Chapter 21: Chapter 21
Chapter 21
Frose, Sorbet Kingdom, South Blue
"Move! Move! Get your asses in gear!" Vasili ordered to the royal guardsmen under his command. "Double the perimeter around the palace now!"
The floors rumbled as dozens of previously relaxed men rushed about in plate armor. Those who were off-duty suited up in a panic-stricken haste while two of their fellows planted a pair of barrels in the center of the room. One filled with swords and the other steel lances.
"You two! Take a spyglass and a snail and head for the top of the east tower. Call me the second you get a proper visual!"
Acknowledgments of 'Sir!' and 'Yes commander!' answered each of Vasili's orders but none of them slowed him down as he continued to bark out more.
"And someone find me a damn muster report! I want a list of everyone who was outside the gates when the incident started!"
A slow creaking echoed through the hallway as a hunched decrepit woman pushed open a doorway and peaked her head outside. "Vasili..what's going on?"
"Ah! Your majesty!" Vasili struck one arm across his chest and dutifully half-bowed at the waist. "I apologize for the noise. I thought you still upstairs in bed."
The Queen Dowager just continued to frown. Not an angry scowl or disapproving glower but rather the more pitiable expression of an elderly woman who's mind had long since begun to fade. The kind one would see in nursing homes or in a ward for the frail and infirm. "I saw fire through my window."
"Yes my Queen. There's been some kind of disturbance out in town." Her head guardsman replied. "No doubt the Marine's are already mobilizing and will resolve it shortly. Still, I have chosen to raise us from 'green' to 'yellow'. Purely as a precautionary measure I assure you. There is no need to worry."
Queen Connie nodded her head and closed the door but her worried appearance did not lessen. If anything, it managed to get worse as the loud noises combined with her mental senility just made everything confusing and increasingly scary.
Connie slowly crept back to her bed chambers and peered outside the window once again. Smoke was still rising from where she previously saw flames and a shaking arthritis-filled hand reached for the dark yellow Den-Den-Mushi that lay ever present by her windowsill.
"Barty..? Barty..? Hello..?" she called longingly into the transceiver. "Are you there Barty?"
The snails eyes opened, revealing a pair of blank pupil-less lenses that seemed more like planes of glass than anything else. "Yes mother." An emotionless monotone came from the other end. "I am here."
The aged woman's frown finally upturned into a gentle smile. "Oh Barty there you are.." she spoke with relief. "Are you coming home soon?"
"No mother." The voice spoke, making Connie's expression fall. "Has something happened?"
"I'm frightened Barty. I saw fire out the window and Vasili was screaming.." The Queen Dowager said with a shake in her throat. "Can you come be King again? I don't want to rule anymore.."
"No mother." 'Barty' continued, his voice still just as soft. "The Elder Stars removed me from the throne."
"Oh..that's right." Connie muttered sadly, only now fully remembering. "But you can still come visit right?" A fresh explosion in the distance made her hunched body shake with fraught.
A long pregnant pause came from the Den-Den-Mushi. The type of extended silence that would make one think the person on the other end had left without bothering to hang up the phone. However, just as nearly the half minute mark passed, "Yes mother." The speaker finally answered. "I will be along shortly."
Connie sighed a long breath of happiness. The simple knowledge that her 'Barty' was coming doing so many wonders to alleviate her worries. "Oh thank you Barty." she said with a cheerful sob. "You've always been such a good boy." The Queen clutched at the golden pendent around her neck, its clasp carefully protecting one of the few family photos containing both her son and late husband. 'My little Bartholomew.'
Another geyser of flame roars past me and I inwardly curse as I escape to the rooftops to avoid it. 'Goddamn it all how many shots does he have left!' My revolver flashes thrice in Rowan's direction but despite the freaking artillery on his shoulder he's still dexterous enough to dance out of the way. 'I thought Dials had a limited storage capacity! Gonna have to revise my opinion on magic in this universe again if this shit keeps up!'
A shadow darts at me from overhead and I swing my leg up to meet it. The sole of my boot is stopped flat by the orange shell of the Impact Dial 'Oh crap, that's gonna bite me in the ass later' and while Towa -now in his hybrid Zoan form- smirks at the maneuver, he's not quick enough for the second blow. My other leg hooks over his neck and, after what looks to normal eyes like a sudden twist, the hunter is hammered through the stone roof of the building.
178 Damage! (7,147/7,616)
'178 are you kidding me?! I just kicked him through a goddamn ceiling! The two punches I landed before he transformed were way softer and nearly did just as much! Gods sake, what kind of bonuses is that Fruit giving him?' The man is already brushing himself out of the rubble and I quickly focus in. '[Observe]'
Towa, Wayward Monk, Lv.73
While at most times a polite, well-spoken, and seemingly gentle man, Towa is in actuality a person of great anger with a plethora of unresolved emotional issues. Most of which stem from the teasing he received as a child for his mixed heritage. As the offspring of a weak willed mother from the White-White Sea and a Blue Sea father whom he has never met, Towa has been plagued his entire life by the feeling of not belonging. After consuming the Bird-Bird Fruit Model: Toucan, Towa flew away from the order of monks he had joined and took up bounty hunting as a cathartic release for the negative feelings he had spent his whole life trying to suppress.
[HYBRID-TOUCAN]: Towa is currently in the hybrid form of his Devil Fruit. He is receiving +40% to both STR and VIT, +95% to DEX and -25% to all damage taken.
Health: 7,147/7,616
STR: 328 (+40%) = 459.2
VIT: 544 (+40%) = 761.6
DEX: 179 (+95%) = 349.05
INT: 148
WIS: 106
LUK: 35
'40% to VIT? 25% damage reduction? The hell ever happened to birds being fragile? Fuckin' Zoans man. At least with Jorgen the bonuses made some sense. This is just-'
"No time to be daydreamin' pardner!" Rowan announces as he lobs a pair of objects at me from the street below. Both seashells begin to enlarge mid-flight, magnifying their payloads, and while I immediately begin the leap to the next rooftop over, there simply isn't time.
The Flash Dial turns my entire world into a blinding white void at the same time that the Tone Dial erupts into a cacophonous blaring of close-range explosions.
I crash onto the top of the adjacent building in a tumble of limbs with both ears ringing and a palm slapped tightly over my eyelids. 'Gah! Whatthefuck! Did I just get flash-banged?' I try to crack open my eyes but everything is spotty and out of focus. 'Since when is THAT possible in this setting? And how in the bloody fuck did he get the damn Dials to have a time-delay?'
Muffled sentences in my thrumming eardrums let me know the Tone Dial has ceased its screeching and I know the follow-up attack is only seconds away. A blotchy figure lifts a second silhouette from the street to the damaged roof and it's time to move!
I manage to rise to my knees before the next gout of flame launches and my right leg juts out for whatever half-assed [Geppo] I can manage from this position. My left side is dragged along the stone tile as I go sliding and my right hand immediately reaches for the second .44 I've yet to unholster.
Firearms Mastery Lv. (9/10)
-Your ability to accurately use pistols, rifles, and portable cannons. Current Accuracy: 83.75%. Accuracy % is equal to [Firearms Mastery Level x5 + ¼ INT].
Note: Your vision is grossly impaired right now. -50% penalty to accuracy. (83.75%) → (33.75%)
Four shots ring out in quick succession and though the blurred figures scatter the moment the gun gets raised, the smaller man still stumbles and drops his shell-cannon when a bullet manages to wing him near the shoulder.
156 Damage! (2,564/2,720)
"Gah! Sonova-" Rowan curses as the massive Flame Dial hits the floor with a forceful 'thud'.
There's enough time to get back to my feet but not much else as Towa is already blitzing down upon me again. I try to use my last two shots to deter him, but between his boosted mobility and my vision problems, he swerves around them as the minor inconveniences they are. The Zoan-user slams a closed fist into his opposite palm, no doubt adding one last bit of 'oomph' to the Impact Dial he's palming, and violently thrusts it forward the moment he's in range. I toss my gun away to try and snatch his wrist mid-flight, but I'm still just a bit too disoriented.
The monk's palm presses flat onto my sternum and I brace for-
"Impact!" '[Tekkai]!'
A concussive force unlike anything I've ever seen nor felt erupts from the seemingly innocuous little seashell and slams point-blank into my chest. Air explodes outwards in a visible ring from the discharge and both our clothes whip around in the artificial wind as two things become painfully clear. The second of which, I should have fucking remembered.
Firstly, that shell was already holding something nasty well before this skirmish began. They'd probably already pushed the damn thing near to its breaking point.
And the other?
Impact Dials mostly do internal damage. Meaning that while [Tekkai] reduces the damage somewhat, it's only major accomplishment is managing to root me in place and not have me blown straight through the next building over.
-1,470 HP!
Skill Lv up! Physical Endurance Lv. (9/30) → (10/30)
-Your body's durability to damage from physical sources. Resistance increased from (27%)→ (30%)
HP Regen Skill Active!
-Current speed: 4.4% max health per minute.
A single foot stumbles backward as a spittle of blood leaks from the corner of my mouth. Wisps of smoke begin trailing out of the weapons center orifice and Towa is, instead of smirking victoriously, standing there.. flabbergasted. Totally unable to process that I am somehow not dead. Let alone still in front of him.
His mistake.
My hand crunches down over his wrist as [Adrenalin Rush] triggers.
[Adrenalin Rush] Activated!
STR (335 +70%) = 569.5
The monk physically recoils as he snaps out of the temporary stupor. He tries to jerk his arm back to safety but it's a wasted effort. My boost is better than his.
'[Game]. Give me 50 points in DEX. And 25 to STR for good measure.'
Request Acknowledged!
Points to spend (90) → (15)
STR (360 +70%) = 612
DEX (404) → (454)
"My turn."
209 Damage! (6,939/7,616)
The pop-up coincides with a balled fist sinking deep into Towa's upper gut, one strong enough to actually lift the heels of his feet off the ground. The hybrids odd beak-mouth wrenches open in a gasp and he is offered no time to catch the breath he just lost. This is only the opening salvo after all.
Rowan sprints forward to assist, reloading his sidearm as he hops the ravine between buildings.
Blow after blow slams into the Zoan's body. He's completely unused to not being the stronger one in close quarters, especially not from someone a whole head shorter. His Devil Fruit granted damage resist offers him a fair bit of protection but he's by no means escaping unscathed.
190 Damage! (6,746/7,616)
198 Damage! (6,548/7,616)
192 Damage! (6,356/7,616)
203 Damage! (6,153/7,616)
207 Damage! (5,946/7,616)
189 Damage! (5,757/7,616)
201 Damage! (5,556/7,616)
Rowan slides into view, a pistol in each hand and aiming from an angle where using Towa as a impromptu shield is impossible. Crack after crack splits the air and I disengage with a [Geppo] to avoid the lethal lead poisoning. Four large sweeping [Rankyaku] are sent down in retaliation, coincidentally leveling the [Skill] up, and Rowan boggles at the sight, clearly not expecting me capable of that.
The first three he avoids through a series of nimble backflips, letting the wind blades slice deep nasty scars into the buildings underneath us. The fourth though is surprisingly countered outright when the westerner pulls an Axe Dial from his back pocket and enlarges it to the size of a buckler shield.
I touch down atop a new structure and allow myself a breather while the pair regroups. While I could charge in for the aggressive play there's actually several advantages for me trying for the long game instead. First and foremost I think they're quickly running out of ways to surprise me. The supersized Dials are pretty nifty but unless they've got a type I've never heard of before 'Or god forbid a Reject' then I should be able to handle anything these two can dish out. All three of us are operating on a bit of a time crunch until the Marines get here but when they do I'm betting it will be infinitely worse for them then for me. They're the ones that need to wrap this up quickly, not I.
Not to mention that while I'm sure it's possible they'll gain a little of their health back from this tiny respite, it's nothing compared to the 45-ish I recover every 10 seconds.
"Towa, you alrigh'?" Rowan breaths out as he reloads again. "Fuckin' hell we screwed this one up. Wasn't expectin' fast and durable. Kid's got more spunk then some of the Grand Line boys we saw back in the day."
The monk nods in agreement. "Truly. There has to be no more than 10 people on this sea who could suffer a full Impact and then manage to press onward." he murmurs back. "Nevermind that he weathered it with only a single step backwards. It seems we have grossly miscalculated."
Rowan suddenly tenses as a thought strikes him. "You don't think the kid might be Cipher Pol do ya?"
Towa scowls as he rises to his full height. His tar-colored wings flexing widely as he prepares for take off. "No. Marine techniques or not, his actions are far outside their modus operandi. At this moment though conjecture is irrelevant. Based on the distance of the base and typical response times we have perhaps three or four minutes before the authorities descend upon us. At which time we must be well gone lest be branded outlaws ourselves."
"Shiiit...we're really gonna have to lay low to the ground after this one aren't we?" The cowboy mutters with a rueful chuckle. "On your mark then."
Towa launches himself into the air with a tremendous beat of his wings and Rowan hitches a ride with a talon firmly grasping each of his shoulders. "Alrigh' Sparrow!" The westerner calls down from the sky. "You're better than expected, though I ain't ever met a cowpoke who can dodge this one for very long!"
Rowan dips a hand into his breast pocket and a moment later sweeps his arm out in a wide arc. Streaks of silver begin to rain from the sky as two dozen sewing needles swell to the size of lampposts. [Soru] kicks into gear as I swerve out of the way, but already the high DEX Paramecia-user has three more waves swarming down.
The hailstorm of steel follows me as I zip from roof to roof. More than one building gets converted to a pincushion as as the collateral damage builds up and I'm silently thankful that all the civilians fled the second we started. Kugizume flashes out from my back to deflect a needle impeding my path forward and I take a quick glance behind me in the brief second after.
Already the forest of metal pillars now dotting the street is beginning to shrink away. 'Interesting. The more drastically he alters the mass, the quicker it wears off. Not sure how that helps me right now but it's good to know.' The Meito smashes away another needle from a fresh volley and I burst into the air to try and get off defense.
A flying slash T-bone would be proud of soars through the sky to intercept the duo -though annoyingly- Towa maneuvers around it with little difficulty. Bullets grown to the size of artillery shells succeed in throwing me off course for a bit but soon enough I'm practically on top of the pair.
Towa collapses into a sudden 90 degree dive as Rowan chucks a small bag upward with a smirk. "And that's the game pardner." In all the time it took me to blink, every seam on the tan pouch burst apart as the thirty or so miniaturized cannonballs it was carrying returned to normal size. 'Oh cra-'
One last round from Rowans pistol triggers a chain-reaction and a fireball capable of wrecking a Marine battleship engulfs the sky. The force of the detonation accelerates the hunters collision with the ground and the two slide roughly to a stop as they make landfall. They're only downed for a moment though as soon Rowan hops up with an excited yelp.
"Woo Wee! Nice teamwork there buddy!" the westerner cheers. "We really got the timing on that shit downrigh' perfect! Now if I do say so I think it be in our best self-interest if we departed this-" He notices his partner intently scanning the acrid sea of smoke left behind and frowns. "Somethin' wrong?"
Towa continues to sweep the sky. "I didn't see him fall."
'Kamisori' plants me behind the duo with my leg already mid-swing. A tad singed and down some HP but sure as fuck ready for more! "Nice try assholes!" The largest [Rankyaku] I've ever personally released slams into the Toucan's back. The crescent of energy sweeps him off his feet and carries his contorted body straight through the wall of a small hotel. Rowan spins around in alarm but the vicious chop to his adams apple is already coming.
538 Damage! (5,018)/(7,616)
251 Damage! (2,313/2,720)
The westerner staggers backward, struggling for a breath he just can't find. He's allowed a single second of reprieve as I refresh [Adrenalin Rush] and then I begin dismantling him. Brick by metaphorical brick.
238 Damage! (2,075/2,720)
247 Damage! (1,828/2,720)
254 Damage! (1,574/2,720)
236 Damage! (1,338/2,720)
244 Damage! (1,094/2,720)
Towa soars forward out of the rubble. His eyes set in a hard glare and his beak glinting with an edge of sharpness. "Tou-Cannon!" I kick Rowan aside just as the named attack of unknown power slams into me...and does nothing as the tip of his bill meets an orange shell. "W-What?!"
I do my best not to smirk. "You dropped this earlier. Should be more careful with your things mate." The apex of the shell sinks in. "Impact."
With only a single attack stored inside the concussive wave released is nothing at all of the same caliber as the one from earlier. Still, having the Zoan's own strike reversed on him is plenty enough to fling him backwards.
332 Damage! (4,686/7,616)
'Still not even at half health.. This is ridiculous. Guy's as tough as a Sea King. Time to use something he can't get up from.'
I [Soru] atop the downed monk and rear back both pointer fingers. "Sorry." the apology spills out. "This is probably the most unpleasant technique I have..and I don't know enough about you to say you deserve to go out this way...but just remember you started this shit." I suck in a deep breath and harden myself. "[Shigan]..Gatling!"
Not every thrust of this technique results in a puncture wound. They can't since one of the quirks of [Shigan] is you need the angle to be essentially perfect. If your aim is off by more than half a degree all you'll have succeeded in doing is poking someone. Granted, you just poked them really really hard and while that might do some damage or leave an ugly bruise, it's not exactly worthy of being called an assassination technique.
But I don't need every thrust to puncture. I only need enough.
Damage notifications continue to pop in and out of existence as my arms continue to flurry. Blue screens overtake half of my vision before the [Game] decides to consolidate them all together and have a single running total hanging in the left-hand periphery. Dozen by dozen. Hundred by hundred. The tally climbs like a scoreboard set to overdrive.
By the time I finally cut off the assault Towa's torso is a bloody perforated mess. His eyes are wide and unseeing and a light spasming is rocking his body. His mouth gapes like a fish struggling for air and a great pool of red is mixing with the gravel beneath him.
And that damage counter?
3,978 Damage! (708/7,616)
Perhaps.. if it had been a normal beating he could drop that low in Health and still survive. Just maybe his Zoan durability would let him escape the reaper and be fine after a week in the hospital, bandaged like a cartoon mummy.
Under these wounds though? With at least nine distinct holes in his upper-chest alone spilling more and more of that red he can't afford to spare? He's got no chance. His Health is dropping fourteen points a second and the last fighting spark of life in his eyes is dimming away.
The only way he'd live now is if there's a full surgery team and a dozen blood bags waiting just around the corner to stabilize him. And I'll bet you 100 million to 1 that there isn't.
'Well I'd say that effectively removes him from play.' I think somewhat bitterly. 'Don't you think so [Game]?'
+2,835 Exp!
'Glad you agree.'
I look down at my blood drenched fingers and stifle the gag. "Ugghh...yuck." I remark with a scrunched nose as I try to wipe them clean with the hem of my shirt. "Hate using the damn finger gun.." That gross feeling of sticky blood on your skin paired with the uncomfortable warmness of it all..just...ugh..not a fan..not a fan at all. 'Gonna have to clean my nails for a damn week after this...'
Turning back to Rowan I see the man forcing himself up to a knee. One hand death-gripping his gun and the other gently cradling his side. A baleful glare is burning in his eyes promising all kinds of foul retribution and I can tell he simply doesn't have any words strong enough to convey how much he wants me dead. His revolver swings up, I'm already moving to the right with [Soru]-
And suddenly.
Without forewarning.
Without pomp or ceremony or any kind of grand entrance.
There is simply a third person standing with us.
My speed technique dies as my legs lock up. Time itself seems to freeze and Rowans brow furrows as he's suddenly covered in a shadow. The Grand Liner tilts his head back at the individual looming just a foot and a half behind him and drops his gun to the floor.
He is...a mountainous figure. Well over 20 feet high, the top of my head doesn't even reach the mans waistline. His sharp jawline and impassive glass-like eyes make his expression unreadable and if I didn't know better I'd say he wasn't even looking at us.
PX-0 (Bartholomew Kuma), Royal Shichibukai, Lv. 147
Do you know the feeling of when three seconds feels as though it were hours? That sensation of your whole world slowing down right before the car crash? Right before the knife plunges down? Those special few seconds.. right before catastrophe.
"Are you the ones responsible for this disturbance?" The words are spoken blankly. With no emotion or judgment in their tone. The question is akin to a machine simply posing an inquiry. Neither Rowan and I respond or even dare move. What is there to say? What can one say?
'Ob-Observe..' The [Skill] word stammers in my head but there's no effect. The [Game] knows I didn't really mean it. That I'm too afraid to actually cast it. Seeing a level so utterly dwarfing my own sends me flashing back to the night I met Berwynne. Specifically how my [Observe] was detected and how the New Worlder immediately turned aggressive at the alien sensation.
The tiny piece of my mind not paralyzed by fear tries to insist that Kuma was never actually seen being Haki proficient in the story -possibly due to being more machine than man- but it's more likely due to the fact all of his major appearances were before the three types of willpower hax were truly established in the setting. The same reason we never saw them employed by Ace, Lucci, or any number of people in the marineford war.
Besides, it's freaking Kuma. How could he not have at least the first two?
The warlord apparently comes to his own decision and makes the tiniest -almost imperceptible- incline of his head towards the kneeling man in front of him. "If you were to travel...where would you like to go?"
Some last bastion of courage must of swelled inside the cowboy because he chose the most moronic option possible as an answer. Threatening the 'Tyrant'. The Axe Dial reappears in Rowans grip and begins to grow well past the size he used last time. "Th-this ain't your business warlord. Me and the kid are settlin' a score righ' now. I'm gonna have to kindly ask that you move along."
Kuma slips off his glove and begins idly flipping through the purple 'Bible' eternally in his grip. An out of place object that has spawned almost as many fan theories as the man carrying it.
From the outlandish, claiming 'Biburu' and 'Viviru' sound similar in Japanese and therefore it must be a book of Vivre Card paper that he uses as a compass of sorts. To the much more believable, that Kuma only carries it because Oda must've based the character upon Bartholomew 'Black Bart' Roberts, a pirate known for swearing upon the Bible to uphold his pirate code.
Rowan jerks suddenly to trigger the Axe Dial, a shell who's payload is probably so large at this point that it could scar a mountain...and then it's over.
The power of the Paw-Paw Fruit is not a flashy one. There's no build up. No ceremony or bothering to announce the name of his move.
Just a slight popping sound. Followed by a wisp of disturbed dust in his targets place.
And Rowan is simply gone.
Kuma's head straightens and he begins a slow lumbering walk towards me. "If you were to travel.." The dreaded words come again. "Where would you like to go?"
I don't remember a ton of the smaller details about Kuma. Probably because I never learned them in the first place. But I do recall that he generally honors the requests of those he forcibly 'relocates'.
However. There's a tiny something in his voice that tells me today is different. It's just a trace but it's there. A clipping in his tone. He's annoyed. Irritated that he had to come deal with this.
In other words..if that paw touches me there is a strong possibility that I will end up somewhere nightmarishly unpleasant. Some hell-on-earth island where lightning rains down eternally or has wildlife as fearsome as Ruskaina in the Calm Belt.
"No.." I whisper out. "No no.. this wasn't my fault." I begin to backpedal. "They attacked me! I..I would never start a fight in the middle of a street!"
The warlord makes no acknowledgment of my words. He simply continues to advance. Each of his steps ringing out with that unique sound they possessed in the show. An odd mechanical clapping that reverberates in my skull.
My legs are shaking, screaming at me to activate [Soru] and just make a break for it...an all or nothing sprint back to where Kiwi's resting outside the city...but my mind won't let me. One cannot outrun Bartholomew Kuma. People used to incorrectly speculate that his Devil Fruit let him actually teleport. While technically untrue, when one's talking about short distances, such as being on the same island, there's practically speaking no difference. Unless there's someone out there with an actual warping Fruit, this man is the most mobile being on the planet.
He opens the book to begin flipping through the pages and the last vestiges of strength in my knees buckle into nothing.
"Please!" I throw myself into a bow, even placing my head on the flat of the ground. "If you send me away I can't fix it! Give me a chance to fix it!" The lumbering continues. "I can pay for the buildings!" The footsteps draw closer. "I'm just starting to make a difference on this sea!" The ground groans under his weight. "I still have so much to do here!" Sunlight disappears as his shadow takes its place. "Let me fix it!"
He's standing above me now. Only a single step more and his massive shoe would be crushing down on my head. I dare not look up at his face. There's no point. Even if I did it would only be the same unreadable visage.
A light wind blows as the seconds tick pass. One man standing. One praying. Neither moving.
"You will pay for the buildings."
It's not a question. Its a demand, a term in a contract of which there is no alternative than accepting. And I jump on it like a starving man would his last meal. "Yes!"
There's a soft rustling of a glove being slipped back on. "You will reimburse the citizenry."
"Yes!" 'I'll overpay them! Give them twice what the damage caused!'
A stampede of boots rumbles faintly in the background. The Marines are just moments from flooding into the street. "You will not return to this country."
"Yes!" 'After this I'd be insane to want to!'
There's a brief pause. "And you will apologize to my mother."
"Yes!" 'Wait.. what?' I finally raise my head, the obvious question on my lips- but he's already gone. 'Poofed' himself to somewhere..not here. Nothing but a swirl of twirling dust in his wake.
You've survived an encounter with a Royal Shichibukai! + 3 LUK!
LUK (71) → (74)
The blue window hardly registers to me as a swarm of bodies in blue & white spill into the deserted plaza from the southeast. A second group twice the size rounds the corner from the southwest and a gruff narrow-faced man marches forward as defensive lines get formed.
"This is Warrant Officer DuGalle of the 4-0-1!" the man just about snarls into his loudspeaker snail. "Hands over your head now! You will comply quickly and unconditionally!"
Several Hours Later
I...don't understand how I got to this point. Even as I replay through the events of today in my head.. it doesn't make sense.
It started simple enough to follow. DuGalle was a typical hardass, as any person justifiably might be in the situation he stumbled upon. By some ungodly bout of luck I managed to avoid being arrested. A miraculous feat that may have been aided by the first words out of my mouth being 'I surrender and I want to pay for everything.' Even with his best game-face on I could tell that for the Warrant Officer that had been a new one for him.
After being 'escorted' -though not 'arrested'- to the Marine Base in the southern part of the city I explained the situation to a man named Lt. Commander Horner who was shockingly understanding about it. To a degree that is frankly still baffling to me. I mean..I wouldn't have been that sympathetic in his position.
Did..did he know there's movement in the upper chain to try and recruit me? That seems unlikely. [Observe] certainly didn't pick up anything like that and.. I mean.. how much info would the leadership of different branches really share with each other? Has there been a memo circulated about me that I don't know about? That..you know what..this train of thought leads to nowhere but paranoia. Best to jump off now.
At the mention of Kuma is when things got...odd. As a fan of the One Piece series before coming to this world I had known that Kuma was once a King. 'Though I sure as shit didn't know it was of this Kingdom' And I had assumed that his moniker of 'The Tyrant' was rather indicative of what kind of ruler he had been and was probably related to why he was removed. Apparently though.. I couldn't have been more incorrect about that. The ex-monarch is still astoundingly popular here. Though stranger still, when I felt brave enough to ask my own questions in turn about that subject, all I got was dismissive waves and dodgy answers.
There's definitely some sort of larger story going on here.
We were just about to really dig into the meat of how much repairs would be gouging my fortune when some royal guard from the palace named 'Vasili' showed up at the base sweaty and clearly out of his own comfort zone. Evidently the Queen had been briefly visited by her son and was now being 'insistent' that...and I'm quoting her here.. 'Barty's little friend' joined her for supper.
And so that about catches us up to my current whereabouts.
Sitting to the left of a Queen/dementia patient who's telling a story about the time a four-your old Bartholomew Kuma scratched up his knee while play-fighting with some sticks.
As I said earlier. I don't really understand how today ended up like this.
"Ehehehehe." The Queen squeaked out her dry laugh. "He was such a rambunctious little boy." While Connie pats me softly over the arm in that way all old women seem to do, I scan around the room trying to get a feel of the waitstaff. While a number of their expressions seem a tad strained, there isn't really anything to suggest that this is unusual behavior for the dowager.
"Something the matter dear?" Connie asks, her expression turning slightly down.
I turn back to the woman and put on my best smile. "No ma'am." I reassured gently. "I just wanted to apologize again for the mess in the city."
Connie squeezes my arm -though I barely feel it- and offers a watery grin. "Don't worry about it dearie. Barty told me it was just some friends getting a bit rowdy. Nothing to fret over."
One of the main doors is just about bashed open, giving the nearest guard a jolt, and a butler approaches the table briskly, wringing his hands together nervously.
"My deepest apologies for interrupting your majesty." he spits out quickly, his words traced with concern. "But I must inform you. There's been a..discovery.. in the kitchens. One of the cooks found it in the pantry while preparing dessert."
Without waiting for a reply the butler shakes his hand in a 'come quickly' motion towards a second servant waiting in the wings who then enters with a stringy mesh bag full of what I believe are guava's. A green-skinned fruit with a tasty pinkish center. What's immediately striking though is the newcomer is holding said bag as far away from his person as possible. Almost as though he's afraid the thing will curse him if it gets too close.
As he approaches the table, nearly tripping over his own feet in his hurry, it becomes obvious why he's acting the way he is. Sitting right in the middle of the net, three rows down and second from the left, one guava is much different from the rest.
I almost don't need to [Observe] the thing. Though I do anyway just to be sure. What followed was a long-winded paragraph of things I already knew. Cursed item, three kinds, can't swim, main form of magic in the One Piece universe yada yada yada. Nothing new here. I skimmed through it all until I reached the final five words right at the end. Proving what was obvious to suspect.
Bird-Bird Fruit Model: Toucan.
'That is a remarkable amount of coincidence. Almost astronomical. Of all the places for it to spawn in the world..'
Connie peered at the Fruit with an appraising expression. Evidently knowing exactly what it was despite her withered faculties. "Oh my." she remarks. "It's been such a long time since I've seen one of these.."
There's a stretched moment of silence as the staff are waiting for the Queens judgment on what to do with the cursed item when, "Let Barty's friend take it."
I begin choking on my water mid-drink while the butler seems to rear back and physically balk at the request. "Your majesty! These..items..can be worth fortunes! We can't just give it aw-"
Connie isn't listening though. She's focused on me coughing from water going down the wrong pipe and has somehow misinterpreted the cause of my distress. "Ohh..do you already have one dear?"
I roughly swallow and cough once to clear my chest. "Uh- no. No. I just don't think-"
"Oh good!" The lady rejoices as she clasps her hands together. "It's so rare to see one of Barty's friends. I'm glad I can give you something for visiting." The superstitious cook, well ready to be rid of the accursed thing, shoves the whole bag of guava's in my lap and scurries off with a shudder.
Alert! You've encountered a Devil Fruit! +2 LUK!
LUK (74) → (76)
I look at the retreating chef with a bit of disbelief. 'Wow. I knew Devil Fruits were rare enough in the Blue's that some don't even think they exist..but I didn't think there'd be people who thought they could literally be cursed by them.' I turn my attention to the mesh bag and gently set it aside in the empty chair next to me. 'Well..I suppose.. there's nothing wrong with just hanging on to it.. I'm sure I'll find a use for it someday.'
With the interruption now over, Connie immediately starts the next story. This one being when Kuma was eight and wanted to build his own fort in the middle of the palace entry hall. Then came the tale of him being five and hiding behind a curtain while her husband held court. Before she can truly get started on the time he snuck out when he was nine I decide it's time to politely interrupt.
"I'm so sorry ma'am but.. I really should be going now. I still need to go.." I pause as I choose my words carefully. "..pay for the mess my friends and I made."
"Ohh, so soon?" Connie's pleasant mood quickly turns downcast. "Before you go can I ask something of you dear?"
I incline my head lightly. "Absolutely ma'am. What is it?"
Connie nibbles at her lower lip and then looks up at me with a perfect blend between hope and sorrow. "My Barty's always been such a good boy...he tries to do too much though you know?" The Queen pauses to smile wistfully. "Help look after him for me will you? Make sure he stays out of trouble?"
At her request I received an all too familiar 'Ding!'. I tried to keep my expression unchanged as I read over the new pop-up through my periphery..but I failed as a subtle rigidity cramped up my posture.
I've long since noticed that whenever the [Game] wants to tell me something it has a penchant for being a bit..wordy. Most of the time that's a good thing though. Extra detail is almost universally a positive. I just want to quickly acknowledge the fact that if often offers me a paragraph when a sentence would service just as fine.
In this aspect this newest pop-up was quite distinct from it's predecessors. Distinct in the sense that it was noticeably unwordy. Outside of the [Game] specific language -those things such as 'New Quest Alert!'- I think it was only about 15 words long.
It's also the first [Quest] I've seen where I'm just about 100% sure I was going to end up failing right from the get-go.
Because as it is... I don't see any way possible for me to succeed.
Ding!
New Quest Alert!
Quest: Save Bartholomew Kuma. Never before has the phrase 'easier said than done' been so appropriate.
Reward: 10 instant Level Ups, +200 LUK, and a meeting with the [Admin].
[ACCEPT/DECLINE]
Though with [Reward]'s like that on the table..I've got to at least give it a shot right?
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