Chapter Text
“Why are we in Paradise again?” Shanks asked as we docked on an uninhabited island for some rest and possible restock.
“I heard that Newgate was in the area, so we’re gonna pay him a visit and see if Aniki can ask for Oden’s help in studying and translating the Poneglyphs,” I explain.
“Does he know we’re coming?” Shanks asks.
“Eh, what does it matter?” I shrug. “It’d be nice to have a good friendly fight for a change, it’ll be challenging without the threat of death.”
“Oi! We have Marines on the horizon!” Buggy shouted out.
“Really? Out here?” I looked up, surprised. “There’s no squadron that normally patrols over this area, it’s not on any of their normal routes.”
“Then it looks like they’re here specifically to capture us,” Roger concluded. “How many ships are we dealin’ with?”
“Just one! Nothing major!” Buggy responds.
“Ah, they’re probably being led by a newer officer that wants to make it big by having us as their first capture,” I guessed.
“Really? Oh well, let’s just clear these Marines out then head on to the next island,” Roger ordered.
“Aye Captain!”
“Shanks, Buggy, stay out the way and keep lookout for anything else,” Roger told them.
“Yes sir.”
We waited for the Marines, who were all armed and ready with their swords and guns. It seems only two of them have a ‘Justice’ coat on their back, so those are the only officers on board. They’re not any higher than Lieutenant though, as they’re still in more casual clothing than those in Lieutenant Commander and above wear to signify their status.
“They don’t seem to be any higher than Lieutenant, Aniki,” I tell him as I observe. “Most likely the one in charge is a new Lieutenant while the other is an Ensign, this is shaping up to be a bit boring.”
“Really? Oh well,” Roger said while shrugging. “I wanna move around though, so we’ll just deal with it.”
“Alright then,” I nod as I bring out my regular hybrid form. What? No need to waste so much energy in my awakened form for cocky Marines. Especially if this is the day that I’m thinking it is, then I’m gonna need my energy for later.
“If you wanna catch me, bring Garp or Sengoku!” Roger stated as he smiled at the Lieutenant that he’s holding by the collar of his uniform. “It’s no fun fighting against you guys!”
“Told you it was shaping up to be boring,” I sighed as I sat on the Marine ship that was cracked in half and unusable. Courtesy of my Dragon’s Breath, of course.
Looking around, all the Marines in the area were on the ground, moaning and groaning and all. The swords they carried were either stuck in the ground, snapped in half, or just straight-up shattered. The guns were all busted up too, as are their cannons as they were on the ship that I destroyed.
“AAAAAHHHHH! CAPTAIN!” Buggy screeched as he looked into his binoculars. “THERE’S WHITEBEARD’S SHIP ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THE ISLAND! IT SEEMS LIKE THEY NOTICED US”
“Oh? So they were around here after all,” I looked in the direction I heard a lot of Voices gathered.
“We just finished fighting, Roger,” Rayleigh reminded.
“Oh please, that was more of a warm-up,” I chimed in.
“I agree,” Roger nods in my direction. “Whitebeard, huh? It’s been a while.”
“Try since God Valley,” I teased.
“Yeah yeah,” he shrugged. “Alright! Let’s do it! We’re only able to fight each other while we draw breath.”
“Aniki, please don’t make this depressing,” I tell him.
“My end is nearing,” Roger responds. “This could be the last time I see him, Whitebeard.”
“WHO’S THAT?! HE RUNS SO FAST!” Buggy screeched as he continued to look through the binoculars. “Is he a samurai?!”
“Samurai?! The one that everyone’s talking about?!” Roger looks in the direction the Whitebeard Pirates were in.
“Gun Modoki!”
I look over and see some of the newer crewmates get bulldozed by Oden and his two swords. I got off my seat on the Marine ship that I wrecked and positioned myself in between Rayleigh and Gaban Rayleigh unsheathed his sword, Gaban brought out his two axes, and I clicked my claws together, all of us ready to fight at a moment’s notice.
“He’s as strong as they say,” Gaban acknowledged. “Should we stop him already?”
“Yeah.”
“Wait a sec, Gaban, Rayleigh, Roselle!” Roger ran up from behind us. “I don’t want you to get hurt!”
“You just wanna fight him,” Rayleigh and I said at the same time.
“And you know even if he cuts me in half I’ll just put myself back together,” I added.
“He’s not listening,” Gaban groaned.
We watch as Roger and Oden get closer together, both smiling at the thought of their opponent.
“I smell a beast!” I hear Oden say.
“Hey, Samurai,” Roger casually greeted as he got closer and withdrew Ace from its sheath. Quicker than Oden could react, Roger was ready to attack him head-on, swinging Ace which was clad in Conquerors-infused Armament in a horizontal slash.
“Divine Departure!”
Just as I remember from the original timeline I read, I watched as Oden was thrown back into 6 trees before colliding with one of the tree-shaped rocks that they had on this island.
“What the hell was that?!” I hear Oden comment as he pried his body out of the crater it created. “Damn! I can’t let that slide!” He stated once he was free and started to run back.
I feel the wind shift slightly, and when I look up to see what caused it, I see Newgate in the air. He landed in one of the taller trees and immediately hopped back out, heading in our direction.
“Here he comes,” Roger mumbled as he coated Ace in Conquerors-infused Armament Haki again.
I watch as Newgate does the same with the blade on Murakumogiri, both hands on his naginata as he winds up to attack. Roger puts both his hands on Ace and stabilizes his feet, choosing to start low and slash up to clash with Newgate. And clash they did, even though they weren’t touching each other, the sheer amount of power coming from the clash was breaking the ground underneath our feet. I was able to keep myself steady by using the claws on my feet to dig into the ground, but I saw Oden having to use one of his swords to anchor himself into the ground.
It was the longest Conquerors Clash I’ve witnessed so far, granted I’ve only seen a couple but that’s not the point. Once they parted and stepped back, they had one of the fiercest staredowns I’ve seen in a while before they smiled at each other and set their weapons aside.
“You look great, Roger!” Newgate greeted.
“How long has it been, Newgate?!” Roger responded.
“Coming up on 12 years Captain,” I answer for them.
“Really? It’s been that long?” Roger looks over at me briefly before turning back to Newgate.
The staredown returned for a second before the two of them just started laughing. Although the two captains were laughing together, you could feel the tension in the air, each side having their crews prepped and ready for battle. That included me of course, and since this is a relatively friendly fight, this will be the first one that we’re willing to allow Shanks and Buggy free reign throughout the fight. When the laughing stopped, they returned to staring each other down again, but that was only for a split second.
“Whatever you’ve got, hand it over!”
And with that, the fight’s officially begun.
“Let’s go!” Marco commanded, shifting to his hybrid form.
“Rob them!” Gaban shouted, pointing one of his axes alongside Rayleigh’s sword at the opposing crew.
Both crews charged at each other, swords drawn, guns blazing, and battle cries ringing out. I decided to step back and watch the initial clashes before joining the fray. Definitely not because I wanted to see who was a part of the initial crew before it became the giant-sized crew that I knew it would be by the time Luffy sets sail. Nope, not at all.
Honestly, I forgot that Whitey Bay was an immediate crew member for a good while before she became her own captain. Same with Andre. Rakuyo doesn’t look much different, just younger, same with Fossa, except he has more hair and no mustache. Vista though, he might look younger now, but I’m so glad he eventually grows out of those bangs and styles his hair differently. Those bangs just don’t fit him, and he needs his signature mustache as well, it fits him. Marco, although he’s 19, his face looks like that of a teenager. Honestly, he’s kinda lucky, because back in the Wano arc in the manga/anime, the man still looked like he was in his mid-to-late 30’s when he was 45. Still though, Marco looks more cute than he does as the confident and intimidating pirate that he will be in time.
I’m choosing to not look for Teach, I know he’s here, I can feel and hear his slimy Voice. But to not make this an actual clash between pirates and because I don’t have evidence besides ‘I saw it in a vision’, I’m leaving him alone.
I look over and see Whitey Bay with her sword out and slicing some of the weaker members of the crew. She’s wide-open and seem to have no other opponents. Seems like a great time to join the fight.
I let my wings out and decide to fly in, claws out front and coated in Armament, ready to crush her. Whitey Bay turned toward me and at the last second, blocked my attack, though I could feel her struggling to keep her sword in place, along with a couple of chips along the edge. After a second, she decided to step back, making me lean forward a bit. She was going to take advantage of the fact I’m supposed to be off balance to get a decent hit on me. It’s not gonna work though, it seems she forgot about the wings on my back that I can use to move my body around in the air.
We clash a second time as I flipped forward and brought my right leg down in an axe kick while she struck with a low diagonal slash. The sword landed on my heel, exactly where I wanted. With the sword positioned the way it is, I was able to twist my leg around a bit to have my foot against her blade’s flat side. From there, I was able to push the sword, and by proxy, Whitey Bay herself, into the ground. I didn’t break the sword, this fight is going to last multiple days, I’m not so evil to break her sword now. I did make sure the tip is very much into the ground though, she’s going to have to spend some time digging it out.
“You’re good,” I complimented. “Don’t worry I didn’t destroy your sword, but have fun digging it out of the dirt.”
“Damn you,” Whitey Bay grumbled.
“Now, who looks fun to fight?” I ask myself as I walk away from Whitey Bay and observe the warzone the island has become.
Day Two
Rayleigh is just plowing through some of the fodder ranks of the Whitebeard pirates, each opponent of his going down into the muddy ground after a couple of sword slashes.
“Don’t push your luck!” Marco called out as he charged at Raleigh through the rain with his talons. Though his expression shifted to surprise when Rayleigh stopped the seemingly powerful attack with just one finger.
“I’m always serious, young man,” Rayleigh reponds to Marco’s statement. Honestly, if Rayleigh wasn’t serious as often as he was, I doubt the Roger Pirates would’ve made it as far as they have. That doesn’t mean he didn’t have his moments of dumbassery though, you can’t be a Roger Pirate without having a really crazy and stupid side to you. In battle though, yeah you won’t catch Rayleigh trying something stupid unless Roger eggs him on.
I look over to see Rakuyo spinning his spiked flail, getting ready to attack. When I saw that the one he was going to be aiming for was Shanks, I decided he was going to be my first opponent for this rainy day. I leap over and cover my claws in Armament, landing in front of Shanks just in time to catch the flail with my hands.
“This one is a little strong for you little Red, go find yourself another opponent,” I tell him.
“Thank you!” He shouted as he ran away with Buggy following behind him.
“You care a lot for those kids,” Rakuyo commented.
“Of course, they are my nephews after all,” I gave him a smile, though I know it didn’t reach my eyes. I could see his body stiffen up a bit from my expression, seems he realizes that his opponent right now isn’t going to be very easy.
“Well then, let’s see how you handle my special creation,” Rakuyo challenged, gripping the chain on his end tighter.
I look down and see the canines the flail has, which would probably give it a mean bite. But it seems like it doesn’t want to bite me, as its mouth stays closed while its still in my hands. Interesting. Wonder if it has to do with the fact that I’m slightly coating my body in Conquerors Haki to add extra power to my strikes.
“You talking about the canines here on your flail?” I ask, even though I’m pretty sure of the answer. “Because if you are, then sorry to disappoint you, but it doesn’t seem to want to bite me.”
“Huh?”
“Well, too bad, I wanted to see what it could do, but it looks like that’s not happening,” I say as I grip the chain connected to the flail. “But let’s see what you got!”
I pulled the chain hard, causing Rakuyo to tumble forward and almost trip on his own feet. I spin to my right to pull more of the chain to me and to get him closer, then pivot with my left foot to deliver a spinning kick to his neck. I keep my foot hooked on the crook of his neck and slam him into the mud with my foot between his shoulder blades. Due to the sudden tumble down his grip on his end of the chain loosened enough that I could pry it out of his hand. Since I’m a fan of chaos and love watching people try to mitigate it, I decide to knot up his chains to the point that I would consider just getting a new chain. Knots on rope are very different then ones on chains after all.
The disadvantages to long-range weapons like this. If it wasn’t for the fact that it could be easily grabbed at the other end and used against me and that knots can possibly develop during a fight, I would’ve used something like this. I’m more inclined to weapons with longer ranges like the Naginata, I was good with a whip and chains but using them in a fight wouldn’t have ended well for the reasons I already mentioned.
After messing around with Rakuyo’s weapon, I plop it right on his back, making him groan at the sudden additional weight on his back. I giggled at the sight of it, and walked away to find my next opponent.
Day Three
Everyone on both crews were tiring out, seeing as Gaban is the one going at it with Oden and both were getting sloppy with their attacks.
Roger and Newgate were still going though, but what else is new?
Me? Yeah, I’m feeling the exhaustion a bit, but I’m good to keep moving around.
Since I can see Gaban getting sloppier by the second, I decided it’s time to tag in.
“Hey Gaban, need to tag out?” I ask, walking over to the two sweaty and dirty men.
“You wanna go at it?” Gaban asks as he blocks Oden once more.
“Yeah, I’m good to go despite fighting for three days straight,” I put my left hand on my waist and hold my right hand up as I wait for him to move over to me.
“Alright then, tag, you're it,” he said as he rushed over to me and high-fived the hand I held in the air.
“Right then,” I nodded as I made my way toward Oden.
“You sure you’re good for a fight?” Oden asked. “Your weapon seems to have either been destroyed or lost, I don’t want to fight without my opponent being able to go all out.”
“Oh don’t worry, the only weapon I need is my Devil Fruit,” I assure him as I bring my claws up and cover them in Armament. “Let’s see if you can push me to go all out, I haven’t found anyone strong enough to push me that far since we fought Shiki at Edd War.”
“Right then,” Oden nods, brings up his swords, and charges at me.
I catch both of them with relative ease since it wasn’t anything grand, nor was it coated in Haki. “Oh honey, you’re not gonna do anything to me if you don’t use Haki. Don’t hold back on me, I need some fun out of this too you know.”
“I see, seems I’ve greatly underestimated you then, for that I apologize,” Oden jumps back a bit and coats his swords and arms in Armament. “I won’t hold back now. Oden Nitoryu:”
I see his swords angle diagonally, it’s not just a slash that causes two different cuts. It’s one that cuts while the other supports and reinforces to give it more power.
“Tougen Shirataki!”
Of course, there’s one problem with this move. And it’s actually something that Zoro said himself. Each blade you add on, the weaker your attacks will be with each individual sword. It’s why his most powerful attacks are when all his blades come together at a single point, as they support each other. This attack, however…
“HUH?!”
A singular blade is doing most of the work, meaning it’s possible to block. If I were to catch the leading sword then the second one loses power and it’s done. In no way is it always this simple, the difference in strength and the weight of each sword are also factors. Oden is strong, really strong, so strong that I’m struggling to hold back the sword with one hand, and I’ve been blocking swords with one hand this entire time without problems. Any normal swordsman wouldn’t be able to simply block this attack, no way. But when he goes up against people who are on the same level of strength, it’s easy to defend against.
“I must say, that’s an impressive attack,” I commend. “However you’re gonna have to try harder than that.”
I use my left hand to grab his elbow and pull him closer to me as soon as I finish talking. Oden being off balance allowed me to lift my was right leg-turned-claw that was clad in Armament and dig it into his gut.
“Dragon’s Talon”
That pushed Oden back far. Naturally, I followed his path so we could continue. I started walking again when I had him in eyesight, looking relaxed even though I was ready to pounce at a moment’s notice. I was about to ask if he was alright but then a flash of bright blue came to my mind.
I brought my hand up to block Marco’s attempt at a sneak attack with his talons. His eyes widened at the similar move to Rayleigh, probably realizing I’m a lot stronger than I look.
“It’s not nice to get in the middle of one’s fight, but then again we’re pirates so I guess we can do whatever we want,” I say as I held my hand up to continue blocking the talons that haven’t backed off.
“I guess I should’ve expected you to be as strong, you’re Gol D. Roselle, Roger’s sister,” Marco said.
“That I am,” I confirm before I push his talons away and turn back to Oden. “You good to keep going?”
“Heh, of course,” Oden said as he stood up.
“Mind if I join? I haven’t seen you push harder than some Haki-coated claw attacks,” Marco asked as he goes into his hybrid form.
“Sure why not? Make this more fun for me,” I shrugged before I lowered my center of gravity and got into a stance.
“Hope you don’t regret it!” Marco said, launching into the sky at the same time Oden charged at me.
“Gun Modoki”
I saw how this move broke through some of the crew, but it’s not a slashing attack, purely brute force. So, I’m gonna use that force. I run to face Oden head-on, but before his attack can hit me I jump up a bit and place both feet on the singularity point. I use the forward-moving force to add to the jump I made to get level with Marco. Did I just use him as a human springboard? Yes, I did. Was it necessary? No, because I have wings of my own. Was it cool and fun? Absolutely.
“The hell?!”
I manifest my tail (which I consistently forget about since I’m rarely in my total beast form) and clad it in Armament before I swing it at Marco.
“Dragon Tail”
Yes, I used another move from Pokemon. It’s cool, okay? And it’s effective because Marco didn’t defend against it and started tumbling to the ground. When I started falling, I see Oden preparing another attack as he crossed his swords. I smirk as I’m sure I know what that attack is and I’ve been waiting for him to bring it out. To properly combat it, I do a front flip to add momentum to the clawed-and-Haki-coated axe kick.
“Tougen Totsuka”
“Dragon’s Talon”
Oh yeah, this is becoming a proper clash.
Day Four
Of course, this entire thing turned into a gift exchange. That’s just what happens when you come across two crews that get along with each other. Rayleigh was watching over them, making sure a fight doesn’t break out again. Shanks and Buggy are over there too, though I don’t think they'll be a part of the exchange. I just hope they don’t interact too much with Teach, I don’t want Teach to start suspecting me now.
Roger, Newgate, Oden, and I were alone though, the Poneglyph copy I got from Totto Land on the floor in between us.
“Hey, Oden! Can you really read it?!” Roger excitedly asked as he leaned over the Poneglyph.
“Yes, I can,” Oden said after a moment. “I can read it, but why do you have this writing?! Knowledge of this script has been passed down from father to only one son per generation in the Kouzuki Clan.”
“As to answer how we have this copy, it’s because Aniki wanted me to sneak into Totto Land and steal it right under Linlin’s nose,” I explained while Roger was drinking from one of the bottles that we brought up. “I’m good at this kind of stuff, so I got in and out without anyone knowing I was even there in the first place.”
“In and out of Linlin’s territory without anyone catching you? Impressive feat,” Newgate nodded at me.
“Why did you even want it in the first place though?” Oden asked.
“It’s already been 13 years,” Roger started as he put the bottle down. “We finally made it to Lodestar Island, the last island that the Log Pose points to, which no man has ever set foot upon. But we noticed when we disembarked that that wasn’t the last island! The needles on the Log Pose just kept spinning and didn’t point to anywhere! I was convinced. There was one more island! When I make it there, I’ll be the first person ever to travel all around the world!”
Roger stopped for a second to grab and hold up the Poneglyph copy before he continued. “And the location of the island is detailed in the writings on four of these red stones! But the World Government has always forbidden anyone from deciphering them. They’re called Poneglyphs. I thought they were just cultural artifacts, but they were actually an important map for us which indicates the location of the last island. The Government is telling us not to go to the last island which could hold a vast amount of treasure! That makes it even more tantalizing! If we can get there, we’ll be in name and deed… the world’s greatest pirate group!”
I giggled at the reactions of Newgate and Oden. I already knew this, after all, he did accomplish what he said he would.
“The world’s greatest…?” Oden muttered.
“You must be surprised, Newgate!” Roger noticed. “That’s right! Then I’ll…”
Oh.
So this is his and eventually Luffy’s shared dream?
I see why everyone laughs at it and calls it a crazy and childish fantasy, hell I’m about to start cackling over here.
Nevermind, I am cackling. At least Newgate is joining me though, so it’s fine.
“Seriously Aniki, I love how your mind works,” I said once we both calmed down and Newgate was drinking. I’m not lying though, because I can get behind that dream.
“What are you talking about, Roger?! That’s a child’s fantasy!” Newgate commented.
That got the three of us laughing again for a second. “I’m serious, Newgate!” Roger stated once we calmed down again. “Please! Just for a year will do. Let me borrow Oden! This is a once-in-a-lifetime request! With him, I’m sure I can get to the last island!”
“Huh?! Oi, don’t be selfish!” Oden stammered back in shock and slight anger.
“Please, Newgate!” Roger lowered his head towards the two. “I’m begging you!”
“Hey, stop, Captain Roger! He’s our enemy!” Gaban shouted over.
“Oi, Roselle! Get him to stop!”
“Stop! That’s pathetic! Don’t bow your head!” Oden insisted as Roger didn’t lift his head even after all the commotion.
“Please Oden!” Roger continued. “Accompany us on our journey just for a year!”
Newgate shattered the bottle of alcohol in his hand (thankfully it was empty) and yelled as he raised his hand and punched the air to the side. “Screw you!” Once the earthquake created by the punch subsided, Newgate continued talking. “Roger! Are you trying to take my family away from me?!”
“Not at all,” I continued when Roger wouldn’t. “We wouldn’t be asking if it wasn’t the only way. Wano is a closed country, so the World Government’s restrictions don’t apply to it, including the prohibition to reading Poneglyphs. Not only that, but the Kouzuki Clan were the ones to create the Poneglyphs in the first place. In fact, I’m sure that’s why they pass down this knowledge to each generation, to ensure that they can protect what they hold. There’s literally no one else out there that can read this, so we’re left with this. As Captain said, we just need him for a year, once that year is up, he’ll give him back to you.”
“White-Kichi-chan!” Oden spoke up after a second. “I wanna go! Please allow me to go! I wanna see the last island that he talked about!”
I watched as Newgate’s face contorts into this weird expression that I thought he was going to shit himself for a second. Though using Observation Haki to perceive his emotions, I can tell he’s just annoyed that Roger managed to sway Oden.
“He’s annoyed…” Oden mumbled.
“Of course I’m annoyed!” Newgate griped. “You and I are like brothers!”
“It’s just for a year, White-Kichi-chan!” Oden begged.
Naturally, Newgate is still annoyed, if a bit pissed, at the fact that Oden was swayed into going with us. He showcased that as he stood up and punched the air behind him with both hands, causing a massive earthquake that shook the entirety of the island.
“Please.”
“Roger, don’t give them food,” I tell him.
“Why not? I need to show him I’m grateful that he’s letting Oden come with us for the year!” Roger complained.
“Because then he’s gonna get upset at the fact that we might not have enough to feed Oden, he knows how we D’s eat,” I reasoned.
“Oh, yeah he would wouldn’t he?” Roger pondered as he looked up at the sky in consideration. “Well, I guess more treasure to him it is then.”
“Keep enough for us to get supplies,” I remind him.