Pov Yamato
It's been a week since I arrived on Whitebeard's home island. It's all been very strange.
First, the issue with our arrival. My appearance caused a lot of trouble, mostly with Dante.
Celestia, Dante's sword, tried to stab me in the back of the head about nine times. After her last attempt, she stopped; I suspect she gave up knowing she wouldn't succeed, but there wasn't a single bit of guilt in what she was doing.
Dante had conflicts with almost everyone there, had a fight with Whitebeard, was mistreated by Celestia, and his teammates looked down on him, mostly because of how long it took, mostly because of everything. They didn't care about my presence.
They were the first to accept me; they listened to my story, and I listened to theirs.
Dante had never told me about his past or how he had obtained the amount of money in his bounty. Knowing that he was a hero and that for some, he still is was a bit strange, since, from my point of view, he doesn't see himself as a hero but rather as a vagabond, more like the way he dresses.
The best part was my interaction with Whitebeard; he hadn't understood that I was Dante's protégé; he believed I was his lover and was violating his daughter's integrity. After I told him my identity and what had happened, he just laughed and celebrated my arrival. He told me many stories about how he met Kaido and his time as a member of the Rocks Pirates.
He also told me how he met Oden and how he became his sworn brother, their life together until he left with Roger, and their farewell.
It was all very magical; I felt more at home here than on Onigashima. There were exceptions, like Celestia's look, since she didn't really believe in being a protégé. I later learned it was because she smelled another woman's scent on him. But after a while, she realized that the scent he had was never mine. From then on, my relationship with her improved a little more.
All this time, I've been trying my hand at it, alone. Maybe Dante's companions, Trinidad, Sullivan, and Isis, did what they could with their disabilities, and they guided me to become stronger.
At first, I thought about going with Whitebeard; he'd already invited me to join his crew, but then I remembered the commitment I had with Dante and the deal I'd made with Kaido, so I had to decline. Maybe he'd left the invitation for whenever he wanted.
And so the days passed. Day after day, without seeing Dante; I only saw him the first day we arrived, and then he disappeared. It's been almost a month without seeing him, and I feel a little worried.
The worst thing is that almost no one cares about it; no one knows if he left on his own or if he's still here. I'm just coming from Isis's house. He was working with Celestia; Dante's son was in a corner. His name is Maximus.
I asked them about him; Isis said she didn't know anything, and Celestia said he was busy; that raised my suspicions a bit.
Afterward, I went to Trinidad and Sullivan. From what I learned from them, Dante went home and never came out. So, I went to Celestia's house, which is Dante's current home.
He broke in; at first, I didn't feel anything, but since I was there, I decided to look at each room. After the third room, I saw that the place was dark, but what peeped through the light was many pictures of Dante, as well as letters written in red, and in the middle of it all was Dante.
He was sitting, his eyes and mouth covered; he was chained; from what I could see, it was kairoseki.
I approached him to remove the gag from his mouth.
Dante: "Ugh, this tastes awful," he groaned. "How are you, Yamato? Have you adjusted to life outside of Wano?"
Yamato: "What are you doing here tied up like this?" I couldn't understand the calm way he said all this, as if it were normal.
Dante: "I had some trouble with Celestia; this is her form of punishment, but don't worry, I've almost convinced her to free me; I just need a few more days. When that happens, I'll continue with your training; in the meantime, please help Isis and Trini a little."
It was all very strange, so I decided not to get involved with all this.
Yamato: "Okay," I said.
Dante: "Oh, and don't forget to put the gag on; if she knows someone was here, she'll go crazy." And so I left everything as it was and left, waiting for those days when Dante could be free again.
...
POV Dante
I got out of bed after looking at Celestia lying next to me, exhausted and completely naked; knowing her, she wouldn't wake up until noon.
So I got up and went to the kitchen, checked on Maximus, and made breakfast for him and me. For me, it was scrambled eggs with tea, while for my son, it was warm milk.
It took me about three days to convince my wife to release me from my punishment; today is my first day as a free man, and I'm going to take advantage of it to do something I've never done before: be a father.
Once everything was ready, I took my son in my arms and left the house to check on the others, to see how they were doing and all that, since when I arrived, I didn't have much time to do so.
First, I arrived at Isis's house to inform her that Celestia wouldn't be arriving during the week. I was there with her and Yamato, who was staying at her house. Her flower business was going well, although it was going well because this place wasn't very populated, so there wasn't much income. She was thinking about starting to do business with other people from other countries or islands. She does need to be healthy, both financially and physically. Celestia has been helping her financially and Marcos physically.
Originally, Sulli was going to be the one to see Isis, but due to Trini's issues, her son, and postpartum issues, she couldn't, so Marcos was there for Isis, helping her. From what little I heard about Celestia, they have a very good relationship. Later, I'll make fun of her for graduating from her lesbianism.
With Yamato, I told her to do the things she did during these days in the morning and that in the afternoon I would go with her to do something more specific. In this case, training her Haki.
Afterwards, I went with Trini and Sulli, who aren't married yet, but that's fine.
Trini: "So, what are you planning to do right now?" she asked, holding Maximus in her arms and playing with him. Sulli was beside her with her daughter, Irem.
Dante: "Keep traveling," I said simply.
Trini: "So you'll continue being a vagabond."
Dante: "Why does everyone call me a vagabond?" I said angrily.
Trini: "Maybe it's the way you walk, the fact that you don't have a home since you're moving from place to place, the way you dress, or the fact that you don't have a job."
Dante: "Enough, what does my clothing have to do with being a vagabond?"
She just looked at me, bored.
I was currently wearing beach shorts, sandals, a shirt open at the top buttons, a bandage on my arms and neck, and nothing else. I didn't understand why that made me a vagabond.
Trini: "It doesn't matter; I'm sure you won't stay. I'm currently working at the school, so it would be helpful if you could work as a teacher."
Dante: "You know I'm doing this so I can help Sulli and Isis, especially her; I wouldn't want her to spend the rest of her life in a wheelchair."
She didn't say anything, since she thought the same, so she couldn't deny my trips where I lost track of time, since I did it to help them.
Trini: "Just try to come back more often."
Dante: "Yes, I will."
Trini: "And take the opportunity to see your other children."
Dante: "Yes, I know, Mom," he said in a monotone. In response, he grabbed my ear tightly, causing it to hurt a lot.
Trini: "What did you say?"
Dante: "I'll do whatever you say, big sister, the most fabulous and awesome one," I said as a tear fell from my ear.
Sulli just looked at us with a tear in her eye, not wanting to intervene.
After that, I returned to Celestia's house while trying to stop Maximus from pulling my ear like Trini had.
Dante: "I just hope Celestia calms down a bit with her jealousy," he said to any deity who would listen.
Especially when he still had two more women to bring here.
...
It's been 16 years since I began my journey; I'm only a few months away from turning 30, and by default, my midlife crisis will hit any moment now.
It's been a few weeks since I set off on my next trip, including Yamato, for two reasons.
First, I need to keep training her, and I feel like Celestia can do something for her; those are two reasons, but for me, it's just one. And the second is so I don't feel alone while traveling.
While we've been traveling, Yamato has been reading the books I've been writing over the years; I have all the copies of what Morgans has published, so he has time to read them all.
The first place we went to was the place where I fought Ares and, by default, where Arthur died. We searched the island and the surrounding areas and found nothing.
By default, we'll have to look elsewhere. Right now, we don't have a fixed place to go, but I know roughly where I want to go.
Yamato: "I'm hungry," he said, approaching me, almost shouting at me in hatred.
Dante: "Why are you doing that?"
Yamato: "I spoke to you and you ignored me; when I did this, you only just reacted." He said simply.
I just grumbled to myself and went to a nearby island to find something to eat.
We arrived at a fairly normal island; nothing unusual looked unusual about it, but I felt something about the place; I felt like someone was watching us. I looked at Yamato, but she didn't feel anything; that just told me we should practice that aspect more.
Once we arrived at a restaurant; it had an Italian theme, so I decided to choose it. We sat at a table outside the restaurant; I hoped no one would recognize me; my super disguise of wearing sunglasses and a cap should be foolproof. After all, that world is based on a shonen manga; not many in that demographic have the ability to think rationally or logically.
Just as the waiter called for our order, I saw people starting to murmur about something; that caught my attention, so I looked in her direction.
There was a blonde woman there, not very tall, with a good body; What was most striking was her priestess attire and her blindfold.
Even Yamato was a little captivated by the woman approaching us; wait, she was approaching us.
Suddenly, she sat down at the table where we were; it's worth noting that the table was for four people, and there were other tables unoccupied.
Waiter: "So..." the waiter rambled. The woman took the menu from me and looked at what was on it.
???: "I'll have a Milanese risotto, and you?" she said to me and Yamato.
Yamato: "I'll have that thing called pizza," she said, ignoring the awkwardness of the situation.
Dante: "I'll have lasagna," I said.
Waiter: "I'll bring it to you in a few minutes." And so the waiter left, leaving the table in silence.
???: "Sorry to interrupt your date, but I've always wanted to see you in person." She said, looking at me.
Yamato: "You know each other," she said innocently, unaware of what was going on.
Dante: "First of all, we're not on a date. We're just looking for a place to eat while we're passing through. And second, who are you?" I shouldn't have clarified the first point, but it was so as not to put any silly ideas in Yamato's head.
???: "Actually, technically we've never met. My name is Balesca. I was Hades's bodyguard, the former leader of the underworld, the one you killed years ago, remember?"
AH, I'd almost forgotten all that; it's been so long since that happened.
Dante: "No wonder you looked so familiar. And what do you want, to avenge your boss?" I said simply. I didn't feel any hostility from her toward me, so I'm not as tense as I should be.
Balesca: "Exactly." When she said that, I stopped what I was doing and looked at her as if she were an alien or something. "How could she possibly say it like that?" "More than revenge for my former boss, it's more for me. Thanks to your group's intervention, I lost my job, and since I got a reward, I've had to work jobs I never would have accepted before."
Dante: "So this is more out of spite than revenge."
Balesca: "Maybe that's why I want to fight you, to redeem my position, take your head, and turn myself in to the world government to see if they'll remove my bounty poster so I can continue living my life as before."
Dante: "Then why don't you attack me from behind or something?"
Balesca: "I'm not that dumb. I might want your head, but I don't want to die either."
I think I know where this is going, but I'm not sure.
Dante: "What if I say no?"
Balesca: "I'll stalk you for the rest of your life."
Something inside me told me this woman would do it; something else also told me that, unlike other women, this one had her head firmly on her head, so she wouldn't do anything stupid.
At that moment, the food arrived. We both looked at each other; the only one eating was Yamato.
Yamato: "So what will you do?" she said with her mouth full.
I could only sigh.
Dante: "Let's eat first; once we're done here, let's go to a secluded place to finish this."
She just smiled and began eating the food, which I'll surely pay for.
...
In a place far from civilization, Yamato, Balesca, and I were standing. I had my trusty Suision Sword in position; she held her spear, a sharp staff with a piece of metal near it that resembled her sun. I don't know the name of the weapon, but it's not important right now. I also remembered something else. This was thanks to the spear; Kuzan had fought with it and managed to escape, so she's not weak.
Yamato stood far away, watching; this was something educational for her, a form of learning.
Dante: "Are you ready?" I asked her; she just nodded.
Without wasting any time, I used only Soru and slashed diagonally across her body. She quickly bent her body, causing my sword to graze her incredible body.
Not to act crazy, but if Boa is the most beautiful and sexy woman in this world, then this woman should be second, or maybe even on the same level.
She quickly spun her spear around and tried to plunge it into my heart.
I simply moved my body, dodging her attack, and then responded with my sword.
She counterattacked by spinning her spear. And so we began our mutual counterattack and defense. The difference in strength between us was noticeable. I wasn't using my full strength or speed. I had no intention of killing her, so I was just showing off and demonstrating a way to fight someone with a short-to-medium-range weapon to my pupil.
I spun my body to slash Balesca 270 degrees from below upwards. She managed to defend herself by throwing her back in a curved trajectory. She landed gracefully on her feet.
Her ice queen expression unsettled and frustrated me a little.
I quickly launched an energy attack in her direction, only for it to be destroyed mid-flight.
I was stunned by this, especially since I hadn't been using any Haki until now.
Balesca: "What's wrong? Is that all the great hero has?" she said, pointing at me.
I just narrowed my eyes; she must know I wasn't fighting seriously; it must be her own pride that won't accept being defeated by someone without using her full power.
If she wants a spectacle, I'll give it to her.
With a single thought, I semi-transformed, ready to attack.
She quickly flew to where I was, standing beside her; she didn't move. I was tempted to use Observation Haki, but I didn't. I didn't see this as a confrontation but as training.
I quickly slashed vertically at her. Balesca simply turned her body, causing her sword to graze another one, and she quickly touched my chest with her palm. At that moment, my Devil Fruit stopped working.
For a moment, I was blank, only to see her try to pierce my heart with her spear.
Out of pure instinct, I took her hand that was touching me, twisted my body, dodged the attack, and, with sheer brute force, threw her away.
I was treating this like a game, but the moment she did that, I realized my mistake, and I almost paid dearly for my arrogance.
While she was in the air, I imbued my sword with Haki and threw it at her. She managed to protect herself with her Haki-powered spear, but the difference in strength caused it to rebound, throwing her farther and causing her to drop her spear.
With all the speed I could, I grabbed her spear, which she dropped, and by the time she tried to get up, I had my spear against her throat.
Dante: "I won. You can't beat me. Give up," I said in her dry tone.
Only then did her ice queen expression crack, giving me a mischievous smile. I just shuddered.
Balesca: "It's true, you beat me. Now you have to take responsibility for me."
Dante: "What?" I said simply.
Balesca: "Thanks to you and your team of adventurers, I've lost a lot of things, and the only thing I can do to earn money steadily and live a good life is go to the pleasure district and prostitute myself, and I'd rather die than do that, so take responsibility, Dante Manmayer."
I just looked at her, dropped her spear, and turned to leave, saying a simple word.
Dante: "No."
And with that, I left, signaling Yamato to follow me, which he did, leaving Balesca alone there.
...
Right now, we're on the Skíðblaðnir at the edge of the beach, ready to go; only instead of two people, there are three. Me, Yamato... and Balesca.
She magically arrived at the boat first, and I tried to throw her off, but I couldn't; she clung to the boat tooth and nail.
Then I tried to get it working so we could leave; my idea was to throw her into the sea when we were far enough away.
But I couldn't get the boat to work, and there was only one possible culprit for that, and I think he knows he wants to do that.
Yamato: "Hey, why don't you accept her on the team?"
Dante: "First, we're not a team; second, NO," I said.
Balesca and Yamato: "Please, please, please..." the two said as they hugged. During this short time, the two magically became good friends.
After a few more "pleases," I got angry.
Dante: "YES, YOU CAN COME WITH US, HAPPY!" he shouted to the seven seas.
Yamato: "Thank you, Master; you're the best."
Balesca: "Yes, Dante, I knew I could trust you."
I just hoped I wouldn't regret all of this.
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Balesca [Imagen]