"Old man, the next era is probably going to go wild. Do you want to move to Sabaody Archipelago?"
At the banquet, Ozz clinked cups with old Gick. Seeing the old man's cheerful smile put him in a good mood too, but he still voiced his concern.
It was not that he could not protect him. The problem was that he himself was going to be busy soon. He could not stick to Gick's side twenty four seven.
As for heavy hitters like Little Hawk and the others, none of them were the type to stay cooped up on some small island playing house guard. It would be better to have Gick move to Sabaody Archipelago instead.
All it would take was some hard headed Supernova a few years down the line, charging in without a second thought and deciding that using the old man's head as a stepping stone to fame was a great idea.
Those hot blooded idiots and bumpkins from the four Blues did not care who you were, Sea Emperor or king, they only knew to rush in and try to replace you.
But when Gick heard him, he froze for a moment, then shook his head.
"I am already used to living here. Besides."
"I heard that the Dark King, Silvers Rayleigh of the Roger Pirates, is living on that island, is he not?"
"Uh…"
The corner of Ozz's mouth twitched. He had not expected the old man to still hold such a grudge against the Roger Pirates even now.
"Then just be careful yourself."
Ozz could only shake his head helplessly and start going through Devil Fruits with strong survival abilities in his mind.
Barrier Fruit?
Straw Straw Fruit?
Some Mythical Zoan?
He thought about it, but was not in a hurry. There was still some time before the era of the Worst Generation truly kicked off. With the security force Ozz had already planted in Dularmos, as long as a Marine admiral did not come to attack the island, there should not be any big problems.
The banquet itself went very smoothly, without even the slightest ripple.
All those guests who had been on edge, convinced that killing a Celestial Dragon would definitely bring down a massive disaster and yet too afraid to leave Dularmos for fear it would be seen as disrespect, were now full of relief.
They drifted away in small groups.
Little Dof still wanted to invite Crocodile to come take a look at Dressrosa with him, but was immediately turned down.
"I will not partner up with anyone."
Donquixote Doflamingo was a born masochist in that sense. Even after getting snubbed by Little Croc, he could still laugh his signature "fufufufu", but his smile froze the next second.
Because after refusing him, Crocodile turned around and invited Little Hawk instead.
"Come take a look at the militarized nation I am planning to establish, Mihawk."
"But."
"My subordinate Daz Bones has been wanting to ask you for guidance in swordsmanship."
"…Fine."
Hearing there was another swordsman involved, Mihawk reluctantly agreed.
Of course, he did not expect Crocodile's subordinate to be some great master. Even just seeing a different style was a pleasant way to pass the time for him.
…
East Blue, Goa Kingdom.
Foosha Village.
Strictly speaking, the Red Hair Pirates should already have set sail by now, heading for the New World.
After making a name for themselves there, the next step would be aiming for the title of Yonko.
But thanks to Shanks' insistence, they had dragged things out again and again. Fortunately, Ozz had finally made it back.
"Thank goodness, I thought you…"
"What?"
"Nothing."
Only after taking the small chest holding the Gum Gum Fruit did Shanks finally exhale in relief.
"Well, it makes sense. If an ordinary person ate it, they would at best be able to use it as a regular Paramecia Rubber Fruit."
"Is that so."
Ozz crossed one leg over the other, lounging by the counter, watching Shanks place the chest on a table in a very conspicuous spot.
If the Nika Fruit proved difficult to awaken, he could always jab Luffy with a syringe of Green Blood later.
"So you really are planning to set a kid up like that?"
Shanks could only smile helplessly at that.
"Do not put it like that, Ozz. It is the fruit's choice, not mine. If someone ends up eating it, then it just means fate arranged it that way."
Ozz curled his lip and could not be bothered to argue.
Destiny. Disgusting concept.
As expected, it did not take long for Luffy to rush over. The moment he saw Ozz, his eyes sparkled.
"It is Uncle Ozz!"
"Can you teach me how to walk on the sea? It looks so cool. Every time I try it myself, my legs sink right into the water."
These days, Luffy had been sprinting along the shoreline nonstop, trying to figure out how to run on the surface of the sea.
In theory, it was possible.
But at his age, his physical condition was nowhere near enough to learn Geppo, so he could only drag his soaked body home every day.
"Hahahahaha. We will talk when you grow up, brat."
Watching Luffy burning with enthusiasm, Ozz flicked him on the forehead with a Haki reinforced finger. Luffy yelped in pain on the spot.
While they were joking around, a group of silhouettes swaggered down the street toward the bar.
Ozz saw them coming long before they arrived and the smile on his face deepened.
He had no intention of intervening. If anything, he thought it was a great classic scene in the making. He quietly produced a small recording Den Den Mushi and clipped it to his collar.
Eyes tilted toward the door, one hand supporting his chin, he waited.
Shanks was eating his fried rice and drinking, when the door behind him was kicked open and crashed to the floor.
"Sorry to intrude."
A tall, unkempt man strolled in, leading a group of small time thugs. Ignoring the pirates in the room, he slapped his palm down on the bar.
"We are mountain bandits, but we are not here to cause trouble."
"Sell me some booze. Twenty barrels will do."
Makino looked troubled.
"We are out of alcohol. I am sorry."
Hearing that, the man glanced at the cup in front of Ozz and the bottles in the hands of the pirates around him. His expression turned dark.
"That is strange. Are these pirates drinking water then?"
Shanks gave him a friendly smile and explained.
"Sorry about that. We already drank all the booze."
As he spoke, he picked up the bottle in front of Ozz and handed it to the man.
"If you do not mind, you can have this one. It has not been opened."
The arc at the corner of Ozz's mouth rose even higher.
He had already seen ahead of time a very amusing image.
Higuma swung his fist.
Crack.
The bottle shattered in his hand, splashing wine all over Shanks.
Yet as the alcohol flew toward Ozz, it simply vanished into thin air.
"I am a wanted man worth eight million berries. One bottle is not even enough for a bedtime drink, do not insult me."
When Shanks bent down to clean up the glass, Higuma finally noticed Ozz sitting behind him.
This guy's mouth had been tilted up the whole time. He was obviously laughing, right…
He wanted to get angry. But looking at Ozz's three meter tall frame and strong, well proportioned build, he thought about it a bit and gave up.
He swallowed hard.
In the end, he only left one harsh line for Ozz.
"Do not act so tough. I have already killed fifty six guys like you."
-----------------------------------------------------------------
The tides are shifting, and secrets linger in the dark... Step into the shadows early on P@treon, where the next chapter awaits before the world sees it.
[email protected]/_theon
Change @ to "a"