Alex, Benezia, and Tereza stare at the Den Den Mushi in front of them, all of them focused.
"This is Mr. 6 speaking. We are listening," Alex responds.
"It's fortunate that you are listening and I am not talking into the void," Miss All Sunday, aka. Nico Robin, responds.
Alex blinks twice when he hears the word void.
So we can talk freely? Nice.
"That sounds great," Alex responds happily. "So what's going on?"
"Why are you asking me that, huh?!" Robin complains. "I should be asking you! Do you know the mess you created?! Didn't the boss tell you to lie low? I heard you caused a huge fight near Nanohana. We had multiple agents tailing those foreign pirates—some of them died, but enough survived to see your fight... and their targets' deaths, by your hands! The boss heard the reports and almost didn't believe them. He was baffled, at least for a few seconds, before finally calming down. You probably know about his Devil Fruit—it's one of the mighty Logia ones. With that, he is pretty much invincible—if it weren't for that fruit, he would have probably considered getting rid of you guys. You are that much of a threat to him. You have genuinely surprised him."
"Look, obviously we didn't sign up to get assassinated willingly," Alex responds, trying his best to remain calm. "In any case, we got rid of them, surely this is to the organisation's benefit? Shouldn't Mr. 0 be grateful?"
"Obviously," Benezia replies, looking annoyed. "Drop your foolish act. What about the missions we requested?"
Robin takes a deep breath before explaining, "We've been getting reports that the Marines are planning something big, and it might be related to Arabasta. Usually, nobody would move against us, and since Crocodile—I'm talking about his Warlord persona—is home at Arabasta, usually the Marines would never intervene, or even interfere in local business. However, it looks like the Marines are recruiting strong, unknown recruits. It looks like they're planning to intervene in Arabasta, but not under the banner of the Marines, but a special unit of undercover members."
Really? I guess this is just the system. We encountered a large Pirate faction of players. I guess Marine players are one of the obvious choices left.
She continues, calmly laying out the facts. "In reality, it will be actual Marines, disguised as civilians, probably bounty hunters. The unit will most likely only consist of those who are unknown to the world. According to our spies, they are currently training at Marineford. That training will last a while longer, but eventually they'll get dispatched to various nearby islands for training. Finally, it looks like they'll be intervening in Baroque Works' plans. The Revolution, aided by Baroque Works' scheme, is going strong, but we don't know what the Marines are trying to accomplish. The boss couldn't be angrier. He is considering taking drastic steps. It could be that they are planning something unprecedented or that they are being manipulated or lured by someone. Maybe the Cypher Pol is involved as well... they are dangerous. I... can promise you that."
"So what should we do?" Alex wonders aloud. "Obviously, we can't join the Marines, our faces are too well known. It would be suicide to try to go undercover."
"You mentioned a couple of places, didn't you?" Robin asks. "Your official task is to hunt strong pirates in Water 7 and keep us updated on any suspicious moves you come across. Both Marineford and Enies Lobby are quite close, and the latter is even connected via the Sea Train. We have a small base at Water 7, and your job is simply to deliver the heads or bodies of any pirate you stumble across, provided they have a bounty. You will be judged on that. Your other mission is to get us as much information as you can about the Marines' movements."
[Side Quest Offered
Mission: Hunt Pirates and deliver heads to the Baroque Works outpost on Water 7.
Reward: Increased Reputation with Baroque works, minuscule increase in Mission Rating, depending on the quantity and quality of bounties delivered.
Time Limit:—
Failure: Decreased Reputation with Baroque works, small decrease in Mission Rating, depending on the quantity and quality of bounties delivered. Warning: If no bounties are delivered, there will be major negative consequences.]
[Secret Quest Offered
Mission: Deliver Updates on the Marines' and the government's movements to Baroque works.
Reward: Increased Reputation with Baroque works, large increase in Mission Rating, ???
Time Limit:—
Failure: —]
Alex glances at Benezia and whispers, "What do you say? I think these conditions are not bad. The secret quest has no punishment, even if we fail, and as long as we deliver just a few bounties, we'll be fine on the side quest as well, which in return means we are also progressing the main quest."
"It's exactly what we asked for. There is no reason to hesitate," Benezia says loudly, staring at him with a determined gaze.
"We'll accept," Alex says, understanding her meaning, "however, there is a problem."
"What problem?" Nico Robin asks immediately.
Alex sighs before replying, "We are hurt... we may need a while to recover. How much time do we have for these tasks?"
"You can stay around three and a half weeks. After that, you need to return to Arabasta. All agents will be recalled... It's the start of Operation Utopia, and it takes precedence over everything else."
"That sounds okay," Alex replies, quite satisfied with the generous duration, trying to create a timeline.
"That will be all then," Robin replies. "Call me once you are there, and I'll tell you the location of our little outpost. Any questions?"
"Yes," Alex replies. "Will we be safe in Water 7? Won't the Marines catch us?! It sounds like we are almost provoking them by appearing inside such a large and well-known city."
"Good question," Tereza adds. "We are currently in the spotlight. I fear people will be able to spot us without any difficulty."
"That won't matter," Robin replies. "There is no Marine base on Water 7. The Mayor does not want that; in fact, he's been known to take a neutral, businessman stance on pirates. As long as they obey the laws of Water 7, he is more than willing to accept their business and their Belly. The Marines themselves also don't want any negative publicity. A Marine presence would scare the citizens and make them question the extent of their influence. This is an ideal spot for you, since you won't be bothered as long as you do not antagonize the Marines or the Mayor. You only have to worry about pirates. You should be wary of the Mayor, though—he's known to deal with pirates that wreak havoc in his city. He has a lot of strong shipwrights under his command. Should you anger him, you'll have a hard time."
"Good advice, I guess," Alex says, looking at Benezia.
She just smiles and says, "That will be all. We will fulfill our part of the deal once we return to Sandy Island. Goodbye."
"Goodbye," Robin says, ending the call.
"Well... that went smoothly," Alex says. "Water 7, huh? Not bad!"
"Yes, you are right!" Tereza says with a grin. "Menchi will be quite happy, I think!"
"Water 7 is an ideal base for us," Benezia notes calmly, lifting her finger and spreading out the map in front of her, pointing to it. "It's almost exactly at the center of Paradise. It might take us a few days to get there, but once we are there, we can practically reach all other islands of interest."
"So what is the plan?" Alex asks, looking at his two female companions.
Princess Jewel has already formulated an impeccable plan to—
"No, Jewel."
"No, please, no more explosions."
"Silence, little one!"
Alex, Tereza, and Benezia all speak at the same time, mercilessly shutting down Jewel's idea before she even has a chance to explain it.
Princess Jewel is offended! How could Soulmate and his peasant servants reject her plan without listening to it in great detail first?!
Completely disregarding Jewel, Alex remarks, "We should focus on a few bounties first. We can recover and, at the same time, look for some weak pirates. That way, we have completed the side mission, and we can fully focus on our other plans."
"It's an appropriate plan. Recovery should take precedence. The farther we move along the Grand Line, the stronger the pirates," Benezia remarks. "We shouldn't take huge risks while we are still in bad condition."
"I'm confident if we team up, we can take care of anyone," Tereza says, satisfied. "If things go wrong, we'll send the explosive spider after them."
Princess Jewel is not an explosive spider!
"Heh, the way this almost sounds like a vacation!" Alex says with a grin, disregarding Jewel's complaint. "Not bad! I could definitely use one."
"Surely you jest," Benezia counters. "We will try our very best, and there is certainly no time for a vacation. However, as long as we are recovering, we can take it slow. Tereza, are you ready to depart right away?"
"I'm feeling alright," Tereza responds, nodding along. "With a little bit of Stamina food, I can make it there pretty fast."
"Water 7, here we come... I guess," Alex says, smiling.
I can't wait to see the city for myself!
Just a few minutes later, Tereza transforms, while Benezia takes hold of Alex's [Destiny Watch (Orbment) R2] along with their maps.
"We'll take a stop, so you can sleep for a few hours," she declares. "Probably Saint Poplar, or Jaya. We'll decide based on your condition."
Tereza instantly transforms into her full bat-form and readies herself for the flight.
Alex, with a sulking Jewel on his head, and Benezia quickly attach the harness and mount Tereza, who quickly lifts off, flying out of the window, wrecking it in the process.
"Heh, that's what this damn filthy hotel deserves!" She yells in her deep voice.
The bat's revenge... how petty. I like it!
------------------------------------------------
A/N: Always thankful for Power Stones, Comments, and Reviews. Thank you for reading!
If you are interested, then please support me at patreon.com/FRWriter
80+ Early chapters available - I will still release on WN daily!! Thank you!
New Chapters every Monday, Wednesday, Friday, and Sunday!
Bored? Complains? Demands? Check out the Discord: https://discord.gg/puVqWsf3y9
Thank you for supporting the story with Power Stones!