dead, should be in thend of the dead. I don¡¯t know which ind or kingdom it is but I know it¡¯s there.¡± ¡°... That¡¯s correct.¡± Robin replied impressed. ¡°What about Uranus?¡± she asked. ¡°Since he¡¯s the god of the sky¡­ A sky ind? Or the moon.¡± ¡°The moon?¡± ¡°Yes. It¡¯s more than far-fetched but¡­ Remember the origins of the Skypiean and the Shandia ?¡± ¡°The moon.¡± ¡°Yes, but back then you said that they left the moon one thousand years ago and that Shandora disappeared.¡± ¡°During the void century, 800 years ago, Nond found it again a bit more than 400 years ago. You think that the disappearance is linked to Uranus?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know, but if Uranus is a mechanical weapon, hiding it on the moon would be one hell of a hiding ce. And if it¡¯s a person¡­ They are linked to the moon, just like Shirahoshi is linked to the sea. It would make sense to disappear in both cases.¡± ¡°It is far-fetched but it makes sense. I¡¯m amazed you arrived at those conclusions without knowing how to read poneglyphs.¡± ¡°Of course, I¡¯m your husband.¡± He replied , smirking at the fact he turned her words against her. ¡°Haha.. Do you have any more knowledge about the poneglyphs to share, Mister smart ass?¡± ¡°Actually, I do.¡± Robin was surprised once again. ¡°Really?¡± ¡°Uh-huh. It¡¯s about why your mom joined Roger on his ship, or to be more exact why he took her in.¡± ¡°What do you mean he took her in?¡± ¡°Roger had reached Lodestar, thest¡­¡± ¡°Ind the log pose leads to.¡± ¡°Yes but how did he get to Laugh Tale? No pose leads there. Rayleigh said that on this ind¡­.¡± ¡°They found what happened during the void century. You think that Roger understood he needed the knowledge contained on the poneglyphs to get there; that¡¯s why he weed my mother into his crew.¡± Robin said in realization. ¡°Yes, and that implies that¡­¡± ¡°There may be more types of Poneglyph, besides the one recording history and the ones pointing to the former.¡± ¡°Now who¡¯s being smart?¡± ¡°I have always been smart.¡± ¡°True, and that¡¯s really sexy and arousing.¡± he said, reaching for her ass. ¡°Arousing?¡± ¡°Uh-huh¡± was his only reply as he kissed her. ¡°That gives some credit to my discovery.¡± ¡°What discovery?¡± ¡°On fishman ind I found a poneglyph but it wasn¡¯t like the normal type, it was an apology letter from a man named Joy Boy. He apologized for noting back to fishman ind and keeping his promise regarding Noah.¡± ¡°Wait! If he didn¡¯t get back to Fishman ind how did he¡­¡± ¡°I think it was Roger. Remember the text he left back on Shandora?¡± ¡°The one who said that he¡¯d brought the message to the destination or something like that.¡± ¡°Yes, this one. I think that he was talking about the Poneglyph on Fishman ind.¡± ¡°We¡¯d have to ask Rayleigh the next time we see him.¡± ¡°By then Luffy would be pirate king and we would have found the missing history.¡± ¡°We?¡± ¡°You and I.¡± ¡°You and I.¡± he repeated nodding. They stayed like that embracing each other looking at the sea when Rick had a random thought. ¡°You know, we never really talked about what happened in that inn.¡± he opened the conversation with. ¡°We had our first threesome.¡± Robin replied in a matter of factly way. ¡°It was more than that Robin.¡± ¡°I know.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t really know what to feel about it. It¡¯s all¡­mixed up.¡± ¡°I do.¡± ¡°You do?¡± ¡°Uh-huh. I felt in control. At the top of the world, like a queen.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t understand.¡± ¡°When Vi was riding you like a stallion, I felt in control. That the only reason she could do that was because I allowed it. That if I had said only one word, you would have stopped immediately.¡± ¡°I would have.¡± ¡°Yes, because you love me, because you¡¯re devoted to me at 100%. I felt in control, of me, of you, of her, of the whole situation¡­ just like a queen. And it made me so hot, the simple fact that I had this power over everything in this room. That and the two of you going at it. God, you were good together.¡± ¡°Not as much as you and me.¡± ¡°That¡¯s correct, but I can¡¯t watch¡­ Actually I can! Why didn¡¯t I think of blooming eyes to look at us?!¡± ¡°Too busy feeling good?¡± ¡°Perhaps. We¡¯re definitely trying it next time.¡± ¡°Only if it¡¯s with one of your clones and not just eyes.¡± ¡°You got yourself a deal, Mister. And a date.¡± ¡°Great.¡± ¡°Back to the topic though, what did it make you feel?¡± ¡°I¡­ A part of me felt wrong. To have sex with someone else right in front of you. I mean, it didn¡¯t bother me with Nami because I didn¡¯t know you were there and because I knew you were okay with it when I saw you. But having you there watching¡­. I don¡¯t know¡­ Somehow it was different. Like¡­ Like I was showing you I¡¯d rather fuck someone else than you. Then you joined us and that made me feel worse. Like my thoughts were spot on and it made you jealous. ¡°Is that why you were so eager?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°There is nothing further from the truth. I joined because I couldn¡¯t hold myself back any longer. I¡¯m not scared of losing you to someone else anymore.¡± ¡°I realized that afterwards, when I was pounding Vi from behind why she ate the creampie I gave you¡±. Laughed Rick. ¡°God, she¡¯s really good at it. She¡¯s no Nami, and certainly not you. But I was very pleased.¡± ¡°Her eagerness yed a lot in it I think. Anyway, I saw you there, lying on your back with your eyes focused on me. One hand ying with a nipple while you were sucking the other. You were in bliss¡­ and somewhat¡­ somewhat I loved it, because you loved it, if that makes any sense.¡± ¡°It does, that¡¯s what I felt both times.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know if one day this feeling of wrongness will go away, but I know that I want to try it again. With Nami this time.¡± ¡°Or with a clone of me?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t think I¡¯m ready to handle two of you yet.¡± Rick joked. ¡°Only one way to find out. But I do agree, our next threesome is with Nami.¡± ~~~~~ A dayter they arrived at Zou, which to the surprise of everyone was an ind on the back of giant elephants walking aimlessly in the sea. ¡°No wonder finding the ind is almost impossible, it¡¯s not stationary.¡± Rick said. ¡°I wonder how old that elephant is.¡± Robin spoke up. ¡°The legend says that Zunesha was born more than one thousand years ago and that he walks the seas because of a crime hemitted 800 years ago.¡± Kin¡¯emon replied to the brte. Rick and Robin looked at each other and had the same thought. Zunesha was perhaps linked someway to the void century. ¡°Well, it¡¯s time for us to go, is everyo¡­¡± He was cut off when exmations of awe came from the people around him. Turning around he saw a pink chinese dragon in the middle of the deck. ¡°Sorry Rick, but I want to ride the dragon!¡± Luffy announced. ¡°Ryunosuke¡± Robin corrected him. ¡°What?¡± asked Usopp. ¡°His name is Ryonosuke.¡± she said firmly to her captain, who seems to be fine with it. Turning to Robin, Rick made ament. ¡°Ryunosuke?¡± ¡°Ryunosuke.¡± she replied with the same fitness she did Luffy with a face saying ¡®It¡¯s Ryunosuke and nothing else.¡¯ ¡°Do you always name things that fast?¡± ¡°Only the cute things.¡± ¡°... I won¡¯t have a say in our children''s name, right?¡± ¡°Absolutely none.¡± the brte answered still with her special face on, making him sigh. ¡°Well¡­ At least you have good taste, so I won¡¯t have to worry.¡± he smiled and kissed her cheek. The strawhat crew along with Kin¡¯emon, Kanjuro and Law, that Rick began to affectionately call ¡®Trafy¡¯, to his annoyance, got on Ryunosuke. He moved fast out of the ship and grabbed onto Zunesha¡¯s leg. Luffy thanked Bartolomeo and his crew and promised to meet again. The climb of Zunesha¡¯s leg was hard and around the middle of it, something fell from the sky. Everyone dodged except Kin¡¯emon who was blinded by Kanjuro behind him, ying a stupid game of guess who. The collision made the two samurai from Wano fall off Ryunosuke, sending them back down. ¡°Umm. Rick?¡± asked Usopp. ¡°Yes?¡± ¡°Why didn¡¯t you make them float?¡± ¡°They wanted to climb; I didn¡¯t want to go against their wish.¡± Rick said with an evil smirk.¡± ¡°That¡¯s so petty!¡± Trafy noted to himself, just like everyone else. ¡°... Does that mean that if we fall we¡¯re on our own? You won¡¯t make us float?¡± Usopp asked as he began to sweat bullets. ¡°Usop, of course not, you won¡¯t be on your own.¡± Rick replied with a friendly smile this time making the sniper rx. ¡°Good to kn¡­¡± ¡°You¡¯ll be with Kin¡¯emon and Kanjuro.¡± and the evil smirk was back. Usopp grabbed Ryunosuke as hard as he could, trying to fuse with the dragon. The joke made Robinugh, melting in his embrace as she was sitting on herp. Perhaps the safest ce on this ride. ¡°It¡¯s not like they won¡¯t join uster, they are capable warriors. It would take them until the night though.¡± They got higher and near the end of the leg, Ryunosuke began to struggle, he had been climbing non-stop for a while now and was reaching his limit. Everyone encouraged him to hold on as the end was in sight and he did. Once on solid ground, the most sensitive of the crew had tears in their eyes. Ryunosuke had gone beyond his limit and was slowly disappearing, his time at an end. Rick took Robin in his arms andforted her. ¡°You really liked him, didn¡¯t you?¡± he asked in a whisper to which Robin replied by a simple nod,her head buried in his chest. ¡°It¡¯s alright, he was happy and a cheerful guy. I¡¯m sure he wouldn¡¯t want you to keep mourning him. And if you¡¯re missing him that much I¡¯ll find you a dragon.¡± that made her look at him with a look of disbelief. ¡°A dragon? Really?¡± ¡°I promised you a cat on Thriller Bark and I found you a cat.¡± ¡°No you didn¡¯t.¡± she replied, frowning. She had forgotten about that. ¡°Is Nami chop liver for you? I even got her the cor and everything.¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°Fair enough. But a dragon?¡± ¡°That¡¯s for me to worry about.¡± Rick replied with a smile. ¡°There was a western dragon on Punk Hazard and Momonosuke is proof enough that eastern dragons exist too. I¡¯m sure there are some of thetter left. I just have to find where.¡± The group began to walk inside the ind. Rick had never seen such flora before and intended to take back some specimens on Sunny with him. The nts on Dressrosa were already known to him so he didn¡¯t bother to pick some as there was no need to do even a bit of research on it. But the vegetation here? It fueled him with the desire to experiment and discover new things. After half an hour of journeying, they passed under some arch and saw beyond a gigantic city. It was really a wonder to see forests, rivers and a town that big on the back of a thousand years old Elephant, 35Km tall and wandering the seas. ¡°This is not an arch but a door.¡± Trafy said. Rick turned around and looked at what the captain of the heart pirates was pointing at. There,on the inside walls of the arch were badly damaged hinges. ¡°Something or someone burst the door open.¡± Trafy added. ¡°It seems recent.¡± Rick observed. Zoro put his hands on his swords ready to wee any attackersing their way. They kept on making their way towards the center of the city when from the foliage rushed out a white blur, targeting the swordsman. He tried to slice it but the blur dodged mid-air by doing a flip and ended up behind him. Zoro blocked the hiting but the blur who turned out to be a humano?d bunny sent electricity through his sword from her ws. As the fight was about to escte. A huge crocodile came out from the same ce the big bunny hade. On it was riding a humano?d female dog. ¡°That¡¯s Nami¡¯s clothes!¡± eximed Usopp fearing the worst. Rick¡¯s reaction was instant. He was on her in a fraction of a second, grabbing her by the throat and choking her with his horns on disy. ¡°That¡¯s my kitten¡¯s clothes. What have you done to her?¡± Chapter 97: We gain the strength of the temptation we resist Chapter 97: We gain the strength of the temptation we resist Chapter 97: We gain the strength of the temptation we resist ¡°Turn your wrist! Snap this little thing¡¯s neck! Do it! JUST DO IT!¡± The sea devil was back again full force this time. Rick was trying his best to not submit to his influence, to his own anger but while he did so, the humano?d dog he had in hand was choking. Robin intervened and restrained him, and calmed him down. The poor victim was released and fell to the ground, coughing and trying to breathe oxygen in as she was rubbing her throat. ¡°Wanda!¡± yelled the bunny as she forgot about Zoro and rushed to her friend. ¡°I¡¯m¡­ alright¡­Carrot.¡± The bunny, whose name was apparently Carrot, stood and was ready to take the fight to Rick but was grabbed by the sleeve. ¡°They¡¯re not¡­ the enemy.¡± ¡°But¡­¡± ¡°We need to go¡­ There¡¯s an intruder in the Whale Forest.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t think so.¡± said Rick. ¡°None of you are going anywhere until you tell us where our friends are.¡± ¡°That¡¯s what we¡¯ll s¡­¡± began Carrot being interrupted by Wanda. ¡°They are safe! I¡¯ll bring you to them but we need to go. An intruder is on the ind and since you¡¯re here I believe it¡¯s your captain. He¡¯s currently fighting with our people and we need to stop that fight.¡± ¡°... Lead the way but I¡¯m warning you, if you lied to me¡­¡± ¡°I get it.¡± With a temporary truce achieved, Wanda climbed back up on her giant crocodile mount, as did the rest of the crew with the exception of the vice-captain who preferred to float. The crocodile was quite fast despite the number of people on its back. It never slowed down no matter the terrain and actually went faster while crossing a river. They arrived at their destination and saw Luffy fighting a big gori. He wasn¡¯t alone though as Trafy¡¯s crew was there too. Stopping the fight, Wanda said that the strawhats were guests and that she was leading them to their crewmates next. Trafy stayed with his men to enjoy their reunion while the crew followed Wanda. Signaling Zoro to fall behind with him, Rick let the others go up ahead. ¡°What do you want to talk about?¡± asked the swordsman. ¡°I need a favor from you.¡± ¡°That¡¯s unusual.¡± ¡°The situation is unusual.¡± ¡°What do you need?¡± ¡° If I ever lose control, don¡¯t hesitate, cut me down.¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°Thrice already I almost transformed, thankfully Robin was there every time.¡± ¡°But she may not be the next time.¡± ¡°Yes and while I¡¯m doing my very best to resist his influence I have to make preparations just in case I break.¡± ¡°His influence?¡± ¡°The sea devil. The cure Vegapunk used¡­ To make it simple the sea devil has an easier time to take over.¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°Sea devil? As in the one from the stories for children?¡± ¡°It¡¯s not just a story, Zoro.¡± ¡°When it¡¯s not Luffy, it¡¯s you.¡± replied Zoro and sighed. ¡°Can I count on you? Everyone else may falter at the crucial time, that will be their end.¡± ¡°You can.¡± ¡°Good. Just¡­ Check that it¡¯s not me before.¡± Rick said with a smirk which Zoro gave back. They picked up the pace and joined the rest of the group. Reaching Robin¡¯s side, Rick took one of her hands in one of his. ¡°What were the two of you talking about?¡± she asked. ¡°You didn¡¯t listen?¡± He replied in surprise. ¡°No.¡± ¡°Really?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t spy on you anymore. I don''t need to since you tell me everything when I ask, which is what I¡¯m doing now.¡± The ex-marine sighed. It would have been better if Robin kept her question to herself because now he had the choice to lie, tell her he won¡¯t answer her or tell her. The lying option was tempting but for the second time he went with the truth. ¡°You won¡¯t always be my side Robin.¡± ¡°Of course I will.¡± she replied with a frown, squeezing his hand. ¡°Not physically. Sooner orter we¡¯ll be separated, because of a fight, because I have something to do. You can¡¯t always be there.¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°It¡¯s about the sea devil isn¡¯t it? You asked Zoro to¡­¡± ¡°I did. He¡¯s the only one who would not hesitate to do what¡¯s necessary.¡± ¡°I won¡¯t let him, I won¡¯t let you¡­¡± ¡°You may not have a choice, Robin. Thrice, in a bit more than a week, he tried to take control. And I know that if he does¡­ I don¡¯t think you¡¯ll be able to reach out to me, to bring me back. He¡¯ll hurt everyone or worse and I don¡¯t want that on my conscience.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll find a way.¡± she stated. ¡°Robin, that¡¯s irra¡­¡± ¡°I. Will. Find. A. Way.¡± she said, grabbing his head in her hands looking at him straight in the eye. ¡°You may¡­¡± ¡°Enough., we¡¯re done with this conversation and we¡¯ll never speak of it again.¡± She firmly announced letting go of his head and went back to hold hands. They kept walking in silence until Rick couldn¡¯t hold it anymore. ¡°I don¡¯t like us fighting.¡± ¡°... Me neither.¡± ¡°We never fought before being married.¡± ¡°Are you saying you regret marrying me?¡± she said, turning her head to the side to look at him. ¡°Never! I¡¯ll never regret marrying you. I was just wondering if it was linked somehow.¡± ¡°Of course it is.¡± ¡°What?¡± Rick replied confused. ¡°We married because we didn¡¯t love each other anymore but because we were in love with each other and we acknowledged it. To the point where we¡¯re being stupid sometimes. With Momonosuke, I was the one being stupid. With Zoro you were the one. But we¡¯ll get through it, we¡¯ll get use to the other being stupid and react apropriately without fighting. We love, trust and respect each other, there is nothing we can¡¯t do with that.¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°Goddess if you keep talking so intelligently I will drag you behind a bush and have my way with you.¡± ¡°As much as I would like to experience sex in a forest, we can¡¯t; we arrived.¡± Indeed they had arrived at one of the entrances of the city and it didn¡¯t take long for the group to meet with the missing crewmates. Nami jumped into Robin¡¯s arms then Rick. ¡°I missed you so much!¡± she eximed. ¡°We missed¡­¡± ¡°You too.¡± ¡°That one was on purpose!¡± ¡°¡°Yes¡±¡± The married couple replied, making their kitten pout. ¡°Nami, what happened after your departure from Dressrosa?¡± ¡°We followed the piece of the vivre-card Tra-guy gave us. It took a few days to reach Zou and that was because I constantly had to change the weather, otherwise It would have taken a week. Once we arrived, we found a group of pirates attackings the minks¡­¡± ¡°The minks?¡± ¡°That¡¯s the name of Wanda and Carrot¡¯s race. Didn¡¯t you listen to Tra-guy''s exnation?¡± exined Robin. ¡°If you were by my side at the time, probably not.¡± replied Rick in a matter of factly way making both his wife and kitten roll their eyes. ¡°Anyway. We chased them away and when we got into the city everyone had been poisoned by a gas. Chopper did his best to treat them all and that earned her their hospitality. When they knew we were the strawhat crew they became even friendlier. See the dress that I¡¯m wearing?¡± She took a step back and spun on herself to show her owners her beautiful purple dress. ¡°It was a gift. Some sort of national treasure!¡± ¡°Hey! Where is Sanji?¡± Asked Luffy a few feet away¡­ ¡°Oh boy¡­ He won¡¯t be pleased.¡± Nami said in a somber tone. ~~~~~ It turned out that the Big Mom¡¯s ship they had encountered on Dressrosa wasn¡¯t there to fight but to give an invitation to Sanji to a wedding. His own wedding with a daughter of the emperor. Apparently the cook was the prince of a royal family who wanted to secure an ind with Big Mom through a marriage. While Sanji didn¡¯t want to, refusing would have set the sight of his family and the emperor on the crew. That brought up a problem though. If Sanji were to marry into Big Mom¡¯s family that would make the strawhats her new subordinates or to prevent it from happening leave the crew. No one was happy with that. ¡°He¡¯s pulling a Robin.¡± Rick said. ¡°A what?!¡± asked Usopp. ¡°He does. I¡¯m not sure I like the way you use my name to describe it, though.¡± the brte said with a frown. ¡°What are you two talking about?¡± Brook asked. ¡°Sanji is stupidly leaving the crew to protect it. Just like Robin did back at Water Seven.¡± ¡°Stupidly?!¡± Robin objected, love pping her husband. ¡°I-It¡¯s pretty noble though!¡± ¡°Uh-huh.¡± the brte answered while love pping onest time. ¡°One thing I don¡¯t understand is why would Sanji¡¯s family allied themselves. Aren¡¯t they royalty?¡± ¡°What¡¯s even his family name?¡± asked Baby-5. ¡°Excuse me, but why are you here? Don¡¯t you work for Domingo?¡± asked Nami. ¡°I used to.¡± ¡°She¡¯s with us now, as my assistant!¡± exined Franky.¡± ¡°Oh! Okay, wee to the crew.¡± ¡°Once we¡¯re all together we¡¯ll have a big wee party!¡± yelled Luffy. ¡°Thanks!¡± ¡°As for his family name¡­ It¡¯s Vinsmoke.¡± announced Nami. ¡°That name is familiar.¡± Robin said. ¡°It should. It¡¯s a family of assassins. They are better known as Germa 66.¡± exined Rick. ¡°I remember now¡­ That¡¯s not good.¡± replied the brte ¡°Why? They¡¯re just assassins.¡± Zoro said entering the conversation. ¡°The Germa 66 is a whole kingdom of soldiers and assassins. They are always in war but what they are known the best for is their technology. They can make super soldiers. Many hire them to win a conflict.¡± ¡°Super soldier?¡± asked Chopper. ¡°Let¡¯s take Zoro here for example.¡± ¡°Me?¡± ¡°You train harshly, to have the physical abilities you currently have but with their technology the super soldiers don¡¯t have to train to reach that level.¡± ¡°That¡¯s¡­¡±began Chopper. ¡°Terrifying.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t care about all that!¡± screamed out Luffy. ¡°I¡¯m going to get Sanji back!¡± ¡°We can¡¯t! The moment we started our alliance with Tra-guy we were set on the path to defeat Kaidou. We can¡¯t start a conflict with Big Mom.¡± Zoro said. ¡°I¡¯m not going to fight with Big Mom. I¡¯m going to sneak in, grab Sanji and leave!¡± ¡°¡°¡°¡°¡°...¡±¡±¡±¡±¡±¡± The conversation was dropped when Wanda came to warn them that one of the kings of the ind had woken up. He thanked the strawhats for helping his people, saving their lives. When asked what happened he fell asleep. Apparently the two kings ruled the ind on a 12 hours cycle and the king they were talking to had just ended his shift as the day went to night. With the other king awake, Wanda led the crew to him. The smartest of the bunch understood why there was only one king awake at a time. The king that had fallen asleep was a dog Mink while the one currently awake was cat Mink. Rick didn¡¯t care much for the story. It may have been about Kaidou and his men but it wasn¡¯t one of his priorities. No, his priorities right now were to formte a n to get back Sanji without starting a war with Big Mom, to find a way to fight back the sea devil, and to find the poneglyph on this ind. ¡°There is no way, this ind doesn¡¯t have one. The ind is secluded, and on the move since 800 years ago. Right about the time period of the void century. It¡¯s the best ce to hide a poneglyph. The question is where is it?¡± His thoughts were interrupted when looking around he saw Wanda. ¡°One more thing I have to do.¡± The asion didn¡¯t present itself to make an apology to her. She did her very best to wee the crew, to stop any fight with the minks and he almost snapped her neck. With everyone still listening to the big cat story he approached her. ¡°Wanda, right?¡± he broke the ice with. ¡°That¡¯s correct.¡± ¡°I would like to offer you my apologies for earlier. I wasn¡¯t really¡­¡± ¡°Fully in control, I know.¡± Wanda interjected. ¡°Oh?! So my friends already filled you in, I see.¡± ¡°No. The only thing they did was to apologize on your behalf and tell me that you were very protective of others.¡± ¡°How did you know then?¡± ¡°I¡¯m a mink, my senses are sharper than humans. I felt the conflict inside you, so did Carrot.¡± ¡°She was ready to take me on but you; you went for a peaceful approach. Why?¡± ¡°Because you were doing your best.¡± ¡°My best?¡± ¡°To be in control.¡± ¡°How can you be so sure?¡± ¡°I would be dead by now otherwise. That¡¯s how I knew.¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°Does it happen often?¡± She asked, surprising him. He didn¡¯t think she would want to talk to him further, despite his apology. ¡°Only when I believe the people I truly love are in danger, or in extreme anger. Most of the time the two go together, if not always.¡± Rick confessed. ¡°Since I was wearing Nami¡¯s clothes you jumped to the simplest conclusion.¡± ¡°Yes, once again I¡¯m sorry.¡± ¡°It¡¯s alright. I understand the need to protect ones¡¯ mate.¡± ¡°Mate?¡± ¡°Aren¡¯t you and Nami mates? When she arrived on Zou she had other odors on herself. She doesn¡¯t have it anymore now, but I recognized it, it¡¯s yours.¡± Wanda exined, pushing Rick into a serious panic. ¡°It¡¯splicated.¡± ¡°Considering you seem to be mates with Robin too. I would think so.¡± ¡°Shhh! Not so loud please! The others don¡¯t know. And before you imagine anything both are¡­¡± ¡°Aware. I smelt Robin on Nami too.¡± ¡°... At least I don¡¯t have to exin.¡± ¡°Why the secrecy?¡± She asked in curiosity. ¡°How can I exin this¡­ I don¡¯t know about minks but humans are not supposed to have multiple¡­ mates. Only one at a time. Those who do are not well regarded as it is considered amoral.¡± ¡°That¡¯s peculiar. While most minks find only one mate, sometimes they find more.¡± ¡°Really?¡± ¡°Yes. It¡¯s not taboo or amoral like you said, it¡¯s just rare for it to happen. I do wonder, though, how the three of you rtionships came to be.¡± ¡°Well¡­ I was thunderstruck with Robin when I saw her the first time and it took some time, a lot of pain and boldness, to have her return my feelings. At the same time, Nami got along very well with the two of us. She was always prying into my love life and she¡¯s pretty smart so when she saw that Robin wasn¡¯t really responsive to my advances she tried to help us out by making her jealous, iming she would be my partner instead. In the end the joke never stopped after Robin and I got together. To make the story short, Robin likes both men and women and we were both attracted to Nami, so we kinda invited her into our couple. While Nami was in for the sex at first, her feeling grew from very close friendship to romantic love. ¡°...¡± ¡°Was that too much?¡± ¡°No, not at all. ¡° ¡°Why so quiet then?¡± ¡°I was thinking how lucky the three of you are to have found two mates when I can¡¯t even find one.¡± ¡°I have a hard time believing you don¡¯t have one.¡± ¡°Why is that?¡± ¡°You seem talented with a de, are calm and collected, very kind and very pretty.¡± ¡°Thank you for thepliments but most of those qualities are not sought for a mate in mink¡¯s culture.¡± ¡°Well, search among another culture then.¡± ¡°... As in human¡¯s culture?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°... Are you propositioning to me?¡± ¡°Not at all, but I wouldn¡¯t say no to you.¡± ¡°... Robin and Nami then?¡± ¡°Not for them either but why not? What I meant was don¡¯t limit yourself to your own people. The garbage of one could be the treasure of another. The world is vast, Wanda.¡± Rick didn¡¯t add anything more and left her thinking about what he had just said joining Robin¡¯s and Nami¡¯s side. The tale of the cat king seemed to be over and everyone started to walk towards another location to have a feast. ¡°How did your apology go?¡± asked Robin, knowing why her husband approached the mink. ¡°Well. To my surprise she was really understanding.¡± ¡°Wanda is really nice, she¡¯s the one who has taken care of me the most since I arrived.¡± Nami shared, before asking, ¡°What did you have to apologize for?¡± ¡°Loving you a lot.¡± replied Rick, sending a wink towards the redhead before taking to the air and began his exploration of the ind. Turning to the brte Nami asked: ¡°Loving me a lot? What did he mean by that?¡± ¡°We were attacked by Carrot then Wanda appeared to stop the fight but before she could, Rick saw she was wearing your clothes and feared the worst and went all devilish on her. He caught her by the throat and nearly choked her to death.¡± The exnation froze Nami in ce and tears began to run down her cheeks, to the confusion and worry of Robin. ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± She asked, taking Nami in her arms. ¡°He loves me!¡± the red head replied with a big happy smile on her face. ¡°Of course he does, that¡¯s nothing new.¡± ¡°You don¡¯t understand, he loves me! The only people he got all horny for are you and Vivi. He never did that for me, until now!¡± ¡°Did you really doubt it? That he would not get angered like that for you? That he didn¡¯t love you enough for it to happen?¡± ¡°I¡­ yes. He did say the reason why it didn¡¯t happen was because I never was in a situation that allowed it but I had doubts about it.¡± ¡°That¡¯s silly. You are the first person he thinks of when he wants us to do something with someone and you¡¯re the one he turns to when he can¡¯t talk with me.¡± ¡°I know, it¡¯s just¡­ nevermind, it doesn¡¯t matter anymore, he loves me!¡± she repeated for the third time. Theforting hug turned into a loving hug with Nami putting her arms around her owner. ¡°...¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°What is wrong with the two of you and my ass?¡± asked an exasperated Robin, punctuating her question with a sigh as Nami was fondling her bubble butt. ¡°It¡¯s perfect Robin, I just can¡¯t help myself. It¡¯s a great stress relief.¡± ~~~~~ Meanwhile Rick had reached a good enough altitude to have a good look of the ind. With the forest everywhere it was difficult to see properly. ¡°I guess I will have to search everywhere¡­ Now If I wanted to hide a poneglyph where would I put it? Considering thendscape¡­ Either inside one of those mountains circling the city, underground, or in the middle of it all. Underground is out, since the ground is actually Zunesha¡¯s flesh. I doubt the minks would have carved such a big hole into it. The center of the city is a huge hole but that¡¯s from where the water Zunesha uses to bathe himself,es from, so no. That only leaves the mountains around. Even though some habitations have been built inside them, there may be a secret passage.¡± He started his search first by the habitations and when he didn¡¯t find anything tried to find a secret passageway by floating up and down the mountains¡¯ sides. He had spent the night in his endeavor but was not tired one bit, the thrill of his quest keeping him awake and vibrant. When the sun began to rise he had just finished inspecting every single inch of the mountains. ¡°Nothing. Absolutely nothing. I refuse to believe that there is no poneglyph here. That can¡¯t be.¡± He sat on the edge of a cliff and looked around, trying to see what he had missed. His eyesnded on a giant tree at the back of the city. In the shape of a whale, Rick had dismissed it as that wouldn¡¯t be a good ce to hide something. ¡°Well¡­ It¡¯s not like I have anywhere else to investigate.¡± He flew to the whale tree and looked at it from every angle. One thing caught his eyes were the big vines along the trunk and branches. He couldn¡¯t have distinguished it from afar as the vines were more like veins and the same color of the trunk. ¡°It thought they wouldn¡¯t carve into the wood of the tree or if they did it would have been close to the ground, but with vines that size, barely visible and leading to the top¡­¡± He followed a vine¡¯s path and ended in a dead end, forcing to back track and take another. After his third try he noticed a big spot of moss against the trunk. Taking his change he put his hand on it and pushed forward. His idea was the right one as his hand just went through. ¡°Bingo!¡± He sprouted arms on the side that pushed away the moss and held it in ce. Now with the entrance inside the trunk free he went through it. After walking up a long series of stairs he finally arrived in some kind of wooden alcove. At the back of it were three things. A giant symbol of some kind of bird, perhaps a crane or a heron, and just below it on an elevated tform a red Poneglyph with someone chained on it. ¡°Who are you?! Are you one of Kaidou¡¯s men?! What did you do to the minks?!¡± yelled the short man in an usatory tone. ¡°...¡± Rick was a bit annoyed with the man, so he just restrained him with sprouted arms, gagged him and broke the chains he was tied up with previously. Making his captive float, he brought him outside with him and flew towards the direction where everyone was. ¡°A special poneglyph, and a prisoner, the minks have a lot to answer to¡± Reaching his friends¡¯ location he saw Luffy and Momonosuke having some kind of childish brawl. Next to them were Kin¡¯emon and Kanjuro. ¡°So they finally climbed all the way to the top.¡± ¡°¡°RAIZO!!¡±¡± the two samurai eximed. ¡°What?¡± asked Rick. ¡°Sir, Rick, could you free our friend please?¡± asked Kin¡¯emon. ¡°That guy is a friend of yours? I find that hard to believe with how rude he is.¡± replied the ex-marine while putting his captive on the ground and removing his sprouts. ¡°How did you find him?¡± was a question that came from behind him. Turning around, Rick was face to face with the dog king. ¡°I spent the night scouting the ind. That¡¯s a really neat hiding ce you got there. It took me sometimes but I found it.¡± ¡°Why scout in the first ce?¡± ¡°Because of the poneglyph.¡± ¡°You found a poneglyph?¡± asked Robin,ing to his side. ¡°How did you know?¡± Questioned the cat king this time. ¡°Conjectures mostly. Zou is an old ce, drifting at sea for the past 800 years. The same time period as the void century. It¡¯s difficult if not impossible to find and there is a whole poption making sure it stays that way. If I wanted to hide something important, Zou would be the first ce thates to mind.¡± ¡°That¡¯s¡­¡± Both kings were speechless. The man before them had discovered the secret their people have been safekeeping for centuries and in less than a day not only knew about it but actually found what they were protecting. His mind was sharper than a de. ¡°I don¡¯t understand the bird symbol, though.¡± ¡°A bird symbol? You mean, a crane with his wings wide open inside a circle and a sun on its chest?¡± asked Kin¡¯emon who was listening to the conversation. ¡°You know that symbol?¡± ¡°This is the crest of the Kozuki family. The rightful rulers of Wano.¡± ¡°I thought Wano¡¯s borders were close, howe their symbol is here with a poneglyph?¡± Kin¡¯emon looked at king cat and king dog who nodded. ¡°This is a long story¡­¡± the samurai began. ~~~~~ ¡°... I can¡¯t believe it.¡± said Rick. ¡°That¡¯s all true.¡± ¡°Oh, I know, you didn¡¯t lie about anything. Oden, his time on Roger¡¯s ship, his time here. No, what I don¡¯t believe is how could such a great man be the father of his perverted little runt!¡± Rick replied pointing at Momonosuke behind him with his thumb. ¡°Hey!¡± protested the aforementioned pervert. ¡°Speaking of lord Momonosuke like that!¡± said the king dog frowning at the insult to his master. ¡°It¡¯s the truth!¡± ¡°There is a reason he doesn¡¯t have his top knot anymore.¡± interjected Robin in defense of her husband. ¡°Oh, yeah, I¡¯ve been meaning to ask about that.¡± ¡°That was his punishment.¡± ¡°You¡¯re the one responsible for that?!¡± yelled the king cat, furious. ¡°You know I understand your loyalty to Oden, but to Momonosuke, I don¡¯t. I mean Oden earned your trust, your loyalty but what did the kid do besides being born to get the same treatment as his father?¡± ¡°Sir Rick¡­¡± ¡°You know I¡¯m right, Kin''emon. You serve Momonosuke because of your loyalty to his father.¡± The words Kin¡¯emon was about to say died in his throat because that was true. He was loyal to Oden even if his master was dead. It was out of loyalty and a better future for Wano that he was serving Momonosuke. ¡°My take on the situation is; if you continue to serve him like that, he may turn out like a celestial dragon.¡± ¡°A celestial dragon?¡± ¡°800 years ago tenwty nations banded together to form the World government. 19 of them went to live on the highest and biggest mass ofnd in this world and ever since their descendants rule the world as gods. Their every childish whims answered no matter what. Treating the people as less than human. All because their ancestors founded the World Government. They never did anything worthy in their lives for their people except abusing them. The way you¡¯re all treating Momonosuke is the beginning of that.¡± That left the Kozuki retainers speechless. ¡°I don¡¯t understand why everyone is treating Momonosuke differently. Lord or no lord he¡¯s still a stinking kid.¡± Luffy said, making the said kid grumble. ¡°You¡¯re all making ns to take back Wano and bring Kaidou down, but Momo what do you want?¡± he added. ¡°What?!¡± replied the child. ¡°Are you just a figurehead?! Will you let the others do everything for you?¡± ¡°B-but I¡¯m just eight! What can I do?!¡± said Momonosuke as tears of frustration fell down his cheeks. ¡°Learn. Learn to be a ruler, amander to your people. Learn to be a man.¡± answered Rick. ¡°What do you want to do Momo?¡± Luffy asked again. ¡°I.. I want to defeat Kaidou! He killed my father and he¡¯s responsible for my mother¡¯s death! I want to grow up so I can avenge them both! I want to protect my loyal servants and be a good ruler for my people! But I need help!¡± ¡°Just ask then.¡± Luffy said. ¡°Luffy, will you help me?¡± Momo said, looking up at the future pirate king. ¡°Sure, let¡¯s make an alliance.¡± Luffy and Momo shook hands and everyone rejoiced about the alliance. Rick, while holding Robin¡¯s hand, got close to king dog. ¡°King dog¡­¡± ¡°King dog?¡± replied the mink with an eyebrow raised. ¡°His name is Inuarashi, and the big cat is Nekomamushi.¡± Said Robin facepalming. ¡°You didn¡¯t know our names?¡± asked the cat. ¡°Do you know mine?¡± ¡°¡°...¡±¡± ¡°That¡¯s what I thought. Anyway I had a question about the poneglyph. Kin¡¯emon spoke about their origins, the Kozuki n, but he didn¡¯t talk about them in detail. The one you¡¯re guarding is different from the poneglyph I¡¯ve seen until now.¡± ¡°How do you know that without being able to read them?¡± asked Robin curious. ¡°This one is red.¡± ¡°Red? I never came across a poneglyph which wasn¡¯t grayish blue.¡± ¡°That¡¯s because its function is different from the regr poneglyphs.¡± replied Inuarashi ¡°Just as we thought, there are more types than the history and map types.¡± noted Robin.¡± ¡°I¡¯m surprised you came to this conclusion as there are only four red poneglyphs in the world.¡± Nekomamushi said. ¡°Back on fishman ind there was a poneglyph, but it wasn¡¯t a regr one.¡± ¡°No, it was a message from a man named Joy Boy.¡± ¡°How did you¡­Oh! Right you were with Oden on Roger¡¯s ship. Did Roger really bring this poneglyph from Shandora?¡± ¡°You know about Shandora?!¡± eximed Inuarashi. ¡°We went there and saw the text Roger left. Oden was the one that carved it right?¡± ¡°Yes, and your mother was the one who tranted it.¡± ¡°My mom?¡± ¡°Lord Oden knew how to read the poneglyphs but he wasn¡¯t perfect at it, since the transmission of thenguage is done orally. Your mother was really helpful.¡± exined Nekomamushi making Robin smile. ¡°You are correct, Roger brought with him the poneglyph to fishman ind.¡± said Inuarashi getting back on topic, then continued speaking. ¡°The red poneglyph are a fraction of a map, not leading to another poneglyph containing history but ¡­¡± ¡°¡°To Laugh Tale.¡±¡± the married couple interrupted in sync. ¡°¡°How did you know?!¡±¡± ¡°We didn¡¯t.¡± Rick said. ¡°We were not sure.¡± added Robin who rted to the two kings their theories. When she was done, Inuarashi had a big grin on his face and Nekomamushi wasughing heartily. ¡°You¡¯re even smarter than Olvia.¡± the dog minkplimented. ¡°I didn¡¯te to this conclusion alone, I had the help of my very intelligent husband.¡± She replied, kissing Rick on the cheek. ¡°You better take good care of her or else¡­¡± began to threaten Nekomamushi while looking at Rick. ¡°He already does, more than anyone ever did.¡± Robin replied, looking at her husband with nothing but love in her eyes. ¡°Good. I hope you¡¯re strong too.¡± said the cat mink. ¡°Big Mom and Kaidou own each one of the four parts of the map. Two emperors will be after you, that is if they aren¡¯t already.¡± exined Inuarashi. ¡°I have friends ready to protect me and a husband ready to burn the whole world to ash if someoneys a finger on me.¡± ¡°¡°Good.¡±¡± Robin asked the rulers some questions about her mother. Most of the answers she already knew from Rayleigh but it was alright to her, she loved hearing about her mom. The celebration of the creation of the alliance was cut short, when sound of explosions were heard The ground began to shake violently making many fall. Rick gave a kiss to Robin. ¡°I¡¯m on it, I¡¯ll be back soon.¡± He floated way up and flew to take a look at what was happening. Chapter 98: I, Wal D Rick, have a dream Chapter 98: I, Wal D Rick, have a dream

Chapter 98: I, Wal D Rick, have a dream Rick didn¡¯t miss any time and flew towards the explosion¡¯s provenance. From high in the sky he saw a small fleet of ships; way too far for his gravity or his sprouts to reach he let himself fall. The ships belonged to the beasts pirates, the crew of the emperor Kaidou himself. They were firing everything they could at one of Zunesha¡¯s hind legs and were doing serious damage. At this rate the gigantic elephant would fall and be at their mercy. Arriving in range he didn¡¯t waste a moment to act, sprouting arms on all the ships¡¯ deck, allowing him to finally use his gravity. Focusing on the masts and the floor around, the gravity broke the wood, making a huge hole through the deck and all the other levels of the ships below, reaching the sea. Quickly the pirates'' ships all sank, and as Rick looked at his work he didn¡¯t saw Zunesha¡¯s trunking his way from the side. ~~~~~ ¡°Oh no!¡± eximed Momonuske. ¡°What is it?¡± asked Kin¡¯emon ¡°Z-Zunesha fought back as ordered by swinging his trunk but¡­ Rick was faster and sank the fleet; he didn''t see iting from the side!¡± exined the panicked child. ¡°¡°¡°¡°.....¡±¡±¡±¡± The crew was quiet for a moment but each went back to do what they were doing before the attack as if nothing happened to the confusion of everyone present. ¡°You¡­ you¡¯re not worried about Sir Rick?¡± asked Kin¡¯emon. ¡°Not really.¡± replied Zoro, raising a pint of alcohol to his mouth. ¡°I mean, if it was anyone else¡­¡± began Usopp. ¡°They¡¯d probably be dead! Yohohoho!!¡± ¡°But Rick wouldn¡¯t!¡± Chopper said. Hearing her friends talking about her husband made Robinugh sweetly. She had faith too, that he was safe and sound. She was right to as hended next to her. One notable difference was that his pants were now shorts and he had his legs right out in the open. ¡°One of these days, I¡¯m going to kick that elephant''s ass.¡± he grumbled as he embraced Robin from behind.¡± ¡°See? Not a scratch.¡± Luffy pointed out. ¡°Not a scratch, not a scratch. I barely dodged! The hit took my legs, and sent me down towards the sea! Had I been slower I would have drowned!¡± ¡°But you didn¡¯t.¡± replied Zoro. ¡°... Your worry is touching guys.¡± said Rick with a deadpan face and a sarcastic tone. ¡°We¡¯re friends, that''s normal!¡± eximed Chopper, missing the sarcasm. Rick was speechless. He couldn¡¯t give a retort back to Chopper¡¯s genuine enthusiasm so he searched for his wife confort. ¡°I-I can¡¯t. Not Chopper.¡± ¡°It¡¯s alright, let it go.¡± she replied. ¡°... You were not worried either.¡± he stated. ¡°...¡± ¡°Even my wife is not worried about me¡­¡± he whined while pouting, amusing Robin. ¡°Well if it¡¯s like that I''m going to take a nap.¡± he dered and started walking towards the housing the minks had prepared for the crew. ¡°You can¡¯t, you need to bring me to the poneglyph.¡± Rick stopped in his tracks then looked up at the clear blue sky. He took a deep breath and let out a long sigh. ¡°Why couldn¡¯t I fall in love with a normal girl?¡± Rickmented as he dropped his head to look at the ground. Robin got closer and embraced him. ¡°They¡¯re not as smart, not as pretty and most of all they certainly can¡¯t handle you.¡± she whispered in his ear. ¡°...¡± ¡°And they don¡¯t have the best ass in the world.¡± ¡°The ass, that was definitely the ass, that evil culprit.¡± he mumbled making her smirk ¡°Carry me?¡± she asked. Rick didn¡¯t reply, he just turned around and took her in his arms. ¡°I knew you liked it back on Skypiea.¡± ¡°Perhaps¡± was the cryptic answer Robin gave him with a knowing smile. ~~~~~ When the married couple came back they stumbled on a conversation about the n to take down Kaidou. As Oden also sailed with Whitebeard it was possible they could get the help of the Whitebeard pirates. However what made it difficult was that no one knew where they were and even if someone did their forces had diminished a lot since Ace took the lead. Not only some left the crew to do their own things but the rest of the fleet was continuously destroyed bit by bit by the alleged real son of Whitebeard who was currently working for the government as a shichibukai. The talk changed, when Luffy announced that he needed to get Sanji back first to the displeasure of the minks and samurai part of the alliance. ¡°Do you expect to show up on Wano and immediately take Kaidou down? Because if that¡¯s the case you can allmit seppuku right now for your stupidity. At least that way you won¡¯t be confronted with the failure of your n.¡± Rick said. ¡°What do you mean sir Rick?¡± asked Kin¡¯emon. ¡°From what I understand. Kaidou has been ruling your country for the past twenty years. He must have agents everywhere so if you want your rebellion to seed you¡¯ll have to prepare a lot. Weapons, soldiers, undergroundwork for information, supply andmunication. You¡¯ll need all that to take Kaidou down and that¡­ takes time.¡± ¡°That would take months!¡± replied Kanjuro. ¡°Exactly, so there is no problem with us going for our crewmate.¡± ¡°You would let my people suffer?!¡± asked Momonosuke. ¡°The people of Wano have been enduring for twenty years already. What¡¯s a few months more if it gives them a better opportunity for their freedom?¡± he said before adding. ¡°And two decades is a lot of time for a country to change. You may not recognize it anymore.¡± That made the samurai¡¯s side pale. ¡°How¡­¡± began Kin¡¯emon. ¡°Do I know you¡¯re from twenty years into the past?¡± ¡°What? Rick, what are you talking about?¡± Usopp asked. ¡°They are not from our time.¡± insisted Rick. ¡°That¡¯s not possi¡­¡± began Nami before being proven wrong by Kin¡¯emon. ¡°It¡¯s true. I don¡¯t understand how you found out though.¡± ¡°¡°¡°¡°¡°What?!¡±¡±¡±¡±¡± ¡°Lord Momonosuke, Kanjuro, Raizo, a friend of ours and myself made a twenty years jump into the future, arriving in this time.¡± ¡°But how?¡± asked Nami. ¡°My guess is a devil fruit. And as for how I got to this conclusion Kin¡¯emon, I just listened. You said Oden sailed a few years with Whitebeard and Roger, that was a bit more than twenty years ago. I also know that Wano has been Kaidou¡¯s base of operation from around the same period of time. The first thing Kaidou would have done is to get rid of the people in power, which he did. Now¡­ If Oden has been dead for twenty years, howe Momonosuke, who is eight years old, can be his son?¡± ¡°There is no way it¡¯s possible.¡± answered Usopp. ¡°Correct. Momonosuke is clearly his son though, otherwise no one here would serve him. The only exnation left for this time problem is time travel.¡± ¡°That would exin why none of you seemed to have aged much.¡± said Nekomamushi. ¡°You¡¯re correct sir Rick¡­Lady Toki, lord Momonosuke¡¯s mother had the Toki Toki ability. She could send herself or other people forward into the future. When lord Oden died, the usurper, Koizumi Orochi, sent his men to kill the rest of the Kozuki n. While the Kozuki castle was burning, to save lord Momonosuke¡¯s life and give Wano a chance to freedom she used her ability to send us in this time. Your advice is sound. For us it may have been only a few months, but for Wano it has been decades. We didn¡¯t take that into consideration while making the n. We will revise it, thank you.¡± ¡°Meh it¡¯s alright. We¡¯re friends, that¡¯s what friends do.¡± ¡°Can we go get Sanji now?¡± asked Luffy impatiently. ¡°Yes. But we can¡¯t alle.¡± ¡°Why?¡± ¡°Because we¡¯re infiltrating Big Mom¡¯s territory. The smaller the group the greater chances of sess.¡± ¡°I want to go!¡± Chopper said. ¡°¡°Me too!¡±¡± replied Nami and Brook. ¡°I somewhat feel responsible for Sanji''s departure.¡± exined the red head as Chopper and Brook nodded in agreement. ¡°A group of five is perfect for an operation like that.¡± ¡°Five?¡± asked the reindeer. ¡°I¡¯m going too. Besides Nami, I¡¯m the only one with experience in sneaking. And both my gravity and sprouts would help a lot to escape the ce.¡± ¡°Escape? You¡¯re talking as if the group would get caught.¡± noted Usopp. ¡°Caught? Usopp I¡¯m 100% sure Luffy will somehow start a war with Big Mom.¡± ¡°Hey! I can be sneaky when I want to!¡± protested the strawhat captain. ¡°¡°¡°¡°...¡±¡±¡±¡±¡± The talk went on a bit longer and the groupposed of Luffy, Nami, Chopper, Rick and Brook began their preparations for the journey as time was of the essence. The ex-marine didn¡¯t have much to pack so instead he spent his time with his wife. They had taken a short stroll in the forest and were currently resting against a tree with Robin sitting in hisp. ¡°Be careful.¡± ¡°Oh, now you¡¯re worried?¡± he joked. ¡°I¡¯m serious! This is Big Mom we¡¯re talking about, one of the emperors, in her territory with her entire crew.¡± ¡°I will be fine.¡± ¡°Just¡­ Juste back to me with the others.¡± ¡°I¡­ don¡¯t think I will be able to do that.¡± ¡°Why?¡± asked Robin, raising her head for his chest to look at him with eyes full of worry. ¡°The reverie will happen soon. It may be my only chance to meet Grandpa and ask him the location of my daughter. I will have to separate from the crew for a bit again.¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°Will you marry her?¡± Robin said out of the blue. ¡°What?!¡± was the only answer Rick could give as he was confused. ¡°Your ex. Back on Water Seven you said you would keep your promise to marry her if you ever saw her again.¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°Do you still love her?¡± ¡°I do, she¡¯s the only one who has never let me down back then. I can¡¯t, in turn, let her down. ¡°I see.¡± Robin replied, looking down. ¡°But I will.¡± the effect was instantaneous, she raised her head back up, trying to have a glimpse of a lie in his eyes. ¡°Kaza is overly affectionate, overly possessive and overly obsessed. She will probably ask me to leave you and that, I can¡¯t do it. I might cheat death, take on the whole world alone but leave you? No. No matter what.¡± He confessed before kissing her on her forehead. ¡°Even if it means not being a part of your daughter''s life?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Rick answered without an ounce of hesitation. Robin has been worried. Rick was not one to break his promises. In fact she never saw him do it even once. She knew that for him, his word was important. So she worried that Kaza would use her daughter to take Rick away from her. While she had admitted that she wasn¡¯t afraid of losing him to another woman, it wasn¡¯t entirely true. Kaza''s existence still made her afraid, and with a daughter in the mix she was more than uneasy. She still had faith in him, but with the doubt it was very hard to do so. To hear him confess that he would break his promise and renounce to know her his own child for her, made her worries disappear. She knew now, without a shadow of a doubt that no matter what happens, they will be together and will live on O¡¯hara. What she felt now though, was guilt. Because of her, he may not have any contact with his eldest. ¡°Are you sure?¡± ¡°Yes, because¡­ I have a dream now and I intend to make it a reality.¡± That was new. Rick¡¯s dream had been to one day be Fleet Admiral of the navy but it was just a pipe dream now. For thest twelve years he has been dreamless, that was even why he joined the crew, to find a new dream. And now he had one? ¡°What is it?¡± she asked, curious. ¡°You.¡± ¡°Me?¡± ¡°You are my dream. You¡¯re the only one who can give me everything I need. Despite the others, despite how much I may love them, you¡¯re the only one I¡¯m in love with. I could endure their loss but I could never endure yours because the only one who can truly make me happy and at peace; the only one I could trust blindly with everything that I am is you.¡± he dered with a smile. Robin didn¡¯t know how to respond to his deration. She couldn¡¯t find the words to express what he just made her feel in that moment, so she just kissed him. When she broke the kiss she had a request. ¡°Please, give me another seed of you.¡± ¡°Already nning to rece me? By myself at that?¡± he joked, but Robin was deadly serious. ¡°For two years I carried on because I had the others, because I had my dream but if I lose you for good this time¡­ They won¡¯t be enough to keep me alive.¡± That shocked Rick a great deal. Finding the missing history was what kept Robin going for more than two decades. That it would not keep her going anymore if he died meant only one thing. Her dream was not the most important thing in her life anymore. He was. That made him both happy and unhappy. ¡°I won¡¯t give you a seed, Robin.¡± ¡°Why?!¡± she asked, distressed at his answer. ¡°Me being¡­ Reborn again, it¡¯s not right. And it might lead to overconfidence. I can¡¯t allow myself to take death lightly, it will only bring disaster. Besides, you would need clouds to speed up the process and clouds from any sky ind but Skypiea may not do. How long before you could go back there again, if at all?¡± ¡°But...¡± ¡°I¡¯ll be careful Robin. I promise. Now more than ever, because I finally have something that I don¡¯t want to lose no matter what. ¡± ¡°I¡­ understand. I don¡¯t like it one bit but I understand.¡± her agreement made Rickugh. ¡°You find it funny?! We¡¯re talking about¡­¡± ¡°No no! That¡¯s not what I find funny. What is funny is that¡­ I can¡¯t believe that for the first time I denied you something. Didn¡¯t think the day would evere.¡± ¡°... Don¡¯t make it a habit of doing it or you¡¯ll be sorry.¡± ¡°Oh? And what punishment would my dear loving wife bestow upon me?¡± he said in a mocking tone while grabbing her ass. ¡°Let¡¯s say you¡¯d prefer what I did to you on Fishman ind everyday for the rest of your life.¡± she replied with an evil smirk making him pale. ¡°Y-you¡¯re not that cruel.¡± ¡°Try me.¡± ~~~~~ It was time for the rescue group to leave. Everything was ready and everyone was giving their goodbye. Thest thing he did before reminding Robin that he loved her, was to tell her that Wanda is lonely and is looking for a mate.Rick picked up everyone and their luggage with his gravity and floated down Zunesha where the sun was anchored. Robin looked at them leave, especially him, cursing herself to have failed when she had asked one more time for a seed. Unbeknown to her and him, he already did more than a month ago. Not a Chapter but fun facts #7 Not a Chapter but fun facts #7 Not a Chapter but fun facts #7 Wee to NaCB #7! Not much to say this time, for real. Zou was perhaps the shortest arc so far. basta was three chapters long too but it began at half point of the manga¡¯s arc, so can we really say it counts? Here are the fun facts:
  • The Zou arc was not supposed to exist. Rick should have left the crew again to take care of his business (you know what it is).
  • Rick would havee back for Whole Cake Ind, following Luffy¡¯s vivre card.
  • With no Zou arc, there would have been a focus on the other characters not belonging to the crew, especially on the Revolution Army side. (more about that in a future NaCB, maybe¡­)
Now for the chapters:
  1. Chapter 96: Famous Lord of the Memes, meme.
  2. Chapter 97: Quote from Ralph Waldo Emerson
  3. Chapter 98: Do I really need to exin it? See you around in NaCB #8.
Chapter 99: All girls want is to be warm and cuddle [R-18] Chapter 99: All girls want is to be warm and cuddle [R-18] Chapter 99: All girls want is to be warm and cuddle [R-18] basta kingdom - Grand Line ¡°Princess! Please get down from the nest! It¡¯s dangerous! It¡¯s not the behavior a member of royalty should have!¡± Yelled Ingaram at the sight of Vivi behaving like a kid. ¡°There is no need to worry Ingaram, Princess Vivi is just excited to set sail again after all this time. Perhaps it is some remnant of her time as a pirate.¡± replied Pell, jesting. ¡°SHHHHH! If the people would learn of the Princess'' time with¡­¡± He stopped mid-sentence as he saw Vivi jump from the nest. His eyes left their orbits likeic book characters, and he nearly had a heart attack. Vivinded on the deck as if it was a natural thing to do. ¡°Come on Ingaram, you know the princess is strong, there¡¯s no way she¡¯ll get hurt for such a fall.¡± Chaka said. ¡°I know, but I can¡¯t help it.¡± ¡°That''s because you still see her as the helpless child she was.¡± Vivi got close to her father who was having a fitting cough. ¡°Father, are you alright?¡± ¡°Enough for the journey, Vivi. Though I would feel better If my one and only daughter was married. I wouldn¡¯t worry about her future so much.¡± replied king Cobra. ¡°Guilt tripping me won¡¯t work father. You can bring me all the suitors'' pictures in the world, they would just be thrown away.¡± ¡°Vivi¡­ He¡¯s ¡­¡± ¡°The only man I would ever take as a husband¡¯s father. I knew it ever since I was six and neither my mind or my heart would ever settle for someone else.¡± ¡°Vivi, the world is vast, you don¡¯t know that.¡± protested Cobra, trying to make her see reason ¡°When you know, you know, father.¡± Vivi replied putting an end to their conversation. They had all seen the new wanted poster of Rick, where he was embracing Nico Robin. Vivi was not devastated when she saw the picture, instead she became more determined than ever. She will get to the truth and no matter what, she will not give up. ~~~~~ Sunny - Grand Line - New World The group had left Zou a few days ago and should have been a one man cell, or rather a two man, one woman, one reindeer and one skeleton cell. However there were some additions to the cast. Pedro, a mink, had joined the mission as he knew Big Mom¡¯s territory, having infiltrated it years prior. He was a renowned swordsman among his people and was Wanda¡¯s mentor. Pekom was mink too, working for Big Mom; he had been Pedro¡¯s friend and even set sail as pirate together before joining the emperor. He hade to Zou to retrieve Sanji for the wedding but was captured during the operation. Thest addition was¡­ Unforeseen. Carrot had sneaked in on Sunny because she wanted to retrieve Sanji and because she wanted to leave Zou and go on an adventure. It was toote now to bring her back so they stayed focused on the mission. The bunny mink manifested her joy at the fact she could stay by biting every single member of the crew, except one. When she had bit everyone she stop at Rick, giving him a murderous galre. ¡°She¡¯s clearly not over that ¡® choke to death Wanda¡¯ thing. Meh it¡¯s fine, I¡¯m not getting bit, so I consider it a win.¡± ¡°Hey! The newspaper has arrived!¡± Yelled Pedro from the top of the mast. Getting down he shared the important news. ¡°The Revolution Army¡¯s Headquarters has been found.¡± ¡°Which one?¡± Rick asked. ¡°They have more than one?¡± replied Pedro, surprised. ¡°No, the one on Baltigo has been their main one for a long time but with the current events since the war at MarineFord and the announcement from Rayleigh that the One piece did in fact exist; the R.A began to worry and decided to create a second one just in case¡­¡± ¡°Well that was a really good idea; Baltigo had been destroyed.¡± ¡°Who¡¯s that guy next to Sabo?¡± Luffy asked, pointing at the wanted posters. ¡°That¡¯s Dragon.¡± Rick replied before Nami, knowing their captain would not make the connection added: ¡°Your dad.¡± ¡°My Dad ?!¡± eximed Luffy in surprise. ¡°You don¡¯t look like him very much.¡± Chopper said, entering the conversation. ¡°What exactly happened?¡± asked Nami. ¡°It says here that the Marines and Cypher Pol arrived at Baltigo while the ckbeards pirates were already fleeing. It seems The pirates found the HQ andunched an attack against them. No one from the R.A. was captured.¡± replied Pedro reading the article. Suddenly a burnt smell took the nose of everyone present, Luffy jolted and ran towards the kitchen inside. Looking at what was happening everyone could see the Sunny on fire. ¡°You know, I really thought we could leave him unsupervised for five minutes with how much he has matured.¡± announced Rick with a sigh. Luffy got back outside and asked for help when a violent storm began apanied with heavy downpour. ¡°Neat! It will pull out the fire!¡± eximed the captain. He was right, there was so much rain falling that in a minute the fire was extinguished. When Nami raised her hand to try and dissipate the storm, Luffy stopped her. Storms are a fun part of the adventure and he would not have Nami make it boring. The navigator obeyed but wasn¡¯t happy about it. After an hour of this, the weather changed. The temperature dropped so much, rain was reced by snow. Everyone changed into warmer clothes and went into the dining room as it was time for lunch. What Luffy had tried to cook was inedible and when Nami and Rick went to the pantry to take ingredients there was nothing left. The two weeks of food they had packed for the journey was gone. ¡°What happened to the food?!¡± Nami eximed. ¡°Oh that?I made multiple failures while cooking, so I used them all.¡± replied Luffy with a proud smile. ¡°And now we¡¯re going to starve because there is nothing left.¡± said Rick, in a matter of factly tone. Nami didn¡¯t wait to love-punch Luffy. It was perhaps the hardest she went on him. Rick, tired of all this, went back to his room to rest. With Robin not present to help him sleep soundly with her presence alone his anxiety kept him awake. Nami¡¯s had help but not as much. As he wasying on his back under the sheets with his eyes closed he felt his kitten slyther in. ¡°The poor kitten that I am is very cold with this weather, perhaps her master can keep her warm? Meow.¡± she said, tempting him as she straddled him while naked. Nami had been on cloud nine since Robin told her how Rick had reacted for her well being. She always had a small smile ever since. She had waited a fews days, for the rest of the crew to grow bored and to distract themselves to go to him. With Luffy¡¯s blunder and the weather it was the perfect opportunity. Currently the guys were fishing in the cold for some food and were forbidden to do anything else until they had caught one at least. Rick grabbed her and pulled her down to him. He gave her a kiss and opened his eyes. ¡°You¡¯re awfully jovial despite the situation we¡¯re in.¡± ¡°That¡¯s because you love me.¡± Nami replied, giving him her best smile. ¡°That¡¯s nothing new, I said as much back on Fishman ind during our time in the Sea Forest¡± ¡°You love me. You went all horny for me.¡± ¡°I may have¡­¡± he said , trying to be elusive as a tease. That earned him a p on the chest. ¡°You. Did.¡± ¡°I did.¡± he replied, smiling at her and letting his hand roam through her hair. ¡°Now, tell your kitten what¡¯s wrong.¡± she demanded, prompting Rick to raise an eyebrow out of curiosity. ¡°What¡­¡± ¡°Don¡¯t y this game with me. You haven''t been sleeping well since we departed from Zou. Proof is, it¡¯s barely past noon and you¡¯re here trying to sleep. ¡°Didn¡¯t Robin tell you? I thought you shared everything?¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t have much time to talk with her. You were either together or she was nowhere to be seen.¡± she answered with a cute pout. ¡°Back on Dressrosa I met with Big Sis, and Uncle and¡­ well, remember my ex?¡± ¡°The one Garp talked about on Water Seven? The obsessive one?¡± ¡°The only one. She¡¯s the only one I had before Robin.¡± ¡°Really?!¡± Asked Namu surprised. ¡°I know that currently it¡¯s hard to believe, with Robin''s wants, but yes. I mean I had a sex friend at the same time but she was fine with it. Otherwise, Robin is only my second girlfriend and it could be argued that she¡¯s actually the first.¡± ¡°A sex friend,uhh. Who was it?¡± ¡°Big sis.¡± ¡°What?! No way!¡± she eximed, not believing for a second that to be true. ¡°Yes way!¡± ¡°But she¡¯s like¡­ almost sixty now!¡± ¡°So? She has always been a beautiful woman, both inside and out. And I admired her a lot. I still do.¡± ¡°So you slept with bothdies you proposed to. It makes three with Robin, four with Hancock¡­. Should I expect my proposal soon?¡± she teased. ¡°We would need Robin¡¯s permission, you know that. Don¡¯t think you won¡¯t be our kitten anymore if she agrees though.¡± ¡°I hope not. I like being your kitten.¡± she replied while fidgeting with her cor. ¡°I like it too.¡± He lifted up her chin and kissed her lovingly. Once the kiss was over, Nami went back on track. ¡°So about your ex.¡± ¡°Oh, right¡­ Well Remember she left the marines a month after me?¡± ¡°Yes. You seemed surprised at the time.¡± ¡°Because I was. It wasn¡¯t like her at all. She¡¯s a really good marine and a fierce swordswoman with a strong sense of justice. She wouldn¡¯t have left just like that.¡± ¡°Why did she then?¡± ¡°She¡­ was pregnant.¡± Nami¡¯s reaction was immediate, she raised her upper body up with her arms and looked at him in disbelief. ¡°You mean¡­¡± ¡°Somewhere, I have a nearly twelve years old daughter.¡± he stated. ¡°Gosh, no wonder you can¡¯t sleep well. The things you must be thinking about.¡± ¡°Once we got our stupid cook back, I¡¯m leaving to look for her.¡± ¡°Do you have any leads?¡± ¡°Grandpa helped her disappear. He knows where they are.¡± ¡°Why didn¡¯t he tell you two years ago?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know. Either because he forgot which I doubt since we talked about Kaza then or more probably, he didn¡¯t on purpose.¡± ¡°What purpose?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know. But I¡¯ll have the truth out of him.¡± ¡°What about her? I mean what about Kaza? That¡¯s your ex''s name, right?¡± ¡°That¡¯s correct. As for her¡­ well nothing. If she still loves me and I still have feelings for her then I will keep my promise provided she agrees to mine and Robin''s deal.¡± ¡°And If she doesn¡¯t?¡± ¡°I¡¯m not leaving Robin no matter what.¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°What does she think?¡± ¡°She¡¯s¡­ scared. Kaza is¡­ the only one I had been with before her, and with an almost teenage daughter in the mix¡­ She¡¯s afraid to lose me. She won¡¯t of course, she knows that, but there is still this small doubt at the back of her mind.¡± Nami didn¡¯t say anything, she justid back down on his chest, her head turned so she could look sideways while Rick was still stroking her hair in silence. They stayed like that for a while until she shivered. ¡°You really are cold.¡± ¡°Of course I am.¡± ¡°Perhaps, if you weren¡¯t naked¡­¡± ¡°I would be warm with my winter clothes, but I want you to warm me.¡± she said with lust in her eyes. She tried to move down his body but he stopped her. ¡°Nuh-huh. It¡¯s my turn.¡± He changed their position and Nami was trapped underneath him. He kissed her on the lips and briefly used his tongue on hers before stopping. He began to kiss her neck then slowly started his descent towards her throat and lower parts of her body. Reaching her breasts, Nami pushed his head to make greater contact. ¡°You promised the next time you¡¯ll mark me again.¡± she whispered. Rick did what he had promised, and began to leave hickeys all over her tits. They were more numerous and wouldst longer as his suction was stronger. Each one of them made Nami sigh in pleasure when he released from his mouth the part of flesh he was sucking on. With his hands he pushed her breasts together and put both her nipples in his mouth at the same time. He let his tongue do the work while sucking like a baby, until he bit them gently making their owners moan loudly and raising her chest to meet his head more. If it had been Robin he would have bitten hard, but this one Nami and she wasn¡¯t one to enjoy much pain. She pulled his head away when she had enough. ¡°I love it but I want¡­ I need your mouth elsewhere.¡± she said, pushing his head lower. Rick rained kisses all over her stomach and put in tongue in her navel making her giggle a bit at the tickles he was giving her. Done with ying he started back his descent and reached herher lips. Nami spread her legs more than they already were to give him better ess. Diving down suddenly, he went to town quickly, surprising her. She moaned loudly and reflexively put her hands on his head pushing him down while raising her pelvis. She clearly wanted more of what he was doing and he obliged. Using his fingers he put two of them inside her pussy while licking and sucking on her clit. Hearing hering close he used a third finger. Nami put her legs around his head and locked them. Within a minute or two of Rick¡¯s ministrations she came hard all over and inside his mouth as she pushed him further down. She unlocked her legs and let her lover breathe. He rested his chin on his pic mound and made back and forth movement all over her red carpet, looking at her from between her breasts. Nami came back down from her high and did the same. Her eyes locked into each other and Rick just used his tongue to lick around his mouth, making her smile, amused. ¡°You really taste sweet.¡± he said before going back up to give her a taste of herself with a kiss. ¡°Not as good as you and Robin together.¡± ¡°I have no opinion on that.¡± he replied with a neutral tone and a deadpan face. ¡°...¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°Up for more?¡± he asked. ¡°God, yes!¡± He picked her up and put her on all four. ¡°From behind? I guess I¡¯m in for a good¡­¡± she couldn¡¯t finish her sentence as she let out a scream of surprise. Rick had grabbed her ass cheeks in each hand and spread them, giving him a perfect view of his target. For the second time, he dived in but this time, his lipsnded on her asshole. ¡°N-n-no! It won¡¯t fit!¡± she eximed, shaking her ass right and left to make him let go of her butt. ¡°I know, kitten. I¡¯m just beginning your training.¡± he replied, pulling his head out for a bit. ¡°My training?¡± ¡°Your ass is made for fucking Nami. I just can¡¯t pass it up, I don¡¯t have it in me to hold myself back to bury my cock in it to the hilt. My tongue and my fingers are not enough.¡± ¡°But¡­¡± ¡°I¡¯m not taking it today. I¡¯m not insane, I know it would be almost impossible. It will take time but we need no start somewhere. I chose now.¡± To make the experience better he yed with her pussy too. Not too much, as he didn¡¯t want to make her orgasm, at least not yet, but enough to have some natural lubrication. Nami buried her head into the pillow in front of her and raised her ass higher in the air. The reason she did so was because she was embarrassed. What Rick was doing to her was something new, to a ce that wasn¡¯t supposed to be used and treated like that and by god did she enjoy every second of it. She, at the same time, wanted more, hence why she was raising her ass and didn¡¯t want to look like it was the case by muffling her moans into the pillow. Rick had worked diligently to the point where he could put an index inside her asshole and finger it without any problems. Deciding it was enough for today, he gave it ast kiss and straightened up beforeying by Nami¡¯s side. She was still a bit out of it, so he spank her ass lightly making her jump a bit in surprise. ¡°...¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°How was it?¡± ¡°Not¡­ so terrible¡­¡± she confessed. ¡°Trantion: you enjoyed it a lot.¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t! It was an interesting new experience.¡± ¡°You don¡¯t mind if I go at it again but rougher, then?¡± ¡°No!¡± she replied vehemently while putting her hands on her butt, barring any ess. That made himugh and out of embarrassment took the pillow she had used and smothered him with it. Rick defended himself and made her float, turned her around andid her on her back on his chest. He grabbed her tits in his hands and started to y with them as he kissed her neck repeatedly. His cock was hard as steel and in contact with her pussy; he began to move his pelvis up and down to create friction making Nami even more wet than she already was. ¡°Please.¡± she whispered. ¡°Please what?¡± ¡°Please make love to me.¡± Letting go of one of her breasts, he gently grabbed her head and turned it his way to give her anguorous kiss. It was a very messy kiss, each using their tongue to dominate the other, not minding at all if the battle was happening inside one of their mouths or not. They didn¡¯t care about the saliva dripping everywhere. Rick won, when he began to suck hers and stopped fighting. ¡°You got a lot better at kissing.¡± ¡°Thank you. Robin helped a lot with that.¡± Closing her legs tightly together, she began to move them up and down, effectively masturbating him. ¡°You need me that much?¡± ¡°Uh-huh. You yed with my ass for 15 minutes, gave me a very sloppy kiss while ying with my breasts, and rubbing yourself against my pussy. Cherry on the cake is: it¡¯s been more than a month since Fishman ind.¡± Tired of her master teasing her, she grabbed his cock and put it inside herself. Inch by inch she took them all until none was left. She kept lying back to her chest and didn¡¯t move, preferring instead to enjoy the feeling. ¡°I love looking at it.¡± she said with her eyes focused downward. ¡°At what?¡± Rick asked. ¡°You, piercing me.¡± She used her hand to grab the big bugle that had appeared on her pelvic region. ¡°What the¡­¡± eximed Rick, feeling her hand squeezing with his cock, and looking down at what was happening. ¡°Is that¡­¡± ¡°Your cock making a big bump? Yes.¡± ¡°That¡¯s freaky, and awesome at the same time.¡± ¡°You never noticed?¡± ¡°No, I am usually too busy kissing you or a part of your body or I don¡¯t have a view of your front.¡± ¡°I love it.¡± ¡°How¡­ Does it feel? How do you feel?¡± ¡°It¡¯s a very¡­ peculiar feeling. I feel stuffed to the brim. As if¡­ your cock was making itself home but was pushing the walls because the space is too narrow.¡± ¡°The space is perfect as it is.¡± he replied, getting a kiss for that. ¡°Thank you.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not hurting you though, am I?¡± ¡°No, none at all. It feels really good actually. The tip is trying to push open my cervix and reach my womb. Right now it¡¯s alright but when you really let go of the reins¡­¡± ¡°I¡¯m sorry! Goddess why didn¡¯t you tell me?!¡± ¡°Because in the heat of the moment it¡¯s the best of feelings, it¡¯s just¡­ It really hurts afterwards.¡± Nami confessed. ¡°You should have told me.¡± ¡°No, you would have paid more attention to it than to me.¡± ¡°Of course I would have.¡± ¡°And you would have stopped the fun, that¡¯s why I never told you.¡± ¡°Just¡­ just tell me when it¡¯s too much.¡± ¡°I will. Now if you would excuse me I want to try something I always wanted to do.¡± ¡°What is it?¡± Nami ignored him and put her hands on each side of the bump, intertwining her fingers. She squeezed a bit and began to slowly move up and down along the entire length. ¡°Are you¡­ giving me a handjob while I¡¯m inside of you?¡± ¡°Uh-huh, how does it feel?¡± ¡°It¡¯s¡­ so weird but in a good way. Try a bit faster?¡± Nami did as asked and her hands picked up speed. ¡°Oh yes, definitely better! Go Faster!¡± Nami increased the speed again and started to contract her pussy at the same time to make him feel even better. ¡°You little minx! That¡¯s cheating.¡± ¡°Eheheh!¡± Finally she started to move her ass up and down, and maximize his sensation. Her pussy has always been the tightest Rick has ever put in cock in and without proper lubrication moving inside her was difficult and sometimes even painful. He neversted nearly as long with Nami like he usually did, and right now his kitten was as wet and lubricated as can be and doing things he didn¡¯t even know was possible. ¡°Nami! I¡¯m going to¡­¡± ¡°Me too!!¡± He lifted his ass up, at the same time Nami downed hers, while squeezing his cock as hard as she could both with her pussy and with her hands. That did it for Rick who let out a torrent of cum inside of his kitten triggering her own orgasm. Between his tiredness and the dopamine the ex-marine fell into a deep and peaceful slumber. ~~~~~ Rick woke up because of the unsustainable heat. Searching with his arm from Nami, he noticed she wasn¡¯t in bed with him anymore. Getting up he picked up a towel and went to take a quick shower. He was unpleasantly surprised when the cold water turned out to be burning hot. Quickly washing away his activity with Nami, he bolted out back to his room with his skin all red. He dressed up and joined everyone on the deck. The sun was scorching; Nami and Carrot were under a parasol with the guys on the side fishing. He approached his beautiful redhead to hide from the sun. She raised her head and had a small happy smile. ¡°Slept well?¡± ¡°Wonderfully, thank you. How long was I out?¡± he smiled back. ¡°About two hours.¡± ¡°And that heat?¡± ¡°Half an hour.¡± Rick got to her side and began to pat her head before leaning in and whispering in her ear. ¡°I¡¯m sorry to have fallen asleep like that.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t be, I joined you soon after.¡± she whispered back. ¡°I missed you by my side when I woke up.¡± ¡°I couldn¡¯t leave those idiots unsupervised for too long.¡± He held back augh, without her keeping watch they would probably have sunk Sunny. Looking at Nami he noticed she was wearing a bandana around her neck. ¡°How can you wear that around your neck? Isn¡¯t your cor enough?¡± ¡°Who¡¯s fault do you think it is?¡± Nami replied, sending him a murderous re. In front of his confusion, she sighed and moved the cloth a bit, revealing a huge hickey briefly as it was soon covered again. ¡°I¡¯m sorry.¡± he said, feigning shame. ¡°As if that were true.¡± ¡°You¡¯re right, I¡¯m not. I want everyone to know who you belong to. I don¡¯t mind being sneaky but I want to treat you publicly like I treat Robin.¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°Is that so wrong?¡± ¡°...¡± She didn¡¯t have an answer to give, so she stayed silent. Watching his back as he left to see the guys to see how they were doing when Luffy pulled out a big fish. Nami volunteered to do the cooking and went inside to the kitchen to fetch Sanji¡¯s book about fishes. Luffy didn¡¯t want to wait and wanted to take a bite but failed when the fish moved towards Rick who stopped it with his hand. ¡°Rick!¡± eximed the captain clearly not happy and starved. ¡°That fish could be poisonous. Chopper used most of the medicine for the minks and the garden is not ready to produce new medicinal herbs.¡± ¡°So?¡± replied Luffy not seeing the point his vice-captain was trying to make. ¡°If you get poisoned you¡¯ll die because Chopper won¡¯t be able to make an antidote.¡± ¡°Oh!¡± ¡°You would have definitely died!¡± Nami saide back on the deck. She had the book in her hands, opened at the page of the fish. ¡°It¡¯s said here that the fish is called armored stone fish. His skin is so poisonous even a giant would die with simple contact.¡± the redhead red outloud. Lifting her eyes from the book she saw everyone look at Rick in a deathly silence. Her vice-captain was starting to get uneasy. ¡°...Please tell me you didn¡¯t do what their facial expressions say you did.¡± ¡°... As you wish. I didn¡¯t stop Luffy from eating that fish by attracting it to me and catching it with my hand.¡± ¡°¡°¡°¡°....¡±¡±¡±¡±¡± ¡°¡°¡°Rick is going to die!¡±¡±¡± yelled in panicked Luffy, Chopper and Brook. ¡°Just my luck.¡± sighed the posioned. Chapter 100: A study in pink Chapter 100: A study in pink Announcement CHAPTER 100!!! Finally reached the three digits. I wonder how big the number will get. I don''t think it will reach the 200 but who knows. I said it in ament in the previous chapter, but no more snu-snu for a while. At least for one entire arc. Why? well, because I have no need for it for now. Until now, each scenes had more ore less the purpose to get Rick and thedy he''s having snu-snu with, closer in their rtionship. To bring it to another level. Please, rate the story, thank you! Enjoy! Chapter 100: A study in pink ¡°What should we do?!¡± Chopper asked. ¡°You¡¯re the doctor!¡± replied Nami. ¡°How about starting by studying the poison?¡± Rick spoke up while removing his belt using it as a tourniquet on his arm to reduce the blood flow and hopefully slow down the poison¡¯s spread. He removed his coat and rolled up his right sleeve to take a look. The poison was spreading fast as it was already up to half his forearm. It made purple marks on his skin here and there and made his veins visible to the naked eye. ¡°I wonder if armament Haki would work? Since it makes what it''s covering tougher, would it be possible to cover more than skin and on the inside of the body?... In theory yes.. Since armament can cover weapons and destroy things from the inside out, it¡¯s advanced haki and I¡¯m nowhere near that level of mastery.¡± Without any real other viable option Rick began to focus his haki on his right arm. Using his will power to put awyer of haki on blood cells and blood vessels but it was no use his control was nowhere good enough to seed. ¡°There is a ship behind us!¡± Yelled Pedro from the mast. ¡°Yes! With a bit of luck they have an antidote!¡± eximed Nami. ¡°Or what¡¯s needed to make one!¡± replied Chopper. ¡°That¡¯s not good.¡± Pekom said. ¡°It¡¯s the Germa 66!¡± Pedro warned. ¡°Germa 66?¡± asked Luffy. ¡°It¡¯s Sanji¡¯s family.¡± answer Rick. The ship wasn¡¯t really a ship, but some kind of castle put on the back on a gigantic sea-snail. Instead of going its way the snail stopped next to Sunny. A man under a hood was looking at the crew. Suddenly he raised a hand to his mouth and his voice could be heard loudly. ¡°What are you doing here, Straw hat crew?¡± They recognized the face under the hood along with a curly brow they knew so well. ¡°Sanji!¡± yelled Nami. ¡°What luck! He may have an antidote.¡± stated Brook. ¡°Sanji! Rick got poisoned! He¡¯s going to die soon without an antidote. Do you have one on your ship?¡± Chopper asked. ¡°Why¡­ Do you keep calling me Sanji?¡± The hooded man removed his hood, revealing the same face, same curly brows but bright green hair. ¡°You¡¯ve got the wrong guy. My name is Yonji.¡± ¡°But Sanji¡­¡± Began Chopper. ¡°That¡¯s not Sanji Chopper. His hair color is different.¡± Nami said. ¡°And the curls of his brows are on the wrong side.¡± added Rick. ¡°I have no connection to this Sanji you¡¯re speaking of.¡± ¡°¡°LIAR!¡±¡± Nami and Rick eximed, doing a tsukkomi. ¡°San means three and Yon means four! You''re definitely his brother!¡± exined Nami. ¡°Whatever, I saw what I came to see.¡± Turning to his subordinates he ordered them to start sailing. ¡°Sanji! Rick needs an antidote, please!¡± begged Chopper. That was true, despite the tourniquet, the poison had spread almost to Rick¡¯s shoulder. The pain the ex-marine was feeling was excruciating, as if needles made of hot red metal were piercing his arm through and through. ¡°I¡¯m not the type of guy who helps others but you¡¯re piratess right? Why don¡¯t you try to plunder our ship?¡± Yonji replied with an evil smile. ¡°Ok.¡± If Robin had been there she would have had some Jaya¡¯s shback as it was Rick who replied. He raised his left hand up in the air and activated his gravity towards the sky, then next attracted Yonji and caught him in a fierce grip, choking him. ¡°You asked, I obliged.¡± While everyone was stunned by this new development they missed a pink blur jumping from the Germa 66 deck andnded on Sunny. ¡°I apologize for my brother''s behavior. He never answered well in the etiquette lesson.¡± said a beautiful woman with pink hair, and curly brow. ¡°Oh, I¡¯m sorry I didn¡¯t introduce myself. My Name is Vinsmoke Reiju.¡± ¡°So you¡¯re the oldest of the bunch.¡± Rick stated. ¡°That¡¯s correct, may I ask how do you know?¡± ¡°Rei means zero.¡± ¡°Good deduction.¡± replied the big sister with a smile. ¡°Would you kindly release my little brother please?¡± she added. ¡°Sure.¡± Rick let go of Yonji who was currently foaming at the mouth. ¡°Thank you.¡± ¡°Rick, why did you let him go? We could have used him as a hostage against the antidote.¡± asked Nami. ¡°She asked nicely? Besides, in a few seconds they will be the one to ask for our help.¡± Rick grin evilly. ¡°What do you mean?¡± ¡°I am curious to see how that would hap¡­¡± Reiju didn¡¯t finish her sentence as a huge shadow began to cover the area. Looking up, her eyes became as big as saucer when she saw a meteor falling their way. The molten rock hit Germa''s ship and almostpletely destroyed it. Everyone had their jaws on the floor. Luffy was the only one with stars in his eyes though. ¡°Is your curiosity satisfied?¡± Rick had a smirk. ¡°...¡± ¡°Princess Reiju! The huge rock hit the propulsion system! We¡¯re stranded!¡± yelled out one of the Germa¡¯s men. ¡°Can it be fixed?¡± she asked. ¡°Assessment of the damage is being made as we speak princess. But at first nce: days.¡± ¡°...¡± Turning around she looked at Rick. ¡°It seems you were right.¡± ¡°I¡¯m¡­¡± ¡°¡°¡°¡°Always right.¡±¡±¡±¡± replied the rest of the crew in perfect sync. ¡°...¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°Would you be kind enough to allow my brother and I to journey with you to Big Mom¡¯s territory?¡± ¡°Reiju! Are you mad?!¡± protested Yonji which earned him a re from his big sister. ¡°Sure.¡± replied Luffy picking his nose. Nami love punched him so hard his nose got stuck. ¡°Against the antidote, you idiot!¡± she yelled. Rightfully so as the poison had reached Rick¡¯s torso and was his neck. ¡°We ept.¡± ¡°Reiju!¡± protested Yonji, again. ¡°We don¡¯t have days to spare, we¡¯re in a hurry. Besides that¡¯s their loss I was going to save him anyway as a thank you for taking care of Sanji.¡± Reji got closer to Rick and picked his right arm. ¡°What is she gonna do?¡± He was surprised when the Vinsmoke princess brought it to her mouth and began to sucked on it. The suction was so strong that in a few seconds all the poison in his body was gone. ¡°That¡¯s¡­¡± ¡°Awesome! That¡¯s strong lungs you got there, and the suction¡¯s power? Wow, just wow.¡± the ex-marine said, amazed. ¡°Thank you. It¡¯s the result of bioengineering and vast experience on lollipops.¡± she replied with a small smile at the corner of her lips. On the side, Nami¡¯s look darkened, she didn¡¯t like what she was seeing. The other members of the crew just rejoiced Rick wasn¡¯t going to die anymore and concerned themselves with the fish, they were still hungry. ¡°Bioengineering? Is that why you seemed immune to the poison yourself?¡± ¡°Correct. I have to admit I¡¯m surprised. The poison could have killed a giant in seconds, the fact that you¡¯re alive after a few minutes is nothing short of a miracle especially since, from what I could taste, you don¡¯t have any antibodies or any kind of resistance against poison.¡± ¡°My body is perfect, that¡¯s why.¡± Rick replied matter of factly. ¡° And it¡¯s quite literal, since it¡¯s called Perfect Body.¡± ¡°Wait? Taste? You¡¯re able to determine things like that from taste?¡± ¡°Yes, and many more things.¡± ¡°Okay, you got my attention, now you have my curiosity. What can you discern?¡± ¡°With such a short interaction, not much.¡± ¡°Further testing required?¡± ¡°A lot more.¡± replied Reiju, licking her lips. Rick was to enthralled with the science side to notice Reiju was flirting with him and making sexual innudendos. Nami didn¡¯t miss it though and blew up. Getting closer to Rick she grabbed him by the ear and yelled. ¡°There will be no further testing or tasting! You almost died so you¡¯re going back to rest!¡± the redhead said, dragging him back to his room, closing the door loudly. ¡°How shameless can you be?!¡± she yelled, letting go of him ¡°What?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t try to y innocent!¡± ¡°Nami, I don¡¯t understand what you¡¯re saying.¡± ¡°As if! Do you really think I would not catch on to you flirting with her?!¡± ¡°... I was?¡± he asked in surprise? She love-punched him out of frustration. ¡°Letting her brother go because she asked nicely?¡± ¡°She did, a stark contrast with Yonji. And she didn¡¯t seem hostile so why shouldn''t I¡¯ve done it? It¡¯s not like they are a threat. It wasn¡¯t flirting, hardly.¡± ¡°... And what about all sexual innuendos?¡± ¡°What are you talking about?¡± ¡° Strong lungs? Suction power? It doesn¡¯t take a genius to understand you were referring to her breasts!¡± ¡°What?! No! In a matter of seconds she sucked up all the poison, I felt it leaving my body so fast; that¡¯s what I was talking about! She did it in a single breath, anyone else would have needed to do it multiple times.¡± ¡°Riiiight¡­¡± shemented not believing a single word before adding: ¡°What about herment about her experience on Lollipops? Her interest in your body and the wish to have a ¡®lot more¡¯ tasting required? She was licking her lips like Luffy does in front of meat!¡± ¡°You¡¯re reading into it too much. It was a scientific talk focused on biology. I mean, with the modification Vegapunk made I wonder if I could do that too.¡± ¡°That¡¯s not the kind of biology she had in mind!¡± ¡°Nami¡­ really?¡± he asked in a disappointed tone. ¡°Yes, really. I mean she¡¯s pretty, a princess¡­¡± ¡°And Sanji¡¯s sister, which is a big no.¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°...¡± He took her in his arms and she put her own around his body, burying her head in his chest. They stayed that way a few moments before Rick began tough softly. ¡°My kitten is getting all jealous. How cute.¡± ¡°So what if I am?!¡± she replied, raising her head to look at him. ¡°Then you are and that¡¯s it. I don¡¯t understand why though. You didn¡¯t have any problem with Shirahoshi or Hanock.¡± ¡°That¡¯s¡­ not the same thing.¡± ¡°How so?¡± ¡°Shirahoshi¡­ She''s like a cute little mouse. Despite her size, she¡¯s inoffensive.¡± ¡°That¡¯s true, I guess.¡± ¡°Hancock is already in and with Lynda, I can¡¯t do much about it. Fortunately she¡¯s not here.¡± ¡°Then what¡¯s the problem with Reiju then?¡± ¡°I¡­ don¡¯t know. I¡­ I just got mad seeing you interact, I felt¡­put on the sidelines.¡± ¡°I¡¯m sorry to have made you feel that way. I spent so much time with Robin and herck of jealousy that I didn¡¯t think it could be different for you.¡± He confessed then kissed her on her forehead. ¡°I told you, you¡¯ll never be abandoned. You are my kitten now and forever.¡± and kissed her on the lips this time. ¡°You better! Besides, my boobs are bigger than hers¡­¡± ¡°Really? I didn¡¯t notice, I¡¯ll need to take a better loo¡­ Argh!¡± His scream of pain was the result of Nami grabbing his crotch and squeezing hard. ¡°I don¡¯t think so, mister.¡± ¡°I¡­ I was just joking.¡± Nami released him and he immediately tried to scuff away but she was faster. Rick was really scared for his life now as the redhead was looking at him with murder in her eyes. ¡°You¡¯re not leaving this room.¡± ¡°What?¡± The navigator got down on her knees and began to remove his pants. ¡°Not without having me in your mind for the rest of the day.¡± she said and began to work. He had. ~~~~~ A few days had passed since the nex passengers hade on board. Yonji turned out to be a nice jerk, ying Luffy¡¯s games and retelling stories of his travels. He didn¡¯t try to get cocky with Rick around. While not afraid he knew it was outmatched by the vice-captain and since he had this position what was Luffy¡¯s strength as he was higher in the hierarchy. He mostly behaved and Reiju didn¡¯t have to intervene even once. Speaking of the pink princess, she was somewhat a scientist herself as she was knowledgeable about a lot of things, notably the human body and unsurprisingly to Rick, in poison. She was there giving pointers to the reindeer about the effect of the armor stone fish¡¯ poison as Chopper was giving Rick a Check up. ¡°Your healing factor is the same as on Fishman ind. Your cell at thest point of contact with the poison has already healed and the ones on your hands will be done before noon.¡± ¡°That¡¯s an amazing healing rate.¡± Reijumented. ¡°Perfect Body, remember?¡± ¡°I still don¡¯t get how Vegapunk could fix you up.¡± said Chopper absentently looking at the number on his patient test results. That¡¯s why he didn¡¯t notice his mistake. ¡°Vegapunk?¡± Reiju asked, intrigued. Chopper froze while looking at Rick, not knowing what to do. The fact that Rick was an artificial human was knowledge that everyone kept secret. The ability to use two devil fruits was well sought. With Vegapunk working for the World Government, they were probably already aware of how Rick could be¡­ well him. But many countries and kingdoms wanted that knowledge for themselves. The Germa 66 being one of them. The ex-marine sighs and puts his hand on Chopper¡¯s head indicating it was okay. ¡°Two years ago, my body started to deteriorate. I had the chance to meet Vegapunk at the time. In exchange for letting him examine my body to understand why I was still alive and kicking after eating two devil fruits he would find a cure for my condition. It tooks almost two years, but he seeded. Problem is, we don¡¯t know what kind of changes my body has undergone. I always had a very fast healing rate before but now it¡¯s even faster. The fact that I didn¡¯t die on the spot from poisoning is proof of a new change we didn¡¯t know anything about.¡± ¡°That would exin the peculiar taste you have.¡± ¡°What do you mean?¡± Chopper asked. ¡°Rick doesn¡¯t taste like any other humans I extracted poison to.¡± The two scientists turned their heads to look at Rick with wonder. ¡°I¡¯m not going to let you experiment on me.¡± he said, rising from his seat, putting back his shirt and coat on and leaving for the garden. He sat behind his desk and began to study one of the nts he had found on Zou. He was so focused that he didn¡¯t hear the door open and close along the sound of the footsteps that followed. ¡°What are you working on?¡± It took Rick every bit of his self-control to ot jump in fright. In front of his desk was the pink princess herself. ¡°I¡¯m studying this nt. I have never seen it before and I wonder what¡¯s the best nutrients for it, and what use it has.¡± ¡°That¡¯s Hemlock.¡± ¡°You know that nt?¡± ¡°Yes, it¡¯s a rare nt growing in a ce with a lot of humidity and water. Highly poisonous. I don¡¯t know anything else about it though.¡± ¡°Thank you, that will help a lot.¡± replied Rick, noting down what he heard. ¡°Now it¡¯s your turn to help me.¡± ¡°With what?¡± Bending down at the waist and exposing a lot of cleavage, Reiju spoke seductively. ¡°I want to study every inches of you.¡± [ Art by terakinoko : ] (I know the boobs are too big but that''s the only pic I found where she''s in the position I wanted.) ¡°Holy Molly. Nami was right. I thought she was just flirting a bit but this¡­ this is not ying a bit. Dang it if Nami wasn¡¯t jealous and if she wasn¡¯t Sanji¡¯s sister, I would plow her so hard she wouldn¡¯t be able to walk or sit for days.¡± ¡°Reiju, I¡¯m married.¡± Rick said, showing his ring on his left hand. ¡°It doesn¡¯t stop you from sleeping with Nami.¡± the princess replied with a knowing grin, thinking she had won. ¡°I..¡± ¡°Don¡¯t bother denying it. I smelt you on her when she came back from your room the day we met.¡± ¡°As I was going to say¡­ I¡¯m not cheating on my wife with Nami, since she¡¯s the one who pushed me to do so.¡± ¡°So your wife doesn¡¯t mind if you sleep around on her?¡± ¡°She does. Nami is a special case.¡± ¡°She wouldn¡¯t know.¡± ¡°I would, so would Nami.¡± ¡°For the first time, my father is not here to forbid me to interact with a male I found interesting. I will have my fun.¡± Reiju stated with determination. ¡°Not with me.¡± ¡°We¡¯ll see.¡± ¡°Anything else?¡± ¡°Actually, yes. It¡¯s time for lunch, and I would like to talk about the herbs you¡¯re growing. I¡¯d like to improve my knowledge on them, after all a medicine in a dosage too high bes a poison.¡± ¡°... Sure, I don¡¯t mind sharing.¡± Rick rose from his seat and began to make his way towards the dining room with Reiju by his side. They were conversing when they entered the room when the temperature dropped suddenly. Nami was sending an ice cold look at her owner. Rick sat by her side as if nothing happened, which was true, and held her hand under the table, using his thumb to caress it, reassuring her that nothing happened. The red head seemed to rx and lunch went without any trouble. Afterwards, Rick went back to the garden to continue his study. Hemlock wasn¡¯t the only nt he took from Zou after all. He was visited by Nami who locked the door behind her and went to sit on hisp. ¡°Something happened.¡± ¡°Is it your woman''s intuition telling you that?¡± ¡°Yes, now speak.¡± ¡°She was really forward with what she wanted.¡± ¡°And?¡± ¡°And nothing, kitten. Nothing happened.¡± he replied, stroking her hair as she melted in his embrace with the back of her head resting on the crook of his neck. ¡°Nothing at all?¡± ¡°Well, she, I¡¯m quoting here, smelt me on you after you came back from my room the day we met. That¡¯s why she thought I would have had sex with her despite being married.¡± ¡°I would have loved to see her face when you told her that Robin knew about us.¡± ¡°Believe me, you wouldn¡¯t have.¡± ¡°Why?¡± ¡°She understood that, as Robin being okay with me sleeping with anyone. I corrected her of course, but she just pushed harder saying she wouldn¡¯t know.¡± ¡°Seriously, how big of slut is she?¡± ¡°No need for insults. Do I have to remind you who is sneaking into my room and the garden as often as she can to have sex?¡± ¡°I¡¯m marking my territory!¡± ¡°That you do. Goddess, I remember the times when once every few days with me was good enough for you¡­ Jealousy is a really great aphrodisiac.¡± ¡°... That¡¯s true now that I think about it.¡± ¡°I¡¯m so d Robin isn¡¯t like that. I don¡¯t think I could survive the both of you otherwise.¡± ¡°Are youining of too much sex?¡± Nami asked with an eyebrow raised. ¡°No. But I might have stopped holding myself back and really hurt one, if not both, of you.¡± ¡°Wait! You¡¯re holding back?¡± eximed Nami, surprised. ¡°Always.¡± ¡°Even with Robin?¡± ¡°Yes. Twice I let myself free a bit. One was thest time with Hancock, the other was during Robin and I¡¯s wedding night. You know what happened each time. ¡°A BIT?! Robin never screamed like that before! She told me she couldn¡¯t sit without feeling a lot of pain.¡± let out Nami. ¡°She never told me about that!¡± ¡°She didn¡¯t want you to feel guilty and that you probably would not do it again if you knew.¡± ¡°...Robin and I need to have a talk¡­ Anyway, what about you? Are you alright?¡± ¡°I¡¯m fine. My pussy is sore but I¡¯m managing it. It¡¯s out of service today though, it¡¯s not ready for more action.¡± ¡°It¡¯s fine. Cuddling with you is just as satisfying.¡± ¡° Nu-huh-. As long as she¡¯s on the ship, I¡¯m not letting you walk around with a loaded gun.¡± Dered Nami as she removed her top, revealing her beautiful chest. ¡°Nami¡­¡± ¡°Pull it out.¡± ¡°Come on you¡­¡± ¡°PULL. IT. OUT.¡± Rick stopped himself from sighing and did as ordered. He never imagine that one day he wouldn¡¯t be in the mood for any kind of sexual release. Chapter 101: Arrogance is an unhealthy ego in need of repair Chapter 101: Arrogance is an unhealthy ego in need of repair Chapter 101: Arrogance is an unhealthy ego in need of repair After a week and a half of travel with part of Sanji¡¯s family, an ind was in sight. Rick survived Reiju¡¯s forwardness and Nami¡¯s onught. The first was an easy task as he just had to think about Robin when his mind wandered towards the princess or think of what Nami was doing to him. She had been right and never left his thoughtspletely. Thetter was harder as Nami waspletely unhinged. While he loved what she was doing to him, sex for sex wasn¡¯t something he¡¯d like. He needed an emotional connection and while he loved the redhead, their intimate moments weren''t emotionally rewardings nor fulfilling. He didn¡¯t dare share his thoughts on the matter, too scared of what she would do to him, so he just endured. When Pedro warned anyone they would soon arrive onnd he was overjoyed. Yonji and Reiju left the ship, way before it could be properly seen from far away, by using their special shoes and boots allowing them to float in the air. The princess didn¡¯t leave without partially getting what she wanted. She paid a visit to Rick in the garden and caught Nami under the table taking care of him. She joined the redhead and both battled for dominance. Reiju won and got a mouthful, which surprisingly she shared with Nami. She didn¡¯t even bother to clean herself up and when she departed Sunny with her brother, looked at Rick with lust in her eyes, licking what was left of him around her mouth. [Art by mikanberry: ] Naturally Nami was furious, both for losing and for failing to keep the pinkhead away. She dragged Rick to his bedroom and did her best to make him forget her for the few hours they still had before reaching the ind. Before disembarking Rick reminded everyone a few things. ¡°Remember, we¡¯re sneaking in, don¡¯t act like you want, don¡¯t fight, don¡¯t destroy things and don¡¯t get under the authority¡¯s radar.¡± ¡°¡°Okay!!¡±¡± replied Luffy and Chopper. The duo left Sunny and went into town. He sighed at the sight. ¡°How long before they do everything I said to not do?¡± ¡°If theyst more than an hour it¡¯s a miracle.¡± replied Nami. ¡°We better hurry up then.¡± stated Brook. Bad habits die hard. That¡¯s why the first thing Nami and Rick did was visit a clothing store. It was the first time since Water Seven that he had visited one but this was something that had been pending for longer. ¡°It took more than two years but I can finally give you a male opinion on the outfit you¡¯re trying on.¡± ¡°What are you talking about?¡± the redhead asked, picking up clothes from the shelves. ¡°Don¡¯t you remember back on Skypiea? During our camping night, we agreed to go shopping together on the next ind. We never did.¡± ¡°... I remember now, I thought you said that just as an excuse for throwing Robin off our conversation.¡± ¡°Yes, but I did want to go with you.¡± ¡°Here we are, happy?¡± Her tone indicated that she was still mad about what happened with Reiju but at least she wasn¡¯t aggressive about it. Rick sighed and just carried the mountain on clothes Nami gave him. Outfit after outfit, the ex-marine gave his honest opinion, however she didn¡¯t spare him a nce and acted as if she didn¡¯t hear him. ¡°Yeaaah¡­ She¡¯s really mad this time. But what was I supposed to do? Stopping a cat fight while the cats have my dick in hands and in mouths is the quickest way for a sex change.¡± She exited the changing room and looked at herself in the mirror. She was wearing a cute topced around her neck and leaving the shoulders bare, with shorts. Every outfit she had tried did show any cleavage for the simple reason that Rick¡¯s marks were all over it. So she focused on clothes hiding as much as possible of the area. ¡°Oh! I like this one. It reminds me of Skypiea again, you were really beautiful with your pigtails.¡± She ignored him once again and went back into the changing room, pulling back the curtain. Rick had had enough of his kitten attitude and joined her in the cabin. He didn¡¯t let her have the time to say or do anything, that he pinned her, her back against the wall, and kissed her hard. She tried to fight for a moment, to make him let go of her, but gradually gave up and got into it. When he stopped the kiss he looked her in the eyes. ¡°I love you. You¡¯re my kitten. Mine. And I¡¯m your owner. I will not tolerate that attitude towards me when it¡¯s not deserved. She¡¯s gone. The threat you perceived is gone. You did your best and protected what¡¯s yours sessfully. Was it perfect? No, but you seeded. There is no need for you to be mad, whether at me or yourself because she failed thanks to you. Now I¡¯m leaving this store to get some fresh air, and I hope you¡¯ll be in a better mood when you join me outside, because just like I don¡¯t like being at odds with Robin, I don¡¯t like being at odds with you. I learned my lesson with her; to not let my thoughts and feelings fester and to share them which I just did. It¡¯s up to you to make your move and go forward together with me or be stuck on it alone.¡± His speech done, he pped her ass not too hard and exited the cabin and the store. He looked around and wondered how the people living here could be so happy with Big Mom around. When he saw a group of soldiers running past him, he just knew that soon they would have to run. He looked at the direction they were going and was ready to move when he felt a hand shyly grab his from behind. He didn¡¯t turn around. ¡°I¡¯m sorry.¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°I don¡¯t want us to be fighting either. I was just so mad that she did whatever she wanted regardless of others¡¯... my feelings. Mad that I couldn¡¯tpletely stop her and most of all¡­¡± ¡°Most of all?¡± ¡°Mad that I enjoyed fighting with her over you, mad that she was the better woman.¡± ¡°Now, that¡¯s simply not...¡± ¡°That¡¯s not what I¡¯m talking about. She won and shared, I wouldn¡¯t have.¡± ¡°You would have shared it with Robin. And Shirahoshi, and probably Hancock too.¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°You would have shared because you don¡¯t feel threatened by them, and or love them, because two of them you know, the third agreed to the deal. You have me because you are the better woman Nami, she isn¡¯t.¡± He intertwined his fingers with hers and turned around to look at Nami. She was wearing a nice white and red dress which would normally have shown a lot of cleavage but her chest was covered with a silk top. What he noticed the most was her hair. Despite them being longer shebed them into two pigtails, simr to the ones she had on Skypiea and he referred to earlier. It was obvious she made them on purpose though he didn¡¯t know if it was some sort of apology or if she genuinely wanted to make him happy. It didn¡¯t matter, he loved it but didn¡¯tment on it. She was looking at the ground so he lifted her head by putting his hand under her chin and gave her a very loving kiss. ¡°You¡¯re both cute and beautiful like that. I don¡¯t think even Shirahoshi could pull that off.¡± She rolled her eyes but had a very satisfied smile at the corners of her lips. ¡°I hope you¡¯re ready to run.¡± ¡°... What did they do?¡± asked Nami, frowning. ¡°I don¡¯t know. If I had to bet, I¡¯d say they ate a building because they were hungry. In any case I saw soldiers rushing that way, so I guess it¡¯s our destination.¡± They began to walk when Rick stopped in his tracks. ¡°What is it?¡± his kitten asked. ¡°I almost forgot to tell you something.¡± ¡°What?¡± ¡°That week and half of sex? I didn¡¯t like it.¡± ¡°W-What?¡± was the only answer she gave, too shock to formte another. ¡°I mean the sex was great, don¡¯t get me wrong. But that was all it was. Sex for Sex.¡± ¡°I¡­ don¡¯t get it.¡± ¡°Nami when I have sex with you, or Robin or anyone else, it¡¯s because I want more than just physical satisfaction. I want to connect on an emotional level. When I have sex with you it¡¯s to show you how much I love you, not just to ring your bell or mine. If that was the case, I would have frequented every hooker on every ind we visited.¡± ¡°... You¡¯re a very strange man. First you¡¯re not interested in being allowed to sleep with others beside Robin, now you don¡¯t want sex?¡± ¡°Meaningless sex. And What are youining about? That¡¯s because I¡¯m a strange man that you fell in love with me. It¡¯s the same for Robin, Hancock, and Shirahoshi.¡± ¡°Perhaps.¡± They began to walk where Rick had seen the soldiers going. They had no trouble finding their way as people gathered there too. What they found was within their expectations. Rick has been right, Luffy and Chopper had eaten an entire house apparently made of chocte and were looking like balloons ready to pop. They were surrounded by guards and didn¡¯t seem to care one bit while their crimes were listed one after the other. ¡°It¡¯s even worse than I thought.¡± facepalmed Rick. ¡°Look, something is happening.¡± said Nami, hitting him with her elbow. The owner of the caffe their two idiotic crewmates ate had intervened in their favour, making up some lies about hiring Luffy and Chopper to dismantle her business ce. She was really cute and used this advantage against the chief of the soldiers. He was stammering a bit,pletely enchanted by this youngdy and let the two gluttons go. They joined their friends and thanked the cafe''s owner who¡¯s name was Pudding. She invited the group into her home and when she asked for their name, Luffy blew their cover by saying his real name despite Nami having a quick reflex and shutting him up. Remembering who they were, she took a knife and swung it around like the amateur she was. Pedro moved behind her and put his sword under her throat without any problem. After many exnations, It turned out that Pudding¡¯s real name was actually Charlotte Pudding, the 35th of 39 daughters of Big Mom. Furthermore she was the woman Sanji was going to marry. She seems saddened to learn that the group were here to take Sanji back, meaning that he was going along with the marriage against his will. One thing evident was that she was a bit enamored with their cook, listing quite a big number of qualities. If it was an act, Rick couldn¡¯t tell but she had caught the heart of the others except Pedro¡¯s who wanted to tie her up. Rick didn¡¯t openly agree with the mink but didn¡¯t think any less. Pudding was Big Mom¡¯s daughter, leaving her free had high probabilities of causing problems for themter. The most obvious being: telling Big Mom they were here, if she wasn¡¯t already aware. To the shock of everyone Sanji had turned her down saying that he had to get back to the crew despite liking Pudding and her liking him back. Or so she said. Being against forced marriage, the cafe owner gave a map to reach Whole Cake ind, the central ind where Big Mom was living and where the wedding will take ce. It was also there that Sanji would be staying. Their conversation had to be cut short. Soldiers had knocked on the door and were ready to escort Pudding to her mother. The crew said their goodbyes and secretly exited the house by eating the back wall. They bought the food they needed and went back to Sunny. Pekoms was nowhere around, leaving behind a message carved on the ground, telling them to turn back. There was no way they were leaving without Sanji so they set sail immediately as the sun was setting. Thanks to Nami¡¯s skills as a navigator and Pudding¡¯s map the only mishap they had was getting stuck into a gtin sea which became as hard as rock with the cold of the night. Once the getined surrounding Sunny had been melted with fire Rick had no problem making their ship float, without damaging her, until the gtin part of the way was over. Finally, a bit before sunrise, Whole Cake ind was in sight. Two groups were made. The first one would go after Sanji while the other would infiltrate Big Mom¡¯s castle and search for the road poneglyph. The first group was made of Luffy, Nami, Chopper and Carrot, leaving Brook, Pedro and Rick in the second. The vice captain opened Sunny¡¯s channel 3 letting Brook bring out the shark submerge 3, the new version of the submarine Franky had built. Getting inside the vehicle, the trio went under water and secretly made their way toward the ind by going up a deep river. After many hours, and retracing their steps multiple times because of dead ends, the trio arrived at Sweet City, one of the towns around the capital. Parking the Shark submerge 3 in a hidden location they entered the city, trying to find some useful information. That¡¯s how Brook and Rick learned that Jimbei was on the ind and tried to quit Big Mom¡¯s crew. Sneaking around Pedro called out to his twopanions and signal to look inside a building through a window. To their surprise Pudding was there surrounded by servants giving her several dresses to try on. If she was here it means she hadn¡¯t met Sanji again and couldn¡¯t have warned him that his crewmates hade for him. Beside the servants was an officer of Big Mom¡¯s crew that Pedro recognized. He was asked outside by a guard to ry him some information: The strawhat were on the ind. ¡°Well¡­ So much for infiltration.¡± Rick said. ¡°They don¡¯t know yet about the three of us.¡± stated Pedro ¡°But they know where the others are!¡± ¡°Okay, new n. You two keep going on the infiltration mission, Brook do you have paper and a pencil to make a copy of the poneglyph or do you need mine?¡± ¡°I have everything on me already but thank you.¡± ¡°Good. Now I¡¯ll go help the others, either they are walking into a trap and don¡¯t know about it or¡­¡± ¡°They already fell into it and need saving.¡± finished Pedro. ¡°Yes. Good luck!¡± ¡°¡°Good Luck¡±¡± He separated from his friend and got out of town as fast as he could without being suspicious. When he was at least two hundred feet away he floated very high in the sky to have a bird view of the area. As he was doing a 360 he found something interesting. A big figure was running on a in, towards Big Mom¡¯s castle and seemed to being from a forest. Remembering that the soldiers they had spied on talked about some woods his friends were in; Rick decided it was worth a shot to take a closer look. This proved to be the right decision as it was Luffy and Nami atop and giant living and talking tree. ¡°Hey!¡± he called out to them. ¡°¡°Rick!¡±¡± ¡°Are you alright? We were in a town when we heard that you were spotted in some woods.¡± ¡°We¡¯re fine.¡± replied Luffy, clearly exhausted. ¡°No you¡¯re not. You spent hours fighting!¡± ¡°I¡¯m still good to go!¡± ¡°What about Chopper and Carrot?¡± ¡°We got split up in the woods, they were captured into some kind of dimension you can only ess through mirrors.¡± ¡°Hey girl! That¡¯s the Germa 66 over there.¡± said the tree. Luffy stretched and sent himself flying towards the big carousel that looked to be a hundred feet away. Catching himself against one the vehicle side he seemed to talk with Sanji before being violently sent backwards. ¡°What the hell? Did Sanji...¡± wondered Rick. ¡°Sanji! What was that for?!¡± yelled Nami. ¡°Get lost you miserable inferior pirates! My name is Vinsmoke Sanji and I am a prince of Germa Kingdom. Forgive me for hiding¡­¡± ¡°Hey! Reiju! Yonji! How are you doing?.¡± yelled Rick, cutting his friend''s little speech. ¡°Still a sore throat Yonji?¡± he added. ¡°Straw hat Luffy is inconsequential but Wal D Rick isn¡¯t. Reiju, Yonji, how do you know him?¡± asked Vinsmoke Judge. Yonji kept quiet, too embarrassed to tell the tale and Reiju didn¡¯t want to answer. That prompted the head of the Vinsmoke family to order her to talk. ¡°Father, during our journey here we met with them on sea. Wal D Rick has been poisoned by an armor stone fish, when they asked Yonji for help he refused, naturally, and dared them toe on board and plunder. That man was fine with it and caught Yonji by the throat and started to choke him to unconsciousness. At the same time, he made a meteor fall from the sky hitting our ship''s propulsion system. The damage would have taken days to repair so to not gette we negotiated a deal. They took both Yonji and me as passengers and we helped him remove the poison.¡± Hearing that his little brother had been defeated so miserably, Niji, the second son with blue hairughed at him. ¡°You got defeated by this weakling? That¡¯s hrious! Here, let me show you how it¡¯s done.¡± he dered and rushed toward Rick, thinking one good kick would be enough. He didn¡¯t have time to be surprised when a sh of gravity hit him right in the chest and sent him half a kilometer away right into Big Mom¡¯s castle. ¡°Sorry not sorry!¡± yelled Rick holding Ryusei in his hand. It has been sometime since he had used it. Thriller Bark to be specific. Back on Dressrosa he didn¡¯t have his head straight and didn¡¯t think of taking her with him. ¡°I didn¡¯t think armament haki would be so powerful in concentrating gravity into Ryusei. I wonder if it would be easier and safer to create a ck hole at her tip.¡± On the Germa¡¯s side Yonji wasughing his ass off. He may have been defeated easily but at least he didn¡¯t brag about it before. This humiliation would follow Niji forever. ¡°So this is the strength of the man who with the power of two devil fruits and who, alone, stopped the war at MarineFord two years ago.¡± Judge said out loud, pensive. ¡°From what I learned during my time on their ship, his body recently underwent modification from Vegapunk himself.¡± ¡°Vegapunk?!¡± Eximed her father. ¡°Yes. They are not aware yet of every enhancement Vegapunk did but they are certain of his regenerative abilities. In a matter of days he healedpletely from the effect of the armor stone fish¡¯s poison. The simple fact he survived several minutes is proof enough though. ¡°That¡¯s true¡­Anything else?¡± ¡°Aside from his monstrous natural physical abilities, which existed before Vegapunk enhanced him, his intelligence is in a ss on its own. ¡°I heard from one of our spies in the navy a rumor. That former Fleet admiral Sengoku himself trained him in strategy when he was a kid, mentoring him to perhaps one day make him his sessor.¡± ¡° I wouldn¡¯t be surprised if that were true. He¡¯s really talented in reading people''s way of thinking and adapting ordingly.¡± ¡°Reiju¡­ I want his gic factor.¡± ¡°Father?¡± ¡°The best option would be to have him marry into our family. Finally a man with good enough genes to marry you to.¡± ¡°Do whatever you need to get it.¡± ¡°But father¡­¡± ¡°It¡¯s an order Reiju. Do what I tell you, not now though, we¡¯re going to bete at his rate.¡± While this conversation between father and daughter was taking ce, Sanji and Luffy fought. To be more specific it was a one sided fight. Sanji beat up his captain who didn¡¯t bother to defend himself, refusing to fight his friend. Nami begged Sanji to stop, until she said they would leave, but Luffy was clear, he wasn¡¯t leaving without his friend, promising to not move from that spot and to not eat anything unless Sanji had cooked it and brought it himself. As Sanji went back into the carousel and departed, in a desperate attempt Luffy asked him toe back because without his help he couldn¡¯t be the pirate king. ~~~~~ Just as he had promised, Luffy didn¡¯t move from his spot, lying on his back. .¡±Are you really going to wait here?¡± Nami asked. ¡°I¡¯m waiting.¡± replied her captain. ¡°If you do that enemies wille.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t care, Sanji wille! I know it!¡± The redhead was about to try again to change his mind when dark clouds surrounding the mountain the castle was in, started producing shes of light and a lot of rumbling. When the giant tree began to shake Nami asked. ¡°What¡¯s the matter? What¡¯s happening?¡± ¡°Big Mom is in a tremendous rage.¡± replied the tree, while stuttering in fright. ¡°Are you saying Big Mom has so much power she can control the weather?¡± ¡°She ate the Soru Soru no mi. She can infuse life in almost everything like a fire or a thunder cloud.¡± That information frightened Nami even more than she already was. ¡°So what?¡± Rick said. ¡°Nothing impressive, she¡¯s just using the weather. Remind me again who ate the Tenki Tenki no mi? The devil fruit who gives the person who ate it control over the weather?¡± ¡°...Me.¡± Nami replied, looking at the ground. ¡°But I can¡¯t¡­¡± ¡°You can! Nami you have a gift no one else has. You can read the weather like no one can and with the tenki Tenki no mi abilities you can control it like no one else could. Do not sell yourself short, have faith in what you can do and what you¡¯re the best in the world. Big mom may have power, but it¡¯s nothing if she doesn''t have control, if you take control over it.¡± Nami didn¡¯t answer and just stayed silent as Luffy agreed with Rick. She couldn¡¯t see or even imagine herself surpassing Big Mom, one of the four emperors of the seas. She was weak; she knew it. Sure she could deal with the grunts and low level enemies, but the top dog? There was no way she could. She wished she had the confidence her captain and vice captain had in her. Rain began to fall. It was a heavy downpour which was so cold you could feel it to the bones. From far away an army was approaching their position. No doubt Big Mom¡¯s, here to deal with them. ¡°Luffy! We need to go! We can¡¯t stay here.¡± Nami yelled to be heard over the sound of the rain. ¡°I¡¯m not moving from here. Hide if you want, but I won¡¯t. I¡¯ll take care of them.¡± ¡°You can¡¯t do it alone!¡± ¡°He¡¯s not alone.¡¯ Rick said. ¡°I¡¯m staying too. Luffy you¡¯re too tired to fight, so just sit back down and wait while I deal with them.¡± ¡°No way!¡± ¡°If I¡¯m in trouble you can jump in. Nami it would be safer for you if you leave. I can¡¯t promise I¡¯ll be able to protect you.¡± Luffy rejected Rick''s deal while Nami went quiet again. Every cell in her body was telling her to leave, to find a safe ce. But she didn¡¯t move. Her friends had so much faith in her and here she was thinking of running away. Just like she did every time there is a fight. Just like she did back on Sabaody Archipgo two years ago. She had trained hard, learned an immeasurable amount of knowledge to be able to help and yet she hadn¡¯t really used any of it yet. That simple thought helped her make a decision. ¡°I¡¯m not leaving. Not without you two idiots.¡± ¡°Nami¡­¡± ¡°I¡¯m staying, period!¡± Rick and Luffy looked at each other and smiled. ¡°Okay then. Here¡¯s the battle n. I¡¯m in front dealing with most of them, Luffy you¡¯re behind me taking everyone that I can¡¯t stop. Nami you¡¯re at the back and you deal with everyone else. Is that alright?¡± ¡°Yes!¡± ¡°Let¡¯s kick their ass!¡± ¡°¡°Aye captain!¡±¡± Chapter 102: The more things change, the more they stay the same Chapter 102: The more things change, the more they stay the same Chapter 102: The more things change, the more they stay the same Rick was currently being dragged by Big Mom¡¯s children in Whole Cake ind castle. He didn¡¯t know why he had been separated from Nami and Luffy but since he was being led up, his captors were not putting him in a cell as those are usually underground or at the very least on ground level. They had fought hard, and bravely. The ex-marine rushed into the fray and began to knock out every one he could, sending sh after sh of gravity against his foes. The basic soldiers fell quickly; it was the officers that were the problem. Nami was making lightning rain all around while Luffy took on allers, protecting her. The truth of the matter was, they were too many for them to handle. While Rick focused on the strong opponents, the weaker ones passed behind him, more and more. Though they were weaker it didn¡¯t mean they were weak. The toughest opponent he was dealing with was a very tall tanned woman, belonging to the long leg tribe. Had it been in other circonstances Rick would have loved to take his time to explore those long legs. Her armament haki was stronger than his by miles but bit by bit, his got stronger. Rayleigh had stated during his short training that haki grow stronger and faster with experience. With fighting with a stronger opponent. That was what was happening. In a one on one fight he would have won, probably. But it wasn¡¯t this type of fight. Ultimately the trio lost and Rick was knocked out unconscious by taking a hit he couldn¡¯t dodge or block. He was worried about Luffy and Nami''s well-being but chose to believe they were alive. Thetter for having the Tenki Tenki no mi¡¯s powers. Both because they could be used as hostages to get to Robin and her ability to read poneglyph. After all, if Big Mom had a road Poneglyph it wasn¡¯t just to disy it like a painting in a museum. She wanted to be the pirate king and she needed Robin for that. After being dragged for what seemed an eternity, Rick was brought in front of a giant door. One of his captors opened it and they went inside. To his surprise he had been brought up in front of Big Mom. She was impressive, he could feel her powerful presence from feet away. ¡°Mama, we brought him.¡± said the tall and tanned woman. ¡°Good work Smoothie.I¡¯m surprised it took you so long.¡± The emperor said. ¡°He¡¯s strong, Mama.¡± ¡°He defeated almost by himself a third of the army.¡± stated another tall woman with a very slender build. She had long blue hair, almost azur, and was sporting a very big hat. What was peculiar with her was her long neck. ¡°Is there a long neck tribe?¡± ¡°That must have been one hell of a fight then. Who captured him?¡± ¡°I kept him upied while Amande knocked him unconscious from behind.¡± Turning to the unnamed tall woman, Big Mom congratted her too. Rick had had enough; he had questions and wanted answers. ¡°Why am I here? Where are my crewmates? Lastly, Are all your daughters named after food?¡± Both Smoothie and Amande reacted to his rudeness by pushing him on his knees while Big Mom justughed. ¡°Feisty!¡± the emperor said. ¡°Yes, all my children are named after food. They bear the names of what I love the most. Your friends are in a cell somewhere, can¡¯t let them roam freely in my territory, that wouldn¡¯t do. As for why you are here¡­ I wished for it.¡± ¡°What do you want from me then?¡± ¡°Straight to the heart of the matter, I see. Good. What I want is for you to join my crew. ¡°...¡± ¡°Okay¡­ I didn¡¯t see thating. Why would she want me as a subordinate? Is it for my abilities, my notoriety or¡­¡± ¡°Okay.¡± ¡°There are plenty of advantages and privile¡­. What?¡± His simple answer, one of agreement, threw her off. She had expected him to refuse and had prepared a little speech, listing all he could get by joining her. That was unexpected of her as she was more the type of ¡®you do what I want or you die¡¯. But Rick wasn¡¯t the end goal and she needed him to join her willingly rather than out of fear. That he would turn her down didn¡¯t even cross her mind. She was Big Mom after all. ¡°Okay, I¡¯m joining you.¡± ¡°Just like that?¡± she asked in surprise. ¡°Not just like that. I¡¯m guessing you were about to tell me you could give me everything I wanted, riches, men¡­¡± Looking at both Smoothie and Amande he finished his sentence. ¡°Women¡­ I¡¯ll take them all.¡± Big Mom had rm bells ringing all over her mind. Something was not right. ¡°You¡¯ll andonned your crew to join me¡­ just for¡­¡± ¡°No. I mean what you¡¯re offering me, I don¡¯t really need it. It won¡¯t mind having a taste of some food though.¡± he said looking again at the emperor¡¯s daughters. ¡°What I need is for me to know, but it¡¯s something that my captain and crew can¡¯t give me.¡± ¡°You¡¯re jumping ship rather quickly. Are you already thinking of betraying me?¡± ¡°I¡¯m not. It wouldn¡¯t be in my best interest. I joined my crew to search for a dream. I found one and I realized they couldn¡¯t help me achieve it. On the other hand you can.¡± ¡°And what is your dream?¡± ¡°To have or make a big and strong family.¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°That¡¯s¡­¡± ¡°Not what you expected?¡± ¡°No.¡± ¡°I¡¯m an orphan, I just want what I never had, family ties, blood ties.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t believe a single word of what you¡¯re saying. You wouldn¡¯t have fought as hard as you did for your crewmates if that were true.¡± Smoothie stated from his side. ¡°I¡¯m loyal and diligent. My captain ordered me to fight his enemies, I did. End of story. Now I don¡¯t understand why you¡¯re against me joining when you are the one who wants me to join to begin with.¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°You are an interesting man.¡± Big Mom said with a serious face. ¡°I¡¯d say I¡¯m just ordinary. I want something and I¡¯m ready to do everything to get it.¡± ¡°A family umm¡­ Well I can give you that for sure. How about Smoothie or Amande as a wife?¡± Amande was about to protest when Smoothie elbowed her. ¡°Why not both?¡± ¡°You want two of my daughters? Aren¡¯t you greedy?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll take as many as you¡¯re ready to give me. I want my family to be big after all. However I currently have my sights on a pinkhead princess¡­¡± ¡°The Vinsmoke girl?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°... That won¡¯t be a problem.¡± ¡°Then I guess we have a deal.¡± ¡°Oh we certainly have.¡± Big Mom replied as she reached for him with her hand. When nothing happened she was surprised. ¡°I died twice and came back each time. I¡¯m not afraid of death, and if I¡¯m not afraid of death, I¡¯m certainly not afraid of you.¡± ¡°Truly interesting. I can count on one hand the people not afraid of me. Well, two hands now, I guess. Wee into my crew. Guard will escort you to your temporary quarters. They¡¯ll keep an eye on you and your seastone cuffs will be reced by seastone bracelets. You understand don¡¯t you.¡± ¡°Of course, I need to earn your trust first.¡± Being led out of the room, he sprouted an ear on the ground next to the emperor. A talk was going to happen and he wanted to know what it was about. ~~~~~ ¡°Mama! Do I have to marry him? I mean if you wish for it I would do it of course but¡­¡± ¡°No, there is no need, Amande. At least not now.¡± ¡°That¡¯s too bad he¡¯s rather handsome.¡± ¡°Interested in him Smoothie? Perhaps I should really go with that idea.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know about marriage but I wouldn¡¯t mind trying him a few times.¡± ¡° Mama, why recruit him? And like that?¡± ¡°Did you see his wanted poster?¡± ¡°Can¡¯t say I have. I don¡¯t even know who he is.¡± replied Amande. ¡°Sister, he¡¯s Wal D Rick.¡± ¡°The man who defied the Celestial Dragons? The one who put an end to the war at Marineford alone?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± answered Smoothie. ¡°How? He barely held his ground against you! How could he fight the entire navy by himself then?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know. I did notice he was getting stronger at an rming rate during our fight though. His armament haki was definitely getting better.¡± Big Mom listened with interest to her daughter''s talk. Maybe she could use him for other things after using him for her goal? ¡°His wanted poster is a picture of him and Nico Robin. They are clearly together. Didn¡¯t you see the ring on his ring finger?¡± ¡°Ha! So by recruiting him you hope to recruit her as well. She¡¯s your real objective.¡± Smoothie said. ¡°Yes. I can¡¯t get to Laugh Tale without her reading the road Poneglyphs.¡± ¡°Why present us as brides if he¡¯s already married then?¡± asked Amande. Big Mom sighed. Amande was his third daughter and despite her 47 years of life she was never interesting in the opposite sex. Or any sex. She couldn¡¯tprehend what people wanted. ¡°There are two things that men want the most in the world. Money and Sex. And since he wants a really big family, he clearly wants and needs thetter.¡± ¡°If what he said is true.¡±mented Smoothie. ¡°Regardless, he kept looking at your legs Smoothie and your neck Amande, so he¡¯s at least interested in the sex part.¡± ¡°There is the Vinsmoke princess too.¡± ¡°Yes her¡­ We might have to change our n a bit for her.¡± ¡°Wouldn¡¯t that cause a problem?¡± asked Smoothie. ¡°Perhaps, we¡¯ll see when we get there.¡± ¡°Once we have Nico Robin, what do we do with him?¡± asked Amande. ¡°We¡¯re keeping him. He has two devil fruit abilities, powerful ones at that. Even without those fruits¡¯ powers, he¡¯s dangerous. ¡°How so?¡± ¡°Vinsmoke Judge wants him in his family for his gic material. That¡¯s not something to be taken lightly. It shows how much potential he has, and his descendants could have.¡± ~~~~~ ¡°It¡¯s just as I thought. They want Robin. Not gonna happen anytime soon though.¡± As he was escorted by guard to his room he sprouted eyes on the wall, and just like did on Thriller Bark and Ryugu Pce, kept on sprouting them all over the ce. That was a better surveince system than cameras. Once he had wondered how could his brain deal with all the information but considering some animals like spiders had up to eight eyes and a brain smaller than a peanuts, he didn¡¯t ponder longer on the subject. One of his eyes had caught something interesting, Reiju was being led to her room on a stretcher. She was wounded on her legs as blood was flowing. ¡°I would like to visit the princess Vinsmoke Reiju.¡± ¡°It¡¯s a bitte sir.¡± replied one of the guards. ¡°But it¡¯s on our way to your room so there is no problem.¡± replied the other. The castle was big and it took time to reach Reiju¡¯s room. Rick entered the room silently, knowing Reiju was sleeping as he had sprouted an eye into the ce when the guards opened the door. That¡¯s why he wasn¡¯t surprised at Sanji being here as well. ¡°What are you doing here?!¡± ¡°Shhh! Reiju is sleeping, lower your voice down.¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°And to answer your question¡­ Well you¡¯re pulling a Robin so¡­ I don¡¯t see why I couldn''t too.¡± ¡°Pulling a Robin?¡± Rick couldn¡¯t openly talk as the guards escorted him, were in the room, watching his every move and listening to every word he said. ¡°I joined the Straw hats to find a dream, Sanji. I found one so there is no reason for me to stay either in the crew.¡± He announced ying in the open view of his friend with his wedding ring. ¡°I jumped ship so to speak, and decided to ept Big Mom¡¯s offer.¡± ¡°What offer?¡± Asked Sanji, not liking what he was hearing. ¡°Joining her crew. Honestly, it feels nostalgic of Water Seven, this whole situation.¡± Sanji kept his insult for himself when he heard the name Water Seven. He understood instantly what Rick was trying to tell him without being explicit about it. Back then his vice-captain yed a dangerous game, making everyone believe he was on the enemy¡¯s side so he could save Robin. But he wasn¡¯t Robin, and the situation was different. More people than just the crew were involved. ¡°There is nothing nostalgic about Water Seven. Now why are you here?¡± ¡°Well¡­¡± ¡°That¡¯s no way to talk to your future brother-inw.¡± said Reiju who apparently had woken up. ¡°Reiju!¡± ¡°WHAT?!¡± Rick was relieved to see Reiju up, and that her wound wasn¡¯t serious while Sanji was beside himself at what she had just said. ¡°He¡¯s married!¡± ¡°So? There are plenty of ways to end a marriage.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t you darey a finger on Robin! And you! Don¡¯t you have anything to say?¡± ¡°Not really? I mean if marrying Reiju helps me achieve my dream¡­¡± ¡°What about Robin? Your current wife? You know the woman you married a bit more than two months ago?¡± Sanji asked, grabbing Rick by the cor. ¡°She¡¯s the one person I love the most. But she¡¯s not as important as my dream.¡± That hurt him to say and hear it. Robin was his everything after all. He was ready to give up on his daughter for her. Sanji looked him in the eyes, and saw what he thought he would find. Sadness. He was clearly missing something here. He understood that Rick was ying his own game, like he always did. But leaving Robin? That wasn¡¯t something he would do. Yet, here he was, saying otherwise. Why would Reiju marry Rick? And why would he ept? Knowing Rick, it was probably to get something but Reiju? He would have to ask her about it. Rick was his friend and there was no way he would let his former family use him one way or another. ¡°Anyway, I think I intruded enough. I just came to see how you were doing Reiju, so goodnight.¡± Rick said leaving the room but not before sprouting an ear on the ceiling. ~~~~~ ¡°What¡¯s the deal?¡± the cook asked his sister. ¡°What deal?¡± ¡°You and Rick, getting married.¡± ¡°It¡¯s father¡¯s order.¡± ¡°You don¡¯t have to listen to him, Reiju.¡± ¡°I wish I could.¡± ¡°What do you mean?¡± ¡°Unlike you and our brothers I wasn¡¯t gically modified in our mother¡¯s womb. I got augmentationster. One of those was total obedience to father. I can''t disobey him.¡± ¡°Why does he want you to marry him?¡± ¡°He just wants your friend''s gic material. Marriage would be the best option. Rick would enter the Vinsmoke family, and I could bear strong children for the family. It¡¯s the only option actually, as he dealt with Niji and Yonji so easily. There is no one in the Germa that could subdue him or if there is the loss would be too great. On the other hand a marriage would give him a lot. Status, power, riches¡­. He would not be wanted anymore by the World Government, father could make sure of that.¡± ¡°So basically Father would rece you with Rick and turn you into a baby factory?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Reiju replied with a neutral face and a neutral tone. ¡°Stop acting like you do not care about it!¡± ¡°I don¡¯t. What would be the point of caring when I don¡¯t have a choice in the matter? At least he¡¯s handsome.¡± Rick sighed. Ever since he went back to the Vinsmoke it was one thing after the others. None of them he liked. It didn¡¯t matter though as there was a more urgent issue. ¡°Reiju, I have something to tell you.¡± ~~~~~ Rick walked to his room as he was listening to Sanji and Reiju talking. He was enraged that their Father would treat her like a ve. It was even worse than the celestial dragon. She may not wear an explosive cor but she was chained nheless by bigger shackles. ¡°That¡¯s it. I¡¯m taking this asshole down and freeing her.¡± Rick had been surprised at Reiju''s cold attitude when they had met earlier in the day. She was cheerful in her room but he could easily discern it was fake. She was so different from the woman who was trying to seduce him back on Sunny. A woman who was fun to talk to and very smart. And absolutely gorgeous and talented with her mouth and tongue, but that was not the point here. He liked her, she was a good friend. What worried him was the part about the assassination of the Vinsmoke family during the wedding. He didn¡¯t care about it, except for Sanji¡¯s and Reiju''s life. He needed to be present and he just had the idea as to how. Sitting at the desk against a wall, he took from his pocket the papers and pencil he had prepared to copy the poneglyphs, his eyes having found them. Yes, them. Big Mom had other poneglyphs than just the road one. ¡°Robin is definitely going to reward me for that.¡± He began to transcribe what he was seeing one one of his eyes caught Nami¡¯s red hair. Immediately sprouting an eye, ear and mouth on her, just as she was entering a mirror. ¡°Nami!¡± That surprised her so much to hear his voice that she jumped out of fright. ¡°I sprouted my mouth on you along with an eye and an ear.¡± ¡°When?¡± ¡°Just before you entered the mirror.¡± ¡°You¡¯re here then?¡± ¡°No, I¡¯m somewhere else, but I spread my eyes all over the walls of the castle, I¡¯m basically my own surveince system.¡± ¡°That¡¯s amazing!¡± ¡°I know. Anyway, what happened to you and Luffy?¡± ¡°We were put in some kind of cell inside a book page. Don¡¯t ask, I don''t know either. Jimbei came to free us.¡± ¡°Where is Luffy?¡± ¡°Probably on his way back to where we fought.¡± ¡°I figured¡­ Wait, is that Chopper and Carrot with you?¡± ¡°Yes, they had captured the mirror user. That¡¯s where we are actually, the mirror world. Each mirror is an entrance or an exit to this world.¡± ¡°Neat! You can sneak around undetected.¡± ¡°Yes. Now what happened to you?¡± ¡°I was brought in front of Big Mom.¡± ¡°What?! Why?!¡± ¡°She wanted to recruit me.¡± ¡°What for?¡± ¡°I¡¯m handsome?¡± ¡°Yeah I doubt that.¡± ¡°Officially, because I¡¯m strong. Unofficially, it¡¯s not me she wants¡­¡± ¡°Robin?¡± ¡°Robin.¡± ¡°Let me guess, Sanji is Robin and you are you?¡± ¡°Smart kitten!¡± Rick¡¯s mouth smiled. ¡°What¡¯s your n?¡± ¡°Right now? Get myself invited to that wedding.¡± ¡°The wedding! We must stop it! Pudding she¡­¡± ¡°Intent to kill Sanji and the rest of the Vinsmoke.¡± ¡°How do you know?¡± ¡°That¡¯s a long story, but Sanji is aware, he witnessed Pudding confess everything to Reiju.¡± ¡°Why would she do that?¡± ¡°Because she ate the Memo Memo no Mi, she can erase, modify or rece the memories of someone.¡± ¡°She erased Reiju¡¯s, isn¡¯t it?¡± ¡°Yes, but Sanji was outside listening.¡± ¡°We need to stop that wedding.¡± ¡°Or crash it, that¡¯s why I¡¯m about to get an in.¡± ¡°How?¡± ¡°You¡¯re not going to like it¡­¡± ¡°... Reiju?¡± she asked with a frown. ¡°... Yes.¡± She closed her mouth to not swear out loud every word she knew. ¡°I doubt she would be able to do something¡­¡± ¡°Eeeeh¡­¡± ¡°I¡¯m going to like even less what you¡¯re going to say, right?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Nami took a deep breath, preparing herself. ¡°Okay, I¡¯m ready.¡± ¡°Because of what I am, her father wants me in the Vinsmoke family.¡± ¡°OH HELL! NO!¡± she exploded in fury. Chopper and Carrot got so scared they hid behind Jimbei¡¯s imposant body. The fishman had a shback of his time on Amazon Lily and began to sweat. ¡°YOU¡¯RE NOT MARRYING THAT SLUT!¡± ¡°Of course n¡­¡± ¡°IF YOU¡¯RE MARRYING SOMEONE THAT¡¯S ME! NOT HANCOCK, NOT YOUR INSANE EX AND DEFINITELY NOT THAT PINK HAIRED WHORE! ME! OKAY?!¡± ¡°Umm Nam¡­¡± ¡°OKAY?!¡± ¡°Yes! I¡¯ll marry you!¡± ¡°GOOD!¡± she answered, calming herself down. ¡°I-I¡­ I wasn¡¯t marrying her to begin with. I mean, with the news of the engagement to her I would be able to have a ce at the wedding since I¡¯m now a member of Big Mom¡¯s crew, and Sanji¡¯s brother-inw.¡± ¡°I know, I just wanted you to propose to me.¡± ¡°¡°¡°¡°...¡±¡±¡±¡± Everyone¡¯s jaws fell to the ground, Rick included despite not being there. While the beginning of her rant was genuine, the idea of her owner and Reiju marrying was infuriating, in a split second she had let her inner feelings out. Ever since Rick and Robin married she felt a bit left out, despite both reassurance that nothing had changed. She still wanted to be their kitten but she also wanted more. The feeling grew when Rick began to mark her. Not only did she find it extremely hot but she loved it, unlike Arlong¡¯s she wanted those ones. Hisment about wanting to have their rtionship in the open back on Sunny had been in her mind ever since. She wanted that, she really did, but somehow she was afraid of what the others would think of her. The talk they had in that clothing store about moving forward together helped her make her decision to go for it. Not only with him but with Robin too. She wanted to be their kitten wife, yet, at that moment, she couldn¡¯t bring herself to say the words, she was too embarrassed. She wanted him to say them first. Her fast thinking did the job perfectly. ¡°Umm. Nami?¡± called out Chopper in a small voice, still hiding behind Jimbei. ¡°Yes?¡± ¡°What¡­ What about Robin?¡± ¡°Oh Chopper, you don¡¯t have to worry about Robin. You see, Robin, Rick and I, had been together for a long time.¡± She finally said it. She admitted her rtionship with the two people she loved the most right in the open. She admitted that she, a woman, loved another woman, without shame or embarrassment. Why should she? They loved her back and what anyone else thought about it didn¡¯t matter. Embracing her feelings out loud lifted a heavy weight off her shoulders. ¡°The three of you?!¡± ¡°You and Robin?!¡± ¡°Wow!¡± were the answers she got respectively from Chopper, Jimbei and Carrot. ¡°I¡­ I¡¯ve gotta go.¡± replied Rick, making his sprout on the redhead disappear. ¡°He can run all he wants, he¡¯s mine, now.¡± she said, punctuating with an evilugh. ~~~~~ ¡°THAT CROOK! How am I going to exin that to Robin?! I doubt she¡¯ll be against it since she gave her okay for Hancock and under certains conditions Kaza but still. I went and proposed without her okay. Ugh.. that¡¯s forter. For now I must finish copying the Poneglyphs then go back to see Reiju. Wait, I can do both!¡± He sprouted an arm on the desk and gave it the pen. He made an eye appear to look at where the arm was writing and was good to go. ¡°No really, how does the multitasking work here? Does the Me Me no mi enhance the brain allowing the user to do that? Can Robin do it too?¡± He opened the door of his room and immediately one of the guards spoke up. ¡°Where are you going at this time of the night?¡± ¡°To Princess Reiju again I¡¯m afraid. I have an answer to her marriage proposal.¡± ¡°Couldn¡¯t it wait?¡± ¡°No.¡± He didn¡¯t bother to wait for them or to hear any reply they had. Rick made his way to her room and entered, not before asking the guards to stay outside. ¡°Yeah, not happening.¡± said the first guard. ¡°Sir.¡± added the second guard. ¡°Oh! You¡¯re both voyeurs?¡¯ ¡°¡°WHAT?!¡±¡± ¡°Guys, I¡¯m going into the bedroom of ady in the dead of night, what do you think will happen?¡± ¡°I thought you were giving her a reply to the proposal.¡± ¡°That was a polite way to say I¡¯m going to bang from Monday to Sunday my future wife. Now are you going to stay outside or watch like perverts?¡± They chose to stay outside. Smart choice. Entering the room, he found her sitting on the edge of the window, watching the downpour fall and the shes of lightning. ¡°Why are you back?¡± she asked, not looking at him. ¡°Disappointed to see your future husband?¡± making her snort. ¡°It¡¯s not like it matters anyway.¡± ¡°It does. To me at least. You¡¯re a good friend Reiju and I¡¯m not going to let you die in that wedding.¡± ¡°That¡¯s what the Vinsmoke deserve. That¡¯s what I deserve for having so much blood on my hand.¡± ¡°That¡¯s funny, I¡¯m thinking the opposite. I heard what you said to Sanji about your father and his orders. The way I see it? You deserve to live, to really live. To make your own choices, to take your own decisions. You deserve to be free. Free to think and act like you want, to feel what you want. To be free to enjoy and regret things.¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°Where is the real Reiju? The one I got to know on Sunny?¡± ¡°She never existed in the first ce.¡± ¡°That¡¯s a very bad lie. Even Chopper and Luffy, who are as gullible and naive as can be, wouldn¡¯t believe it.¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°Where has the smart, sexy, sensual and aggressive Reiju gone?¡± ¡°Please leave.¡± she said as she grabbed her knees against her chest. ¡°Can¡¯t do. The guards outside think I came for sex. I can¡¯t leave without them hearing some sex noises.¡± he joked but that had no effect on her mood. ¡°Reiju¡­ What do you want?¡± ¡°For you to leave this room.¡± ¡°Enough Reiju! What do you really want? What do you wish for?¡± ¡°...¡± He hugged her from behind, she didn¡¯t even bother to have any kind of responded. ¡°I¡¯ll free you. I promise. If you want to end your life after that, so be it. I won¡¯t stop you.¡± ¡°Why? Why would you do that?¡± ¡°You¡¯re Sanji¡¯s big sister. But mainly because you¡¯re my friend.¡± ¡°We met less than two weeks ago. We barely know each other, how can we be friends?¡± ¡°Because we like hanging out with each other.¡± ¡°You liked it, I was just acting.¡± ¡°No you didn¡¯t. Your father was not there, you were free. Free to be yourself, and you were happy.¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°You¡­ can¡¯t do anything.¡± ¡°You don¡¯t know until you try.¡± ¡°There is no point.¡± ¡°What do you have to lose? You do nothing and you die tomorrow, that''s a fact. You try and maybe you¡¯ll get your freedom, maybe you¡¯ll die. But the chances are better with thetter than the former.¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°What if I get my freedom? What happened after that?¡± ¡°You do whatever you want. If you want to be a ballerina then be a ballerina. Though I have a better idea.¡± ¡°What is it?¡± ¡°Good, she¡¯s interested.¡± ¡°How about a doctor? I mean, you''re knowledgeable in the medical field, you could put that knowledge to good use, like saving people''s lives instead of taking them.¡± ¡°Saving lives instead of taking them¡­¡± she repeated softly, imagining it. ¡°Some kind of redemption for you if you feel guilty, and a big FUCK YOU to your father.¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°You won¡¯t suffer from ack of clients, that''s for sure. With how pretty and hot you are, all the perverts would queue in front of your clinic. They may even hurt themselves on purpose.¡± That joke made her smile a bit. The idea was so ridiculous. For the first time since he entered the room she turned her head and looked at him. ¡°Can you really do it? Can you really set me free of Germa? Of my father.¡± ¡°I died twice and came back. Setting you free is like stealing candy from a kid.¡± ¡°Then please, save me.¡± ¡°I will.¡± She turned her head back to look out the window. And rx her body, leaning against his chest. ¡°What¡¯s your n?¡± ¡°First? Announcing we¡¯re getting married.¡± ¡°What?!¡± ¡°I need to be at the wedding tomorrow. If I was your fiance, I don¡¯t think they would object to it.¡± ¡°That¡¯s true¡­ What then?¡± ¡° Luffy will crash the wedding for sure. There is no way he¡¯s going back without Sanji.¡± ¡°That¡¯s it?¡± ¡°No, but the rest is a surprise.¡± he said There was actually no n but he didn¡¯t lie. Since he doesn¡¯t know what would happen next it would definitely be a surprise. Though he will have to talk with Nami and Luffy to know the n. ¡°Now if you don¡¯t mind, it¡¯s time to make some fake sex noises.¡± ¡°Fake?¡± she turned her head with a devious grin. ¡°Yes, fake. You¡¯re Sanji¡¯s sister. You¡¯re kinda off limits.¡± Reiju didn¡¯t like that answer. If she had to die tomorrow at least she could finally have sex but she respected his choice. Furthermore, if she survived tomorrow and had her freedom, there would be plenty of opportunities to ensnare him. Rick learned two things about her that night. First she really had a beautiful voice. Second, she was really good at faking it. Chapter 103: I only ask to be free. The butterflies are free Chapter 103: I only ask to be free. The butterflies are free

Chapter 103: I only ask to be free. The butterflies are free

Rick was ready. He had bought through the system a really nice outfit and a new coat. ck this time. Reiju had talked to her father about the marriage proposal Rick had made. Vinsmoke Judge was delighted at the news. He was marrying his useless son into one of the emperor¡¯s family, building important ties, and he was marrying his one and only daughter to an outstanding human male modified by his old colleague Vegapunk. Nothing could ruin his good mood. Reiju was wearing white knee socks with a very short pink dress, along the mantle of the Vinsmoke family in a dark pink color. ¡°Oh my! What a view.¡± Rick said when he joined Reiju. ¡°Thank you.¡± the princess replied with a neutral face. He presented his arm to her and she took it. ¡°Nervous?¡± he asked. ¡°No.¡± ¡°You really are a bad liar. But that¡¯s alright.¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°No words of encouragement?¡± ¡°Like what?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know¡­ ¡®Everything will be fine¡¯ ?'''' ¡°Oh, everything will not be fine. Luffy is going to do what he wants, not following the n, then we¡¯ll be in deep shit and somewhat, somehow, we¡¯ll prevail.¡± ¡°That seemed so chaotic.¡± ¡°You get used to it after a few times.¡± ¡°To think you nned on your captain not following the n.¡± ¡°I¡¯m the vice-captain, it¡¯s my job to make sure that everyone is safe and sound at the end of the day. I have to think of every possibility.¡± ¡°That must be tiring.¡± ¡°You have no idea¡­ But at the same time, it¡¯s stimting¡­¡± They walked towards the garden where the ceremony would take ce. The rest of Reiju''s family was already there with Sanji being the exception. ¡°What is he doing here?¡± asked Niji not to be happy to see Rick after his humiliation the day before. ¡°Why? Escorting my fiance to her brother¡¯s wedding of course.¡± ¡°WHAT?!¡± ¡°Did I hit you so hard yesterday that you have a hearing problem now?¡± Turning to his father he asked a simple question. ¡°Father, why?!¡± ¡°Oh that¡¯s easy. You and your brothers are the peak of science. Yet I¡¯m far stronger than you while being an ordinary human. By marrying Reiju I¡¯m bringing an exceptional and superior gic material who will further push forward Germa¡¯s strength and military prowess.¡± Rick replied bluntly, not giving Judge the opportunity to answer. He didn¡¯t stop walking and asked a member of the staff to show them their table. You could say anything about Big Mom¡¯s subordinates but one thing you could not was to call them inefficient. Reiju had talked to her father only two hours ago and they already arranged the table to make a ce for him. Arriving at their table, the first thing he did was to pull back his partner¡¯s chair to let her sit down then push it back in ce. Sitting down next to her closely he whispered some words. ¡°Soon, you¡¯ll be your own master. Are you ready?¡± ¡°... I am.¡± she replied. Putting his hand under the table he grabbed hers. Reiju did her very best to hold herself back. To not squeeze his hands, searching for some kind offort. Soon enough everyone had arrived and were seated. It was no surprise that all the tables around were upied by Big Mom¡¯s children. Once the emperor¡¯s n started they would have no way out, supposedly. The musicians began to y music, signaling the start of the ceremony. From the garden¡¯s entrance Pudding walked in slowly, dressed in a beautiful white dress. Rick had to admit she was really pretty. Not his type though. Her hair was neither ck, pink or red and she didn¡¯t have enough assets but to be fair she was only 16. On the other hand, not many women had the same exceptional growth as Nami. ¡°I wonder how Robin developed over the years¡­ We see her at eight then 28 and one drawing when she was around 16 or 18 but that¡¯s it.¡± Pudding walked down the aisle and joined her groom. The priest did his thing and as expected she pulled out a gun from under her dress and pointed it at Sanji who seemed¡­ shocked? ¡°What is that idiot doing?!¡± Then suddenly she crumbled on her knees crying. That¡¯s when all hell broke loose. The priest tried to shoot Sanji himself but thetter dodged thanks to his observation Haki. That¡¯s the moment Luffy chose to make his own entrance in a very fashioned way. On their side Rick, Reiju and the rest of the Vinsmoke family were held at gunpoint by Big Mom¡¯s children. Judge was confused at first, not understanding what was happening. ¡°What¡¯s the meaning of this?!¡± He asked the emperor. ¡°I¡¯m just taking what I want and what I want is Germa¡¯s technology. I don¡¯t need you so you and your family have to go. Except for your daughter, I have ns for her.¡± Big mom replied and looked at Rick with a meaningful way to which he nodded as a silent reply. Turning his head towards his daughter and her fiance, he asked the question he had. ¡°Why you, Reiju?¡± ¡°Because I asked Big Mom to spare her.¡± replied Rick then continued speaking after a sip of his wine. ¡°I like your daughter, she¡¯s a good friend. I wasn¡¯t about to let her be killed for your failure.¡± ¡°Failure?¡± ¡°Yes failure, of being a good king, of being a good husband and a good father. Look at your sons, they are not even scared of their imminent end. They don¡¯t seem to even care.¡± Judge looked at Ichiji, Niji and Yonji. The three of them were either eating or drinking without a care in the world. ¡°Among the emotions you took away from them was fear. You shouldn¡¯t have done that. Reiju on the other hand she¡¯s just suppressing hers, out of fear, to be treated the way you all treated Sanji. I¡¯m sure that if you didn¡¯t make it so she had to obey your every order she would have gone without leaving a single trace long ago.But she can¡¯t, so instead she¡¯s taking the only way out for her misery.¡± Looking at his daughter, the Judge understood the situation. ¡°You knew?!¡± ¡°I did, father.¡± ¡°Why?! Why didn¡¯t you tell me anything!¡± ¡°Because we deserved it. Germa is nothing but a plight on this world, bringing ruins and leaving nothing but ashes wherever we go. We¡¯re monsters that need to be put down.¡± Reiju exined. The head of the Vinsmoke began to cry as he realized everything he had worked for in his entire life hade to an end. ¡°Goddess that man is such a pathetic cuck. No wonder his wife cheated on him.¡± That was Rick¡¯s theory on the matter. From what he learned from Reiju while they were speakingst night, the Vinsmoke children¡¯s mother had blond hair, the same blond that Sanji inherited. On the other hand the four other children had different colors, not matching any of their parents. While the son''s hair color could have been changed because of the procedures they went through in their mother¡¯s womb, Reiju¡¯s pink was surprising. That was just a theory though, as, from Reiju¡¯s words, their mother was a beautiful, kind and honest woman. Not really the type tomit adultery. But while it put her in a bad light it totally humiliated Judge so Rick chose to believe in that theory of his. ¡°I can save you, you know?¡± ¡°H-how?¡± ¡°Order Reiju to disregard every order you gave her then order her to never take any order from you anymore. Do that and I¡¯m saving your family.¡± That made Mama¡¯s children surrounding them, twitched, but they didn¡¯t do anything for the simple reason that Rick couldn¡¯t do anything. He had the seastone bracelets on his wrists. With his abilities restricted he couldn¡¯t take them all. Besides, the emperor had been very clear about him, they should not touch him unless she said otherwise. In the end they just kept on watching. ¡°The clock is ticking, Judge. 3, 2 ,1¡­¡± Rick was putting pressure on Vinsmoke''s head. Time was wasting and they had a lot of things to do. With the countdown, Judge finally took the deal he was offered. ¡°Okay! Okay! Reiju disregard every order I ever gave you and don¡¯t ever take orders from me anymore.¡± Rick turned to his friend and was surprised at her reaction. She had her eyes closed and was silently shedding tears. He squeezed her hands and for the first time she reacted and squeezed back. Being a man of his word, the ex-marine used his gravity to push away his enemies surrounding him then broke the seastone bracelets. With phase 1 of his n a sess it was time for phase 2. ¡°Enjoy your freedom.¡± he told Reiju before joining the fight which had started. He had spotted Nami, Chopper and Carrot on the other side of the garden and made his way towards them. It was not easy as many of Big Mom¡¯s children were in the way. He didn¡¯t have Ryusei with him, all weapons were left outside, that¡¯s why he went with his fist. He tried to save up his stamina as much as he could as he knew that one way or another he would have to fight strong opponents. The problem with that is that it took more time than necessary to simply dodge and block hits. He wasn¡¯t in time when Smoothie grabbed Nami in her hands. His reaction was immediate. In a sh, Rick was on Smoothie and kicked her hard making her release his kitten who he grabbed in his arms. ¡°You¡¯re all horny for me again. This time I¡¯m witnessing it though.¡± replied Nami with a teasing smirk. He couldn¡¯t hear her, too busy ignoring the screams of destruction and death from the sea devil. ¡°Break their bones! Rip them apart!¡± ¡°Shut up.¡± ¡°KILL THEM ALL!¡± ¡°SHUT UP!¡± ¡°MAKE THEM SCREAM! DO IT!¡± ¡°SHUT THE FUCK UP!¡± He had screamed out loud and surprised Nami and his friends around with his outburst. While Chopper and Carrot didn¡¯t understand what was happening, the redhead did. Taking his face in her hands she spoke up. ¡°You¡¯re not horny anymore.¡± she said with a smile before frowning. ¡°You¡¯re not horny anymore.¡± she repeated, making Rick roll his eyes. ¡°That¡¯s not the time for jokes like that.¡± Nami was about to give a retort when a piercing scream resonated. Turning around, the vice-captain saw Big Mom dazed on the ground. A rocket was fired at her, Rick didn¡¯t know what it had in it but doubted it would work on her. And just as expected the rocket failed to do any damage but seeded in pissing Big Mom off. Nami called out to Rick. ¡°The n failed! We need to go.¡± ¡°Where to?¡± ¡°Go to Bege!¡± ¡°Bege? As in Bege Capone? What is he doing here?¡± ¡°He was a member of Big Mom¡¯s crew. He¡¯s the one that nned the assassination attempt.¡± Rick moved towards the mobster while he listened to Nami telling about the n and Bege¡¯s involvement. When he reached the man, they were shrunk andnded inside of him. ¡°The Shiro Shiro no mi is weird.¡± After him entered Chopper and Carrot, then Sanji and, surprisingly, the Vinsmokes. Luffy and Jimbei were thest one to show up. ¡°The n is a bust.¡± Said Bege who somehow appeared from the floor. ¡°Fucking wierd, indeed.¡± ¡°Then I just have to kick Big Mom¡¯s ass!¡± eximed Luffy. ¡°Luffy, we came here for Sanji, not to fight an emperor. It¡¯s time for us to go.¡± replied Rick. The ce started to shake violently and Bege fell to his knees bleeding. ¡°He¡¯s right, we need to flee. I can¡¯t hold any longer against her.¡± ¡°She won¡¯t just let us go.¡± Nami said. ¡°Bege, if you turn back to your human form I could go out and make you fly. We could escape that way if not for every single enemy out there who¡¯ll probably focus on me. I don¡¯t think I could deal with them all.¡± ¡°We¡¯ll take care of that.¡± That was the voice of Vinsmoke Judge as he began to walk out of Bege, leaving Rick confused. ¡°Rick!¡± Reiju called out. He turned around and grabbed what she had thrown at him. ¡°It was with our raid suits.¡± ¡°Thank you!¡± Being reunited with Ryusei made him feel good and hung her up on his side. ¡°That¡¯s his way of repaying you for saving his life.¡± Sanji said noting theck of understanding from his Vice-Captain about his father¡¯s actions. ¡°Except he already paid the price; I saved his life for Reiju¡¯s freedom.¡± ¡°What?!¡± eximed the cook. ¡°Your big sis is not his ve anymore. She can do whatever she wants.¡± Rick stated with a smile. ¡°...Thank you. Reiju¡­ Reiju was the only one who treated me with an ounce of kindness. She¡¯s the one who helped me escape Germa.¡± ¡°No need for thanks. She¡¯s my friend, I would¡¯ve helped her, sister or not.¡± As Rick made his way to the outside, Nami called out to him with an important question. ¡°What do we do if they can¡¯t protect you?¡± ¡°If worstes to worst¡­ I¡¯ve made preparations for such a scenario.¡± Rick said with a wicked grin. ¡°What kind of preparations?¡± she asked, knowing what this grin meant. ¡°The kind we better not have to use because we may all die, of course. ¡± He exited Bege and made him float. Taking the air with his passenger he tried to leave when he saw Big Mom, using her living fire named Prometheus on the Vinsmoke family. Reiju was busy blocking it the best she could when Big Mom attacked again. In an instant, Luffy, Sanji and Rick, who had let Bege float alone, were countering the hit with their own attacks. ¡°Guys! You said we shouldn¡¯t fight!¡± Luffy said. ¡°¡°You shouldn¡¯t fight!¡±¡± The situation wasn¡¯t good. They were surrounded. ¡°Remember my worste to worst scenario?¡± Rick asked. ¡°Yeah.¡± ¡°Yes, why?¡± asked Sanji ¡°Don¡¯t die.¡± He hoped he wouldn¡¯t have to put his n in motion but he didn¡¯t have any other choice. During the night he had sprouted arms all over the castle and the mountain for his moment. Each of his sprouts used gravity and tore apart the walls. The damage was so extensive that the whole mountain made of candy leaned heavily on one side, making the castle fall. He sprouted hand on Luffy, Sanji, Reiju and the rest of the Vinsmoke and made them float during the fall. Hended himself and everyone else, including Bege at the foot of the mountain and everyone still inside the mobster got expelled. ¡°Are you insane?!¡± yelled Sanji. ¡°You should know by now.¡± replied Rick with a grin, while Luffy wasughing his ass off. ¡°Every man and woman for themselves!¡± Eximed Bege before transforming his body into its tank mode and drove away. The Vinsmoke did the same, with Reiju giving the ex-marine onest look. ¡°...He got the right idea, we should go now!¡± Rick said. ¡°Then what are you waiting for? Make us fly!¡± replied Nami. ¡°I just toppled an entire castle and half the mountain it was standing on, I''m a bit winded right now.¡± Nami wasn¡¯t happy about that so she jumped in Jimbei¡¯s back unlike the others who ran across the in where they fought the day before. They met again with the talking tree and used it as the vehicle. ¡°Prepare yourself, she¡¯s catching up!¡± Rick said. Indeed Big Mom was catching up on her cloud, and fast. In less than a minute she was on them and attacked. The tree dodged but notpletely as a good third of his left side was now gone. ¡°We can¡¯t take any more of those!¡± Sanji said. Rick had a few minutes of rest on the tree¡¯s head so he made everyone float and led them away. Not as fast as he could since he was still tired but fast enough to make some distance bit by bit. The distance created wasn¡¯t sufficient to make them out of reach for another strike. Nami had an idea, she used her sorcerer-rod and sent dozens of small lightning balls towards the cloud Big Mom was riding on. ¡°Is he eating them?¡± Asked Carrot. ¡°Lightning loves lightning.¡± Nami answered. As the emperor was ready to strike again her cloud changed direction to go after the lightning balls Nami kept sending.This resulted in Big Mom falling to the ground. ¡°Yeah!¡± screamed Luffy. With Big Mom on the ground they had a few moments to get farther away. They didn¡¯t expect for her cloud to reach out to them. ¡°Hey! I¡¯m zeus. Um¡­ Can I have more of these lightning clouds? They were really tasty!¡± Nami seemed to have an idea. She promised Zeus to give him those lightning balls every day if he became his servant and he epted. Apparently he didn¡¯t care about his master, only what he was given to eat. ¡°Nami, do you think you could supercharge him?¡± asked Rick. The red head looked at her vice-captain in shock, understanding immediately what he wanted to do. With a smile she gave a simple nod. Raising her hands she started to make a dark cloud in the sky and speed up the process by sending her ck balls in it. It grew so big that he covered more than the entire forest. From there she made it smaller and smaller until its size was small enough for Zeus to eat it. He was delighted, his color changing from white to ck. He expanded exponentially. ¡°Nami, that¡¯s too much!¡± Rick said. ¡°Just get us out of here.¡± she replied. ¡°What is she doing?¡± asked Luffy. His question was ignored as Rick began to push forward everyone faster. ¡°Zeus... Breeeeeeze¡­Tempo.¡± yelled Nami swinging down her sorcerer rod. Zeus was suddenly attracted to the ground and hit Big Mom head on. The electric discharge was so big that three quarters of the woods disappeared. That left everyone with their jaws on the ground, Nami included. ¡°Holy crap!¡± ¡°That was awesome!¡± ¡°Yeah, Big Mom can¡¯t do something like that. You¡¯re definitely the weather queen.¡± The praises made Nami blush but she yed it out. ¡°Of course I¡¯m the weather queen. Nobody knows and controls the weather like I do.¡± Their respite didn¡¯tst as they heard a familiar screaming from under the debris. ¡°WEDDING CAKE!¡± ¡°She¡¯s still alive?!¡± eximed Nami. Big Mom was indeed alive and even more furious and delirious than ever. The debris began to move and a hand came through them. Rick didn¡¯t waste another second and began to make everyone move towards Sunny¡¯s location. On their way Pudding showed up. She was apanied by her elder sister Chiffon. From Nami''s quick exnation, Chiffon was L¡¯s twin sister. Who was L? The pirate leader back on Thriller Bark who helped Nami get away from the invisible guy. Chiffon was also Bege¡¯s wife. ¡°That world is as vast as can be and yet seem so small¡­¡± The twodies took Sanji with them to help cook a wedding cake that would calm down Big Mom. They were barely out of sight that the emperor was almost done getting out of the hole she was in. Keeping up with their escape Rick began tough. ¡°This is hardly the time tough.¡± Jimbei said. ¡°It¡¯s just¡­ Of all thedies Sanji was after, the one who got hooked on him is a huge tsundere. I mean he finally found his perfect girl from an arranged marriage he didn¡¯t want. I find this hrious.¡± Jimbei wondered if Rick had gone mad, and Nami just rolled her eyes. Both Luffy and Carrot didn¡¯t know what a tsundere was and were imagining weird things. They finally reached Sunny, thinking they could finally get away from here; unfortunately the enemy was waiting for them. Perospero and Katakuri, the first and third son of Big Mom, had Brook,Pedro and Chopper as hostages, and were there with their men. Luffy used his conqueror Haki to deal with the small fry and took on Katakuri, while Rick dealt with Perospero. Jimbei took the helm while Nami exined to him what the coup de burst was, which both Brook and Chopper, who broke free of Perospero candy, were preparing by putting in ce the barrels of c needed. The situation was more than dire as a fleet of the Big Mom¡¯s pirates wereing their way and Big Mom herself had finally caught up. Rick was done with Perospero, getting a gravity sh that sent him flying away andnded on Sunny with Luffy still battling Katakuri on the deck. ¡°How long before the coup de burst?!¡± He asked. ¡°15 seconds!¡± This was not good at all. Big Mom was at the back of Sunny and began to tear it apart as if it was paper and not made of the hardest wood in the world. Rick concentrated his gravity in Ryusei and thrust her at the emperor. She didn¡¯t take any damage but was pushed back, letting go of the ship. When he turned around to see what was happening between Luffy and Katakuri, they were gone. ¡°Where are they?!¡± ¡°Inside the mirror world!¡± replied Nami. ¡°Hold tight!¡± Jimbei yelled. He pulled the lever and the coup de burst went off, propulsing Sunny into the air, leaving behind Big Mom and her fleet. Nami gave Jimbei where they needed to go and how to reach the ce. Rick sat down and began to rest. He knew that he needed to replenish his stamina, as they could be attacked at any moment now. Brook went to refuel the c while Pedro and Carrot climbed up the nest to watch for enemies. ¡°Do you think Luffy will be okay?¡± Chopper asked, sitting beside him. ¡°Probably. I mean that guy is strong, it will be a difficult fight, but Luffy¡¯s going to win.¡± The traject on air didn¡¯tst long and Sunny got back into the sea. Not long after the bunny mink saw something on the horizon. ¡°Six o''clock! It¡¯s the fleet we left behind and¡­ and..¡± ¡°Big mom! She¡¯s walking on water!¡± Pedro yelled ¡°Seriously?!¡± Rick eximed his surprise. He stood up and took a look. Indeed, she was walking on water, at least that¡¯s what it seemed like, but Perospero was on her shoulder using his devil fruit abilities to make some kind of candy slug above the sea. That, was what his mother was walking on. ¡°Rick! Jimbei! Can you hear me?!¡± came Luffy¡¯s voice from a shard of the broken mirror he used to get into the mirror world. Nami picked it up. ¡°Luffy! I¡¯m here.¡± ¡°Nami! You need to break every mirror on board or they will use them to set the Sunny on fire!¡± ¡°Then how are you going to get back?!¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know, I¡¯ll find a way.¡± ¡°Oh shit!¡± screamed Pedro. ¡°Nami we got trouble!¡± Called out Carrot. Turning around the navigator saw a huge tidal wave with Big Mom riding on top of him. ¡°Luffy¡­ I don¡¯t think we¡¯ll be able to make it.¡± She said her voice was full of despair. ¡°Jimbei! You¡¯re it!¡± ¡°What?!¡± Rick jumped off the Sunny sending a powerful gravity sh right in the middle of the tidal wave to break it. Big Mom and Perospero fell down but the candy slug was still there stopping them from drowning into the sea. ¡°Two vs one is not really a fair fight, but again life is not fair.¡± Rick said with determination. He had no choice, he needed to hold Big mom back, to let the others get to the wedding cake. ¡°I¡¯m going to hurt so much tomorrow.¡± Chapter 104: David vs Goliath Chapter 104: David vs Goliath

Chapter 104: David vs Goliath A dark purple light traveled horizontally from Rick to Big Mom at high speed. It was repelled by thetter by a single swing of her own sword. The air pressure of Charlotte Linlin¡¯s attack was deadly and Rick barely dodged in time. ¡°Okay¡­ Gravity sh infective. Gravity thrust, ineffective too, she didn¡¯t even suffer damage. Or it wasn¡¯t charged enough in gravity. Let¡¯s try again.¡± He infused a greater gravity in Ryusei and even added armament Haki in it to make it stronger. He thrusted forward; the blow was so fast that Big Mom couldn¡¯t react in time in the state she was in. Perospero on the other hand could. He had created a very thick and dense candy wall just in front of his mother and protected her. ¡°There is this asshole too. At least my attack was effective, he wouldn¡¯t have protected her otherwise. It takes too long to charge up gravity the way I do. Some practice is needed but that¡¯s forter. For now, if I take this guy down, the candy Big Mom is walking on will disappear and she¡¯ll drown¡± He sprouted a hand on Perospero, coated with armament Haki and tried to hit him. Tried as his arm was almost instantly encased in candy blocking any movement. ¡°Smart but too predictable.¡± the candy man said with an arrogant smirk. ¡° Well shit.¡± He heard a cannon being fired, and cannonball¡¯s impact into the sea. Looking beyond Big Mom and Perospero he saw the fleet catching up. ¡°And then there are those assholes! Great! I guess I¡¯m out of options then. ¡± He coated Ryusei with armament Haki and for the first time in years went into close quarters. He negated Ryusei¡¯s weight when he swung her to sh faster. This time Linlin just blocked instead of counter attacking. ¡°Well, that¡¯s an improvement.¡± Rick thought as he dodged Perospero¡¯s candy. ~~~~~ Back on the Sunny, Nami was both furious and worried, she was mumbling about what she was going to do to her owner/ fiance when he came back. Once again he risked himself for everyone else''s sake. She loved that side of him and hated it at the same time. Everytime he did something like this he ended up gravely wounded. Even died from it once. ¡°Nami, do you think he¡¯ll be alright?¡± Chopper asked. ¡°He will. He has to.¡±she replied. Seeing that his friends were still worried sick for both his captain and vice-captain, Brook had an idea. ¡° Cacao Ind is already in sight. We''ll arrive shortly. Perhaps we can upy ourselves with some preparations.¡± ¡°¡°What preparations?¡±¡± ¡°Knowing Luffy and Rick they would probably need medical attention, so I¡¯d say, prepare the bed in the infirmary, check on any medicine they could need, and ready them so they could be used immediately.¡± ¡°That¡¯s a good idea!¡± the doctor eximed and went inside Sunny. Brook turned to Nami and gave him his idea for her. ¡°Chopper told me, you tricked Rick into proposing to you?¡± ¡°I did.¡± Replied with a stupid smile of satisfcation on her lips. This was perhaps the con she was the most proud of. Tricking Rick wasn¡¯t easy, he was smart and could detect the con a mile away. Sometimes he got caught because he just let himself get caught. He either didn¡¯t care or did it out of love. This time was not one of those though, she got him real good. ¡°I¡¯m d you¡¯re finally ready to reveal your rtionship out in the open.¡± ¡°You knew?!¡± ¡°I only learned about it on our way here. You were not really discreet during the night. Yohohoho.¡± ¡°Oh¡­¡± was her only reply to hisment. That meant that she was sessful in being sneaky all those times until her jealousy took over. ¡°I always wondered before finding out though.¡± ¡°How so?¡± ¡°The way he looked at you. It was more than just looking at his best friend.¡± ¡°Best friend?Me?¡± ¡°Oh yes. You¡¯re both sneaky and cunning, like two peas in a pod. And when he seems down you are the one who he turns to talk to. Not Robin.¡± That was true. She never realized it but everytime he felt down she was the one he spoke to. Sure she went to him every time, but he didn¡¯t have to unburden himself to her. If he didn¡¯t want to, no matter what she did he wouldn¡¯t have told her anything. Thinking about it, she realized their rtionship began back on Jaya when he gave her the gold and treasure he stole from the other pirates there. Then the gold pir on Skypiea and their time talking about his love life there. Their friendship got stronger during the Davy back fight when he shared his n to steal everything from them. It was their first time cooperating. This new level of friendship was proven when they met Aokiji and the suspicions that fell on Rick. Despite everything, she had stayed loyal and supportive. She went back for him on Enies Lobby, she didn¡¯t even think of doing otherwise. Then his rtionship with Robin began, and the rtionship changed again, more teasing, more jokes, they even ended up saying the same thing at the same time. Remembering those moments put a smile on her face. She was the one he confided in when he wanted to talk about Robin. The one he came to talk to about the most important person in his life. The one he shared his doubts and worries with first. And she did likewise. While she talked to Robin she always went to talk to Rick first, about everything, with the exceptions of her inner feelings. Those ones she didn¡¯t tell anyone about. ¡°I guess, you¡¯re right. I never really thought about it.¡± she confessed. ¡°What are you doing for your wedding? And when and where is it taking ce?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know. I didn¡¯t really think about the what. The where, I know. On my home ind, as my sister and father figure are there. As for the when¡­ I guess after our journey is over.¡± ¡°Then why don¡¯t you think about the what? We got time.¡± ¡°You¡¯re right.¡± She looked at the horizon and began to think about it and lost herself in her own world. ¡°Now that¡¯s two out of five. Perhaps a bit of music would distract the others?¡± ~~~~~ ¡°The ones who said women are weaker than men should be punched in the face and in the balls if they are men. Damn, Big Mom hits hard.¡± he said as he was holding his jaw in ce. It was broken in multiple parts. The price he paid for being too slow to dodge her fist. To be fair it was because of his cracked ribs that he didn¡¯t react in time. It was a courtesy from Perospero whonded a sneaky hit on him with his annoying candy. Rick didn¡¯t know how long he''d been out; the hit to the jaw sent him flying away and knocked him out. He was extremely lucky to have crashed on a house made of gtin walls. The texture was denser but not harder. He was surprised that no one was around. In this kind of situation there were always curious people who wanted to take a look around. But there were none as if everyone had fled. Still holding his jaw in his hand he floated slower into the air. Higher and Higher. From afar he saw Big Mom on Prometheus being led away by a ship. On the other side he saw Sunny moving toward an ind. He tried to fly forward but the pain was atrocious. Ending up by sprouting arms and handing over his broken bones to lock them in ce, he gritted his teeth feeling a slightly lighter pain and went on his way. He sank the smaller ships in the fleet pursuing Sunny as he overcame it. In no time hended on the deck. His appearance shocked his crewmates. ¡°OH MY GOD! RICK!¡± screamed Nami rushing to him. ¡°Choppere here!¡± Exiting the inside of the ship reindeer saw the state his vice-captain was in and immediately started to do an examination. ¡°Your jaw is fractured in three parts on your left side. And 6 of your ribs are cracked. Do you feel pain anywhere else?¡± Chopper asked. Rick just looked at him with a deadpan face. ¡°Right, you can¡¯t talk with your jaw like that.¡± Rick used his hand to draw a swirl above his eyebrow. ¡°Sanji? He went ahead on Cacao Ind, to pick up Luffy. He probably won¡¯t be able to move a lot after his fight.¡± Rick nodded, and got up. ¡°Wait! I¡¯m not done.¡± eximed Chopper. Rick made a hand gesture which meantter, at least to him, and began flying towards Cacao Ind. With the rain falling he didn¡¯t fly too high, afraid of being hit by lightning, but high enough to be just above roof level. He sat on the edge of one of the buildings and looked at the za. A tall mirror was in its center and every inhabitant was surrounding it. Many Big Mom pirates were there too. All were focused on the mirror. ¡°So that¡¯s where Luffy wille out from. They probably broke or tossed into the sea all the others. Smart.¡± Too bad for them, they wouldn¡¯t be able to do anything. The moment Luffy appeared he would be sent directly into the sky and attracted towards Rick. The wait was endless. Actually it was just ten minutes, but with the pain and the tiredness, to the vice-captain it seemed endless. When Luffy appeared he was being carried by Pekoms. Now that was someone Rick didn¡¯t expect to see. It didn¡¯t matter though. He sprouted an arm on the mink and made everyone float in his direction. Sprouting arms all over the za¡¯s ground he used a heavy gravity to subdue as many people as he could. He didn¡¯t get everyone, the strongest seemingly unaffected, so he didn¡¯t waste any time and fled with the others. Sanji came out from a back alley and joined him in the air. ¡°Sunny is not far, but the fleet is still behind, we must hurry.¡± They didn¡¯t go very far though. Plenty of Big Mom pirates had mastered the moon walk. ¡°Flying¡± wasn¡¯t something rare in the New World. They took Sanji and Rick down by surprise. With thetter''s concentration broken, Pekoms, Luffy and the woman who had the mirror mirror abilities, which they held hostage and used to get out of the mirror world, fell down . They quickly were surrounded when a huge explosion at the ind¡¯s port detonated. The four Vinsmoke childrennded around them and made a protective circle, dealing with any attackers. Sanj Picked up Luffy and Pekoms, while Rick was trying to pull himself up from the ground. Reiju came to his help. ¡°I got you. My god what did you do?¡± she asked, seeing the state he was in.. ¡°..ight¡­ ah ah.¡± he tried to reply. ¡°It doesn''t matter, I¡¯m getting you out of here.¡± She picked him up over her shoulders, making him groan in agony, and followed Sanji. Thest thing he saw before passing out was a beautiful butt dded in pink. ~~~~~ Rick woke up, his eyes still closed. He didn¡¯t feel any pain anymore, not from his torso and not from his jaw. He did feel those parts constricted though. He tried to move an arm but it was restrained by some weight. What was blocking his limb felt soft and bouncy. He tried to move his other arm but the same happened, except this time the weight shifted and came to rest on his shoulder. Opening one eye after the other he was not surprised to find that the weight was Nami¡¯s head, the soft and bouncy feeling being her breasts. What surprised him was that she was not naked but instead wearing an orange nightie. It was when he turned his head to look at the other side that he was even more surprised. Reiju was here too. ¡°This is not going to end well¡­¡± He didn¡¯t know what to do. He didn¡¯t even understand why Reiju was here to begin with. What he did know was that he was hungry and needed a cold shower as both of his bedmates had a lot of body heat. ¡°You know what? To hell with it. If it¡¯s going to blow up in my face let it be sooner rather thanter.¡± He sprouted a hand behind Nami and grabbed her ass. He began to fondle it a bit but the redhead didn¡¯t react. He fondled harder and harder, until being down right rough until he decided to spank her. That was effective as she woke up letting out a yell, waking up Reiju in the process. ¡°What the hell?!¡± ¡°Sorry, not sorry. I¡¯ve been trying to wake you up for a while now and you were not inclined to do so.¡± She was about tosh out when he grabbed her with his now free arm and pulled her down for a rough kiss. She tried to fight it, just like she did in the changing room when they were shopping but gave in quicker. ¡°Umm. Can I have one too?¡± They hadpletely forgotten about Reiju. They put an end to their kiss and looked at the pinkhead who had a very happy and genuine smile with a hint of yfulness. ¡°Good morning Reiju.¡± ¡°Good morning indeed.¡± She replied, her eyes shifting towards the sheets tenting greatly. ¡°May I ask why you¡¯re here?¡± ¡°Of course, I didn¡¯t want to sleep alone in the girls¡¯ room so I joined the both of you in bed.¡± ¡°I mean, what are you doing here on Sunny?¡± ¡°I¡¯m enjoying my freedom and making my own choices. Mainly joining the crew and following my fiance.¡± she said that with a smirk. Rick decided to ignore thest part and turned back to Nami. He had some questions. ¡°How long was I out?¡± ¡°Two days.¡± the navigator replied. ¡°Luffy?¡± ¡°Woke up yesterday, and I know you¡¯re going to ask so¡­ yes everyone is fine.¡± Rick used his thumb to pint at Reiju while still looking at his kitten. ¡°We¡¯re friends, now.¡± ¡°So she¡¯s not a sl¡­¡± he couldn¡¯t finish his sentence as Nami shut him up by putting her hands on his mouth. ¡°Quiet!¡± ¡°A slut?¡± Reiju asked Nami. ¡°N-no¡­¡± ¡°I¡¯m a virgin you know.¡± ¡°What?!¡±, ¡°Hmfpfh?!¡± was all the two others could say, shocked at the revtion.¡± ¡°I never had sex. I don¡¯t have my hymen anymore though. It broke during my training years ago.¡± Then information puzzled them. She has been hyper aggressive, straightforward, and the blowjob she has given Rick showed a lot of experience. They were stunned into silence with an open mouth. ¡°I¡¯m an assassin so I had to learn how to please people sexually but since I¡¯m a princess and the Germa¡¯s heir, I couldn¡¯t really sleep with anyone. It¡¯s not like I would have, every man I¡¯ve met has been too weak to my taste and to properly handle me, that is until I met a very strong vice-captain of a particr pirate crew.¡± she started exining with a knowing smile. ¡°So with my father not present, I was free to go after what happens to be an eptable partner.¡± ¡°I¡­ am sorry.¡± ¡°Oh don¡¯t be. I came on strong despite the fact he was married. I justified my action with the two of you rtionship, but the truth was that I was out of line. I just went for what I wanted because It may have been my only chance to finally disobey my father in some ways.¡± Reiju said with a fake smile, as if it was alright. Nami reached out to her and pulled her into a hug. ¡°Reiju, you don¡¯t have to fake how you feel anymore.¡± ¡°I know¡­ It¡¯s.. It¡¯s just¡­ I¡¯ve been doing this my whole life, I can¡¯t help it.¡± she said as tears began to fall from her eyes. ¡°Meh, don¡¯t worry. Robin will teach you everything you need to know.¡± Rick replied, not worried one bit. ¡°Oh yeah, Robin may not have had the same life but had the same habit.¡± confirmed, Nami. ¡°If you don¡¯t mind, I would like to eat, I¡¯m hungry.¡± Both women let go of each other and moved, allowing Rick to get out of bed. He removed his bandages and put a shirt and pants on. He didn¡¯t bother with socks and shoes. Turning around he saw bothdies looking at him with a predatory glint in their eyes. ¡°What?¡± ¡°¡°Nothing.¡±¡± they answered in unison. He looked at them suspiciously but gave up on finding out what was happening. Had he been more attentive he would have seen their flustered faces. They clearly loved what they saw. He went through the kitchen and took some fruits and milk for breakfast before going on the deck. ¡°Hey guys! ¡®Morning!¡± ¡°You¡¯re awake!¡± eximed Luffy. ¡°I am! How is everyone?¡± ¡°We¡¯re all fine!¡± replied Chopper, who came to check up on his wounds and just shocked his head when he found nothing wrong with his body. ¡°Good! By the way, where is Jimbei? I didn¡¯t see him inside?¡± ¡°Oh right, you were unconscious when we got back to the Sunny.¡± eximed Sanji.¡± ¡°We were surrounded by the entire fleet of the Big Mom¡¯s pirates, when the Sun pirates came from under the sea. They allowed us to escape and Jimbei stayed behind to help them.¡± Brook exined. ¡°He promised to meet up in Wano.¡± Luffy added with a confident smile. ¡°Hey! The newspaper is here! There are new bounties!¡± Screamed Pedro from the nest. He jumped down followed by Carrot that was with him andnded on the deck. Everyone of the crew present during this adventure had a serious boost. Rick went beyond the Billion and reached the 1.2 Billion Berry mark. Laying waste alone to a good third of Linlin¡¯s army,pletely ruining her castle and the mountain on it. Finally fighting both her and Perospero. He lost but he stood his ground long enough to help the crew. That was enough for the World Government to increase his bounty significantly. Nami didn¡¯t reach the Billion, but her Zeus breeze tempo, her superior control of the weatherpared to Big Mom and her talents as a navigator, sailing their ship while surrounded by a fleet, made her bounty¡¯s value double. From 400 Millions she went to 800 Millions. The news didn¡¯t pleased her one bit to the point she was crying out of despair on the side. Sanji was jubting. He finally beat Zoro. The difference wasn¡¯t much, only 10 Millions but it was enough. Zoro had always been the one with the higher bounty. The first of the two to get one actually. Brook and Chopper were sad to not have a new wanted poster. It couldn¡¯t be helped since they were more on the support side on Whole Cake ind. Nami wasn¡¯t the only one crying of despair on the ground. Surprisingly, Luffy was too. ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± Rick asked. ¡°My bounty went down¡­It¡¯s 150 million now.¡± the strawhat captain replied showing his wanted poster. ¡°What?¡± eximed Brook. ¡°Umm, Luffy? That¡¯s not possible.¡± Rick stated. ¡°It¡¯s true! Look!¡± Luffy replied putting the bounty right in front of his face. ¡°I looked and I read 1.5 Billion¡­¡± ¡°¡°¡°¡°....¡±¡±¡±¡±¡± ¡°¡°¡°¡°WHAT?!¡±¡±¡±¡± Luffy turned the wanted poster around and started counting the zeroes together with Brook and Chopper. ¡°Millions, Ten millions, Hundred millions ¡­. Bi-bi billon!¡± With the shock ovee, they celebrated the feat. ¡°Wait! Rick, what about yours?¡± ¡° 1.2 Billion. Congrats you beat me!¡± ¡°YEEEESSSSS!¡± Luffy yelled, happy to have won and reach his goal. ¡°Enjoy it as much as you can, but don¡¯t becent because next time I may be in the lead again.¡± ¡°No way.¡± Both Nami and Reiju arrived on deck. Thetter went straight for him, grabbing his right arm and putting it between the valley of her breasts while resting his head on his shoulder. Sanji was triggered immediately ¡°Reiju, get away from him!¡± ¡°No!¡± she replied sticking his tongue out. ¡°Why does it sound like I¡¯m some bad guy?¡± Rick wondered out loud. ¡°He¡¯s married, Reiju!¡± ¡°And he¡¯s engaged with me!¡± the pink head replied. ¡°¡°¡°What?!¡±¡±¡± eximed Chopper, Brook and Luffy. ¡°But he¡¯s already engaged with Nami!¡± the reindeer said out loud. ¡°Our vice-captain is a realdies man. Yohohoho!¡± joked the skeleton. ¡°Say what?! What are the two of you talking about?¡± asked Sanji, confused. Nami saw the headacheing so did what she thought was best to avoid it. She went to her fiance, got on her toes and kissed him like a lover would. When she broke the kiss she turned to Sanji and exined the situation. ¡°Robin, Rick and I have been dating each other since Thriller Bark.¡± Sanji died on the spot from a heartbreak. They all saw his soul leave his body when Brook grabbed it and put it back where it belonged. ¡°The.. the.. Three of you?¡± Sanji asked dumbfounded. ¡°Yes. But until recently I wasn¡¯t ready to take the next step in our rtionship and to make it public. I mean, two women dating¡­ the prejudice is strong and I guess¡­ I was ashamed of what you guys would think of me. Furthermore I was dating both, when they were already a couple¡­¡± ¡°That¡¯s stupid Nami! We won¡¯t stop liking you because you like different things.¡± Luffy said with a frown. ¡°I know that now. That¡¯s why I¡¯m ready to take the next step in our rtionship. I want to marry both Robin and Rick.¡± Sanji was furious at the revtion. ¡°Not only did you take Robin but Nami too? And now my sister?!¡± he yelled at his vice-captain while grabbing by the cor. ¡°The only one I went after was Robin!¡± ¡°You¡¯d think I¡¯d believe that?¡± ¡°It¡¯s the truth, though.¡± said Nami from the side. ¡°What?! ¡°I was interested in Rick but took a step back when he started dating Robin. It was Robin that went after me.¡± Nami confessed. ¡°Ro-Robin?¡± Sanji said bewildered. ¡°She¡¯s not as innocent as you might think.¡± replied Rick. ¡°What about Reiju then?!¡± ¡°Oh, that¡¯s all me! I mean, he¡¯s smart, fun to be around, incredibly handsome and most of all strong. And he gave me my freedom just because I think of me as a friend. How couldn¡¯t I be infatuated?¡± She answered with a bright smile and made her little brother quiet. ¡°By the way, can you let go of me?¡± Rick asked. ¡°Of course I can.¡± she answered but didn¡¯t let go. ¡°You can but won¡¯t¡­ I get it.¡± the vice-captain replied, giving up. He wasn¡¯t about to put her down though. She was expressing herself, way more than the way she did previously on herst stay on the Sunny. She was less aggressive and tempting and more cheerful. A stark contrast from when she was still her father¡¯s ve. The idea of stopping her from enjoying her new found freedom didn¡¯t feel right, so he endured. Now that they had Sanji back, Rick had important things to do. His tone turned serious when he spoke up to Luffy. ¡°Luffy, I would like to leave for a while.¡± ¡°What for?¡± the captain turned serious too. Ever since they arrived in the New World, the crew has never been together long. Rick left immediately and wasn¡¯t with them on Punk Hazard. Half the crew got separated on Dressrosa. And when it was reunited in Zou, Sanji had left, prompting them to separate again. ¡°I have a daughter¡­¡± ¡°I know, Lynda. She¡¯s very cute.¡± ¡°Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait. Lynda, as in Boa Hancock, the pirate empress¡¯ daughter?!¡± ¡°Yes.¡± answered Rick. ¡°You¡¯re her father?! Robin and Nami weren¡¯t enough?! You had to cheat?!¡± Rick was once again bragged by the cor and turned to Nami for help. ¡°Robin and I knew.¡± ¡°What?! And you didn¡¯t kill him?¡± ¡°Why should we? He did what Robin wanted.¡± ¡°What Robin wanted?¡± Sanji¡¯s sanity was slipping more and more the further he learned about Rick¡¯s love life. ¡°Sanji, look. This is a private business. I appreciate your concern but it¡¯s not needed. If it makes you feel better, know that Rick would have been perfectly fine with only Robin in his life and that he shares everything with us, everything. He kept no secret from Robin and I.¡± Sanji went quiet a second time and released him. He turned to Reiju. ¡°Are you fine with that?¡± ¡°Yes. He¡¯s already married, children from his first wife were bound to happen.¡± She replied, serene. ¡°Back to the topic at hand. I wasn¡¯t talking about Lynda.¡± ¡°You have another daughter?!¡± Luffy asked, surprised. ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°You never said anything about her before.¡± Brook noted. ¡°That¡¯s because I only learned of her existence on Dressrosa.¡± ¡°Wow, do you sleep around so much that you don¡¯t even know when you father a child?¡± ¡°Sanji!¡± ¡°What?!¡± ¡°That¡¯s uncalled for. For your information, before Robin I only was with two women. Nami was the fourth and Hanock the fifth. I hardly call that sleeping around.¡± ¡°So this daughter of yours, you didn¡¯t know anything about, her mother is¡­¡± Brook began. ¡°My ex from my time in the marines. She found out a month after I left.¡± ¡°But that means she¡¯s almost 12.¡± Chopper noted. ¡°Yes. I think it¡¯s long enough without her father in her life.¡± ¡°... Why do you need to go now?¡± Luffy asked. ¡°Because, the only one who knows where she and her mother are, is Grandpa.¡± ¡°Grandpa?¡± ¡°Garp is a vice-admiral; he probably isn¡¯t in a fixed ce. How will you find him?¡± ¡°At the reverie.¡± ¡°What¡¯s that?¡± asked Luffy. ¡°The reverie is an event happening every four years. The leaders of the countries affiliated to the World Government gathered in Marie Geoise.¡± Nami exined. ¡°Grandpa will definitely escort one of the leaders. So I know he¡¯ll be there. It¡¯s perhaps the only chance I have to meet him in the short term.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± replied Luffy without taking time to ponder. ¡°Just like that?!¡± ¡°Yes. We¡¯re going to Zou, you¡¯ll join us there.¡± ¡°Thank you.¡± ¡°It¡¯s fine. Besides, I''m curious about this new niece! You better tell me everything about her!¡± ¡°I will.¡± ¡°Are you sure you¡¯ll be okay alone? Marie Geoise is the home of the celestial dragon and close to the new headquarters of the navy.¡± Reiju asked. ¡°Yes, I wouldn¡¯t have any problem.¡± Suddenly. Nami began tough out of the blue. ¡°Nami?¡± asked Chopper. ¡°What¡¯s so funny?¡± Luffy asked. ¡°The reverie will gather every leader of the world.¡± ¡°What¡¯s funny about that?¡± Brook asked. ¡°Vivi will definitely be there!¡± ¡°Oh shit!¡± Rick¡¯s face went as white as a sheet. ¡°You better have a ring for her too if you don¡¯t want to die.¡± Nami smirked. Rick always wanted Vivi, after all he did his best to earn love points from her right from the beginning. Apparently he earned too much though as Vivi was borderline on the yandere field. He began to regret it a bit. ¡°Why?! Why him?!¡± Sanji eximed. ¡°Why are women flocking to him?!¡± ¡°Oh that¡¯s easy. He¡¯s a catch.¡± Reiju answered. ¡°And they¡¯re not that many men like that around. Honest to a fault with both his thoughts and feelings among other things.¡± Nami furthered the exnation. ¡°I don¡¯t know what you¡¯reining about, Pudding is madly in love with you.¡± Rick said. ¡°What?!¡± ¡°Rick is right. Pudding is head over heels for you, so there is no need toin.¡± That piece of information made Sanji think. Rick went back inside to take some food and put it in a backpack as the journey will be long. Nami joined him and hugged him from behind. ¡°Do you have to go right now? Can¡¯t you stay at least another day?¡± ¡°I can¡¯t get therete.¡± ¡°I wanted a night together to celebrate our engagement.¡± she sighed. ¡°Me too. Rain check?¡± ¡°Rain check.¡± she said as she pulled him down for a kiss. ¡°You¡¯ll have to exin to me how you became friends with Reiju when Ie back.¡± ¡°There isn¡¯t much to tell.¡± ¡°But there is something to tell. And I want to know.¡± He kissed her again and exited the kitchen. He said goodbye to everyone and just before leaving, Reiju forced her own lips on his, before joining Nami. Not a Chapter but fun fact #8 Not a Chapter but fun fact #8

Not a Chapter but fun fact #8 Wee to NaCB #8. I had fun writing this arc. I didn¡¯t have fun reading it multiple times though. Since it was for taking notes of things I couldn¡¯t enjoy it. I¡¯m mostly d how it turned out. With this arc the penultimate harem member was introduced. I always thought that Reiju was cute. Not because of her appearance but because of her personality. I tried to make her more open with her feelings. To make her more than just Sanji¡¯s big sister with a cold personality but a kind heart. Here are the fun facts:
  • Chapter 99 and 100 were supposed to be one long chapter.
  • Reiju should have been way more assertive with Rick during her first time on the Sunny.
  • Rick should have yed the innocent and duped Reiju into thinking he was prey.
  • Nami wasn''t supposed to get jealous
  • Nami and Rick were supposed to fool around in the clothing store¡¯s changing room. Instead I used the opportunity that Reiju¡¯s presence presented and developed Nami¡¯s character and her rtionship with Rick, as they both had been stagnating.
  • Nami wasn¡¯t supposed to trick Rick in proposing to her.
  • Nami wasn¡¯t supposed to reveal her rtionship with Rick and Robin at the time she did.
  • Pedro was supposed to die, just like in canon.
  • When the Germa saved the crew Rick was supposed to talk to Judge and ¡°kidnap¡± Reiju.
  • After they received the new bounties, Nami would have been open with her rtionship with Rick by kissing him in front of everyone.
  • Rick would have stayed another night and would have been cornered by Reiju in the garden.=> long sex scene. Wake up the morning after with both Reiju and Nami working on Rick¡¯s tool. In the end I gave up on the sex secene with Reiju since the one I written was different from the one I nned in my notes. It wouldn¡¯t have fit. Despite the lot of sex Rick and Nami had, it was meaningless sex so there wasn¡¯t any need to write about it. Now the chapters:
  1. Chapter 99: I can¡¯t find the author of that quote, sorry
  2. Chapter 100: Famous Sherlock Holmes story. Rted to Reiju obviously.
  3. Chapter 101: Thomas Faranda¡¯s quote
  4. Chapter 102: Quote from the movie Escape from L.A.
  5. Chapter 103: Quote from Charles Dickens
  6. Chapter 104: I don¡¯t think I need to exin this one.
See you around in NaCB #9 ! Chapter 105: What is a god to a Devil? Chapter 105: What is a god to a Devil? Announcement All I have to say is... You''re lucky the joy-con drift exists dear readers... Here''s chapter 105: What is a god to a Devil? Enjoy! Chapter 105: What is a god to a Devil? Looking at the huge cliff in front of her, Vivi felt nostalgic. It has been twelve years since thest reverie she attended. She was six at the time and remembered every moment and every detail of her time here. Notably the time spent with Rick. He was always by her side, ying or talking with her during the journey from basta to here. She missed those times. ¡°Vivi, are you ready?¡± her father asked from behind her. She turned around and put a smile on her face. ¡°I am, father. More than I ever was.¡± she replied and took his arms in hers. ¡°It¡¯s time for the world to change.¡± ¡°I have faith in you Vivi, I¡¯m sure you will seed.¡± ¡°Thank you, father.¡± she replied with a smile. ~~~~~ At the same time from the other side of Red Line. Vi was watching with happiness Reba making friends with the mermaid princess from the Ryugu kingdom. It was the second time the merfolk were invited to the reverie and she was curious about how it would go. The two pink headed women had bonded over their friendship and admiration of Luffy. Being reminded of the strawhat pirate, her thoughts went to his vice-captain and his wife. The evening, night and morning she spent with the two of them has been the most exciting of her life. She often thought about that randomly during the day and ceased to function with a satisfied smile or a blush on her face. She wished this time would havested forever. ¡°You know Luffnd?¡± Leo asked Shirahoshi,ing out from under Reba¡¯s mantle with princess Mansherry. Shirahoshi was surprised by the sudden appearance. Viughed at the sight. The tall mermaid princess, way above ten meters, met the very small Tontattas. ¡°Luffnd?¡± ¡°Yes, Luffnd! With Usnd, Robnd and Rd!¡± Mansherry said. ¡°That¡¯s how the tontattas call Luffy, Usop, Robin and Rick.¡± exined Reba. At the mention of her lovers¡¯ names Vi came closer to hear better. When Shirahoshi asked questions all focused on Rick, she had a feeling the mermaid princess was in the same boat as she was. ¡°You seem to know Rick very well.¡± the ruler of the Dressrosa kingdom said. ¡°I.. He¡¯s.. just a friend. I owe him a lot.¡± Shirahoshi replied with her whole face turning bright red, giving Vi the answer to her question. ¡°I must have a talk with herter.¡± The two royal families got on the elevator that led to Mary-Geoise. The higher they got the better the view of the sea. It left Shirahoshi in awe. ¡°It¡¯s so beautiful.¡± she said with tears in her eyes. She felt the sun¡¯s warmth on her skin, it was the first time for her. She had been amazed by the small town at the base of the cliff and kept asking questions to satisfy her curiosity and her amazement. But it was in that moment, looking at the horizon, looking at the blue sky and the light reflected on the sea that she knew. ¡°Father, I want to live on the surface. I want our people to live under the warmth of the sun and under the blue sky. I don¡¯t want them to live in a ce where the sun doesn¡¯t reach.¡± ¡°We will, Shirahoshi. We will realize your mother¡¯s dream.¡± replied king Neptune. The ascension was slow so Shirahoshi and the rest of her family had the time to imprint into their memory the beautiful view before them, daydreaming about a radiant future for the merfolk. Soon enough they reached the top and were led towards an immense garden where every royals invited to the event were gathered. Several princes supported by their fathers osted the mermaid princess and asked for her hand. While they were all charmed by her beauty there was no love there. In fact the only purpose they had in mind was to own Shirahoshi. Having the mermaid princess as a wife was the best way to get a better status and fame. Some were already thinking of using her as a trophy to make others envious by disying her as a pet in a private zoo. Those entitled and spoiled princes made Shirahoshi very ufortable as she was not used to so many people so close and so insistent. When she dered bounty in a panic state that she already loved someone and was not interested in any of them they became furious. At the same time, her family, especially her father, was outraged at her deration. Not at all for her bluntness but by the fact she was in love with someone. How could the apple of their eye be in love when she spent thest twelve years locked in her room ? King Neptune swore that he would find the person in question and made him or her regret stealing his little girl¡¯s heart. On the side Vi was now certain of who the princess was referring too. She was wondering if she too fell for the ex-marine¡¯s charm and his wife¡¯s or the man alone. The spoiled royal began to grab Shirahoshi in their anger, some yelling threats to the person she loved, others simply bringing them down by unting their royal status. Those actions snapped her brothers out of their stupor and pushed them to save their sister. They were toote as someone else acted before they could. ¡°Have you no shame? Assaulting a princess when she rejects you? Are you really royals? Because all I see are ruffians!¡± The royals turned their heads to see Vivi, with the new king of Drum ind by her side, looking at them with an angered face. Her voice had been loud enough that any conversation in the garden had stopped and everyone was looking at them. Some with curiosity, some with pity and some with disapproval. Being called out for their behavior unbing of their status forced them to apologize to Shirahoshi before leaving the garden in haste. ¡°Are you alright?¡± Vivi asked the mermaid princess. ¡°Yes, thank you for your help.¡± The blue haired princess quickly presented herself to which Shirahoshi did likewise before introducing Reba, princess Mansherry and Leo. Once again Vi felt happy for her niece who had made a second friend outside of the tontattas. The four youngdies and Leo talked for a while vividly before the conversation turned into an exchange of whispers. Having an idea of what was the subject of their talk Vi stopped watching, this time, decided to join them. ¡°Hello~~¡± she said as greetings, surprising the little group. ¡°Hello, I¡¯m princess Vivi Nefertari, nice to meet you.¡± ¡°And I¡¯m princess Vi Doldo, Reba¡¯s aunt, nice to meet you too.¡± she answered with a smile. ¡°I couldn¡¯t help but notice some secret talk going on and it got me curious about what it was about. If I had to guess I¡¯d say the straw hats, am I wrong?¡± Before any of the young women could answer, Leo took the lead. ¡°No pwrincess, you¡¯re not wrong. Pwrincess Vivi was shwaring her adventwure with them.¡± ¡°Oh, really? I would like to hear about it too.¡± Without any hesitation, Vivi rted her tale with the crew. To Vi¡¯s surprise, there was no mention of Rick or Robin in her story, making her think that they joinedter, however when she reached the part about meeting Rick again, Vi interrupted her. ¡°Again? You¡¯ve met Rick before?¡± ¡°Yes, long ago when he was still in the marines. He saved my life.¡± The Dressrosa princess simply noted and let Vivi continue her story. She didn¡¯t miss the glint in her eyes everytime she brought Rick up. ¡°Shirahoshi, Vivi, me¡­ Is he collecting princesses right and left on purpose?¡± Vi quickly dismissed the idea, since Robin was not in the story yet, she doubted she would have 9made a move, especially since it seemed Vivi was only sixteen at the time. When the story reached the point where her one time lover faced a millions rebels on his own she couldn¡¯t help but let ament slip inadvertently. ¡°That sounds like him. So reckless¡­¡± she said, punctuating her words with a small giggle. ¡°You seemed to know him well.¡± said Vivi. ¡°While Reba is more acquainted with his captain, I¡¯m more acquainted with him and his wife after what happened in our country.¡± ¡°More than just acquainted if grandfather is to be believed.¡± chidded in Reba, making her aunt gasp and blush. That was not missed by Vivi who frowned. ¡°Reba!¡± ¡°Is grandfather wrong?¡± Vi was about to scold her when she realized that her niece was notpletely understanding the effects and meaning her words had. ¡°No, but the way you said it could be misinterpreted. Please princess Vivi, continue.¡± Reba looked puzzled, and Shirahoshi¡¯s face turnedpletely red, finally understanding the hidden meaning. Vivi kept on with her story until the end then Shirahoshi told hers. When the part about Rick needing to be operated on came up Vivi gasped and held her breath while Vi was shocked that he was so wounded that he needed it in the first ce. She remembered quite vividly when he had fallen from the sky with both his forearms missing and yet reced them as if nothing ever happened. Once the tale was over, Shirahoshi was the one who told hers. While Reba and the tontattas already knew of it from an earlier discussion, it was new to Vivi and Vi. The beginning of the story was mainly focused on meeting Rick. The Dressrosa princess didn''t miss the look of jealousy the desert princess had when the patting part came up, nor the blissfully smile the mermaid princess had on her lips while talking about it. "Does it feel that good?¡± Vi kept that question for herself and kept on listening. The more she heard the more she was convinced that Shirahoshi was more than a bit infatuated with her one time lover. While she couldn¡¯t tell if the mermaid had the same treatment as the one she had on dressrosa she did notice a pattern. A princess was in distress and an ex-marine turned pirate came into the picture, beat the viins and secuded the said princess. "I wonder how many times it happened, and how many times it will happen again." Was she just a note on his or their bedpost? At the time it was clear that both husband and wife were interested in her for her body; there was no denying that, but was it all? Nobody would go to the extent he did for her, just to get into someone¡¯s bed. Hell, with how sexually frustrated as she was a simple glimpse of his tool would have been enough. Yet he went out of his way, to be flirty -in his own way - to be honest and blunt while doing so. She remembered that single moment, just before he took Robin in his arms and began to make love to her while standing. The brte had her ass destroyed a few minutes earlier and was resting on the bed. Rick went to her and entered her again. However this time¡­ This time it was gentle. He hadn¡¯t been rough as he had been before; no he was gentle. The passion was still there, still strong but different; he was attentive and caring. Of that morning session that she¡¯ll remember to her dying days it was the moment she cherished the most. He had made love to her. She only wanted to get her jollies, finally after years, and he gave her more, something that she didn¡¯t know she needed desperately. She remembered the orgasm he gave her, it was the strongest she had received that day. It fulfilled not only her physical needs but her emotional ones. ¡°Did he know? Was it real or an act on his part for me?¡± Unknowingly she hoped it wasn¡¯t just an act. Everytime she thought of him her heart beat faster. She knew it but justified it as a body reaction, wanting more of what he gave her this morning. The truth of the matter was she longed for more of him. Not really sex - even though it has been the best - but just spending time with him. The chaos, no matter how small or how big, he brought by just being there and talking. Unknowingly, Vi Doldo, princess and future ruler of Dressora was infatuated with Wal D. Rick. Still lost in thought about her lover she was brought back to the conversation when Reba grabbed her arm. ¡°Auntie?¡± ¡°Yes?¡± ¡°It¡¯s your turn.¡± ¡°My turn?¡± ¡°To talk about how it went from your side back then.¡± ¡°Oh! Sure!¡± Just like the others she talked about what she did during the fight against the Donquixote family with several omissions. She couldn¡¯t share in detail her time with Rick, after all Reba was still 16, innocent in that particr part of life, and Shirahoshi was perhaps in the know but wouldn¡¯t be able to handle it as the mere mention of him made her face so red and hot she was almost feverish. ¡°What about your kidnapping?¡± asked Reba ¡°Kidnapping?¡± Vi asked, confused. ¡°When Rick trespassed into the castle and took you away?¡± ¡°Oh! That¡­¡± ¡°You only got back the day after at noon.¡± Everyone looked at her expectantly with a face full of curiosity. Except Vivi who had a knowing frown on her face. ¡°Curse you Reba! I really need to have THE talk with you soon!¡± Before she could try to think of something, she was saved by a marine officering to them . They were thest group to be led outside the small garden towards the ce where the reverie would actually take ce. Vi thanked any and every god out there for the timely save and followed everyone. Unfortunately, her luck stopped there and then. Reba , Shirahoshi, the tontattas and the rest of their respective family went a few feet ahead of her as she was held back by Vivi grabbing her arm. ¡°Princess Vivi?¡± ¡°My apologies princess Vi, but I think you and I need to have a private talk.¡± ¡°What abou¡­¡± ¡°You slept with him.¡± said Vivi. It wasn¡¯t a question, it was a deration, a statement that couldn¡¯t be misinterpreted by the tone of her voice. ¡°Excuse me?¡± ¡°You slept with Rick.¡± ¡°... I did.¡± ¡°I knew¡­¡± ¡°And his wife too.¡± ¡°It!! WHAT?!¡± Vivi had her jaw hanging low. ¡°To be more precise, I slept with his wife first, then he joined us the morning after.¡± ¡°...¡± Vivi was at a loss for words. She clearly didn¡¯t expect that. ¡°Hi¡­ his wife knew? And s-she..¡± ¡°Participated? Yes she did. It was her idea actually.¡± ¡°I thought¡­ I thought that he¡­¡± ¡°Cheated?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± replied the desert princess with a nod. ¡°No, he loves her too much for that.¡± That piece of information made Vivi grimaced. Clearly it hurt her. ¡°But.. How¡­ How could she¡­¡± ¡°Allowed it?¡± interrupted Vi, earning a nod of agreement from her conversation partner. ¡°Robin is bisexual.¡± ¡°Bisexual?¡± ¡°She loves men and women.¡± ¡°I know what bisexual means, I just don¡¯t see how her being bisexual have anything to do with¡­ with¡­¡± she could find the words and just waved her hand up and down towards Vi. ¡°I don¡¯t know all the details but I know that Rick is a catch, hence a woman ma. I think Robin is just¡­ benefiting from that fact.¡± ¡°She¡¯s just using him then.¡± ¡°In a way? Yes but don¡¯t be mistaken, she genuinely loves him.¡± replied Vi. ¡°Right.¡± ¡°It¡¯s the truth. When I was¡­ too exhausted, they shared a very intimate moment together. Anybody seeing them together would see that they are truly in love with each other. Honestly, I feel fortunate to have witnessed such a moment. Really envious too.¡± ¡°Fortunate?¡± ¡°It was true love. They were in their own little world where nothing else mattered but each other.¡± Vivi didn¡¯t say anything, she just looked at the ground and started thinking with the frown on her face even deeper. ¡°You¡¯re thinking too much of it.¡± ¡°Obviously¡­ I mean¡­ I¡¯ve been in love with him since I was six. I didn¡¯t even know what love was back then but I was. My feelings became stronger and stronger to the point that I don¡¯t see anyone else but him as my husband. And now¡­ now he¡¯s married. Sleeping around any chance he gets with his wife and others.¡± ¡°Oh! I would not say that.¡± ¡°What?¡± ¡°From what Robin told me, he doesn¡¯t sleep with any prettydy hees across.¡± ¡°Really?¡± ¡°Yes. Apparently he would have been more than fine with just her, she¡¯s just pushing him to explore, for them. So far only two others were included.¡± ¡°Only two?¡± ¡°Yes, their navigator and the pirate empress.¡± ¡°Nami and Boa Hancock?!¡± ¡°From what Robin shared with me, yes.¡± If that crazy story about Robin pushing Rick to go after other women was true then it wasn¡¯t a surprise that Nami was one of them. She probably has been the first. Vivi felt betrayed by her friend, she knew of the feelings she held for Rick and slept with him anyway. Now the pirate empress¡­ That was a surprise for her. ¡°There is you too, now.¡± Vivimented. ¡°I wonder about that. I mean, the night I spent with Robin and the morning I spent were wonderful but I don¡¯t know if I¡¯ll ever have a repeat. Perhaps I was only a one time thing.¡± ¡°It doesn¡¯t change anything. A thousand times or just once¡­¡± ¡°If you say so¡­¡± Vivi quieted once again and thought for a moment before she spoke. ¡°I¡¯m really stupid, aren¡¯t I?¡± ¡°Why do you think that?¡± ¡°For more than a decade, I loved him¡­ I still do, but for twelve long years I only had one thing in mind, marry him. Such a stupid dream.¡± ¡°It¡¯s not a stupid dream to want to be with the one we love.¡± ¡°A dream that was impossible to realize to begin with.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t give up! If there is one thing I learn by meeting Rick is that you never know what tomorrow is made of.¡± ¡°It is nice of you to cheer me up princess Vi but I have to face the facts¡­¡± They fell into an ufortable silence whichsted thest hundred feet of the trip towards the building they were supposed to reach. Everyone was led to another garden where even more people than the previous one were waiting. The good atmosphere of the ce didn¡¯tst long as a very thick metal fell onto Shirahoshi. A gigantic ve began to pull on the dragging Shirahoshi while a fat celestial dragon was dancing and singing that he got a big mermaid. King Neptune reacted instantly and charged the world noble but was pushed back by a well dressed man in white with a pigeonnding on his shoulder. Reba, Vivi tried to help their friends too but were restrained by others for their own protection. As for Shirahoshi she did her best to get free, she could have shrunk herself and gotten away but she made the promise to her father to not use her devil fruit powers no matter what. She was hoping that someone would help her. When her brothers took a fighting stance against the man who pushed back their father, thetter finally spoke. ¡°Honestly, you should all be thanking me. Should you haveid a hand on a celestial dragon, many kingdoms would have disappeared. Celestial dragons are gods. They can do whatever they want with impunity, you¡¯ll do well to remember that.¡± ¡°That doesn¡¯t make any sense!¡± shouted Vivi getting into his face. ¡°Gods are outside the realm of logic. The only thing you can do in their presence is kneel before them.¡± She was about to reply when suddenly the man fell to his knees as if something was forcing him to do so. He was struggling against that force, trying to raise himself on his two feet. Looking around she saw every guard, marine officer and ves in the same state, the ¡®god¡¯ was not spared either. The which Shirahoshi was under began to float in the air and moved onto the world noble and fell on him. ¡°And yet the gods are kneeling before me. What does that make me then?¡± She knew that voice. The floating, everyone forced on their knees as if someone were pushing them on their shoulders to do so. She should have known. She should have made the connection faster. Raising her head she saw him floating in the air, all regal despite not wearing a crown. The man she has desperately loved since she was a little girl, the man who saved her life, her kingdom. In a whisper she said his name. ¡°Rick.¡± Chapter 106: When love is real… Chapter 106: When love is real¡­ Chapter 106: When love is real¡­ ¡°A super god? King of gods? Super duper king of Gods?¡± Rick said with a chuckle. Hended on the grass in the middle of the garden in a perfect silence and started to walk towards the celestial dragon. ¡°You know the world is a fucked up ce when scum like those are in powers, thinking themselves beyond their station. They are the worst humanity has to offer and they are treated like gods. What a bad joke.¡± He arrived in front of a world noble, crouched and raised the fat man¡¯s head to have a good look. ¡° Oh! I know you! You¡¯re the worm that my captain and I punched the lights out on Sabaody two years ago. Guess it wasn¡¯t enough to set you straight.¡± Without another word the celestial dragon wasunched into the sky at a frightening speed. In no time the fat man disappeared out of sight. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, people. He¡¯s a god, he¡¯ll survive, besides gods are supposed to be with angels. I just sent him home.¡± he said with a vicious smile while looking at the people present. ¡°Now, can someone kindly deliver a message to Vice-Admiral Garp? He¡¯s to meet me, alone, in two days at thest ce we met at noon. Not before, not after.¡± His task done, he began to rise into the air beforending back on the grass. ¡°I almost forgot the hostage.¡± At those words plenty of royalty members present shredder in fear. Most of them knew who that man was, knew of his deeds. If they were not aware, throwing to a certain death a celestial dragon into the sky was enough to confirm how mad and serious he was. ¡°So¡­ Any one volunteering?¡± He was looking mainly at men, but most of them were either frozen in ce or shaking like a leaf. ¡°Really? No one? I guess I¡¯ll pick out a volunteer myself then. Eeny, meeny, miny¡­¡± ¡°I¡¯ll go with you.¡± Turning around he found himself face to face with the fluffy princess he loved so much. She was even more beautiful than thest time he saw her. Gone was the pretty girl and in was the beautiful woman. Her face was full of determination, her eyes burned with fury. ¡°Yeah, I¡¯m dead.¡± ¡°Very well princess.¡± Rick turned around and in a cold voice chastised the royals. ¡°You should be ashamed of yourselves. This princess, barely a woman, has more balls in her pinky that you have in the entirety of your family trees. To think that the people are ruled by cowards like you is bloody disgusting.¡± He took Vivi in his arms and began to float. ¡°Don¡¯t worry king Cobra. I¡¯ll treat her like¡­ a princess¡± he joked, before taking the sky again for good and leaving. ~~~~~ The tripsted just a few minutes but seemed like an eternity. Vivi may have been quiet, but she radiated anger. They finallynded in front of a house. When his hostage noticed where they were she thought it was a joke. ¡°Marineford really?! He¡¯s mad! Completely mad!¡± They had indeednded in Marineford. The former HQ of the Navy Less than an hour away from the Red Line and Marie Geoise. Rick chose this ce, for two reasons. One it was close, meaning would not be absent too much. Two, only a tenth of the forces now lived on the base. It was easy for him to sneak in. He broke the door¡¯s lock and opened the former, then motioned to Vivi to get inside. He followed her and closed the door behind them. Turning around he didn¡¯t have the time to react to the powerful p whonded on his left cheek. Bringing back his head in its normal position he looked her right in the eyes. None of them said anything. After a moment she raised her hand and pped him a second time. He let her. ¡°We can talk or you can keep on pping me. Your choice.¡± ¡°You deserved it.¡± ¡°Yes, and much more.¡± If look could kill he would have died a thousand times over. However Vivi rnted. She had two days to let out all of her feelings on him after all. ¡°What is this ce? A hideout? Right in the middle of a marine base?¡± she asked, turning her back to him and looking around. ¡°This is the ce I grew up when I was not on a navy ship. It is also the ce where I died.¡± His words had an effect and she spinned around to face him. ¡°Exin.¡± she ordered. He raised a finger in front of her and with his unupied hand searched for something inside his overcoat. With a yes of victory he pulled out a shell and presented it to her. ¡°Are you mocking me now?¡± ¡°No! It¡¯s a record dial.¡± ¡°A record dial?¡± ¡°Dials are special shells from sky inds. This one¡¯s type can record everything it hears and y it back. I¡­ I used it because I got tired of exining the same things over and over again.¡± He pressed the appropriate part of the sheel and the recording began to y. ~~~~ ¡°...¡± ¡°...¡± The recording stopped ying minutes ago already and none of them said anything. Vivi was deep in thoughts while Rick was just waiting nervously for her to talk. Suddenly she moved and left the entrance to go to sit on the sofa not far. Rick followed her and, despite his instincts telling him to not do so, sat beside her. ¡°That¡¯s¡­¡± ¡°Insane?¡± ¡°Yes! What else can it be?! Do you really think I¡¯ll believe any of it?!¡± ¡°Honestly? Yes.¡± That answer earned him another p. ¡°That one I didn¡¯t deserve!¡± ¡°You did, for lying to me!¡± ¡°I never lied to you, Vivi, and I never will!¡± ¡°Really?! Then answer me this then: did you sleep with Nami?¡± Rick was taken aback. That question was so out of the blue. ¡°I.. did, what¡®s the link bet¡­¡± And he got pped again. ¡°Okay enough with the ps! What does sleeping with Nami have anything to do with the topic at hand?!¡± ¡°I¡­I wanted to see if you were telling the truth. That you would never lie to me I mean.¡± ¡°Okay¡­ but how did you¡­¡± ¡°Princess Vi.¡± ¡°I should have known.¡± he replied with a sigh. ¡°I feel like an idiot you know; pinning after you all those years¡­¡± ¡°Vivi, if there is one thing you¡¯re not, it''s an idiot.¡± ¡°Ha! As If! Look at you! You¡¯re married, having a girl in every port. And there is me, the stupid and naive princess who dered in front of her whole kingdom that you¡¯ll marry me.¡± she said in defeat, tears appearing in the corner of her eyes, putting her face in her hands. ¡°You were too young back then but now I can ask you.¡± ¡°Ask what?¡± she asked. When she didn¡¯t get an answer she raised her head from her hands and saw Rick kneeling in front of her. ¡°Vivi Nefertari, will you¡­¡± Once again he couldn¡¯t finish his sentence. The p was the hardest one yet. ¡°Don¡¯t you dare! Don¡¯t you dare finish that sentence!¡± She was beyond furious. ¡°Why not?¡± ¡°Because you''re already married for once! And I refuse to be another one of those girls that spread their legs for you for a good time and left alone after being used!¡± ¡°There are no girls that do that for me.¡± ¡°Oh yes? What about Nami? Uh? What about Princess Vi and Princess Shirahoshi? What about Boa Hancock the pirate queen?!¡± ¡°It¡¯s not like¡­¡± ¡°Don¡¯t you dare say it¡¯s not like that! It¡¯s exactly like that!¡± Rick resisted the urge he had to roll his eyes; he didn¡¯t want to be pped again. Instead he just sighed. ¡°Nami is Robin AND I¡¯s fiancee. Hancock is mine but I¡¯m sure she will be Robin¡¯s too. Neither Robin nor I ever were intimate with Shirahoshi as she didn¡¯t feel ready to join us. And Vi¡­ Robin is really fond of her and so am I. And there is no one else.¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°What?¡± asked Vivi in confusion. That was too much information in one go for her. ¡°Robin and I¡­ we connected in a way that¡­ we never connected with anyone else¡­ Nami helped a lot with that actually and along the way Robin decided she wanted Nami in our rtionship too. Obviously, Nami agreed to it and now two yearster¡­ well she kinda swindled me into proposing to her. I don¡¯t regret it though.¡± ¡°So Nami is a skank, never would have thought of that of her.¡± ¡°She¡¯s not!¡± Rick replied with anger in his voice. ¡°Okay, maybe I need to detail how my rtionships came to be.¡± ¡°As if it would change anything.¡± ¡°It will.¡± ¡°Go ahead then, tell me about the fabulous tale of Wal D Rick and how he built his harem.¡± Vivi said with so much sarcasm it could have peeled paint on a wall. ¡°After we left basta, Robin made herself known to the crew. She had sneaked in before we left on Merry. Luffy being luffy, she joined the crew. As we were both neers we spent a lot of time together. We share many things together, nour love for history for one, our age for two but what brought her together was our fugitive past. We were both framed for something we didn¡¯t do. We both had to constantly watch behind our shoulders, to distrust anyone and everyone, just to survive. Fortunately I had Nami on my side.¡± The mention of her friend, or now ex-friend made Vivi frown. ¡°She was teasing, and flirting a bit with me, nothing really untowards though. She quickly caught on how I felt for Robin. At the time she was still very distrustful and with my past in the navy¡­ Well it didn¡¯t make things better. It took me risking my life by fighting CP9 agents, destroying a buster call and having the shit beat out of me for her to finally trust me. ¡°CP9? Buster call?¡± ¡°Cypher Pol 9 is a secret Cypher Pol unit of the world government specialized in assassination. A buster call is the greatest strike force of the navy. It¡¯s ten galleon warships gathered in one ce with one purpose: eradicate everything in their way. O¡¯hara and its inhabitants were the victims of one. No one must survive, no building must be left standing.¡± ¡°That¡¯s¡­¡± ¡°Evil, that¡¯s what it is. Especially when most of those people were innocent bystanders.¡± Vivi didn¡¯t know what to think. After Crocodile, she knew the navy and the world government were not as perfect as they wanted people to believe, especially after giving credit to a captain of the navy for the defeat of the warlord, but doing things to that extent? She quickly put that information in the corner of her mind forter, and signaled Rick to continue his story. ¡°Anyway¡­ After Robin and I got together, Nami still kept flirting with me to tease the both of us. Mainly she was feeling left out. And after the life Robin had for twenty years well¡­ She got scared that I would leave her for someone else, since apparently I¡¯m a woman ma.¡± ¡°You really think highly of yourself.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t. Robin¡¯s words, not mine. So she got the idea that by allowing me to sleep around I¡¯ll be more inclined to stay with her as another woman would not be as understanding.¡± ¡°That¡¯s a stupid idea.¡± Vivimented ¡°Yes, Nami and I told her. But Robin was so scared to lose the one good thing she had for the first time since O¡¯hara that her mind went off the rails a bit. It turned out, she also had another motive. ¡°She wanted to participated too as she¡¯s bisexual.¡± stated the princess earning a raise of the brow from Rick. ¡°Vi told me. And Nami being her fiance too didn¡¯t help either.¡± ¡°Well I don¡¯t have to exin that then, good. The problem with her idea is that I would have to be share with others and her to be shared too. ¡°Her too?¡± ¡°I believe in equality in a rtionship. If I am to sleep with someone else, then Robin too would be free to do so. It wouldn¡¯t be right otherwise. ¡°That¡¯s incredibly¡­¡± ¡°Normal. All romantic rtionships should be like that where if one does something the other has the right to do it too. Anyway, I wasn¡¯t interested. I din¡¯t want some random guy having sex with her, nor did I want to have sex with someone else. Robin assured me there would never be another man. I caught on that she implied that there may be other women and in the end, we both agree to share others and not ourselves. From then, Nami was naturally added to our couple. Though she had the shock of her life when Robin kissed her.¡± he said with a chuckle. ¡°So Nami is really bi too then.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t really know. She loves what Robin does to her and deeply loves her. She seems really interested in Shirahoshi but that¡¯s it. I never saw her showing any interest in another woman, except you, maybe.¡± ¡°ME?!¡± she yelled in shock. ¡°It¡¯s just a maybe but she constantly made reference to me about you. While they were all about the two of us, I wonder if deep down she¡¯s not interested in you too. When I left toe here I think she was hoping for you to join us.¡± That¡¯s another piece of information that Vivi put in the corner of her mind. She never saw Nami that way, so she didn¡¯t quite know what to do with that knowledge. ¡°Then we got separated on Sabaody. From there, on my way to Impel Down to save Ace I met with Luffy and Hancock.¡± ¡°So that¡¯s where you know her from.¡± ¡°No. I met her years earlier. A few months before I met you actually.¡± ¡°Ahh! So naturally you picked up your rtionship where you left it.¡± ¡°Nothing of the sort. When I met her she¡­ was on the run from a crime she didn¡¯tmit and nearly got caught. I helped her and we went our separate ways. 5 minutes was the time we spent together at most. There wasn¡¯t any rtionship of any kind.¡± ¡°So you started a rtionship, more than a decade after, just from those five minutes? I have to say I¡¯m impressed at how fast you work.¡± ¡°That¡¯s not it.¡± ¡°What is it then?¡± ¡°The crime she was framed with¡­ it was really bad. I can¡¯t tell you what it was as I won¡¯t break her trust but let¡¯s just say that my help back then left a really deep impact on her and me being framed for attempting to kill a celestial dragon didn¡¯t help to lessen it, quite the contrary. She¡­ kinda became obsessed with me?¡± ¡°Obsessed?¡± ¡°Believe me, you don¡¯t want to go there. When she learned I was involved with someone she became murderous.¡± ¡°I can understand why.¡± thought Vivi. It was easy for her to see herself in Hancock. Being saved by Rick at a young age, falling in love, being in love for years to discover that he¡¯s with someone else. Yes, she could rte. The part about the celestial dragon puzzled her though. She thought about the time Rick and Hancock met and realized what was the crime Hancockmitted. ¡°My god! She was a ve! One of those Fisher Tiger had freed. No wonder she developed feelings for him, he saved her for going back to very! For a young teenage ve girl to finally have someone extent a helping hand¡­ I can definitely see how she became obsessed with him.¡± Like she had done twice previously, what she learned was properly stored in her mind. ¡°I could only calm her down whenI talked to her about the deal.¡± ¡°The deal? What deal?¡± ¡°Robin¡¯s deal. Every single woman who wants to have a rtionship with me needs to be with Robin.¡± ¡°Like some kind of tribute?¡± ¡°More or less. For every time someone wants to be intimate with me, they have to be intimate with Robin too. Hancock being the Amazon queen was more than fine with it. ¡°Yeah, I¡¯m not really surprised here.¡± ¡°Me neither.¡± ¡°So if a woman wants to sleep with you she has to sleep with Robin?¡± ¡°Yes, not any woman though. A woman both Robin and I agreed on.¡± ¡°And she agreed with me?¡± ¡°She said she agrees with every woman I love as apparently I have good taste. As long as the deal is respected I¡¯m even free to marry. Hence why Nami and Hanock are my fiancees.¡± Vivi froze at the mention of love and wanted to know more. ¡°You love me?¡± she asked tentatively, making him frown. ¡°Of course I do! Why do you think I¡¯m on my knees proposing to you?!¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know?! To y with my heart because you¡¯re sadistic?¡± ¡°I¡¯m not and I would never do that.¡± ¡°And yet you were proposing before telling me about your other rtionships.¡± ¡°I.. Fair point, I may have been too fast in doing things.¡± Rick replied in realization. ¡°You think?!¡± ¡°What can I say except it¡¯s proof that I love you?¡± ¡°Riiight.¡± she answered clearly not believing a word. ¡°What about Shirahoshi and Princess Vi?¡± ¡°Shirahoshi joined us but she doesn¡¯t feel ready to go beyond kissing and caressing which is fine as we don¡¯t force anyone to do what they don¡¯t want to do. Vi¡­ I don¡¯t know. I don¡¯t know her well enough and I don¡¯t know how well Robin knows her. If it was a one time thing or more, I can¡¯t tell.¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°Is there anything else I need to know? Any more conquest under your belt?¡± ¡°Yes and no.¡± ¡°Yes and no?¡± ¡°It¡¯s¡­plicated.¡± ¡°Speak.¡± Vivi ordered. ¡°Back when I was in the marine I was in a very unhealthy rtionship with my captain.¡± ¡°How unhealthy?¡± ¡°She waited almost a decade for me to be legal, unhealthy. My age was the only thing that kept her in check, barely.¡± ¡°Ouch.¡± ¡°She¡¯s not a bad person. Quite the contrary but if Hancock is obsessed well she¡¯s¡­ way beyond. Anyway, while she¡¯s one of the best people I know and the only person who didn¡¯t turn her back on me when I was framed she kinda swindled me too.¡± ¡°Swindled how?¡± ¡°When I ate my second devil fruit she went into shock. When she woke up she wouldn¡¯t let me get away from her embrace. I ¡­ had to promise her to marry her too to finally be let go.¡± ¡°Marry her too?¡± ¡°It¡¯s amazing how everyone but her notices the too immediately.¡± he said with a chuckle. ¡°Who was the other woman?¡± ¡°Vice-Admiral Tsuru and before you say anything, I was six at the time. I did end up having an intimate rtionship with her when I was eighteen though. And Yes my ex was in the know and okay with it.¡± ¡°... If she¡¯s worse than Hancock I doubt it.¡± ¡°Kaza¡­ that¡¯s my captain name, was okay with it because she knew Tsuru very well. They.. have some sort of mentor mentee rtionship. At least she could trust Tsuru to not steal me away, since at the time Kaza and I were on different ships. My rtionship with Kaza is¡­ more coercion from her side than anything. I won¡¯t lie though, I did agree to the rtionship but I wouldn¡¯t consider it as a boyfriend - girlfriend one. That¡¯s why I¡¯ve been with Tsuru, with whom the rtionship was the same. My first real rtionship and girlfriend is Robin.¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°How are the two of them still relevant today? They are marines, you¡¯re a pirate, I don¡¯t see how that works.¡± ¡°I gave my word to marry them. Yes I was a kid, but I still gave my word. If tomorrow they want me to keep it, I will.¡± ¡°How honest of you.¡± she said in a sarcastic tone, not pleased one bit by what she heard. ¡°Anything else?¡± ¡°Yes. I came to Marie Geoise for two reasons. One to see you¡­¡± Vivi snorted at that. ¡°That¡¯s true, I would have taken you as a hostage even if you didn¡¯t volunteer, then to bring you here and to ask you to marry me.¡± ¡°Riiight. And the second reason?¡± ¡°To get from grandpa the location of Kaza and our daughter.¡± Of all the information, of all the things she heard today, that one, was the one that did in Vivi.exe. What brought her back to the world was Rick grabbing one of her hands. She quickly retracted it. ¡°Daughter?¡± ¡°Yes. I wasn¡¯t aware of her existence until Tsuru told me about her after the fight on Dressrosa. Unbeknown to me when I fled the Navy, Kaza was pregnant. Many knew of our rtionship and that put her and the baby in danger, so Tsuru asked grandpa to hide them and only he knows where they are.¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°You have a daughter.¡± Vivi repeated in disbelief. ¡°Two actually.¡± ¡°WHAT?!¡± ¡°Her name is Lynda, she¡¯s nearly two. Hancock is her mother.¡± Vivi brought her hands to her temples and began to massage them, to calm the headache that she now had. ¡°He¡¯s married, engaged to two other women, maybe four, with at least one other woman on the side and two daughters. One almost a teenager and one still a baby. Girl¡­ What the hell did you get yourself into? Why the hell did you fall in love with that man? Why couldn¡¯t you fall in love with a normal, nice guy who kept his dick in his pants? Ugh that¡¯s not right, it¡¯s not like he¡¯s chasing girls right and left. Not like Sanji. Ugh I¡¯m defending him now and using Sanji as a standard. What is wrong with me?!¡± She abruptly stood up making Rick fall on his ass. ¡°Break! I need a Break! It¡¯s too much.¡± ¡°If you want toy down; second room on the right, upstairs.¡± Without another word Vivi left towards the stairs. Chapter 107: … It finds a way. Chapter 107: ¡­ It finds a way. Chapter 107: ¡­ It finds a way. After Vivi left to get some rest, Rick sat back down. He didn¡¯t know what to do with the situation at hand. He knew Vivi and should have expected her reaction yet he stupidly hope it wouldn¡¯t go the way it did. ¡°Well¡­ At least I¡¯m still in one piece.¡± There was nothing he could do for now but wait, so he decided to upy his time by watching the system. He mainly checked the devil fruit window, trying to find, maybe, a fruit or two that could be useful for the R.A. While every fruit has its usefulness if one thinks hard about it, he found nothing that could really help. Not for fighting nor for spying. He tried the normal window and tried to find something little Lynda and Hancock would like after meeting Kaza and their daughter but didn¡¯t find anything either. He would have, has his head and heart been in it but both were focused on different things. First Vivi and Kaza and his eldest daughter. Since he couldn¡¯t deal with Vivi, he closed the system and focused on the second problem. What could he say? How should he present himself to an almost teenage girl? How to defuse Kaza for being married and engaged? Not mentioning the existence of another daughter? When he came into this world he had two objectives. Get rid of the celestial dragon and fuck as many characters as he could. Making them his. And while the first takes time - sure he could go back to Marie Geoise and ughter every world noble, but nothing would change for the world, the people needed to do it themselves to create real change in the right direction- thetter wasn¡¯t going as well as expected. What was simple was actually quiteplexe. Why? Because feelings got in the way, he didn¡¯t take that into consideration. Yes he was married to Robin, but he wasn¡¯t supposed to fall madly in love with her. Neither was loving Nami and Hancock. Nor Vivi. That rtionship soured because of his choices, because of his actions. At least it seemed that way now. While he knew the women in his life from the manga, the real them, while quite simr, were¡­ not different but¡­ more¡­ authentic? Deep? He didn¡¯t have a term to express it. He was brought out of his thoughts by Vivi. ¡°Did you spend thest five hours looking at that wall?¡± she asked a few feet away from the side. ¡°What¡¯s so special about it? A hidden vault?¡± she joked. ¡°It¡¯s the wall where I died.¡± he replied in a monotone voice. That quieted her. She still couldn¡¯t bring herself to believe the story she heard from the record dial. ¡°You really did die.¡± It was a statement but she wanted confirmation. ¡°I did. It was not fun. I remember the pain, the exhaustion, the people there and myst words to them then nothing.¡± She closed the distance between them and sat beside him on the sofa. Rick didn¡¯t pay attention to her, his gaze still fixed on the wall, remembering the moment. While he didn¡¯t purposely look at the wall while he was thinking he wasn¡¯t ready to share his thoughts with her yet. Those thoughts, he would share them with Robin or Nami; Vivi wasn¡¯t as close to him as the two were. ¡°Who was there, with you?¡± ¡°At first? No one. I woke up from my¡­ trance embed into the wall, the house half destroyed. The first one I saw was Grandpa, then Uncle then big sis. Uncle was furious. Was it more for his demolished house or for what I did, I don¡¯t know. I remember, quickly talking about my trance, what it was, how it manifested, when it manifested for the first time¡­¡± ¡°What is this trance you¡¯re talking about?¡± ¡°Basically? I¡¯m being controlled by the sea devil.¡± ¡°Right.¡± Vivi answered unimpressed. ¡°Horns sprout on my heads and wings. You can ask any member of the crew and they''ll tell you the exact same things. Maybe not the wings as apparently I only sprouted them during the war, but the horns they are familiar with them. As for the sea devil¡­ well ever heard why people die when they try to eat a second devil fruit?¡± ¡°The myth says that the devil contained in each fruit fights each other and destroys the body of the person.¡± ¡°Well it¡¯s bullshit. The truth of the matter is each devil fruit contains a part of the sea devil¡¯s soul.¡± ¡°Soul? Really?¡± ¡°It¡¯s scientifically proven. Brook, our musician, is one of them. Big mom another. Anyway The body is like a container, it contains an individual soul and can contain the part of the sea devil¡¯s in a devil fruit. But it¡¯s too weak to hold more. That¡¯s why people die.¡± ¡°And yet you¡¯re alive.¡± ¡°That¡¯s because I¡¯m the unexpected result of an abandoned project. Creating artificial humans that could hold the power of one fruit or more.¡± ¡°Again, do you really expect¡­¡± She was cut off when Rick produced from his overcoat files about it. The same files he studied to understand what he actually was. It was a simple task to make her believe he had them on him the whole time, a simple movement of the hand while the system was open and the files were in his pocket. ¡°Do you always have them on you?¡± ¡°Read and I¡¯ll answer you.¡± She took the files from his hands and began to read. While she didn¡¯t quite understand all what was in them she understood that Rick was telling the truth. ¡°My god¡­ That¡¯s¡­¡± She couldn¡¯t not believe him after what she read. ¡°Fucked up, I know but that¡¯s beside the point. The point is the sea devil feeds on my negative emotions when they are at their fullest. Before I got fixed¡­¡± ¡°Fixed?¡± ¡°Information forter. Before I got fixed hetched onto it and took control. I didn¡¯t even know until after I got control back because of the destruction around me.Apparently the more he took control, the more my body changed, hence the wings before I died.¡± ¡°And no one has ever seen you ¡­ transformed during your time in the navy?¡± ¡°No, It happened for the first time in thest few months during my service.¡± ¡°What happened?¡± ¡°You happened.¡± ¡°Me?!¡± she said, shocked. ¡°When I saved you from those kidnappers. I infiltrated their hideout, and god¡­. It was¡­ They wereughing, partying all the while raping women, treating them like cattle, butchering them as if it was a game, and you were there in the middle of the room, chained to a pole asleep. I heard what they wanted to do to you¡­ I remember being angry, very angry¡­ With my gravity I broke your chains and attracted you towards me. Once you were safely in my arms I¡­ heard a voice, telling me to let it out, let it all out, all my anger. To make them pay. And I did. When I came too, you were still asleep soundly, safe and unharmed, but every corner, every inch of the room was colored in red. Pieces of flesh here and there on the ground, the walls even up to the ceiling. At the time I didn¡¯t know what happened, and I did care, they were dead and most importantly, you were safe. That was all that mattered in that moment. I only understood what happened a decadeter when I¡­transformed again during our fight against Moria.¡± He stopped there from his recollection and went quiet. Vivi, seeing he wasn¡¯t going to continue, pushed for more. ¡°What happened during that fight?¡± ¡°Moria hurt Robin.¡± ¡°Oh.¡± ¡°Nearly killed him and the whole crew. It was Nami who found out that Robin getting hurt was what actually did the trick.¡± ¡°Which is?¡± ¡°Seeing the people I truly love mistreated. Either verbally or physically.¡± That made Vivi think. He transformed for Robin because he loves her, and did the same for her. She couldn¡¯t understand why; she was six at the time and knew him for less than a day. She voiced her thoughts. ¡°I don¡¯t think that¡¯s the case. You, transforming for people you truly love.¡± ¡°Oh, it¡¯s the case. I sprouted horns for Nami when I thought something bad happened to her. I was in control though.¡± he said with a chuckle before exining what he found funny to a confused Vivi. ¡°Nami always felt jealous and inferior because I never transformed for her. Only Robin and you. She was delighted to know she was included in it too.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t understand. I¡­ I was only six, we knew each other for less than a day! How could you truly love me?!¡± she eximed, prompting Rick tough out loud. ¡°Vivi, when you know, you know. Though it wasn¡¯t romantic love at the time, I knew I loved you the moment you saved me from that conning merchant. You were so adorable back then! So innocent but at the same time so fierce! So lonely too. I didn¡¯t spend the day with you because I was indebted to you. I did because I enjoyed it, because I enjoyed spending time with you. You were a breath of fresh air in a life of constant violence and blood. I have interacted with kids before, sometimes younger, sometimes older, but none made me feel as alive as you did.¡± It was the truth. While he did spend time with her to earn some affections points, he truly did enjoy every single moment spent with her. Vivi for her part didn¡¯t know what to say, she was blushing a bit from the genuinepliment he had made. She was d Rick was still looking at the wall. ¡°Let''s get back on track.¡± ¡°Which is?¡± ¡°What happened when you died, what else?!¡± ¡°Well, there is the track about when my love for you turned romantic, how about that?¡± ¡°Not interested.¡± she replied quickly, making Rick sigh. ¡°Well, I remember apologizing for winning¡­¡± ¡°Winning what? Clearly not the fight.¡± ¡°Winning our wits battle. I don¡¯t think it has been made public, but that day ckbeard broke into Impel Down, to recruit pirates for his crew.¡± ¡°No, that wasn¡¯t part of the news at the time. There was the part about Ace being the pirate king¡¯s son and Luffy being Dragon, and the part about Whitebeard fleeing, your speech and you fighting and dying.¡± ¡°That''s because the video feed has been cut. The fact that my speech was seen was because I turned it back on for it, just after I told uncle about what ckbeard was doing. Uncle didn¡¯t see thating. Apparently my speech was effective. The fact that I purposely avoided broadcasting what was happening at Impel Down was the cherry on the cake. I created chaos while maintaining order at the same time. Tsuru told me he was pissed but at the same time proud.¡± heughed ¡°What happened next?¡± ¡°I¡­ was really tired. I remember falling and grandpa catching me. After that¡­ I don¡¯t know.¡± ¡°There is one thing I don¡¯t understand.¡± ¡°What is?¡± ¡°Why didn¡¯t you run away?¡± ¡°To let Whitebeard escape.¡± ¡°Yes, but after that? You can fly, you could have easily run away.¡± ¡°Because that¡¯s the way I wanted to go.¡± he replied, and before she could say anything else he spoke again. ¡°I was dying. Artificial humans¡­ They don¡¯t have a long life. The Type I was? Around twenty years. It¡¯s actually a miracle I reached the venerable age of 28.¡± ¡°But¡­ you¡¯re here now. In the same¡­ type of body, are you still dying then?¡± ¡°Not anymore. That¡¯s the fixed part I was talking about earlier. Before the war, I came across Vegapunk. ¡°Vega¡­¡± ¡°Yes, him. He told me I was done for, but the sample he got from me, from my body, helped him in his research. First thing I did when I was¡­ reborn, was to go see him and he fixed me. Now I have the lifespan of any normal human. And before you ask, I don¡¯t know how he did it, he just did and sent me on my way.¡± Vivi was silent, digesting the new huge pile of information he had dumped on her. If she were to be honest she still didn¡¯t digest the ones from five hours earlier. The ones who were really important. Sure now, knowing what she knows, she forgave him for faking his death which actually he didn¡¯t do since he really did die. There was no point for her to be mad at him anymore. Everything else though? She didn¡¯t know what to make of it. It was too much for her. She needed to sort everything out, including her feelings. And she started from there. ¡°When?¡± she asked, making him confused. ¡°When did your love for me turn romantic?¡± Rick pondered for a moment if he should y the idiot but quickly decided against it. It would only be a disservice to him to act like that. ¡°When we met again in basta. I¡­ was stunned, adorable little Vivi was now a beautiful girl on her way to be a woman. Then I saw youugh, I saw you cry but most of all I saw a determination even greater than in my memories, for your people. I saw how courageous you were when you tried to stop a million rebels by yourself. I saw your conviction, your hope, to fight for something better regardless of what would happen to you. How could I, how could anyone not fall for you after all that?¡± he replied with a smile. ¡°Why.. didn¡¯t you say anything?¡± she asked while looking at her hands resting on herp, clenching her dress tightly. ¡°I was 28, you were 16, it wasn¡¯t right.¡± ¡°So just because I was underage you didn¡¯t say anything?!¡± she said incensed. ¡°No. You had your youth in front of you, you were a princess. Me? A man entering his thirties, hated both by the navy and the pirates, a fugitive that everyone wanted dead. In what world ¡­¡± ¡°You could have stayed! You could have lived freely! Every bastan knew what you did for the kingdom! You are their hero, they wouldn''t have cared. They still don¡¯t!¡± ¡°But I did. It wasn¡¯t right to me.¡± ¡°Then why take me as a hostage?! Nothing changed except that I¡¯m an adult now! The age gap is still the same, I still have my youth, my life in front of me! Why now?!¡± ¡°Because I died.¡± That quieted her immediately. ¡°When I was born again it was on our ship. The crew was not there and since I still felt that my end was near I tried to avoid them. Unfortunately they have a tendency to attract trouble I couldn¡¯t not help them. Obviously I got caught. It was only after a severe beating from Robin and a talk that I decided that I was being an idiot.¡± ¡°What did she say?¡± ¡°That she regretted not having gotten married before I died. She then proposed to me, knowing damn well that I was still on borrowed time, but she didn¡¯t care. She was going to live her life with me as best she could no matter what time I had left. When Vagapunk fixed me, I decided to follow her example. To live my life to the fullest, to be selfish for once and not think about others first. I still have so much difficulty with that but when it came to my feelings for you, it was easy. Any doubt or inhibitions I had went out the window. I wanted you in my life, no matter what, so I went for you. That¡¯s as simple as that.¡± She was speechless. His words were genuine and yet again she didn¡¯t quite know what to say. ¡°I.. I don¡¯t know¡­ Everything, it¡¯s¡­ It¡¯s a lot to take in. Do you know what you¡¯re asking of me? How hard, how difficult is it for me?¡± she said almost pleadingly. He raised his right hand and caught her chin. Raising her head and turning it so she could face him, he moved it towards her left cheek. ¡°I know. I know that saying I have a lot of baggage is an understatement. But I also know that Robin, Nami and Hancock are happier with the situation.¡± ¡°It¡¯s easy for Robin and Nami, they are in the crew!¡± ¡°True. And I know Hanock wished I was by her and Lynda¡¯s side more but It¡¯s only until Luffy bes the pirate king.¡± ¡°And after that what?¡± ¡°Robin and I and possibly Nami, intend to live in O''hara.¡± ¡°O¡¯hara was destroyed!¡± ¡°And I rebuilt it during my ten years exile.¡± ¡°It doesn¡¯t change the fact that I¡¯m still the princess of basta and its future ruler!¡± ¡°No, but what would change would be O¡¯hara.¡± ¡°What are you talking about?¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t tell anyone, not even Robin but I wish to make O¡¯hara a flying ind, able to travel the world. That way I would always be close to you if you decide to stay in basta.¡± ¡°You¡¯repletely mad! A flying ind!¡± ¡°Actually, I¡¯m not. The mayor of Water 7 is currently working on making the ind float on water, just like the water train¡¯s tracks do. There are always Vegapunk studies.¡± ¡°What studies?¡± ¡°Infuse devil abilities into inanimate objects. I already witnessed an elephant sword. Alive. Why couldn¡¯t an ind be infused with a devil fruit giving the ability to float or fly? Just with my gravity I could maybe make it float.¡± ¡°That¡¯s¡­¡± ¡°Not as impossible as you thought.¡± ¡°I¡­ I need to think about it.¡± ¡°It¡¯s alright, I understand. It¡¯s not an easy decision.¡± He took her hand and put his engagement ring in it then closed it. ¡°For when you make it.¡± Then he brought her down onto hisp and started patting her. After everything that happened she was tired. While she was upstairs she had tried to rest with no sess, but the patting was effective. She quickly fell asleep clutching the ring in her hand. ~~~~ They passed the time they had catching up with each other¡¯s lives, how she had fared since his departure from basta two years ago and the crew¡¯s adventure. She internallyughed at the face Rick made when she talked about her father and his multiple ledgers of suitors for her. When a knock on the door was heard, they knew their time together was over. Rick signaled her to go open it but as she passed him he caught her by the arm gently and turned her around then kissed her. It was brief but intense. When she separated, she couldn¡¯t look at him and instead looked down, her head resting on his chest along her hands. Then without a word, she pulled away and went back on her way towards the door and once she reached it opened it. ¡°Princess Nefertari.¡± said Garp as greetings. ¡°He¡¯s waiting for you inside, I suppose I have to wait for you to take me back to Marie Geoise?¡± The Vice-Admiral simply nodded and entered the house, closing the door behind him. He went to the living room and saw Rick sitting on the sofa, hot tea and cookies on the table in front of him. ¡°Ballsy of you to choose this ce for a meeting.¡± said Garp trying to break the ice with little effect. Sighing the old mad sad down opposing the man he had raised. ¡°You know what I want to know.¡± began Rick. ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°Why! Why didn¡¯t you tell me back then?!¡± ¡°I¡­ You were a pirate who a few days earlier dered war on the world government, used a buster call to destroy the ind of justice and then destroyed the buster call. It wouldn¡¯t¡­¡± ¡°Keep your bullshit for someone who will believe it grandpa. WHY?!¡± ¡°Eri is¡­¡± ¡°Eri? That¡¯s her name?¡± ¡°Erica¡­. Erica is her name, but for her security everyone knows her as Eri.¡± ¡°She named her after me?¡± asked a bewildered Rick. ¡°Of course she did. She¡¯spletely nuts about you. Did you really expect anything else?¡± ¡°... No. But go on, why?¡± ¡°Eri is¡­ She looks just like Kaza, but inside¡­ inside she¡¯s just like you. Her sense of right and wrong, her sense of justice¡­ it¡¯s so strong in her. Everytime I look at her I see you.¡± ¡°That doesn¡¯t exin anything.¡± ¡°Dragon, Luffy, Ace, you. I fucked up royally raising you. I didn¡¯t want for her to turn out like any of you did. I wanted for her to grow up right and I couldn¡¯t have you influence her.¡± ¡°I would never have pushed her towards piracy.¡± ¡°No, you wouldn¡¯t have but¡­¡± ¡°The celestial dragons¡­¡± ¡°Yes. He¡¯s still alive by the way. A member of CP0 caught him before he crashed on the ground.¡± ¡°Too bad.¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°... Does she¡­ Does she know about me?¡± ¡°That you¡¯re her father? No, she doesn¡¯t.¡± ¡°What did Kaza tell her when she asked who her father was?¡± ¡°She told her how great you were. Strong, smart, diligent with a strong sense of justice and most of all, selfless and kind hearted. That you were lost at sea and that¡¯s why she retired from the navy.¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°How is she? What does she like? Is she a sword fighter like Kaza? She probably is, knowing her mother.¡± he said chuckling. ¡°She is. She¡¯s a curious child and likes to read anything and everything. She took your height, barely 12 and she¡¯s already 5¡±5.¡± replied Garpughing too. ¡°She wants to be a marine.¡± the old man announced. ¡°Good.¡± ¡°Good?¡± ¡°Yes, there is nothing wrong with being a marine.¡± ¡°And yet you left.¡± ¡°I left a corrupted institution, which, when I¡¯m done with it, will not be corrupted anymore.¡± Rick replied with a frown. ¡°You can¡¯t take the whole word, You can¡¯t change something established 800 years ago.¡± ¡°Watch me.¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°How is Kaza?¡± ¡°Well. Believe it or not, time and motherhood did wonders for her, even more beautiful than before.¡± ¡°I believe it and it¡¯s good that she''s well.¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°She didn¡¯t take it well, you know?¡± ¡°My death?¡± ¡°Yes. It¡­ broke her. She med me of course, rightfully I might add, and if it wasn''t for Eri I don¡¯t think she would have been able to pull herself back up.¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°Where are they? And don¡¯t sell me some bullshit. I have the right to know my daughter, just as much as she has the right to know me.¡± ¡°... East Blue. Foosha vige.¡± ¡°Of course¡­ How did I not think of it? The ce where you raised Ace and Luffy.¡± Rick stood up and Garp did the same. As the former was about to leave, theter caught him in a bear hug. ¡°I¡¯m d you¡¯re alive.¡± ¡°Me too.¡± Garp let him go and as Rick was about to leave by the window Garp spoke. ¡°I¡¯m sorry I let you down. That I didn¡¯t tell you about those assholes.¡± ¡°Dragon, Ace, Luffy, me¡­ You didn¡¯t let a single one down. The only one you let down grandpa¡­ is you. By the way... You have another great-granddaughter, her name is Lynda and she¡¯s almost two.¡± Rick quickly made his escapeughing at Garp¡¯s scream. ~~~~~ ¡°Are you ready Princess?¡± asked the Vice-Admiral. ¡°I am. Is everything alright? ¡°I¡¯m fine, thank you for asking.¡± ¡°With how loud you shouted I doubt that¡¯s the case.¡± she teased him. ¡°I.. I¡¯m sorry about that. Rick is¡­¡± ¡°Rick is Rick; always ying with people''s nerves.¡± she chuckled. ¡°I see you¡¯re well acquainted with the animal.¡± ¡°I am, it¡¯s a long story.¡± ¡°I would love to hear it if you don¡¯t mind.¡± ¡°If you keep it to yourself, not at all. It¡¯s a long one though.¡± ¡°Fortunately, with the travel we got time and you have my word I won¡¯t tell a soul.¡± ¡°Then lead the way, Vice-Admiral.¡± She followed him in silence, a smile on her face and her left hand in her right. If one would look closely they would have been able to see the sun reflect between her finger on the jewel on her left hand. Chapter 108: I am your father Chapter 108: I am your father Chapter 108: I am your father He flew as fast as he could. His destination was on the other side of the world after all and he had no time to waste. True the distance wasn¡¯t as great as one would think as he wasn¡¯t traveling by seas but it was the longest travel he has ever done in one go. Thanks to the system, he now had a map of the world and of East Blue, since Foosha Vige wasn¡¯t on Grand Line, there was no eternal pose leading to it. He would have searched forever without proper directions. He finally reached the ind which the vige was on, one afternoon. At the docks was a marine ship he knew well. He had spent years sailing on it after all. "So Tsuru is here¡­ I should know she would have told him I knew. Did he immediately tell her of this ce and sent her here? That would exin why he wasn¡¯t tight lipped when we talked¡± He used his observation haki to feel the vige and its surrounding but couldn¡¯t even cover half of the area. He had to move multiple times to have an idea of what was waiting for him. "Ugh¡­ Uncle is here too. Either they really don¡¯t want us to meet or they really hope to capture me." He felt both Tsuru and Sengoku at the same location. Taking a good look it was the famous pub of the story, where Makino was. It didn¡¯t surprise Rick to find Kaza working there. She was a beautiful woman and the tips would have been numerous and that¡¯s without counting how strong she was. No bandits or criminals would have made any trouble without impunity there. He decided to go there at night when the pub was closing. He didn¡¯t want people for the heavy talk needed to happen, nor innocent bystanders around. Knowing Kaza, such a case would be possible. There was also the navy to take into consideration; they would be probably listening on them, at least that¡¯s what he¡¯ll do, before acting. With plenty of time on his hands Rick began to prepare for every eventuality he could think of. ~~~~~ Night had fallen an hour or two ago, and a small but constant stream of clients leaving the establishment had stopped for a while. Feeling that now was the right moment hended in front of the door and went for it when it opened from inside, leaving him face to face with Makino. ¡°...¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°They said you wereing.¡± was all she said. ¡°How could I not?¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°They¡­ are inside, Eri is readying herself for bed and Kaza is finishing with the cleaning.¡± she said, opening the door wide to let him in. ¡°Could you¡­ stay? As support.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t think Kaza needs it.¡± ¡°She doesn¡¯t, I do." That made her raise a brow. ¡°If I¡¯m lucky she will probably kill me quickly.¡± he joked. ¡°If you¡¯re lucky.¡± sheughed, but nodded in agreement. He entered the pub and saw her behind the counter cleaning mugs. He instantly recognized her. To his surprise not by her beautiful ass like he always did but by her fiery red mane. They were far longer than what he remembered. Silently he went to sit on a seat right behind her, an arm on the counter, his head resting on his hand, watching carefully her form for a while. Finally after a few minutes, with her back still to him, she spoke. ¡°You¡¯re not going to say anything?¡± ¡°There is so much to say¡­ I don¡¯t know what I should begin with, nor if I should.¡± She put the mug she was cleaning down with force and turned around. ¡°What were you thinking?!¡± she almost yelled. He knew what she was talking about. Him leaving the marines. He didn¡¯t care though he was too focused on her face. While it bore the traces of a woman in herte thirties, Garp was right, she was as beautiful as she could ever be and motherhood did her a lot of good. For a few moments he was mesmerized by the deep green eyes he loved so much. Surprisingly there was not just anger in them but something else along with it. ¡°Well?!¡± ¡°I¡­ didn¡¯t. I let my emotions get the best of me.¡± ¡°Clearly.¡± she replied dryly. ¡°My whole life has been a lie, everything I did, everyone I knew and loved¡­ All a lie¡­ Can you really me me for being emotional at the time?¡± ¡°Not everyone.¡± she said, fixing his eyes with her gaze. ¡°I know. By the time I knew it was toote.¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°...¡± They stay in silence for a while, just looking at each other. Finally Rick raised his hand and made a signal towards his ears to which Kaza nodded. As he had figured, there were eavesdroppers. They had to be creative. ¡°You know why I came.¡± ¡°I do.¡± ¡°Where is she?¡± ¡°Safe. And indefinitely not he¡­¡± ¡°Moooom?!¡± The voice came from the room behind the counter. Rick gave her a knowing smile and Kaza closed her eyes and sighed. ¡°Mom?¡± said the voice again. Finally, its owner walked through the door and went to Kaza but stopped when she saw the ex-marine. She was a perfect copy of her mother. Beautiful red hair, deep green eyes and skin as pale as snow. Garp was right, the only physical attribute she got from him was his height. ¡°You¡­ You¡­!¡± she said. ¡°Me¡­ Me¡­¡± he joked. ¡°You¡¯re under arrest, pirate!¡± she shouted while pointing her finger at him. It took everything he had to notugh out loud at such adorableness. ¡°She¡¯s my daughter alright.¡± Rick turned his head towards Kaza, a grin on his face. Like him, she was trying her best not tough. ¡°If you can, go ahead, Eri.¡± ¡°How do you know my name?!¡± she said in shock. Kaza got closer and took her hands in hers. ¡°Because Eri¡­ He¡¯s your father.¡± Contrary to his expectations she didn¡¯t freeze in shock this time but dealt with the information quickly. ¡°That¡¯s a lie! You said dad was a good man! A good marine! He¡¯s a pirate!¡± ¡°I wasn¡¯t always.¡± Rick replied. Eri turned to her mother, for confirmation, or more for denial. She wanted her to say it was a joke, that the worst traitor of the marines, one of the most notorious pirates in the first part of Grand Line, wasn''t her father. The look she received told her that it was the truth. ¡°You¡¯re NOT my father!¡± ¡°I..¡± ¡°You! Were not there!¡± she yelled. ¡°I didn¡¯t¡­¡¯ ¡°Not for mom, not for me!¡± She shouted and ran back to where she came from, quickly followed by Makino who said she would take care of her. Kaza turned to look at Rick. He had his eyes close an tear was falling down a side of his face. She couldn¡¯t help herself and took one of his hands in hers and squeezed, wanting to support him. She may have been cold towards him but that was because the navy was listening. She never stopped loving him, not after all those years. Even when it was clear he was married to someone else. How mad she had been the day she found out. She wanted to find that Nico Robin and do unspeakable things to her. Makino had to close down the pub and spend the day calming her down and then another dayforting and cheering her up. Thankfully, Garp who was there at the time took care of Eri by bringing into a camping trip in the forest. ¡°I expected her to react like that¡­¡± he said, wiping the tear away. ¡°I didn¡¯t expect the pain though. Didn¡¯t even cross my mind.¡± Kaza couldn¡¯t answer like she wanted, she wasn¡¯t free to do so. She just squeezed his hand harder. Rick freed the said hand for her grasp and removed one of the earring he wore. He put it into Kaza¡¯s hand and from an inside pocket from his overcoat picked a small box and a letter, putting them on the counter. Bending forward he grabbed the red head¡¯s head and kissed her lovingly for a moment. When he broke the kiss he turned around and left without a word, without looking at her onest time. ~~~~~ Just outside of the pub he was confronted by Tsuru and Sengoku. They just faced each other silently. ¡°...¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°Well¡­ I¡¯m still alive, it could have been worse.¡± he tentatively joked to no avail. ¡°I guess, it¡¯s time for the two of you to do your job and me to do mine.¡± ¡°As if being a pirate was a job.¡± snorted Sengoku, angry. ¡°You could always surrender peacefully.¡± Tsuru offered. ¡°We both know I can¡¯t do that. Not until the world has a new system in ce. A just one, a fair one.¡± ¡°The world has been that way for hundreds of years.¡± Sengoku said. ¡°It doesn¡¯t mean it¡¯s right. It just means that it¡¯s old.¡± ¡°It is right!¡± he eximed. ¡°Whatbel do you think of if I say I know a person, that do whatever they wants like hurt, kill, rape, steal, and enve people?¡± ¡°¡°Pirate.¡±¡± ¡°I¡¯d say Celestial Dragon. Why is it right for them, to do the same things pirates do and to not be arrested and locked up for those crimes? What gives? Because 800 years ago 20 families united the world? I give them credit, that was no small feat but that doesn¡¯t give them an excuse, that doesn¡¯t give them the right to do as they wish. And certainly not their descendants who did nothing but being born, and this¡­ was not even their doing but their parents.¡± ¡°¡°...¡±¡± ¡°Are you really okay with this? With their behavior? With how unfair and unjust the world is? Uncle, look me in the eye and tell me it¡¯s not fucked up.¡± To his credit, Sengoku did look him in the eye but couldn¡¯t say what Rick asked him to say. ¡°This¡­ is the order of things.¡± he simply said. ¡°Why did you join the marines?¡± ¡°To bring justice to those that deserved it. To do what¡¯s right.¡± ¡°When did you give up then? When did you stop believing? When did you think it didn¡¯t matter anymore? That you couldn¡¯t change a thing?¡± The former Fleet Admiral had no answer to that. Tsuru did have one though. ¡°You don¡¯t understand. For years we did our best to bring this change, but¡­ we couldn¡¯t do it. Not with pirates all over the seas, not with the people in power.¡± ¡°I get it. Really I do. What I don¡¯t get is, why didn''t you teach the generation after you? Would you have taught two marines they could have taught two marines in return and so on and on. It would have taken time but the change would havee, without much bloodshed. Now? Now there is the R.A. , there is me. Now it will be a bloodbath, that nobody who wants change wants. On the other hand psycho like Akainu rise in rank and fill the seas with even more blood. The blood of innocent people, like in O¡¯hara.¡± ¡°ENOUGH!¡± Sengoku shouted. ¡°You¡¯reing with us, peacefully or not, you have a lot to answer for.¡± ¡°Are you talking about my crimes, or my rtionship with Tsuru?¡± Rick smirked, making a vein appear on Sengoku¡¯s temple. ¡°You little¡­!¡± ¡°Thetter then. Honestly, what¡¯s wrong with it? She was single, I was single¡­¡± ¡°You do know that I¡¯m here right?¡± Tsuru interrupted. ¡°Believe me, I know, you¡¯re difficult to lmiss.¡± replied Rick, sending a wink at her. ¡°HOW?!¡± Yelled Sengoku. ¡°Honestly, I don''t know why you¡¯re surprised. I mean¡­ It wasn¡¯t really a secret that Big Sis is my first love. The whole HQ knew about¡­ Ohhhh! ¡± said Rick in realization. ¡°You never did! You never realized that¡­ Wow.¡± he added in bewilderment, his eyes unfocused for a moment. ¡°To be fair, I did say that I would marry her.¡± ¡°You were six!¡± replied Sengoku. ¡°So?¡± ¡°SO¡­!¡± ¡°Alright enough. Sengoku don¡¯t me him because you failed to see it. And to be fair, only Kaza found out. Rick stopped ying with him.¡± ¡°Alright, alright. I¡¯m sorry if I pissed you off Uncle, it wasn¡¯t my intention.¡± ¡°... Apology epted. You¡¯re still a little shit though.¡± ¡°And you, an old buddha.¡± The two looked at each other for a moment before smiling. ¡°It¡¯s time now,e with¡­¡± He was interrupted by a loud rumbling sounding from above. All three raised their heads to take a look and saw a huge ind floating in the air. ¡°So it¡¯s happening again.¡± Tsuru said. ¡°What is?¡± Rick asked. ¡°For weeks now, small inds disappeared in East Blue without leaving any trace.¡± answered Sengoku. ¡°The navy had no leads. Until now.¡± ¡°We need to put a stop to it, and arrest whoever is behind it.¡± ¡°Oh I can tell you who¡¯s behind it.¡± Rick Said. ¡°You can?!¡± Tsuru asked in surprise. ¡°Big ass ind floating in the air, operating sneakily in the weakest sea in the world where the marines presence is small and weak? On top of my head¡­¡± ¡°Shiki.¡± answered Sengoku. ¡°Yeah.¡± ¡°How so?¡± Tsuru asked. ¡°Well, few devil fruits have the ability to make an entire ind float. It¡¯s not technology otherwise the marines would already have it. It¡¯s also a big enterprise, stealing inds, so it costs a shit load of money. Andst but not least the sneakiness. Sure there may be someone somewhere out there who could do it besides Shiki but he¡¯s the only one I can think of.¡± On the side Sengoku didn''t show anything on his face but he felt proud. Few would have made those deductions. Once again he cursed Akainu for what he did all those years ago. ¡°I¡¯ll take care of him.¡± ¡°It¡¯s not your job.¡± replied Tsuru. ¡°No, but I¡¯m the only one here who can go up there. And I¡¯ll be damned if I let that bastard destroy my daughter¡¯s home. So you two better protect her from anythinging her way while I deal with him.¡± ¡°And Kaza?¡± she asked, prompting Rick to snort. ¡°She¡¯s strong enough to take care of herself.¡± ¡°You could make us float up there.¡± Sengoku said. ¡°Yeah, no. That asshole threatened my daughter¡¯s life, it¡¯s personal now, I don¡¯t want anyone meddling in. Besides, I still owe him for ruining my birthday.¡± Without another word he flew towards the top of the floating ind, leaving Sengoku and Tsuru on the ground. ¡°For being so chaotic and erratic¡­¡± ¡°He never changes.¡± Replied Tsuru. ¡°...¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°How¡­ How did ite to this Tsuru?¡± ¡°It¡¯s simple. We failed him, just like we failed ourselves.¡± ~~~~~ As Rick left the pub Kaza took the letter he gave her in her hands. For a moment she hesitated but finally decided to open it. In it, without any surprise, everything. Who or what he was, his struggles, his rtionships, his thoughts and feelings with as few words he could. He went straight to the point. It took every ounce of will power she had to not cry. She couldn¡¯t let herself go, not when she needed to have a talk with her daughter. She would let her tears flow after taking care of her daughter, not before. She took a look at the small box, having a good idea at what was inside. She knew, should she open it she wouldn¡¯t be able to hold herself back anymore. So she just picked it up and put it in her apron¡¯s pocket before going up to Eri¡¯s room. When she entered she saw Makino talking with her not so little girl anymore. The former got up, kissed thetter on her forehead and joined her at the door. ¡°Saying she¡¯s upset would be an understatement. She needs you now more than ever.¡± ¡°Thank you.¡± was all Kaza said as Makino left the two redheads alone. Walking towards the bed, she sat beside her daughter and took her in her arms. ¡°He¡¯s not my dad, mom. He¡¯ll never be my dad.¡± the young girl said. ¡°That¡¯s alright.¡± ¡°Really?¡± ¡°Yes. If you don¡¯t want him in your life, then I won¡¯t let him in your life.¡± ¡°Thank you.¡± ¡°It¡¯ste, time to go to bed. Tomorrow I¡¯ll take a day off and we¡¯ll spend the day together.¡± ¡°Mom, I¡¯m fine, there is¡­¡± ¡°You¡¯re not the only one his visit had an effect on, sweetie.¡± ¡°Oh! I¡¯m sorry, I didn¡¯t¡­¡± ¡°It¡¯s alright, I¡¯m sure we can cheer each other up.¡± Kaza replied with a smile. Eri nodded in agreement and went under the cover. Kara kissed her and went for the door. She opened it and closed it without exiting the room. Suddenly some kind of bubble epassed the entire room. ¡°Mom? What¡¯s that?¡± ¡°That, sweetie, is a bubble blocking any sound from getting out.¡± ¡°You.. ate a devil fruit?¡± ¡°I did. Some years ago, I was lucky to find it. It¡¯s very useful for being secretive and sneaky.¡± ¡°But¡­¡± ¡°Why now? Because I don¡¯t want the navy to hear what I¡¯m about to tell you.¡± ¡°Tell what?¡± ¡°The truth¡­ about your father.¡± ¡°What truth?¡± Kaza went back to the bed and motionned her daughter to make some space for her on the bed, which she did. ¡°Your father is not a traitor. He never was.¡± ¡°What?! But they said¡­¡± ¡°It¡¯s a lie, Eri. A big fat lie. Your father never tried to assassinate anyone back then. He quitted.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t understand¡­¡± ¡°The current Fleet Admiral had a grudge against your father, even since he humiliated him when he was a kid. It was a grudge thatsted for years, and stillsts today. So when he got the opportunity, he framed your father and used the newspaper for it. The navy and the world government couldn''t publish a corrective statement. An admiral giving fake news for personal matters? The image of the navy would have taken a huge blow.¡± ¡°Why did he leave the navy then?¡± ¡°He found out the truth about the world, the truth about the celestial dragons.¡± ¡°What truth?¡± ¡°That they are even worse than the worst pirates that existed. Everyw in existence, they can break any of them with impunity and with the help of the world government¡¯s agents. Just because their ancestors created the World Government.¡± ¡°But that¡¯s¡­¡± ¡°Wrong. I agree. When your father found out¡­ From what Grandpa Garp and Grandma Tsur told me, he didn¡¯t take it very well. His sense of justice is strong Eri. Just like you.¡± ¡°Like me?¡± ¡°Yes. So when he found out the truth¡­ To him it was as if his whole life was a lie. He joined the marines, to help the people, to protect them and bring justice to everyone. But with the celestial dragons¡­ he realized that the navy and the World Government were corrupt and instead of keeping on with the job trying to make a difference, he quit. He refused to be part of something like that, not after everyone encouraged him to do his best to achieve his dream when it would have been impossible.¡± ¡°His dream?¡± ¡°Being the Fleet Admiral instead of your Uncle Buddha.¡± ¡°Just like me then¡­¡± Eri whispered. ¡°You may look like me Eri, but your personality, it mostlyes from him.¡± Eri went silent, musing about what she just heard before asking a question. ¡°Why is he a pirate then?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t think it was in his n to be one. Your father was the best of the rookies. Barely 18 and already an enseign, and he would have been promoted sooner if he hadn''t been so young. He put lots of pirates behind bars. So when he became a fugitive, he had both the navy and the pirates on his back so he couldn¡¯t join thetter. How did he be one? I don¡¯t know. He didn¡¯t say anything about it in his letter.¡± ¡°What letter?¡± ¡°This one.¡± She picked the letter she had put with the box and handed it to her daughter who immediately began reading it. ¡°I have a sister?!¡± Eri eximed. ¡°It seems like it.¡± ¡°He''s been absent all my life and go to have another child?!¡± the young girl yelled angrily. ¡°Now that¡¯s not fair to your father, he didn¡¯t know about you. Not until a few months ago.¡± ¡°WHY?!¡± ¡°Because I found out I was pregnant with you only a month after he left. If anyone knew that you existed beyond your grandpa and grandma, you would have been in danger. They would have used you to get to him. That¡¯s why I left the navy, to protect you.¡± ¡°That doesn¡¯t exin why he didn¡¯t know!¡± ¡°Nobody knew where your father was for the next ten years until reappeared in the kingdom of basta. Grandpa saw him in Water Seven though. Why he didn¡¯t say anything I don¡¯t know. What I do know, is that your father would have done anything to get to you. Just like he did today.¡± ¡°Why did hee in the first ce? Whye after twelve years?¡± ¡°Because he loves you.¡± ¡°He doesn¡¯t even know me!¡± ¡°He doesn¡¯t, but you¡¯re his daughter. The one he always wanted to have.¡± ¡°He wanted me?¡± Eri asked, surprised. ¡°I knew that one day, when he was old enough, he wanted to start a family, a big one.¡± ¡°A big one?¡± ¡°Your father is an orphan. Raised by your grandpa, grandma, and Uncle. While they were his family, they were also his superiors, so it wasn¡¯t really a real family. He wanted his own.¡± ¡°I see.¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°He loves you.¡± Eri said showing the letter as proof. ¡°He does.¡± ¡°And he loves others.¡± ¡°Sadly.¡± Kaza replied in defeat. ¡°Do you¡­ Do you still love him?¡± ¡°More than ever. I named you after him for a reason after all.¡± the mother confessed, prompting the daughter to put up an interrogative face. ¡°Your real name is Erica sweetie. We call you Eri to hide the fact that you¡¯re his daughter.¡± ¡°Why not choose another name then?¡± ¡°Never.¡± Kazaughed. ¡°...¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°Mom?¡± ¡°Yes?¡± ¡°What are you going to do?¡± ¡°What about?¡± ¡°His proposal.¡± ¡°I¡­ don¡¯t know. You¡¯re my first priority, not your father.¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°I want to go after him.¡± Eri announced. ¡°Eri?¡± ¡°I have a sister out there. And considering the number of women in his life I don¡¯t think she will be the only sibling I will have.¡± ¡°What are you getting to, sweetie?¡± ¡°He¡¯s MY dad. Mine. I won¡¯t let anyone steal him from me! Not after needing him my whole life. Doesn¡¯t matter if they are my siblings or not! He owes me twelve years of spoiling and I want those years.¡± Kaza held back herugh and picked up the small box in her apron. In front of daughter she opened it and sure enough, a beautiful engagement ring was in it. She looked at it for a moment and with her right hand put it on the ring finger on her left hand. ¡°Tomorrow, we¡¯ll start nning how to make your father ours.¡± ¡°Yes!¡± ¡°And everyone on our way?¡± ¡°We¡¯ll destroy them!¡± ¡°Good!¡± The two redheads fell asleep cuddling to each other. At the same time the world shook, scared of the chaos and the insanity this new team could bring to it. Chapter 109: Si vis pacem, para bellum Chapter 109: Si vis pacem, para bellum Chapter 109: Si vis pacem, para bellum When Kaza and Eri exited the pub for their morning run they were stunned by the sight in front of them. Marines were everywhere, running around, either helping people or carrying heavy stuff like huge rocks or supplies. Sengoku was barking orders and Tsuru was talking with some young officers, probably giving orders too. ¡°Tsuru¡­ What happened?¡± Kaza asked. She couldn¡¯t understand the chaos. ¡°That kind of destruction¡­ It makes noise. How did¡­¡± She stopped her thoughts there and remembered that she didn¡¯t remove the noise bubble before going to sleep. It was a small wonder that they heard nothing. Finishing her talk with her subordinates, Tsuru turned around, greeted the mother and daughter duo and gave an exnation. ¡°Shiki, happened.¡± ¡°Who¡¯s that?¡± asked Eri. ¡°Shiki the Golden Lion. At one time he was the rival of the pirate king.¡± answered Tsuru. ¡°Why would he, of all people, be here?¡± Kaza asked. ¡°Some weeks ago we received reports of inds disappearing in East Blue. Without leaving any trace.¡± Chimed In Sengoku who was done with his own order. ¡°And he showed upst night?¡± Eri asked to which he nodded in agreement. ¡°But¡­ Such widespread destruction¡­ It¡¯s not his style. It¡¯s usually focused on a small target. Well except THAT time at Marineford.¡± The eldest redheadmented. ¡°Actually back then, that was Garp.¡± replied Sengoku with a frown. ¡°Then, who did¡­¡± She didn¡¯t finish her sentence. She knew who did it. ¡°Mom?¡± ¡°He must have been really pissed.¡± Kaza said, ignoring her daughter. ¡° Shiki ruined his first birthday after all.¡± Sengoku said, shrugging his shoulders. ¡°Oh right, I forgot. He spent weeks in a hospital bed. No wonder he was angry.¡± ¡°Who are you talking about?¡± Eri insisted, not liking to be ignored.It was Tsuru who answered her. ¡°Your father.¡± Looking around, she took a good look at the situation. When she saw a huge rock in the sea, the size of a small ind, she asked to be sure. ¡°He did all that?¡± ¡°No. What you¡¯re seeing is just the result of the fight. If you look carefully the vige is almost intact and the number of people hurt is small. Your father did the best he could to defeat Shiki while protecting the vige.¡± ¡°... Dad is that strong?!¡± ¡°Even more than that. The fight was quite fast actually, but with Shiki unconscious the effect of his devil fruit stopped and the ind started to fall, so your father did the best he could in the short time he had.¡± Tsuru said with a prideful smile. Sengoku seemed pissed and left to give some more orders. ¡°What¡¯s wrong with Uncle Buddha?¡± ¡°He¡¯s unhappy because your father got away leaving Shiki behind, right?¡± Kaza asked Tsuru for confirmation. ¡°Yes, but he¡¯s also pissed that Rick is not in the navy anymore.¡± ¡°Why is that?¡± Eri asked. ¡°Your father was his student, he hoped that one day he would be the one to seed him. Everytime your father makes the news with something extravagant, Sengokuments Rick¡¯s departure from the marines.¡± Eri nodded in understanding and Kaza sent her away to help with the vigers, promising that their mother daughter day would be tomorrow instead. Once the young redhead was out of earshot, she spoke to Tsuru. ¡°Is he well?¡± ¡°Yes. He has some bad cuts here and there, but hepletely destroyed Shiki.¡± replied Tsuru, prompting Kaza to sigh in relief. ¡°He got you back.¡± the older woman stated, pointing at the ring on Kaza¡¯s left hand. ¡°He never lost me to begin with.¡± the redhead replied with a smile. ¡°What about you?¡± Tsuru pulled out a chain around her neck from under her uniform, which passed through a ring too. ¡°To my shame, he did.¡± ¡°Shame? Come on, we both know you¡¯re happy he did.¡± Kaza said with a knowing grin. ¡°Perhaps.¡± They stood in silence, watching the marines work with the vigers when Tsuru asked a peculiar question. ¡°Eri, knows now¡­ right? What does she think?¡± ¡°I told her the gist of this yesterday night and went into the details when we woke up. She¡¯s really pissed at Akainu. He should watch his back because a twelve years old ising for him.¡± Kaza replied, making Tsuruugh. ¡°That is, if Rick doesn¡¯t get to him first.¡± ¡°True.¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°What are you going to do?¡± ¡°Eri¡­ wants to go after him.¡± ¡°Did she now?¡± ¡°Yes¡­ He left me a letter yesterday. In it were a lot of things, things that made Eri do aplete 180 on her opinion of him and brought a side I never thought she had.¡± ¡°Really? What side?¡± ¡°Possessive.¡± Kaza replied with a proud evil smile. ¡°Possessive?¡± Tsuru asked Puzzled. ¡°Rick has another daughter, she¡¯s almost two, and with the number of women he¡¯s involved with they will be others and she doesn¡¯t like the idea of sharing her dad despite not knowing him at all. That was quite cute to see.¡± ¡°So she did take more than just her appearance from you.¡± replied Tsuru with a chuckle. ¡°Well you know the saying: Like mother, like daughter.¡± ¡°What about you?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll gut them. I¡¯ll gut them all.¡± Kaza replied immediately without missing a beat. ¡°... Or you know you could learn to share, like you did with me.¡± Tsuru advised? ¡°You are different. I know you, I know you wouldn¡¯t have taken him from me. Them? No, no¡­ He¡¯s mine.¡± ¡°Good luck with that, he¡¯s quite in love with his wife.¡± ¡°Then I¡¯ll make him fall in love harder with me, then I¡¯ll gut her.¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°When are you leaving?¡± ¡°I wanted to leave by the end of the week but¡­¡± she raised her hand and waved it around. ¡°What exactly do you intend to do? You know he¡¯s in the New World. It¡¯s not a ce for Eri, not when it¡¯s just the two of you.¡± ¡°I¡­ I thought of getting in contact with the R.A.¡± she confessed, surprising Tsuru. ¡°Why?¡± ¡°It¡¯s the only lead I have. I mean, he¡¯s fighting the World Government, the celestial dragons, just like they do. Chances are high that they are somehow in contact.¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°And his fight¡­ It¡¯s right Tsuru. I don¡¯t want my girl to live in a world where a fat ass could enve her with one word and use her as he wishes.¡± Tsuru looked at her pensively. ¡°I have a lot of vacation piled up. Stay here for a while and I¡¯ll bring you to them.¡± That astonished Kaza. Tsuru, one of the most loyal and dedicated marine for the past four decades, was working for the R.A? Impossible. ¡°Since when?¡± ¡°Last night.¡± ¡°... What changed?¡± ¡°Let¡¯s say Rick was convincing¡­¡± ¡°Tell me about it.¡± And Tsuru did, rting the conversation Sengoku, Rick and her had and how their now fiance made her remember why she was a marine in the first ce. He had gone through every self-serving lie she had told herself over the years. ¡°Sengoku?¡± Kaza asked but Tsuru shook her head. ¡°Nor Garp.¡± ¡°You¡¯re ying a dangerous game, Tsuru.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve been a marine for more than forty years, I¡¯m used to danger.¡± ¡°One thing I wonder¡­ When and how did Rick give you the information to reach them?¡± ¡°Sengoku threw me up on Shiki¡¯s Ind. After hended that chunk of the ind into the sea, we talked and he told me where to find them, or to be more urate where to find someone who could lead me to them.¡± ¡°Who?¡± ¡°Silver Rayleigh.¡± Kaza had to do a double take at that. ¡°The dark king?!¡± ¡°Yes. He¡¯s on Sabaody Archipgo, more often than not hanging around in a pub or so Rick said.¡± ¡°Since when is he a member of the R.A. ?¡± ¡°ording to Rick he isn¡¯t, he didn¡¯t borate though.¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°Forget about Eri and I waiting for your vacation time Tsuru. We¡¯re going with you now.¡± ¡°What?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll tell Sengoku that I would be safer closer to the Marine HQ on the Paradise side of Grand Line.¡± ¡°... That could work¡­ The celestial dragons don¡¯t go there anymore, not after what happened two years ago and with Rick stunts in Marie Geoise thesest few months they are scared to go down.¡± ¡°You¡¯ll need to ditch Sengoku.¡± ¡°Vacation time.¡± ¡°I hope he won¡¯t take some too and follow you.¡± ¡°He won¡¯t if I don¡¯t tell him.¡± ¡°We¡¯ll need secure den den mushis too.¡± ¡°That¡¯s not a problem.¡± ¡°Then it seems like we have a n.¡± Kaza announced with a mischievous smile. ~~~~~ Rick was on his way to Amazon Lily. He couldn¡¯t go back to the crew without stopping on the way to see Lynda. Not after Eri¡¯s rejection. He needed his little snake more than anything right now, for confort. He tried to focus on something else than his first born, it wouldn¡¯t do him any good to keep thinking about it. Currently he was thinking about what happened that night. Not the fight with Shiki. His own devil fruit power countering the old pirate made the fight a quick one. Spending time on thinking about it was not worth it. But what happened afterwards¡­ That was theplete opposite. ¡°To think she, of all people, would change her mind¡­ Did I really get through her?¡± Tsuru agreeing to his point of view and wanting to be active about the change he wanted was a surprise. For a moment, he didn¡¯t believe her. He still had doubts but he decided to trust her and send her to Rayleigh. He really hoped he didn¡¯t make a mistake. That was also a reason why he was going to Amazon Lily. Soon, both Hancock and Lynda wouldn¡¯t be safe anymore and he didn¡¯t see any safer ce than O¡¯hara. He knew they would treat them well. He was flying fast for a couple of days. Only stopping for sleep once on a deserted ind. He needed to hurry, as the reverie would end soon. He knew there was plenty of time but he wanted to give as much as he could to Hancock. Soon enough, as the sun was setting, he reached his destination. Quicklynding on the balcony of his fiancee''s bedroom, without anyone noticing, he looked around to see if anyone was here. To his greatest delight his little snake was. He got close to her crib and picked her up in his arms, gently rocking her. He frowned when he thought that she was unguarded. After a few minutes the door to the bedroom opened and Hancock walked in. She did her best not to gasp at the sight of him and joined her two loves with a happy smile on her lips beforending them on his. ¡°You¡¯re here.¡± ¡°I am.¡± ¡°For how long?¡± ¡°... I don¡¯t know, a couple of days at least.¡± It was more than she could hope, she thought as Rick kissed their daughter and put her back in her crib, before taking her hands in his and led her towards the bed where theyid together. ¡°She was alone when I came in.¡± ¡°I was in the next room for a few minutes and Salome was watching over her.¡± she replied motioning with her chin to a corner of the room where her snake was resting on multiple pillows. ¡°Our daughter is the best gift I ever got. More than my freedom, there is no way I would neglect her and leave her unprotected.¡± She said as had her head in the crook of his neck. ¡°...¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°I have news. Some good, plenty bad. Which do you want first?¡± ¡°Bad, since I¡¯m already aware of your dalliance with the basta princess, let''s keep theming.¡± She said, jealousy in her voice. ¡°You¡¯re really cute when you¡¯re jealous, you know?¡± ¡°I DON¡¯T¡­ care about you and that princess.¡± She controlled her voice, remembering this time that her daughter was sleeping a few feets away. ¡°Vivi and I is a story that started not long after I met you.¡± ¡°Still don¡¯t care.¡± ¡°Even if I say that she didn¡¯t give me an answer?¡± ¡°... Maybe¡­¡± ¡°You know what Crocodile did to her country?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°Well, that fanned the fire in her even more. She intends to push the end of the Shichibukai. And by looking at the track record of them it¡¯s a good thing. The problem is¡­¡± ¡°Me, being one of them.¡± ¡°And Lynda. You won¡¯t have immunity anymore, and the first thing they¡¯ll do is try to arrest you. I¡¯m already an absentee father, she can¡¯t have her mother gone too.¡± ¡°I can deal with them.¡± ¡°Perhaps, perhaps not. I¡­ don¡¯t want to take any chances.¡± ¡°What do you suggest then?¡± ¡°That you take her and leave for a safe ce that I know.¡± ¡°What safe ce?¡± ¡°O¡¯hara.¡± She raised herself and looked him in the eye. ¡°O¡¯hara is not gone. That¡¯s where I spent my time when I was hiding. I rebuilt it. That¡¯s also the ce where I intend to live after Luffy bes the pirate king. Currently It¡¯s also the HQ of the R.A. , they¡¯ll treat you like the queen that you are; Lynda too.¡± Hancock kept looking at him, her face stoic. ¡°I¡¯m telling you to go there. I¡¯m telling you I wish you¡¯ll go there.¡± ¡°If¡­ If I want to go there¡­ how would I ¡­¡± ¡°Rayleigh. He has an Eternal Pose for the ind.¡± he answered and she simply nodded in understanding. ¡°What else? What¡¯s the next bad news?¡± Rick took a pillow they were not using and handed it to her. ¡°What is it for?¡± ¡°You¡¯re going to scream with the next news.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not going to scream.¡± ¡°You will.¡± ¡°I. Will. Not.¡± She insisted. ¡°Very well. I have a twelve years old daughter that I didn¡¯t know existed.¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°...¡± They kept looking at each other for a moment, before Hancock snatched the pillow in his hand, brought it to her face and screamed in it, for a good minute in one breath. Out of air, she gave back the pillow to Rick and in a barely controlled voice said one word. ¡°Exin¡± ¡° Was in a rtionship before I was framed. She found out she was pregnant AFTER I had already left. She raised her in hiding since then to protect her for any assohole from the World Government or the navy that would use her to get to me. I learned about her after we beat Domingo.¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°Did you meet her?¡± ¡°I just came back from our meeting. It didn¡¯t go well, as expected. I mean, I wasn¡¯t there for twelve years and I just showed up out of the blue¡­That with the fact she has the same sense of justice that I do and that I¡¯m a pirate¡­¡± ¡°A recipe for a disaster.¡± ¡°Yes. At least her mother, while not telling her my name, told her good things about me while growing up. So I still have hope of having some kind of rtionship with her.¡± Hancock left his side and straddled him, put her hands on his chest and kissed him. ¡°One day.¡± ¡°You don¡¯t think that.¡± he replied with a chuckle. ¡°Actually I do. My distaste of you being hurt, overwhelmed my distaste of you having another daughter.¡± She said as Rick let his hands roam upwards from her thighs. ¡°Next bad news?¡± she asked. ¡°...I think that¡¯s it.¡± ¡°What are the good news then?¡± ¡°I have your ring.¡± he said, rummaging through his overcoat and pulling out a small ck box. Opening it, he presented a nice engagement ring with a beautiful ruby on top of it. Hancock naturally presented her left hand and he put the ring on the appropriate finger. ¡°I take, you like it?¡± ¡°Very.¡± Hancock answered looking at the blood red stone, then kissed him a second time. ¡°Next big news is¡­ I sent a celestion dragon flying in front of all the royalty present at the reverie. The cherry on the cake is¡­ It was the same guy that Luffy and I punched on Sabaody.¡± he said, making her smile. ¡°Dear husband, If you wanted to arouse me tonight, you seeded.¡± she said, bringing his hands resting on her hips, on her breasts. ¡°As if you were not aroused the moment you saw me. ¡°Touch¨¦.¡± she replied and kissed him again. When they broke the kiss, she noticed him frowning. ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± ¡°Aren¡¯t your breasts bigger?¡± ¡°They are.¡± she said. Hancock removed his hands from her chest and stood up on the bed, her legs on each side of his waist. Very slowly, she removed her dress, and let it fall down. Rick¡¯s eyes went as wide as saucer when he saw the small bump she had. ¡°You¡¯re¡­¡± ¡°Pregnant again, yes.¡± She smiled. He raised himself, his head facing the aforementioned bump, and caressed it with his hands. Finally he embraced Hancock and kissed their unborn baby. He pulled back andid back down pulling her with him. ¡°You know, if everytime we have sex, while you¡¯re not with child, we make a baby, it will quickly get out of hand.¡± ¡°That¡¯s fine, I¡¯ll give you as many as you want.¡± ¡°Careful, I might take your word for it.¡± ¡°Then do it, because I¡¯m serious.¡± ¡°... Even if I tell you I want a family bigger than Big Mom¡¯s?¡± ¡°... I¡­ I guess I¡¯ll need help then.¡± she admitted unwillingly. ¡°Let¡¯s put the n for the future aside and let¡¯s celebrate.¡± he said as he changed potion, pinning her under him. ¡°What a wonderful idea.¡± ~~~~~ Rick spent three days with Hancock. It was one more day than nned but her insistence won him over, officially. The truth was, it was because of Lynda. Not that he didn¡¯t want to be with Hancock but after his eldest rejection he wanted to be there for his youngest as much as he could, despite his duty as Vice-Captain of the straw hats. Ever since he hase back from the dead, he just kept on leaving the crew and joining back. He couldn¡¯t keep on doing that. Not when they were so close to reach Laugh Tale as they already have two of the fours road poneglyphs needed to reach the ind. He needed to stay for good until Luffy was finally the pirate king. The time with his little snake healed his heart a bit as she was always smiling and giggling when he was holding her. Hancock was a bit jealous of how well their daughter behaved in his arms ( as much as an almost two years old can behave) but the sight of her child and husband together was so strongly effective that it defeated any negative feelings she may have had. And yes husband. Hancock didn¡¯t wait for them to have a small and private ceremony with her sisters as witnesses and officiated by elder Nyon, the day after his arrival. The pirate queen had said that she could not wait anymore, not with a second baby on the way but Rick knew it was because she didn¡¯t want to get married after he had wedded another of his partners. She couldn¡¯t have the title of the first wife, fine, she couldn¡¯t really do anything about it but there was no way in hell where she would settle for anything less than second. She was Boa Fucking Hancok, the pirate queen and the most beautiful women in the world (admittedly) after all. When Rick finally left, with a subtle limp, he was nothing but grateful. While his perfect body had endless stamina, after flying to Foosha Vige, fighting Shiki, then going to Amazon Lily, he had been tired but soldier on the first night of sex with Hancock. The next two days with the euphoria of being newlywed and the pregnancy Rick had a really hard time keeping up. After a few shbacks from his time with Kaza and his stay in a hospital afterwards back in the day, he was now hesitating between never getting a woman pregnant again or disappearing until the day of the delivery. He was currently flying over Grand Line in the New World, towards what he hoped was Wano. As Wano had his border closed there was no Eternal Pose leading to it, so he had to navigate with a piece of Luffy¡¯s vivre card. That was not easy. The piece was small and very inurate so he had to stop often to see if he hadn¡¯t deviated from the correct path, his flying forbidding him to use it while moving, as the piece would have been blown away. Finally, after three weeks of being away from his friends he saw the tall mountains of thends of the Samourais. Finally after nearly two months, he would see Robin again. Not a Chapter but fun fact #9 Not a Chapter but fun fact #9 Not a Chapter but fun fact #9 Wee to NaCB#9! The reverie arc was short but dear god is it full of words. I really had a lot of fun writing it. While the first chapter was difficult to write as I wanted to y on the unknown of Vi status regarding Rick and Robin, the others were not. True the second one is practically just a retold of the events of the fic, just for Vivi and while it was the least fun of the chapters to write. It¡¯s the one I took the most pleasure to read. Here are the fun facts:
  • Vivi should have not reacted like she did at all.
  • Instead a long sex scene would have happened. I decided otherwise, because Vivi would have been so OOC¡­ I couldn¡¯t stand it. Besides we already have Hancock and Kaza on the crazy lusty side which is more than enough.
  • Kaza and Tsuru both would have been present as a witness for the fight with Shiki.
  • The fight with Shiki would have been shown and not just a footnote. I decided otherwise because well¡­ Shiki is just a footnote. Nobody really cares for him.
  • Eri should have tried to fight Rick.
  • Kaza was originally supposed to be very aggressive with her words towards Rick. But that would have been OOC for her, and would have been counterproductive to the bit of character development single motherhood brought her (mainly patience). She found out that being a single mother was better than being second inmand of Garp.
  • Eri has always been supposed to have her mother¡¯s ¡°madness¡±. I turned it down a lot though and just showed a glimpse at the end of the revtion chapter. I did turn up to eleven Kaza¡¯s in the next though.Her fans ( if she has any), would have been pleased I think.
  • Hancock was not supposed to appear at all as a trip to Amazon Lily wasn¡¯t nned.
  • Hancock''s appearance will have ¡°important¡± repercussionster.
  • Tsuru was not supposed to turn her coat here, but further along in the story. It would have been even more radical, but I decided otherwise and to bring her possible involvement with the R.A slowly.
  • I toyed with the idea of Rick meeting Nojiko, but decided against it. Perhaps in the alternate Fan Fic where Rick stays in the Marines, if such a fan fic everes to the light of day.
Now the chapters:
  1. Chapter 105: Altered quote from the Broly episode of DBZA
  2. Chapter 106/107: Quote from Avatar Roku ( Avatar thest airbender)
  3. Chapter 108: Star Wars Empire Strikes back
  4. Chapter 109: Famoustin idiom.
Chapter 110: Prepare for trouble and make it double Chapter 110: Prepare for trouble and make it double Chapter 110: Prepare for trouble and make it double The sight of the archipgo in front of her filled her with nostalgia. This was the ce she went everytime she was on base and on leave. She wasn¡¯t the only one that repeatedly went there. Every marine who didn¡¯t have a family on base made the trip. Sabaody didn¡¯t change much this past decade. The giant trees and the bubbles were still the same. One thing changed from what she heard: the pirates were more active. With the navy¡¯s HQ now on the other side of Red Line and the celestial dragons not going down from their lofty thrones ( thanks to her man mainly) the marines were less present than before. The straw hats¡¯ departure from the inds a few months ago didn¡¯t help. Tsuru had secretly told her that many marines that were present that day asked for a transfer to another base on Grand Line; some event to one of the four blue. ¡°Mom, do you think we can visit the attraction park?¡± her daughter asked, as she came to her side. ¡°I¡¯m not sure we can; pirates are all over the ce, it might not be the best idea.¡± Eri made a disappointed face but didn¡¯t say anything to that as her mother was right. She did, however, ask to visit another ce. ¡°What about the stadium? Grandma Tsuru said that they often reyed King Brook''sst concert.¡± That, made Kaza smile. Eri loves King Brook and has plenty of his merchandising. It all began when Garp gifted her the skeleton¡¯s first album for her birthday a year ago. She has been surprised at the thoughtfulness of her former officer whoter confessed that he had asked what would be the best gift for an eleven years old girl to his crew and they all answered the same thing. Eri became a fan at the first hearing and ordered Garp to bring him goodies every time he visited or she would not talk to him anymore. She had been proud that day, more than usual, to see her little girl already in the know about how to make her grandpa do what she said. As garp didn¡¯te often, her collection was small; a few posters of different size, a plushy and a figurine but to Eri those were her treasures. When it was revealed to the world that King Brook was a pirate she was inconsble and put everything in the trash. Kaza picked up everything, knowing that one day she wille to regret it besides they were gifts. Her new desire to join her father brought her an epiphany. He was King Brook vice-captain! It wasn¡¯t until Kaza gave her back her treasure that Eri¡¯s depressed mood, resulting from her action, went away. She currently had everything in her backpack, which never left out of her sight. ¡°I don¡¯t know either, sweetie. We¡¯ll have to see.¡± ¡°See what?¡± asked a voice from behind them. The two redheads turned around to see Tsuru in casual clothes. That was a first for Kaza who always saw her mentor in uniform and thought it was somehow wrong. ¡°Eri wants to see the rey of King Brook¡¯s concert at the stadium.¡± ¡°Pirates hold the ce and take an exorbitant fee to let people enter.¡± replied Tsuru shaking her hand making Eri even more disappointed. ¡°But I heard that the audio version is sold in almost every shop.¡± The information made Eri gasp and turn to her mother. ¡°Mom! Can we¡­¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°YAY!¡± the mini-Kaza yelled, jumping around with her arms in the air, making her mother smile and Tsuru smile slightly. ¡°She¡¯s adorable.¡±mented the vice-admiral. ¡°She¡¯s just like him.¡± ¡°That she is¡­ I regret asking Garp to keep to himself where he hid the both of you. I missed so much.¡± The trip from Dressrosa to Impel Down to deliver Domingo didn¡¯t take long. On their way when they stopped at the HQ both she and Sengoku talked with Garp about their meeting with Rick. Knowing that his grandson was actually alive made the man cry in relief but that opened a can full of worms. Kaza needed to know that Rick was effectively alive and that he will, not would,e for Eri. Garp was scheduled to go to fishman ind to escort the royal family to the reverie, meaning he would not have the time to go to Foosha Vige to warn Kaza ande back. That¡¯s why he told the location of the girls to Tsuru and Sengoku. His friends dumped Domingo as fast as they could in a cell and directly went to Dawn ind. In the end, Tsuru has been in Eri¡¯s life for less than a month. Sure She got an update every time Garp came back from seeing her so she knew her in some way but the little girl knew almost nothing about her. ¡°Don¡¯t. You did it to protect her.¡± ¡°I know but¡­¡± ¡°No but. Nothing goodes when you think about what we should have done. We can¡¯t change it. It¡¯s a waste of time, believe me, I know.¡± That was true. For years she thought about how things could have gone differently if maybe she had made different choices. Would Rick, Eri and her have been a happy family as a result? She didn¡¯t know and it ate at her. It was thanks to Makino¡¯s help that Kaza focused on the present, on her daughter and that nothing else mattered. ¡°One thing is sure, she adores you and that, only after a month. Way more than Garp, I¡¯m telling you.¡± Kaza said, making Tsuru chuckle. ¡°And I didn¡¯t have to mop the floor with Garp this time.¡± the vice admiral replied with a smile. That was a new thing that shocked Kaza too. Tsuru smiling. True, from time to time the olderdy had let herself go and cracked a very small smile when Rick was still with them. But a full teeth smile? Never. It was all thanks to Eri who brought her immense joy. ¡°Sengoku?¡± Kaza asked, turning the conversation more serious. ¡°I couldn¡¯t take a vacation sneakily. It was too big of a thing, so he learned about it; no surprise here. To say he was shocked is an understatement but when I said I was feeling old and that between Rick and Eri it was just too much, he let it go. He¡¯s suspicious, as usual, though.¡± They were lucky that with what happened at the reverie, Sengoku was held back. Tsuru should have been too but threatened Sakazuki to quit instead of taking a vacation so everything went smoothly. When the ship finally docked in the port, Kaza took a deep breath. This was it. Soon they would be on their way to a safe ce. A ce Rick is tied to. But first they needed to buy a skeleton¡¯s album. This took less than a quarter to do as every single shop was selling it, even bakeries! ¡°Where to now?¡± Kaza asked. ¡°Groove 13.¡± The threedies made their way to her destination slowly, taking care of not being followed. Tsuru and Kaza knew that it wouldn¡¯t have been beyond Sengoku to put a tail on Tsuru for her unusual behavior. Thankfully there was no one keeping an eye on them and after a bit sped up. After an hour of walking they finally arrived at the bar Rick told Tsuru about. The vice- admiral turned to the redhead and saw an apprehensive look on their faces. ¡°Why so nervous?¡± ¡°We¡¯re going to meet the Dark King, Tsuru. I¡¯m good at fighting but against him?¡± Kaza said, shaking her head. ¡°Eri?¡± ¡°He¡¯s a pirate. I know¡­ I know now, that not all pirates are bad. Some are ¡­ okay like dad and his crew but¡­¡± ¡°Most pirates are bad. Your father and the crew is in, are perhaps the exception but the one inside? It¡¯s just an old man who doesn''t want any trouble.¡± ¡°And the visit of a vice-admiral of the navy is not trouble?¡± replied Eri sarcastically. ¡°Meh, it¡¯s going to be fine.¡± answered Tsuru. She opened the door to the bar and entered, followed by the two others and closed the door. The ce was empty, saved from the barmaid behind the counter and an old beggar in front of her, reading the newspaper with a mug in his hand. The barmaid was cleaning a ss and turned her head to take a look at her new clients. When she saw Tsuru her eyes narrowed but when she saw the young girl by her side she rxed and just smiled. ¡°Rayleigh.¡± Tsuru said. Hearing his name, the beggar (to Eri¡¯s eyes) raised his head from the newspaper and looked at the one calling him out. Recognizing Tsuru, one of his eyebrows raised in questioning. ¡°Tsuru¡­ It¡¯s been years. Came for a fight? And what are those clothes? A new way to infil¡­¡± ¡°We need your help.¡± Tsuru cut him off and went straight to the point. ¡°...We?¡± The dark king took a look at the two people apanying the vice-admiral. His eyesnded on the redhead beauty first and thought nothing of it. When theynded on the young girl who was obviously her daughter he felt it. A bad feeling. A really bad feeling that only one man ever made him feel. Instantly he knew who that young girl was. ¡°Nope. Nope, nope, nope, nope. I¡¯m out of here. The father was enough for a lifetime, I¡¯m not dealing with the daughter.¡± He tried to raise himself from his seat when Shaky put a hand on his shoulders and made him sit back down. ¡°Dear, please.¡± the barmaid said. Rayleigh looked at his wife, and saw her face. It was the ¡®do what I say or you¡¯ll be sorry¡¯ face. He knew he was screwed, one way or another. Taking a deep breath he turned back to the trio. ¡°Speak.¡± ¡°We need to get to O¡¯hara.¡± At the deration the dark king¡¯s jaw dropped to the ground. He was dumbfounded. He wondered why she wanted to go there, and why was she asking him when the marine still had Eternal Poses for the ind. ¡°¡°...¡±¡± ¡°... Why?¡± ¡°The R.A. is there.¡± Rayleigh was on alert. That information was known only by a very very select few outside the R.A. ''s members themselves. How would Tsur know about it? ¡°Rick told me.¡± ¡°He told you?! But wh... You turned your coat?!¡± yelled the old man in realization. ¡°I did.¡± ¡°Holy shit! You! Tsuru, the ice queen of the marine, one of the most loyal to the navy, turned your coat?!¡± ¡°Do you have a hearing problem with your advanced age now?¡± ¡°Fuck¡­¡± he began before being pped n the back on his head by Shaky. ¡°Language, there is a kid.¡± The dark king turned to his wife, bewildered before turning back to Tsuru. ¡°I¡¯m tired, Rayleigh, and despite my looks, I¡¯m not all that young. I¡¯m done with the world nobles.¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°Mom, is that really the pirate king¡¯s first mate?¡± ¡°I know it¡¯s hard to believe but yes.¡± ¡°And why is it hard to believe?¡± asked Rayleigh. ¡°You look like a beggar.¡± replied Eri. ¡°Why¡­ you little¡­¡± ¡°She¡¯s not wrong.¡± Tsuru said with a taunting brow raised and a smirk on her face. ¡°... No¡± ¡°What?¡± ¡°Do you have hearing problems too, Tsuru? I said no. I won¡¯t help you.¡± ¡°You won¡¯t?¡± said Tsuru in defiance. ¡°Eri.¡± Kaza said with a firm tone. Without giving any answer Eri got close to Rayleigh, raised her head and looked him in the eyes with the best puppy dog eyes she could make. ¡°Please, mister.¡± The dark king looked at her in silence. Eri¡¯s eyes were effective and ruthless in their assault on his heart. ¡°I¡­ I¡­ won¡¯t.¡± he replied with difficulty. ¡°You jerk!¡± shouted Eri kicking his shin. Still under the effect of the puppy dog eyes he didn¡¯t anticipate that from the young girl. ¡°Ouch! What the hell?!¡± ¡°That¡¯s what you get for being a heartless meanie! Now bring us to O¡¯hara!¡± Eri said in amanding tone. ¡°Listening here you little¡­¡± He couldn¡¯t finish his sentence as the door to the bard burst open. ¡°OLD MAN! BRING ME TO O¡¯HARA! NOW!¡± A tall and beautiful brte stood at the entrance with a baby in her arms. Boa Hancock was in the house. Chapter 111: You know nothing, Silver Rayleigh Chapter 111: You know nothing, Silver Rayleigh Chapter 110: You know nothing, Silver Rayleigh ¡°God¡­ What did I ever do to you to deserve this?¡± That¡¯s what Rayleigh thought when he saw Hancock and Kaza in a standoff. Both women had ice in their eyes as they looked at each other. Kaza knew, of course, who Hancock was and knew who was the baby in her arms. The pirate queen was infamous after all. For Hancock though, she didn¡¯t know the redhead facing her from Adam but with vice-admiral Tsuru in the room and a pre-teen looking exactly like the woman in front of her she had the right idea. Despite being the Dark King, Rayleigh slowly moved behind the counter and kneeled, hiding himself from the nose down, while keeping an eye on the situation at hand. He changed his focus on his wife when she whispered to him. ¡°Really?¡± ¡°I may not know many things about women despite my age¡­ but I know one thing, don¡¯t get in the way of a cat fight.¡± ¡°... At least you know one of the basics.¡± she said with a smirk. ¡°I don¡¯t need to know about anything else, I got you.¡± ¡°Oh? Are you saying I¡¯m not a woman?¡± she asked, clearly toying with him. ¡°You¡¯re more than a simple woman, dear. And I don¡¯t need to know things about women, I just need to know things about you and you know damn well I do.¡± he said with narrowing eyes. ¡°Eh, smooth talker.¡± ¡°Always for you dear, always¡­ Now are you going to do something?¡± ¡°And ruin the fun? Not a chance.¡± Rayleigh looked incredulously at her and shook his head then went back to look at the situation. He could almost see sparks flying between the red and ck colored cats. They haven¡¯t blinked the entire time their eyes had met and the tension could be cut with a knife. ¡°Enough!¡± Tsuru said with a bossy tone. ¡°We all knew that day woulde. Preferably with Rick present but we don¡¯t always get what we want. So¡­¡± ¡°We?¡± asked Hancock, diverting her eyes to the side to look at the vice-admiral, while raising an eyebrow. ¡°We.¡± was all Tsuru replied. For her part Kaza said nothing and kept looking at her rival? Enemy? Next murder victim? She hasn¡¯t decided yet but she was hesitating because of the baby¡¯s presence. She wasn¡¯t about to hurt an innocent child, that was not her. There were lines that she refused to cross. And even if she were, the task fell upon Eri. That baby was her half-sister and it was up to her daughter to do¡­ whatever she needed to do to get the most of her father¡¯s love. Still Kaza¡¯s hand was still on the pommel of her de, ready to unsheath it in a blink. Her hesitation faded when her eyesnded on Hancock¡¯s bulging belly. She was clearly pregnant. Sighing and rxing her stance, she went to Shaky and asked for a drink. The pirate queen rxed too and turned her head towards the old man hiding behind his wife from her point of view. ¡°We¡¯re going, now.¡± shemanded. ¡°Fu¡­*p* I mean no.¡± answered the dark king rubbing the part of his head his wife hit. ¡°YOU GET OUT OF THERE AND¡­¡± began yelling Hancock before being interrupted by a crying Lynda. ¡°Oh sweety, I¡¯m sorry. Mama yelled because the old bat over there doesn¡¯t want to protect you.¡± she said, while rocking her daughter gently to calm her down. It was to no avail as Lynda kept on crying and Hancock knew why. The little baby was hungry. Without paying any attention to any one she walked towards a table and sat on a chair. She had left the baby food on her ship as she didn¡¯t think Lynda would get hungry during her very short stay on the archipgo. Thankfully her pregnancy was far along enough that she started producing milk again. It was not ideal as her daughter has been wean for six months already, but beggar can¡¯t be chooser. Hancock delicately dropped one loose sleeve of her dress from one of her shoulders and revealed one of her veryrge and firm breasts. As another p could be heard in the bar Hancock began to breastfeed her daughter. Nobody said a word and just kept looking at Hancock and Lynda. The former ignoring everyone. The only one who moved was Erica. It wasn¡¯t the first time she saw someone breastfeed, she had seen it enough with Makino, but she was intrigued by her little sister. Getting closer to Hancock she asked a simple question. ¡°What¡¯s her name?¡± Looking up from her daughter the pirate queen looks at the young girl in front of her. She was a carbon copy of her mother and took that as a win as Lynda had at least her father¡¯s eyes. ¡°Lynda¡±. ¡°...¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°She¡¯s cute.¡± Hancock kept looking at the girl. She had heard the genuineness in her voice and saw in her eyes the same eyes her father had when he looked at their little snake. ¡°She is.¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°It means ¡®noble serpent¡¯ right? Or beautiful.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± replied Hancock, surprised that such a young girl knew of her daughter''s name¡¯s meaning. Few people knew even back on Amazon Lily. Actually only her sisters and elder Nyon were aware and she suspected Rick knew too as he called her his ¡®little snake¡¯. Sure, it may have been because Hancock¡¯s symbol and favorite animal was a snake but she knew Rick was smart and knowledgeable so she chose to believe in thetter. That his eldest knew too only gave more credence to it. The girl may have her mother¡¯s looks but seemed to have her father¡¯s brain. Not feeling Lynda suck on her nipple anymore Hancock pulled her away from her breast and brought the part of her dress lowered back up. Eri walked back to her mother quietly, her head full of thoughts. Kaza gave her a look that she ignored as she had more important things to think about than to indulge her mother. When they left Foosha Vige, Eri was determined to be her father¡¯s favorite no matter what. She was the first, the eldest and believed it was her right. Any siblings she had? She didn¡¯t care one bit as she didn¡¯t consider them siblings, not really. They were born from another woman than her, so they were not family. Yet now, after seeing her younger sister in the flesh¡­ She had second thoughts. While she wasn¡¯t interested in Hancock in any way as it was her mother¡¯s problem, she did understand why her father had been intimate with her. The pirate queen was gorgeous and one look at Lynda made her realize that she will be too. Sure her mother was a beauty too and so will she one day, but she doubted she could rival her little sister. She would have to find another way than just being cute to get the most of her father¡¯s love. Another part of her however, wasn¡¯t thinking along those lines at all. Surprisingly that part was her acknowledgment that Lynda was her baby sister. That she was family no matter how she felt about it. Turning back to have another look she couldn¡¯t help herself and smile at the sight. Lynda was clutching fiercely her plushy snake and was trying to fit it in her mouth. Was she this cute at her age? She didn¡¯t know. What she did know was that asking her mother was a fruitless effort. No one has ever seen both the sisters as babies, so no one would be able to give her an answer. Her musing stopped when Tsuru spoke up. ¡°Will you stop hiding behind your wife¡¯s skirt already?!¡± she said to Rayleigh. ¡°I¡¯m not!¡± ¡°You¡¯re not? What are you doing then?¡± ¡°Hiding behind the counter.¡± replied the dark king as he finally stood up. ¡°¡°¡°¡°¡°...¡±¡±¡±¡±¡± ¡°Old man, you don¡¯t want to bring me to O¡¯hara? Fine, just give me the eternal pose.¡± Hancock said in a surprising calm tone. ¡°Yes, no.¡± ¡°Oh?¡± replied the pirate queen with a brow raised. ¡°First of all, the kid gave it to me. Second, it¡¯s my only way to pay my respect to my friend.¡± ¡°Your friend?¡± asked Tsuru curious. ¡°Nico Olvia.¡± answer Rayleigh. ¡°Robin¡¯s mother?¡± Hancock questioned to which Rayleigh nodded in affirmation. ¡°How do you know her?¡± This time it was Kaza that asked. She wanted to know more about her greatest rival. ¡°Olvia was¡­ a member of the crew.¡± ¡°What?!¡± Tsuru eximed. It was news to her. While she wasn¡¯t the one who was dead bent on catching Roger and his men, and didn¡¯t encounter them often on the seas. Garp and Sengoku did and never mentioned anything like that. Even when Olvia was in the navy custody before her escape. ¡°Thest few years, before the world crowned Roger as the pirate king.¡± ¡°I never heard of this.¡± ¡°And you were not supposed to. Not you, not any marines or members of the Cipher Pol.¡± ¡°Why?¡± ¡°To avoid incriminating O¡¯hara. The archeologist¡­ They were good people seeking the truth the world government wanted to hide. Didn¡¯t matter much in the end.¡± Rayleigh said, gulping down a mug of ale he poured himself. ¡°That¡¯s not true. Little Robin wouldn''t be here today if you didn¡¯t hide Olvia.¡± ¡°Maybe it would have been for the best. Her home destroyed, her family dead, on the run for more than twenty years since she was eight. Both the World Government and the yonkos after her. That¡¯s not a life Shaky.¡± replied dryly the dark king, looking at Tsuru. ¡°Perhaps, perhaps not. She found her ce now, and she¡¯s happy.¡± ¡°... I guess you¡¯re right.¡± replied Rayliegh after reflection. ¡°Is the history lesson over? Because I would like to get back to the topic at hand. You either lead me to O¡¯hara, or you give me the eternal pose, old man. That¡¯s the only choice I¡¯m giving you. Be grateful that I¡¯m giving you one.¡± Hancock said after getting face to face with Rayleigh. ¡°For thest¡­*p*¡± ¡°We¡¯ll lead you there.¡± ¡°Dear?!¡± asked her astonished husband. ¡°I¡¯ming too. Things are changing, Ray, and O¡¯hara will be the best ce to get fast and urate information.¡± ¡°...*sigh* I guess there is a need for a barmaid there.¡± ¡°Good. Now¡­ Are the two of you going to keep up your attitude towards each other or deal with it?¡± Shaky asked Hancock and Kaza. The two women looked at each other in silence before turning back to shaky and nodding in agreement. ¡°My ship is docked not far and is ready to go.¡± ¡°It is a two week trip at the very least.¡± Rayleigh warned. ¡°There is enough food, I traveled with a very small crew.¡± said Hancock before leaving the bar. On her way to her ship she furiously thought about Kaza. One thing was obvious to her, the redhead was possessive like her, perhaps even more so. She acknowledged once again that Rick¡¯s taste in women was exquisite and if the situation had been different she would have loved to have the ex-marine serve her between her legs. Things were not different though. While Robin had looked at her as an equal and with respect during the small time they had spent together, which surprised her but appreciated nheless, Kaza had been condescending with her behavior. Hancock didn¡¯t know if she could defeat her with the condition she was in, so she just stood her ground instead of going on the offensive. Besides she was carrying Lynda and that was another point against her fighting for dominance. Hancock was fine with it actually. Kaza¡¯s attitude would not garner any points from Rick, quite the contrary. She nned to let the redhead shoot herself in the foot while she watched the consequence of her action. Besides, it''s not as if she wasn¡¯t already ahead of everyone else. She was the second wife, gave birth to his daughter and a second on the way. It was one to two more children than the others had and that meant that once Rick¡¯s journey was over he would spend more time with her. From that she would need to get pregnant again and then again to keep his attention on her. Behind her Kaza was getting scolded by Tsuru. ¡°Really? You couldn¡¯t restrain yourself?¡± ¡°No.¡± the redhead replied coldly. ¡°You do know that you¡¯re not helping yourself right?¡± ¡°What do you mean?¡± ¡°*sigh* I forgot that you lose all reason when it¡¯s about Rick¡­ What I mean is, do you really think he would forgive you if you do what you¡¯re thinking to do?¡± ¡°...He wou¡­¡± ¡°He would not. I know it and you know it. It¡¯s time for you to ept it and get over it, Kaza.¡± ¡°He was supposed to be mine.¡± She said in a whiny voice. ¡°He wasn¡¯t. He never was. Despite everything you tried.¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°He went along with it because yes, he loves you but¡­¡± ¡°But what?!¡± Kaza shouted. ¡°But he¡¯s a free spirit. Sure, he¡¯s dutiful, but he needs his freedom. Freedom that you constantly tried to take away.¡± ¡°He¡­ he would have gotten away from me otherwise.¡± she confessed looking at the ground. ¡°Any other man would have disappeared on you, true, but not him. He came back after all.¡± ¡°He came back married with one child, a second on the way and at least four other women.¡± she replied ruefully. ¡°But he dide back. The way you wanted? Certainly not. But would you prefer having to share him or not having him?¡± Kaza kept quiet. What Tsuru said made sense. Rick would never forgive her if sheid a finger on his other belles and would lose him forever. Perhaps even Eri in the process. As for sharing him or not having him¡­ that was easy. The past twelve years she felt dead inside without him. The first ten it was bearable as she knew he was out there and hoped that one day they would be reunited. The past two years however¡­ were a living nightmare. It was thanks to her daughter that she had found the strength to go on. Without her she would have given up on life long ago. ¡°How¡­ How should I¡­ How can I ept the situation, Tsuru?¡± ¡°Get to know her. Get to know them. They are in a rtionship with him for a reason, and no it¡¯s not because they are beautiful, he¡¯s not like that.¡± ¡°That¡­ will not be easy.¡± ¡°You did it for me, there is no reason you can¡¯t do it again.¡± ¡°I already knew you.¡± ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter. My advice? Sleep with her.¡± ¡°WHAT?!¡± ¡°I mean, you¡¯re wearing the ring, so you epted the deal, right?¡± ¡°I¡­ yes, but I didn¡¯t think I would have to honor it. I was thinking that I would have gotten rid of her before.¡± ¡°Well, now, you can¡¯t do that anymore.¡± ¡°I guess not. Still, I don¡¯t see how sleeping with Boa Hancock would help to get to know her better.¡± ¡°That would help with the tension between the two of you.¡± ¡°... You seem particrly aware¡­¡± ¡°I¡¯m speaking from experience. If you thought that the men were bad when you were in the marines¡­ They were ten times worse when I joined, so I foundpany with a fewdies here and there in the corps.¡± ¡°That¡¯s¡­¡± Kaza was bewildered. ¡°That was a long time ago, and what I learned from it was that it¡¯s really good sex.¡± Kaza pondered for a moment what Tsuru had just confessed. ¡°Why didn¡¯t you try anything with me?¡± ¡°Never thought you would be interested.¡± replied Tsuru nonchntly. ¡°...¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°Would you mind now? I mean¡­ I don¡¯t have any experience with women while she¡­¡± ¡°She¡¯s the queen of the amazon.¡± ¡°I can¡¯t go without being prepared.¡± ¡°No, you can¡¯t, she¡¯ll eat you alive and not in a fun way. I¡¯ll help you if that¡¯s what you want.¡± ¡°Thank you¡­ I guess. I mean¡­ I never would have thought that I would have to sleep with women to have my husband.¡± ¡°Does the idea make you ufortable?¡± ¡°I¡­ yes..¡± ¡°Then soldier on, it''s not like it¡¯s for forever. Once you do the deed with Nico Robin, you won¡¯t have to do it anymore.¡± Kaza nodded in affirmation but was still apprehensive.She¡¯ll do it of course but she¡¯d make Rick pay for it, that was certain. Chapter 114: Devil Trigger IV Chapter 114: Devil Trigger IV Chapter 114: Devil Trigger IV As Rick came up with a now unconscious Zoro from the hole he created, he saw plenty of people fight other people. When one of them shot at him, Rick knew who the enemy was. Apparently Kaido¡¯s crew were all wearing the same type of clothing, making them easier to identify. Pushing back the bullet with his gravity he sprouted hands on every hostile present and knocked them all out by choking them. The samurai around looked at him in awe. One of them spoke up. ¡°You¡¯re him, aren¡¯t you?¡± ¡°Hmm?¡± ¡°Their vice-captain.¡± The same man said pointing at Zoro. ¡°I am.¡± ¡°Your captain, he¡¯s fighting Kaido on the roof.¡± ¡°The others?¡± ¡°We don¡¯t know for sure. The little tanuki and a pink haired one were healing people on the west wing because some nasty disease had been unleashed on us. The blond one was captured by ck Maria. He was used as a hostage to lure one of your female friends. The raven haired one. ¡°Where?!¡± Rick asked with emotion. ¡°The east wing! As for the others, we don¡¯t know!¡± another samurai answered, pointing in a direction with his finger. Rick gently put Zoro on the ground and went to search for Robin. He¡¯s been away from her for eight months and it was eight months too many in his opinion. On the way he dealt with any members of Kaido¡¯s crew without an ounce of mercy. When he noticed some weird Zoan users, Diana was enraged. ¡°That little¡­! How DARE they pervert my work!¡± ¡°What are you talking about?¡± ¡°Those Zoan are not of my design! Passing on the power of a fruit inside an object was fine! Barely! But creating devil fruit?! That¡¯s¡­ I can¡¯t let that stand! That¡¯s crossing a line.¡± ¡°Oooookay¡­ What do you want me to do about it exactly?¡± ¡°Kill them all!¡± ¡°Are you mad?!¡± ¡°They¡¯re abominations! Look at this one! He got the entirety of a giraffe''s body fused to his ass from the giraffe¡¯s neck!¡± ¡°Okay, maybe that one, but¡­¡± ¡°No buts! You either do it or I break my promise!¡± ¡°ckmail already? Is it how it¡¯s going to be, now? If I don¡¯t do what you want, you take control?¡± ¡°No! I won¡¯t interfere with your choices but this¡­ this is wrong. Someone tried to y god and it¡¯s not right! It goes against thews of nature!¡± ¡°The power of a fruit goes against thews of nature. Have you met Brook? Dead people are not supposed toe back to life.¡± ¡°It¡¯s not supposed to usually happen but it¡¯s not against thews. This¡­ This is a perversion of the essence of life! They purposefully altered a sentient being¡¯s DNA for a force evolution.¡± ¡°Isn¡¯t that what Zoans do?¡± ¡°No! My power changes the DNA temporarily, regarding Zoan. This¡­ this is a permanent thing. It¡¯s not supposed to happen! The DNA will break down and it won¡¯t be pretty.¡± ¡°What are we talking about here?¡± ¡°Madness, mayhem. The beast¡¯s DNA taking over. Plenty of bad things, the worst would be contamination of other people. It could lead to the extinction of all life!¡± ¡°... You¡¯re kidding right?¡¯ ¡°I am not! I saw it happening, back when I was creating the fruits! Luckily it was on a very small ind, so the worst was avoided.¡± ¡°Does that mean I¡¯ll have to kill Momonosuke? Because he ate a man-made fruit.¡± ¡°No, his fruit was perfect. It does what zoan¡¯s fruit are supposed to do.¡± ¡°So you¡¯re not asking me to kill them because you¡¯re somehow jealous that someone is getting close to achieving what you did? Or apparently seeded.¡± ¡°I am not.¡± ¡°Ugh fine¡­ How would I get to exin that to the others? ¡®I killed them because a voice in my head told me too?¡¯ What a clich¨¦.¡± Diana didn¡¯t bother to answer and Rick ruthlessly started to kill as quickly as possible the zoan beasts pirates while just knocking out the others. He tried to do it as fast and as painless as he could but sometimes he didn¡¯t have any other choice. Not like he cared about those people, but life was life. True, ever since he left the marines he had let go of his no kill policy. Ever since Skypiea and the olddy in fact but that didn¡¯t mean he was going to kill left and right. He had been naive back then, thinking that he didn¡¯t have to kill to get the job done. Yes, he could and he did but some people¡­ just deserved it, to make the world more secure. Perhaps he was influenced by the tone of the manga where death rarely happened. Besides O¡¯hara, the list of people that actually get killed is rather short, out of shback. From his memories he counted two. Whitebeard and Ace. Everyone else miraculously survived and most of the time ended up in Jail. The most noteworthy example was Pell who survived the bomb in basta, out of nowhere. Making his way into the east wing he tried to go faster as he could smell something burning up the path. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Deep into the east wing where a fire was raging, Brook was standing on the sidelines of a fight. He and Robin had managed to rescue Sanji from his captor and let him go on his way. The cook being the way he is, was unable to fight as all his opponents were women. And not any women at that but the ones working in the pleasure area. That¡¯s how he got captured in the first ce despite the fact that he could have wiped the floor with all of them in a very short time. ck Maria, one of Kaido¡¯s lieutenants, or captains, or whatever the name of her rank was, had easily managed the feat to capture the blond. She has been the one to set the ce on fire with a peculiar weapon looking like a spear but with a big wheel at the tip with a creature at the center of it producing fire. Despite her zoan abilities of a ck rosamygale, some kind of a triassic spider that went extinct long ago, she was no match for Brook who could simply freeze her fire. It didn¡¯t matter that the woman was over eight meters tall, she would lose all the same. And yet Brook was watching perhaps the weakest member of the crew fighting the spider-woman on her own. Robin had asked it of the skeleton, to his surprise. He did, however, understand why she wanted it to be her fight. Maria¡¯s henchwomen had yed a really dirty trick on the archeologist, making her see illusions of people dear to her and who were long gone. Robin hasn¡¯t been duped, she wasn¡¯t stupid nor gullible after all, but that unnerved the usually really chill woman. She took care of theckeys in no time by blooming giant hands, feet and even a giant version of her from the waist up. Only Maria was left. She was taunting Robin endlessly on her uselessness of what she represented to her crew. A danger to them. A danger that would lead them to abandon her or sell her out to others to get spare, like Kaido, Big Mom or the world government. To give some credit to her taunt she referred to Sanji she had captured and who begged Robin toe save him. Seeing that it didn¡¯t work on her, Maria upped the ante and said some words she should never have said with a sadistic glee. ¡°Even your husband left you behind! He¡¯s been here for months! Enjoying every pleasure that the ind of Onigashima had to offer! Everyday hees to the pleasure district to have a good time! You were nothing but a note on his bedpost. The vor of the time. He couldn¡¯t even bother to remember your name after I was done with him!¡± Robin didn¡¯t even bother to verbally answer, she let her actions do the talking. Brook couldn¡¯t believe what his empty orbits were seeing her do. ¡°Dear Lord, be merciful to us all.¡± Robin apparently had a Rick button. And Maria should not have pushed it. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Rick flew as fast as he could in an enclosed space. He had used his observation haki to locate Robin but a tremendous obstacle stood in his way. Both figuratively and literally. Big Mom was in the way, fighting a teamed up Law and Kid. The two supernovas were faring badly and when the yonko brought down her animated sword cap charged with conqueror haki Rick thought fast and pulled towards him her targets. ¡°Conqueror haki can be used like armament?!¡± ¡°Yes. And it¡¯s quite more powerful but doesn¡¯t do the same thing. Armement can destroy from inside the body, conqueror can¡¯t.¡± ¡°We¡¯ll talk about thatter.¡± ¡°Oh, it¡¯s you!¡± Big Mom eximed, recognizing Rick despite his weakened appearance. ¡°It feels like my birthday! I can finally make you pay for destroying my castle. You escaped my grasp out of luckst time but it seems that your luck has run out.¡± From behind him Law and Kid, raised from the ground they had a violent meeting with when they were pulled away. Rick hadn¡¯t been kind when he did it, too busy being focused on Big Mom. ¡°Don¡¯t you fucking dare asshole! She¡¯s mi¡­¡± began Kid before being promptly sent to the ceiling, percuting it with a frightening speed and being brought back down to the floor just as fast. ¡°You motherf¡­¡± Again he was forced to be intimate with the top of the room, then the ground but with more strength. This time the captain of the Kid¡¯s pirates kept his mouth shut. On the side, Law watched silently. He knew better than to get on the Strawhats vice-captain bad side. He did wonder what happened to him though. He could clearly see the signs of starvation with one look at his body, they were obvious. The question he was also asking himself was: Could he take Big Mom? Her devil fruit powers aside, she was an opponent of formidable physical strength and Rick was clearly not in a state to match her blow for blow. He was pretty sure in fact that, should he be hit once he would die. Yet he was standing tall, or rather floating probably to minimize the use of his muscle and save the bit of stamina he had. ¡°There are only two ways things are going to be resolved. You let me pass and you can keep on ying with those two. Or you die. Your choice.¡± ¡°Ma Ma Ma Ma Ma! You think you can kill me?! You couldn¡¯t back then and you were in way better shape! Look at you! I could Puff and you¡¯d die!¡± ¡°So be it.¡± Raising both his arms before him in a x he sprouted countless of them onto Big Mom¡¯s body. Wasting no time he began to channel gravy in them, the same way he did back on Dressrosa. Back then he had to exert himself, put some strength behind it and use a whole amount of armament haki to create a tiny ckhole. Now, he didn¡¯t have to feel like that at all. It was natural, as if he was just breathing. When Zoro had liberated him he had felt the difference when he used a bit of gravity but now, he could really feel it. In a second the air ripped and five inches beads of pure ckness popped all over the yonko¡¯s body and sucked her flesh in. She let out a painful scream at the sudden pain. ¡®It hurts doesn¡¯t it, bitch?!¡¯ Big Mom¡¯s pets tried to help her but both failed miserably. Apollo was fire incarnate, something without perceptible mass and so was the new thundercloud on the side. They were sucked almost immediately by the many beads, never to be seen again. The disparition of her mount made Big Mom fall on the ground in a loud thud. She was unable to move, her muscles and tendons being gone. In a single move one of the yonko has been defeated without being able to do anything. Law¡¯s jaw dropped a little. He remembered Rick being powerful, what¡¯s with all the ability he had but he never was that powerful. Taking one of the strongest pirates in the world like that was unheard of. That terrified him. Kid was no better on the side and was seriously thinking back of his attitude towards the frail man in front of him. That was not something he ever did, he always went forward, no matter what and rarely, if ever, felt fear. Even when Kaido beat him up and his crew he didn¡¯t feel fear. Now, however, he did. Rick looked at Big Mom on the ground with cold and disinterested eyes that made her reel. He was looking at her like he would at a pebble on the ground. She was a Yonko. A legend of seas, feared all over the world, was looked down, just as she looked down on people. It infuriated her. She tried to say something but more of her flesh was torn apart. In a desperate move, she coated her body in as much armament haki as she could, hoping that it could resist what was happening to it. It worked and her flesh wasn¡¯t sucked in whatever those ck beads were. The beads simply disappeared and with the most imminent threat to her nullified, she was thinking fast on what she could do to get out of her predicament. Unfortunately she didn¡¯t have the time. Law¡¯s sword was ripped from his hand and flew towards a sprouted limb in front of the yonko. Catching it, the limb started to infuse haki and gravity in a very high density in it. ¡°You chose poorly.¡± The arm holding the sword did a powerful thrust downward and unleashed a very powerful ck hole ray, devouring anything in its way. In an instant the only thing left of Big Mom was some very mangled limb with holes in them. ¡®So it worked. The physicsws of this world are really weird.¡¯ ¡®Now that I had a glimpse of your world¡¯sw I have to agree. A single one of those beads would have destroyed the whole room if not the whole wing of the ind.¡¯ ¡®And Haki can influence them. Wait. Aren¡¯t you a deity? Shouldn¡¯t you not be surprised?¡¯ ¡®God is a term used by people without power to describe people who have some. I didn¡¯t create this world, and I say that in a lore perspective. I just came to be and peoplebeled me like that because of what I could do but I never thought of myself as such.¡¯ ¡®I see. That brings a whole lot of questions that I¡¯m not sure I want or should have the answers to.¡¯ Rick made Law¡¯s sword float toward its owner, without even looking back and flew forward, deeper into the ind. Big Mom wasn¡¯t the goal after all, just an obstacle he had to deal with. In no time he came to the area where Robin and Brook were. When he entered the room he was pulled to a stop by what he was seeing. A giant blond woman with the lower body of a hairy spider was being clutched by a naked red devil. It was the real deal, with horns and wings, not dissimr to Rick¡¯s form when Diana had taken control of his body back in Marineford. When his brain functioned again he recognized who that devil was from the haircut, and the devil¡¯s assets. He knew those very well. ¡°Robin?¡± he eximed in awe. The awful cracking sound of snapping bones resonated in the room and the blonde¡¯s body suddenly went limp and was released on the side of the room giving Rick the first sight of his wife in almost a year. The demonic version of herself disappeared and Robin fell to the ground out of exhaustion. She never hit the ground though, not on his watch. He sprouted a hand on her and made her float before attracting her to him right into his arm in a single move. She took a second or two to understand what was happening and one more to recognize the gaunt face of the man she loved. ¡°Hey.¡± he simply said with a kind smile. Robin smiled back before knitting her brows in worry. She raised her hand to touch one of his hollowed cheeks. ¡°Long story?¡± Was all she asked and got a nod of affirmation back. It was fine with her, her husband was here and that was all that mattered. ck Maria may have said whatever she wanted, Robin knew the man she married better than anyone. She knew that the words she was hearing were lies. And while deep down a small part of her felt doubt, she believed, she had faith. After the most difficult eight months of her life, she still had faith that he would be back, that he would not stay with his daughter just like he promised her. It was that faith that drove her every day, that helped her ovee her loss and to ignore her darkest thoughts. And it took time, but her faith had been rewarded and she was back where she belonged. Rick put her on her feet and was locked into a hug. Not a fierce one, Robin had the presence of mind to mind his current condition, but a hug tight enough to convey her feelings. It didn¡¯tst long as a very nasty smell attacked her nose and made her recoil. ¡°Yes, sorry. Couldn¡¯t take a shower in eight months.¡± he said sheepishly. ¡°That¡¯s alright.¡± Just like she did a few moments earlier he cupped her cheek with his hand, or tried as he dropped it down. The cheek was too close to the nose. He opted instead to look meaningfully into her eyes. A look that she gave back. ¡°I wonder if Brook and I could do a number. The dead and the living skeletons.¡± he joked, making her chuckle softly. ¡°That¡¯s a wonderful idea! Yohohoho!¡± said Brook who came from the other side of the room after giving them some time to have a moment. ¡°As tempting as it is, I want my husband back to his best and more importantly healthy self.¡± ¡°Yes Ma¡¯am.¡± he said with a salute. ¡°We should go, others may need our help.¡± Brook advised. ¡°Zoro, is K.O. He took down one of Kaidou¡¯s top men and freed me before copsing though. Sanji, Chopper are on the other side of the ind.¡± He closed his eyes and used his observation haki to have a feel of the ce. It couldn¡¯t reach the whole ind but it was enough to locate Nami and Usopp near the center of what he now recognizes as a castle. ¡°Nami and Usopp are on the upper level near the center. I don¡¯t know where Franky or Baby-5 are but they are probably together. Luffy is supposedly fighting Kaidou on the roof but I can¡¯t verify it.¡± ¡°Reiju is probably with Chopper too.¡± Robin announced. ¡°Reiju is here? Why?¡± ¡°She decided to stay with us as Chopper¡¯s nurse. I wonder why?¡± she replied with a knowing smirk making Brookugh. ¡°So what are you two going to do?¡± Rick asked, ignoring the implication of Robin¡¯s words. He had already enough on his te right now, he didn¡¯t need to think about the pink princess at the moment. ¡°Us two?¡± ¡°Yes, you two. I¡¯m going on the roof. I have a deal to settle with Kaidou.¡± ¡°No.¡± Robin said firmly. ¡°Yes, I am.¡± ¡°No. Not when you¡¯re¡­ in that state.¡± she said, moving her hand up and down towards him. ¡°I¡¯ll be okay. I just took down Big Mom effortlessly. Sure, I may look like I would keel over with a small breeze and I feel like it but I can fight no problem.¡± Rick wasn¡¯t lying at all, however he didn¡¯t mention that the reason he took Big Mom down like he did was because she had been careless. Had she not judged him based on his appearance and theirst fight in her territory, the fight would not have been so one-sided. The yonko proved it by dealing with the ck holes with her haki. He was hoping Kaidou would make the same mistake if Luffy failed. ¡°You took Big Mom down?!¡± Brook eximed. ¡°Yeah, she¡¯s¡­ Let¡¯s say you should avoid the way I came from¡­The sight is not pretty.¡± After looking at him for a moment, Robin made a decision. ¡°I guess we should regroup with Nami and Usopp. Don¡¯t fight if you don¡¯t need to.¡± ¡°I promise.¡± Rick replied with a smile. He was genuine. If Luffy had things in hands, he would put aside his need for payback. ¡®Ending a big fight without being unconscious would be nice for once.¡¯ Brook and Robin took their leave, running towards the direction Rick gave them to reach their friends. Once gone, the Vice-captain flew towards the upper floor but not before killing the spider-woman at his roommate''s insistence. Chapter 113: Sometimes, a deal with the devil is better than no deal at all Chapter 113: Sometimes, a deal with the devil is better than no deal at all Chapter 113: Sometimes, a deal with the devil is better than no deal at all ¡°OH? Oh?! That¡¯s all you have to say?!¡± Rick¡¯s simple answer enraged the devil. He¡¯s been in his situation the vice-captain was in for around twenty years and the only answer he got was ¡®Oh?¡¯. He was about tosh out, when her vessel simply apologized. ¡°Sorry.¡± That made her stop any rant she was about to make because that apology was a heartfelt one. That surprised him a bit. Rick had been opposing him at every turn and for so long that suchpassion threw him out of a loop. ¡°Why are you sorry?¡± ¡°It¡¯s my fault. Had I not yed with this universe''s rules, you would not have manifested and would not be in that situation.¡± ¡°... Good for you to realize that. As reparations, I¡¯ll take your body.¡± ¡°No.¡± ¡°You stubborn little¡­ WHY?!¡± ¡°You¡¯ll kill everyone. I can¡¯t let that happen.¡± ¡°What makes you think I¡¯ll do that?! ¡®Cause I won¡¯t!¡± ¡°Past experiences spoke for themselves.¡± Rick replied with a mental frown. ¡°Name me one time!¡± ¡°basta twelve years ago, Thriller Bark, and Marineford. Three out of Three.¡± ¡°Everytime, only bad guys died! Case in point basta! I didn¡¯ty a finger on any of those girls and women!¡± ¡°Okay, I¡¯ll give you that one but what about the fight against Moria? You hurt my friends!¡± Rick argued, silently conceding that it was right in the case of Marineford. ¡°One, they¡¯re pirates, the bad guys. Two, you thought of them aspanions not friends and certainly not as family. That changed on fishman ind. Three, I didn¡¯t hurt Robin who you did consider a friend and more, and I didn¡¯t harm Nami either.¡± Rick had to think for a moment there. The devil had a point. While he had been ecstatic to sail with Luffy and the rest of the crew and were on friendly terms, he wasn¡¯t that close to any of them. Sure he yed his part as a vice-captain, that was his own code of honor, his own principles and morals acting there but thinking back, they hadn¡¯t really been friends. Robin was Robin and Nami¡­ She was truly the only one of the rest of the crew that he had a real friendship with. She had stood by his side no matter what. Especially since the crew¡¯s meeting with Aokiji on Long Ring Long Land ind. Back then she already was his confidant. The others? Well he was just experiencing their presence, maybe due to some remnant of his fanboyism. It wasn¡¯t until the confrontation in Ryugu pce that it really clicked to him that they were friends for real. He knew that they thought of him that way but he hadn¡¯t returned the feeling till then. Everything he did was just¡­ helping them, to see the end of one piece while getting karma. They had been a means to an end. The devil¡¯s argument was not untrue but there was one weak spot in it. ¡°What about Grandpa, Big Sis and Uncle? They¡¯re my family!¡± ¡°They are marines, working for the descendants that ordered the extermination of my people and covered it up. They¡¯re bad guys.¡± That was an expected piece of information and an important one. That made Rick¡¯s brain go into overdrive. ¡°You mean¡­ The lost kingdom? You were the leader of its people? They worshiped a devil? But¡­ I thought¡­¡± ¡°They didn¡¯t worship a devil, they worshiped me.¡± ¡°But you¡¯re¡­ You¡¯re not?¡± ¡°No I¡¯m not.¡± ¡°But¡­ Devil fruits have been in existence since before the void century. How¡­ Is it¡­ Did the true story get lost to time or was modified?¡± ¡°A little bit of both. I created what you call devil fruits over a thousand years ago. At the time there was no side effect, people didn¡¯t sink, they swam. It was only after¡­ well let¡¯s say I use thest of my power to fragment my own soul and put one into each fruit adding that weakness to water.¡± That was a revtion to Rick. And despite the fact that the¡­ not devil? Was responsible for the creation of the devil fruits then the added malus of sinking like an anvil in a body of water he still could see a bit of what she didn¡¯t say¡­ ¡°The celestial dragons¡­ They came from the seas, and destroyed and piged the kingdom. I¡¯m guessing you cursed the fruits as a sore loser move of some kind?¡± ¡°It wasn¡¯t a sore loser move! It was so the power of the fruits could be restricted. The kingdom was¡­ big. And people were not so prone to leave it to explore the world. A few did but stayed away from most other cultures with few exceptions.¡± ¡°... The mer-people and sky people?¡± ¡°Among a very few others, yes.¡± ¡°So Joy Boy is from the lost kingdom?¡± Rick asked but got no answer which in itself was an answer. ¡°There is something that¡¯s bothering me. If. And I say If because I have no way to prove what you¡¯re telling me is not hogwash but If what you say about cursing the devil fruits is true. Howe Shirahoshi is not affected by the curse?¡± ¡°... That¡¯s a very good question, actually. It¡¯s because of her DNA. I¡¯m sure you remember Vegapunk¡¯s work on gifting devil fruit abilities to objects like Spandam¡¯s sword?¡± ¡°Yes. I intend to work with something like that for O¡¯hara.¡± ¡°Huh¡­ Good project. Anyway¡­ the mermaid princess has specific DNA markers. Very rare, maybe unique. Some kind of mutation you could say. Because¡­ reasons¡­ Each part of my soul holds a single instruction. If they recognize the markers then they should not curse the person who ate the fruit otherwise they do.¡± ¡°So, If I had given any other fruit to her she would have still been able to swim?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°Why?¡± ¡°I just told you.¡± ¡°I mean¡­ Why her? Why her markers? Is it because she¡¯s poseidon?¡± ¡°...¡± Once again theck of answer said a lot but it put a foot down to any more questions. ¡°You still didn¡¯t answer me about what you are?¡± ¡°Because I do not know though from my powers some would say a goddess or a devil. Depends on one''s point of view.¡± ¡°A goddess? Not a god?¡± ¡°I¡¯m asexual but I considered every inhabitant of the kingdom my children so I guess I could be identified as a goddess. My children certainly did.¡± ¡°So I wasn¡¯t far off back on Skypiea¡­¡± ¡°No.¡± ¡°There is one thing you said that¡¯s contradictory though.¡± ¡°Oh? Please pray tell.¡± ¡°You said that you put a fragment of your soul in every devil fruit 800 years ago. But there is no record of people having eaten more than one fruit before that. I mean ¡­¡± ¡°I know what you mean. Why, since my soul fragment limited the consumption of devil fruit, weren''t there people with powers when there was no risk to blow up their bodies as my soul wasn¡¯t in any fruit to begin with? The answer is simple, because I didn¡¯t give a second fruit to anyone. They were all in my garden, protected and no one dared to enter it. The people who got a fruit got it because I gave it to them as a reward for whatever good they did.¡± ¡°But¡­ How did you get back the power of the fruit when they died?¡± ¡°The power automatically traveled back to my garden and habited one of the fruits there. I made them that way. But, since my garden was destroyed, there is¡­ no anchor for the power to get back to, so once they read the location of the garden, with no new fruit there, they go out into the world to find a new vessel.¡± ¡°Somehow that makes sense¡­ I¡¯m guessing you didn¡¯t foresee a body like mine would evere to existence?¡± ¡°I admit, I did not. And while my own existence is currently torture, I¡¯m d to have sentience back.¡± ¡°Still not giving you my body.¡± Rick replied in a deadpanned voice. Or was it thought since the conversation was happening in his head? He didn¡¯t know for sure and in front of the futility of exploring this subject, let it drop. The goddess didn¡¯t give up on her goal though. ¡°Fine! Let¡¯spromise then! I will not take control over your body and soul but merely connect us. That would get me out of my predicament. I would feel what you feel, see, hear, smell, taste what you do and in exchange I would not limit your powers anymore. Is that deal goo¡­¡± ¡°What do you mean limit my powers?!¡± ¡°One power per person, that is the rule! My rule! More than one and it¡¯s an invitation for chaos. That¡¯s why I limited yours! Have you never wondered why it¡¯s so taxing on your body and mind to use your gravity or sprouts? Especially the most advanced abilities? The power, my power, is not supposed to be taxing to use. Look at Robin, she doesn¡¯t get tired when she uses hers.¡± ¡°I¡­ I thought that she had a more advanced version with less strain.¡± ¡°She does not. Why there are differences in how her body parts appear, the power is basically the same. Had I not blocked your powers back on Dressrosa you would have created that ckhole with much less problem and a lot more control. You would not have lost your hands to it.¡± Rick¡¯s mind went reeling. All the training he did had been useless. Well not really useless as without it he would not have been that powerful today but he would have saved himself a lot of pain since from the moment he ate the Zushi Zushi no mi he would have been able to use the full extent of its abilities. Eating the Me Me no mi had in fact impaired him a lot. ¡°What¡­ What about ckbeard? In the original story, he has his and Whitebeard''s power. I don¡¯t think the fact that he could steal another devil fruit power changed, so how does he do it with a normal body?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know¡­ My guess is¡­ He either absorbs the power and leaves my soul fragment in the body or absorbs the fragment into his darkness and just brings out the power.¡± ¡°I see¡­ I ¡­ I need some time to think about it. Privately.¡± ¡°Sure.¡± The goddess as now Rick thought of her, went back to entertain herself with his original world¡¯s knowledge, leaving him ¡°alone¡±. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Two months had passed since that meaningful conversation and Rick still didn¡¯t have an answer. For him it was two good months as she hasn¡¯t been tormenting him. Not even once. Oden¡¯sst visit was not particrly pleasant. Not because of Oden but because of the news he had brought. Big Mom hade to Wano and forged an alliance with Kaido. That was worse than no good, that was actually a disaster for so many reasons. Kaido had always been gearing himself and his crew up for a war against the world Government. Why those idiots in the navy went after Whitebeard who was minding his own business and old enough to die naturally - which he did a year after the war - instead of stopping Kaido, he didn¡¯t know but that led to the situation here. With that new alliance, the world will turn to shit faster. What worried Rick the most though was that now, two of the strongest people in the world were cooperating instead ofpeting for Robin. Instead of a three way war it was now a two way war to get her which meant less chaos and less chances for her to escape in the middle of the mayhem if a situation with those three big powers ever happened. He knew that with Big Mom entering the picture, here on Wano, would speed up his friends actions against Kaido, They didn¡¯t have any other choice. Right now, the alliance was still new, still fragile. It was the perfect time tounch an attack and make both sides crumble. He only hoped that the smart ones in the crew would see that and that Kine¡¯mon and his friends had enough time to prepare themselves. They could not miss this opportunity. That also meant he would be out soon and that presented a big problem. His incarceration had taken a toll on his body. He may not have been able to see it, but he knew he was weaker and not because of the seastone nails lodged inside it. That in itself made him useless for the iing fight if they got to him during it. More and more her offer seemed like a good deal. If what she said was true. Even weakened, he would be able to use his powers without problems, without restrictions. No restriction besides his own tiredness as he can¡¯t really use his powers if he¡¯s unconscious after the first hit. ¡°Hey¡­¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°HEY!¡± ¡°Don¡¯t hey, me!¡± finally answered the goddess. ¡°I don¡¯t know your name! How do you want me to get your attention, then?!¡± ¡°Oh! Fair point! You can call me¡­ Diana? Yes, Diana is good.¡± ¡°Diana¡­ From Wonder Woman?¡± ¡°Yes! I quite like the character.¡± ¡°I¡­ don¡¯t deny that¡­ but why don¡¯t you use your own name?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t have one. My children called me Selene.¡± ¡°Like the moon?¡± ¡°Yes. To them I was the moon goddess, so I thought Diana was appropriate when I read Wonder Woman.¡± ¡°The goddess of the half moon then? I see¡­ Not sure the people from the moon would like it but that¡¯s not like they¡¯d know about it or you¡¯d care.¡± ¡°Exactly. Now, what did you call me?¡± ¡°You know why.¡± ¡°I do but, I was making a bit of small talk here. Not many I can do that with currently. Anyway¡­ Let¡¯s start! All you need to do is¡­¡± Diana was giddy at the prospect of finally having a bit of freedom. ¡°Not so fast! I have questions!¡± ¡°URGH! REALLY?! FINE!¡± ¡°How do I know that¡­ This connection is what you say it is and not a trap to take over?¡± ¡°You don¡¯t. You¡¯ll have to trust me.¡± ¡°If you screw me over¡­¡± ¡°I won¡¯t!¡± ¡°IF, you screw me over, what would you do with my body?¡± ¡°Destroy the world government and more importantly the celestial dragons. Bring back my kingdom.¡± ¡°So¡­ Our goals, aligned.¡± ¡°More or less¡­¡± ¡°What about Robin? My friends and family?¡± ¡°I won¡¯ty a finger on them. Especially Robin, since she¡¯s the only one left with the knowledge of the poneglyph, beside the perverted kid. If anything I¡¯ll protect her.¡± ¡°My family in the navy? And the good marines?¡± ¡°They¡¯ll die if they stand in my way.¡± ¡°...What¡­ What would you want in exchange for sparing them?¡± ¡°Bargaining? I¡¯m¡­ surprised somehow.¡± ¡°They¡¯re good people in the navy. They just want to do what¡¯s right but are used by bad people. They don¡¯t deserve to die for the evil doings of others.¡± ¡°...I see. I want¡­ you to think about telling Robin about everything regarding you.¡± ¡°You¡¯re kidding right? No one should know. I¡¯m not even sure I can tell her.¡± ¡°She needs to know.¡± Diana insisted. ¡°Why?¡± ¡°For your own sake.¡± ¡°What do you mean ¡®my own sake''? ¡° ¡°That¡¯s for me to know and you to find out.¡± ¡°Thates from the principle that you won¡¯t take over.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Rick thought a bit about that use. It was simple and at the same time a huge deal. What bothered him though was that Diana didn¡¯t force him to tell Robin about his situation but to simply think about telling her. He couldn¡¯t see any reasons why. None that would benefit her in any way. That made him curious. Was it a ploy to make him ept her deal? Honestly he didn¡¯t know and was too tired to dwell on it anymore. He either trusted her or he didn¡¯t, it was no moreplex than that. ¡°If I ept that use, you promise you won¡¯t kill them?¡± ¡°I will not kill them but if they do stand in my way they will be hurt. That is if I take over, which I promise you I won¡¯t.¡± ¡°... Alright. I ept. What do I have to do?¡± ¡°Open yourself to me.¡± He was about to ask what she meant when he felt something poking him. Nothing physical, neither mental¡­ Just something poking something that belonged to him. Or was him. He didn¡¯t know what that was but knew that it was Diana¡¯s doing. His first thought was to¡­ fight the intrusion but he quickly let go of the notion and epted the poke. Instantly He felt different. As if he wasn¡¯t alone anymore. Notplete like robin made him feel when she was in his arms but close. ¡°Oh god! It stinks!¡± ¡°Well yeah, it¡¯s a cell and I¡¯ve been crucified for more than half a year. What did you expect? Roses and lilies?¡± ¡°Shut up! You¡¯ll react the same way if the first thing you could smell after two years was foul! And gosh it hurts!¡± ¡°Yes, that¡¯s the nails. Give it a moment and the thirst and hunger wille. It¡¯s worse. By the way, speaking of nails, can¡¯t you do something about it?¡± ¡°No. I created the curse at the height of my power, when I wasplete. Can¡¯t undo it if I¡¯m not.¡± ¡°Wonderful.¡± Rick answered in dejection. ¡°You can¡¯t have everything in life.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t I know it.¡± He had been surprised that he was still in control but didn¡¯tment on it, instead he just hoped that she wouldn¡¯t take it from him. He had many more questions to ask like if she was a goddess why did his body sprout horns and devil wings when she was in control? Or why could she only interact with him through powerful negative emotions? But those could wait and it was not as if she would give him an answer anyway. What mattered was that he was still locked up tight with no way of escape. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ He had been woken up by the room shaking then he heard the noise of explosions and stones crumbling. He didn¡¯t know what was happening, but he knew that someone was fighting. He hoped that it was his friends and the people of Wano. Ever since Oden¡¯sst visit, where he told him about the Big Mom - Kaido alliance, there had been no more appearance of his new found friend. Diana had been awfully quiet and Rick believed that she was focusing on his knowledge rather than her new found freedom. He hardly could me her for that, he would have done the same. ¡°Has it been going on for long?¡± ¡°A few hours.¡± Diana replied. ¡°And you did not wake me up because?¡± ¡°Because it wouldn¡¯t have changed a thing. I opted instead to let you rest, that way you wouldn¡¯t have to worry too much.¡± ¡°... Thanks?¡± ¡°You¡¯re wee.¡± ¡°Well, I¡¯m awake now with nothing to do sooooo.. Do you mind ans¡­¡± He stopped talking when he heard from his right a wall nursing open and somethingnding next to him. From the destroyed wall he felt a really cold breeze freeze his bones. He also heard a voice. ¡°Aren¡¯t you happy Roronoa? You get to die next to your vice-captain.¡± Zoro stood up from the ground and faced his opponent. Surprised, when he looked at his right he saw a man wearing Rick¡¯s overcoat, nailed to a cross. The said man had only skin on his bones and Zoro wondered for a moment how long the prisoner had been here. Would that have been his fate had Luffy not saved him when they met? Gathering his thoughts he wondered if the man he was looking at was really his vice-captain. His clothes and hair color were indicating enough but he couldn¡¯t really make up his face hence he wasn¡¯t sure. He didn¡¯t have time to shilly-shally more as his enemy attacked him. He was really getting tired of this one. He was fast and most of the time immune to his attacks. As if that wasn¡¯t enough his body was at his limits. Chopper had worked wonders on it but he told him the effects would be temporary. He had to defeat that ming bird fast and free Rick before he copsed. Or whoever that was. In any case since it seems he¡¯d been locked up for a while, chances were he would help fight Kaido. That is if he could but with the state of the prisoner¡¯s body that was unlikely. But then again, it was the New World. Everything was possible there, so he¡¯ll take his chances. On the side, Rick was conversing with Diana. ¡°Is it really Zoro?¡± he thought to himself. ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°How do you know that? I thought you could only see what I see?¡± ¡°Haki.¡± ¡°Haki?! You can use haki?! Why didn¡¯t you¡­ Let me guess you can only use Observation because you¡¯re not in control?¡± He said nking after cutting short his outburst. ¡°Correct. To be fair, though, even in control I wouldn¡¯t have been able to use armament to get us free. It¡¯s your body, I¡¯m subjected to the same weaknesses as you. I do wonder why you didn¡¯t use yours.¡± ¡°I¡­ didn¡¯t really think about¡­¡± ¡°Oh! Interesting!¡± Diana said in excitement. Rick used his own observation haki to feel his surroundings. He could feel Zoro fight what he recognized as the bastard that ambushed him when he arrived on the ind. He couldn''t see what was really happening. They were fighting sure, but he didn¡¯t see what Diana had found interesting. ¡°What is?¡± ¡°Your friend, he got in touch with his conqueror haki.¡± ¡°Conqueror? Zoro is a king?!¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t see how that will help him.¡± ¡°Armament is not the only haki you can embed things with.¡± she said as a matter of fact. ¡°What?!¡± His question was answered as he ¡°saw¡± Zoro defeating his opponent. Soon enough, the cross he was nailed on was cut down and he fell to the ground, followed by Zoro. ¡°Rick, is that you?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°How long have you been here?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know exactly, months. I know I arrived on the ind two weeks after rescuing Sanji.¡± ¡°Damn¡­ It¡¯s been 8 months.¡± ¡°Damn, indeed.¡± Rick replied in a bitter tone. ¡°Eh, Momonosuke will not be happy.¡± Zoro joked. ¡°Why?¡± ¡°He believed that you abandoned the crew.¡± ¡°As if.¡± ¡°Yeah, we all told him that. Even Kin¡¯emon didn¡¯t believe you left.¡± ¡°Oh? That¡¯s surprising. I didn¡¯t spend much time with the guy.¡± ¡°You made an impression. Besides, he trusted us and we trust you. It was enough for him.¡± ¡°How is everyone?¡± ¡°... Fine, at least when we began the fight.¡± replied Zoro after a moment of hesitation. Rick noted that it might not be entirely true but let it go, it was hardly the time to prop too deep on things. ¡°Think you can help the others?¡± ¡°Once I remove those nails, I¡¯ll do more than help. I¡¯ll fucking kill Kaido and any one on my way.¡± ¡°Good, ¡®cause Big Mom is here too.¡± ¡°You think you can help with those or you¡¯re done?¡± ¡°I¡¯m done. Can¡¯t feel my body anymore.¡± Rick rolled his body over and very slowly moved one of his arms towards the others. Removing the nails was easy in itself but with how much they weakened him he didn¡¯t have the strength to pull them out in one go, instead he had to pull slowly and move from left to right, worsening his wound. Had it not been for his body regeneration he would have died long ago. With all the nails out he quickly tried to see if his control over his devil fruit powers had really been limited. When the hole in his arms closed, the flesh reced, he gathered that, yes, his power had been limited. He didn¡¯t bother to curse Diana for it, as he did think she had a point to doing that. Instead he used his gravity to pull himself up and once again noticed how easy it was to use his abilities. He didn¡¯t bother to ask Zoro if he knew where they were. He simply removed his blindfold to see his surroundings properly. He couldn¡¯t miss the gigantic hole on the far end wall on the other side of the cell, after all that¡¯s from where the freezing wind came from. He looked at the ceiling and chose that option instead. There was no way he was going outside with how cold it was. ¡°Mind if I borrow Shusui for a second?¡± ¡°Use Ichimonji. The kitetsu is cursed and I traded Shusui for Emna. It was one of Oden¡¯s swords. Literally sucks the life and haki out of you.¡± ¡°Oden¡¯s sword? Wow.¡± ¡°Yeah. The man must have been a beast to use it as if it was nothing. I can barely use it.¡± Rick nodded and pulled the wide katana towards him. Drawing it he flooded the de with his gravity. Taking a stance he unleashed a gravity thrust towards the ceiling. The results were astonishing. A gigantic smooth hole drilled into the stone and went deep. So deep that he could see the sky. Rick was brought back to reality by Zoro whistling. ¡°That was¡­ powerful, for a man with only skin on his bones.¡± ¡°Yeah. I¡­ I¡¯m more in tune with my powers. It has to do with the sea devil¡­ It¡¯s a long story, for another time.¡± The vice-captain sheathed the Ichimonji and put it back on Zoro¡¯s belt. Sprouting a hand on his friend he made him float. Now was the time for Rick Wald to enter the fight. Chapter 114: Devil Trigger IV Chapter 114: Devil Trigger IV Chapter 114: Devil Trigger IV As Rick came up with a now unconscious Zoro from the hole he created, he saw plenty of people fight other people. When one of them shot at him, Rick knew who the enemy was. Apparently Kaido¡¯s crew were all wearing the same type of clothing, making them easier to identify. Pushing back the bullet with his gravity he sprouted hands on every hostile present and knocked them all out by choking them. The samurai around looked at him in awe. One of them spoke up. ¡°You¡¯re him, aren¡¯t you?¡± ¡°Hmm?¡± ¡°Their vice-captain.¡± The same man said pointing at Zoro. ¡°I am.¡± ¡°Your captain, he¡¯s fighting Kaido on the roof.¡± ¡°The others?¡± ¡°We don¡¯t know for sure. The little tanuki and a pink haired one were healing people on the west wing because some nasty disease had been unleashed on us. The blond one was captured by ck Maria. He was used as a hostage to lure one of your female friends. The raven haired one. ¡°Where?!¡± Rick asked with emotion. ¡°The east wing! As for the others, we don¡¯t know!¡± another samurai answered, pointing in a direction with his finger. Rick gently put Zoro on the ground and went to search for Robin. He¡¯s been away from her for eight months and it was eight months too many in his opinion. On the way he dealt with any members of Kaido¡¯s crew without an ounce of mercy. When he noticed some weird Zoan users, Diana was enraged. ¡°That little¡­! How DARE they pervert my work!¡± ¡°What are you talking about?¡± ¡°Those Zoan are not of my design! Passing on the power of a fruit inside an object was fine! Barely! But creating devil fruit?! That¡¯s¡­ I can¡¯t let that stand! That¡¯s crossing a line.¡± ¡°Oooookay¡­ What do you want me to do about it exactly?¡± ¡°Kill them all!¡± ¡°Are you mad?!¡± ¡°They¡¯re abominations! Look at this one! He got the entirety of a giraffe''s body fused to his ass from the giraffe¡¯s neck!¡± ¡°Okay, maybe that one, but¡­¡± ¡°No buts! You either do it or I break my promise!¡± ¡°ckmail already? Is it how it¡¯s going to be, now? If I don¡¯t do what you want, you take control?¡± ¡°No! I won¡¯t interfere with your choices but this¡­ this is wrong. Someone tried to y god and it¡¯s not right! It goes against thews of nature!¡± ¡°The power of a fruit goes against thews of nature. Have you met Brook? Dead people are not supposed toe back to life.¡± ¡°It¡¯s not supposed to usually happen but it¡¯s not against thews. This¡­ This is a perversion of the essence of life! They purposefully altered a sentient being¡¯s DNA for a force evolution.¡± ¡°Isn¡¯t that what Zoans do?¡± ¡°No! My power changes the DNA temporarily, regarding Zoan. This¡­ this is a permanent thing. It¡¯s not supposed to happen! The DNA will break down and it won¡¯t be pretty.¡± ¡°What are we talking about here?¡± ¡°Madness, mayhem. The beast¡¯s DNA taking over. Plenty of bad things, the worst would be contamination of other people. It could lead to the extinction of all life!¡± ¡°... You¡¯re kidding right?¡¯ ¡°I am not! I saw it happening, back when I was creating the fruits! Luckily it was on a very small ind, so the worst was avoided.¡± ¡°Does that mean I¡¯ll have to kill Momonosuke? Because he ate a man-made fruit.¡± ¡°No, his fruit was perfect. It does what zoan¡¯s fruit are supposed to do.¡± ¡°So you¡¯re not asking me to kill them because you¡¯re somehow jealous that someone is getting close to achieving what you did? Or apparently seeded.¡± ¡°I am not.¡± ¡°Ugh fine¡­ How would I get to exin that to the others? ¡®I killed them because a voice in my head told me too?¡¯ What a clich¨¦.¡± Diana didn¡¯t bother to answer and Rick ruthlessly started to kill as quickly as possible the zoan beasts pirates while just knocking out the others. He tried to do it as fast and as painless as he could but sometimes he didn¡¯t have any other choice. Not like he cared about those people, but life was life. True, ever since he left the marines he had let go of his no kill policy. Ever since Skypiea and the olddy in fact but that didn¡¯t mean he was going to kill left and right. He had been naive back then, thinking that he didn¡¯t have to kill to get the job done. Yes, he could and he did but some people¡­ just deserved it, to make the world more secure. Perhaps he was influenced by the tone of the manga where death rarely happened. Besides O¡¯hara, the list of people that actually get killed is rather short, out of shback. From his memories he counted two. Whitebeard and Ace. Everyone else miraculously survived and most of the time ended up in Jail. The most noteworthy example was Pell who survived the bomb in basta, out of nowhere. Making his way into the east wing he tried to go faster as he could smell something burning up the path. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Deep into the east wing where a fire was raging, Brook was standing on the sidelines of a fight. He and Robin had managed to rescue Sanji from his captor and let him go on his way. The cook being the way he is, was unable to fight as all his opponents were women. And not any women at that but the ones working in the pleasure area. That¡¯s how he got captured in the first ce despite the fact that he could have wiped the floor with all of them in a very short time. ck Maria, one of Kaido¡¯s lieutenants, or captains, or whatever the name of her rank was, had easily managed the feat to capture the blond. She has been the one to set the ce on fire with a peculiar weapon looking like a spear but with a big wheel at the tip with a creature at the center of it producing fire. Despite her zoan abilities of a ck rosamygale, some kind of a triassic spider that went extinct long ago, she was no match for Brook who could simply freeze her fire. It didn¡¯t matter that the woman was over eight meters tall, she would lose all the same. And yet Brook was watching perhaps the weakest member of the crew fighting the spider-woman on her own. Robin had asked it of the skeleton, to his surprise. He did, however, understand why she wanted it to be her fight. Maria¡¯s henchwomen had yed a really dirty trick on the archeologist, making her see illusions of people dear to her and who were long gone. Robin hasn¡¯t been duped, she wasn¡¯t stupid nor gullible after all, but that unnerved the usually really chill woman. She took care of theckeys in no time by blooming giant hands, feet and even a giant version of her from the waist up. Only Maria was left. She was taunting Robin endlessly on her uselessness of what she represented to her crew. A danger to them. A danger that would lead them to abandon her or sell her out to others to get spare, like Kaido, Big Mom or the world government. To give some credit to her taunt she referred to Sanji she had captured and who begged Robin toe save him. Seeing that it didn¡¯t work on her, Maria upped the ante and said some words she should never have said with a sadistic glee. ¡°Even your husband left you behind! He¡¯s been here for months! Enjoying every pleasure that the ind of Onigashima had to offer! Everyday hees to the pleasure district to have a good time! You were nothing but a note on his bedpost. The vor of the time. He couldn¡¯t even bother to remember your name after I was done with him!¡± Robin didn¡¯t even bother to verbally answer, she let her actions do the talking. Brook couldn¡¯t believe what his empty orbits were seeing her do. ¡°Dear Lord, be merciful to us all.¡± Robin apparently had a Rick button. And Maria should not have pushed it. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Rick flew as fast as he could in an enclosed space. He had used his observation haki to locate Robin but a tremendous obstacle stood in his way. Both figuratively and literally. Big Mom was in the way, fighting a teamed up Law and Kid. The two supernovas were faring badly and when the yonko brought down her animated sword cap charged with conqueror haki Rick thought fast and pulled towards him her targets. ¡°Conqueror haki can be used like armament?!¡± ¡°Yes. And it¡¯s quite more powerful but doesn¡¯t do the same thing. Armement can destroy from inside the body, conqueror can¡¯t.¡± ¡°We¡¯ll talk about thatter.¡± ¡°Oh, it¡¯s you!¡± Big Mom eximed, recognizing Rick despite his weakened appearance. ¡°It feels like my birthday! I can finally make you pay for destroying my castle. You escaped my grasp out of luckst time but it seems that your luck has run out.¡± From behind him Law and Kid, raised from the ground they had a violent meeting with when they were pulled away. Rick hadn¡¯t been kind when he did it, too busy being focused on Big Mom. ¡°Don¡¯t you fucking dare asshole! She¡¯s mi¡­¡± began Kid before being promptly sent to the ceiling, percuting it with a frightening speed and being brought back down to the floor just as fast. ¡°You motherf¡­¡± Again he was forced to be intimate with the top of the room, then the ground but with more strength. This time the captain of the Kid¡¯s pirates kept his mouth shut. On the side, Law watched silently. He knew better than to get on the Strawhats vice-captain bad side. He did wonder what happened to him though. He could clearly see the signs of starvation with one look at his body, they were obvious. The question he was also asking himself was: Could he take Big Mom? Her devil fruit powers aside, she was an opponent of formidable physical strength and Rick was clearly not in a state to match her blow for blow. He was pretty sure in fact that, should he be hit once he would die. Yet he was standing tall, or rather floating probably to minimize the use of his muscle and save the bit of stamina he had. ¡°There are only two ways things are going to be resolved. You let me pass and you can keep on ying with those two. Or you die. Your choice.¡± ¡°Ma Ma Ma Ma Ma! You think you can kill me?! You couldn¡¯t back then and you were in way better shape! Look at you! I could Puff and you¡¯d die!¡± ¡°So be it.¡± Raising both his arms before him in a x he sprouted countless of them onto Big Mom¡¯s body. Wasting no time he began to channel gravy in them, the same way he did back on Dressrosa. Back then he had to exert himself, put some strength behind it and use a whole amount of armament haki to create a tiny ckhole. Now, he didn¡¯t have to feel like that at all. It was natural, as if he was just breathing. When Zoro had liberated him he had felt the difference when he used a bit of gravity but now, he could really feel it. In a second the air ripped and five inches beads of pure ckness popped all over the yonko¡¯s body and sucked her flesh in. She let out a painful scream at the sudden pain. ¡®It hurts doesn¡¯t it, bitch?!¡¯ Big Mom¡¯s pets tried to help her but both failed miserably. Apollo was fire incarnate, something without perceptible mass and so was the new thundercloud on the side. They were sucked almost immediately by the many beads, never to be seen again. The disparition of her mount made Big Mom fall on the ground in a loud thud. She was unable to move, her muscles and tendons being gone. In a single move one of the yonko has been defeated without being able to do anything. Law¡¯s jaw dropped a little. He remembered Rick being powerful, what¡¯s with all the ability he had but he never was that powerful. Taking one of the strongest pirates in the world like that was unheard of. That terrified him. Kid was no better on the side and was seriously thinking back of his attitude towards the frail man in front of him. That was not something he ever did, he always went forward, no matter what and rarely, if ever, felt fear. Even when Kaido beat him up and his crew he didn¡¯t feel fear. Now, however, he did. Rick looked at Big Mom on the ground with cold and disinterested eyes that made her reel. He was looking at her like he would at a pebble on the ground. She was a Yonko. A legend of seas, feared all over the world, was looked down, just as she looked down on people. It infuriated her. She tried to say something but more of her flesh was torn apart. In a desperate move, she coated her body in as much armament haki as she could, hoping that it could resist what was happening to it. It worked and her flesh wasn¡¯t sucked in whatever those ck beads were. The beads simply disappeared and with the most imminent threat to her nullified, she was thinking fast on what she could do to get out of her predicament. Unfortunately she didn¡¯t have the time. Law¡¯s sword was ripped from his hand and flew towards a sprouted limb in front of the yonko. Catching it, the limb started to infuse haki and gravity in a very high density in it. ¡°You chose poorly.¡± The arm holding the sword did a powerful thrust downward and unleashed a very powerful ck hole ray, devouring anything in its way. In an instant the only thing left of Big Mom was some very mangled limb with holes in them. ¡®So it worked. The physicsws of this world are really weird.¡¯ ¡®Now that I had a glimpse of your world¡¯sw I have to agree. A single one of those beads would have destroyed the whole room if not the whole wing of the ind.¡¯ ¡®And Haki can influence them. Wait. Aren¡¯t you a deity? Shouldn¡¯t you not be surprised?¡¯ ¡®God is a term used by people without power to describe people who have some. I didn¡¯t create this world, and I say that in a lore perspective. I just came to be and peoplebeled me like that because of what I could do but I never thought of myself as such.¡¯ ¡®I see. That brings a whole lot of questions that I¡¯m not sure I want or should have the answers to.¡¯ Rick made Law¡¯s sword float toward its owner, without even looking back and flew forward, deeper into the ind. Big Mom wasn¡¯t the goal after all, just an obstacle he had to deal with. In no time he came to the area where Robin and Brook were. When he entered the room he was pulled to a stop by what he was seeing. A giant blond woman with the lower body of a hairy spider was being clutched by a naked red devil. It was the real deal, with horns and wings, not dissimr to Rick¡¯s form when Diana had taken control of his body back in Marineford. When his brain functioned again he recognized who that devil was from the haircut, and the devil¡¯s assets. He knew those very well. ¡°Robin?¡± he eximed in awe. The awful cracking sound of snapping bones resonated in the room and the blonde¡¯s body suddenly went limp and was released on the side of the room giving Rick the first sight of his wife in almost a year. The demonic version of herself disappeared and Robin fell to the ground out of exhaustion. She never hit the ground though, not on his watch. He sprouted a hand on her and made her float before attracting her to him right into his arm in a single move. She took a second or two to understand what was happening and one more to recognize the gaunt face of the man she loved. ¡°Hey.¡± he simply said with a kind smile. Robin smiled back before knitting her brows in worry. She raised her hand to touch one of his hollowed cheeks. ¡°Long story?¡± Was all she asked and got a nod of affirmation back. It was fine with her, her husband was here and that was all that mattered. ck Maria may have said whatever she wanted, Robin knew the man she married better than anyone. She knew that the words she was hearing were lies. And while deep down a small part of her felt doubt, she believed, she had faith. After the most difficult eight months of her life, she still had faith that he would be back, that he would not stay with his daughter just like he promised her. It was that faith that drove her every day, that helped her ovee her loss and to ignore her darkest thoughts. And it took time, but her faith had been rewarded and she was back where she belonged. Rick put her on her feet and was locked into a hug. Not a fierce one, Robin had the presence of mind to mind his current condition, but a hug tight enough to convey her feelings. It didn¡¯tst long as a very nasty smell attacked her nose and made her recoil. ¡°Yes, sorry. Couldn¡¯t take a shower in eight months.¡± he said sheepishly. ¡°That¡¯s alright.¡± Just like she did a few moments earlier he cupped her cheek with his hand, or tried as he dropped it down. The cheek was too close to the nose. He opted instead to look meaningfully into her eyes. A look that she gave back. ¡°I wonder if Brook and I could do a number. The dead and the living skeletons.¡± he joked, making her chuckle softly. ¡°That¡¯s a wonderful idea! Yohohoho!¡± said Brook who came from the other side of the room after giving them some time to have a moment. ¡°As tempting as it is, I want my husband back to his best and more importantly healthy self.¡± ¡°Yes Ma¡¯am.¡± he said with a salute. ¡°We should go, others may need our help.¡± Brook advised. ¡°Zoro, is K.O. He took down one of Kaidou¡¯s top men and freed me before copsing though. Sanji, Chopper are on the other side of the ind.¡± He closed his eyes and used his observation haki to have a feel of the ce. It couldn¡¯t reach the whole ind but it was enough to locate Nami and Usopp near the center of what he now recognizes as a castle. ¡°Nami and Usopp are on the upper level near the center. I don¡¯t know where Franky or Baby-5 are but they are probably together. Luffy is supposedly fighting Kaidou on the roof but I can¡¯t verify it.¡± ¡°Reiju is probably with Chopper too.¡± Robin announced. ¡°Reiju is here? Why?¡± ¡°She decided to stay with us as Chopper¡¯s nurse. I wonder why?¡± she replied with a knowing smirk making Brookugh. ¡°So what are you two going to do?¡± Rick asked, ignoring the implication of Robin¡¯s words. He had already enough on his te right now, he didn¡¯t need to think about the pink princess at the moment. ¡°Us two?¡± ¡°Yes, you two. I¡¯m going on the roof. I have a deal to settle with Kaidou.¡± ¡°No.¡± Robin said firmly. ¡°Yes, I am.¡± ¡°No. Not when you¡¯re¡­ in that state.¡± she said, moving her hand up and down towards him. ¡°I¡¯ll be okay. I just took down Big Mom effortlessly. Sure, I may look like I would keel over with a small breeze and I feel like it but I can fight no problem.¡± Rick wasn¡¯t lying at all, however he didn¡¯t mention that the reason he took Big Mom down like he did was because she had been careless. Had she not judged him based on his appearance and theirst fight in her territory, the fight would not have been so one-sided. The yonko proved it by dealing with the ck holes with her haki. He was hoping Kaidou would make the same mistake if Luffy failed. ¡°You took Big Mom down?!¡± Brook eximed. ¡°Yeah, she¡¯s¡­ Let¡¯s say you should avoid the way I came from¡­The sight is not pretty.¡± After looking at him for a moment, Robin made a decision. ¡°I guess we should regroup with Nami and Usopp. Don¡¯t fight if you don¡¯t need to.¡± ¡°I promise.¡± Rick replied with a smile. He was genuine. If Luffy had things in hands, he would put aside his need for payback. ¡®Ending a big fight without being unconscious would be nice for once.¡¯ Brook and Robin took their leave, running towards the direction Rick gave them to reach their friends. Once gone, the Vice-captain flew towards the upper floor but not before killing the spider-woman at his roommate''s insistence. Chapter 115: No peace till victory Chapter 115: No peace till victory

Chapter 115: No peace till victory

Rick could hear the sound of battle as he made his way through the hole in the ceiling. The thunderous noise of weapons hitting each other hard and with gigantic strength. The tremors of the power of the exchanged hits could be seen through the building which was shaking and could be felt through the air. When he reached the surface, his eyes immediately darted towards the location of the fight. Something that hadn¡¯t been difficult to do by following the sound, he didn¡¯t even have to use his observation Haki for it. Surprise took him when he saw Kaidou fight not Luffy, but someone he didn¡¯t know. A woman in her mid tote twenties Rick guessed at first nce. She was tall, very tall, estimating her height at 8¡±5 at the very least and white hair arranged in a ponytail with some hint of aqua green and blue at the tip of them. She was dressed in a sleeveless white garment with a diamond-shaped design on both sides and a pair of red hakama with traditional japanese sandals. What was peculiar was her two red horns. Two things stroke Rick right away. First she was a total knockout babe with breasts bigger than a watermelon, a nice figure on a well toned body. The second was that she was holding herself up against Kaidou and while the emperor was clearly the strongest of the two it was still an impressive feat. When both fighters¡¯ mace,ced with emperor Haki met, the woman was pushed back violently, clearly having lost the strength contest. Raising a hand he sprouted an arm on her and stopped her movement less than foot in front of him. ¡°Are you alright?¡± he asked the woman. ¡°Yes. Thank you for¡­ Rick?¡± she asked as she saw who had helped her. ¡°Yes? Do we know each other?¡± ¡°Of course we¡­ Oh, right you were blindfolded.¡± ¡°Oden?¡± he asked, his neurons finally connecting and recognizing the way of speech and her voice. ¡°Yes!¡± she said with a tired but genuine smile. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, I thought¡­ That you were a man.¡± ¡°I am a man!¡± she replied with a frown and discontentment. ¡°Oh! My apologies, with your appearance I thought¡­ Nevermind, we have more important things to do.¡± he answered quickly in embarrassment. Oden looked at him for a brief moment then softened her expression knowing that hisment had been genuine. She was worried though, Rick was implying that he was here to fight Kaidou but the way he looked was clearly indicating that he was not fit to fight. ¡°Rick, you should not¡­¡± ¡°Done with your talk? ¡®Cause I¡¯m getting bored here Yamato.¡± Kaidou was fifteen feet away, his huge spiked mace resting on his shoulders, looking in annoyance at the duo. ¡®Yamato?¡¯ Rick thought, wondering why he was referring to Oden like that. ¡°My name is ODEN!¡± shouted the man back with venom. ¡°Will you ever stop with this silly name, son?¡± ¡®Son?!¡¯ ¡°You¡¯re his son?!¡± Rick eximed in surprise. ¡°Sadly.¡± ¡°We definitely need to speak but first he goes down.¡± Oden nodded and took a battle stance, disregarding his body¡¯s state. After all, staying and fighting was his choice and he would respect it. If he wanted to die in a worthy fight, who was he to stop him? That was the samurai¡¯s way. ¡°Really?! You¡¯re going to fight me when you have a foot already in the grave? You¡¯re either brave or foolish but I respect that. Don¡¯t die too quickly.¡± the emperor said to Rick. ¡°I¡¯m well enough to have killed Big Mom, I¡¯m well enough to kill you.¡± ¡°Lies! As if a runt like you could kill Lin Lin!¡± ¡°I did and with witnesses around. The bitch thought she was above me so I taught her her ce. She died crawling like a worm.¡± In a fit of rage, Kaidou made an over-head move with his mace, embedded with emperor Haki, and tried to hit Rick who simply dodge by quickly floating to the side while pushing Oden back. From there the fight became a bit of a cat and mouse game for Rick. He wasn¡¯t mad enough to get into close quarters with Kaido, that was purely suicide so instead he hang at at distance and let Oden attack his father. Meanwhile, Rick simply made sure that histest friend could dodge every hiting his way but also his. He had tried dealing with Kaido the way he did with Big Mom but to no avail. It was like the yonko had armament haki constantly coursing through his body, protecting him from the effect of the ck holes. If not for his help he provided Oden he would have been utterly useless in this confrontation. He was more than an annoyance to the man, really and one that had reached his life expectancy. Kaido had had enough of his timely interferences and transformed into a huge dragon. An adult one, not like the teeny one Momonosuke was. Opening his maw, the emperor of the seas fired a st right onto Rick. Quickly he tried to dodge but he was too close and the st too wide. As he epted that it was his end, Oden appeared right in front of him in a burst of speed and took the hit head on. With the difference in body size Rick was protected but Oden took more than the brunt of the attack even with armament haki covering his whole body. ¡°Oden!¡± ¡°I¡¯m¡­ fine. I suffered¡­ worse.¡± he replied with a ragged breath. ¡°You shouldn¡¯t have done that Yamato. Look at him, he¡¯s already at death¡¯s door with two feet in the grave. One just has to push his head into the ground.¡± ¡°He¡¯s my friend!¡± he replied in defiance. ¡°You don¡¯t have friends because all of them die!¡± ¡°Oden, no offense by your father is an asshole.¡± ¡°I know!¡± ¡°If you like your friend so much then die with him!¡± Kaido began charging another fire st and Rick knew that this time it was the end for good. Oden was not in condition to take another hit, not without recuperating for a few minutes and he was at his limits. His body was way beyond its limits and the mental strength he had left when Zoro freed him had been all used up by his hyper focus during the fight with Kaido. He hadn¡¯t in him to properly pull Oden away or even himself. Once more he faced death right in the eye. ¡°It was nice knowing you O¡­¡± In a sh, both Oden and he were on the other side of the roof held under someone ¡®s familiar arms. ¡°Luffy!¡± ¡°Hey!¡± Had Rick got the strength he would have kissed his captain right on the mouth for saving his and his friend¡¯s life. ¡°Gosh, you shttink!¡± said Luffy as he made a crunched up and disgusted face. ¡°That¡¯s why you should always at least wash yourself daily! You may not smell yourself but others sure can smell you!¡± ¡°I don¡¯t smell! At least! Not like I¡¯ve never taken a bath in my life!¡± ¡°me that asshole! He had me locked up for eight months!¡± Rick retorded. ¡°...He¡¯s the reason why you looked like this?¡± inquired Luffy with a frown. ¡°..Yeah. Thanks to Oden, I could eat and drink a bit but¡­¡± Luffy put his charges down, a mask of fury on his face. ¡°Can you make things float?¡± ¡°I can, but if you expect help during your fight, then no. It¡¯s too much for me.¡± ¡°No. I can take Kaidou by myself. Momonosuke needs help, the ind is going to crash on the capital.¡± ¡°Oh, boy. I don¡¯t know, I¡¯ll see what I can do.¡± ¡°Good then here you go!¡± eximed the straw hat captain and tossed both Oden and Rick over the edge of the roof. ¡°Kick his ass!!¡± The confident smile that his captain gave him reassured him a bit. Grabbing a screaming Oden as they freefall, he put a stop to it gently. ¡°Sorry for the ufortableness.¡± Rick said. ¡°It¡¯s alright I¡¯m used to it by now.¡± Oden replied with a tired grin. ¡°Let¡¯s float down a bit and find Momonosuke. In my state I can¡¯t make us float and make the ind float at the same time. I could try but I don''t want to see the consequences if I fail.¡± Oden nodded and slowly, Rick shifted their gravity a bit, making them fall slowly. After a minute or two, trying to ignore the sounds and the rumble of the hits between Luffy and Kaido, they saw another adult dragon close to the very bottom of the ind, trying to grab smoke clouds. The pink color of the beast made Rick instinctively recognize the one they were looking for. ¡°Lord Momonosuke!¡± Oden yelled as he waved his hand. Turning around at his name being called, Momonuske, immediately moved at the sight of Yamato and Rick. ¡°Yamato and¡­ you.¡± he said in a t but yet a bit of a surprised tone at the sight of Rick. He hadn¡¯t believed the others when they said that Rick would be there and called him a coward but to the young child''s eyes it was clear he had been wrong. He has seen people like Rick during the eight months he had been in his homnd. Of people, dying of hunger. Putting the thought aside at what exactly happened, he didn¡¯t move when both Yamato and Ricknded on his back. ¡°What happened, my lord? You weren¡¯t so big an hour ago!¡± ¡°I had asked Shinobu to use her power on me. I was useless as a child but with an adult body¡­¡± ¡°I¡¯m sorry, my lord.¡± Yamato replied in sympathy. ¡°It¡¯s alright. As the lord of this country it is my duty to do all I can do to protect it and its people. Growing up twenty years was a small price to pay.¡± ¡°You¡¯ve¡­ changed.¡± said Rick. ¡°I had too. It hasn¡¯t been easy. In fact, an hour ago I was still¡­¡± he began exining but stopped himself as it was disgraceful for a lord to show weakness. ¡°I remember you could make things float, could you¡­¡± ¡°Yes, I can. But I won¡¯t be able to do it infinitely. I think it¡¯s better if wend it.¡± ¡°We cannot. At the lowest basement are bombs that would explode if the impact is too big.¡± ¡°Hmm¡­Perhaps I can extract them from the ind and send them away but I can¡¯t make the ind float and stop its advance at the same time. Maybe¡­¡± ¡®Diana, do you think I could¡­ ¡®No. Now that I¡¯m not blocking your powers anymore, you¡¯re free of any physical strain while using them a lot, but you still need mental strength to do so. You don¡¯t have enough currently.¡¯ ¡®Any advice?¡± ¡®If the kid can destroy the smoke clouds, you can gently lower the ind to the ground. That should not detonate the bomb.¡¯ ¡®Thank you.¡¯ ¡° If you can get rid of the clouds I can lower the ind to the ground slowly without setting off the bombs.¡± ¡°I¡­ I can do that! I¡¯ve been trying to take control of them and make them go elsewhere but couldn¡¯t¡­ Getting rid of them isn''t a problem I think.¡± With a nod from Rick, Momonosuke turned his head forward and flew towards the smoke clouds. Grabbing them with his ws he broke them apart easily. Rick immediately sprouted a hand on the bottom of the ind and used his gravity, lowering it bit by bit as if it was a leaf slowly making its way down. Due to the pointed shape of the ripped up ind this resulted in a tilt. A scream of rage soon echoed through the area, clearly indicating that Kaido was pissed that his ns had been foiled. Wanting to go up there but knowing that he¡¯d be a burden more than anything, Rick dismounted Momonosuke with Yamato and the trio went back inside the ind to help anyone and anywhere they could. As a result of the fights that had urred during the night there was a ton of debris. Debris that had crushed and blocked enemies and allies alike when the ind tilted to the side. With Yamato¡¯s strength and Rick¡¯s gravity they saved as many allies as possible. They reached a hall where they found Chopper and Reiju, taking care of wounded and injured. The reindeer at the sight of his vice captain went tear-eyed both of happiness for seeing him again and at the state he was in. He tried to tackle him in a hug but the horrid smell made him back out a dozen feet while holding his nose. Rick nervously chuckled at that. ¡°Sorry, Chopper. Kaido¡¯s cells are not furnished with a shower.¡± Nodding, the little doctor of the crew, signaled Reiju to take care of Rick but he declined saying that he was just weak and starved but not hurt unlike Oden who needed medical attention. The pink haired princess nodded and gave him a smile as she dragged Kaido¡¯s son towards Chopper. Looking around, Rick saw Zoroying on the ground in some sort of cocoon. Walking closer to his friend, he looked up towards a hole in the roof, paying attention to the sound of the battle between emperors. ¡°Found Robin?¡± said the swordsman. ¡°Yeah. Took care of Big Mom along the way.¡± Rick confessed as he sat down crossed-legged. At the look Zoro gave him he exined himself. ¡°She¡¯s dead. Shouldn¡¯t have stood in my way.¡± ¡°...I¡¯d like to hear that story. I¡¯m curious how you did that with your condition.¡± Rick nodded in agreement before speaking up. ¡°It has to do with the sea devil. I¡­ made a lot of discoveries about it and devil fruit during my captivity. It¡¯s a rather long tale but the short answer is, it¡¯s not making me work extra hard to use my power at its peak.¡± ¡°... I see.¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°You think Luffy is almost¡­¡± He was interrupted by something tackling from the back and making him fall forward. ¡°Riiick!¡± came the emotional voice of Nami. ¡°Na¡­¡± ¡°Arrrgh! You shtink!¡± she shouted as she separated immediately from him, pinching her nose. Sighing to himself, Rick used his gravity to pull himself up. ¡°I know.¡± ¡°What happened?! You¡¯re all bones!¡± said Usopp from behind the redhead. ¡°No, that¡¯s Brooks.¡± ¡°Yohohoho! That¡¯s true!¡± To the side, Brooks, Robin, Franky, and Baby-5 came to join the group. ¡°Wow, what the hell did you do?¡± asked the Cyborg. ¡°That conversation will have to wait.¡± Reiju interjected as she came out of nowhere and effortlessly picked Rick up with one arm. Her face was wearing a mask to deal with the horrendous smell. ¡°Come on! I¡¯m fine!¡±¡± the straw hat vice captain tried to shout but it sounded more like a whine. ¡°That¡¯s to the doctor to decide.¡± ¡°Chopper can¡¯t approach me and you¡¯re a nurse!¡± ¡°I¡¯m just wearing a nurse uniform because it¡¯s sexier.¡± she replied, smugness, teasing and flirting in her voice. Walking to her makeshift station, she began to study him thoroughly. ¡°Anything you¡¯d like to share.¡± ¡°Besides the starving, you mean?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± she replied with a frown as she saw red lines on his arms, going up towards his torso. ¡°I was crucified with seastone nails.¡± ¡°Hmm. That exins the sepsis.¡± ¡°What sepsis?¡± he inquired, confused. ¡°You see those red lines?¡± she asked and continued as he nodded. ¡° Typical of sepsis. Your body, despite his regenerative abilities, proof that you''re not bleeding anymore, is not well.¡± ¡°Isn¡¯t sepsis blood poisoning? I have a high resis¡­¡± ¡°It¡¯s a mismonner. You¡¯re not poisoned, you¡¯re infected by bacterias. Considering that you¡¯ve been¡­ nailed for months it¡¯s a miracle you¡¯re still alive. Anyone with a body not as durable as yours would have died by now.¡± ¡°Can¡¯t my body deal with it on its own?¡± ¡°It tries, at least I can tell since you¡¯re still alive but it¡¯s just slowing the sepsis down. Perhaps without the seastone it would have but the infection is pretty advanced and while I''m curious if your body could ovee it, I¡¯m pretty sure with its state that it could not. I also don''t want to risk my fiance¡¯s life to quell my curiosity.¡± the pink head answered with an amused smile. ¡°Reiju¡­¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯ll patch you up in no time. I¡¯d say, in three days you¡¯d be back to health.¡± ¡°That¡¯s great.¡± ¡°Then you can nail me to the bed.¡± she announced with a smirk. Any retort he had on the tip of his tongue and about to say was stopped when from the roof everyone saw Kaido being propelled towards the ground. It was so fast that most missed the emperor. ¡°Luffy won. I guess the war is over. And I didn¡¯t even pass o¡­¡± Just as he was about to pat himself on the back for not being unconscious for once, Reiju injected a sedative onto his neck making him fall asleep. Chapter 116: Things don’t turn up in this world until somebody turns them up Chapter 116: Things don¡¯t turn up in this world until somebody turns them up

Chapter 116: Things don''t turn up in this world until somebody turns them up

When Rick opened his eyes, he was confronted with the sight of a traditional Japanese ceiling. The kind you find in onsen, castles or temples. Looking lower, he noticed that he was inside a futon. A warm futon, too warm. He raised his arm to remove the cover and was surprised to see that his body wasn¡¯t emaciated anymore. That was something he was d about, that and the smell. His unwashed scent had been replied by cherry blossoms. Getting up he looked at his white kimono that fit him perfectly. A surprising color to wear if he remembered correctly the bits and pieces of Japanese culture. After all, white was the color of death. ¡®Diana?¡¯ ¡®What?!¡¯ ¡®Wow, what a greeting.¡¯ ¡®I¡¯m busy!¡¯ ¡®Busy doing what?¡¯ ¡®Reading!¡¯ ¡®Read¡­¡¯ ¡®Fullmetal Alchemist! Now stop bothering me!¡¯ ¡®Oookaaaayyy.¡¯ Giving up on getting any information from the goddess he was more or less rooming with, Rick decided to open the slide door leading to a balcony. He had to admit he was impressed with the view. He clearly was on top of some mountain and in some kind of castle. Way down below he could see a bustling town, typical of medieval Japan. Taking a deep breath he enjoyed the pure air filling his lungs. It smelt like freedom. It felt like freedom. With his eyes closed he enjoyed the moment. He didn¡¯t for how long, if it was a few minutes or an hour. He just enjoyed it. Until he felt a pair of arms gently circling his body from behind. He didn¡¯t move an inch, and let the person behind him rest their head on his shoulder. He didn¡¯t need to open his eyes to know who it was. The huge breasts pressing against his back, the way the hands against his midsection touched him, the feel of the chin against his shoulder. Instinctively he let his body fall back a bit, melting into the embrace, his lips letting out a content sigh. He went on like that, takingfort more than pleasure in the moment even when he felt warm luscious lips against his neck, once, twice, thrice. ¡°I¡¯m home.¡± ¡°You are.¡± Robin replied. He moved his hands to grab hers, their fingers intertwining lovingly. None of them said another word for a few minutes,municating how they felt, simply via touch, by feeling the other¡¯s body. That didn¡¯t mean that they didn¡¯t have words to share. Rick had plenty for her. Mainly excuses. Again. He has been doing that a lot since they married. Always apologizing for something, for letting her down with that one episode with Momonosuke. He hated it. Not apologizing, he had no problem with that, especially to Robin. No, he hated that he had to in the first ce because of the actions he took and choices he made. After eight months of hell he felt like apologizing to Robin wasn¡¯t nearly enough to make up for everything that he had no right to. ¡®Can you stop moping around? It¡¯s distracting and unpleasant.¡¯ Rick let out a long sigh. Diana was right. He should focus on the fact that he was with the woman he loved more than anything instead of being all depressed. ¡°I love you.¡± he said, turning his head and finding her lips with his own. ¡°I love you too.¡± she answered back. Opening his eyes, he looked into hers and found nothing but love. That made him feel guilty. Detangling himself from her, he kept on holding her hand. He wanted to talk but the words woulde. ¡°What is it?¡± ¡°...¡± Unable to answer, he just sighed. ¡°Did something happen?¡± she asked with a hint of worry. ¡°A lot. Mostly¡­ ¡° he stopped himself for a moment. He didn¡¯t want to share the events from their separation to now but knew he had to. ¡°Bad¡­ From bad to worse actually.¡± She looked at him for a moment. He couldn¡¯t meet her eyes and looked at their joined hands. Understanding that she''d be the one to start the conversion, she pulled him inside to sit on pillows. ¡°Nami filled me in with what happened during Sanji¡¯s rescue.¡± ¡°I¡­ didn¡¯t think about that. Didn¡¯t even enter my mind.¡± ¡°That''s alright. I¡¯m sure more important things happened than you just getting engaged. Twice.¡± she said softly in a teasing tone, her smile matching it. ¡°Twice? Nami tricked me into proposing but who¡­ Reiju? That was an act.¡± ¡°They both told me, though I¡¯m pretty sure she¡¯s serious about it. You know I don¡¯t mind. I quite like her in fact.¡± ¡°Well, since we¡¯re on the topic of engagement¡­ I kinda kidnapped Vivi and gave her a ring. She beat me up first then listened to what happened to me. I think she believes me though she didn¡¯t answer me. The same from Kaza and Tsuru.¡± ¡°Tsuru? Your path crossed?¡± she asked with a brow raised. ¡°Yes. She and uncle were guarding Kaza. Grandpa put her on Luffy¡¯s home ind. Once I was done speaking with Kaza I left. They were waiting for me outside and wanted me to surrender peacefully. Words were exchanged, nasty ones, especially with uncle. In the end, the conversation was cut short by Shiki¡¯s appearance.¡± ¡°As in golden Shiki?¡± ¡°Yes. He¡­ He was using his power to make an ind float and steal other inds in East Blue. I kicked his ass of course and just after the fight, Tsuru showed up and I gave her a ring.¡± ¡°What about Kaza and¡­¡± ¡°Kaza yed the scorned woman. Marines were listening, so we couldn¡¯t talk properly. Gave her a ring too. As for my daughter? Well¡­ She¡¯s named Eri and she absolutely hates my guts. She refused to acknowledge me as her father. I¡¯m just another pirate to be put behind bars to her.¡± he replied in a barely audible voice. Despite the relief she felt, it was crushed by the sympathy that Robin had for him. ¡°I¡¯m sorry.¡± ¡°Not your fault.¡± he replied with a shrug. ¡° Anyway. I quickly left the scene to not get caught and made my way here. I stopped to visit Amazon Lily on the way. Hancock is pregnant again. Or was. Since she started showing a bit.¡± he said with bitterness. Not enough to miss Robin squeezing his hand from a brief moment when she heard that the Pirate Queen was carrying another child. ¡°What is it?¡± he asked. ¡°Nothing. I just¡­ wonder how many children the two will have if every time you reunite you knock her up.¡± she replied. ¡°I¡¯m good with children for now. What¡¯s the point if I can¡¯t be there for them?¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t stay long, a few days at most, I think. I flew as much and as fast as I could to get here. When I arrived, only two weeks had passed since my separation from the crew. I¡­ I was so tired to be honest but the simple thought of seeing you again lifted my spirits up. It distracted me however and I got knocked out by a pterodactyl in leather. When I came too, I was in front of Kaido. He ordered me to join him and of course I refused. Didn¡¯t even bother to give him a reply. I broke my seastons chains and tried to flee. He got me good. Then when I woke up next, I was blindfolded and crucified in a damped cell. Couldn¡¯t do a thing because the bastard nailed me with seastone nails. And then¡­ Then¡­¡± his tale began to slow down, the closer it came to talking about his incarceration. Robin let him take his time topose himself to say the rest, listening attentively and patiently. ¡°I was alone with myself and my thoughts. Why my guilt and with my despair. Thirst and hunger, Robin¡­ they change you¡­ Not for the better. The worst¡­The worst was being away from you. It became so bad that I heard it again. Taunting me, aggravating me, ying on my fears, ying on my guilt all so I would let it out again.¡± Rick was gone now, his eyes looking far away, stuck in the past. So much, that he didn¡¯t even notice Robin, changing her sitting position and pulling him down so he could rest his head against the top of her breasts. ¡°The only reprieve I got was Oden¡¯s asional visit. He¡­ brought me a bowl of rice and a ss of water whenever he could but more than that¡­ He distracted me. He unknowingly made sure that I wasn¡¯t stuck in my head by simply asking me to talk about what¡¯s beyond the borders of Wano. I¡­ could sleep easier after his visits. At least at first. With time¡­ it changed its tune making it harder. Waking me up whenever. I didn¡¯t know if I slept for a day or for a minute. I was utterly tired regardless and it kept pushing for me to give him control. It became so bad that I started to talk to it, to deny it what it wanted. Until one day, he let some things slip. It, identified as a she and was the ruler of the lost kingdom.¡± Robin didn¡¯t say anything at that but her eyes grew wide at the revtion. ¡°Apparently the people at the time thought of her as a goddess since¡­ Well¡­ she created the devil fruits and all. She wanted control of me for two reasons. One, because she wants revenge on the Celestial Dragons for destroying her home and killing her people. Two, because Apparently, when she¡¯s not in control, she¡¯s in total darkness, not feeling anything. She hears nothing, sees nothing¡­ All of her senses are gone and that¡¯s maddening. I was so bad that¡­ I felt sorry for her. In the end, after many more conversations, she proposed a deal.¡± ¡°Oh, Rick, tell me you¡­¡± ¡°We would link our soul together, allowing her to always experience what I¡¯m experiencing with my senses and in exchange¡­ Well, I was a bit heavy on the conditions of the deal. She could not take control of my body without my permission, she would not let a finger on you and the crew. She¡¯s quite fond of you by the way, since you¡¯re the only one that can read her people¡¯snguage. And finally, she stopped blocking my powers.¡± ¡°What do you mean by that?¡± ¡°¡®One fruit, one power per person¡¯. That¡¯s her rule. That I have two angered her greatly, so any particrly strong use of my abilities waspletely draining me. So far she has respected her part of the deal. When Zoro freed me, I felt different when using my powers. It¡¯s like¡­ it¡¯s natural, that I don¡¯t have to force it anymore.¡± ¡°You really took the deal¡­¡± she whispered. ¡°I know¡­ Now that my mind is clear I realize¡­ How dangerous and stupid a decision it was. She¡¯s a devil, she enticed me by telling me whatever I wanted to hear. She had kept her word though. At least for now. I think¡­ I believe her and seem genuine. She¡¯s bossy as hell though sometimes and quite irritated when I bother her while she¡¯s reading.¡± ¡°Reading? Reading what? And how does she¡­¡± ¡°Every book I read? She¡¯s reading them through my memories. Or something like that.¡± Robin took a moment to think about the many revtions that she had just heard and couldn¡¯t make a lick of sense of it, except the part about Rick giving in. The devil or goddess or whatever it was had yed on his greatest weakness, her, and won. ¡°That was¡­ quite an ordeal.¡± ¡°Yeah¡­¡± They sat there in silence, each lost in their own thoughts until Rick looked up and with one hand brought her head down to kiss her. ¡°I¡¯m sorry.¡± ¡°What for?¡± ¡°Being careless resulting in being away from you for so long. Honestly¡­ I feel like the worst husband ever. Always doing stupid shit that I have to apologize to you for. I can¡¯t seem to do everything right.¡± ¡°Now that¡¯s not true.¡± she replied with a frown. ¡°You always, alwayse back to me. That¡¯s an apology in itself that I will always ept because you¡¯re keeping your word. Breaking that promise to me is the only thing I will never forgive you for. Thankfully, I have you on an admittedly long leash and trained you well, so I don¡¯t have to worry about it.¡± she said naturally with a smile that he couldn¡¯t help but reciprocate. ¡°That you do.¡± ¡°We¡¯re on the same page then, good.¡± ¡°I have onest thing to talk about before you tell me all about your time on Wano.¡± he said with seriousness. ¡°What is it?¡± ¡°If¡­ someone, some day, came to you and told you¡­ things that would make you reconsider your own existence or the reality of the universe we live in and that they had proof. Would you listen to what they have to say?¡± Robin was taken aback by what her husband asked. That was unrted to anything he had spoken just before. ¡®Or perhaps it is rted.¡¯ she thought after a moment. With a goddess involved, thinking it may not have been rong. ¡°No¡­ I wouldn¡¯t.¡± ¡°...You¡¯re smarter than me then.¡± ¡°That was a given. Our reality is¡­ real. I am real, you are real for the simple reason that you can¡¯t fake feelings. The love I have for you can¡¯t be anything but real, it can¡¯t be an illusion, it can''t be made up. The world¡­ it may not be quite the way we perceive it but it is real. Whatever proof that person has, it¡¯s no real, irrefutable proof.¡± Rick searched something in her eyes and found only conviction. He suddenly had an idea and considered it. For a moment he hesitated about doing it or not but ultimately went with it. He opened the system, to get to the shop and buy something. It would materialize out of thin air and maybe prove Robin wrong. It wouldn¡¯t be doing it for that but it was thest secret he had about himself and he wanted to share it with her. That is if he could in the first ce. He quickly found out he could when Robin spoke. ¡°What is that?¡± she asked. ¡°What?¡± ¡°That¡­ window floating in the air in front of you?¡± Chapter 117: There is everything you know and there is everything that happens Chapter 117: There is everything you know and there is everything that happens

Chapter 117: There is everything you know and there is everything that happens

¡°You¡­ you can see it?!¡± Rick said bewildered. ¡°Yes? I can see a representation of you and little boxes around it with clothes inside. There are also a bunch of other things. Like Love*? Shop?¡± Rick¡¯s jaw loweredically, too shocked at the fact that Robin could see the system. When his brain rebooted, he stood up from his position and looked down at a confused Robin. ¡°Oh, it¡¯s gone now.¡± He looked at her for a moment and didn¡¯t know what to think or do. ¡®Diana.¡¯ ¡®What?! I swear if you¡¯re inter¡­¡± ¡®Robin saw the system.¡¯ ¡®...That¡¯s impossible! From what I understood, only you can!¡¯ ¡®And you.¡¯ ¡®That¡¯s because I¡¯m linked to you via our soul! That¡¯s¡­¡¯ ¡®She can¡¯t see it anymore though.¡¯ ¡®... Yet the window is still open¡­ Did something change between the moment she saw it and the one she didn¡¯t?¡± ¡®I was sitting next to her holding her hand then I just stood up.¡¯ ¡®... Try touching her?¡¯ the goddess forwarded in curiosity. Rick extended his hand towards Robin who looked at it, then at him before taking it in hers. ¡°Oh, It¡¯s back.¡± ¡®¡®What the fuck!?¡¯¡¯ Rick and Diana eximed in unison. ¡®How is that possible?!¡¯ ¡®I don¡¯t know! Has it ever happened before?!¡± ¡®No!¡¯ ¡°Rick?¡± Robin asked, a bit worried. ¡°You¡­ you shouldn¡¯t be able to see it. You never have before.¡± ¡°What is it?¡± ¡°It¡¯s¡­ A system. Something that¡­ I was born with, I think.¡± he half lied. While he wasn¡¯t about to tell her about the whole shebang by fear of the goddess, the actual one that sent him here, doing something to her, he would still talk about it because she deserved to know. ¡°Is that another devil fruit¡­¡± ¡°No. No it¡¯s not. It¡¯s¡­ the proof that¡­ I was talking about earlier or rather it¡¯s the proof that¡­ Other worlds or realities than our own exist. Though I thought otherwise until you set me straight with your wisdom.¡± ¡°What is it exactly? And why can I see it now when I couldn''t before? And the female voice I heard when I took your hand, who is it?¡± ¡°You can hear her?!¡± / ¡®You can hear me?!¡¯ ¡°Yes. Shouldn¡¯t I be able to? Is it not your doing?¡± inquired a puzzled Robin who found the situation very strange. ¡®¡®What the hell?!¡¯¡¯ ¡°I don¡¯t know, it¡¯s you who¡¯s doing things I''ve never seen you do before. Mind boggling things.¡± ¡°You heard my thoughts too?!¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Letting go of her hand Rick asked again. ¡°No, I don''t hear your thoughts anymore.¡± Taking her hand back in his he started to exin whatever he could, still shocked at what was happening. ¡°Okay¡­ So¡­ The voice¡­¡± ¡°It¡¯s the devil, right?¡± ¡®I¡¯m not a devil! Thank you very much! I¡¯m a goddess!¡¯ ¡°Oh, my apologies.¡± ¡°I¡¯m freaking out, Diana is freaking out and you¡¯re taking it like¡­¡± he couldn¡¯t find the words and simply waved his free hand up and down at Robin. ¡°Not the weirdest things I¡¯ve seen. That¡¯s Brook.¡± ¡°...¡± ¡®...¡¯ ¡°I¡¯d say nice to meet you Diana but considering the grief you¡¯ve given my husband, I¡¯ll abstain.¡± Robin said, making Rick snort. ¡®For what it¡¯s worth, I¡¯m sorry about it but my situation as you know was untenable. Years of it was¡­¡¯ ¡°I understand. Now, what¡¯s this window? You said it was a system?¡± ¡°I¡­ Yes, a system.¡± Rick began, still not having quite recovered from the ordeal. ¡°It informs me of the state of my body and¡­¡± ¡°Is that how you knew you were dying?¡± ¡°I¡­ Yes¡­ There was a big red warning with a timer just above my head.¡± ¡°That sounds quite useful.¡± ¡°Not really? I mean the warning was but otherwise it does nothing useful except this.¡± Rick clicked on the kimono¡¯s icon he was wearing and put it in his inventory. Immediately he found himself in his underwear in front of Robin, disbelieving eyes. Then he pulled the kimono from the inventory and put it back in the appropriate slot and he was dressed again. ¡°That¡¯s¡­ useful indeed.¡± ¡°I never use it though. Most of the time I forget about it since I¡¯m not using the system much.¡± ¡°Why?¡± ¡°Well, I¡­ never had the need? I mean¡­ I don¡¯t have any problem dressing myself normally. I only ever use it for the shop but it¡¯s so expensive that I rarely use it either.¡± Trying to satisfy her curiosity, Robin raised her free hand and touched the word ¡®shop¡¯. Immediately, the whole disy changed and presented one that Rick was very familiar with. ¡°You can even interact with it. What the¡­¡± ¡°So you lied when you said Vegapunk fixed you.¡± she stated in a neutral voice. She wasn¡¯t usatory or remorseful in the least as she said this while pointing to the screen at everything that Rick had purchased. ¡°What?! No, I didn¡¯t. I did met the man two years ago and he promised to find a cure for my condition. When I¡­ bloomed I just bought the body he had created and it just updated mine.¡± he defended himself but that wasn¡¯t enough, he knew from Robin¡¯s raised brow and her face that was saying ¡® Please keep lying to me when I have proof of it right before my eyes.¡¯ ¡°Look. I may have¡­ embellished and modified things a bit but it all rted to the system. Would you have believed me if I had talked about it?¡± ¡°... I would have been skeptical but I would have believed you. I do understand why you¡­ told me and the crew a different tale. I¡¯m not mad, I¡¯m more curious than anything.¡± ¡°I¡­ mainly use it to lock devil fruits out of cirction when I can buy them or give some to people that would use it responsibly and not for anything nefarious.¡± ¡°Like Nami¡¯s Tenki Tenki no mi and Whitebeard¡¯s Guro Guro no mi from what I see.¡± ¡°Yes. During my stay on O¡¯Hara I used it a lot to help in the reconstruction and for food though rarely because that¡¯s expensive.¡± he added and Robin nodded but went back to talk about the devil fruits, pointing out to his ¡°You bought your second devil fruit nearly twenty years ago. The Me Me no mi. Meaning that you found the Zushi Zushi no mi by yourself listfirst since it¡¯s not on the list of purchases and then targeted the Me Me no mi.¡± ¡°At first I wanted the Hana Hana no mi but it was too expensive for me at the time. By the time I did, you had already eaten it.¡± ¡°Why?¡± ¡°Hmm?¡± ¡°Why¡­ my fruit?¡± ¡°Because it was the prettiest and the coolest in terms of powers.¡± he replied sheepishly. ¡°So you already had an idea of what you wanted to do back then.¡± ¡°Yeah¡­¡± ¡°How do you buy¡­ things?¡± ¡°Karma.¡± ¡°Karma?¡± ¡°By doing good deeds I¡¯m rewarded with karma points. The greater the deed the greater the points. One Karma point is equivalent to 100 000 Berry.¡± ¡°That¡¯s why, despite the price of what you bought being lowpared to the rest of the items of the shop you only bought the imperfect body and the Me Me no mi.¡± she began, understanding immediately what Rick was implying. ¡°Since East blue is the weakest sea, the bounties must have been really low hence few points.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°You were unlucky to be there.¡± ¡°Regarding points? Yes but I wouldn¡¯t say I was unlucky. I met grandpa, I met Rayleigh, then Big Sis and Uncle¡­¡± ¡°Did you join the marines to¡­¡± ¡°No! I joined the navy because I really wanted to help people and see the world. Also because I didn¡¯t have much of a choice. I mean I was an amnesiac orphan.¡± ¡°... You have a lot of points.¡± she remarked. ¡° Capturing or killing bounties is not as rewarding as one might think. Saving people on the other hand is the opposite.¡± ¡°That¡¯s why you have so much?¡± ¡°Yes. Saving the people of Alubarna granted me a lot. Destroying the ind of justice too to my surprise. I didn¡¯t think I would get any, rather I believed I¡¯d lose a lot.¡± Robin stayed silent and this time looked at the items avable. ¡°Some things are just¡­ Why are they so expensive? It¡¯s in the Billions, how could you afford that?¡± ¡°I reached 900 Millions once I think? So It¡¯s not impossible, as for why it¡¯s so expensive, it¡¯s because those items are from other worlds. Since we can''t find it in ours it makes sense to me that the price is high.¡± ¡°Does that work only for you?¡± ¡°Well, no. Nami and Sabo got a devil fruit¡­¡± ¡°I was referring to your perfect body? How did it work?¡± ¡°I bought it and activated it. I had another window that appeared, indicating the time it would take for the body to be implemented and I¡­ just went unconscious during the change. Wait actually thest one I just¡­ felt lighter? Why are you asking?¡± ¡°I¡¯m wondering if I can change my body for one of those.¡± she said nonchntly scrolling this time the devil fruit list. ¡°Why? Your body is already perfect.¡± he replied and got a smile and a kiss for it. ¡°It says the age process is slower. I¡¯d very much like to stay younger for longer.¡± ¡°Did I never tell you that the more you age the more beautiful you are?¡± ¡°You did but there wille a point when it will stop. Besides... The ability to eat a second devil fruit and having a body in peak condition is not to be dismissed. There is the healing factor too.¡± ¡°You do know you will have to deal with Diana?¡± ¡®There is no way to know how that¡­ second version of me will behave. I more or less calmed myself down with the years despite¡­ being a bit unhinged so to speak.¡¯ ¡°And that¡¯s presuming that you can use it to begin with. This whole situation is new, Robin. How you could ess the system is beyond me. Even Diana didn¡¯t have ess to it until our soul synced.¡± ¡°... You¡¯re right. On an unrted note, Big Mom¡¯s and Kaido¡¯s devil fruit are there.¡± ¡°Oh? Do I have enough to buy them?¡± he said as he looked at the window. Turned out he did and immediately made the purchase. ¡°Where are they?¡± inquired Robin. ¡°In here.¡± Rick answered as he opened the inventory page to show them the devil fruits. Robin raised her hand again and tapped on Kaido¡¯s fruit. Immediately the fruit appeared in her hand. That surprised her and the fruit fell on the ground between their feet. ¡°That inventory is¡­ You can do so much with it.¡± ¡°Only if I can have ess to the system. I mean, when Kaido was holding me captive, I couldn¡¯t use my hand or anything else to use it but otherwise yes. I never really had the need for it though.¡± Picking the fruit up, Robin looked at it for a moment then pushed it against the window which absorbed it. It was back into its slot in the inventory. Having seen the shop, the inventory and the profile page, she tapped on the love page. A dozen names were disyed in alphabetical order, each with a number next to them. The first name was Hancock''s and Robin couldn¡¯t help herself. ¡°A 100 out a 100? Is that¡­ A love meter?¡± she asked skeptically. ¡°I don¡¯t know?¡± ¡°You don¡¯t?!¡± ¡°No. I don¡¯t remember seeing that page before.¡± ¡°Kaza: 100/100. Nami: 98/100. Oden: 34/100.¡± ¡°Oden? Why is he here in the love page? I don¡¯t have any feelings for Oden beyond friendship and gratitude.¡± ¡°Did you take a good look at him? He¡¯s gorgeous!¡± Robin replied, incredulous. ¡°Well, yeah but it''s not love, it¡¯s lust. And I think the thing is faulty. I mean. I love Kaza but not more than Nami, that¡¯s for sure.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t think it¡¯s the love you have for others but others¡¯ love for you.¡± ¡°... Now, that would make sense. I wonder what your number is.¡± he inquired with a smile knowing the answer. He got ignored by Robin. ¡°Reiju: 73/100, Shirahoshi: 56/100, Tsuru: 91/100, Vi: 62/100¡­¡± ¡°Really? We barely know each other.¡± ¡°You did make asting impression on her.¡± Robin noted aloud with a smirk and kept reading. ¡°Vivi: 90/100.¡± ¡°What about you?¡± Rick asked again. ¡°...¡± ¡°Come on Robin. It¡¯s not fair to expose them but not you.¡± ¡°Error.¡± ¡°What?¡± ¡°It says ¡®error¡¯, look.¡± she replied and pointed at her name. Indeed when Rick looked at Robin¡¯s score there wasn¡¯t a number but the word ¡®error¡¯ written instead. ¡°... Are you¡­ regretting loving me?¡± he wondered tentatively. ¡°No. Never.¡± ¡°It just means her love for you is unquantifiable. To begin with, putting a number on love is foolish. You can¡¯t count love.¡¯ Diana intervened. Rick was ying a bit dumb, faking knowing how the page worked. He didn¡¯t want Robin to think that by using it he could seduce or brainwash anyone to love him. While it was true that he had never noticed the page and that he had jokingly thought that he had to get love points with the women at first and referred to it that way, he had stopped the moment he truly fell in love with Robin. He had no idea what the error meant but Diana¡¯s exnation made sense. ¡°So you love me so much, that you broke a power that even a Goddess doesn¡¯t understand. Somehow¡­ I like knowing that. Though I don¡¯t like that page. Diana is right, you can¡¯t put a number on love.¡± ¡°I agree. That¡¯s just so¡­ stupid and sad.¡± she replied and Rick closed the window. ¡°How did you do that?¡± ¡°Closing the window? I just thought ¡®close¡¯. To open it I just say or think ¡®status¡± while thinking of opening it.¡± he exined further with thest bit knowing that Robin would have asked. ¡°Status?¡± To everyone¡¯s present a window opened, except this time it was not right in front of Rick but in front of Robin. From the avatar to the clothes slots, the inventory, the love page and the shop page. Everything was right however the avatar disyed was Robin¡¯s. ¡°...¡± ¡°...¡± ¡®...¡¯ That the window had clearly opened for her and not for Rick had frozen everyone''s train of thoughts. ¡°How?!¡± Rick eximed. ¡®That shouldn¡¯t be possible.¡¯ Letting go of her husband¡¯s hand, Robin tried to close and open the window again and seeded without any difficulty. ¡°Robin?¡± ¡°It works even when I''m not in contact with you.¡± ¡°It does?!¡± ¡°Yes, didn¡¯t you see?¡± she asked. ¡°No. When you let go of my hand the window disappeared.¡± ¡°It didn¡¯t. It¡¯s only after that I closed it and opened it once more.¡± she replied and took back his hand in hers, allowing to see her window again. ¡°I have so many questions.¡± ¡°Me too.¡± ¡®Me three. I may have an idea though.¡¯ ¡°¡°What is it?¡±¡± ¡®Clearly, that power, she got it from you. Since I linked myself to your soul I was able to see it and know about it. I think we can all reasonably agree that you¡¯re the one responsible for Robin being able to use it.¡± ¡°¡°Makes sense.¡±¡± ¡®Now to prove my theory I need to take control of your body for a moment, will you permit it?¡¯ ¡°... Go ahead.¡± As soon as the words left his mouth, hors bloomed from the side of his head like it usually happened when Diana had taken over. Wasting no time she opened the system and a widow appeared in front of her, right next to Robin¡¯s. She closed it and gave back control to Rick. ¡°What¡­¡± he began to ask but Diana interrupted him. ¡®I suspected as much and I was right. The poweres from your soul. Since the two of us are connected I was able to use it.¡¯ ¡°But I¡¯m not.¡± interjected Robin. ¡®I wouldn¡¯t be so sure.¡¯ ¡°¡°What do you mean?¡±¡± the married couple asked. ¡®... It will sound cheesy and very cringe but I think your souls are connected. Through love. That¡¯s why Robin¡¯s didn¡¯t have a number next to her name. Because as I said it¡¯s too strong to be quantified.¡¯ ¡°...¡± ¡®It wouldn¡¯t be the first time.¡¯ ¡°You saw something like that before?¡± asked the brte. ¡®You particr situation? No. It¡¯s really unique. Two people loving each other so much that their own souls connect? Yes, plenty. I wasplete at the time and it was easy for me to see. I¡¯m way too diminished now to be able to but my guess is, if you look at Robin¡¯s love page next to Rick¡¯s name, there would be marked ¡®error¡¯ too.¡¯ Looking at each other in puzzlement for a moment, Robin and Rick turned towards her window. Tapping on the right page a smaller list of names appeared. ¡°Hancock: 50/100, Ko: 100/100, Nami: 100/100, Reiju: 75/100, Rick: ERROR, Shiraoshi: 39/100, Vi: 77/100, Wanda: 96/100.¡± Rick read aloud. ¡°Well, that gives credit to your theory, Diana. I have a lot of questions for you though, Ro. ¡°What are they?¡± ¡°I thought Ko was a work in progress and off limits?¡± ¡°She is. I don¡¯t know why her number is that high. I always thought she had a thing for Sabo.¡± ¡°Reiju and Vi?¡± ¡°I had all night with Vi and we did more than just have sex, we talked too. Reiju, we¡¯ve never been intimate together but she was with me when we crashnded here and the crew was separated. She was very supportive with¡­ Nevermind. Wanda, because I know you¡¯ll ask, we got acquainted very very well before we left for Wano.¡± she finished with a teasing smile. ¡°You¡­¡± ¡®Can we please focus back on the matter at hand? We just proved that both your souls were connected! Meaning, it¡¯s probably the reason why Robin can use your ability.¡¯ ¡°Right, let¡¯s look at things.¡± the aforementioned brte said and switched from the Love page to the Shop. Looking at her Karma points Rick was astonished to see a whooping hundred Million and some thousands. His attention was diverted when Rick tapped on the screen and a validation popped up. He didn¡¯t have the time to read what she had bought as she agreed too fast to the purchase. He only knew that It coast almost all her points. ¡°Robin, what did you¡­¡± he hastily began to ask but stopped when he saw her standing straight with her eyes closed. His eyes nearly popped out of their orbits when her kimono began to tear itself in some parts as some of her assets started overflowing. Less than ten seconds after she bought whatever body she chose in the shop she opened her eyes. ¡°So that¡¯s how her body feels.¡± she whispered. ¡°Ro? Who are you talking about?¡± ¡°Reiju. I saw her body in the shop and I bought it.¡± ¡°No offense, but you look nothing like Reiju. If anything you¡¯re even more curvier than before.¡± ¡°Hmm?¡± she asked and seeing Rick looking at her up and down she lowered her gaze to look at the changes. She was surprised to find her breasts being mightily constricted by her kimono and almost spilling out. More than that, she noticed the tears to the side of her cloth, clearly indicating that her waist and hips had gotten a boost too. Looking up at her husband she looked at him in bewilderment. ¡°Quick! Turn around!¡± he urged her, grabbing her by the shoulder and doing exactly that. ¡°Oh my Goddess!¡± ¡°What?!¡± Robin eximed worried as she turned back. ¡°Your ass! It¡¯s even bigger and more perfect than before.¡± he replied, moved by what he saw. ¡°... Really?¡± she said in a deadpan face and a deadpanned voice. ¡°It¡¯s the most beautiful thing I¡¯ve ever seen, Ro.¡± he said, nodding,pletely missing her tone. Sighing, she simply let it go. ¡°I don¡¯t get it. There was nothing about that in the description. It only spoke about enhancing the physical aspect of the body.¡± ¡°That it did. Maybe Reiju wouldn¡¯t have been as curvy as she is if she hadn¡¯t been enhanced herself.¡± ¡°Maybe.¡± ¡°Not that I¡¯mining, quite the opposite actually but how are we going to exin this? I mean we can get you new clothes outside or through the shop but Nami will notice the changes. Sanji too.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡± she replied truthfully. The only way would be to exin the existence of the system and that was something that shouldn¡¯t be done, she agreed with Rick with that. They could confide in Nami, that she knew for sure but she would reveal that Rick and her shared a special bond that could bum their kitten out. Sharing that information with their redhaired fianc¨¦e was, hence, a no. ¡°I say we simply don¡¯t say anything. I¡¯ve been mainly with Reiju all this time, so Nami may not notice and if she does I can just say she¡¯s remembering it wrong.¡± ¡°Reiju will ask questions.¡± ¡°Then I won¡¯t answer. As simple as that. She won¡¯t pry further, I know that much.¡± ¡°Are you sure?¡± ¡°Yes. I got to know her really well and she¡¯s not the type to dwell on things much.¡± ¡°Why did you take her body in the first ce? Not like I would have loved you less if you lost some of your curves but¡­¡± ¡°It wasn¡¯t her body but the type. Because of what it can do. Enhance physical abilities. Both in offense and defense, fast healing, any defect of the body corrected.¡± ¡°Your body has always been perfect, Robin.¡± ¡°In your eyes but not in mine.¡± ¡°You¡¯re an idiot. But if you¡¯re happy with it then I have nothing more to say, that''s all that matters.¡± Rick said sweetly, making her smile and getting a loving kiss for it. Robin opened the shop again and this time bought the very same Kimono she was wearing but fitting her body¡¯s new changes. When she switched to the personal page where the inventory was to use her purchase, Rick froze. She didn¡¯t notice at first and went to look at herself, to see if the kimono was ¡®applied¡¯ to her body correctly. Looking up to him she was about to ask for his opinion when she saw the state he was in. Clearly something had startled him. Following his line of sight she noticed in horror, just under her avatar among a long list of words, sometimes in red, sometimes in green, four words in a crimson color. [4 Months Ago]: Miscarriage Chapter 120: We’ve got a dream Chapter 120: We¡¯ve got a dream

Chapter 120: We¡¯ve got a dream

Two days ago at the marines HQ Akainu was reading thetest reports about Wano in his office. Kizaru and Fujitora were both present as well as Sengoku, who was munching on biscuits to the side, interested in hearing what his sessor had to say. ¡°Ryokugyu is dead.¡± he announced bluntly while gritting his teeth. ¡°What?!¡± eximed Fujitora while Kizaru had an expression of disbelief on his face. ¡°What happened?¡± inquired Sengoku with narrowed eyes. ¡°He went against my orders and infiltrated Wano.¡± ¡°Why would he do that, now?¡± asked Kizaru. ¡°Probably to be praised and because he could. He was that kind of man after all.¡± supposed Fujitora. ¡°As for doing what exactly? Good question. Who did it?¡± ¡°From the reports of Rear Admiral Locke stationed at Wano¡¯s border, Ryokugyu went there to take the head of Strawhat Luffy and Wald. It is supposed that thetter was the one who killed him.¡± ¡°Supposed?¡± asked Sengoku. ¡°Wald showed up flying to Locke¡¯s ship and threw him Ryokugyu¡¯s severed head, bloody sword in hand.¡± ¡°And our men didn¡¯t do anything?¡± wondered Kizaru aloud. ¡°They tried to shoot him down to no avail. When Wald was close enough, Locke ordered them to cease fire. As for why¡­ Wald was unharmed. Not a wound on him despite killing Ryokugyu and we all know how difficult it was to fight him.¡± Akainu exined. ¡°Good call. If even an Admiral couldn¡¯t make a scratch on Wald none of them had any chances.¡± Fujitoramented. ¡°The question is¡­ What do we do now? It¡¯s a severe blow to our reputation and our fighting force. The strawhat crew had just defeated two emperors and now an Admiral within the same week¡­¡± ¡°We increase Wald¡¯s bounty and find a recement from Ryokugyu. As far as the public is concerned he died from an incurable disease. We can¡¯t have the people know that he invaded a country not part of the World Government and got himself killed. That moron!¡± The magma man spat in distaste and barely controlled rage. ¡°I should have killed that runt decades ago!¡± ¡°Or maybe you should not have been an asshole. He would be one of our Admirals today. He should be.¡± chidded Sengoku. ¡°He quit, remember? You just went ahead and made a public statement that we couldn¡¯t retract and pushed him to piracy.¡± ¡°What?!¡± ¡°So that¡¯s what happened.¡±mented Kizaru in acknowledgement. ¡°A shame, really.¡± ¡°Enough! This is neither here nor there.¡± ¡°Sure it is Sakazuki. Your misced pride is partly why we¡¯re in the situation we¡¯re in today. Enies Lobby, the war two years ago, Dressrosa and now Wano¡­ He was part of all of it. I really was an idiot to not ept his deal.¡± Sengoku muttered at the end that Fujitora picked up. ¡°What deal?¡± ¡°Hmm?¡± ¡°You said you were an idiot for not taking his deal.¡± ¡°Oh! Now I¡¯m curious.¡± said Kizaru in answer to what Fujitora said. ¡°He would have joined back the navy under two conditions. One, we leave Nico Robin alone.¡± ¡°Uneptable!¡± shouted Akainu, mming his fist on his desk. ¡°She¡¯s not interested in the ancient weapons nor toppling down the World Government. Just the missing history. While this could be dangerous information if it was released to the public, she has no intention to do so and the chances of her doing so at the time was slim to none since she was all alone..¡± ¡°How do you know that?¡± inquired Fujitora. ¡°Rick gave me his word.¡± ¡°The word of a criminal!¡± yelled the fleet Admiral. ¡°The word of an honest man. He isn¡¯t a liar. Wasn¡¯t back then, isn¡¯t now and he¡¯s a criminal because of you! You put a target on his back for both the marines and the pirates. Anyway, the second condition was for you to live for ten years in disgrace, Sakazuki.¡± ¡°What?!¡± ¡°Knowing what he can do now, that wasn¡¯t so bad of a deal.¡± Kizarumented and got a re from his hot tempered superior. ¡°You could have worked for Cypher Pol undercover.¡± mused aloud Fujitora. In a fit of rage, Akainu ordered them to get out of his office. Something they all did at their own rxed pace. ~~~~~ Present time The crew had not been the only one who chose to leave that day at first light. Law and Kid¡¯s did the same. After a dick measuring contest from the three pirate captains and a not so tearful goodbye to Momonosuke and their samurai friends, the strawhat crew was pondering about what to do. They had received a newspaper and they didn¡¯t take the news well. A lot had happened in the eight months they have been secluded on Wano and they were all learning about it now. The reverie has been a disaster. After Rick¡¯s kidnapping of Vivi and her return, the Revolution Army had attacked Marie-Geoise, led by Sabo. They freed a celestial dragon enved Bartholomew Kuma, killed king Cobra Nefertari and escaped. Vivi had been reported missing. The shichibukai were now a thing of the past after a motion presented by Vivi herself. In consequence, the navy had attacked Amazon Lily to capture Hancock and so did ckbeard. The whereabouts of the Pirate queen were currently unknown. The cherry on top of the cake was Aokiji being a pirate, a high ranking officer of ckbeard¡¯s crew at that and was instrumental in the capture of Garp when the navyunched an assault on Fulead, ckbeard¡¯s HQ ind, to save Coby who had been captured during the sh on Amazon Lily. For once, Rick agreed with Luffy who wanted to go and find Vivi but also Hancock and Lynda. They were not so much interested in saving their grandfather, after all the old man was a monster of vitality and he wouldn¡¯t just kick the bucket like that. ¡°What do we do?¡± Zoro asked, a mug of beer in hand. ¡°...We¡¯re going to help our friends.¡± replied Luffy. ¡°Luffy, not I don¡¯t share the sentiment but we don¡¯t know where Vivi and Hancock are! We don¡¯t even know where to begin our search. And what about the One piece?¡± Nami remarked. ¡°The fourth Rio poneglyph that we need to get to Laugh Tale has not been found since Roger.¡±mented Robin. ¡°We may have two leads about it. Shanks or Buggy. Technically three with Rayleigh but¡­ You know¡­¡± Rick brought his two Berry on the situation. ¡°So we either continue our journey with the log pose or we¡¯re directly going after one of the emperors if not both.¡± pondered Sanji aloud. ¡°I like the idea of finding the poneglyph by ourselves in a big adventure but¡­ it could take years¡­¡± Usopp said and quickly and frantically added a follow up. ¡°Not like I mind but with our friends in trouble¡­¡± Usopp had put his finger on the crux of the matter at hand. Should they continue their adventure as if nothing happened or postpone their journey and go help their friends? Luffy thought about it for a moment and asked Nami for a map of the world. Quickly she went to get the one they had andid it down on the deck¡¯s grass. ¡°Where are we?¡± the captain asked and Nami pointed Wano no Kuni with her finger. ¡±Hmm¡­ Being the pirate king is my dream but I don¡¯t want to find the One Piece if it means abandoning my friends. What can we do?¡± he said, raising his head from the map and looking at his crew members who stayed silent for a moment. After a moment, Rick spoke. ¡°We don¡¯t have any Eternal Pose for this part of Grand Line so we can¡¯t go back to the inds we visited. It would be difficult to reach the end of the New World. Nobody ever did it, except Roger and his crew.¡± ¡°We do have one for basta and O¡¯hara.¡± added Robin. ¡°But it¡¯s on the other side of the Grand Line.¡± said Nami. ¡°And even if we go back there, we will have to sail all of it again for¡­ For what exactly?¡± she added and realized that helping their friends was a very vague objective. ¡°Maybe the people of basta know something about Vivi?¡± Chopper proposed an idea. ¡°O¡¯hara being the new HQ of the Revolution Army, maybe they have some information too.¡± Robin stated and Rick supported her. ¡°They may also have Eternal Poses they could lend us. It¡¯s that or raiding the marines HQ if we want some.¡± ¡°Hmm.. alright, how do we do that?¡± Luffy asked. ¡°¡±Well¡­ We can¡¯t reach Red Line, we can¡¯t go back from where we came from. The only way out is¡­¡± ¡°Calm Belt.¡± Namipleted Jimbei¡¯s sentence. ¡°Sunny is the best ship ever but it will neverst crossing that sea. The Sea Kings will gobble it all up.¡± Franky warned. ¡°Not on water but I may be able to make Sunny float. If I can, we just need to find a way to make it move.¡± ¡°But you fly! Can¡¯t you make Sunny fly too and not just float?¡± Usopp asked. ¡°Floating is instinctive. Flying is far more difficult. I have to constantly adjust the gravity, the direction, be careful of the wind and be focused all the time. I don¡¯t know if I can do it with something as big as Sunny and for a long period of time.¡± ¡°That¡¯s not a problem, I can make something to propel us forward and if the situation is dire there is always the coup de burst.¡± ¡°I can also control the wind to push us forward. Since Sunny would be floating and have no mass it can be carried away with the wind getting caught by the sails.¡± ¡°Okay. Let¡¯s do that.¡± ¡°Luffy!¡± Usopp eximed. ¡°If we fail¡­¡± ¡°I know but it¡¯s not the first time we do something like that, remember?¡± the captain replied with a grin. ¡°We wouldnd in North Blue.¡± Reiju noticed aloud, not very happy with that. After all that¡¯s where the Germa 66 Kingdom was and she wasn¡¯t too keen on going back at the moment. ¡°Reverse mountain is not very far from there and we would be right at the entrance of Grand Line again.¡± noted her brother. ¡°We could always make a small detour to East Blue. I¡¯m not sure I could raise Sunny up Red Line but once at the top of Reverse Mountain it would be easier.¡± ¡°Why a detour?¡± inquired Zoro. ¡°Well¡­ most of you that were not born on Grand Line are from East Blue, no? I thought you could all visit your families and friends since it¡¯s not that far? It¡¯s been almost three years and the only news they got about you is your wanted poster.¡± ¡°¡°¡°¡°¡°...¡±¡±¡±¡±¡± ¡°I like that! Alright! I¡¯ve decided. We fly through Calm Belt, go to Reverse Mountain, then to East Blue, then back to Reverse mountain, then towards basta!¡± Everyone nodded and went to work if they had to. Rick went back inside to take a look at the Garden. He didn¡¯t enjoy the prospect of having to start all over again and was quite surprised when he saw it in better shape than what he thought. ¡°I asked Franky to install an automatic water system on our way to Wano.¡± Turning his head back he saw Robin at the door with a proud smile on her face. ¡°Thank you. That was really smart.¡± ¡°I presume that working on it from the ground up again would lower your mood down to your socks.¡± she said as she walked to his side. ¡°You got that right.¡± ¡°Do you need any help?¡± ¡°No but I won¡¯t say no if offered.¡± he replied and snaked an arm around her waist to pull her close. ¡°I do have a better idea though.¡± he added in a low voice. ¡°Oh? And what is it?¡± ¡°Can you make a clone?¡± She nodded and a second Robin appeared right on his other side. ¡°Now what?¡± For an answer, Rick made his own clone sprout just behind hers with a naughty grin. ¡°Now we let them work on the garden and maybe we can work on each other.¡± he dered to both Robin¡¯s surprised faces. ¡°Since when?!¡± ¡°Since the deal with Diana. Her one rule is: One devil fruit per person and since I got two she was blocking a good amount of my powers. She agreed to stop doing it for our link up.¡± ¡°So you can do everything that I do in the end?¡± she asked, curious. ¡°No. The differences between our powers are bigger now. I can¡¯t make giant parts of me like you do. Nor change their shape or color, which by the way, we¡¯re definitely going to talk about your really sexy devil formter. What I can do but you can¡¯t is regenerate.¡± ¡°That¡¯s good to know. I didn¡¯t really want to try if I could or not. And I¡¯m definitely going to use one or two clones of yours but right now I¡¯m taking you up on your offer.¡± she replied with a grin and jumped at her husband who was quick to catch her in his arms. ¡°You do know that technically we can always be having sex now?¡± he said as he walked out the garden walked towards their bedroom. ¡°I love the idea of that.¡± she answered after letting out augh. ~~~~~ For three days they didn¡¯t leave the borders of Wano, waiting for Franky and Baby-5 to finish building whatever they were working on. That gave Rick and Robin plenty of time to properly reacquaint themselves with each other intimately. The first day, they had tried mingling with the other while their clones were getting it on quite wildly in their bedroom. The idea was quickly shut down though as both felt what their clones felt. Robin nearly screamed her heart out in front of everyone on deck as she sat down around a table with Nami and Reiju, talking about everything and nothing. She had to bite her lips very hard, to the point of bleeding, to control herself. She couldn¡¯t control the rest of her body though and both her dress and the chair she was sitting on got drenched. Unfortunately for her, her female friends didn¡¯t miss neither the strong smell nor her orgasmic face, her eyes rolling into her head. When Nami began to ask questions she had to reveal what was happening. Getting her answers, the redhead went immediately to the garden and found a heavy breathing Rick sitting behind his desk. He too had felt his clone¡¯s orgasm and he had made a mess of his underwear and pants. She had been furious he hadn¡¯t shared with her this new development with his powers. More than that she wanted her turn. And boy she got it after an hour or merciless teasing from Rick. He had focused on her asshole the whole time and in the end she was begging for him to take her anal virginity. He did it very carefully and gently. A total contrast when he was doing it with Robin but she was used to it, could take it and more importantly loved it that way. When their sexual escapade stopped, Nami confessed that the experience had been great but that it wasn¡¯t really her thing. That was fine with Rick who proceeded to give her a second round but this time of gentle love making. The two days afterwards were much the same as spouses and fianc¨¦s catching up with each other and the missed opportunities during the past eight months. Theirst tryst was the long awaited threesome to which Nami has been the focus. She didn¡¯tin one bit, quite the contrary but waspletely down for the count afterwards, happily nestled between Robin and Rick and snoring cutely. ¡°We should have done that long ago.¡±mented Robin as she let her finger go through locks of Nami¡¯s damped hair. ¡°Yes. Not as intense as Vi physically but emotionally¡­¡± ¡°Hmhm.¡± the brte hemmed in agreement. ¡°Next is Reiju.¡± ¡°Already?¡± ¡°Oh, she¡¯s been ready ever since you got her freedom. From an emotional point of view. Physically she was ready the day you met.¡± ¡°I remember clearly, thank you. What I meant was¡­ I thought she¡¯d take more time after the two of you¡­¡± ¡°We didn¡¯t. We yed a bit, kissed a lot but we didn¡¯t go all the way. She wanted you first. I respected her choice.¡± ¡°...I can¡¯t escape her, can¡¯t I?¡± he said with a chuckle. ¡°Why would you?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know. She¡¯s Sanji¡¯s sister for one and I don¡¯t know her well enough.¡± ¡°First off, Reiju being Sanji¡¯s sister is an excuse. A very bad one. Second, Vi and Hancock. You barely knew them yet you slept with them nheless.¡± ¡°Vi was a gift for you and was supposed to be a one night stand at best. Hancock¡­ I was kinda dying so ast tryst was on my mind. Refusing her at the time could have been dangerous in our mission to save Ace too.¡± ¡°So you just want to know Reiju better, is that it?¡± ¡°Yes. I like her, I told you as much already but I don¡¯t want to go into a rtionship if in the end we don¡¯t click. I don¡¯t mind if you¡¯re with her when I¡¯m not.¡± The third day, the ship was ready to go through the calm belt. Rick sprouted an arm at the base of the mast and made Sunny float. Using his gravity further he brought it up half the height of Wano. At that point, Franky activated a new version of the Rabbit Screw and the ship moved forward at a speed matching the Sunny on water. Sanji and Zoro opened the sails and Nami used her power to make a strong wind blow. It wasn¡¯t strong enough to bother the members of the crew on the deck but enough to double their speed. Thanks to the map and with the use of Wano as a point of reference, Nami knew the general direction they needed to go without the need for the pose. Crossing the Calm Belt has been easy and without any trouble with the exception of a Sea King jumping out the water to enjoy the sun. It was a couple hundred meters away from Sunny and didn¡¯t see it but Luffy ordered for a coup de burst to get away quickly just in case. The journey had been only difficult for Rick who needed to be conscious to make the Sunny float. He had no problem staying awake for two days, especially with Brook forpany during the night since the skeleton never really slept but the third day had been difficult. Showing signs of fatigue, Chopper and Reiju did their best to give him anything he needed to stay awake. Despite their reluctance, it wasn¡¯t a healthy thing to do, they couldn¡¯t help it. Once they reached North Blue, Rick quickly lowered the ship. It had been an abrupt ordeal and the crew quickly searched for Rick. They found him asleep against his desk in the garden. ¡°I can¡¯t believe we made it through Calm Belt. I mean, like that.¡± said Usopp. ¡°That was a fun experience.¡± Baby-5 said. ¡°But booooorrrrriiiiiiing.¡±mented Luffy. ¡°Maybe one day we¡¯ll be able to sail that sea the normal way and fight Sea Kings on an equal foot. Who knows?¡± ¡°Jimbei! Don¡¯t give Luffy stupid ideas!¡± shouted an irate Nami. Not wanting to experience the redhead devastating ps or worse fists, the helmsman of the strawhat pirates shut up on the spot. From there under her direction, Jimbei led the ship to Reverse Mountain after a journey of almost three years. ¡°It¡¯s quite nostalgic.¡± Sanji said, looking up at the Mountain. ¡°Yeah.¡± agreed Zoro. ¡°So that¡¯s how it looks.¡± ¡°You never saw Reverse Mountain before?¡± asked Usopp to Rick in surprise. ¡°No. I only sailed on ships that could go through the Calm Belt during my time in the marines. When I left I was stuck on the Grand Line.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve never seen it either!¡± added Chopper cutely. ¡°It¡¯s scary! The current is so strong.¡± ¡°Oh! Oh! I know!¡± shouted Luffy and everyone turned towards him to see what he was on about. He quickly ran inside and came back just as fast with a big barrel in his hands. At the sight, Sanji, Nami, Usopp and even Zoro smiled, understanding their captain''s intention. Right there in the middle of the deck, Luffy put the barrel down and raise a leg to put a foot on it. ¡°What is he doing?¡± asked Baby-5. ¡°¡°¡°¡°No idea.¡±¡±¡±¡± replied the members of the crew not in the know. ¡°My dream is still to be the Pirate King!¡± he yelled. After a moment of awkward silence, Zoro joined Luffy and put his foot on the barrel. Nami, Usopp and Sanji did the same. The redhead quickly using her power to create a small storm and make it rain to match how their first time went. ¡°My dream is still to be the greatest swordsman in the world.¡± ¡°My dream is still to make a map of the whole world.¡± Nami said. ¡°My dream is¡­ not to be a brave warrior of the sea anymore because I realized it so¡­ my new dream is to be the bravest warrior of the sea!¡± ¡°My dream is still to find all blue but my second is to be the best cook in the world!¡± The five original members of the straw hats pirates turned their heads at the other members in an invitation. ¡°My dream is to be a doctor that can heal any wound and cure all diseases!¡± ¡°My dream is to meet Laboon! Yohohoho!¡± ¡°Brook you¡¯re going to see him soon, don¡¯t you have another dream?¡± asked Luffy. ¡°That¡¯s true! In that case¡­ My dream is topose music that will touch the hearts of all the people in the world!¡± ¡°My dream is still to make Sunny a ship that could sail through all the seas and be the best ship in the world!¡± ¡°My dream is to be the best assistant and wife to Franky!¡± ¡°¡°¡°¡°What?!¡±¡±¡±¡± the whole crew eximed to a very red faced Baby-5. She was saved by Robin who put her foot on the barrel. ¡°My dream is to know the true history of the world and be happy..¡± ¡°My dream is for mer-people and humans to stand on equal ground.¡± ¡°... My dream is to have a free and happy life.¡± said Reiju imitating the others. ¡°... When I was forced to join the crew¡­¡± ¡°Hey!¡± protested Luffy. ¡°I was given the dream to find one. I did. My dream is to have a big family with the people I love.¡± Rick finally announced and put his foot with the others¡¯. ¡°Let¡¯s do it!¡± shouted Luffy. ¡°¡°¡°¡°¡°YEAH!!!¡±¡±¡±¡±¡± Chapter 119: Just when I think I have learned the way to live, life changes Chapter 119: Just when I think I have learned the way to live, life changes

Chapter 119: Just when I think I have learned the way to live, life changes

After leaving Shanks and his crew, Rick searched the fog surrounding Wano. By using his observation haki he found some marine ships, lost at sea, or rather waiting. Looking carefully around he spotted the lead ship and went to it. At his sight the crew drew their gun and rifle and began to shoot at him. It was pointless as Rick repelled all bullets. Moving slowly towards the deck he spotted a rear admiral. ¡°Give that to the red bitch and tell him I send my regards. If he wants my head he bettere himself.¡± He tossed Ryokugyu¡¯s head to the high ranking officer and took off quickly to avoid a fight that he didn¡¯t want. A few minutester he was back at the castle where he gave back to Danjiro his sword and went to see Luffy who was drinking with Zoro, Sanji and Jimbei in the garden overlooking the capital. Taking a seat he poured himself a drink. ¡°You shouldn¡¯t have helped them.¡± Zoro spoke. ¡°No, I shouldn¡¯t have but since that Admiral came for my head and Luffy''s, I made an exception.¡± ¡°And killing the admiral?¡± Jimbei asked. ¡°He was worse than Akainu. I couldn¡¯t let him go. He had no problem invading Wano and killing thousands of people just to reach us. That type of guy¡­ You put them down the first chance you get.¡± exined Rick as he took a sip of his drink. ¡°Sorry about Shanks, Luffy.¡± ¡°It¡¯s alright. Nobody fought and nobody got hurt.¡± the strawhat captain replied with a smile, eating some meat while enjoying the view. ¡°Here. We got them from Law.¡± From Rick¡¯s side, Sanji gave him a bunch of paper. Looking at them he saw it was wanted posters. ¡°Already? That was fast. Let¡¯s have a look: Luffy: 3.8 Billion Berry Chopper: 1000 Baby-5: 333 Million Brook: 416 Million Usopp: 600 Million Jimbei: 1.111 Billion Sanji: 1.110 Billion Reiju: 500 Million Rick: 3.6 Billion Nami: 1 Billion Franky: 400 Million Robin: 1.5 Billion Zoro: 1.115 Billion Holy crap! That¡¯s a lot of billions!¡± ¡°And I¡¯m still first!¡± Luffy said with a grin ¡°Not for long. I just killed an Admiral of the navy. Congrattions though.¡± ¡°Thanks!¡± ¡°I can¡¯t believe yours is so high!¡± Zoro mutered. ¡°You only participated at the end!¡± ¡°He did take down Big Mom in one hit.¡± Jimbei justified. ¡°And I took down Shiki the Golden Lion beforeing to Wano.¡± added Rick. ¡°I also saved the Capital bynding Onigashima too.¡± ¡°He¡¯s just pissed because he¡¯s still fourth!¡± Sanji said smugly. ¡°At least I¡¯m at the foot of the podium, unlike you, number sixth!¡± Before they could start fighting, Rick distracted Sanji. ¡°I¡¯m surprised Reiju got one so high. In fact I think it¡¯s the highest starting bounty that I have ever seen. The previous one being Baby-5. Though knowing how good she is, I think it¡¯s a bit low, isn''t it?¡± ¡°I think so too but she didn¡¯t fight much. She didn¡¯t take down any of the head honchos and focused on helping Chopper heal everyone.¡± ¡°Damn, they really did Chopper dirty again. 1000 Berry? Is he still mopping?¡± ¡°Nah. Usopp and Robin brought him to town to eat some cotton candy.¡± Luffy said. ¡°That¡¯s good then.¡± There were more wanted posters in the stack that he received from Sanji. Law and Kid were worth 3 Billion too, to his surprise. The real shock however was Buggy the Clown. ¡°What the fuck! Buggy is an emperor?! I thought he was a¡­ well a clown.¡± ¡°¡°We don¡¯t get it either!¡±¡± Luffy and Zoro answered together. ¡°And Crocodile and Mihawk are with him? I don¡¯t believe that for a second. Buggy must be a figurehead and they must pull the strings.¡± ¡°Probably.¡± replied Jimbei. For a little while they enjoyed their drinks and the peaceful atmosphere of the garden. Wanting to speak with Robin he stood up and asked one question to Luffy before going to find her. ¡°When do we leave?¡± ¡°In two days, early in the morning.¡± ¡°The day after the end of the festival. Got it.¡± Going back inside the castle he met Oden on the way. ¡°Going out?¡± ¡°Yeah. There is still some food that I want to try!¡± ¡°Want somepany?¡± ¡°Sure!¡± he agreed and they walked down together to the streets. ¡°Soooo. Oden or Yamato? Which do you prefer?¡± ¡°Oden but people don¡¯t like me using that name much.¡± he replied deting a bit. ¡°That¡¯s understandable. Kozuki Oden was bigger than life to the people of Wano. Between you and me I find Yamato to be a fitting name.¡± ¡°You do?¡± ¡°Yeah. It¡¯s¡­ more you I supposed.¡± ¡°What do you mean?¡± ¡°When I hear the name Oden, I think of a giant guy whose muscles have their own muscles, not you, no offense.¡± he chuckled. ¡°Yamato on the other hand¡­ I think of someone noble, graceful but dangerous. I think it suits you.¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°Have you decided on what you¡¯re going to do?¡± Yamato took a moment to answer as they sat down at a food stall selling takoyaki. They ordered a bunch of them and only then did he speak. ¡°I want to follow Oden¡¯s footsteps. I still want to explore the world outside Wano butter. The country¡¯s situation is shaky at best and needs to be protected so I¡¯ll explore thend and help the ones in need like Oden did. At least until Lord Momonosuke doesn¡¯t need me anymore.¡± ¡°Hm. Good luck. A piece of advice though¡­ Don¡¯t lose your way and yourself by following Oden¡¯s path.¡± ¡°What do you mean by that?¡± he inquired, as he ate the takoyaki. ¡°I am me. Oden is Oden. You are You. It¡¯s good for you to be inspired by him but do not try to be him. That would go against everything Oden was. He made his own path and didn¡¯t follow the path of someone else. If the only thing you are doing is following him, not only would you never reach him but you¡¯d go farther away actually. In a way you wouldn¡¯t be Yamato anymore but you would not be Oden either.¡± ¡°... I never thought about it like that.¡± Yamato said, chewing his food slowly with a thoughtful look on his face. ¡°Nevermind, don¡¯t think too hard about it. The important thing is that you¡¯re happy with yourself during your journey and at its end.¡± ¡°... You¡¯re kinda smart you know? That¡¯s a side of you you never showed me.¡± ¡°In my defense, we were both more interested in my tales of beyond Wano than any philosophical talk.¡± replied Rick with augh that was shared by Yamato. ¡°True.¡± ¡°I have to admit. It¡¯s good to eat and drink as much as I want.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t I know it.¡± ¡°Thank you again. For your time and friendship. I really would have lost it without you.¡± he said softly and Yamato put an arm around his shoulder and neck. ¡°I needed that as much as you did so really there is nothing to thank me for.¡± ¡°Now¡­ Who¡¯s all smart, huh?¡± Another round ofughter took them and they ate until their bellies were full. They separated and went their own way, Rick¡¯s being his bedroom in the castle. It was still early but after fighting an Admiral, no matter how short the confrontationsted, he felt a bit tired. He was disrobing himself, thinking about nothing when a pair of arms circled his torso. ¡°Going to bed already?¡± He recognized the voice of Nami on the spot and turned around to embrace her. ¡°I was about to. A small nap in truth, to recuperate from my fight with an Admiral.¡± he teased, knowing she would blow up. He was right on the money. ¡°You what?! You¡¯re kidding right?¡± ¡°Nope. It¡¯s alright though, he¡¯s dead.¡± ¡°Dea¡­ You killed him?!¡± ¡°Yep.¡± ¡°But that¡¯s an Adm¡­ Shit you¡¯re strong.¡± ¡°Of course! How could I protect anyone if I wasn¡¯t?¡± ¡°You¡­ don¡¯t seem hurt.¡± she said as she pulled back from his embrace and examined his naked body for any wound. ¡°Because I wasn¡¯t. Well¡­ I was but I regrew my arm so I¡¯m fine. You should see the other guy though.¡± Nami shook her head dismissively then led him to the futon on the ground. ¡°I¡¯m sorry to disappoint but it is cuddles only until we get back on the Sunny.¡± he announced without exining that he wasn¡¯t in the mood for love making when he learned not long ago that he lost a child. ¡°I¡¯ll wait then. But it better be the best cuddles in the world.¡± pouted Nami. ¡°Deal.¡± he replied with a smile. ¡°With lots of head patting.¡± ¡°... I miss your greedy and shrewd way. You know you can ask directly.¡± ¡°Yes but where would be the fun in that?¡± she replied with a smile and wink. ~~~~~~ When Robin entered the bedroom a few hourster she was only surprised for a moment to see Rick patting Nami¡¯s head while she slept peacefully and content on top of him. Smiling, she closed the door and went to them. Rick delicately rolled himself and his kitten around so he could stand up and join his wife. After a kiss he picked her up in a princess carry and floated outside, up on the roof of the castle where he sat down and put her in hisp. ¡°I feel bad to have turned her down for sex.¡± he said in a low voice. ¡°Why did you in the first ce?¡± ¡°I¡­ didn¡¯t feel like it. Besides, youe first. Always. And yes, I¡¯m implying that too.¡± he added the end part with a chuckle. ¡°Where were you? I search for you but¡­¡± ¡°Busy killing a zealot Admiral.¡± was the answer she got. ¡°Ryokugyu?¡± ¡°Yes. He was here for Luffy and me. Didn¡¯t care who he¡¯d have to kill for it. I gave his head to one of the marines'' ships outside Wano with a message for his superior. If he wants my head he bettere himself. Anyway, just before that I let Diana control my body and have fun the whole morning.¡± ¡°That was nice of you.¡± ¡°I thought it would be a better experience than having it through me doing it.¡± ¡°What is she doing, right now?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know. Giving us our privacy for sure but doing what? Probably reading one of the books I read on O¡¯Hara.¡± ¡°How does she do that?¡± asked an intrigued Robin. ¡°Apparently. Everything we experienced is... Recorded? Let¡¯s go with that. Recorded by our soul and Diana just¡­ reads it?¡± ¡°Fascinating. I¡¯d love to be able to do that.¡± ¡°Oh? And who would you read?¡± ¡°You of course.¡± ¡°My life is not that interesting, not until I met you anyway.¡± ¡°Doesn¡¯t matter, it¡¯s your life. Actually¡­ Can you open your window, please?¡± Rick nodded and did as asked despite not understanding why. He waited for an exnation but got none. Instead, Robin was reading and scrolling down his body¡¯s logs. Every wound or healing his body has ever been subjected to was there, recorded. He was a bit peeved, he didn¡¯t want her to know how much he got hurt in his life but after the previous day when he did it himself to her by ident he couldn¡¯t bring himself to protest. She took her time, almost fifteen minutes before she finally stopped. ¡°The first time you nearly died, you were eight.¡± she whispered. ¡°Something like that.¡± hemented and spoke further when she gave him a frown. ¡°I was cocky. Pirates have kidnapped a princess so time was of the essence. I went ahead of the team and when I reached their hideout I acted alone. I took care of almost all of them but got ambushed by one of theming from behind through a door I couldn¡¯t see. He got me good. The scar on my chest? That¡¯s from that. With pain, fear and the adrenaline I stopped being nice and instead of knocking them out I took their lives. It was the very first time but my mind didn¡¯t even think about it. I just used my gravity to push them very fast against the walls around us. Hard enough they died. I went for the two that were raping the princess¡¯ maid then left for the basement where I bis¡­ well I killed the captain and freed the poor girl. Before I lost consciousness I was sessful in buying¡­¡± ¡°The V1 of the imperfect boy. Why this one?¡± ¡°It was the only thing in the shop that could save me and that I could buy. That¡¯s how I began to live on a timer.¡± ¡°How long?¡± ¡°Check for yourself.¡± She turned her head to look at his window and went to the shop to search for the information. ¡°Five years!¡± ¡°The time wasn¡¯t really a problem. It was being in East Blue the problem. If you look at the V2¡­¡± ¡°50K points. You really worked hard to survive.¡± ¡°You have no idea.¡± hemented with an amused smile. ¡°In the end my efforts paid off. I got enough for the body and the Me Me no Mi.¡± ¡°And more.¡± ¡°Hmm?¡± ¡°I saw you bought an acting skill in the shop, when I was looking through it yesterday?¡± ¡°... Oh, Ipletely forgot about that. If I remember correctly it was to pass uncle and big sis inspection and get Grandpa in trouble. They didn¡¯t buy my act but at the same time I was truthful with them. I just¡­¡± ¡°Twisted the truth a bit. The question is why?¡± ¡°I lied about my age when I enlisted. I was a big kid. Looking like ten when I was six. I was afraid they would kick me out of the navy if they found out. I did put my real age on the paper but nobody looks at that.¡± ¡°... You were really good at your job. Between that time and the time you met with the crew you were hurt¡­ twice?¡± ¡°I was. The first was Shiki and the second was Kaza.¡± Robin nodded and opened her own window to look at the shop. ¡°What are you searching for?¡± ¡°I¡¯m more checking if I can buy skills like you did.¡± ¡°... Anything in mind?¡± ¡°Reading poneglyph for once.¡± ¡°There isn¡¯t.¡± he answered her and she got a look of surprise when she turned back to him. ¡°I wanted to help you. I checked for poneglyphs or maps or anything rted and there was nothing.¡± was his exnation and he got a kiss for it. ¡°There!¡± she eximed after a moment. ¡°What did you find?¡± ¡°Not telling!¡± she said excitedly and quickly bought what she found. Rick moved his upper body to try to see but she closed her window too fast. ¡°That¡¯s not fair!¡± ¡°It¡¯s a surprise.¡± she teased, knowing he didn¡¯t like those. ¡°Reiju told me you spent a good part ofst night together?¡± ¡°With Jimbei. We were alone for no more than ten minutes? Why do you ask?¡± ¡°I just want to know how the both of you are getting on.¡± Robin replied simply. ¡°Fine. She¡¯s a good friend, a nice friend. She likes to tease.¡± ¡°And she¡¯s infatuated with you.¡± the brte stated. ¡°I¡¯m not sure. She said she was interested, yes but¡­ I think she should meet more men and women instead of hooking herself to the first one that helped her.¡± ¡°You¡¯re not wrong. But I like her. A lot.¡± she said meaningfully making Rick sigh. ¡°Go ahead then. You don¡¯t need my permission to spend some of your time with her like that.¡± ¡°No but you¡¯re my husband and I won¡¯t go behind your back.¡± ¡°After Hancock? I think you¡¯re kinda allowed.¡± ¡°We were not married then. We just had a deal before, now it¡¯s a vow.¡± ¡°That¡­ actually makes me think of something that I wanted to talk about. I¡­ don¡¯t want to add more people. I counted and Nami aside, it¡¯s seven people,Robin. Isn¡¯t it too much? And while I like the idea that you and I, we¡¯re a package deal, I don¡¯t like the fact that we have to force people to be with the other to get a go at you or me. I know Tsuru and Kaza are not interested but would do it regardless. Shirahoshi¡­ I suppose it¡¯s the same for her too.¡± Robin thought about that for a moment, then another before giving him an answer. ¡°You¡¯re right. It¡¯s not right to force them to be with one of us for the other. As for adding more people¡­ Okay but Reiju is included.¡± ¡°Fine by me. We should make a list though.¡± ¡°Well, there already are all your fianc¨¦es.¡± ¡°No. If you veto them then no¡­¡± ¡°... Alright.¡± ¡°Maybe the list should be of the one we keep?¡± he proposed and got a nod of agreement in return. ¡°Nami?¡± ¡°Of course we keep her.¡± ¡°That¡¯s what I thought. Hancock too?¡± ¡°Yes. She had two of your children, we¡¯re not getting rid of her besides I like her in every way. The same for Kaza, well at least the children part.¡± ¡°Alright, so next is¡­ Vivi.¡± ¡°We¡¯re keeping her too. Nami loves her and she¡¯s important to you. Who''s next?¡± ¡°Tsuru? She¡¯s getting old to be honest so I''m pretty sure her libido is shot but she¡¯s¡­¡± ¡°I have no problem with her. The problem is she¡¯s on the side of the World government.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not so sure about that. When I left Fuschia ind she agreed that the time for the Celestials Dragon to go hade. If she does it for her, for me or for Eri, I don¡¯t know.¡± ¡°So a maybe on Tsuru. That left only Shirahoshi and Vi.¡± ¡°Shirahoshi is your decision. I like her, she¡¯s pretty and the kindest soul I¡¯ve ever met but whether she¡¯s in or not¡­ I don¡¯t know her well enough. As for Vi¡­ I¡¯m really fond of her, we had some great fun together. I always considered her a one night stand but she grew on me.¡± ¡°I agree. She¡¯s in.¡± ¡°That was for me. What about you? Ko, Wanda?¡± ¡°If Wanda is interested in the both of us then yes, I¡¯d like her to be on the list.¡± ¡°Maybe for Wanda then.¡± he replied, nodding. ¡°Ko¡­ I see her like a little sister. Sure I¡¯d like to have my fun with her but I don¡¯t see her as part of us. Like I said yesterday, I see her more with Sabo than anything.¡± ¡°Okay. That leave us with Reiju and we¡¯re of the same mind about her. Question is, is she of the same mind about you?¡± ¡°Oh, yes. I told you we were close. She¡¯s my Nami so to speak.¡± ¡°I hope our kitten won¡¯t be jealous though they seem to be friends now.¡± he said as he made them float. ¡°Are we going somewhere?¡± ¡°I¡¯m dropping you at Reiju¡¯s room. No point in wasting time. I¡¯ll be with Nami, snuggling.¡± Robin gave him a gentle kiss on the lips and Rick did as he said. Not a Chapter but fun facts #10 Not a Chapter but fun facts #10

Not a Chapter but fun facts #10

It¡¯s been a while. Two years at least. Life got in the way and the interest in keeping on writing this fan fiction was very low. For three reasons. One: Oda went the Vegapunk way! That¡¯s what I wanted to do and that bummed me out a bit since at first I wanted to detach the story from Canon. Two: I wasn¡¯t sure of where I wanted to go with the story. Or rather how to go to the end (which hasn¡¯t changed from the very first word of the first chapter). Three: I didn¡¯t like Wano. So many promises so very little were delivered. That made me reluctant to write that arc. You¡¯d notice but the actual war is quite short and Rick¡¯s involvement quite minimal. I¡¯m still undecided as I¡¯m writing this NaCB #10 but it¡¯s not the first time and yet here we are. Here the fun facts:
  • Yamato was supposed to be in the harem. I decided otherwise because when I think of him I picture a woman and so I use feminine pronouns for her. It¡¯s a pain to go back and change all of them to masculine ones. I also had no idea what to do with her. In the end I left her alone. Him! I left him alone. Damn it!
  • Robin¡¯s miscarriage has been nned for a long time. It wasn¡¯t supposed to be revealed like this.
  • Robin was not supposed to learn about the system. I just¡­ went with it as I was writing.
  • Diana wasn¡¯t supposed to exist at all. The idea of her came to me when I was thinking of a way to make Rick¡¯s life in captivity absolutely hellish. We won¡¯t see much of her except for important key moments. I¡¯m still thinking on how to fit her in at the end of the story.
  • The war in Wano was always supposed to be really, really short. As mentioned above, Wano is a mess and I didn¡¯t want to deal with it. So I didn¡¯t.
  • I finally decided if Vi was in the harem or not.
  • I put Shirahoshi on the maybe list.
Here are the chapters title: Chapter 110: Team Rocket Chapter 111: From Game of Thrones Chapter 112: I don¡¯t remember who said that Chapter 113: Lawrence Hill Chapter 114: You know by now. Chapter 115: Winston Churchill Chapter 116: James A. Garfield Chapter 117: Mitch Albom Chapter 118: Laurie A. Helgoe Chapter 118: Hugh Prather Chapter 120: We’ve got a dream Chapter 120: We¡¯ve got a dream

Chapter 120: We¡¯ve got a dream

Two days ago at the marines HQ Akainu was reading thetest reports about Wano in his office. Kizaru and Fujitora were both present as well as Sengoku, who was munching on biscuits to the side, interested in hearing what his sessor had to say. ¡°Ryokugyu is dead.¡± he announced bluntly while gritting his teeth. ¡°What?!¡± eximed Fujitora while Kizaru had an expression of disbelief on his face. ¡°What happened?¡± inquired Sengoku with narrowed eyes. ¡°He went against my orders and infiltrated Wano.¡± ¡°Why would he do that, now?¡± asked Kizaru. ¡°Probably to be praised and because he could. He was that kind of man after all.¡± supposed Fujitora. ¡°As for doing what exactly? Good question. Who did it?¡± ¡°From the reports of Rear Admiral Locke stationed at Wano¡¯s border, Ryokugyu went there to take the head of Strawhat Luffy and Wald. It is supposed that thetter was the one who killed him.¡± ¡°Supposed?¡± asked Sengoku. ¡°Wald showed up flying to Locke¡¯s ship and threw him Ryokugyu¡¯s severed head, bloody sword in hand.¡± ¡°And our men didn¡¯t do anything?¡± wondered Kizaru aloud. ¡°They tried to shoot him down to no avail. When Wald was close enough, Locke ordered them to cease fire. As for why¡­ Wald was unharmed. Not a wound on him despite killing Ryokugyu and we all know how difficult it was to fight him.¡± Akainu exined. ¡°Good call. If even an Admiral couldn¡¯t make a scratch on Wald none of them had any chances.¡± Fujitoramented. ¡°The question is¡­ What do we do now? It¡¯s a severe blow to our reputation and our fighting force. The strawhat crew had just defeated two emperors and now an Admiral within the same week¡­¡± ¡°We increase Wald¡¯s bounty and find a recement from Ryokugyu. As far as the public is concerned he died from an incurable disease. We can¡¯t have the people know that he invaded a country not part of the World Government and got himself killed. That moron!¡± The magma man spat in distaste and barely controlled rage. ¡°I should have killed that runt decades ago!¡± ¡°Or maybe you should not have been an asshole. He would be one of our Admirals today. He should be.¡± chidded Sengoku. ¡°He quit, remember? You just went ahead and made a public statement that we couldn¡¯t retract and pushed him to piracy.¡± ¡°What?!¡± ¡°So that¡¯s what happened.¡±mented Kizaru in acknowledgement. ¡°A shame, really.¡± ¡°Enough! This is neither here nor there.¡± ¡°Sure it is Sakazuki. Your misced pride is partly why we¡¯re in the situation we¡¯re in today. Enies Lobby, the war two years ago, Dressrosa and now Wano¡­ He was part of all of it. I really was an idiot to not ept his deal.¡± Sengoku muttered at the end that Fujitora picked up. ¡°What deal?¡± ¡°Hmm?¡± ¡°You said you were an idiot for not taking his deal.¡± ¡°Oh! Now I¡¯m curious.¡± said Kizaru in answer to what Fujitora said. ¡°He would have joined back the navy under two conditions. One, we leave Nico Robin alone.¡± ¡°Uneptable!¡± shouted Akainu, mming his fist on his desk. ¡°She¡¯s not interested in the ancient weapons nor toppling down the World Government. Just the missing history. While this could be dangerous information if it was released to the public, she has no intention to do so and the chances of her doing so at the time was slim to none since she was all alone..¡± ¡°How do you know that?¡± inquired Fujitora. ¡°Rick gave me his word.¡± ¡°The word of a criminal!¡± yelled the fleet Admiral. ¡°The word of an honest man. He isn¡¯t a liar. Wasn¡¯t back then, isn¡¯t now and he¡¯s a criminal because of you! You put a target on his back for both the marines and the pirates. Anyway, the second condition was for you to live for ten years in disgrace, Sakazuki.¡± ¡°What?!¡± ¡°Knowing what he can do now, that wasn¡¯t so bad of a deal.¡± Kizarumented and got a re from his hot tempered superior. ¡°You could have worked for Cypher Pol undercover.¡± mused aloud Fujitora. In a fit of rage, Akainu ordered them to get out of his office. Something they all did at their own rxed pace. ~~~~~ Present time The crew had not been the only one who chose to leave that day at first light. Law and Kid¡¯s did the same. After a dick measuring contest from the three pirate captains and a not so tearful goodbye to Momonosuke and their samurai friends, the strawhat crew was pondering about what to do. They had received a newspaper and they didn¡¯t take the news well. A lot had happened in the eight months they have been secluded on Wano and they were all learning about it now. The reverie has been a disaster. After Rick¡¯s kidnapping of Vivi and her return, the Revolution Army had attacked Marie-Geoise, led by Sabo. They freed a celestial dragon enved Bartholomew Kuma, killed king Cobra Nefertari and escaped. Vivi had been reported missing. The shichibukai were now a thing of the past after a motion presented by Vivi herself. In consequence, the navy had attacked Amazon Lily to capture Hancock and so did ckbeard. The whereabouts of the Pirate queen were currently unknown. The cherry on top of the cake was Aokiji being a pirate, a high ranking officer of ckbeard¡¯s crew at that and was instrumental in the capture of Garp when the navyunched an assault on Fulead, ckbeard¡¯s HQ ind, to save Coby who had been captured during the sh on Amazon Lily. For once, Rick agreed with Luffy who wanted to go and find Vivi but also Hancock and Lynda. They were not so much interested in saving their grandfather, after all the old man was a monster of vitality and he wouldn¡¯t just kick the bucket like that. ¡°What do we do?¡± Zoro asked, a mug of beer in hand. ¡°...We¡¯re going to help our friends.¡± replied Luffy. ¡°Luffy, not I don¡¯t share the sentiment but we don¡¯t know where Vivi and Hancock are! We don¡¯t even know where to begin our search. And what about the One piece?¡± Nami remarked. ¡°The fourth Rio poneglyph that we need to get to Laugh Tale has not been found since Roger.¡±mented Robin. ¡°We may have two leads about it. Shanks or Buggy. Technically three with Rayleigh but¡­ You know¡­¡± Rick brought his two Berry on the situation. ¡°So we either continue our journey with the log pose or we¡¯re directly going after one of the emperors if not both.¡± pondered Sanji aloud. ¡°I like the idea of finding the poneglyph by ourselves in a big adventure but¡­ it could take years¡­¡± Usopp said and quickly and frantically added a follow up. ¡°Not like I mind but with our friends in trouble¡­¡± Usopp had put his finger on the crux of the matter at hand. Should they continue their adventure as if nothing happened or postpone their journey and go help their friends? Luffy thought about it for a moment and asked Nami for a map of the world. Quickly she went to get the one they had andid it down on the deck¡¯s grass. ¡°Where are we?¡± the captain asked and Nami pointed Wano no Kuni with her finger. ¡±Hmm¡­ Being the pirate king is my dream but I don¡¯t want to find the One Piece if it means abandoning my friends. What can we do?¡± he said, raising his head from the map and looking at his crew members who stayed silent for a moment. After a moment, Rick spoke. ¡°We don¡¯t have any Eternal Pose for this part of Grand Line so we can¡¯t go back to the inds we visited. It would be difficult to reach the end of the New World. Nobody ever did it, except Roger and his crew.¡± ¡°We do have one for basta and O¡¯hara.¡± added Robin. ¡°But it¡¯s on the other side of the Grand Line.¡± said Nami. ¡°And even if we go back there, we will have to sail all of it again for¡­ For what exactly?¡± she added and realized that helping their friends was a very vague objective. ¡°Maybe the people of basta know something about Vivi?¡± Chopper proposed an idea. ¡°O¡¯hara being the new HQ of the Revolution Army, maybe they have some information too.¡± Robin stated and Rick supported her. ¡°They may also have Eternal Poses they could lend us. It¡¯s that or raiding the marines HQ if we want some.¡± ¡°Hmm.. alright, how do we do that?¡± Luffy asked. ¡°¡±Well¡­ We can¡¯t reach Red Line, we can¡¯t go back from where we came from. The only way out is¡­¡± ¡°Calm Belt.¡± Namipleted Jimbei¡¯s sentence. ¡°Sunny is the best ship ever but it will neverst crossing that sea. The Sea Kings will gobble it all up.¡± Franky warned. ¡°Not on water but I may be able to make Sunny float. If I can, we just need to find a way to make it move.¡± ¡°But you fly! Can¡¯t you make Sunny fly too and not just float?¡± Usopp asked. ¡°Floating is instinctive. Flying is far more difficult. I have to constantly adjust the gravity, the direction, be careful of the wind and be focused all the time. I don¡¯t know if I can do it with something as big as Sunny and for a long period of time.¡± ¡°That¡¯s not a problem, I can make something to propel us forward and if the situation is dire there is always the coup de burst.¡± ¡°I can also control the wind to push us forward. Since Sunny would be floating and have no mass it can be carried away with the wind getting caught by the sails.¡± ¡°Okay. Let¡¯s do that.¡± ¡°Luffy!¡± Usopp eximed. ¡°If we fail¡­¡± ¡°I know but it¡¯s not the first time we do something like that, remember?¡± the captain replied with a grin. ¡°We wouldnd in North Blue.¡± Reiju noticed aloud, not very happy with that. After all that¡¯s where the Germa 66 Kingdom was and she wasn¡¯t too keen on going back at the moment. ¡°Reverse mountain is not very far from there and we would be right at the entrance of Grand Line again.¡± noted her brother. ¡°We could always make a small detour to East Blue. I¡¯m not sure I could raise Sunny up Red Line but once at the top of Reverse Mountain it would be easier.¡± ¡°Why a detour?¡± inquired Zoro. ¡°Well¡­ most of you that were not born on Grand Line are from East Blue, no? I thought you could all visit your families and friends since it¡¯s not that far? It¡¯s been almost three years and the only news they got about you is your wanted poster.¡± ¡°¡°¡°¡°¡°...¡±¡±¡±¡±¡± ¡°I like that! Alright! I¡¯ve decided. We fly through Calm Belt, go to Reverse Mountain, then to East Blue, then back to Reverse mountain, then towards basta!¡± Everyone nodded and went to work if they had to. Rick went back inside to take a look at the Garden. He didn¡¯t enjoy the prospect of having to start all over again and was quite surprised when he saw it in better shape than what he thought. ¡°I asked Franky to install an automatic water system on our way to Wano.¡± Turning his head back he saw Robin at the door with a proud smile on her face. ¡°Thank you. That was really smart.¡± ¡°I presume that working on it from the ground up again would lower your mood down to your socks.¡± she said as she walked to his side. ¡°You got that right.¡± ¡°Do you need any help?¡± ¡°No but I won¡¯t say no if offered.¡± he replied and snaked an arm around her waist to pull her close. ¡°I do have a better idea though.¡± he added in a low voice. ¡°Oh? And what is it?¡± ¡°Can you make a clone?¡± She nodded and a second Robin appeared right on his other side. ¡°Now what?¡± For an answer, Rick made his own clone sprout just behind hers with a naughty grin. ¡°Now we let them work on the garden and maybe we can work on each other.¡± he dered to both Robin¡¯s surprised faces. ¡°Since when?!¡± ¡°Since the deal with Diana. Her one rule is: One devil fruit per person and since I got two she was blocking a good amount of my powers. She agreed to stop doing it for our link up.¡± ¡°So you can do everything that I do in the end?¡± she asked, curious. ¡°No. The differences between our powers are bigger now. I can¡¯t make giant parts of me like you do. Nor change their shape or color, which by the way, we¡¯re definitely going to talk about your really sexy devil formter. What I can do but you can¡¯t is regenerate.¡± ¡°That¡¯s good to know. I didn¡¯t really want to try if I could or not. And I¡¯m definitely going to use one or two clones of yours but right now I¡¯m taking you up on your offer.¡± she replied with a grin and jumped at her husband who was quick to catch her in his arms. ¡°You do know that technically we can always be having sex now?¡± he said as he walked out the garden walked towards their bedroom. ¡°I love the idea of that.¡± she answered after letting out augh. ~~~~~ For three days they didn¡¯t leave the borders of Wano, waiting for Franky and Baby-5 to finish building whatever they were working on. That gave Rick and Robin plenty of time to properly reacquaint themselves with each other intimately. The first day, they had tried mingling with the other while their clones were getting it on quite wildly in their bedroom. The idea was quickly shut down though as both felt what their clones felt. Robin nearly screamed her heart out in front of everyone on deck as she sat down around a table with Nami and Reiju, talking about everything and nothing. She had to bite her lips very hard, to the point of bleeding, to control herself. She couldn¡¯t control the rest of her body though and both her dress and the chair she was sitting on got drenched. Unfortunately for her, her female friends didn¡¯t miss neither the strong smell nor her orgasmic face, her eyes rolling into her head. When Nami began to ask questions she had to reveal what was happening. Getting her answers, the redhead went immediately to the garden and found a heavy breathing Rick sitting behind his desk. He too had felt his clone¡¯s orgasm and he had made a mess of his underwear and pants. She had been furious he hadn¡¯t shared with her this new development with his powers. More than that she wanted her turn. And boy she got it after an hour or merciless teasing from Rick. He had focused on her asshole the whole time and in the end she was begging for him to take her anal virginity. He did it very carefully and gently. A total contrast when he was doing it with Robin but she was used to it, could take it and more importantly loved it that way. When their sexual escapade stopped, Nami confessed that the experience had been great but that it wasn¡¯t really her thing. That was fine with Rick who proceeded to give her a second round but this time of gentle love making. The two days afterwards were much the same as spouses and fianc¨¦s catching up with each other and the missed opportunities during the past eight months. Theirst tryst was the long awaited threesome to which Nami has been the focus. She didn¡¯tin one bit, quite the contrary but waspletely down for the count afterwards, happily nestled between Robin and Rick and snoring cutely. ¡°We should have done that long ago.¡±mented Robin as she let her finger go through locks of Nami¡¯s damped hair. ¡°Yes. Not as intense as Vi physically but emotionally¡­¡± ¡°Hmhm.¡± the brte hemmed in agreement. ¡°Next is Reiju.¡± ¡°Already?¡± ¡°Oh, she¡¯s been ready ever since you got her freedom. From an emotional point of view. Physically she was ready the day you met.¡± ¡°I remember clearly, thank you. What I meant was¡­ I thought she¡¯d take more time after the two of you¡­¡± ¡°We didn¡¯t. We yed a bit, kissed a lot but we didn¡¯t go all the way. She wanted you first. I respected her choice.¡± ¡°...I can¡¯t escape her, can¡¯t I?¡± he said with a chuckle. ¡°Why would you?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know. She¡¯s Sanji¡¯s sister for one and I don¡¯t know her well enough.¡± ¡°First off, Reiju being Sanji¡¯s sister is an excuse. A very bad one. Second, Vi and Hancock. You barely knew them yet you slept with them nheless.¡± ¡°Vi was a gift for you and was supposed to be a one night stand at best. Hancock¡­ I was kinda dying so ast tryst was on my mind. Refusing her at the time could have been dangerous in our mission to save Ace too.¡± ¡°So you just want to know Reiju better, is that it?¡± ¡°Yes. I like her, I told you as much already but I don¡¯t want to go into a rtionship if in the end we don¡¯t click. I don¡¯t mind if you¡¯re with her when I¡¯m not.¡± The third day, the ship was ready to go through the calm belt. Rick sprouted an arm at the base of the mast and made Sunny float. Using his gravity further he brought it up half the height of Wano. At that point, Franky activated a new version of the Rabbit Screw and the ship moved forward at a speed matching the Sunny on water. Sanji and Zoro opened the sails and Nami used her power to make a strong wind blow. It wasn¡¯t strong enough to bother the members of the crew on the deck but enough to double their speed. Thanks to the map and with the use of Wano as a point of reference, Nami knew the general direction they needed to go without the need for the pose. Crossing the Calm Belt has been easy and without any trouble with the exception of a Sea King jumping out the water to enjoy the sun. It was a couple hundred meters away from Sunny and didn¡¯t see it but Luffy ordered for a coup de burst to get away quickly just in case. The journey had been only difficult for Rick who needed to be conscious to make the Sunny float. He had no problem staying awake for two days, especially with Brook forpany during the night since the skeleton never really slept but the third day had been difficult. Showing signs of fatigue, Chopper and Reiju did their best to give him anything he needed to stay awake. Despite their reluctance, it wasn¡¯t a healthy thing to do, they couldn¡¯t help it. Once they reached North Blue, Rick quickly lowered the ship. It had been an abrupt ordeal and the crew quickly searched for Rick. They found him asleep against his desk in the garden. ¡°I can¡¯t believe we made it through Calm Belt. I mean, like that.¡± said Usopp. ¡°That was a fun experience.¡± Baby-5 said. ¡°But booooorrrrriiiiiiing.¡±mented Luffy. ¡°Maybe one day we¡¯ll be able to sail that sea the normal way and fight Sea Kings on an equal foot. Who knows?¡± ¡°Jimbei! Don¡¯t give Luffy stupid ideas!¡± shouted an irate Nami. Not wanting to experience the redhead devastating ps or worse fists, the helmsman of the strawhat pirates shut up on the spot. From there under her direction, Jimbei led the ship to Reverse Mountain after a journey of almost three years. ¡°It¡¯s quite nostalgic.¡± Sanji said, looking up at the Mountain. ¡°Yeah.¡± agreed Zoro. ¡°So that¡¯s how it looks.¡± ¡°You never saw Reverse Mountain before?¡± asked Usopp to Rick in surprise. ¡°No. I only sailed on ships that could go through the Calm Belt during my time in the marines. When I left I was stuck on the Grand Line.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve never seen it either!¡± added Chopper cutely. ¡°It¡¯s scary! The current is so strong.¡± ¡°Oh! Oh! I know!¡± shouted Luffy and everyone turned towards him to see what he was on about. He quickly ran inside and came back just as fast with a big barrel in his hands. At the sight, Sanji, Nami, Usopp and even Zoro smiled, understanding their captain''s intention. Right there in the middle of the deck, Luffy put the barrel down and raise a leg to put a foot on it. ¡°What is he doing?¡± asked Baby-5. ¡°¡°¡°¡°No idea.¡±¡±¡±¡± replied the members of the crew not in the know. ¡°My dream is still to be the Pirate King!¡± he yelled. After a moment of awkward silence, Zoro joined Luffy and put his foot on the barrel. Nami, Usopp and Sanji did the same. The redhead quickly using her power to create a small storm and make it rain to match how their first time went. ¡°My dream is still to be the greatest swordsman in the world.¡± ¡°My dream is still to make a map of the whole world.¡± Nami said. ¡°My dream is¡­ not to be a brave warrior of the sea anymore because I realized it so¡­ my new dream is to be the bravest warrior of the sea!¡± ¡°My dream is still to find all blue but my second is to be the best cook in the world!¡± The five original members of the straw hats pirates turned their heads at the other members in an invitation. ¡°My dream is to be a doctor that can heal any wound and cure all diseases!¡± ¡°My dream is to meet Laboon! Yohohoho!¡± ¡°Brook you¡¯re going to see him soon, don¡¯t you have another dream?¡± asked Luffy. ¡°That¡¯s true! In that case¡­ My dream is topose music that will touch the hearts of all the people in the world!¡± ¡°My dream is still to make Sunny a ship that could sail through all the seas and be the best ship in the world!¡± ¡°My dream is to be the best assistant and wife to Franky!¡± ¡°¡°¡°¡°What?!¡±¡±¡±¡± the whole crew eximed to a very red faced Baby-5. She was saved by Robin who put her foot on the barrel. ¡°My dream is to know the true history of the world and be happy..¡± ¡°My dream is for mer-people and humans to stand on equal ground.¡± ¡°... My dream is to have a free and happy life.¡± said Reiju imitating the others. ¡°... When I was forced to join the crew¡­¡± ¡°Hey!¡± protested Luffy. ¡°I was given the dream to find one. I did. My dream is to have a big family with the people I love.¡± Rick finally announced and put his foot with the others¡¯. ¡°Let¡¯s do it!¡± shouted Luffy. ¡°¡°¡°¡°¡°YEAH!!!¡±¡±¡±¡±¡± Chapter 121: May the love you share today grow stronger as you grow old together Chapter 121: May the love you share today grow stronger as you grow old together

Chapter 121: May the love you share today grow stronger as you grow old together ¡°So you¡¯re Luffy¡¯s friends.¡± The crew after reaching the top of Reverse Mountain had followed the n to the letter and arrived at East Blue. While the farthest, Nami gave directions to Jimbei to get to Foosha Vige first as a surprise for Luffy. He gave her a big hug and thank you when he saw the ind and dragged Usopp and Chopper up the Mountain to go and see Dandan first thing first. Meanwhile Rick brought everyone else to Makino¡¯s pub where they encountered the Mayor that was very vocal about not wanting the crew on the ind, pretexting that thest time one of them was there the vige was almost destroyed all the while looking at Rick with a ticking eye. His fake act was stopped by Makino who weed everyone and gave a thank you to Rick for saving the ind from Shiki. ¡°We are.¡± Nami replied with a smile. ¡°Thank you, for taking care of him. He can be quite a handful.¡± ¡°That he is.¡±mented Zoro as he put a mug to his lips. ¡°But honestly he¡¯s not that bad.¡± Brook defended his captain. ¡°Er.. Are you¡­¡± ¡°All skin and bones! Yohoho!¡± ¡°¡°You¡¯re just bones!!¡±¡± Franky and Rick protested. ¡°I was going to say the Soul King though I¡¯m curious about how a skeleton can be¡­ alive. Are there any others like you?¡± ¡°No. I¡¯m the only one, it¡¯s the unfortunate result of the devil fruit that I ate half a century ago. I am indeed the soul king though! Do you want an autograph? I can give you one if you let me see your panti¡­.¡± Nami was quick as a sh and love punched him through the wall. ¡°Sorry about him.¡± ¡°Not about the wall you destroyed?¡± asked Baby-5. ¡°Eh¡­¡± ¡°It¡¯s alright. I¡¯ll fix it.¡± Franky said and stood up to fetch nks and nails. ¡°We¡¯ll pay for the repair.¡± offered Rick. ¡°More than a signature I¡¯d like a photograph. If people knew that the Soul King visited my pub, business would boom!¡± ¡°I¡¯m sure Brook would agree to your request as an apology.¡± smiled Robin. ¡°Thank you. Isn¡¯t Luffy with you?¡± ¡°He went up the mountain.¡± said Sanji as he finished serving the table next to them. The moan of pleasure from the client at the first mouthful pleased him a lot. ¡°Thank you for helping in the kitchen. I don''t know what I would have done without your help.¡± ¡°No need for thanks. Any friend of Luffy is a friend of ours and we help our friends.¡± replied Sanji and went back to the kitchen. ¡°I hope Laura will recover soon from the flu. I can¡¯t possibly ask you to help more.¡± ¡°I¡¯m sure Chopper or Reiju could give her something to recover quicker.¡± Nami proposed. ¡°Thank you. May I ask why you¡¯re here? I thought that you were at Wano from what the newspaper said and that you would continue your journey.¡± ¡°Wano is a closed country and doesn''t receive news from the outside. When we left we learned about all that happened during the past year.¡± Rick said. ¡°Luffy didn¡¯t want to continue his adventures knowing his friends were in trouble. We were set to re-enter Grand Line through Reverse Mountain but we decided to make a detour to East Blue to see family and friends.¡± exined Nami further. ¡°They left a few days after you did with Rear Admiral Tsuru and former Fleet Admiral Sengoku.¡± Makino said to Rick out of the blue. ¡°Thank you.¡± the man replied nonplussed which shocked her a bit. She didn¡¯t say anything about it however and let the matter drop and went back behind the counter. ¡°Why didn¡¯t you ask her where they left?¡± asked Nami. ¡°My daughter loathes me to the point she doesn¡¯t want to see my face.¡± Rick replied with a shrug. ¡°She and her mother are with Big Sis and Uncle so I know they are safe. That¡¯s all that matters to me at this point.¡± The topic was dropped but Robin still grabbed his hand in hers to offer support. She knew that despite the nonchnce he had answered Nami he still hurt underneath. She knew now that hisposure came from the Acting skill he had bought all those years ago. When Luffy showed up with Chopper and Usopp, he got a big hug from Makino who introduced him to her son. Immediately, the wild and childish Luffy was reced by a more or less mature adult dotting on the child to its mother¡¯s pleasant surprise. ¡°That¡¯s something I never even got the feeling that I would see someday.¡± Rick joked. ¡°Why can¡¯t he be this responsible all the time?¡±mented Nami. ¡°Our journey wouldn¡¯t be as interesting. Yohohoho!¡± ¡°¡°¡°True.¡±¡±¡± replied the rest of the crew. They stayed two more days on the ind. Both because they needed supplies and because of Luffy who reacquainted himself with people he knew. When Makino shared how Luffy self inflicted his own face scar and how he became a rubber man, most of the crewughed or had a disbelieving face. Their next destination was the closest to their location. Shimotsuki vige. Zoro didn¡¯t want to but Luffy told him that everyone got a turn without exception. The swordsman was surprised that the dojo he used to go to was now very popr because of him and that all students were trying to imitate his santoryu. He paid his respect to his former teacher who praised him for how far he got in the way of the sword but did regret that he had be a pirate. At the request of the children and with the agreement of his teacher, Zoro taught for an hour. To the children''s disappointment he didn¡¯t teach them any cool sword techniques but that a sword was not just a tool but a part of a swordsman and a partner. Only when you understood your sword could you be called a proper swordsman and do things normally impossible. As a demonstration he cut a small boulder as if it was made of paper but failed to cut a branch of a tree. ¡°A true swordsman, chose what to cut and what not to cut and their sword answers their wish.¡± The children had been amazed and promised to work even harder. After a day they left for Syrup Ind. It was Usopp¡¯s turn and he was a nervous wreck at the idea of meeting Kaya again. When it was time to disembark he couldn¡¯t and Luffy had to kick his ass sending him flying across the vige. Once he was face to face with his childhood friend he progressively became morefortable and talked about his journey. For a long time. Meanwhile the crew spoke with the three children Usopp was always hanging around with sharing stories. Many of the towns¡¯ people asked if Usopp had really done all those things and were quite pleased and happy to know that he did. After Usopp introduced Kaya to the rest of the crew and told them about her dream of being a doctor, Reiju and most notably Chopper had many talks with her. Once again after a few days they left, this time for the Baratie. Sanji had been quite embarrassed when he saw that the staff was offering his wanted poster for free. The fit he had, brought out Zeff from the kitchen and the two had a row here and there. In the end Sanji went to the kitchen to rece the man who was approached by Reiju. ¡°Thank you for taking care of him.¡± ¡°... You¡¯re his sister, right?¡± asked the cook after eyeing her for a moment. ¡°I am.¡± ¡°He spoke about you once. It seems you have patched things up. I¡¯m d. One shouldn¡¯t be in conflict with their family.¡± ¡°There are still a lot of unresolved issues with his twin brothers and our father most of all but that¡¯s up to them to fix them, not Sanji. As for me, we¡¯re in a good ce.¡± Zeff nodded and the conversation stopped there. He was happy the kid he considered a son had dealt or at least partly, with long festering wounds. After a group photo that would be disyed to anyone¡¯s view in the restaurant and Sanji leaving a few recipes behind, the crew left this time for Cocoyashi vige. Jimbei was a bit worried about him being a fishman after what Arlong did to the people of the ind but Nami reassured him. Nami was almost hugged to death by her sister Nojiko. A hug that she gave back in full. Genzo, her father figure, chastised her for the way she dressed but Nojiko immediately put an end to it by revealing that he had many blown-up posters of Nami on the biggest wall of his house and depending on the season, changed one for one of the others. The redhead visited her mother¡¯s grave with her sister and talked about her friends but more importantly about Robin and Rick. Nojiko had been a bit shocked at first but congratted Nami for finding people she could give her all to and gave their all back. She mercilessly teased her about it though and asked very invasive questions. Later when they went back to town they found Rick and Robin resting under a tree hand in hand. ¡°I want to do it now.¡± Nami said. ¡°... Do what?¡± Asked Robin. ¡°Not like I mind doing it outdoors but in front of your sis¡­¡± Rick got a love p for that. ¡°I meant our wedding, idiot!¡± ¡°Wedding? Nami! I didn¡¯t understand that it was that serious!¡± eximed Nojiko in surprise. ¡°It is.¡± ¡°Are you¡­¡± ¡°Sure?¡± ¡°Please don¡¯t start with your thing.¡± she quickly said before her fiances would start finishing each other¡¯s sentences. ¡°And yes I¡¯m sure. I told you that I wanted to marry here but who knows when the next opportunity wille?¡± Rick and Robin looked at each other, silently having a conversation before turning their head back to Nami. ¡°¡°Okay.¡±¡± ¡°When exactly? A marriage takes time to prepare.¡± Rick said. ¡°Your weddings¡¯ preparation was done in under a day.¡± ¡°It was a small one.¡± reminded Robin. ¡°I want a small one too. In the middle of the Orange trees.¡± ¡°Then we¡¯ll have a small wedding in the middle of the Orange trees. I¡¯ll warn the others. No matter how small the wedding there is still work to do.¡± Rick said standing up pulling Robin with him. ¡°I was thinking of tomorrow.¡± ¡°Nami! That¡¯s impossible, the wedding dress alone...¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry Nojiko, I already have one.¡± ¡°When did you have the time to do that?¡± inquired Robin. ¡°Wano. I asked a tailor if he could make me one like yours with small changes here and there. In preparation.¡± replied Nami. ¡°That eager, huh?¡± joked Rick who gave her a heartfelt kiss and left to warn the others. ¡°Anything you want in particr?¡± asked the brte. ¡°I¡­ would like a portrait of my mother like you did.¡± ¡°I have plenty of pictures of mom at home. Genzo too. I¡¯ll give you one for a model but are you sure a day would be enough for a portrait?¡± ¡°Usopp works very fast and is very good.¡± replied Nami to which Robin agreed with a nod. ¡°Do you think he could make a copy for me?¡± ¡°Of course!¡± beamed Nami as she began to walk towards Genzo¡¯s house. ~~~~~ ¡°Okay guys, and girls we have things to discuss.¡± announced Rick to the gathered crew. ¡°About what?¡± Asked Usopp. ¡°Since we¡¯re in Nami¡¯s hometown, she wants to use the asion for the wedding.¡± ¡°What wedding?¡± Asked Franky. ¡°She didn¡¯t tell you? She kinda tricked me into proposing to her when we went to get Sanji. Of course she¡¯s marrying Robin too.¡± ¡°So tricking you works? Good to know.¡± remarked Reiju with a mischievous smile. ¡°So we do everything likest time?¡± inquired Chopper. ¡°More or less. She wants the ceremony to happen among the orange trees, not on the ship.¡± ¡°Hmm¡­ With this sun I should probably build some wooden palisades to protect people from it. Usopp do you think you could grow some vines to decorate it to give a more natural feel.¡± ¡°Sure.¡± ¡°You can pick some flowers from the garden on the ship. Preferably oranges.¡± ¡°With some pale blue or soft lc ones. Those colors mixed well with orange.¡± added Reiju. ¡°Good call, Reiju. Thanks. The rest, you know your roles.¡± ¡°Who¡¯s being your best man, this time?¡± asked Sanji. ¡°I don¡¯t know. I was hoping you¡¯d decide by a draw likest time.¡± ¡°Can I partici¡­¡± ¡°Luffy, you¡¯re marrying us. Remember?¡± ¡°Oh! I forgot.¡± she replied sheepishly. ~~~~~ Nami reached Genzo¡¯s house and was already tired from the drama that was about to happen. She knew she wanted Genzo to walk her down the aisle. He was the man she had looked up to as a father after all. He would do it but after a lot ofining, trying to dissuade her and a bit of grumbling here and there. Since she couldn¡¯t escape it she chose to rip the proverbial band aid directly in one go. ¡°Genzo!¡± she shouted as she was a few feet away from the house. ¡°Nami? What can I do for you?¡± Asked the scar-faced man as he exited his home. ¡°I have a favor to ask of you.¡± ¡°.. I¡¯m not helping you hide your stolen money. Certainly not in the secret vault that no one knows about but Nojiko, under the seventh panel in the ground of the kitchen.¡± he said in fake annoyance and anger that Nami knew him so well for, making herugh. ¡°No, nothing like that. I just need you to walk me down the aisle tomorrow.¡± ¡°Hum. Sure.¡± ¡°Thank you.¡± she said with a grateful smile and hugged him. ¡®3 , 2, 1¡¯ ¡°WAIT!? WHAT?! You¡¯re getting married?!¡± he shouted, finally registering what she had asked of him. ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°No! Not with me alive, you won¡¯t! You¡¯re barely twenty! It¡¯s way too young to get married! Who gave you that idea?! Who are you getting wed to?!¡± ¡°Rick and¡­¡± ¡°That tall fellow?! No way! I¡¯m going to have words with him! He¡¯s like a decade or more older than you!¡± Yelled the old man as he began to walk towards the center of the town having seen Rick quickly pass in front of his house earlier. He didn¡¯t get far however as Nami grabbed his arm and held him back. ¡°I¡¯m marrying Robin too.¡± ¡°... Whaa.¡± ¡°I love them both and they love me both. Even after a two year separation we didn¡¯t grow apart. If anything we grew closer. I have never been so happy than when I¡¯m with them. And yes, twenty is perhaps a bit young but I want the wedding to happen here. Who knows when will be the next time I¡¯m back?¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°Please?¡± she said with teary puppy dog eyes. ¡°... Alright. I already agreed, didn¡¯t I?¡± he said softly and Nami mentally fist pumped the air in victory. ¡°That you did and you¡¯re a man of your word.¡± ¡°That I am. I¡¯m still going to threat¡­ Talk with your fiance about¡­ things.¡± ¡°Fine by me.¡± she replied with a smile. ¡®Good luck trying to intimidate Rick¡¯ ~~~~~ Sanji had won the draw for the role of the best man and was standing next to Rick in his best attire. On the other side, Robin in her own wedding dress was nked by Reiju, her maid of honor. Right next to the two of them was Nojiko who was Nami¡¯s and who kept sending sultry nces at Sanji who felt like prey. In the audience Baby-5 who had reced her maid outfit with a more appropriate dress sat next to Franky who couldn¡¯t help but fix his eyes on her. Clearly, the former member of the Donquixote family¡¯s revtion had made the cyborg think about her as more than just an assistant partly thanks to the new dress. Usopp hade running holding a painting and put it on an empty seat right at the front row. Removing the cloth covering it, Nojiko gasped at what she saw. Her mother was the most beautiful she had ever seen, with the brightest smile. Her reaction satisfied Usopp greatly. When Brook began to y the violin, everyone stood at attention and looked towards the end of the aisle where Genzo in an impable Tuxedo but still with his sailor hat with a small wind wheel on it was offering his arm to a resplendent Nami. Where Robin¡¯s dress had been elegant and graceful, Nami¡¯s had made some bold changes. Her back was entirely naked and her cleavage more revealing disying more prominently her cor. Lastly the dress¡¯ cut showed a lot more leg to the side; up to the bottom of her toned ass. For the second time, Rick was shocked to oblivion, the world around him not mattering anymore. He wasn¡¯t the only one. Robin too waspletely enthralled by how beautiful their kitten was. Reiju had to pinch Robin¡¯s ass to get her back to reality as Luffy was asking for her to say the wedding vows. On Rick¡¯s side however there was a small problem. Nobody pulled Rick out of it because Sanji too was in Lnd. Quickly Usopp threw two pebbles at the two men and the wedding proceeded without any more unnned ident happenings. After the feast and the party. Nami dragged Robin and Rick back to their room on the ship in a hurry. The both of them had an amused smile on their face but said and did nothing. Only once inside the privacy of their bedroom, did they act. They had agreed that this night was all about their new wife and they would make sure she¡¯d be satisfied. Chapter 122: They joined the ranks Chapter 122: They joined the ranks

Chapter 122: They joined the ranks

Despite the very long and torrid wedding night he had, Rick woke up early. He was pleased to see Namiying face down on their bed. Her hair was all over the ce and her body was severely marked by love bites, loves juices. Both Robin¡¯s and his. The both of them really went hard on her. He even used two clones and a third for Robin who did the same. They only stopped when Nami passed out. That didn¡¯t mean the night ended there. Not at all. For Robin and Rick it was just a small break and went back at it with their clones. Looking beyond Nami, Rick saw Robin was in an even more disastrous state. Holding back a chuckle he got out of bed and went to take a shower. Wanting to take some fresh air and tour the ind, he began to fly around. Everything went well until passing in front of Nojiko¡¯s house he stopped abruptly. From the corner of his eye he caught a glimpse of a naked Nojiko sleeping on her bed and resting her head on a naked Sanji. ¡®Good for him. Damn, Nojiko is stacked!¡¯ he thought. An idea came to mind and he immediately went to the vige¡¯s center where the party happened the previous night. There, he found his crew mates and woke them up. ¡°Guys! Guys!¡± ¡°Hmm. Shut up.. I¡¯m shleeping!¡± Usopp muttered with a frown. ¡°GUYS! SANJI GOT HIS CHERRY POPPED BY NOJIKO!!¡± he yelled and the effect was immediate. ¡°WHAT?!¡± Usopp, Franky, Brook and Genzo who were all lying on the ground sit up at once! ¡°I¡¯M GOING TO KILL HIM!¡± shouted Nami and Nojiko¡¯s father figure then went to his house and came back out with a sword in each hand making his way to his adoptive daughter¡¯s house. ¡°Holy shit!¡± Usopp said. ¡°Good for him.¡± Frankymented with a grin, holding Baby-5 close. ¡°Lucky man, indeed. Yohohoho.¡± ¡°Rick, what did you mean? Sanji had a Cherry? Why did Nojiko pop it?¡± asked a groggy Chopper. He may have been a doctor but human ng was not his forte, far from it. Getting an amused look for the guys in the know, Chopper was confused until Rick leaned and whispered in his ear. ¡°Gross!¡± ¡°Mating is not gross, Chopper.¡± ¡°No but using the name of a fruit to talk about it is! I¡¯m never going to look at a cherry the same!¡± he answered in disgust, making everyoneugh. ¡°Well¡­ At least my brother is now a man.¡±mented Reijuing from the side with an orange in hand. ¡°Honestly I thought that already was the case.¡± ¡°Considering he was stuck on Okama ind for two years I doubt it. Yohohoho.¡± ¡°When is my turn, Rick?¡± teased the pink haired princess. ¡°¡°¡°WHAT?!¡±¡±¡± ¡°Reiju, I just got married yesterday!¡± ¡°I don¡¯t mind.¡± ¡°For god¡¯s sake! Is there a woman in the world that you didn¡¯t seduce?¡± shouted Usopp. ¡°Plen¡­¡± He stopped himself when he heard shouts Coming from Nojiko¡¯s house then the sound of a window breaking. ¡°COME BACK HERE YOU SCUM. I¡¯LL TEACH YOU TO TOUCH MY DAUGHTER!!¡± At that moment, they saw Sanji, running for his life past them, clothes in hands, hiding his private parts followed by an irate Genzo. ¡°¡°¡°¡°....¡±¡±¡±¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know about you but I¡¯m never going to let him live it down.¡± ¡°¡°¡°Me neither!¡±¡±¡± replied the crew as theyughed at what just happened and was still happening. Sanji ran around the whole ind before going back to the vige, still naked as the day he was born. The chase only stopped thanks to Nojiko who blew up on Genzo and dragged him away for a private word. ¡°What happened?¡± asked Nami as she arrived with Robin. ¡°Sanji, scored with your sisterst night and Genzo chased him all over the ind when he found out.¡± Rick replied with a grin. ¡°... Somehow, I¡¯m sure it¡¯s your fault.¡± she replied with a sigh. ¡°I may or may not have yelled that Nojiko popped his cherry. Honestly, it was too beautiful an opportunity to have some fun to let it go. The guys are already preparing a celebration for Sanji.¡± he confessed with an amused grin. ¡°How are you feeling?¡± he asked her and he got close for a kiss. ¡°Good. Good but soooore.¡± she replied with a smile and a bit of a blush. ¡°I don¡¯t know how you do it, Robin.¡± ¡°Experience and I love it.¡± ¡°Well, it was the best fun I ever had but¡­ I¡¯m sorry to say, don¡¯t count on it every time. I¡¯ll die.¡± ¡°We weren¡¯t.¡± replied the brte as she went behind Nami and hugged her. ¡°We only go that hard on special asions.¡± ¡°And our wedding night is the most special of all, I¡¯d say.¡± added Rick and Nami gave a small nod of agreement and contentment as she melted against Robin¡¯s breasts. Clearly she was still tired and needed to rest a bit more. Sanji made himself scarce for the rest of the stay at Cocoyashi vige not wanting any trouble from Genzo. It was fine for Nojiko who only wanted a one night stand with the blond and who had switched her sight on Rick knowing of the dynamic of the throuple and a blond himself. Nami didn¡¯t object to the idea but simply said next time. Thus a day after the wedding the crew left the ind for Reverse Mountain. When Luffy said they were stopping at LogueTown for Rick, thetter dismissed the idea immediately. He had no family or friends there and he was now a pirate. And so they passed the town without stopping and went straight to Reverse Mountain and quickly arrived at the Twin Cape where Brook and Laboon were reunited. Old Crocus, the lightkeeper and caretaker of Laboon, froze in shock when he saw Robin. ¡°You look just like her.¡± he said with a small smile. ¡°People keep reminding me.¡± ¡°Hey, old man, how do you know Robin¡¯s mom?¡± Usopp asked. ¡°I sailed with her.¡± ¡°¡°¡°Really?¡±¡±¡± ¡°Yes. On the Oro Jackson.¡± ¡°¡°What?!¡±¡± Franky and Rick eximed. ¡®Damn! I forgot that guy was their doctor! I remember now!¡¯ ¡°You were a crew member of Roger!¡± ¡°That I was.¡± ¡°Do you mind telling me about her? Rayleigh did and so did Inuarashi and Nekomamushi but I want to know more even if I already heard it.¡± ¡°Sure. I¡¯m surprised you met Inu and Neko. It means you went to Zhou. impressive.¡± Inviting her to sit at his table Robin sat down to hear what he had to say. The moment being rather intimate, Rick left them alone and went to the garden to work on it. He was busy making notes when he was turned around and kissed firmly by Reiju. He didn¡¯t fight it, quite the opposite but was not aggressive about it. It was a simple and pleasurable kiss but that wouldn¡¯t lead to more at the end of it. ¡°Very bold for a princess.¡± ¡°I decided to go for what I wanted instead of waiting.¡± ¡°I¡¯m certainly notining about that decision. I¡¯m surprised you didn¡¯t already remove all my clothes.¡± ¡°Oh, the urge is there, believe me but Robin told me you wanted to know me more and see if we clicked, so I¡¯m restraining myself. I don¡¯t know if i could do that for long though.¡± she replied with a teasing smile and rubbing her hand on his crotch. ¡°You know what?¡± he said, grabbing her hand to make her stop. ¡°No?¡± ¡°Stop waiting.¡± And with that said, he turned her around and pushed her face first against the wall. ¡°About time! Hurry! Make me a woman!¡± Rick sprouted an arm to close the door as he grabbed her breasts from behind from under her shirt. Kissing her shoulder and going up to her neck until she turned her head and kissed him wildly why she grind her ass against his groin that he pushed forward hard. She used one of her hands to unbuckle his belt and open his pants. They fell to the ground and Rick let go of one her breasts to pull down his underwear and pull easily to the side hers, thanks to the very short skirt she was wearing. With both of their sex free, he grabbed one of her legs and pulled it up making her do a vertical split. With her own hand she maintained her leg in this position while Rick reached for the front of her shirt and tore it to reveal her naked breasts. Grabbing the closest to him in an iron grip he pushed his pelvis forward and filled her whole pussy in one go with his hardened member. ¡°YEEEESSS!¡± Reiju screamed in pleasure. Rick didn¡¯t wait for directives from her and began to hammered her, pushing her against the wall. Reiju grabbed his head with her free hand and pulled him down for a very sloppy and passionate kiss. She had been waiting for nearly a year for this and she was not holding back anymore. Rick could tell that was the case with how wet she was and wondered how nobody noticed it with how short her skirt was. It didn¡¯t take more than a few minutes for Reiju to reach her own orgasm, especially when Rick kept hitting her sweet spot in the position they were in. Her body began to spam and her eyes rolled into her head. He never stopped pistoning her pussy violently and rode her climax on her own. Once Reiju stopped shaking, he pulled out and gently let down her leg. With the orgasm and Rick not holding her anymore, the pink haired woman found herself sitting on the ground. He grabbed her tits and warped them around his cock to give himself a boobjob. A minute into it, Reiju, who had descended from her post orgasmic bliss, batted his hands away and reced them with hers. She pressed her tits together harder than he did and made them move faster. Being careful of the sound he made she began giving him a blowjob too, knowing that he wouldst long. Or so she thought. Rick did his very best to hold back his climax for as long as he could until he exploded all over the inside of her mouth. Reiju proved that she wasn¡¯t just good at sucking poison in one go and swallowed it all, something that even Robin couldn¡¯t do or at least couldn¡¯t do before she upgraded her body. They still needed to test that. Reiju pulled back from Rick¡¯s dick and stood up. ¡°I¡¯m not done.¡± She both challenged and warned. ¡°Neither am I.¡± ¡°Good. Now bend me over your desk and make me scream!¡± she said, jumping him and locking her legs behind his waist while putting her tongue in his mouth. Rick obliged the second of her many many demands of the afternoon. ~~~~~ After saying their goodbye to Crocus and Laboon the crew immediately set sail for basta with their Eternal Pose. Ingaram weed them warmly and asked Rick if he knew anything about Vivi. Rick denied having any information to the butler''s disappointment. Thest time he saw her, Garp was escorting her to his ship back to the reverie. The crew paid their respect to thete King Cobra and promised to find Vivi and bring her back home. Leaving their missing friend¡¯s kingdom they went to O¡¯Hara first as the ind was closer than Amazon Lily. ¡°Did it change a lot?¡± Rick asked Robin from the top deck looking at her home from afar. ¡°A bit.They didn¡¯t touch the forest or the fields but they rebuilt the town. When I left it was almost done and they had already started building the main building for the revolution effort.¡± ¡°What about my house?¡± ¡°Our house.¡± she corrected. ¡°I changed things a bit, mostly the library that was a bit small in my opinion.¡± ¡°It could hold a hundred books!¡± ¡°As I said, a bit small.¡± ¡°... You nerd.¡± he teased and kissed her neck. ¡°Say the man who read them all.¡± she replied, tilting her head to the side to give him better ess. ¡°Hey!¡± said Namiing up the stairs to join them. ¡°Happy to be home?¡± ¡°Yes but O¡¯hara is not my home any more.¡± ¡°It isn¡¯t?¡± the redhead replied with understandable surprise. Robin had always been very attached to O¡¯hara. ¡°Nami, we are her home. Just like she is ours. Or at least mine.¡± Rick rified. ¡°... That¡¯s so sweet.¡± she said with a smile and went in front of Robin to be embraced. Since she was the shortest, that was the only position she could take if she wanted to see the ind. ¡°Should I nt one of your orange trees or a seed in our garden?¡± ¡°Just a seed. I like my trees on the Sunny.¡± ¡°Speaking of seed. You didn¡¯t get it on with Reiju since the Twin Cape.¡± Robin remarked. ¡°No, why? What about it?¡± ¡°Rick¡­¡± said Nami in disappointment. ¡°What?¡± ¡°You can¡¯t just sleep with her once and then nothing when she was pretty clear she wanted a rtionship.¡± exined Robin. ¡°She¡¯s waiting for you to make your move now.¡± Nami exined further. ¡°Why? She¡¯s the one who made the first move. She even told me she was tired of waiting to make it.¡± ¡°Because you making it makes her feel desired!¡± ¡°... Right, okay. I can see it now. No wonder she wasn¡¯t flirting anymore.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t get it, you¡¯re always making a move on us.¡± ¡°Half and half with me.¡± Robin corrected Nami. ¡°I¡­ Well, since she said she was going for what she wanted I thought that it would make her happy if I let her. That it was her thing. It¡¯s not like I didn¡¯t want to go after her but I wanted to respect her decision. I mean, except when I¡¯m with Robin or when we were on our way to Whole cake ind you never went after me, Nami.¡± ¡°Because I prefer it that way. Youpletely misread Reiju!¡± ¡°It seems like it. I¡¯m going to fix that now.¡± he said, pulling away from Robin. ¡°We¡¯re almost at the ind, you don¡¯t have time for that.¡± the brte said. ¡°I was talking about apologizing and having a talk about how we expected our rtionship to go and be.¡± he replied and floated up to the crow nest to find thetest member of the crew. He found her leaning against a rail and looking at the ind. ¡°Reiju, do you have a moment?¡± he asked as he approached her. Turning her head around she gave him a smile. ¡°Sure, what can I do for you?¡± ¡°Listen to my apology? I¡¯m sorry I was¡­ I wasn¡¯t¡­ forward with you. Since you¡¯ve always been aggressive and clear in your flirting I thought that it was what you liked so I waited for you to make moves. It seems I was wrong.¡± ¡°... I can¡¯t really me you for that misunderstanding. Apology epted.¡± ¡°A shame we don¡¯t have enough time, I would have made much more than one move.¡± he grinned as he grabbed her ass and gave her a kiss. ¡°Later then.¡± ¡°That¡¯s a promise.¡± ¡°I will hold you to it.¡± she said, squeezing his ass in return. ¡°And it¡¯s not like I¡¯ve been waiting for you by my lonesome. Robin helped a lot with the frustration.¡± ¡°So I was just a means to an end? I¡¯m hurt.¡± he joked and Reiju simply chuckled. ¡°But what a very good means you are. I can¡¯t wait to use you again.¡± ¡°As soon as I can. But be warned I might keep you forever.¡± ¡°Fine by me.¡± she shrugged. ¡°...You really don¡¯t want to see others¡­?¡± ¡°No. No man has ever attracted me like you do. In fact no other man has attracted me.¡± ¡°None?¡± ¡°Absolutely none. You¡­ There is something about you that attracts me very very much. I¡¯m not just speaking about you giving me my freedom and having a personality that I like. I¡¯m talking about a physical attraction that is beyond your handsome look or those juicy muscles.¡± ¡°That¡¯s curious. Do you think it¡¯s¡­¡± he began but hesitated to go further, thinking that the subject was a bit touchy. ¡°Because of the modification my father has ordered done to my body? I thought about it and it¡¯s a possibility.¡± ¡°Further testing needed then?¡± he grinned again. ¡°Lots and lots of testing.¡± she said and pulled his head down for a simple kiss. When they broked it, she took his arm and wrapped it around her as she snuggled against him. In silence they waited for the Sunny to reach the ind. A good twenty minutes at best and they went back down to the deck. When Robin disembarked first she was tackled by Ko. ¡°Robiiiiiin!¡± eximed the young woman in a frightening happiness. ¡°Ko, it¡¯s so good to see you again.¡± Robin replied with a smile and a heartfelt hug then went on to introduce her to the member of the crew that didn¡¯t meet her on Dressrosa. ¡°This is Ko, she¡¯s an officer of the R.A. and a dear friend of mine.¡± Hellos were exchanged and Ko gasped when she saw Jimbei. ¡°Jimbei!¡± ¡°Yes?¡± asked the fishman, confused. ¡°Eh! No wonder you don¡¯t remember me, I was very small at the time. I sailed with you for a bit with Fisher Tiger!¡± ¡°Oh! It¡¯s you! You really grew up well. I¡¯m surprised to see you as a member of the Revolutionary Army.¡± ¡°My parents sold me out to the Marines after you and your crew left. I got saved by the army and stayed with them since I had nowhere to go.¡± she exined with a frown and a clear distaste for her parents. ¡°Besides they wanted to kick the celestial dragons¡¯ asses and that was something I could get behind!¡± she finished with a satisfied grin. ¡°That¡¯s the spirit.¡± ¡°Rick!¡± In a sh she was hanging at Rick¡¯s neck squeezing him for all he was worth. Turning purple, an amused Robin picked Ko away from her husband. ¡°Thank god you¡¯re here! We need your help!¡± ¡°My help? For what?¡± he asked, confused. ¡°¡°RICK!!!¡±¡± Looking up from Ko he saw in the distance Hancock and Kaza running his way. ¡°Oh, shit.¡± Chapter 123: Oh, that’s how elementary it’s gonna be Chapter 123: Oh, that¡¯s how elementary it¡¯s gonna be

Chapter 123: Oh, that''s how elementary it''s gonna be

On one hand, Rick was d to see Hancock. Her being here meant that he didn¡¯t have to go to Amazon Lily to get information from her sisters and then search more for her. It also meant that Lynda and their second child were safe. Hancock would have never gone into hiding without them. On the other hand¡­ Well there wasn¡¯t another hand, he was d to see her and that was it. The problem was that Kaza was here too. And he knew, even if Ko hadn¡¯t said anything, that the two together were spelling trouble. The two were crazy, especially Kaza who was the textbook definition of a yandere. Or at least his definition. Another problem was Kaza¡¯s presence. What differentiated this problem from the previous one was the consequences. If Kaza was here, so was his daughter Eri and he wasn¡¯t sure he was ready to see her again. Not with how disastrous theirst (and first) meeting went. ¡°Say no more.¡± Rick said to Ko with a sigh. To avoid making a scene he made both Kaza and Hancock float. ¡°See youter.¡± he said with a contrite smile to his friends. And flew towards his crazydies. Grabbing them on the way he told them to be quiet as he went in the direction of his house. When they reached it he made everyonend and was quite firm. ¡°We¡¯re going inside and I¡¯m going to talk. I don¡¯t want any of you to make a single sound until I¡¯m¡­¡± ¡°Dad?¡± Freezing on the spot, Rick took a moment to gather his courage and turn around to be face to face with his eldest daughter. ¡°Dad!¡± shouted the redhead who went to bury her face into his stomach. ¡°Eri?¡± ¡°I¡¯m sorry! I didn¡¯t know!¡± ¡°I¡­ What?¡± ¡°Mom told me everything!¡± ¡°I¡­ Okay time out. Eri, it¡¯s wonderful to see you again. Honestly, I¡¯ve lost all hope for that to ever happen. However, I need to have a quick word with your mother and Hancock. I¡¯m sorry, I¡¯ll spend time with you as soon as I¡¯m done.¡± ¡°It¡¯s alright. I was babysitting Lynda and Corra when you arrived.¡± ¡°I¡¯m d that you¡¯re taking good care of your sisters, Eri.¡± Rick said, filling in his head forter the name of his newest daughter. ¡°But you¡¯re a bit young to babysit and by that I mean that it¡¯s such a beautiful day, you should be outside having fun. Not taking upon yourself the responsibility of watching very young children and taking care of them.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t mind and I don¡¯t do it often.¡± ¡°That¡¯s¡­ not okay, Eri. I do thank you for doing it for a bit. I won¡¯t be long.¡± Eri let go of him and nodded cutely. She went back inside and Rick followed her giving a re at his lovers who understood the message and did the same. Taking a look around, Rick saw that some things did change a bit. Paintings on the wall, a carpet on the ground, pillows on the couch. He couldn¡¯t miss the woman touch that had been clearlycking when he was living here. Signaling to hisdies to sit down on the couch, he stayed standing to look domineering. ¡°First of all¡­ I¡¯m happy to see you. The both of you. You don¡¯t know how much relief it gives me to see you both safe and healthy.¡± he started giving them a disarming smile and making them blush a bit. ¡°Second, I¡¯m extremely disappointed in both of you.¡± he added in a colder tone. ¡°I didn¡¯t make two steps on the ind that Ko was asking me to do something about the two of you.¡± Bothdies winced at that. Rick looked from one to the other and vice versa then sighed. Turning around he picked up a chair from the dining table and sat in reverse, facing them. ¡°... I don¡¯t know what has happened between the two of you here. I don¡¯t care. It stops now. You¡¯re both mothers for Goodness'' sake, you¡¯re an example to our children and seeing the two of you fight is not a good example. I may not have been in the girls¡¯ lives for long and I may be an orphan and a crappy father but even I know that.¡± he said and detected a hint of shame from both of them. He knew however, that both of them were strong minded and prideful women, especially Hancock, and that he needed to push more. ¡°It breaks my heart to know that the two women I admire and love are behaving like children. Now¡­ I know this is a difficult situation for all of us involved, don¡¯t think for a second I¡¯m not aware. But I do know we can do it, that we can make this work because I know the two of you. You don¡¯t have to like each other, you don¡¯t have to be friends even though I wish you were. All I¡¯m asking of you is to be civil towards each other for our children, for us and for the people around us. That Ko asked me to intervene is very indicative of the amount of trouble your fights brought to everyone on the ind. Now¡­. Do I need to say more or can I hug you to death? Because I really, really missed you.¡± ¡°¡°...¡±¡± The two women looked at each other with no hints of emotions on their face and then looked back at him. ¡°I suppose¡­ I can make the effort. I don¡¯t like it. I don¡¯t like it one bit but you and our family matter more than our rivalry.¡± Hancock said. ¡°...¡± Rick stayed silent and turned to Kaza looking her right in the eye. She held his gaze for a few seconds before sighing in surrender. ¡°I agree that our fighting has gone overboard¡­ And that doesn''t set a good example for Eri. I made my decision, when you gave me this ring¡­ ¡° she started with, showing her engagement ring. ¡°That whatever I have to do to be with you, I¡¯ll do it. If it means ying nice with her then I¡¯ll y nice with her. But only as long¡­ as long as it doesn¡¯t hurt Eri in any way.¡± ¡°Good, I agree with that. We¡¯re all on the same page, then?¡± ¡°¡°Yes.¡±¡± ¡°And you¡¯re going to apologize to the people of the R.A.¡± ¡°... Alright.¡± / ¡°I guess I should.¡± ¡°Good. Now my favorite part!¡± He grinned and sprouted a clone, to the bewilderment of bothdies. The clone went to Hancock and Rick to Kaza. With how shocked they were he had no problem embracing them and giving them a long, heartfelt and passionate kiss while one hand squeezed their asses. ¡°This is new.¡± Hancock said when he broke the kiss. She was pushing her fit ass into his hand. ¡°A new development from my powers with the Me Me no Mi. There is one caveat but otherwise there is plenty of me for all of you. No one will be left alone. In a way you can have me all to yourself.¡± he exined with a smile. That news was very interesting to the two very possessive women. If they could have Rick for themselves instead of sharing him they would be much more happy. ¡°What¡¯s the caveheat?¡± Kaza asked as she had turned around and melted against the clone¡¯s chest while looking at the original. ¡°Everything that a clone experiences is transferred to me in real time. Let¡¯s say my clone had his wicked way with you in the bedroom while I¡¯m reading a book on the couch. I would feel and experience all that he does. So if he has an orgasm I would have too.¡± ¡°That¡¯s not so bad.¡± Hancock said. ¡°I can¡¯t be distracted and stain my pants while I¡¯m doing my job in the crew.¡± ¡°A clone is better than nothing.¡± conceded the redhead. ¡°Not one. I can make¡­ I don¡¯t know how many but so far I know I can make at least ten.¡± ¡°Even better.¡± she grinned. ¡°Now if you excuse me, I have daughters to see, get to know and pamper.¡± he announced and made a second clone for Hancock. ¡°No funny business beyond kissing and groping.¡± he warned and climbed up the stairs. There were four rooms in total and checked two of them before finding Eri in the third. She was sitting on the ground, legs spread with Lynda between them. His little snake was ying with blocks and Eri was encouraging her or passing her blocks from time to time. ¡°Hey.¡± he said softly from the door, catching his eldest''s attention. ¡°You already talked with mom and Hancock?¡± she asked in surprise at seeing him here. ¡°Yes. Why the surprise?¡± ¡°There was no yelling and it was quick.¡± Hearing that she was used to Kaza and Hancock yelling made him frown but he set it aside. ¡°If you need to yell to get your point across then your point may not be that good. Yelling only leads to more yelling and chaos. Calm, collected and curt is better. And it was fast because I know how to talk to them.¡± he said as he hesitantly walked inside the room. ¡°Lynda, dad is here.¡± the redhead said to her little sister. The little brte girl turned around and saw Rick. She frowned cutely, trying to remember him until she did. She had seen his face before, thanks to Hancock having plenty of pictures of him around. ¡°Da?¡± she asked, melting her father¡¯s heart. ¡°Dad, yes.¡± he answered her and came closer to sit right next to Eri. When Lynda raised her little arms for a pick me up, he did. She touched his face, exploring it at her own pace before smiling and giggling. Rick couldn¡¯t help himself and kissed her forehead before putting her back down on the floor back to her blocks. Something that she immediately went back to. He turned to Eri and paused, not really knowing what to talk to her about. Neither did she. ¡°This is¡­¡±/ ¡°It¡¯s¡­¡± ¡°¡°Awkward.¡±¡± They looked at each other in silence for a couple of seconds and smiled at each other. ¡°Not so awkward now.¡± he said. ¡°No.¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°Maybe just a bit?¡± he tried as they had no idea what to talk about. ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°I truly didn¡¯t know.¡± ¡°Mom was quite clear about that.¡± replied Eri with a nod, passing a red block to Lynda. ¡°Just after you left, she exined everything to me. Even let me read your letter.¡± ¡°That was¡­ inconsiderate of your mother, what I wrote in that letter...¡± he started with a frown on his face. ¡°Private. I had noticed but I needed to read it. Not the part of you professed her love to her because.. E. But the rest¡­¡± she exined and left her sentence unfinished. ¡°How¡­ How are you dealing with all this? Me, you sisters, Hancock¡­¡± ¡°I was¡­ mad to know that I had a little sister at first. I¡¯m your first! I was supposed to be the one you loved the most.¡± ¡°Eri, that''s not¡­¡± ¡°I know now. At the time I didn¡¯t. I got into my head that I should be your favorite and to monopolize you. You owed me twelve years after all. When I met Lynda for the first time though¡­ I just¡­ wanted to be her big sister. From there I was more or less okay with Hancock. Mom was not happy about that.¡± ¡°No surprise here. Your mother is¡­ obsessed with me. Always has been, as far as I remember.¡± ¡°I noticed when we began to travel together. She¡¯s also the reason why I tried my best to be a good sister to Lynda. I could see that¡­ mom is¡­ her mind is not healthy when you¡¯re concerned.¡± she answered sadly. ¡°I didn¡¯t want to be like her. She was cold and mean to her. Not abusive! But¡­ she did the strict minimum when Hancock had her hands full with Cora.¡± ¡°And of course with how prideful Hancock is, she answered in kind.¡± he stated with a sigh. ¡°I¡¯m sorry you had to get through that.¡± ¡°When they fight, I just go away to train or take care of Lynda. Corra too now.¡± she shrugged. ¡°Now, I get along with Hancock and she¡¯s nice to me or nicer than before. Not like she has been mean in the first ce but¡­¡± ¡°You were a stranger and my daughter. Your mom¡¯s presence didn¡¯t help I¡¯m sure.¡± Eri shook her head and kept looking at Lynda ying. Rick observed her though. It was obvious to him that his daughter wasn¡¯t happy. He didn''t know if it was because of the conversation or because of the whole situation. Making a decision, he picked her up and sat her on hisp. ¡°Dad?¡± she asked, turning her head to look at him once the shock of being picked up subsided. ¡°I owe you twelve years don¡¯t I? Why not start now?¡± he exined and began to pat her head. The effect was immediate and she pushed her head forward against his torso as if asking for more. After a few minutes, she changed her position and simply enjoyed the warmth and protection of his arms. ¡°I heard you were training to be a swordswoman.¡± ¡°Yes. Mom is teaching me. I wanted to be a marine.¡± ¡°Grandpa told me but why the past tense?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t want to be a marine anymore. Not when it¡¯s because of them that I grew up without you.¡± ¡°Eri, there is nothing wrong with being a marine. Don¡¯t give up on your dream for me.¡± ¡°It¡¯s more than that. Mom, Auntie Tsuru and Hancock told me about the celestial dragons. What they do is wrong. Working for them is wrong. I¡­ can¡¯t do that.¡± ¡°Just like I couldn¡¯t.¡± he whispered and let this head rest on the top of her head, slowly stroking it with his chin. ¡°My friends are here, do you want me to ask Zoro to give you a lesson or two with the sword? He trained under Dracule Mihawk, you know?¡± ¡°Really?¡± she asked looking up. ¡°Hmhm.¡± ¡°Wait, your friends are here?! Soul King is here?!¡± she said in realization standing up and looking at him. ¡°... Yes? Do you want to meet him?¡± ¡°Yes! Dad! Please! Please! Please Please! Please! I¡¯m his greatest fan!¡± ¡°... Sure. I¡¯ll ask him. I don¡¯t think he will refuse. Though if he asks to see your panties, you punch him immediately. Okay?¡± ¡°Why would he ask me that?¡± ¡°Brook is a bit of a pervert.¡± ¡°...He is?!¡± ¡°Yes but he¡¯s inoffensive. It doesn¡¯t mean it¡¯s alright to ask that todies and young girls however.¡± he exined and she nodded. ¡°Can we¡­¡± ¡°Spend time together?¡± he finished her sentence and she nodded. ¡°Of course. We won¡¯t stay long on the ind but I¡¯ll spend lots of time with you, you don''t need to ask.¡± he added, making her smile. At that moment he put an end to Kaza¡¯s clone. She had begun to take things too far, grinding herself against his clone¡¯s groin while trying to remove his shirt in a fit of passion. The experience began to annoy him, he was speaking with his daughter after all. ¡°I need to speak with your mother, I¡¯ll be back in a bit. Maybe you could introduce me to Corra when I get back?¡± ¡°She¡¯s sleeping but sure.¡± Raising up on his feet he went downstairs to find Kaza pouting on the couch. Hancock and his clone were nowhere to be seen since she had decided to take a walk hand in hand around the ind. ¡°Eri was on myp. Do you know how awkward it is, to harden when your daughter¡¯s ass is right on it?¡± he said to her and she felt a bit of guilt hearing that. Sitting beside her and pulling her close he continued speaking. ¡°I¡¯m not mad. I understand. I¡¯m just saying¡­ bad timing.¡± ¡°Twelve years!¡± she eximed. ¡°I know. That¡¯s why I¡¯m not mad.¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°She¡¯s sad, you know. To see you always fighting, to see you always cold and mean.¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°... I can¡¯t help it. That woman is getting under my skin so much!¡± ¡°Ignore her. Isn¡¯t it the advice you gave me all those years ago?¡± he told her with an amused smile and got a re in return. It quickly faded away when she sighed. ¡°You¡¯re right.¡± ¡°I think you need to have a talk with her. This can¡¯t go on.¡± ¡°No, it cannot. I¡¯ll do it.¡± she replied and began to stand up but pulled back down.¡± ¡°Nu-huh. It¡¯s my time with her now. You get another clone and¡­ Goddmit Hancock!¡± he shouted in frustration as the pirate queen had pushed his clone against a tree and had its cock in her mouth in a sh. Rick hardened immediately and Kaza didn¡¯t miss it. Before she could do anything about it however he dispelled his clone quickly. ¡°I can¡¯t go back to Eri in that state.¡± he said and stood up to go to the bathroom. Not to rub one out but to have a private talk with Diana without being distracted by Kaza. ¡®Diana, I need your help.¡¯ ¡®With what?¡± ¡®My clones, I feel all of the sensation they experience, it¡¯s¡­ difficult to deal with.¡¯ ''Well, don¡¯t make clones in the first ce.¡¯ ¡®Or you could stop the transfer.¡¯ ¡®And how do you know I can do that? Or not for that matter.¡¯ ¡®Because you¡¯re in the same boat. You experience what I experience and I didn¡¯t hear you scream out of pleasure every time I had sex.¡¯ ¡®...¡¯ ¡®...¡¯ ¡®Good thinking. Yes, I can do that but why should I?¡± ¡®Because I¡¯m asking you, nicely pretty please?¡¯ ¡®I¡¯m not a charity, Rick.¡¯ ¡®You gave devil fruits for free to your people!¡¯ ¡®Not for free! They were worshiping me!¡¯ ¡®Fine! I¡¯ll make a clone for you from time to time so you can enjoy life. It would work right?¡¯ ¡®Yes it would and DEAL!¡¯ ¡®Thank you!¡¯ Exiting the bathroom he kissed Kaza and left a clone with her. He created a second that exited the house to find Hancock. ¡°There, problem solved, have fun. Remember though. The children are upstairs so don¡¯t be too loud.¡± he told her as he joined back his daughters. Eri had just put down Lynda in her small bed when he hugged her from behind. ¡°You¡¯re a good big sister. Wish I had one like that.¡± That brought a smile to her face and she took his hand to drag him towards the crib on the side of the room. Inside of it was a sleeping baby with a mop of blond hair. ¡°She¡¯s beautiful.¡± he whispered in awe. ¡°I¡¯m really a lucky guy. Three daughters, three beauties.¡± he added as he caressed one of Corra¡¯s cheek with a finger. After a moment he pulled his hand back, took Eri¡¯s hand in his and created a clone to her shock. ¡°Dad?¡± ¡°One of my advanced powers. I can create clones of myself. I thought he could watch them while you and I go on a little walk.¡± ¡°I¡­ I¡¯d like that.¡± ¡°Good. I don¡¯t have to drag you against your will then.¡± he smiled mischievously. They exited the house, Rick shouting they were going on a walk. Despite saying that, once outside he asked his eldest if she wanted to walk or fly. ¡°FLY!¡± she answered with the excitement of a young child instead of a teen. Sprouting an arm on her back he made her float. ¡°That¡¯s awesome!¡± He chuckled at that and father and daughter flew towards Sunny. Chapter 124: Getting to know the extended family Chapter 124: Getting to know the extended family

Chapter 124: Getting to know the extended family

¡°That¡¯s your ship?¡± asked Eri as Sunny got in sight. ¡°Not my ship, my captain¡¯s. Her name is Thousand Sunny but we call her just Sunny.¡± ¡°She¡¯s pretty.¡± ¡°And you have not seen the inside yet.¡± he replied. Two minutester theynded on the deck. ¡°Is that grass?¡± ¡°Yes. Sunny is not your average ship. She¡¯s unique. Especially built to sail on all the seas but also being a home to the crew.¡± ¡°Oh, Rick you¡¯re back! Oh! My! Who did you bring with you?¡± Father and daughter turned around to see Reiju getting out of the dining room. ¡°That¡¯s my daughter Erica but she goes by Eri. Eri, this is Reiju Vinsmoke, princess of the Germa Kingdom.¡± ¡°¡°Nice to meet you.¡±¡± bothdies greeted. ¡°You¡¯re really a princess?¡± ¡°I am.¡± Reiju smiled. ¡°Howe you are a pirate if you¡¯re a princess?¡± ¡°That is a long story but to make it short, I wanted to enjoy my freedom and to spend some time with my little brother so I became a pirate.¡± ¡°Reiju is Sanji¡¯s older sister.¡± Rick exined. ¡°He¡¯s the blond one with a weird wanted poster, right?¡± ¡°That¡¯s the one.¡± he chuckled at that. ¡°So he¡¯s a prince too. Are there many royals in the crew?¡± ¡°No, just us.¡± ¡°There was princess Vivi Nefetari for a time but it was before I joined. She left when we saved basta, her kingdom from Crocodile.¡± ¡°I thought the Marine did?¡± inquired his daughter. ¡°No, they weren¡¯t even aware Crocodile was attempting a coup. They just took the credit which was fine with us. We¡¯re not heroes, Eri. We may sometimes act like one but we don¡¯t want the reputation. Luffy would throw a fit.¡± ¡°That he would.¡±mented the pink haired princess. ¡°You¡¯re alone on the ship?¡± ¡°No, Jimbei is in the dining room enjoying a snack and Zoro is in the crow nest either sleeping or training. Everyone else had disembarked.¡± ¡°I see.¡± he replied and turned to his daughter. ¡°What do you want to do first? Meet Zoro or do a tour of Sunny?¡± ¡°Hmmm¡­ A tour first!¡± ¡°Alright, a tour it is.¡± For twenty minutes Rick showed her most of the ship, Reiju following them. She got to meet Jimbei, who greeted her with a smile and answered all the questions she had about him or the mere people in general. She saw the guys¡¯ quarters, the women¡¯sw, the infirmary and they finished with the garden. She was impressed with it and asked plenty of questions about it. ¡°Do you like gardening?¡± he asked her. ¡°I do. Makino would let me use a bit ofnd behind the pub to grow flowers if I would also grow some vegetables. That¡¯s really a nice garden, who made it?¡± ¡°I did.¡± he replied proudly. ¡°You like gardening too?¡± ¡°I do. I grow flowers but also vegetables and nts, medicinal or poisonous. I also take care of the orange trees you saw outside. They belong to Nami. When we¡¯re sailing I mainly work to see which soil is the most effective for which nt. I wrote journals if you want to take a look.¡± he said as he went to his small shelf and picked one of the journals there. The very first one. ¡°Thank you.¡± Eri replied, epting his gift. He skipped the map room and of course his bedroom and exited the inside of the ship to get onto the deck. They were lucky as Zoro hade down from the bird¡¯s nest. ¡°Who¡¯s that?¡± the swordsman asked. ¡°I¡¯m Eri, nice to meet you.¡± ¡°She¡¯s my eldest. I thought I could show her the ship, you know and introduce her to you.¡± ¡°Why?¡± ¡°To learn! I¡¯m going to be the greatest swordswoman in the world!¡± ¡°Are you now?¡± inquired Zoro with a brow raised but serious. He shared more or less the same dream after all. ¡°Do you have a bit of time to teach her a thing or two?¡± ¡°...Why not?¡± ¡°Really!?¡± asked a surprised Eri. ¡°I don¡¯t really have anything better to do.¡± ¡°But I¡­ I don¡¯t have my sword with me.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry about that.¡± Just after saying that, Rick went back inside the ship to take Ryusei. Coming back to the group he gave it to her. ¡°That¡¯s mine. Her name is Ryusei. It was a gift from Grandpa, Big sis and Uncle Buddha when I was¡­ seven? Or ten? I don¡¯t remember it¡¯s been so long. Anyway, you can use it.¡± ¡°It¡¯s heavy.¡± the sword in hand Eri, could tell. ¡°Heavier than what I¡¯m used to, but the length is perfect.¡± she added as she looked meticulously at the de. ¡°Come one, show me what you got.¡± Zoro said, walking backward and picking a sheathed Wado Ichimonji from his belt. ~~~~~ ¡°Are you not worried?¡± Nami asked Robin. The two women were sitting at a small cafe (a recent addition to O¡¯Hara). ¡°About them? No. He made me a promise and also made it to you. He¡¯s alwaysing back to us. I just hope that his ex doesn¡¯t cause trouble. Hancock has been epting but his ex didn¡¯t sound the type.¡± ¡°We¡¯ll find out once we meet her.¡± ¡°I guess so.¡± ¡°What did you n for our stay here?¡± ¡°Visit the people I know, give you a tour of the ind. Pay my respect to my mother.¡± ¡°Can I pay my respects too?¡± ¡°Of course. Even if you were not my wife you¡¯re my friend. I would introduce you to her.¡± Nami smiled at that and finished her coffee, noticing the look they were attracting or rather Robin. ¡°Doesn¡¯t that bother you? The looks.¡± ¡°At first it did. I kept looking over my shoulder expecting an attack but the look in their eyes¡­ It was full of gratitude, reverence and most of all hope.¡± ¡°Is it hard to be their symbol?¡± ¡°No, because I never considered myself as such. The R.A. never asked me to do anything. Just if they could make their HQ here and that¡¯s it. They keep an eye on me though, to see if I have everything I need.¡± ¡°In short, you¡¯re like a retired princess.¡± smirked the redhead. ¡°...More or less.¡± smiled back Robin. Standing up, Nami offered a hand to her wife who grabbed it and was pulled to her feet. ¡°Come on. I¡¯d like that tour of the ind.¡± ~~~~~ Eri was panting heavily, sword in hand. She had given her all and she didn¡¯t put a single scratch on her opponent. She knew that would probably have been the result but it still frustrated her nheless. ¡°How old are you?¡± asked Zoro. ¡°Thirteen.¡± ¡°... Not bad. I wasn¡¯t that good at your age.¡± ¡°Really?!¡± ¡°Yes. You got the footwork down and your strikes are urate. You know where to hit and when to do it. You have good talent.¡± Hearing Zoro praise his daughter, Rick had a bright smile on his face. ¡°Keep training relentlessly and you¡¯ll get there.¡± Eri nodded and Zoro began to give her some advice here and there. ¡°I¡¯m d to see the two of you patched up.¡± Reiju said next to Rick. ¡°Me too.¡± he replied, not leaving his daughter out of his sight. ¡°She learned that I was framed and took a dim view of the navy and the World Government as a whole. I¡¯m grateful to have that opportunity to spend time with her. I didn¡¯t think it would ever happen. I just wish I had more time.¡± Reiju nodded but didn¡¯t say anything. The lesson went on for a while. Long enough for the crew toe back on the ship. ¡°Who¡¯s the kid?¡± Franky. ¡°My daughter, Eri.¡± his eyes still riveted on the redhead swinging the sword in her hand. ¡°Another niece! Neat!¡± At blinding speed Luffy went to introduce himself. ¡°So, it¡¯s her. She¡¯s cute.¡± Namimented ¡°She has beautiful hair.¡± added Robin. ¡°I gather everything is alright between the two of you?¡± ¡°Not remotely, no. She doesn¡¯t hate my guts anymore which is good but¡­ I¡¯m a deadbeat dad. So far we¡¯re getting along well but because we¡¯re getting to know each other. The underlying issues are still there and it will take time to deal with all of them. It makes it even more difficult with her situation.¡± ¡°What do you mean?¡± asked Nami. ¡°She¡¯s not happy here. Her mother and Hanock do not get along but it¡¯s the former that causes problems. I think I dealt with it but¡­¡± ¡°¡°...¡±¡± ¡°You wonder what will happen once we leave.¡± ¡°Yeah. She loves her little sisters and gets along fine with Hancock but it¡¯s not enough. She needs more.¡± ¡°She needs you.¡± Robin stated and Rick simply sighed in acknowledgment. ¡°...Wanna join?¡± they heard Luffy say. ¡°LUFFY!¡± Rick shouted and pulled Eri towards himself. ¡°You better not invite my daughter into the crew! She¡¯s too young!¡± ¡°He wasn¡¯t, dad. He asked if I wanted to y a game of tag tomorrow with Usopp and Chopper.¡± Taking a deep breath Rick exhaled longly. ¡°Sorry Luffy. I thought¡­¡± ¡°It¡¯s fine! I know I¡¯m impulsive sometimes.¡± ¡°¡°¡°¡°Sometimes?¡±¡±¡±¡±¡± ¡°I still can¡¯t believe he¡¯s all serious like that.¡± whispered Nami. ¡°He isn¡¯t, usually?¡± asked Eri. ¡°¡°¡°¡°No.¡±¡±¡±¡± ¡°Wanna go? Tomorrow?¡± ¡°Sure.¡± the redhead smiled at her father. ¡°Then I¡¯lle pick you up.¡± ¡°Why pick her up? She can stay on the ship.¡± announced Luffy. ¡°I can!?¡± ¡°Yeah.¡± her uncle assured her. Eri turned towards her dad, her eyes full of hope. ¡°We need to ask your mother first. And that reminds me that it¡¯s gettingte.¡± he said in a fatherly voice and Eri nodded then handed him back his sword. ¡°Keep her.¡± ¡°But she¡¯s yours.¡± ¡°She¡¯s wasted on me. I¡¯m no swordsman. She¡¯ll do more good in your hands.¡± ¡°Thank you.¡± she replied, pulling back Ryusei and hugging it. ¡°Consider her one of the many gifts I owe you.¡± The conversation over he picked her up in his arms and flew back towards his house. Way faster than the speed they get to the Sunny and Eri loved it. When hended he saw his clone and Hancocking back from their ¡®walk¡¯ too. She had a thousand volt smile on her face and a bit of a blush on her cheeks. ¡°Who was watching the girls?¡± she asked suddenly, a bit worried. ¡°Another clone. As if I would let my girls without supervision or protection.¡± he replied dispelling the present clone. They entered the house and Rick found Kaza sitting cozily on the couch against his clone. ¡°Better?¡± he asked her and she too smiled brightly. ¡°Better.¡± ¡°Eri has been invited to spend the night on the ship. That way I won¡¯t have to pick her up tomorrow. Luffy invited her for a game of tag.¡± ¡°Do you want to, sweetie?¡± ¡°Yes, mom.¡± ¡°Alright then.¡± ¡°Go on, go pack clothes for tomorrow and your pajamas.¡± Rick said to his daughter who ran to the stairs. He dispelled the clone with Kaza and taking Hancock¡¯s hand sat next to the redhead. Moving his arms he put one behind their waist and pulled them close. ¡°You both needed that, didn¡¯t you?¡± ¡°You have no idea.¡± / ¡°Twelve years!¡± ¡°... How about I sneak back in tonight, hm?¡± ¡°¡°YES!¡±¡± they replied instantly, making him chuckle. ¡°You know, I¡¯m surprised you¡¯re fighting when you have plenty inmon.¡± Hancock buried her head against his shoulder in response and Kaza simply kissed him on the lips. ¡°I¡­I¡¯d like you to be present tomorrow to meet the crew. Or at least the others.¡± Both women knew who he meant by ¡®others¡¯ and while Hancock had no problem with it, Kaza was apprehensive. ¡°I can also bring them here, if you¡¯d prefer. It¡¯s their house too after all. Which makes me think. Howe you ended up living together?¡± ¡°I¡¯m your wife, so it¡¯s also my house.¡± ¡°Same.¡± replied Kaza.¡± ¡°You¡¯re his fianc¨¦e!¡± ¡°Hancock, please! This is not being cordial to each other.¡± ¡°... You¡¯re right. Sorry.¡± the brte said. ¡°Apology epted.¡± ¡°You didn¡¯t fight for the ce?¡± ¡°No. She was almost bursting. I wasn¡¯t about to kick her ass to the curb while pregnant.¡± ¡°As if¡­¡± Hancock began but stopped herself. ¡°She had no one to help her with Lynda and Eri got attached. I¡¯m not aplete jealous monster, especially to someone in need so wepromised.¡± ¡°... I¡¯m happy to hear that. It gives me hope for that big family I dream of.¡± ¡°How big?¡± ¡°As many children as Big Mom.¡± replied the pirate queen chuckling. ¡°You¡¯re barking mad!¡± eximed Kaza, her eyes as wide as saucers. ¡°Probably but it¡¯s part of my charm.¡± he joked. ¡°I have to confess that there have been some changes concerning that big family. While big I don¡¯t want twenty children.¡± ¡°No more whor¡­ no more floozy then?¡± inquired Hancock watching hernguage. ¡°No more than the ones already involved.¡± ¡°¡°Good.¡±¡± ¡°So it¡¯s us, Robin, Nami and ?¡± ¡°Three princesses.¡± ¡°You don¡¯t do it by half don¡¯t you?¡± said Kaza, shaking her head. ¡°Still attracting the eyes of royals.¡± ¡°Who are they?¡± ¡°One for sure is Vinsmoke Reiju.¡± ¡°As in Germa 66 Vinsmoke?¡± asked Kaza. ¡°The very same.¡± ¡°I¡¯m going to need to hear that story sometimes.¡± ¡°You can ask her tomorrow, she¡¯s on the crew. The two others are Vi Doldo of Dressrosa and Vivi Nefertari of basta. Both are a big maybe. Vi more than Vivi.¡± ¡°And that¡¯s it? No more?¡± Kaza asked. ¡°No more¡­ for now.¡± ¡°Of course for now¡­ Who else then?¡± inquired Hancock. ¡°Tsuru for one. I mean let¡¯s be honest here, she just indulges me. The other is Shirahoshi, the mermaid princess. She¡¯s curious but way too innocent. I don¡¯t think it would end in a serious rtionship. Otherwise, that¡¯s it. I promise, no more.¡± ¡°¡°...¡±¡± ¡°Robin and I also decided to stop that stupid rule about you sleeping with her to get me. I¡¯m notfortable with it and after thinking about it she isn¡¯t either.¡± ¡°Good.¡± was Kaza¡¯s curt answer. ¡°I don¡¯t care. I¡¯m still having sex with her.¡± ¡°What?!¡± Hancock¡¯s words had been so unexpected to Kaza, that she raised herself from the couch to look at her. ¡°She¡¯s gorgeous! I don¡¯t mind having a go at her.¡± ¡°You¡¯re¡­¡± ¡°I¡¯m ready!!¡± came the voice of Eri reaching down the bottom of the stairs with a bag on her shoulders. ¡°Let¡¯s go then!¡± Then, turning to his lovers he whispered a ¡®see you soon.¡¯ Picking his daughter up, he flew even faster back to Sunny and Eri loved it even more. Once on deck he asked Baby-5 if she could take her to the girls¡¯ quarters so she could put down her bag. The woman was more than delighted at the request and did so. ¡°Brook?¡± Rick asked the skeleton that was drinking milk tea in the dining room. ¡°Yes?¡± ¡°Could you do me a small favor, please?¡± ¡°Sure, what is it?¡± ¡°My daughter is a big fan of yours and¡­¡± ¡°Say no more. I¡¯ll sign anything she wants and take pictures.¡± the crew musician replied waving his hand to dismiss the notion of this as a favor. ¡°Thank you.¡± ¡°Is she here?¡± ¡°Baby-5 is bringing her to the girls¡¯ quarters so she can put her stuff down. Luffy invited her on the ship for the duration of our stay here. You haven¡¯t seen her yet?¡± ¡°I haven¡¯t got the pleasure yet.¡± ¡°Daaaad?!¡± Eri¡¯s voice came from the outside. ¡°But somehow I think it won¡¯t stay that way for long. Yohohoho.¡± He finished his tea in one go and went with Rick outside to meet the guest. ¡°SOUL KING!¡± eximed the teen with awe and glee when she saw Brook arriving on deck. Immediately she ran towards him,pletely missing her father on the side. Rick simply smirked and walked towards the table where his wives and Reiju were sitting, enjoying a small snack Sanji had prepared for them. He sat beside Robin and put his arm around her waist and let his head rest on her shoulder. He watched in silence Eri interacting with Brook, thetter making many skeleton jokes and the former loving them. ¡°She¡¯s adorable.¡± Namimented amused. ¡°You should have seen her earlier in the afternoon, not so adorable.¡± Zoro said with a mug in hand and passing through. ¡°I asked him to show her a thing or two with a sword. She was very fierce. Reminded me of her mother for a moment.¡± ¡°Does that mean she¡¯s reminding you of you now?¡± teased Robin and made Rick snort. ¡°Totally. I was way younger when my fanboy¡¯s days were over though.¡± ¡°Speaking of her mother, when do we meet her?¡± Nami asked. ¡°I invited them toe tomorrow. She¡­ Actually I don''t know if she was interested or not or ufortable at the idea of visiting Sunny so I gave her the option of us going to her. Didn¡¯t get an answer.¡± he replied and got a nod of acknowledgement. ¡°How was your day? Did you meet anyone?¡± ¡°Ko had to go back to work. So I brought Nami to a newly opened cafe, then I gave her a small tour of the ind.¡± ¡°Mainly the port area since we were already there and the agricultural field. You really did all of it yourself?¡± ¡°I¡¯m never really alone.¡± he replied, sprouting arms on his forearm. ¡°But yes. I had a lot of time on my hands. The docks had been the most difficult at first. I had to create a small dam so I could work the shore properly. A real nightmare. The fields were easier inparison.¡± He didn¡¯t say more, too busy watching intently his first born having fun. Neither of thedies at the table tried to engage him in talking, understanding how precious this moment was for him. When it was time for dinner, with how hot the evening was Luffy decided that everyone would eat outside instead of the dining room. No oneined and the sitting arrangement created an interesting situation. Nami sat right next to Rick and Eri on his other side. Robin being thest one to arrive because she went to take a shower and changed clothes, took thest empty seat. Right next to Erica. ¡°You¡¯re really pretty.¡± the teen blurted out looking at her stepmother. ¡°Thank you and so are you. Your hair is truly beautiful.¡± the brte replied with a kind smile. ¡°I got it from my mom. I understand now why dad married you.¡± she replied changing subject. ¡°...Your father didn¡¯t marry me because I¡¯m pretty.¡± ¡°No?¡± the redhead asked, surprised. ¡°No. If he married every pretty woman he met, your father would have a hundred wives.¡± ¡°Why did he then?¡± ¡°Because of my ass¡¯ was the first answer that came to Robin¡¯s mind. She knew it wasn¡¯t true or at least not the main reason but her brain decided that it was why apparently. Taking a moment to chase away this answer for a more appropriate and rightful one she finally spoke. ¡°Because, weplete each other.¡± ¡°Sometimes too much.¡± came the voice of Nami from the side who was done talking with Rick. ¡°What does that mean?¡± asked Eri. ¡°They finish each other¡¯s sentences.¡± ¡°We do not¡­¡± ¡°Finish each other¡¯s sentences.¡± ¡°¡°...¡±¡± ¡°See what I mean?¡± Erica nodded and voiced what she had in mind. ¡°This is weird.¡± ¡°Each couple has their own quirks, Eri.¡± her father said. ¡°Oh, not that. Just¡­ I¡­¡± ¡°What is it?¡± Robin asked, seeing she had difficulty finding her words. ¡°You¡¯re nice to me?¡± ¡°Why wouldn¡¯t I be?¡± ¡°I thought Hancock and you had¡­¡± ¡°Oh, no dad! Hancock and I are fine. She¡¯s not rude or mean and she¡¯s polite when she asks me for help with Lynda or Corra but she doesn¡¯t really interact with me if she doesn¡¯t have the need to.¡± ¡°Well, I¡¯m not Hancock and I¡¯d like to get to know you if that¡¯s alright.¡± Robin spoke softly and got a small but genuine smile and a nod for Eri!¡± ¡°Me too!¡± shouted Nami pushing Rick out of the way and taking Eri¡¯s hands in hers. ¡°Eh... Okay?¡± ¡°Robin and Hancock are not your only step mom you know?¡± ¡°You?¡± the teen redhead asked, bbergasted. ¡°Hmhm.¡± ¡°You look old enough to be my big sister!¡± ¡°A. Thank you!¡± replied Nami, this time taking a shocked Eri in a hug. ¡°Dad! Are you a pervert?!¡± ¡°What!?¡± said Rick as he finally got up from the grass where he observed Nami and Eri interact with each other. On the side, Usopp, Franky and Brook were sniggering while Sanji was right out cackling at their vice-captain predicament. ¡°I¡¯m not!¡± ¡°Then¡­ how.¡± ¡°I¡¯m twenty two.¡± ¡°But dad is¡­¡± ¡°I¡¯m thirty one.That¡¯s not a big age gap. And I¡¯ll have you know, despite her looking a decade younger, the age gap between your mother and me is way greater. If anything, she''s the pervert!¡± That revtion made Eri¡¯s jaw drop. Her mother looked so young, she thought she was in her thirties orte thirties. ¡°In fact, your mother tricked me into promising to marry her one day when I was¡­ eleven? At the time she was¡­ Twenty four, twenty five?¡± he mused, trying to remember. ¡°I can¡¯t believe mom would¡­¡± she began but stopped a moment to think about it. ¡°Actually, I can....¡± She knew how her mom could be a bit obsessed with things. ¡®If mom became obsessed with dad at the time¡­¡¯ ¡°Regardless, I¡¯m fine if you see me as a big sister instead of your stepmom.¡± Nami grinned. From there Eri got asked a lot of questions by Nami and sometimes by Robin and itsted until the end of dinner. Afterwards, bothdies took the young teen inside as it was time for bed. Exceptionally they both decided to sleep in the girls¡¯ quarter instead of their bedroom to get to know their step daughter better. That was fine with Rick who had promised to go back to his house to spend the night with Hancock and Kaza. Chapter 125: Small steps in the right direction Chapter 125: Small steps in the right direction

Chapter 125: Small steps in the right direction

The sun hadn''t been up for long when Kaza woke up from her slumber. She went to bed happy, cozy and warm for the first time in more than a decade and she felt the same with her mind slowly but surely finding its way out of the fog and waking up. She had missed this feeling more than she had thought and dared to admit and in her greed to feel more of it, moved slightly her body to the side. Her head nestled into something pillowy, big and with perfect firmness. She felt a hand pushing her head into it more while another grabbed her hump. Two small, delicate and feminine hands. Her eyes opened on the spot at the realization that it was definitely not Rick she was against. Pulling her head back to have a better look at who she was snuggling too, her mind made a spin seeing it was the very woman she had kept fighting with for the past eight months. Her pulling away had woken up the Pirate Emperess who, thanks to the difference in height between the two, was looking down at her. Blue eyes met green eyes in a silence thatsted a whole minute. There was no anger, no rage and no hostility in either pair. Only a bit of confusion. ¡°Your ass is toner and firmer than I expected.¡± the brte tentatively said. ¡°And your tits are surprisingly perky despite being so big and heavy.¡± That was a weird opening for a conversation, it was weirder knowing that for the first time since they¡¯ve known each other it waspliments and not insults, a curtment or a barb. After another bout of silence, shorter this time, the two women disengaged from each other and got out of bed. Kaza, who had never been interested in women and still wasn¡¯t, wasn¡¯t unfamiliar with a situation like that. She had been a marine and sometimes the crew quarters on the ship were cramped. Hancock for her part never slept with a woman that way with the exception of her sisters, however she had no problem with it, she was interested in women after all. What just happened was quickly forgotten by both and their mind focused on something more important to them. Rick. He had been quite clear when he came back the previous night that they would all share a bed. No clone would be involved and certainly no sex as punishment for being naughty during the day earlier. They both grumbled but couldn¡¯t do anything about changing his mind and had to resign themselves to sleeping on each of his side. ¡°Where is he?¡± asked the redhead. ¡°No idea. Probably with our daughters.¡± Not bothering to put something over her dark red and semi transparent negligee, Hancock left the bedroom for the one with her little girls. Not finding them there she went down the stairs and saw her roomate frozen at the kitchen¡¯s entrance. Walking around her she was shocked then pleased at the sight. One Rick had Corra in the crook of his arm feeding her her milk with a baby bottle. Another was wearing an apron in only his underwear and was cooking breakfast. A third was trying to feed Lynda sitting in her high chair. He was making silly noises and moved around a small spoon full of baby food. ¡°The train ising to the station! Choo choo! Open up for daddy!¡± Lynda giggled and opened her mouth epting the food without making a fuss other than pping her hands in amusement. The Rick holding Corra, put down the milk bottle and pulled her to his shoulder. Making sure she was in a straight position, he began rubbing her back gently. After a while the little blond burped, staining with milk the small towel he had put on his shoulder beforehand. Afterward, he cleaned her face and pulled her back in the crook of his arms. ¡°Good morning¡± greeted the cooking Rick who had turned around and saw his two lovers standing motionless at the kitchen¡¯s door. When he got no answer or not even a reaction he asked a simple question. ¡°What?¡± ¡°¡°Nothing.¡±¡± ¡°... Yeah, okay. Too early for this.¡± he muttered to himself and put down a te of pancakes on the table. He removed the apron he was wearing, hung it to its usual resting ce and disappeared. Silently they took a seat at the table next to each other and started to eat. ¡°Did you decide what you were going to do this morning?¡± the Rick rocking Corra inquired. ¡°I¡¯ll go with you. I¡¯m sure Lynda will be delighted to see her uncle again and I want to talk with Robin.¡± ¡°I¡­¡± Kaza began not sure of her answer but her moment of hesitation continued. ¡°I¡¯lle too. I want to meet Garp¡¯s grandson.¡± ¡°Not the others?¡± Rick asked. ¡°Not really but I¡¯ll have to, sooner orter, so I suppose it¡¯s going to be sooner rather thanter.¡± Rick nodded then stood up. He gave Corra to Hancock and went to take a shower and dressed himself. Bothdies did the same and in twenty minutes everyone was ready to go. At Rick¡¯s request, his fourdies were waiting outside for him when he came out of the house with the big rug of the living room rolled up in his arms. ¡°What are you doing?¡± asked Kaza aloud what Hancock was thinking. Her fiance didn¡¯t answer instead unfurling the rug on the ground and sat in the middle of it. With his hands he tapped the empty space on each of his sides. Seeing the invitation for what it was, both women epted it, Hancock handing him Lynda. Everyone now seated, Rick made the rug float and at a reasonable speed for the babies, flew towards Sunny, while whistling a tune that no one but him knew. Or so he thought. Diana beginning to sing was unexpected. ¡®A whole new wooooorld! A new fantastic point of view!¡¯ ¡®Morning, Diana. I see you found my Disney memories.¡¯ ¡®Oh, yes! I wanted a break from your manga so I searched for western things and I found this. I¡¯ve not been disappointed for now.¡¯ ¡®Wait a bit, there was a period of time when all those animated movies sucked.¡¯ ¡®The next on my list is Hercules.¡¯ ¡®Love that one. Best songs ever. Speaking of. Nice voice.¡¯ ¡®Thank you. I used to sing for my people from time to time when the mood took me. They all stopped what they were doing to listen.¡¯ ¡®I understand why.¡¯ When theynded on the deck Eri was already sparring with Zoro. She was aggressive but not mindlessly attacking. ¡°You lend it to her.¡± Kaza whispered watching her daughter making a diagonal sh aimed at Zoro¡¯s neck. ¡°First of, Ryusei is a her not an it. Second, I¡¯m not lending her, I gifted her.¡± ¡°... She hasn''t been so enthusiastic in practicing in months.¡± ¡°Perhaps she needed a different sparring partner. Zoro said she was really good. Better than he was at her age. A lot of potential.¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°You did an excellent job in raising her.¡± he praised and took her hand in hers. ¡°Wish I¡¯d been there to help you.¡± ¡°Me too but things are what they are.¡± she replied sadly. The crew exited the ship to start the day and Luffy Immediately went to Hancock at the sight of the baby in her arms. ¡°Wow, she got smaller and she¡¯s blond now!¡± he said in bewilderment, making the pirate queenugh. ¡°That¡¯s Corra, the new addition to the family.¡± ¡°Lynda is here, Luffy.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve got another other niece! Awesome!¡± He took Corra in his arms when Hancock handed her to him and started to y with her. Rick had a smile on his face and saw behind his captain Nami and Robin. For a moment he didn¡¯t know what to do with Kaza and decided to flee. He walked towards his wives pulling with him his redhead lover, handed Lynda to Nami and made a quick escape without saying a word. He grabbed Ranky on his way and both went down the dock system. ¡°Not the best move to make.¡± said the Cyborg. ¡°I know! I just¡­ That was so awkward! I mean¡­ Hancock came into our rtionship after. She knew what she got into so there weren''t any problems there but Kaza¡­She did not.¡± ¡°Despite how pretty they all are, I don¡¯t envy you.¡± ¡°Aren¡¯t you and Baby-5¡­¡± ¡°We are but she¡¯s one, not four or more. Now, why did you bring me here?¡± ¡°To bring the portative pool up. I don¡¯t know how any of this works and I¡¯d rather not touch anything.¡± Rick replied, waving his arms around. ¡°I also wanted to know if you could create a harness and a stroller for two babies. Hancock didn¡¯t say anything but she¡¯s struggling. I had to create a clone this morning to deal with my daughters and that was just for breakfast. Moving around? More thanplicated.¡± ¡°That¡¯s an usual request. Not impossible though. I¡¯ll make it all terrain, that way they can go anywhere.¡± ¡°Thank you.¡± ¡°No problem.¡± Franky spinned the docks to make it so the one containing the pool would be open to the sea. Since the pool was too big to go through the door and instead of deting it, Rick simply made it float andnded it on the deck. Turning around he saw all the women he was involved with minus Reiju, sitting around a table talking. Sanji was serving them snacks and drinks, doing his usual thing but Rick did notice that he was crying anime tears. ¡°They didn¡¯t fight. Yet.¡± Reiju said joining his side. ¡°I don¡¯t think they would fight at least not Robin, Nami or Hancock.¡± ¡°You really know how to pick them. They are all beautiful.¡± ¡°What a backhanded way to tter yourself. Well deserved though.¡± he replied at the smirking princess. ¡°On a totally unrted subject, did you eat the fruit?¡± ¡°I did.¡± ¡°And?¡± ¡°This is a weird experience. I know instinctively¡­ no rather it¡¯s like something was nagging subtly at my mind on how I can do things with my new powers. I tried the humanoid transformation and I felt¡­ Powerful. More than I¡¯ve ever did. I put trying the full transformation on hold. Kaido was huge and I don¡¯t think anyone would be ready to see a hundred meters long dragon popping out of the blue.¡± ¡°Good call.¡± On the side, Robin had snatched Corra from Luffy¡¯s hands. The captain had dragged Usopp, Chopper and Eri into a game of tag as promised and they were having fun running around. Rick wondered for a moment if his three friends were not just kids in adult bodies but let the matter drop. His daughter was having fun and that was all that mattered. Back to the girls, the conversation had been difficult at first. Kaza not really participating until Nami, being her usual outgoing and charismatic self, roped the older redhead in by asking questions about Rick¡¯s childhood and time as a marines. ¡°He really faced Shiki when he wasn¡¯t even a teenager?¡± inquired a disbelieving Nami. ¡°Not face, no. He stayed far back behind a wall and used as much of his gravity as he could on him. That gave Garp and Sengoku a bit of an easier fight.¡± ¡°Can¡¯t believe he was telling the truth.¡± ¡°He always does.¡± interjected Robin, rocking Corra slowly. Bit by bit Kaza felt more at ease talking and began asking questions about his time as a pirate. Meanwhile Rick was in his swimsuit with Eri on his shoulders. She was wrestling Luffy who was on Chopper¡¯s shoulder in his humanoid form while Usopp was being both a referee andmentator. The rubber¡¯s man was going easy on her of course but decided to y it dirty and wrapped his arms around her and picked her up in the air before jumping into the pool. Once free, Eri began to chase him all around for pay back and secured Chopper¡¯s help for that. In the afternoon after a morning of fun, Rick, on the invitation of Ko went to R.A. main building. She was shamelessly piggybacking as he walked there. ¡°You really did well with the ind.¡± ¡°We just built on what you already did. Without you, the ce wouldn¡¯t look so good.¡± ¡°I noticed that there are more civilians than members.¡± ¡°That¡¯s because O¡¯Hara is not really the HQ anymore but where the family members of agents live. Dragon decided a few months ago to relocate to Okama ind, the actual HQ. We¡¯re almostpletely cut off from the world. No one visits so this ce can be kept safe. We do receive news via den den mushi and it¡¯s actually here that all information ends up. That was the problem with Baltigo. It was centralized. Now if the executive wants to know something or need something, we provide the information and where to get what they want or need. If Okama ind is attacked, the only thing we might lose is people.¡± ¡°That sounds¡­ sound. Did Robin tell you why we visited?¡± ¡°No. We didn¡¯t have the time to talk much. Do you need something?¡± ¡°We needed information on Hancock, since Wano ispletely cut off from the outside world. So when we learned of the attack on Amazon Lily we were worried. We also wanted to know if you knew anything about Vivi¡¯s disappearance.¡± ¡°Vivi Nefertari?¡± ¡°Yes, she¡¯s a very important friend of ours. Her father was a personal friend of mine.¡± ¡°Sabo didn¡¯t do it!¡± ¡°Never said he did. Never made sense. Cobra was a good king, putting the well being of his own people before his own. There was no reason for the R.A. to assassinate him. My money is on the world Nobles.¡± ¡°I¡­ don¡¯t know for sure. I¡¯m not high enough in the hierarchy to know what really happened but I know that he didn¡¯t do it. I also know that the princess is not with us.¡± ¡°I see. Thank you nheless. We also were curious about Eternal Poses. Do you have any that you could loan us?¡± ¡°Plenty! We have a whole room of them! One of our members is a former marine and nicked some of them just before he quit. We send agents on each ind and made more¡± ¡°Good.¡± he replied. He could of course have bought the eternal poses from the shop but that would have raised many ufortable questions that he didn¡¯t want to answer. He was already ying with fire regarding the devil fruits¡­ ¡°Do you think you could teach us how to make them?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll have to ask but it¡¯s possible.¡± At the same time they reach the R.A. ''s main building, Robin and Nami were in a small restricted part of the ind. The forest. Walking hand in hand with flowers in the other the wed couple visited a grave. Robin was silent and lost in her thoughts and Nami patiently waited. ¡°Hi, mom. It¡¯s been¡­ a bit more than a year now since Ist came to visit. Lots of things happened. I reunited with my friends again and we went to the new world. I¡­ met many friends of yours. All were more than happy to tell me about you and they were all really nice to me. It¡¯s always a surprise. They all looked like hard old war veterans but when they saw me they all softened on the spot. You must really have been important to them. I¡­ I¡¯m close to my dream. We found three of the rio poneglyphs and are searching for the fourth. More importantly I found love again. The man I told you about came back from the dead and we married. That cute kitten with me is also my wife. I wonder what you would think about that. Both make me very happy.¡± She finished and put her flower in front of the tombstone. ¡°Hi! I¡¯m Nami. Like Robin said, I''m her wife. That something recent actually but that has been long in the making.¡± she didn¡¯t know what to say after that but it didn¡¯t matter to Robin. She simply put her own flower next to the others and both women stayed silent. ~~~~~ The rest of the crew¡¯s stay on O¡¯Harasted a week. Ko got permission from Dragon himself to give a few Eternal Poses to her friends. Most notably, Dressrosa, Okama Ind, Water Seven but more importantly to Hachinosu (also known as Fulead) and Karai Bari ind. ckbeard''s and Buggy¡¯sir respectively. While the former was asked since that was where Garp was being detained, thetter had been a bonus. When it was time to leave, Rick couldn¡¯t let go of his two youngest while Eri was nowhere to be found. He thought that after the week they spent together they were in a good enough ce that she would be here to see him leave. Depiste Kaza assuring him that their daughter wasn¡¯t mad at him but just couldn¡¯t bring herself to see him leave he still felt hurt. After onest hug and onest kiss Rick got on the Sunny and left for Sabaody. Chapter 126: Stowaway Chapter 126: Stowaway

Chapter 126: Stowaway

Rick¡¯s good mood didn¡¯t stay in his socks for long. Robin and Nami were there to cheer him up. Both inside the bedroom but mainly outside. With a continuous storm making it rain for days, the usual hyper active member of the crew found themselves spending time in the garden. A ce that they have rarely visited if ever. Sitting on the fake grass that Franky had put on the ground, Luffy was ying cards. ¡°I never thought the garden was so nice. Seven?¡± he admitted. ¡°Go fish. It¡¯s perfect for rxing while enjoying nature. Threes?¡± replied Reiju and took the card Usopp gave her. ¡°The smell is nice too!¡± ¡°Queens?¡± ¡°Go fish, Usopp.¡± answered the reindeer. ¡°I always stay a bit for tea when I¡¯ming here. Luffy do you have any tens?¡± ¡°He¡­¡± ¡°Luffy!¡± came in a screaming Sanji. ¡°How many times did I tell you to not raid the pantry!?¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t!¡± the rubber man answered with a frown. ¡°Not since¡­ At least since we left O¡¯Hara. It¡¯s not like I can with the new locks you put on the door!¡± ¡°Yourgely have the strength to break them.¡± said Usopp. ¡°Actually¡­ The locks are intact.¡± Sanji realized. ¡°See! Not me!¡± ¡°Then who else?!¡± the blond man shouted and looked around the members of the crew who all denied doing the did. ¡°Well, either someone is lying or we have a stowaway on the ship.¡± Rick announced. Raising his hands he sprouted eyes all over the ships. Sometimes arms to open doors or hatches that blocked his view. When he let out a long sigh he made his way out of the garden. ¡°Found them?¡± asked Luffy. ¡°Yeah. Chopper, you may be needed.¡± Luffy ,Chopper, Reiju and Sanji followed him to the infirmary. Not really where they thought he would go. Taking a look inside the room, they saw a clone of Rick putting a drenched and shivering Erica on a bed. ¡°Oh, that spells trouble.¡± said Sanji while his sister and Chopper immediately went into action. Luffy stayed next to Rick waiting patiently as both watched the ship docs do their thing. ¡°She¡¯s going to be alright. It¡¯s just a nasty cold.¡± exined Chopper. ¡°She has a high fever but we gave her something for it, she¡¯ll be fine.¡± added Reiju. ¡°Thank you.¡± said Rick as he took a seat near the bed, his mind racing about the reason for his daughter¡¯s presence here. Everyone else left. Chopper and Luffy went back to the Garden and Reiju to the kitchen to give Sanji some directives about what to cook for the teenage girl. ¡°So who is it?¡± Usopp. ¡°Eri.¡± replied Luffy sitting back down in his spot and picked up his cards. ¡°Eri?!¡± Nami gasped. ¡°Why would she¡­ oh.¡± ¡°She caught a cold. I don¡¯t know where she was hiding but it wasn¡¯t inside the ship.¡± Seeing Robin leave the garden, Nami followed suit. In no time they arrived in the infirmary. Silently, the brte sat next to her husband while the redhead sat on the other side of the bed. ¡°Her mother is going to kill me.¡± he muttered while holding his daughter¡¯s hand. ¡°Where did you find her?¡± Robin inquired. ¡°In the Gaon canon cockpit. She had a sleeping bag, a bag full of clothes and her sword.¡± ¡°So she¡­ What? Sneaked in the kitchen during the night for food and went back to her hiding spot while evading Brook?¡± wondered aloud Nami. ¡°I guess so. Damn it, I don¡¯t know if I should feel proud or furious.¡± ¡°Probably both.¡± ¡°Robin¡¯s right and if I may add, she¡¯s definitely your daughter for doing reckless things.¡± she joked trying to lift up his mood but it fell t. ¡°What are we going to do with her? We can¡¯t bring her to the New World with us and going back to O¡¯hara will dy us even more. Everyone is on the move. From ckbeard to the World government.¡± No one had an answer to give him. Not only did they not know but ultimately the decision wasn¡¯t theirs. It belonged to Luffy, their captain. With nothing more to say, they all stayed silent. Robin or Nami leave from time to time to go to the toilet or to pick a book to read. Rick never left his daughter¡¯s side and after much convincing agreed to go take some rest. Except he didn¡¯t go back to his bedroom and justid on another bed in the infirmary. Once or twice, Reiju or Chopper came back to check on their patient, noticing the improvement of Eri¡¯s condition. The whole evening and night passed like that. ¡°Hmm¡­ Ro..bin?¡± said a small tired voice. ¡°Good morning Eri. How do you feel?¡± the brte greeted her with a kind smile. ¡°Hot¡­ Tired.¡± ¡°Not surprising, you caught a cold. Chopper and Reiju said you¡¯ll be fine tomorrow at the earliest.¡± Robin replied as she poured water in a ss and gave it to her step daughter who drank it on the spot to thest drop. ¡°Thank you.¡± ¡°Now¡­ What were you thinking, sneaking in on the ship?¡± The tone wasn¡¯t harsh, or cold or usatory; it was neutral and surprised Eri a bit. ¡°I wanted to stay with dad. I love mom but the past year she¡¯s been different. I wanted to sail and see the world. Dad did it when he was younger than me and¡­ and¡­¡± ¡°It¡¯s alright. Nobody¡¯s mad. We¡¯re more worried than anything. Especially your father.¡± ¡°He¡¯s not¡­ mad with me?¡± Robin shook her head and pointed to the other bed where Rick was sleeping. ¡°He doesn¡¯t know how to feel, really. He¡¯s proud of you sneaking it and not getting yourself caught for a week, furious because that was reckless of you and most of all, like I said, worried about you.¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°He¡¯s also a bit scared of what your mother will do to him the next time they meet.¡± ¡°I¡­ I didn¡¯t leave like that! I left her a letter exining what I did and why. I didn¡¯t want her to worry.¡± ¡°Parents always worry for their children even when they know they are safe.¡± ¡°...What now?¡± asked the redhead. ¡°Now? We don¡¯t know. It¡¯s Luffy¡¯s decision. Until he takes one well¡­ you¡¯re with us. Not like there is anywhere for you to go currently. Do expect some punishment from your father though.¡± ¡°I knew that he would punish me when I¡¯d get found out but¡­¡± ¡°Spending time with your father is worth the risk?¡± Erica didn¡¯t answer but nodded. ¡°Why is he sleeping here?¡± ¡°He refused to leave your bedside.¡± was the answer the teenager got. She didn¡¯t outwardly show it but she was happy to know that he did that. She was still unsure about how Rick truly felt about her. Their first encounter, she had been awful to him and the short week spent together despite being great didn¡¯t assuage her fear that he may not like her or worse leave her for good. Fortunately for her, of all people on the crew, the one to be here with her was Robin. ¡°I know what you¡¯re thinking, you know.¡± ¡°...?¡± ¡°My mother¡­ She set sail when I was very young. Perhaps, three or four. I was raised by my aunt and uncle. Atrocious people between you and me. They kept telling me that she abandoned me, didn¡¯t love me, or didn¡¯t want me. Despite the reassurances from the archaeologists of O¡¯Hara, I had doubts. Oh, I didn¡¯t believe what my rtives were telling me but I had doubts. I was eight when I saw her again for the first time. She had escaped from the marine and came back home. Unfortunately she arrived just at the time the government was destroying the ind and killing everyone. Amidst the chaos, the fire, the smoke, the dead and the ughter the marines were partaking in, she found me. She hugged me, told me she loved me and told me to run while she distracted the navy. The whole exchangested one minute perhaps less but that was enough to clear all the doubts I had. My mother loved me, so much that she gave her life so I could escape. I couldn¡¯t even remember her face properly before that. She¡¯s been out of my life far longer than she was in it and yet I knew right at this moment that she loved me. Your father¡­ The moment he knew you existed began to n. That as soon as he could, he would leave the crew to find you. Luffy gave him permission and in a sh he was raiding the most secure ce on the just to find out where you were. When he came back he was devastated. He didn¡¯t know what to do. To not only fix your rtionship but start one. You may have not noticed but he watched you like a hawk during the whole week on the ind. Not missing anything you did. Carving into his memory, every move you made, everything you said. For one simple reason: he loves you. And while he may leave your side because he has duties he would alwayse back to you if you want him to.¡± She refrained from telling her that Rick chose her, his own wife, instead of her. That¡¯s not something you say to a child but she knew that Rick would go to Eri regardless because she would push him to go. He just wouldn¡¯t stay with her for long. Which was debatable because Robin would never make him choose, she would integrate herself to Eri¡¯s life instead. Maybe not as easy but better in the end. Robin¡¯s words made Erica think. Not only about what she was scared of regarding her father but Robin herself. So far, out of all her step-moms she was the one she liked the most. Hancock was alright but not really interested nor interesting. Without Lynda and Corra, they would barely say hello to each other if at all. Nami was nice but a bit too excited for her taste. In a way, she was trying too hard to create a rtionship. Eri wasn¡¯tining, that was the total opposite of Hancock and she much preferred that but sometimes it was a bit too much. Robin? Robin was a good middle ground. She was attentive and forting but not pushy. She respected her boundaries. She reminded her of her mom but a bit less loud and not bossy at all. She had a weird sense of humor that she liked and was always supportive from afar. The reasons as to why her dad married her first were beginning to be clearer, now. ¡°Good morning.¡± Reiju greeted as she entered the infirmary. ¡°How are you feeling?¡± ¡°Hot and tired.¡± the redhead replied. The princess hummed in acknowledgement and did a quick check up. ¡°Alright the fever broke, so that¡¯s good. I¡¯m going to ask what Chopper gave you because it was very effective. Anything else?¡± ¡°I have a slight headache.¡± ¡°Stuffy nose?¡± ¡°A bit.¡± ¡°Okay, you¡¯re in thest phase then. Now what we¡¯re going to do is get you into the bath with lukewarm water, get you all clean up because youngdies should wash daily then we¡¯re going to get my brother to cook you something warm and do some steam breathing to clear up your nose.¡± Eri nodded and took the hand that Robin offered her. Getting out of bed she appreciated how cold the floor felt under her feet. Robin created a clone to watch over Rick in case he¡¯d wake up and Eri wasn¡¯t there and the threedies left for the bathroom. ¡°You¡¯reing too?¡± she asked the pinked haired doctor. ¡°I do need a good bath too. The day is only beginning and I dread spending it all sweaty. I don¡¯t know how the boys do it.¡± A bath that felt really good to herter and Eri was sitting at the dining table. That had been quite an experience for her. She had seen first hand how womanly Robin and Reiju were when they wore nothing at all. Mechanically eating the scramble eggs that Sanji had made her and drinking the delicious strawberry milkshake that came with it, Eri was lost in thought. ¡°What are you thinking about?¡± Robin asked, biting into an apple while waiting for her coffee to cool down a bit. ¡°I¡­ Hmm¡­ Well¡­¡± The redhead felt herself blushing, not knowing how or what to answer but was thankfully saved by Reiju who put in front of her a steam inhaler. Even with her nose stuffy she could discern the smell of eucalyptus. ¡°Sanji, can you leave us alone for a while?¡± Reiju asked her brother. ¡°Why?¡± ¡°Would you have like girls present during your puberty talk?¡± ¡°Callmeifyouneedanything.¡± was said even faster than he went out, making the womenugh. ¡°There. Now no one is going to bother us or to eavesdrop.¡± ¡°Is that what¡¯s on your mind, Eri? You saw Reiju and I and¡­¡± ¡°Yes. I mean.. Mom used to take baths with me before so I know that she¡¯s¡­ pretty but she¡¯s nothing like the two of you. Especially you Robin. And I wondered if I would ever get that big.¡± The more she talked the more her demeanor changed, going from shy to bold. As if the words came out she found courage to speak her mind freely bit by bit. The way and boldness with which she talked reminded Robin of Rick. ¡°Perhaps, perhaps not. Your mother may not be as¡­ curvy as we are but she¡¯s plenty big herself. Since you look a lot like her, the odds are high.¡± ¡°True. Even if you didn¡¯t inherit that from her you¡¯d still be a beautiful woman. No need to fret about it.¡± From there, Eri asked plenty of questions to the two older women that no male, especially fathers, ever wanted to answer or even hear. ~~~~~ Not different from Eri, the first thing that Rick saw was Robin. Naturally that put a smile on his face. A smile that was quickly reced by a tight expression. ¡°She¡¯s fine. Reiju and I dragged her out for a bath and breakfast.¡± ¡°Thank you.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t be. She is kind of my daughter too.¡± ¡°You didn¡¯t have to.¡± he replied and got out of bed. ¡°I¡¯m going to clean her hiding spot and then take a nice bath.¡± ¡°Take an umbre, it¡¯s still raining outside. Less than a few days ago but enough to soak you. One sick person is enough.¡± ¡°Umbre? I¡¯d be a poor gravity man if I needed one.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not nursing you if you get sick.¡± she warned. ¡°Sure.¡± he replied and left to do his task. It didn¡¯t take long, Eri had been well organized and didn¡¯t make much of a mess. He would have to praise Kaza for teaching her that. When he dealt properly with trash, meaning propulsing them into orbit. He took the sleeping bag and her bag of clothes and went back inside, straight to theundry room. Once done he went to the dining room for breakfast and was surprised to find his wife, lover and daughter talking andughing. ¡°Good morning.¡± he greeted them and was greeted back in return. ¡°What are you talking about that¡¯s so funny so early in the morning?¡± ¡°How you literally got caught with your pants down on fishman ind.¡± replied Eri in a joking mood. The story Robin was telling her about her father was amazingly funny. ¡°... I¡¯m not sure I like that.¡± ¡°We can go back to talking about me going through puberty if¡­¡± ¡°Jokes on me it is!¡± he quickly eximed and went to the kitchen to escape any more embarrassment. ¡°You know, I have noticed that you¡¯re more open in the way you talk and what you talk about.¡± said Reiju. ¡°I¡¯ve noticed too. I dare say there is a hint of shamelessness somewhere.¡± ¡°I thought that¡­ After running from home to get on a pirate ship with my dad and talking about breasts and butts¡­ There isn¡¯t any point about being embarrassed anymore. If I can survive the puberty talk without dying of embarrassment I can survive pretty much anything.¡± ¡°Hmm¡­ I wonder if your father thinks like that.¡± wonder out loud Reiju. ¡°Thinks like what?¡± ¡°That you¡¯re so shameless because you either made great shows of courage or because you survived something so shameful that anything else is just a joke to you.¡± ¡°Both.¡± he replied, sitting down and drinking his strawberry milkshake. ¡°What¡¯s your most embarrassing moment then?¡± ¡°Robin already heard that story but it¡¯s when I negotiated my release from Kaza by telling her that I¡¯d marry her.¡± he replied nonplussed. ¡°You did what?!¡± ¡°Your mother never told you?¡± ¡°No. The only thing I know is what you told me, that you were younger than I am.¡± ¡°Oh well¡­¡± ~~~~~ The trip to Sabaodysted two more weeks and to everyone¡¯s pleasure without any more storms. Luffy had not spoken a word about his decision concerning what to do with Eri and that drove Rickpletely nuts. If he didn¡¯t know any better he would have thought that his captain and little brother was trolling him but that wasn¡¯t Luffy¡¯s type. At least not purposely. Since the only way to go back to the New World for pirates was through Fishman ind. They decided to pay Rayleigh a visit to redo the coating on Sunny. Luffy in his usual enthusiasm kicked open Shakky¡¯s pub¡¯s door with a shout. ¡°Hey! Rayleigh!¡± The first mate of the pirate king looked up from his journal and looked at the disturbance calling his name. When he saw father and daughter side by side with a nasty grin on their face his eyes grew thrice in size. ¡°Old man! I¡­¡± ¡°NOPE!¡± That was all the infamous dark king said. With a speed and an agility that no man of his age was supposed to have, jumped out through the nearest window and ran for the hills. Chapter 127: Determination Chapter 127: Determination

Chapter 127: Determination

¡°¡°¡°¡°¡°¡°¡°...¡±¡±¡±¡±¡±¡±¡±¡± The crew and Shakky were stunned into silence by Rayleigh¡¯s reaction. ¡°What just happened?¡± asked Usopp. They had known Rayleigh drunk. They had known Rayleigh looking like a beggar. They had known him, strong, badass,ughing and many other things but scared? That was a first and it was mind blowing. ¡°I think you two dears have traumatized him a bit.¡± Shakky replied, looking at father and daughter. ¡°Eri, did you do something to him?¡± ¡°I just kicked his shin because he was being a meany. You?¡± ¡°Nothing.¡± was the clueless answer she got. ¡°You say nothing. I hear bullshit.¡± said Sanjiing into the pub. ¡°I¡¯m with Sanji on that one.¡± Franky agreed. ¡°Me too!¡± ¡°Me three! Yohohoho.¡± ¡°First time we met we tricked the marines into thinking we were grandfather and grandson so we could watch Roger¡¯s execution. Next time we met was here when we punched that Celestial Dragon and he bummed me out. The third time I just asked him to teach me haki and helped me with something in exchange from an Eternal Pose to O¡¯hara so he could pay his respect to Robin¡¯s mom.¡± the vice captain defended himself. ¡°... That¡¯s a likely story.¡± remarked Baby-5. ¡°He¡¯s telling the truth but leaving out lots of details.¡± replied Shakky, serving Zoro a beer. ¡°You reappeared after being confirmed dead with a fantastical tale of resurrection, roped him into freeing a thousand ves on Marie-Geoise and forced him to lead them to O¡¯hara without warning him in advance of your n. Andst but not least you learned Haki in a week.¡± ¡°¡°¡°¡°What?!¡±¡±¡±¡± eximed the haki users in the crew, even Zoro who¡¯s generally calm and collected did. ¡°How the hell!?¡± asked Luffy. ¡°I¡¯m awesome, you all should know by now.¡± Rick shrugged. ¡°So Rayliegh ran because you¡¯re always getting him into trouble.¡± concluded Nami. ¡°You¡¯re saying that, like I¡¯m a bad guy.¡± ¡°You¡¯re a pirate, dad. You¡¯re a bad guy.¡± ¡°I¡­¡± Rick wanted to say something back but couldn¡¯t. In front of the metaphorical uppercut his daughter just gave him, Rick sat in silence next to Zoro, asked for a drink and looked into it mindlessly hoping to find an appropriate answer. ¡°I think you broke him.¡± Jimbei said. ¡°It¡¯s good to see you all alive and well but I wonder how you find yourself in paradise again.¡± Shakky spoke. ¡°Oh, that? Well¡­¡± ¡°Leaving Wano, Rick made the Sunny float, we flew over Calm Belt, arrived in North Blue and went through Reverse Mountain.¡± Nami exined before Luffy could. ¡°We wanted to find Hancock and Vivi.¡± he finally said. ¡°And now you¡¯re going back and want Rayleigh to coat the Sunny again?¡± ¡°¡°¡°¡°Yes.¡±¡±¡±¡± ¡°I¡¯ll see what I can do.¡± After spending the afternoon at the bar waiting for Rayleigh the whole crew went back on the Sunny, where Luffy gathered everyone. ¡°Alright I made my decision. Eri¡­ you can stay on board for now.¡± he announced. Rick wanted to tackle him to the ground. The New World was no ce for a thirteen year old. Sure, Eri was good with a sword. Far better than the average marine in fact, but the second part of Grand Line was not for the average marine. He said nothing because Luffy was the captain and what he said went, despite him not agreeing at all. Had he protested that could have created dissention, just like back on Water Seven. While the crew was more united now than back then and dare he think, ever, he still wouldn¡¯t do it. ¡°Are you alright with that?¡± Luffy asked him. ¡°You¡¯re the captain. What you say goes. It¡¯s not like I can¡¯t protect her. You¡¯re exining that to her mother though. Good luck.¡± was all he said and left for the garden. He couldn¡¯t begin to understand what went through Luffy¡¯s head when he made that choice. ¡°He¡¯s just worried.¡± reassured Robin to Eri who was a bit disappointed by her father¡¯s reaction at the news of her joining the crew. ¡°The New World is a very dangerous ce. We¡¯re fighting against the worst and the most powerful pirates in the world and he doesn¡¯t want you involved.¡± Eri nodded then followed her father to the garden. She found him sitting on a chair to the open side of the ce looking at the heavy rain falling outside. Walking in front of him she made a simple demand. ¡°Train me.¡± ¡°No.¡± He didn¡¯t even take a second to think about it. The answer was instantaneous. ¡°Train me.¡± ¡°No.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°Look, I¡¯m not going to train you, so stop asking. And I¡¯m no swordsman. There is nothing I can train you in.¡± ¡°Haki. And I wasn¡¯t asking, dad.¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°I will not be a burden or a small little thing that needs to be protected.¡± Her deration made him pause but more than that, it was the fire in her eyes. A determination that he knew well. ¡®I wonder if that¡¯s what Grandpa saw when we met.¡¯ He only saw such determination from someone else. Someone who was weak in everything but heart and did their very best despite it. A person that would not give up no matter what they were up against, growing stronger at each obstacle, at each challenge that stood in their way. ¡®It¡¯s like looking at Vivi all over again.¡¯ Sighing he tried onest time to rebuke her. ¡°What makes you think that I can teach you haki? What makes you think that you can learn? What makes you think that you¡¯ll be ready when we go to war against the other emperors?¡± ¡°You learned haki in a week! And I¡¯m your daughter. I¡¯m sure I can do it too!¡± ¡°I¡¯m a special case! My body is¡­ it¡¯s not normal.¡± he lied by telling the truth. ¡°Then mine shouldn¡¯t be too.¡± Father and daughter looked into each other¡¯s eyes in silence. Neither wishing to break eye contact. ¡°What does it cost you but time?¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°Please, dad. I don¡¯t want to be a burden. I¡¯m not asking you to make me the strongest in a snap of a finger. I¡¯m asking you to train me so I can protect myself.¡± ¡°... Goddess damn it.¡± he muttered under his breath. ¡°Fine! Everyday after your training with the sword is done we¡¯re training your haki. If you can ess it to begin with!¡± ¡°I will!¡± ¡°We¡¯ll see!¡± The conversation over, Eri, jumped at her father¡¯s neck to give him a hug and a thank you and simply stayed there. Joining him in watching the rain fall. ~~~~~ Rayleigh had been convinced by his wife when he returnedte in the night to their home. Honestly, sometimes he wondered if he shouldn¡¯t have agreed to the R.A.¡¯s proposition to stay on O¡¯hara in exchange for his protection. While they still got news from the ind from time to time and paid requests to help any members making their way to Sabaody, the fact that Rick knew where he lived bothered him. It means that at any moment the man could show up and ask for something crazy. Had it been twenty years ago he wouldn¡¯t have minded so much but now he was an old man and wanted to enjoy his retirement peacefully. Mostly. Still he agreed to help the crew once again for both Luffy and Robin. That was why around noon he arrived at Sunny¡¯s location with his tools. Jumping onto the deck he found Rick instructing Eri. When an arm suddenly swung a metal pipe at her, she used her sword to cut it despite being blindfolded and the hiting from a blind spot. Every haki user present and who witnessed the disy had their jaws drop. ¡°Eri, did you just¡­¡± ¡°What? Did I get it wrong? I¡¯m sure I cut what you arm attacked me with.¡± she asked, removing the blindfold. ¡°How!? I just taught you what haki was and how it worked four hours ago!¡± eximed her dumbfounded father. Rayleigh nearly had his eyes popped out of his orbit hearing this but kept his cool. ¡°Ha! Now you know how I felt! Karma is a bitch!¡± he shouted but Rick ignored him. ¡°How did you do that?¡± the vice captain asked his daughter. ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡± she shrugged. ¡°One moment I was listening to you, the next I saw your arm swinging hard for my head from behind. So I just¡­ cut it?¡± ¡°You just¡­ cut it? Are you telling me you used armament haki instinctively? In concert with observation?!¡± ¡°I did just like you told me to do!¡± she replied irritated. ¡°... Either you¡¯re a genius or you¡¯re a shit teacher old man!¡± thest part being quite loud and for Rayleigh. ¡°You two are just monsters!¡± ¡°¡°Hey!¡±¡± ¡°Seriously! People train a couple years to even get the basics down! Not even master it!¡± ¡°Maybe it was a fluke?¡± proposed Ussop. ¡°Let¡¯s test that.¡± He put the blindfold back on Eri and attacked again but this time with two pipes. It definitely wasn¡¯t a fluke. In one swing the teenager cut them both in half. ¡°What the hell.¡± Rick whispered. ¡°I¡¯m your daughter, it¡¯s normal that I¡¯m awesome.¡± ¡°... I give up. This family is insane. So to preserve the bit of sanity I have left I¡¯m going to start working.¡± And Rayleigh did, ignoring everything and anyone else. Back on the deck, Rick trained his daughter for an hour before letting Zoro take a turn. Clearly, she didn¡¯t need him much anymore since she could already use haki, so Zoro was sparring with her to help her get a better feel and strengthen it. That gave him time to make his own training. ¡®Is that normal?¡¯ ¡®Of course not. But it¡¯s not something that I¡¯ve never encountered before. I, myself, was able to do that too.¡± ¡®I really don¡¯t get it. I could learn it fast because my soul is strong after countless lifetimes, but she¡­¡¯ ¡®¡°She has an innate talent in manipting her spiritual energy and she inherited your determination. It¡¯s not that surprising.¡¯ ¡®To you maybe¡­ Anyway, are you ready for some tests?¡¯ ¡®What tests?¡¯ ¡®Conqueror haki?¡¯ ¡®Sure.¡¯ ¡®Let¡¯s get away to an isted ce first then.¡¯ he thought and flew toward the forest. ¡®Now that I think about it, why didn¡¯t you use this haki to fight Moria or the navy?¡¯ ¡®Because when I took control over your body I did it through connecting to your anger. I was too lost in it to actually use it. In fact I never used haki at all, no matter the type, each time. All my opponents would have died if I did.¡¯ ¡®Makes sense.¡¯ ~~~~~ It took three days for Sunny to be ready to sail under the sea. During that time Shakky got in contact with O¡¯hara and through the R.A. with Kaza. She had been absolutely furious at Eri and Rick. When she ordered her daughter to stay right where she was and that she would personallye and pick her up, she got a resolute ¡®no¡¯. More yellingter and Eri said in a very mature way that she was staying with her dad and his friends for a bit and that that was it. She told her that she loved her and then hung up the den den mushi. That simple act made Rick gasp in fright. ¡°Do you hate me that much? She¡¯s going to kill me!¡± ¡°She loves you too much for that, dad.¡± Quickly, Rick picked up the den den mushi and called back, waving Eri away. ¡°Eri! I swear that¡­.¡± ¡°It¡¯s me.¡± ¡°...¡± hearing his voice pulled the wind out of her. ¡°I agree with you.¡± ¡°Then make her stay there.¡± ¡°I can¡¯t do that. Luffy said she¡¯s on board so she¡¯s on board. Captain¡¯s orders, you know?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t care about your captain¡¯s orders! She¡¯s our daughter and you¡¯re bringing her to the most dangerous ce on the!¡± ¡°I do not. Look¡­ Kaza, she wants to see the world, she¡¯s going to see the world. You know this. I haven¡¯t known her for long but I saw the determination in her eyes. Determination like that? You can¡¯t fight it. The situation is better than you think though. Which do you prefer? That she set sail with me by her side to protect her or on her own or with the R.A. ?¡± ¡°... If anything happens to her...¡± ¡°Then the ones responsible will die. Them, their families, their hometown and their home country. I will burn the whole world down.¡± ¡°Good.¡± ¡°On that note. Did you start teaching Eri haki?¡± ¡°No. I wanted her to grow up a bit more for that. Why?¡± ¡°She demanded that I teach her. After a morning of exnation and theories, she pulled it off on her first try.¡± ¡°What do you mean her first try?¡± ¡°I mean that when I blindfolded her and attacked her, she naturally used observation and counter attacked with armament. Kaza, our girl is a genius regarding haki.¡± ¡°You¡¯re kidding me.¡± she replied in a t tone. ¡°I swear I¡¯m not. She doesn¡¯t have much and it¡¯s not strong, but she uses it so easily¡­¡± ¡°... You better make her the best haki user in the world so she can defend herself or your goddess will not find¡­¡± ¡°I doubt that. If there is one thing you won¡¯t ever do is hurting me.¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°She has a whole pirate crew worth nearly twenty billion Berry, ready to defend and protect her. It¡¯s not about her being with me isn¡¯t it? It¡¯s about her not being with you. I get it, you know. She¡¯s been your everything for so long, I get why you want her by your side. Always.¡± ¡°... I only have one thing going for me in my life Rick and it¡¯s her. I¡­¡± ¡°That¡¯s not true. You have me.¡± ¡°You¡¯re away! And I have to share you!¡± ¡°I admit it¡¯s not ideal but it¡¯s temporary. A few years at best. Until Luffy finds the One Piece and bes the pirate king.¡± ¡°That could take more than a few years! It could take decades!¡± ¡°No. We¡¯re really close. We already have three pieces out of four of the map to Laugh Tale.¡± ¡°...¡± she didn¡¯t say anything to that and instead took a deep breath. He could hear her through the den den mushi. ¡°Two years. If in two years you¡¯re not done. I¡¯ming for you and her and will bring you back with whatever means necessary.¡± ¡°It¡¯s a deal. See you in two years then?¡± ¡°You better.¡± After exchanging a heartfelt ¡®I love you¡¯ and saying goodbye, the call ended. ¡°Thank you for your help, Shakky.¡± ¡°Think nothing of it.¡± she said dismissively. ¡°After all the shit I put your husband through? You could have held a grudge.¡± ¡°You¡¯re kidding? He hasn¡¯t been so excited in years! Oh, he mayin a lot but he¡¯s having fun. You should have seen him when he came back from O¡¯hara the first time. Cursing you to hell and back, all the while he had a smile on his face. If anything I¡¯m grateful.¡± she exined with an amused smile. ¡°Still, I feel like I owe you a lot, so if you need anything, just ask.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll remember that.¡± When he left the bar and went back to the ship, they were ready to go. They said their goodbye to Rayleigh who threw a ¡®don¡¯t visit again!¡¯ to Rick, and made their way to fishman ind. This time the trip wasn¡¯t as perilous as thest time. Zoro and Luffy behaved themselves after all. They were also helped by the kraken that Luffy had befriended previously. It was a nice reunion and a very fortunate one. Unlike their first time, their entry into the ind was not chaotic at all. They did get into trouble for a moment when guards came to check on the new arrivals but seeing it was them they were warmly weed and directly brought to Ryugu Pce to meet with the king. Once there, they were surprised to see an old friend of theirs among the royal family. ¡°¡°¡°¡°¡°¡°¡°VIVI?!¡±¡±¡±¡±¡±¡±¡± Chapter 128: The princess is NOT in another castle II Chapter 128: The princess is NOT in another castle II

Chapter 128: The princess is NOT in another castle II

Right here, right there, next to a normal sized Shirahoshi, stood the princess of basta, Vivi Nefertari. Almost three years ago, she would have run to her friends after not seeing them for so long. Hugged some of them and may have cried a bit. It wasn¡¯t the same Vivi that they were facing now. Rick was already aware of the change but for the rest of the crew this was new. She was more like a queen than anything. Which she was technically since her father was dead. Nami immediately rushed to her sky blue haired friend and gave her one of her deadly hugs that was reciprocated. ¡°So this is where you were all this time?¡± Rick asked, moving a few steps forward. ¡°Yes. When Vice Admiral Garp brought me back from MarineFord, he also led me back to the gathering. I had just finished my speech for the dissolution of the Shichibukai that the Revolution Army attacked. It was chaos. King Neptune was kind enough to hide me with his party when the guards began to look for me. When I learned about my father, he brought me back with him here.¡± she replied with more of a bitter than a sad tone. ¡°It wasn¡¯t Sabo!¡± Luffy quickly defended his brother. ¡°I know. The R.A. is fighting against the World Government and Tyrants. My father was a benevolent king, people loved him. There is no way the R.A. would have targeted him. Not when other rulers like Wapol were present.¡± ¡°Perhaps it would be better to talk about such things tomorrow when everyone is rested?¡± proposed Neptune. Luffy agreed because it meant food. Making their way towards the dining room, Rick closed the march a few feet behind Vivi and Nami who were speaking in a low voice. Thetter suddenly walked faster as the former slowed down until she stoppedpletely. He did the same, maintaining a certain distance between them. They didn¡¯t utter a single word for a long minute. Past that, still looking forward and showing him her back, the princess finally spoke. ¡°Is this her? The daughter you nearly killed a god and kidnapped me for?¡± ¡°Yes. However you¡¯re misunderstanding something. I didn¡¯t kidnap you for her. I kidnapped you for you. I could have taken anyone else. I chose you.¡± ¡°... She¡¯s pretty.¡± she replied, ignoring most of his answer and started walking again without adding anything else. ¡°That¡¯s it?¡± ¡°Is there anything else to talk about?¡± ¡°...Plenty.¡± ¡°None of them are your business.¡± ¡°Not true. One of them is.¡± Having enough of her attitude he took big strides and put himself on her way. ¡°I don¡¯t expect an answer. It¡¯s neither the time nor the ce. I do expect however to hear and listen about how you¡¯re doing and how you feel.¡± he announced looking down to meet her eyes. ¡°Why do you care?¡± ¡°...Do not y that card with me Vivi. I always cared. I got out of my hiding ce to search for you three years ago, despite knowing that both marines and pirates would be on my ass.¡± ¡°And yet you weren¡¯t there.¡± she said and before he could put in a word continue. ¡°I didn¡¯t expect you toe back to me on the spot. I did hope you woulde.¡± ¡°And here I am.¡± ¡°After a year. You didn¡¯te for me. You came to go back to the New World.¡± ¡°Now that¡¯s not entirely true. First things first, when we separated I went straight from Marine Ford to my destination. I didn¡¯t even see a single newspaper during that time. My daughter didn¡¯t even know who I was or that I was alive, she could have waited a bit more without knowing any better. Secondly, I have been Kaidou¡¯s captive for the first eight months. Third, the moment we learned of what happened when we left Wano two months ago, Luffy decided to put his search of the Once Piece on hold for several reasons which included finding you. We even went to basta hoping you were just hiding there or to get some news about you.¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°Ask anyone in the crew.¡± he ended the conversation with and joined the others in the dining room, leaving behind a conflicted Vivi. ~~~~~ ¡°Ouch!¡± Eri said as she rubbed the spot on her head that her father had just whacked. ¡°Let that be a lesson. Just because you can feel or perhaps even see iting doesn¡¯t mean you can escape it. You should not just focus on your swordsmanship and haki training.¡± he exined. ¡°I could use armament?¡± ¡°No.¡± he denied, shaking his head. ¡°Even if you¡¯re fast enough to use armament on the point of impact before the said impact you¡¯d be using a precious resource. Why use the limited amount of haki you have when simply dodging because you¡¯re fast enough to do so is better?¡± Eri nodded at that and took her stance again, ready for another round of sparring with her father. Not more than that though. She was too tired for more. In another room of the pce, Shirahoshi in a child height form was sitting on Nami¡¯sp and was getting her hair done. Next to them was Robin, listening attentively to her wife and Vivi talking. ¡°... how he is, Vivi. If he could have, he would have roamed the whole world to find you.¡± ¡°Why couldn¡¯t he?¡± she replied in a cold tone. ¡°Wano is not just not part of the World Government. It¡¯spletely isted from the rest of the world. Kaidou made it even worse for the past twenty years. We never got any news about what was happening out there and we were free, unlike Rick.¡± ¡°... He may have said something about being Kaidou¡¯s captive.¡± ¡°He was.¡± ¡°I find that hard to believe. He¡¯s¡­ him!¡± ¡°Yet it¡¯s the truth.¡± intervened Robin. ¡°Was it not for the skin and the missing afro, you could have mistaken him for Brook. Zoro was the one who found him in a stroke of luck and he refused to tell us how bad he was. Chopper and Reiju just said months of starvation and that was it. And I¡¯m not even talking about Diana trying to turn him mad to possess his body. Less we talk about that the better.¡± ¡°You can¡¯t put unreasonable expectations on his shoulders and me him when he can¡¯t meet them Vivi.¡± Nami said with finality. ¡°Wait! Back up please. Who''s Diana? Why did she want to possess him?¡± ¡°Diana is¡­ A goddess?¡± an unsured Robin stated. ¡°A goddess.¡± Vivi repeated tly. ¡°It¡¯s what she said, though we know her as the sea devil.¡± the brte exined. ¡°... Right.¡± ¡°It¡¯s true. It¡¯splicated.¡± ~~~~~ ¡°Was it really that bad, your majesty?¡± inquired Jimbei. ¡°A celestial dragon tried to capture Shirahoshi as if she was an animal and nobody but princess Vivi and the princesses from Dressrosa intervened. The navy themselves did nothing. Was it not for your vice-captain¡­¡± the king replied with a good deal of anger. ¡°I truly want our people to live under the sun, to realize Otohime¡¯s dream but what can I do when even my own daughter is treated like that?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know. Perhaps¡­ No, that wouldn¡¯t be right.¡± ¡°Go on, don¡¯t hold out on me, Jimbei.¡± ¡°The Revolutionary Army.¡± ¡°Them¡­ They didn¡¯t leave a good impression at the reverie, I¡¯m afraid.¡± ¡°They¡¯re the only ones openly defying the World Nobles.¡± ¡°Not the only ones.¡± ¡°... He¡¯s only one man.¡± noted aloud the former head of guards, understanding who the king was referring too. ¡°Powerful, yes but he can¡¯t take the whole world on his own. Not like he wouldn¡¯t do it if push came to shove but he would fail. Even if you support him it wouldn¡¯t be enough.¡± ¡°I guess we won¡¯t find an answer today.¡± Neptune sighed. ¡°No but we will soon. The world is changing. The World Government is bing more aggressive each day that passes because they¡¯re losing control. Either to the pirates or the R.A. . I don¡¯t think it will take long before war happens and I wouldn¡¯t bet on the World Government as a sure thing.¡± ¡°Wait and see, then.¡± ¡°I believe it¡¯s the best course of action.¡± ~~~~~ ¡°If it was anyone else I wouldn¡¯t believe it. I still have my doubts, though. I mean¡­ The sea devil?!¡± ¡°We know. We believe it because we saw it multiple times with our own eyes.¡± replied Nami as she put thest touch on the mermaid princess¡¯ new hairdo. ¡°I need to see that for myself.¡± Vivi stood up and left the room to find Rick. After asking a pair of patrolling guards, she found the correct room. The first thing she noticed was Eri sittingzily on the ground while Rick was kneeling beside her putting some ice on her brow. There was blood on his hands. ¡°Your mother is going to kill me.¡± he said as he removed the ice and looked at the wound. ¡°If she learns about it¡­¡± replied the redhead. ¡°If¡­ I like the sound of that. You split and hurt your head against the edge of a table?¡± ¡°Hmm.¡± was her agreement. ¡°During a storm. I wasn¡¯t paying attention, the ground was wet, the boat suddenly rocked...¡± ¡°Good. How do you feel? Besides cold?¡± ¡°My head doesn¡¯t ring as much anymore but the headache is bad.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll bring you to Chopper or Reiju.¡± he replied and looked at the cut properly now that the blood stopped flowing. ¡°It doesn¡¯t seem to be that deep, maybe stitches won¡¯t be necessary. It will leave a small scar regardless but honestly, you look really cool with it.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t want to look cool, dad.¡± ¡°You¡¯ll have to be. There are only two options when you¡¯re famous. Either you look cool, like Zoro or Mihawk or you look like a beggar like Rayleigh and red-haired Shanks.¡± ¡°There isn¡¯t a middle ground?¡± ¡°There is but those people are not remembered.¡± ¡°... I guess I¡¯ll be cool then.¡± She epted, bringing a smile to Rick¡¯s face. ¡°Come on, time to have that cut properly checked.¡± He picked her up and sat her on his shoulders. Turning around to exit the room he saw Vivi, his wifes and Shiroshi looking at him. ¡°Yes?¡± ¡°Show me.¡± ordered the bastan princess. ¡°Show you what?¡± a confused Rick replied. ¡°The horns. Diana.¡± ¡°No.¡± was an utmost firm answer. ¡°She¡¯s not a circus animal that you can¡­¡± ¡®I don¡¯t mind.¡¯ ¡®...Are you sure?¡¯ ¡®Yes, now go on, give me control.¡¯ Not fighting her when she began to take over, his body began to change for the usual appearance Diana disyed when she was in control. Horns like a devil and blood red pupils with a circle in the middle. ¡°What is it you want of me?¡± inquired Diana with Rick¡¯s voice. Her divine presence, quite diminished in general and barely noticeable in consequences, usually expressed itself by her body¡¯snguage more than the devilish feature. However, thanks to Eri it was non-existent. The teenager had gripped the horns with her hands. ¡°Wow, they¡¯re real.¡± ¡°Could you not touch my horns?¡± chastised Diana as she raised her head to look at the redhead. ¡°... You¡¯re not my dad.¡± the young girl understood immediately and let go. ¡°I am not. Now, I¡¯m not asking a second time, Nefertari Vivi.¡± ¡°I¡­ Sorry, I just¡­ wanted to see what Nami and Robin were talking about.¡± ¡°Satisfied?¡± The quick nod she got was all the answer she needed. ¡°Good. Do not bother me again for something so mundane. I¡¯m busy.¡± And with that she relinquished control to Rick. Without another word he exited the room. ¡°That was¡­¡± ¡°Not what you expected?¡± tried Nami. ¡°Yes. And every time he got furious he¡­¡± ¡°Got all horny? Hmm.¡± ¡°This is¡­ mind blowing. To think gods are real and walking among us.¡± ¡°Not gods. Just her if she¡¯s even one to begin with. And she¡¯s not really walking around freely, she needs Rick for that.¡± Robin corrected. ¡°I wonder¡­ Why is she going along with her situation? Can¡¯t she take control of his body at will?¡± inquired Vivi. ¡°I don¡¯t know. Neither does he. She has her own agenda, of that I¡¯m sure, and staying on the crew is part of it.¡± With that said, Robin left the room to find her husband. Taking a page of his book, she bloomed eyes everywhere she could and quickly found him. Instead of running to catch up since he wasn¡¯t very far, she created a clone right next to him. ¡°How did that happen?¡± she asked, walking by his side. ¡°Good question. Eri, how did that happen?¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°Louder. Nobody heard your mumbling.¡± ¡°I got wacked because I was over confident in my abilities.¡± she replied in a barely whining tone. ¡°Indeed. You¡¯re lucky it¡¯s me and not grandpa. At best you would have died.¡± ¡°Dying is the best I could have gotten?¡± ¡°Oh, yeah. He could have hit you not hard enough to kill you but hard enough to make you a vegetable or someone with impaired faculties. Like you could have lost the ability to speak.¡± ¡°I can¡¯t believe grandpa is that hard an instructor.¡± ¡°I was under ten when he left me on a deserted ind to survive. There were beasts three times my size.¡± he replied tly. She stayed silent at the idea of Garp being a mad teacher for the rest of the walk. It was a very short one, Chopper being in the lunch room with Luffy and Usopp. ¡°Chopper, do you have a minute? We have an injured.¡± he said and made Eri float, removing her from his shoulders and putting her down in front of the reindeer who immediately began to work. ¡°That doesn¡¯t look like it¡¯s very deep. The face is one of the parts of the body with the most numerous and small blood vessels, so the amount of blood is not surprising. Often, it¡¯s worse that people believe it at first. Hmm¡­ Yes, it¡¯s not that deep. The blood wouldn¡¯t have stopped flowing otherwise.¡± he said and opened his bag to take what was needed to treat Eri. He cleaned the wound first, then put a steri-strip on it. ¡°You will have a small scar. Had it been anywhere else but there, it would heal normally but the cut is right on the brow. While the tissues will recover properly, the hair will not grow again at this location.¡± ¡°Thank you, Chopper.¡± The crew¡¯s doc gave her a smile, put everything back in his bag and went back to take a seat at the table. Soon enough the whole crew joined and had a fun time. Once dessert was over and everyone was leaving to do their own thing, Rick caught up to Luffy. ¡°What¡¯s the n?¡± ¡°We¡¯re leaving tomorrow.¡± ¡°And after that?¡± ¡°...I¡¯m not decided yet.¡± ¡°You¡¯re not?¡± Rick replied in shock. Luffy not making a decision on the spot was a first. ¡°No¡­ But I think we¡¯ll go see Buggy. I don¡¯t want to do the journey we already did, so¡­ I was thinking, we should go kick his ass and from there let the pose guide us.¡± ¡°Alright. I¡¯ll warn everyone to prepare for our departure tomorrow. What about Vivi? Are we taking her with us or¡­¡± ¡°No. Her journey is not with us. At least not right now.¡± ¡°Noted.¡± ~~~~~ ¡°What do you want to do? What¡¯s your n?¡± Rick was enjoying a nice tea time with the girls of the crew. Eri waspletely worn out after a whole morning and a whole afternoon of training and needed a much needed break. To her despair, he sat her in hisp and didn¡¯t let her go. Robin was of course by his side, amused by her step daughter¡¯s will to get out of her current situation but without the strength to even move a muscle. Reiju, Shirahoshi and Nami were talking about fashion after the afternoon of shopping they did. Baby-5 was serving everyone and participating in the conversation. That only left Vivi who was talking with Rick. ¡°I don¡¯t know. I¡¯m pretty sure, the world government murdered my father and would not hesitate to do the same to me. I can¡¯t go back home. Not for the foreseeable future.¡± ¡°So you will just stay there and do nothing?¡± ¡°What choice do I have?!¡± ¡°From what I heard from Shishi, you could go to Dressrosa. You could also get into contact with the R.A.,. War ising, Vivi. You must be ready.¡± ¡°I know but what can I do? Neither King Neptune or King Riku will directly help me. Not when the whole Government is the enemy. Not because they may not want to but because they can¡¯t.¡± ¡°Can¡¯t help you with that. Though, you always had a knack for rallying the right people that may help you reach your goal, so I¡¯m not that worried.¡± he replied with a smile. Chapter 129: One emperor down, two to go Chapter 129: One emperor down, two to go

Chapter 129: One emperor down, two to go

The crew said their goodbyes to the royal family and friends which to Rick''s surprise didn''t include Vivi who was hugging Shirahoshi to death. The mermaid princess had matured a lot during the past year, and was not much of a cray baby anymore. From what he heard from Jimbei, she nearly captured at the hands of a Celestial Dragon had scared her so much that she admitted to herself she couldn''t go on like that. She wasn''t learned how to fight, she didn''t have an ounce of violence in her after all but she had learned how to make a stand tall and proud. Of course after a year spent with the basta princess, she was bound to toughen up. Rick had noticed, with the way she interacted with him. She wasn''t just behaving like a wet puppy anymore though still had traces of dependence and deference to him. Nami had called it ''a maiden in love without knowing it.'' with a grin on her face. ¡°I thought she wouldn''te to us?¡± inquired the vice captain of the strawhat to his captain with a well contained surprise. ¡°She changed my mind.¡± was a reality altering answer he got. Very, very rarely Luffy changed his mind. And that was for small stuff only. People usually get pulled into his shenanigans. ¡° You changed your mind?¡± Rick asked bewildered. ¡°Yep.¡± ¡°...You really did grow up like a captain.¡± ¡°I did. Between Rayleigh and Ace''s pops, I learned a bit. More than just haki.¡± ¡°I''m d to see that and I''m happy for everyone involved.¡± ¡°Thanks!¡± Luffy replied with a pleased grin. ¡°So¡­? What did she say that you epted her back in the crew?¡± ¡°Oh, she''s not part of the crew, she''s a prisoner.¡± ¡°¡­¡± ¡°¡­¡± ¡°What now?¡± inquired Rick, notprehending one bit. ¡°If she joins the crew, she''s going to get in trouble and worse her people in trouble. Being a prisoner would make her guilt free in the eyes of the World Government.¡± ¡°... I''d pay ten Berry and say it''s her words and not yours.¡± made Luffyugh. ¡°She likes it here but she feels cooperated up. She wants to get back to the surface but she can''t ask the king to help nor can she ask any pirates to get off the ind.¡± ¡°So we''re her only ticket out of here.¡± ¡°Yup.¡± ¡°And after that?¡± ¡°I don''t know, she said she''d find a way to leave on her ownter.¡± ¡°... Yeah, still a bit more growing to do.¡± simply said Rick with a good natured chuckle, and went back inside the Sunny to his captain fake outrage. Sitting behind his desk he pondered for a while what to do with his time. Training Eri was out of question, not after the hit on the head he gave her the previous day during training. He couldn¡¯t either just watch how cute she was with her band aid all day. He wanted to, but that was creepy as hell and would not do him any favors with her, quite the contrary with how ¡®new¡¯ their rtionship was. He was pleased by it, bit by bit they got closer and were getting closer still. There was a long way to go between them before having a proper father - daughter dynamic. Back to his thought at hand, he couldn¡¯t study the nts he was taking care of. Partly because most of them were not fully bloomed yet, partly because the ones that already were, he had documented the heck out of them. Spending time with Robin, Nami or Reiju was out, he already spent the whole night with his wives and thetter was busy doing the infirmary inventory because of what they bought during their stay on Fishman Ind. Thankfully Chopper was doing it with her and by the Goddess did Rick pray for their souls. He hated doing stock during his time in the navy. So debilitating and boring while needing to focus. He would swap duties for cleaning the deck with any other marines on board. At least with this chore on the the deck, his mind could wander to other things as his body moved on its own. He could always go with the other members of the crew but he quite liked his hermity right now. No, he wanted peace and quiet but also something to do. Thankfully a straight thought slithered into his mind. After calling out to Diana who ignored him; she was probably busy watching or reading something from his soul¡¯s memory, he opened the system¡¯s shop. [User Karma Points : 255 742 801] Kaidou¡¯s Uo Uo no mi had not been expensive, a measly 50K. The simple thought that 50k was now measly when he shed tears, blood and sweat when he began his adventure in this world made him bitter, while Big Mom¡¯s was a whooping 300M. That made sense. While not the most powerful fruit out there, the versatility of what this fruit could help do was tremendous. Key in point, Zeus. It had been a very powerful little helper for Nami. She had been utterly mad with him when it disappeared by his fault. When Rick killed Big Mom, every single part of her soul she had infused into objects ¡®died¡¯ with her. Only the promise of a lot of gold and a shopping trip kept his devilish kitten at bay. Looking through the devil fruits sections, he saw the avability of a few interesting and worrying fruits. The Mori Mori no Mi had not yet found a user and its price was reasonable. Only 300K. Not as ¡®expensive¡¯ as Ener¡¯s or rather Fujitora¡¯s Goro Goro no Mi but close. Another logia was avable, the one of snow. The Yuki Yuki no Mi was worth 100K which, for a logia, wasn¡¯t much. When he saw the Hobi Hobi no Mi still avable he quickly bought it. He didn¡¯t know what kind of person asked Diana to make a fruit about turning people into toys and enving them but he was sure that it was a deranged and lonely kid. Now with the fruit in his possession, no one would start again the shit that happened on Dressrosa. In the end he bought the three of them for a total price of 600K. It didn¡¯t make a big dent into his points and that was a good thing. Not like the Tenki Tenki no Mi had been. It was still by far the most expensive fruit and purchase in all. Opening the drawer on the side of his desk he pulled out a book. Checking its content, he put it back and took another. This time all pages were nk. Picking up the pencil on his desk he wrote in big letters ¡®New Devil Fruit Encyclopedia¡¯. Leaving the second and third page alone he began on the fourth. He began with the Yuki Yuki no mi, filling everything that he knew from the shop¡¯s information. He had some details that he had to find out for himself. Mainly the fruit¡¯s height and weight. To do that he had to pull it from his inventory, measure it with a ruler and weighted it on the small scale he used for his own research on nts. Once done, the only thing left was to draw how the fruit looked. That was a big challenge, Rick not being very good when it came to drawing. After many mistakes he finally ended up with something close to the original. Once done, he put the fruit to the side, turned the fifth page and pulled out the Mori Mori no Mi. He was so engrossed in his new hobby that he didn¡¯t notice Robining in until he felt her arms around his neck from behind. ¡°Hey!¡± he said softly with a smile as he looked up behind him to see her. ¡°Having fun?¡± ¡°I am.¡± ¡°That¡¯s so like you to use something like the system for this and not like it was intended to be used.¡± she replied, chuckling. ¡°It¡¯s not like I can use it for much else with how expensive most of the truly good stuff is. At least, I wouldn¡¯t use it to get rare books.¡± He chided her because that was exactly how she used it. She had studied the system from every angle but with ack of Karma Points she couldn¡¯t do much. Furthermore, since she wasn¡¯t much of a fighter and a pirate she wouldn¡¯t be getting a lot of them any time soon. So in the end, with the restrictions on her, she simply used the shop to buy books she wanted to read. ¡°Did you miss me or¡­¡± ¡°We actually reached the surface.¡± ¡°Already?!¡± ¡°You¡¯ve been here for four hours.¡± ¡°... Time sure does fly.¡± ¡°When we¡¯re having fun, it does.¡± ¡°Are we still going straight for Buggy or did Luffy change his mind?¡± ¡°We¡¯re still on course to deal with the clown.¡± ¡°...The cross guild will not be an easy opponent. It¡¯s only our crew against hundreds.¡± ¡°You can make clones. Eri and Vivi will be safe.¡± ¡°I¡¯d rather not make them. My focus slips a lot if they have to fight too. Unless they¡¯re close to me.¡± ¡°Everything will be fine.¡± she said with confidence and finality. He hoped so because Vivi was outssed and Eri, while progressing at a furious rate with the use of her haki, wouldn''t be able to take out a pirate whose bounty would be more than fifty millions. Vivi had spent thest five hours exploring Sunny. She couldn¡¯t help herself and was amazed by it. Grass on the desk, a slope, an aquarium. Anything a child could think of having on a trip on the sea was there. She didn¡¯t tour all the ship in one go and decided instead to take her time. That¡¯s why it took two days for her to discover the garden. If she had been amazed until now, she waspletely awed when she entered into Rick¡¯s domain. The ce was big. There were bushes at the foot of every wall and just like on the deck the ground was made of grass and not wood. The first half of the room was just purewn with a circr table in the middle with chairs. Further down the room were multiple flower beds with many different types. A few she recognized but most she didn¡¯t. She noticed the ceiling being opened letting the sun go through and bathing in his light and warmth the nts. The end wall was actually a big window, leading to a small balcony. In front of it was a desk with a shelf for books on the side and a chest right next to it. ¡°So that¡¯s what you get up to? Being a gardener?¡± she asked Rick who just came back from the balcony. ¡°Not quite but yes. I also grow our own vegetable and medicinal herbs. I¡¯m not just making sure this ce is pretty. I¡¯m checking on Usopp¡¯s nts too. Once I¡¯ve done my rounds I research what kind of nts go better with what kind of soil, these kinds of things.¡± ¡°That¡­ must keep you quite busy.¡± she replied impressed. ¡°It does. As much as Sanji is. Really we¡¯re the only ones working in this circus.¡± he joked. ¡°To be fair, that would drive me mad if I didn¡¯t have anything to do. The others have a child¡¯s heart and can y any game anytime. I don¡¯t have that luxury anymore.¡± ¡°Honestly. I thought you¡¯d just spend the day having sex with Robin and Nami.¡± she blurted out in a bout of jealousy. ¡°No. Sometimes we y during the day, sure but only sometimes. Any kind of sex is reserved for night time. One because our room is soundproof and two, the others are sleeping. I¡¯m not sure I want to check if Luffy had the talk nor do I want to be a sex addict and the body needs rest.¡± he replied a bit taken aback by the bit of bite in her words. ¡°... Was that¡­ a subtle invitation? Because I have the time.¡± ¡°It was not!¡± The frown on her face made the point home. ¡°Can¡¯t me a guy for trying.¡± he shrugged. ¡°I can when he¡¯s already married! Twice at that!¡± ¡°Thrice in fac..¡± ¡°That¡¯s not the point!¡± ¡°The point is you¡¯re mad I¡¯m not entirely devoted to you. That you¡¯re not my one and only.¡± was a cut and dry answer full of truth. ¡°...¡± ¡°Surprise! I¡¯m not that dense!¡± he fake jested, his tone being yful but his face was more fed up than anything. ¡°Look¡­ We¡­ I already talked about this back then. I have nothing to add. Regardless of your decision, you¡¯ll still be very important to me.¡± And with that, the conversation was over for him. To make a point he pulled out the encyclopedia he was working on and reviewed his notes. Still frowning, Vivi left the garden silently. As she passed in front of the map room she was grabbed by Nami and dragged inside. Back to the garden, Reiju who had been unseen on the balcony went back inside. ¡°Trouble in paradise?¡± she inquired as she sat in hisp sideways. ¡°There was never any paradise to begin with. Not like I don¡¯t want it but she¡¯s making it difficult. I can¡¯t me her. Most people want to be the focus of the person they love the most. It takes a lot of character to trust in the love, respect and trust you share with your partner to agree to them seeing other people, even if you¡¯re also free to do so. To be fair if it wasn¡¯t for Robin being Robin¡­ my life would be vastly different.¡± ¡°Boring and uninteresting?¡± the princess joked. ¡°Among other things, yes but those are not quite the words I would use.¡± ¡°Hmm¡­ Perhaps I should have a talk with her. Princess to princess.¡± she mused. ¡°I don¡¯t see how that could help. The two of you don¡¯t have the same childhood and life to connect properly. Go ahead though. If that talk can at least bring back the Vivi I grew to care and love, that''d be enough and I¡¯d be more than grateful.¡± Reiju nodded, stole a kiss and left for the Map room. ~~~~~ Vivi¡¯s attitude warmed a bit afterward but not by much. More than anything she ignored Rick. That hurt him a bit but he was way too busy with his project and training Eri. Zoro had agreed with him that she needed to train her body more rather than her skills with a sword and so Rick brought back his gravity area and put her under it. Chopper and Reiju closely monitored the session so she wouldn¡¯t get injured. With Sanji providing her with hearty and very nutritional meals, the little redhead grew stronger and stronger. And taller too. She was almost as tall as Nami. After nearly two months at sea, they were close to Buggy¡¯s ind and Rick thought it was time to have a talk with his daughter. ¡°I¡¯m sure you have heard by now but in a few days we¡¯re going to fight. By we, I mean the crew minus you and Vivi.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± ¡°You¡¯re too young to¡­Okay?¡± he repeated to be sure he didn¡¯t mishear her. ¡°Okay. I know that I¡¯m good for my age, dad. Taking an Emperor and his crew is way too much for me though.¡± ¡°That¡­ Yes, actually. I¡¯m surprised you¡¯re mature enough to understand that and ept it. Where has the young girl that tried to arrest me on the spot when she met me for the first time, gone?¡± ¡°She grew up those past months. I saw first hand the difference in strength.¡± she felt proud at having noticed that, making Rick proud in turn. ¡°You¡¯re getting stronger. Fast. faster than anyone I¡¯ve ever seen.¡± ¡°I know.¡± Her amusement in her voice, clear. ¡°...¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°Seriously, why are you being so agreeable and mature!? You¡¯re a teenager! You should be shouting at me, at the injustice and unfairness of the world or something! How much I don¡¯t understand you and am a crappy father or¡­ or¡­ Not being too¡­ adult before your time.¡± ¡°Or perhaps, me being so adult is in fact a big prank I¡¯m getting you with.¡± ¡°...You know¡­ That¡¯s something that I''d do. Since you¡¯re my daughter, I¡¯m not sure if it¡¯s a joke or not but definitely possible. Shit, am I bing Garp?¡± Eri just giggled, gave him a hug and left the dining room for the deck. Shaking his head in both amusement and annoyance, he went up the crow nest for training. His haki needed polishing. He did that for the next few days until they reached their destination. A big fleet was gathered around the ind, making their approach difficult. Thankfully, Sunny was the best ship on the seas so it wouldn¡¯t be a problem. That is if Rick wasn¡¯t ready to sink all their ships with his gravity. There was no need however as apparently, the cross guild was celebrating something. ¡°shy entrance?¡± inquired Zoro to his captain. ¡°Hmm.¡± ¡°So, Zoro gets Mihawk, I think everyone knows that but what about the others? Crocodile? Buggy?¡± Rick asked. ¡°I¡¯ll take Crocodile. This time I want to defeat him by my own strength, not because of a fluke.¡± Luffy stated, remembering that he had used his blood to attain victory back in basta two years ago. ¡°As for Buggy, it¡¯s a free for all.¡± ¡°A game then.¡± said Jimbei. ¡°Who gets to Buggy first?¡± ¡°Yohohoho, yes! But also who beat the most subordinates.¡± ¡°Hey! That¡¯s cheating, Rick can all ttened them in one go!¡± Usopp¡¯s protest made sense and everyone began to argue what Rick could and couldn¡¯t do. In the end he was forbidden to use his gravity in a wide area effect and not with his sprouts which in his eyes seemed fair. Of the girls, only Baby-5 and Reiju would participate, Nami and Robin, choosing to stay behind to guard Vivia and Eri, just in case. At Luffy¡¯s signal which wasunching himself with his arms right into the middle of the settlement, the rest of the crew moved as fast as they could once Ricknded everyone onnd. ~~~~~ Buggy the clown was having a bad day. More and more people were bringing him proof of the death of marines officers. Usually this would be a good thing, however it was too much all at once. His funds were limited and while Crocodile was an excellent businessman making lots of money the amount they got was lower than the amount they paid people. It wouldn¡¯t have happened had Buggy not opened his loud mouth and promised bonuses when he was coaxed by his subordinates¡¯ admiration. The day of one of the emperors suddenly got worse when Alvida ran into the cross guild¡¯s leader¡¯s room in panic. ¡°We¡¯re under attack!¡± On the spot Crocodile was on his feet while Mihawk drained the entirety of his ss of wine in one go and put it down loudly on the table he was sitting at. ¡°What?! Who is it? Did the marines already¡­¡± ¡°It¡¯s Straw hat!¡± ¡°...What the hell is he doing here?!¡± eximed the clown after a moment of shock. ¡°That¡¯s good. I have a matter to settle with that shit.¡± Crocodile left the room leisurely. ¡°If he¡¯s here then my student must be too. It¡¯s an earlier reunion than I thought but one I will relish.¡±mented Mihawk, picking up Yoru and putting it on his back. He left the room with hidden excitement. ¡°What do we do?!¡± ¡°We have the others fight them of course! Meanwhile we prepare to get away!¡± ~~~~~ On the straw hats sides, they were having the times of their lives. Rick had decided to simply go with a hand to hand fighting style. Punching and kicking any pirates in his way oring his way away. It was difficult to navigate through the mass of pirates around, especially with the big area effect of the others hits. Usopp and his nts, Franky and Baby-5 weapons. Though to be fair thetter destroyed more buildings than anything. The fastest were, without surprise, Sanji and Reiju. The Vinsmoke sibling were quick and efficient moving around and taking down any one they could pout their hands or in Sanji¡¯s case, legs, on. Lastly, Jimbei, Brook and Chopper had formed a team and went their own way wreaking havoc. As the small fries began to fall in numbers, the morepetent pirates began to appear. Rick, deciding to be the one to kick Buggy¡¯s ass, had been merciless and didn¡¯t stop his charge, leaving behind plenty of conscious cross guild members. As he ran forward he suddenly dove on the ground, barely dodging a shing from the side. Many poor sods were not as lucky and got done in by the powerful hit. Turning his head to the right and using observation he felt Zoro going toe to toe with his teacher in a merciless frenzy. He also felt Luffy going at it with Crocodile. To his surprise and dness the two went out of the area to fight more easily and without any one bothering them. That meant that Buggy was all alone. Rising himself up from the ground he resumed his treck and reached the main building. ¡°Where''s Big nose?¡± he asked the pirates present and got attacked as an answer. He had to admit the ones he was facing were good. At least in the multiple Millions Berry. He had to use haki and take them seriously or he would have gotten hurt. It wasn¡¯t much of a problem but time consuming. When he was done, he reached the highest part of the building to catch Buggy freeze as he was exiting by an open window with a very big bag on his back. ¡°Now, where do you think you¡¯re going?¡± the straw hat vice captain said, using his gravity on the man and ttening him on the ground. ¡°You can¡¯t leave without¡­¡± He stopped himself and moved his body to the side, catching a hand holding a knife in his hand. ¡°Trying to backstab? Nice try, but observation haki, you know?¡± hemented, crushing the hand so hard that he heard the bones break. Buggy¡¯s screams confirmed that it happened. ¡°What do you want?! I never bother any of you!¡± ¡°From what I heard, that¡¯s not entirely true.¡± Rick replied walking towards the down man. ¡°That was three years ago! It¡¯s water under the bridge! They weren¡¯t even full-fledged pirates yet!¡± ¡°Well, I don¡¯t care. It¡¯s not why we¡¯re here anyway.¡± ¡°Then why are you?!¡± ¡°One, because you¡¯re an emperor. Luffy¡¯s dream of bing the pirate king means that you¡¯re in his way.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t care about that! That¡¯s my subordinate''s fault! I just wanted to be rich and do whatever I wanted!¡± ¡°Which brings us to reason number two: You¡¯re one of the only leads we have for thest rio poneglyph. The other one being Shanks but we don''t know where he is.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know anything about that!¡± ¡°Really? I doubt it. You were on Roger¡¯s crew after all. Tell you what, you tell me what we want truthfully and you live. Don¡¯t and¡­¡± ¡°Alright, alright!¡± ¡°Thest rio poneglyph. We found the one in Wano, the one in Zhou and the one Big Mom¡¯s used to own before I sent her to meet her maker. Thest one, we suspect, was on fishman ind taken by Roger and his crew.¡± ¡°It was. We got back to the surface with it. The shit took a lot of space! We were all cramped. But I don''t know where it is! I swear! The captain disbanded the crew and I left before he or someone else took it to whatever it is now?!¡± Rick observed the down clown carefully and detected no lies in his words. ¡°Then you¡¯re useless.¡± ¡°Wait! Wait! Wait! You said¡­!¡± the clown urged and pleaded at Rick¡¯s finality in his tone.¡± ¡°I know what I said and I¡¯m a man of my word. You¡¯ll live.¡± he said and kicked the emperor of the sea hard. Hard enough that he was sent flying. Turning around, Rick began to search for anything valuable that he could steal for Nami. He still had a debt to settle after all. It didn¡¯t take long until team Jimbei, Brook and Chopper joined him in the building, for Buggy¡¯s head. Too bad for them that was already taken care of and so began to help Rick in stealing things, while keeping their observation haki in use to feel how the big fights were going. Luffy had the upper hand with Crocodile while Zoro was almost fighting on par with Mihawk. ¡®Almost¡¯ was the worrying part. They had faith in their teammate though so they observed silently. As the sounds of battle began to subside, more and more members of the crew arrived in the building. Sanji and Reiju then Usopp thenstly Franky and Baby-5. Sanji began cooking something for everyone when Luffy came in with a few bruises and cuts but victorious. They all sat down on the roof to actually see the battle between perhaps the two best swordsmen in the world. ¡°Shit, they¡¯re monsters.¡± whispered Usopp. No one could contradict him, the very battlefield they were witnessing was aplete mess, with clean cut huge morsels of ground being sent everywhere. Finally, both men went for ast attack. Full of armament haki, three swords met one. As the Mihawk was winning, Zoro began to use his conqueror haki and turned the table over. Mihawk¡¯s surprise for a slip of a second was more than enough for Zoro to seize victory and cut down his teacher, leaving a nasty scar on his torso. It was the same Mihawk had given him when they first met but in a vertical symmetry. When Zoro fell down out of exhaustion after his victory, Rick used sprouted hands to make both fighters float and bring them to their location. ¡°Congrattions!¡± Chopper shouted to his friend to have a look at him while Reiju went for an unconscious Mihawk. ¡°So, how does it feel to be the best swordsman in the world?¡± asked a happy and curious Usopp but got no answer, which was not unusual for Zoro. ¡°Don¡¯t get used to it, Eri is going to take that title from you in a few years.¡± joked Rick, prompting Zoro to smile evilly at the prospect. Once the wounded were treated properly Rick made everyone and their loot float to Sunny where they noticed Eri having her foot on an unconscious Buggy. It seemed like the emperor of the sea hadnded here, or near and thought he could steal the ship and get away. His daughter had dissuaded him quickly. That was a great victory for the crew even if they didn¡¯t get what they were looking for. Or so thought everyone that fought at first. ~~~~~ ¡°That was ballsy of the captain to do that.¡± ¡°He saw an opportunity and took it, that¡¯s all.¡± Two pirates were talking as they swiped a broom on the deck of the ship they were sailing on. Further down, near the bow, a red haired, one armed man crouched down to wake up his captive. It was a pure stroke of luck for him that just when he went to see his old pal Buggy to get information on the straw hats, he and his crew found them there. Not only that but his target was also unprotected. So of course he acted and here they were. Putting as much distance as they could with the straw hats. Not like he didn¡¯t want to see Luffy but going after him now after the whole crew fought didn¡¯t sit well with him. No, their reunion would be when everyone was at their best. Besides, he didn¡¯t want to fight that man if he could. And he indeed could, so got away with it, though he knew it wouldn¡¯t be for long. As he woke his prisoner gently he spoke a few soft words once they were fully awake. ¡°Besides your hair, you could be your mother¡¯s twin. Wee on board the Red Force, Nico Robin.¡± Not a Chapter but fun facts #11 Not a Chapter but fun facts #11

Not a Chapter but fun facts #11

I¡¯m finally done with the ante-penultimate arc of this fan fiction. It¡¯s been quite a bitch. Not to write but to think about. Funny thing is, the moment I finish writing NaCb#10 I had a bout of inspiration on what to do. I wrote pages and pages of notes and while some things had changed a bit (you¡¯ll see below), I mostly stayed on the course I set myself on. There are only two arcs left and while small are quite important and heavy. In fact this arc and the next could have been a single one but I decided to do it like this for¡­. Reasons. What I do know is that you won¡¯t see the end of the next arcing! Here are the facts:
  • Eri should not have sneaked on Sunny and stayed on O¡¯hara. I changed it for theughs.
  • Vivi should have been Imu¡¯s prisoner but I put her on Fishman ind because, well, it made more sense that way with what I want to do for the end of the story.
  • The Mori Mori no Mi should have been eaten by someone who would have bloomed a new tree of knowledge on O¡¯hara. (It can still happen but most likely after the epilogue)
  • Buggy should have actually found the fourth andst rio poneglyph but that presented me with a problem. The loose ends needing to be tied up kind.
Now you may have noticed but the chapters¡¯ titles are not all a reference. Not anymore. It¡¯s been incredibly hard to find a quote fitting each chapter. Nothing new, I always suspected that it would happen. See you in the next and final NaCb. That¡¯s right I¡¯m doing one for two arcs. Chapter 130: Incompetence reached a new height Chapter 130: Ipetence reached a new height

Chapter 130: Ipetence reached a new height

¡°HAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!¡± A powerful, distressed and full of rage scream could be heard from all over O¡¯hara. It scared most people, who were simply civilians, into thinking someone was being attacked. Even members of the R.A. thought it was the case. Thankfully an officer in the know exined what it was to Sabo who had returned to this part of Grand Line. ¡°That¡¯s¡­ Huh¡­ Chief Ko went to talk to Miss Kaza about recent news.¡± ¡°Did Rick die?!¡± the blond asked quickly. He had recognized the voice¡¯s owner, had known Kaza for a bit here and there and knew how batshit insane she was about the man. He didn¡¯t envy Rick at all. ¡°Not exactly, sir.¡± the officer replied and offered a wanted poster to his superior. Taking a moment to understand what he was seeing, Sabo¡¯s eyes popped right out of their orbits when his brain began to work again. ¡°Holy shit!¡± ~~~~~ ¡°How can that be?!¡± yelled a downtrodden Sanji, looking at the reward on his new wanted poster. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, Sanji. It¡¯s just a mistake from the World Government.¡± his sister tried to cheer him up. ¡°I know how you feel.¡± sympathized Chopper, sporting a big smile on his face. For once, the Navy had done their job properly and actually saw Chopper transform. In consequence his bounty had been appropriately modified. ¡°Besides, the bounty is not about one¡¯s strength, it¡¯s also about one¡¯s deeds and she did one hell of a deed. Yohohoho.¡± To the side Eri was shocked speechless at the wanted posters pinned against the wooden wall. Monkey D. Luffy, Captain of the Strawhats pirates: 4B Wal D. Rick, ¡®World¡¯s worst traitor¡¯,Vice-Captain of the Strawhats pirates: 4,150B Roronoa Zoro, ¡®The Pirate hunter¡¯, world strongest swordsman: 3.6B Jimbei, Knight of the sea: 1.3B Vinsmoke ¡®ck Leg¡¯ Sanji: 1.250B Vinsmoke ¡®Poison Pink¡¯ Reiju: 900M ¡®God¡¯ Usopp : 800M Franky the Cyborg: 636M ¡®Soul King¡¯ Brook: 578M Baby-5: 480M Tony-Tony Chopper: 300M Nami and Robin not having taken part in the fight against Buggy and the rest of the Cross Guild their bounty stayed the same. It was the veryst poster that had the teenager out for a loop. ¡®The Traitor¡¯s daughter¡¯ Wal D. Eri: 3B One of the Cypher Pol agents had been undercover in the Cross guild and saw Buggy ¡®fly¡¯ from the main building to lend on the Sunny where Eri proceeded to quickly kick his ass, using her observation haki to dodge all his hits and ended up knocking him out with a strike of the pommel of her sword to the head. With his binocrs and skills, the agent learned her name and who her father was by reading on the lips of the members present. Once the crew left in a hurry, he reported everything to Fleet Admiral Sakazuki through den den mushi and to Admiral Fujitora in person who was leading the marines fleet that came on the ind to take down the Emperor and his people. The rest is history. The teen was not proud at all. More than anything she was confused and fearful. She hadn¡¯t nned to be a pirate, she just wanted to spend time with her father and explore the world. Now she had a big target on her back and she wasn¡¯t nearly strong enough to fight the people that went after a 3 Billion Berry bounty. ¡°I think you broke some kind of record.¡± said Ussop trying to help. ¡°I¡¯m thirteen!¡± ¡°It¡¯s alright, you get used to it.¡±forted Nami who had been in her situation. Sure she had been older and her first bounty was not that astronomical but she understood. ¡°I don¡¯t want to get used to it! Dad!¡± She tried to find some support from her father but the news of Robin being taken by Shanks and his crew had sent him in a murderous mood and had none to offer. The Emperor had snuck on Sunny and after using his conqueror haki to make everyone on board unconscious, took Robin with him back to his own ship and left. Eri, barely holding to her consciousness, saw him just before passing out. She had woken up a few minutes before Buggynded on the deck. ¡°Then train to the point you don¡¯t have to worry about anyoneing after you.¡± Zoro said, tossing her Ryusei. Looking at her de in her hands then back to her teacher, she steeled herself and nodded. Drawing the de, she went with him to a free part of the deck and they began a spar. On the side, Mihawk, now the second best swordsman in the world, was sitting at the table where Reiju and Brook were enjoying drinks. The man, always impable with his look, wore simply his regr pants and a white shirt, mostly open in the middle. Anyone could see his heavily bandaged torso. He didn¡¯t understand at first why he was on their ship when he woke up but Chopper had been very thorough with his exnation. Just like he had spared Zoro¡¯s life the first time they met, Zoro had spared his. He was on the Sunny because his wound had needed a lot of work and they couldn¡¯t do that on the ind when a whole marine fleet was not far away. He was grateful for it, not for being alive but for being free. During the day he had been up he hade to observe the strawhats and found that they were not like any pirate crew he had ever met. They were the kind of crew that you met once in a blue moon, more interested in freedom and adventure than in piging, plundering and all other pastime activities that pirates were known for. While feeling a constant chill running down his spine any time Rick was closed, the man emitting a disturbing amount of killing intent, he got used to it. Instead he used his time convalescing to watch Zoro teach a little girl which, he had to admit, was quite good for her age with a de in hand. It was obvious for a master like him to recognize it as one of the 50 skillful des. He couldn¡¯t mistake it as Ryusei had a very peculiar appearance. All ck with white dots on it reminding one of the sky at night. That wasn¡¯t what drew him to watch her. No, it was the way she used her haki. She imbued her de with armament a split second before the hit struck and used observation to deviate the trajectory of her opponent¡¯s sword instead of parrying it. That created openings for her to counter attack. The worst was that it seemed that she did it instinctively. She was fighting with everything she had but made absolutely no waste in her resources. Be it her movements, her stamina or her haki. ¡®A true prodigy of the sword.¡¯ the former shichibukai thought and couldn¡¯t help but wish to have a go at a spar with her. He would win for sure but he wanted to see how she would react to his own style. Maybe one day, once she had be a master, cross de for real too. Regardless of what he was thinking, he found himself not in a hurry anymore to heal and leave this ship. Not like he could anyway. He was no prisoner since his own sword was avable to him but he couldn¡¯t really go anywhere. In the end, he made the decision to rx and enjoy his time. On the side, Nami and Reiju were talking about Rick with Luffy. ¡°I¡¯m worried he¡¯s going to lose it.¡± said the redhead. ¡°He won¡¯t.¡± retorted the pink haired princess to which Luffy agreed. ¡°He won¡¯t but¡­ he will blow up at the first person that isn¡¯t us.¡± ¡°What are we supposed to do then? And what about Robin?¡± inquired Nami. ¡°Shanks will not hurt Robin, he¡¯s not like that. He will treat her well, but I do want her back.¡± ¡°You do remember that without her we can¡¯t get to Laugh Tale?¡± ¡°I do and everything will be fine, Nami.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t think red-haired Shanks has all the rio poneglyph.¡± Reiju¡¯s thoughts were spoken aloud. ¡°What makes you say that?¡± ¡°Two of them were under the watch of Kaidou and Big Mom. He may have found the one on Zhou with his ties to the mink tribe and perhaps know of the location of thest one but he is most likely missing some of them.¡± ¡°... Why take Robin away then?¡± asked Luffy. ¡°Because it was a golden opportunity. He could always ask for an exchange. Robin for the rio poneglyphs writings we have.¡± exined Nami. ¡°Oh, okay.¡± ¡°You know him best, Luffy. What do you think he would do?¡± ¡°Hmm¡­ Shanks is a prettyid-back guy. He doesn¡¯t like fighting but would if it¡¯s to protect the people he cares about. He would choose not to fight if it¡¯s possible though.¡± ¡°So that gives some weight to the possibility that he would make a deal with us. The question is why didn¡¯t he contact us yet?¡± wondered Nami. ¡°Dunno.¡± shrugged her captain. ¡°And what about Rick?¡± ¡°I was thinking of changing my mind about going back to following the pose. There is no point to an adventure if we¡¯re not all together so instead, I¡¯ve decided to go after ckbeard. That way he can let go and we can save grandpa.¡± ¡°That might calm him down a bit.¡± remarked Reiju. ¡°Alright, I¡¯m getting the eternal pose for Hachinosu.¡± On the spot, Nami went to the Map room where the eternal poses were shelved, picked the one she was looking for and came back outside the ship to give it to Jimbei. ~~~~~ Robin had not spoken a word ever since she had been woken up by Shanks on his ship. Not when the man began to talk and tell her stories about her mother. She wasn¡¯t scared one bit, not after the life she had and thanks to the knowledge that her friends, wife and most notably husband were looking for her. Attentive was the word. She tried to learn everything she could about every member of the Shanks pirates to use it to her advantage at the opportune moment. The second the situation was favorable for an escape and her captors with their guard down, she would act. She had looked the shop from top to bottom to find something that could help her but herck of Karma Points didn¡¯t allow her to buy anything useful except food. ¡°It¡¯s been two weeks already. Don¡¯t you think it¡¯s time to stop being stubborn and talk? Or at least eat? It¡¯s not poisoned.¡± said the emperor as he brought to her room some food. ¡°... I have nothing to say that would interest you. Unless you like the prediction of your death, in that case I have plenty of words.¡± she replied in a passive aggressive manner making the manugh. ¡°Finally! I¡¯m not particrly fond of death predictions but if it¡¯s the way for you to begin having a conversation then please go ahead.¡± ¡°By kidnapping me, you unleashed one of the most dangerous men in the world. He won¡¯t stop at just you if you¡¯re unfortunate.¡± ¡°Ah! Your husband. Had the pleasure to meet with him briefly in Wano. Charming, I have to say. Quite daring too. Taking down a zealous Admiral while I was trying to make him back off.¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°I guess that was all the words I was going to get from you today. A tad disappointing but it¡¯s fine. Here, you may find the news interesting.¡± he said, putting a newspaper at the edge of her bed. Robin picked it up and reading the head news, smiled amusedly. Her husband was really out to get her back. ¡°That¡¯s two emperors down.¡± she remarked aloud. ¡°And I¡¯m supposed to be next? Perhaps. Not if I have anything to say.¡± ¡°You don¡¯t. Not when you¡¯re facing them. Especially him.¡± ~~~~~ A few days earlier Nami had tried her very best to cheer up andfort her husband but it was to no avail. It was to the point that Diana gave him a time out and took control. That sent the whole crew in panic when Rick joined everyone at breakfast with horns and blood red eyes. ¡°I put him to sleep. His thoughts were irritating me.¡± she said as she sat down near Usopp, who was trembling like a leaf, picked a few waffles from the te in the middle of the table to put in her own and took a bite as if everything was normal. It took the navigator of the crew a few minutes to exin what was going on and who Diana was. When Luffy said that she was cool, the Goddess looked at him in the eyes for a moment before going back to chewing her food. Afterwards, Nami took her to the side. ¡°Is he really that furious that you had to take over?¡± ¡°No.¡± ¡°Then why¡­¡± ¡°His self loathing was annoying.¡± ¡°Self loath¡­ He¡¯s ming himself?!¡± eximed the redhead. ¡°He is. He could have left a single clone with you but did not. The Sunny was sufficiently far away from the fight and he didn¡¯t think you needed protection since you all can take care of yourselves. His mistake was to not think of an Emperor of the sea showing up no matter how low the odds.¡± ¡°That¡¯s¡­ He can¡¯t predict everything! Even the best observation haki user can only see a few seconds in the future, not hours!¡± ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter to him.¡± ¡°Any idea how to help him?¡± ¡°Find Robin.¡± ¡°Easier said than done.¡± ¡°Then find him something to punch until he can¡¯t raise his arms anymore. He has a tendency to channel most of his emotion into anger.¡± ¡°Good thing we¡¯re almost at ckbeard¡¯s ind then.¡± ¡°Yes¡­¡± Nami didn¡¯t miss the lost look in Diana¡¯s eyes but didn¡¯tment on it. They weren¡¯t close enough to ask personal questions and the moment became awkward. Fortunately for the ship¡¯s navigator, Chopper came running to her. ¡°Hachinosu is in sight, Luffy said to gather on the deck.¡± he told them and left to where he came, Nami following him. ¡®Are you going to stop or should I stay in control?¡¯ ¡®...¡¯ ¡®Fine, suit yourself.¡¯ ¡®You broke your promise.¡¯ ¡®Out of care for you.¡¯ ¡®... It sounds weird to hear that from you. Your calm and collected manner of speech is even weirder.¡¯ ¡®Look, you and I are roomies. Has been for a long time. Your friends? I don¡¯t know them, they¡¯re strangers to me so I will definitely not be all mushy with them. Now are you going to stop moping around or not?¡¯ ¡®... I will but only because I need to vent.¡¯ ¡®Good.¡¯ she replied and gave back control of his body. When he came onto the deck, everyone looked at him. ¡°What?¡± he asked curtly. ¡°Since you clearly need it, you get a headstart to blow some steam.¡± answered Sanji. ¡°...Nice. How long do I have?¡± ¡°Half an hour or less if you''re having troubles.¡± replied Luffy. ¡°That¡¯s a lot. Don¡¯tin if there is no one left to fight.¡±mented Rick, ignoring the part about having trouble. Taking to the sky he flew towards the ind andnded on its edge. He raised his hand up and summoned a dozen meteors who fell all over the ce. He started to walk casually, using his gravity to knock out people against each other or against a wall or the ground. It took three minutes forpetent pirates to notice amidst the chaos that he was there attacking them. They all were knocked out too. That is until he reached the center of the ind. There awaiting him was ckbeard and his officers. He knew only two of them, the former warden of Impel Down, the one before Maegen, and Aokiji. ¡°Well, well, well. If it isn¡¯t the strawhats vice-captain.¡± the emperor weed. Rick¡¯s answer was simple. He sprouted arms in a circle around him and with heavy gravity pushed away everything around him. He had put so much strength in it that no building was left standing. The group facing him had used haki to fight it and stay on their feet. ¡°My ind! You¡¯re going to pay¡­¡± ckbeard stopped his sentence when Rick disappeared from his line of view to reappear right in front of one of the officers with horns and a very long and thin mustache. The strawhats Vice-captain made a sh movement with his arm. His hand, all in ck, forming a w, simply ripped through the man, destroying his body from his left shoulder, including the neck, to the other side of his torso. ¡°Next.¡± was all he said after killing an officer. Too dumbfounded by his disy, Rick didn¡¯t miss the opportunity to attack again and nearly got a second officer if not for the intervention of Aokiji. The iceman had blocked the hit with his arm covered in armament but he could feel the strange and powerful suction Rick¡¯s hand was emitting. ¡°I¡¯m only going to tell you this once, Uncle. Don¡¯t intervene or you will be among the bodies.¡± That was the only warning the former Admiral got before a hand sprouted on his back and sent him high up in the sky. His senses in alert and using his observation haki, Rick covered his whole body in ck, absorbing every bullet or weapon that came in contact with him. One had been dumb enough to hit him with his fist and got his arm ripped apart. Not missing the opportunity Rick made his ck holed hand go through his head. ¡°What kind of monster are you?!¡± inquired in disbelief the former warden holding his broken sword in hand. ¡°I am Death. Devourer of worlds.¡± ¡®That¡¯s not the line!¡¯ Ignoring her, Rick sprouted seven clones. One for each of the officers. Taken by surprise again, two opponents were absorbed by the clones¡¯ ck holed bodies. The first sported a star on the left side of his forehead, the other was the only woman in the group. The five others dodged and survived but the clones were not idle and put them on their back foot. ¡°Enough!¡± yelled a furious Marshall D. Teach, using his Yami Yami no Mi abilities. His body had something looking like ck me around it and the ground surrounding him was the same with one difference. The mes rippled towards their creator. Feeling a pull forwards towards the Emperor, Rick increased the gravity of his ck hole more to counterbnce the darkness sucking power. That was a risky gamble. He had practiced covering his skin in armament haki then concentrating his gravity, to the point of creating a ck hole above it. It was a very demanding action requiring his whole focus and an amount of haki so great that he couldn¡¯t use this ability for long. That was the reason why his failed assassination attempt on ckbeard¡¯s officers from his clones forced him to stop them using this skill. Having five clones draining his haki like that was simply suicide. It was better to let them fight normally. However, with Teach¡¯s darkness, he couldn¡¯t afford to do so. ¡°Do you really think your paltry imitation of gravity could equal me?¡± He taunted the emperor. ¡°Darkness swallows everything!¡± said back the man, trying to suck Rick into himself. ¡°Not everything but that¡¯s not the point anyway. You can ¡®regurgitate¡¯ everything you swallow in a mangled state but I can¡¯t because gravity is that much stronger. It shreds everything to nothingness, even time!¡± At that point, as if to prove what he meant, the heavy hitters of the crew arrived at the fight¡¯s location. Yet it hadn¡¯t been thirty minutes for Rick, nor has he been in trouble. The only exnation was that with a ck hole opened and in full effect, time slowed down the closer you were to it. From the corner of his eye, Rick saw Sanji and his opponent, who were the farthest from him moved at a speed that should be humanly impossible. After letting out a scream of anger, Teach rushed forward to take a hold of Rick and thetter answered by grabbing both fists in his hands. Thanks to Darkness having a canceling effect, ckbeard wasn¡¯t sucked in and they were locked into a suction contest. ¡°Trying to prove who sucks the most, Eh? For once the one who does will be the winner.¡± Rick joked openly, trying to hide the fact that he was struggling like hell. Teach was darkness itself. It was a state of being, he just was. Rick on the other hand wasn¡¯t gravity incarnate and creating a ck hole needed a lot of focus. It wasn¡¯t his natural state. While Diana not blocking his power made it way easier for him to manipte gravity he wasn¡¯t gravity itself. Adding to that, he has to use armament to protect himself from the ck hole¡¯s effect. Rick wasn¡¯t in a good situation at all. While gravity was aw of nature that was ruling nature itself, which Darkness was part of, he wasn¡¯t thatw and could only use it as he wished. That¡¯s why, despite being more powerful he couldn¡¯t obliterate ckbeard on the spot; he needed control to use that power when his opponent did not. To use the maximum of his strength, both gravity and haki, Rick made his clones disappear and stopped the ck hole surrounding his body to put everything in his hands. He didn¡¯t need his body protected anymore as his hands were attracting everything to them. In a one vs one that would have been the best move to make, unfortunately it never was a one vs one fight. One of ckbeard¡¯s officers, with some kind of sniper sight for sses, could teleport and did so right behind Rick. Gun in hand he immediately shot at Rick¡¯s back before teleporting away. The bullet missed the heart by some kind of miracle but got a lung. The shock broke his focus for a moment and Teach didn¡¯t miss the opportunity to absorb Rick¡¯s hands, going up to his forearms. This time Rick held on and could still feel his hands in whatever ce everything the emperor sucked in, went. It was a strange feeling but presented a perfect opportunity. Rick pushed his gravity and armament to the limits and ckbeard began to be sucking into his own darkness. ¡°Wha¡­ How do you do that?!¡± a panicked Teach shouted. ¡°You may be nature itself but I control aw that rules over nature. You were never a match!¡± Unable to do anything, the emperor was sucked into his own darkness thenpletelypressed into Rick¡¯s ck holed hands. The officer had tried once again his stunt against Rick, but thanks to the use of observation haki, he turned around just in time to have the man swallowed by his captain¡¯s darkness then his opponent¡¯s ck hole. Once ckbeard died, Rick took a breather. Or at least tried. A punctured lung, blood filling it, made him suffocate more than anything. ¡®Diana, could I regenerate my lung?¡¯ ¡®You could in theory.¡¯ ¡®In theory?¡¯ ¡®A lung is not thatplicated but you still have it. Should you fix your wound your blood would still be in your lung and you would still suffocate.¡¯ ¡®Alright.¡¯ Trying to take a big breath to prepare himself for what he was about to do, he realized it was a bad idea when he began to cough blood. Gritting his teeth he covered his right hand with a ck hole once again and put it where his damaged lung was supposed to be. It wasn¡¯t a strong one, just strong enough to tear his flesh apart on contact. The hard part was not damaging his heart who was so close. His carefulness paid off and his lung was sucked in. Quickly he sprouted a new one along with ribs, blood vessels, skin and muscle. Falling to the ground he coughed air this time. ¡®You¡¯re a madman, you know? You could have just gone to your doctor and they would have operated on you.¡¯ ¡®The battle is not over, they¡­¡¯ ¡®You defeated this pirate crew¡¯s captain and half of its officers, the rest are being dealt with by your friends.¡¯ ¡®...¡¯ ¡®Gosh! We really need Robin back, you¡¯re behaving like a moron when she¡¯s not there. Why couldn¡¯t I be back to self awareness inside of her? She has such a nice body too.¡¯ ¡®On that we agree.¡¯ ¡®Now don¡¯t do anything stupid anymore! I feel all you feel, remember? I felt enough pain for the whole month.¡¯ ¡®My bad. Sometimes I forget.¡¯ ¡®See that you don¡¯t from now on.¡¯ The conversation stopped and Rick looked around. His crew mates seemed to have the situation in hand. Remembering that he had sent Aokiji up to a height of a sky ind, he brought him down. ¡°That wasn¡¯t really nice.¡±mented an irritated iceman. ¡°Of course not. You¡¯re uncle Nice after all, not me. But joke aside, I just killed ckbeard and five of his officers. Do you really want to be the sixth?¡± ¡°...¡± eyes narrowing, was the only answer he got. ¡°Personally I¡¯d rather not. Instead I¡¯d rather go search for grandpa. He¡¯s being held up here isn¡¯t he?¡± ¡°... He is.¡± ¡°Lead the way, then.¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°Please?¡± Rick asked in a childish voice. Letting out a tired sigh with a hint of annoyance, Aokiji agreed. What could he do? Try to take Rick on when he had dealt with him so easily? Even tired? Unlikely for that to happen. Not like he wanted to try in the first ce. ¡°Even death didn¡¯t change you. You D¡­ I¡¯m ming Garp! Between Dragon, your captain and you¡­ Fine followed me.¡± the former Admiral replied and began to walk towards the giant and t skull mountain behind them. ¡°Soooo. How is it going? Did I fucked your mission up?¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°Ah, right. First rule of being undercover, deniy being a double agent at any cost if you¡¯re suspected.¡± ¡°... Too smart for your own good.¡± They reached the skull and entered it. After going down some stairs they arrived at what was a dungeon with multiple cells. In thest one was a very weak Garp. ¡°What are you doing here?!¡± Or rather a very weak looking Garp. ¡°Shanks kidnapped my wife while we put Buggy and his Cross Guild down. I needed to punch someone to oblivion and Luffy in a stroke of genius decided to go after Teach. That way I could blow up some steam and as a bonus rescue you.¡± ¡°...Really?¡± asked a subdued Garp. ¡°Of course. You¡¯re my grandpa. I can¡¯t let you be someone¡¯s prisoner.¡± Rick replied with a warm and disarming smile that Garp would deny having missed. ¡°... Oh.¡± ¡°Did you really think I wouldn¡¯te and bust your ass out? Sure, if Luffy had forbidden it I wouldn¡¯t have. On the spot at least. I would have waited for the moment after he became the pirate king to do it.¡± Rick replied, shredding the steel bars of the cells with his gravity and using armament to break the chains warped all around Garp. ¡°Who asked you for help? Huh? Nobody!¡± the old Vice Admiral said, a bit embarrassed. ¡°That¡¯s the thing with family. You never need to ask for help, you just get it.¡± Rick pulled his grandfather up and hugged him, something that Garp didn¡¯t hesitate to do back. When they separated Rick had an evil grin on his face and Garp was brought back twenty years back for a split second. ¡°Just to make it clear, I may not like someone else having you as a prisoner but I have no such qualms about myself.¡± ¡°I knew it! I knew that crooked smile!¡± Aokiji couldn¡¯t help himself and smiled at the sight. Something that Rick certainly didn¡¯t miss. ¡°You¡¯re my prisoner too.¡± And just like that the former Admiral¡¯s smile disappeared. ¡°Come on, let''s go back to the Sunny. Chopper will have a good look at you, Grandpa and I¡¯m sure you¡¯d be delighted to see Eri.¡± ¡°Eri... She¡¯s here?! Are you mad?! You took your daughter to the New World?!¡± ¡°First off! You don¡¯t get to mouth on me when you dropped me on an deserted ind to fend for myself, facing wild beasts when I was six! If I¡¯m screwed up in the head it¡¯s probably because of you! Second! She sneaked onto the ship when we left the ind she and Kaza were hiding on. I¡¯m both super annoyed and super proud of her for that.¡± The exnation was done with a bright grin on his face. ¡°She also has the third highest bounty of the strawhats crew for taking down Buggy.¡± Aokijimented. ¡°WHAT?!¡± Garp nearly fainted at that. ¡°Oh, it¡¯s a long story. I¡¯ll tell you on the ship.¡± Chapter 131: At the end of the world Chapter 131: At the end of the world

Chapter 131: At the end of the world

¡°I can see the resemnce between Grandpa and uncle now.¡± Everyone agreed with Eri when they looked at Garp and Luffy''s eating habits. Their stomachs were bottomless pits. ¡°Is it alright?¡± asked Usopp out of the blue. ¡°What is?¡± ¡°A former admiral who was after Robin who is also a member of the ckbeard¡¯s pirates and a Vice-admiral who tried to kill us, free to roam the ship?Aren¡¯t they prisoners?¡± the sniper of the crew pointed out. ¡°There.¡± Rick sprouted some arms in the storage room, took two pieces of ropes and brought them back to the dining room to put them around the two men¡¯s wrists. Loosely and with a lot of leeway. ¡°Now they¡¯re tied up.¡± he joked. ¡°That¡¯s not what I meant!¡± ¡°It¡¯s not like they can do anything bute with us. Rick destroyed all the ships on the ind.¡± reproached Nami with a re towards her husband. Something that Mihawk did too from his corner of the table. The man wanted to be out of this ship and far from this insane crew and fast. His hopes were dashed now. ¡°It was an ident! I don¡¯t choose where the meteors fall, you know!¡± ¡°Then don¡¯t summon them in the first ce!¡± ¡°But it wouldn¡¯t have made a shy entr¡­¡± and he was sent flying against the wall by Nami¡¯s love punch. ¡°That was both scary and really cool, dad.¡± ¡°Thank you, Eri. At least my daughter is supportive!¡± he faked the hurt at the implied notion that his wife was abusive. ¡°The ship is getting crowded though.¡± remarked Zoro after finishing his mug of ale. He was right. The Sunny could hold a crew of twenty people and they were currently seventeen. Add to that, Garp and Aokiji were rather big men¡­ ¡°It¡¯s temporary. Mihawk is leaving as soon as he can. Grandpa is our prisoner for now and¡­ actually, Uncle you could just leave with your ice.¡± ¡°I¡¯d rather not.¡± replied the iceman, taking a piece of sausage from his te. ¡°Not to change the subject but what do we do now? We¡¯re still not any closer to getting Robin back.¡± What Franky said was the truth. They had no idea where she and the Shanks pirates were. And while dealing with ckbeard had set Rick into a better frame of mind he wasn¡¯t quite alright. He would never be, not without her. ¡°Teach was preparing to make a move on Shanks himself soon. Old debts to settle, apparently. Last I heard, the Shanks pirates were making their way to Lodestar.¡± Aokiji revealed. ¡°And I destroyed the one and only known Eternal Pose leading to the ind.¡± thought out loud Rick who facepalmed. ¡°Not the only one.¡± Everyone stopped doing what they were doing and turned to Mihawk. Even Garp and Luffy. ¡°With Domingo¡¯s demise, greatly in part thanks to you all, the Cross Guild through Crocodile, took over most of his share of the ck market. Among many things an Eternal Pose to Lodestar got into our hands.¡± At the news, Rick and Nami looked at each other with eyes as big as saucers. As if they were one, they got up from their seats and ran outside the dining room towards the treasure room. They had yet to take a look at everything they took when they were on Karai Bari ind. The search for the pose was chaotic but quick, thanks to Rick sprouting a dozen clones. Soon enough, they came back running to the dining room and Nami triumphantly presented a small object in her hands. ¡°We got it!¡± ¡°How in the ze does a second one exist in the first ce?¡± asked Usopp. ¡°I thought that Roger and his crew were the only ones who reached that ind?¡± ¡°Someone who got their hands on the original must have done a copy.¡± supposed Nami. ¡°That¡¯s possible?¡± wondered Sanji. ¡°I don¡¯t know. The guy Ko rmended only taught me how to make them not copy them but why not?¡± ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter, what matters now is what we¡¯re going to do.¡± remarked Zoro and everyone turned to Luffy. ¡°We¡¯re going, duh!¡± provoked a wave of relief washed over Nami and Rick at the deration. ~~~~~ Back at the Navy HQ, Fleet Admiral Sakazuki was fuming. Both figuratively and literally. News of the downfall of a second Emperor had reached the World¡¯s Government and the public. It wasn''t a pretty picture, especially when it happened less than two months apart and done by the same pirate crew and not the Marine. Even worse, one was defeated by a thirteen year old little girl, the daughter of now the most wanted man in the world and the other by the said man. Said man who alone, charged the home base of the second Emperor, killed half his officers then the Emperor himself in a eleven versus one fight. In less than forty minutes afterpletely obliterating every building standing on the ind. The word ¡®unhappy¡¯ was an understatement. The whole Gorosei was on Akainu¡¯s back, breathing down his neck and ordering him to do something. ¡°I¡¯m d to be retired.¡± Sengokumented as he enjoyed his coffee with Tsuru in thetter¡¯s office. ¡°Regretting even more to not have taken the deal?¡± ¡°You have no idea, Tsuru. No. Idea.¡± was one bitter answer. ¡°And now the world is in chaos. The pirate''s side is organizing itself like never before; even under Roger¡¯s time such a thing didn¡¯t happen. More and more ships are arboring the Strawhats¡¯ jolly roger above theirs and I¡¯m pretty sure that Garp¡¯s grandson has no idea about it! Then there is the Revolutionary Army! Their morale is at an all time high with Rick¡¯s actions. The power bnce is tilting, Tsuru, not in favor of the World Government and I could have prevented all if I had taken the fucking deal! Heck! I would have reversed the scale!¡± ¡°There is no need to get upset, Sengoku. Not when you can¡¯t do anything about any of that anymore.¡± tried Tsuru. It worked a bit especially when she changed topics. ¡°What you can do is give a word or two to Cypher Pol about gathering information. There is no way Eri is strong enough to take down an Emperor.¡± ¡°Maybe not. Big Mom was a great treat when she was younger than this one is.¡±mented her long time friend. ¡°She wasn¡¯t that strong a year ago. No, if anything, I think¡­¡± ¡°That Buggy wasn¡¯t strong enough to be an Emperor to begin with. Sure, he had had the connections. Roger, Shanks, Whitebeard, but he was never seen fighting much. He was an Emperor in name only and I¡¯m pretty sure Crocodile and Mihawk were the ones pulling the strings behind him.¡± Sengoku finished the exnation. ¡°What makes me wonder is, how Eri found herself sailing with her father?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know. I had no contact with her or her mother since we separated on Sabaody a year ago. Wherever they hid, Rick had found them.¡± lied the Vice-admiral. ¡°Kaza was nowhere to be seen, do you think¡­¡± ¡°Sengoku, really?!¡± ¡°I can¡¯t put aside the possibility, Tsuru.¡± ¡°You¡¯re a fool, then. Regardless, 3 Billions is way too much. ¡± ¡°You¡¯re right, though she does have a lot of power at her disposal. Her father for once, her adoptive uncle for two then the rest of the strawhats crew. She could create a lot of trouble if she was inclined to do so.¡± ¡°That¡¯s not from her where the trouble ising from.¡± she said mysteriously and exined herself at the look the former Fleet Admiral was giving her. ¡°Issho called me a few days ago. He confirmed that red-haired Shanks had captured Nico Robin during the battle at Karai Bari ind. Under Sakazuki¡¯s order, he is in pursuit.¡± ¡°No doubt the strawhats are after him too. Or rather, Issho is after them. And of course a pissed off Rick is in the mix because that stupid red hair took his wife. Ugh! Honestly I wonder what Sakazuki is thinking by sending Issho with just a fleet. What does he expect? That a simple fleet led by an Admiral would take them all out? It can¡¯t be to monitor them either, a small ship would have been better.¡± ¡±I don¡¯t know but I agree that sending Issho alone against all of them is ill advised. Even just for one crew.¡± Someone outside Tsuru¡¯s office knocked on the door. Calling out for the person behind it to enter they were met with Brannew. ¡°Sir, Ma¡¯am, I just heard good news.¡± the man said with a grin. ¡°From the survivors of Hachinosu we heard that Vice-Admiral Garp had been taken prisoner by the strawhats along with former admiral Kuzan. A statement from multiple eye-witnesses; all say the same thing.¡± ¡°Good news indeed.¡± nodded Tsuru, happy to have information about her friends. ¡°How is it good? Garp is still¡­¡± ¡°Sir, I believe after studying the actions of the strawhats since their creation that Vice-Admiral Garp is in¡­ He would not be ill treated.¡± Sengoku pondered that for a moment. Garp was the prisoner of his grandsons and despite them being pirates, were the third good kind of pirates. The second being locked up and the first being dead. ¡°... You¡¯re right.¡± ¡°There is also¡­ an unverified rumor that the missing princess of the basta kingdom, Nefertari Vivi, is a prisoner too.¡± ¡°Princess Vivi?¡± repeated Tsuru with an eyebrow slightly raised. ¡°Now that¡¯s¡­ Why? And how? They were on their way to Wano when¡­ That doesn¡¯t make sense. Why would they take her in the first ce?¡± Nobody in the room with Sengoku had an answer to give. ~~~~~ On their way to Lodestar, the crew came across an Autumn ind. It was rather big with two mountains of respectable height and pine trees everywhere. Luffy, not one to miss an opportunity for adventure, wanted to stop there and explore it for one day. Rick had nearly lost it when he heard that but kept his mouth shut and busied himself with the garden. Because the ind was under constant rain, many decided to stay on the Sunny. Among them was Eri who was too tired from her training to go exploring despite her wanting it. Instead she decided to spend the time with Garp and her father in the garden. More of the former, since thetter was busy tending his nts and making sure the water tank Franky had installed was being filled by rain water. ¡°Ew, that fruit is awful!¡± ¡°Mine too! Where the heck did you find them?!¡± ¡°What fru¡­¡± His neurons connecting, Rick turned immediately around to look at the both of them, hoping that they did not do what he thought they did. Indeed, they did do it. Right there in front of them, both his Grandfather and daughter had a devil fruit in hand with a missing part. Right in the middle of the table was the bowl with other devil fruit in it. He had put them in there because he had developed the hobby of watching his collection of devil fruits that he had started ever since he bought most of them after killing their previous owner on Hachinosu. Of course, he wasn¡¯t a mad man, he didn¡¯t leave the bowl in the middle of the table for anyone to see and more importantly have a taste. No, the bowl was on his side of the room on the shelf behind and on the right of his desk. When he saw Eri, trying to go for another, he quickly attracted the bowl to him. ¡°Hey!¡± the redhead protested. ¡°ARE YOU MAD! THOSE ARE DEVIL FRUITS!¡± ¡°¡°... WHAT?!¡±¡± ¡°For fuck sake! How did you get that bowl?! Grandpa, how the hell didn¡¯t you recognize those were devil fruits?!¡± ¡°I thought they were just weird fruits that you found during your travels or some of your experiments! Who the hell has a whole collection of them and put them in a freaking fruit bowl?!¡± ¡°I do! Thanks to Diana¡­¡± ¡®I will allow it this time but leave me out of this.¡¯ ¡°... I can get the devil fruit of a user that dies in proximity. I¡¯m using her ability to make a better encyclopedia than the one currently existing!¡± ¡°...Thanks to who?¡± inquired a clueless Garp. Rick sighed and began to exin who Diana was with a small demonstration. The goddess wasn''t happy about that but she was more interested in going back to reading the Return of the king so she let it go. ¡°...It¡¯s always something with you.¡± Garp stated with a deadpan face. ¡°Who do you think I get that from?!¡± ¡°We¡¯re not blood rted, idiot!¡± ¡°It¡¯s phenotypic!¡± ¡°Pheno-what-now?¡± ¡°It means that a trait one developed because of the environment they are in and not because of his blood from his ancestors.¡± the voice of Nami answered from the garden¡¯s door. ¡°What did I miss?¡± ¡°They somehow got hold of my devil fruit bowl and ate one of them.¡± her husband replied as calmly as he could. ¡°Oh.¡± she simply said before changing the subject slightly ¡°Anyway, what do they do?¡± ¡°... I don¡¯t know. Do any of you feel different? A tug in your mind?¡± Both new users shook their heads negatively. ¡°Not really, dad.¡± ¡°Hmm¡­ I¡¯m thirsty?¡± ¡°... That doesn¡¯t help one bit.¡± Rick sighed and opened his desk¡¯s drawer to take the encyclopedia he was working on then joined them at the table. ¡°This one is the Mori Mori no Mi.¡± ¡°That¡¯s Ryukugyu¡­¡± ¡°Not anymore. The bastard invaded Wano and set on killing everyone in his way to take Luffy¡¯s and mine heads.¡± ¡°Oh¡­ So I¡¯m a forest man now?¡± ¡°Yes. Try to¡­ I don¡¯t know, make flowers bloom or put your finger in your cup and see if you can drink it with it.¡± Garp did thetter first and a few secondster the cup was empty. ¡°I could taste the coffee.¡± ¡°Do you¡­¡± He stopped himself when Garp made flowers bloom on the ground all around him. ¡°You know, I never wanted to eat a devil fruit in my life. I didn¡¯t want to rely on its power instead of my own but now¡­ I admit this power is pretty neat.¡± he confessed with a smile. ¡°You could do a lot of good by simply walking around, Grandpa. How is that for retirement?¡± Rick smiled back then turned to his daughter. ¡°Okay, yours is¡­¡± he said as he turned the pages of the book and stopped at the correct page. ¡°Oh, thank god.¡± ¡°What?!¡± asked the teen. ¡°It¡¯s the Wapu Wapu no Mi. You can teleport and if you touch someone teleport them with you.¡± ¡°That¡¯s awe¡­¡± she said then disappeared. ¡°...Some!!!¡± her voice came from behind Rick¡¯s desk. ¡°How did you¡­¡± ¡°I just wished to be there and I suddenly was.¡± she replied, teleporting back to her chair. ¡°¡­Your genius aside, I¡¯m d it¡¯s this fruit, you can protect yourself from danger by teleporting away.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t rely on that ability, work on yourself first.¡± Garp advised and warned. ¡°Yes. The previous user died because I predicted where he would teleport with my observation haki.¡± added Rick and Eri nodded, taking to heart what they told her. ¡°You know¡­ It¡¯s surreal that between the three of you and Luffy, you all ate a devil fruit unknowingly. Two for you.¡± She looked at her husband at the end. ¡°Once again, it¡¯s his fault!¡± When Luffy, Usopp, Chopper and Reiju came back the news of what had happened a bit earlier was shared with everyone. After a short discussion with a bit ofughing, ming, eating and in the case of Garp and Luffy, beating and sleeping, everyone went to bed to be ready to leave in the morning. Mihawk was still unhappy with his situation as the ind was deserted. ~~~~~~ ¡°It¡¯s them!¡± Usopp said from the crow nest as he watched with his binocrs the Red Force being anchored. Luffy thanked him and ordered everyone to be ready. With the exception of Jimbei and Reiju who stayed on watch on the Sunny, every member of the crew disembarked. Lodestar was clearly a spring ind. The temperature was neither too hot nor too cold. The flora was lush and the animals were just¡­ there, either eating grass or drinking at theke in the middle of the ind. Ruins of buildings whose architecture was unknown to Rick could be seen here and there, covered in either moss, vines or both. Following the trail of the Shanks pirates, they arrived at a clearing on theke¡¯s side. At their sight the enemy crew prepared themselves. At a good ten meters distance, Luffy and Shanks faced each other. ¡°Long time no see.¡± said the older man. ¡°It was but I promised you.¡± ¡°You did and here you are with a fearsome crew. I guess it¡¯s time for you to give me my hat back.¡± ¡°Not yet. I¡¯m not the pirate king so not yet.¡± ¡°I¡¯m afraid that¡¯s going to be impossible, Luffy.¡± The refusal, spoken with a kind but firm tone raised the tension between the crews, several notches. Each member slowly reached their weapons with their hands. ¡°...The hat for Robin.¡± ¡°What?¡± asked Shanks in surprise and was imitated by many from both sides. ¡°You heard me. I give you the hat, you give us Robin back.¡± ¡°I can¡¯t do that either. I need her to reach Laugh Tale. She¡¯s the only one who can read the rio poneglyphs. Speaking of, I¡¯d like the one you found on Zhou. It¡¯s the only one that I didn¡¯t find. As for Robin, you¡¯ll get her back afterward. I give you my word.¡± Before Luffy could formte an answer, Rick leaned towards him and whispered in his ear for a short moment. The future pirate king grinned widely. A grin that his crewmates knew very well and usually announced lots and lots of trouble orplete insanity. Signaling his agreement to Rick with a nod, the gravity man attracted a gun from one of Shanks¡¯ crew. While the red haired pirates drew their pistols ready for a fight, Luffy caught the gun and shot in the air. ¡°I challenge you to a Davy Back Fight!¡± Chapter 132: History in the making Chapter 132: History in the making

Chapter 132: History in the making Silence reigned among the two opposing crew. Some had frozen at the absurdity they just heard, others had their jaw hanging low in disbelief. Even Shanks had his eyes as big as saucers. Meanwhile, Luffy was grinning like a loony proud of himself and by side Rick smiled smugly and evilly. No matter how much he wanted to bury the emperor and his crew for kidnapping his wife he wasn¡¯t so lost in his anger to not respect his captain¡¯s wishes. ¡°Luffy?!¡± Nami eximed. ¡°What the hell?!¡± shouted Ussop. ¡°What?¡± ¡°Considering that the winner of the fight is probably going to be the pirate king, isn¡¯t it fitting that it is to be decided by one of the oldest and most respected pirate traditions?¡± said Rick to his friends. ¡°Wasn¡¯tst time enough for you?!¡± ¡°It¡¯s alright, Usopp. We won, remember? We¡¯ll win this one too.¡± was Luffy¡¯s confident answer. ¡°If it wasn¡¯t for Rick we would¡­¡± Nami elbowed him hard into the side and made him stop talking. Looking at her he couldn¡¯t miss the meaningful gaze she had in her eyes. ¡®Oh, so Rick has a n.¡¯ A second gunshot was heard and everyone turned to look at Shanks; in his hand a smoking pistol. ¡°I ept the challenge.¡± the emperor dered with enthusiasm. ¡°I¡¯ve never been in a Davy Back Fight before. Always wanted to.¡± ¡°Great!¡± replied Luffy then turned to Rick. ¡°What now?¡± ¡°Now, each crew picks seven members to participate in three challenges. We can¡¯t change members once they are registered for their challenge. At the end of each challenge the winner can take one thing from the loser. Those are the main rules. Each challenge has its own rules though.¡± ¡°What are the challenges?¡± asked Shanks. ¡°Good question. Luffy?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know. I didn¡¯t think that far. I know that thest challenge is a fight.¡± ¡®¡®¡®¡®¡®You didn¡¯t think at all!¡¯¡¯¡¯¡¯¡¯ ¡°Usually the third challenge is a fight between captains.¡± ¡®When the captain doesn¡¯t enlist himself for a previous one.¡¯ ¡°In the spirit of fairness I propose that each captain chose a challenge with the third being a fight between the two of them.¡± ¡°Fine by me, Shanks?¡± ¡°That¡¯s reasonable.¡± the man agreed. ¡°As for the referees, again in a spirit of fairness I propose people who don¡¯t belong in any of the opposing crew.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t mind but we don¡¯t have anyone impartial with us.¡± ¡°We do. On the Sunny, we have Vice-Admiral Garp, Former Admiral and ckbeard pirate Kuzan and Mihawk.¡± ¡°Mihawk is with you?! How the hell did that happen?!¡± ¡°He couldn¡¯t find a boat to leave, so he hitched a ride.¡± Zoro replied. ¡°Even though Garp is our grandfather, he''s kinda fair.¡± ¡°He hates me like no tomorrow!¡± protested the emperor. ¡°We have Vivi!¡± interjected Chopper. ¡°She¡¯s a princess, not a member of the crew and she¡¯s fair!¡± ¡°You¡­ got a lot of weird people on your ship, Luffy.¡± remarked Shanks getting a shrug in return. ¡°Fine, I agree with those three for referees. And our challenge will be a sniping one.¡± ¡°Okay. Ours will be¡­¡± Luffy began then thought about it a bit. With the exception of the doughnut race and the Hit and Dead Ball where there were a thousand rules he didn¡¯t know any. None of those two were appealing. ¡°Is there a game where you can fight but the goal is not to beat each other?¡± ¡°There are plenty but the first thates to mind is the Groggy Ring. It¡¯s a bit like football with three yers per team. One yer on each team is wearing a ball on their head and the objective is to put your opponent¡¯s ball in their goal. Weapons are not allowed but punching and kicking or devil fruit powers are.¡± ¡°I like it! Let¡¯s go with that.¡± ¡°Alright, so a snipping contest with three members each, the Groggy Ring with three members each too and the captains fight making a total of seven. Since a Davy Back fight is also a festive event, I propose to give everyone two hours to¡­ well, cook food, prepare stands and arenas for the challenges. That also gives everyone the time to choose their participants.¡± Both captains agreed and separated, going back to their ship. The strawhats drew a lot to know which six among the thirteen of them wouldpete and the results were baffling. ¡°Alright!¡± eximed Luffy. ¡°Me, Usopp, Baby-5, Reiju, Rick, Franky and Eri will participate!¡± ¡°Me?!¡± eximed the teen. ¡°What?! Who¡¯s the idiot that put my daughter in this!¡± ¡°She¡¯s part of the crew, so I did!¡± ¡°She¡¯s thirteen, Luffy!¡± ¡°She¡¯s going to be fine! Now, who wants to participate in what?¡± ¡°Obviously, if it¡¯s snipping, I¡¯m the man for the job.¡± said Usopp and nobody could argue with that. ¡°I¡¯d like to participate in the event too.¡± ¡°Usopp and Baby-5 for the sniping contest. Who else?¡± asked Nami who had taken charge and was taking notes. ¡°Me!¡± Franky said which made sense. The cyborg had to have something to help him aim. ¡°Alright, so Usopp, Baby-5 and Franky for the snipping game which means for the Groggy Ring it¡¯s Reiju, Eri and Rick and finally the captain matches with Luffy.¡± reported Nami to see if everything was in order. ~~~~~ With the help of Zoro, Eri and Rick, Franky was able to make stands for the public but also the judges. He also made the targets for the snipping contest and since it was Shanks¡¯ he let them ce them wherever they wanted. Afterwards he worked with Usopp on making ball helmets while the rest of the crew made the yfield, including the lines and the goals. The captain duel would take ce on the small ind in the middle of theke. As small as and of 50m radius could be. When the two hours of preparations were over everyone gathered, including the judges. Aokiji was nonplussed about his job but took it to fight the boredom while Vivi loved the idea and was already in. Mihawk declined at first but Rick persuaded him when he told the man that he would judge his old rival and watch him get his ass kicked. To Rick¡¯s and Nami¡¯s delight, the red-haired crew had brought Robin with them. Their wife had agreed to get out of her cabin she had been put in when Shanks told her her crew was here. Unfortunately, she was still a prisoner so she couldn¡¯t join them but she was as happy as they were for the reunion. She was also amused about how everything ended up in a Davy Back fight. ¡°I can¡¯t believe I¡¯m doing this.¡± Garp¡¯s muttering echoed through the area thanks to the den den mushi model microphone Rick had given him. ¡°Come on Grandpa, you¡¯rementing History in the making!¡± The old marine veteran, dressed in shorts, a flower shirt and flip flop stood in front of a stand. ¡°Alright! First participants for the snipping conteste forward!¡± Franky and a man with his hair cut like a star moved did. ¡°The targets are 800m away. Do your best, you pirate scums!¡± Using thesers on his shoulder, Franky was sessful eight times which was really good in everyone¡¯s opinion. Unfortunately his opponent got one more shot in and won the round. The next strawhat contestant was Baby-5, facing a very tall and lean man. Thetter was clearly not as good as his friend, missing four shots out of ten. When it was Baby-5¡¯s turn she changed into a missile and flew right in the middle of the targets exploding them all. ¡°Foul!¡± shouted Vivi. ¡°¡°¡°¡°WHAT?!¡±¡±¡±¡± protested the crew. ¡°The rules of the challenge are clear. The targets need to be shot down. I¡¯m sorry but Baby-5 broke the rule by blowing them up.¡± Vivi exined with a wry smile. ¡°Winner¡­¡± ¡°Wait a moment. I want to challenge my father, even if the round is lost.¡± interjected Usopp. Most people in the strawhat crew finally realized that the third contestant from Shanks¡¯ crew was their friend¡¯s dad. They understood why Usopp made his request, his father having abandoned his mother and him when he was a baby, he wanted to make a statement. What that statement was they didn¡¯t have a clue but they were ready to cheer on him harder than ever, regardless. ¡°I¡¯d like that.¡± replied Yasopp. ¡°Wait a minute! Yasopp, you can¡¯t be his father! You don¡¯t have the same nose!¡± Luffy denied. ¡°I got it from my mother, you idiot!¡± ¡°Oh! Nevermind then. Good luck, Usopp!¡± Yasopp was the first to go and easily hit all the targets. Usopp did the same. When they asked the judges to go on because they wanted a clear winner and not a draw for their duel they got what they wanted after Vivi, Aokiji and Mihawk talked about it with each other. ¡°Alright, It¡¯s a death match from now on. The first one to miss, lose.¡± Aokiji began to exin. ¡°Each round the target will be moved back by 100m.¡± added Vivi. ¡°Do note that hitting the target is not enough. It¡¯s a bullseye or nothing.¡± Mihawk finished Both snipers agreed and began to shoot one after the other. At 1.3 km Usopp hit the target right in the middle while Yassop missed it by a quarter of an inch. It didn¡¯t change the oue of the challenge but Usopp was very proud of himself and held his head high. ¡°Red-haired Shanks¡¯ crew wins!¡± Garp announced with gritted teeth. ¡°What do you want?¡± Vivi asked the emperor. ¡°I¡¯ll take Wald into my crew, thank you!¡± Rick knew that wasing. After all he was the most dangerous member of the crew and without him the odds of their opponents to get a second victory and win the Davy Back fight rose drastically. Sighing, he stood up from his seat and hugged his daughter, then Nami before whispering something in her ear and giving her a wink as he joined Robin at Shanks¡¯ team¡¯s side. Immediately, he was on her, kissing her so hard that she fell backward but answered his act of love with as much fervor. His new crewmates had one of two reactions. The first one was a loud whistling of approvement and impressment, the second was gritted teeth out of jealousy. Thetter, Rick murderously red at. ¡°A problem with me kissing my wife, mates?¡± ¡°Nah, man! They¡¯re just burning with jealousy, don¡¯t mind them. Get reacquainted as much as you need!¡± said the pirate on the other side of Robin. He was grinning, clearly belonging to the happy for them category. ¡°Thank you, Oliver. But I don¡¯t think we can get to know each other again like we want. At least not in public.¡± replied the brte prompting another row of whistling apanied withughing. ¡°I heard you had fun with ckbeard, his crew and his ind.¡± ¡°I¡­ may have gone a bit overboard¡­ To be fair, they were after you and wereplete scum. Most of them used to be locked up at the 6th level of Impel Down for a reason.¡± he replied sheepishly. ¡°The whole world is after me, Rick.¡± ¡°Then the whole world will burn if they try to take you from me. Shanks is lucky Luffy didn¡¯t let me¡­¡± ¡°They¡¯re not that bad. They have treated me very well so far, the kidnapping aside. I gather the Davy Back Fight was your idea?¡± ¡°Hmhm. An all out fight would have changed the ind¡¯sndscape irreparably. I thought you¡¯d be interested in studying the ruins. They¡¯re not from any architecture I¡¯ve seen before. Besides, it¡¯s pirate History in the making. With a capital H. Wouldn¡¯t it be better to read about a Davy Back Fight taking ce instead of just a battle?¡± ¡°I suppose.¡± ¡°Alright, is everyone ready for the Groggy Ring?¡± Shouted Garp. ¡°Then contestants; enter the field!¡± Reiju and Eri were whispering quietly to each other as they walked close to each other. When Garp gave them their ball, it was Eri that put it on. ¡°That¡¯s Luffy¡¯s doing isn¡¯t it? There is no way you would have let her participate.¡± ¡°Yeah.¡± he mumbled. ¡°She¡¯s going to be fine though. Of that I¡¯m certain.¡± he let out with a small rxing sigh. Robin wanted to probe further but decided that it was better to just watch. His grandfather blew a whistle once to start the game and immediately Ben Beckman, Shanks right hand man and the ball of their team, found himself right behind Eri in a burst of speed. His intent was clear, take the strawhat¡¯s ball as fast as he could. Unfortunately for him, his target was a haki genius and she dodged his hit by bending backward, thanks to her observation haki helping her see the attacking. She didn¡¯t stop there. She teleported right behind him in the air and delivered a vicious kick aimed to the man¡¯s head with armament on it. The man reacted but not fast enough and was sent thumbling a few feet back. Reiju didn¡¯t stay idle and changed into her full dragon form, shocking everyone. That she had eaten Kaidou¡¯s devil fruit was a secret that only Robin and Rick were in the know of. Taking a big breath she released, not a fire beam like thete emperor did, but a pink cloud made of gas right onto her opponents. Within seconds the three members of team Shanks fell to the ground asleep. With a swing of her tail she made a small gust of wind which dissipated the sleeping gas cloud and Eri acted on the spot. The young redhead teleported right onto Ben Beckman, grabbed him and teleported him to his team¡¯s goal where the ball ended neatly in the goal. ¡°Winner, strawhat crew! wless victory!¡± Of course the crew cheered loudly. Reiju changed back to her human farm and raised a hand to Eri for a high five that was answered heartily. ¡°So that¡¯s what you meant.¡± ¡°Yeah. She and grandpa ate one of the devil fruits that were on disy on the shelf near my desk. She ate the Wapu Wapu no mi which is a relief because it was the best to keep her safe and Gramps ate the Mori Mori no Mi.¡± ¡°They didn¡¯t do it on purpose?¡± ¡°No. They thought they were weird fruits from our travels or some of my experiments. In their mind, no one would be so lucky to have so many devil fruits and insane enough to treat them as simple decorations in a fruit bowl.¡± he replied with a tired sigh making Robin chuckle. ¡°You Ds are really something else.¡± ¡°It seems that way.¡± ¡°ROBIN!!!¡± came Luffy¡¯s voice from the other side of the field. ¡°It¡¯s time for you to go.¡± Rick said with a smile to a confused Robin. ¡°Why me? Why not you?¡± ¡°You know why.¡± he replied cryptically with a small grin and shooed her away. She gave him a curious look, not worried one bit and left for the crew¡¯s side where she was hugged to death by Nami. Chopper in his natural form grabbed her leg with tears in her eyes and she bent down to take him in her arms. She always had a soft spot for him because of his cuteness and naivety. From where he was standing, Rick was happy to see Eri hugged her too. Then he turned his head a bit to the side to catch Luffy¡¯s eyes and after a very brief unspoken conversation nodded. While everyone was busy changing locations for thest game, a fight that was a legend in the making, Rick sneaked away but not before leaving a clone behind as he went behind the stands. The clone joined the other while he went to the Red Force. His ship for the foreseeable future. Which was very short, he had all the confidence in Luffy to win. The fight would be hard but he knew his captain and little brother would be the one victorious. The problem was Luffy could only ask one thing. Out of the two most likely options he had, Rick and thest poneglyph, the strawhat captain was more than likely going to chose him, which means that to get thest rio poneglyph, the crew would need to fight for it making the Davy Back fight meaningless in the first ce or do another game of it which was risky. That¡¯s why the alternative was simply stealing the poneglyph writings. The n in his head at the start was to win all games and just take back Robin and get the glyph along the way, unfortunately their defeat in the first round put a wrench in the n. Of course they could have stolen the glyph from the get go but they wouldn¡¯t have gotten back Robin. Not without a fight that no one except Rick really wanted. Reaching the Red Force he saw a group of his new crewmates standing watch by ying cards, drinking and smoking. ¡°Hey! How you doing?¡± he asked pleasantly, getting on board. ¡°Oh, it¡¯s you.¡± said one of them. He was smoking on the side of the rail and had put his hand on the handle of his sword when he had heard Rick calling out to him and his friends. ¡°We¡¯re good. Would be better if we were there to watch the fight but someone¡¯s got to guard the ship.¡± ¡°Hey! Hey! Are you mad?! He¡¯s the strawhats Vice-captain!¡± interjected one of the card yers. ¡°Not anymore. I¡¯m your new crewmate!¡± eximed Rick with as much joviality as he could. ¡°¡°¡°What?!¡±¡±¡± ¡°It¡¯s true. Ben, gave me a call on the den den to tell me we won him for our crew.¡± the smoker confirmed. ¡°I meant toe here immediately to know the ship, my duties and where I¡¯ll be sleeping but I haven''t seen my wife in so long¡­¡± ¡°Yeah, yeah we get it. Mighty wife you snatched for yourself, you lucky bastard.¡± the smoker said in jest. ¡°More like she snatched me but I agree on the lucky part.¡± The smoker nodded and signaled to follow him. He gave Rick a tour of the ship from top to bottom. The ex-marine had to admit the Red Force was quite the ship. Spacious and elegant, one would think it was designed for a noble and got some pirate additions done to it, like sh and burn marks here and there. Alcohol and food stains that couldn¡¯t be washed away. When the tour got to the loo, Ricke excused himself and used them quickly. He nearly missed the toilet when he felt the tremor of Luffy''s and Shanks¡¯ fight, shaking the ship violently. ¡°Shit, the captain is really going all out.¡± the smoker said. ¡°The one winning would probably be the pirate king so of course he is.¡± Rick replied, finishing his business and exiting the loo. ¡°Not much support for your former captain, I see.¡± ¡°Nothing like that. If Luffy loses, then he loses. He would have done his very best and would be satisfied with that. Though in his empty head he probably doesn''t see himself lose. Either way he¡¯d be happy so support or not it¡¯s the same to me.¡± The smoker gave him a look then after a couple of seconds, dragged him to the kitchen. ¡°Since you¡¯re the newbie you¡¯re on peeling duty. Take a whole crate of potatoes, you¡¯re doing it on the deck where you can keep an eye on you.¡± ¡°Not much trust. I understand.¡± He did as ordered and found himself sitting on a stool, peeling leisurely potatoes after potatoes all the while getting a feel of the fight going on. The tremors only got more numerous and violent. After a particr fierce and brutal sh everything stopped. ¡°Seems like the fight ended.¡± the smoker said, looking in the direction of the duel. A few minutes of silence afterward was broken by the ringing of a den den mushi. Picking it up the man didn¡¯t talk but listened and then closed the call. ¡°So? What did the captain choose?¡± one of the card yers asked. ¡°Nothing.¡± ¡°What?!¡± ¡°He chose nothing, because he lost!¡± ¡°¡°¡°Impossible!¡±¡±¡± The pirates began to argue and Rick used the opportunity for his real self toe out from the inside of the ship and dispel the clone peeling potatoes he had made when he was in the loo without any of them noticing. Clearing his throat he got their attention. ¡°What happened then?¡± ¡°You got taken back. Get off the ship.¡± replied the smoker with murder in his eyes. ¡°What about the potatoes?¡± ¡°GET OFF!¡± Not needing any further prompt, Rick jumped off the Red Force and flew towards his friends and family. When he arrived at the location, he saw a tired and bruised Luffy, sitting andughing by the side of a smiling but wet Shanks. ¡°Wee back!¡± Chopper said with enthusiasm, having seen Rick first. ¡°Good to be back. How was it?¡± ¡°It was Suuuper!¡± shouted Franky, making a pose. ¡°Luffy went gear 5 and still didn¡¯t get the upper hand. After thest sh, he just grabbed Shanks'' side of the ind before he could recover properly from it and pulled the ground up making him fall into the water which is instant loss.¡± Usopp exined. ¡°Count on Luffy to do something out of the blue and win. Yohohoho.¡± ¡°The question is what now?¡± Sanji inquired, shooting down the mood. The crew had gotten Robin back and wasplete but they were still missing the fourth rio poneglyph as far as they knew. ¡°I guess we¡¯re still in a stalemate.¡± Shanks stated with a chuckle. ¡°Not really.¡± Contradicting the Emperor, Rick pulled from the inside of his coat, which was in truth his inventory, all the poneglyph writings he found on the Red Force. Shanks¡¯ eyes widenically at the sight. ¡°How did you¡­¡± ¡°Amon mistake pirates make during a Davy Back fight. Letting their new member onto their ship. I created a clone when I was in the loo who followed your subordinate. Meanwhile I was free to search the ship for them.¡± ¡°... That¡¯s¡­ You¡­¡± Shanks tried to insult him but couldn¡¯t find the words. ¡°I think the word you¡¯re searching for is ¡®pirate¡¯.¡± The red-haired man looked at him dumbfounded for a moment beforeughing his ass off. ¡°You really find a good crew, Luffy.¡± ¡°The best!¡± the captain replied with a proud grin and happy grin. ¡°I guess, you¡¯ll be the one to go to Laugh Tale, then.¡± ¡°Captain! We can still beat¡­¡± tried to protest one of Shanks'' subordinates. ¡°No. We fought for the title of Pirate King and we lost.¡± ¡°But¡­¡± ¡°True, it wasn¡¯t stated but it was an understanding between pirates and men. We were outssed.¡± ¡°You can alle with us if you want.¡± said Luffy out of the blue. ¡°¡°¡°¡°¡°¡°¡°¡°¡°WHAT?!¡±¡±¡±¡±¡±¡±¡±¡±¡±¡±¡±¡±¡± ¡°What? I won so I¡¯m the one to get to be the Pirate King. I don¡¯t see why they shouldn¡¯t be allowed toe see it. Plus I¡¯d like for my friends to be there.¡± ¡°Luffy, they may be your friends but they¡¯re also your adversaries. Shanks is an emperor, he can¡¯t just follow you. People would see it as him bing your subordinate.¡± Rick exined. ¡°Fine by me.¡± replied the aforementioned man. ¡°¡°¡°¡°¡°¡°¡°¡°¡°WHAT?!¡±¡±¡±¡±¡±¡±¡±¡±¡±¡± ¡°¡°¡°¡°¡°¡°¡°¡°¡°CAPTAIN!?¡±¡±¡±¡±¡±¡±¡±¡±¡± ¡°You¡¯re a good captain Luffy and a good leader. You¡­ remind me of captain Roger so much¡­ That¡¯s why I gave you his hat in the first ce. I don¡¯t mind being part of the strawhat fleet.¡± ¡°Wait a minute! The straw hat used to be the Pirate King¡¯s?¡± eximed Usopp in disbelief. ¡°Yeah. Gave it to me when I turned sixteen as a birthday gift.¡± ¡°I wonder if it¡¯s fate or the will of the D.¡± said Rick absentmindedly. ¡°I found out during my life that it¡¯s a bit of the same thing.¡± assured the now former emperor. To the side Beckman received a call and from the way they could hear the other person on the other side of the line they were quite furious. When he cut the call he pointed his rifle at Rick. ¡°He didn¡¯t just steal the writings, he stole everything. Gold, jewelry, maps, poses, food and medicine. We have nothing left!¡± Everyone turned to Rick who had a very wry and embarrassed smile on his face ¡°Well¡­ This is very awkward.¡± Chapter 133: Number one Chapter 133: Number one

Chapter 133: Number one ¡°I guess I¡¯ll have to give everything back.¡± ¡°That would be appreciated, yes.¡± Shanks said with a deadpanned voice and face to a very ufortable Rick. ¡°To my defense, until a few moments ago, you were our rivals. And It was payback for taking my wife away.¡± He tried to justify himself and left to put everything back where it belonged. While he left to do what he said, both crews dismantled the stands and recycled the wood to make a huge bonfire to celebrate. Everyone drank, ate andughed to their heart¡¯s contentment way into the night. Even gArp got into it, despite his feelings and opinions about pirates most notably Shanks and his crew. To the side were the people watchers. The introvert that enjoyed a party in their corner, silently and watching others move around. ¡°To think that the crown of the pirate king was bet in a Davy Back fight.¡± said Mihawk to no one in particr. ¡°He didn¡¯t disappoint.¡± he added, looking at Luffy. ¡°I can¡¯t say I¡¯m happy at the news of a new Pirate King seeing the light of day but at least he¡¯s someone that I can respect.¡± replied Kuzan. ¡°The World Government and the world nobles won¡¯t stay quiet about this. Neither do nothing.¡± ¡°The same for the Revolutionary Army. The chaos that will be brought by Luffy¡¯s coronation is an opportunity that they won¡¯t miss.¡± Robin added to her husband¡¯s words. ¡°War.¡± was the single word Mihawk spoke. ¡°War.¡± repeated Rick in agreement. ¡°The world is entering a new era like no other seen before. ¡°Will you fight in it?¡± inquired Aokiji. ¡°You know I will. I want a very big family uncle and they will never be safe with the celestial dragons and a corrupt government in ce. They need to go, you know that.¡± ¡°... I do.¡± answered the iceman. Then after a few moments made a confession. ¡°I wasn''t working undercover for the World Government.¡± ¡°You weren¡¯t?¡± Rick eximed in surprise. ¡°No. I lost faith in it the moment Akainu was promoted to Fleet Admiral.¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t think of you as a sore loser.¡± noted Mihawk. ¡°I¡¯m not. You all know what kind of person that man is. He¡¯ll burn the whole world to catch one single criminal. What is the point if there is no one left? That¡¯s not justice, that''s tyranny. The navy was created to bring order and protect the people who can¡¯t protect themselves. What Sakazuki is doing is the opposite of that and yet the five elders supported him. I couldn¡¯t serve under such a monstrous ideology.¡± ¡°You almost sound like me a decade ago¡± ¡°Or like a member of the R.A.¡± interjected Garp who had taken a break from dancing. ¡°That¡¯s because I am.¡± ¡°¡°You¡¯re what now?¡±¡± Grandfather and grandson answered in sync. ¡°A member of the Revolutionary Army. I was indeed undercover among the ckbeard pirates but for them, not the World Government.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve never heard about this.¡± said Robin. ¡°Only Dragon knows. He¡¯s the one that recruited me two years and a half ago. To a very few others, like Sabo or Ko, I¡¯m agent Coolio. To much of everyone else I¡¯m just a ckbeard pirate.¡± ¡°It was you! You were the one who put a bouquet of Bellflower on my mother¡¯s and Saul¡¯s graves when I was living on the ind!¡± eximed the archaeologist. ¡°How do you know that?¡± the iceman asked in surprise of being found out. ¡°Rayleigh and I were the only ones visiting and we brought Casancas.¡± ¡°What I don¡¯t understand is why you feel the need to confess everything now.¡± inquired Mihawk who had been listening. ¡°ckbeard and his crew are gone, my mission is over. As you said, war is upon us, there is no need for secrecy anymore.¡± The talk ended right then just when Nami came to take Robin away for a dance. Rick couldn¡¯t help himself but smile kindly at the sight. It was his turn afterward and he ended dancing with everydy around. When it was Baby-5 turn, Franky joked to keep his womanizing hands away because she was spoken for. That made everyoneugh. Eri got a turn too. ¡°You did so well. I¡¯m super proud.¡± he told her. ¡°Thank you but it was Reiju that thought of the n. The only thing I had to do was dodge the first hit.¡± she answered a bit embarrassed. ¡°And you did it perfectly. More than that, you immediately counter attacked your opponent¡¯s blindspot and got him. Again, I¡¯m super proud.¡± She smiled dumbly at her father¡¯s praise and quickly changed her partner for Chopper to hide her embarrassment that had reached its peak. Rick simply walked back to his seat next to Robin and let his mind wander as he looked into the hot mes of the bonfire. He never noticed the party dying down or people going to sleep out of fatigue or drunkenness. Instead he enjoyed the warmth of his wife and let his head rest on her shoulder. When morning came both Reiju and Chopper were quick to hand out some hangover cure to anyone needing it. Rick was already up and about with his Grandfather and the both of them were, as silently as possible, cleaning up the mess the party created. As more and more people became able, they naturally joined the cleaning party without even being invited to do it. They were done mid morning and to repair the loss of vegetation that the Davy Back Fight incurred, Garp used his new found power to create new trees, grass and because he felt like it, a flower field. Robin and Nami came back from the Sunny with news. The former had deciphered all the poneglyph writings and with thetter¡¯s help located Laugh Tale. A bit more than a week of travel if Nami¡¯s estimation were correct. That brought a round of cheers from everyone present. ~~~~~ ¡°Sir! I have news!¡± Brannew shouted as he entered Sengoku¡¯s office without even knocking on the door. Themodore, still loyal to the former Fleet admiral, at least more than to the current, held in his hands a newpaper and tossed it quite unceremoniously to his superior who caught it on the spot. Tsuru, who was sitting facing Sengoku, stood up to have a look at the news when she saw her friend¡¯s eyes pop out of their orbit and his face pale. ¡°He did it. I can¡¯t believe that simpleton actually did it, Tsuru.¡± She didn¡¯t need to ask, Sengoku showed her the head line. ¡° A new Pirate King is born! A few days ago, as this article is reaching your hands, a confrontation between thest two emperors of the seas happened on Lodestar, the penultimate ind before the end of Grand line. The two greatest pirates of this era fought for a metaphorical ownerless crown in a Davy Back Fight, a traditional fight between pirates where after three contests the winner takes it all. The victory went to the strawhat crew after an ultimate sh between captains. That makes the fifth Emperor defeated by this pirate crew in less than half a year. Without any one to challenge him, Strawhat Luffy is considered at the moment the most powerful pirate of this era. Who could me him if he called himself the king of the pirates? But that¡¯s not the only reason Morgan News is giving him the title. After all, it is well known that to be Gold Roger''s sessor one has to find his famous treasure, the One Piece. Confirmed to exist by Dark King Rayleigh, Roger¡¯s first mate; it has long been spected that the One Piece was located on the veryst ind of Grand Line. An ind named Laugh Tale by Roger himself who was, with his crew, the only ones who ever reached it. From reliable sources, after acknowledging red-haired Shanks¡¯ subordination, Strawhat Luffy left Lodestar for Laugh Tale, having secured all the hints the pirate king had left behind for one to find the ind. What is the One Piece? Will Strawhat Luffy share what it is to the world? Is it really on Laugh Tale? What will be the navy and the World Government¡¯s answer to the birth of a new Pirate King? What about Portgas D Ace, Roger¡¯s son? ¡± ¡°...¡± Tsuru had noment to make. ¡°That¡¯s not all, sir. Vice-Admiral Garp was the one referring their fights and Kuzan, Dracule Mihawk and princess Nefertari Vivi were the judges.¡± Brannew added. ¡°¡°WHAT?!¡±¡± ¡°Both pirate crews wanted impartiality, so the strawhats proposed their prisoners.¡± ¡°GaaaaaaaAAAAAAAAARRRRRRPPPPP! You fool!¡± yelled Sengoku. He was about to pop an aneurysm because of his best friend''s antics. ¡°What is Sakazuki¡¯s, no¡­ What is the five elders¡¯ answer to that?¡± ¡°Well, ma¡¯am¡­¡± he began but stopped and instead showed her a few new wanted posters. ~~~~~ O¡¯hara ¡°Sabo! Sabo! Sabo! Sabo!¡± quickly called out Ko as she ran up the stairs towards the main room. Shepletely exploded the door with a kick and was upon her friend and superior in a blink of an eye. ¡°LOOK!¡± she yelled in his ear as she tossed on his desk a newspaper and new wanted posters. Picking them up, his face showed disbelief at first then his mouth widened from ear to ear and he began tough. ¡°Everyone! Tonight we¡¯re partying like no tomorrow! My little brother realized his dream!¡± ¡°¡°¡°¡°YEAH!¡±¡±¡±¡±¡± ~~~~~ Foosha Vige - East Blue ¡°Noooooooooooooo!¡±mented the old mayor, his head resting sideways on the counter. ¡°I can¡¯t believe he did it.¡± Makino smiled. Everyone at the bar had their own newspaper and wanted posters. Luffy''sst feat was the talk of the whole ind and most people that knew him were happy for him. Even the mayor, despite his attitude and condemning words, had a smile on his face. He was just hiding it by facing his head away from the other customers. ¡°Makino! This one, you need to frame it!¡± said a customer holding thetest wanted poster of their ind¡¯s celebrity. ¡°Yeah! Put it next to little Eri!¡± ¡°I will!¡± ¡°You think he would sign it if we ask?¡± ~~~~~ Alubarna, Capital of basta Kingdom - Grand Line ¡°Pwincess Viviiiiii!¡± cried a very emotional Igaram, holding the newspaper. ¡°They found her, it¡¯s such a relief.¡± Pellmented. ¡°Yes. However I do worry that with their new bounties the strawhat had painted a bigger target on their backs.¡± said Chaka, his tone solemn. ¡°From what the paper says, the princess is considered their prisoner. Of course we and every bastan know better but I don¡¯t think the World Government will openly arm the princess.¡± Chaka had doubts as he believed that his king¡¯s murder was ordered by the world nobles but he kept them to himself. Today was a day for celebration. The kingdom had found their missing princess and their heroes had reached the top of the world. He didn¡¯t want to rain on anyone¡¯s parade though he wondered if the people would stop partying even if he spoke up. ¡®Probably not.¡¯ One thing for sure, thest time barmen and barmaids served that many Cobra Kais and Vivid Dreams was two years ago when Crocodile was defeated. ~~~~~ Water Seven - Grand Line ¡°Sir, you told me to pass you any information on the strawhat crew and most notably Franky the Cyborg, so here it is.¡± said the young secretary of the Galley as she got on the tip of her feet and put both newspaper and wanted posters on his desk. ¡°Thank you, Alice.¡± replied the mayor of Water Seven. Picking up the paper, he began to read thetest news about the crew that did so much for him and his friend. ¡°So you finally realize your dream, Franky. Good for you.¡± he spoke out loud with a small happy smile and picked up the den den mushi at the corner of his desk. He had an old mermaid to call and an evening of drinking to n. ~~~~~ Shakky''s Rip-off Bar, Sabaody ind - Grand Line The former Kuja empress had a pleased smile sttered on her face as she looked at her husband, drinking and crying his happiness away. ¡°He did it, Shakky! He bloody did it! I knew he would but so soon?! And he even made Shanks his subordinate! Gosh, he¡¯s almost Rogere again!¡± ¡°I¡¯m d they reached Laugh Tale but it¡¯s not the end. Now with all the other emperors defeated or dead, the World Government only has only one target to eliminate in priority. The bnce changed, war ising.¡± ¡°Yeah¡­ You think it¡¯s time for us to go back for a while?¡± ¡°I think so.¡± ¡°We don¡¯t have to, you know.¡± ¡°I¡¯m aware but¡­ It¡¯s different this time. The board is different, more explosive. I don¡¯t want to watch something so big on the sideline. It¡¯s more than a new era that ising, Ray. It¡¯s a new age.¡± ~~~~~ Sphinx, Whitebeard¡¯s home ind - Grand Line ¡°You saw the news.¡± Marco said as hended at the center of the vige and saw a very excited Ace, partying with the vigers. ¡°You damn right I did! My brother is finally the pirate king! Gosh! I used to make so much fun of him about it when we were kids! And now look at him! We''re going to celebrate all week!¡± the captain of the Whitebeard pirates said as he put his arm around Marco and dragged him towards the bonfire for some food. ~~~~~ Unknown ind - Grand Line ¡°Maaaaaaaaan! Mista Luffy finally did it!¡± slurred a happily, crying and drunk Bartolomeo as he looked at the wanted poster of his idol. ¡°He even got an emperor to join him as his subordinate.¡¯ ¡°Let¡¯s not forget Wald, captain!¡± ¡°Of course not! That makes Mistah Luffy even cooler to have that monster under him!¡± ¡°Do I change the answer to the rest of the fleet about a reunion on Elbaf then, captain?¡± ¡°YES! We all need to celebrate this!¡± ~~~~~ ¡°That¡¯s your doing isn¡¯t it?¡± Nami said holding the newspaper. ¡°I don¡¯t know what you¡¯re talking about.¡± Rick denied as he was scribbling some new devil fruits in his book. ¡°Don¡¯t y coy with me!¡± she shouted from her seat in the garden. She was having a rxingdies time with the other women of the crew. ¡°I may or may not have contacted through den den mushi Morgan News and shared some sensitive information regarding what happened on Lodestar to stir shit up with the World Government.¡± ¡°Of course!¡± she said, raising her hand in the air in surrender. ¡°Did you expect anything else from our husband?¡± ¡°No! But now he went and did it! He stirred too much! I don¡¯t dare look at the new wanted posters!¡± ¡°Hm, shouldn¡¯t we call the others before doing that?¡± asked Eri as Nami was passing to Robin the new bounties. ¡°Yes, we should.¡± Raising her hand in a cross, Robin bloomed a clone on the deck and told everyone to go to the garden to look at the new bounties. They all ran inside at the news. Once everyone was there. Nami gives each one their own poster. ¡°Youhou! I broke the billion bar! I¡¯m worth 1.1 Billion Berry!¡± ¡°That¡¯s great, Usopp!¡± ¡°What about you, Chopper?¡± ¡°My bounty doubled! It¡¯s 600 Million now!¡± ¡°Damn! They really opened their eyes on what you can do. About time!¡± ¡°... Wouldn¡¯t it be better if everyone put their wanted poster on the wall?¡± ¡°That¡¯s a great idea, Vivi!¡± Luffy said, and with a swipe of his arms, grabbed everyone¡¯s bounty minus Rick who was way far back in the garden. ¡°Robin, a bit of help, please.¡± The captain asked and fingers bloomed at the corners of every bounty to hold them against the wall. ¡®Pirate King¡¯, Monkey D Luffy: 6.5B ¡°I can¡¯t believe you beat Roger.¡¯ mumbled Garp but no one heard him. ¡®Pirate Hunter¡¯, Rononoa Zoro: 3.9B ¡®Wheather Queen¡¯, Nami: 1.3B ¡°Oh, I got a new nickname.¡± ¡®God¡¯ Usopp: 1.1B ¡®ck Leg¡¯, Vinsmoke Sanji: 1.550B ¡®Beast Doctor¡¯ Tony-Tony Chopper: 600M ¡°Beast doctor?! Seriously?!¡±ined the reindeer. ¡®Devil¡¯s child¡¯, Nico Robin: 6B ¡°Holy crap, Robin! You¡¯re worth nearly as much as me!¡± ¡°They still didn¡¯t get my name-change right.¡± muttered the archaeologist clearly annoyed. Franky the cyborg: 936M ¡°You¡¯re almost there.¡± ¡°Thanks, Sanji but I¡¯m just d they finally used a picture of me and not Sunny.¡± ¡®Soul King¡¯, Brook: 878 M ¡®Arsenal¡¯, Baby-5: 780M ¡°Oh I got an epitaph too!¡± ¡°It¡¯s quite super and badass!¡± ¡®Thank you, darling!¡± ¡®Knight of the sea¡¯, Jimbei: 1.6B ¡®Poison Dragon¡¯, Vinsmoke Reiku: 900M ¡°Makes sense, you¡¯re all blue in your dragon form.¡±mented Nami. ¡®The Traitor¡¯s daughter¡¯, Wal D Eri: 3.3B ¡°It seems, with the exception of Luffy and Robin, everyone got a 300M increase.¡± ¡°Now, Luffy I get it, but why Robin? Your bounty went up 4.5B.¡± wondered Usopp. ¡°I don¡¯t know. There are many criterias taken into ount for a bounty.¡± ¡°That¡¯s because of your knowledge about the poneglyphs. The farther into the New World you go, the closer you get to Laugh Tale, the more dangerous you be to the World Government. The belief in the high spheres is that the truth about the void century is there or the locations of the ancient weapons.¡± Garp exined and Kuzan did it further. ¡°There are also your ties to the R.A. and your husband to take into ount which would have increased your bounty significantly.¡± ¡°Speaking of Rick, where is his bounty?¡± asked Chopper. Everyone looked back to see Rick standing up near his desk, his wanted poster in hand. Completely frozen. ¡°Hey! Rick! Mind sharing?¡± Asked Luffy but got no answer. His Vice-Captain didn¡¯t even move a muscle. Usopp walked to him and snapped his fingers right in front of his face but didn¡¯t get a reaction either. When he looked down, he too, froze on the spot. ¡°Usopp?¡± inquired Nami. ¡°He bugged too, apparently.¡± Sanji realized. It was Luffy that reached for the poster by elongating his arm and put it on the wall next to the other, Robin diligently blooming finger to hold it. Everyone looked at it and had their jaw¡¯s drop. Even Mihawk, who had been curious and joined the crew, had his mouth wide open in shock. ¡®The world¡¯s worst traitor¡¯, Wal D Rick: 8.9B Chapter 134: Truth unveiled Chapter 134: Truth unveiled

Chapter 134: Truth unveiled The highest bounty ever recorded in History was Gol D Roger, the very first Pirate King at 5,564,800,000 Berries to be exact. The second closest was Whitebeard, the strongest man in the world with a bounty a bit above 5 Billion. Today however three bounties super passed them easily. Luffy, Robin and finally Rick. Thetter by a huge margin. In fact there was almost a 2.5 Billion gap between first and second ce. Luffy may have been the greatest pirate of this era but the danger he represented to the World Government was less than Rick to the eyes of the World Nobles and the Navy. The events of the justical ind aside, and his brief appearance at the Marineford war three years ago were just a drop in the oceanpared to Rick who time and time again had openly defied the gods. ¡°How did he get that high a bounty?¡± Mihawk wondered aloud what everybody was thinking. ¡°Hachinosu. ckbeard was believed to be the second most powerful Emperor after red hair. Killing him and half his crew in a blink of an eye without sustaining any injuries and all by himself¡­ He is also a powerful devil fruit user, twice at that.¡± exined Aokiji. ¡°And he¡¯s seen as a symbol to the Revolutionary Army. Dragon is the leader, Sabo the hero and Rick is the face of the movement encouraging people to stand for themselves.¡± Robin added. ¡°So¡­ Dad is like¡­ The most dangerous man in the world?¡± ¡°I¡¯m not sure about that though I would not bet against it. The one sure thing is that he¡¯s the most wanted.¡± said Sanji. Rick had won over his stupor and without a word exited the garden to the balcony in the back. ¡®I guess I can''t just inspire people to make a stand now.¡¯ ¡®Doesn¡¯t seem like it.¡¯ Diana replied in a rather quiet tone. ¡®I thought you¡¯d be overjoyed, me going directly after the celestial dragons.¡¯ ¡®It¡¯s not them that I want down. Or rather not them I want the most down.¡¯ ¡®Who then?¡¯ ¡®... I can¡¯t tell you yet. But soon I will. Be a little more patient.¡¯ ¡®... Alright. Any idea what we¡¯ll find on Laugh Tale.¡¯ ¡®Yes and no. I have never been there before but I have¡­ a feeling of what it is.¡¯ ¡®I see. No, actually, I don¡¯t but I guess I¡¯ll find out soon enough.¡¯ ¡°Are you thinking to yourself or speaking with Diana?¡± Turning his head around, Rick saw Robin entering the balcony. Joining his side she took his arm in hers. ¡°Theter. We were talking about the fact that¡­ With a bounty that high I will have to do more than fight. I knew I would but I did think I would be in a leading position. My notoriety is so much bigger than Sabo¡¯s or Dragon¡¯s¡­ It won¡¯t bode well if I¡¯m not the one leading the charge, even though I¡¯d not be making any calls.¡± he exined and Robin nodded in understanding. ¡°There is also the fact that Diana refuses to share information for the moment.¡± ¡°About what?¡± ¡®What is on Laugh Tale, mainly.¡¯ answered the goddess that the brte could hear since she was in contact with Rick. ¡®I have an idea of what¡¯s there but it¡¯s just that, an idea. As for the void century, it¡¯s your dream to discover it so I won¡¯t spoil it. Not like I was there the whole time to begin with.¡¯ ¡®Thank you.¡¯ ~~~~~ Three dayster they arrived on a rtively small ind. Without Usopp''s good eyes they may have missed it. There were no mountains, no rivers, no trees. Just a vast in of lush green grass. The only man made structure was at the very center of thend. Walls of stone positioned in a circle. Sunny was anchored at the edge of the ind while the Red Force who also made the journey stayed farther away; Shanks, Yassop, and Ben had literally jumped ship to be part of the ind exploration. ¡°Let¡¯s g¡­¡± ¡°Wait a moment.¡± Rick stopped his captain in his tracks. ¡°You can go yet.¡± ¡°What?! Why?!¡± ¡°Because you¡¯re missing something.¡± Nami said as she came to Luffy with a well wrapped gift. Confused for a moment, the straw hat captain delicately pulled open the blue sky colored ribbon then removed the red warper while Nami still opened it. Opening the rather t bug wide box, Luffy pulled out a beautiful and well made red coat. Looking at it in awe, he couldn¡¯t but admire the golden pauldrons, golden embroidery and golden cuffs shaped in his Jolly Roger. When Nami advised him to look at the coat¡¯s back, Luffy turned it around and was confronted with his jolly roger once again but this time there were many others positioned in a circle around it. Each one was pretty explicit and he understood immediately that they belonged to his crewmates. The realization brought a smile to his lips and at Nami¡¯s urging, he put it on his shoulders. ¡°I think you¡¯re good to go, captain.¡± said Rick grinning. ¡°I am!¡± And with that he walked down the n and became the first person in the world to set foot on Laugh Tale since Roger. ¡°You¡¯re noting?¡± inquired Rick to his grandfather. ¡°...¡± ¡°He may not have led the life you wanted him to but it¡¯s a happy and free life that he made for himself. Will you really miss perhaps the most important moment of it because of your¡­ opinion about his choices?¡± ¡°... No. You¡¯re right. It¡¯s not about me, it¡¯s about him.¡± ¡°What about you guys?¡± he asked Aokiji and Mihawk this time. ¡°It feels like I¡¯d be intruding.¡± replied the iceman and the former warlord nodded in agreement. ¡°Did you feel like you were intruding during our journey together? If not, you shoulde.¡± And with that, Rick got off the ship and walked leisurely towards the center of the ind, Garp by his side. Aokiji was the first to take a step and followed them then after a sigh, Mihawk did too. After a fifteen minute walk, they arrived at the man made structure. It reminded Rick of Stonehenge. A circle made of stone who he believed was the same kind that poneglyphs were made of. Unlike Stonehenge however, the space between stones used as pirs was another one with poneglyphs written on it. In the very center was a big tombstone. Robin walked forward. ¡°Here lies Joy Boy. A friend, a husband and father. May his will burn bright in his sessor and may he bear the g of the dawn against a sundering world. Nefertari D. Lili.¡± ¡°¡°¡°¡°¡°WHAT?!¡±¡±¡±¡±¡± Everyone eximed their surprise. They didn¡¯t know what to expect but certainly not this. Not a message for one of Vivi¡¯s ancestors. ¡°Know anything about that?¡± asked Zoro, to the blue haired princess. ¡°Not much. Before we left for the reverie, father¡­ He was busying himself searching for unofficial records about basta. He found a signed letter by a woman named Lili. She¡­ was the queen of basta 800 years ago. When the twenty family gathered to create the world government and create the empty throne only she refused to leave her kingdom and go live up Red Line to what is now Marie Geoise. However she never came back to basta and it was her little brother, upon receiving a letter from her, that took up the throne and perpetuated the Nefertari dynasty. Father wanted to know what happened to her and why there was no record of her at all in our family¡¯s and kingdom¡¯s history. I didn¡¯t know that she¡­ That the Nefertari bore the D in their name.¡± she exined with a bit of disbelief. ¡°Perhaps the questions we have would be answered by the steles around?¡± wondered Rick and Robin walked to read all of them. Meanwhile the rest of the crew waited, though Luffy not knowing the word began to look around with Eri, Usopp and Chopper. After a while spent reading in silence Robin spoke up with a shaken voice. ¡°This¡­ This is a summary of what happened to the Lost Kingdom! Why the poneglyphs were scattered all over the world and by who! She¡¯s¡­ Queen Lili was the one who did it! To spread the word about the Lost kingdom and their history but also of the twenty¡¯s family''s crimes against it and the one who led them.¡± ¡°Wait a minute!¡± Interjected Aokiji. ¡°The twenty are called that because they allied with each other to create the World Government and create the empty throne with the specific purpose of not fighting each other for power and bing tyrants! They can¡¯t have had someone leading them!¡± ¡°It¡¯s said they were led by a woman who originated from the Lost Kingdom and betrayed it. Her name is¡­¡± ¡°Imu.¡± Everyone turned around to look at Rick. He didn¡¯t know how to read poneglyphs and yet, clearly knew the name of someone nobody ever heard of. It all made sense when they saw the horns and the blood red eyes on his face. ¡°Who are you?¡± asked Aokiji. His body had tense recognizing immediately that it wasn¡¯t Rick among them. ¡°I¡¯m Diana. You may know me by my epitaph, the ¡®sea devil¡¯.¡± ¡°¡°Right.¡±¡± Shanks and Mihawk said, clearly not believing a word. ¡°It¡¯s the truth.¡± Robin confirmed. ¡°Perhaps you would change your mind after my tale?¡± ¡°Oh! Story time!¡± Luffy eximed, plopping his ass down on the grass ready to listen. ¡°I don¡¯t remember how I came to be, but my memories go as far back as a thousand years ago. I was called Selene by my people. They thought I was a goddess because of my powers and diligently prayed and served me. In return I was protecting them from the natural disasters of the world. tornadoes, earthquakes, tsunamis, violent storms and so much more. Sometimes, for their good deeds I gave them a special fruit. A unique one for each person. You call them devil fruits now. The kingdom, named Dawn by its people, prospered and began to develop at a very fast pace. Fast forward more or less two hundred years and a disaster that I couldn¡¯t stop by myself despite my powers appeared. The sea level began to rise rmingly. The scientist discovered that the world was beginning to get hotter and the eternal snow at the very top of the highest mountains began to melt. The newly formed water joined the sea exining how the sea level rose. To find more information about the phenomenon I asked for volunteers to take the sea and go explore the world. Hundreds did. It was a perilous journey, full of unknown danger, that¡¯s why the fruits that I made but gave so few of, were given freely to each one of those brave men and women risking their lives. To show the world they were from the Kingdom and my subjects I gave them the letter D in their name. For Diana, the name I had chosen for myself before my people began to call me Selene. Among those explorers was the bravest and kindest man I¡¯ve ever met, with an indomitable will and a thirst for freedom.¡± said Dina with a nostalgic smile. ¡°Joy Boy.¡± whispered Robin. ¡°Yes, Joy Boy. He was such a simple man, such an oddball. When everyone was more interested in prospering and making the lives of others better, he wanted to leave the kingdom and explore. You remind me of him a lot.¡± the goddess added, looking at Luffy. ¡°He was brighter though.¡± she joked and got an offended ¡®Hey!¡¯ from the young pirate king. ¡°Regrly, the crews came back to the kingdom to bring me reports of their findings. Joy Boy¡¯s were the most asinine. Sky inds? An Ind under the seas? Sea monster bigger than a mountain? If I didn¡¯t know he was such an honest man I would have properly punished him for lying to me. But he brought back proof of his words. Among them were different races of people no one had ever seen before. Mere people, Sky people, Moon people, giants¡­ Each time he returned home, he brought with him new people from new horizons. People I¡¯m proud to have called friends. As time passed, I began to eagerly await each of his return. For Joy Boy, I wasn¡¯t just Selene the Goddess. I was a person too. I was a friend. I was a confidant. After a few years, I became a wife.¡± ¡°Joy Boy?¡± asked Chopper. ¡°Yes. Our union was fruitful and I quickly gave birth to a daughter. She didn¡¯t have my horns or my wings but she had my eyes. Unfortunately we had to hide her. My people already didn¡¯t like the friendly rtionship Joy Boy and I had. To know that we were united and had a child wouldn¡¯t have gone well.¡± ¡°Why not?¡± asked Sanji. ¡°With time, most of them became very zealous. The masses mostly. They put me on a pedestal and saw me as the epitome of grace and purity.¡± ¡°What an archaic mindset.¡± noted Usopp. ¡°True. but it was 800 years ago.¡± ¡°The world hasn''t changed much since.¡± remarked Reiju. As a princess, she was well aware of what had been expected of her and many other princesses all over the world. Her father had made her a killer, that was undeniably true but he had made sure she remained a virgin until the time hade for her to marry. On the side Vivi nodded solemnly, though she was d her father had not been so backward. ¡°With Joy Boy absent for months, sometimes years and with me with my duties towards the kingdom and my people, our daughter didn¡¯t see us much, especially her father. I was there everyday, from sunset to sunrise but in hindsight it wasn¡¯t the best of upbringing. She was such a bright child. She quickly understood why we were not spending as much time as we all wanted together. Though as the years came and went, her love turned to resentment. She began to be full of herself. How could she not? She was the daughter of a Goddess and the best explorer of the kingdom after all. She got in her head that she was my sessor and that it was her birthright to rule over others.¡± ¡°She¡¯s Imu.¡± Nami stated. ¡°Yes. When she became old enough, she asked of me to let her go explore the world. Since she couldn¡¯t be seen in public in the Kingdom I agreed. I was aware of how lonely she was and how restrictive her life was so when she made her request, I agreed to it. At first she sailed with her father then once she learned everything she needed to know to survive on her own she left with his blessing. It took years but she gathered twenty rulers to her side and when she came home, it was to wage war against the kingdom and me. Despite our superior technology and the fruit users, we lost for Imu told them of any weaknesses we had and didn¡¯t know about. To protect the world, I used every ounce of my power to do two things. The first was to sink Dawn. That way, Imu would not be able to salvage the technology and hold the world hostage. The second was to split my soul in many, many small pieces and infuse them into the fruits I made with my power. Each piece held onemand. ¡®Make anyone who ate one of my fruits incredibly weak to water¡¯.¡± That revtion came in as a small bomb. ¡°So that¡¯s how the devil fruits came to existence.¡± thought aloud Usopp. ¡°But¡­ How did you do it?¡± asked Franky. ¡°It sounds like magic.¡± ¡°Magic is what unlearned people call what they don¡¯t understand. It¡¯s just advanced science. How did I do that? I don¡¯t know. I just knew I could. I supposed that my soul was led by my power as if it was a beacon.¡± ¡°Why not make people eating a fruit simply die?¡± inquired Shanks. ¡°I created the fruits to reward and help. I wasn¡¯t going to punish innocent people. Among the group here, how many ate a fruit out of happenstance? I can call out at least four names.¡± she replied with a smile looking at a grinning Luffy, an embarrassed Eri and a serious looking Garp. ¡°One thing bothers me. You put a piece of your soul into your fruits so that Imu wouldn¡¯t be able to use them but I don¡¯t understand how that would impede her? She just had to find them, no?¡± Aokiji asked. ¡°That¡¯s because a human being or rather a mortal can only be the vessel of one soul.¡± Robin began to exin. ¡°Anymore and the body explodes. Since the piece of her soul in the fruit is so small it¡¯s alright but a second piece is too much.¡± ¡°Yet your husband ate two and ckbeard could use two abilities.¡± Mihawk remarked. ¡°That¡¯s because Rick is an artificial human.¡± ¡°He¡¯s what now?¡± interjected Garp, not liking what he was hearing. ¡°Indeed, he is.¡± Robin¡¯s words were confirmed by Diana. ¡°It seems some scientist in this world tried to y god and create artificial humans whose bodies are strong enough to amodate more than one piece of my soul. Unfortunately, you can¡¯t create a soul from a test tube so while the body is fully functional there is no one home. They¡¯re mindless shells. How Rick¡¯s body got a soul¡­ nobody has any clues. Not Vegapunk, not me. What I do know is that two fragments of my soul fusing together brought me back to awareness. As for the one called ckbeard, he simply used his darkness ability to keep my soul in it, separated from the other power he took for himself. Or at least that¡¯s what I think.¡± ¡°What you think?¡± inquired Mihawk. Diana, or rather Rick, nodded and thought for a moment to exin properly what she meant. ¡°Whenever I created a fruit¡­ well it was in response to the wishes of the person who asked it of me. I had no way to know how those powers would develop. Rick¡¯s ck hole ability is purely a finding of his own, so is Luffy¡¯s gear 5. Joy Boy simply said that he essed that ability when he had felt particrly happy and free.¡± ¡°Let¡¯s back up a bit. The reason you can use Wal¡¯s body as a vessel is because¡­¡± ¡°I¡¯m sure you understood by now but my soul is powerful. Two fragments were enough to connect with his own soul. At first I could only take over when he felt emotion that would weaken him. Anger, fear, despair. But after Vegapunk fixed his body and synchronized his soul properly, don¡¯t ask, nobody has any idea about that, it was easier for me to tempt him and take control but also tomunicate with each other. That ease ofmunication helped us in getting to know each other and in the end we struck a deal. I stopped limiting his powers and didn''t attack his loved ones and in exchange he willingly let me link my soul to his, allowing me to feel and experience anything he did. Until then I was just conscious in a dark ce. Quite maddening.¡± ¡°So that exins how he became so powerful in Wano despite being locked up for 8 months.¡± stated Zoro. ¡°Yes and no. He got this far because he trained hard and used his brain a lot to use his abilities to their best. I only made it harder to use them. To give you an example, making that giant bean on Skypiea fall would have required no effort from him despite his injured state.¡± ¡°Why, though?¡± Luffy asked. ¡°You mean, why I limited him? Only one fruit per person. That¡¯s the rule I established so no one would be too powerful. I also hated him a bit, he was unknowingly my jailer after all.¡± ¡°Some fruits are utterly too powerful already.¡± ¡°True but that wasn¡¯t done on purpose. To take Rick¡¯s as an example again, when I created the Zushi Zushi no Mi, it was for someone with a frail body who wanted to be able to lift things easily. Never in my wildest dream did I think the power of gravity would be developed to such an extent that it could destroy the world.¡± Vivi, wanting to know more about Nefertari Lili, put an end to the topic. She had questions and she wanted answers. ¡°What of Queen Lili?¡± ¡°I do not know much about her. Only that she led her army for Imu.¡± ¡°I do. It¡¯s written all around us.¡± Robin said and began to talk. ¡°Imu passed herself as a goddess by bending the knees and will of others with conqueror Haki. The first ones of her recruits were weak minded and easy to use. The ones after that were manipted. She told Queen Lili about the Dawn kingdom and lied to her about their iing conquest of the world with the help of devastating weapons. I suppose she¡¯s referring to the ancient weapons. It was only when the kingdom sank with all its people and witnessing Imu¡¯s rage at her failure to conquer it, that she began to have doubts. As all rulers went back to Imu¡¯s base on the other side of the world, she met Joy Boy on the way who told her the truth. It¡¯s stated here that it was why she refused to go with Imu and the other neen families up the Red Line. She felt guilty for her actions and decided that the truth needed to survive. With Joy Boy¡¯s help she sailed the seas and disseminated the poneglyphs all around the world, so that one day a D could save the world from Imu and her allies. At the end of their journey Joy Boy died of old age and Queen Lili buried him here. The ce closest to his home and which couldn¡¯t be found by normal ways. She had those steles made to record the history that the World government was trying to hide and erase and had the four rio poneglyphs made. After that she just says that she went back to basta, but apparently she never made it there.¡± ¡°What about the D in her name?¡± asked Aokiji. ¡°Oh? That¡¯s¡­ Hmm. Let me see.¡± Robin replied and began to read other steles. ¡°Here it is. Apparently her father was a D and had a fling with the widow and childless queen of the Kingdom. Queen Alubarna. The capital was named after her. They had two children, twins. Lili, the oldest and Python the youngest.¡± Vivi thanked her and began to ask more personal questions about her many times great aunt to Robin who happily answered her. On the side Usopp, voiced what he was thinking. ¡°Sooooo, the World Government was created by a bunch of genocidal maniacs and led by a megalomaniac. No wonder they want to hide the truth.¡± Usopp said. ¡°Their pristine image of order and justice would crumble.¡± remarked Sanji. ¡°And to think they were able to maintain their rule and that lie for 800 years through their descendants¡­ Yohoho.¡±ughed Brook derisively. ¡°Not just their descendants. Imu is still alive.¡± ¡°That¡¯s impossible! She¡¯d be 800 years old. Nobody lives that long!¡± Usopp protested Diana¡¯s words. ¡°I¡¯m a goddess so I can but Imu took more after her father than me. She doesn¡¯t have my lifespan but she has a way to live eternally. How do you think the rumors of immortality and the Ope Ope no Mi came about?¡± ¡°You mean the one about the user sacrificing their life for someone and granting them immortality is true?¡± asked Nami. ¡°Yes. She told me herself.¡± ¡®So that¡¯s the one you¡­¡¯ Rick who had been listening all along finally connected the dots. ¡®Yes.¡¯ ¡°Okay¡­ Despite how mind blowing that was, I have three questions. One, where is the lost kingdom? Two, what about the eternal snow melting? Three, and it¡¯s not really a question for you but for everyone here, where is the One Piece?¡± inquired Usopp. ¡°The eternal snow is still melting. Water Seven is proof of that.¡± replied Franky.¡± ¡°From what I observed 800 years ago the sea level was 200m lower. And the increase is gradually getting greater and quicker.¡± ¡°Holy¡­ 200m?!¡± ¡°There must have been many countries that ended up under water.¡± noted Chopper. ¡°Unfortunately, yes. It could all have been prevented without Imu¡¯s interference.¡± ¡°You found a solution?¡± asked Franky, whose interest had doubled. ¡°Joy Boy did.¡± ¡°... And? What is it?¡± Diana smiled apologetically to the cyborg and gave back control to Rick. ¡°I think it¡¯s her way of saying it¡¯s up to us to find out.¡± ¡°Why?¡± ¡°Because it¡¯s either a part of the void century or linked to the One Piece? Though how she knows what the One Piece is is beyond me.¡± the Vice- captain answered with a shrug. ¡°Hm, Uncle, Robin? I found something!¡± Eri¡¯s call brought everyone¡¯s attention to her. She was standing in front of the stele behind the grave. As everyone got closer to have a look, especially Luffy and Robin, she pointed with her finger a part of the stone that had sunk. ¡°I¡­ touched the stele to know how it felt and that part felt weird. I don¡¯t know why but I felt like pushing it and that happened.¡± she exined. Robin took a look and after examining the stele shared her findings. ¡°The word you pushed means ¡®will¡¯. Perhaps there are other mechanisms on the stele or the others?¡± ¡°A secret passage!¡± Luffy eximed with stars in his eyes. ¡°Everyone, let¡¯s find it!¡± The crew separated and did as ordered. After fifteen minutes only Luffy, Eri, Rick and Vivi found one yet nothing happened. ¡°Why?!¡± Usopp asked no one in particr. ¡°... It¡¯s the D.¡± replied Rick. ¡°The D?¡± Sanji said. ¡°The only people who found anything have a D in their name. They¡¯re descendants of the D n. Eri even found two. Grandpa, would you mind trying on a stele no one found anything?¡± ¡°Sure.¡± the Vice-Admiral replied with a shrug and went to the nearest stele. Soon enough he found a mechanism. ¡°Well, I¡¯ll be¡­ That was so weird, it was like¡­¡± ¡°You were attracted to that particr spot, Grandpa?¡± said Eri. ¡°Yeah.¡± ¡°Alright every D find the missing pushy stones!¡± Even Garp, who had his curiosity piqued, went with it. The more mechanisms were being pushed the more Robin understood the puzzle. ¡°May his will burn bright in his sessor and may he bear the g of the dawn against a sundering world. That¡¯s what Queen Lili wrote on Joy Boy¡¯s tombstone.¡± ¡°And what she wrote to her brother.¡± ¡°Do you think those steles, by simple touch, react to the D lineage factor?¡¯ Franky asked. ¡°That¡¯d be insane.¡± noted Chopper. ¡°Diana doesn¡¯t know anything about it.¡± Rick shared. ¡°I wouldn¡¯t be surprised. D are a special kind of people.¡± said Shanks. As Vivi took care of thest stele, everyone heard a loud rumbling. The ground began to shake and an opening right in front of Joy Boy¡¯s tombstone appeared, revealing a descending stair. ¡°Yay! We found it!¡± eximed Luffy who rushed to explore but was caught by the back of his neck by Nami. ¡°Don¡¯t go exploring like that, you idiot! It¡¯s pitch dark! At least take amp!¡± Rick quickly went back to the Sunny, carrying Franky and Usopp with him. In no time they created heamps for everyone thanks to a light dial which had been disassembled. Going back to their previous location they gave one to everyone interested in going down. The stairs weren''t that long but went deep. After ten minutes of going down, the motley crew arrived in a very wide room. The bit of lights showed glimpses of gold. Luffy saw some kind of small pedestal in front of him with a ck crystal resting upon it.He didn¡¯t know why but he touched it and it lit in a powerful and warm white light. That wasn¡¯t all. The whole room lit up. Crystals identical but smaller to the one Luffy had touched were mounted on the wall and lit up too. They revealed an immense treasure. Gold of course was everywhere but there was more. Wooden chests, shelves with books, shelves with maps. At the back end of the room, right opposite of the entrance was a coffin made of stone. ¡°That¡¯s Joy Boy.¡± Rick said with certainty. While everyone began to look at the treasure, Robin, Vivi, Shanks and Rick went to look at Joy Boy. There was a smaller stele with a message written on poneglyph above it. From Robin¡¯s estimation it was way more recent than the rest of the room. ¡°What does it say?¡± the former emperor asked the brte. ¡°It¡¯s.. a message, signed by Roger but also Oden and¡­ my mother. She was here, they found¡­ all of this.¡± she whispered in daze. Rick took her hand in his and squeezed it to offer his support. ¡°It says : ¡®We found this ce but were unable to fulfill Joy Boy and Queen Lili¡¯sst request. You thate after us, may you be the sessor they were waiting for. Do what we couldn¡¯t. Free the world and be what I fail to be. The freest person on the seas.¡¯ ¡± ¡°Captain¡­¡± ¡°I don¡¯t get it. What is he talking about? Wasn¡¯t he the Pirate King? The freest man in the world? Able to sail on any sea as he liked?¡± asked Vivi. ¡°The title was given to him by...¡± Rick stopped right there what he was about to say. An insidious idea hade to his mind and turned into an epiphany. The more he thought, the more he made connections. When he finally realized the big picture, the whole n, he began tough like mad. Hisughter was so loud that he drew the attention of everyone. ¡°What¡¯s going on with him?¡± Zoro asked. ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡± replied Vivi. ¡°Princess Vivi asked questions about the message on that stele that Robin read for us. He was giving an answer when he stopped.¡± ¡°I think he understood something.¡± answered the archaeologist. Rick had tears in his eyes and was holding his stomach. A well ced love punch by Nami made him stop. ¡°Sorry but¡­ this.. This is so absurd¡­¡± the gravity man said, catching his breath. ¡°What is?¡± inquired his wife. ¡°Roger wasn¡¯t the Pirate King. He never was!¡± ¡°¡°¡°¡°¡°¡°¡°¡°¡°¡°WHAT?!¡±¡±¡±¡±¡±¡±¡±¡±¡±¡±¡± ¡°But! He was! Everyone knows that!¡± protested Chopper. ¡°The title was given to him by the navy! By the World Government but that wasn¡¯t the truth! He wasn¡¯t because he couldn¡¯t. Neither are you, Luffy!¡± ¡°What do you mean?¡± ¡°Think! The Pirate King is the freest man on the seas! Like Vivi said, they are able to sail anywhere they want! The truth is, it¡¯s impossible because the Red Line is separating the world in two! You have to go through Reverse Mountain to get through one half or go through RedPort or Fishman ind to get to the other half! They¡¯re check points! You can¡¯t sail freely, say from East Blue to West Blue or North Blue to South Blue!¡± ¡°You need to go through the Red Line at Red Port and go through one of the Calm Belts for that.¡± exined Nami. ¡°How could anyone im to be free in that case?¡± ¡°They can¡¯t.¡± admitted Luffy. ¡°It¡¯s foolish! But what if¡­ What if you didn¡¯t have to go through Red Port or Fishman ind? A checkpoint controlled by the World Nobles.¡± ¡°Then anyone could sail freely.¡± Nami replied. ¡°Exactly!¡± ¡°I don¡¯t get where you¡¯re going with this.¡± said Sanji. ¡°Imu made her base, her home on Marie Geoise, just above Red Port! She had taken control of the one point that allowed someone to go from one half to the other! By doing so she effectively controlled the movements of everyone! The trades, the immigration, everything! She severely limited everyone¡¯sings and goings! The only problem for Imu was that there exists another point in the world where one could potentially go through one half to the other without her being able to do something about it!¡± ¡°Reverse Mountain.¡± Jimbei said. ¡°You got it in one!¡± ¡°But Reverse Mountain only goes one way!¡± eximed Usopp. ¡°True.¡± ¡°Then why?¡± asked Chopper. ¡°Because that¡¯s where the Lost Kingdom was! Right there at the top of Reverse Mountain!¡± ¡°¡°¡°¡°¡°¡°¡°¡°WHAT?!¡±¡±¡±¡±¡±¡±¡±¡±¡±¡± Once again Rick shocked his audience. ¡°Why bother attacking the kingdom in the first ce? She already had control of the world in a way with Reverse Mountain only going one way yet she did it nheless. I count three reasons as to why! One because, well¡­ with Diana still around and with her powers, Imu couldn¡¯t be the world¡¯s supreme ruler, so her mother needed to go. Two because, the Lost Kingdom was trying to stop the rise of the sea level! We know that plenty ofnd was submerged and became uninhabitable. In other words, lessnd, more sea which suited Imu just fine for her world domination¡¯s n. Three, because Joy Boy, just like Roger and just like you, Luffy, wanted to be the freest man in the world! Red Line is big, it¡¯s thick, destroying it to connect all the seas was difficult, perhaps impossible for him except at one point! Reverse Mountain. It¡¯s a giant hole just filled with sea water! It would have been way easier to blow it up! Especially with an ancient weapon like Pluto! That¡¯s why it was created in the first ce!¡± ¡°That¡¯s¡­ True. From what I read of the blueprints, Pluto definitely has the power to do that.¡± shared Franky. ¡°Furthermore Red Port links only the two half of the Grand Line while Reverse Mountain does it for the seven seas. Imu absolutely couldn¡¯t let her parents destroy that part of Red Line. So she attacked.¡± ¡°Wait, you said that Pluto was created for the sole purpose of blowing up Reverse Mountain? Let¡¯s say it¡¯s true, what about the others? If one was enough, why make more?¡± asked Aokiji. ¡°There are only two more. Poseidon and Uranus. Poseidon is not a weapon per say. It¡¯s just the ability to control Sea Kings. When we were on Fishman ind the first time, we discovered that the purpose of Poseidon was to control the Sea Kings into dragging the huge arch Noah to the surface. Stopping the global warming of the world is¡­¡± ¡°A huge feat. Even with my powers I can only affect a tiny area of the world. Whatever the scientist nned it would have taken decades perhaps more to permanently change the weather and continuously maintain it.¡± ¡®Exactly, Nami! They couldn¡¯t let people get stranded or die as the sea rose. So they created one so big that it could contain a whole ind of people if not more. As for Uranus, I think it is their solution! Reshapping Reverse Mountain would bring forth many consequences.¡± ¡°It¡¯s a vast area touching every sea. The entire ecosystem would have changed. Up to the weather. So to fight or rather control that change they made, they intended to use their solution for global Warming. Two birds, one stone.¡± Nami confirmed her thoughts. ¡°Poseidon and Uranus are not weapons in the strict sense but what they can do can turn them into one.¡± ¡°So, what you¡¯re saying is¡­ If uncle Luffy wants to be the Pirate King for real, he has to blow up Reverse Mountain?¡± Everyone turned to Eri, who had raised a very good question. ¡°... Yeah, I guess.¡± replied Rick. ¡°Good luck with that. The ancient weapons are lost.¡± reminded Yassop who had been silent all the while. ¡°Except we have with us the only person in the world capable of finding them.¡± Ben denied his friend¡¯s words and pointed to Robin. ¡°Ah, yes. Forgot about that.¡± ¡°Actually, I¡¯m not the only person who can.¡± the flower woman corrected. ¡°Who else?¡± asked Garp and everyone''s eyes grew big when Robin smiled and turned to her husband. ¡°Since when can you read the poneglyphs?¡± Franky asked. ¡°I can¡¯t.¡± ¡°Then how?¡± inquired Sanji. ¡°Remember, I spent a decade in O¡¯hara. I got time to read.¡± ¡°Their location was already recorded?!¡± ¡°No grandpa. But there was a very old book that talked about a polytheistic religion.¡± ¡°A Poly-what now?¡± ¡°A religion of many gods, Luffy.¡± exined Robin. ¡°Ah, okay.¡± ¡°Three names caught my attention.¡± ¡°Pluto, Poseidon and Uranus.¡± Shanks said. ¡°Yes. Three gods. Pluto was the god of the underworld or in other words Hell where the dead went. Poseidon, the god of the seas and lived under it. Finally Uranus, the god of the sky. When we found Poseidon¡­¡± ¡°Wait, what?!¡± eximed Garp in shock ¡°You found one?! For real?! You found one of the ancient weapons?!¡± ¡°Hey! Shirahoshi is not a weapon!¡± protested Luffy angrily, letting the cat out of the bag. ¡°Shira¡­ The mermaid princess?! That cute little puppy is¡­¡± ¡°She¡¯s not! She just has the ability to speak to the Sea Kings, nothing more.¡± Rick corrected his grandfather. ¡°But how? Wasn¡¯t she born in our era?¡± inquired Mihawk. ¡°It¡¯s because of the Lineage Factor. Shirahoshi is not the Poseidon from Joy Boy¡¯s time but her descendant. What we know about it is that it¡¯s always a mermaid and that not all mermaids from the line of the first Poseidon have that factor active. So far Shirahoshi is the second, at least officially. There might have been others.¡± ¡°I see¡­¡± ¡°The fact that we found Poseidon under the sea just like I read about the god himself, made me think about the two others. It wouldn¡¯t be a stretch to think that Pluto would be located at thend of the dead and Uranus¡­ either on a sky ind or the moon.¡± ¡°¡°¡°¡°¡°¡°¡°¡°The moon?!¡±¡±¡±¡±¡±¡±¡±¡± Rick turned to Robin for some help in exining. ¡°Pluto is indeed located in thends of the dead. The hidden poneglyphs in basta said as much and I confirmed it.¡± ¡°When?¡± Franky asked. ¡°In Wano. Everything in that country points to that. Even Zoro¡¯s sword Enma is called after the king of hell of Wano¡¯s culture. Pluto is currently sealed because Wano¡¯s borders are closed. In the message behind us, left by Roger, my mother and Oden, they talked about failing to fulfill Joy Boy¡¯s and Queen Lili¡¯sst wish. When he came back to Wano, Oden wanted to open the borders, meaning unsealing Pluto and blowing up Reverse Mountain with it. Unfortunately Kaidou happened. Now about Uranus being on the moon¡­ It¡¯s Rick¡¯s idea but I can¡¯t help but give it credit because of what we learned on Skypiea and the three races emigrating from the moon.¡± ¡°What races?¡± asked Luffy. ¡°The Skypeian, the Shandoran and the Lunarian came from the moon. We found that out when Rick and I searched for the location of the golden bell among the records on Skypiea. We also know that Joy Boy left a message there since Roger brought it to Fishman ind.¡± ¡°That¡¯s correct,¡± said Shanks. ¡°Those three races were very advanced technologically but had exhausted the moon''s resources and despite their technology had to leave it and find a new home.¡± ¡°Technology advanced people,ing from the moon and meeting Joy Boy. Yeah, I can see why you think Uranus is on the moon.¡± said Usopp. ¡°You see? You don''t need to be able to read poneglyphs to find an ancient weapon.¡± Rick grinned. ¡°That means, if I¡¯m following right what you¡¯ve been saying until now, Uranus is a machine that can control the weather on a world scale?¡± inquired Nami. ¡°That¡¯s what I believe. That¡¯s what makes sense to me at least. In any case That links everything we know with the addition of All Blue.¡± ¡°What has All Blue anything to do with any of it?¡± ¡°Sanji, if Reverse Mountain disappears, all the seas in the world will meet right there.¡± said Reiju. ¡°Oh! So it¡¯s not a myth! It does exist!¡± the blond cook eximed in excitement. ¡°Not yet but yes.¡± corrected Rick. ¡°That is if everything you said is true.¡± a skeptical Mihawk said. Horns sprouted on Rick¡¯s head, indicating that Diana was taking control. ¡°It is. All of it. Rick got all of it right. We were almost ready to put the n into action. Pluto was built, Noah too. What was missing was Uranus but the scientists were almost done with that. A year or two at best. Then Imu happened. Joy Boy and I¡­ especially him¡­ We knew what kind of person she became. We knew of her making a home on Red Line on the other side of the world but¡­ we couldn¡¯t imagine what her ns were. We couldn¡¯t fathom that she had turned into such a monster. She was young and we thought she was just adventurous and ambitious just like her father had been at her age. Lots of people lost their lives and suffered, are still suffering because of her entitlement and megalomania.¡± she exined sadly. ¡°¡°¡°¡°¡°¡°¡°¡°¡°¡°¡°...¡±¡±¡±¡±¡±¡±¡±¡±¡±¡±¡± ¡°It¡¯s nice and all to have uncovered the void century and everything but what about you, Luffy?¡± inquired Zoro, changing the subject to something that interested him. ¡°What about me?¡± ¡°To the people of the world you are the Pirate King but in truth you aren¡¯t. What do you want to do about that?¡± Luffy had no direct and easy answer to that. Chapter 135: Dawn Chapter 135: Dawn

Chapter 135: Dawn

Everyone present looked at Luffy in silence. It wasn¡¯t everyday that he took time to think although he had been doing it a lot more these past few months since leaving Wano. When his lips stretched to each side of his face his crewmates knew his answer before he voiced it. ¡°We¡¯re doing it. Sanji can¡¯t find All Blue if we don¡¯t, and Franky wouldn¡¯t be able to make Sunny sail on all the seas. I can¡¯t stop here when you all helped me realize my dream and do nothing to help you guys realize yours. Besides¡­ It¡¯s the least I can do for Joy Boy, Roger, and Lili. Making theirst wishe true sounds like a great adventure!¡± ¡°Yep¡­ We¡¯re blowing up Reverse Mountain. Totally normal.¡±mented Usopp. ¡°We¡¯ll have the whole world on our asses.¡± said Sanji. ¡°That¡¯s already the case.¡± ¡°Jimbei¡¯s right. Plenty of strong opponents to cut down.¡± ¡°Of course you¡¯d think that. Yohohoho.¡± ¡°There is one thing that doesn¡¯t make sense to me.¡± Nami¡®s words got everyone curious about what she was talking about. ¡°The sea level rose by about 200m. For such a thing to happen and so fast the temperature of the world should be way higher than it currently is.¡± ¡°You¡¯re thinking that it¡¯s man made?¡± asked Franky who had his suspicions too. ¡°Yes. Is it possible that Imu found Uranus?¡± asked the weather queen. ¡°No. Only three people knew of its location. Joy Boy, the chief of the Lunarians and me. Perhaps four with Nefertari Lili if Joy Boy told her. However what you said makes a lot of sense. There shouldn¡¯t be that much frozen water onnd, despite the Red Line being that big. A quarter of that level is the very best and a generous estimate.¡± answered Diana. ¡°Is it possible she could have salvaged some technology from the Lost Kingdom? Or use a powerful Devil Fruit¡¯s abilities?¡± Robin asked. ¡°Hmm¡­ The former is unlikely but possible, the D were not all explorers, they were scientists too among them. Some may have reproduced our technology on others inds. As for thetter¡­ There is only one fruit thates to mind. The Mizu Mizu no Mi.¡± ¡°There is a water devil fruit?!¡± eximed Aokiji. ¡°I¡¯ve never heard of it before!¡± ¡°You wouldn¡¯t if Imu ate it. She would have been in possession of it for 800 years.¡± answered Diana. ¡°That¡¯s such a cheat! She¡¯s the very element that is a direct witness to fruit users!¡± eximed Usopp. Rick had his own words to share. ¡®How did she find it in the first ce? Uncle pointed out something interesting. There would have been some records in the world. I didn¡¯t see it in the shop even once. ¡¯ ¡®She must have taken it from my garden. A few months prior to her attack, the user of the fruit died of old age and the power returned there.¡¯ ¡®Does it mean she had ess to a bunch of fruits?!¡¯ ¡®Less than what you think, they may have been¡­ A dozen? Less? As for why it¡¯s not in the shop¡­ I noticed that there isn¡¯t anything rted to this world¡¯s History. No poneglyphs, no maps, no technology. As if whatever God who sent you here hid all of it.¡¯ ¡®I had noticed that. I won¡¯t even ask why. There is no way I¡¯d get an answer.¡¯ [Author¡¯s note: He got that right. I wasn¡¯t about to make things easy for him.] Diana agreed and switched control with him once again. ¡°How about we think about thatter and look at all that treasure around us?¡± he proposed. ¡°YEEEEESSSS!¡± Nami, with Berry signs in her eyes, moved so fast towards the gold that she may have been faster than Kizaru. Immediately everyone moved. If they let her, she would take everything valuable and be given scraps. ¡°Move guys! Before that greedy demon takes everything!¡± Shouted Usopp. ¡°I¡¯m really d she doesn¡¯t have ess to the inventory.¡± he whispered to Robin who chuckled at the idea. Nami would be the best thief in the world and the richest very very fast if that was the case. The both of them went to look at everything else that wasn¡¯t materialistically valuable. The books, the maps, the poses. Robin was dumbfounded when she found a journal written in poneglyphs. ¡°That¡¯s¡­ That''s Joy Boy¡¯s personal journal. Or at least one of them.¡± she said with awe. ¡°Lend them to me when you¡¯re done with them?¡± her husband asked and got a nod in return. For his part he found maps of inds he had never ever heard before but more importantly a map of the world from 800 years ago. It was wholly different from what people knew now. One thing he noticed was the basta kingdom. Its size was at least three times bigger. One of the maps detailed fertilends with forests and multiple viges. ¡°I can¡¯t believe my home looks so beautiful.¡± Vivi said from his side. She had decided to join Robin and Rick in their search hoping that the answers to many of her questions were among the books and maps her many times great aunt had stored here. ¡°It can be again. Have Grandpa walk around the desert and you¡¯ll have a forest in no time. It won¡¯tst if there isn¡¯t any water irrigation though but at least it would be pretty.¡± ¡°I thought about that too but realistically it¡¯s impossible. Water is too much of a luxury for that to be viable.¡± Both of them turned around when they heard a loud click and something made of wood open. They saw Robin with her mouth slightly open in surprise, her hand raised just in front of a bookcase that went inside the wall behind it with a book leaning toward her but not falling. ¡°Another secret passage?¡± he remarked the obvious. Both he and Vivi followed her when she got inside. It was a very small room, barely big enough to hold them all. A weird shaped key rested on an altar. Above it against the wall as an inscription that Robin read aloud. ¡°The key to Eden¡¯s heart.¡± ¡°Diana says that Eden is the garden where she created and stored the fruits. She refused to answer when I asked about the heart part.¡± ¡°Meaning, it¡¯s up to us to find out.¡± his wife answered. She pocketed the key and warned the others about their findings, prompting Luffy to say that their next destination would be the Lost Kingdom. Despite a careful search there were no more secret passages or secret rooms to be found even by the D. All that was left was the mountain of gold, some Adam wood that Diana revealed was actually a tree that originated from the Kingdom and the books and maps. They took everything, including one of the light crystals so Franky could study it. Thanks to Rick and his gravity one trip was enough to load everything on the Sunny. Before leaving, just like on Lodestar, Garp bloomed flowers outside, all around Joy Boy¡¯s grave. Robin had asked Usopp for some paint and just under the message of her mother, left her own. ¡°We found our predecessors¡¯st will and will see it done.¡± and signed it with everyone¡¯s name. ~~~~~ Shanks, Yassop and Ben went back to the Red Force. When Luffy invited him to visit the kingdom, the former emperor just said that it was not his adventure to partake in but his. He had found his captain¡¯sst message, found his treasure and legacy and that was enough for him. Now he wanted to go and see Ace. Something he had wanted to do since the revtion that he was Roger¡¯s son three years ago. With his duties to his territories he wasn¡¯t ever able to but now that Luffy was in charge he could. Mihawk declined his old rival''s invitation to sail with him so he could find a ship to get him wherever he wanted. The former best swordsman in the world wasn¡¯t interested in the Lost Kingdom in the least; what interested him was to teach and see how far Eri would go into the way of the sword. Just like they did after Wano, the crew went through Calm Belt, although this time they went south to visit quite briefly West Blue Blue, making South Blue thest blue sea for Sunny to sail on. For the second time the Sunny reached the top, this time however Aokiji froze a good part of the water and stuck it in ce. ¡°Now what? I have a difficult time imagining a kingdom used to be here, the space is so¡­ small.¡± ¡°That¡¯s because, when I sank the kingdom the mountain broke and fell on top of it like¡­Hmm.. Like the corners of a map that you fold to make a pyramid out of it.¡± said Diana. ¡°So who¡¯s diving in?¡± asked Sanji. ¡°Me! And Robin and Diana.¡± said Luffy. ¡°But I wanted to go!¡± eximed Chopper, there were only three ces on the Shark Submarine III. ¡°I know but it¡¯s ruins we¡¯re going to explore so Robin is needed and Diana knows the ce.¡± ¡°... That¡¯s surprisingly thoughtful of you.¡± noted Sanji. Getting augh from his captain, the three amateur submariners dove into unexplored depths. The passage was narrow for the first few hundred meters then they found themselves in a very wide ce. ¡°Do you think there are any Sea Kings here?¡± asked Luffy. ¡°I don¡¯t think so.¡± replied Robin. ¡°There weren''t any Sea Kings around Dawn during my time and the ways up to the summit are too narrow for them to go through.¡± rified the goddess. They continued their descent without any difficulty providing regr updates to the crew. They saw very tall buildings that looked nothing like they had ever seen and marveled at Diana¡¯sments about them. ¡°It¡¯s this way. A bit to the right. Eden was at the center.¡± she told Luffy who nodded and followed her direction. They arrived above a huge dome. ¡°It seemed sealed and unbreached. Air must still be inside.¡± Robin spected. ¡°Joy Boy must have done it. He was there by my side when Imu killed me.¡± ¡°How do we get inside?¡± Luffy asked. ¡°I¡¯ll use gravity to push away the water around the entrance. Lower us to the ground floor.¡± she said and Luffy did as told. ¡°Won¡¯t the water pressure be too much? And won¡¯t the space be devoid of air and just be a vacuum?¡± inquired Robin in worry. ¡°You don¡¯t have to worry about that, Robin. I put suits for all of you in the back. Put them on and you have one hour of oxygen each.¡± came the voice of Franky through the den den mushi. ¡°As for the pressure, it will be difficult but not a problem for me.¡± she said as she sprouted an arm above the garden¡¯s entrance and used gravity to push the water around it away, just like she had said. ¡°Wait, howe you could sprout an arm and use gravity inside the water?¡± ¡°It¡¯s my soul that holds themand to make every fruit user weak to water, remember? In other words I decide and control who¡¯s affected or not. I chose not to on this asion.¡± revealed Diana with a smile. ¡°So you could make anyone able to swim?¡± ¡°No. It only works because I¡¯m aware and inside Rick¡¯s body. It wouldn¡¯t work for anyone else. At least not with only two fragments of soul united. Perhaps if I had more. I would have more power to do so. An unlikely event to happen.¡± Luffy nodded and took the diving suit Robin handed to him. Once everyone was dressed properly and multiple checks were made, the trio exited the Shark Submarine III and walked a few feet away to reach the door. Robin handed her captain the key to the door. It was such a small key and a small keyhole for such a huge door. A giant could pass through without any problem. Turning the key in the lock, lines of light emerged from it, expanding through the whole door in a pattern they couldn¡¯t see clearly because they were too close and the door too big. Diana said that it represented a tree. Nodding at that, Luffy pushed a door open with surprising ease. ¡°It was lighter than I thought it would be.¡± ¡°It¡¯s made of a special material called Graphene. Harder than steel but way harder.¡± Entering the dome they saw nothing but dead trees and grass. It wasn¡¯t a shock, that ce had been abandoned for 800 years after all. What was a shock was that near some trees were devil fruits still intact. ¡°My powers are what kept them in prime condition. I¡¯m surprised there are that many left. Some users must have died as I sank everything and the power returned here before the garden died. Imu may not have snatched as many fruits as I thought.¡± exined the goddess as she gathered and picked them up with a chain of sprouted arms. They were all deposited on the submarine. ¡°I supposed the heart of Eden is that kind of crypt over there.¡± Robin pointed out with her finger to the stone edifice beyond a big fountain in the center of the area. ¡°Yes. It¡¯s the front door. It¡¯s where I retreated out of view from the public. Joy Boy, Imu and I¡¯s home. I don¡¯t understand why Joy Boy left the key like that on Laugh Tale. There is nothing there.¡± ¡°Maybe he left something as he escaped?¡± wondered Luffy. Going around the dried up fountain they got to the small edifice. Diana was the first to go through after opening the gate. Walking down a few steps they arrived in what could have been called a cozy home. It wasn¡¯t big by any means but big enough for a small family. Diana invited Luffy and Robin to have a look around while she lost herself in memories of better times. Happy times. She could almost see Joy Boy on all four woofing at her with Imu on his shoulder. Their daughter, using her father as a mount, ying a hero set on defeating the evil queen that Diana herself was ying. Others cherished memories of the same kind assaulted her. Now, knowing what their little girl had done made them bittersweet. ¡°I found something!¡± Luffy shouted from another room. ¡°That¡¯s my bedroom.¡± said Diana, curious. Robin following her they joined Luffy and were both shocked at what awaited them. ¡°It¡¯s like she¡¯s sleeping.¡± said the strawhat captain. ¡°That¡¯s me.¡± whispered Diana, prompting Luffy and Robin to look at her in shock. The woman on the bed was rather tall. Taller than Robin by a wide margin. Her hair was a mix of white and silver and looked like silk. Their length was absurd so much that it made Rick think of Rapunzel though it was not that long inparison. The woman looked peaceful and asleep but the blood stain on her white dress at the location of her heart indicated otherwise. She had beautiful ck horns and if one paid attention, they could discern white angel wings under the mass of hair. ¡°How is it possible? Shouldn¡¯t your body have decayed long ago?¡± asked Robin. ¡°I don¡¯t know. Perhaps it¡¯s because I¡¯m a goddess? Or rather because of the species I belong to?¡± ¡°You have no idea about it?¡± ¡°No, Luffy. I¡¯m sorry I don¡¯t have an answer as to how.¡± ¡®Why did Joy Boby and Lili leave the key on Laugh Tale? Why did they want to find your body? It¡¯s like they believed that you were the one who could free the world. As If Joy Boy knew that either you weren¡¯t dead for good or would be able toe back.¡¯ ¡°I don¡¯t know, Rick. I truly don¡¯t know.¡± Diana answered aloud. ¡°What did he ask?¡± inquired Luffy. ¡°Why Joy Boy left the key to here on Laugh Tale. He thinks that Lili and him believed that I would be the one to free the world.¡± ¡°Your body is still warm but it¡¯s like it¡¯s frozen in time.¡± said Robin after putting delicately a hand on Diana¡¯s real face. ¡°Toki¡­¡± the goddess whispered with affection. ¡°Momo¡¯s mom? What about her?¡± asked Luffy ¡°She was¡­ She came back with Joy Boy one time after he visited Wano. She stayed and became my friend, confidant and priestess. I gave her the power of time because of her name. It was just a simple joke from me.¡± ¡°I thought she could only travel into the future.¡± Robin remarked. ¡°The toki toki no mi can do more than that. If traveling to the future was all it could do I would have called it the Mirai Mirai no Mi. No, the fruit could manipte time in a fashion. It could give her a glimpse of the future but also stop time for something or someone.¡± ¡°What about traveling back?¡± ¡°Time is linear, Robin. It only goes forward. Toki must have stopped my body¡¯s time. She was there too that day. Oh, Toki, did you read that far ahead? Is that why you made a nearly 800 year jump to the future?¡± Rick interrupted her thoughts, having questions on his own. ¡®That still doesn¡¯t answer why they believe you to be able to free the world and why your body is important for that.¡¯ ¡®Had I been in my body I would have had the power to defeat Imu. Providing I got back most of my power. I couldn¡¯t do it at the time. She was my precious daughter, the idea of taking her life repulsed me. That also was before monsters like you and Whitebeard saw the lights of day. Very few developed their fruit power as far as you did. I don¡¯t need to do it myself anymore. Many have the strength, especially you.¡¯ ¡®I think we should take you with us. Maybe Vegapunk could help?¡¯ ¡®Good idea.¡¯ ¡®Yeah. Speaking of ideas I have another one, I think¡­ that you are the One Piece. ¡°...na?¡± Finishing her mental talk with Rick, Diana finally noticed Luffy calling out to her. ¡°Sorry, Rick and I were having a conversation. He thinks that I¡¯m the treasure left behind.¡± ¡°... Is he referring to the One Piece¡­ He thinks you¡¯re it.¡± stated Robin. ¡°Wasn''t it everything we found on Laugh Tale?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t think the One Piece is something as mundane as gold or knowledge, Luffy. Something unique, like the body of a goddess who has shaped the world and has the power to free it is much more likely. I think Roger pranked us all when he said it was his treasure.¡± ¡°That sounds like Joy Boy to do something like that. Regardless of what the One Piece is, either me or the treasure found on Laugh Tale, you found it, Luffy, that means you¡¯re definitely the Pirate King.¡± Diana said with a cheerful smile and Luffy smiled back, happy. Diana picked up a worn out photo of her and Joy Boy and after talking about with Luffy, her body. It would be a very tight fit in the submarine but Robin would sit on Rick, freeing a seat for Diana. Before leaving, Luffy closed the doors to Eden and locked them. He didn¡¯t want the sea to flood such a ce when it was so important to his friend. When they reached the Sunny and disembarked, everyone was dumbfounded at what they had found. While Rick, who was back in control of his body, brought Dian¡¯s to the infirmary, followed by Reiju, Robin and Luffy told their friends what they found in the Dawn Kingdom. ¡°What do we do now?¡± asked Usopp. ¡°Our objective is still to blow up Reverse Mountain, which means...¡± ¡°Going back to Wano.¡± Sanji finished Nami¡¯s sentence. ¡°Except we can¡¯t go back there because we don¡¯t have an eternal pose to the ind.¡± said Franky. ¡°But we have Kin¡¯Emon¡¯s vivre card!¡± corrected the navigator. ¡°We can go back!¡± ¡°Alright, so that take care of pluto. What next?¡± inquired Usopp. ¡°Hmm. We should probably warn king neptune of the n. He wants his people to live on the surface. Where Reverse Mountain will used to be sounds like a perfect location for them.¡± thought Luffy. ¡°That left the aftermath to deal with, with Uranus.¡± added Brook. ¡°And the navy to deal with. We can¡¯t let the World Government know what we¡¯re nning, not when Reverse Mountain staying the way it is is imperative for them.¡± Robin remarked. ¡°Alright. First, we go to Wano, then back to Fishman Ind.¡± ¡°Then to basta,¡± said Vivi. ¡°I love sailing with you guys but I must go back to my country to rule. I¡¯ve already been away for far too long.¡± ¡°In that case it¡¯s better to first bring princess Vivi home, then visit Fishman ind then Wano.¡± said Jimbei. ¡°And make a stop at O¡¯hara before fishman ind. I promise Kaza to bring Eri back once Luffy found the One Piece.¡± corrected Rick as he came back on deck. ¡°But dad!¡± ¡°No buts, Eri. I gave her my word and I won¡¯t break it. I never did and won¡¯t start now. However you can always try to convince her otherwise but that¡¯s up to you.¡± ¡°Okay! Let¡¯s do that! Aoikiji you can break the ice, we¡¯re going!¡± ¡°Aye! Aye, captain.¡± Chapter 136: Another tour of the world Chapter 136: Another tour of the world

Chapter 136: Another tour of the world After a short stay at the Twins Cape for Brook and Laboon. The crew left directly for basta. Crocus had congratted Luffy for reaching Laugh Tale and bing the Pirate King. They had celebrated all day and all night. Igaram, Pell and Chaka were delighted to see Vivi back again and wee for the third time the crew in the pce. The official story that any bastan would say to an outsider was that the crew ransomed Vivi and the kingdom simply paid. All to avoid linking Vivi and the crew together in the eyes of the World Government. Just before leaving, Vivi had privately pped Rick and vented her grievances. He would have taken it all in stride were it not for the cut he received on his cheek made by the engagement ring he had gifted Vivi when he had kidnapped her more than a year ago during the Reverie. The princess hase to terms with her feelings and the situation the man she loved was in, after long talks with the other women in his life. Taking her time she had made her decision and chose to remove the ring from the chain she was wearing around her neck under her clothes to put it on the appropriate finger. She gave him a loving and longing kiss then turned him around and literally kicked his ass out of her room. Nami, Robin and Reiju, were not aware of Vivi¡¯s decision but immediately knew what it was when they saw Rick¡¯s stupid smile on his face. Surprisingly, Mihawk didn¡¯t take the opportunity to leave, refusing to put an end to teaching Eri. She was so happy about it that she gave him a heartfelt hug that made him ufortable. He began sweating in fear when he first felt then saw Rick¡¯s murderous aura around looking at him. The protective father signed with his hands that he was keeping an eye on him for any funny business with his daughter. It was fine with Mihawk, he had no feelings beyond those of a teacher to a student. After weeks of sailing they arrived on O¡¯hara where to their surprise they found Shakky and Rayleigh. ¡°What are you doing here?¡± asked Usopp. ¡°The world is about to change like never before and we wanted to be part of it. Onest time.¡± replied the former Kuja empress. ¡°Congrattions on reaching your dream.¡± she smiled at Luffy who thanked her. ¡°LUF¡­¡± ¡°¡°MOVE!¡±¡± Sabo had made a spectacr entrance by blowing up the bar¡¯s doors, and was kicked aside by both Hancock and Kaza, who ran for Rick and tackled him down to the ground. ¡°DAD!¡± Eri eximed. ¡°I¡¯m alright.¡± her father said as she pushed away his wife and fiancee and made them float in the air. ¡°Do you have to tackle me everytime I¡¯m back?¡± ¡°¡°YES¡±¡± they yelled, making him sigh. He put them down and Hancock glued herself to him, drowning his arm in her voluptuous cleavage and kissing his face for everything she was worth. Kaza on the other hand took Eri in a bear hug. ¡°Mom, I¡¯m alright.¡± ¡°Nuh-huh. Let me have a good look at you.¡± said the older redhead and put her daughter at arms length to check on her. When she saw the scar on her brow she frowned and rubbed her thumb gently on it. ¡°I got that during a storm. The floor was wet and I slipped.¡± She told the lie she agreed on with her father. ¡°Hmm. If the two of you are here, who¡¯s watching over Lynda and Cora?¡± ¡°¡°Ace.¡±¡± ¡°Ace is here?!¡± Luffy eximed. ¡°Yeah. He arrived a couple days ago to celebrate you bing the Pirate King.¡± exined Sabo who stood up and dust himself. ¡°That¡¯s not what I meant! He shouldn¡¯t be in the care of our nieces!¡± the Pirate king shouted and ran out of the bar. ¡°Hmm. Why?¡± inquired Sabo looking at the other as Rick had followed Luffy. ¡°Ace is very irresponsible with young children or rather was, he really got better. I wouldn¡¯t have left my daughters in his care otherwise.¡± answered Hancock. Five minutester Rick came back with his daughters in his arms, Luffy and Ace in tow were fighting. ¡°I can¡¯t believe you started a fire!¡± ¡°It was an ident! The girls were safe!¡± ¡°Okay, maybe he has to get better a bit more.¡± said Hancock. From there the party began. Not something very loud because of the children but there was lots of drinking,ughing, singing and bragging. Robin and Rick were at the counter talking with Shakky and Rayleigh. ¡°So you found the missing history, was it everything you expected?¡± he asked the brte. ¡°Mostly no. I suspected it was about the World Government covering up something bad they did but I never thought it would be about a war, the D n, a goddess, Joy Boy, the Lost kingdom and Imu herself.¡± ¡°What are you talking about?¡± the old man asked, confused. ¡°What I¡¯m¡­You never saw Joy Boy¡¯s grave?¡± ¡°If you mean the inside of it, then no. Only your mother, Roger and Oden went inside.¡± ¡°Oh, boy¡­ you¡¯re in for a long story.¡± said Rick. While Shakky''s face didn¡¯t move an inch, her eyes noticeably got bigger after each revtion at best, Rayleigh¡¯s mouth lowered and lowered so much you could have fit a barrel in it. ¡°To think that such a thing happened.¡± wondered aloud the former empress. ¡°It¡¯s¡­ hard to believe.¡± ¡°Old man, we have the goddess¡¯ body stored on the ship if you want proof.¡± ¡°No, no. I believe you guys but it¡¯s so¡­ fantastical of a tale.¡± ¡°What are you going to do, now?¡± the Dark king¡¯s wife asked. ¡°Well, Luffy is¡­¡± ¡°Blow up Reverse Mountain.¡± answered bluntly Robin cutting her husband''s speech and making Rayleigh spit his beer. ¡°You what?!¡± ¡°Luffy found the One Piece but he isn¡¯t technically the freest man on the sea yet. Only with Reverse Mountain gone can he im to be.¡± ¡°By the way, the One Piece is probably the goddess and not the treasure Roger left on Laugh Tale.¡± added Rick. Rayleighughed at the revtions and shook his head. His student reminded him too much of histe best friend with how outrageous they were. Perhaps it was why one seeded the other. After spending the night in the bar. Robin, Rick, Sabo and Aokiji went to the main building of the R.A. and greeted Ko who had been delighted to see Robin and Rick and shocked to learn who was agent Coolio. After sharing the missing history for a third time, especially the part about Imu, Sabo confirmed that she existed. ¡°She¡¯s the one that ordered King Cobra¡¯s death. He got an audience with the five elders in the empty throne room and asked a question about what happened to Queen Nefertari Lili. That¡¯s when Imu showed herself and sat on the throne. Because of the low light, I couldn''t see what she looked like but I understood that the elders were subservient to her. After revealing that Queen Lili was a traitor and was guilty of the crime of spreading the poneglyphs all over the world she ordered him killed. I tried to save him but I was toote.¡± the blond man confessed. ¡°She needs to be taken down.¡± Rick stated. ¡°Yes. Her and the celestial dragons but we¡¯re not ready yet.¡± replied Ko. ¡°Luffy has to do something first before our journey ends. After that¡­¡± ¡°War then going back home and start a family.¡± Rick finished Robin¡¯s sentence and gave her a hopeful smile that she returned. ¡°So you¡¯re really in the fight?¡± asked Sabo. ¡°Yes, it¡¯s time I properly join the Revolutionary Army.¡± ¡°Good to hear!¡± dered Sabo with a smile. ¡°YAY!¡± Ko shouted, hugging Robin¡¯s neck. ~~~~~ Eri failed to convince her mother to allow her to keep sailing with the crew and her mood plummeted. It was only lifted up when Mihawk said he would stay on the ind for a while to keep teaching her. Kaza had been dumbfounded to hear that she had a gift with the sword. She knew her daughter was good, despite chidding her skills many times but good enough to catch the eye of Mihawk of all people? The idea never crossed her mind. Garp was delighted to see Kaza again after so long. She was too and invited her into her home. He shared with her about how Eri did during her stay on the Sunny and kept praising her. ¡°What about you? For a prisoner you look rather good.¡± she noticed. ¡°I¡¯m alright. I aged twenty year when the children discovered the truth of the void century but otherwise I was treated as a member of the crew.¡± ¡°And?¡± ¡°And what?¡± ¡°How did it feel to be a pirate?¡± ¡°I wasn¡¯t a pirate!¡± he contested with a frown. ¡°Don¡¯t take that tone with me! Now, you sailed with your pirates grandsons and reached the end of the world. Are you telling me you didn¡¯t enjoy that time? That you didn¡¯t enjoy the freedom without any responsibilities or men and women tomand?¡± ¡°... It felt refreshing. There I said it! Happy?¡± ¡°It¡¯s not about me. It¡¯s about you. Are you happy? How long will you serve the World Government?¡± ¡°What are you saying exactly?¡± ¡°You know the Truth. You can¡¯t hide behind your ignorance anymore. Are you alright serving such people?¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°The world is changing, Garp. And I believe it¡¯s going to be for the better. Will you oppose that change or fight for it?¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°Look at me preaching like an old hag. I¡¯m barely in my thirties.¡± ¡°You¡¯re for¡­¡± ¡°BARELY IN MY THIRTIES!¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°Whatever you choose to do. You better not hurt my daughter, understand? And incidentally, don¡¯t regret your choice.¡± With that she stood up, gave him a hug, and went outside, leaving her former superior alone with his thoughts. Eri was ying with her sisters or rather Lynda who was now on her way to be four years old and could move around while Cora was being held by Rick sitting on the grass. She saw Luffy, Ace and Sabo fighting like children on the other side. Wrestling for whatever reasons concerning their nieces. Finally she saw Hancock having a conversation and tea with the other women in Rick¡¯s life. It¡¯s been a bit more than half a year and Kaza¡¯s attitude has improved for the best regarding that particr aspect of the life of the man she loved. Not because of a want but because of a need. The letter that Eri had left her contained more than just farewell words and her intent to sail with her father. Being told by your child that you were making her miserable because you¡¯ve changed and not for the better, is not something any parents want to hear or read or know in general. Part of her broke that day. She had rage, of course. She was a redhead with a temper after all. Proud of it too, so when she got a call from Eri and that Rick made her a deal, the rage and anger were reced by worry and most importantly introspection. She realized that ever since they arrived on O¡¯hara, her daughter only smiled when she was with her sisters or when Ko and once in blue moon, Sabo visited. Not with her. Never with her, not anymore. Their training session was devoid of life. There was no banter, no more jokes, no more bonding between mother and daughter. Eri focused on training and that¡¯s all. She wasn¡¯t a recluse, she spoke to her like she always did but the warmth wasn¡¯t there. She thought at first that it was because of Eri hitting puberty a bit early and so many changes in her life. Knowing who her father was, meeting him, moving to O¡¯hara, after meeting one of his father¡¯s wives and her half sisters. But the truth was she was responsible. She had been bitter. Knowing about other women and children was one thing, meeting them was another entirely. More than that, she felt intimidated by Hancock. The Pirate empress was fifteen years younger and more beautiful than she ever was. She had offered the woman and her children a roof over their heads because it was the right thing to do and because she couldn¡¯t really say no as the house belonged to her too but she didn¡¯t ept her, nor the girls. It wasn¡¯t until that morning when they woke in each other arms that she began to be nicer to her rival and not down right nasty. For Eri, and because Rick had asked it of her. When she saw him taking care of the children and making breakfast as if he had done that his whole life, she got a glimpse of what she could have. A family life. It was just a glimpse, a tiny teeny one but she realized she craved it once he left. More than she ever imagined. Then with Eri gone, Hancock had troubles with taking care of two children alone. Of course she helped and she found out no matter who the parents of the girls were, they were just innocent girls who needed attention and care. There and then, she realized that the part that broke was the part she didn¡¯t need. A part that she was d to be rid of. The bitter part. Her rtionship with Hancock improved bit by bit after that until you could almost call them friends. Or perhaps rivals or frenemies. Now that her daughter was home, she noticed the difference. Both in Eri and herself. Her daughter smiled andughed with everyone. Even that Zoro guy whose face was made of granite and never moved an inch. More importantly, Eri smiled at her. Her own mother. It took everything she had to not cry everytime she did it. Sighing to herself in contentment, Kaza walked towards the other women to join whatever conversation she had. It was time to integrate herself properly in the big family that Rick was making. ~~~~~ With Rayleigh on the ind they didn¡¯t have to go to Sabaody to do the coating again and could leave for fishman ind directly after saying goodbye to everyone. That included Aokiji who had decided to stay on O¡¯hara. Garp was technically still a prisoner so still on the ship. Luffy had told him he could leave but for some reason that he didn¡¯t share the old man stayed. The royal family of fishman ind was surprised to see them back so soon but weing nheless. When the crew shared their intent, king Neptune grew quiet. He promised to think about it since it was a huge and important decision to take for his people. Leaving the ind and getting to the surface was now trivial even Usopp wasn¡¯t nervous about it anymore. They went straight to Wano. Their friends too weed them warmly. One more party happened when they shared the news of the outside world. The day after that, the crew shared the truth of history and their objective. Of course once again their audience was shocked but receptive to the idea. Especially when they learned of the reason Oden wanted to open the borders in the first ce. ¡°I can¡¯t believe that you found Lady Tsukuyomi.¡± said Kozuki Sukiyaki, Oden¡¯s father and Momo and Hiyori¡¯s grandfather. ¡°¡°¡°Who?¡±¡±¡± ¡°That¡¯s how the people of Wano call me. It was Toki that started the trend when I told her the meaning of the name my subjects called me.¡± Diana said, having taken control of Rick¡¯s body. At the sight of the horns and the blood red eyes, the former Shogun nearly had a stroke. His saucer, full of alcohol, slipped through his fingers and fell to the tatami he was sitting on. ¡°You¡­ you¡­¡± he began by pointing at her with his finger then quickly moved and prostrated in front of her. ¡°This old one is not worthy to be in your presence my Lady. Pardon me for being so rude.¡± ¡°¡°Grandfather?¡±¡± asked Momo and Hiyori,pletely dumbfounded by the scene. Their retainers and the crew had the same big eyes and shocked faces. ¡°I¡¯m d I¡¯m still remembered by my friends¡¯ descendants, Kozuki Sukiyaki. You¡¯re forgiven and may raise yourself.¡± ¡°Hmmm.. Sir Luffy what is happening? Why is sir Rick¡­ different?¡± asked Kin¡¯Emon. ¡°I¡¯m.. my apologies my Lady, your existence is a well kept secret to many but the Kozuki. My grandchildren¡­¡± ¡°I know the hardships that had befallen those children and your family Kozuki Sukiyaki. I am not offended.¡± she replied to the old man whose body rxed. Then turning to his grandchildren she began her tale. ¡°My name is Diana. My worshippers called me Selene the goddess of the moon. Your mother called me Tsukuyomi.¡± ¡°You.. knew our mother?¡± asked Hiyori. ¡°More than that, she was my closest friend. She was there by my side when I died. That was before she used the power I gave her to travel 800 years into the future. At the time, to the world she was Amatsuki Toki, priestess of the moon goddess.¡± ¡°My good daughter was THE moon priestess?! Why didn¡¯t she say anything?¡± ¡°I do not know.¡± ¡°Eh, no offense my Lady but you don¡¯t look like a goddess. You look like Sir Rick.¡± said Kin¡¯Emon. ¡°That¡¯s because he¡¯s my vessel. More by happenstance than choice but fate couldn¡¯t have chosen better.¡± ¡°Grandfather, perhaps you could shed some light on certain things?¡± asked Momo. ¡°Of course! Of course! I¡¯m sure you¡¯ve heard of Joy Boy and the Lost kingdom?¡± ¡°Yes Grandfather. Zunesha keeps talking about him.¡± ¡°Well¡­ The lost kingdom was governed by the Goddess of the moon. Lady Tsukuyomi. One day, Joy Boy arrived in our country and made fast friends with our ancestor at the time, Kozuki Yamamoto. Curious about the moon Goddess that Joy Boy kept talking about and to see the outside world. Yamamoto asked for volunteers to sail with the man. Among them were Amatsuki Toki. A year after their departure a ship came back with a message from her. She had confirmed that the moon Goddess was indeed real and that she had be her priestess out of friendship and to further the rtion between our countries. Lady Tsukuyomi was described with ck horns and blood red eyes, with a ck circle in the middle or her pupils as if she had twoyers of them, and finally white wings like a dove.¡± At that, Diana removed the overcoat she was wearing and sprouted angel wings for a moment before retracting them, some feathers floating around as she did so. ¡°They¡¯re beautiful my, Lady.¡± the old man looked at her with awe and reverence. ¡°Thank you.¡± she said with an amused smile. ¡°You may continue.¡± ¡°*Ahem* Yes. With time the bond between our countries grew strong and on the order of Lady Tsukuyomi, we learned of a cmity that the world was facing. She asked of us to begin building a fearsome weapon that was named Pluto. We achieved it but the Lost kingdom became¡­ well¡­ lost. A few years after that, Joy Boy visited the ind with a princess from a foreign kingdom. His life had all but burned up and quickly gave Yamamoto instructions. To hide Pluto at any cost and close the borders of Wano until the day came from Lady Tsukuyomi to present herself again to us using a vessel. Until then she was to be forgotten by the masses and her existence and story transmitted orally from generation to generation.¡± ¡°I do not know about the truth of thest part. I was already gone at the time but I think Toki had a vision and shared it with Joy Boy. Why she didn¡¯t tell Yamamoto herself when she came back to Wano is a mystery. Perhaps she saw it that way in the future. Perhaps not.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not sure I understand everything.¡± said Momonosuke. ¡°But you want Wano to open its borders?¡± ¡°That is correct Kozuki Momonosuke. Pluto can only be essible once Wano¡¯s borders are opened.¡± ¡°I¡­ can not do that right now, my Lady. Wano suffered¡­¡± ¡°I am aware. I¡¯m not asking you to do it now. I already witnessed the good work you did to restore thisnd to its former glory. Undoing Kurozumi Orochi and Kaido¡¯s evil, I know it hasn¡¯t been easy. What I¡¯m asking is for you to prepare yourself and Wano for that happening. The world is still threatened by the cmity but we have time. Though the sooner the better.¡± ¡°What is that cmity exactly my Lady?¡± inquired Hiyori. ¡°It was never stated but I believe it is rted to the sea rising?¡± ¡°You¡¯re correct Kozuki Sukiyaki. Eternal snow on the highest mountains is melting and will one day drown the world. Pluto was created to help stop it. Partially at least.¡± Rick couldn¡¯t help himself and voice his opinion on what his roommate just said. ¡®That¡¯s such bullshit!¡¯ ¡®They don¡¯t need to know.¡¯ ¡°And when they asked questions?¡¯ ¡®I¡¯ll think of something. Honestly, I can¡¯t believe you¡¯re reprimanding me for lying or twisting the truth. You! Of all people!¡¯ ¡®Touch¨¦.¡¯ After a moment of thinking Momonosuke spoke up. ¡°A year, my Lady. We¡¯re almost done with the reconstruction of Wano but the country still needs more time to fortify itself from outside threats and for the people to prosper. We¡¯re not weak but not strong enough yet. A year and Wano will be ready to open its borders.¡± ¡°That¡¯s more than enough, child.¡± And with that she gave back control to Rick under the amazed eyes of everyone but the crew. ¡°Sometimes, I regret having eaten a second devil fruit. I feel like a meat suit now.¡± ¡®Oh, we both know that¡¯s not true!¡¯ ¡®I know but the way they all looked at me¡­ That was the first thing that came to mind.¡¯ ¡°Sir Rick, to be the vessel of a Goddess¡­¡± ¡°Is not as great as one might think but she¡¯s a good conversationalist so I don¡¯t have anything toin much about, Kin¡¯Emon.¡± ¡°Why didn¡¯t she participate during the raid on Onigashima?¡± asked Yamato. ¡°And why didn¡¯t Lady Tsukuyomi manifest afterwards?¡± asked Sukiyaki. ¡°She did indirectly participate by removing the limits on my powers. As for why she didn¡¯t show herself afterwards¡­ I think it¡¯s because of her connection to Wano and Lady Toki. She would have had to reveal the truth of the void century and she didn¡¯t think wise at the time. ¡®You owe me for covering for you.¡¯ ¡®You owe me twenty years in darkness!¡¯ ¡®Not my fault!¡¯ After that meeting, Rick thought that Luffy would be unhappy with the results but he shrugged it off and said that there were plenty of inds to explore and for Nami to map so everything was alright in his opinion. When it was time to leave they were stopped by a request from Momonosuke. ¡°Despite my refusal, my sister asked of me the permission to join your crew in your travels to serve Lady Tsukuyomi just like our mother did. In truth my refusal matters little, my sister is a grown woman and can do as she pleases. However, it is up to you, Luffy.¡± ¡°Sure, I have no problem with it. We¡¯re the most wanted people in the world though, it might be dangerous.¡± ¡°I know, that''s why I request of you to bring Yamato too as my sister''s bodyguard.¡± ¡°ME?!¡± ¡°Yes. You already visited the whole country, Yamato. Just like my father did. I know you want to take to the sea and follow his footsteps further but stay to protect the country. It¡¯s a good opportunity that may note again.¡± ¡°Yama-bro cane too.¡± And just like that Sunny got two new passengers. The first day Princess Hiyori followed Rick everywhere. Since he was Diana¡¯s vessel she decided that serving him was serving her. That quickly put Rick in a bad mood and put the goddess in a hrious one. Finally, Rick brought Hiyori to the infirmary to see Diana¡¯s body and gave her the task to take care of her and sessfully got her off his back. The crew''s next destination was decided by their Log Pose this time, like it should have been the first time they left the ind. Chapter 137: Separation Chapter 137: Separation

Chapter 137: Separation

He never thought that he would meet the man again. More than that he had hoped to never meet the man again. ¡®What the fuck am I going to do?¡¯ ¡®... I have absolutely no idea!¡¯ The reason Rick and Diana were panicking was because in front of them was Dr. Vegapunk. The real one. Not the old man that he met on the ind Kuma had sent him. To be urate the man he met was Vegapunk but just a part of it. One of six plus the original. The crew had reached the next ind after leaving Wano and following the Log Pose. They barely got close enough that they were attacked by mechanical Sea Kings and saved by a rather pretty woman who imed to be Vegapunk. Of course Rick had strongly denied it. Except she knew about his visit to the scientist in a rather detailed manner. When she said that he had met Shaka, a version of Vegapunk just like her, he became confused. Then fearful when she asked how he was still alive. Thankfully the question was vague and he could answer with a part of the truth. The part about being reborn through a seed of himself. She invited the crew onto the ind, Sunny included and led them to the Vegapunk original. On the way, they discovered with awe others Vegapunk that also had their proper names and were referring to themselves as ¡®satellites¡¯. That wasn¡¯t the only thing they were awed about. Fast food dispensers, clothes dispensers. While the former had been popr with the glutton in the crew, thetter was unanimously liked. With the exception of Robin, the oldest members and Garp chose aid back outfit. A simple shirt with flower designs, a short and flip flop. The others all went for battle clothes. Lilith, the first satellite they had encountered had quickened the pace and soon enough they met her creator. A rather short man with a big head. A very. Big. Head. Or at least it would have. Vegapunk¡¯s head looked like someone had cut part of it. A lot of them. Rick suspected that the satellites all had one part of VEgapunk¡¯s brain. He put the impossibility of such a thing into the ¡®it¡¯s One Piece¡¯s logic¡¯ category and ignored it. There were more important things going on than to find the answer to that question. Like surviving Vegapunk¡¯s curious stare. Thankfully the other members of the crew were preupied by the other satellites and the technology around. ¡°I¡¯m curious. Shaka told me that you had a month to live at best. Almost four years ago.¡± ¡°I¡¯m a man who defies expectations.¡± he replied with a shrug. ¡°I¡¯ll tell you one day but there are more serious things to talk about.¡± ¡®Good redirection.¡¯ ¡®Thank you.¡¯ ¡°Oh? And what might that be?¡± ¡°We have with us, someone whose time was paused by a user of the Toki Toki no Mi.¡± ¡°Then ask the user of the Toki Toki no Mi to undo it.¡± the man answered simply, suddenly uninterested. ¡°Except it happens the user has been dead for twenty years and paused the time of our¡­ friend, 800 years ago.¡± At that tidbit of supplementary information, the man¡¯s eyes grew wide. ¡°800 years ago, you say?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°How can you be so sure?¡± ¡°Because we found the body in the ruins of the sunken Lost Kingdom. Intact. Also because the soul that belongs to the body is partly with me.¡± ¡°... The sea devil? From Shaka¡¯s report you were being taken over from time to time.¡± asked Vegapunk, his eyes shining with curiosity and excitement. ¡°She is more of a Goddess than a devil but yes. And the taking over part has been resolved between the two of us. I lend her my body from time to time or if the situation really requires it she just takes control.¡± ¡°Incredible!¡± eximed the odd old man beginning to jump all around Rick , like a kid on a sugar rush. ¡°May I see?¡± ¡°You want to see a Goddess just to observe her and satisfy your curiosity? Quite courageous.¡± ¡°Oh! That¡¯s not what I meant! Not all! I wish to talk with her about the Void Century not study her. Although if she permits¡­¡± ¡°I will not.¡± replied Diana, taking over. ¡°Fascinating.¡± whispered the man, amazed. ¡°My Lady, nice to meet you.¡± he greeted her with a polite bow. ¡°You will not study me, child. But you may ask your questions.¡± she announced in her usual regal tone. ¡°I have so many! I don¡¯t know where to begin!¡± ¡°... You only get three.¡± the goddess said. She was still a bit peeved with the smile. ¡°THREE?! Oh dear! Hmm¡­ I have to choose them carefully. I guess I¡¯ll just ask one by category but which one? Right right, those ones. Alright. *ahem* My first question is: How did you create the devil fruits?¡± ¡°They were not devil fruits at first, just fruits. I took a bit of my power and shaped it in the way I or a person asking for it wanted. A young woman once asked me for a fruit that would help her remember every small bit of knowledge she ever learned so when I poured my power into the fruit I would give her, I just willed for her to be able to do exactly that. You know what the results were rather intimately I believe.¡± ¡°Yes I do.¡± replied the man, understanding that she talked about the creation of the Nomi Nomi no Mi, the fruit he had eaten. ¡°This is fascinating, your will was simple but the results were unexpected. I wonder if anyone could do that?¡± ¡°I will not count this one as one of your three questions but in a way yes. While limited because of the effect of the fruit, users can influence it in a certain measure. For example, the Mera Mera no mi was supposed to make the person who ate it a fire person. The user himself willed to do more with it, like sending fireballs and was able to.¡± ¡°I see¡­. My second question is: How did the Lost Kingdom fall?¡± ¡°I sunk it under the sea to stop our enemies from plundering its technology when they invaded.¡± ¡°The twenty families, I believe.¡± ¡°Led by my traitorous daughter, yes.¡± ¡°Your¡­¡± he stopped himself asking that question. Earlier she let it slide because it was linked tightly to his original question. But this one wasn¡¯t. ¡°Do you know what caused the sea level to rise so drastically?¡± ¡°The melting of the Eternal Snow and my daughter elerating the processus.¡± ¡°... Your daughter seems to be at the origin of a lot of important events in the world.¡± ¡°Considering she has been ruling the world in the shadows for 800 years¡­ Yes, she is.¡± ¡°She¡¯s still alive?! But¡­¡± ¡°You asked three questions already.¡± she remarked with a smirk. ¡°Now it¡¯s my turn.¡± ¡°Oh! Of course, of course! My apologies. Please, ask away.¡± ¡°Is there no way for me to regain my body and to¡­ ¡®unpause¡¯ it?¡± ¡°Had it been a normal person, my previous answer would still be holding up. But now¡­¡± he pondered, scratching his head. ¡°Am I correct in thinking that you gained back awareness because the young man you¡¯re using as a vessel ate two devil fruits?¡± ¡°You are. When I sunk my Kingdom, I split my souls in pieces. One for each fruit I created. Those pieces found their way to users or fruits and cursed them.¡± ¡°To not be able to swim and being weak to water. Yes, yes¡­ The question is how and would I be wrong to think that, be it a fruit or a person, your soul was attracted to your power?¡± ¡°You wouldn¡¯t.¡± ¡°Good, good¡­ So it confirms for real that the willes from the soul. In that case, did you try to¡­ transfer yourself to your body?¡± ¡°I did but nothing happened. It would have been a moot point. My body was shot through the heart and had his time paused.¡± ¡°Time is not really a problem. Isn¡¯t it a fragment of your power? Wouldn¡¯t you be able to do what you want with it? Like taking it back.¡± ¡°Hmm..¡± was the non-answer Diana gave the scientist as she began to think. ¡°It may be possible although¡­ When I gave and took a bit of my power, I was at the height of it. It was just a drop in a vast ocean. Now, I am rather limited. I have enough to influence the power my vessel has but not other people.¡± ¡°I see¡­ Now about the transfer¡­ Your body is something physical, your soul, your will and the abilities born from them are not. Perhaps this is why you can¡¯t make it. Did you try feeding your body devil fruits? Since they contain fragments of your soul you may make the transfer? I don''t think you would suffer the same fate as a regr¡­ mortal so to speak since it¡¯s your body that housed your power and soul.¡± ¡°... That is worth a try but the problem with time is still unresolved properly. I could very well be trapped in my own body without knowing it.¡± ¡°Back to finding the Toki Toki no Mi or its current user, then.¡± sighed Vegapunk. ¡°Oh! And fixing your heart, but that is¡­¡± He was interrupted by a very loud rm. ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡± asked Luffy who had been ying with technological trinkets with Usopp and Chopper with a satellite wearing the number 4. ¡°We¡¯re being attacked.¡± said n¡ã1 the one that Rick had met. He disyed an hologram in front of everyone that disyed at least fifty navy ships shooting at the ind. ¡°Oh, dear!¡± eximed the original Vegapunk. ¡°Aren¡¯t you working for the world government? Why did they summon a buster call? No, with the number of ships it¡¯s more than one.¡± inquired Rick who had reced Diana. ¡°Not on my own free will. You could say I was on probation.¡± ¡°And what did you do to ruin your probation?¡± wondered Sanji. ¡°I may or may not have studied secretly the Void Century.¡± Vegapunk replied sheepishly. ¡°That doesn¡¯t make any sense. We already went to Laugh Tale, we found the missing history, they know the former for certain, thetter is almost a given. Why attack you?¡± Rick inquired. ¡°I¡­¡± Another but different rm sounded. ¡°They¡¯re already inside the ind.¡± warned Shaka. ¡°That¡¯s impossible?! The energy shield is still up!¡± shouted n¡ã3 ¡°Impossible or not, they are there.¡± Rick said. ¡°That¡¯s not good! I can¡¯t let the World Government get their hands on the technology here! That would be disastrous!¡± ¡°We kick their asses then!¡± shouted Luffy and got the approval of many in the crew. ¡°Luffy! It¡¯s fifty ships with the elites of the marines on board!¡± yelled Nami, hoping to make him see reasons. ¡°With pacifistas and¡­¡± ¡°Kizaru. Shit of all people, it¡¯s him they sent.¡± Rick said, greeting his teeth. He wasn¡¯t afraid of Kizaru since with his ck hole ability he could deal with the lightman. However Borsalino was a cunning and shrewd guy and may find a way to circumvent his disadvantage. Between him, Aokiji and Akainu he was the one he had wanted to deal with the least back then. That was still the case. ¡°What do we do then?¡± asked Franky. ¡°Could you help me? I need to pack most everything and leave the ind. I need time.¡± ¡°And a boat. They destroyed the entrances for both boats and submarines.¡± Shaka shared. ¡°.. Alright, Rick and I we will hold them off, Franky, Jimbei, Nami go to the Sunny and be ready for our departure. Everyone else, help with transporting things.¡± ¡°Luffy, what about grandpa?¡± The Pirate King stopped on his way out at his Vice-Captain question. ¡°I don¡¯t know. Gramps, you can stay with us or join back the marines.¡± was all he said then left behind a silent Garp and wondering Rick. ¡°...Whatever you chose, it was nice sailing with you again.¡± Rick left too and joined Luffy outside. The rubber man was already knocking left and right marines. Crossing his arms Rick sprouted a good number of them on each enemy in his sight. Either clutching them or using gravity to put them down. Snatching the sword of one of the fallen, he charged it with gravity and Haki and began to send shes of it in every direction in front of him. Every marines who was touched by it was sent flying backward. Captain and Vice-captain held the line without much problem until the Pacifistas came out to y with Kizaru as a bonus. The admiral didn¡¯t wait to shoot a ray of light right to an upied Luffy. Reacting quickly, an arm sprouted on Luffy¡¯s side and pushed him away while Rick rushed to meet Kizaru. ¡°We meet again.¡± ¡°Unfortunately.¡± ¡°Oh, my! What a greeting.¡± ¡°Said the man who shot to kill for a greeting less than a few seconds ago.¡± replied Rick who kicked high aiming for the head but missed. ¡°Feww. That was close.¡± ¡°How about you order a retreat before someone gets really hurt.¡± This time he punched and grazed his opponent''s shoulder instead of hitting air. ¡°I¡¯d love to but orders are orders.¡± Kizaru replied, disappearing in a sh to reappear leg in motion and hit Rick in the temple, sending him flying away. He didn¡¯t go very far, using his gravity to stop his movement. ¡°Fine. Don¡¯t me me once you¡¯re on the other side.¡± His whole body began to be covered in ck and he flew straight towards Kizaru who dodged by a hair''s breadth. However it wasn¡¯t enough and his left hand got sucked in by the haki infused ck hole. Kizaru let out a scream of pain and jumped backward, away from Rick, holding his bleeding wrist. ¡°I told you someone would get hurt. Now I advise you to pull back and to order the same to your subordinates.¡± ¡°Retreat, Borsalino.¡± Rick turned his head a bit to the side, never letting Kizaru out of his sightpletely, to see a portly man, cane in hand and dressed in a suit that screamed both ¡®expensive¡¯ and ¡®rich¡¯. His gut feeling told him that this man was the apex predator on the ind and sent a chill down his spine along with cold sweat. ¡°Yes, Saint Saturn.¡± replied Kizaru who disappeared in a yellow sh of light. ¡®Holy shit! Is that guy who I think he is?¡¯ ¡®If you mean one of the five elders, then yes.¡¯ The elder looked at Rick as if he was prey. An insect whose purpose was to be caught and eaten. ¡°Wald Rick¡­ You caused us many problems. More than your captain ever did.¡± ¡°The way I see it, I was trying to fix the problems you guys created.¡± ¡°You insolent worm, you do not know what you¡¯re talking about. We are gods that rule over all. Only we can guide the world to prosperity and order. What you see as problems is only us getting used to our birthright.¡± ¡°You say ¡®we¡¯ and ¡®us¡¯ but all I hear is a dog barking the name ¡®Imu¡¯.¡± counter-argumented Rick with a smirk. The reaction from the Elder was immediate. His eyes widened in surprise for a split second before narrowing dangerously. ¡°Where did you hear that name?! No, it doesn¡¯t matter. You will die today, right now. You and your captain and the rest of your crewmates. Including Nico Robin and your daughter.¡± ¡°Or I kill you before you can.¡± Pushing himself forward while attracting the celestial Dragon, Rick ripped his head with ck hole w. With the man dead. He focused on Luffy who had just finished taking down thest pacifistas. Sword still in hand he was about to push away a new wave of iing marines when thanks to his observation haki felt an attacking from his back. Dodging by reflex, it wasn¡¯t fast enough to not have his spleen pierced by the wooden cane of the elder. Swallowing the scream of pain that wanted to escape his mouth he turned his head around to watch the man he thought he killed, regenerating from what used to be a missing head wound. ¡°...She made someone eat the Ope Ope no Mi and sacrificed themselves to make you immortal, didn¡¯t she?¡± he said spitting blood onto the elder¡¯s face. ¡°You impudent¡­¡± His head was sucked in again by a backhanded ck hole. Rick didn¡¯t know how fast the regeneration was but he didn¡¯t intend to find out so close to the man. Putting some distance away, he focused on the man as he removed the cane from his body. Just like he did for his lung on Hachinosu he sucked in his spleen and sprouted a new one. Just in time to see Saturne¡¯s head reforming. ¡®That¡¯s not good Diana. It¡¯s not only immortality but invincibility. If the other four and Imu are all like that¡­¡¯ ¡®That¡¯s thoughts forter. He¡¯s transforming! You need to focus!¡¯ The elder¡¯s legs began to change into four then into eight while his body began getting bigger and bigger and morphing. ¡®Please, not a spider! Please, not a spider! Please, not a spider!¡¯ ¡®RUN!¡¯ ¡®What?!¡¯ ¡®He has eaten a Mythical Zoan. Those types of fruit are at the top in terms of power! You won¡¯t win! RUN!¡¯ Rick hesitated for a moment then created a clone who immediately went to Luffy to pick him up and flee. ¡°What are you doing?!¡± ¡®What he said!¡¯ ¡°Fleeing! An elder is here and we can¡¯t win!¡± ¡°I¡¯m sure I¡­¡± ¡°I pulverized his head and he healed from that! He can¡¯t die Luffy! We don¡¯t need to fight him. The whole point was to buy some time.¡± ¡°Then why are you staying there instead of your clone?¡± ¡°Because if my clone gets hurt, I get hurt. If I get hurt my clone doesn¡¯t! I need to do something on Sunny but if my clone is injured I may not be able to do what I need to do!¡± ¡°I¡¯m not leaving you behind again!¡± ¡°You¡¯re not! I¡¯m staying.¡± ¡°That¡¯s the same thing.¡± ¡°No! Last time I was dying so I didn¡¯t care what happened. Now I¡¯m not, and I¡¯ll be damned if I let him kill me. I¡¯ll make it. I know things he wants to know. Don¡¯t worry. Even if I can¡¯t follow you, I¡¯ll live. It¡¯s a promise.¡± ¡°...¡± A dozen seconds after the end of their conversation, Rick arrived on the Sunny on the other side of the ind. He dropped Luffy on the deck and immediately ran inside towards the garden. He didn¡¯t stop for anyone or anything, not even the door as he pushed it so hard with his gravity that it went flying to the other side of the room, breaking the window door and fell into the sea. Not stopping one bit, he grabbed the three bowls full of devil fruits he ran back out and went to the infirmary. ¡®What are you doing?!¡¯ ¡®I¡¯m giving us a chance!¡¯ The door of the infirmary ended up embedded on the opposite wall, surprising princess Hiyori who was making sure that Diana¡¯s body was fine. ¡°Sir Rick?¡± she eximed but he ignored her, in fact he didn¡¯t even notice her speak. Instead, he put the bowls crudely on Diana and began to smash them in pieces and feed her. ¡°What are you doing?!¡±/ ¡®What are you doing?!¡¯ ¡°Saving us all! Diana, can you feel yourself in your body?¡± he asked after giving her the second fruit. ¡®Barely.¡¯ ¡°Okay! It might work. Hiyori, I need your help, pick a piece of each devil fruit and feed them to Diana. The higher the number of fruits she eats, the stronger she gets.¡± ¡°O-okay!¡± While she did as she was told Rick opened the system and went straight to the shop. Scrolling through the devil fruits section he found what he was looking for. ¡®I¡¯ve barely enough points.¡¯ After defeating ckbeard, half his crew and destroying the whole ind Rick had earned a good deal of Karma Points. Enough that the total of the devil fruits he bought afterwards was less than half a percent of his total gain. Leaving him around 400 Millions and something. Reaching the end of the world and finding the missing history, finding the Lost Kingdom and saving Diana from her underwater scepulture had earned him enough to barely reach the Billion Karma Points. Clicking on the confirmation window, he pulled the fruit out of his inventory. ¡°Princess, it¡¯s enough, you can give her moreter.¡± he said as he grabbed her arm gently and turned her towards him. ¡°You said you wanted to be her priestess and served her, right?¡± ¡°Yes, like my mother did before me.¡± ¡°Then here¡¯s the opportunity.¡± he replied and presented the fruit he bought. ¡°This is the Toki Toki no Mi.¡± ¡°My mother¡¯s¡­¡± she said with wide eyes. ¡°Yes. As you know your mother paused Diana¡¯s body¡¯s time. Once Vegapunk fixes her heart it will be up to you to unpause her and bring her back. Do you understand?¡± ¡°I do. I won¡¯t fail, you have my word.¡± she promised with a determination he had never seen in her before. ¡°Good. I¡¯m sorry to give you this task. Eating a devil fruit, especially a fruit like this one should be a choice, a want and not a need.¡± ¡°I¡¯m the princess of Wano. Daughter of Kozuki Oden and Kozuki Toki, priestess of the moon goddess. I will not eat this fruit out of want or need but out of duty.¡± ¡°Perfect. Diana, can you transfer yourself, now?¡± ¡®I can but Rick¡­ My power and my soul are a package deal now. If I go back to my body I will take your abilities with me. I¡¯m too weak to separate myself properly from them. You¡¯d be normal again.¡¯ ¡®It¡¯s fine. I¡¯ve never been normal to begin with.¡¯ ¡®You¡¯re still out there fighting! You¡¯d get yourself killed without your abilities!¡¯ ¡®I will not, trust me.¡¯ ¡®...¡¯ ¡®...¡¯ ¡®Alright, I will.¡¯ ¡®Say to the girls that I love them and that I will see them around. Please?¡¯ ¡®Sure.¡¯ And with thisst message epted, Dianda took control of Rick¡¯s body and put his hand on hers. A few momentster, the clone dissolved into nothingness. ~~~~~ ¡°I can do this all day.¡± Rick said as he just sprouted a new leg that had been dissolved by the corrosive poison from one of the elder¡¯s spider legs. ¡°But honestly I¡¯m not in the mood, so I surrender.¡± he said, raising his hand in the air moments before he had to roll to the side to avoid another dose of poison. ¡°There is no surrender. Only your death.¡± ¡°Are you sure? Don¡¯t want to know how to get to Laugh Tale to destroy once and for all the records of the Void Century? The truth about¡­¡± He was interrupted by a big strong hand mming his head to the ground from behind and knocking him out. ¡°Vice-Admiral Garp, reporting for duty, sir.¡± was said with a polite bow. ¡°Good work, Vice-Admiral. Your long absence has been felt among the ranks.¡± ttered the elder as he took back human form. ¡°I wonder why you only acted now when you¡¯ve been traveling with them for months.¡± ¡°While my grandsons treated me well, far better than ckbeard, they made sure that I would not regain my strength fully. They also held princess Neferatari Vivi hostage making it impossible to act. Alone, weakened and with no means of escape, I simply bid my time, sir.¡± ¡°Hmm¡­ You will be interrogated thoroughly once you return to New Marineford.¡± ¡°Yes, sir. What about Wald? Should I execute him?¡± ¡°... No. He has confidential information that we need. He will be held and interrogated on Marie Geoise. After that, he will be publicly executed in front of the whole world. An example of what happens when you defy us gods. Chapter 138: Welcome to the New Age Chapter 138: Wee to the New Age

Chapter 138: Wee to the New Age This time he wasn¡¯t blindfolded and starved. That didn¡¯t mean that his captivity was better than the one on Onigashima. Sure, he didn¡¯t have Diana, trying to make him go crazy but he would have taken that everyday instead of being branded on his back with the dragon¡¯s hoof,shed and beaten up almost daily and cherry on top of the cake the explosive ve cor. He had to admit, his ¡®interrogators¡¯ knew their trade well. Superficial wounds that hurt a lot but nothing too serious that could kill him. He had to be presentable for his public execution after all. From time to time a World Noble came to mock him but otherwise his onlypany was either his interrogators or his own. What bothered him the most was the special camisole they put on him. He couldn¡¯t scratch his nose with his arms contained. There was also the seastone bracelet that released a bit of seastone in his bloodstream forbidding him to use his devil fruits powers and keep him weak. He couldn¡¯t help butugh each time he thought about that but he wasn¡¯t going to tell them that he didn¡¯t have them anymore. That may put the returned Diana and the crew in danger. Imu might have understood that her mother was back among the living. So he kept his mouth shut. All day and all night. Despite the muscled interrogation he has been subjected too. Today was different from the others. Today he had visitors. For once, he was very happy to see familiar faces. ¡°Big sis, Grandpa, Uncle. It¡¯s good to see you, though I wonder what brings you here. Surely not visiting this lowly ve?¡± ¡°Cut the crap, Rick. We¡¯re here to give you some news.¡± spoked Sengoku. ¡°You¡¯re letting me out and walk away?¡± joked the prisoner. ¡°This is not aughing matter! The date of your execution has been decided.¡± ¡°About time. I¡¯ve been here for¡­ How long have I been here?¡± ¡°Three months.¡± replied Tsuru. ¡°Huh, I thought less. Eh, it doesn''t really matter. When?¡± ¡°Three weeks from now.¡± infomed Sengoku. ¡°Do I get ast meal and say somest words?¡± ¡°You do. Be warned though, try to say anything about the Void century and you will be killed on the spot.¡± ¡°Instead of a few momentster? Not such a bad deal. But alright, I won¡¯t say anything about the missing history. Not like I have much to say about it anyway. Not to the public at least. No, I was thinking of a short poem to resume my life. Half a dozen verses perhaps.¡± he chuckled. ¡°How can youugh?! You¡¯re going to die! In front of the whole world! Like an animal being put down!¡± eximed Sengoku in anger. ¡°Sengoku!¡± Tsuru protested. ¡°I died once, remember? It wasn¡¯t that terrible. And before you ask, no I don¡¯t have a seed of myself stashed somewhere. This time it¡¯s for good. Knowing that¡­ What can I do but smile to Death? I saw the world, made friends, made a family. I had fun, I got angry, I got sad, I got hurt¡­ You know, my life¡­ It has been the best ever since I came back. I had lots of very low moments but even more high ones. I¡¯m content with what I did with the three years I was given.¡± Sengoku shook his head and left, while Tsuru looked at him sadly. Rick gave her a wink before she followed her friends out, leaving grandfather and grandson alone. ¡°I¡¯m not mad, you know.¡± ¡°... You¡¯re not?¡± ¡°No. Disappointed? Yes but that¡¯s not what I¡¯m feeling the most. I¡¯m feeling sad mostly. For you.¡± ¡°Why?¡± ¡°Because I see your future and it¡¯s a rather grim one. I see you alone, sometimes getting a visit from Big sis or Uncle Buddha, but alone. Not able to look at yourself. Miserable. I see you trying to protect Eri, Lynda and Cora from the World Government and the World Nobles without much sess. Eri will never talk to you again and I totally see her roping her sisters in doing it too.¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°What¡¯s even sadder is that¡­ I still saw a better future. One where you opened a kind of flower shop, blooming flowers or trees to make people feel better. Big sis would work on the arrangement of bouquets because she¡¯s the only one with taste about those things. Uncle Buddha would work on the side as a barman, providing drinks and snacks to the customer and Uncle Nice selling all kinds of vored ice cream. All of you telling stories of your time in the marines to the children that woulde in or the young rookies that entered your shop for a break or simply giving them life advice. I wasn¡¯t sure if the shop was in a fixed ce or able to set sail all over the world to touch everyone. I guess it doesn¡¯t matter anymore if I don¡¯t settle on one or the other.¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°Just in case you feel guilty about your choice, let me tell you a secret. I knew I would be captured. I didn¡¯t know it would be by you though. No, I thought it would have been by the elder. Part of me¡­ believes that you did it to try to save my life and that¡¯s why all I have left to say to you is: Thank you.¡± Garp didn¡¯t say anything more and looked at Rick with a stone cold face. But the younger man wasn¡¯t dupe, he saw the emotions conflicting in his grandfather¡¯s eyes. Right until he left. He kept being interrogated for most of the time he had left before his big day but still said nothing. Finally a scream or two there when one of theshes had been particrly painful. He did get hisst meal, his favorite. Duck with potatoes and couldn¡¯t do anything but admit that the chief that made that was really good. Not Sanji good and not close but better than most. When it was time, they removed his straight jacket and put his hands in a simple wooden portative pillory. His seastones bracelets were left untouched, of course. Finally, after putting chains on his feet to make it impossible to run, they escorted him out of his cell. The walk was long and done in silence. He realized that he had been imprisoned deep somewhere underground. It was only when they reached what he believed to be the ground floor that he could see the architecture of the building he was in. ¡®Marie Geoise, huh? Perfect.¡¯ They passed huge doors that could fit easily the height of a giant riding on the shoulders of another. The first thing he felt was the warmth of the sun on his face. That felt good. After his captivity by Kaidou and now the World government, Rick had found a new liking of the star and how it felt on his skin. The air was pure too and he didn¡¯t hesitate to take a good intake of it. A few yards ahead and the group stopped at the top of the stairs. ¡®Boy, am I popr.¡¯ he thought as he got a good view of his surroundings. The five elders were there in their impable attire. They were not the only ones. Down the stairs the first rows were filled with Celestial Dragons. They came to witness the hand of the man who had dared to raise his hands against the gods they were. They were guarded by their own soldiers and agents of CP-0 if he wasn¡¯t recognizing their white uniform wrong. Further back were a whole lot of marines. For a moment, Rick wondered if half of the whole navy wasn¡¯t gathered here. ¡°If being executed on Marie Geoise wasn¡¯t enough, all those people for little old me? I¡¯m ttered.¡± he said to no one in particr. ¡°Not making the same mistake you guys did with Ace some years ago, eh?¡± The only answer he got was a push forward to get him on his knees. To the side in front of him was a marine officer who began to read a very long list of crimes and sins he hadmitted. It didn¡¯t matter to him, no, he was more interested in looking at the faces of the superior officer on each side of him. All had an unreadable one. ¡°...st words.¡± ¡°Hm?!¡± ¡°You have five minutes for yourst words.¡± said the announcer who hade close to him and whispered something more.¡±Do not say anything unnecessary.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry I won¡¯t.¡± Rick reassured the man with a smile. Taking onest look at his audience. He spoke up. ¡°I wonder¡­ If this is how Roger felt when it was his turn. Nevermind.¡± he shook his head as if to chase the unneeded thoughts he had away. ¡°I don¡¯t have wealth, I don¡¯t have power and while I do have fame, it¡¯s not something that I can pass on. Sorry people, I won¡¯t start a new pirate era. Not like I could, I¡¯m not the Pirate King anyway. All I have to say is a short poem and here it is.¡± Clearing his throat to make sure he wouldn¡¯t stutter or make a mistake he took a booming voice so everyone could hear him clearly. ¡°Not matter how strait the Gate, How charged with crimes and sins the scroll, I. Am the master of my fate, I. Am the captain of my soul, And in all the days and all the nights toe, My heart will forever burn for justice and freedom!¡± As if it had been rehearsed, the ground began to shake from the left side of the area, while the right side was engulfed in an inferno. In the middle a ship came falling down and stopped a few feet above the ground beforending delicately. A unique ship with the head of a Lion for a figurehead. If anyone wasn¡¯t already aware of who that ship belongs to, the Jolly Roger certainly did the Job. A stupidly grinning skull wearing a straw hat and with its captain standing on top of the figurehead. ¡°HEY, RICK! SORRY WE¡¯RE LATE FOR THE ¡­¡± Whatever he was going to say, nobody knew because he was sent flying right in the middle of a group of marines by a kick from behind. Courtesy of Boa Hancock. The Kuja empress got off the ship apanied by four other women. ¡°You DARE try to put my husband to death?!¡± yelled the Amazon queen, charging forward. ¡°And you thought we would let you?¡± added a very calm faced but furious Robin, blooming hands and clones, clutching and wrestling the group of marines in front of her. Nami used her weather abilities to deal with her own group. Kaza was hacking her way in. Reiju transformed into her full dragon form and began breathing poison. All of them were joined by the rest of the crew and a few additional members. Rick recognized Ivankov, Kuma, Aokiji and Dragon. Thetter had definitively eaten the Kaze Kaze no Mi by the way the air moved around him. ¡°Insanity!¡± said one of the Elders,pletely furious. ¡°They dare invade this sacred ce?! The domain of the gods?!¡± eximed another. ¡°Soldiers, kill the prisoner.¡± a third ordered. The two executioners obeyed on the spot and pierced Rick¡¯s body. However to everyone¡¯s shock the spears broke on contact, clearly having hit something way harder than the metal they were made of. Not missing the opportunity, Rick used his armament haki to break his cuff, chains and removed the explosive cor around his neck, throwing it up in the sky to detonate. ¡°IMPOSSIBLE!¡± eximed the youngest looking of the elders. ¡°The seastone should have weakened you too much to use haki!¡± said the kinda samurai looking one. ¡°I am the captain of my soul and no one else.¡± Rick smirked as he punched the executioners by his sides and took a fighting stance. The true meaning of his words only now dawned on the elders. Every devil fruit user had a piece of the original goddess in them, tainting anyone¡¯s soul. Yet, Rick iming being free ment only one thing, the Goddess was back for only her had the ability to take back a devil fruit¡¯s power. It was a part of her after all. ¡°That can¡¯t be! She can¡¯t be back! She¡¯s dead!¡± Not caring one bit about what was being talked about, Akainu moved in a sh in front of Rick and punched him with his one good arm made ofva and haki. Rick had barely got the time to make a crossguard but without good footing he was simply sent flying away high up in the sky. Fortunately for him he was caught by a firm but warm embrace. He felt his head lodged against the valley of a bigger than average chest though nothing as big as Robin or Hancock. Looking up, his eyes met blood red ones. ¡°Miss me?¡± asked Diana in a teasing tone. ¡°Just a little bit.¡± Rick answered by downying the truth a lot. ¡°Sure. I¡¯d say not as much as Robin but close. I¡¯m your roomie after all.¡± ¡°Maybe. Thanks for catching me by the way.¡± he replied as he looked around. Diana was battling her wings up in the sky. ¡°Oh, don¡¯t thank me yet. Not before you eat this.¡± she said as she pulled a fruit from a satchel tied to her waist. ¡°What does it do?¡± ¡°It gives you back your gravity among other things.¡± ¡°Other things?¡± ¡°Hiyori fed me as many fruits as we had and Robin used most of her points to buy cheap ones from the system. Despite all that, while I¡¯m not at full strength, I could take everyone¡¯s down but I won¡¯t.¡± ¡°... Up to us to make our own future. We can¡¯t always depend on you for everything?¡± ¡°Correct. Not directly anyway. By that I mean that instead of putting your Me Me no Mi ability in the fruit, I reced it with another.¡± ¡°... Something to deal with those assholes¡¯ immortality?¡± ¡°Right in one!¡± she admitted with a grin. ¡°You¡¯d have the power to steal or rather destroy a trait of a person or an object.¡± ¡°Like¡­ Removing for good someone¡¯s sense of humor? Something abstract but which exists?¡± ¡°Correct!¡± ¡°Oooooh! They won¡¯t understand what¡¯sing for them. Are you sure you¡¯re a Goddess because that¡¯s pretty evil.¡± ¡°I always thought I was both to be honest.¡± ¡°Say¡­ Can I snatch away fruits¡¯ abilities with it? Or souls?¡± ¡°Of course. I derived that power from the Yami Yami no Mi and the Soru Soru no Mi.¡± ¡°I quite like the power but I¡¯d like my sprouting powers back afterward, please.¡± ¡°Deal, now eat it.¡± And Rick did. The first bite surprised him. When he ate the Zushi Zushi, it tasted awful. It was even worse for the Me Me no Mi. This one however tasted like no other fruit did before. The best he ever had in fact. ¡®So? How was it?¡¯ ¡®Diana? Why did you¡­ you wanted to continue reading my memories, didn¡¯t you?¡¯ ¡®Guilty as charged! When I left you, I was reading Berserk. The eclipse was about to begin!¡¯ ¡®Damn, no wonder.¡¯ ¡®That¡¯s not the main reason though.¡¯ ¡®No?¡¯ ¡®No. With me connected to you again you can do one thing you can¡¯t do without me.¡¯ ¡®... I like the way you think. I guess it¡¯s time to see if practice paid off.¡¯ ¡®Hmm.¡¯ Rick made himself float, extracting himself from Diana¡¯s embrace and took his hand instead. ¡°We don¡¯t need to be in contact, you know.¡± ¡°I know but I feel it¡¯s right to do it like that.¡± In one smooth motion of his free hand, the entire area was covered by a purple dome of gravity to which Rick added the conqueror Haki; his link with Diana gave him ess too. Every single person under the dome found themselves crushed. Both physically and mentally. The first ones to fall unconscious were of course the Celestial Dragons who had yet to evacuate the premises, believing that less than twenty people couldn¡¯t best their might. Or rather the might of their servants and ves. They had been wrong. Of the two hundred thousands of fighters that had been present to make sure his execution went without any problem only 0.1 percent resisted it. ¡°Holy crap!¡± eximed Usopp. ¡°Since when does he have conqueror haki?¡± inquired Sanji. ¡°More importantly, how is it so strong?¡± Sabo asked. ¡°While it¡¯s strong it¡¯s not that strong. My father''s is stronger. No, it¡¯s thebination with his gravity. It¡¯s a two time attack. First the body is put under pressure by gravity and then the mind which is more susceptible to attack because of the focus put on resisting the gravity. Quite clever.¡± exined Dragon. Rick let go of Diana¡¯s hand and with a burst of speed, flew right onto Akainu. So fast that the Fleet admiral could do nothing when a ckholed hand pierced his chest where his heart was. Or rather used to be. With the new ability the moon goddess had given him he took away the logia ability of the surprised man. Rick didn¡¯t even bother to pull his arm free and simply increase the gravity of the ck hole, sucking it the whole body until nothing was left under everyone¡¯s horror. Everyone but two people. Sengoku immediately switched to his Budha form tounch an attack. His arm was deviated by a haki imbued bullet shot by Tsuru and missed Rick. ¡°So you changed sides, Tsuru. After all this time?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t want the world we have anymore Sengoku. Long ago I dreamed of a just world, a fair one. That¡¯s why I enlisted and yet nothing came out of it. Tyrants ruling and passing themselves as gods when they¡¯re the lowest of the low. I don¡¯t want my family to live with them in charge, worrying, fearing every day that maybe it would be the day a Celestial dragon enves them for their own twisted pleasure.¡± Rick made a move for the five elders, leaving the old friends dealing with each other. Sengoku tried to stop him with one arm while Kizaru attacked Tsuru but both attempts failed when they were stopped respectively by Garp and Fujitora. ¡°Garp?! Why now?!¡± asked the former Fleet Admiral, his head pushed against the ground. ¡°Because¡­ I¡¯m tired, Sengoku. Tired to serve a bunch of scum worse than pirates. Tired to see how they make the world uglier wherever their reach gets to. I don¡¯t want to spend my remaining days regretting my actions. Telling myself that everything I did was for nothing. That I couldn¡¯t help make a better life for a single person.¡± ¡°That¡¯s the order¡­¡± ¡°Order can be changed! Look around you, Sengoku!¡± shouted Garp, pulling his best friend¡¯s head up. All the Budha could see was marines down everywhere. Gods down too. ¡°They¡¯re not gods! They shouldn¡¯t get to rule! Not when they¡¯re destroying the world bit by bit for their own twisted greed and pleasure! Not when their rule is based on a lie! Build upon the millions of corpses of innocent people. O¡¯hara! Lulusia Kingdom! The Lost Kingdom! The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few. Especially when the few are genocidal megalomaniacs!The world needs that change or it is doomed. ¡± ¡°...¡± Higher up Marie Geoise, Rick was facing the five elders that had transformed into gigantic beasts. ¡°Damn, you guys are ugly.¡± ¡°Your life and chaos stops here.¡± The one that looked like a bird said and flew straight towards Rick who backhanded and sent him toppling to the ground below. To all present¡¯s shock but Rick, the man was back into his human form, bleeding from a wound on his head that didn¡¯t heal. ¡°What¡­ What did you do?¡± ¡°I took away your devil fruit ability and your immortality.¡± replied Rick simply. ¡°That¡¯s¡­ Only she can do that! She¡¯s¡­¡± ¡°Alive and well.¡± came the voice of Diana flying stationarily to Rick¡¯s side. The white silver hair, the horns, the white angel wings and the blood red eyes. The elders recognized her on the spot. ¡°Unlike you, gods wannabe, she¡¯s a true goddess.¡± ¡°Everything you have, everything you are,es from me and you think yourself my better? You think my daughter my superior? How foolish. I¡¯m a full goddess when she¡¯s only half of one. And that¡¯s stretching, she took after Joy Boy more than she did me.¡± ¡°Joy Boy?!¡± inquired in exmation one of the elders. ¡°Her father, numbnuts. I bet she didn¡¯t tell you that. Hm? Rick revealed. ¡°It¡¯s a lie!¡± ¡°Whatever, doesn¡¯t matter. You¡¯re all going to go down and be judged.¡± Using his many times proven tactic of attracting his enemies and pushing himself forwards, Rick quickly removed from the elders their immortality and powers. That didn¡¯t mean they were defenseless. They were great haki practitioners but Rick was stronger and in no time they were all incapacitated. ¡°You ready?¡± he asked Diana. ¡°As ready as I¡¯ll ever be.¡± Theynded on the ground and walked inside Pangea castle. There were no soldiers to stop them on their way. Soon enough they arrived at the foot of the empty throne. ¡°Imu.¡± called out Diana to the woman sitting on the throne of the world. She was tall. Taller than Diana with ck hair and silver locks. Her face looked nothing like his godly friend but the eyes¡­ They were identical. ¡°Mother.¡± ¡°Your childish temper tantrum stops now.¡± ¡°A temper tantrum? Is that..¡± Rick didn¡¯t care one bit what she had to say, Just life for the elders she rushed forwards to reach his target. Unperturbed, Imu raised her hand and sent a powerful stream of water to stop him. The water shaped around Rick and trapped him in a sphere. ¡°Your new toy leaves a lot to be desired, mother. He¡¯s nothing like father.¡± ¡°Of course not. Your father was your father, Rick is Rick. It¡¯s moronic topare the two. I thought you smarter than that.¡± ¡°But I am. Didn¡¯t I take your ce? Didn¡¯t I rule this world and shape it as I wished for thest 800 years? Only because of my superior intellect was it possible.¡± ¡°You¡¯re smart, true. I always knew. I also always knew that your hubris made you delusional. You¡¯re not half as smart as you think you are, dear daughter.¡± ¡°Oh, really, mother? Your champion is trapped, soon to die by drowning and you can¡¯t harm me. You don¡¯t have it in you. We wouldn¡¯t be here today if you had.¡± ¡°You¡¯re right. I foolishly thought that after 800 years, after all the wrongs and evil deeds you¡¯ve done¡­ I could. I even told him so. But now, seeing you¡­ I realized that I was deluding myself.¡± ¡°Then surrender, mother and join me. I never wanted you gone, I just wanted your ce. What happened back then was an ident, you were never meant to die.¡± ¡°I believe you but I can¡¯t do what you ask of me. You see, Imu¡­ I love you. Always have, and always will but I don¡¯t like the person you turned out to be. You need to pay for your sins. Starting with your hubris. As I said you¡¯re not as smart as you think you are otherwise you would have noticed that Rick is still wearing seastone bracelets.¡± Imu¡¯s eyes widened in shock and understanding at the same time as her body was attracted to Rick at neck breaking speed. Hand raised, the moon goddess¡¯ roomie, who was holding his breath until now, caught the demi goddess by the throat and removed her immortality and all her mother¡¯s power. The water sphere trapping him broke down, freeing him. ¡°I didn¡¯t know if you had other abilities or not, so I baited you and waited for your guard to lower.¡± he said looking at the very soon to be former ruler of the world. ¡°Anyst words?¡± ¡°Mother! You can¡¯t¡­¡± ¡°You¡¯re right, I cannot. But he can. Goodbye, Imu. Send my love to your father would you?¡± a tearful Diana asked her daughter. Rick didn¡¯t wait any further and used a ck hole in his hand to suck in his captive, killing her. Floating down to the ground hended near his friend. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, I suck atforting people.¡± ¡°I know. I didn¡¯t expect you to, but I¡¯m touched that you would.¡± ¡°Of course I would. You know me more intimately than anyone. Even Robin. Don¡¯t pretend otherwise.¡± he replied and she drew a very small smile. ¡°What now? What happened after you fled Vegapunk¡¯s ind?¡± Diana stayed quiet, then moved to sit on thest steps to the throne. As her ass touched the ground she stood back up and reached for it as if she had forgotten that another satchel was there. Pulling from it a small vial of green liquid she tossed it to Rick and then sat down for good. ¡°It¡¯s an elixir. Robin bought it for you in the shop. Its cost was 800M. Considering it heals everything from mortal wounds, to diseases, to curses. It¡¯s well worth it.¡± she exined and Rick drank it, his body quickly healing the four months of injuries it had sustained. Afterward he sat down next to Diana. ¡°And she still had enough points to force feed you with fruits? Damn she must have earned a lot of points.¡± ¡°She did find the missing history. Something only she could do and that was tied to the very fabric of the current world. Plus, the fruits were really cheap. 5k, 10K then she went up.¡± ¡°That¡¯s my wife. So smart.¡± ¡°That she is.¡± ¡°Sooooo¡­¡± ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll tell you. When we escaped the ind Hiyori immediately exited the infirmary to reach for the crew and Vegapunk. She exined what you did and what you asked her and Vegapunk to do. That man¡­ gosh he¡¯s smart, such a shame he doesn¡¯t see the big picture. Everything he creates is for the betterment of the world but he never thinks that it could also be used to destroy it.¡± ¡°Someone would need to keep an eye on him.¡± ¡°Oh, I will. In fact he asked himself to learn under me. I thought it was a good opportunity so I agreed. He¡¯s¡­ a good man in his own way. Anyway it took him a week to make me a new heart by cloning my original. By the time, on Luffy¡¯s order, we went back to Wano, since it was the closest known and allied ind. Then Hiyori undid her mother¡¯s doing and I woke up. I felt so powerful at the time and yet I couldn¡¯t help but feel like something was missing.¡± ¡°Me.¡± interjected a confident Rick. ¡°No, you dimwitt! I missed at least half of myself!¡± ¡°Hu-huh.¡± he replied, not believing her. ¡°I¡¯m telling you!¡± ¡°Right, right. Go on.¡± ¡°A few days earlier the news of your arrest was printed. Your¡­ entourage who were already very unhappy with the situation and with you became even more so. Robin contacted Ko to get more information. Lucky for her she had some. Tsuru had secretly and discreetly leaked your location and from there an operation to free you began to be nned among the crew.¡± ¡°I saw members of the revolutionary army outside.¡± ¡°That¡¯s Ko¡¯s doing. She contacted any sympathizers to the cause and made a better n herself. The idea was to have the strawhat fleet attack Marie Geoise from the New World side while the R.A. would attack it from the paradise side. At least at first. Vivi answered Ko back and told her that she would bring her army with her for the asion. What began as a simple rescue turned into the opportunity to strike the World Government at its heart and take it down. Dragon and Sabo gathered their troops from all over the world, while Vivi got in contact with King Neptune and King Riku. Thetter got in touch with another king he was friends with and who did the same. On and on it went. While both sides of Red Port were being attacked, a small team would fight on Marie-Geoise to free you and take down the World Nobles and the top echelons of the navy. It was decided that the n would be put into action today since the whole world would be watching.¡± ¡°... That¡¯s crazy.¡± ¡°You and Luffy left a mark on people¡¯s minds and hearts. The R.A. couldn¡¯t let you be executed. Not when you¡¯re the most prominent symbol of hope they ever had.¡± ¡°... What now?¡± ¡°Now we rebuild. Now we put in ce a fair system where the world is ruled by every sovereign who will be ountable for their actions.¡± Looking down, Diana and Rick saw Dragon and Fujitora at the foot of the stairs. ¡°Nice to finally meet you.¡± Rick said, walking down and extending his hand for a handshake that he got. ¡°Likewise. And thank you for taking care of my son and putting some sense in my father¡¯s thick head.¡± the man replied with a smile. ¡°You¡¯re lucky I don¡¯t charge you for that.¡± ¡°Very! I¡¯m pretty sure the price for one alone would bankrupt the world.¡± Everyone presentughed at that. ¡°What¡¯s the situation outside?¡± ¡°Former fleet admiral Sengoku ordered the marines still fighting down Red Line to surrender and acknowledged the loss of the World Government. Dr. Vegapunk is currently revealing the truth of the world.¡± answered Fujitora. ¡°Wait! He didn¡¯t talk about me didn¡¯t he?!¡± ¡°I¡¯m afraid he did, my Lady.¡± the blind Admiral said with an amused smile and a small bow.¡± ¡°Noooooooo! That idiot! I don¡¯t want to be worshiped anymore!¡± she shouted as she began to run outside to stop the man prompting Rick tough again. ¡°That¡¯s¡­ not how I imagined a goddess to be.¡± Dragon said to no one in particr. ¡°She¡¯s technically not a Goddess. She¡¯s¡­ the only one from a different race even she doesn¡¯t know anything about it. With her powers, people simply believed she was divine and while she yed the game, she never truly considered herself as such. In fact you¡¯re very lucky to have seen her like that. She¡¯s all proper and regal in public. You should see how she acted on Wano where she¡¯s revered by the people. She¡¯s behaving like you¡¯d expect of a God. Otherwise she¡¯s like¡­ a woman in her early twenties most of the time.¡± ¡°Any idea what she¡¯s going to do? With the revtion of her existence to the world¡­¡± inquired Fujitora. ¡°She¡¯s probably going to find a nice spot and spend her life immersing herself in her hobbies. She may provide advice but anything political would be off limits I suppose. She¡¯s the type to let people figure things out by themselves. Like a mother who teaches children so one day they can stand on their own two feet by themselves.¡± ¡°I like the sound of that.¡± said Dragon and got a nod of understanding and agreement from the two others present. ¡°We should go. A party doesn¡¯t happen by itself.¡± ¡°¡°A party?¡±¡±¡± ¡°Yeah. It¡¯s tradition to celebrate a sess or a victory, no?¡± ~~~~~ The partysted well into the night. Pirates, Revolutionaries, soldiers, even marines celebrated the end of an age and the beginning of a new one. Humans, mere people, giants, minks and many other races mingled,ughed, drank, ate, danced, sang and so much more. To Diana, it was a bit like her dreams had been realized. All kinds of people meeting each other and bing friends even if just for one night. There was tension at first between some factions, but Luffy, his crew and the people used to their antics washed it away and roped others into having fun and putting their mistrust and grudges aside. Rick had escaped his wives, fiancees and lover to have fun by himself. The truth was that he had been allowed but he would never admit that and forever deny it. He found himself at the table of the navy¡¯s elite. Or former elite since Aokiji was there. Rick was surprised to see Kizaru among them. ¡°I didn¡¯t think you¡¯d stay around to celebrate.¡± he said to the yellow dressed man. ¡°A celebration is a celebration. One should not miss it.¡± ¡°He got ordered to be present for showing an image of a united navy.¡± revealed the iceman. ¡°Kuzan!¡± ¡°It¡¯s true.¡± Sengoku confirmed. ¡°Perhaps, but that doesn¡¯t mean I lied. I¡¯m very happy to be here.¡± Kizaru defended himself and took a mug of ale to his mouth. ¡°Sorry about the hand by the way.¡± apologized to the man who waved it away. ¡°Risk of the job, besides you did warn me.¡± ¡°Your ability to not hold a grudge is outstanding. Anyway, any news about what you¡¯re going to say to the world tomorrow?¡± Arresting the losers and tended to the wounded had been a priority higher than to talk about the New World Government. Dragon already had an idea of a system in ce but he couldn¡¯t enforce it without the men and the women. Getting the help from the navy was crucial even if some negotiation had to be made. ¡°You¡¯ll see.¡± Sengoku replied cryptically while Tsuru had an amused smile and Garp was grinning from ear to ear. ¡°I don¡¯t like the sound of that. Nor those two¡¯s faces! It stinks of a prank.¡± ¡°Fine, what I can tell you is that as the face of this new age and because you took down the elders and the World Nobles, your presence will be required but nothing more.¡± leaked Sengoku. ¡°That¡¯s it?¡± ¡°That¡¯s it.¡± ~~~~~~ ¡°...vy will have in mind the safety of the people first and foremost as it should always have been and how the organization was presented to the world. It¡¯s time to back up the words with actions. That is why, to make sure that it goes in the right direction, it has been unanimously decided by the top officers of the Navy and the rulers of the kingdom present during the battle, to name, as a the new Fleet Admiral, someone who had been framed for crimes he had nevermitted by the previous Fleet Admiral¡­¡± Getting where Sengoku was going with his speech, Rick froze like a deer caught by headlights. ¡°Someone who always had the best interest of the people and their safety in mind even when the whole world was against him. I have the honor to introduce you to your New Fleet Admiral, Wal D Rick!¡± Garp put a white overcoat over Rick¡¯s shoulder and pped his back to push him forward towards Sengoku who was waiting for him. All under the sounds of cheers, whistles and pping hands from the people in the audience. When Rick reached his uncle he received a cap in his hands. ¡°Can¡¯t be a Fleet Admiral without the proper hat.¡± smiled the man. ¡°But, that¡¯s¡­¡± ¡°The one I gave you all those years ago, yes. Someone sent it this morning with a note saying what it was.¡± Seeing that Rick wasn¡¯t putting it on. Sengoku did it for him and pushed him forward, to the podium, to talk to the world. Everyone waited with bated breath for the words of the man who went from the most hated and wanted man in the world to leader of the police force. Rick scanned the audience, wondering what he should do. And after a few seconds knew. ¡°When I enlisted in the navy in Loguetown¡­ I was six years old. I was an amnesiac orphan with a big build for my age. I saw a recruitment poster for the marines promising adventures by traveling the world and protecting people. I¡­ loved the idea of that. So with nothing to lose I went to the navy office and enlisted. I lied about my age of course and the officer in charge of admission back then refused me. Heughed of course, not to mock me I think but because the sight of a young child wanting to be a marine was perhaps adorable. Being a marine is a very fulfilling life but often dangerous. I believed he turned me down because he didn¡¯t want a kid to know about how cruel the world could be. I protested and made amotion that got the attention of the officer in charge of the ce. He¡­ told me to go home. I refused and started an eye contest. At the time I didn¡¯t know what he saw in me but he changed his mind and agreed. Thus started my life and career in the marines. It stopped when I was eighteen.¡± He made a pose at this moment, to let the audience digest what he told them until now. And to think further about how to say what he wanted to say. When he was ready he spoke again. ¡°I was visiting the Sabaody Archipgo and had my first encounter with a celestial Dragon. What that man did¡­ Anyone else would have been thrown in prison for life. But he was a World Noble sows didn¡¯t apply to him. I knew then¡­ At that very moment¡­ That I couldn¡¯t serve the World Government anymore. Things happened, I was framed and had to flee, losing everything I ever had in the process. All but one thing. The fire burning into my heart for justice, equality and freedom. Even in my darkest moments, when only embers were left, I still hoped for a better world for the people. Yesterday¡­ A battle that had beening for hundreds of years finally happened. Tyrants were cast down their lofty thrones and free people rose from the ground to stand on their feet. Today a new age begins. Hopefully a better one. A kinder and more just one. For that to happen, we all need to work together. It won¡¯t be easy, it won¡¯t be simple and we may stumble plenty of times along the way but I truly believe that we all have what it takes to make ite true!¡± Once again the audience cheers, enthralled by his words and promises of a better future. ¡°As the first Fleet Admiral of this New Age that we fought for, it is my duty to make sure that the people in charge are exemry and have what it takes to help the leaders of the world. That is why¡­ Admiral Fujitora, pleasee forward.¡± The blind man seemed surprised and confused about being called out but quickly did as ordered. ¡°My nomination as Fleet Admiral will not make everyone happy in the world, despite the unanimous vote of confidence that happened yesterday. I was a fugitive for a decade and became a pirate afterwards. You on the other hand saw the corruption of the World Government and chose to stay in the Navy to change it from the inside. That is why I¡¯m choosing you to be the one to do it. My very first order as Fleet Admiral is only four words long. Tag, you¡¯re it.¡± Quickly, Rick put his overcoat and Fleet Admiral cap on Issho and began to run away into the audience to reach the Sunny where his family was waiting for him. Everyone had their jaw hanging low at what Rick just did out of shock. Garp and Sengoku, who until now had a proud grin on their faces, shocked their stupor away and engaged Rick in pursuit in rage. ¡°Come back here, you little shit!¡± yelled Garp. ¡°You were chosen as the new Fleet Admiral, you''re going to be the god damned new Fleet Admiral!¡± ¡°Don¡¯t wanna!¡± Garp began to grab pieces of boulders that were left from the destruction of the previous day¡¯s battle and throw them at Rick. Once his grandfather''s aim began to be better and better, he couldn¡¯t help butment on it. ¡°Holy shit, Grandpa! Are you wearing contact lenses that your aim is so good?!¡± ¡°Stop moving, damn it!¡± ¡°No!¡± After a boulder came way too close, Rick decided to fly and hasten his escape. When He grabbed the hand that Luffy had stretched, Franky used a coup de burst and the Sunny was propelled from Marie Geoise to the New World side of Grand Line. ¡°GAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRPPPPPPP!¡± yelled Sengoku that everyone heard. Up the stairs of Pangea castle¡¯s entrance. Tsuruughed aloud at the antics of the closest men in her life. ¡°The world may change but some things never do.¡± she said, then noticing that Fujitora was lost at what to do, she smacked him on the head. ¡°Go on, Fleet admiral, it¡¯s time to work.¡± ¡°Yes, ma¡¯am.¡± the man replied politely despite outranking her by two ranks. Chapter 139: Epilogue Chapter 139: Epilogue

Chapter 139: Epilogue

After their spectacr departure from Marie Geoise, the crew kept sailing the New World for a year until it was time to return to Wano. As promised Momonosuke opened the borders of the country and unsealed Pluto. A huge automated Battleship half the size of Zunesha. Rick had warned Tsuru of what was about to happen and Fleet Admiral Fujitora, who had done an excellent job of reforming the navy had allowed it. He knew his permission meant nothing and that the crew would blow up Reverse Mountain regardless but for the public it mattered a lot. The blind man had readily agreed when he learned that, not only would it give ess to the Lost Kingdom but also open the seas and provide a new home for the mere people and anyone else that wanted to live there. Vegapunk¡¯s help had been a key point in creating an artificial ind where the Mountain used to be. Franky was even the one to design the ind itself to amodate the people from all species. Shirahoshi had used her powers to ask the Sea Kings to bring up Noah there while every single one of her people boarded the ark. For many, they fell in love with the sun at first sight, most notably the young children. To bring a bit of fishman ind on their new home Garp had been dispatched to sprout and bloom Eve trees making him extremely popr with the mere people. The turbulence created by such a huge morsel ofnd disappearing had as expected created chaos but Diana got everyone covered. She had led the crew on the moon, incidentally making Sunny the first ship to ever make the journey, and activated Uranus and brought it back on earth to do its purpose. In the meantime, Pluto was destroyed for everyone¡¯s safety. Nothing good would evere for such a weapon to keep existing. Just as hoped, All Blue came to be, to Sanji¡¯s, Zef and many other dreamers¡¯ joy. The crew¡¯s cook had decided to have himself built another boat restaurant and stationed it around the New Ind that people started to call Elysium. Many times a day, Sanji¡¯s ship toured around the ind to provide a change of scenery for his clients. It became one of the most popr and well respected restaurants in the world. He wasn¡¯t alone in his endeavor however. Charlotte Pudding had joined him and after working together for a few years, the two wed. To everyone¡¯s shock, he never looked at another woman than his wife. With Reverse Mountain gone, Twins Cap disappeared too unfortunately. At the charge of the World Government a new light house had been built for Crocus and Laboon. When Brook wasn¡¯t touring the world for his music, he spent his days either there or on Elysium. Diana, with her powers, had taken his soul away from his skeletal body and restored thetter before putting his soul back. It was a form of apology as the Yomi Yomi no Mi should not have brought him back like that. A miscalction on her part that she rectified and she never made the fruit ever again. Franky hade back with his wife, Baby-5, to Water Seven to help Iceburg, after studying under Vegapunk for a few years. The two together seeded in making the ind float on the sea, just like the sea train¡¯s rail. Afterwards, Franky took the whole Franky Family with him and opened a shipyard on Elysium. Zoro went back to Wano and opened the most popr dojo there. He was put on a pedestal as the Swordsman of the caliber of Kozuki Oden and their national Hero Ryoma. The fact that he mastered Enma, Oden¡¯s personal evil de did nothing but boost up his reputation. Chopper decided to keep traveling the world, to heal any disease and teach others medicine. He felt right at home with his crewposed mostly of minks. Usopp, having adventured enough for a while, went back to Syrup vige where he married Kaya. He dedicated his time in growing his green pops and writing a book about all the adventures he and the crew had. Of course Usopp being Usopp not all of it was true, but the stories were loved by the children and his books were sold all over the world. His most popr book was the story of the crew and how Luffy became the true Pirate King. Jimbei had taken the job of head of the knights when King Neptune offered it to him. When he wasn¡¯t by the king¡¯s side he was by Shirahoshi¡¯s. He was also tasked to supervise the training of the new recruits in the guard. The day a giant and a human woman enlisted to be guards and knights for the mere people¡¯s royal family was a great day. Of course not everyone was happy about it. Prejudice didn¡¯t go away but Jimbei weed and treated them like any other recruit. With time, many other recruits from other species became part of the knight order. Luffy, not one to stay idle for long, set sail on his own. Or tried. When Nami heard what he intended to do, she smacked him down and said she wasing with him. He still needed to help her make a map of the whole world. They took many breaks during their journey to visit friends or go home. Both missing their nephew and nieces. It wasn¡¯t the two of them only. Ace, who had disbanded the whitebeard pirates officially, had joined his little brother. Yamato joined too, saying that just like Oden he wanted to sail with the Pirate King. However, following Rick¡¯s advice he stopped trying to be his idol and instead did things his way. Officially, the strawhats crew never disbanded. Luffy argued that you couldn¡¯t disband a family after all. Diana had made two homes. One on Elysium, at the very center of the ind where she made a huge garden of normal fruits. The other was on O¡¯hara. She had liked Rick and Robin the most out of all the people she got to know since she awakened. From time to time she journeyed to other inds. The most visited one was Wano of course since Hiyori had officially be her priestess just like her mother before her. The princess loved her duty and loved even more that she didn¡¯t need Yamato as a bodyguard anymore. When you have a goddess with you, there isn¡¯t much you''re scared about. Rumors were that she was enamored with a green haired swordsman but nothing was ever proven. She did have children with greenish hair though and everyone wondered who the father was. Diana had simply said it was a gift from her to her priestess for serving her faithfully. The moon goddess wasn¡¯t just apanied by her priestess. Vegapunk traveled with her everywhere, to learn more from her. It was a constant exchange of knowledge and discovery. Diana quickly considered him a close friend. Robin had begun living for good on O¡¯hara. More importantly she did it with her husband and their children. She had three with Rick, two boys and a girl. The poor little one had to endure the over protectiveness of her elder brothers and father but most of the time secretly liked it and felt like a princess. Robin wasn¡¯t the only wife around. Rick had finally married Kaza and Vivi. Thetter in secret, though when the bastans learned their beloved queen had given birth to twins, a girl then a boy they didn¡¯t even wonder who was the father. But like many things concerning Vivi, they kept quiet about it. Hancok had given birth to not one, not two but four more daughters before calling it quits. Rick couldn¡¯t ever resist her when she came onto him full of lust and demanding a baby. She had given up her crown to her sister, Sandersonia and lived full time on O¡¯hara. So did Reiju, who wasn¡¯t interested in marriage. She and Rick had argued about it and it was Robin that put an end to the dispute. The both of them would be indefinitely engaged and that was it. Rick who didn¡¯t want Reiju to be seen as a concubine or a mistress agreed and Reiju who just didn¡¯t want to be a wife did too. The only times they ever fought was about their children¡¯s education. The pink haired princess had proven that she just didn¡¯t look like her mother by having a dirty blond boy first then quadruplets. All girls with their mother¡¯s hair color. Of the women that had made their list, Vi had epted to be part of the family, just like Nami did, by marrying both Robin and Rick. When that posed a problem for the throne of Dressrosa with the people, Vi told them all to fuck off and that their archa?c mentality was the reason why her elder sister, beloved by everyone, had ran away with Kuros. What made things even moreplicated was that Rick and all the strawhats were still wanted by the World Government. The kings and queens had admitted that they couldn¡¯t brush away their crimes of piracy, just because of the good they did for the world. None of the crew membersined. Secretly, unless they weremitting any new crime, the authorities were told to leave them alone. Not like anyone was mad enough to go after them as the saying went, you don¡¯t tickle a sleeping dragon. Shirahoshi was still undecided about joining the family. She wanted to but was still too shy to take the first step. Robin, Nami and Rick were nning on taking her anyway if she was taking too long. Eight years after the beginning of a new Age. Rick and Robin were cuddling in their bed on a fine spring morning. It was Saturday and they didn¡¯t have any work. Or so they thought. The door to their bedroom opened violently, not able to resist the flood of children pouring in. From three to twelve years old, eighteen children got on the bed, fighting and wrestling each other to wake their father up. The chaos made Rick groan and amused Robin who was assaulted too. Raising his hands he sprouted fingers on each of his children and made them float up to the ceiling. Some protested, some giggled but they kept fighting and making noise. ¡°Really, dad?¡± Opening his eyes he saw his oldest at the entrance door of the bedroom. Eri was not a teenage girl anymore. She was now a full fledged woman in all her beauty. Looking exactly how their mother did at her age, just taller. Another difference was the mischievous and amused grin she had on her lips. ¡°I should have known it was your doing. Only you can order them all around at the same time.¡± he grunted and sat up after giving Robin a good morning kiss. ¡°Why me? Their mothers all have a clone with them! Why, your mom even¡­¡± ¡°I don¡¯t want to know what mom and you get on to in your private time! Anyway, I wasn¡¯t about to prank a poor clone.¡± ¡°Next time warn me in advance so I won¡¯t be there,¡± Robin asked, getting up and waving amusedly at the children. ¡°Sorry about that, Robin but I¡¯ll keep it in mind.¡± ¡°You could at least have done that on a weekday.¡± said Rick rising up too. ¡°Yes but today is important. Everyone is here after all.¡± ¡°Everyone?¡± her father replied and looked up to see Lili and Cobra, his and Vivi¡¯s children but also Scarlett and Rose, his children with Vi. They were supposed to be with their mothers in their respective kingdom. Them being here meant that their mothers were too. Why? He didn¡¯t know, they were not supposed to visit for another month. ¡°They¡¯re not the only ones. Grandpa, Uncle Sengoku, Kuzan, Luffy, Ace, Sab..¡± ¡°Yeah yeah, the whole family is here, then.¡± ¡°No one is missing.¡± ¡°Why?¡± asked Robin. ¡°They were invited by Dr. Vegapunk. He wanted everyone present for the surprise.¡± ¡°The¡­ Holy¡­ He finished it?¡± asked Rick in realization. ¡°Yes. O¡¯hara is ready to fly. Oh, and just so you know, Fleet Admiral Fujitora was invited too both because he was curious and officially to offer an apology from the World Government¡¯s act against O¡¯hara, even though it was the previous one.¡± ¡°Alright, they¡¯re waiting downstairs, I presume?¡± ¡°Yep.¡± ¡°We¡¯ll be there in ten minutes.¡± announced Robin. Rick sprouted one clone for each of his children and made theternd on the shoulders of the former. In a sh, only he and Robin were left in the room. He took her in his arms and gave her a kiss full of love while fondling her ass. ¡°You¡¯ll never get tired of my ass, won¡¯t you?¡± she asked, amused. Every morning for the past eight years he had grabbed her posterior without exception. ¡°Never.¡± he replied seriously then changed the subject. ¡°I was wondering¡­ if I should not have a vasec¡­¡± ¡°I want a baby!¡± Nami shouted, kicking open the door to the bedroom. She was followed by Diana who said some outrageous words too. ¡°What she said!¡± Rick and Robin looked at each other. Their faces couldn¡¯t be more different. Rick looked like a kicked puppy while Robin was biting her lips to notugh at his face and the situation. Wal D Rick¡¯s life would not be boring anytime soon. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ [Author¡¯s note: And this concludes his story in One Piece.] This one at least. [Author¡¯s note: Yes, this one at least. Maybe I should have his mind wiped and send him back just before he left the Navy? Make him stay instead and be in opposition to the Strawhats.] Or send him to another world. [Author¡¯s note: That too¡­ What to do, what to do?] the god pondered. May I choose? the narrator requested. [Author¡¯s note: You have something in mind?] Yes, I intend to¡­ [Author¡¯s note: Don¡¯t tell me, I want it to be a surprise. I hope for your sake, it will be fun for me to write. Wipe his mind of any knowledge about us when you sent him away.] The god left the space he and the narrator were in with nothing but a thought as a portal opened. The narrator changed their shape for the familiar golden cloud Rick knew them as. ¡°You did very well this time.¡± ¡°I believe I did.¡± Rick replied with a smile. ¡°It seemed you had fun. Good, you won¡¯tst long if you don¡¯t enjoy each life.¡± ¡°I''ll try to. Where¡¯s next?¡± the unknowing puppet asked. ¡°That¡¯s a surprise.¡± A new portal opened and the gods¡¯ ything walked through it to an unknown new adventure.

The End

Not a Chapter but Fun facts #12 Not a Chapter but Fun facts #12

Not a Chapter but Fun facts #12

OfK:OP is finally over. That was quite an experience. My very first try at writing. I¡¯m rather pleased by it. Of course I know it¡¯s not perfect. Far from it. One just needs to take a look at the whole Marine arc to see that. 900 words chapters, horrible pacing,plicated plot, very bad prologue. Ugh¡­ Not the greatest thing ever. Comparing them withter chapters though there is a improvement that I¡¯m proud of. Some mayugh at that but I don¡¯t mind. It has taken me three years to finish it. Including almost two years of Hiatus. First things first, I¡¯d like to thank all the readers who read my story even if some may have stopped on the way for whatever reasons. The number of views constantly rising did lots of good for my mental health. Second, I¡¯d like to thank the readers whomented. Nothing hits home more that your work is liked than seeing people discuss it. Even if somements are negative, it doesn¡¯t make you feel all that good though. Third¡­ I¡¯m sorry for taking two more years than necessary. Life got in the way, but I think I already said that before. One of the most difficult parts to write had been the fights. That¡¯s not something that I particrly enjoy writing. That¡¯s why there are so few and why most of the time I skipped the fight of everyone that is not Rick. I¡¯m currently trying to fix that in the way I write. Now I¡¯m shutting up, here the fun facts or you know¡­ just facts. Fun facts:
  • The original harem included: Robin (obviously), Nami, Vivi, Hancock, Reiju, Bonney, Yamato, Vi, Tsuru, Domino, Shirahoshi. Almost half of it was scrapped. I really wanted Yamato in but he didn¡¯t have much screen time and that was before the hiatus. So I removed him from the list.
  • Reiju already barely had some screen time and while I wanted more for her, it didn¡¯t fit the story I had in mind.
  • Tsuru is ambiguous, she loves Rick, but she¡¯s in her seventies (despite looking like a total MILF). So she keeps wearing her engagement ring on herself and gets a french kiss every time she visits O¡¯hara but otherwise she removes herself from the list.
  • Remember the princess Rick saved and nearly died doing it? It was supposed to be young Boney. Except canon made revtions about her and¡­ well¡­ Scrapped all her arc, which I think was a good thing.
  • If I ever write a ¡®what if¡¯ with Rick staying in the marines, Domino will be included. Perhaps even the main squeeze if I manage to find the strength to not make it Robin. Or perhaps not and may not be a love interest or even a one night stand at all.
  • The first time the crew left Wano they were supposed to go straight to Elbaf.
  • Egghead wasn¡¯t supposed to exist. And technically it doesn¡¯t in the story since the ind they find Vegapunk and his satellites is never named.
  • In fact Vegapunk should not have been seen ever again. I did because I needed someone smart and good at heart to help Diana.
  • Speaking of Diana, she wasn¡¯t ever supposed to exist in the first ce (I think I already said that). Instead Rick would have had a battle of mind and soul against the sea devil and won. His victory spoil would have been the ability to swim and to not be weak to water.
  • Eri wasn¡¯t supposed to join the crew but I wanted Rick to get better mentally speaking. The development of his rtionship with his eldest daughter was the perfect opportunity for it in my opinion.
  • The Void century was always supposed to be: Twenty kingdoms aligned unjustly against the Lost Kingdom out of pure greed. To cover up their crimes and make it easier to create the World Government, they forbid the study of the poneglyphs and banned any records of the whole century. The part with Diana was developedter.
  • The part about Reverse Mountain was present from the very beginning. Instead of the Lost Kingdom being under it, it would have been the One Piece which technically is the case.
  • The part about Roger and Luffy not really being the Pirate king was there at the beginning too. So was the fight with Shanks in a Davy Back Fight.
  • Rick being captured by the navy and his execution were there from the beginning too. It didn¡¯t go quite like I had in mind at first, but the story had changed since then and I adapted.
  • Thest two arcs were supposed to be five chapters in total at best but somewhat it became twice as much. Here it is. Thest NaCb for OfK:OP. Quite an adventure it was!
If you want to read more about Rick then you can already do so! It¡¯s already out! As I¡¯m writing this, the first book is already avable. Take care of yourself and see you around! The Novel will be updated first on this website. Come back and continue reading tomorrow, everyone!