Sea Circle Calendar 1497, End of Year
A few months left before Captain Roger would turn himself in. The former Roger Pirates had already jumped ship, vanishing into the wind.
Sabaody Archipelago, Red Light District
Evening hit. While normal people wrapped up their workday and headed home for some peace and quiet, this place was just getting warmed up.
Inside the district's crown jewel—a luxury building at dead center—a long-haired kid in a windbreaker sprawled across an office chair, eyes closed, one hand behind his head. Living the dream.
Behind him, a white-haired girl worked her magic on his temples, delicate fingers kneading away stress while her big, watery eyes stayed glued to his face. Total focus.
The kid looked like he'd died and gone to heaven. A dozen fruit juices lined up within arm's reach—all he had to do was wave and the black-haired girl would pop one in his mouth. When he wasn't eating or drinking, she'd stretch out those long, pale legs of hers to serve as his personal armrests.
"Mmm..."
Seeing his handsome face scrunch up slightly, the white-haired girl hesitated before leaning close to his ear.
"Lord Aus, is something bothering you?"
"...Nah."
The sigh escaped because good times never lasted long enough. Time to get back to the grind.
The guy living it up was Aus himself, fresh off the Roger Pirates for over a month now.
Aus shook off the massage hands and sat up, using those black-stockinged thighs for leverage. On the table in front of him: one black blade, one long gun. The girls kept his weapons as polished as everything else.
"Oh my, Lord Aus, are these two not taking proper care of you?"
The door swung open. A knockout woman strutted in with a designer handbag, rocking a body-hugging skirt that showed off legs for days. Her chest strained against the fabric—pure temptation wrapped in business attire.
Seeing Aus sit up, she figured he was pissed about something and jumped into damage control mode.
The two girls went stiff as boards when they heard that.
Aus caught their panic and just shrugged.
"Nothing like that, Lady Sami. I just... need to stretch my legs."
Sami blinked. Then her hand flew to her face, covering a wicked smile. Her cheeks went pink, eyes practically screaming:
Finally ready to play with the big kids?
"If you're feeling frisky, I'll get a room ready right now."
"What?"
Aus's brain caught up. Sami had the wrong idea entirely. "No... No. 6 and No. 7 are perfect, but let's table that for another two years."
Sure, his body was ready for action at this age, but he wasn't about to wreck himself at fourteen. What if it screwed with his adult strength? His future potential?
No. 6 and No. 7—his names for them. Ever since red light district "mama" Sami had handed them over to butter him up, their entire lives belonged to him. Names included.
That's right—the red light district had itself a teenage patron!
The red light district. Brothel. Pleasure quarter. Whatever you called it, Sami ran the show—a self-made businesswoman who'd clawed her way to the top.
She'd taken in fallen girls, escaped slaves, broken souls, building this empire with her bare hands. But success brought problems. Big ones.
Government bloodsuckers demanding their cut.
Marine officers rolling up with their boys for "free samples."
Pirates starting shit...
Everyone and their mother wanted to devour her operation whole. For the first time in her life, this tough woman felt helpless against raw power.
The weak got eaten. Simple as that.
Once she accepted that reality, Sami switched tactics fast. Better to sacrifice pieces and find a real protector than get swallowed alive.
Street smarts 101.
And Aus, fresh off the Roger Pirates, dropped into her lap like a gift from the gods.
After some friendly negotiations, a guy with nothing but strength and a woman who needed exactly that struck a deal without breaking a sweat.
Aus would be her umbrella against the storm. In return, she'd fork over fifty percent—maybe more—of all profits. Plus unlimited access to everything her business offered.
Aus, hunting for a base of operations, thought it over for maybe ten seconds before shaking on it.
What followed was Aus discovering what paradise actually felt like.
Sami's full-service treatment hit so hard his willpower nearly cracked. For dangerous moments, he thought about never leaving this place.
Thank God his brain kicked in eventually. These people weren't spoiling him out of the goodness of their hearts. They wanted the protection that came with his rep—former Pirate King crew member, hundred-million-plus bounty, New World veteran.
If he let this life turn him soft, he'd be the biggest moron alive.
So now Aus split his time: relaxation and meals at the red light district, everything else training his ass off on some deserted rock. The island was pretty far from Sabaody, but for someone who could warp anywhere he could see, distance meant jack shit. Once his fruit development hit unlimited range, even that travel time would disappear.
Training stayed simple. Two priorities: Conqueror's Haki coating and Devil Fruit mastery.
Nail those two, and Aus figured he'd be breathing down Captain Roger's neck. He'd keep his sword and gun skills sharp too, obviously.
This was his new normal. Divine living with a purpose.
He knocked back the last of his juice, wiped his mouth, and stood up. At over two meters tall, he towered over the women—and they loved every inch of it. They got it: compared to money and territory, this seemingly young guy was their real foundation.
Sami looked at him with that primal hunger strong women got around stronger men. The more powerful the woman, the deeper that instinct ran.
Aus ruffled both attendants' hair and headed for the door.
"Alright, I'm out. Anything comes up, hit me on the Den Den Mushi."
He flashed Sami a grin.
~~~~❃❃~~~~~~~~❃❃~~~~
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