Disclaimer : I own nothing.
Chapter 37 : Into a sea of troubles.
- Shin –
I looked at my bed. The scene was becoming familiar to me now. The crimson red hair sprawled on my chest and the black with two cat ears on the other side.
Rias had a hand caressing my tails even when she was asleep and Kuroka was running her cheeks on me when she moved to get more comfortable.
This form of mine is really sensitive. I could feel everything around me so easily. No wonder the Nekoshou had so much ease at using Senjutsu.
I put my thoughts towards the matters of today.
The future I knew has changed drastically.
I have no idea what is going to happen anytime soon.
Kokabiel's attack turned out to be a big mess and I dread the thought of not having the Shun Shun Rikka at that moment.
I might have used the Time Tuner maybe.
But I can't rely on these things. There are things which can simply get out of hand.
I got future knowledge but in return the world has raised the difficulty level.
Who knows what will happen tonight?
The Khaos Brigade Headquarters was not supposed to be destroyed at all.
What will this result in?
Will they change their plans?
Will they still attack?
Will there be more people involved in the attacks?
What other politics will be at play?
My head was coming up with too many thoughts.
Odin had joined the Peace Treaty much earlier than intended along with the Shinto and Yasaka as representatives of the Kyoto Youkai.
I need to plan ahead.
Loki could be joining the Khaos Brigade with his mutt for all I know and we could get caught with our pants down.
I need to become stronger.
'Game, The world will stop when I make the world jump right?'
Yes.
'Will I be able to return back to this world at will?'
You will have to complete a Quest before you are allowed to return.
I looked at the girl resting on my chest and asked another question.
'Will I be able to bring anyone else with me?'
You will be given a quest to complete before you can bring anyone from this world. This includes your summoned servants. The others that you need to summon will need a direct connection to you or need to have a certain level of Affection, Reputation or Obedience.
'Can I summon new servants in the other world?'
I mean I had around 100 Gacha Tickets and I could hope for at least one servant summon in that….maybe, perhaps.
Yes.
Hmm.
'Then maybe it is time to make that jump. I could use a little leveling and practice for my powers before a major fight like tonight.'
Do you want to commence the World Jump now?
'A moment. I need to talk to everyone here.'
I slowly kissed Rias' forehead and waited for her to respond. A few moments later, she shifted and opened her eyes.
"Hey, good morning beautiful."
She snuggled into my chest. "M-orning"
I let her catch up slowly. I noticed that Kuroka was waking up too and held my position for a bit.
Rias got up and kissed my lips slowly before getting up on the bed while Kuroka opened her eyes, looked at us and snuggled even tighter. She really is a lazy cat, this naughty kitty.
It took us a few minutes to get ready and Kuroka had to be carried to the bath.
Rias noticed my pensive mood when we were walking down to breakfast.
"Are you thinking about tonight?" she asked as she caressed my tail and I let out a purr making both the girls snigger as I pouted.
"I am….I am just worried about what might happen. If I am strong enough for this right now? Last time we escaped merely by the skin of our teeth and even if we are planning the ambush this time, on my own idea, I can't help but feel tense about it. Last time I had done almost everything I could think of that was allowed to me and we still would have been in a world of trouble if I didn't have the Shun Shun Rikka….okay I would have had to do a few other things but still. It was a close call. And this time everything is being done by my idea." I sighed.
Life has been getting complicated.
She removed her hand from my tail and snuggled into my side and Kuroka did the same. "You have all of us. The leaders of the alliance are also helping. This time we are not fighting alone. Also, I think your idea is very good. I can think of much more drastic moves they could launch on us if we are caught off guard. Imagine them kidnapping someone's child or any other important family member. The alliance will be shaken after being signed and any way to mend it will be that much harder. This way at least we will be facing any enemies on our own terms."
"I was thinking of something. Let's go down, I will discuss it after breakfast?"
"Anything serious?"
"Hmm."
She raised her eyebrow and I sighed.
"I was planning to make my first jump today." I whispered out dreading her reaction. It was as I had expected. Her grip on me tightened. I was expecting her to start lecturing me, and I waited. She did get worried. The short time we have been with each other has brought us too close, that said, it was also filled with things that would make normal people go completely white in the hair. I waited for a while but nothing came. She just took a few moments to regulate her breath and then we simply waked down quietly.
Kuroka had however heard me speaking those words and ..."What jump nyaa~", she questioned.
"I will explain after breakfast."
She pouted a little at my reply but didn't say anything.
Breakfast was a silent affair. I did notice that Rias hadn't spoken anything that said she was not angry. She was just really worried.
The fact that she didn't burst out in a panic and is still holding back and showing her silent support to me shows her growth in these months.
I also noticed that Shuri was a bit distant to everyone with a faraway look in her eyes and Akeno was a little annoyed because she had the hints of that fake smile of hers.
I guess they met Barakiel.
Lily had arrived with Hermione in the morning but had waited with everyone. She had been talking and getting to know everyone at the breakfast table.
Breakfast finished and I called everyone to my room for a discussion. Many of the people here had no idea about these powers of mine but I wanted to summon them into the other world to take advantage of the paused time here. It would be wasteful not to do so.
"So what is the matter Boss?" Meredith said as she slumped down on the sofa.
"I want to tell you all about some of my personal secrets. The people here are all those whom I trust with all my heart." Some smiled at this. Rias was still stoic and hadn't left my side at all. Kuroka seems to be the only other person who seemed to have noticed the strange behavior of Rias and hadn't spoken much either.
"I assume you all know of my Patron Deity by now?" a few shivers ran through the room and Meredith replied, "It is hard not to when we train so much inside that place after all." I smiled at the cheeky girl. "You see, that allows me a few other powers. Sometimes I have duties which I can mostly do whenever I want. I have received one such duty." This got their attention.
But apparently not everyone was in the loop.
Lily's voice interrupted me. "Wait, hold on a moment? What Deity are we talking about? Lucifer? Isn't that Rias' brother?"
I smiled at this.
"No. This Deity is someone from my side. Have you heard of the 'Tale of the Three brothers'?" I asked her.
"The fairy tale? Yes, I suppose I have read it in passing."
"That was all true." I saw her eyes widen but continued before she could interrupt. "Why else do you think the Invisibility Cloak in the house was still fine after decades?"
"B-but….t-that would mean?"
"My Patron Deity is….Death. I am what the stupid wand wavers have dubbed, 'The Master of Death', a title which she had let run till this day because she finds it funny….considering the irony of the situation. Now before you question anything, no, Death is not 'dark'. She doesn't intend me any harm. I am her 'Champion' not her servant. I hope we are clear on this." Her slightly open mouth shut and she nodded slightly at me.
"Anyways, the work needs me to jump into a different world. Yes, the multiverse theory is absolutely true." Hermione and Rossweisse looked positively intrigued and if I hadn't already been in the clear with Merlin, she would be dissecting me by now. "Time in this world will be stopped for me. I will return exactly at the point where I left and no one will realize that I was even gone. That said, the reason I have told everyone this is because, I will be summoning you all to that world." I saw the light return in Rias' eyes.
I couldn't help but kiss her lightly and whisper, "What, you thought I would leave you alone while I run around in a different world all alone?"
She smiled for the first time since then and straightened a little.
I spoke to everyone in front of me, "I want to use the time difference between the worlds as an advantage to train. We know there will be a battle tonight and probably even more in the future. Peace never comes without a price….but, I don't want us to be the ones paying the price. We will train until we are all comfortably strong enough."
"What kind of a world will you be going in?" Merlin asked from her seat.
"No idea. It could be a medieval fantasy or even a science fiction. Hell I could end up in an alternate version of this world or in a story we have read and thought to be a fairy tale."
"Fairy Tales? Like Cinderella?" asked Hermione then.
I smiled at her, "Hmm, or maybe 'The Winter's Tale'." I said, making her blush a little.
"Do other worlds really exist?" Rossweisse asked, a little hesitant.
"They do. Some of my peerage members are from other worlds." I said, surprising her.
"I mean many of us know Merlin is from an alternate world right?"
Apparently Rossweisse didn't know.
"I also have a Gundam. The original one from that world too."
"That was the original?" Rias perked up then.
I smiled. "Exact one."
"Seekvaria is going to be so jealous if she finds out." She giggled.
Her tension was relieved. I didn't have it in my heart to tell her that I would have to complete a quest before summoning them.
"So those mangas are real too?" Hermione asked, surprised.
"Yes. Who knows, in some world, we could be stories for them? The Multiverse is much bigger than you could even imagine. The number of planets in the Universe is more than the number of cells in your body and the number of Universes in the Multiverse is probably just as vast. The possibilities are endless."
A stunned silence spread over the room.
"It is true after all. In my world, Veldanava is said to have created our entire universe. Shin-sama is also besties with Veldanava's daughter Lady Milim." Shion chimed from her seat making all heads turn towards her.
"Who is this Veldanava?" Merlin asked, intrigued.
"He is the first True Dragon and the God of our world. He passed away though." Shion said extremely casually.
The eyes turned towards me, "And you are best friends with the Daughter of such a person?"
"Hmm. It is supposedly my future self. Please don't ask me. I have no idea. I haven't asked her anything so as to not influence my thoughts. Actual time travel is headache inducing." I really didn't have it in me to think about it.
"When will you be doing this?" Lily asked and I observed that she was extremely worried as well but had accepted it as a part of my new life.
"Right now." I answered.
"Anything we need to do?" Rias asked.
"Hmm, sit tight and next thing you know will be me summoning you from the other world." I pulled her in for a kiss and caressed her hair softly.
Depending on the world, it could be months or maybe even years for me.
I then got up and kissed Akeno, Kuroka and blushing red yet stoic Sakuya.
She is still not used to public displays of affection and I am pretty sure that she wouldn't have accepted it if it hadn't been for the world jump.
'Game, Start the Jump.'
Sure Host.
The world paused in front of me and I found myself in a black room.
The Jump will take place in the form of a jump chain.
You will be given a chance to choose perks at the start of each jump for a temporary disadvantage or quest.
The disadvantage will be decided at Random.
There is also an access to 'The Gamer Shop' at the start of each jump. The currency will be your Gacha Tickets.
So that's why you told me to save some of them.
Duh.
Since you have started the jumps, the 'Title System' will be activated.
You can now gain titles for specific actions and through quests. The titles can add advantageous or disadvantageous stats or effects.
The first World Jump is commencing.
The scene in front of my eyes changed to an open beach.
Welcome Host to the World of One Piece.
One Piece huh. It is a comfortable enough world except for the weird abilities everyone has. Still much calmer than the DxD world.
I looked through the list of Perks I could choose.
Character customization was free.
I could change my background for free.
The real ones came for a price though.
The ones I had an eye on were 'Companion Character Background Customization' and 'Companion Race Customization'.
It would be really helpful if I could get those.
I can't imagine every world being friendly and easy to get an identity. The chance that I could get a background for those I summon will be a boon for me.
Those two were selected.
Perk selected - Companion Character Background Customization
Generating Drawback
Drawback Generated – 100 Blank Levels.
So I will have to level up 100 times for this drawback to be removed.
Cool. I can live with that.
Perk Selected - Companion Race Customization.
Generating Drawback
Drawback Generated – Level and Racial Binds.
3 Level Binds applied. Each bind will restrain 1/4th of your levels and stats. To remove these binds you will have to complete a quest for each.
As I felt my levels being bound, the only word I could say was….fuck.
Generating Quests.
Quests Generated.
Quest Received
[Break the Shackles]
To break the shackles, you have to push past the limits.
Complete the three quests to open each binding on you levels -
1. Gain a Bounty of 1 Billion Berries.
2. Get 10 Devil Fruits.
3. Gain an ancient weapon.
Rewards : 1 binding removed for each part of the quest completed and The Racial Lock will be removed on the completion of the whole quest.
Current Progress – (0/3)
The 10 Devil Fruits will be hard to get because they are so rare. I wonder if I can get a way to extract the Devil Fruits and if that will count.
I can also aim for Vegapunk and Caesar Clown for the artificial Devil Fruits.
Artificial Devil Fruits won't count.
Well Boo-hoo. I'll manage.
Quest Generated
[To be the Master]
There are some wannabes that claim what is yours or to be your nemesis.
1. Gekko Moriah.
The bastard claims to be a Master of Shadows and deals with death. End him and claim your rightful title.
2. Kizaru.
You are the shadow and he is the light. Defeat your nemesis and claim dominance over the light.
3. Charlotte Linlin.
She influences the souls which is your domain as 'The Champion of Death'. Claim her life and show her her true place.
Rewards : ?, ?, ?.
Quest Generated
[Happy Reunion]
Absence makes the Heart grow fonder….but too much absence can be painful.
Complete this quest to reunite with your loved ones.
Objectives :
1. Collect five Poneglyphs.
2. Collect 12 Ponyglyphs.
Rewards :
1. Summoning restrictions will be removed.
2. Travel to the previous world unlocked.
Quest Generated
[Journey towards new Horizons]
Any further world jump can only be unlocked by completing this quest.
Objective :
1. Make an Empire of your own and make it rival that of a Yonko.
2. Steal from the World Nobles and free the slaves.
3. Destroy Mariejois.
I looked at the quests and planned.
The level locks were a major pain in the ass. My Racial Boosts from the Devil or Angel Race will be inaccessible too.
That will put a major block in my plans.
The quickest option I could see was to summon my Companions somehow.
The five poneglyphs.
I don't remember the location of most of them. I hadn't seen past half the Wano arc and even then the last 100 or so manga chapters were something of a haze for me.
This is seriously going to suck if I don't remember everything.
I do remember one or two being in Alabasta.
One in the royal palace and the other in….the large desert.
Fuck, that's not a good enough location.
I also remember one being in Ohara….but is that even there now?
There was one in Skypiea and I most definitely need that.
I have hazy or no idea about the others though.
Maybe I should get Nico Robin to collaborate with me.
Thoughts for another time.
I checked the Gamer Shop….it was….how do I say this…. Underwhelming. I can exchange 10 normal Gacha for 1 Rare Gacha and the same for each grade higher. It is good but definitely not something new jumpers like me can do.
A good thing was unlocked though.
The Profession system.
I will explore it later on.
The first thing I need to do is find out where I am.
As I was thinking about these, my thoughts were diverted by a shout from above my head.
I looked up to see a giant? crow or….at least something that resembled flying towards me with something in its mouth but I couldn't see what it was due to the sun.
Damn, the reduced stats sucks balls.
Shin Kageyami
Title : Miracle Maker(All crafts related skills require 20% less MP cost)
Level -432(108) (3/4th bound)
Class – Penalty Class – LVL 0/100 [0%]
Race – Human(One Piece)
Rank- Mortal
Alignment- Chaotic Neutral
HP- 127600 (31900)[25520(6380) per minute]
MP –268800(67200) [50400(12600) per minute]
SP- 127600(31900)[25520(6380) per minute]
STR – 1275 (319)
END – 1279 (320)
DEX – 725 (181)
INT – 2689 (672)
WIS – 2019 (504)
CHA – 229 (57)
LUK – 507 (127)
I looked at my stats….and felt the urge to cry.
My stats right now….My HP….my total HP is less than what my HP Regen was per minute in my Nekoshou form.
At least my skills are still here. Except for racial skills, I retained every skill I had.
I still needed to get rid of at least two blocks to be anywhere near the level of the top players in the world.
Before I had enough time to think of anything, the ground around me smashed into pieces due to the bird that was thrown here and I heard a strange carefree laugh of the protagonist of this world.
"Shishishishi, That was fun." Monkey D. Luffy laughed as his crew, now consisting of only another swordsman, who was nowhere to be seen.
I used Observe to get an idea about the level I am at.
Monkey D. Luffy
Race : Human(One Piece)
Level : 27
Rank : Veteran
Okay, so I was stronger than anything in East Blue. I will have to get a view of the stronger people to get an idea about where I truly stand.
Once more however before anything else could be said, I spotted a girl running towards us chased by three people.
Level 20 punks at best.
"Boss! Help me please." With that said she came and hid behind us, more specifically me.
"Oi Lady, just who are you?" I mean I know shamelessness. Hell, I myself am a high level practitioner of the art….but still, to try and bullshit in front of me.
"Boss, it's me, Nami. Don't you remember me?"
The three idiots also heard this, "So you are her boss. Well you will die with her as well."
I was however more concerned about this cheeky little minx and decided to teach her a lesson.
Suddenly I held my head and then gazed towards her with the best loving expression I could muster, "Ah, I remember. I had hit my head and forgotten. I finally remember you." The girl looked stunned but since you woke a sleeping dragon, then better pay the price. I will show her the true 'Art of Bullshitting', so I continued, "Oh, Nami, my love, how I wished to find you all these years. On mountains high and oceans deep, I searched and searched and finally….finally you are here, so close to me….just in the reach of my fingertips." By now even the three idiots had stopped to watch the show. I have to doubt their IQs because two of them are actually shedding tears. Luffy was also getting teary eyed.
I walked up to her and took her face in my palms. "I have finally found you." and two drops of tears dropped from my eyes. The Art of Bullshitting for the win.
"W-wha? What are you talking about? Get away you creep." She shouted and got away as soon as she could.
"Hah? I thought we were pretending to know each other? Did you have some other role in mind? I mean everything was fine but your dialogue delivery still needed some work." I turned towards the three idiots and I asked, "Right?"
All of them, even Luffy nodded furiously.
"Wait. Catch the girl. She stole from us." One of the idiots gained consciousness and shouted, "also catch these two. We can rob them as well."
The three attacked. Two came towards us and one hit Luffy who was slightly slow at dodging and his straw hat flew away.
The two that ran towards us raised their swords at me while Nami ran behind me.
This is the true face of this world. Behind the funny adventure of the main crew, the pain and death is cleverly hidden away.
I don't really enjoy or aspire to be a pirate. I don't even consider Luffy as a pirate. At best, I will consider him as an adventurer. He just wants to sail freely in this world simply after all.
That is not what pirates do.
I looked towards them and as much as I wanted to kill them off, that would spook the two here so I chose a different way.
I raised my finger towards them and said, "Statue."
Two Shadow Stitching spells were fired.
I haven't used that spell in a while and mainly because this spell had become pointless.
The two stopped mid swing and couldn't move their swords at all.
Luffy had by then been pissed off because of his hat, beaten the shit out of one of the punks and had turned his attention towards the other two only to see them freeze.
He came and started poking their cheeks while looking around dumbly.
Nami was gaping wide.
"Sugoiiiiiiiii! How did you do this?" Luffy burst out starry eyed.
I smiled towards the two stunned people, "Ah, I haven't introduced myself. My name is Shin Kageyami, a travelling magician. Nice to meet you."
"Magician? Really. Sugoi. Show me some magic." The simpleminded guy looked even more impressed.
"Magician? Are you kidding me? It has to be one of those weird Devil Fruits." Nami looked a little skeptical.
I looked towards her and then brought out a packet of cookies from my inventory and offered a few of them to Luffy.
"Oooohhhhhhh Magicccccc!."
Nami looked wide-eyed at me but I could still sense some hesitation and doubt from her, so I decided to finalize things once and for all.
I summoned my Elder Wand in the form of a Glove and snapped my finger towards the three idiots.
The three were transformed into little piglets.
Transfiguration for the win.
The orange haired girl now had her jaw down on the floor.
Reputation gain reduced due to the Diminished Presence Trait.
+10 Reputation with Monkey Luffy(10/100) for being so cool.
"Uwaaaaahh. You will you join my crew," Came the voice of the Future Pirate King. I smiled in my head and shook my head internally. If I didn't have had plans of my own, I would have sailed with them and enjoyed the journey.
I really did like Luffy as a main character. He is someone who has mainly done what he wanted to do. No real intention to gain power or anything.
Adventure for the sake of adventure and not for the end goal itself. I could appreciate that.
"I am sorry but I need to find a way to reunite with my family. I will have to search and do my own things. I don't think I will be able to join your crew."
"Oh! Ah, that's sad. Anyways you are always welcome. I am Monkey D. Luffy, I will be the King of the Pirates." He gave me that full toothed smile that was honestly adorable.
I do need the map and general knowledge about this world though.
This world is not like my previous world where I could wing it like my original world. The common sense in this world is different and I had no idea about sailing.
If I had my Minor Skill Creation Skill from my Devil Race, I could have created relevant skills but that is not an option now.
Maybe I can hang around for a while and learn a few things about them.
Who knows if I am lucky, I can also meet Mihawk and by then I could get information from Jeff or even an Imperiused Buggy will be a good enough source of information right now though.
I think that I remember something about Buggy having a Map of the Grand Line too.
The final human regained her bearing and shouted, "How did you do that?"
"I am a magician." I stated, completely normally. I am not lying at all.
"Anyways, would any of you perhaps have a map? I am buying any maps as long as it is real. East Blue, West Blue, North Blue, South Blue, Grandline….anything. I need any help I can to get together with my family as fast as I can. The maps would help out a lot."
Luffy shook his head. Nami however had Berri's sign in her eyes.
"They will be costly." She said in a scheming tone.
"I don't mind the cost as long as it is real. That said, if you try to trick me, I will find you and turn you into a dung beetle." Her face discoloured a little but she nodded nonetheless.
+10 Obedience with Nami(10/100) for being very scary.
"I can assure you of the map's quality and validity. I just need money for it." she said quite seriously.
She did draw maps for Arlong for a long time so she might actually have an idea.
"Hmm sure. Can I pay in gold? I don't really have Berries." I said sheepishly.
The Berri symbol in her eyes brightened when she heard this. I could care less. As my Alchemy was progressing, I could transmute anything into gold soon enough and this world had more than enough gold as it is.
"Deal." She shook my hand as fast as she could.
+5 Affection with Nami (5/100) for paying her well.
"So? When can I collect my maps?" I asked.
The sooner that I can get the information, the better it is for me.
The timeline indicates that I can more or less guess the locations of several major players.
The reduced MP will be a major pain in the neck though.
I wish I had kept the Ope Ope no Mi with myself and not given it to my Peerage's Queen to help in his infiltration missions and setting up spy networks.
"I have to get back to my home village but I can get you some before leaving there." She said after some thought.
"Hmm, cool. I will try to get one from the Pirates in this place. I have heard that they have a map of the grandline."
"Ahhhhh! You know about the map as well." I saw that she was gritting her teeth. "It will be a race. If I get the map before you, you will have to pay."
I think the only reason she is not trying to rob me blind right now is because I said that I wanted to find my family and she is doing everything for her village too.
As far as I know, she detests anything pirate.
Let's see if I can get her to me. She is supposed to have some supernatural intuition about weather and navigation. It can help me.
"How about a partnership then? Lead the way in and cooperate with me. We can try and get the map together." I suggested.
As much as getting away myself would be easy, Arlong is supposed to know many things about the grandline too. He can make for a decent information source….after I fry him, a rare medium that is.
"Two million Berri, One million in advance." She pushed her hands forward.
"How do I know that the work will be completed or you won't run away after taking the money? Pardon me but a few minutes ago, you were throwing me to those punks and hiding. Only money after the Map will be found. I will take a copy of the Map and pay in Gold. If you want proof of me having the gold that is, I can do that easily." I waved my hand and a small mountain of Gold coins appeared on the beach and with another wave, it disappeared. The light in Nami's eyes went up and down at those two instants.
"Deal."
Right before we could discuss anything though, there was a blast from the direction of the town.
It must be that bastard Buggy who was causing destruction with the buggy balls.
That fucker needs to pay. 15 million Berris must be a decent amount to collect in this part. It can probably get me a roof until I can find where to sell my gold.
We discussed the plan while walking towards the town and Luffy simply followed us.
The plan was that Nami would tie Luffy up and present him as her former boss and while buggy was busy with Luffy, she would pretend to be his crew and steal all of his treasures. Luffy himself somehow agreed to it.
I have no idea what goes on in his mind but I went along with it. My memories of this arc are shoddy at best. It was over a decade ago, in my previous life after all.
This resulted in Luffy being trapped in a cage while I simply watched from the sidelines.
Things changed when Nami was called to prove her loyalty and kill Luffy. I sensed Zoro running towards this direction while Nami's hands were trembling and she finally dropped the knife.
I still need those maps from her so I couldn't let her die. Before they could fire any bullets or slash at her, I used Shadow Stitching on all of them.
None of them are even half of my level.
My Shadow Clone in the meantime emptied Buggys treasury.
Zoro tried to cut the cage but his skills are still not strong enough for that. The fact that his two extra swords are normal ones also didn't help.
I sighed and went ahead.
"Oh Shin. Help me out of here." Luffy shouted completely unbothered about the whole situation.
I inadvertently let out a chuckle. This guy is not really stupid that said he does that that natural charisma. Maybe a characteristic of a Conqueror.
I smiled and snapped my finger and the cage's bars were transfigured into a gate. Luffy simply walked out of it.
Reputation gain halved due to the 'Diminished Presence' Trait.
+5 Reputation with Monkey D. Luffy(15/100) for being helpful.
This time however Zoro was unharmed and was cautious of me.
"Miss Nami. If I remember correctly, this pirate has a bounty of 15 Million Berris on his head, correct?" I asked the orange haired thief.
She who was distraught at the empty treasure vault suddenly regained her mood and shook her head frantically.
"Very well, in that case, if you show me the nearest place where we can cash in his bounty, I can share half of it with you for the troubles and our previous deal's price included. Will that be fine with you?"
"But that would be…." All the gears in her head turned and she changed her sentence at the drop of a hat, "Fine. It is all fine."
+10 Affection with Nami(15/100) for being so generous.
"What do you want in return Luffy? You helped us too." I asked the now free Rubberman.
"Meat."
This really brought a smile to my face.
I brought out a small chest of gold and passed it over to him. For me, it is almost nothing but for him, he can probably a fuck ton of meat with it.
"You can probably buy a lot of meat with that. I have found the map of the Grand Line too. If you want, I can give you a copy of it. You did help us get it after all."
"And who are you?" Zoro asked from the side. I didn't introduce myself to him so it is a fair question.
"My name is Shin. I am a travelling Magician."
"Magician? Like the ones in those shows?" he asked, a little confused.
"Nope. 100 percent real deal. Anyways, do you guys need a lift? I am going to take Miss Nami with me to the nearest Marine Station, I could drop you all off somewhere." I asked because I was kinda taking their future Navigator with me.
"Oh. Okay….I am going to Syrup Village after this." Luffy agreed without any hesitation at all, once again surprising me with his trust.
It must be the instinct or the Voice Of All Things maybe which tells him whom to trust and who not to. I mean I could easily have been a bad guy and yet he trusted me so easily here.
"Miss Nami, can you point me in the right direction?" I asked and she looked a little confused but agreed nonetheless.
"Where is your ship though? Is it on the island? You said you needed maps, so have you been sailing without it all this time?" she asked as I walked towards the nearest open area.
I need to buy a ship too. Just for show maybe but still necessary. "I don't have a ship for now. I do need to buy one though. Could you perhaps point me to a place where I can get one?"
"I-I can but then how are we travelling today?"
"I am going to make one right now or even take Buggy's ship but before that let me take care of these annoyances." I said pointing out towards Buggy and his crew.
While I had other modes of transport when I was alone, I needed to get a ship or a boat for when there were more passengers.
I waved a hand with the Ender Wand/Glove and the whole crew and buggy were transformed into marbles.
I realized that Zoro had gripped his sword while Luffy had stars in his eyes and Nami had her jaws open once more.
+10 Reputation with Monkey D. Luffy(25/100) for the awesome magic.
+10 Obedience with Nami(20/100) for being extremely scary.
"In that case, let us be on our way."
- Scene Change –
The journey was relatively peaceful….well as peaceful as can be when you have Monkey D. Luffy onboard. Zoro had been relatively easy to befriend when I offered him some alcohol and stayed asleep or training. I on the other hand took an opportunity to check if my ID would stay in the same place whether the ship moved or would it also move with the ship and me.
The results were not really to my liking. It seems that I would be dropped into the ocean if I used IDs to grind while here on a ship.
I need to stop somewhere before I can grind.
Not really a major hassle. I can always find an easy way out of it.
Right now I was using a simple spell to direct the wind towards the sails. With Nami pointing out the direction, it was extremely easy. An unbreakable charm on the mast and sails to ensure that they didn't break. I need to stop the ship for the night so that I can grind in peace. In the meantime, I lied down and planned my moves after this.
A one billion berri bounty can be easily achieved using so many methods that it is not even funny….but not one of those methods can be used with my current strength. I need to be at least as strong as a Vice Admiral….or gain some method to make up for that difference by using other means.
10 Devil Fruits on the other hand will probably be the hardest.
I have no idea where I can find one. Simply killing Devil Fruit users with a basket of fruits with me to see if I get any is not really a method I wish to try.
This one could take quite a long time, from a week to a year or more.
The last one coincidentally is perhaps the easiest one I can think of.
While people would say getting an Ancient weapon in One Piece world is hard….well to people in this world perhaps.
I have exact knowledge of where two of them exist.
Well….one of them and the design of the other one.
Even half of my strength would be a boon right now.
With my full strength, I could perhaps easily fight an Admiral. I am still a bit wary of their physical capabilities though.
I also don't know how Haki interferes with Physical Stats….thus perhaps here.
If anything then the Top level people would be near the 2 000+ level in Physical stats.
If they use Haki….who knows.
I definitely need to unlock my full power and then concentrate on a Physical Class.
My Magic build will make it almost impossible for me to react to the opponents here.
How does Senjutsu's sensing aspect compare to Haki is also to be seen.
Maybe I should get to Water Seven and get a ship made. In that time, I can perhaps Imperio and Obliviate Franky to hand over the design for Pluton to me.
I can replace it with something then.
Somehow kidnapping the mermaid princess from Mermaid Island doesn't seem like a wise decision.
On the other hand, I can always get the five poneglyphs and unlock the Summoning Restriction.
With my entire group at my side, we could more or less conquer the Grandline if we wanted….unless there is someone like a Hagoromo or Kaguya hidden in this world.
The world is just too strange for it to be natural anyways.
I mean the Redline is so big, so why doesn't anyone stay up there except that one city.
Sure it is very high but can't people cut grooves in the Redline?
That reminded me that despite Laboon trying to knock it for years, there hadn't been a scratch on the Redline.
It must be ridiculously strong as well.
I have to test it out.
Still despite that, someone like Whitebeard could have easily punched a hole through it long ago. Why was it not done?
There is something BIG in this world that prevents these things from happening.
And whatever it is, might be under the World Government's control.
There were also those ginormous creatures in the Florian Triangle.
Those things were covered in shadows and yet still dwarfed the Thriller Bark worse than an Elephant does a mouse.
One Piece might not look like it but this world has many hidden secrets in it that makes it an extremely scary place to fully conquer.
I mean that giant whirlpool outside the Impel Down could very well be a giant creature like the Gourmet Island where Ussop trained.
There was also an almost endless hole under Enies Lobby with the waterfall.
What lies under that?
Why did the Knockup stream suddenly knock up Shandora? Was it artificial? An Underwater Volcano or sorts? Or was all of it manmade.
The whole structure of this world is extremely artificial and if someone could do this….then I might not be facing anyone below the level of perhaps the Trimurti or even Ophis.
And if it is due to the third Ancient Weapon, then I absolutely want that weapon under my control.
If Pluton is something that can rival THAT or something like those Gigantic Sea Kings commanded by Sirahoshi, then I really need to get it as soon as possible.
However all this will start after I can get the information and location of the places.
The magnetic fields are all over the place and most of the country is more or less water so I can't really map the whole country….until….yes, that might be a way.
I have to invent stuff.
Also another thought about the Sea Kings. Can they be repelled by a notice me not charm or an aversion charm? That would make things so simple. Then again, I can still use teleportation. I did bring all the HP magic books with me. These spells, while not really good against the supernatural, are more than effective for other uses. Like the Fidelius on an Island can basically make it impregnable.
That said, the amount of mana needed to cast it will depend on its size.
I pulled a book out of my Inventory.
"Oh, how the mighty have fallen. To think I have to use books like these to learn magic." I let out a sigh.
"You can learn magic from this?" Nami called out from beside me. Her eyes had a spark of greed as she looked at the book.
"This one is an advanced use book. Also not everyone can use magic."
Thought it begs the question. What exactly is Haki?
Does it have the same power source as magic?
Does it use mana too?
If that is the case, can't people use magic here as well?
If that is so, then are devil fruits also magical?
Many of them are based on concepts. Are they something like the Hallows? Or sacred gears?
The devil fruit passes on to the closest compatible fruit when the user dies. It is very similar to how sacred gears pass on. Does that mean they are similar in existence too?
I thought about it. Maybe so. I do have a devil fruit user with me.
Buggy can be a decent lab rat.
"So I can't learn magic?" she continued but I could sense disappointment and hurt in her self-worth as she said those words.
"Hmm. How do I say this? magic uses a particular source of energy. Technically all of us have that inside us(all of them have mana), but only some people are born with the capability to manipulate it in a more versatile manner. As far as I know, I might be the only one alive who can do this. I might be wrong though." I explained my theory. I explained to her while also putting a thought in her brain to always keep this a secret or people could trap her to get to me and several other….unpleasant thoughts. Legilimency practice on her was easy. There was nothing called shields and she was too emotional to notice anything.
"So anyone else who is not born with it can't use magic or….this energy?" she asked with a slight anger in her tone.
"Magic….probably no. energy….most definitely yes. There are hundreds of people on the grandline and thousands in the New World who can do so. They use it in a different form called Haki. It is one of the necessary requirements to become anyone of importance in this world, to really become strong. Any and every Marine with Vice Admiral rank and above knows how to use at least 1 form of haki. Many even below that can use it. Most of the Pirates with 500 million Berri bounty and above can use Haki. I would say there are a huge number of pirates with 100 million Berri and above bounty who can use it too. There is also an island where there are the Amazon Warrior tribe of Women led by a Shichibukai Boa Hancock who can use basic Haki."
"F-F-F-Five Hundred Million Berris? Who even has that much bounty?" Nami shouted.
I saw that the other two had also been attracted by my talks.
"So you know about the Grandline? What can you tell us about it? Have you been there?" asked Luffy.
I shook my head. "I haven't been there but I know a few things about the Grand line, mostly by reading and telltales. I can however say this without a shred of doubt that the Grandline is a very dangerous place. It is divided into two parts by the Redline. The first part is where the Reverse Mountain takes the ships and it is called Paradise. The second half is called the New World. As for the Five Hundred Million Bounty. While not many, I would estimate at least fifty people with a bounty of Five Hundred Million or above. As for bounties above a Hundred Million Berris, they are a dime a dozen. Too many to even count. The Grand Line is a dangerous place. Nothing compared to East Blue, which is called the weakest of all the seas. Even the other three Blues are far more dangerous than this. That is not to say that this sea hasn't produced strong people. It is just relatively calm."
"So this Haki thing? Do you know this?" Zoro asked in interest from beside me.
"Me. No, not really. I don't know haki. I do intend to learn it. Three types of haki exist. Two can be learned while the third type has to be innate. The ones that can be learned are Observation Haki and Armament Haki. They are used to observe high speed movements and enhance attacks respectively at their most basic. A truly skilled user of Haki can even see a few seconds in the Future and cut an island with a sword when a mastery of the two Hakis are achieved. The strongest users of Haki that I know of are Gol D. Roger, Monkey D. Garp, Silvers Rayleigh, Red Haired Shanks, Whitebeard, Kaido, Big Mom, Hawkeye and the Marine Fleet Admiral Sengoku and also a few other Warlords. Even among these, Garp, Rayleigh, Shanks and Roger are known to have used only their mastery over Haki to make their names in the Grandline."
I wonder if an early knowledge of things will push them to become stronger. I am totally planning to recruit Robin and maybe get Nami's help too. This will be my compensation to them. Knowledge is power. I will give them knowledge and if they can use it, they can gain more power to overcome their problems.
"Yeah….grandpa is strong." Luffy muttered out and then he brightened up, "But I didn't know Shanks was that strong?"
"Why would your Grandpa have anything to do with it?" Zoro asked.
"W-wait….your name Monkey D…..You are the grandson of the Marine Hero Garp?" Nami figured it out.
"Hahahaha….yeah. The old man wanted me to become a marine but I wanted to become the King of the Pirates because I promised Shanks." Luffy grinned completely unbothered about the heart attacks he had given to the other two.
"Obviously Shanks is strong. He is one of the Four Emperors, the strongest pirates alive now. Also he was a member of the Roger Pirates. He is bound to be strong."
My statement had the desired effect too. Luffy seemed more impressed by his idol and the other two had other minor heart attacks.
We discussed a few more things until Zoro asked me a question.
"So, how much bounty do you think you have?" Zoro asked me from my side.
I smiled at this. This dumbass wasn't subtle at all.
"To be honest, I don't really know. I also have to state that the Bounty doesn't always depend on the strength of the pirate. It depends on the amount of Danger they represent to the World Government. There are a group of seven pirates called the Shichibukai or the Seven Warlords. They have complete immunity to do any piracy they want from the World Government. Their bounties are frozen. It's as long as they help the government during their times of crisis." I looked at their shocked faces and decided to break their presumptions far earlier, "
"The world government is not as pure as many would expect it to be. They are ruled by the World Nobles. Those World Nobles are worse than the worst Pirates to ever live. They enslave anyone they wish and the Marines enforce their will. We only know about the countries under the world government but we don't have any idea about the ones who haven't joined the world government, do you know why?" The three shook their heads and I continued, "It's because except the ones that are under the control of the Yonko, every other country is either being conquered or enslaved."
I could sense Luffy's anger but I continued.
"The World Nobles consider themselves the descendants of Gods and thus deem others too unworthy to even breathe the same air as them and so they wear a bubble head suit with a personal air supply. They collect gold from all countries regardless of their economic situations and those that cannot pay are ruthlessly crushed by the Marines or simply enslaved."
"That can't be true." shouted Nami loudly.
- Nami –
She looked at the other three who stared at her. She hadn't realized that she had shouted loudly before that.
The words of Shin had shaken her badly enough. Her life had not been kind to her and for nearly a decade now, she had been nothing but a slave to Arlong.
Now Shin saying that even the World Government is the same didn't sit well with her.
Did it mean that even after she bought everything from Arlong, she and her village could be enslaved again?
She refused to accept it.
There was no way she would ever accept it.
"Around 14 years ago, a pirate named Fisher Tiger had climbed to the top of the Red Line to the Holy City of Mariejois, the city where the World Nobles live and freed the slaves. He and his Sun Pirates had then proceeded to send all the slaves back to their homes. The World Nobles had obviously not taken it well. They launched an attack on him and anyone associated with him including his home country, The Fishman Island. Fisher Tiger left Fishman Island and continued to send the slaves off to their homes. It was because most Humans had enslaved Fishmen and sold them to the World Nobles before and Fisher Tiger didn't want that fate to befall anyone else….not even those Humans."
Nami's blood boiled when she heard that.
A fishman being kind? Freeing slaves? This Shin had obviously heard bogus stories from drunk liars. However he still continued.
"His journey however came to an end when one of the families of the slaves he had freed had sold him off to the Marines. Many of his crew died, including Fisher Tiger himself. The Sun Pirates became divided. Some considered Fisher Tiger a fool for risking their lives for others….let alone Humans who had since enslaved them while some agreed with Fisher Tiger's philosophy. The crew separated. The ones who followed Fisher Tiger's ways continued the name of the Sun Pirates, led by one of the Shichibukai, Jinebi, a truly honorable man, while the ones who separated were led by Arlong." Nami felt her blood chill at the name, "who became the captain of the Arlong Pirates. He is currently in East Blue it seems. That reminds me, I have to go wipe that taint from the face of this world." The boy's emerald eyes darkened for a mere second and Nami felt as if Death itself had clutched her heart. The whole world went colourless for a time and in that instant Nami would have believed anything the boy, Shin said. A Magician, a Demon, a God, anything.
But at the same time she felt a twinge of hope that her village could be saved.
"Are you going to fight?" suddenly Luffy asked from the side?
"Fight? No." Nami felt the hope she had plunged into the ocean. "I am simply going to break their limbs and throw them at Jinbei….for 40 million Berris obviously. While killing them would be easy and from what I have heard, not really something undeserving either, they too have been through some bad shit. I wouldn't want Jinbei to get in trouble for this, so I will let him decide what to do. I know for sure that someone like Jinbei would not be unfair to anyone."
Nami felt her emotions all over the place. The sheer ridiculousness of the claim that he would break their limbs but yet, no part of Nami would dare to refute the claim that Shin had oh so casually stated. She felt angry at Shin wanting to give the source of all her misery off to another Fishman and not the Marines.
"Why would you give Arlong to another Fishman? Why not the Marines." Despite her fear, Nami asked.
"That would be stupidity. The Marines will simply release him and use it to make Jinbei owe them things against his will. That would be counterproductive. Also do you think Arlong would have stayed free so long in East Blue….all on his own?"
Nami stilled.
Her brain went into overdrive as she tried to process the implications of the statement.
Why hadn't any marine helped them in so long?
Surely if the Arlong Pirates had killed the Marines, the Headquarters or higher branches would send more. Then why were they still prisoners in their own houses?
The more that Nami thought about it, the more the pit in her stomach grew.
What had she been doing all this time?
She knew that Arlong had never lied to her….but what was to say that he wouldn't go back on his deal or raise another condition when she had collected enough money to buy back her village….or simply attack and occupy it again and force her to repeat it all over again. Could she keep on doing it?
"Shin." She heard Luffy calling him.
"Hmm."
"Best of Luck. If you need any help with this, ask me. I will help you."
"Hmm okay."
"You know, you still haven't answered how much your bounty would be worth?" Zoro smiled as he asked.
Shin looked a little lost in thought and then smiled a little, "I will have to fight a few people to know. Who knows you might even see my Bounty Poster one day."
"Shishishishi that so?, then we will wait for it." Luffy laughed and the atmosphere calmed down but Nami noticed it….that even after all this, Shin hadn't revealed anything about his strength.
Will Shin be able to defeat Arlong?
She will have to wait and see.
However if he couldn't then, Nami could always help herself to all the gold in his possession to free her village.
_x_x_
Beta Reader: LuluViBritania(FF.N, SB and QQ)/-LuluViB|99th BritannianEmperor(Discord)
Author's Note :
This Chapter took a little longer than I had expected. The world Jump before a major fight to not take any risks.
This is currently Shin's strategy.
Also One Piece for the world jump.
I am not going to follow Luffy around.
Shin is going his own way.
He has his quests.
This however is not like his previous world where he knew everything(well most of the things) about the world already.
He is using sometime to get the penalties off of him and then he will start hunting.
Nerfs too bad?
Well if I hadn't nerfed Shin temporarily, he could have simply Nuked Mariejois and be done with it.
His nerfs will force him to think of a way out.
Don't worry. Shin is not weak by any means. He is still as strong as a Supernova(Pre-Timeskip). He can still level up and a month or two will be enough for him to double his levels easily despite the nerfs.
Anyways, he will be getting out of his shackles soon enough.
Shin still has all the use of his Artifacts and crafting classes too.
So counting him as weak is out of the question.
That said, although Shin has been temporarily nerfed, his subordinates are not.
While he cannot currently summon anyone from his previous world, he can still use new Companion Gems.
I guess that I have said enough.
Anyways, hold still.
I will make this arc enjoyable.
This will be more of a planning type arc because till now Shin has been able to brute force almost all of his enemies. This time I wanted a different setting.
So, I made one for myself.
Enjoy the chapter now.
Good Day, Peace Out.