《A New Path》 Chapter 1 - Chapter 1 "It''s time to wake up now, you hear me?" An old man was sitting in a lotus position, watching over the soul silently hovering in front of him. "Ugh," A single strained sight came from the soul at first. "Where am I?" - ??? And aged voice escaped the soul silently hovering there in space. "That would be the land between existence." "In between land?" "Indeed! Let''s make it easier on you and just say that this is heaven. Or at least something similar to it." "So I really died then. What a strange feeling this is." The aged voice said with no worry present in the tone. "For someone who just died you are pretty cool with it, aren''t you?" The man in a lotus position said calmly. This was not the first soul that was this calm. Usually, the younger the soul is, the more annoying they are to deal with. "My time had come so this should be the natural reaction. Plus, I haven''t allowed myself to show emotions for the last 70 years. Why would I start now." The soul said with as he stated, no emotions in his voice. "In your business I hear that could be a deal-breaker." The man said a little amused. "Ye well, as a professional murderer, emotions can get in the way from time to time. Just easier to make sure that they never come back." The soul said and while reminiscing about his past. "How about we get down to business instead. I am god, THE god as I am sure you have already figured out." "Ye, that is kinda obvious but just the aura you''re releasing from your body." "So what do you want with me, God?" "I am here to grant you your wishes. Whatever it is, I can grant it. Just shout it out." "Do I even deserve that after all the people I killed?" The soul said. Still no emotions present in his tone. "hahaha, boy! Compared to me you are a freaking rookie. Literally, the number of things I have killed can not be counted by even myself. I have destroyed universes and rebuilt them because I was bored. Good and evil is something you guys came up with. That never existed before I created life. I have killed more people than the devil himself, as you call him. That has nothing to do with why I chose you. I just simply like your easy-going lifestyle and I am offering it to you again, in a different world." God said while laughing. "Oh, I guess it makes sense though. If I had to live for that long, I would definitely have killed so many things as well. Where is the fun in peace and love." The soul said. Tiny, tiny, slip of emotions was leaking out from him. It was pure childish excitement. Excitement for what his new life would bring. "Right, you are indeed correct in that. Killing is fun, even for a god. That''s the one thing that never gets boring. Now for your wishes. I have picked a world for you to reincarnate in. Just pick your wishes." God said, now very amused with this little soul in front of him. "How many do I get?" "I am god My power literally has no roof. No limits. I can grant wishes forever. Pick however many you want. I don''t care so take your time as well. I enjoy the company here." God said while sipping some tea he got from nowhere. "So bothersome. Let''s just pick a few good things so I don''t have to make hundreds of different wishes. Let''s see..." "First, I want one of those fantasy systems or whatever. My grandson told me about those novels, you see. No little girl voice or weird personality traits. That''s just weird. Give the system a calm and soothing voice with no real personality. Thanks." "Done. now anything else?" "Oh btw. About this system. What do they include? I don''t know much about them specifically. I was always more fascinated by the mystical and wonders worlds that got created from these stories, you see." "I will make sure it has everything you will ever need," God said and waited for the next wish. "Oh great. So for the next wish. I want full immortality. Has always been a big dream of mine to live forever in a fantasy world." The soul drifted in thought for a moment. "Okay, anything else?" The god was mighty impressed with the character this soul had. It had been a long time since he enjoyed a talk with a soul this much. "The system will have everything I could possibly wish for, so there is no point in wishing for anything else is there?" The soul said after a while. "Well yes. I can make it so. Do you want that as your next wish?" "Yes, and give me the appearance of Monkey D Dragon. I always wanted to look like him." The soul said and now the excitement was a little more apparent in the way it spoke. "About your name. I don''t think you want to keep the name Albert! It isn''t the most badass name out there you know. Might wanna pick something else." God said before he forgot about it. "Right, you are right. hm, now what should I pick. So many options." The soul said while pondering. "Figure that out when you get over there. It''s time for you to go. I love to have you, but now that you are done here I can''t actually keep you locked up here so I need to send you away. I have other customers you know. I am very busy actually." God said and sighed. "Oh, of course. Have a good day. Wait.. that would be, have a good life. That sounds more appropriate." The soul said. "Of course. Now let me send you away on your journey." A black portal appeared under the soul and it got sucked into it and disappeared from that place. "Live well!" --------------------- End Chapter 2 - Chapter 2 A portal opened up inside an alley in a pretty big city. The city itself was on the sitting on the border between being a town or full-fledged city. It was a beautiful city with many different people running around. "hm, I wonder where God sent me. I forgot to ask him about travelling to different worlds and all that. Hope I can do that in the future though." He said as he looked around. He suddenly noticed that something felt different. He had all his memories from his past life and he was sure that this is not his old body. "So I got a similar outfit as well. Guess the change occurred already." He looked down and noticed that he was wearing the clothes Dragon had on in the one-piece story. So naturally, the feeling he had came from the fact that he was now a little over 250 cm tall with long black hair and a rough and manly face. "I like it. Definitely better than before. I like this body as well. Feels great to tower over almost everything and everyone." He didn''t literally tower over houses or anything but this height felt just that different from his past in where he was about 180 cm tall. "Now I should explore this system first. Then I can explore the world. Now how would someone go about activating a fantasy system.." He sat down against one of the walls of the alley. Even in this sitting position, he would still tower over the average kid. "Activate!? System!? I command you to start??" He tried many different commands but nothing happened. ''what the hell? he could have at least explained how I activate the system before sending me away'' [I am here to serve God!] A soothing older female sounding voice echoes inside his head right after he spoke to himself inside his head. "System? is that you?" He said out loud again and it took a few seconds before he got a response. [Yes! Please speak to me internally. We don''t want anyone finding out about me now do we.] The voice of the middle-aged woman sounded out inside his head again. ''I suppose. This actually makes it easier. Lucky that the god thought about this. It would truly be annoying if people found out about this.'' He said as he sat still there with closed eyes. He tried to focus on the voice so he could hear it more clearly. ''System. Did you call me god or the actual god?'' [Host is my god, so I was instructed to refer to host as "god" from time to time. You did not create me but you are my only god and no one else. For that is how I was created.] There was barely any emotions in the voice. Just like he requested from God. ''I see. Let''s just keep it like that then. Now show me a feature of yours.'' he said and opened his eyes. [Okay God. Close your eyes again and say the status of the word in your mind.] ''Status'' --------- [Name: [Age: 114 [Title: The True Immortal [Race: Human ---------- ''Neat. So I really became immortal. I will need to test that soon so I will know for sure. I don''t trust titles at all. I didn''t in my last life and definitely won''t in this life either as it saved me many times to not trust them. ''Do you have any more features?'' He asked the system. He wanted to know everything about it before dealing with the loose ends. Like the whole naming thing. [I have three more features. Inventory, store and World Travel. Would host like an explanation.] ''No, I think they are pretty self-explanatory. Something to put things into and the other to travel worlds. The last one is used to buy everything I want. Does any of them have any limits?'' [No! God creates nothing short of perfect. You have infinite space and you can travel to anywhere you desire. You can buy anything that has ever been created and it''s all free.] ''Okay, I see. That should do it. Now to figure out in which world I am in. I could probably ask the system, but it''s more fun to find out for myself.'' "Oy, man. You look like a rich fellow, so hand over the wallet you''re hiding under that robe of yours" A voice sounded out beside him while he was thinking about his next step. ''Oh, Perfect. I need to test my immortality anyway.'' He looked upon the four rough-looking youngsters holding one knife each. The obvious leader among them held one knife in each hand. "Are you deaf or mute old man. Give us everything you have on you or die. We are four against one. Don''t try anything funny with us." one of the boys beside the leader said to him. He just frowned at them, to which they smiled thinking he was afraid or nervous. "How old are you four. 16? 17? What are you doing going down this path in life." ''Not like I have the right to judge something like that. What a hypocrite I am.'' He was still sitting down against the wall so the four boys didn''t realize just how tall he is in this new body. "Shut up old man! Just give us everything you have." The leader said while raising his knifes a little higher. "You have never killed anyone before, have you. Not even hurt an animal. Right? You are a hundred years too early to stand on this stage with me." He half borrowed a cool quote he had ones heard and mixed in something of his own as well. He finally stood up and his incredibly tall height coupled with his deep and growl like voice scared the shit out of the boys. "B-Boss. Maybe we should rethink this whole thing. L-Look at him. he is a freak of nature." A boy in the back said with a hushed tone so the man couldn''t hear him. Little did he know that there was nothing he said that he could hide from the giant before them. "Shut up! stay back there, coward. We should never have brought you. Let''s go, guys!" The leader said to the other two beside him and all three ran at the man with knives in hand. He scanned the boys properly for the first time since they arrived. Time seemed to have slowed down as his eyes darter from each boy to the next and he already knew almost everything about them, when it came to combat at least. From just one look he had figured out exactly what each boy would do in a fight. They were complete rookies in every sense of the word. ''He in the back reminds me so much of Riley, my second grandson. I won''t hurt him that bad because it would feel like beating up Riley. ha, ha,'' He laughed to himself while the boys just arrived on either side of him. In this small alley, he had one boy on his right and left side. The leader stood in front of him. The leader jumped forwards with his lackeys joining him soon after. "TAKE THIS!" He thrust the knife forward and was extremely shocked when he felt the knife enter the man. He was a hundred percent he would dodge but when he didn''t and his attack connected he released his knife right away. "Oy, what''s the problem boy? Never killed before?" He looked at the three boys that had stopped in their tracks and at the same time he pulled out the knife. "No Don.." The leader said before shutting up. His hands were shaking and he wanted to puke when remembering the sensation of the knife entering the man. That sensation was the worst thing he had ever felt. "Why don''t you guys just get back home and go to bed. But first, let me teach you what I am." He said, and the next second he stood above three downed boys that had lost consciousness. "Wh-What are you??!" The last boy dropped his knife and fell down because his knees were too weak to hold him up anymore. "hm, what am I? Who am I? Great questions are they not." He put his hand on his chin and started thinking. ''I have taken a body from One Piece so I should take a name from there as well. Well, I only know a few names so let''s combine two and make something cool out of it. Yes, that''s what I''ll do.'' "ahem. Listen, well boy. I am Portgas D Dragon. I am a world traveller. Nice to meet you." Dragon said and offered a helping hand to the boy he saw had troubles standing up from all the fear he caused here today. "N-Nice to meet you, M-Master Dragon!!" The boy said while being incredibly unsure of how to address this man before him. "No need to fear me, boy. Your friends are not dead, I only knocked them out for a while. They are completely fine." Dragon said while he started walking away from the alley. "T-They aren''t my friends!" The boy yelled this as he got too excited for a moment and couldn''t properly control his voice. "Well, what are you waiting for then. Come along, boy." Dragon said while waving his hand still his back turned as he was walking away. The boy showed a shocked and confused expression for a moment and then ran after Dragon to catch up to him. ----------------------------- End Chapter 3 - Chapter 3 Dragon was sitting on the roof of a random house. He had been given the full break down from the boy, that he found out was named Rainer. He knows knew a few important things. The town he was in was called Magnolia and he was sure that this belonged to a manga that he had read in his previous life. This theory was supported heavily by the fact that a ways away the one and only fairy tail guild is in the process of being built. He could see all the founding members. Mavis and the rest, they were all there. ''I guess I can join them now. I should really get myself some magic before i do that though.'' ''System, open the shop for me,'' [Shop] -------- [Magic] [Weapons] [Techniques] [Clothes] [Summon] [Misc] ------- ''hm, system show me what magic you have available here.'' [Fire Magic [Water Magic [Lighting Magic [Gravity Magic [Wind Magic . . . . . . . Dragon looked at the list and confirmed it was nearly endless. He couldn''t believe this many existed. There were some crazy powerful abilities on this list that he really wanted, but he thought it would be good to at least start with only one magic for now. ''Oh, before I forget. System, buy me instant mastery.'' [Purchase complete] ''Great, now system, buy me complete wind magic'' This was something different from normal wind magic. Normal only had limited control of wind in this world, while this magic had full and utter control of everything related to the winds or air itself. [Purchase Complete] The winds around the top of the build where he was sitting started revolving around him in fast speeds. It was like it welcome home it''s long lost, master. "Oh, this feels really nice. Thanks to my previous life and instant mastery, I can already control the winds perfectly. This will be fun I think." Dragon was now standing on the edge of the house and after a few short moments, he took a step out into mid-air and dropped down towards the ground. Dragon was approaching the ground as he was falling, but when he was about to crash down he slowed down magically and he made a graceful landing for himself. ''Now to find the guild'' Dragon started to walk in the direction of the guild he had seen from on top of the building earlier. The winds around him would always be strong now, so all the people he passed felt the increase in wind pressure and then drop when Dragon had fully passed again. "Mavis we can''t have a wall in the middle of the guild. You can''t change the blueprints we already drew. Stop trying to make this harder then it has to be." A man looking to be in his prime said to a small girl that was jumping and shouting about they have to make the guild bigger. "He''s right Mavis. The guild house can''t be bigger now. Stop trying to change it. The blueprints are done and that''s final. This is how our guild will look and nothing can change that, not even you Mavis." A man with blonde hair said and backed up the man that spoke before him. "Fine, fine, you are all just meanies. I just wanted us to create the biggest and nicest guild of all time." Mavis said and pouted cutely. "It''s already a splendid guild Mavis. Look, we''re all here building it together and that is what matters here." The fourth founder person jumped into the fray of the conversation. "Thanks, Warrod. That means a lot to me!" Mavis said and smiled kindly making Warrod blush from how beautiful she is. One of the men in the group looked up and he tensed up slightly. The others noticed his behaviour after a few moments. "Precht, what''s the matter with you?" The man with blond hair said to the tall man that was now full-on edge. "Yuri, and all of you. Do you feel that difference in the air? The winds are picking up, and it''s all imbued with magic. Try and sense it." He said as he watched the area around them. "Your right. Someone is conjuring this wind. They are powerful too. This wind feels dangerous and so does their magic. Stay alert!" Warrod said while standing with closed eyes. "There! Him, he is the one that''s doing it." Yuri said and pointed in the distance towards a man covered in a green cloak and walking towards them. All of them could sense the incredible magic on that man. It was almost more than all of them combined. ''system, explain to me again what I just bought.'' dragon was completely oblivious to the eyes that were locked on him. He had bought something that looked handy in this world and he had massively underestimated that purchase. [Emperor''s road] Gives host the Emperor''s road passive ability of an ever-rising magic power. Your magic power no longer has a limit and it will never stop getting bigger and more domineering. This passive ability translates to any and all other energies that the host comes in contact with.] '' wow, I should really start reading the descriptions before I buy these things. System, buy me complete cleaning magic. For both my clothes and body. I hate shopping.'' [Purchase complete] ''Sweet. Now where am I?'' Dragon finally paid attention to where he was and it surprised him greatly where he ended up. Right in front of him stood the four people he was looking for. Most of them looked at him with wary eyes except on little girl in the front. She looked incredibly excited at his visit. "Walking without paying attention is a dangerous habit, friend. It could lead you to places you don''t wanna go." Precht said to Dragon and flared a little of his magic. Not enough to instigate a battle but enough to get Dragon''s attention. "JOIN OUR GUILD!" Mavis yelled and ran up to Dragon without a care in the world. The other three just sighed and showed annoyed expressions. "MAVIS! Could you not have waited until I was done with my questioning first." Precht said in annoyance at her behaviour. "Sure, I''ll join. I was looking for some friends or something. I''ve never had any so if you''ll accept me then I will gladly accept your offer Mavis" Dragon said with a smile and his magic spiked unconsciously. ''What an absurd amount of magic power. I wonder how strong someone like that is.'' Yuri stared at Dragon with both jealousy and interest. "Great! Now the building will go smoother." Mavis said, but she suddenly turned around and looked at Dragon again. She had walked back but something just registered in her brain. She walked up to dragon again and then placed a hand on her own head. She traced it to Dragon''s body and then her jaw hit the floor. "WAAAAAAAAAAAAAH" Her hand barely reached his waist and the others also just realized he towered over them completely. "WHAT THE HELL!" "First time I''ve seen someone so tall." "huhuh, interesting, indeed." All guild members said their piece but Mavis still stood there staring at Dragon. This made him feel like a zoo animal, which in turn made him uncomfortable. He has never been good in social situations at all. "How about we introduce ourselves then." Dragon said and tried to get Mavis to stop staring at him like that. "Sure, My name is Warrod. This here is Yuri and the one over there is Precht. And you already know Mavis. Welcome to our guild." Warrod said with a thumbs up. He was all for new members and this one seemed really interesting. "Glad to be here. My name is Portgas D Dragon." Dragon said and finally put on of his hands-on Mavis head. This snapped her back into reality and she gave him her biggest and most beautiful smile. "Welcome Portgas D Dragon!" After this, they all started to get back to building the guild. ------------------------------ End Chapter 4 - Chapter 4 Inside the newly constructed guild building in the town of Magnolia, Mavis was standing on the counter and looking out on her members. She had been chosen as the guild master because no one other then she wanted the position now. "Dragon come over here! We need all of us in this photo." Mavis was trying to organize so the five of them could take a picture together. "ye, ye, I''m on my way. Calm it down Mavis, and why do you always have to yell." Dragon stood up from one of the benches and walked over to the place where the others were at. "It''s more exciting that way." She answered him with enthusiasm. "Guild master, that makes no sense," Warrod said from the corner of the room. He was just like Dragon, not really into the idea of being in the picture. "ALL OF YOU COME HERE NOW!" Mavis said for the last time and whipped out her camera to take the picture. "Say something funny!" She said as she took the picture on herself with all the other behind her in the photo. The photo was quickly framed and put in the guild masters room for her to enjoy. It had been a few weeks since Dragon joined and he was not really against the idea of friends or allies. He never had anything similar in his last life, so this was something different. He had a family but they barely knew he existed. He was almost like a shadow protecting them from out of sight. Right now, Dragon was standing before the newly created request board. All missions here were highly dangerous and a long way from Magnolia. It was mostly extermination quests from organizations or villages that had bandit problems. "Which one are you taking, Dragon?" Yuri came up behind the huge man dressed in a dark green cloak. Yuri had met someone very special lately, so he was always in a good mood. Overly talkative and supportive. "I''m thinking of doing this one." Dragon pulled off a special request that was the most highly paid out of all of them. "hm, a dragon sighting is it. Fits you i suppose, ha, ha." Yuri said and wanted to hit dragon on the back but because of his height he almost hit dragon on the ass, so he took back his hand quickly. "What a funny guy we have here. I just want to test my strength against a dragon. It should be pretty exciting I think." Dragon said and ripped the paper off from the board. He walked downstairs with Yuri. They were in fact on the second floor where the more dangerous quests lay. You needed the guild masters blessing to walk up on that floor. "HEY dragon. Are you going on a quest now?" Mavis was sitting on the counter and drinking with Warrod and Precht. They all looked a little drunk and it was only noon. "Ye, i chose one of those long quests. Don''t think i will be back for a while, so take care of the guild, you hear me." Dragon said and you could hear the wind picking up outside the building. "Nothing will *hic* happen to the guild while I''m still here," Mavis said and swayed back and forth. "hm," Dragon started walking to the door but before he even reached it, his body slowly transformed into wind and he disappeared from the guildhall. "What an enigma he is. Can''t wait to see the result from his quest." Warrod said while downing another cup of alcohol. "Not to mention that crazy magic power he has. I''m sure it''s grown since we met him. It feels like his magic power has no limit." Precht said with red cheeks from all the alcohol he had downed this morning. "It doesn''t matter. He is a friend, so we will wait until he is ready to talk about it. That''s what friends do." Mavis said happily. She had most alcohol in her body out of all of them. Outside of Magnolia, Dragon appeared again. These small wind tricks was nothing to him now. He could transform his body into wind and travel forever if he wanted to. His magic power supply was so immense that it would probably never run out. "Okay, let''s see here. It should be this way, right." Dragon looked at a small map he had gotten from the guild. When he had confirmed his direction he started walking. He wanted to enjoy the world so he wouldn''t travel by magic or anything like that. -A month later- He had finally arrived at a mountain and this was the place where the Dragon had been sighted. It was one of the biggest mountains he had ever seen up close, and he could feel the strong magic here. "Human! You dare trespass on my mountain. Are you looking for death." A huge dark brown dragon appeared in the air and flew down and landed in front of Dragon himself. "I was requested to come here and see if the rumors about a dragon was true. It appears they are." He said as he looked at the massive body of the dragon in front of him. "So, what do you want, Human" It spoke in a threatening tone. "If you were here, I was asked to eliminate you." He said with no emotions in his voice. "YOU DARE!" This seemed to have agitated the dragon. Not really a strange reaction to someone saying they want to kill you. "I suppose i do. Prepare yourself dragon." Dragon flared his magic and the winds around them picked up speed. He and the dragon both waited for the other one to make the first move. Dragon waved his finger a little bit and sent an incredibly powerful wind pressure to attack the beast and it couldn''t react in time and got hit hard enough to crash into the mountain. "Damn you human!" The dragon raised his voice and prepared to attack. It was shocked and confused because this human managed to hurt it quite a bit with just waving his finger a little bit. "No, i expected more from you then this. You are such a let down, little beast." Dragon said and flicked his wrist in the dragons direction to summon the winds. A great pressure attacked the dragon forcing it to the ground and the winds were too powerful for it to fight against. "Now it''s time to die, little dragon." An extra powerful and sharp wind slash appeared and beheaded the dragon instantly. The beast lost it''s head immediately and Dragon watched as blood appeared like a fountain from the neck of the dragon he just killed. ''Guess I''m really strong. I wonder how this world compares to other that i will visit. This certainly has to be one of weakest.'' Dragon started thinking while standing there watching the blood spread over the ground. --------------------------- End Chapter 5 - Chapter 5 Years had gone by and Dragon was now walking back into Magnolia again. He had wanted to leave but a strange feeling was still lingering inside his heart. He figured that he still had something to do here, even though he had no idea what that was. "Oy, Master Dragon. Welcome back home!" On the bridge that was built over one of the city''s canals, stood a young man. It was Rainer, one of the young boys Dragon had met all those years ago when he first arrived here in this world. "Thanks, Rainer. How are you doing?" The winds were always strong around him and since his power never stop growing, the whole town was full of incredibly strong winds. Everyone understood that this was a sign that Dragon was back in town. He was incredibly well respected here. His power was feared and he was respected by everyone, not just the guild. He had also bough perfect energy manipulation, just to be sure he never killed anyone on an accident that he didn''t want dead. So coupled with instant mastery, he had every ounce of his power under perfect control. No matter how much it grew he would never lose control. "I''m fine, thanks. I''ve decided to join fairy tail soon since I have pretty good control of my magic now. I think I am strong enough to join your guild now." He said and flexed his arms. "Strength has nothing to do with it. Fairy tail is looking for comrades and not soldiers. And it''s not my guild, because I''m hardly there. Mavis and the others are the ones running the show. I''m simply back here in the shadows taking on quests for the sake of money and adventure." Dragon said but with no emotions on his face. "Master Dragon, you need to start smiling a little or you will never find yourself a good lady to settle down with," Rainer said with a big and teasing smile. "Stupid boy. Run along and practice your magic. You can''t slack off or you will never beat me in your short life." Dragon waved him off and continued walking as normal towards the guild building. He quickly came up on the guild and already out here on the street, he could hear the party going on inside. He heard the drunken yelling of Mavis and the complaining of Precht. The doors to the guild flew open by a strong gust of wind and Dragon walked through the doors and watched as all eyes landed on him. He saw many new faces and also the same old he had known now for years. "eh, who the hell are you to barge in here and disturbing the party?!!" A very drunk guild member walked up to Dragon and stared him in the eyes. The fact that Dragon was over 2,5m didn''t seem to register with this man. "I am Portgas D Dragon. I am a member of Fairy Tail, nice to meet you." Dragon said with a calm and neutral look on his face. "AAH, and why have I never heard of you then?!!" The man said now circulating magic in his body, ready for a fight. He put some strength behind his fist and tried to punch Dragon in the stomach. The fist was simply caught by Dragon without any effort and he threw the man outside onto the street. "Go sober up. you''re too drunk." Dragon said and walked deeper into the guild, still with no emotions on his face. "HA, HA, HA, THAT WAS FUNNY DRAGON. WELCOME BACK!" Mavis said while standing up and yelling so it echoed all over the guild. Everyone had to cover their ears because of this. "Tone it down will you." Dragon said while he sat down at the counter and ordered a drink from the man behind the bar. "How did the mission go?" Warrod said and he was the only one not drinking at the moment. "Success of course. There were no rouge wizards, it was just weak bandits. That was definitely no S-class mission." Dragon said with disappointment. He was almost ready to leave now. He felt he had experienced what this world had to offer at this time. He wanted to meet Natsu and the rest so he would return eventually but for now, he was thinking of leaving and exploring another world. "I see. My bad for recommending that one to you. I''ll let you choose your own this time then." Mavis said and smiled kindly, of course still very drunk. "Mavis, this time I think I''ll be away for a while. I have somewhere I want to go and I might never come back again, it all depends on what I find over there." Dragon said and Mavis and the rest of the founders sobered up immediately. "Where is this place and why must you go there?" Yuri said from the side with a concerned face. "I can''t tell you, Sorry. I just don''t want any of you to get any stupid ideas and try to follow me there. But I will hopefully return in the future and see you all here again." Dragon usually stayed for a week every time he returned but this time he headed up stairs to take on a final mission. Dragon picked up an elimination mission. It was a request to eliminate a new and upcoming evil cult before they became too powerful to fight. They had been growing fast and no one knew how they had managed to do this. "Let''s hope for a real cult this time, shall we." Dragon waved his hand towards the rest of the guild on his way out the door and again like all other times, he disappeared like the wind. "Mavis, do you think he''ll return again?" Yuri asked his guild master. "ha, ha, definitely. He has all the time in the world after all." She said in a mysterious tone and continued drinking while ignoring the questioning gazes of all her guild mates. Precht became especially interested in what she just said. ----------------------------------- Dragon had travelled for thousands of miles and finally, he arrived in front of a cave that was hidden deep inside a forest area. The information didn''t specify their location, but for Dragon that was not an issue at all. He sensed everyone inside the cave and he even picked up on people that didn''t seem to be part of the cult, but was actually prisoners. "Observation Haki sure is useful in this situation. Why doesn''t everyone in that world practice this, it''s so useful." Dragon said and walked towards the cave. He saw two people in front of the cave that was dressed like bandits. ''Make it look like a bandit cave. The is certainly not as high as it would be if they were wearing robes.'' Dragon walked up to the cave and startled the guards sitting outside. "STOP RIGHT THERE!" One of the two cult members drew their sword and pointed it at Dragon. The stance showed that he was quite proficient in the art of the sword. "Not a bad stance there, youngling. But that''s not enough to defeat me. Surrender or you will die." Dragon said while standing in a lax position. "Don''t screw with us. Night guides us, so we can''t die!" He screamed while running towards Dragon, not minding his height at all. He slashed out horizontally towards Dragon, wanting to separate him in two pieces. "Too naive!" Dragon stopped the sword with just one finger and a fast but powerful wind gust appeared and sliced the head of the young cultist. "WHAT!!! HOW DARE YOU!" These people didn''t seem to know fear at all. The other man showed no fear even after what Dragon did here. "Die!" This was all Dragon said and another gust came and claimed the life of the other young man. ''Now to rescue those prisoners.'' Dragon walked into the cave and immediately he saw many tunnels, and he followed the one that would take him to the prisoners. "WHO ARE YOU!?" In a big circular room, many different cages were placed on the floor and they were filled with man and woman looking all beat up. They all reacted to the guard screaming at Dragon. None of them had lost hope on getting rescued. They were all incredibly strong-willed people and they all hopped for rescue. "I''m here to take those back with me and destroy the little cult that you have set up here." Dragon said and the light in the eyes of the prisoners got brighter at every word that came out of his mouth. "Bastard! Try that, and I''ll kill you." A middle-aged man said and signalled the other men in the room to draw their weapons. "I don''t even have to try." Dragon appeared behind the middle-aged cultist in less than a second and grabbed him by the throat and snapped his neck. The other didn''t even register he had moved at all. They were all staring at where he had been standing, and so was the prisoners. No one noticed him moving. "KILL HIM!" The others rushed at him, but a strong gust of wind blasted them all into the walls of the cave so hard that their heads split open. They also had multiple cuts all over their bodies, thanks to the gusts of wind. "That should do it." Dragon said and waved his finger and all the cages were cut into pieces by the wind that appeared out of nowhere. The prisoners just stared at Dragon without moving, all but one woman. She was young and beautiful, just like a goddess. At least according to Dragon, she was. "Eh, Sir? Are you there?" Dragon lost his ability to speak momentarily. This woman had literally made him lose all words in his brain. "Eh, y-yes. Sorry. I just got lost in my own head their for a second. Are you okay young miss?" He asked while looking a little awkward at the same time. "Yes. Thanks to you we all are. At least the ones that are left." She said, looking a little sad. Dragons guessed their rising in strength had something to do with sacrifice. That would explain this mass of people. "No worries. Go wait by the entrance to the cave. I have cleared the forest of danger so wait there until I am done in here." He said to the rest of the group. They all nodded and smiled at him. Their spirits were still going strong. ''These people are very impressive. But what was that woman, and what was that feeling I felt right there? It felt like she stole all the words I had in my head. I have never felt anything like that.'' Dragon watched the last of the people leave the room, and then he finally proceeded further inside the cave by himself. There was multiple cultists in every room ahead and Dragon sent a gust of wind to kill off them all. That was until he came to the last room of the cave. ''What the fuck! I am pretty cruel, but this is an entirely different level. This is nothing but pure and utter evil.'' Dragon was standing at the entrance to the last room in the cave. It was a huge room, with about 50 meters in height and 30 meters wide. What shocked Dragon was what happened in the middle of the room at this current moment. In the middle of the room, there stood a huge cauldron and a fire underneath it. Above it hung a cage filled with both men and woman. "So this is how you fuckers have been increasing your strength. What the fuck kind of ritual is this anyways." Dragon said, startling the people standing below the cauldron. "Who are you?" Said someone that had his face covered by a mask and a hood. "A giant, boss? I didn''t know they existed." Said another person besides the masked individual. "Doesn''t matter. Kill him! He has seen too much!" The masked man didn''t even bother looking at Dragon anymore. "My pleasure. Come here ant." The man said and prepared to draw his sword, only to find out that he couldn''t. A massive hand was keeping his own arm in place, so he couldn''t draw his sword. "I am not longer in a mood to play with you." Dragon said and karate shopped the man''s head so fast and hard that the head exploded into a thousand pieces. "WHA..!" The masked person found a hand gripping his throat and he couldn''t breath at all. He tried to move his body, but something that felt like the wind was locking down his body completely. "Suffer!" Dragon said with a low and dangerous tone. He created a vacuum around the man''s head and made sure the masked man suffocated at the slowest possible rate. "Damn, at least I feel a little better now after doing that." Dragon dropped the body and pushed the big cauldron aside so he could release the people without dropping them to their deaths. Same as the others, winds came and cut apart the cage and the prisoners dropped down slowly because the winds carried them down towards the ground. "T-thank you so much, Sir!" A man got down and bowed to Dragon in respect. The rest followed suit and bowed as well. "No need. Come now, we have to get out of here. Most of you need medical attention." Dragon started walking and the people followed. On the way, they saw all the cultist cut apart and they got more and more respect for Dragon. "Sir, did you do this yourself?" The man that started the bowing asked respectfully. "hm? If you are referring to the bodies, then yes." Dragon said, but he didn''t turn to look at the man. He was focusing on what he would say to her when he would meet her at the entrance. "That''s amazing! You''re a wizard, right?" That young man in his late 20s asked while getting more excited. "Yes, I belong to the Fairy tail guild. It''s in Magnolia so go there if you ever need anything done. You can''t get better wizards then that." Dragon said that from his own experience, but also because he kind off knows the future members a little. He had read most of the manga so he knew a fair bit about them all. "I will definitely join you guys in the future. I am a wizard as well." He said proudly. "That''s good then. Make sure you do that!" Dragon said and just then something sounded out in his head. *DING* [Host received a message from God. Does host want to open now?] ''Oh, what could this be?'' ------------------------------------- End Chapter 6 - Chapter 6 Dragon arrived outside the cave with his following just behind him. They were all following him like loyal puppies at this point. They had all seen his speed and magic capabilities so they were bombarding him with questions and he even got asked to take some of them in as disciples. He of course refused and he started to get very annoyed about all the questions. All he wanted to do was deal with the problem that was the message from god. "You''re back!" The young woman from earlier came running. She had been standing at the entrance with a worried look the entire time. She calmed down immediately when she saw Dragon walking out of the cave with the rest of the prisoners. "Of course. They were even weaker then a dragon so there is no way that they could be a threat to me at all." Dragon said with a calm tone. His rage from before was gone now. It was not his first time meeting someone completely evil so he adapted quickly and went back to his neutral look. "AH! Mister have you fought dragons??" A boy came running after he heard what Dragon said. He had an incredibly excited look on his face, but under that you could see that he was still terrified. Dragon was a master at reading people, and this little boy was hurting badly inside. "Be more respectful Lucas! He saved our lives.!" The woman scolded the boy quickly, clearly afraid of offending the man that saved them. "Sorry, big sis!" The boy said and hung his head in depression. "It''s okay. It was just a question on his part. And to answer that. Of course i have, it was a mountain far west from here." Dragon said while patting the boys head kindly. "Oh, that was really you? You''re a pretty hard man to find, Sir..?" Another young man that looked to be in his 20s walked up to Dragon. "Portgas D Dragon. Please call me Dragon." He said and shook the mans hand, not bothering commenting on the hard to find part. That was kind of his whole point in remaining moving all the time. "Nice to meet you Dragon. My name is Elijah Parson. I am a member of the Magic Council and we have been tracking you for some time now. As i said, you are a very hard man to find. Mind if we have a little chat?" He said with a friendly tone. Dragon detected no malice, only wariness from the man so he accepted the offer. "Everyone, take a break for a while. We will continue journey forwards shortly" Dragon made sure his voice reached everyone here before he beckoned for Elijah to continue speaking. The boy and the young woman were looking at Dragon with stars in their eyes now that his kill on the dragon was confirmed. "We are establishing a group of highly skilled mages to work in line with the magic council. They are to be called the Ten Wizard Saints. We would really like you to consider this offer." Elijah said, still holding his friendly tone towards Dragon. There was also a lot of respect in his tone. Not just anyone can kill a dragon and this huge man was one of the few that stood a chance against a dragon. "hm, what benefits would this bring me?" Elijah immediately became happy because this meant that he was considering the offer. "Quite a lot, but a few would be that you will have better standing with the council. Certain actions may be overlooked, as long as it''s nothing major of course. This would mean more security for your guild, Fairy tail i believe it is." Dragon reacted to that. Because he was going to leave eventually, he could do this to make sure that the guild had some more benefits. The guild had grown on him and this was the least he could do for them. "I agree! On the condition that my position isn''t number 1. That would mean more responsibility and that is something i don''t have time for." Dragon said finally. "I see, though you will have to come over to headquarters since i can''t make you an official Saint here. I hope this is acceptable." Elijah bowed slightly, now very happy because of Dragon''s response. "That''s fine. I''ll swing by in one weeks time." Dragon said and stood up. He and Elijah had walked a bit away from the group to talk about this. This was still confidential. "It''s time to go everyone. Follow me, as we will have to walk to the nearest village." Dragon made his voice spread out by using his wind magic. Another handy trick that he had picked up from that magic. --------------------------- End Chapter 7 - Chapter 8 A few weeks had gone by and Dragon was sitting inside a cafe of the village that he had delivered the prisoners to. He had gone to the magic council a few weeks prior and accepted the title of 8th Wizard Saint. They agreed to his request of making it a low rank and he also told them to never bother him to which their jaw dropped a little. Except for signing a couple papers nothing else happened. He met no other Saint so it was not an interesting even in his adventure at all. ''Damn that old man. He sure is having his fun.'' Dragon was thinking about the message he received from god. It was something he never expected. The had given the system a quest section because he didn''t want Dragon to go bored all the time. ''System, open up the quests'' [Yes, God] The system answered with a sweet voice. [Quest] -Build a family -Create an Empire and spread it out into the multiverse. ----------------------------------------------------- '' *sigh* Why did i get this. Did he feel sad for me and not wanting me to spend eternity alone. What a kind old man he is.'' Dragon sighed and walked up and exited the cafe. ''How am i suppose to build a family. An empire is easy, but a family. I don''t even know how i got there in my last life. And now i have to figure out that again.'' Dragon walked down the street while sighing to himself. He had every eye locked on himself wherever he went. He had gotten used to it by now but it still felt uncomfortable that almost every eye held respect and love so close to worship that it was almost scary. This was the village that the cult had attacked and kidnapped from so when Dragon walked in with hundreds of people thought to be dead, he earned the title of hero in this town. Because of his unique look no one could mistake him for someone else, so it was impossible for him to stay low anywhere in this world. He just stood out too much. ''I know where Zeref''s empire is going to be in the future so i won''t build anything there. I suppose i have to build everything from scratch. Good thing i bought every other element magic as well. They will certainly help here.'' Dragon decided what to do, so he took flight, scaring all the people that was eyeing him silently with loving eyes. He knew Zeref''s empire would lay to the west so he headed in another direction straight over the ocean. He just hoped that there was no other continents here, or maybe he could do what Zeref did if he found another continent. He would wait and see when he got far enough away from this continent. After a few hours of flying he finally came upon a small landmass. Though it was only small in comparison to the previous continent he had been on. It was still pretty huge. It looked similar to Australia from his previous life. ''This planet is huge, i have to give it that. Earth is not even close to being this big. At my speed i could have circled Earth by now.'' Dragon scanned the landmass and saw that only beasts lived here. That meant a few dragons that seemed to share the land by territory. The rest were filled with wild life and smaller beasts the dragons probably hunted for food. ''And now to quickly become the boss here on the island. Which one is the strongest.'' Dragon scanned the whole place with his magic sense and found the beast that seemed to be the strongest of the bunch. Dragon picked up speed and in just a few minutes he arrived at a big open grassland with a small mountain a few hundred meters in front of him. This grassland was in the middle of a forest, so he was surrounded by tall and lush trees. ''Time to come out and play'' Dragon though and flared his magic so much that the ground started to crack and a few was at the risk of uprooting from the intense magical pressure coming off him right now. "Who is it that has come here to challenge my claim to the throne." A deep and mature female voice came from a cave in the mountain. Together with it came an incredible magic power that matched Dragon''s own. Out of the cave came a big and beautiful Black dragon with stripes of purple on it''s scales. She stared at the human that was simply staring at her and expecting him to answer her question by stating his name. When the human didn''t say anything but just stood there in silence, she grew angry and charged him looking to crush him with her claw. "DIE!" She struck down at the human and a big explosion occurred that caused the ground under the human to completely break apart. She smiled happily and removed her claw and started making her way back to her cave. "Was that all you had?" From behind her, she heard the human speak in a tone filled with arrogance and mockery. She turned her whole body around and stared at the human with an angry look. "I crushed you." She said in a low and dark tone. "I don''t think you did." He said with a neutral face, staring into the dragon''s eyes. "Then we''ll try something else" She quickly gathered her magic and prepared to use her magic to kill this human. "No you don''t!" Dragon flashed and instantly appeared above her head, floating casually. He coated his arm in haki and punched the dragon in the head so hard the dragon crashed on the ground and almost lost it''s life right there. "What strength. What are you?" The female dragon said weakly while looking at the human standing there with his usual dark green cloak covering his body. "I am a human and my name is Portgas D Dragon. From today and until forever, this island belongs to me. Remember this or i will kill you next time instead of just knocking you down." Dragon said and flared his magic power even higher. It rose to such extreme that the dragon could barely comprehend how someone could have this much magic in their body. ''Definitely not human.'' She though as she looked at Dragon as his magic settled down again. "What do you say, Dragon? Will you continue to fight me to the death? Or live and serve me instead." He said while looking straight into those Draconic eyes. "I am here to serve, My Lord!" The dragon got up weakly and did a proper bow towards what she doubted was a human being. "Good. Now let us go and tame the rest of you." Dragon said and walked away with the female dragon following him on weak legs. ------------------------------------------- End Chapter 8 - Chapter 9 A few years has gone by and Dragon was finally done terraforming his new island into the literal definition of paradise. It had high mountains with deep rivers. Steep ravines and beautiful and big waterfalls. incredible fields of all kinds of flowers. It looked like a reincarnation of paradise. "A masterpiece if i have to say so myself." Dragon was hovering in mid air and looking upon his newly created masterpiece. Suddenly a huge shadow appeared behind him up here in the air. "My Lord. This island has truly become the paradise that everyone should hope to visit in the after life. You have created heaven here." The one speaking was the huge dragon that he first defeated when he came here. "Thank you, Alora. Now that the land is ready, the empire can eventually settle down here." He flew over and sat down at Alora''s head. "Now what is an empire exactly?" Alora asked while watching the beauty that her lord had created. "I guess you''ll see when we get to that point. But essentially it is a mass of people getting together to create a great military force. My empire will be the biggest this world has ever seen." Dragon said an tapped Alora on the head signifying her to fly down and land on the ground. Let the others know that i will be going back to the other continent. Make sure you all protect this paradise island of mine." Dragon said to Alora as he jumped off her head. "Don''t worry, My Lord. You have dominance here and this island alone is enough for us to give our lives to protect. No one will step a foot on this island as long as we are here. I promise you that." Alora said and bowed her head in respect and awe for her Lord. "Good! I trust you Alora. Now, await my return and make sure to train as well. Strength is what decides where you stand in the world." Dragon said and walked to the end of the cliff leading to the ocean. He suddenly turned around and threw something at Alora and she caught it with her massive claw. "Anyone carrying that symbol has free passage onto this island. If their carrying this symbol then it means that i personally gifted it and they have almost as high status as i have. You will treat them accordingly to those standards. Is that understood?" He looked seriously at Alora and that badge she now had laying in her hand. "Of course, My Lord. I will treat them as if you are standing before me personally." She bowed again and Dragon smiled for the first time in who knows how long. He walked up to the edge of the cliff and jumped off. "Time to head back. I need a good drink." Dragon was falling towards the ocean below and when his body hit the water he dove right in and disappeared below the surface. A few seconds later he resurfaced and he literally surfed on the water itself. He had bought all the four basic element magics and he had perfect control in all of them. He was now being carries by a small water wave as it rushed forwards towards Ishgar. ------------------ Dragon had now arrived back in Ishgar and he was sitting inside a familiar cafe inside a very familiar village that had now become a pretty big town. It was the same village as he visited all those years ago after he had destroyed that evil cult. "Here you go, Sir." A lovely lady came and served him his drink. She looked to be late 30s to early 40s, but she still held on to her natural beauty. She would be able to compete with the best of them. She had aged well is what you could say. "Thank you, miss..?" Dragon inquired about her name. "Sylvia. My name is Sylvia, Sir." She bowed a little as she shook his hand. "Nice to meet you. My name is Portgas D Dragon." He said with a calm but kind tone. "Yes, i remember you very clearly. You are the reason i am alive today. I am guessing you have saved so many people that you simply don''t remember me." She said as her cheeks became a little red. "You do look familiar but i can''t place you anywhere. You mind helping me out a little?" He said while looking at her and trying to figure out why she looked so familiar to him. "You were the one to defeat the cult that were held up in the cave system not far from here. I was the young woman that you talked to after you saved us from those cages." She said and she was beaming with happiness. "Oh, right. Still just as beautiful i see. It''s nice to see you again, Sylvia." He said with the same tone as before. He was about as tall as her even while sitting down so their faces were facing each other right now. "oh my, thank you so much. So what is one of the Wizard Saints doing back here?" She said and he offered her a seat and she sat down. Now he was looking down on her and she was forced to look up at him. He tried to make himself as small as possible. "How do you know i am a Wizard Saint?" He questioned. He had not done something on Ishgar in many years so he hoped people would forget about him. "Are you kidding? Who doesn''t know Dragon, the Saint. You are pretty much a household name at this point. Do you know how many Wizards dream about joining Fairy tail because they know you are a member of that Guild." She said now laughing at Dragons shocked reaction. "Well, this is certainly not something i anticipated. What a bother. I don''t like fame or fortune." He sighed bitterly and tried not to get depressed about this development. "Oh, i wouldn''t worry about that, Dragon. No one has ever seen a picture of you. Your deeds and your fights are public record but not a single photo exist of you so no one but the council would know what you look like." She said after she stopped laughing at his expression. "Lucky me. Being famous is so annoying." He said and downed his whole mug of alcohol. "Give me another, would you." He said and showed his empty mug. "Certainly." Sylvia disappeared in to the back of the cafe, then after a while she came back with a barrel full of alcohol. "Today we''re getting drunk, Dragon." She said and gave a quick tap on the barrel and then filled her own mug of alcohol. "ha, ha, well alright then." He quickly shut his mouth. Did he just laugh? How long has it been since he laughed even a little. Dragon had no idea when last he let even a simple laugh slip out. "How about your other customers?" He looked around, but of course they both saw that the place was empty at the moment. "It''s closing time. We have this place all to ourselves here." She emptied her cup and gave both of them a refill and they both emptied them again. This continued all night long. ------------------------------ End Chapter 9 - Chapter 10 "Argh, my head. What the hell happened last night. And w-where am i?" Dragon''s whole head was spinning. He noticed he was laying in a bed and he quickly made sure of something. YEP. He was naked. ''Did i?'' He couldn''t finish the thought because he felt something move beside him. He looked over and under the covers on the other side of the bed layed Sylvia completely naked. He sighed in annoyance. ''I really did it. Now this is a problem. I need to think here. How much did i tell her about myself.'' Dragon layed back on the pillow and sighed heavily. It was enough to awaken Sylvia. "mmm, Good morning Saint." She said with pure bliss in her voice and snuggled closer to him. Dragon let her since he didn''t wanna look like a douche. "eh, Sylvia, let me ask you something. How much did we drink last night?" She looked up with an adorable smile on her face. "ha, ha, curious are we? Well in fact. I stopped after the first barrel and simply focused on talking and listening to you. You stopped after 11 barrels of pure alcohol and then we went over to my apartment and well. You can guess the rest i suppose." She said and buried her face in his chest to continue sleeping. ''Oh oh. What to do now.'' He was shifting his gaze between the wooden roof and Sylvia''s face. Which looked absolutely adorable by the way. His third time rotating his gaze, it stopped on her face. His face grew a calm and neutral smile and he got this warm feeling inside of him when he focused on her bodies warmth entering him form the side. ''Guess i could stay a while. As a man, I''ve heard that in these situations i can''t just up and leave, at least not yet. I will have to leave eventually but that doesn''t have to be now i suppose. Now i have a real reason to stay.'' "Hey, Sylvia. Did i tell you anything about myself last night?" He looked at her, and she stayed there with her eyes closed. "How about we talk over breakfast." She said and looked up at him and kissed his cheek. "Sure." He said back and tried to get up from the bed. It proved more difficult then expected because of the crazy headache he had this morning. "How about you just stay there and I''ll go make something for us to eat?" Sylvia got up and left the covers on the bed so Dragon saw her naked body in all it''s majesty. She had big and firm breasts and her proportions were all correct. She had a proper hourglass figure. Fat in the right places with an amazing face to top it all off. "A treat for the eyes, definitely." Dragon blurred out unconsciously and she hear him say it and did a quick spin so he could see her front as well. She smiled and quickly put on some clothes and ran towards the kitchen to fix something to eat. ''This might not be so bad after all.'' Dragon said and cleansed his body with magic, and poof, his headache was all gone. He got up off the bed and hit his head when he stood up. Sylvia''s apartment had one whole floor then one single staircase that went up to the loft where her bed was located. It was a small but cozy place to live. He struggled his way down the stairs because of his big size. Sylvia watched him and laughed really hard. "How is it that you walk better in those stairs when your drunk then you do when you''re not. What a strange man i chose for myself." Sylvia laughed and Dragon looked at her realizing she misspoke that, but she clearly didn''t notice it. "chose? Am i yours already?" Dragon sat down at her table and stared at the back of her head. Even from here he could see her face getting red like a tomato. "E-Eh, n-no of course not. FORGET I SAID ANYTHING." She said in a hurry and refusing to turn around to face Dragons gaze head on. She could feel him staring at her. "ha, ha, it''s okay. I actually decided to stay a while. If that is okay that i sleep over her at your place." He said with his neutral tone. "Of course. You can stay for as long as you want Mr saint." She said and gave him a quick thumbs up, still facing away from him. For this long she had been chasing the same man, and finally she had her shot with him. She was floating on clouds in her mind. "Glad to hear it. How goes the food?" He asked since he was longing for some food. Because he is immortal, his body doesn''t need food, but he still enjoyed a good breakfast. It was still something he probably wouldn''t give up ever. Sylvia finally turned to face him and placed the food on the table. She sat down and waited for him to start but he just kept staring below her breasts for some reason. The look on his face said something was up, but she didn''t know what. "Dragon? What''s going on with you?" She waved her hand in front of his face, trying to get a response. "We''re going to be parents." Dragon said with a tone so calm it was scary. "ha, ha, ha, WHAAAAAAAAAAAAAT!????" Sylvia literally flipped backwards and landed on her back and Dragon finally snapped back into reality and rushed over to her side and picked her up. "Are you okay Sylvia?" He asked while helping her sit down again. "D-Dragon are you sure? How do you know?" She asked him with a look that said she would kill him if he was joking about this. "I am a wizard and I''m powerful. I don''t make mistakes. I can feel it inside you. You are going to be a mother Sylvia." He said seriously to her. "I-I''m going to be a mother?" Tears were streaming down her face. ------------------------------------------ End Chapter 10 - Chapter 11 Nine months have passed for Dragon and Sylvia. Dragon is pacing back and forth because Sylvia is up on the loft with a friend and currently giving birth to their child. These months have been filled with happy memories and he took advantage of it all because he would need to leave soon. He had gotten a few new missions and they were practically forcing him to leave soon. *Baby crying* "Mr Dragon. You can come up now. It''s done." A middle aged lady came and informed Dragon and invited him up to the loft. She spoke with respect ever since she found out about his identity. Dragon was getting more and more famous every week that passed. He had become kind of like the world enigma. No one knew who he was, but at the same time he had multiple confirmed kills against dragons and other incredible feats. He was one of the most talked about wizards in the world. Dragon struggled up those damn steps again to get to the loft where Sylvia layed in the bed looking completely exhausted. She was almost falling asleep, but she managed to keep herself awake until Dragon came. "Dragon. You have a son now." She held out the baby for Dragon to hold. He carefully lifted away his son from Sylvia and she layed back and watched the father and son have their little moment. "I will not always be able to be here and guide you down the right path. But i promise that when you need me the most, i will come and protect you. This is my promise to you as your father." He said and looked at Sylvia. "Sylvia, you brought our son into the world, so it''s only proper that you name him." He said and looked on as his son slept in his arms. "I know the perfect name. Portgas D Gildarts. That is his name." Sylvia said and almost immediately fell asleep. ''Wow! Did i just become the father of THE Gildarts. Why are unexpected thing happening to me all the time. First i find out my name is one of the most famous ones in the world, and now i became the father of Gildarts.'' Dragon called in their neighbor and asked her to take Gildarts for a while. He said he needed to do something important. Sylvia was aware that Dragon had a mission and would need to leave right after the birth. He explained that the mission was something that pertained to the safety of the world and that he couldn''t be around. He didn''t reveal his system, he would never do that to anyone ever. "Make sure Sylvia gets this when she wakes up." He handed over a letter to the woman that held Gildarts. "Of course, Mr Dragon." She said and bowed. The letter explained one final time about his island and the badge and what it did. He explained in the letter that it would guide you to Paradise Island. The letter was for Gildarts when he eventually would want to find out more about Dragon. He would need to visit Paradise Island at that time and the badge was the only way to get there. Dragon had made sure that no one could get there without the badge in hand. He told Sylvia beforehand to only give Gildarts this badge when she felt he was strong enough to face whatever challenges the world would offer. He looked on the childish face of Gildarts one more time and then departed. He had definitely changed from the emotionless killer he was in his past life to what he is now. He wasn''t exactly better with his emotions, but at least he could smile now from time to time. This life felt more real then his last and that''s why he allowed himself to change so much. He actually wanted to change for Sylvia and his son, but old habits die hard. Or so they say. ''Be strong Gildarts and protect your mother from harm.'' He patted the boy lightly on the head and then he walked out the house with determined but also a little regret and sadness. He disappeared into the wind and left the town he had now been living in for 9 months straight. --------------------------- Dragon stood on a mountain and was looking at the system interface. ''Open quests.'' [Quest] -Build a Family (Complete) -Create an empire and spread it out into the multiverse. (Not Complete) Failure - None -Leave current world and travel out into the multiverse. (1 Day left) Failure - Your child dies. ''Why did God force these quest upon me. Maybe God is just an evil being through and through. Someone who enjoys the torture of mortals. Why else would he give me these quests.'' Dragon sighed. He had already decided the next world. There was so many people in that world that he just wanted to brutally kill. Especially the world nobles. He couldn''t wait. ''I suppose i need to change myself for that world. I can''t look like Dragon over there. system, buy me something that can change my form entirely.'' [Identity Modification] [Success] ''System, start that identity modification.'' Dragon said and a screen popped open much like the system itself. Here you could basically customize your body. He scrolled through the presets and found a bleach character he had always liked. He never watched anime, he mostly read manga, but in bleach there was one character he related to a lot more the any other in fiction. It was Ginrei Kuchiki. Byakuya Kuchiki''s grandfather. They almost looked identical in Dragons last life. His body and wrinkled face was almost a copy of Ginrei''s or vice versa. And he agreed with some of the quotes the character had. Not many people would choose an old man like this but he hated these young looking men chasing woman all over the place. He enjoyed his life as an old man, and now he would enjoy it all over again. ''Okay i choose Ginrei Kuchiki and change my height to 3 meters exactly. I am going to the world of One Piece so why not become tall enough to fit it.'' ''Dragon said and a bright light covered his body and after a few seconds, a new man stood in his place. This was Ginrei Kuchiki and this was his new identity. Someone he felt naturally in tuned with. ''Is it weird to say that i miss having my wrinkles. Happy to have you back, ha, ha,'' He touched his face and felt the similarities to his original face on earth before he died. ''system, use world travel and take me to One Piece. Good bye Sylvia, and Gildarts. I will be back soon enough.'' He said and disappeared into a black portal that opened up in front of him. ------------------------------- [It will take 153 minutes to reach destination. God can relax in the meantime.] He had forgotten that the system called him God from time to time, but he didn''t especially care about it. He was the only one who could hear it so it didn''t matter. ''Okay, so i definitely want to be a swordsman here in this world. Let''s browse the shop for the best sword i can find. Open Shop'' [Shop] -------- [Magic] [Weapons] [Techniques] [Clothes] [Summon] [Misc] ------- Ginrei scrolled through the list and saw a weapon he recognized. He clicked on it and right there, he decided that this was the weapon for him. He clicked on it and then told the system to buy it. Instantly a sword appeared in front of him here in the void, floating. The sword was sheathed in a sheath entirely colored black. It was the Murasame, only it was 201 cm long now. A sword from one of the best storied he had ever read. But to be fair, he didn''t read a whole lot so this was just one of the few he had read. He still liked it though. "This feels nice. Now i just need to relax for the rest of the journey there." Ginrei layed down even though he was floating and he closed his eyes to try and enter sleep mode. ---------------------- End ---------------------- If you didn''t notice already. I hate the "young boy godly handsome" kind of writing. Where the Author takes the 20-30ys old guy kills him and he chooses to become a 15 year old boy again. Those novels .. All they write about is how everyone can''t stop staring or chasing the MC because of how handsome he is. Am i the only person who wonders how those authors keeps upping the handsomeness of their MC. Like, how many levels can the word "handsome" have. You are handsome and that''s it, right? Personally, i really like the old man/woman, wise and powerful look. I think i just got WAY too tired of all the novels that reincarnates the MC as this GODLY handsome boy that has beauty that can kill someone and every woman who just immediately falls for him for no reason. All my novels from now on will contain old wrinkly men that fights with other old wrinkly men. I hate that writing style. So few things i can read here, that doesn''t have the word "handsome" in every sentence... Rant over. That felt nice to get off my chest... BYE Chapter 11 - Chapter 12 A black portal appeared above the sea in an unknown location. A incredibly tall old and frail looking man casually walked out of the portal. This was of course Ginrei Kuchiki and he stood at the height of 300 cm tall. When he walked out he noticed that there was no land beneath his feet so he fell down in the air. He made the sea freeze and used it to stand on. He looked around and finally in the distance he saw something familiar. *BOOM* Before he registered what it was, a bunch of marine warships started bombarding an island close to his location. He knew what he was looking at. He would never mistake this island for something else. This was Ohara and this was the buster call of the marines. ''oh, Maybe i should give that lava boy a good scare.'' Ginrei was in fact above 150 years old, or that was his guess. He stopped counting a while ago, so when he called someone boy, he truly had that right since everyone is a child in his eyes right now. He moved in a straight line directly towards Ohara and he could see by using magic sense, and he saw Saul arguing with Kuzan at the moment. Sakazuki ordered his marines to open fire on the evacuation ship. "Men, kill that deserter for justice!" Sakazuki said while pointing his fingers at Saul that had Robin in his arms ready to shields her from any bullet. He knew he couldn''t even touch these two Vice admirals at all. "How about you two boys step back." A dangerous and sharp sword intent arrived and took the heads of all the foot soldiers behind Sakazuki. The sound of bodies echoed out as they all dropped dead on the ground. In front of Saul, Ginrei had appeared suddenly. He had his sheathed katana in hand and looked at both Kuzan and Sakazuki. "Who are you to interfere with justice." The lava boy said with anger. He looked around and saw that only himself and the ice boy was left standing among the marines here. "Now i would not call this justice. Who are you decide what knowledge can''t be studied. All i see is two adults bullying a weak child." Ginrei said and looked at Robin with a little smile on his face. He had been getting better at the whole smiling thing. He could do it now without looking so awkward. "oy, oy, who are you old man? I have never seen you before." Kuzan said while keeping his guard up.. "You two can run along now. They won''t get past me." He said and indicated for Saul to run away. "T-Thank you stranger." Saul said and started running. Sakazuki got infuriated when he saw this and yelled at Ginrei. "How dare you block the way of justice. DIE!" He ran and jumped at Ginrei with a fist covered with magma. He put his full power behind this because he also felt that this old man was dangerous. "You are about a hundred years to early to fight me lava boy." Ginrei said and disappeared from the spot instantly, almost like teleportation. Sakazuki landed on the spot he had been standing and looked around. Suddenly he felt danger from the left, and tried to punch whatever it was. But he was way too slow and a fist got properly planted on his face, and sent him flying into the side of a hill a few hundred meters away. He had been knocked unconscious. "Ice boy, i can sense you have no malice towards the little one. So do you wanna fight me as well or are you gonna give up and just grab that lava boy and sail away?" Ginrei quickly shook off some lava that was present on his knuckle. "oy, you''re a dangerous old man. *sigh*. I have no interest in fighting you. I wouldn''t stand a chance against you." Kuzan said and held up his hands in defeat. "That''s the spirit. Now go grab your friend before he dies of blood lost. I punched him quite hard." Ginrei said and put his hands behind his back, military style. "Before that. Mind telling me your name. You know, make my report a little easier for me." Kuzan said. He had a calm and lazy exterior, but he was on full alert in front of this old man that could move faster then he could comprehend. "Ginrei Kuchiki. Head Captain of the Gotei 13." He said and smiled again. "Never heard of you. Are you a pirate group or something?" Kuzan said, trying to make this appear more as a conversation then an interrogation to get as much information as possible from this old man. "We are what i decide that we are. But i suppose that you could call us pirate since it fits quite well." Ginrei said and he turned around and walked away. Kuzan didn''t want to press him because he didn''t know what he might do to the marines that was left here. He knew for certain that no one here had any hope in defeating him. "What a drag. Sakazuki is gonna be pissed when he wakes up again." Kuzan said an went to pick up his fellow Vice Admiral. --------------------------- End Chapter 12 - Chapter 13 A ways away from Ohara in the middle of the ocean, a raft was drifting along. Ginrei watched Saul and Robin sitting quietly upon it. Saul was exhausted so all he wanted to do was lay down and sleep, but he needed to look after Robin still. He didn''t allow himself to close his eyes for too long, in case the marines still hadn''t given up the chase for them. "hey Saul, who was that old man back there?" Robin said after about an hour of silence between them. Saul saw that she tried to be strong and not cry but she had tears in her eyes this entire time. "I don''t know, Robin. I know his powerful. That much i could tell." He said with a dejected look. They really didn''t need another powerful individual chasing after them now. He didn''t know if this unknown person was a friend or a foe. "More powerful then you, Saul?" Robin said while looking into his eyes. She had full trust in this giant, and in her eyes, there was still not someone that she thought would be stronger then Saul. "I think so, Robin. If he truly held back those two, then he is much stronger then i am. From the looks of things, he really did prevent them from following us." Saul looked back at Ohara. You could see the flames rising high into the sky. The island was quickly disappearing from view but still there was no pursuit from the marines. "I see." Robin went quiet again. Probably because she was processing everything that happened here today. "How are you two doing?" Ginrei appeared on the edge of the big raft. He stood there with his hands behind his back, military style. "You! What are you here to do?" Saul put Robin behind his back to shield her if this man attacked. Ginrei thought it was a sweet action. It showed the friendship these two had. "I have no ill intentions. I simply wish to speak to the girl behind your back. I promise i won''t hurt you two." He said and smiled. It appeared that his smiling lessons with Sylvia had payed off, because Saul brought Robin forward so he could see her. "Hey there. May i know your name, kiddo?" He said while stretching his hand forwards to shake hers. "My name is Robin. Nice to meet you." She said while showing some apprehension towards the strange old man. "What a nice name. My name is Ginrei Kuchiki. I am the Head Captain of the Gotei 13." They stopped their handshake and he put his hands behind his back again and then quickly scanned the two people. Both Robin and Saul had some potential to explore with the proper training. "ahem, Mr Ginrei. What is it that you need from us." Saul said as his alarming state disappeared a little bit. He was pretty sure that Ginrei was not an enemy, but he still kept Robin at a distance so he could intervene if anything happened. "I would like to invite you two to the Gotei 13. It''s my own created group and it''s designed to fight against what just happened here today at Ohara." Ginrei extended his answer, even thought he almost knew what Saul would say. "No thank you, Mr Ginrei. I can''t trust you and i won''t risk Robin''s safety." Saul said with determination. "What do you say Robin? Do you agree with your friend Saul?" Ginrei turned the question towards Robin, to which Saul showed a displeased expression. "I want to stay with Saul. He is my friend." Robin said, not really understanding the underlying message and meaning that Ginrei''s offer had. "Well, alright then. I should warn you two. Bounties will certainly be placed on you. They will be high bounties because you''re both associated with Ohara and myself. I will assume that i am not that liked by the marines for letting you two escape." Ginrei said and ones more tried to rope them in. He didn''t really care if he got the two into Gotei or not. He just enjoyed Robin''s layed back personality more then most other personalities in One Piece. "I am well aware of that. I am a deserter after all. I was expecting a bounty the moment i left the marines actually. I just feel bad that i dragged Robin into this life." Saul said and looked at Robin who still did not really understand the full context of this grown up conversation. "There is an island not too far from here. How about i take you there and then we can talk more?" Ginrei said and Saul nodded. He knew they needed to get off this raft. "Alright then. Hold on to Robin and don''t let go." Ginrei said and Saul took Robin into his embrace carefully so he didn''t crush her with his giant strength. Ginrei waved his right hand and all three of them instantly got picked up by a strong wind and flew off into the distance. It was so sudden that and came as such a surprise to Saul that he loosened his grip and Robin flew out of his grip and fell towards the ocean. "aaaaah" Robin kept falling until another gust of wind swept her up and carried her over to their location. "Did i not say to hold on to her as tight as you could" Ginrei watched as Saul hung his head in shame for making a mistake that could have hurt Robin. "It''s okay Saul. I wasn''t hurt at all." Robin said and flew over to her friend. She didn''t understand what Ginrei did, but she had free movement up her in the air. She could move just how she wanted. Make somersaults, or swim backwards, she could do it all without falling down. ''Lucky that i changed to weight magic instead of only wind magic. One seem to work a lot better then the other.'' Ginrei had first tried to use strong wind magic, but the result wasn''t perfect so he removed their weight and now used wind magic to guide them in the direction he wanted. "How are you doing this, Sir Ginrei. I have never seen anything like this. I have never even heard off a devil fruit that can do this." Saul tried to move and he had just as much movement as Robin had. Ginrei watched them both fly around each other and smiling. For the moment he had managed to put a damper on Robin''s pain. "I might tell you some day. For now let''s get to that island, shall we." Ginrei waved his hand and all three of them started flying towards the closest island. They just watched as the ocean waves blended together in their vision as the speed they were flying at was to much for Saul and Robin''s eyes to comprehend at this time. To keep a leveled head at this speed they would need to be Vice admiral to admiral level in strength. Of course Ginrei protected them from any dangers that came with flying at this speed, like the wind pressure. Soon an island came upon them and it was a deserted one. Only animals live on this one. Ginrei had found this one with his magic sense and it was perfect for two reasons. Here he could start the Gotei 13 and here he could gather his 12 captains. "Prepare for landing." Ginrei said to Saul as Robin sat on his shoulder, she wouldn''t really have to worry about landing on her feet. Ginrei slowed down and cancelled his magic so Saul could make the perfect landing, but still after trying to make sure to land as safe as possible, Saul wasn''t used to this so he stumbled and fell down. "Whoops." Ginrei flashed forwards and caught Robin so she didn''t hurt herself while Saul was busy falling on his face. "Be careful. You almost crushed Robin." Ginrei said and sat down Robin and gently pat her head, to which her cheeks blushed. "T-thank you, Mr Ginrei." Robin said in her most respectful tone. Being treated good and having friends like Saul helped a lot with the pain she was feeling inside and she felt her mood increasing a lot from her previous depressing state. "I''m sorry Robin, i stepped on my own foot when i landed. Flying like this is going to be something to get used to." He said and sat down. He was still just as tired as before. "How about you two get some sleep and then we can talk more. I''ll be here so you don''t have to worry about getting attacked." Ginrei said and sat down on the ground as well. "I very much would like that. Come Robin, you need to rest as well, after everything that happened today." Saul layed down on the ground and Robin sat down and rested against his stomach. They both almost immediately fell asleep together. "Okay, now i can start." Ginrei snapped his finger and a mighty and tall earth wall rose around the sleeping duo without making a single sound or vibration to disturb them. ''As i was thinking. I should use the summon function to make up up the captains of the Gotei 13. I have wanted to test it for so long and i thing this world is perfect for it.'' Ginrei started walking into the forest to officially begin his operation with the Gotei. Ginrei arrived at the biggest mountain on the island. He waved his hand and a tunnel leading beneath the mountain appeared before him. He created stairs of a sort so it would be easier to walk down the tunnel. The island itself connected with the sea floor so right now, Ginrei stopped walking in his earth tunnel and snapped his finger again like before with the sleeping duo. The tunnel started expanding and a few moments later he stood at the entrance to a big cave room of sorts. The room itself was beneath the mountain and it was 40 meter in height and 20 meters in width. So it wasn''t the biggest he could create but this was for summoning his captains so this would have to do. He would eventually have subordinates to create bases for him and all that. ''Maybe the system can build bases or something. Ey, system, can you build bases for my pirate group?'' Ginrei stopped and wondered. [No! I can''t build them. But the shop has everything in existence. So all kinds of bases are available for purchase and the host can customize them.] ''I see. I will look at them later then. For now let''s make this dirt room just a little bit nicer.'' Ginrei snapped his finger again and the walls of the cave room hardened and smoothed out completely. The walls were smooth and refined enough so you would think someone did this with a chisel. "Okay, now let''s get on with this. The question is who to summon though." He sat down with crossed legs and started thinking. [Would host like to bring up the summon list] The system asked. ''I didn''t know it had that. Yes, bring that up please.'' In front of his face, a huge list appeared. It had to be hundred or thousands of names on this list. Simply an enormous amount. ''Well, this is a problem'' Ginrei looked on the never ending list and sighed tiredly. -------------------------- End Chapter 13 - Chapter 14 Ginrei was scrolling through this massive list when something hit him. ''System. How will the summon behave when they arrive here.'' If they were to be ripped from their realities, he might just not summon anyone. He didn''t want the hassle of explaining what happened to them. [System will draw upon host''s power to create an identical copy of the person. They will have similar personality traits, but the only thing the system places into them is the loyalty towards host. They won''t question that they were summoned here. The loyalty will feel natural to them.] Ginrei smiled at the revelation that this was the case. This made his life so much easier. ''Will they be able to enter their original universe?'' [No! They are forbidden to do that, so the system will never bring them along even if host requests it.] ''I suppose it makes sense in a way. Okay then. Time to choose.'' Ginrei had selected 12 people as he had been scrolling. These were people he knew and some of them he had never seen before, but the system had their information and they sounded good enough for him. ''Since i am creating the Gotei 13, i should make sure that i get some captains from bleach. That would make the most sense and in that way make up for the fact that i''m not visiting that world.'' ''System, would you be so kind as to summon the people i have selected.'' Ginrei said and then stood and waited for them to appear. Unfortunately for him, they didn''t. What came instead was another window. [If host wants to customize his summons, then he can do so here.] The system said and Ginrei stared at the interface in front of him. ''hm, this is interesting. Let''s make some changes then. Let''s at least give them matching suits.'' He quickly started going to work. After an hour or so he was finally finished with everything and he definitely appreciated how they looked now. This system could do anything so he gave some of them new abilities and removed things about them that he didn''t like at all. ''One last thing. What about their history here in this world. Will i need to explain about the world or will they already have memories of living in this world.'' This was at the end of the day, the biggest issue he had with summons. [Their existence will be planted into this world. They are living beings and you can read about their history here by looking at their status after they are summoned.] The system told him in it''s usual emotionless voice. ''Okay, i understand. Please summon them here now.'' As soon as Ginrei said that, 12 magic circles appeared in front of him and then a few seconds later, 12 individuals stood in front of him with closed eyes. At the same time, they all opened their eyes and looked at Ginrei. No weird feelings was present in their eyes at all. They all looked at Ginrei, but their eyes all contained different emotions. Some held respect, awe, worship while others just showed happiness and loyalty. "Welcome, commanders of the newly created pirate group, Gotei 13." Ginrei said and as he said it, every captain bowed down and introduced themselves like it was what they should naturally do. "Vash is here to serve the Head captain" A tall man with spiky blond hair said. The man is wearing a black colored suit and he had a .45 long cult gun holstered inside his suit. On his shoulders, hung a red colored cloak that had a kanji on it, like the marines. Vash had the kanji for "Gun". "Kenshin Himura is here to serve the Head captain." A man with long brown hair tied into a pony tail and a sword on the ground beside him, was next to speak. He too, was wearing a black colored suit. In fact they all had on similar outfits. He had a full body cloak that hid his entire body. Kenshin bore the Kanji for "Blade" "Cal Shekar is here to serve the Head captain." A beautiful woman with long black hair and a black suit with a pink captain coat draped over her shoulders. The kanji for "domain" was written on the coat. Just looking at her and the sword that was hanging at her waist you could feel that she was dangerous. "Ryunosuke Akutagawa is here to serve the Head captain." an average height male with short black hair said after Cal. He belonged to the tall and slim category of males as he was 172 cm in height. He had on a black suit with a black coat over his shoulders. His coat had the kanji for, "Beast" "Guts is here to serve the Head captain." Next person to speak was the definition of manliness. With a black suit on and a brown coat over his shoulders. Guts was the biggest and most muscular of all the men Ginrei summoned. he had the kanji for "slaughter" on his coat. "Undertaker is here to serve the Head captain." A man with very long gray hair that covered most of his face spoke next. He had on a gray suit and a gray coat with the kanji for "death". "Hisoka is here to serve the Head captain. A man that would look creepy in whatever clothing he wore. That was Ginrei''s thoughts about this man. But he was fascinated with all things, weird, twisted and evil. So there was no way he wouldn''t summon this person. Hisoka had on a suit that was striped with white and purple and on his shoulders hung a coat. His coat had the kanji for "Evil". As stated, Ginrei had become a better person, but that didn''t mean that he was all good natured now. He still enjoyed a good fight and the thrill of killing. Of course Ginrei didn''t exactly agree with Hisoka''s view on kids. He would be sure to keep an eye on this man in the future. "Rize Kamishiro is here to serve the Head captain." This was also one of the people Ginrei found very intriguing. While looking at her history he found out that she is unbelievably cruel and sadistic towards her enemies. While she is sweet and lovable towards her allies. She had on a purple suit with a pink coat over her shoulders. She had the kanji for "Starve" on her coat. "Honorable Grandfather. Byakuya Kuchiki is here to serve." The next person was the person Ginrei was most interested in. He wanted to know how Byakuya would act around him. According to the system, this Byakuyas worshiped his grandfather because of Ginrei''s strength and he looked down upon anyone that didn''t have power. Essentially he had most of the personality of the early original Byakuya. He wore a black suit with a white scarf around his neck. A white coat with gold lining inside it covered his shoulders. He wore the kanji for "Petal". "Toshiro Hitsugaya is here to serve the Head captain." Hitsugaya''s identity here was a former marine Vice admiral that defected and disappeared from the world a few years ago. He had a massive bounty on his head already. Now Ginrei would bring him back a many times stronger then before to crush the marines and the world government. He wore a suit that was colored ice blue with a similarly colored coat with the kanji for "ice" on it. "Lubbock is here to serve the Head captain." A boy that looked to be somewhere around 17 or 18 years old spoke after Toshiro. He had on a bright green suit with a dark green coat. He bore the kanji for "Crown String". They actually almost looked like brothers from their facial similarities and body shape. Ginrei watched him and then Toshiro and now he just had to confirm with the system. ''System, are they brothers? Toshiro and Lubbock.'' [Yes. They are physically similar and both represent a color. So system made Green and Blue brothers.] ''Interesting. That was not information the system had told him as they were being summoned.'' The system had given a brief overview of every person here as they were being summoned. But the fact about them being brothers was apparently something that he was supposed to find out himself. "Bradely is here to serve the Head captain." Now this was one person that Ginrei really liked. His favorite charcter ever was King Bradley. Bradely has a head of full black hair with a big mustache that really fits his look. He wore a whit suit with a gold cloak over his shoulders. The kanji displayed on his cloak was "Pride". ''System, bring up his full status'' Ginrei said and a window popped up that displayed all of Bradley''s personalities and abilities. [Name: Bradely Kuchiki [Age: 60 [Hair color: Black [Height: 187 cm [Weight: 94 kg [Race: High Human [Abilities: Swordsmanship, Speed Magic, Sharingan, [Family: Byakuya Kuchiki: Son Ginrei Kuchiki: Father ------------------------ ''What the hell? System, do you wanna explain to me why he became my son?'' Ginrei was shocked on the inside, but on the outside he showed no reaction. He could be considered a real pro to be able to stay calm after finding this out. [System noted down the respect and love host has for Bradely and thusly created this identity for him because system thought it would fit perfectly.] ''I see. Since i knew Byakuya was gonna be my grandson. I was in a way prepared to meet my new family in this world. I just didn''t know another one of my captains was a family member.'' Ginrei sighed, but then he snapped back into reality. He couldn''t leave them hanging any longer then this. "Good. First of all, Ryunosuke, your name is too damn long so i will call you Ryu instead. Understood?" Ginrei looked at now the one he renamed Ryu. "Okay, as you wish." Ryo said. "Rise all of you." The captains stood up in attention. "Did you all properly receive the gifts that you all got before coming here?" This was one of the things they got from essentially being "born" from his own power. They all got some benefits. "Yes" They all answered at the same time. The "gifts" he was talking about was the abilities they now had. Bradley''s sharingan was one example. He really liked that idea so he gave him the eternal sharingan. They were implemented with abilities of all other users and they had their own abilities that was unique to him. "Okay, good to hear. I have high hopes for your work here in this organization. Since we are not ready to begin yet, you are to stay here on this island. And take this badge as it represents our group. So don''t lose it." He flicked his wrist and 12 badges flew out from his robe and hovered in front of every person here. It had a function so they could clip it to their suits. That''s what they did. They were now all wearing the badge over their chest pocket. The badge itself was circular and one half was black and the other was white. The black side had two spirals that was colored red and white. The white side and two spirals that was colored green and blue. It was the same one he gifted Gildarts to use for Paradise island. "Okay, Bradley you can come with me. The rest of you stand by on this island until our headquarters are complete." Ginrei gestured for Bradely to follow him., "Understood!" All of them said at the same time again. Ginrei and Bradely quickly disappeared up the stairs that led to the surface. Everyone inside the cave stood still until Lubbock stretched his arms and yawned. "I''m tired. Toshi, give me your scarf. I need it as a pillow." Lubbock said and tried to steal the scarf from his brother. "Try and you die!" The temperature inside the cave room quickly went ice cold as Toshiro glared at his younger brother. "oy, boys, boys, no need to fight. Lubbock, you can use my knees as a pillow if you want" Hisoka said and put on his signature smile. "Oh, FUCK NO!" Lubbock quickly ran for the stairs to try and escape. Before he could make it to the stairs a hand grabbed his shoulder and stooped him. It was Cal. "Lord Ginrei is still walking in the staircase leading upwards. If you were to continued, you would be running past him. A subordinate most never walk passed the leader" The grip tightened as a very heavy killing intent appeared around her. "I-It was my mistake Cal. It will never happen again." Lubbock said and bowed close to a hundred times in 3 seconds. He bowed his head so much and so fast that he became dizzy. "ha, ha, ha, this will be fun. What do you say, Kenni?" Vash said and hit Kenshin on the back. "Would you please not make up such nicknames for me. Just call me Kenshin." He said while stabilizing himself from being hit off balance by Vash. "Don''t sweat the small stuff. I can''t wait for a good fight. Lord Ginrei gave me some major upgrades to my gun so i need to test it out as quickly as possible." Vash said in a excited tone. Ginrei had no idea about the terrifying force he had made come together here. Terror is the only way to describe the people present here. When their fighting together, very few people will last even a second against them. ------------------------------------- End Chapter 14 - Chapter 15 Ginrei and Bradley was standing on the islands beach and watching the water together. "Bradely, i have a mission for you. It will be long and highly dangerous. Are you willing?" Ginrei asked without looking at the man that was revealed to be his own son. "Yes, Father. Whatever the mission, i will complete it to your standards." Bradely said with a respectful tone. Both him and Byakuya worshiped strength and power. In their eyes, Ginrei had everything that was needed for a leader so they both worshiped him. As a leader and as a father figure. "Good. We need eyes inside the marines and i have no subordinate with eyes better then yours. This mission can only fall onto you. You shall do whatever you deem necessary to get yourself to the admiral position." "Understood. What if i need to kill another admiral. Am i allowed." Bradely asked with the same respectful tone. "As i said. If the situation calls for it, you are allowed to do anything you want. No restrictions, just try to be a little discreet if you do decide to kill and admiral. And of course, hide that badge from view. Any other questions?" Ginrei looked at his son, which felt weird since they didn''t become father and son through the natural process. "No, Father." "Good. The next island over has a marine base and also many pirates. Make contact with the marines there, and use them to get to headquarters in the Grand Line. From there, work your way up to the admiral position." Ginrei put his right hand on Bradley''s shoulder. "Make me proud Bradely." He looked away and continued staring at the ocean after that, completely ignoring Bradely. "Yes, Father. I will be on my way." Bradely walked forwards and with the use of magic he located the island that Ginrei was talking about. As his "son", Bradely had inherited things that Ginrei had. A mind boggling amount of magic power was one thing that Bradely had inherited. He comprehended things fast enough to make people think he had instant mastery, even though he didn''t. Using Ginrei''s version of magic sense depended on your amount of magic power you had. That''s why he could locate islands from such extreme distances. Bradley took his first step into the water and then at a speed that made it look like teleportation, he vanished. He could no longer be seen. Only by using magic sense could Ginrei locate him now. ''Now that Bradely has gotten his mission, it''s time to set up the main base.'' Ginrei knew that his main base should be one that floated above the clouds. He actually wanted one for every captain, and then the biggest for himself. Simple hierarchy. Ginrei flew up into the air and didn''t stop until he was thousands of meters up. Approximately he was 6k or 7k meters up in the air right now, somewhere in the middle of that he stopped moving. ''Open up the base section. I want to look through the list.'' In front of him, a window appeared like usual where he could see thousands of buildings with all kinds of funny or badass designs. He looked through and found the one that he would use for himself and his division. A few hundred feat in front of him, a massive black portal appeared and out from that portal floated an island that had a building on it. The island was triangular and so was the building. It had 250 floors and each floor could hold 120 people at most. The ceiling was entirely made out of reinforced glass. The wall were made out of reinforced stainless steel. "A beauty. This will be the base for the zero division. My division." Ginrei watched the base float there while sporting a proud look. The entire thing was kept afloat by rune magic. An ancient magic from some immortal realm. All this information came from the system. ''Now the rest of them.'' Ginrei said and continued to flip through the different bases. -------------------- On a random island in the West blue an elderly looking man was standing at the docks looking at the pirates loading their ships with goods. Apparently the marines on this island were pathetically weak as they just stood ways away spying on these pirates. ''Pathetic.'' Bradely scoffed at the marines. He would gladly kill them all, but they had a use for him since they were currently monitoring this very pirate crew. He walked up to the pirate crew with quick and steady steps. The marines started paying extra close attention to him now, which was exactly what he wanted. "Excuse me, young one. Are you and your crew perhaps pirates." Bradely said to a member of the crew that was standing with a clipboard in hand and counting the goods they were bringing in. "Eh, what off it. Piss off." The guy barely looked up to meet the elderly man''s eyes. He just yelled and went back to his clipboard because he had a deadline to keep, and he didn''t want his captain''s punishment. "May i take that as a yes?" Bradely said. He didn''t do this for a very good reason. He just wanted the marines to think of him in a positive light, and not some brutal slaughterer like Sakazuki is. It would hopefully make it easier to win some favor from Kong, Sengoku and Garp when he met them. "You may. Now what off it? You a marine, old man?" A young man with long brown hair that hanged loose, and two crossing swords on his back walked up to Bradely. He had green eyes and he stared straight into Bradley''s brown ones. "I am looking to become one, yes. So i was looking for a pirate head that i could take in as offering." Bradely said and flashed his usual king''s smile. The pirate captain looked shocked at this revelation and put a hand on one of his swords. "Wanna try?" The captain said with loathing. He upped his guard and waited for the old man to move. "I don''t have to." Bradley said and they heard the sound of a sword being sheathed. Both pirates stood still and after 2 seconds, the two bodies separated into three pieces. The heads fell to the left and the torso fell to the right, and the legs fell backwards. "AAAAH!" A woman who stood at a distance observing this fainted. It appears she hadn''t seen much gore in her days. "Quickly, contact the base commander. This guy said he wanted to be a marine. QUICKLY!" One of the marine rookies yelled at the other one that still hadn''t recovered from the shock of seeing that spectacle. ''Appears to be working. Now to finish of these pirates.'' Bradely looked at the rest of the pirates that all thought their captain was gonna kill another marine. How wrong they were. "Stay still." Bradley took one step forward, and every step he took after that, another head would fall onto the deck of the pirate ship. No one here even saw him remove his sword. If a Vice admiral were here or an admiral, they would be able to the least, see his sword move. For the current people present at these docks, it was just impossible to track his movements. Bradely walked towards the town and just waited for the time the marines would approach him with the request to join. --------------------------- End Chapter 15 - Chapter 16 In the sky above a certain island, Ginrei was surrounded by 13 buildings that either stood on a small sized island or floated along by itself. He had summoned one base after the other so he had to move slightly so they wouldn''t crash into each other. After he summoned his own, he summoned guts'' division base which was just Hogwarts from the Harry Potter series. It sat upon an island that was a little bigger then the castle itself. The land that the castle didn''t cover was just either forests or flower fields. Not very berserk like, but Ginrei liked it so Guts was gonna have to deal with it. Next up was Vash. For him and his division, Ginrei summoned a castle that was heavily inspired by Asgard. It was almost identical to Oden''s castle on Asgard. It was of course decorated with a little more advanced interior design. Like all other division bases, it had a training area, bedrooms for every individual and an armory. It had a lot of features, even Ginrei hadn''t gone through them all. Cal got a castle built entirely by immortal glass. The castle itself had a magic core, so if the castle got destroyed by cannons or other weapons, the core could regenerate every part of the castle. This was immortal glass. Something Ginrei was very curious about. Undertaker got a castle that was created for someone with a little bit of a twisted mindset. It was created with death and torture in mind. The castle was black in color and was surrounded by a deep mist that couldn''t be seen through. It floated by itself in mid air. Hisoka got a building made by reinforced stainless steel. It was like all others, extremely difficult to damage, thanks to the fact that they were all covered in magic as an extra layer of protection. His building was created to look like a playing card, and it did look exactly like it. It looked like the Ace of Spades colored in black and white, like the card itself. Kenshin got an ancient looking Pagoda on an island a lot bigger then the building itself. It had 177 floors. One floor for each member in his division. The closer to the top you lived, the higher status you had inside Kenshin''s division and the Gotei 13 as a whole. Ryunosuke Akutagawa got an island with a semi dead forest and in the middle of the forest. A western styled witch house was visible. The entire island was actually just a big archipelago. Many islands were connected with each other and the middle one was for Ryo himself while the other were for his division to use. Toshiro got an island made entirely out of ice and a castle of ice as well. It had it''s own core that could control the entire island. It could create blizzards and lower or raise the temperature at will. Lubbock got one like his brother but this one was made entirely of magic infused strings. His castle was a normal stone castle, and not one made out of strings. Bradley got a house designed to look like the white house. Something Ginrei thought fit Bradely perfectly. It also could fly on it''s own, so it just floated up in the air. It had a big garden attached to it. Rize got a tall prison tower that was floating on it''s own and the whole thing was designed similarly to impel down. It served as her base and the Gotei 13s prison. "Now these are some weird buildings i have summoned here. I don''t think anyone in this world has seen even something close to what we have here. I don''t even know why i put so much thinking into making these for them." Ginrei said while sighing. He had spent so much time up here that he didn''t even know what day it was. Or if a day had even gone by. ''I should head back now. And i almost forgot about Robin and Saul. They should be awake soon. I would have known if they touched the earth wall, so that means they are not awake, or they are just sitting still there and not moving. Ginrei started flying down towards the island. But not before he activated the cloaking function each base had, and then sending them on their way. He wanted flying bases all over the world, so he sent them to float away. Ginrei landed on the island after some time and all the captains were there waiting for him. They all stood at attention with their backs straight waiting for orders. "at ease. No need to look so intense." Ginrei said and waved his hand lazily. He needed no sleep or food but after creating all those bases he felt like he needed both sleep and food. "I have something for you all." Ginrei said and threw a controller of sorts. The captains stared at the controllers in their hands. "They are for moving and generally just operating your base. I have a flying fortress of sorts for every captain, and all of them have a teleporter installed. Click the big blue button to teleport to your fortress." They all nodded in understanding. They tried to look serious and all, but some of them failed hard at that. The excitement shone through their eyes. "The ultimate goal for the Gotei 13 is world domination so until i call you for action, you have free will to do whatever you want. You can recruit anyone you want and go wherever you want. The only off limit places are the 3 marine hot spots. Headquarters, impel down and Enies Lobby. Mary Geoise is also off limits. These place will be destroyed soon. But not until i say so." "Understood!" They all answered while bowing their heads in acknowledgement. "Dismissed. Go check out your new home." They all clicked their buttons at the same time and a portal opened up behind them and sucked them into it, and then Ginrei again, stood alone at this island. ''Let''s hope they have some good adventures in this world." He said and laughed to himself thinking about the kind of chaos these people would cause. ---------------------------- End Chapter 16 - Chapter 17 Ginrei was sitting beside the giant and the little girl that was still sleeping. They had been sleeping for 11 hours at this point and Ginrei could finally see some signs of waking up. "Good morning you two." Ginrei said to the duo that had by some miracle managed to wake up at the same time. He watched as both Robin and Saul turned their heads his way while simultaneously rubbing the tiredness out of their eyes. "Good morning Mr Ginrei. It seems you have not left yet." Saul said and adjusted himself while laying on the ground. "Honestly, it kind of surprises me that you kept your promise, that''s a rare thing now a days. I''m happy that you were the person to come for us in our hour of need." Saul said seriously. He really was impressed that this old man really kept his promise of keeping them safe. "What are you saying, boy. I never break my promises." Ginrei said and smiled a little towards Robin that was only watching him while holding on to Saul''s huge finger. "That''s good to hear, Mr Ginrei. So i suppose we should talk about what to do now." Saul said and sat up properly and he place Robin on his shoulder again. "I like to offer to join my organization again. We could keep you both safe, now that the marines and world government are chasing after you." Ginrei said and Saul frowned and glanced at Robin. "I know that it would be best to take you up on that offer, but after leaving the marines and seeing the true colors of a massive organization like that. I have some doubts about joining another one so soon." Saul said in all truthfulness. There was not reason to lie to Ginrei so he didn''t. He was also sure that the old man could see through any lies he tried to tell him. "How about i tweak that offer a little bit then. We three will stay here on this island for an extended period of time and i will train Robin personally for a while." Ginrei said and smiled again. He accepted Saul''s reason for not wanting to join, especially since there definitely was some truth to what the said. Gotei 13 would definitely cause large scale destruction eventually and innocent people might be caught in the crossfire. "hm, if you would allow us to stay here then i would happily ask you to take care of Robin and me until we get a proper plan in order." Saul said and bowed to Ginrei. Robin saw Saul bow and she quickly followed his example and bowed as well. "No problem. How about you two just follow me here. I will show you to your new home for the time being." Ginrei said and all three stood up and walked into the jungle. They very quickly came upon the mountain that had Ginrei''s base under it. Ginrei looked back and saw Saul and Robin looking at him with a questionable gaze. "Stand back!" Ginrei kicked the ground in front of him almost like he was using earth bending. The ground opened up and revealed a massive elevator made out of metal. "Follow me!" Ginrei said and saw Robin looking at him with stars in her eyes. He had shown the ability to fly and now he opened the ground with a kick. She was absolutely sold on staying here with him. She also wanted to be able to do all that. They walked over and stood on the elevator and it started going down when Ginrei pressed a button. What they arrived at after a while was the most advanced base that Saul had ever seen. He used to be a Vice admiral and he had never seen anything close to this before. It was all made out of stainless steel and what the duo didn''t know was that this whole base was surrounded by a reality warping barrier of sorts. This made the actual base small, but the insides were almost continental sized. In this base you had to use teleporters to move about or it would take you days to walk from point A to B. Not the most convenient base, even Ginrei could admit to that. "This is incredible. I know kind of understand how the Gotei 13 have managed to stay under the radar for so long. The marines don''t have anything close to this anywhere in the world." Saul said with amazement. This base was filled gravity training rooms and holographic computer screens. Suits of armor was walking around the base right in front of their eyes. The were cleaning and installing equipment. Essentially, this base had robot maids and butlers. {Welcome back master Ginrei} A voice suddenly sounded out from what felt like every direction. "What was that?!" Saul looked around in a panic, but could not find the origin of that voice. "ha, ha, relax. It is the Gotei 13s AI overseer. Basically a living computer. She is inside every base and knows everything about anything. Her name is Sylvia." Ginrei said and couldn''t help but laugh at Saul''s reaction. "THIS IS INCREDIBLE!" Robin yelled from her position on Saul. It appears her excitement couldn''t be kept in check any longer. She climbed down from Saul''s shoulder and ran around and touched every robot and all the walls. "This is indeed incredible, Mr Ginrei. I appreciate you letting us stay here." Saul said and stepped off the elevator and it went back up towards the surface. "No need. Let me show you to your rooms. Tomorrow, i can begin instructing Robin in some basic training methods." Ginrei said and all three started walking away toward the nearest teleporter. --------------------------------------- "GRANDPA GINREI, THIS IS TOO HARD!" Robin said as she was laying down on the ground completely exhausted. "Oh, so today at breakfast, your declaration of beating me and becoming the boss of Gotei 13, what was that? Was that just trash talk then?" Ginrei said and pocked the side of Robin''s head with a cane he had in hand. He looked like a proper noble now because he had on a white admiral styled suit with a black captains cloak over his shoulders and a beautiful cane in hand. A cane he used to beat up Robin with. "Stop that!" She swatted away the cane like it was a fly that was annoying her. "Then get up, i know you can do 10 more push ups. We are simply doing this to strengthen your body or i can''t start to train you properly." Ginrei said and heard the door to the room open up. What walked in threw that door was Saul, but this version was a little different. He was only 400 cm tall instead of his usual 1950 cm. This was caused by Gotei 13 technologies to make it easier to move about the base. "How is the new height working for you, Saul?" Ginrei knew Saul didn''t like shrinking since he was proud of his height as a giant. "It certainly makes it easier to move, but i still prefer my usual height compared to this one." Saul rubbed the bracelet that was around his wrist. This tiny thing was what they used to shrink him down with. "ha, ha, Saul i think you look good!" Robin said and laughed just like he taught her back on Ohara. "You, go back to training. You won''t eat until you''re done with 10 more push ups." Ginrei yelled at Robin to which he just received a pout from the little girl. "Mr Ginrei, i came here to say that we have marines incoming. Momonga and Strawberry is on the two ships that''s approaching." Saul said, not worried at all. Especially after this week here, he knew exactly just what a monster Ginrei was in terms of strength. "You two just stay there. They will never detect this place. Not even haki can see through this so just leave them to me. It''s time i start my little plan anyways." Ginrei said and glared at Robin one last time before walking out. She understood and started to try and continue the push ups. "hey, Saul. You think Grandpa Ginrei will be okay." Robin said with worry in her voice. Ginrei had become the anchor that she attached herself to in her time of need. He meant more to her now then even she herself realized. "ha, ha, no need to worry Robin. Nothing can hurt that old monster. Maybe just an admiral stand a fighting chance, who knows really." Saul laughed with his signature smile. -------------------------------- End Chapter 17 - Chapter 18 "You think we''ll find anything here? To me, this just seems like a big waste of time. Those damn pirates are being crowned emperors by the public and here we are chasing some old man that we know nothing about." Strawberry said with annoyance to Momonga that was standing at the front of the marines warship next to his own. "It''s not our job to say what''s more important. And don''t forget this old man you''re referring to knocked out Sakazuki with a single punch." Momonga answered back with a neutral tone. He knew better than to question his orders. "When you become an admiral, then you can start telling them what you think is important." Momonga and strawberry watched the island carefully. They were some of the strongest above Rear admirals that the marines could afford to send here without losing manpower against the New world pirates. "There''s movement. Momonga you seeing that?" Strawberry and Momonga were both watching an old man walk out from the jungle and stopping at the spot where their ships would eventually dock. "Is that him? He is not dressed like the reports said, but everything else fits. The moustache and the height. I believe we found our target." Strawberry said, but Momonga didn''t answer him. "Let''s go. He obviously knew we would come. Let''s go have a chat." Momonga disappeared from the spot and Strawberry followed. They were not that far from the island, so both of them stepped onto the island with Soru quickly after disappearing from the ships. "Welcome to my island gentlemen. To what do I owe the pleasure?" Ginrei said and smiled at the duo that appeared before him. "We are on orders to investigate you and your pirate group. I don''t suppose you would be so kind as to let us cuff you right here?" Momonga said while he had one hand on his sword. "That wouldn''t be very fun, now would it," Ginrei said and lost his smile. He went back to a neutral look while standing in a relaxed posture. "Mind explaining what the Gotei 13 really is? Any chance that you can work with the marines?" Strawberry took a shot in the dark with that question. "That would probably not help your image, now would it." "And why is that?" Strawberry pressed while almost drawing his sword. The aura Ginrei was naturally releasing was almost too much for him to handle. "I am the 5th Pirate emperor of the New World," Ginrei said with a smile, this one is a lot more evil-looking than the last. "Are you serious. You think you have the strength to declare yourself an emperor just like that?!" Strawberry was outraged because of this old man standing before him. "I would think so!" Ginrei said and took a single step forward. The duo was about to draw their swords when they heard something explode behind them. Both of them looked back and saw Momonga''s warship cut in half from the front to the back. Strawberry suddenly felt a heavy killing intent looming over his head and looked back to find the old man missing. "Never take your eye of the enemy." "WHA..." A sword appeared a cut the head of Strawberry before he could finish saying his "what". "You bastard!" Momonga dashed at Ginrei in an attempt to cut his body with a downward slash. "Playtimes over." Ginrei turned around faster then Momonga''s eyes could track and caught the sword in mid-air with just two fingers. "How!? I used haki!" Momonga had no words. Even an admiral couldn''t do what he just did. "Go back and tell Sengoku and Kong to prepare a welcome party for a few of the commanders in my fleet." Ginrei grabbed Momonga by the throat and threw him back to his ship. "And have a nice day!" Ginrei said loud enough for Momonga to hear even when he was flying in mid-air back to his ship. -------------------------- Yo, Toshi! I just got a message from the Head Captain." Lubbock said to a very annoyed Toshiro. "Stop calling me that. My name is Toshiro!!" He almost wanted to pull out his sword and kill his brother. "Fine, you bore. So you wanna hear what the message is?" Lubbock said in an excited tone. "OBVIOUSLY!" Toshiro yelled back to him. For some reason, their islands never separated and they couldn''t steer away from each other. So they had to live next to each other essentially. Right now they were on Lubbock''s island and eating dinner. "Apparently. the Head Captain wants the Gotei 13 to become a pirate fleet. He is apparently going to be the 5th pirate emperor and we are his division commanders. He has a mission regarding this." Lubbock said and Toshiro finally looked interested in something. "Oh, so why did he pick to become an emperor?" "I don''t know. The message didn''t say anything about that. But he wants us to go and wreak havoc at marineford with Byakuya." Lubbock said and his excitement couldn''t be hidden. He longed for a good fight and he was sure that the fleet commander would provide it. "hm, well tell Byakuya to come here. We are closer to Marineford then he is right now." Toshiro said and stood up to walk away. "Fine. How does it feel to go from marine to pirate, Toshi?" Lubbock said and then he had to immediately dodge a sword strike from his brother. "Shut up and call Byakuya here!" Toshiro said and sheathed his sword -------------------------------- End Chapter 18 - Chapter 19 "WHAT DID YOU SAY!?" Fleet admiral Kong slammed the table in front of him in complete anger. Vice admiral Momonga stood in front of him and had just narrated every thing Ginrei said. "Momonga, do you know why he specifically mentioned my name?" Sengoku who sported a black tank top with some pants and a marine coat asked. "No, Sir. He only said for you to prepare for his commander''s arrival and nothing else." Momonga said. He had still not recovered from seeing Strawberry die in front of him and not being able to avenge him. "so, kid. If you were to rank his strength. Where would you put him?" Garp asked from the side while eating snacks directly from the bag. "Stronger than an admiral for sure. He drew his sword and slashed apart my ship and killing everyone on it without me seeing a single movement of his arm. It happened within a single step of his right foot." Momonga narrated about his strength again. It was just that terrifying to witness. "Kong, if that all is true, then he might be comparable to those four," Sengoku said, obviously referring to the emperors that were beginning to take over the New World. "Speed-wise, he is definitely at least on par with Shanks. We still don''t know about his brute strength, or about the strength of his commanders." Kong sat back in his chair and started thinking. "Call back Tsuru and Z. We need all Admirals here for this. If his commanders are coming, then all they will find will be death." Kong said and dismissed them all after that. ----------------------------- "So how come all of you are here? The orders were for only three people to go.." Lubbock said and looked at the commanders that appeared with Byakuya. "We were all drinking tea with Byakuya when Sylvia relayed your message. There is no way i am missing this so i called the captain and complained, and he agreed that we could tag along." Vash said with a big smile on his face. "oh, and the Head Captain told me to tell you guys, that you need to call him just captain now, and we are the division commanders," Vash said with a little confusion in his voice. He didn''t really care for titles or rankings. He just wanted a good fight that would satisfy him. "You need another hobby, Vash. Thinking about fighting all the time will drive you insane." Kenshin said with a neutral tone while sipping some tea. "Whatever," Vash said and sat down. "We are one day away from Marineford. Prepare for battle. We are ordered to cause some chaos, not a total annihilation of the marines." Byakuya said and walked away to meditate before the battle. "As he said. This is merely a battle to show our strength to the world. The captain don''t want to take over the world by destroying it all. So do show some restraint." Toshiro said and gave everyone an ice-cold stare. -------------------------------- Above Marineford two giant sky islands were hovering steadily. They were both in cloak mode so no one down on the ground could see them. At the edge of ice-covered island, 7 people stood and looked down on Marineford. "Is everybody ready?" Byakuya asked the group of filled with powerful yet very odd people. "Of course, let''s go already" Vash answered and stood there bouncing in excitement. "hm" A big man with a massive sword nodded and just made a sound to confirm. They all nodded at each other and then took a step out into mid-air and started falling downwards at incredible speed. The marines down on the ground were in a weird mood at the moment. The fleet admiral had called back the two admirals that were out on a mission. They all knew something was up, they just didn''t know what it was. "How did Z take it, being called back for this reason?" Sengoku asked Kong. They were standing on Kong''s personal balcony that was overlooking Marineford in its entirety. "He was just happy to not have to escort more world nobles. Momonga was given his task instead." Kong''s eyes scanned every nook and cranny, trying to locate anything that looked out of place. "And Tsuru? What is she thinking about this whole thing?" "What? About a self-proclaimed pirate emperor attacking Marineford with only a few commanders. Scepticism is one word for what she is feeling at the moment." Kong said. He, himself didn''t know when the attack would happen, or if the threat was even real to begin with. "Kong! Do you feel that!?" Sengoku''s awareness suddenly shot through the roof. From nowhere, 7 crazy powerful auras had appeared in the sky above and they were coming in fast. "Gather the men at the central plaza. I''m sure the others felt that as well." ''His commanders actually came here.'' Kong quickly jumped down from the balcony and started free falling towards the streets below. This would be the toughest fight of his life if those auras are anything to go by. At the central plaza inside Marineford, marines were running back and forth. Their uneasy feelings had all been correct because the fleet admiral had just reported an enemy attack approaching and every soldier was to gather at the central plaza immediately. "Hey, who do you think is crazy enough to attack Marineford when everyone is here?" A random marine asked the ones standing around him. "The fleet admiral gathered the admirals, so obviously it''s someone he considers a threat, now shut up and focus." Another marine answered, fear visible all over his face. 7 blurs then appeared faster than their eyes could see and... *BOOOOOOOM* A massive explosion happened. Almost like a few warships had been falling from high up in the sky. The seven silhouettes caused a massive smoke screen and broke apart the ground that they landed on. "Sengoku," Kong said and looked at the admiral standing on his right. All of the high ranking marines had appeared here the moment they sensed the auras. They traced it and figured out the trajectory so they knew where they would land. "Understood!" Sengoku slammed his hands together in the direction of the plaza and all the smoke that had risen was blown away by the pressure that his hands caused. "So this is our welcome party is it?" A tall blonde man said as he and the rest of his group slowly got revealed from the disappearing smoke. "Are you happy now, Vash?" A man stood with closed eyes and held his sword in one hand and the other he had hung by his side. "Definitely. This will be fun!" The blond-haired man answered with a big smile as he looked around at all the marines staring at him like he was crazy. "That''s quite the fall. Who are you and what do you want!" Kong said, even though everyone here could pretty much already guess their goal in coming here. "Well, I am known as Vash!" He said and looked at Borsalino with a look that said, "you''re mine". "We are here to test the strength of the marines. Our Captain doesn''t believe you all are worthy of controlling the world, so if you wanna keep that control. Don''t die too quickly!" Byakuya said with no emotions and put a hand on his sword. "Begin!" He said and signalled with his hand. "Let''s thin the numbers a little bit first." Lubbock waved his fingers in the direction of the marine standing behind Kong. "Chop!" The heads of every elite marine standing behind the fleet admiral fell to the floor as he said that word. The rest of the marines just stared at the now-dead marines and then turned their eyes to the smiling Lubbock. Anger and fury appeared on every single marine here and a yellow flash instantly appeared behind Bullock almost as soon as the heads fell to the floor. "Die for me!" Borsalino appeared and aimed his kick at the green-haired boys head. Anger and regret visible on his face. "No you don''t!" Vash appeared before the kick and stopped Borsalino''s foot with his gun and pulled the trigger. The light man groaned in pain as a bullet made it''s way through his foot and pierced another 2 marines behind Borsalino. "Haki?" He said as his leg returned to normal with the use of his fruit. He glared at Vash and swung his leg a little to get the movement back into his right leg. ''This Vash person is fast enough to keep up with Borsalino, but from the way they have spoken and acted, the one with long black hair should be the leader of this little group.'' Kong analyzed the group from the information they had gotten. He wanted to desperately know where on the power scale this blonde-haired man was placed. ''That boy. He went and became a pirate. This will be more troublesome than I first thought.'' Garp saw a boy with blue hair standing beside the green-haired one who killed all those elite marines. "You''re pretty dangerous," Borsalino said and carefully watched Vash movements. "The name is Vash, and you bet I am. Underestimate me and you''ll lose your life." He said while aiming his gun at his opponent in a playful manner. "How troublesome," Borsalino said while standing in front of the marine soldiers. No matter how he acted or talked in his daily life or on the battlefield. It never took away from the fact that he hated seeing his allied die and 2 had just lost their lives because he acted without enough knowledge. "Byakuya, I want that man for myself," Guts said and pointed at Z with a little excitement visible in his sharp eyes. "Just don''t kill him." Was all Guts got in response? "hm." Guts dashed towards the Z with a speed that surprised Z himself. Still, it wasn''t to the extent that he couldn''t handle it. Guts reached for his sword in the middle of the dash, but a giant fist of lava was flying towards him from the left side. Guts didn''t bother with it because he felt someone already moving in to block it. As the lava fist came close to Guts, a boy appeared in front of it and cut it apart completely. Sakazuki was forced to back off because haki was used and he would be seriously hurt if he continued on that path. "Toshiro Hitsugaya. A traitor. I shall kill you in the name of justice, for your crimes you have committed against the marines." Sakazuki, of course, knew about this boy. He used to hold great respect and hope for him. He had been one of the strongest Vice Admirals a few years back before he completely went off the grid. Neither the marines nor world government could find a single trace of where he had disappeared to. "What crimes? Not wanting to serve garbage like the world nobles. It''s you people that should be executed, because you are allowing their actions." Toshiro said and gripped his sword in anger. "Bastard. Enough talking, time for you to die a traitor." Sakazuki dashed towards Toshiro and turned his fist into the lava again. "not happening." Toshiro used his own fist and met Sakazuki''s and what he did next shocked the lava man greatly. He covered his own fist with ice and met Sakazuki and both lava and ice exploded out in a battle of dominance. "How do you have that devil fruit, you traitor. That power belongs to the marines. Now you can just dream of ever leaving this place alive." Sakazuki''s rage reached it''s limits and he put much more force into his attack. "Kuzan, have you lost you devil fruit? How does he use ice as well?" Kong looked at the ice man carefully. "No, I am still an ice man. I don''t think that is my devil fruit. Something feels different about it." Kuzan said while carefully observing Toshiro. "You are right. That is not at all like your weak fruit." Byakuya interrupted. The marines turned and stared at the man with long black hair and scarf decorating his outfit. "Your name was Byakuya, was it?" Sengoku said and stepped forward. He decided to test this boys strength himself. "Yes. You are gonna need him as well, or you are going to lose immediately." Byakuya pointed at Garp who just looked curious. Sengoku frowned at being underestimated. "Sengoku, Stop! Boy, what do you mean when you said Kuzan''s fruit was weak." Kong was more interested in information at this moment. "Honorable Grandfather gifted Toshiro an ancient and powerful ability. Your devil fruit is merely a bad copy of the power Toshiro wields." Byakuya said while standing completely relaxed. "So you''re Ginrei Grandson?" Garp asked since he was very curious about Ginrei''s identity and how he had stayed hidden for so long. "Yes, i am." Garp and Sengoku took the situation a little more serious now that his identity has been revealed. Ginrei''s grandson should be the strongest here from what they saw, so they both raised their awareness. "Garp, Sengoku, go make quick work out of that arrogant boy." Kong was also apprehensive, but he knew these two and how strong they were. Very few could match them and Kong was one of them. He didn''t really believe this young boy could stand with these two veterans on equal ground. "Let''s go, kid, show me your spirit," Garp said while laughing and threw another piece of candy into his mouth. "Garp, careful. He shows no fear. He surely has pride in his strength, so we need to take this slow." Sengoku''s personality was more on the careful side in all manner of life compared to Garp, and that also was true in battle situations. "Begin!" Byakuya said and took a step forward. ---------------------------------------------------- End Chapter 19 - Chapter 20 "Begin" Byakuya disappeared and reappeared behind Sengoku and punched his back, only to get it blocked by Garp who had seen it coming and moved to intercept. "Nice speed!" Byakuya said and made a mental note of Garp''s incredible speed. "Not so bad yourself," Garp said and grabbed Byakuya''s arm and tried to do an overhead throw, but Byakuya disappeared from his grip and reappeared at his original position. "Beautiful bond between you two. Sengoku trusted that you could handle it and didn''t stop my punch even though he could have." Byakuya made another important mental note about the elderly duo. "Come on then. Is that all you have, boy." Garp said and punched the air a few times. Byakuya moved again at an even faster speed, and this took Sengoku by surprise and he found Byakuya''s fist a few cm away from his face and tried to dodge to the side. Garp moved the instant Byakuya did and tried to stop the fist, but as he reached out Byakuya disappeared and Garp got a punch in the gut and was pushed back a few meters and spit up some blood. "I see you got faster." Garp wiped the blood off his lips and stared at Byakuya, now upping his awareness. He and Sengoku now understood what kind of opponent they were facing. Garp and Sengoku both flashed towards Byakuya and went on the offensive. Sengoku arrived and delivered a punch that was blocked by Byakuya and then he pushed extra hard, forcing Byakuya to take a step back and that was the opportunity Garp needed. He appeared beside Byakuya and punched him in the face. Byakuya did a quick flip in mid-air and landed on the ground a few meters away. Garp appeared behind him and tried to punch him into the ground, but Byakuya lowered his body down and delivered an incredibly fastback kick and sent Garp flying face first and broke apart the ground with his head as he flew back from the kick. "Got you!" Sengoku''s fist landed on Byakuya''s forehead, but he was not pushed back since he prepared and coated his forehead in haki. "Shit!" Sengoku tried to move back but Byakuya caught his arm and did an overhead throw and the ground broke apart when he slammed Sengoku into it. "Shit! That''s gonna hurt tomorrow." Sengoku felt his body being lifted again and tried to get loose from Byakuya''s grip, but to no avail. Kong appeared this time and from behind Byakuya he caught his head in a strong grip and prepared to crush it. He was about to put strength into his grip, but a dangerous killing intent started to rise and he disappeared from that spot. "How about you play with me instead. Byakuya is busy, you see." A woman with a nice figure and a pretty face walked towards Kong with her sword drawn. The spot where Kong had stood now had a deep sword cut into it. "And who might you be, girl?" Kong said and watched her walk over. "Cal Shekar. A pleasure to meet you fleet admiral Kong." Cal said and stopped walking when she was about 10 meters away from him. From around them, you could see Garp and Sengoku get sent flying and then in turn send Byakuya flying. Further away you saw explosions of ice and lava. The entire marineford was gonna be messed up after this, and Kong got so annoyed thinking about the cleanup and the paperwork he was gonna have to do. "Can''t say the same, pirate. Barging in and destroying someones home is very rude, don''t you think." Kong said and looked at her with a calm expression. "It will be our home eventually, so why not just move out now and save us the trouble." Cal said and smiled with a mischievous look on her face. "Funny. Are you coming over here, or am I gonna have to come there and beat you down." Cal got visibly annoyed at that comment, and her grip on the sword tightened. They dashed towards each other and clashed, fist to sword. Kong''s haki was the strongest in the marines and still, he felt a little danger every time they clashed. Usually he could take on great swordsmen with just his fists and not feel much danger. "Your skill is great, so how about you join the marines. You could actually do some good with that strength." Kong said and smiled at Cal. "No thanks." She broke away and did a sword swipe but he dodged it by ducking under it. She tried to knee him in the face but he caught her leg and threw her on the ground and she groaned in pain as she was slammed down. He punched at her stomach but she rolled away and flashed behind him and kicked his head so hard that he was sent face-first into the ground. ''Lucky i used haki or that would have been it for me. What a dangerous woman.'' Kong quickly flashed away and observed Cal. Kenshin who was left standing with Lubbock just stood back and stared at the fighting going on. He looked at the old woman and then the tall Afro dude who was observing him. ''He is dangerous. Let''s try and keep him out of the fighting.'' Tsuru observed Kenshin. She felt that out of all people here, marine and pirate alike. The most obvious person not to provoke would be this man. There was something about him that said, "you would not know how you died if you provoke me." "You two not going to act?" Kuzan said as he watched the two pirates left standing. "No need. Originally, only three of us was gonna go and fight here, so we are just the tag along. I seek no fighting at this time, only a good show." Kenshin said as he was not even looking at the two marines. He was observing Guts and Z trading blows. Guts hadn''t drawn his sword since he found out Z used no weapons to fight with. Explosion were going off in every battle and every now and then you could hear Vash wooing in happiness. Byakuya was observing the battles going on and figured this was enough for now. He didn''t want the others to be pushed to use trump cards. The marines were strong and he had to give them that. The commanders still didn''t have his grandpas strength so they couldn''t defeat the marines here immediately like he probably would be able to. "This was fun, but it''s time for us to leave," Byakuya said loud enough for everyone here to hear and the commanders all started to withdraw from their battles. "Oh, leaving so soon," Garp said, but he didn''t chase after them since Kong didn''t move. Kong had the right idea here, but there was one person that wouldn''t allow this to happen. "Don''t think you can leave here alive!" Sakazuki yelled at the top of his lungs and dashed after Toshiro as he had flashed over to the rest of the commanders. "Sakazuki STOP!" Kongo screamed but it was too late for that. "AAHHHHH!" Sakazuki suddenly fell on his knees and cried out in pain. No one saw what happened, but Tsuru observed the commanders and noticed that one of them was missing. "Here you go. You should keep him on a leech." Kong and the rest heard a voice behind them, but there stood no one behind them when they turned around. ''Could it be?'' Tsuru looked back at the pirates and noticed that the man she was observing was back standing there again. "What''s your name?" Tsuru asked out loud while locking eyes on her target. "hm, my name is Kenshin Himura. The 3rd fleet commander of the Gotei 13 Pirates." Kenshin who notice the old woman looking at him responded with a smile. ''What inhuman speed. He moved so fast not even Kong or Garp could see him. He took Sakazuki''s arm and delivered it to us and we still couldn''t see him do it. What kind of speed is that.'' Tsuru watched him like she was trying to solve a puzzle. The commanders of the Gotei stood on an ice block that was hovering in mid-air. Byakuya walked forwards and began to speak to the marines. "I am Byakuya Kuchiki, 2nd Fleet commander of the Gotei 13 pirates." "I am Kenshin Himura, 3rd Fleet commander of the Gotei 13 pirates." "I am Cal Shekar, 4th Fleet commander of the Gotei 13 pirates" "I am Toshiro Hitsugaya, 5th Fleet commander of the Gotei 13 pirates" "I am Guts, 6th Fleet commander of the Gotei 13 pirates." "I am Vash, 11th Fleet commander of the Gotei 13 pirates." "I am Lubbock, 12th Fleet commander of the Gotei 13 pirates." They all introduced themselves in a proper and almost noble manner. After this strange introduction, the giant ice block that Toshiro had created started floating up at high speed. The marines on the ground simply watched them disappear and most of them breathed out loudly and they fell on their butts after that short but terrifying fight. "Tend to the wounded. Tsuru, Z, Sengoku and Garp, follow me. We have things to discuss." Kongo gave his orders quickly to a marines standing near him then walked off with the four he pointed out. ''This will be impossible to cover up. What will happen on the Grand Line now that another emperor has appeared.'' Kongo sighed out loudly and cursed himself for accepting this damn position. He needed to get a job that was less stressful then this one. --------------------------------------------------------- End Chapter 20 - Chapter 22 2 years have passed since the small skirmish at Marineford. As Kong predicted, this even was impossible to keep a secret from the public eye. Pirates, news organizations, they all had sources inside the marines and just a day after the event. The world officially recognized Ginrei as the 5th emperor. No one knew where the man himself or his crew had their headquarters. Their ship was impossible to locate, and the island where Momonga and Strawberry had visited had been searched multiple times, but nothing was found. Not even a trace of Ginrei was found. The public called him the Enigmatic Emperor, because during these 2 years, he had rarely been seen and it was now common knowledge that him and his crew were impossible to track. No one knew where they had their base or if they even owned a ship. Nothing was known about them except their crazy strength. The marines and WG went through some major changes. The WG created an entire division dedicated to tracking the 5th emperor and the Gotei 13. And the marines had a change in leadership. Kong stepped down as fleet admiral and nominated Sengoku. Sengoku became the new fleet admiral without much issue and 3 new admirals were elected. Kizaru, Aokiji and Akainu now held the position as admirals. Other major events took place. Gold Lion Shiki became the first person to escape Impel Down. The warden of that same prison got thrown in a cell of his own, on the grounds of excessive violence used against the prisoners. Kong took up the position of Commander-In-Chief of the world government. He wanted a job with less stress, but it turned out this new job was worse. Now he had to directly deal with the WG and the marines on full time. When he found out about that, he almost ended his life in frustration. He also developed a new skill called pile stacking. The ability to stack hundreds of papers on top of each other without them falling down. Back on Ginrei''s island. Inside the Gotei 13s base, Robin sat and ate breakfast with Toshiro. For some reason when Robin met the commanders she had taken an extra liking to Toshiro, and she often requested him to train her in hand to hand combat. "Robin are you sure about your decision? You are only ten years only after all." Toshiro said while sipping ice-cold water. The water was below 0 degrees but for some reason, it didn''t turn into ice. "Ye, i feel a little sad leaving grandpa and everyone else, but i need to see the world. I believe i am ready for that. Don''t you think so, Toshi?" Robin completely saw Ginrei as her grandpa now. He had been the light in her life when everything else looked grim. She loved him like a real grandpa and he would always be the number one person in her life together with Saul as a close second. "Strength wise, you have a lot of room for improvement. A rear admiral would kill you almost immediately, so I am not okay with you going out there alone. But since the Captain gave you his okay, I can''t really say anything about it." Robin was the only person that was allowed to call him Toshi. Everyone else would get beaten down to the ground. Especially Lubbock who still refused to call him anything else. "take Saul with you, Robin." Kenshin came into the kitchen and sat down with them at the table. "I suppose i could, but he is not on the island and i don''t know when he will return again." Saul had left a couple months ago on a journey. He wanted to, "find himself". Robin wanted to go now, so waiting for him to "find himself" was not an option for her. "You''re not that keen on waiting for him, then?" Kenshin asked. "Not really. Anyways, I''m done eating, so I will go and pack my stuff." Robin said and left the seat. A robot that was standing off to the side quickly swooped in and grabbed the dishes she left behind on the table. "Toshiro, are you going with the captain on his mission?" Kenshin turned to Toshiro who was trying to sleep on the table. "No! No one is. He wanted to test Impel down himself." Toshiro said with his head still resting on the table. "I don''t know why he wants that man for the Gotei 13. He doesn''t seem that stable in the head." Kenshin said and closed his eyes and sighed. "I think he was thinking of placing him in Hisoka''s unit as his right hand man. I''m not sure though." They both sat in silence after that. Toshiro trying to sleep, and Kenshin was thinking of who to recruit as his right hand man. The commanders had all been inactive these 2 years. Ginrei planned to do a few more things in this universe then leave for another, and return ones the plot started. He was planning on beginning his world domination during the Marineford war. That would be the start of removing the world nobles and their control. He did this mostly because he kinda wanted to see and be apart of that legendary war. He also wanted to save Ace and Whitebeard because he respected them both greatly. Now because he didn''t fully know the plot, he limited the Gotei''s movements as much as possible until it was time to act in full. --------------------------------- Ginrei was currently floating above impel down. He was watching a marine ship carrying prisoners docking in front of the building. A vice-admiral was on board this ship as an escort. Mostly because the prisoners were a little difficult to handle. "Bastille, is this the entire batch?" A man with a giant body was asking a man dressed fully in a marine outfit. This was Vice admiral Bastille and the new prison warden, Magellan. "Yes! The usual pirate trash. We found them sailing away from an island at the beginning of the New World. The captain has a 300 million bounty. He killed a rear admiral that just join my crew recently. Make sure you welcome this captain kindly." Bastille said with anger clear as day on his face. "Don''t worry, we have the perfect place for someone like him. A marine killer will never find the sweet release of death inside my prison." Magellan said and looked at the man they were talking about. The pirate captain in question was currently shaking in fear. "Good. Now I must be leaving. Good day to you, Magellan." Bastille said and began to board his ship. Magellan waved at him while smiling. "To you as well, Vice-admiral," Magellan said. Both of them suddenly felt a presence behind them. This person clearly directed their aura so that these two would notice. "Leaving so soon, Vice-admiral?" An elderly voice said from behind them. They both looked back and their jaws hit the floor when they saw the person who stood there and smiling at them "The Enigmatic Emperor, Ginrei. What does a man of your status doing here in my prison." Magellan said while parts of his body started to transform slowly. As a warden, he had great knowledge about pirates, and he knew that this emperor in front of him could move at terrifying speeds. It kinda showed with how he got here without himself or Bastille noticing. "You have someone locked in here that i want you to release into my custody of sorts. It would be such a shame if i have to destroy your prison just to get them out." He said while still smiling. He stood there completely relaxed, which worried both these men because it showed that Ginrei had complete confidence in beating them. "You do know that''s not how it works, old man. I''m gonna have to ask you to leave or I will make you." Both of them had the pride of the marines, so no matter who they face, they would not back down. They represented the justice and safety of the world so they could not ever back down to criminals. "Such a shame. Remember that you are the ones that are going to be responsible for what is about to happen." Ginrei said and his smile disappeared entirely. "BRING IT!" Magellan yelled and dashed towards Ginrei with no fear in his body. ------------------------ End Chapter 21 - Chapter 23 Magellan arrived in front of Ginrei in a few seconds and put all his power into a punch, which he aimed at Ginrei''s head. He had the strength of a Vice-admiral and on top of that he had his devil fruit. It made for a truly deadly combo. "You need to increase your speed my boy." Ginrei said and punched the incoming fist that covered his entire view. The punch was too much for Magellan to handle and he was thrown back towards the ocean. "Oops, can''t have you dying on me yet." Ginrei appeared where Magellan was flying and held out his hand and the venom man came to an immediate stop and Ginrei dropped him down on the bridge again and quickly kicked him so he flew and crashed through the doors of the prison. This exchange happened in about 2 seconds so Bastille couldn''t truly follow Ginrei as he played around with Magellan. "Disappointing." Ginrei said and appeared behind Bastille and and grabbed him by the throat. He lifted him up in the air and watched him struggle. "hm, i will let you live. I see no reason to kill you." Ginrei chocked him out so he lost consciousness. He dropped Bastille down on the ground and moved into the prison. Inside the prison just past the doors, Magellan was laying on the ground and groaning in pain after receiving two punches from an emperor level haki user. To say that it hurt was an understatement. "Just stay there and i won''t have to hurt you more." Ginrei walked past him with his hand behind his back. An hour later and some major damage to the prison walls and floors, Ginrei finally arrived at the level he was looking for. Level 6. ''Now let''s see here. Where is that man.'' Ginrei walked past a lot of cells until he heard a male voice beside him. "What is an emperor doing visiting my prison?" Ginrei stopped and looked at the cell he had just walked past. It was incredibly dark inside the cells so it was hard to make up the facial features of the prisoners, but he knew he had found the man he was looking for. "I am looking for you." Ginrei said and walked up to the cell and looked inside. "So what do you want?" The man inside asked him. "I want to extend an invitation for you to join the Gotei 13. I assume you heard about us before you got locked in here?" "Why would i join you?" The man covered by shadows said while looking into Ginrei''s eyes. "First of all. I know you want to. Secondly, who wants to spend their life in a cage? ha, ha,?" Ginrei could basically read the guys mind. This man was not a complicated person to understand. "ha, ha, ha, what can you promise if i do decide to join your little band of pirates?" He asked as he voice became serious. "You will be my right hand man. You can also fight me for the position of captain if you want." Ginrei made his voice spread out throughout this prison level. He wanted every prisoner here to hear him and this man talk. "ha, ha, ha, fine I''ll join your crew. I would die in seconds of the battle beginning so you can keep your position, captain." He laughed while accepting Ginrei''s offer. "Wonderful. Let''s leave now." As soon as he said that, the prison bars on this cell was completely cut apart. "Hey, free me and I''ll join your crew as well." "Ye, ye, like he said. Free me and I''ll become your left hand man." "Forget them, I''m all you need. They''re nothing compared to me." Tons of these offers were yelled out by the people on this level. This was exactly the reason he spread his voice. He wanted the Zero division of the Gotei 13 to be filled with the strongest he could find. He originally was gonna be the 1st division captain, but he changed things when he sent Bradely to the marines. He would summon another person to be the commander of the 1st division and he would lead the strongest, Zero division himself. "You can all come along. Follow me!" Ginrei started walking and like magic, all the bars on the cells were cut apart. The man walking behind Ginrei watched this swordplay with round eyes. ''I just saw glimpses of him drawing the sword. His overall speed in absolutely inhuman. I have never witnessed anything close to this.'' He thought as he walked behind Ginrei. With an army behind him, he started making his way back up to the surface. A smile appeared on Ginrei''s face as he suddenly felt the arrival of the marine hero. He had appeared in front of the prison and he was standing outside waiting for them to walk out of Impel down. After a while, Ginrei and his army appeared on the first floor of the prison and they all saw the exit gate. Tears of happiness appeared in the eyes of these pirates as they saw the sunlight shine through the broken-down door. A voice rang from outside the door and startled everyone except the two men at the front. "Shiryu, you were supposed to stay in your cage for a few more years. What are you doing on the outside?" The voice belonged to someone Shiryu remembered vividly. "I got a ones in a lifetime offer that i just couldn''t refuse. You understand, don''t you, Garp!" Shiryu said while smoking a cigar that Ginrei had so kindly offered him when they left level 6. "I do. But I''m afraid i can''t let you leave this place. You understand, don''t you, Shiryu." Garp said while smiling with an ear to ear smile. Of course, his eyes were was not smiling at all. He watched the both of them with his guard fully up. Ginrei was not someone to take lightly. "Gentlemen. This has been fun. But i am afraid that we have to leave. I don''t have all the time in the world to spend here talking to you. Even though it is very good to finally meet you, Garp." Ginrei said. "It would do you good to stay inside that prison," Garp said while watching Ginrei very closely. "Unfortunately, i am in no mood to stay here any longer. This place is pretty depressing." Ginrei disappeared in a speed so fast that Garp didn''t register that he had moved until he got punched in the head and sent flying miles into the ocean. "Gentlemen, it''s time to go." ''Ginrei waved his hand and everyone he brought with him out started floating up and they all quickly disappeared above the clouds. A few seconds later, Garp appeared outside the prison again with a big bruise on the right side of his face. He looked around and noticed everyone was gone. "Now where the hell did they go?" Garp looked around all confused, and he looked at the marines that was hiding on the warship that Bastille arrived in. "S-Sir, they all went flying upwards." A marine said in fright. He and the rest had just seen the marine hero get sent flying for miles with one punch, so it was no wonder that they were afraid for their lived right now. ''Flying, huh. So is that why we can''t find them? Sengoku will love this little revelation.'' Garp laughed out loud and boarded the marine ship with Bastille over his shoulder. "Set course for headquarters." Nothing seemed to be able to bring this mans mood down. He looked up at the sky in wonder. ''Is he a devil fruit user like Shiki?'' Garp started theorizing while the ship started moving. -------------------------------------- End Chapter 22 - Chapter 24 Ginrei and his army of pirates had just arrived at his personal floating base that was hovering above the clouds. There were 178 pirates in total that he had gotten from impel down and the only person he knew he would keep was Shiryu. "Shiryu. Since i explained that this zero division will have 6 people not including me in it''s inner circle. What are your suggestions in finding the best of the best among these pirates here." Ginrei and Shiryu was sitting inside the top floor of his base. Ginrei office was here and it was a huge one. The room itself was 70 meters long and almost equally wide. In the middle of the room he had a big circular table with 7 chairs around it. This was for the members of the zero division''s inner circle. They were both sitting on one chair around this table with a mug of alcohol in hand. "I suggest the process of elimination. Pin them against each other in a deathmatch and the 5 people that are left standing are your inner members." He said with a neutral tone of voice. "Good. On the 10th floor, there is an arena that you can use. Go and gather the pirates and set this up. I have something to do, so when I get back, I hope to see my new members." Ginrei said and emptied his mug. "It will be done!" Shiryu bowed and walked off. After seeing the display of strength at Impel down, he had absolutely no doubt that he could find someone better to follow then Ginrei. He was terrified by his strength so he didn''t even wanna think about disobeying Ginrei. Ginrei watched him leave the room and then rested his head against the back of the chair. The chairs themselves were 5 meters in height so both he and Shiryu could rest their heads against the chair while sitting. ''Now I only need to summon my 1st division commander, then I can leave for another universe.'' Ginrei got up from his chair and walked over to his personal desk that was just in front of a massive window that almost reached the roof in terms of height. ''System, bring up the summon list.'' A familiar window appeared in front of his eyes and he started to scroll through it while thinking about who would fit this role the most. "I guess i could summon him.. Though he is not as much a leader as he is an executioner. But he certainly fits the Gotei 13, personality-wise." Ginrei sat back in his chair and closed his eyes for a while. ''Yes. Guess he will have to do. System, summon Alucard!'' A red circle appeared in front of the desk and smoke started to appear. Soon enough, Ginrei could see the silhouette of a person inside the smokey circle. "Alucard is here to serve, Master." A deep voice rung out from the smoke and two bright red eyes appeared and stared at Ginrei with reverence. "You will call me Captain and nothing else. Is that understood?" Ginrei said with a domineering aura. "Yes, Captain." Alucard said, and now the black smoke had disappeared and his entire form could be seen. He looked exactly the same as his original counterpart. "Good." Ginrei started to explain everything about the Gotei 13 and that he was gonna be the first commander of the Gotei 13. Bradely was moved to be the 13th. Not because of his strength, but because it would be the person less focused on. He could remain more hidden if his status within the Gotei was low. He would keep it like this until Bradely could publicly make it known he belonged to the Gotei 13. Ginrei was gonna continue speaking with Alucard but a voice interrupted him. {Master Ginrei. Byakuya''s division intercepted a transmission from the marines. Robin was spotted and caught by a Vice-admiral sailing in the west blue with a world noble. She is currently being escorted aboard the world nobles ship with Akainu joining in as escort.} Sylvia''s voice that had been installed in every base reported. *BOOM* The window and the desk inside Ginrei''s room exploded into hundreds of pieces. "Alucard. We are starting a slaughter!" Ginrei said with his entire aura exploding out from his body. Shiryu and the other pirates on board this floating base shivered in fear when all of the sudden, a massive pressure descended on top all of them. The only one that could still stand was Alucard. "Yes, Captain. I can''t wait!" Alucard grew a savage smile and stood up from his kneeling position. "Sylvia, do we have the position of the world noble?" Ginrei said with fury in his voice. {Yes Master. They are about 3,000 miles west of here.} Ginrei location was not west blue at the moment. "Come Alucard." Ginrei said and Alucard walked over to his captain. Ginrei took him by the shoulder and they both disappeared. Alucard was about to be the first person to see his Ginrei''s full speed. It was a mind-boggling speed. It took him exactly 29,8 seconds to travel that distance and he stopped when he saw a ship to luxurious to not be a world noble. Ginrei and Alucard hovered in mid-air and looked at the ship that was sailing along the sea surface. Ginrei scanned the ship and found Robin''s aura inside the ships prison area. She was not the only person there. "Alucard destroy all those marine ships around the big white one. spare NO ONE! kill them all!" Ginrei was raging and Alucard felt it with every word his captain spoke out loud. "Yes, captain!" Alucard floated down towards the ships. ''I was gonna wait, but forget that idea. Today you die, lava boy!'' Ginrei disappeared towards the ship that and the people foolish enough to take his granddaughter from him. ------------------------- End Chapter 23 - Chapter 25 Admiral Akainu was standing at attention behind a man sitting on another person. He was using a human like a chair and at the same time, he was hitting him, but forbade him from falling down on the ground. Every time the person used as a chair was about to give out, Akainu would burn some part of him with his lava, of course, he did it because the bubble head man ordered it. "Brat, it appears that the marines think they can do whatever they want without consequences. Let me show you what happens when someone angers me." A voice appeared behind the Akainu and the bubble head man. "Who are you?" The bubble head man looked behind him and saw the furious Ginrei standing there and glaring at Akainu. "Answer me scum! who are you, and why are you on my ship!" The bubble man yelled with snot running down his nose. "Shut up, you inbred!" Ginrei said in anger towards the bubblehead. "WHAT! AKAINU KILL HIM NOW!!" The bubblehead roared in anger. Akainu just watched Ginrei as he was still shocked as to why he was here on this ship. "What are you here for?" Akainu said while ignoring the screaming man beside him. "You think you can take my granddaughter and expect me not to act," Ginrei said and his conquerors haki exploded out and every single person on the ship got knocked unconscious, except Akainu. "Robin is your granddaughter?" He said, clearly surprised about this revelation. No more talking!" Ginrei said and drew his sword slowly. "Fine!" Akainu used Soru and pushed it to the limit. He appeared behind Ginrei in a single moment and threw a lava fist at the old man. "Too weak!" Ginrei already stood and faced Akainu when he appeared behind him. He stopped Akainu''s lava fist with one finger and and raised his sword. "I am not one to play with my opponents when I am angry!" Ginrei said and slashed at Akainu. He tried to dodge it, but the slash almost reached light speed so head quickly was sent flying into the air by the wind pressure of the sword slash. Ginrei looked at the corpse of Akainu, then he turned his eyes to the world noble responsible for all the deaths that would occur here. "You are going to suffer a thousand years worth of pain. Hisoka and Undertaker are perfect for this. I shall let them taste their first world noble. But after this day, you certainly won''t be their last," He said and flashed away. He appeared inside the ship''s prison. He looked at the main cell and saw Robin there, bound and gagged. She had bruises and scars all over her body. He watched the dried tears on her face and the entire sea in about a hundred-mile radius started to shake. Almost like Whitebeard had used his ability to cause a quake. "I am sorry, Robin." He said and cut the bars to the cell. He walked in and also cut the ropes holding her suspended in the air. ''I promise. At the Marineford war. I will exterminate every marine and then I will move on to the world nobles and then I will exterminate them all. I will also rip the tongue out of the person responsible for letting them rule the world." It literally took everything he had just to not go and kill every single world noble and marine he could find. He had a plan and he needed to stick to it. At least until the plot started. He wanted the worlds he would rule over to have some order, and he didn''t know what could happen if he changed too much about the future. He didn''t have enough information about these things to act too irresponsibly. He honestly not sure of what would happen now that he killed Akainu. "G-Grandpa??" Robin''s voice leaked out. It was barely audible because of how weak she was at the moment. "Yes, kiddo. I am here and I promise no one will ever lay a hand on you again. Not ever. Your grandpa will destroy the world if they ever try again." Ginrei said while the area around him finally calmed down. "Come kiddo, it''s time to go back home. No more adventures for you." Ginrei said and Robin fell asleep in his arms, as she finally felt the sweet embrace of her grandpa. The feeling of safety and love overtook her and tears fell form her eyes, even though she had fallen asleep. "Sylvia, are you there?" Ginrei spoke into a device that was inside his ear. {Yes master Ginrei!} "Tell Hisoka to come and pick up the world noble and Akainu''s bodies. Take the bubble head to the undertaker and tell him to personally deliver Akainu to the marine headquarters." Ginrei had appeared on the deck already and he watched as Alucard was killing marine after marine in a fit of joy. Ginrei disappeared towards his island. Alucard noticed his captain leaving and quickly went back to work. He was currently ripping out the heart of a marine rookie that had snot and tears running down his face. "STOP YOU BASTARD!!" A man with what used to be a nice looking suit and a marine coat yelled at this monster that had appeared from nowhere. The man''s suit was covered with blood because of all the times he had beheaded and cut apart this monster. But whatever he did, the monster would just return in full force again with all limbs attached. "Your crew tastes delicious!!" Alucard said while licking the neck of the marine in his grasp. He was staring at the highest-ranking marine here. "BASTARD!" The man flew at Alucard and cut off the arm that was holding the marine who was now missing his heart. The arm that was holding the heart fell to the floor. "That wasn''t very nice!" Alucard said and hit the marine in the face, making him crash straight into the captain''s cabin. When the man came out again, Alucard had all his limbs attached again. His eyes were blood red and he was about to lose his mind. The ship was littered with bodies without heads, hearts, limbs or everything at ones. And this monster had killed and destroyed everything on a total of four marine warships. "WHY DON''T YOU DIE!!" He flew at Alucard at the fastest speed he could muster. "Because as you said. I AM A MONSTER!" Alucard caught the marine by the throat in the middle of his dash. "Let me have a taste." Alucard showed his fangs and then he bit the man''s neck and in just a few seconds, drained the entire body of blood. "Aaah, Vice Admiral Stainless. I see you had quite a boring life. What a disappointing meal." Alucard looked around and realized everyone and everything was dead and destroyed. The ship he is standing on was about to break down completely. "Time to return to the master. oops, I mean Captain." Alucard laughs as his body started to turn into mist and eventually his lingering laughter also disappeared. What was left behind was the bloodies scene to ever occur on this sea? Everyone that is summoned by Ginrei gets what the system refers to as an "inheritance". Alucard got one as well, and because the original Alucard is one of the strongest beings in existence. This inheritance pushed him to a point where it''s unclear if even Ginrei can actually fully kill him. ------------------------ End Chapter 24 - Chapter 26 In the air above the Grand Line, a 4-meter long cross could be seen floating along quietly. If you listened closely you could hear whistling coming from it as well. The cross was coloured red and on it hung a headless body. The red colour on the cross came from the massive amounts of blood that was pouring out from this body. "What a wonderful day to ruin some lives, don''t you think so as well, Sakazuki my boy." A man best described as a clown or jester was sitting cross-legged on the cross with a single head in front of him. The head, of course, belonged to the dead admiral Sakazuki. "Oops, I forgot you can''t talk, ha, ha, ha, ha!" Hisoka said while rubbing the back of his head like a cliche anime character. His smile went from genuine happiness to nightmare material because he started imagining the faces of the marines when he showed up with this lovely present. "I will place the fear of God in them for messing with my Robin. They don''t deserve her." He said and an even more sadistic smile grew one his face. No child would sleep well after seeing that smile up close. ------------------ "Fleet admiral Sengoku. Urgent Report!" A marine ran into the room of the fleet admiral in the middle of a meeting and got very displeasing looks to form everyone present at the meeting. "What is it?" Sengoku said to the young marines who was sweating bullets from all the intense looks he got from the people here "We got a weird report from a ship just a few miles from here. A man sitting on a floating cross is flying in the direction of headquarters. He will arrive in only a few minutes if he follows his current course." The man reported with a clear voice. "A floating cross? Do we know who it is?" Garp said who sat beside him. He only knew of two people who were confirmed users of some kind of flying ability. "No, Sir. But there is body on the cross. The reports also say that the body is wearing admiral Akainu''s dark red suit. The body itself is without a head, so it''s impossible to confirm at this time." The marine said and Sengoku flipped out. "WHAT! Why didn''t you say so sooner, you fool!" Headquarters had lost contact with Akainu the day prior and no one could find the fleet that he was supposed to be on. Sengoku feared the worst right away. "This meeting is over! Garp, we will go meet whoever is controlling that cross." Sengoku and Garp disappeared from the room. Only a few random marines were left with shocked faces. They all feared the worst, just like Sengoku. A few minutes later, Sengoku and Garp stood at the edge of the harbour on Marineford. They were both looking at a cross that appeared over the horizon. The sun was in the process of going down, so the cross became harder to see every second. "Garp, you recognize the man on top that thing?" Sengoku had a furious look on his face. Probably because he saw the same thing that Garp did. "No, I don''t. What I do recognize, is that body." Garp said with a grim look on his face. He never agreed with Akainu''s sense of justice but he was still a fellow marine. The loss of this man was not good for the marines or the world government. "Hello there, Sengoku. Captain asked me to dump off this of garbage to you. Apparently, you know him?" Hisoka said with a smile best described as full-on evil. "Who are you and who is your captain?" Garp said. He was definitely the calmer one of the two as of this moment. "My name is Hisoka. My friends call me the evil Jester. I am the 7th Commander of the Gotei 13. My captain is Ginrei Kuchiki." Hisoka said while standing up and bowing towards the two veterans. He then proceeded to throw something at the ground. "Here, catch!" A head came flying and landed right in front of Sengoku and it was, of course, Akainu''s head. Sengoku lost all words, and so did Garp. This man just flew up to Marineford and threw the head of an admiral at the feet of the Fleet admiral himself. Sengoku didn''t bother with words. He used Soru and appeared behind Hisoka and grabbed him by the head and used Soru again and slammed him into the ground back where Garp stood. The ground broke when Hisoka''s face connected with it. "You will be thrown into Impel down and you will rot there for eternity," Sengoku said to Hisoka that was struggling in his grasp. "Garp gets a ship ready, you''re going to Impel down with this scum," Sengoku said, and Garp started moving while sighing. "hohohahahahahahaha!" The clown in his grip started laughing hysterically. "What''s so damn funny!" Sengoku screamed in his face while pressing him against the ground. "What''s so funny??!! Of course, it''s the fact that I''m so disappointed that you both got caught in my illusion this easily. hahaha!" Hisoka said and the body Sengoku was pressing down on the ground disappeared. Suddenly Sengoku found himself standing beside Garp and still looking at the head of Akainu that was in front of him on the ground. "Is this the strength of the legendary marine duo??!" Hisoka that was still sitting on the cross said. "I could have killed you a hundred times over by now. Next time, don''t get caught so easily." Hisoka said and smoke started appearing around him and soon his body together with the smoke was gone. The cross fell down and landed on the ground causing it to crack under it''s wight. "The press will a field day with this. What has the world come to?" Garp said while looking at Akainu''s body with eyes that showed sadness and slight regret. "Where did these people come from is the question i want answered. I have never seen or heard about them and then suddenly they appear out of nowhere and becomes the most dangerous people we have ever faced." Sengoku said while trying to calm his rage and frustration from this days event. "At least now I know why Kong retired," Sengoku said while sighing in frustration. He ordered the marines to get Akainu''s body and he made his way inside alongside Garp. ----------------------------- End Chapter 25 - Chapter 27 A few days later in Ginrei''s office on his floating island. A group of very powerful people were gathered here. This was, of course, the commanders of the Gotei 13 and their captain, Ginrei himself. "So why did you call us here Father?" Bradely had escaped from his duties of the marines and came here for this meeting. He had just gotten to headquarters and was now being tested in multiple ways. He was actually supposed to be on his way to an island on the Grand Line and capture a pirate there. "I called you all here to talk about what I am. I know you all feel it as well. The fact that I am not just a normal human, but something more." Ginrei said and the others just nodded along. They had indeed felt something about him. It was something about his aura and the feeling he gave them when they were close to him. This was because of the summon connection, but he would never tell them that. "So the best way I can explain this is by telling you all that I am a multidimensional being. This means that I can travel through dimension but also universes." Ginrei said and waited for their reaction. "Honorable Grandfather. Does this mean you are not from this world" Byakuya asked? He was not afraid or especially shocked. He was intrigued more than anything else. "That''s correct. I basically live in-between universes. Meaning I can live in anyone I choose. I am the only one in existence that can freely travel like this. Well, that used to be true. My children and grandchildren have this ability as well." Ginrei was informed by the system that his family automatically got the ability. It was of course very limited in how they could use it. They did not have free rein with it as he did. "You mean to say that we can travel to new worlds?" Byakuya, now very shocked asked with interest. "Not at first. I need to take you to whatever world that is and let you absorb its energy. When that is done, as long as you are powerful enough, you can travel to that world yourself." Ginrei said while scanning all commanders here. Everyone except Bradley and Byakuya was just listening in and were not commenting. "Is this dangerous for us. seeing as we are not like you or as powerful?" Bradely asked. He honestly had little interest in this sort of travelling. He only wanted to complete the missions he was given. If the mission was to travel, then he would. Anything other than that he would see as distractions to his Fathers mission. "If you are not powerful enough then it can be deadly for you to travel through just dimensional cracks. Let alone entire universes." Both of his family members just nodded to the answer. "Father, before this, you said children. Do you have others in other worlds?" Bradely asked. The family was the only other thing besides the missions that he cared about. "That is correct. Bradely, you have a brother in another world I visited. The time flows differently between universes, so I don''t know how old he is. This is also the reason I don''t know my own age." Ginrei had not looked at his status, so he truly didn''t know his own age and he liked that. He felt a little mysterious and that''s something he enjoyed about himself. "I see. Then I would very much like to meet this brother of mine one day." He smiled while he said this, and he rarely smiled about anything. "Of course. But let''s get back to the reason I called you here besides giving you all this information. The very reason I had to tell you this is because I am going on a journey to a different universe. I will be gone for quite a few years." Ginrei said and all the commanders displayed different emotions. "Captain, are we allowed to travel with you." This time, someone unexpected spoke up. "It all depends. I will make many journeys like this, so I might bring you all with me from time to time. Or I might go alone. This time though, I did plan to bring with me some of you. That is of course if you want to." He said to the woman who spoke. "I would be willing." "Glad to hear it, Rize," Ginrei said and looked at them all again and continued. "I planned to ask Alucard, Undertaker, Rize and Ryo to travel with me. What do you all say?" Ginrei looked at the commanders in question. "It would make me very happy," Rize said with a smile. "I am willing!" Ryunosuke said with no real emotions displayed on his face. "I would follow Master anywhere!" Alucard said, without realizing he said master instead of captain. Ginrei ignored it since he really didn''t care what he called him now that they would go to another universe. "A world full of a new and unique specimen. I will follow gladly." Undertaker and smiled while half his face was hidden by his hair. "Okay. All of you that were not called this time. Stay here and keep the Gotei 13 in line. Keep it alive and active. The only rule does not destroy the world." Ginrei knew that was a pretty lax rule. Many of these commanders could do a lot of damage without going as far as destroying the world. "Yes, captain!" They all said and kneeled. "Dismissed. You four stay!" The four chosen stayed while the rest disappeared from their spot using a variety of different abilities. ''Now I need to say goodbye to the rest and then give some explanation to Shiryu. Maybe he would believe I am going on a very special journey for close to 20 years." Ginrei sighed and then made his way towards Shiryu with his four commanders following behind him. ------------------------- End Chapter 26 - Chapter 28 (Author Note! It has been so long since i read any eastern martial cultivation novel and i don''t really have time to read it currently. We will have to skip those worlds until i have caught up with some of them. I might skip them all, i still don''t know though. In this new volume i will experiment with some slow-moving writing and more conversation centered content. Not so much that it will annoy you, hopefully. I will also focus a lot on developing MC and his relationship with his family and all that. ---------------------------------- Inside the void between universes and dimensions, 5 irregularities were floating along with the stream. One of them was floating with closed eyes and relaxing while the others were all watching the endless starry sky outside this multi-coloured stream that they were currently inside of. "This is fascinating, Master," Undertaker said with awe visible on his face and inside his eyes. He and the rest of them took on Alucard''s way of addressing Ginrei after they entered the dimensional stream, that this place was called. "It''s quite the sight isn''t it," Ginrei said with both eyes closed. "What''s out there, outside this river or stream as you call this," Ryu asked while referring to what looked like a starry night sky that existed outside the stream. "That existence itself, i suppose would be the best way to explain it. All those countless shining stars that looks like the stars in an ordinary night sky, is in fact different universes. This stream is connected to all of them and that''s how i travel between all worlds in existence." Ginrei explained while looking incredibly bored of their current situation. "That''s an incredible ability, My Master," Alucard said in a low and creepy voice which still made the skin on their bodies crawl. "It is. So don''t anger me or I might leave you in a universe where death is the only outcome." Ginrei said with a mischievous look. "Master, would you mind if i asked you a question?" Ryu who was the other one other then Ginrei who calmed down pretty fast after seeing this stream. He was very cold and calculative and he usually never asked questions, but when he did they always had a specific point to them. "Sure, ask away." Ginrei didn''t mind that they called him master, but it still sounded a little weird coming from Ryu''s quiet and emotionless tone of voice. "Is you of now, the real you?" Ryu had his eyes glued on his masters back since he was floating behind him. "Are you asking if I''m really at all?" Ginrei turned around and faced his subordinates. The look in their eyes said that they were all curious now if what he asked had any truth to it. "Yes! You seem a little too simple for being someone that can travel between dimensions and universes." Ryu actually seemed to struggle to find the right words to explain what he was feeling. "That doesn''t really make sense, but i think i know what you are getting at, Ryu. And you''re right. Let me show you the real me." Ginrei said and his body started to morph. His body physique changed somewhat. His height changed to 8 Feet and he now had a pretty muscular figure with well defined muscles. It wasn''t quite as muscular as Goku, but it wasn''t far from it. He had slicked-back dark brown hair that wasn''t too long. He had metallic gray or more known as silver-coloured eyes and overall, he looked pretty much like the definition of mid 40s handsomeness. This kind of man would be getting looks almost everywhere he went and maybe even a few phone numbers if this was his last life still. "This is my original appearance. This is what I was born into." This was him from his last life but even though he showed this form, he would never be stupid enough to tell anyone where he really came from. "KYAAAAA! YOU''RE SO HANDSOME MASTER!" Rize tried to desperately swim over and hug him and cuddle against that amazing face he now had. "Stop right there, little girl!" Alucard grabbed her by the head with his freakishly long arms and held her in place. "Unhand me you devil. I must cuddle!" Rize tried to fight against the grip but Alucard wasn''t one to lose a physical confrontation. "Both of you, calm down." With his new look his voice had changed as well. He had that legendary sexy growl in his voice that would make any man or woman fall for him. (Author''s opinion) "This is what i was created to look like, and my real name is Portgas D Dragon." This was who he was before he died, and of course the name was something he had thought of on the spot a while back so it wasn''t the most creative name he could have picked. "You are a true enigma, Master," Ryu said and smiled genuinely for the first time since he was summoned. "You couldn''t be more right, Ryu. The fact is, that not even i know why i really exist. I don''t know why these abilities were given to me." there was some truth in that statement. He never really pondered on why he was allowed to do all of this and if he was the only traveler of this kind. He sure hoped that he was the only one since he didn''t want his identity to be compromised. "No matter what, you have our loyalty, master Dragon. We are here to serve you in whatever way you want." Undertaker said with a smile behind that hair that was covering the majority of his messed up and scarred face. "YES! In whatever way you see fit!!!" Rize said and licked her lips while staring at her master with a crazy look in her eyes. Her eyes screamed hunger, but what scared him was that he didn''t know what kind of hunger she thirsted for. "By the way, master. What should we call you?" Ryu was the one to ask the question while helping Alucard in subduing Rize. "You can just call me Dragon or master, whatever you see fit." He said with a tired and lazy tone of voice. "Another quick note. All of you turn towards me. I have to fix your attire. They don''t really fit the world we''re visiting. Stay still! Dragon said and raised his hand towards his captains and they started to glow and their clothes were changed from their specific suits to a new form of clothing. The captains now had on a classic black long-sleeved Kung Fu jacket and black pants. Dragon had on a Tai Chi Kung Fu Uniform that had a white top and black pants. If you look on all of them as a unit, it would be obvious to anyone that Dragon was the master and they were the students. Not only because of the colors but also the dominating aura that Dragon had over them. Dragon''s body physique coupled with the attire he had on, made him look exceptional and he looked both enlightened and fierce at the same time. Calm as the sea on a sunny day, but at the same time as fierce as the most terrifying storm. "Great! Now be ready because we are soon arriving at our destination." Dragon said and communicated to the system and prepared for where they would appear in the elemental nations. Dragon didn''t care much for the plot of Naruto because they were just animations to him before, but now they would be real walking and talking people. He didn''t think of anyone as fiction so he pondered on how he would feel when he met people that he never thought would actually bed real. [Arriving in 10 seconds] The system gave the warning and the dimensional stream started to shine and vibrate and then everything went completely white and the captains behind Dragon all lost consciousness. ---------------------------- End Chapter 27 - Chapter 29 In the middle of a vast forest, a swirling portal appeared and spit put five people on the ground. four of those five people were unconscious while the last one landed gracefully on his feet. After a few seconds the rest started to wake up. "Master, where are we?" Rize struggled to stand up but she was very dizzy for reasons she didn''t understand. "Take your time. Everyone struggles with this kind of travel the first time. Take your time adjusting." Dragon said and looked around for any sign of life nearby. Contrary to what Dragon said, everyone except Rize stood up without much of an issue. Alucard didn''t look uncomfortable in the least, even though he had just been unconscious not even a minute ago. "Little girl, you okay?" Alucard said and helped Rize stand up. She and undertaker took it the worst since they were the weakest of the four captains here. "ye, ye, I''m fine. Nothing to worry about." She said and looked around at where they had landed. "Again, master. Where are we?" She felt the difference in natural energy in the air immediately. Because she was using magic to fuel her abilities. Whatever this energy did not feel like magic, it only had similarities to it. "We are in what is called the elemental nations. It is made up off different major villages and we are outside the village hidden in the leaves. I have limited knowledge about this world, but i do know a few things that will get us by." Dragon said and started stretching because his body always tensed up when traveling like that. "Are these villages strong?" Ryu asked while touching a tree and testing out if his magic worked here. "Garp, Sengoku and those individuals would struggle here to an extent, but this and that world are very close in strength. There are certain people here with very interesting and weird abilities." Dragon said and started to scan the area using magic sense. "Will we go visit this leaf village then?" Undertaker asked with excitement. He felt two intertwining energies in the air, and he wanted to test out how they compared to the magic they all depended on. "Yes we will. There is are a few people i would like to meet and examine" Dragon didn''t have any crazy ambition of destroying the world or anything, but he wouldn''t stop himself from doing whatever he wanted when he wanted. "Fantastic!" Undertaker said and smiled creepily. "You will have to pick a name other then undertaker. That will not hold up any longer. Pick something for yourself." Dragon didn''t know his real name, or even if he had one so he would just let him pick since he had a horrible sense in naming things. "hmm, then i think i will call myself Sebastien," Undertaker said and shocked Dragon into silence. "That''s interesting. Well, Sebastien it is then. Let Undertaker be your alias." Dragon said and looked towards the direction of the hidden leaf. he sensed all the auras of the people of the village and some of them were pretty powerful, but not enough to really threaten him at all. "Let''s go. We are moving out." Dragon jumped on to a tree branch and used it to propel himself forward and the captains followed him closely, not at all losing in speed. They looked like blurs with how fast they were going. They were originally quite the distance away from the village, but with how fast they were going it didn''t really take that long for the village walls to become visible in the distance. "Stop here." Dragon landed on a tree branch and the captains landed around him, and now they were just outside the village but they were still not discovered by any patrolling ninja. "We are spreading the Gotei 13 to this world as well and we will use this village as a starting position. We are going to do this slow, so no going around and slaughtering villages." Dragon said and gave a stern look to his captains. "Understood!" They all answered with their back straight and you could see the excitement inside their eyes. The Gotei 13 was their pride and joy and Dragon was their master, so they would always fight for his goals and also for the advancement of the Gotei 13. "Okay, let''s go!" Dragon flashed towards the big front gate of the village. Two guards stationed at the village gate watched as Dragon and his company approached the gate. "HALT!" Said one of the guards and watched as Dragon and his captains stopped with a questionable look in their eyes. "Yes?" Dragon said and his eyes scanned the two guards in front of him. "weak" is the word that popped up in his mind. "What is your business here?" His eyes stopped at Undertaker and his hair stood on end because of the feeling the man was giving him. "We are here to settle down. My name is Portgas D Dragon, and these are my martial arts students." Dragon had already come up with an identity for the captains. "I see." The guard was about to continue but a man with a white full-body cloak and a mask appeared in front of Dragon. The guard immediately shut up which indicated to the group that this was someone with a pretty high status in the village. "The Hokage wants to meet with you. Follow me." The cloaked man disappeared and Dragon and his captains disappeared as well without a word and followed the man. The guard was left standing there, not really sure what just happened or who these people were. ----------------------------------------- End Chapter 28 - Chapter 30 Dragon and his captains were following the cloaked man through the village and everyone had already guessed which building they were going to. It wasn''t that hard to figure out. They arrived outside the building and while still following the man they made their way onto the second floor of the building. The man knocked on one of the doors on the second floor and a voice came soon after, telling them to enter. "I have brought them, Lord Hokage." The man said while kneeling down. Dragon and his captains showed no emotions while the man kneeled down in front of the Hokage. "Thank you. You can return." The Hokage said and the cloaked man nodded and disappeared from the room entirely. "Welcome to the hidden leaf village. My name is Hiruzen Sarutobi and I am the third Hokage." He said while scanning Dragon and the rest of his company with cautious eyes. "Thank you. My name is Portgas D Dragon and these are my students. Rize, Alucard, Sebastien and Ryu." Dragon introduced his company and Hiruzen showed a slight shocked expression because of the unusual names that some of them possessed. "May i ask what your intentions are here in the village?" Hiruzen could feel that this Dragon character was powerful so that''s why he sent an Anbu to invite him the moment he felt them approach the village gates. "Of course. I was looking for a place to settle down and this village has a great and powerful reputation." Dragon looked into Hiruzen''s eyes and said with confidence. "What is it that you do, Mr Dragon? If i may." Someone with this amount of obvious strength must have long background of fighting and Hiruzen was of course always looking for additions to the village military force. He had to play this right and then maybe he could get some great benefits from this group of people. "I am a martial arts teacher and I was actually looking to set up shop inside your village, Lord Hokage." Dragon decided to play it safe and show the proper respect towards the village head. He didn''t want unnecessary complications. "The village would gladly welcome you, Mr Dragon. If you want to set up a school for your martial arts, certain papers have to be filled out." Hiruzen liked the direction of this conversation. Even if they didn''t join their military force, they would obviously still defend their new home and that was good enough for now. "Of course," Dragon said and spoke with respect just so that the album''s that was watching them wouldn''t try anything under the pretence that he was being disrespectful. He wanted a quiet start here in the village. ---Hours later---- The five of them were sitting inside an apartment that Hiruzen had showed them. The buildings living quarters was acceptable, with 8 individual rooms that was all more then big enough to get by. And below the apartment itself was a huge hall that used to be a restaurant that Dragon would now transform into his martial arts school. He knew exactly who he wanted to personally train here. Hiruzen gave them a week to try out this space and if they liked it, they will set up a contract for the ownership of the entire building. Dragon had the system for money so he didn''t care for how much it would cost to live here. He really noticed in the last few months how not fair this system is to the rest of the world. But did he care? no, he did not. "So, here is how we will progress from now on. I am going to send you Ryu to join the Anbu. You will be my eyes and ears inside the village government. This will be easy considering your strength. And on top of that Hiruzen is desperate for loyal and strong soldiers." Dragon looked at Ryu as he sat there in the dogeza position. "Understood, master!" He replied with determination. "Alucard, there is an organization that is being created as of this very moment. They call themselves the Akatsuki and you will find and join them. I will provide you with information on it''s members and the general location of their leader." Alucard looked excited as always. He was probably the most loyal among all the captains so every mission and command brought him joy. "All Akatsuki members wear the same outfit so you can''t easily visit any village with it on. You will have to mind where you go and who you show yourself to in the future. Not like anyone can catch you, but still, be a little careful." Alucard simply nodded along to Dragon''s words. "Rize, Undertaker, you two will start the creation of the Gotei 13. Find somewhere completely remote and start the construction of our base. We will unite the world under the Gotei and it starts with you two. Find talented individuals and recruit them by any means necessary. Undertaker, your abilities are valuable here. You are allowed to use them on anyone you find would be helpful towards out cause." Dragon said and they both nodded. "Good. Remember that the people here don''t use the same kind of abilities that we do, so be very careful in revealing them. Try and keep as much as possible hidden." Dragon said and they nodded. "Now go get your rest. We will begin tomorrow." Dragon sent them on their way and they all went into their separate rooms. The apartment was sound and visually secure so the anbu''s hiding outside didn''t get any information about what''s going on inside. They got nothing at all so they just continued monitoring Dragon''s apartment with cautious eyes as they had been warned that Dragon was strong. -------------------------------------- End Chapter 29 - Chapter 31 A month has passed now and the building fully belongs to Dragon. He started his martial arts school but never went out and advertised it, since that wasn''t really the goal with it. He wanted to find the selected few that he could take in and train personally. Dragon didn''t really know any details regarding characters, like where they lived or what techniques they used. He didn''t have a lot of memories regarding that side of this world. He knew some of the major timelines. Like he knew the big events, but nothing in the gritty details. If he wanted information he needed to ask the system about it. ''system, where are we now in terms of the timeline?'' Dragon asked while walking towards a convenient store to buy some food. [The kidnapping of the young heir Hinata Hyuga happens tonight.] The system responded immediately. ''Kidnapping? I didn''t know something like that happens to that poor girl.'' Dragon only knew a little about Hinata, but from what he did know he felt a little bad about the kind of position she was born into. He knew her personality didn''t fit her position at all. ''Maybe I should intercept that then and take her in as my student.'' Dragon said as he walked along the streets of the village. His observation haki was always active. Even in his sleep, so nothing around him escaped his notice. ''System, I have another question for you. How much knowledge do you have about the worlds I visit?'' This was something that he had pondered about for quite some time now. [I hold all knowledge pertaining to all worlds. The moment you met god and he sent you here I already knew everything about all worlds he created.] [Whatever change you do. The system will know the outcome of it. I know every single individual in every world. I have the knowledge of the god that created these worlds.] The system said with no pride or anything. Just like he wanted, the system had no emotions. ''Great! That will make these trips easier since I don''t know the abilities and personalities of many of these people.'' Dragon said and stepped through the doors of the food store. He had a tranquil look on his face and he looked like your everyday martial arts master. Except for the fact that he was freakishly tall. "Go away you demon!" As soon as he walked in, he heard something that put quite the frown on his face. He saw a very young yellow-haired boy trying to buy some sweets but was told off by the owner with no regards for the boy''s feelings. Dragon had a soft spot for kids. He never showed it at all, but leaving Gildarts pained him more then anyone would ever know. So treating an innocent kid like crap in front of him would never end well for that person. "I''ll pay for the boy''s things and my own." Dragon walked forwards and put some stuff on the counter before the boy and the owner had the time to start arguing with each other. "Sorry, Sir. You don''t wanna do that. This boy only brings bad luck with him." The owner knew of the rules around the boy, but he as well as the rest of the adults still said whatever they wanted to this boy without regard for them. "Don''t blame this boy for your pathetic cowardice and lack of intelligence. Now take the money and stop talking." Dragon released the tiniest amounts of killing intent towards the owner. "O-Of course, Sir!" The owner got hit with Dragon''s killing intent and almost pissed himself in fear. He immediately handed the things he had taken from the boy and refused to sell. "Come on kid, let''s go." Dragon pushed the small and confused kid towards the door lightly with his hand. The boy didn''t know what to say. For the times that he had been out in the village, he had gotten a crazy amount of physical and verbal abuse from all kinds of people, and he was still very young. "T-thank you..." The boy said not really knowing what else to say. He looked at the massive man that completely towered over him. "No problem. What''s your name, kid?" Dragon said and got down on one knee in front of the boy. "N-Naruto.." he said in a shy manner. Naruto usually lashed out because all he knew was abuse, so he was tongue-tied now that someone actually showed kindness towards him. "Nice to meet you, Naruto." Dragon said and smiled at Naruto. Naruto''s cheeks changed colour a little when Dragon smiled. It was not a fake one. Naruto knew fake smiles, this one was the first real one he had seen in the village except for that old man, but he was never around anymore. "Nice to meet you too, eh..." Naruto stopped talking since he realized he didn''t know the man''s name. "Portgas D Dragon. Call me whatever you want, Naruto." "hm," Naruto didn''t know what to say so just a sound came out of his mouth. He thought Dragon was a really cool name, but he didn''t say anything and just smiled while staring at the ground. "So where do you live Naruto? Do you want me to take you home?" Dragon was actually not sure about the situation with Naruto. He knew his parents were dead but he forgot exactly how they died. But this is not fiction anymore so things might have changed and maybe they were alive somewhere out in the world. "I live in the orphanage. I know the way," Naruto said with some clear shyness present in his voice. "Orphanage, what happened to your parents Naruto?" Dragon asked with both curiosity and interest. "Parents? I don''t have parents?" Naruto had never had any so he didn''t understand the question, or really what parents were. He had heard the words but never had them explained to him. "ha, ha, Naruto everyone has parents. Some are dead and some are alive, but we all have parents. They are the ones that care for you. Your family doesn''t need to be related by blood, Naruto." Dragon wasn''t the best at communication with kids, but at least he cared about Naruto unlike the rest of the village. "Where is mine?" Naruto said with a lost look in his eyes. For being only three years old, he is surprisingly mature and intelligent. He knew from the system that kids matured insanely fast here. In this world, a three-year-old could easily be seen sparring and training simple combat techniques. Very different from where he came from. "I don''t know where they are in the physical world, but what I do know is that they will always be right here." Dragon put his huge finger over Naruto''s heart and kept his smile going. "Your heart, Naruto. They will always be inside your heart." Naruto stood there staring at Dragon. And for reasons, he didn''t understand he felt a warm feeling rising inside his body. "C-Can you walk me home?" Naruto said while looking at the ground not daring to look up. "Yes. Of course, I can. Though you should eat those sweets before they melt in your hands." Dragon said and pointed at the chocolate Naruto held in his hand. "oh, sure." Naruto started eating the candy in a hurry, almost as they would disappear from existence. "Time to go home." Dragon said and started walking with Naruto following behind him carefully. After a few seconds, he ran up to Dragon and walked beside him instead of behind him. ''What happened to me? Was I not evil in my life? Am I evil now? When did I change to this person.'' While walking with Naruto down the streets of the village, Dragon was thinking about his change in attitude. He noticed small changes ever since Gildarts was born, but he never realized that he might have started to change as a whole. A change to make him something he had never been before. ------------------------------- End Chapter 30 - Chapter 32 Dragon and Naruto were standing outside the building where Naruto spent most of his time. And the place he always wished he could leave because in there, no one could see what they did to him. In there he was not safe from their words and fists. Not safe, like he had been walking here together with this man. The only thing people dared to do the entire walk here was give him a dirty look. One word from them earned them a look from Dragon and not soon after they all ran away screaming. "C-Can i see you again?" Naruto asked Dragon with an incredibly awkward stance. He was staring at the ground and swung his left leg back and forth in a manner that made it seem like he was the "I don''t care" kind of kid. In truth, on the inside his heart was beating faster then ever. "ha, ha, only if you stop being so nervous around me all the time." Dragon said and laughed at Naruto''s behavior. "Okay! I-i will." Naruto seemed to light up completely and it looked almost like he had come alive again. "I have some business to take care off, but i will come here tomorrow again. Okay?" Dragon said and put his hand the Naruto''s head lightly and smiled at him with his "Sylvia approved kid-friendly smile". "Goodbye, Naruto!" Dragon said and waved while walking away. Naruto didn''t say anything but only made a noise and timidly waved back. This was his outer look. On the inside he was on the verge of breaking down in happy tears. ------------ Night had fallen now and Dragon was sitting on a thick tree branch and waiting for tonight''s event to start. He used his Observation haki to observe the entire Hyuga compound, which was huge in size. He was lucky that his haki had a crazy range. His haki could easily cover the entire village and that was when he was not blasting it in full power. It was a little past midnight and finally a figure approached the Hyuga compound. It was a man and he very skillfully made his way inside the courtyard of the main branch of the Hyuga. He seemed to know it quite well since he knew exactly where he was going, and the only thing that was slowing him down at all was the patrols that the Hyuga always had around the main branch household. ''He is skilled. He is avoiding the patrols masterfully.'' Dragon observed what was going on and smiling whilst looking at the ninja without a headband or any other article of clothing that would indicate that he belongs to any village. ''Time to act.'' Dragon saw the ninja jump away from the compound with something in hand this time. It was very dark outside so without a special way to see in the dark, there was no way to see what was carried away by that ninja. The ninja that had so boldly infiltrated the Hyuga compound and successfully accomplished his mission was smiling under his face mask. He was happy and relieved that he wasn''t spotted, but his vigilance never wavered at all. He moved from branch to branch and his speed was constantly rising because something felt wrong to him. No matter how much he checked or how fast he ran, the feeling of a pair of eyes staring him down never disappeared. The feeling appeared when he left the leaf village behind, but it still hadn''t left and he was starting to think it was more then just uncalled for paranoia. "Nice night!" two words sounded out right behind him and scared him so he lost balance and stumbled on the ground and fell down. He quickly recovered and drew his Kunai and took a fighting stance against the darkness surrounding him. "Come out!" He said in a low tone of voice towards the dark and silent forest. Only the wind whistling through the trees could be heard around him. "I know you''re out there!" His head scanned every inch of his surroundings and he was on full alert. He made sure his grip around the bag he had was tight, so he wouldn''t lose it. "shh" An echo appeared around him and he spun around when it sounded like it was right behind him. "Are you afraid?" A voice right behind his left ear made him spin around again, only to find emptiness. "Come out!" The man said a little louder now that his fear and anxiousness had risen further towards this unknown threat. "I already got what I came for." "Why don''t you head back to Kumo." "No one needs to know." The voice kept bouncing and it sounded further and further away, and eventually, the calm and quietness of the night returned. And the feeling of someone watching him disappeared. *sigh* The man breathed out and prepared to escape. This was until he finally noticed the difference in weight around his shoulder. ''what..!'' The sack he had hanging around his shoulder was empty and the package was gone. He looked around in a panic and wanted to find whoever was here, but he couldn''t. He had to move before they arrived. ''How am I gonna explain this one.'' He made his way into the distance, now without the package. Though unfortunately for him, a palm thrown out of anger and fury appeared and killed the man instantly. A man dressed in white landed beside the now dead ninja. He looked furious and also confused. "Check the sack." He ordered his men and they searched the man and the sack he held a tight grip on even in death. "It''s empty, Lord Hiashi." The ninja that held the bag said. "How is that possible? We would have noticed a switch. There was no way they could do that without our knowing." Hiashi said while anger and sadness spread across his face. It was at this time that an Anbu ninja appeared out of nowhere on a branch close to them. "Lord Hiashi. Your daughter has been located. She is back inside her room at the Hyuga compound." "What did you say?" Hiashi looked at the Anbu in disbelief. ------------------------- End Chapter 31 - Chapter 33 Dragon was standing outside the orphanage in the early hours of the morning. He came here and knew exactly what he wanted to do. At this moment he didn''t care if this would change fate, or whatever. He liked the Naruto he met yesterday too much to let him suffer on his own like this. Let''s see who would dare to stop him. *knock* *knock* After a few long seconds the door to what was supposed to be a safe home for all children opened up. A smiling woman opened up the door and was greeted with Dragon and his huge physique. She stood there dumb struck for a few seconds before she recovered and started smiling towards him. "What can i do for you, Sir?" She asked Dragon with a smile that he instantly identified as the most fake smile he had ever seen. Even a psychopath, a serial killer could fake a smile better than this. "I am here looking for Naruto. Is he inside?" The woman''s smile went from a smile to a frown immediately. "No, sorry he is not." She said and quickly tried to close the door in front of him. "It won''t do you any good to lie to me." He said and stopped the door closing with only one finger. She tried more force but it just wouldn''t move at all. While she was trying to close it, the commotion caused the kids that was close by to gather around them. This included a boy with yellow hair. "Uncle Dragon" Naruto came running but stopped ones he met eyes with the woman standing at the door. "Hi, Naruto. I said I would come today, so here I am. We have a lot of stuff to do, so come on out." Dragon had simply stopped caring about the woman still desperately trying to close the door in his face. "Naruto can''t go outside. The kids need permission to go outside and we also don''t know you, Sir." She said with an angry and frustrated tone. "Now while that may be partially true. You should know that I don''t care. Also another thing, Naruto won''t be returning here. I am taking him to live with me." Dragon said and pushed the door with a small amount of force effectively also pushing the woman to the ground and hurting her lower back in the process. "Come Naruto, we are leaving." Dragon beckoned the boy and he quickly followed Dragon outside since he already started walking away from the building. Naruto ran after him with his eyes still round in disbelief and shock to what he just heard. "Is it true? Do I not have to return here again?" Naruto said now very close to crying for real. "Yes, from today on wards you will live with me. I am a shitty cook, but except that my place isn''t so bad." Dragon said and looked back to see Naruto with a face full of tears. "Now what''s this, Naruto? I didn''t know my new adoptive son was such a cry baby." Dragon said and laughed. Naruto quickly wiped his face clean of tears and looked at Dragon. "I am not a cry baby!" He said, now with a determined look in his eyes. "ha, ha, i know. Just some healthy teasing. It''s called teasing in the name of love. It''s something my lady taught me years ago." Dragon thought back to all the times where Sylvia would tease him and make fun of every little thing he did just to annoy him, then when he got mad she put on her cutest smile and claimed it was all teasing in the name of love. ''I can''t wait to meet you again Sylvia. Now that the system has no more annoying quests for me, I can finally return. ''And also, why do I keep getting family members everywhere I go. In One Piece it was Byakuya and Bradely and here it''s Naruto. Am I really changing that much?'' Dragon''s mind started to wonder so much that he didn''t even notice Naruto trying to get his attention from behind him. "DAD!!!" Naruto screamed finally just to try and get Dragon''s attention. "huh, did you just call me dad, Naruto?" Dragon looked back shocked at this development. He didn''t think this would happen so fast if at all. "Well, you didn''t answer to any other name. I had to do something. You were about to walk into a wall." Naruto pointed at the wooden fence that he though Dragon was about to walk into. Little did he know about observation haki. "oh, thank you, Naruto. Now, what do you wanna do first? Let''s have some fun today, just you and me." Dragon said while observing all the stares of disgust and anxiety people threw their way. "I wanna climb that mountain!!" Naruto said and pointed at the mountain in the distance with four massive faces on it. "You wanna climb the Hokage mountain?" Dragon said with some amusement in his tone. "hm," Naruto nodded fiercely. "Fine! Climb on!" Dragon bowed down and let Naruto climb onto his shoulders. Ones Naruto sat steadily on his shoulders Dragon bent down properly and leapt into the distance. "WWWOOOOHOOOOOOOOO" Naruto screamed in utter joy while basically flying through the air just from how high Dragon had jumped. Every other second or so Dragon would land on the ground or a roof and take off again using another massive leap. The scene of Naruto screaming at the top of his lungs while riding on top of the biggest man anyone had ever seen, was a good scare to the people on the ground whenever they landed to leap again. In the distance inside the most famous room in the entire village an old man stood and observed the man and child duo flying through the air. A smile was plastered on his face and at the same time pain and guilt was seen inside his eyes. "Prepare for landing." Dragon said and landed on top of the head of the fourth Hokage. He helped Naruto down and they both sat down on the head and stared out on the village. Naruto lost all his words and excitement when he saw the view in front of him. Beautiful was the proper word to describe this view. "What are you thinking about, Naruto?" Dragon said and looked at the new addition to his ever-growing family. Kids in this world matured hundreds of times faster then they do on earth and what Naruto said next clearly showed just that. "Family. I was thinking about what you said yesterday." Naruto said and watched the village and the people moving about inside it. "And? what are your thoughts about it?" Dragon didn''t know how much he had affected Naruto. He never told a lie but he also didn''t think he was the best motivational speaker in the universe. "I want to know who my family and why they are not here. But at the same time, that also doesn''t matter..." "oh, and why is that?" Dragon was very intrigued by the mature words coming from a three-year-old. Naruto took a long, very long pause and then said. "I have you, after all, dad." Naruto stared at the ground while his whole face turned red as a tomato. It was one of the sweetest and funniest moments Dragon had ever seen since he reincarnated. "Work hard and dream big, and eventually you might be able to meet your parents. But until that day, I am more than honoured to take that role." Dragon said and then put a hand on the boys head and smiled. "Welcome to the family!" He said and then he got a quick but a very emotion-filled hug from Naruto. They then sat and watched the village until even the sun said goodbye and disappeared beyond the horizon. Naruto had at this point fallen asleep against Dragon''s body and he just sat there observing the quiet night sky and the moon that was illuminating the ground in a beautiful silver colour similar to his own eyes. "You can come out, boy." Dragon said while still staring at the village. An elderly man walked out from behind a stone pillar and showed himself to Dragon. "Since when?" Hiruzen asked with no malice in his tone, only slight shock. "Since we arrived in this village. My eyes never lost sight of you." Dragon said and beckoned him to sit down, which he did. "So who are you?" Hiruzen didn''t bother with small talk since he got the feeling Dragon didn''t care for it at this time. "A father, a husband or an Emperor. Take your pick." Dragon said and looked over at Hiruzen. "Emperor? Why did you come to my village, Mr Dragon?" Hiruzed was smoking a long pipe now and he had the look as if this was just another day at the office. "How is Ryu doing in the Anbu?" Dragon said without showing any indication that he would answer the previously asked question. *sigh* "Outstanding. He doesn''t even need to utilize any ninjutsu or genjutsu at all. His speed and physical strength alone were enough to bring down anyone I pinned against him. Did you train him since he was a child?" Hiruzed was actually baffled at the strength Ryu had shown and he was sure he would need to sacrifice his life to be able to kill Ryu successfully. "Sort of. You can say he carries my inheritance so it''s no wonder your anbu stands no chance." Dragon said with a proud look on his face. They were his subordinates and he would always be proud when someone talked highly of them. "I wouldn''t mind some of that inheritance, ha, ha, ha," Hiruzed genuinely laughed like he had not done in so long. "Behave and you might see it one day, boy." Dragon said and spoke like some wise old clan elder that was trying to motivate the younger generation. Technically this wasn''t wrong since he was older than the village itself. "May I inquire about your identity, Dragon?" Hiruzen knew that Dragon was older then he looked. Hiruzen had lived a long life and he had crazy amounts of life experience, so figuring out that this man was his senior was not very hard. It was visible in all the things he did. How he spoke how he stood, his very powerful aura and presence when you looked at him. It all spelt out a ridiculously long life. "I have been around since before the founding of the villages. Who I am, you might know someday, but for now, it''s enough to know that i hold no intentions of destroying your village." Dragon said and smiled at Hiruzen. This was the identity he had come up with since he knew his age would and identity would come up in question eventually. He knew Hiruzen was not only crazy powerful but also very smart in more ways than one. Saying he was younger then Hiruzen or a simple ninja would not fool this Hokage at all. Also revealing this would earn him more respect from Hiruzen and that in turn would help him immensely when he wanted to move around or when he would act to unite the world. Hiruzen''s support would be a huge help in the future. "I figured Senior was older but this is quite the shock, isn''t it. You wouldn''t be acquainted with the previous Hokage''s would you? I just ask out of simple curiosity." Hiruzen was just curious, and this wasn''t any vital information he desperately needed to know. "I was. When you live this long, you meet quite a few people." Dragon didn''t think much of it since they were dead. [Host should not have said that since the previous Hokage''s are supposed to be revived in the future and they most likely will be. The likeliness that host will meet them is 99,98%.] [Would host like the system to implement an identity to solve this issue?] The system came forward with some information that completely had escaped Dragon''s mind. ''Shit, I totally forgot that the snake boy resurrects them. Wait, you can change history?'' [The system holds and can manipulate small amounts of the divine power of the Overgod. Changing history is possible for the system, but it will drain the system and history won''t be able to be changed again until the system recovers it''s borrowed divine powers.] ''I see, yes implement my identity in the history books. and tell me what my identity is.'' [Host is also incorrect in another matter. They are resurrected multiple times and the host has not changed that future so the host should be prepared to meet them eventually.] [Host''s identity has been implemented as one of the warlords during the warring era. You were very famous back then as someone that stopped multiple fights among the clans. The host was eventually the one that stopped a fight that would have led to the death of Hashirama Senju earlier than expected. Saving him pushed Hashirama Senju to finally create the Hidden Leaf village together with Madara Uchiha.] [Hashirama Senju worships Portgas D Dragon as a person with a good heart and great power. Someone who''s footsteps is worth following.] [Tobirama Senju and Madara Uchiha despise host since you are on no one''s side and still holds great power. Enough power to annihilate an entire army as they themselves can do. They were always wary of you and never held any trust towards you no matter what Hashirama Senju said to try and convince them.] ''Will the people of this time know me now?'' [Your name pops up in lost records but only Madara Uchiha, Hashirama Senju and Tobirama Senju would recognize host on a glance.] "Hiruzen Sarutobi pays respect to Portgas D Dragon!" Hiruzen clasped his hands together and said this with pure respect in his voice. He had no idea why he would suddenly do this but everything in his body told him to, and it just felt right. "ha, ha, you feel any better now?" Dragon said while readjusting Naruto that was sleeping on his arm. The fact that this system could still surprise him with all its features amazed him greatly. "Much, by the way. Do you know what rests within that boy?" Hiruzen said and gestured towards Naruto. "Who do you take me for? Nothing will happen as long as this boy is with me. That fox is not even a whole, so it can''t defeat me." He said and looked at Naruto that was sleeping soundly. "I understand, Mr Dragon." After that none of them felt like speaking further and just sat there the rest of the night enjoying the cool night breeze. "Call me Dragon instead." He said to Hiruzen that was staring at the boy. "I understand, Master Dragon." He said with a smile overcome with happiness. Hiruzen had this hidden personality that he never could afford to show. Dragon saw it now and he would explain it as childlike and innocent. Maybe this manifested because Hiruzen didn''t have a proper childhood. He didn''t know, but he quite enjoyed finding out that this Hokage had an innocent side to him as well. -------------------------------------- End Chapter 32 - Chapter 34 Inside the big martial arts hall that was Dragon''s own house, Naruto stood in a sloppy fighting stance in front of Dragon himself. "Old man, why do i have to train at all?" Naruto had already started complaining and they had not even started. "Naruto. What did you say your dream was?" He said with a teasing look? "I KNOW OKAY!" Naruto yelled because he knew what Dragon would say next. "How could you ever become someone like the hokage without strength. Are you expecting to get there with chocolate and flowers?" He said and his smile disappeared and was replaced with the stern look of a master teaching his disciple. "I said i know. Let''s just get on with it already." Naruto didn''t wait any longer and rushed at Dragon with the intent of kicking his ass. Naruto jumped and tried to punch his new trainer in the stomach but Dragon side stepped perfectly and hit Naruto on the side of his body making him crash into the ground. "AAAOOHHH, NOT SO HARD OLD MAN!" Naruto yelled angerly while rubbing his side that took the hit. "Don''t stop. Stand up and try again." Dragon said and taunted Naruto using two fingers. "I will beat you up!!" Naruto yelled and jumped at him again. This time Dragon didn''t hit him back but just kept dodging Naruto flawlessly and at the same time pointing out what he did wrong at all times. "Focus on your balance. Otherwise it will be too easy to knock you off balance." Dragon said and pushed Naruto slightly to demonstrate how poor his balance was. "Center of balance. Focus on finding that, since that will be key when moving at high speeds and fighting opponents where you have to move and change directions rapidly." Dragon and Naruto continued training for a long time. When Naruto grew exhausted Dragon would explain ninjutsu, genjutsu or anything he deemed important for Naruto to know. A few hours later while Naruto stood and did simple training exercises Dragon was having an important discussion. ''System, can i teach Naruto haki even though it belongs to a different universe?'' Dragon knew that certain things had restrictions when he it came to being two different universes. [With systems assistance then yes, it is very possible. Put your hands on Naruto''s head and let the system do the rest.] Dragon walked forwards to Naruto that stood and did a simple physical strength-based exercise. He felt Dragon''s massive hand on his head and opened his eyes that were previously closed to better find concentration. "Stay still Naruto." He did as he was told and didn''t even allow his body to sway slightly because he was afraid what would happen if he would move. [It is done. The universal law of restriction no longer apply to Naruto Uzumaki.] The notification came and Dragon removed his hand. "What was that for d.. Old man?" Naruto had a hard time calling him dad still. But Dragon didn''t mind so he just rolled with what made Naruto comfortable. "I am going to start teaching you a new technique. It will make you a true powerhouse in the future, and it will certainly help you get that Hokage Hat." Dragon said and walked back and picked up a training sword by the wall. "Now put on this blindfold." Dragon said and threw a piece of cloth at the boy. -------------------------------- Outside a very depressing and awfully rainy village. A tall scary looking man appeared from literally nowhere. One second there was nothing and then as the next second passed, there stood now a man in a black leather clothing. (Alucard''s black leather bodysuit) "So this is the place Master told me about. Hidden village in the rain or whatnot. Guess i have to find the Akatsuki now." Alucard said and started walking towards the city and a few seconds later he was no longer anywhere to be found, he had disappeared again. Zetsu, have you found Orochimaru yet? The urgency is evident now." A man with orange-coloured hair and eyes with a spiral pattern to them said. Beside him stood a beautiful woman with blue or purple hair that showed little to no emotions at all times. "Yes. We know of his location, but he is always moving about, we are starting to suspect he knows he''s being watched." A weird plant-like human was standing behind them, while having half it''s body planted into the floor itself. "Then it''s soon time to approach him. Don''t let him out of your sight, Zetsu." The orange-haired man said with absolutely no emotions. "Understood!" The plant man said and disappeared back into the ground. "Nagato, should we really go after Orochimaru?" The blue-haired woman beside him asked with concern in her voice now that the plant man had disappeared. "My name is Pain. Do not forget it!" Pain said while looking over the map on the table in front of him. "A very depressing place you got here, Akatsuki. But i like it." A voice neither of the two recognized sounded out inside the room, even though no one was visible. The darkness of the walls seemed to morph multiple time in many locations, and a chill spread throughout the room. "Who are you?" Pain said with very little emotion in his voice even after this unknown individual appeared. His eyes picked up on the weird shadowy forms moving about, but he didn''t see the one that was talking to them. "Me? I am called Alucard. Someone very eager to join your little group." Alucard said, still not visible to either Pain nor Konan. "Show yourself, Alucard!" Konan said and readied some self-made shuriken using her very special ninjutsu. "Paper? That''s new.. Interesting.." Alucard''s voice trailed off and disappeared into the void. "What say you?" His voice appeared again right next to Pain''s ear and disappeared before Pain even picked up on his movements. "Show yourself." Pain said with a little annoyance in his voice. He was very interested in how this person was staying hidden from him. "Aren''t you gonna give me your ring? Or am I gonna have to take this one?" The sense of a finger running across her back appeared and Konan jumped away quickly and stood on the other side of the room. This action seemed to have slightly angered Pain, but he hid the emotions perfectly. Of course, that would only be true if his opponent was human. "Ohh, I found your weak spot did I?" Suddenly Konan stopped being able to breath from out of nowhere. She fell down on her knees grabbing at her throat but nothing came off it. "Release her!" Pain screamed to the man he still could not see. He dashed towards Konan and brought forth a black rod that he struck in front of Konan but that made no difference at all. Konan was still on the ground dying and Pain could do nothing to change it. "Give him the ring. He is useful for the cause." A second voice appeared and then out of a weird spiral teleportation, a man with a orange face mask appeared. The mask had one hole in it and he was wearing the same outfit as pain and Nagato. "Fine." Pain took out the ring that was meant for the snake man and put it on the table, together with a set of Akatsuki clothes. "It looks like someone finally understood the situation at hand," Alucard said and Konan got back her ability to breath without any difficulty. Rage could be seen in her eyes, but the fear was equally high so she didn''t act out and just stayed there quietly messaging her throat. "Now show yourself, Alucard." The new addition to the group said in a demanding voice towards the darkness around them. No answer came from Alucard for a long time. "What is your name?" After a long silence, Alucard gave a question that was obviously directed towards the orange spiral masked man. "I am Madara Uchiha. Now tell me yours, don''t force me to take action." The man identified as Madara said and his eye seemed to shine bright red for just a second. "ha, ha, ha, ha.... Now we both know that''s not true, don''t we?" A whisper from Alucard sounded outright by Madara''s ear. He looked at Pain and they didn''t seem to have heard anything, which he could credit Alucard for as well. "Pain, Konan. Orochimaru is off the list, Alucard has taken his place. Continue as planned, i have to go, i got things to take care off." He said and he quickly disappeared into a spiral of panic and confusion. "See you around, u.ch.i.ha.." The whisper like voice of Alucard sounded of inside of the spiral masked man''s ear as he disappeared from the room. This angered the Uchiha immensely since that was obviously a taunt and hint that Alucard knew his identity. "I will be going as well. See you around, little lady." A finger stroked Konan''s back again and sent a chill down her spine. Alucard''s presence finally left the room entirely. Pain and Konan also noticed that both the ring and the clothing were gone from the table. ---------------------------------- End Chapter 33 - Chapter 35 In the snow-covered lands of the hidden leaf village, Naruto and Dragon were walking back from one of Dragon''s insane training sessions he had sat up for Naruto''s own "good". "What are you doing here you freak??" "Look at those eyes," "How creepy!!" "Byakugan is such disgusting eyes!" In front of the walking father and Son duo, four boys were yelling and pushing a little adorable girl that had on a winter jacket and a yellow scarf. She had tears forming in her eyes, but she tried to hold on and not cry. "Hey, you bastards! Leave her alone and pick on someone your own size." Naruto that noticed this ran over immediately and yelled at the boys. He knew exactly what this felt like so how could he possibly stay silent here. He ran over without even checking with Dragon if it was okay to interfere. "Ah, it''s him. It''s the demon." "Let''s kick his ass." The boys turned around at the sound of someone yelling and obviously recognized Naruto immediately. These boys were older so they had been told things about Naruto that other children had not. "Let''s get him." They dashed at Naruto with their full speed. The first boy that also was the biggest of them all threw a punch but missed because Naruto stepped aside and dodged it. Naruto wasn''t as strong or skilled as Dragon obviously, so the movements were clumsy, but they were more than enough for these boys. Another punch came from the same boy again but Naruto dodged under it. "You all help as well." The boy pointed at his friends and they all gathered around Naruto. "That''s enough. No need to fight here anymore, just run home before anything worse happens." Dragon who had stayed hidden appeared right in front of the boys and scared the life out of them with his massive size. "AAAAH, GIANT!" "HELP!!!" "RUN!" "MOM!" They all ran back to the village as fast as they could. Hinata who were still on the verge of fully breaking down stared at Dragon as well and held her breath out of fright. Naruto was the only child up until this day that could handle his height without being scared into silence. "It''s okay! He is all fluff and pillows. He is the best person ever!" Naruto said and showed the crying girl a motivating thumbs up. "T-thank y-you." The girl said under her breath, still very afraid of this giant man that appeared out of nowhere so suddenly. "What are you doing here anyway?" Naruto asked the girl with a questionable look. He had a very innocent personality. Even with the life, he has lived up to this point. "I got lost. I can''t find K¨­ anywhere." She said and it looked like she wanted to cry again. "He is right over there." She saw Dragon pointing behind her and when she turned around she saw a man with short brown hair run towards them in a panic. "Miss Hinata! I finally found you. I am so sorry that I lost you, are you okay?" He ran up to Hinata and quickly hugged her and then grabbed her hand. He looked at Dragon, then Naruto and frowned. "We must go quickly Hinata. Your father needs you back home." K¨­ dragged away Hinata even though she wanted to stay and talk more with the boy. "Stop! I would like a word with little Hinata." Dragon''s voice rang out and the pure power behind just his voice scared K¨­ so badly that he couldn''t take a step forward. "S-Sir, we really need to get back to the Hyuga compound." K¨­ turned around to face Dragon which was a mistake because meeting his eyes almost cause all strength in his legs to give out. ''What is this man... How can a human have this kind of physical presence.'' K¨­ thought as he tried to regulate his breathing. "I would like to invite Hinata to come back to our house." Dragon said and looked at Hinata without letting her feel the manifestation of his aura that K¨­ was currently dealing with. "I-I''m afraid we don''t have time." He said and tried to take Hinata away, not because he feared or hated them, but because Hinata''s father entrusted her to him. And he couldn''t fail in that regard or heavy punishment would follow. "What do you say, Hinata? Do you wanna come to visit our home?" Dragon put his hand on Naruto''s head and smiled at Hinata and it seemed to calm her down somewhat. "Y-Yes, T-Thank y.you" She couldn''t look Naruto in the eyes so she forced herself to stare at the ground while holding Ko''s hand. "Your name was K¨­ correct?" He looked at the poor man that was having a hard time just standing up at the moment. "Y-Yes, Sir." Ko said, now perfectly understanding that he didn''t have a say in the matter. Only Hinata had the power to deny the request and now that she hadn''t he was simply forced to follow. "Do you wanna come along and have some tea? It is exceptional if I do say so myself." Dragon now smiled at him as well, but the pressure he was putting on Ko didn''t leave him much choice to deny the giant man. "Yes! Please." As soon as he agreed, Naruto jumped up in the excitement and ran forward and grabbed Hinata''s hand, almost making her faint from shock. "Let''s go, Hinata. My house is huge and you''ll love it. Old man, Hinata and I will go ahead of you guys." Naruto said and took her away from Ko and started dragging her towards the village in the distance. "Let''s go, Ko. We don''t wanna lag behind a couple kids." Dragon started walking and the pressure holding Ko down magically disappeared entirely and he was free to move now. ''I need to report to Lord Hiashi. No, Lord Hokage even. This man, how is there no knowledge of such a monster in our village.'' Ko thought as he watched Dragon''s massive back. People knew of Dragon and that he had some form of relationship with Naruto, but no one knew their real connection or how they met. Dragon''s martial arts school only had Naruto so far, so he was sort of a mystery to many of them. ----------------------------------- End Chapter 34 - Chapter 36 Inside the home of Naruto and Dragon, four people were sitting and this was quite unusual since they never had any guests. K¨­ and Hinata was both sitting and watching the surroundings awkwardly. "Naruto, why don''t you demonstrate your haki. I am sure Hinata would like to see." Dragon finally said while sipping on some tea. "SURE!" Naruto said and jumped up and rushed out of the room to quickly fetch something. "Haki? What is that?" Ko said since he had never heard of anything like that. "It''s my own created technique. It''s a sensor ability of sorts. I suppose i terms of observation and visual prowess, it rivals the Byakugan and the Sharingan." Dragon said and he completely floored K¨­, "WHAT!? It rivals our two clans??!" He had actually flew up on his feet and was screaming in Dragon''s face. "Calm down, would you. Yes it is a similar technique at least in some ways." Naruto came back just as Dragon said this and he held a piece of cloth in one hand and a practice sword in the other. "K¨­, won''t you help Naruto with this demonstration." Dragon said and Naruto walked forwards and handed him the sword and then proceeded to put on the blindfold. K¨­ followed Naruto onto the fighting ring that was located in the middle of this huge room. They were sitting and drinking tea in the practice hall and not in the living quarters above the hall. "Now K¨­, try and hit Naruto in any way you can. Don''t hold back." Dragon said and signalled for them to start with his hand. "A-Are you sure?" He asked Naruto who only gave him a thumbs up while standing there, now without his vision. "Okay?" K¨­ took a stance and Naruto readied himself as well. He took a second to inspect Naruto''s stance and he was impressed by the boy. ''He is well trained'' Is the thoughts swimming around inside his head. K¨­ dashed towards Naruto and as Dragon said, he didn''t hold back at all. "HAH" A sword swing aimed at Naruto''s head came flying but at the last second Naruto avoided it perfectly. K¨­ was shocked for a second and thought it was a fluke at first, so he attacked again and again. ''What''s going on??! No matter how I come at him, no matter the speed. It''s like he sees it happen before it happens. This is done without any special kekkei Genkai. What a fantastic technique he has created." K¨­ thought as he stood there breathing hard. Not because he was tired, no, it was more because he thought he was gonna have a heart attack or something similar from all this shock he was experiencing. "That''s enough! K¨­, what do you think of it?" Dragon said with a hint of pride. He knew it was not something he invented, but here he would make them believe that, because why wouldn''t he. A technique like this would hold power both in politics and in battle. "I have never seen anything like it. I can see why people would think he is using something like the byakugan or the Sharingan." K¨­ was shaken from this display. "Master Dragon, are you able to share this technique?" K¨­ didn''t see any way to address Dragon other then "master". What he had created here was one of the strongest techniques he had ever seen. Naruto that was just as kid could see every attack that he made without any special eyes. "No, I will only teach this to my students. It belongs to my martial arts school. No one else will get their hands on it." He had already decided to share it only with his students. "Then, I have a request," K¨­ said and before he continued he went down on his knees in front of Dragon. Both Hinata and Naruto was shocked by this, they had no idea why he would do this. "Yes. I already know what you''re going to ask of me. And i was already planning on taking her in eventually with a few others i have had my eyes on." Dragon said and smiled at the kneeling man. "Really? Then maybe she has a chance for a better life." K¨­ were painfully aware of Hinata''s situation and her feelings on the matter. He was always looking for ways to ease the burden on her, but with his status within the clan and the village, he couldn''t do anything for her. "If you''re worried about her situation, then don''t be. My students will forever be under my protection for as long as they follow the rules of the school." "Thank you so much, Master Dragon." K¨­ said with sincerity in his voice. There was nothing he valued more the Hinata''s safety. If she could become a student here then that would maybe give her a better life then the clan life would for her. K¨­ was also fully aware of what he was doing by asking this of Dragon. If the clan learned of this, then the punishment would be severe to say the least. "Now it''s best if you return home. There is a long day tomorrow since the academy starts tomorrow. It was nice with some company, don''t you think so, Naruto?" Dragon turned his eyes to the kids that just sat in silence and watched this weird spectacle play out in front of their eyes. "eh, ye, I suppose so." He said with a little tired voice. Using haki and battling someone much older and stronger then himself had made him super tired and he really just wanted to go to sleep now. Just because he could dodge the attacks did not mean Naruto was stronger then K¨­. "Have a safe trip home, both of you. Take care now." Dragon said and both he and Naruto waved to Hinata and Ko s they were leaving. "G-Good b-bye N.Naruto" Hinata said while looking at the ground with a completely red face. "Goodbye Hinata. See you tomorrow." Naruto waved them off with a happy smile but immediately ran off to bed when the front door finally closed. ''I should visit Gildarts and Sylvia soon. Maybe I could bring them here then link the two worlds together. If I am gonna create an empire in all the universes then maybe the best way to do it is to link them all together.'' Dragon sat there in silence and pondered about the future. ----------------------------------- End Chapter 35 - Chapter 37 Naruto and Dragon were currently standing outside the ninja academy and was listening to the Hokage give a speech. Dragon himself was not interested in what he said, but Naruto was bouncing around in joy because this was the start of his journey towards the legendary position as Hokage. "Hey, dad! I''m going, see ya later." Dragon suddenly realized the ceremony was over and Naruto was running towards the building to get to class before anyone else. He told Dragon that the seating decided your popularity in class, to which Dragon just scoffed at him. "Ye, see you later, Naruto." Dragon said and smiled at the boy that he had lived with the last few years. He had spent his time here reflecting on what kind of man he had become after his reincarnation. Something he came to understand was this. He had every memory of his past life and his personality of the past life was just a memory as well. All this time he walked around believing that he was the same as his past life. The truth is, that the personality of this version of him is totally different. This time around he truly cares for people and he was able to feel genuine joy and also real sadness for the first time ever. The moment Gildarts was born was one of the happiest moments in his life. It''s just that it took him this long to identify what these feeling that he has now are. Things like watching Naruto grow up excited him greatly because he found the concept of family one of the most important things to him now. He just wished he was better at taking care of his family. This didn''t mean he wasn''t gonna continue his plan. He wanted the Gotei to spread to many other worlds. Mostly because he wanted to leave something good behind that people could remember him by. In his last life, his family didn''t even know his real name, he left nothing of value behind in the world. Every change he did was one of evil. This time would be different. ''I will make an empire for my children. I will create an empire that rules not through evil and slaughter, but through tranquillity and kindness.'' Dragon had no problem using violence to fight violence, but he didn''t wanna rule over innocent people with only fear. "Portgas D Dragon. Lord Hokage wants to have a word with you." While he was thinking about the future, an anbu soldier came up behind him and spoke to him. "Lead the way!" He said and the anbu disappeared and Dragon followed closely behind. This reminded him of when he first arrived in the village and an anbu came to fetch them as well. They eventually arrived inside the Hokage''s office and the anbu bowed down in front of Hiruzen. "You can leave!" The anbu disappeared and only Hiruzen and Dragon was left now. "Dragon, I wanted to talk about Naruto and your martial arts school," Hiruzen said, but he said it with the proper respect you would show your elders or teachers. "About the nine tails? Figured you would bring it up soon enough." Dragon said and sat down on a couch that was in the office as well. "Why isn''t Danzo here for this? Shouldn''t this be right up his alley." Dragon smiled and the smile itself told Hiruzen that he already knew where he was. "ahm, yes. I made sure he wouldn''t be here for this." The Hokage looked very uncomfortable. It probably had something to do with the fact that when you stood in front of this freakishly tall man, you always felt like he could see right through you. "Clever boy!" Dragon said and laughed. "Well yes. Now about Naruto, are you planning on teaching the boy anything more then that bizarre technique he knows now?" Hiruzen, of course, had gotten wind of Haki. Especially since Dragon hadn''t put restrictions on Naruto when it came to using it. "Maybe. He is my son, and also my student. I would want him to be able to protect himself." A mischievous smile spread on his face. *sigh* "About that. When Danzo found out about haki, I was afraid I would have to kill him to not make him kidnap Naruto and place him inside the Anbu." Hiruzen seemed both irritated and depressed when he said that. "ha, ha, ha, don''t worry about it. My eyes literally never leave Naruto''s side. You should know the second Danzo gives that order he would lose the privilege called life." Dragon said and some killing intent spread around the office, putting Hiruzen on edge automatically because Dragon''s aura was just that domineering and powerful. "I can deal with Danzo. It''s the nine tails that I don''t wanna deal with at the moment. The reason it went so well last time is that we had Minato with us." The two old men looked at each other and one of them let out another sigh while the other one just laughed at his misery. "I can''t believe Naruto wants this stupid position." Dragon said while looking at Hiruzen who looked totally defeated. "You wouldn''t believe the paperwork a Kage has to go through. It''s complete insanity." Hiruzen banged his head against the desk a single time and it earned him a loud and genuine laugh from Dragon. "Why don''t you take over my position, Dragon?" "I''m sure you would fit it as a leader, come one, take the hat!" Hiruzen went temporarily insane and tried to hand Dragon the Hokage hat with pleading eyes. "A leader, I am. But a Hokage, I am not. When the time comes, just hand it over to Naruto, or it''s more likely that he will fight you for it, hahaha," Dragon laughed out loud and wiped a single tear from his eyes when he thought about Naruto challenging Hiruzen to battle for the Hokage position. "As long as he masters his control over the nine tails., I will have no qualms in leaving the position to him." Hiruzen got this peaceful aura around him suddenly. And it made his image of a strong and kind ruler really shine through. "Well I have things to do, so call on me if you ever need anything." "oh, I would ask you to advise Danzo to stay away from Ryu. I know he has been eyeing Ryu as a potential root member. Just tell him, he would die no doubt if he tried anything." Dragon said and stood up and stretched his body a little. "I''ll see you around Hiruzen." The giant disappeared from the room and left behind a dumbstruck Hokage. ''At least I can leave my village in good hands when I''m gone.'' Hiruzed leaned back on his chair with his smoke pipe and smiled at the thought of the future generation. Would Naruto be the guiding light for them all? This was the question he wondered if he would be around to witness the answer to. -------------------------------------- End Chapter 36 - Chapter 38 ''System, where is J¨±go now?'' Dragon was sitting and drinking alcohol inside of the villages many bars. [He is living inside a village 22,756k miles away from your current position.] The system answered with the always accurate information. ''I see. Naruto should be fine if I just leave a note at home.'' Dragon that now had the information he wanted drank the last of his cup and put the money on the table. "Thanks for the drink," Dragon walked outside and left to write the note to Naruto that he would be gone for the day. "Come back anytime." The owner of the place said as he saw Dragon leave through the door. ----A few hours later---- Dragon was jumping from one treetop to the other at an incredible speed. He was closing in on the village where J¨±go was located. [Host, the person known as J¨±go has started a rampage. He can absorb natural energy and because of that fact he often finds himself in fits of rage where he can destroy entire villages if he is allowed to continue. Host should hurry.] The system reported and Dragon saw an explosion in the distance not long after. ''Guess i have to speed up.'' Dragon landed with his right foot on yet another treetop, but this time it was different. Dragon''s body just disappeared this time in an incredible display of speed that would floor the fourth Hokage himself. "AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH" Inside the village that was located here in a very remote area, a young man were standing in the middle of the village and screaming while holding his head with both hands. "Run, getaway now!!" An elderly man said as he tried to get the others away from the screaming young man. "J¨±go, you have to calm down. You know this is not who you are. You are in control, don''t let it control you." He said as he approached the orange-haired J¨±go. "AAAAAAAAAAAH" J¨±go seemed to be completely gone as he stood there screaming into his hands with no sign of stopping. While screaming at the top of his lungs, the elderly man had made it within only a couple meters of J¨±go and that seemed to have triggered something inside him because he looked up at the old man with a crazy look in his eyes. Anyone could see that the real J¨±go was not in control at the moment. "KIIIIIILL" J¨±go dashed towards the elderly man at the speed of an average jonin. He first approached the elder that could do nothing but stare at J¨±go who wanted to sincerely kill him at this moment. "Calm down, boy." A hand appeared from nowhere and it landed squarely on J¨±go''s face and sent him crashing into a building. "Let me handle this. I can calm him down without letting him hurt anyone else." Dragon said to the elderly man who just stood there and stared at him. Who wouldn''t when a 240 cm tall giant appeared from nowhere and stopped a rampaging monster. "O-Okay?" The man said and stepped back while still not understanding what just happened. "Kill, kill, kill, kill, kill, kill," J¨±go climbed out of the rubble and mumbled a "kill" over and over again. The elderly man together with the rest of the villagers were obviously scared, but to Dragon this was like a baby throwing their tantrum. "J¨±go, how about you stop this. Otherwise, I will have to use force and that will hurt even more." Dragon said with a kind smile on his face. "KILL" J¨±go approached while not even paying any attention to what Dragon said. "Force it is then." Dragon watched as J¨±go approached with great speed and attempted to rip him apart. "too weak. Imagine if you had even the slightest control over your strength." Dragon saw J¨±go''s fist approach and stopped it with one finger. "Time to sleep." He used his other hand and flicked J¨±go''s forehead and effectively knocked him unconscious. J¨±go flew back and landed on the ground, now totally knocked out. "S-Sir, who are you?" The elderly man approached from behind and asked timidly. "A martial arts master. I am out looking for people with some potential. And I think I just found myself someone good." Dragon said, not really caring what information he revealed. He was just happy that he saved this village before it was destroyed. "Please, come inside. Let me offer you some tea. You saved our lives after all." He said and the other people around all looked at Dragon with worship in their eyes. It''s not every day you see someone knock out a monster with just a finger. "Let''s take care of J¨±go before that. He will probably have quite a headache when he wakes up." Dragon waved his hand and the earth around J¨±go''s body raised itself and it all morphed and moved in ways that should not be possible. It eventually stopped and what stood there now was a full-blown house. "Wh.. i.. eh..... I don''t eve.. know." The village elder tried to speak multiple times but nothing coherent came out at all. "My Lord, what are you?" Dragon''s status in his mind upped a few levels and he fully believed Dragon had to be someone of the Kage status. he didn''t know anyone else that would be able to do anything remotely close to this. "Let''s go inside." Dragon ignored yet another question thrown at him. The inside of the house was fully decorated and everything looked like it had been sculpted using a chisel. "Sit." Dragon gestured towards a chair that was made entirely out of stone. He out J¨±go on a stone bed by the wall and then sat down in front of the elderly man. "So, about this boy. I am taking him with me." Dragon said to the man, and he didn''t get much in terms of verbal disagreement. The man only showed a frown. "It is highly dangerous because his rampages can lead to devastating results." The man had known J¨±go only for a short period of time but he had already seen the horror that the boy brought with him. "That is no problem. What he is suffering from is his kekkei Genkai and i am more then capable of helping him with that." "Then I can''t really say anything, can I? Following you would probably do more good for J¨±go then it would stay here. The chances of this village being destroyed increases every day J¨±go stays here." They were lucky that Dragon came when he did. "I decided to take him the moment i saw him so we will just wait for him to wake up and then i will explain the situation to him." The elderly man didn''t say anything and just sat in silence and thought about all that had just transpired. "I hope you will do good for him. He deserves some happiness after all the things he has been going through all alone." He looked at Dragon and he got a nod from the giant in response. "He will be safe with me, that I can promise." Dragon said and looked upon the body of J¨±go. He already knew the way to save him. Of course, he needed a little help from the system as well. ------------------------------------------------ End Chapter 37 - Chapter 39 "ouch, my head.. why does it hurt so much" On a stone bed inside a house that was built in under a minute, a young man, or a boy more accurately woke up. He immediately felt the pain both outside and inside his head. "Did a boulder fall on my head?" The boy said to himself as he sat up in what could barely pass as a bed. "Nope just flicked a finger on it. Had a nice sleep?" J¨±go jumped up on his feet at the sudden voice coming from behind him. "Who are you?" At the door stood a giant man that was just tall enough to pass through the door without having to duck. "I am Portgas D Dragon. What''s your name, kid?" Dragon said and walked in with a tray of food in hand. "This was meant for me to eat, but since you''re awake, have at it." Dragon said and placed the tray on a table in front of J¨±go. "T-thanks? My name is J¨±go. What do you want with me?" He was apprehensive towards the man. But the hunger won in the end and he started devouring the food at a ludicrous speed. "You were on a rampage and I stopped you." He said and he saw J¨±go stop eating and look at him with a sad and apologetic look. "I am sorry. I can''t control myself sometimes. I apologize if I hurt you." He said and bowed towards Dragon. "No worries." Dragon showed his kind smile. "Anyways, you have very poor control over your strength so it a miracle would have to happen for you to hurt me." He said and he saw how J¨±go''s facial expression changed from shock, anger and then apologetic again. "So, what do you want? you wouldn''t have stayed around if you didn''t want something from me." J¨±go didn''t really have any malice in his voice, but his tone wasn''t friendly either. "I want you to become my student." Dragon said and smiled. "Why would you want that? I could lose control and kill your other students at any point." J¨±go said and he knew very well that if he lost control, someone would get hurt. "First of all. Every single student I have would wipe the floor with you, rampage or not." "Secondly, I can teach you proper control." Dragon said and he saw how J¨±go''s eyes got round and hope appeared for a second but transformed to caution again. "How? My rampages can''t be stopped no matter what." "You haven''t seen my abilities yet. The reason you rampage is because of your ability to take in natural energy. I can give you perfect control over that ability." Dragon said and their surrounding started to change. J¨±go could feel it. "Natural energy is something that you will never have to fear ever again. I can promise you that." Dragon perfectly controlled the natural energy in the air and he used his right index finger to move that energy around. "Can you really!?" J¨±go finally saw some hope. Because of his Kekkei Genkai, he could feel what Dragon was doing. He felt how he manipulated the energy and how it followed his finger in a circular motion. "Yes!" Dragon stopped what he was doing and put his hands behind his back, military-style. "Then I accept. Please teach me!" J¨±go said in an almost begging and desperate manner. "I will. As soon as we get home. I live in the hidden leaf so get your things if you have any. Because we''re leaving in one hour." Dragon said and walked out to talk to the village elder one last time before they departed. Now in the middle of the forest, a duo made up of an adult and someone that looked to be 18-19 but was really just 15 years old. This was, of course, J¨±go and Dragon running towards the hidden leaf village. J¨±go had a very developed body and an aura of maturity existed around him constantly. Wherever he went, people usually mistook him for an adult and not someone that was only 15 years old. "So J¨±go, what is your favourite food?" Dragon said while slowing down a little to allow J¨±go to run beside him. "I don''t know. I have never really had the opportunity to explore many foods." J¨±go did seem to enjoy conversation, but he probably didn''t have a lot of training in it. He often didn''t continue the conversation and that forced Dragon to ask all the questions instead. "But obviously you have eaten food before, so what''s the best that you''ve eaten so far?" "Ramen, I think. I like simple food and ramen is good and simple." J¨±go said after a few good seconds to think about it. ''I know someone that would definitely disagree with you if you called ramen simple in front of him." Dragon said and laughed to himself thinking about a certain yellow-haired boy. "That''s nice. We have pretty good ramen back home, so we will have to get you some when we return." Dragon said and only got a nod from J¨±go in return. "Master Dragon. What do you specialize in?" Dragon was definitely not someone simple, and even a civilian could see that without any fancy ninja techniques or special eyes. "I have no real speciality. I have knowledge about most areas of life. But trust me, curing you is of no issue for me. I will make you a real powerhouse so you can protect people important to you." Dragon said and smiled at J¨±go. "People important to me?" He stared forward almost like he was staring into the void and he seemed lost in thought for a while. "Important..? Protect.." Dragon didn''t interrupt J¨±go that had a monologue with himself while running. ''He is a good boy. I will definitely make sure he lands down the proper path in life. People are always stronger when they are fighting for someone else. I am sure of it.'' Dragon watched J¨±go''s facial expression change from happy to sad to confident and finally landing on determined. "We are about to arrive, J¨±go. Let''s see if we can get you that Ramen when we arrive." Dragon said with a smile, and this time he got a smile back from J¨±go. Though it could definitely use some work still. -------------------------- End Chapter 38 - Chapter 40 "Here we are. This is your new home." Dragon opened up the slide doors to his house and beckoned J¨±go to go inside. "It''s big." He looked around in what was the hall that Dragon and Naruto spent most of their early day''s training. "Ye, this is essentially the martial arts school in its entirety. Your personal room is upstairs, I will show you later." The hall had a tiny kitchen that Dragon had turned from a closet filled with dust to a nice space dedicated to the creation of tea. "Let me make some tea and then we can start talking about your kekkei genkai." Dragon disappeared into the little room that he had all his tea stuff in. "DAD ARE YOU HOME NOW??" A boy slammed the door open and then slammed it shut behind him as he simultaneously rushed into the hall. Surprisingly this was a very smooth action, performed like a total master with a side of badass. The thing that ruined his image was his high pitch voice. "huh? Who are you? Where is my dad?" Naruto didn''t come halfway inside before he spotted an orange-haired young man standing inside the ring used for sparring. "C..c..chakra.. N-NNOO! Ma..master. D. D-Dragon.." J¨±go fell down on his knees grasping his head in fright and anger. "H-Hey! Are you okay? What happened to you? And how do you know my dad''s name?" Naruto ran up to J¨±go but he was stopped by the boy himself. "NO, STAY AWAY!! AAAAH" J¨±go screamed trying to fight the feeling rising within him. He had no idea what gave rise to this feeling. He felt and incredibly powerful and destructive chakra around the yellow haired boy and it seemed to trigger his killing intent. "Let me go find my dad." Naruto was trying to rush upstairs where his dad might be. But he didn''t make it far before the feeling of death appeared behind him. "SHIT!" Naruto jumped to the side just in time to dodge the fist of J¨±go that buried itself within the floor where Naruto had just been. "Hey, you can''t come into someone''s house and then attack them. Dad said that''s very rude." Naruto said and looked at J¨±go that had lost all control. "Guess we gonna have to do this the hard way." Naruto and J¨±go dashed at each other at the same time and clashed in mid-air using their fists. "KILL!!" J¨±go put more force into it and forced Naruto back with pure strength. As Naruto flew and landed a few meters away, J¨±go''s body started to change in multiple places. A grey fluid came forth and became like a second skin, or more accurately an armour on his body. "This just became a much more difficult fight." Naruto looked around for anything to use, but he saw nothing that would help so he readied his fists. "Come on then!" Naruto said and dashed forward in a pretty decent speed. "KILL!!" J¨±go was faster so he appeared in front of Naruto and punched him in the face before the yellow haired boy could react. He was thrown back and hit the wall of the house, hard. "And here I thought I was strong enough to do this without haki. Guess not." Naruto closed his eyes to concentrate and J¨±go didn''t care if they were open or closed. He dashed at Naruto again and this time tried to grab his throat. "Not this time." At the last second, Naruto tilted his head and punched J¨±go directly on the chin making him crash into the ground and he slid a few meters on the ground. "Now the real fight can start." Naruto jumped after J¨±go and grabbed his leg and prepared to slam him on the floor. J¨±go that acted fully on instinct felt Naruto''s hand holding onto his foot and he quickly used his other one and kicked the boy. Naruto was forced to let go and defend against the kick with both arms. "You hit hard!" Naruto massaged his hands that took the full force of J¨±go''s attack. Both had gotten up again and now they were staring at each other. Naruto and J¨±go dashed at each other, but only one of them had real killing intent spreading from their body. Their fists met and a small vibration was spread out and cracks started to form on the ground beneath them. They both pushed against each other and J¨±go won in both speed and physical strength so Naruto had to become creative. ''Let''s try this.'' Naruto, as he was about to lose ground completely let go off all the power behind his arm and then dashed under J¨±go''s legs. J¨±go that now was using his full force to push against the air lost his balance. ''Chance!'' Naruto jumped forward and used his full force and landed a hit square on J¨±go''s face. This sent the raging boy to skim across the ground and eventually hit the wall. "N-Naruto, I am here with the tea you wanted." The front door that J¨±go was now laying beside opened up timidly and Hinata peaked her head inside, too afraid to fully enter the house. "HINATA, RUN!" Naruto didn''t even think about it. He rushed forward with a speed he didn''t know he had and before J¨±go could get up, another round of small kid fists was planted multiple times on his face. "Come on, Hinata. It''s not safe here!" Naruto grabbed her arm and led her inside. He didn''t know where to take her, but as long as it was away from the rampaging boy he was fine with it. "W-What is going on, Naruto??" Hinata''s brain hadn''t registered what just happened. She looked around and saw holes in the walls and cracks on the ground. "I don''t know either. As soon as I arrived home I found this guy here and then he suddenly attacked me from nowhere." As they were running, they heard J¨±go scream incoherently behind them. They both turned around and saw J¨±go flying at them with increased speed. "Get behind me!" Naruto made sure that Hinata was behind him and prepared to take J¨±go''s attack head-on. "Naruto, b-be careful!" Hinata saw the raging boy and she felt the fear rise up inside her. Before Naruto and J¨±go could continue, a targeted pulse of strange energy appeared and J¨±go that was mid jump towards Naruto fell unconscious and slid across the ground now totally knocked out. "That was a fantastic display, Naruto." Dragon had appeared behind the two suddenly and it scared Hinata so she grabbed on to Naruto''s hand like she used to do with Ko. "KYAA!" She immediately realized what she had done and let go and proceeded to run towards the door. "Hinata, wait!" Naruto said and tried to stop her from running away. "T-Thanksforhavingmeover!" She said super fast in one quick sentence then bowed about eleven times and ran out of the house. "ha, ha, ha, what a great little source of entertainment that girl is." Dragon said as he went and picked up J¨±go''s body. "Dad, what the hell is going on!" Naruto said with a demanding tone. He really wanted to know what was going on. "That''s two times!" Dragon said and held up two fingers in front of Naruto''s face. "What? Two what?" Naruto felt like this could not get any more confusing than it already was. "The jar. That''s two times. Pay up!" Dragon said with a grin. "WHAT! NO FAIR! I was fighting and thought I was going to die!" Naruto grabbed onto Dragons shirt and tried to shake his dad in frustration. "I was here the whole time. No way you would die under my watch." He said and smiled at the boy. "Swindler!" Naruto said and walked upstairs to where that jar was. A jar he hated with everything he had. -------------------------------------- End Chapter 39 - Chapter 41 "So let''s start the introductions." Dragon said and nudged his son to start. "My name is Naruto Uzumaki. I like ramen, a good fight and my dad. My dream is to knock that Hokage hat off old third." Naruto said with a beaming smile aimed towards the boy with orange hair in front of him. "Nice to meet you, Naruto. My name is J¨±go, 15 years old. No family. I am a student of master Dragon. I like master Dragon for his kindness and strength and i also enjoy ramen." This was J¨±go''s first introduction ever, so it was a little awkward because he didn''t know what to say. "OH! Ramen is the best, right. I will take and show you the best place ever." Naruto said with enthusiasm. "Later, Naruto. Now that introductions are done, J¨±go and i have something to do." Dragon beckoned for J¨±go to come and sit in front of him. "This will not hurt but it might feel very strange. Remember to focus on staying calm, that will make this easier." Dragon placed his hand on J¨±go''s head and the boy closed his eyes on command and concentrated on keeping his emotions in place. ''Do it now'' The process started and J¨±go immediately felt the natural energy inside his body essentially being guided bu an unknown presence. Suddenly it was like there existed a void inside his body and that''s now where the energy were being led to. "Stay calm, J¨±go. I can feel your emotions going astray." Dragon said and watched the boy breath in and out with a lot of difficulty. Killing intent started to rise in the surrounding and it kept growing while the boy in question was frowning and feeling his control slipping away from him slowly. "Master, i can''t h..hold on.." J¨±go was struggling and he felt like he would loose it in just a few seconds. Dragon started speaking with a voice full of kindness. And an aura of tranquility and calmness appeared and combated the ever-rising killing intent. "J¨±go. I am here for you, you are safe here. You are the master of your own body and it''s energy. It can only control you if you let it." The aura of tranquility and kindness grew so strong that even Naruto that was watching on the sidelines started tearing up. "I can''t hold on.. It i-is taking over." J¨±go wanted to scream and the feeling to destroy and kill grew almost higher then ever before. A hand suddenly landed on J¨±go''s own. "I don''t know what''s going on with you, J¨±go. But trust my dad. He is kind and caring. He is strong and handsome." Naruto said with a kind and also a mischievous smile. "And some times even a little too overprotective. But I believe in him and so should you. Don''t let the bad thoughts take hold off you. My dad helped me deal with them, now let him help you as well." Naruto felt a connection to the struggle going on inside J¨±go. Naruto''s chakra was transferring over to J¨±go and with them came all of Naruto''s genuine feelings. He couldn''t explain how he knew or how he felt it. But he did. He could feel the anger, anxiety and fear that existed within J¨±go. "You are among family, J¨±go. We take care of our family." The interjection from Naruto seemed to have helped because tears were falling like a waterfall from J¨±go''s eyes. And he could feel the kindness and care to come off the two people in front of him. "I-I''m fine..." He couldn''t believe it. The anger, the killing intent. It was diminishing and he didn''t know-how. "You no longer have to fight that horrible feeling within you. From now on. I can properly start your training. I will teach you to master the natural energy within you." Dragon said and removed his hand from J¨±go''s head and smiled like the kindest old man. "Thank you, master Dragon." J¨±go said and bowed while wiping the tears from his face. "You see! I told you our family is the best!" Naruto said and gave J¨±go an encouraging hit on the back. He used a little too much force and J¨±go fell forwards. "Naruto, He is a fellow student now. Don''t hit him with that much force." Dragon said with a real parent tone. "Sorry, sorry, it was a little payback for attacking me out of nowhere." Naruto rubbed the back of his head nonchalantly. "Okay, come on J¨±go! We have some Ramen to eat!" Naruto grabbed J¨±go''s arm before he could interject and was quickly dragged out of the house. As they disappeared, Dragon sat there and pondered about what to do. He wanted to go and meet Gildarts and Sylvia again, but he had no idea when to leave, how to explain it to Naruto, or even if he should. He just didn''t know what to do. ''System, can you make it so that the only form that anyone that ever met me will know is this one i am using now. Like how you did here with putting me into the history books.'' [Yes. It is possible. The system needs another 6 months and 3 days to fully get back all the lost divine energy.] ''That''s fine. How long until the Uchiha massacre is supposed to take place?'' Dragon had a plan regarding this. He planned to stop it and take control of the clan entirely. He researched what becomes of Sasuke and Itachi and he doesn''t want that for either of them. [Danzo Shimura has already told Itachi about the ultimatum. Shall the system notify the host when Itachi and Obito Uchiha is about to act.] ''Tell me a week before it happens.'' He believed that now that he had the capabilities of doing something about that, he should. He knew who made it happen and he knew who would help Itachi that night. That spiral kid is about to experience the scare of a lifetime. -------------------------------------- End Chapter 40 - Chapter 42 ''Natural energy. Find it, and guide it.'' J¨±go had been meditating for an undetermined time at this point. He was sitting inside the hall with birds flying over his head, and some of them sitting on his shoulders and knees. Dragon had explained to him that he now had an extra space inside his body that stored natural energy at all times. All the energy that he took in would gather in that space and it was now his turn to master the manipulation of natural energy. ''Find it, and guide it.'' When he mastered this, he would be able to enter a safe transformation at any point in time. Dragon explained to him that when mastered, he could transform into virtually anything thanks to his kekkei Genkai and it would all be perfectly under his own control. "J¨±go, It''s time for some ramen!" Naruto came down from the stairs in a hurry and flew past him at incredible speed. "Naruto, you need to stop being up so late, this is the third time you overslept this week." J¨±go said and Naruto stopped in the doorway and turned around. "Then start waking me up already. You''re home, so why not do me a solid and wake me whenever I oversleep." Naruto complained with a pout. "Dragon said you would never learn if you didn''t suffer the consequences." J¨±go said apologetically. "Whatever, now let''s go. I need ramen before going to the academy." Naruto rushed out the door, and J¨±go stood up and sighed. -------------------------------- In another part of the village, or more accurately slightly outside the village. A big compound that housed an entire clan was located. It was the Uchiha''s and right at this moment, they had a very secret meeting between the elders underneath the main branch household. "Lord Fugaku, there is no stopping it now. You know it''s just a matter of time before Danzo makes his move, you know how much he despises us." "And let''s not forget how much he yearns for our eyes." The Uchiha were standing on their last legs and the coup was now impossible to stop. It was either them or the village. Someone was about to act and they wanted to be the first ones. "We should act as soon as possible before the Hokage and Danzo has a chance to prepare proper defensive strategies against us. With the Sharingan, we can end this quickly." All the people present in this room might have slightly different views on how to do this, but they all agreed that it has to be done. "Put the plan in place. Let''s strike fast and quick. With our police force, we can avoid too many innocent lives being sacrificed." Fugaku sat in the centre most position around the table and he had been struggling with this matter for years now. He wanted a better standing for the clan, but this was not the ideal way to get there. "What if i can offer you a better way out?" A mature and monotone voice rang out from the corner. "Who is it?" "[Space Lock]" The man in the corner made a one-handed hand seal and every person in the room lost the ability to move. Some of the elders in the room were forced to a stop in the middle of standing up. "WHO ARE YOU?" An Uchiha elder roared at the person covered in darkness. He was the most aggressive out of all the elders, so his response was easily predicted when trouble would come his way. "Don''t worry, i am a friend to the Uchiha clan." The man now walked out from the darkness, and the people in the room saw the mysterious individual was wearing an anbu outfit without the mask on as a sign of trust. "We can''t trust him, let''s work together to take him out" Another elder said. "He has seen this room. He can''t leave this place alive." Another elder activated his Sharingan and glared at the intruder. "Enough!" Fugaku roared and the other elders calmed down the one elder deactivated his Sharingan. "Who are you, and what do you want?" The clan leader watched the individual with cautious eyes. The intruder had taken away their bodies freedom and stopped them from moving. But that didn''t mean he was helpless because they all still had control of their Sharingan''s. "My name is Ryunosuke Akutagawa. Please call me Ryu. My master has some information for you. Will you stay quiet and listen so that this doesn''t have to get ugly." Ryu said and released them from his space lock with another one-handed seal. "Speak!" Fugaku had been a soldier all his life and clan leader for many years. Unexpected events is nothing he hasn''t encountered before. It would be embarrassing if he lost his cool in this situation. Losing your cool is how you die in this world, and he knew that very well. "Thank you. There is an attack planned on the Uchiha clan by Danzo Shimura." Ryu said and this didn''t really surprise anyone. What took them by surprise is the fact that this unknown person and his master had knowledge of such things. Everyone knew Danzo was very hard to deal with. "Do you happen to know when this will happen?" If what Ryu said was true, then things might actually turn for the better. A powerful ally is exactly what his clan needed at the moment. "Yes. in eight days." "What''s the catch? Assuming that this information is accurate, then what does your master want in return?" Fugaku knew that nothing was free in the world, and that is especially true when it comes to information. "Loyalty. My master is someone with the capabilities to unite the world. And that is what he plans to do. He wants your clan to be apart of the empire that he is creating. "Empire? Who is he? We should know of someone that has the supposed strength to unite the world." An elder asked Ryu in scepticism. "When you have the strength that my master has. Staying unknown is not that difficult. His empire will unite the world and this is your chance to save your clan." "We will stop this attack regardless of your answer, but as long as you stay within the borders of the village, another attack will happen eventually. We could relocate your clan to a place where you''ll be safe for many years to come." Ryu said with a very emotionless tone. "Can you guarantee that nothing like what happened to us here will occur within your empire. The Uchiha can''t take the oppression again." Another elder asked. "As long as you follow the laws of the empire then every clan has the opportunity for growth within the empire. Loyalty goes a long way when it comes to my master. Nothing escapes his eyes, so if you agree to this, you leave any scheming behind or your clan will meet a tragic end at my own hands." As Ryu said the last part a terrifying killing intent assaulted the Uchiha''s inside this secret basement room. ''W-What a powerful intent..'' Fugaku was on the ground shaking in fear the moment Ryu''s intent showed itself. ''If this is a subordinate, how strong is the actual emperor himself?!'' Fugaku asked himself while trying to not fall down completely. "Now. What is your answer? Ryu said and withdrew all his killing intent so that the people in the room could stand up again. "If you can promise safety and protection for my clan inside your empire. Then i agree." "Lord Fugaku. We should talk more about this. It''s too rash to accept this without all the details." "We don''t have time for our talks. I am only thinking about the survival of our clan. I am the clan leader and I believe that this is how we survive in the long run." Fugaku said in a harsh tone. Being clan leader means that you have to make impossible decisions and this falls right into that category. "Good! All you have to do now is sit tight until i contact you again." Ryu snapped his finger and a portal appeared underneath him and he fell right into it. "Lord Fugaku, are you sure about this? You don''t think you just doomed us all?" An elder said while wiping sweat from his forehead from that intense killing intent. "You felt his killing intent and his powerful aura. None of us can muster that, even if we work together. If we wanna come out of this alive, I believe we should put our trust in that empire. I can''t explain it, but I just get a good feeling about that boy." "Hope your right about this, Lord Fugaku." "Ye, I hope so too." The people all sat in silence and thought about what lied ahead of them. What is the future of the Uchiha clan, none of them knew the answer to this question? ----------------------------------- End Chapter 41 - Chapter 43 Outside the Uchiha compound there was a training field. It was used by the Uchiha for sparring and higher destruction jutsu practice. Right now there was a small six-year-old boy practising his shuriken throw. People of his clan knew him as a natural-born genius. He was fighting for the attention of someone that rarely gave it to him. The practise field was surrounded by a small forest. And right now Dragon was standing on a branch observing the boy. He was waiting for Ryu to finish with the meeting and come to meet him. ''He really was a totally different boy before the massacre happened. The one i see down there wouldn''t hurt a fly. Tragic events really change someone all the way to their core.'' Dragon used to ruin a lot of lives in his last life, but he never stuck around to see the consequences it caused or how it changed the people involved. He found it fascinating in the sense that both happy and sad events would cause two different changes. ''I wonder what kind of person Naruto will grow up to now that he has someone that loves and cares for him. And i wonder what Sylvia will think when she finds out she has more then one son. Hope she doesn''t die from shock.'' Dragon laughed to himself thinking about what kind of face she would make when he introduced the rest of the family to her. "Master. I have returned." A portal opened up on the branch and Ryu floated up from it and stepped onto the branch. He immediately went down on one knee like the anbu did for the Hokage. "So, what did they say?" Dragon said while observing the young Uchiha hit 5 out of 6 targets in the bullseye. "Most are very skeptical and wary of you, master. I would guess that some of them are thinking that Danzo or Hiruzen is behind this. But they have agreed to wait and trust that we take care of the attack and Danzo himself." Ryu brought exactly what Dragon wanted to hear. This is the answer he hoped for. "Good job. Keep monitoring Danzo and the root. Also slowly over the course of this week, eliminate all the spies he has within the Uchiha." "Yes, master!" Ryu jumped back into the portal and then it closed again, and silence returned to this area. ''Oh, here comes the other one,'' Dragon saw a slightly taller version of the 6 year old walk into the practice area. He noticed the eyes of the young boy light up immediately. Dragon watched the two boys interact with each other and then go on to practice shuriken throws together. He was very interested to see what would happen to these two boys now that their clan will be safe from the massacre. ''I will talk more with those two later. For now, i guess i have to go and deal with Danzo. Better do it now so that I''m not late for dinner.'' Dragon disappeared in a burst of speed. Inside the Hokage office two men were having a meeting and it wasn''t going so well. These two used to be on the same time, but that was a long time ago now. Now they both represented one part of the village, the darkness and the light. "Why are you so stubborn Hiruzen? You read Itachi''s report, it''s time to act now." Danzo was almost yelling in the face of the Hokage. "The last time i checked, i was the one sitting in this seat and not you, Danzo." Hiruzen said with a tired and annoyed expression. "He''s right. You are not the Hokage Danzo. And you never will be." Dragon had appeared from nowhere and now sat on the sofa and stared at them both. "Dragon what are you doing here today?" Hiruzen looked a little relieved now that Dragon had arrived. "This meeting is classified, you are not allowed to be here, Dragon." Danzo said with visible scorn in his eyes. "You should be careful to how you address me, boy." Dragon looked at Danzo who became visibly agitated at Dragon''s comment. "calm down Danzo, and Dragon. What might be the nature of your visit?" Hiruzen knew Danzo''s personality, and he knew this could end badly very fast. "Hiruzen, since you are so oblivious to what''s going on, i just thought i should inform you. Danzo has ordered the massacre of the Uchiha, and he''s having Itachi do it." Hiruzen''s jaw dropped and Danzo''s eyes turned round and he stared at Dragon with pure hatred in his eyes. "Liar. I have done no such thing." Danzo said in a determined tone. Dragon had to give it to him, Danzo was very good at keeping up that poker face even in this situation. "DANZO! I ordered you to stand down!" Hiruzen was a life long friend of Danzo''s but he still respected and trusted Dragon more because of how old he is and the fact that he knew the first and second Hokage''s personally. "Hiruzen, SIT DOWN! I have been saving a conversation with you about Naruto''s treatment before i arrived in the village. So you''re up next." An incredible domineering aura exploded out and stopped the Hokage from moving. In fact, no ninja in the room could move a single muscle. "Danzo, why the calm look on your face?" Dragon was walking over until he stood right next to Danzo. "You can''t kill me. I will not die, ever." Danzo said and stared into Dragon''s eyes with fury and hatred. "Oh, so you think this little experiment will help you, huh?" Dragon said and pinched Danzo''s right arm that was wrapped in bandages. "How did you know?" Danzo''s eyes darted from Dragon''s to Hiruzen''s and he knew that this time he had to leave for good. There was no way that Hiruzen would excuse this one. "I know everything." Dragon said and smiled. Danzo suddenly pulled out a kunai and made a quick thrust towards Dragon''s throat. Dragon tilted his head to the side and grabbed Danzo by the throat and held him up in the air. "You were never in control here, Danzo. I know every location of every root member at all times. I know all assassination attempts on Naruto''s life. Did you think that you''re god or something?" Dragon looked at the man struggling in his grip. "Dragon, let him down. I will deal with him." Hiruzen said from the side with a semi pleading look. Before he could say anything more, Dragon''s crazy powerful killing intent attacked him head-on again. "Hiruzen, this man should have died years ago. Didn''t you know that Danzo and your former student is behind the mass kidnapping of the village civilians? What a sorry excuse for a leader." Dragon said and not sparing on the harsh words. He was always gonna deal with these two, he just waited for the right moment. "Sebastien. Here is someone you might find interesting." Dragon threw Danzo behind him and Dragon''s own shadow rose up and caught Danzo in it''s grasp. "Interesting, master. He is quite the wicked human." The shadow itself grew a mouth that morphed into a sadistic smile. Danzo had tried everything at this point. No jutsu worked, he couldn''t even call upon his chakra. "HIRUZEN! SAVE ME! YOU NEED ME, THE VILLAGE NEEDS ME! THERE CAN''T BE LIGHT WITHOUT DARKNESS!!!" Danzo was panicking and a facial expression Hiruzen had never seen before made it''s way onto Danzo''s face. "Here is where you have to choose, boy." Dragon looked at the Hokage. "Will you save this pig from slaughter and become someone not worthy of carrying that hat. Or will you abandon this current path your treading and work hard to earn the respect of that position." "Walk with me onto the path of light and be the person Naruto thinks you are. He looks up to the Hokage as the best and brightest star. He dreams of surpassing you. What side will you show him?" Dragon said and released all the pressure he put on Hiruzen. The Hokage fell down on his knees in tears. Thousands of pictures of missing civilians and ninjas alike appeared in his mind. His shame and guilt grew and his tears kept falling. What would his teacher say if he saw what he allowed the village to become. "Hiruzen. It''s time to choose." Dragon said. "Danzo. For too long have i allowed you to destroy what the first Hokage built. For too long i have allowed you trample on his dream, and the will of fire that he believed in." Hiruzen said with an ice-cold expression on his face. He had stopped crying and he walked up to Danzo that helplessly was trapped in Dragon''s shadow. "Mr Sebastien, make sure he suffers. For all the people he has brought suffering to in his lifetime." The Hokage said without any mercy in his voice. "Of course, now if that''s all, i will go and work on this little guy." A shadow that acted like a tentacle spiraled it''s way around Danzo''s body and dragged him down into the shadow. "Master, I''ll see you later. Please call on me if there is something else you need." Sebastien said and Dragon''s shadow returned to normal again. "Good work." Dragon said and his shadow rose and formed a single thumbs up and then went back to normal again. "Naruto is done at the academy so i can''t stay. Hiruzen, i have great expectation of you now that you chose to walk down a different path. I will take care of the attack on the Uchiha." "Thank you Master Dragon. Someday you have to explain to me what you and your students are, because that was not ninjutsu that Sebastien used." Hiruzen said. "If you earn the right to know, then i will gladly tell you." Dragon took a dramatic paused and then continued and said. "You''re going to have to work hard and i will be here watching you, and if you mess up this big again, i will give you to Sebastien to experiment on." Dragon showed a smug smile. "Also, for your paperwork use your shadow clones." Dragon said and disappeared from the room. *BOOM* The Hokage desk got smashed into pieces and Hiruzen stood there with a crazy look in his eyes. "SO. MANY. YEARS!!" "SHADOW CLONES!!! OF COURSE!!" ------------------------------- End Chapter 42 - Chapter 44 "Naruto, keep your eyes on your opponent. Focus!" Jugo, your balance is horrible, find your centre of balance." Hidden leaves most powerful families was sparring inside there home at the moment. Dragon always had Jugo and Naruto spar before the academy and that''s what they were doing at the moment. "Jugo, Naruto is faster than you, don''t let him get behind you." Dragon said while observing them fight. "Naruto, when you''re fighting an opponent that is physically stronger than you, stay at a distance. Use your ninjutsu." Jugo and Naruto clashed and cracks spread across the floor. They traded multiple punches while at the same time dodging each other. "Jugo, let me show you the new technique I learned." Naruto kicked the ground multiple times in less than a second and appeared behind Jugo before he could react. "I win!" Naruto used his right leg and kicked Jugo in the head to finish the match. Jugo that got kicked in the neck was thrown forward a great distance because the kick was infused with haki. "YES! I WIN!!" Naruto said and fist-bumped the air. "Naruto, what''s the first rule of combat?" Dragon said to Naruto with a smirk on his face. "Don''t celebrate too early." Jugo''s fist was planted on the side of the fox boys face. Naruto flew and crashed into the wall of the little tea room that Dragon had set up in the hall. "Naruto, Jugo knows you are faster, so don''t you think it is obvious that he would be prepared for an attack based on speed?" Dragon said with his arms crossed. "Why does this hurt so damn much?!" Naruto said and rubbed his cheek as he walked over. "Jugo has great control over the natural energy stored within his body. Fighting Jugo now that he has control will be much harder. He can throw out attacks that you won''t be able to visibly see with your eyes. You can never lose focus when fighting." "It''s all thanks to master Dragon. Without you, I might have destroyed more villages then the one you found me at. I am eternally grateful." Jugo bowed and said with sincerity. "Stay loyal and true to me and my school and I will make sure you never have to walk down that path again." Dragon said with a smile. "Naruto, you lost, so you are on tea duty. And seeing as you destroyed half the tea room, you have some work to do." Dragon pointed at the half-destroyed tea room. "Not Fair! He punched me straight into it?" He started to sulk because the thought of cleaning caused a shiver through Naruto''s body. "ye? And who''s body was it that went through the wall?" "Go and make the tea, and no complaining." Dragon sent Naruto away and then sat down while Jugo went to freshen up before tea time. "My master, I have a report." Suddenly Alucard rose up from the ground and kneeled in front of Dragon. "Speak!" Dragon said to the kneeling vampire. "Obito is moving up the time table. He is moving to attack the Uchiha tonight. What are your orders." Alucard said while his head was lowered. "Leave that boy to me." "The Akatsuki isn''t necessary for our plans so you can do with them as you like." Dragon didn''t care about the Akatsuki at all. He never intended to allow Obito to do anything like the original plot. "Yes, My master!" Alucard grew a savage smile and sunk down into the ground and disappeared again. ''If Obito is intending to attack tonight, then i will assume he and Itachi met before the original time line said they did. I should go visit Sylvia and Gildarts after this spiral boy is properly tamed. He is a nice boy so it''s a shame to kill him.'' Dragon was in deep thought when Jugo returned. "What are you thinking about, master?" Jugo said and sat down at the same table as Dragon. "Naruto, get in here, I need to tell you both something." Dragon yelled and Naruto came running. "What''s up dad?" The young cub had a broom in hand and a smile on his face. Dragon thought he might secretly enjoy cleaning. "Sit down. I have something important to tell both of you." Dragon didn''t smile and Naruto sat down across from Dragon. "What I have to tell you is something that you can''t tell anybody. Not unless I say so." Dragon snapped his fingers and a barrier appeared around the house to stop anyone from seeing or hearing what went on inside. "What could be so serious that I don''t already know?" Naruto took pride in his and Dragon''s good relationship. A true father and son relationship. "It''s about who I really am. So listen closely and let me finish saying it all before you ask any questions." Dragon looked at the two and they both nodded. "Do you know what a universe is?" Dragon asked and both the boys shook their heads. "Okay, so listen closely." Dragon started to explain what a universe was and he then moved on to explain the multiverse. "Wait. So you are not from this world?? What does that even mean?" Naruto looked totally lost. He tried to wrap his head around this whole explanation but he was struggling. "I already answered that, Naruto. I am someone that can travel between all worlds and universes. The only reason that you don''t know about them is that you are not strong enough to break down the barrier between them." Naruto just nodded at the explanation, still struggling to understand it all. "so master, why did you tell us?" Jugo was quite the intelligent boy so he took the news without much trouble. "Because I need to leave the world." Dragon said and Naruto immediately stared at him. "WHAT! YOU''RE LEAVING!?" Naruto''s eyes started to get red and Dragon had a momentarily freak out for scaring his son. He forgot that the best way to make Naruto cry would be to say you were leaving him behind. "I''m sorry, I didn''t mean it like that. I am coming back, it''s just that I have someone really special to fetch in another world." Dragon said and stroked his son''s cheek to stop him from crying. "Another world? I can''t believe something like that is a thing. I wish I could experience that someday." Jugo got lost in his own head while letting his imagination run wild. "It should only take a few months at most. I will have one of my students watch over you while I''m gone." Dragon said and snapped his finger again. A portal opened up behind him and Ryu stepped out from it. "WOW! COOL!" Naruto stood up and completely forgot about anything that Dragon had just said. HEY, HEY, TEACH ME THAT!" Naruto ran up to Ryu and pleaded with puppy eyes. "This magic is something master gifted me. I will not give it away, even if it''s you, young master." Ryu said with determination but he also bowed to Naruto because of his status as Dragon''s son. "Young master? me?" Naruto looked to Dragon for an answer. "haha, Naruto you are the son of an emperor so you have a claim to the throne-like your siblings. That''s why Ryu is calling you young master." Dragon laughed while Naruto''s eyes got as big and round as tennis balls. "Emperor? WAIT!? SIBLINGS?? I HAVE SIBLINGS?!?" Naruto yelled and ran up to Dragon and grabbed a hold of his collar. "Yes. That happens to be the special someone that I''m travelling to go fetch. I am bringing one of your brothers over here." Dragon watched as Naruto''s eyes almost popped like two balloons and then turned red with tears streaming down his face. "I-I have siblings?" Naruto was on his knees staring into the ground. "Yes, and eventually you will meet all of them. But for now, let''s drink some tea so you can calm down and process all this new information. Ryu, please join us for some tea." Dragon said and Ryu sat down as well. "Ryu, tonight. You will handle Itachi. stopping him at the gate is enough." Dragon said and got a nod from Ryu and a confused look from Naruto and Jugo. "Handle? Y-You mean to kill?" Naruto said with caution in his voice. "It''s nothing. Just a sparring match Ryu has tonight. Nothing important." Dragon said and playfully punched Naruto on the head. "Fine, don''t tell me then," Naruto said and went to make the tea. --------------------------- End Chapter 43 - Chapter 45 Dragon was standing on the village police force building. He knew Obito would target this place first so he was waiting for the spiral boy to show himself here. Ryu had been ordered to handle Itachi.. In front of the building a spiral teleportation appeared in mid-air. When the spiral finally stopped a man dressed in black traditional ninja attire stood there with an orange mask on his face. He watched the building and when he was about to move he felt danger from behind him. "Nice reflexes." A hand passed through the man from the back and Dragon smiled as he returned his hand to his side. "Are you seeking death?" The man turned around. "No, i was looking for someone to carry my bags during my next adventure and i think you fit that role." Dragon put on a condescending smile for the masked man to enjoy. "Don''t provoke me or else you will soon find yourself 7 feet underground. You can''t even touch me." He said while glaring at Dragon with his Sharingan blazing in a bright red color. Dragon lost his smile, and after a few seconds of staring he walked up to the man in the mask and looked him right in the eye. They stood only 1 meter apart and no one made their move. "And who are you to threaten me?" Dragon said with his arms crossed in front of his chest. "I am Madara Uchiha. Don''t fool yourself into thinking that you stand a chance in this fight." He said to Dragon, clearly not believing anything could touch him. "Last time i checked, Madara died a long time ago. How do you explain that?" Dragon said with no emotion on his face, just like the man he was facing. "I don''t have to explain myself to you. Now would you please die." A hand came and gripped Dragon around his throat and tried to move him. The word was tried. Dragon''s body didn''t move no matter how much he tried and no matter the strength he put into it. "Having performance issues, Obito?" Dragon said and gave the man a smirk. "How did you??! Who are you?" Obito said and gripped Dragon''s throat tighter. "Please die for me." He used kunai and stabbed Dragon in the stomach. "The game is over." As the kunai arrived it passed right through Dragon, almost like he didn''t have a physical form anymore. Almost like he was ethereal. "What happened to you, boy. Just because Rin died you decided that you should play god together with Madara?" Dragon stood there with a kunai through his stomach but his form was not physical so the kunai awkwardly floated inside his body. "DON''T TALK ABOUT HER!" "YOU KNOW NOTHING!" Obito started to slash at Dragon but it all just passed right through him like he wasn''t there. "I know everything!" Dragon punched Obito in the face and he crashed into the ground a few meters away. "Do you think this is what Rin would have wanted for you? There is still a chance to come back, Obito." Dragon stood still and watched as the man struggled to get up. "RIN IS DEAD!" Obito screamed while running towards Dragon with rage-filled eyes. Rin appeared to be a sensitive subject for him. "Okay, you know what. No more of this shit. I have enough of this delusional version of you. There are too many Madara''s running around and i just want my peace and quiet." Dragon used Soru and disappeared in a burst of speed. he appeared in front of Obito and grabbed a hold of his collar, to which Obito freaked out. "WHY CAN YOU TOUCH ME?! WHY IS MY SHARINGAN NOT WORKING!" Obito screamed in his face while struggling to get free. "Obito, i am the owner of something called absolute potential. It allows me to master any power and ability i come across. i have no limit on anything. I have created and mastered countless of abilities. You can''t even comprehend how many abilities i possess." Dragon said and prepared to hit Obito. "I am using something that i developed myself. It''s called [dimensional touch]. I created it to counter people like you. It''s name should tell you what it does. It basically means that your Sharingan is useless against me. Dimensions doesn''t even exists in my eyes." Dragon punched Obito so hard that the spiral mask broke apart and Obito lost two of his front teeth. "oh, that''s ugly," Dragon said and snapped his finger. Obito''s teeth quickly grew back and he was back to looking normal again. "As you are now, you''re useless. A simple shell of your former self. You could be someone truly powerful. But your stuck in this fantasy that will never happen. MOVE ON!" Dragon slapped Obito across the face and blood sprayed on the ground. "Move on! Rin is dead!" Another slap and more blood stained the ground. "She died!! She''s dead! YOU KILLED HER!! No one will have to die again when I''m done!" Obito said with a bloody face. "You think she died because of you? Because of Kakashi? Because of the world? Don''t be naive, YOU FOOL!" Another slap and Obito''s whole face was bloody and you couldn''t recognize him at all. "She loved you, you stupid boy. She loved you and this is how you choose to honor her memory? By attacking and killing the people she died to protect. SHE LOVED YOU, OBITO!" Two more slaps and Obito was starting to lose consciousness. "S-She l-love..." Obito mumbled, too beaten up to speak normally. "ye, she loved you. She loved the person you were, so why the hell did you go and become this piece of garbage, HUH?" Another slap and an ocean worth of blood covered the ground and Obito finally lost consciousness. "Falling asleep when I''m talking, are we?! WAKE UP!" Another slap ten times stronger then the last and Obito was jolted awake, and only because it felt like his head was about to fall off his head. "So? Are you gonna continue on this stupid ass path Madara put you on? I don''t need food or sleep so believe me that we will continue until either of us dies! What do you say?!" Dragon slapped Obito again and more blood covered the ground that had officially changed color to dark red. "SPEAK UP, BOY!" "R-Rin.. Fo-F..Forg.." Obito''s head swayed back and forth and it looked like he was about to die any second. "I am on the understanding grandpa mode. Don''t force me to go full-on mean grandpa mode. I won''t guarantee your survival then, SPEAK UP, SON!" "I-I LOVED HER!!!" Obito finally roared and blood from his mouth splashed all over Dragon''s upper body and face. "Now that''s more like it. Say it again. Say it as you mean it." Dragon held up his hand in a threatening manner. "I LOVED HER! I LOVE HER! I MISS HER, I CAN''T TAKE IT.. LIVING WITHOUT HER! I CAN''T TAKE IT!" Obito roared, letting everything out and then he immediately fell unconscious afterwards. He was just minutes away from dying, completely beaten up and exhausted. "That wasn''t so hard, was it." Dragon put a finger on Obito''s forehead and his body started to heal. Dragon watched Obito''s tear-stained face with pity and sorrow. "Mission successful." Dragon threw Obito over his shoulder and started walking back. Right as he started to walk away there was some very terrified Uchiha clan members that finally peaked outside after they had witnessed this horror show. They had never seen this level of brutality and that old man was definitely someone that would haunt their dreams after this day. ------------------------------------- At the gate of the Uchiha compound, Ryu sat and waited for his guest to arrive. It didn''t take long for his haki to pick up the movements of someone slowly walking towards him. "You are hesitating, Itachi Uchiha." Ryo who sat there in his black Kung Fu attire spoke to the teenager that soon arrived in front of him. "Who are you? And where are the guards?" Itachi looked around casually but his guard was on full alert against this stranger. "There is a change in plans. There will be no massacre tonight. The Hokage knows of this and he trusted my master and myself to stop this from happening." Ryu watched as Itachi''s facial expression went from neutral to shocked very quickly. "What''s going on? Why haven''t I heard anything about this?" "We only let you continue because we wanted to capture your accomplice." Itachi''s facial expression had a change but it was barely noticed. "I am working alone. I have no accomplice." Itachi said with no emotions now that he calmed down from the initial reveal. "Of course you do. He actually managed to fool so many people that hes Madara Uchiha. Madara is dead. The person you are working with is Kakashi Hatake''s old comrade. Obito Uchiha. Anything else you want to know?" Ryu said and just sat there watching Itachi''s expression go from neutral to shocked and then anger and finally back to neutral again. "So, what happens now? What about Danzo?" Itachi relaxed a little bit. "The Hokage personally sentenced him to a very slow death at the hands of one of my own comrades. My master is the one that captured him. My master is essentially the true leader of the village at this point. The Hokage listens to him. So now that you know that. How about you sit down here with me and wait for my master''s arrival." Ryu beckoned Itachi to sit down next to him. "hm, I would very much like to meet this master of yours." Itachi put away his weapon and sat down. "So, is Danzo really dealt with? He hasn''t survived this long only with his brain. He is very strong." Itachi knew how powerful Danzo was. "Why don''t you ask someone that knows the answer to that question." Ryu opened up a portal in front of them and a foot slowly revealed itself. Soon after a teenager that looked oddly similar to Itachi stepped out and was fully revealed in front of them. "S....H-How!?? S..Sh.." Itachi stared at the person that walked out of the portal and tears fell down from his eyes as memories flashed by. "Hi there, Itachi. Long-time no see, ye?" Itachi was full-on crying his eyes out. He suddenly stood up and rushed forward and hugged this long lost friend. "Shisui!!" Itachi said as he wrapped his arms around Shisui and cried into his chest while Shisui himself just stood there for a while and smiled awkwardly. "I''m back!" Shisui said and wrapped his arms around Itachi as they both cried tears of happiness. -------------------------------------- End Chapter 44 - Chapter 46 "Shisui, how are you alive?" Itachi was sitting outside the Uchiha gates with Ryu and Shisui. "I was brought back to life with abilities I don''t understand. All I know is that Lord Dragon found me and brought me to someone that brought me back with abilities I have never seen before." "So are you fully alive?" Itachi asked, worries that this was not the Shisui he knew from before. "Yes, I am. Lord Ryu could probably tell you more about it then I can." Shisui said and gave a dry laugh at his own situation. "The one who brought Shisui back is a master of soul and shadow magic. To put it simply, the combination of those two magic makes it possible to bring anyone back to life." Ryu explained lazily to the two boys. "Magic? what is that?" Itachi asked with curiosity. "Don''t ask me. It''s too annoying to explain. Just think of it as a different and more powerful version of ninjutsu." Ryu played down on the ground and yawned. "Bring people back. I can''t believe it. Is there any drawbacks?" Itachi asked, and this time Shisui''s started to become uncomfortable before answering. "I kind of don''t have free will. Well, I do, in a sense. I can move and do what I like, but the only loyalty I can ever have again is towards the one my creator chooses. It means I am forced to stand on the side of the one that created me." Shisui said with an awkward expression. Itachi, on the other hand, had a furious expression on his face. "How do we get your freedom back?" Itachi wasn''t gonna see his best friend become a slave to someone else. "You can''t. Shisui is a shadow figure. If his creator let''s go off the bond, Shisui dies again. Why don''t you just show him." Ryu said and looked at Shisui who nodded along. He took out a kunai and then he cut off his own right hand. The hand fell to the floor and Itachi panicked for a second but then he saw the hand disappear and another one had already grown back on Shisui''s arm. "What does this mean? What are you?" Itachi asked with both interest and fright. "A shadowy figure. He is a being made up of pure shadow and a soul attached to it. The only way to kill him is to destroy his soul. So essentially, he is immortal." Ryu said from the sidelines and Shisui smiled awkwardly. "I still don''t like you being controlled by someone else. What are they having you do? Assassinations? Kidnappings?" Itachi asked, not caring that Ryu was right beside him. "No, Lord Dragon is a good person and so is the rest of them. I don''t mind serving them for the rest of my life. Dragon has told me his plan I fully intend to follow him until the day I perish. That is the road I''ve chosen to walk now." Shisui said with determination. "Well, as long as that''s your genuine wish then I won''t talk you out of it. We must all walk our own paths in life." Itachi said with closed eyes, trying to understand what had happened to his best friend. "Thank you, Itachi. It means a lot to me when it comes from you." They both shared a brotherly moment and then went back to sitting in silence. ------------------------------------ In another part of the world, inside a tall tower in a village where the rain was always covering your view. A group with black and red clocks were gathered inside a big room. They were waiting for their final member to arrive. "Maan, what''s with Alucard anyways. How come he never shows himself, huh. Does he think he is better than us?" A blonde man with two mouths on each of his palms said. "That''s right. I am too good for you lot. You all barely pass for what I consider strength." A voice rang out inside the room and a chill spread across all members and made all their bodies turn stiff. "Don''t fool yourself in thinking that you all matter at all. Deidara, do you have anything more to add?" Alucard''s voice drifted closer to Deidara and sweat appeared on his immature looking face. "Alucard! I am still the leader of the Akatsuki so don''t think you can act however you like when I''m still here." Nagato said with his main dead puppet. "Boy, that is not true anymore. As of today, I became the leader of this sad little organization. Any objections?" A thick magical mist started pouring in from the windows and through each crack in the walls. The mist very quickly covered the entire room and the members could no longer see each other. "Alucard, stay down or else I am going to have to kill you." Pain said with an emotionless face as usual. "hahahahaha, funny that you think that it''s possible to kill me." *BOOM* Pain''s body was sent crashing into the wall of the room and he was missing both his arms. He slid down on the ground with a bewildered expression. "Absolute Life-Force. You think your puny strengths can stand up to what my master granted me. LISTEN TO ME! FROM THIS MOMENT ON, YOU ALL WORK FOR ME! ANYONE HAVE ANY COMPLAINTS?" Alucard''s voice shook the room itself and his killing intent exploded out and the air itself started to vibrate because of the intensity of his aura. The members were on their knees shaking and trying hard not to collapse. ''Why am I so afraid?! I must protect, Nagato. GET UP KONAN!'' The blue haired woman said to herself while staring at the ruined corpse puppet by the wall. "You know what, you all would fit better as familiars. " Alucard grew a savage smile, but of course the Akatsuki could not see that terrifying smile. "TIME TO DIE!" Alucard appeared behind Konan and opened his mouth wide. When he saw the terrified expression on her face, he finally bit down on her neck. "AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH" Konan screamed in pain and agony as she felt her life force leaving her. She stared in the direction of one of the doors in the room that only her and pain were allowed to go through. ''Nagato, I''m sorry... I couldn''t protect you. I will go ahead and go meet Yahiko before you. Let''s meet each other in a better place.'' Her last thoughts escaped her as the light in her eyes finally faded and she lost her life. "kill him!" Pain screamed from the position he had down on the floor and from the secret room more orange-haired puppets appeared. They all rushed Alucard as the other members of Akatsuki did as well. "EXPLOSION!" Deidara screamed and was about to make his mouth hands eat some clay. "Everyone stop!" Alucard''s voice rang out and chains appeared from the ground and bound everyone to the floor. The chains were made by using Alucard''s shadow. It was unbreakable shadow chains. "WHAT IS WITH THESE THINGS!!" Deidara screamed while trying everything to get free from the chains. "HAHAHA, I don''t mind dying. At least someone strong killed me!" Kisame said while laughing. He wasn''t afraid of death and he knew from the intent and aura of Alucard that he could kill them whenever he wanted with just a finger. "Alucard, you said we would do as familiars, what does that mean exactly?" Sasori talked in his monotone voice as usual. "Basically slaves to me. You will have freedom but you will always have complete loyalty towards your master, which is me by the way." Alucard smiled at the group. "Let me demonstrate." He snapped his finger and a shadow rose from the ground and covered Konan''s body inside a shadow cocoon. A few seconds later it broke and Konan stood up again. She looked exactly like before but with only one change. Her make up was all black her nails and hair was black as well. "Master." Konan kneeled in front of Alucard with happiness in her eyes. "Konan, go destroy all of Nagato''s puppets while I take care of the rest of the Akatsuki." Konan nodded and made her way over to the puppets that were bound to the floor. "I have no qualms. Please hurry up and get on with it." Sasori said while observing Konan as she walked over to the puppets. "WHAT THE F*CK! I DON''T WANNA BE A SLAVE TO THIS BASTARD!" Deidara screamed while increasing his struggle against the chains. "Alucard, please don''t resurrect this blond boy. He is stupid and not needed in the future." Sasori said while looking at Deidara. "HEY! I don''t wanna die! You have to resurrect to me too! It''s not fair otherwise." Deidara had a panic stricken face while his eyes were pleading with Alucard. "hahaha! This will be fun!!" Alucard said and walked up to the next member. "Ready to die?" Alucard said while looked into the eyes of Hidan. "I AM IMMORTAL! YOU CAN''T KILL ME!" Hidan roared in Alucard''s face while showing his normal crazed expression. "My master is immortal, boy. you are a lot of things, but immortal is not one of them." Alucard said with a smile and bit down on Hidan''s neck without mercy. "AAAAAAAHHHH! IT F*CKING HURTS!!! HAHAHAH!!" He made sure it hurt extra much because of saying that he stood equal to his master was a great offence to Alucard. Only his master should have the honours of being completely immortal. "Tonight will be a great feast! HAHAHAHA!" Alucard laughed as he dropped Hidan''s dead body on the ground, an expression of terror on the poor immortals face. ------------------------------------ End Chapter 45 - Chapter 47 Dragon, together with a lot of people were sitting inside his hall. They were all sitting in a circle, and in the middle of that circle was Obito, bound by golden shining chains that restricted all of his movements. "Obito. That seal i placed on your shoulder has taken all your chakra away. As long as it stays on you, you will never be able to perform any, ninjutsu, genjutsu and even your taijutsu will be restricted. Do you understand?" Dragon said with his parental and stern look. "Yes, i understand." Obito had spoken very little after waking up. He had mostly stared into the void and let tears fall from his eyes. "I am going on a journey as everyone in here knows. Obito, that seal will be with you for as long as i am gone. I want you to take this time to reflect on the life you''ve lived up until this point. You are also restricted to only this building." For reasons he didn''t quite understand, he felt pity and sorrow when he looked at Obito. He wanted to make sure that this was Obito''s chance to make amends for what he has done to this world. "I understand." Obito said with semi-dead eyes. Dragon didn''t know if he would ever recover, but maybe people would say that he doesn''t even deserve this much mercy. "Dad, do you have to go so soon?" Naruto said with a dejected look on his face. "Yes! This is something that i can''t keep delaying. Just keep living your life and you won''t even notice that I''m gone. But don''t think that just because i am gone you can slack off in school. Ryu will report everything to me when i return." Dragon said and looked at Naruto''s panicked face. "I-I would n-never even think about skipping school." Naruto rubbed the back of his head while giving Ryu the stink eye. "I will keep an eye on young master," Ryu said and bowed respectfully. "Itachi, Fugaku. How did the talk with the Hokage go?" Both of them had been invited here after they had been and talked extensively with the Hokage. They talked about their position in the village and about them becoming a clan in Dragon''s empire instead of in the leaf village. "Lord Hokage understood why we accepted and he said that he won''t say anything about us leaving the village. The last difficult part will be to make the clan itself accept such a rash decision. I can imagine some members that are not too happy to move away from the leaf village. "I see. When you are ready to move, if I''m not back, just look for Ryu and he will show you to the land that your clan will have within the borders of my empire. There is no real hurry, so make sure that you have all the clan matters in order before you move to my empire. You don''t want the problems here to follow you over there." Dragon said while nodding in acknowledgment towards the two Uchiha. "Understood, Lord Dragon." Fugaku said with a respectful bow. "Shisui, have you thought about what I asked you before?" Dragon looked at the quiet Uchiha in the circle. "I have. And I gladly accept." Shisui said with a respectful bow just like Fugaku and Itachi. "Great! Then that includes all the affairs i had to talk about before i went on my way." Dragon said and stood up. "Dad..?" A hesitating Naruto stood up as well and faced Dragon. "yes, Naruto? What is it?" He watched Naruto standing there with his hair covering his eyes. A tear fell down his face and he rushed into Dragon''s embrace and grabbed a hold of him tightly. "Now what''s this about?" Dragon said and smiled while looking at his son that he was immensely proud off. "I-I just want you to know that no matter what... YOU WILL ALWAYS BE MY DAD!!" Naruto said and yelled while he buried his face in Dragon''s embrace. Dragon kneed down so he could look Naruto in the eyes. "And i will always be your father, Naruto. Nothing will change that! No one can break the bond that you and i have created over these years." Dragon said and hugged his son tightly. "Now, before i start hesitating to leave Naruto alone. I should go. Take care everyone!" Dragon released Naruto that quickly rushed upstairs and entered his room. "See you when i return." A very familiar black portal appeared and he stepped into it and disappeared. A portal also appeared underneath Shisui as well and he fell into it. "Goodbye, Itachi!" Shisui said as the portal closed behind him. "I still can''t believe Dragon is from another world." Fugaku said and sighed out loud. "That''s not so strange. I think it would be weirder if we were the only world that developed like this. I am quite happy to know that there are more world to venture to and explore." Jugo had been thinking about this a lot, and the more he thought about it, the more it made sense to him that more worlds existed. "I suppose. But it''s still unreal to think about. In just one day, he changed everything i have ever known to be true. Nothing feels real anymore." Fugaku said and gave an even bigger sigh. ---------------------------------------------- End Chapter 46 - Chapterr 48 A black portal appeared in secret inside a forest, away from prying eyes. Two men were thrown out and landed gracefully on the ground. "Ooooh, it feels good to be back." A man with a dark green full-body cloak said while smiling from ear to ear. This was of course Dragon that had changed to Monkey D Dragon''s appearance again. "Lord Dragon!" Shisui said and went down on one knee like a knight. "What is this about?" Dragon said and watched with curiosity. "I Shisui Uchiha swear from this day and until the day i die to uphold my duties as the Emperors personal bodyguard. I will be my Lord''s shield and sword in any and all situations." Shisui said and it stunned Dragon completely. This seemed to be the result of coming back through the Undertaker''s magic and also coupled together with Dragon''s own request. He had asked Shisui to become his personal bodyguard, or personal shadow might be more appropriate. "I accept and acknowledge you Shisui. Your loyalty will never be forgotten. But get up quickly for we have places to be and people to meet." Dragon said and Shisui stood up with a respectful look on his face. "Come. I know the way, i think." Dragon said and closed his eyes to use magic sense to figure out where they were. "ah, we''re close. I see her!" Dragon said and got a little emotional the moment he sensed the presence of the one person he had been missing every day since he left. ------------------------------ Dragon and Shisui was walking on the streets of a big city, but this used to be a tiny village. Last time Dragon was here this city was nothing more then just a few houses and families gathered in one place essentially. The sun was going down and the streets were filled with people running from bar to bar and laughing loudly. The city had a really pleasant atmosphere around it as no malicious energy existed in the air here. ''I can''t believe how much this place has changed. i wonder how many years i have been away at this point.'' Dragon and Shisui finally arrived in front of what was now the cities biggest cafe. It had an apartment complex over it that the owner used. And Dragon knew this owner very well. ''Why am i so nervous?'' Dragon stood outside the door and memories of Gildarts baby face and Sylvia''s angelic face passed by. Without warning or any heads up, his emotions exploded out and Dragon started to cry. Dragon put his right hand on the door of the building and he let the feelings take over and spread all over his body. A familiar feeling of warmth took him over, and it was the same warmth he felt when he hugged Naruto. It was the pure and innocent feeling of love. "Wait here, Shisui." Dragon said and then opened the door to the building and walked inside. Immediately as he entered, the warmth of the building assaulted his face and it sent a shiver all across his body. He watched the familiar interior decoration and the sight were reminiscent of when he first stepped inside this building years ago. "I''m sorry, we''re about to close." A voice came from the back and out from the door behind the bar came a woman with a smile on her face. A woman with beautiful silver coloured hair. After all these years she still looked to be in her mid-forties. She had a tiny amount of freckles around her nose that only added to her innocent look. Her body had not changed much, as she still had a nice figure and that was half the reason as to why her cafe was so popular. "Hello, Sylvia. Long-time no see." He had an ear to ear smile on his face and his tone contained hints of awkwardness because of how long he had been away. "No... A-am i dreaming?" She said as she slowly walked up to Dragon with uneasy steps. "You look as beautiful as the last time i saw you." Dragon said and started walking towards her as well. "I-I can''t believe it.. Are you real." Every step she took left the ground behind her tear-stained. Her eyes were red and she was crying while she kept almost falling down while walking. "Yes! I am so sorry for leaving you alone all these years. I-I am sorry Sylvia." Dragon said as his eyes started to turn red. "Dragon!" Sylvia finally arrived within distance and she dove much like Naruto, straight into Dragon''s embrace and cried while buried her face in his cloak. She felt a hand on her back and then felt Dragon pull her into his embrace. "I am sorry!" Dragon kept whispering this to Sylvia as he remembered her sleeping face the moment he left all those years ago. "I-I thought you were dead, YOU IDIOT!" She said yelled while still had her head against his chest. "I am very much alive, Sylvia. I am alive and i promise that i will never leave you alone again. Never again!" He wiped the tears away from his face and watched Sylvia. "I thought you died. I thought I would never get to see you again... Why didn''t you come home?" Sylvia finally looked up and met Dragon''s gaze. "I have no excuses. I am the worst husband aren''t i." He gave her the signature Dragon smile and wiped the tears away from her chin. Sylvia grabbed a hold of his hand that was stroking her face. She gripped it tightly as tears began to fall again. "no, you''re not the worst. But i will make sure you make up for it by spending eternity with me. You will never leave me again. That is your punishment." Sylvia said with a shaky voice. "Easiest deal of my life." Dragon said and Sylvia immediately launched herself at his face and after so many years, their lips touched again. "I can''t wait any longer!!" Sylvia grabbed a hold of Dragon''s hand and they both rushed up-stairs. for the following hours, there stood a very uncomfortable Shisui outside the building as he was forced to listen to loud moans of both his Lord and the Lord''s wife. ---------------------------------- End Chapter 47 - Chapter 49 As the sunshine illuminated the word at the break of dawn. It penetrated the window of a very special building which at the current moment housed a very special couple. Under the covers on a king sized bed two people were sleeping while hugging each other. Both were naked and one was significantly taller then the other. "Good morning, love." A woman with beautiful silver hair and a voluptuous body said to the man hugging her from behind. "Love is sleeping." He said and snored loudly to prove his point. "mhm, interesting that Love can understand and even answer me. Care to explain?" Sylvia said and turned around in Dragon''s embrace and watched him lie there with closed eyes "sleeping". "..." Another snore from Dragon and Sylvia only giggled at him. "I am gonna go and make some breakfast." Sylvia got up from the bed and felt the chilly morning cold on her exposed, naked body. She walked over and picked up her morning robe that layed on a chair beside the bed. She was of course still living in the apartment above her cafe. She walked downstairs to make some breakfast for her and Dragon and noticed that someone was sitting on the couch outside the kitchen area. "eh, hello? Who might you be?" Sylvia said to the black-haired and handsome youth sitting there calmly. "Hello, my name is Shisui Uchiha, personal bodyguard to Lord Dragon." Shisui said and stood up and gave a proper respectful bow. "oh, okay. I have no idea what that means, but do you want some tea?" Sylvia found this very odd, but she trusted Dragon so she just went with it. "Yes please, Your Majesty." Shisui said with respect. Sylvia became even more confused now. "Your majesty? I''m nothing like that?!" She said in a fit of panic. "I''ll explain." Dragon came walking down from the stairs and sat down at the table in the kitchen. "Please do. I am very confused right now." Sylvia said while beginning to prepare the tea. "I am the emperor of a multiverse Empire, and that makes you it''s empress. Your status is of equal rank to mine." Dragon said and Sylvia dropped the tea bag she had in her hand out of shock and her knees became weak. "Empire? Multiverse?!! Explain, i don''t understand." Sylvia said in a panic. "So here is the deal. I did explain to you years ago parts of my identity, did i not?" Dragon said and Sylvia finally started to calm down and think back to when Dragon lived here. "I.. ye, i remember now. What you explained was that you are someone from a different world. I remember it took me weeks to get over that." Sylvia said while giving a dry laugh. "So my empire is currently being established in multiple other worlds. Simple as that. Just go with the flow and you will understand it all in time." He smiled from ear to ear. "In time, huh? What did i get myself into when i decided to love you for an eternity." Sylvia walked up and kissed Dragon on the lips. "The only thing i care about is you and Gildarts. All that empire talk is something you will have to manage alone" She walked back to the stove and continued making the tea. "ye, about Gildarts. Where is he and does he hate me for leaving?" Dragon said with some fear present in his eyes. Sylvia saw his eyes and the fear and hesitation in them. "haha, are you kidding me? He worships you more then a fanatic would their own religion." "Really!!!?" Dragons said and almost broke the table in his moment of euphoria. "Ye. During the years you were away and doing who knows what. You basically came to the same standing as the legendary black wizard Zeref. People have been debating for years who would win in a fight. you or him." Sylvia said and looked at Dragon with eyes that looked for an answer. "That kid? He is just moody. There''s nothing legendary about him." Dragon said and didn''t mind Sylvia''s look of shock. "Have you met him?" Sylvia said with a little excitement in her voice. "Never bothered to look him up. He has one emotion, and that is depression. He is no fun to be around at all. I just left him do whatever he wanted." Dragon said and started thinking about what he would say to Gildarts when he met him. "ahm, anyways. Gildarts just turned twelve a few months ago." Sylvia said and changed the subject to Gildarts and Dragon''s ear perked up. "REALLY! YES! I didn''t miss his childhood! I am not the worst dad in the universe!!" Dragon said and fist bumped the air. "haha, ye he started his journey the day he turned twelve." Sylvia said and a sweet smile crept it''s way onto her face as she thought about their son. "What journey?" "To find you, of course! As he left he had a few goals in mind. One was to join the guild his father was one of the founders off. Second was to see the world. And the third and most important to him, was to find Paradise Island. The badge and the letter you left him said that he would find you on Paradise Island. So that''s his ultimate goal." Sylvia said and laughed while seeing all the expression and emotions making their way onto Dragon''s face. "Then we have to go and meet him! We need to go today!" Dragon said and stood up with shaky legs. "Calm down. You need to go alone. You and Gildarts need your father and son moment alone. Plus, i will have you for all eternity." Sylvia said and winked at Dragon. "Are you sure?" "Yes! You have no idea how much he is looking forward to meeting his father. He is probably a thousand times more nervous then you are. You two need this moment alone." Sylvia went and helped Dragon sit down on the chair again, and then she sat down on his lap and kissed his lips ones again. "I love you! Thank you for coming back to me." Sylvia said and snuggled into his embrace. "Thanks for waiting for me, Sylvia." Dragon said. "You were worth the wait." Dragon hugged his wife and they both sat there with closed eyes. --------------------------------------- End Chapter 48 - Chapter 50 Darkness had fallen on the world and Dragon had spent the day here with Sylvia and Shisui, just talking about the changes that had occurred while he had been away. "So are you going directly over to Paradise Island or are you gonna visit Fairy tail before that?" Sylvia said and gave Dragon his dark green cloak. Dragon and Shisui sat a table inside the cafe. "I will go to Paradise Island. It''s not time to visit that guild yet." "There was something that I forgot to ask about, Sylvia. How well known is my face?" He hated fame because of how bothersome such things could quickly become. "hm, I think only the magic council should have a description of your appearance. From what I know, no one knows what you look like. You did a pretty good job at staying invisible." "I honestly thought people would forget me or consider me dead at this point." He laughed and took a bite from a pie that Sylvia and made for him. "I think it has something to do with the fact that the world considers you the strongest and oldest Wizard Saint. According to a rumour,r you were the first one appointed. But you chose a low position to not draw attention. That, in turn, made people suspect that you were some hidden super wizard that chose to keep a low profile." Sylvia explained with smarty pants look on her face. "That''s a pretty accurate rumour. Nice going, world!" Dragon gave a thumbs up in the direction of the front door. "You mean it''s true?" Sylvia didn''t trust any form of rumour unless she could confirm it herself. "well, ye. I did say that I would accept and become a Saint only if I got to choose a low ranking position. So whoever came up with that rumour is pretty spot on." "That''s interesting. Why wouldn''t you want number one? Do you really hate fame that much?" Sylvia said with a teasing smile. "No, i don''t hate fame specifically. I just don''t like people stopping me and crowding around me everywhere i go. That sort of stuff is very annoying to deal with." Dragon ate the last piece of pie and rested against the chair with a satisfied expression. "This is my new favourite pie. Well done, Sylvia." Dragon said and gave her a thumbs up together with a smile. "hahaha," Sylvia laughed and kissed his cheek before walking away. "What''s so funny?" Dragon watched her departing back with a confused expression. "Blueberry pie. It''s Gildarts favourite pie as well. Like father like son, I suppose." Sylvia walked to the backroom while still laughing. Dragon sat there in silence while his cheeks grew red from embarrassment. "My Lord, We should head out soon," Shisui said while he stood at attention behind Dragon. He took this whole bodyguard duty very seriously and Dragon didn''t know if this was his personality or if this is a result of bringing him back using a Shadow/Soul magic combination. "ye, ye, it would be tragic if Gildarts arrived on the island and I weren''t there." Dragon said and stretched his body and got ready to move out. "You''re going now?" Sylvia came back and gave him a smile. "Yes. I should not be late for a meeting with our son. Though I have no idea when he will arrive, I should be there when he eventually does." Dragon walked up to her and gave Sylvia a hug. He lifted her up and gave her a quick spin before placing her on the ground again. "You are his father so make sure you guide him properly. Though he could already be considered to be a mini version of you." Sylvia said and they kissed one last time and she let go of him finally. "I''ll see you later, Sylvia." Dragon put on his cloak and walked out the door and Shisui bowed to Sylvia before following Dragon out. ----------------------------- In one of the major cities of this continent, there was a very special building that contained a group of very special individuals. This city was very famous and all that fame mostly originated from this very building. One of the worlds most famous wizards helped build this guild many, many years ago. And throughout the years, this guild had spawned many more monsters in terms of strength. The current guild master could be considered one such monster in the eyes of the public. ''Here it is! Father''s guild!'' A boy with dark brown slicked back hair stood outside the doors of the building with an ear to ear smile. He had many emotions swirling inside himself and the strongest of them all was pride. ''Father, I made it! I am one step closer to finding you.'' The boy took out a badge from his pocket and squeezed it hard with emotions running wild inside him. His excitement had no limit and it showed on the smile that sported his face. ''I will join this guild and then i will find Paradise island, and you.'' He took a deep breath and then went and pushed the doors to the guild open. As the doors flung open from the force behind the boy''s push, everyone inside the guild looked over. They all saw a kid standing there with black baggy loose pants and a normal brown button shirt and a duffel bag over his shoulder. He looked exactly like a mini version of Dragon''s real body. He scanned the interior and then his eyes tracked all the people staring at him. He noticed everyone had curious gazes except one individual. A small man on the counter sat there and stared at him in shock. "Hello! I am here to join Fairy tail!" He said loud and clear so everyone could hear him. No one said anything and just looked over at the midget on the counter. He finally got a response from the man on the counter. "What''s your name?" He looked over the boy and the shock had subsided and been replaced by intrigue. "Gildarts! Nice to meet ya." He smiled and started walking towards the counter. "My name is Makarov. I am a guild master. Nice to meet you too. Anything you wanna tell me about yourself?" Makarov asked with a smile while drinking something from a cup that was almost bigger then he was. It really put his size into a perspective. "I am twelve years old, I like blueberry pie and magic. hm, and I think that''s it." Gildarts said with a smile. "hahaha, you''re funny, kid!" An elderly member said from one of the tables behind Gildarts. "Thanks!" He answered with an innocent smile and a thumbs up. "You know, you remind me of someone, but I can''t put my finger on it," Makarov said while staring intensely at the boy. "Stop staring, I feel so exposed!!" Gildarts said and covered his chest with his arms. Every member around spit out what they were eating or drinking and almost fell backwards from shock and laughter. "HAHAHAHA, I LIKE THIS KID!" "HE IS GREAT!" They all yelled loudly, much to the annoyance of Makarov. "SHUT UP, YOU BASTARDS!" Makarov yelled at the guild and his magic power flared and that properly shut everyone up. "So, Gildarts. Where do you want your guild tattoo?" Makarov said and Gildarts eyes lit up in happiness. "On my right shoulder!" Gildarts knew from his mom that Dragon''s fairy tail tattoo was on his right shoulder. "That''s an interesting placement," Makarov said and whistled over someone from one of the tables. "This boy is Macao. Take off your shirt so he can place the tattoo where you want it." Makarov said and Gildarts did as he was told. "Nice to meet you, Gildarts. Let''s be friends." Macao was younger then Gildarts by 2 years. "Ye, nice to meet you too, Macao," Gildarts said and felt the boy place the tool against his right shoulder. "Welcome to Fairy Tail, Gildarts!" Makarov said and raised his cup. "For Gildarts!" "FOR GILDARTS!" Everyone emptied there cups of alcohol and laughed. ''Dad, I''m on my way. Next stop, your island.'' Gildarts smiled big and bright as he thought about seeing his dad. -------------------------------- End Chapter 49 - Chapter 51 Gildarts was sitting on the counter of the guild and drinking some apple juice. In front of him was a map that he had drawn himself, and it detailed the road he had traveled ever since he left home. beside the map played the badge his father had left him. "Hey, gramps, have you ever heard of Paradise island?" Gildarts asked Makarov that was sitting on the same counter. Everyone in the guild called Makarov gramps so that wasn''t something exclusive to Gildarts. "hm? ye, it''s rumored to be the home of Portgas D Dragon. Why''d you ask?" Makarov said and swayed back and forth almost falling off the counter. "I wanna travel to it. Do you know where it is exactly?" Gildarts looked at Makarov, hoping to find some answers to the island''s mystery. "No. Mavis, the first guild master hinted at its location. But since then, no one has ever seen it or heard of it. Most people don''t believe it exists because not even the wizard Saints that have searched could find it." Makarov said in a drunken voice, but a hint of seriousness could be detected in his voice. "it exists. I know it does!" Gildarts said while smiling. Hope was glowing from the boy. The drunken guild master looked at the boy in amusement. He knew something was off with Gildarts, but he just didn''t know what it was yet. "And how do you know that?" A random guild member asked from his position at one of the tables. "I just do!" Gildarts said with determination. "Well, if you say so.." He turned back to his table and continued eating. "By the way, Gildarts. I know you''re a wizard and all. But who taught you magic?" Makarov asked. He was fully paying attention and his swaying had stopped as well. "No one. I don''t really have any control at all, but i have been able to use magic ever since i was very young." He said with an innocent smile. "And what kind of magic do you use, Gildarts." Makarov sensed the massive amount of magic that Gildarts little body held. And that was one of the reasons as to why he was so shocked when he saw him. "I am not sure. But anything i want to break usually never lasts long. It all just gets crushed into oblivion." Gildarts said in confusion. His mom was no wizard so she couldn''t teach him anything regarding that. "oh, how about you show off it a little. Just try and summon a little bit of your magic power to your hand." Makarov said. He wanted very much to see how powerful this boys magic was. "Okay, here i go." Gildarts held out his hand and called forth his magic. *BOOM* A table in front of Gildarts where members of the guild were eating at blew into thousands of pieces as soon as he called on his magic. Makarov''s jaw dropped and so did the rest of the people present. "WHAT THE HELL!?" "MY FOOD!!" "THAT WAS DANGEROUS!" The members at the table managed to not get hit. Lucky them because who knows if they could have survived this attack. "That was splendid, Gildarts. You have amazing magic. Very powerful!" Makarov said with a full smile. "Thanks, I almost destroyed my mom''s house when I first used it. The whole community came together and helped rebuild it. But I remember my mom being more scared of me being hurt than about our house being in ruins." Gildarts smiled and his eyes started to become red as he thought back to that time. He missed her a lot, but he still didn''t regret that he left for this journey. "She sounds like a fantastic mom," Makarov said while flashing a warming smile. "She is the best," Gildarts said and stared into on the map, trying not to cry. He was easily overwhelmed with emotion and it had been like that all his life. "What about your father?" Makarov asked with the same smiled on his face. "I don''t know him. But soon, I will meet him. I promised mom that I would find him and bring him home to her again." Gildarts said and took a deep breath. "So he left you and your mom?" Makarov showed a sympathetic look since he had grown up in a similar situation. "It''s not like that. He was forced to leave. he''s not a bad guy." Gildarts said while giving Makarov a look that said not to judge. "I understand. I hope you find him someday." Makarov decided not to snoop, at least not yet. "Okay, I''m gonna head out! Thanks for the juice." He said and packed his things down in his duffel bag. "Where are you heading to?" Macao said from the side. He had been sitting beside Gildarts all this time, just listening in on the conversation and only sometimes understanding the context of what was said. "A port city!" Gildarts said and Makarov smiled as he realized what that meant. "Good luck. Let''s see if you''ll be the first." He said to Gildarts and he started drinking again. "Bye! See ya later gramps," Gildarts said and ran out of the guild. And since it was early morning now, he should reach the port city before nightfall if he hurried. ------------------------------------ End Chapter 50 - Chapter 52 Dragon and Shisui had gone from Sylvia''s cafe directly towards the nearest beach. They were standing on top of a raft that was speeding across the ocean. Dragon was using his water magic and guided the small raft across the sea. He could feel that they were closing in on Paradise island and he recognized the magical signatures of the island itself. "seems Alora is still alive." Dragon remembered the dragon that he had tamed when he found this island years ago. She was the one he assigned to be the guardian of his island. He could feel her life force through a magical bond they had. There were a few other beasts on the island but they were simple cowards and rarely left their homes. This included the rest of the dragons that Alora ruled over. The island finally came upon the horizon and both Dragon and Shisui could see it. With the changes that he did to it, it looked like a real paradise. Truly a place that people could only dream about. "What do you think, Shisui?" "The name fits. This looks like a true paradise. Did you make all of this?" Shisui said with some clear awe present in his voice. This was a little more then ninjutsu could do. The longer Shisui spent with Dragon, the more his eyes opened to what he thought was impossible. "I found this island years ago and changed it completely. In the end, I spent multiple years working on it and the result of those years is what you see here today." Dragon said and the raft came up on the beach and stopped moving. Dragon and Shisui stepped off and took their first steps on the island. As soon as they started walking they sensed something big and powerful making it''s way over to them. It was the guardian of the island. "Relax Shisui. It''s the island guardian. She works for me." He saw how Shisui''s body tensed up as Alora approached. "She is a..?" Shisui''s words trailed off because from beyond the cliff a huge body appeared and sped towards them. To him it looked like a giant lizard but much more majestic. The giant creature looked like something from a fairy tale. "A dragon. Yes, she is. And before you ask, no I''m not a dragon myself. That''s just a name." He said and covered his face with his cloak. Alora created a mini sand storm as she landed on the beach in front of Dragon and Shisui. "My Lord! You have finally returned. Welcome back to Paradise Island." Alora said and bowed her massive body in a show of respect. "Thank you, Alora. How have things been? And I see you have grown quite a lot since the last time I saw you." He started to pet her nose and Alora seemed to really enjoy the touch so she let him continue while she answered him. "I evolved because of you, My Lord. Your magic that lingers on this island caused all of the beasts here to evolve. We don''t really understand it since we shouldn''t be able to evolve as we have." Alora said while accidentally letting out a growl of happiness from all the petting she was receiving. "I understand. I can see your changes so let me just assure you that there is nothing wrong. I am glad that you are okay. And how are the other ones behaving?" Dragon was referring to the other massive dragons that were living on the island. "They are behaving just fine. They are the same cowards that they were years ago." Alora said with scorn in her voice. "Well, let''s go. We can''t stay here on the beach. Alora, take us to my cabin." Dragon said and jumped on Alora''s head and sat down. "boy, are you coming?" Alora glared at Shisui because he was not moving, but frozen in place. "I-I have never ridden a dragon before.." He said with a little hesitation. "Just get on." Dragon said with annoyance and Shisui finally jumped up on her head and sat down. Alora started to flap her wings and a few seconds later she took off in a burst of speed, and they were soon flying over the island. The view from atop a dragon was simply not something that could be described with words. It was entirely magical. "I am pretty sure this view itself could bring peace to entire worlds," Shisui said as he imagined this was the only way to describe the feeling of tranquillity this view gave him. "That''s a very nice way of putting it. I am immensely proud of this place and I was thinking of making it a sort of second home for the Fairy Tail guild. Mavis loved this place, so maybe I should do that in her memory." Shisui didn''t know who Mavis was, but he could see and feel the strong emotions coming off Dragon while speaking about her. "I think anyone would be proud and overjoyed if they could call this place their home," Alora said while flapping her head happily. Dragon was petting her head again and she was literally soaring above the clouds in happiness right now. Because of the bond that Alora and Dragon share through his magic, his simple touch feels heavenly to her. Every touch feels like being hugged by the one you love the most. This was the one feeling she had missed the most during all these years. ''I won''t let you go again, My Lord. This feeling will be mine forever.'' While flying, Alora was scheming on how to keep her Lord for herself. She enjoyed his touch too much to let it disappear. -------------------------------------------- End Chapter 51 - Chapter 53 Paradise island had a mountain chain that separated the island into two zones. Dragon created this for explicit purpose of making one side into a peaceful living environment and the other side into a massive training ground. He wanted to send people to this training ground and have them experience life and death battles and also to master their magic. He initially designed this for Gildarts use, so that he could train there and experience some truly hard-fought battles. But since he planned to help Fairy Tail now in honor of Mavis memory, he might use this island to whip those future kids into proper wizards. Dragon, Alora and Shisui was on top the highest mountain peak on the island. This is the place where Dragon''s cabin used to be. Right now, Dragon and Shisui stood and stared at what had appeared in it''s place. "A castle? Really?" He turned his judging gaze towards Alora and with the stare from his eyes, he put a powerful pressure on her. "Well, you see. I thought that My Lord would have a big family with a lot of children and grandchildren. For that you would need a big house" Alora tried to become as small as possible because she couldn''t handle those judging eyes from her Lord. "ah, i suppose that''s true actually. Maybe Sylvia would not mind a slightly bigger house then what we have now." Dragon continued to observe the castle in all it''s majesty. "Slightly? My Lord. This is a castle, you know that, right. It is more then slightly bigger then your current home." Shisui whispered into Dragon''s ear. "As long as i don''t need to clean it, i don''t mind the size." Alora and Shisui continued to stand there and wait for Dragon to finish inspecting the castle. The castle was very similar to the Windsor castle from his last life. A massive beautiful garden that could stand toe to toe with the rest of the island beauty surrounded the castle on all sides. The same as Windsor castle, it had a space in the middle of it. This empty space had been turned into a sparring arena. "This is beautifully done. How did you managed this, Alora?" Dragon looked at Alora after he was finished inspecting the garden of the arena. "My magic. It evolved when i did and now with it, i can control all elements and basically make anything i want from it. Though i took a little trip to try and get some inspiration for the design of the castle." Alora said and looked like she was waiting for him to praise her. "Well done! I am sure that my wife will love this. It''s beautiful. What do you think, Shisui?" Dragon looked back at his travel companion. "It''s magnificent. It fits as the home for an emperor." He said while staring in awe at the castle that a dragon had managed to build all alone. "I agree," Alora said and lied down on the ground to feel the warmth of the sun. It was a strange sight, seeing a dragon sunbathing. "Let''s go have a look at the inside of the castle. I imagine it doesn''t look like i think it does." Shisui and Dragon left Alora behind as they made their way inside the castle. -----A week later----- Dragon was sitting inside the garden of the castle and enjoying some good alcohol. As he had suspected, the inside of the castle had been barely filled with anything. There were random stones or sticks in a few rooms but nothing more then that. Dragon used his system and told it to decorate the entire castle. He told Shisui and Alora that he did it with magic. Of course, they believed him after everything that both of them had seen him do. Dragon sat alone out here, which was rare since Shisui rarely left his side. But he and Alora were sparring in the arena that the castle had. That''s why you could occasionally hear small explosions come from the castle. A barrier had been put up around the arena so that that Alora''s 30 meter long body wouldn''t destroy everything. The arena was about 3 times bigger then Alora so there was enough space for her to fight at. Shisui and Alora were locked in a heated battle. Shisui kept dashing around her, appearing and disappearing from place to place. He never stood still since he lost in the physical strength department. Shisui was running around Alora and observed her movements and tried to find a pattern to them. He ran so fast that he left after images and that caused Alora to have great difficulty in locating him. Shisui did one quick dash and appeared in front of her. Alora swiped at his location but missed because Shisui jumped at her face and punched her with a fist that was covered in haki. His punch hit her jaw and she was thrown a few meters away. "That speed of yours is starting to get annoying." Alora watched Shisui standing there barely tired. They both were holding back a lot and Alora didn''t even use her magic to fight. Shisui had gotten a speed upgrade from Dragon and that was his main fighting tool. But in this fight he had to use haki to even try to damage Alora''s tough skin. "I could say the same about your defense. My punch didn''t even leave a scratch." Shisui smiled with excitement. He was enjoying the fight a lot and he knew that his haki needed some serious upgrading. "You just need to eat a little more, boy. You look a little scrawny." Alora said. "Maybe you should eat less." Shisui said with a teasing smile. "You are quite rude, boy." Alora glared at the Uchiha. Alora''s good mood was properly destroyed and she opened her mouth while breathing in. *ROAR* A flame that covered Shisui''s entire view sprayed out from her mouth with the sole purpose of annihilating Shisui. [Fire Release: Great Fire Annihilation] Shisui breathed in as well and then expelled a literal sea of flames that met Alora''s attack. *BOOM* The two massive flame seas met and started fighting for dominance but it didn''t take long for a big explosion to take place that shook the whole place. If the barrier weren''t here then the castle would have been badly damaged. [Wind Release: Great Breakthrough] Shisui followed it up with a powerful wind-based attack that stood on par with the previous attack. It blended nicely with the leftover flames and came together as an even stronger attack and it made it''s way towards Alora. The wind flame combination attack uprooted everything it passed and reached Alora before she could stop it and and it sent her crashing into the barrier. "That felt good," Shisui said and smiled in victory. *Clap* *Clap* Dragon sat outside the barrier and watched them both with a satisfied look. Shisui did a quick bow and kept his victory smile going a while longer. "Nice fight. Now, who would like some dinner? I''d imagine you two are hungry." Dragon said while fully aware that Shisui doesn''t need food because he is a shadow figure. "Yes, please. I am starving." Alora got back up and said. Her chest area that had taken the Great Breakthrough attack head-on had a scratch on it. Her body''s high natural defense was truly nothing to scoff at. And after she evolved, her defense rose even higher. "Then let me cook. I need the practice." Dragon said and Shisui followed him into the castle while Alora obviously was required to wait outside. -------------------------------- End Chapter 52 - Chapter 54 Out on the sea. In the middle of nowhere. A one-man boat was drifting along, seemingly without a goal in sight. The boat had no sails to use to propel it forward. A strange energy surrounded the boat and it was that strange energy that currently made the boat move. The complete random directions that the boat was drifting in was caused by the fact that Gildarts destination could not be reached with normal means. A very special and rare item that only existed in legends and rumors were needed to reach it. This item and the items creator were the only ones that could reach the island. The island itself was protected with many layers of powerful illusion magic. If you somehow got past that without the required item, the sea monsters living around the island would attack and aim to kill you if you did not carry the item on you. People of this world have been searching for this island for years, but so far no one has managed to find it. Be it civilians or the powerful mages known as saints. They all failed and kept drifting around and sometimes they even passed by the island itself. But they simply could not detect it because of all the magic that was protecting it from outsiders. Right now on this little one-man boat. A boy with slicked-back dark brown hair and an immature childish face was sitting and drawing on a map. Like he did back at his guild, he was detailing his adventures in the world. ''What is going on? Why can''t i figure out how to map this out?'' The boy that was the son of the worlds most powerful mage thought. He had a frustrating and annoyed look on his face because he could feel the islands presences through the badge. But every time he drew or wrote something that pertained to the location of his father''s island. Nothing about what he put down would make sense. He knew the route he wanted to map out, but when he put it down on paper, it became nonsense and unreadable. Little did he know that all the people that had searched for the island had encountered the same problem. And that only added to the mystery and legends regarding Paradise Island. Gildarts knew he was closing in on it. He could feel the islands magic signature through the badge in ways he could not explain. It was like the island itself was calling for him and he just simply needed to let the badge guide him. And so far, that had worked splendidly. Suddenly from nowhere, a thick fog started to appear. "Fog?" Gildarts looked around and noticed that the fog had covered everything. When he looked over railing of the boat, he couldn''t even see the water of the ocean anymore. The fog was everywhere. ''This must be it! I can feel it!" Gildarts spun around multiple times on the small space that he had on the boat. He looked in every directions but he still could not see anything at all. While looking around he suddenly felt some heat in one of his pockets. He took out his badge and looked at it. The little piece of mystery in his hand was glowing in bright white light. It was glowing brighter every second and it almost forced him to close his eyes. "Are you trying to tell me something? Am I close to the island?" Gildarts stood and stared at the badge while squinting his eyes from the bright light it gave off. Just as he asked the question. The bright white light exploded out and his boat was covered with the same white energy. And from that same white light that now surrounded the boar in a barrier. A small strand off it extended outwards and pierced the fog and disappeared into the distance. "Is that the right way?" Gildarts asked while staring at the barrier and the small strand of visible energy that was stretching into the distance. The boat started moving, almost like the white-coloured energy was pulling him towards something. The boat was moving at a fast pace and soon Gildarts could see the fog letting up. After a few minutes, the boat left the fog behind completely. And then he saw it. Before his eyes appeared a gigantic landmass. A stretch of sand was the first thing he saw. The sandy beach stretch around the entire island and after that was a 50-meter tall cliff sidewall that you had to scale before you could even see what existed on the island itself. "I-Is this it? Did i find Paradise Island?" Gildarts observed the water all around him. The water here beyond the fog and around the island was bright blue and you could see all the way down to the seafloor. "It''s beautiful..." He didn''t know what to say or feel now that he finally was face to face with the legendary island that millions of people dream about visiting. "Is father really here? Did he create this?" Gildarts asked himself as the energy had finally pulled him up to the beach itself. He stared at the massive cliff wall and only one thought came to mind. ''Screw Zeref!'' ------------------------- End Chapter 53 - Chapter 55 Gildarts took a step off the boat and his foot touched the sand. He had an ear to ear smile on his face that added to his cute factor by a thousand times. Inside, he was so excited that he thought he might explode any minute now. He looked around and saw that the sandy beach stretched for as long as his eyes could see. There weren''t much on this beach that was noteworthy. It was mostly sand with the occasional rock or loose twig. Gildarts breathed in and felt the incredible abundance of magic in the air. This was exactly like the rumours and legends had said. A paradise for mages. The high density of magic in the air made it very beneficial to train on this island. "Now I need to figure out how to climb this damn cliff wall." He looked up at the rock wall that acted as a natural barrier for the inner part of the island. It surrounded Paradise island so you had to climb it to actually enter the island itself. "Should I just climb it or are there stairs around here somewhere?" Observing the surroundings yielded him no results in locating any stairs. He decided just to try and climb it instead of wasting time looking for some random stairs. "Okay, here we go." Gildarts was standing in front of the wall and grabbed a hold of a crack in the wall and then from there he used rocks that stuck out or other cracks in the wall to continued scaling the wall. He had to escalate this cliff wall to get to see his father. That single thought motivated him enough to climb this with no hesitation. He wanted to meet his father badly, but he also had this uneasy feeling inside of him that his father wouldn''t be here. Or worse, that he wouldn''t accept him because he was weak or something. He had heard about his father from Sylvia, but who knows if he had changed during the 12 years since he was born. There was also the added pressure of being Portgas D Dragon''s son. He had to live up to the family name and he always had one thought at the back of his mind. That he wasn''t good enough for it. ''Dad can''t be like that! He is not a bad guy!" Gildarts kept saying to himself while climbing the cliff wall carefully. ''And one more!'' His hand finally touched the top of the wall and he pulled himself up over it. His feet finally landed on the top and he stood up and got a look at what the island really looked like. ''Wow!'' In front of him played a big forest that could only really be described with the word magical. The air itself seemed to sparkle and it looked like tiny little diamonds were hovering everywhere around him. ''Where is Father?'' After a few seconds, he snapped out of it and looked around. The island was continental in size so you couldn''t just take one look around and see everything the island had to offer. "Guess I have to explore a bit. But how am I supposed to find someone on this massive piece of land." Gildarts stretched his body and yawned and gave himself a light slap on the cheek to wake up properly. "Nothing I can do about it. Let''s start in that direction." Gildarts picked a random direction and started walking with quick steps, and each step he took caused more and more emotions to surface on his face. -----Meanwhile----- Outside the castle, on the edge of the mountain stood Portgas D Dragon and stared out on the island. To most people they would assume he is just taking in the sights. And now while that is true. People might be shocked to know that his gaze is traveling far, far into the distance and is currently locked on a small boy. ''That''s my son!'' Dragon had tears slowly falling down his face. And he had a stupidly happy smile on his face. The kind of smile that could light up anyone in their darkest hour, no matter what horrors they had experienced in their life. ''My boy...'' ''My son... Finally, I get to see you with my own eyes again.'' He wiped the tears away from his face. ''System, can I use divine energy yet?'' Dragon really wanted his looks changed before he met his son. Gildarts had inherited the look he had in his past life, and he didn''t wanna meet his son while looking like someone else. [Yes! Divine changes are available for use. What would host like to do.] ''Make it so my past life''s look is the only one anyone remembers me by.'' [Success] Dragon started to change and after a few seconds of body morphing. He had changed back to what he looked like when he was in Naruto''s world. Basically, he looked like an adult version of Gildarts. His eyes had a bright shiny silver colour. For someone that is over 200 years old, he had an incredible body. Well defined muscles and also a nicely trimmed brown beard. ''Feels good to be back.'' Dragon felt the changes to his body and smiled happily. He was exactly 8 feet and slicked back dark brown hair. He had his black and white Tai Chi Kung Fu uniform back on. Right now, he looked like the reincarnation of tranquillity itself. The air around him felt warm and calming. "Lord Dragon. The young master just arrived on the island. Should we send Alora to fetch him?" Shisui appeared behind Dragon suddenly and kneeled down. "No. Not yet. Let him explore this island a bit." Dragon had his eyes locked on Gildarts "As you wish, My Lord," Shisui said and disappeared in a burst of speed. ''So many years. But now finally, I get to see you again, my son." Dragon watched as a big tiger was stalking his son carefully. ''Let''s see how strong my firstborn son is.'' Dragon continued to watch with excitement visible in his eyes. ------------------------------------ End Chapter 54 - Chapter 56 Gildarts had left the cliff side behind and he was walking inside the forest admiring the incredible feeling of power and tranquility this island gave off. A mage naturally absorbed the magic particles in the air. This is how they evolve as mages and as they age, their capacity for holding magic increases and they get naturally stronger. This island was a true paradise because of the sheer amount and quality of the magic particles in the air. This island had a constant connection with Dragon and his literal limitless amount of magic. This caused the magic on this island to become very pure and also very powerful. If Gildarts wasn''t Dragon''s biological son, he wouldn''t be able to reach the inner layers of the island. For two main reasons. One was that the magic was so intense and in such huge amounts that his body wouldn''t be able to handle the pressure of the magic particles. The second reason was the beasts that lived on the island. To Dragon and Alora they weren''t much trouble. But because they had lived and absorbed magic all this time, they had incredible strength and not many mages could defeat them alone. Especially the ones living beyond the mountain range, on the unsafe side of the island. Gildarts had a inborn connection with this island so the magic here wouldn''t slow him down like it would other normal mages. Still, it made him slightly slower then normal since he couldn''t negate the effects of such dense magic completely. He was walking along when he suddenly felt something lock onto him. It felt like two pair of eyes, and they were filled with nothing but evil intent and extreme hunger for blood. He spun around and quickly tried to find the source of this killing intent. But he came up empty. He couldn''t locate it so he stood still in place and decided to wait for the one responsible to show themselves. *rustle* The bushes behind him moved and Gildarts quickly turned around and prepared to face the opposition. He didn''t expect this to be easy, but what he saw both excited him and scared him. A giant tigers paw showed itself and then from that one paw, the rest of it''s body soon appeared. Now in front of him stood a 6 meters tall tiger and it glared at Gildarts with eyes filled of blood lust. The tiger lowered it''s body and got into a stance ready to pounce on Gildarts at any moment. He raised his arms into a basic fighting stance. And the tiger took that as an invitation to attack because it launched itself towards Gildarts. "Let''s go!" The tiger ran at Gildarts and swiped his paw that was as big as Gildarts himself. He raised his arms and defended against the swipe. Gildarts didn''t have enough physical strength and he got sent flying into a tree a ways away from the tiger. "That hurt, you overgrown kitten." Gildarts wiped some blood away from his lips and stared at the tiger. They both ran at each other at full speed. Gildarts suddenly stopped when they closed in and slammed both hands on the ground. "HAH" The ground exploded and almost like a ground tsunami approached the tiger from the front. It''s oddly intelligent-looking eyes flashed with clear intent and the tiger jumped high up in the air so that the attack passed by below him. The tiger saw Gildarts still with his on the ground and it opened it''s mouth quickly. The tiger gave a loud roar and together with it came a white-coloured thin beam that approached Gildarts at high speed. "SHIT!" Gildarts used his crush magic and punched the incoming beam that he could just barely follow with his eyes. *BOOM* The two attacks clashed in mid-air and thanks to his crush magic his hands didn''t get hurt but both himself and the tiger got flung back from the clash between their attacks. Gildarts crashed into a tree and the tiger was thrown through one. "That hurts a lot." Gildarts stood up and shook his head and quickly looked around for the tiger that also got thrown away. It didn''t take long for the tiger to come out from behind a tree and blood was visible on it''s body. "Not so tough, are you kitten?" Gildarts said and smirked. "Arrogant human!" The tigers mouth opened in one single motion, but two full words left it. "WHAT!? YOU CAN SPEAK?" Gildarts almost fell backwards from shock. He had no idea animals could speak. "Ignorant human. Prepare to become food." The tiger started running and it shook the ground with each step it took. Gildarts slapped himself and snapped out from his trance. "Okay, I''ll deal with that later." He ran and jumped up in the air. The tiger saw it and jumped as well. Another beam escaped it''s mouth and Gildarts tilted his body so that the attack could pass him. Gildarts and the tiger approached each other and Gildarts used crush magic and punched the tiger that met his fist with it''s own paw. *BOOM* Another explosion, but it wasn''t s powerful as the last one so Gildarts managed to stay up and he delivered another punch to the tiger that sent it crashing down into the ground. Gildarts used Crush magic so the tiger was badly damaged by the punch. "Don''t get up! I have questions." Gildarts said and landed on top the tigers back and smiled in victory. He felt the tiger try to move and quickly used some magic and delivered another punch on it''s back. The tiger got buried deeper in the ground and at the same time it roared in pain and anger. "I said i have questions. I know that you can understand me." "What do you want, despicable human." The tiger muttered in obvious pain. "First of all. How do you know i am a human? Are there others here or have you left the island before?" Gildarts sat down on it''s back, much to the tigers annoyance and anger. Sitting on it''s back was a clear hit to it''s pride. "Most of us are more intelligent than the average adult human. We know more about the world then most." The tiger answered knowing that if it wanted to survive, he had to answer. "Wow! Really? How are you so smart?" Gildarts asked excitedly. "The magic here on god''s island is many times better then anywhere else. The magic here have mysterious effects. It caused us all to evolve in one way or another." Gildarts eyes became round. "God''s island? is that what you call this island?" In all the legends and rumors about this place, it never said anything about talking animals or a god. "Do you see the mountain there in the distance?" The tiger said and used it''s paw to point north. "The tallest one?" Gildarts asked because that mountain was also his destination. He thought it looked like a place where the powerful would live. "Yes! That''s where the creator of this island lives. Our god. The one who gave us what we have today." The tiger had pretty much calmed down, but you could still hear anger and annoyance when it spoke. It didn''t like having a human on it''s back. "The creator? He lives there? Are you sure?" The boy smiled like a fool. He had finally confirmed where he would find his dad. "Of course I''m sure. Everyone knows that. Even the island overlords stay away from that place." The tiger''s tone changed to one of fright instead of anger and annoyance. "This island has things like overlords? Who are they?" "Dragons. A couple dragons that each control a portion of this island. On that mountain lives the strongest overlord, Alora. She works for the creator himself. She is the only one that has seen him." Gildarts thought he could hear jealousy in the Tigers voice. "Are you jealous of this Alora?" Gildarts smirked and pet the tigers back slowly. "STOP PETTING ME! Don''t treat me like some common house cat!" The tiger roared and in a fit of temporary rage, it turned it''s body around and Gildarts fell off it''s body. The tigers body was badly damaged and it''s turn just now caused it great pain. "No need to get so upset. You have such nice fur, so it''s hard to not pet you. I am sorry!" Gildarts said and bowed. The tiger laid back down again at the cost of great pain coursing through his body at the same time. "Okay, so one last thing. You need to take me to that mountain. I can get there much faster with your help." "I refuse. Plus, I''m hurt so i couldn''t carry you even if i wanted to." The tiger said while staring at Gildarts. Before Gildarts could answer, something unexpected happened. *ROOOAAAR* A very loud roar, even louder then the tiger appeared and it sounded close by. Gildarts stood up quickly out of reflex and the tiger showed a panicked expression. "You should run. You can''t defeat what''s coming." The tiger said while trying to move, but failing and fell down on the ground again. The ground was rhythmically shaking. Like someone was walking and causing these small quakes with just their steps. "You care about me now, do ya?" Gildarts said to the tiger and then prepared to fight. He was standing in front of the tiger in a protective manner. "What are you doing, human?" The tiger was completely shaken by what the human boy was doing. He lived by the law of the jungle and this was not what he was used to. "If you ignore the fact that you tried to kill me. You''re a pretty nice tiger. I want you to become my friend." Gildarts gave the tiger a thumbs up and smiled. "Friend? No, i won''t be your friend. And we are about to die so you shouldn''t think about that now." The tiger closed it''s eyes and just relaxed. it appeared that the tiger had accepted death. Finally from among the dense tree line appeared Gildarts new opponent. It was a 15 meters tall gorilla. It''s fur was completely black and it had red pupils and an intense killing intent was coming off it''s body. *ROOOOAAAAAR* The gorilla roared and that alone caused Gildarts to lose some of his balance. A feeling of fear started to bubble up inside him. The gorilla watched Gildarts standing in front of the tiger in a protective manner and the scene confused it. "I would run if i were you." The tiger said lazily with it''s eyes closed. "Shut up, Atlas." Gildarts was annoyed so his tone became all annoyance. "Atlas? Did you just call me Atlas?" The tigers eyes were fully open now. "Yes. That''s your new name. As friends, i refuse to call you tiger. We''ll talk about it later." The gorilla felt ignored so he roared again and ran towards Gildarts and the new named tiger, Atlas. *ROAR* "This will hurt!" Gildarts used crush magic and prepared to meet the massive fist of the gorilla. But as they were about to clash, a blur sped past both of them and stopped in front of the fist of the Gorilla. "Die!" The man that just arrived raised his hand and stopped the gorillas fist with one hand. After a few seconds, the gorillas head was sent flying and a river of blood escaped and dyed the area red. Gildarts and the blur person disappeared together with Atlas. And before Gildarts knew what had happened he found himself in an open grass field outside the forest area. Trees around him, but no gorilla corpse. Atlas was right behind him as before but this time event the tiger looked confused and bewildered. "It''s nice to meet you, young master." A voice appeared beside them both and Gildarts and Atlas quickly turned their heads to look at the newly arrived person. "Human?" Atlas said in confusion as he scanned the person that appeared and saved them both. "W-Who are you??" Gildarts asked with his heart beating so fast that he thought it would explode out from his chest and leave his body entirely. "Shisui Uchiha. I work for your father, Young master Gildarts." Shisui said and made a quick bow. "My dad! You know him! Where is he?" Gildarts said and looked around in excitement and panic. Shisui smiled and Atlas watched Shisui in fright. "I was ordered to come and get you. I will take you to him now." Shisui saw Gildarts expression change between many different emotions. "Okay! Take me to him." He finally said with determination. Shisui smiled and whistled using his fingers. Gildarts and Atlas looked at him in confusion. But they soon got there answer because a huge shadow was cast on the ground and all three of them looked up. From above the clouds, a body descended and showed itself. "WOW!" Gildarts stood there with his jaw on the floor. And Atlas was shaking in utter fright. The huge body landed on the ground and Gildarts stood there and just stared. "Hello, Gildarts! My name is Alora and I''m here to take you to your father." She smiled. Well, as much as a dragon could smile at least. "A D-Dragon!!" Gildarts yelled and he fainted. Exhaustion and shock, nervousness and many other emotions got the best of him so he fainted. Shisui and Alora looked at each other then back at Gildarts. Shisui moved and Gildarts body was immediately put on Alora''s body. Alora and Shisui then turned their eyes on Atlas. "Gildarts chose you, so get on," Alora said to the tiger that was still shaking in fear "He is hurt. I''ll get him." Shisui disappeared again, and a second later Atlas was on top of Alora''s body. "Let''s get moving," Alora said and took to the air and flew off at an incredible speed. -------------------------------------- End Chapter 55 - Chapter 57 On God''s mountain on Paradise island stood a mighty and majestic castle. It was massive in size with thousands upon thousands of rooms inside. The Lord of this Castle was a kind and powerful old man. Though, he still looked to be in his mid 40s. Inside one of the many finely decorated bedrooms in the castle, there was a bed as large as the wall it stood against. On the bed that could easily fit 15 people, a small boy was sleeping. A few hours before, this same boy had fainted from exhaustion and shock. He was a powerful child and the son of the most powerful mage in the world. But despite all of this, he was still a child and had a limit for how much he could take. Earlier this day he had reached his limit and he fainted because of it. "Where am i?" Gildarts opened his eyes and looked around. He had been sleeping for a long time now and his head was one big blur. "What happened." He sat up in his bed and looked around. The room was huge and it had a mirror just over his bed so when he looked up he saw himself. The door to the room suddenly opened up. The door were a solid 10 meters away from the bed so he saw a beautiful woman walk in. "Young master Gildarts. I am so happy that you''re awake!" The woman said with genuine happiness and concern in her voice. Though, her facial expressions were very lacklustre. Gildarts couldn''t get a read on her from her face because it showed no emotions at all. "Who are you?" He questioned the woman in the weird outfit. "My name is Narberal Gamma. I was tasked with watching over you." She said and bowed down in an almost 90-degree angle. "Narberal? Gamma? What a strange name." Gildarts said and tilted his head while looking her up and down. He had to admit that she was absolutely stunning. She radiated beauty, but lacked emotions. "Thank you, Young master Gildarts!" She seemed genuinely happy about his comment and that only made Gildarts feel even weirder about this situation. "Where am i? And who brought me here?" He decided to move past it. He had vague memories but most of it was most a blur. "You are on Paradise Island. And currently inside the castle of Lord Dragon. Master Sebas is the one that brought you here." Narberal answered while bowing. This woman was loyal to the tee and she wouldn''t move a muscle if Gildarts forbade movement. "Paradise island? Lord Dragon?" He rested his head in his hands for a second before he snapped back up and stared at the Narberal. "DAD? HE IS HERE? DAD IS HERE?" Gildarts said and got up and rushed towards her. But a few meters into the sprint his body lost strength and it''s a balance. So he fell forwards and the woman developed an expression of absolute panic. "YOUNG MASTER!!" She rushed forward and caught his body before he hit the floor. She held him inside her embrace and pressed him against her chest and breathed out in relief. "Do not do something so reckless! I would not be able to sleep if you were to be harmed in front of my eyes." She said hugged Gildarts closer to her chest. The boy that was being squashed between two huge breasts was very confused about what was going on. "Why are you calling me young master? I am not a noble." Gildarts forced himself free. This caused look of despair to appear on Narberal''s face, like she had just let the greatest treasure in the world to escape her arms. "What are you saying, Young master. Your father is an emperor so that makes you an emperors son. So yes, you are a noble." She said while forcing him back into her embrace and continued snuggle with him. "Let me go! I can''t breath!" Gildarts felt her letting go immediately and stepping away and kneeling down so her head hit the floor. "I am sorry. I overstepped. Please punish me!" She said with a clear and determined voice. "I-It''s fine. But, dad is an emperor? Is he here?" Gildarts said with hope in his voice. "Yes! He is waiting for you in the garden." Narberal said and Gildarts heart started beating and he started getting dizzy and he was forced to sit down. "H-He is waiting for me... I made it?? Am i dreaming?" Gildarts pinched himself to try and see if he was still sleeping on his boat in the middle of the ocean. "Would you like to go and see him now, Young Master?" Narberal stood up and asked while straitening out her classic black and white maid outfit. "See him? Meet him?" Gildarts started panicking. He had been waiting for this almost all his life but now that it was happening he started to panic. He started pacing back and forth in front of Narberal. ''Calm down. Calm down, Gildarts. You can do this!'' He spoke to himself for a few seconds that felt more like hours to him. "Okay! Let''s go! Take me to see my dad!" He said with a commanding and determined tone. Narberal smiled kindly and bowed. "Of course, young master. Please follow me." She turned around and started walking, with Gildarts following behind her. ------------------------------- End Chapter 56 - Chapter 58 Gildarts and Narberal were walking through the long and empty corridors of the castle. His steps started out confident, but all along Narberal noticed how Gildarts steps became slower and more insecure. An evasive and uncomfortable attitude was growing inside the boy. Every few steps he would stop and ask random questions about where this door led to or what was behind that other door. Dark thoughts of abandonment and disappointment crept and took root inside his head. Why wasn''t his dad by his side when he woke up in that bed? Why didn''t he save him from the tiger? Why didn''t he stand on the beach when he arrived? So many unanswered questions grew from a single thought, all the way to fear that his father would reject him when they met. How could he live up to a man with such strength? A man that tamed an entire island, including multiple dragons. How could he ever stand face to face in front of such a man and proudly call himself his son. Did he really deserve that? Had he earned the right to be born into that mans son? Dark thoughts are most dangerous when they succeed in creating doubt. The more you doubt, the faster they return to drag you down into darkness. Ones the thought successfully plants it''s seed in your mind. It takes a great positive force to combat it. They finally arrived on top the long and wide staircase that led to the front door. Narberal looked at Gildarts and he was trapped in what felt like a never-ending spiral. Everything in his view was spinning and he had to take three long and deep breaths to get everything to stop spinning. "Are you okay, Young master?" Narberal looked at him with concern and genuine awe and love in her eyes. She was tasked with being Gildarts personal maid. He was her single most important thing in existence. "I am okay, Nabe." Gildarts didn''t like to say her whole name because it was too weird so he just nicknamed her Nabe. She nodded and they proceeded to walk down the stairs. The big double doors that was also the main door into the castle was now right in front of him. The door towered over him and he felt like they were glaring at him, judging him for who he was. "Let''s go," Gildarts said with a hurried tone because he couldn''t take the intimidating feeling everything in this castle gave him. Narberal pushed the big double doors open and the outside revealed itself to them. The warm light from the sun blinded Gildarts and everything in his vision transformed into a bright light that forced him to cover his eyes. It took only a few seconds for him to get used to the direct sunlight and he soon had his full vision back. The entirety of the castle garden was revealed to him. Freshly cut grass with dirt road leading around the garden and passing by incredibly beautiful and well kept flower fields. Outside the front door stood a statue of a dragon that was in the middle of a powerful roar. The dragon statue was made with Alora as inspiration so the statue looked like her. Gildarts took in the sights and it finally hit him. The fact that his father was an emperor. Who else would have something like this in his home? "Where is my father, Nabe?" Gildarts looked around but saw no one around. Only himself and Narberal were here. "He is just beyond this little garden. He usually stands at the edge of this mountain and observe the island in it''s entirety. Let''s go see him. Gildarts nodded and followed Narberal closely. He walked just behind her, almost like he was using her as a shield from the gaze of people. They walked on the dirt roads in the garden and quickly made their way passed it and came upon an open grass field that led all the way to the edge of the mountain. This grass field surrounded that castle and it''s garden. It also covered everything at the top of this mountain that had not been turned into a part of the garden. "There he is. Should i wait here?" Narberal pointed at someone in the distance. Someone that stood only a few hundred meters away from him. That person was Portgas D Dragon and he was standing there close to the edge and overlooked the island like he usually would do when he was bored or anxious. "Young master? Are you there?" Narberal waved her hand in front of Gildarts and he finally snapped out of it. He looked at her with a questionable gaze. "Should I wait here?" She said again with a warm smile. "Ye sure.." He said not really listening or bothering with her right now. His full attention was not to cower in fear, but to walk up and confront his dad. He breathed in, gave Narberal smile and started walking. His steps started out slow but over time quickly took up speed. Not long after he was fully sprinting. The closer he got, there more defined the person at the edge became. A white and black outfit. Dark-coloured hair, muscular physique. Everything became clearer and finally he came to a full stop. He was 20 meter away from his father and his body refused to take another step forward. "Dad?" His voice shaking beyond belief. He sounded nothing like the confident boy walking through the doors of the legendary Fairy tail guild. Or the powerful and boy that defeated a magical talking giant tiger. He saw the back of his father and he turned into an innocent frighten boy, afraid of rejection. His voice filled with uncertainty. His eyes filled with tears, filled with emotion. As he saw that man turn his body around, his legs started shaking, but he forced himself to stay standing. "I''m proud of you, Gildarts." Dragon turned around and faced his son. "You made it to my island. You made it to my mountain. I could not be more proud of you." Gildarts stood there and listened to the words coming out of the man''s mouth. He heard them but had a hard time believing. Every doubt, fear and uncertainty about himself washed away. The feeling of rejection he feared the most slowly dissipated into nothingness inside his mind. "Dad!" Gildarts flew into Dragon''s embrace and finally he let it all out. His tears fell like the water from a broken dam. His dam that hampered his emotions had finally broken and his tears pulled no punches as they drenched Dragon''s clothes in a matter of seconds. "From the day you were born ,to this day. I never stopped missing you." Gildarts hugged his son tightly and whispered his apology into his ear. Dragon let some tears fall from his eyes. "I was so afraid that you would reject me. I was afraid that i was too weak." Gildarts had his head buried inside Dragon''s chest and sniffled while talking and his body was shaking because of all the emotions that all exploded at the same time. Dragon quickly grabbed Gildarts arms and pulled him away and then stared straight into his son''s eyes. "never! I wouldn''t care if you had no magic at all. You''re my son. There is nothing more important to me than you. I would fight a hundred worlds if it meant protecting you. You will always occupy the biggest space in my heart. So don''t you dare even think those thoughts again." Dragon pulled him back for another hug and Gildarts cried even more while his grip on Dragon tightened. He never wanted to let go and Gildarts completely drown in the embrace of his father. Gildarts cried heavily for minutes while staying there inside the embrace of his father. Finally, after several minutes, he fell asleep. Mental and emotional exhaustion kicked in and he fell asleep with a peaceful smile on his face. "Shall I put him to bed, Lord Dragon?" Elderly gentlemen dressed in a black suit with white gloves asked from the side. He had appeared from nowhere. "No! I will put my own son to sleep. I missed 12 years of his life. I will not take this time for granted." Dragon said and walked off while only keeping his gaze on the boy that was wrapped up in his warm embrace. "Sleep tight!" Dragon disappeared into the distance after saying these words. --------------------------------- End Chapter 57 - Chapter 59 *cough* "This again? Where am i now?" Gildarts awoke now after a few hours of sleep. "You are inside the castle, Gildarts. You fell asleep thanks to exhaustion so i carried you inside." Dragon was sitting beside the bed on a chair and reading a book. He looked up at Gildarts. "Dad? So it wasn''t a dream." he looked down on his own hands and gave himself a quick pinch to check the state of reality. "You are not dreaming. You are on Paradise island and sleeping inside my castle on top of the highest mountain." Dragon laughed when seeing Gildarts display of disbelief. "Right. Still can''t believe i made it here. Did you know i was coming?" Gildarts looked up at his dad, and was met with a smile so his face grew red and he looked down again. "Yes! Your mom told me." Dragon said casually. And Gildarts looked up in utter shock. "You met mom? When?!" He said, and properly sat up in bed and gave Dragon a longing gaze. He was missing his mom very much. "A while back. When you are ready, we will go and bring her here. She misses you too." Dragon could see it on Gildarts face. The fact that he misses Sylvia greatly. "Okay! ahm, dad, where have Atlas gone? Is he back on the island?" Gildarts asked with a slightly depressed look. Friends weren''t easy to come by. And Gildarts had not given up on making Atlas his friend. "The tiger? He''s right there!" Dragon pointed to one of the corners of the room. And there in the corner slept a giant tiger peacefully. "He looks so Peaceful. Not at all like the tiger that attacked me before." Gildarts said and watched the chest of Atlas rise and fall in a peaceful rhythmic movement. "Well, i had a little talk with that kitten. So now he is very aware of his wrongdoings. And after that i handed him over to Nabe. You could say that she isn''t the biggest fan of Atlas." Dragon said with a calm tone but his silver-coloured eyes shone with a scary light. "oh, what did you guys do to him?" Gildarts didn''t understand the underlying message in Dragon''s explanation. "Nothing much. You don''t need to worry about it." Dragon smiled innocently and started reading again. Gildarts gave him a questionable look and tilted his head. "So what do you want to do now that you are here?" Dragon said while still reading. Talking and reading at the same time was child''s play for Dragon. "Well, i do want to continue exploring. But i realize i am too weak to go to the really dangerous places." "Well, i have quite a few things to talk to you about. So how about you just listen to me talk for now?" Dragon said and closed the book and turned his gaze on Gildarts. "Okay?" Gildarts said in confusion. "Gildarts. Did you know that there are more then one world in existence?" Dragon said and saw the utter confusion on Gildarts face. "What does that mean?" " We live in what is called the multiverse. You know this world that you and i live in now. Ishgar and Paradise Island. They both belong to this world. Do you understand so far?" Dragon saw Gildarts nodding with some slight hesitation. "Well, i am someone that can travel between all the worlds in the multiverse. 12 years ago i was forced to leave this one. And i was finally able to return just a little while ago." Dragon stopped talking and waited for Gildarts to digest the information properly. "wow... Can i travel to other worlds too?" Gildarts said while trying to not show his excitement too much. "You took this better then your mom did." Dragon said giggled at his son. "MOM KNOWS?" Feeling depressed that he wasn''t the first to know, Gildarts hung his head. "I told her 12 years ago. But i went into detail about it now when i returned." He laughed at Gildarts hilarious display of emotion. "Well, i don''t really understand what this all means. I think i will need to experience it to know what it means." Gildarts said while watching his fathers smile turn wider and brighter. "That''s my son. What an intelligent boy!" Dragon laughed and it woke Atlas up from his slumber. He looked around and saw Dragon and Gildarts talking and he stayed still and listened in on their conversation. "ye, whatever!" Gildarts who grew red from embarrassment said while fake coughing into his hand to regain a hold off his emotions. "I was planning to taking you to the world where i have been staying all this time. You have a brother over there waiting to meet you." Dragon said and Gildarts lost his mind for a second and stared at Dragon in disbelief. "I...I have a brother? What''s his name, dad?" Gildarts said after a few seconds of silence. "His name is Naruto. Actually, you belong to one strange little family. Let me explain." Dragon said and fixed his posture on the chair. "I have an adopted son, which is Naruto. I have an adopted granddaughter that''s named Robin. I have another son as well, Bradely and then it''s Bradely son, my grandson, Byakuya. That''s our whole strange family." Dragon watched as Gildarts shut down in a similar manner to a computer would. "Am i a big brother or the little one?" Gildarts didn''t know what else to ask. This was strange beyond belief and he needed time to digest it all. ''Crap! How do i explain this? Bradely is the oldest one, but Gildarts was born first. Bradely is a summon, but he is still my son. How do i explain this?!?'' Dragon closed his eyes for a second and then answered. "You are both. You have a big brother and a little one. You are actually in the middle." Dragon said and decided to go on age. Bradely was the eldest so to everyone else he would now and forever always be the firstborn and then Gildarts and Naruto after. ''What an annoying concept time is. Since i care for them all, i don''t care who was born first. And i certainly don''t believe anyone of them cares for who was born first. This is not a situation where they all battle for the throne anyways.'' (code geass reference, Sorry, had to say it) "Does mom know? Do they Know i exist?" Gildarts looked up at his dad but his eyes were empty like the void. He was trying his best to digest the fact that he had an entire family he did not know about. "No, she doesn''t. And i would be very happy if you didn''t say anything about it until i tell her." Dragon smiled with some hidden pleading inside his eyes. "Okay! By the way, dad?" "Yes, Gildarts? What is it?" Dragon looked curiously at his son''s empty and void-like expression. "I''m hungry!" Gildarts said while staring at his fathers face like. "hahaha, Let''s go eat something!" Dragon said while laughing. He didn''t need food so he tends to forget that other people do. "I have been practicing my cooking for you and your mom. Let me show you how good i have gotten at making pancakes." Dragon walked away while laughing. ''I can''t believe that the legendary mage rumored to be stronger then Zeref is making me pancakes." Gildarts smiled and wiped away a tear from his face and jumped up and followed Dragon. --------------------------------------------- End Chapter 58 - Chapter 60 Dragon rushed into the kitchen and started taking out milk, eggs and everything else he needed. He was up in arms about making food for his son. So he would easily offer his soul to the devil if it meant making this the best breakfast ever. Gildarts came walking in with Narberal behind him. She was always near him so she had been standing outside his door. And when Dragon came rushing out from the room and Gildarts not far behind, she also followed them. "Dad, you can calm down. We have all the time in the world." Gildarts gave the kitchen a once over and noted that this one kitchen was almost bigger then his moms entire apartment. "Nabe, how long did it take for dad to build this?" Gildarts turned his head around and asked the always loyal maid Narberal. "Lord Dragon didn''t build this. While he was away in another world. lady Alora build this for when he would return." Nabe said while standing with her hands overlapping each other at her waist. "A dragon built this castle? How did she manage that? It seems impossible for someone with that type of body to make this." Gildarts said in disbelief. "Alora controls many elements. She can bend and break them all. It took a few years but building this is not impossible when you have the magic she has." Dragon answered with his back turned against them and blending the ingredients. "Which elements does she control?" Gildarts asked with curiosity. "Fire, Earth, Water and Air. But because she is able to evolve like all creatures here, there is a chance that in a hundred years she could control ten elements instead of four." Dragon had investigated the evolution part of the creatures here. But it was impossible to know what they would become in the future without the system''s help. He didn''t care enough about it to investigate further. "That''s awesome! What kind of magic do you use?" Dragons magic use wasn''t recorded anywhere, and only a few people in the world knew what magic he used. "When I''m here i usually stick with wind magic. I used wind magic when i was with Mavis and the other founders in Fairy tail." Gildarts mind immediately started spiraling into a vortex of amazement and doubt. He doubted that this was real life, still. The fact that this man making him pancakes was one of the people that helped create Fairy Tail. The though really sent him spiraling. "Wait... When you''re here? Are you saying you have access to more than one magic?" Gildarts asked with another round of disbelief in his voice. "How do you think I made this island into what it is? It should be obvious that I have more than one magic." Dragon said and showed a teasing smile. "I guess you''re right about that." "Nabe, so what magic do you use?" Gildarts turned his gaze to the woman standing behind him. "Young master, I use mainly lighting magic, but I can go invisible and also teleport." She said proudly and puffed up her chest. "Wow, Nabe, you can teleport, that''s awesome!" Gildarts said with an excited expression. "Thank you, Young Master." Nabe said and her cheeks got a little red from Gildarts comment. She looked happy, and was clearly enjoying the attention she was getting. "I can teleport too." Dragon said and sulked while flipping the last pancake. He took them all and placed them on the table in front of Gildarts. The boy''s eyes lit up in hunger and his stomach growled from the smell. "Nabe, please join us." Dragon gestured for her to sit down beside Gildarts. Narberal started to panic right away and waved her hands in front of her quickly. "No, no, I could never... Lord Dragon." She refused to move even when Dragon insisted. "Stop arguing with me, you''re family too. Come and sit down." Dragon used a little harsher tone this time and she looked very uncomfortable. "Nabe, please sit down. If you don''t sit down to eat I won''t either, and I''ll choose to starve to death." Gildarts put down the fork and put on his cutest pout. "Okay! I''ll eat! Young Master, you can''t use that against me again." Nabe said and sat down with hesitation. Dragon had to command her to start eating one more time before she picked up her fork. Nabe did not feel comfortable here at the table. She wanted nothing more then to serve them and especially Gildarts. Them making the food and serving it while she ate made her very uncomfortable. The only saving grace was Gildarts. The smile he got when she sat down made her happy enough. And strong enough to endure this event. "So, how was the food, Gildarts?" Dragon said with a little bit of a cheeky smile on his face. He knew they were good and he was in fact quite proud of them. "It''s good! Very good!" Gildarts said and rubbed his belly in satisfaction. Nabe also nodded and immediately stood up and took care of the dishes. "But... Mom''s is better.." Gildarts suddenly played his loyalty card and showed where his true parental loyalty lied. ''nononononono'' Dragon got an expression of utter despair on his face. He mentally broke down and he could feel his legs getting shaky. ''I am the backup parent! I refuse not to be the favorite parent.'' Deep inside the eyes of Dragon, a fire had now been properly lit. It was the flame of determination and competition. ''Bring it, Sylvia!! In the end i will be the number one parent!'' Dragon immediately started scheming inside his mind on how to win. He had lost the battle, but he would at the end of the day, win the war. "What are you thinking about, dad?" Gildarts said while looking at Dragon who was completely lost inside his own mind. "eh, i was just thinking that we should go fetch your mother soon. If we''re going to travel, we can''t leave her. How about you go get ready and then we''ll leave for your mothers cafe in a bit." Dragon said and smiled. "Okay!" Gildarts who didn''t know about the one-sided secret war just ran off to his room to get ready. "Young master, let me help you get dressed!" Nabe yelled while and chased after Gildarts. -------------------------------------- End Chapter 59 - Chapter 61 Gildarts was standing on the edge of the mountain where Dragon usually stood. From this position, he could see both sides of the island. The safe side that he arrived at. And the dangerous side where the overlords lived and other powerful creatures. The mountain chain that split the island into these two parts was stretching through the island horizontally. On the dangerous side of the island, 5 massive vertical walls stretch and divided that part into 5 different zones. The zones that these walls created were all ranked from weakest to strongest. And each zone was filled with creatures that existed there to train people. This was the training grounds that Dragon spoke of creating. "Isn''t it beautiful?" Dragon appeared behind his son. Gildarts who was lost in his own thoughts kept staring out on the island. He didn''t hear what Dragon said. He was too occupied with his thoughts. "Gildarts? The universe to Gildarts?" Dragon waved his hand in front of his son''s face and finally got his attention. "Dad? Are we leaving now?" Gildarts neither smiled nor frowned. His expression was a neutral one. "What were you thinking about? you seemed lost there for real." Dragon smiled. "Stop redirecting. Are we leaving?" Gildarts glared at his father. He had learned how much Dragon loved doing that. Answering one question with another question. "Yes. We are leaving to get your mom and then we''re travelling back to the elemental nations. Are you ready for that?" He looked at Gildarts with a serious look. "Yes! Even if i am nervous. That won''t get me anywhere. I wanna get to know you better. And if this is the best way of finding out more about who you are. Then this is what I''ll do." Gildarts said and shot that serious look right back at Dragon. "What happened to the crying and helpless child that came to me yesterday? How are you already such an adult?" Dragon said and bowed down to hug his child closely. "I was always like this, dad. I had a short child period and that one, you missed." Gildarts said with a teasing tone. But a hint of sadness that Gildarts couldn''t hold down showed itself. "Then go back to that! I don''t want an adult Gildarts. I want my child Gildarts back." Dragon let go off Gildarts and stroked his chin carefully. "Did you pack for the journey?" Dragon dropped his arm while asking his son. "Yes! Everything I need is here." Gildarts glanced at the bag beside him. "Good. Now, how about him?" Dragon pointed to the sleeping tiger that was off to the side. "Atlas goes where I go. He is my friend." Gildarts said in a sort of childish stubbornness. "Alright. Ey, wake up!" Dragon said and sent a little wind pressure that pushed the sleeping tiger on his back. Atlas woke up thinking he was attacked and readied his claws. "Who is it?" He looked around and saw Dragon waving at him. "Good morning. Why are you sleeping when you are supposed to protect my son?" Dragon was giving Atlas a hard time on purpose. For someone that was brave enough to attack his son, Atlas should count himself lucky that Dragon didn''t kill him. "ah. I''m sorry, Lord Dragon. Gildarts gave me permission to." Atlas said and looked at Gildarts with a pleading look for help. "Hey, I never said anything like that." Gildarts held up his hands in defence. "Are you using my son as a scapegoat?? What foolish bravery." A strong wind came from nowhere and surrounded Atlas. It became like a controlled hurricane, but it affected nothing but the inside of it where Atlas was. "I''m sorry, Lord Dragon! Please let me live." Atlas roared from inside, trying to overpower the loudness of the wind that surrounded him. "Okay, that''s enough, dad. Let him be." Gildarts said in an almost apologetic tone while looking at the poor tiger trying not to get blown away off the mountain. "If you say so, my son." Dragon smiled and the hurricane stopped and Atlas was released from its grip. "You two are pure evil!" Atlas said with a scorn in his voice. This was not the first prank they had pulled on him in the last three days. "Don''t be mad, Atlas. You get to travel to another world. Isn''t that fun?" Gildarts said and walked over to the distressed tiger. "I agreed to follow you. But I have a limit to my patience, you know." Atlas said in a depressed tone. "Well, let''s hope that limit never shows itself or my dad will probably skin you alive," Gildarts said with a smile while petting Atlas soft fur. ''Why did i have to attack this boy. I should have listened to my instincts and stayed away.'' Atlas layed down in a comfortable position and continued his inner monologue of depression and regret. "Lord Dragon. You summoned me?" A silver-haired old man with a majestic beard and a suit walked up behind Dragon. He stood with a straight back and a serious look on his face. "Yes i did, Sebas. Gildarts, Sylvia and myself is leaving for the elemental nations. And while we''re gone, i have a mission for you." Dragon said and looked at the tall and proud-looking man standing there. "I will do everything you ask, my lord." Sebas had mastered the perfect balance in tone. Neutral with just the right amount of emotion in it. He was a person many people would say was the definition of perfect. "I have a list of people I want you to put under surveillance. And I also want a few places on Ishgar under surveillance as well. everything pertaining to those people and areas shall be recorded and saved for the time I return." Dragon said with his emperor tone. "It shall be done, my lord," Sebas said and received a scroll from Dragon. He carefully accepted it and walked away towards the castle. "Now we are ready to leave." Dragon looked turned his gaze to his son that was still petting Atlas. "I am ready any time, dad," Gildarts said after catching his fathers gaze. "Alright then. Get ready!" Dragon snapped his fingers and a big portal opened up underneath them and they all fell down. ----------------------------------------- News! Important! Read! I was away and talked with a family friend yesterday. He is a doctor. Hence why there was no chap... Here is the report: I won''t go into detail. But my declining health has been due to the incredible rise in the heat here. I have not been handling that well. So I got some things for it, and also ways to combat it. So here is the news... I AM HEALTHY!!! yey. Last night i got the first good night sleep in a long time.. 13 hours. I admit it is a little longer then you''re supposed to sleep but it felt so good. The bottom line is, I am basically back in almost full force and ready to write properly again. So here comes a mass release for you guys. :) End Chapter 60 - Chapter 62 Inside Sylvia''s cafe a portal appeared and 2 people and a little smaller Atlas jumped out. Lucky for them, the cafe was just about to open so there still was no customers inside the building. The cafe still looked the same and Dragon could immediately feel Sylvia in the backroom. "Gildarts, your mom is back there as usual." Dragon pointed to the swing door leading to the back. "MOM! We''re back!" Gildarts yelled for her and just a second later you could hear footsteps approaching. *BAM* The swing doors were slammed open and a middle-aged beautiful woman ran out with a face full of happy tears. "GILDARTS!" Sylvia rushed her son with some inhuman speed and swooped him up in a big bear hug. She rubbed her cheek against his so fiercely that sparks almost appeared. "Sylvia, calm down. You''re going to kill our son." Dragon stuck his hand forcefully between them and separated them. "What''s the big idea? You trying to ruin my reunion with my son?" Sylvia glared at Dragon. Gildarts was quickly captured in the embrace of Sylvia again. "No! I am trying to stop you from killing him." Dragon stole Gildarts back to his side and gave Sylvia a glare of his own. "Give him back! I''m not done!" Sylvia jumped at Dragon, ready to rip him apart limb from limb. "STOP!" Gildarts broke free from Dragon and put his arms out towards both his parents. Dragon and Sylvia both stopped and looked at their son. "I''m glad you both care about me so much. But, how about we tone down on any death threats or attempted murder. Let''s sit down and talk." Gildarts said in a friendly tone so he wouldn''t agitate either party. "You''re right, son. Sylvia, it''s good to see you again." Dragon regained his tranquillity and approached Sylvia. "Don''t even think about it!" you''re sleeping on the couch tonight. No one goes between me and my son." She said with a strict tone. But you could still see the teasing expression on her face. "Oh come on! Be fair! You were gonna kill him. I had to step in." He said pleadingly. "Couch or outside!" Sylvia said with her stern parental tone. "Fine!" Dragon snapped his fingers and in the corner of the cafe, a portal appeared in the air and dropped something on the floor. "A bed?" Gildarts looked at the nice-looking bed that appeared. "Yes! You will find no softer or nicer bed in the world. Or any world for that matter." "If I am not welcome in your bed, you are not welcome in mine." Dragon stood beside the bed and jumped into it. Sylvia and Gildarts watched his body hit the bed. And just from that alone, they could tell no bed in the world stood a chance against this one. The way Dragon''s body hit the bed and sunk into it in just the right way had them both drooling. Sylvia looked at Gildarts, then at Dragon then back at Gildarts again. She had a desperate expression on her face. "Sweetheart, how about we forget about that silly argument earlier. I was just joking around after all." She said with the sweetest smile she could. She was staring at the bed and Dragon while almost drooling. "Sure! No problem." Dragon smiled back. "Great! So how about we carry that bed upstairs." She said with a hurried tone and she almost couldn''t control herself from diving into it. "Unfortunately this is just a one-man bed. And also, no woman allowed." Dragon put on a cheeky smile and glanced in Sylvia''s direction. "You swore eternal love to me. Does that mean nothing to you anymore?" She said with tears gathering in her eyes. "Of course. I will love you forever." Dragon lost his cheeky smile and stared into her eyes without blinking. Sylvia started to blush and she was forced to fake cough to get a hold of her emotions again. "So? Mind if i join you there?" She said and put on her cute little innocent girl act. "No! When they said love can triumph anything, they clearly didn''t take these sheets into account. Why would i ever share this heavenly feeling with anyone." Dragon said and performed his evil mastermind laugh. "You devil!" Sylvia said and ran forward and jumped on top of Dragon in the bed. And so started an innocent wrestling match to see who would become the overlord over the heavenly blessed bed. What both had forgot about was the two other poor souls in the room. "Gildarts, are you as uncomfortable as me?"Atlas asked while staring in shock at the island''s god wrestling with the woman in bed. "I wanna die! Kill me, Atlas!" Gildarts turned to his only real friend in the world. "No way! I kill you, he kills me or hands me over to your scary ass maid." Atlas used his paw to point towards the wrestling match going on. "I suppose. You know any memory wiping magic?" Gildarts asked Atlas casually. "No! But you might wanna find someone that does." They both shuddered at the same time. "Let''s go explore the city. I can''t stand this anymore." Gildarts said and Atlas nodded and followed along. ------Back on paradise island------ Inside a big conference room with a big rectangular table in the middle, a few people were gathered for a meeting. "Yuri, this is your target. write down everything, even onto the smallest detail. Lord Dragon wanted everything by the time he came back." Sebas said to a maid with an expression of neutrality and arrogance. "Lupusregina, This is your target. Lord Dragon noted down that he is one of the most important targets. Keep a close watch, don''t let him spot you." He said to a woman with a sadistic smile on her face. "Of course. Some dumb lizard is nothing in front of me." She said and smiled wider then before, and he face twisted into something from a horror film. "Narberal, this is your target. He is powerful, but you should stand as his equal if you become serious. Don''t let him see you." Sebas looked at the maid that was forced to stay behind, even though she wanted to follow Gildarts and care for him. "Understood!" She bowed and answered. Any one of them would be overjoyed to do even the simplest of task if it was for Gildarts or Dragon. "Narberal, Yuri and Lupusregina. Move out! The rest of you stay here and continue your duties as normal." Sebas said with his commanding tone. "Yes!" They all said with voices filled with resolve and determination. ---------------------------------------------- End Chapter 61 - Chapter 63 "Dragon, why did you come back now? Didn''t Gildarts want to stay on your island any longer?" Sylvia layed in bed with Dragon and she was snuggled into his embrace and enjoying the warmth of it. "I was planning on staying on Paradise island and training him for a while. But when I told him about who I am, he showed great interest in travelling to another world. So we came here to ask you to join us in that adventure." Both Dragon and Sylvia were laying down with closed eyes. "Absolutely I am onboard for that. I can''t think of something more exciting than travelling to a different world." Sylvia smile and opened her eyes to look at her husband that was relaxing there in bed. "Okay, so there is something you should know about the other worlds I have visited." Dragon said in a serious tone and also opened his eyes to look at Sylvia. His gaze said it all. "That serious?" Sylvia asked after meeting his gaze head-on. "You kind of.. Have another son in the world we''re travelling to." Dragon said and Sylvia''s eyes slowly opened up more and more. "YOU SAID WHAT NOW?" She yelled straight into his face. "You have another son.." "HOW? YOU CHEATED ON ME?" Rage suddenly became the one and only emotion present in her eyes. "no no, I adopted him when he was three years old and lived in an orphanage." Sylvia got her emotions back on track when she heard his response. What Dragon didn''t expect was the waterworks that appeared afterwards. "I..I have another son?!" Sylvia found herself crying. Confusion and happiness filled her whole body. "Why am i crying? I don''t even know him.." Sylvia asked herself and sat up in the heavenly bed. "I think any kind of decent person would be happy if they found out that they have a child. That''s what I believe." Dragon kissed her forehead while simultaneously caressing her back. "Then why do i also feel like i let him down? I don''t even know his name." Sylvia said between tears. "Naruto.. That''s his name." "And everything else falls on me. i could have fought to come back sooner or never leave in the first place. But i didn''t. I let what i thought was fate control me and use me like a puppet." Dragon looked miserable and full off guilt. "I let something control me and i blamed that for me not returning. But maybe i could have fought it before." "Naruto.. We have to go! i have to see him." Sylvia felt an incredible feeling of longing when she said his name out loud. "We will. Tomorrow we will leave for that world." Dragon kept caressing her and spoke with a calming tone. "Wait. When you left you told me you had no choice. Did you lie?" Sylvia asked curiously. "Let me explain." "I am a being that is the only of it''s kind. As far as i know, there is no one like me. The only ones that come close to count as one of my own are my children. Except for us, there is no one else." "But.. I didn''t just come from nowhere. I was created by someone. And that someone could be seen as my father. He is also the one that forced me to leave back then." Sylvia listened intensely without interrupting him. "I was a different person before we met. Try and not judge me when i say this next part." Dragon started to visibly shake at this point and Sylvia herself got slightly worried now. "Love, hate, comfort, longing, belonging.. None of these concepts or any other emotions used to be a part of me. My "Father" made me to be an emotionless killer. And i was for many years just that. A shell for his own amusement. Or that''s what I think he created me to be." "How can that be true? I know no kinder soul then you?" Sylvia couldn''t see anything off the person he was describing at all. "When i met Mavis, Yuri Warrod and Perch. They opened my mind and heart to something i had never known. Friendship." "And when I met you, I knew for certain that I had changed to someone else. But it took many more years for me to identify exactly what I had become." Dragon sported a smile on his face now, and a silent tear made its way down his face. "What you had become?" "A human, I guess. I never saw myself as a human before. When I adopted Naruto and became the light in his life. It finally clicked for me. What I was feeling when he hugged me when he held my hand as we were walking from school to our house. That this place and with these people is where I wanna be and where I belong." Dragon''s eyes were red and he smiled from ear to ear. "So when I left twelve years ago, it didn''t click with me that I might have had a chance to fight it. So don''t feel like you let Naruto or me down. I should have realized sooner that I might have not needed to live according to his ways any longer." "I am just happy you returned to us. What you were before, I don''t care about. To me, you will always be that bright and handsome figure that saved all those people years ago. Nothing else matters." Sylvia jumped in for a hug and both Dragon and her shared an emotion-filled hug and a kiss that put all Dragon''s anxiety and worry to rest. "Have i ever said, i love you" Dragon smiled at his wife. "I don''t think so, maybe you should try it and see what happens." She answered with a mischievous smile. "I love you!" As soon as the words left his mouth, Sylvia jumped him with her entire emotional supply packed into one single kiss. The kiss ended and Sylvia stayed on top of Dragon as they layed there in bed and relaxed in bliss. "Oh, another quick thing regarding the family situation." Dragon suddenly sat up and placed Sylvia in front of him. She stared at him in confusion. "Yes? You''re not gonna tell me i have another son, right?" She laughed but stopped when she saw his face. "We have another son named, Bradely. And also two grandchildren named, Robin and Byakuya. BYE!" Dragon summoned a portal behind himself and dropped back right into it. He disappeared just as the death claw from his wife came, aiming for his throat. "DRAGON!! COME BACK HERE!!" The portal quickly closed and Sylvia was left alone inside the cafe. --------------------------------------- Chapter 62 - Chapter 64 Saint City was world-famous. The city had many names, but none of them were really official. Saint city was just the name that spread the farthest out of all off them. The rumors that Dragon was the first Saint and also was born here was what gave birth to that name. Since Dragon had left, this city grew quickly in size. Many people moved here in hopes to make a life and ride on the back of this city''s fame. Because this city had obvious ties to Fairy Tail. Many people moved here early on if they couldn''t afford to settle down in magnolia. Gildarts, Atlas and Sylvia were sitting inside the cafe and talking. It had been an entire day since the three arrived here. So that meant that today was the day that they would travel to the elemental nations. "Mom, do you know when we are leaving?" Gildarts was bored out of his mind. And Dragon still had not come back after escaping Sylvia''s grasp yesterday. "When your father decides to show up again I am sure we will leave. If I knew where he had run away to I would go there and drag him home again." "You don''t need to. I am back." The door to the building opened up and Dragon walked in. "Where have you been, dad?" "oh, I just took a little walk, that''s all." He smiled and walked over to their table. "mhm, an almost 24 hour long walk? Sure." Sylvia sulked at the table while giving Dragon the stink eye. "You guys ready to leave?" "Ye, Gildarts go lock the door?" Silva commanded her son. "Sure." he ran off. "Atlas, let me talk to you for a second." Dragon turned to the tiger on the floor. "You know that you are in charge of protecting my son. Where we are going, many powerful individuals exist. If he gets hurt, you better prepare for some quality time with Nabe. I just want you to remember that." "I understand, Lord Dragon." "I''m still having a hard time getting a grip on the fact that you are a talking tiger. I had no idea Paradise island was such a mystical place. Though i think i can finally understand why people are desperate to find it." Sylvia raised her head and stared at the ceiling. She quickly disappeared into her own imagination. "Okay, it''s all done. Everything is locked and closed upstairs and the closed sign is hung up. Can we go now?" Gildarts appeared rather jumpy and he walked in the place. A clear sign of nervousness. "As you command, my son." Dragon said playfully and snapped his fingers. A completely black portal that radiated a little bit of an eerie aura appeared in front of them. Both Sylvia and Gildarts took a step back unconsciously. "It''s okay. It may look frightening but the portal is completely harmless." Dragon stretch out his hands and both his wife and son grabbed on and held on tight. "Are you both ready?" He looked at them both, and they nodded slowly. "Then here we go." Dragon dragged them along and together with Atlas, they all disappeared from the room after jumping into the portal. The portal itself disappeared quickly after the family was gone. ------------------------------ "WOW! What is this place?" Gildarts said while floating inside the humongous universal stream. All the worlds were visible outside as they looked like the blinking stars in the night sky. "Well, I call it the universal stream. The one thing that connects all worlds together. Without it, it''s impossible to travel to another world." Dragon was very amused by the expression on his family members face. "It''s beautiful." Sylvia looked all around, completely mesmerized by this whole stream and all it''s colors. "By the way, dad. How strong am I? How dangerous are the elemental nations? Is it possible to place worlds into power rankings or something?" Gildarts turned his curious gaze on his father. "Why the sudden curiosity?" "I wanna know where i stand, and how tough and long the climb to the top will be." "From what gathered during my travels. I managed to make a list based on strength and skill. So far I have seen no one stronger than the list I made. So consider my ranking list the top for now." "You have 12 placements on the list. I take in physical strength and skill with weapons. Anything that has to do with your fighting ability is taken in and then i place you somewhere on the list." "So 1st place is the most powerful?" "Yes! So far, i am the only one i would consider someone of the first rank. But i haven''t visited every world so i don''t know how powerful i really am." Dragon saw the awe and worship in the eyes of Atlas and Gildarts. "Where am I on the list?" Gildarts asked in excitement. "Between, 12th and 11th place. But that''s because you have poor control over your magic. Not because your magic is weak. When you grow up and gain control. You will see that your place on the list will rise fast." Even though he explained the reason as to the low ranking. He could still see the excitement on Gildarts face quickly die out. "Dragon, let me ask you something. Naruto and Bradely. What are their places on the list?" Sylvia showed intrigue. And it was mostly because she wanted to know more about her two unknown sons. "Naruto is six years old, but he is one of a kind, battle genius. He is lazy and easy-going. But when it comes to training and fighting." "Finding someone that is his equal is difficult. And because I have been training him. He is early to mid-Novice level. That means he is fully placed on rank 11. But still not ready for 10." "So every rank is named?" "Yes! It goes like this. Beginner, Novice, Intermediate, Advanced, Expert, Advanced Expert, Master, Grandmaster, Saint, Grand Saint, King and lastly Emperor." "What rank does Bradely belong to?" Sylvia asked. "Been a while since I saw him. Last time i measured him, he was Grand Master. Out of all our children and grandchildren. He is by far the most powerful." "wow. Can he beat you?" Gildarts stared intently at his father. "No! When you go beyond master rank. Something I noticed quite clearly was. That the gap between them is huge." "A talented Novice fighter could with a lot of skill and some luck beat an Advanced ranked person. But beyond Master. That becomes impossible. You will never see or hear about a Master Rank beating a Grandmaster ranked person." "wow! I can''t wait. Imagine being that strong. Maybe I could beat Paradise island''s overlords with that amount of power." Gildarts disappeared from reality and entered the dreamland of his own imagination. "After some of my personal training, it''s best you start traveling again. Reaching those ranks won''t be possible if you lock yourself in a dojo all your life. So take what i can give you then use that to rise to the top and make me proud." "Understood!" Gildarts did a full salute and smiled widely. "Try and rest now. There is still a while before we arrive." Dragon layed down while still floating and he closed his eyes and escaped to his own dreamland. ------------------------------------- End Chapter 63 - Chapter 65 Inside a big dojo in the village hidden in the leaves, two people were sparring with each other. Fighting inside this hall was a common occurrence. Two people were trading blows at fast speed. They both were wearing full black Tai Chi Kung Fu attire. One was an adult man and the other one was a little boy. The boy was almost seven years old. "No, Naruto! What have I told you when fighting against me." The adult male said in a stern tone of voice. "I know, uncle Obito. No eye contact. It''s hard to not look into the eyes of my opponent." Naruto complained while staring at Obito''s feet. "That''s no excuse. Nothing is easy. I bet learning haki wasn''t easy but you can use that quite well, can''t you? Keep going! Learn to predict movement by looking at my feet." Obito ran towards Naruto again with his fists ready. "You don''t even know haki. How would you know if it was difficult or not?" Naruto stood ready and watched Obito''s feet carefully. "Pay attention." Obito closed in on Naruto. But before he could proceed a portal appeared in the middle of the both of them. "What''s this now?" Obito stopped and observed the portal carefully with his Sharingan. "DAD IS BACK!" Naruto immediately knew it was Dragon. The portal stretched out more and three people and a giant tiger stepped out from it. Naruto and Obito were the only people present in the building at the moment and they stared at the group that appeared from the portal. "Hello, Naruto and Obito. I am back now. How have you been?" Dragon said casually and he walked out from the portal entirely. "Can you give your old man a hug?" Dragon opened his arms and he barely had time to open them before Naruto dived right in. "I missed you," Naruto said with a big smile on his face. "I missed you too. Come let me introduce you to two very special people." Dragon grabbed Naruto''s hand and walked back to the portal. "This is my wife, Sylvia." Dragon pointed at the beautiful woman smiling at Naruto. "Hello, Naruto. Very nice to meet you. Dragon told me a little about your life but i would be overjoyed if you could tell me the rest someday." Sylvia stretched out her hand and she and Naruto shook hands. "O.Okay, I guess." Naruto''s cheeks grew a little pink and he started staring at the floor. "And this.. This is my son, Gildarts. He is twelve years old. And your, big brother." Dragon said. The two boys definitely had an easier time looking at each other then Naruto and Sylvia had. "Hi! Nice to meet you." Gildarts bowed and smiled a little. He was still feeling a little awkward about this. "Hi! Nice to meet you too, big bro!" Naruto, being a lot younger didn''t have those awkward feelings that Gildarts had. And Naruto''s personality was little more open and accepting then Gildarts was. "ha, ha, ye same... little brother," Gildarts said and smiled. It was impossible to not feel at least a little awkward. "Shisui, come out!" Dragon said suddenly. "I am here, Lord Dragon." Shisui rose up from Dragon''s own shadow soon he stood in front of the group. "WOW! Where did you come from, Shisui?" Naruto asked with his jaw on the floor. "I thought we left you behind Shisui?" Gildarts joined in after Naruto. "I live inside Lord Dragon''s shadow. I am always present wherever he is." "Cool, most be boring to live in a shadow all day," Naruto said casually. "Not really. It''s pretty cool." Shisui countered and threw out a victory smile. "Shisui, go over to Sebastien and Rize and get a report about their progress over there." Shisui said nothing and just nodded and disappeared from his spot. "Obito, how have you been during these months?" Dragon turned to Obito that was standing at the back quietly. "I have been good. I have had a long time to think about what you said to me." "And did you come to any answer during these months?" "I did! I decided to live for Rin. I don''t know how you managed to wake me up from my state of denial. But I am glad that I woke up to reality before I did something worse." Obito bowed. "I believe in second chances, but your freedom requires that you show me you deserve it. Until you do that, you are still under house arrest." Dragon''s tone had no kindness or love in it. It gave Sylvia an idea of what Dragon was like before Gildarts was born. She had never heard this cold and detached tone used by Dragon before. ''This Obito must have done something horrible for Dragon to treat him like that.'' "I understand. I would expect no less. I will work and change my approach to life. I will honour Rin''s memory." Obito said with determination. You could almost believe he was serious when he said it. He was very curious as to what kind of person Obito would become in the future. Dragon took a chance on this Uchiha and hoped he would become someone great in the future. "Naruto, why don''t you show them upstairs. Give them any available room." Dragon gestured to the group. "Okay, but dad.. What about that tiger?" It sounded unbelievable but Naruto just noticed that giant 6 meters tall tiger standing behind Gildarts. "You can just tell him to stay here. He is very smart so he''ll understand you." Dragon said and smiled while he laughed evilly to himself. "Oh, okay." Naruto walked up to the giant tiger and held his hand out in front of him. "STAY! You no go!" Naruto said with a stern and determined voice. He straightened out his back and tried to look as big and domineering as possible. Atlas lowered his face so he was eye level with Naruto. "Boo!" Was all Atlas said and Naruto flew back and hid behind Dragon. "A T-TALKING TIGER!" "H...HOW!?" "A refreshing change of pace, pranking someone instead of always getting pranked," Atlas said and stared at Naruto that was still freaking out. "HOW CAN YOU TALK?" "DAD, HOW CAN IT TALK?" "It''s not "it" Naruto. His name is Atlas." Gildarts said to the panicked boy. "Sorry, sorry, how can Atlas talk?" "It''s not that weird. I''ll tell you about it someday. Plus, you have a talking fox yourself." "I have? Where?" Naruto calmed down and looked around the room for his own talking animal. "I plan to tell you tomorrow. Now, go show them to the living quarters." Dragon gave Naruto a nudge. "Okay, okay. Follow me!" Naruto started walking with quick steps and Gildarts and Sylvia followed while looking very amused after Naruto''s little one-man show. ''Okay, now to go visit Hiruzen.'' A wind gust appeared and Dragon''s body disappeared with it. ------------------------------------- End Chapter 64 - Chapter 66 The whole house hold was sitting inside the dojo hall and waiting for Dragon to start talking. Out of all of them, Naruto was the most nervous. Apparently today Dragon was gonna reveal something important to him. "Naruto. Have you ever felt that you are not alone in your own body?" A simple question to most. But to Naruto it was crazy complicated because he had on previous occasions felt that his own body was being shared with another person. "I have felt a more powerful chakra sometimes trying to reach the surface. Though nothing have ever come from it. Usually something comes around and stops it. It feels almost like the chakra is trapped in my body." "That powerful chakra is the nine-tailed fox. A being made out of pure chakra. You''re mother housed it inside her before you did. And as you already know, Obito attacked when you were born. And at that time, your mom and dad were forced to transfer it to you." "Do i have to live with it forever?" Naruto had been told about Obito''s crimes and already forgiven him, to a degree at least. He couldn''t really be mad or sad over it because he never knew his parents. And Dragon took him in so early that he had someone who taught him things and cared for him very early on in life. "Today. I will help you confront him. Usually it would probably be impossible for you. But now you have the worlds best dad to help you." Dragon smiled. "Okay! What do i need to do?" Naruto had nothing but trust for Dragon so he wouldn''t even question the fact that his father would get anything wrong or that someone could be stronger then him. "Come here and sit down and close your eyes." Dragon tapped the ground right in front of him. Naruto sat down in a lotus position and quickly closed his eyes as according to instruction. "Relax and focus. Let my energy enter you and guide you the first time. Don''t fight the feeling." Dragon put his hand on Naruto''s stomach closed his eyes as well. He started to guide his limitless energy over to Naruto''s body. A piece of his consciousness was transferred as well. "Where is this?" Naruto had appeared in what looked like a massive sewer. All around emptiness was present and a very depressing and eerie aura drifted along. "This is your inner mind space. This is where your own little talking kitten is residing. Look over there." Dragon that appeared in front of Naruto said and pointed behind the boy. "WOW! When did that get there?" A huge cell filled with darkness had appeared behind Naruto. "It has always been here. Inside that cell lives the strongest tailed beast. The nine-tailed fox. Show yourself." Dragon said and from the darkness a huge eye bigger then both the father and son combined appeared. "...." Naruto stared at the eye. Too shocked to say anything at all. "Nice to meet you, Nine. How''ve you been?" The eye lit up in contempt towards Dragon and Naruto. "What do you want, Portgas D Dragon?" The massive fox asked while staring down on the duo. "Stupid question. You heard me outside." Dragon grinned at the fox. "wait, wait... How do you know my dad?" The feeling of fright disappeared Immediately and was replaced by surprise and shock. Naruto felt his father getting more and more mysterious the more time they spent together. "You know nothing, Naruto Uzumaki. Your dad is older then you think. He helped the first Hokage create this village." The monster fox said like it was no big deal. ''Looks like i really became a historical figure. Divine energy sure is powerful. I can''t believe it actually changed history.'' Dragon said to himself and laughed at the fact that he was an important figure in history. "WHAT!? HOW OLD ARE YOU, DAD?" Naruto turned to his dad and asked in amazement. "I don''t really know actually.. I know i am over two hundred years old, but i don''t know the specific age." "WHAT!! two hundred!! I HAVE TO TELL SOMEONE!" Naruto started yelling and running around Dragon. "Naruto What''s the big deal? The fox over there is a thousand years old." Naruto who heard that snapped his head back and stared at the fox again. The fear from before was entirely gone. All that was left was excitement and awe. "WOW! A THOUSAND, REALLY?" Naruto ran up and put his hand on the bars of the cell. "Stop staring at me with those eyes. I am not some zoo animal, boy." The fox said with hate in his voice and killing intent spreading from his body. The sewer suddenly lowered in temperature and Dragon started talking with a dark and scary tone. "ey, little cub. I know you''re angry at humans and all. But if you ever take that tone with my son again..." An incredibly dark and evil killing intent spread out from Dragon and it all passed Naruto and focused in on the giant fox. "I will drag your ass outside and beat you up so badly that even your daddy, Hagoromo wouldn''t recognize you." Dragon''s intent was something you would only find in hell and it completely overpowered the fox''s immediately. "I.. I yield." The monster fox had no choice but to yield to this insane killing intent Dragon was releasing on him. It forced the fox to lower his head. The intent stopped as he yielded to it and Dragon himself calmed down and returned to his usual kind and tranquil self. "Now for the reason we came here. I have an offer for you." "You saw my other son Gildarts. My offer is the same as he has with Atlas. I will release you from Naruto. No more prison inside a human, but you will be Naruto''s physical partner instead." "So basically you just wanna change the location of my prison?" "You could see it that way I suppose." "Then no.." The fox layed back down with eyes closed. "Then what about this. If Naruto earns the right to know your name. You will agree to the offer." The fox''s eyes snapped back open. "Interesting... If he can beat me in a fight, alone. Then i suppose i will at least consider it." The fox said and went to sleep again. "Is that all? I don''t even know him. Doesn''t he wanna get to know me first?" Naruto asked from the sidelines with his innocent childlike wonder on full blast. "Naruto. He has been watching you your entire life. He already likes you and whether he dares to admit it himself or not. It''s impossible to lie in front of me. He sees you as worthy already and if you just prove that you are strong enough, he would gladly follow you." Dragon glanced at the snoring fox. "HEY! IS THAT TRUE?" Naruto yelled towards the giant fox. "No!" The fox''s voice came from inside the cage. "Ignore him. We should leave now. You can come here any time you want now." Dragon and Naruto disappeared from the sewer and the fox opened his eyes slowly as the duo disappeared. "I suppose I wouldn''t mind.." He closed his eyes again and went back to sleep for real. -------------------------------------------------------- End Chapter 65 - Chapter 67 "Naruto, how are you feeling?" Dragon removed his hand from Naruto''s stomach and opened his eyes. "Fine. I am more excited than ever to begin training again." "Good. But for now get ready for school or you''re gonna be late." "I know. I''ll see you later everyone." Naruto ran upstairs to his room. "Dragon, what is the plan for today?" Sylvia asked as Naruto ran upstairs. "Today I start training Gildarts in magic control. So you have free reign to do whatever. But if you''re gonna go outside take Jugo with you. He knows the village and he is strong enough to protect you both from danger." Jugo sat behind Dragon. "Would you like to show me to the nearest food store, Mr Jugo?" Sylvia asked Jugo with a smile. "It would be my pleasure, Lady Sylvia." He bowed respectfully. "Great! You two boys have fun today." Sylvia was all set to go already. She was very eager to explore this unknown city. "You too." Dragon got a quick kiss from Sylvia before she escaped outside with Jugo chasing after her. --------------------------- A few hours later and Gildarts and Dragon sat opposite each other. Dragon had just finished explaining about Gildarts own magic. How powerful it was and it''s almost limitless destructive capabilities. "find the big source of magic inside of you. Find it and try to gather a small amount of it and bring it to the surface of your body." Dragon said slowly and with a calm tone. "Okay." Gildarts knew what magic source Dragon was referring to, so finding it didn''t take long. He was Dragon''s own flesh and blood so he obviously had a massive magic supply. The problem when a 12 year old had this much magic was that it required strict guidance because of how difficult it is to control this much magic. There existed too many limitations with a child''s body when it comes to combat and training. "Okay, dad. I located my magic supply. What shall I do now?" He sat with closed eyes and focused on keeping his mind and body under control. "Try and guide a tiny portion of it to the surface and release it from your body slowly. Take it slow." Dragon spoke with a calm tone. "Okay." Gildarts made contact with his massive untouched supply of magic and tried to draw it out. As soon as he made contact he lost control of the amount of magic that he was trying to funnel. *boom* A much bigger amount of magic then he intended was released and 5 meters in all direction got destroyed by his sudden magical outburst. Dragon helped Gildarts force it under control again, but a big part of the hall had now been completely destroyed by his crush magic. "Well, it''s safe to say that you have the biggest supply of magic any twelve year old have ever had." Dragon looked around at the destruction that happened in just a second. ''Imagine what he can do when he masters control. Even Whitebeard needs to be wary about this amount of destructive power.'' Dragon smiled widely on the inside. "Why can''t I control it. I could use it when fighting Atlas for example." Gildarts looked at Dragon for answers. "Easy answer to that." "You have a constant small leak in magic power from your true supply. This amount is the same as the average child mage. So think of your magic as having two layers. Your true supply with capabilities to destroy cities. And the outer layer that you obviously already know about." "This is outer layer of magic is what you have always used. You have never tapped into or interacted with your real magic supply." "Gildarts, it''s would be hard for ordinary mages to even comprehend the amount of magic you possess for someone so young. No child, no matter how talented could get control of this amount of magic in just a day or two. "Mastering control over it all will take years of training. That''s why i agree with the idea of you traveling alone and finding your own adventure. You will never find full control by being locked in here with me. I can only show you how to get started. The rest will be up to you." "I understand, Father. Then i have a request." Gildarts looked at Dragon with a serious gaze. "What is it, Gildarts?" "When I master the basics, I''d like to travel back to Ishgar. I don''t think world travel fits me. It''s been great to meet Naruto and finding out more about our family." But i am young and have barely explored Ishgar the way you did with the founders. I would like to travel down that path and see what you saw all those years ago." Gildarts didn''t want to disappoint Dragon but now that he had arrived in the elemental nations. He already knew that this life wasn''t for him. He enjoyed his own world too much at the moment to just leave it. "That''s no problem Gildarts." "I am happy that you so quickly figured out what you want. Look at me. I wasted a lot of years doing something that was no longer making me happy. I am so glad my son is smarter then me." Dragon went and hugged Gildarts. "So you are not disappointed in me?" "Of course not. I will stand behind my family in all situations. If staying on Ishgar is what you believe makes you happy. Then i will take you back there when you are ready." "Thank you, Father." "Let''s continue training you in the basics. You will need a stable foundation before you go back." Dragon sat back down and he and Gildarts continued their training. ----------------------------------------- "Master, the teams are set up. Should we proceed as planned?" A blue-haired beauty asked a man that was sitting on a gargoyle. The stone Gargoyle was attached to the Hokage tower of the hidden rain village. "haha, send them out.. Track them all except nine tails. Observe only. Don''t engage. We will wait for my masters orders before moving in to take the beasts." A man with a red trench coat and a creepy smile said to the blue-haired woman. "Understood, Master Alucard." ------------------------------------- End Chapter 66 - Chapter 68 *Boom* Inside a barrier that Dragon set up in one of the villages many training fields. Continues explosions were going off. A few days had passed and Gildarts was fully focusing on gaining control of his magic. The reason for the barrier was because Gildarts magic kept going out of control and destroying everything around him. It all got sent to oblivion the moment he called forth his magic. He had gotten better at control but he still could not draw upon his massive supply in battle without his magic going out of control. He could perfectly control his surface layer of magic. And with that amount he could still fight Jugo and Naruto equally and even win sometimes. "That''s enough of that." Dragon was sitting outside the barrier and observing Gildarts progress. "Gildarts, head back home. I have some things to do. We will continue later." The barrier came down and Gildarts stood up. "Okay, I''ll see you back home father." Gildarts ran off quickly and waved to his dad at the same time. "Alucard come out." A mist appeared from nowhere and turned into a person. Alucard with his classic red trench coat and big hat appeared. "What is it, my master?" He kneeled down in front of Dragon that was still sitting on the ground. "It is almost time to act. Before my empire can unite all villages under my banner. We will need the tailed beasts. I will personally handle, one tails, eight tails and nine tails. The Akatsuki are responsible for the others." "Also try and not kill the hosts. Now go and make me proud." Dragon gestured for him to go. "I understand, my master. It shall be done." Alucard disappeared in mist. "You can come out now, boy." Dragon glanced at a tree in the distance. An elderly man with a white robe and a Hokage hat on his head walked out. "I guess i was fooling myself when i assumed i could hide from you. I can''t imagine the damage that boy will be able to do in the future. Nothing i wouldn''t expect from your son though. It appears he is just as mysterious and powerful as his father." Hiruzen smiled and retrieved his pipe from inside his robe. He lit it and sighed. "So, you really plan to collect all the tailed beasts? That might lead to a full-scale war between the villages. Or an alliance against you." "It doesn''t matter what they say or do. This world will always be plagued by war if it continues like it is. Those beings are the cause for most of it and they have been that cause ever since the warring era." "People like the Raikage and tsuchikage are hard to convince with words so i will show them that what they believe to be power is child''s play compared to me." ''The wind started to pick up and the air around them felt eerie and it gave Hiruzen shivers. "So you''re not afraid that a war will start because of it?" "No. First of all, i will take away the thing that has been the trigger for all wars. Then i will show them that though i am different now, I can still exterminate what threatens the peace i seek." "In front of pure godlike strength. They can only surrender. If they refuse, I will show them what happens when you piss me off." Dragon said with a serious gaze. "Whatever happens. You have the leaf village as support. My village have only grown and become a lot more peaceful since Danzo got taken away. A world without war is what Lord Hashirama dreamed off. I would be honored to participate in that dream." "Good! Now i have to go. I have places to be and I''m late for a meeting." Dragon didn''t wait for a response. He disappeared from the place in an instant. ''I wonder if that''s just speed or some other ability? His movements are impossible to follow. No wonder the clans feared him. I couldn''t even see him move.'' Hiruzen sighed while smoking his pipe and he started to walk back to the village. ---------------------------------------------- ''So this is Naruto''s favorite place. Can''t lie and say I''m not intrigued.'' Dragon was standing outside the future most famous ramen bar in this whole village. He lifted up the cloth covering the front and walked right in. The inside was pretty empty. Only the owner and a silver-haired woman sat inside. "Honey, you made it. Come and sit down." Sylvia beckoned for him to sit next to her at the counter in the front. "How are you? What do you think of the village so far?" He sat down next to his wife and whistled to get the owners attention. "Teuchi, I''ll get the today special." The man behind the counter looked at him funny and asked. "Do we know each other, Sir?" His shop was quite famous, but only a few talked to him in such a lax and familiar manner. "My son eats here a lot. He speaks highly off you." Dragon smiled and tried to make himself comfortable on the uncomfortable stools this shop had. "May i ask who your son is." Teuchi had a perfect smile for this profession. His smile was inviting and friendly and it made people want to open up to him. "Naruto. Spiky blond hair and very loud." "ooh, Naruto. I quite like that little fellow. So he didn''t just say those things to make an old man happy. He really enjoyed the food here, huh." Teuchi was incredibly proud that his shop was beginning to spread further and further around the village. "oh no. He worships ramen. And especially yours. So i thought i should see what all the fuss was about." "Great choice. A special is coming right up." Teuchi went in the back to get some ingredients. "Obito informed me about what tailed beasts were. So are you planning to go for them now?" Sylvia arrived early so she was already munching down on some ramen. "No, not now. There is a time and place for everything. I have a group called the Akatsuki under control. I gave them the task of collecting most of the beasts. The rest i will deal with myself." "What if they don''t want to leave their host. What if they enjoy the cooperation that they have with their host?" She said while stuffing her face with ramen. "Well, take the eight tails for example. He is fully synced with his host. But don''t doubt the fact that those nine all desire freedom more then anything. Humans are prisons for them and even though they might like their host, they would still choose freedom. Any human or beast would." "Are you sure? Because your plan is all about having those beasts, right?" "I''m not looking to own them. But I will take them forcefully if I have to. My only concern is for them not to be used to start needless human wars." "What''s the plan then?" "I plan to ban the creation of jinchurikis. Like Naruto, if they want to stay with their host then it will be a physical partnership. I will ban the act of forcing a tailed beast inside a human." "Don''t you think that''s a little too dangerous to do? People tend to get upset when you take what belongs to them." Sylvia gave him a cheeky smile and drank what was left in the bowl. "That''s the thing. They never belonged to humans. They are living breathing beings that has no place inside the belly of a human. And i am sure that if i offer freedom, even eight tails will leave his host for a chance to experience what that is like." Dragon spoke with pride about his plan. Not everything was planned out yet, since he was quite lazy at the moment. Dragon wanted to act with the plot. He didn''t know if the future had changed or if it remained the same, but he was gonna try and live according to it. "So if you free them all, what''s the plan then? Are they just gonna roam around the world freely forever?" Sylvia asked with curiosity. This world was very exciting for many reasons so she was in very happy mood at the moment. "I don''t know yet.." Dragon put both arms on the table and cupped his chin in his hands. "Coming through! Foods ready." Teuchi came with a big bowl of ramen and placed it in front of Dragon. "Thank you, Teuchi." He bowed to the owner and picked up his chopsticks. "I have an idea. Why don''t you ask if they wanna live on paradise island. Or if they wanna stay with their host here, then make another form of contract that doesn''t involve sealing them inside a human again." "hm, give them two choices. Live here with their host or a village. Or move to Paradise Island. It certainly is big enough to fit them all. That might not be such a bad idea, Sylvia." Dragon''s face lit up in a smile and he dug into his food. "A pretty amazing woman you have here, right." Sylvia puffed up her chest and smiled in victory. "The absolute best. I wouldn''t give you away for anything. I love you!" Dragon said and leaned over and gave her a quick kiss. "I love you too." Sylvia answered the kiss with one of her own and waved for Teuchi when she broke the kiss. "Another bowl, please!" She said with a newfound enthusiasm. "Just like Naruto!" Teuchi said with a big bright smile and caused Sylvia''s cheeks to go pink and she felt a slight embarrassment fill her up. ''I have the greatest family.'' Dragon watched his wife sit there with the sun hitting her and making her beauty appear heavenly in his elderly eyes. "Continue to stare like that and you''re gonna get it when we get home." Sylvia who noticed Dragon''s stare told him with a teasing smile. "The bed is always ready. I reinforced it since last time." Dragon said and winked. Sylvia looked surprised at the response, but she quickly recovered and shot back with. "Good!" -------------------------------------- End Chapter 67 - Chapter 69 Naruto and Gildarts rooms were right opposite each other. It was 5 am and both doors to these rooms opened up at the same time. "What''s with the bags?" Gildarts that stood in the hallway in front of Naruto and pointed at the yellow-haired boys eyes. "I think you know. Since you have them too." Naruto refuted back and also pointed to Gildarts bags under his eyes. "Okay... I was just checking if this was real.. We need to soundproof all the rooms. No child should hear that." Gildarts hung his head and sighed. "ye, let''s go and eat breakfast. I need to get this out of my head." Naruto walked towards the kitchen with a tired Gildarts following behind him. "Naruto, mind if i ask how you met father? He told me he adopted you a few years ago." Gildarts sat down at the big dinner table. Naruto was raiding the fridge for any good food. "ye no problem. He helped me buy candy from some store when they wouldn''t sell it to me. And he asked me to move in the day after. And i have lived here since. Not so exciting is it?" Naruto said while having his head buried inside the fridge. "We have some pancakes here since yesterday. You want some?" Naruto turned around with a pancake hanging from his mouth. "Sure. That''s fine." Gildarts was a little disgusted with Naruto''s total disregard for any sort of table manners. "By the way, what''s that jutsu called that you use? It''s so powerful, I would love to learn it." Naruto said and put another piece of pancake in his mouth. " For god''s sake! Sit down and eat properly. That''s disgusting." Gildarts slammed his hand down on the table and gave Naruto a stern gaze. He grew up in a cafe, so he enjoyed proper etiquette. "S...Sorry." Naruto stopped raiding the fridge and carried the plate of pancakes to the table while his head hung in shame. *sigh* "I am sorry, Naruto. I didn''t mean to yell at you. I just like when people follow proper etiquette. Also, i don''t use chakra or Jutsu''s. We already explained this to you yesterday. Did you not listen?" Gildarts said and breathed in to calm himself down. "I didn''t really understand. Can you explain again?" Naruto pulled out his best puppy eyes. "If you wouldn''t mind, Gildarts. I would also like to hear it. I missed the explanation yesterday." Obito came walking into the kitchen. He had been downstairs and just arrived upstairs. The upstairs area was essentially just one big corridor. From the stairs started the corridor with 4 doors on each side. At the end of the corridor was a big room. The room was divided into the kitchen area and the living room. "Sure, grab a seat," Gildarts said to the newly arrived guest. "What i use is similar to chakra in a way. The big difference is that we don''t need hand signs to use our magic. If you use water magic, you only need your supply of magic power and then you can conjure and control water." Gildarts said with his finger pointed upwards like a real professor. "Fascinating. So what magic do you use?" Obito seemed entranced into the idea of magic. "Crush magic. Essentially, i have massive destructive capabilities. If i pour all my magic out at ones, father said that the village would probably disappear into oblivion." Gildarts covered his hand with magic and Naruto and Obito could already feel the destructive aura inside that magic. "Amazing! Can I learn magic as well?" Naruto said while bouncing in excitement. "I don''t know. But you should focus on mastering chakra first. It''s better you master one rather then being average in both." Gildarts took a big bite into a cold pancake and felt the taste fill up his mouth. Still just as good the day after. "I look forward to the day you master magic, Gildarts. It would be an honor if i could spar with you at that time." Obito tried to give a good smile, but it landed somewhere between forced and too strained. It looked all kinds of fake. "You should seek out my mom for lessons in smiling. She can probably topple a kingdom with hers." Gildarts said with a teasing tone. "Maybe that''s for the best." He said and tried to smile again. This time Obito''s smiled looked and felt just a little bit more genuine. ------------------------------------- Dragon was walking on a stone-paved road on the outskirts of the village. His destination was the Uchiha compound. They had changed their plans and Dragon was making his way there to listen to what they had decided. Behind him walked a very familiar anbu dressed man. He was the villages strongest anbu and Dragon''s personal subordinate, and a Captain of the Gotei 13, Ryu. Their eyes soon got a glimpse at the compound walls. The gate looked the same and even the guards were the same as when he left last time. "Lord Dragon. Welcome! Lord Fugaku is waiting for you inside the main branch house." One of the guards said while bowing. "Lead me there." Both guards bowed but only one started walking and the other one stayed behind to guard the gate. "Here we are. They are waiting inside." The guard bowed and walked back towards the gate. Dragon and Ryu walked inside and looked around the room. Fugaku, his wife Mikoto and their two sons were sitting together. And a few elders were off to the side. "Welcome, Lord Dragon. It''s nice to finally meet you." Fugaku bowed and the rest of the Uchiha''s followed suit. "Nice to meet you all as well. Let''s not talk pleasantries. Tell me about this new decision I heard off." Dragon was surrounded by his domineering and powerful emperor aura. An Uchiha normally hated bowing their heads, but Dragon was naturally releasing such an intense killing intent that they didn''t dare be disrespectful. "The clan is ready to move at any time. But we decided to let Itachi and Sasuke stay in the village. They both wished to stay for the same reason. I will let them explain." Fugaku turned his gaze to Itachi and he started talking. "My brother and i still feel a strong attachment towards the village despite everything that happened. We don''t want to leave it just yet." Itachi spoke with a neutral tone, but it still contained emotion. This time around, Itachi had been allowed to keep his humanity and kind personality since the massacre was stopped by Dragon. "Mr Ryu told us about your dojo and that you accept students. My brother and I wish to become students of yours." Dragon''s eyes darted between both brothers and analyzed them both. Nothing escaped his eyes so he basically saw through them on every level. "Sasuke I could understand. But why you, Itachi? You are powerful already, so tell me why you are seeking even more strength." Dragon ignored Sasuke for the moment and put his pressure on Itachi. "When Shisui died. I cursed my weakness more then ever before. I watched a friend die in front of my eyes and i couldn''t do anything about it. Even before that event, i recognized my own strengths limit." "All i ask is for the chance to stop something like that from ever happening again. I want the strength to stop the next Danzo that comes running into my village." Itachi had a face full of determination. "haha, that''s a pretty good reason to seek strength." Dragon laughed out loud and snapped his finger. A portal appeared in mid-air and a very familiar attire was dropped from the portal. "My subordinate, Alucard, is the leader of my empires primary espionage unit, the Akatsuki. I will agree to take Sasuke as my student. But you, Itachi... I want you to become Alucard''s student. That''s my offer. What do you say?" Dragon had an ear to ear smile. "Lord Dragon, if I may. Who is this Alucard? Is he a shinobi like us or someone like you? And how strong is he?" Fugaku asked. "All i will say is that you would need at least nine tailed beasts to stop him in his tracks." Dragon''s smile got impossibly wide. A tiny amount of evil intent was visible on Dragon''s face and not even he knew where that intent came from. "A... Are you kidding me? Is he even human?!" Fugaku almost yelled while his jaw hit the floor. "No, he is not. And that''s why I want Itachi to study under him. Alucard can cure Itachi''s sickness." This immediately got everyone''s attention. "Big brother, are you sick?" Sasuke grabbed Itachi''s arm and gripped it tightly. "How did you know?" Itachi asked while stroking Sasuke''s head and smiled at him. "Nothing is hidden from me. So what do you say?" "I get the feeling that becoming his student isn''t as simple as it sounds. What''s the catch?" Itachi smelled something fishy about this Alucard. "Alucard will tell you. Of course, that is only if you accept this offer." Dragon had on an evil business man smile. *sigh* "I accept!" Itachi said eventually. "Are you sure, Itachi?" Mikoto asked worriedly from the side. "Yes! I have a strange yet comfortable feeling about this." Itachi returned a smile to his mother. "Okay, Itachi. Here is a little information piece you will need to know." Dragon caught everyone''s attention again. "In my empire, The Gotei. I have the 13 Captains. They are my direct subordinates and the highest-ranked leaders after me. All of them have or are looking for a Vice-Captain." "Alucard will only accept to personally train you if he feels you have the potential to become a Vice Admiral. But let me tell you this now. He is not easy to impress." Dragon said in a serious tone. He didn''t want Itachi to underestimate how cruel Alucard can be to even his own allies. "If he feels you are not worthy, you will only become a simple member of the Akatsuki until something else is decided for you." "Alucard is one-off these leaders? Which position? Fugaku interrupted quickly. "Fugaku, do not take such a demanding tone with me, boy. If you''re gonna talk to me you use a tone of proper respect or consequences are a certainty." Dragon''s aura flared up and made Fugaku''s heart skip a beat out of fear. "I apologize, Lord Dragon." Fugaku bowed sincerely very quickly after he got back his bearing. "And now to answer your question." "Alucard is the 1st ranked captain. Ryu here is the 8th captain." He turned his gaze to Itachi again. "I welcome you to the Gotei 13, Itachi. You will train under Alucard and if he deems you worthy. You will become the vice Captain of the 1st Division that Alucard controls. So I am gonna ask you again. Do you accept these conditions?" "I accept!" He answered in a stoic tone of voice. "Good. Now on to Sasuke. I am more than happy to take you in as my student. As long as you answer this question honestly." "Why? Why do you wanna become my student? And don''t bother lying. I see through all lies directed at me." Sasuke removed his gaze from the terrifying eyes of Dragon and looked at the side of Itachi''s face. He saw the determination inside his brother''s eyes even from his position here beside him. He could even feel the excitement oozing off Itachi. He turned his gaze away from Itachi and met Dragon''s gaze again. Though this time he didn''t cower from it. "I want to best Naruto. I can''t stand still walking in place while he keeps running further and further away." Sasuke showed an even more determined face then Itachi. "Good. you two, come to my dojo tomorrow." "And Fugaku, Ryu is gonna stay here, so coordinate the transfer with him since he will be moving the clan." Dragon stood up and prepared to leave. "Goodbye!" Dragon was too lazy to continue this meeting so he quickly ran away from the room. ''Guess the future just got changed. Well, we''ll see what happens from now on.'' Dragon said to himself while leaving the compound on foot. ----------------------------- End Chapter 68 - Chapter 70 It was early morning the next day and the Uchiha brothers were standing outside the doors to the dojo. They could hear people yelling inside and what sounded like weapons clashing against each other. "Are you ready, Sasuke?" Itachi was wearing the Akatsuki outfit already and he had his bamboo hat in his hand. "Of course. If a carefree, lazy person like Naruto can become strong by training here then so can i. Give me a month and I will surpass him." Sasuke showed no fear or anxiety. He was most excited about the coming future. "I believe in you." Itachi couldn''t help but smile when listening to his brother. When Sasuke finished talking. Itachi opened the door and what greeted him was a tiny needle flying towards his right eye. "What''s this" Itachi caught the needle a millimetre before it pierced his eye. "Reaction speed. Average.." A man in a red trench coat and a big red hat stood a few meters inside the dojo hall. "Itachi Uchiha, attack me. Physical combat only." Alucard stood with his hands in his coat pockets. Itachi knew who he was here to meet. A test of strength was already something he had expected when he arrived. Itachi ran towards Alucard and delivered a straight punch. It took about one single second for him to cross the seven-meter distance between them. Alucard raised his hand and let Itachi''s punch hit the palm of his hand. Alucard''s hand was seen by Itachi but he couldn''t make his punch land before Alucard had raised his hand. The speed off Alucard was so fast that Itachi perceived it as slow. When Alucard started to move from Itachi''s point of view, Alucard himself had already raised his hand all the way. So Alucard had moved his hand at a speed that Itachi couldn''t comprehend. "Physical strength, below average. A marine captain could probably overpower you." Alucard said while observing Itachi from head to toe. "Marine Captain?" Itachi had never heard this term before. "I''ll tell you about it later, boy." "Speed, above average. Pretty decent. The good thing is, you are probably the most talented person I have ever seen." Alucard gripped a hold off Itachi''s hand and did an overhead throw. "AH!" Itachi was slammed into the ground so hard he spits up blood. "You have fantastic talent. It shall be wonderful to see what I can make out of you." Alucard picked Itachi up by the arm and dangled him in front of his face to get a better look. "Though, I did hope for something more exciting." Alucard creepily smiled and his natural blood lust became more intense. Itachi that was hanging in mid-air suddenly moved and made an attempt to kick Alucard''s head. His leg disappeared into a blur and it hit Alucard right on the side off his face. "Nice brother!" Sasuke yelled from behind as Alucard''s body went flying and crashed into the house wall. "You showed reaction speed into the milliseconds. Let me one-up you and show you what speed in the microseconds looks like." Alucard was walking towards them again and talking with a neutral tone of voice. but when the last word left his mouth, Itachi already had a hand gripped around his throat. "When I am done with you, moving 100 meters in a second will be your new normal." Alucard''s grip tightened and he slammed Itachi forwards right into the floor. The area where his face was slammed into completely broke apart and Itachi lost consciousness and his face was borderline destroyed. "BROTHER!" Sasuke freaked out and ran towards Alucard. he put power into his legs and launched himself at Alucard with no fear. Anger and anxiety were the two primary emotions that fueled this attack and before he even reached Alucard he lost balance in mid-air fell down. ''What''s happening??!'' Sasuke was lying down and gripping his head in pain. "oh, this is interesting." Dragon walked up beside Alucard and stared down at the boy. After a few seconds, Sasuke stopped growing in pain and struggled his way onto his feet. He stood up on wonky legs and stared at Alucard and Dragon. Both men towered over him so an instinctive feeling of fear appeared. "Congratulations, Sasuke. You just became an official Uchiha." Dragon said and clapped his hands nonchalantly. "What do you mean?" Sasuke said while standing there ready to fight. "Go look for yourself." Dragon pointed at a big mirror that was standing off to the side. Sasuke looked over and even though the distance to the mirror was a few meters, he could see his reflection perfectly. "Sharingan? I got my Sharingan, how?" Sasuke saw his own reflection then turned and asked Dragon how this could have happened. "Something inside of you triggered when you saw what happened to Itachi. We will have to explore this some more to find out about your Sharingan and it''s abilities. Now it''s time you should take off." Dragon gestured for Alucard to leave. "Yes, my master. I will go deal with this boy." Alucard and Itachi that he had hanging over his shoulder disappeared into a mist. "Come inside, Sasuke. We will talk before you and Naruto head off to the academy." Dragon started walking with a confused and bewildered Sasuke standing behind him not really knowing what to do in this situation. The source of his anger had just dissolved into mist together with his brother. "What about Itachi? Is he gonna be okay?" Sasuke asked worriedly. "Oh yes, Alucard is very... Gentle." He couldn''t bring himself to tell the poor boy the truth. ---A few days later--- Inside the kage tower of the Rain Village the Akatsuki was ordered to assemble. They were all gathered inside the tower and waiting for their leader to return. "How goes the tracking of Orochimaru?" A red-haired man, wearing the Akatsuki robes asked the group. Behind him stood his paths. "He disappeared again, but we confirmed that he has knowledge about the Summoning: Impure World Reincarnation jutsu." "He has been sending agents on a lot of retrieval missions, but we don''t know exactly what has been brought back. Orochimaru knows we''re watching him again and he has gone to great lengths to make sure that we don''t find out what he is been doing." Konan stood with a scroll in hand and reported the contents to Nagato. "So it is probably safe to assume that the thing he is searching for is bodies. If I got my hands on that jutsu, I would perfect it and then gather the bodies of powerful ninjas." Sasori said from his spot in the corner. "That''s right. We should assume that he is doing exactly that." Konan said while writing something down on another scroll. "Konan, write a report about our recent discoveries and send it to the empire. We will wait for the emperor to make a decision on how to proceed." Nagato said while tapping the table in a rhythmic manner. ''There''s a war on the horizon. We must do our part to make sure that the empire comes out on top.'' Nagato said to himself and smiled inwardly with confidence. He had been brought back with newfound strength and he was not gonna fall down and stumble this time around. "We have been waiting here for an entire day already. When is leader coming back with our new member? I can''t wait forever, there are people that need killing." Hidan was leaning against the wall and spoke out in boredom. "You will wait for as long as master Alucard requires. Don''t think I won''t end your life should you ask such stupid questions again." Nagato looked up from the table and pointed with one of his black rods at Hidan. "Sorry, sorry, waiting makes me bored. And boredom leads me to talk. It''s not my fault.." Hidan apologized in his normal sarcastic tone. "Shall I send you to hell then? I promise it won''t be boring." Alucard came walking in with Itachi following behind. Itachi was now fully healed and his whole being seemed different than a few days ago. "no, thank you. There I can''t kill anyone. That''s the one thing I can never give up." Hidan said with a savage smile. Alucard stopped and looked at him. "Really? Then I suggest you stop being such an annoying little shit or I''ll show you every reason as to why eternal life can be worse than death." Alucard appeared before Hidan like a ghost and gripped his whole face. "You talk too much. And the next time you scream about the pleasures of killing in the middle of a meeting, I will chop you up and force-feed you to Deidara. Are we clear?" Alucard said in a tone so dark and chilling that the entire room seemed to have dropped in temperature. "ahm, Crystal!" Hidan said and saluted jokingly. But beneath that silly and sarcastic personality, you would find he had a real and genuine fear towards Alucard. "Okay, everyone. This is Itachi Uchiha. My student and a potential candidate for Vice Captain for the 1st Division. So you all know what that means. He now holds the same status as Nagato in the empire. Let''s start the meeting." "Okay, Everyone. Now that Master Alucard has returned we can move on to the first order of business. The Capture of two tails." Nagato said in a demanding and powerful tone that held incredible vitality compared to a couple of months ago. Konan stood on the side and admired the new and improved Nagato. After so many years, life, and fire like drive could finally be seen inside his eyes. --------------------------------------- End Chapter 69 - Chapter 71 In the middle of the afternoon, two shadows were jumping from root to roof inside the hidden leaf village. One of them had black hair with eyes that showed a calm and collected mindset. The other one had blonde hair with eyes wide and filled with nothing but excitement and freedom. This one was also screaming at the top of his lungs. "Naruto, i can''t believe you got me into this.. You said we would pull a small prank, not something like this. Master Dragon will kill us for this." Sasuke said to the boy running beside him. "Dad? ye, i can handle him don''t worry. As soon as i pull out my puppy eyes, he is floored." Naruto yelled loudly and looked behind him at the 3 ninjas chasing them. "We need to lose them before they call in him. We can''t outrun that monster yet." Sasuke said and looked around for a good place to lose their tail. "Too late!" A voice appeared between the two boys and the figure grabbed a hold of both the boy''s collars and stopped them mid-air. "I blame you, Naruto!" Sasuke said while hanging suspended in the iron grip of the mysterious figure. Naruto turned away from Sasuke''s glare and turned towards the person that caught them. "Uncle Ryu, please... Sasuke convinced me to do it. I am not to blame." Naruto pulled out his puppy eyes and attacked Ryu with it full force. "Save it, it won''t work on me. It''s either the Hokage''s office or home. Let me remind you that Rize is visiting from the empire." Ryu watched on as Naruto''s expression changed from cute and innocent to pure unadulterated fright. "Take me to prison or the Hokage! Just not home!" Naruto hit Ryu with his best pleading look. "The Hokage''s office it is then." Ryu disappeared in a flash, leaving 3 ninjas behind. "I can never get over Mr Ryu''s speed." One of them said. "is it that sad that we can''t even catch two kids?" Another one said. "Don''t think like that.. Naruto is Lord Dragon''s son. And Sasuke is his student. You know no one in that dojo is normal." The third one said and they all sighed at the same time. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Outside the room of the Hokage, Ryu stood with the two boys in his grip. The boys had not even been given the chance to escape so Naruto stood with his head lowered and Sasuke stood glaring at him. "Naruto, if Master Dragon punishes us after this, just know that it will be your fault." Sasuke said with annoyance. "Quite! You two walk in front of me." Ryu knocked on the door and Hiruzen''s voice rang out from inside moments later. "Come in!" They all walked in with the boys in the lead. Inside the room you had Hiruzen sitting behind his desk and leaning back smoking on his pipe. Two desks had been set up beside his own and at them both sat shadow clones of the Hokage and doing paperwork. "What brings you two here today?" Hiruzen looked at the two boys. "They gave the principal of the academy a heart attack, Sir." Ryu said and the two boys flinched at the mention of a heart attack and Hiruzen also sat up properly. "How did that happen? And how is the principal doing?" "He is recovering well and should be fine in a day or two. These two boys plastered posters of naked woman on every inch of room inside the principals office. This is what led to the heart attack when the principal opened the door." Ryu said without a whiff of embarrassment while Hiruzen grew red in the face and almost dreamed himself away from reality for a second. "ahm, I see. I believe the best punishment is to inform Lord Dragon. So do that will you, Mr Ryu." Hiruzen said and coughed into his hand and in a subtle manner, wrote down something on a piece of paper that he had on the desk. "I shall go inform him now." Ryu bowed slightly and bent down to whisper something in Naruto''s ear. Ryu''s voice froze Naruto''s entire body and Sasuke watched on in confusion. He had no idea what Naruto was so afraid of. "Goodbye for now, Hiruzen."Ryu said and grabbed to two boys by the collar and a portal appeared above them and lowered itself to swallow them up. --------------------- Inside the hall of the dojo, Dragon sat and chatted with three people. Well, two of them were talking while the third one was standing behind them like a soldier standing on guard. A man and a woman were sitting opposite Dragon, with another man standing behind them. "So how changed is he?" Dragon asked pointed to the man standing there still like a soldier. "Completely changed. He endured a time dimension torture session. Well, two actually. There is nothing of his old self left. He knows only one thing, and that is loyalty to the Empire." The man said and smiled with a smile made from nightmares. "I will demonstrate." The woman said and stretched out her foot towards the man standing behind them. "Kiss my feet!" She said in a demanding tone and the man got down immediately with absolutely no emotions on his face. "Understood, Mistress." He started kissing it and showed no disgust nor any form of happiness. It seemed like he had no emotions left inside him. "How long did you make the torture sessions?" Dragon turned to the man while the woman enjoyed getting her feet kissed. "The first one was 150,000 years. The other one was 579,000 years. There is no form of torture in existence that he hasn''t been put through. he is nothing but a tool for the empire''s use now." The man seemed excited at the thought of torture. "Great! Since he is one of the best schemers in this world, he will be put in charge of the empire here in the elemental nations. But do keep an eye on him." Dragon looked at the man that was now standing behind the woman again. "Understood, Your Majesty!" he said with no hesitation. "I don''t know what you have made him, but some people would probably say he deserved it. Good job, Rize and Sebastien." Dragon smiled at the two most evil subordinates he had. Not even Hisoka could reach these two in terms of cruelty. "Thank you, Lord Dragon. We don''t deserve such praise. We are simply here to please." Rize said in a tone almost overtaken with arousal and pleasure. "You two wanna stay for some tea? Naruto should be back soon." Dragon asked and saw Rize eyes light up in excitement. "The young lord will be here? How fabulous.." Rize sat back and smiled creepily. Just as she was dreaming away, a portal opened up in the middle of the room and three people fell out of it. Two of them were clearly inexperienced with teleportation because they fell face-first onto the ground. "ah, speak of the devil. Welcome back you two." Dragon said to Naruto and Sasuke that had landed on each other and struggled to be the first one to stand. "Yep! We''re back and nothing is wrong!!" Naruto yelled out and gave the room a quick ones over. "Way to be subtle, moron." Sasuke hit Naruto on the arm, while simultaneously praying that Ryu wouldn''t tell Dragon anything. "Naruto and Sasuke pulled a prank on the principal that caused him to have a heart attack. The Hokage left the punishment to you, Lord Dragon." Ryu said nonchalantly, and Sasuke felt his death date be moved up about 70 years. He felt Dragon''s gaze move between him and Naruto. "Oh perfect. Rize since you are here, you can handle Naruto''s punishment." Naruto froze when the words left Dragon''s mouth. "KYA! Young Lord! I missed you soo much!" Rize ran up and gave Naruto a bear hug and delivered a barrage of kisses. "Please, aunt Rize, let me go." Naruto didn''t plead for the kisses to stop. He was begging her to not do what he knew was coming after the kisses. "Let''s go!" Rize said with an ear to ear smile and both her and Naruto were swallowed by a deep purple flame and disappeared from the room. "Come Sasuke, i have a task for you to do as punishment. Follow me." Dragon gave a nod to Sebastien before walking towards the front door with Sasuke following behind him. ---------------------------------- End Chapter 70 - (Time Skip) In a white space without any visible walls, Naruto stood with his normal black Kung Fu outfit. Dragon stood behind him with his own black and white Tai Chi Kung Fu outfit. His top was white and his pants were black. "How are you feeling? Are you sure you are up for this?" "i know i probably can''t beat him. But i wanna see how strong i have become these last 3 years." Dragon didn''t allow Naruto to fight the nine tails until he was at least 9 years old. And he had finally reached 9 years old i few weeks ago. So now was the time for him to test his mettle. "Okay. But before that! There is something i need to tell you." Dragon kneeled down to Naruto''s eye level. He put his right index finger on the seal on Naruto''s stomach. "Imbued inside this seal is some chakra from your birth parents. Their chakra will activate when we release the 9 tails from it''s cage. but i can stop this." Dragon noticed the quick swirl of emotions surfacing inside Naruto''s eyes. "if i allow them to activate you will meet your birth parents. So this choice is now up to you. This is why i wanted you to wait to fight him. I wanted your emotions to be stable for this very moment. And i feel that you are now mature enough to make this decision yourself." "My... Birth parents? I don''t know." He felt like every existing emotion striking on his heart as fast as lighting and disappearing just as fast. "Do you think I''m ready?" He looked up at the man he knew as his only parent. "If i didn''t think you could handle this, i would not have allowed for this to happen. i would have made you wait for a few more years." "I don''t feel any longing to meet them. I don''t feel hate or love towards them. I don''t know what i would say when i see them." Naruto had grown a lot in these 3 years. And he looked more mature then before. But at this moment he reverted back to the lost and confused kid Dragon picked up from the orphanage 6 years ago. "Thinking about what to say beforehand is an impossible thing to do. The right words will come to you when you see them. You should not worry about saying the right or the wrong things." "Do i have to meet them? I don''t feel ready to meet them yet." "You don''t have to do anything you don''t want to. I can put their leftover chakra in a pocket dimension outside the seal and you can then call upon them when you feel ready to do so." Dragon was fully aware that he is amazing at spoiling his kids. because he is who he is, he can give them everything they need and want. He knew that he needed to start balancing that aspect of his life. Or his children would grow up to be spoiled nobles that had enormous egos and plenty of misplaced arrogance. "I came here to challenge the nine tails and i really wanna do just that today. I want to wait a few years before i meet my birth parents. I want to wait till i feel ready to do so." Naruto stood there in his Kung Fu outfit and clenching his fists in frustration. He felt the frustration build up because of the difficulty in making this kind of decision. He wanted to meet his birth parents someday but he felt angry and frustrated about the fact that he didn''t know when that day would come. He just knew it wasn''t today. "It''s okay, Naruto. But i would recommend you hold on to that anger. It''s going to help you in this fight. Use that anger to fuel your attacks. Anger is a very powerful emotion if you can control it." "Use it, but don''t let it control your actions. Use it to your advantage." Dragon said seriously while raising his finger and pointed in front of them. "Now let''s get that cub over here." The scenery changed and they were transported into a forest that seemed to go on for an eternity. In the distance, you could see that big red cage that housed the legendary beast. The nine-tailed fox. The big fox was sleeping and didn''t notice the arrival of the two guests. Naruto glanced at his dad and saw the relaxed and confident look that he normally always had on his face. Naruto had noticed that Gildarts inherited the confident look that Dragon always showed. But instead of relaxed, Gildarts always looked bored or lost in thought. He would randomly walk into walls and doors. he even broke his nose one time when he was running and not paying attention to his surroundings and the wall that was in front of him. "Remember to not underestimate the fox. Even though you are very strong, the nine tails is still a lot stronger then you. You only need to get a few good hits in and that should show him that you are starting to become worthy of a partnership. "I know! I think this is the 100th time you told me." A sigh escaped Naruto''s lips and he rebooted himself to get into gear for this fight. "Okay. it''s time to see what these 6 years of training have accomplished." Dragon smiled and both the father and son started to walk towards the cage. The nine tails had woken up thanks to his incredible senses. He could smell and hear them even from the large distance between them He was laying down like usual inside the cage and now he was watching the duo approaching the cage with steady steps. For some reason, Naruto both looked and smelled different this day. There were smells of anxiety, fear, happiness and excitement all around him. "So the seal is coming down today, huh?" He already figured out why Naruto had all these emotion around him. this is the emotions you show before a good or tough fight. He glanced at Dragon and sighed loudly so both humans could hear him. "So i suppose i will not get my freedom with you following the boy here." He kept eye contact with Dragon. Nine tails were fully aware of the power behind Dragon''s fists. "Today my boy here will show you his worth. Your requirement was that he needs to win in a fight and today he will show you his progress. And if he happens to win, you will technically gain your freedom." Dragon smiled teasingly at the old giant fox. "Sure. If he thinks he can win, then let him try." The fox stood up and got ready for this long-awaited moment. "Naruto, are you ready?" Dragon looked at his son. Naruto looked back at him and nodded. And at the same time, he clenched his fists and they turned fully black. This was the power that allowed him to even stand a chance against Gildarts anymore. Without haki, Gildarts would completely decimate Naruto now after 3 years of magic control training. Dragon raised his right index finger and a small visible blue flame appeared on the tip of it. Dragon pointed at the seal of the cage and the flame crossed the space between the finger and the seal in less then a second. "Let the battle commence!" Dragon said loudly and disappeared in a puff of smoke. ---------------------------------- End Chapter 71 - Chapter 73 The two gates that were connected by the powerful seal slowly started to open. The seal didn''t get ripped apart, more like slowly separated into two different parts. The big fox with 9 very long and fluffy tails behind him stood up inside the cage and glared at Naruto, with excitement in the eyes. You could see that this was a moment that the nine tails had waited for. A chance to ones again step outside the prison it had been kept in for years and years. Without much forewarning, the nine tails rushed forward to attack Naruto. The ground shook at each step he took and Naruto could finally see how huge he was when he was actually running straight at him. ''Focus!'' Naruto said to himself and turned around and jumped away from the fox. The nine-tailed fox was both fast and massive. Which turns into a deadly combo in combat. But Naruto luckily had great mobility and his speed was nothing to scoff at so he could create a pretty big distance between the two in just a few seconds. Naruto was zigzagging between the trees in the forest. He had to act quick because otherwise the giant chakra beast behind him would squash him completely. Naruto had trained in the art of chakra enhancing. He could on a very basic level, manipulate chakra around his body to strengthen a specific body part. Every step Naruto took left a pretty decently deep mark on the ground. And thanks to his enormous stamina and chakra capacity he could keep running like this for a very long time. ''Think Naruto! Think!'' His eyes darted around and searched for a way to get on the nine tails without getting caught by his tails or claws. "THERE!" Naruto accidentally yelled out when he saw a big boulder in the distance. He re coated his fist in haki and did a proper dash towards it. His body flew out like a rocket and crashed straight through the entire boulder. *boom* The boulder exploded and gave rise to a decently sized smoke screen. The nine tails lost sight of Naruto when he smashed through the boulder. His senses could still pick up Naruto''s general direction but the problem was that Naruto''s scent was coming from all around him. Above, below, Naruto was all around him and nine tails couldn''t tell which one was the real one. Out from the smoke screen ran 100 Naruto clones one after another. They were running in lines of 4 and they all jumped at the nine tails at the same time with both fists covered in haki. "TAKE THIS!" The Naruto clones fell like rain and bombarded the giant fox with haki infused punches. The nine tails swung his claws in front of his face and halved the amount of clones in one go. And at the same time he roared and pushed the rest of the Naruto''s away with just the wind pressure from that roar. As the clones were killed they disappeared into a cloud of white smoke. And this smoke screen blinded the nine tails. And the rest of the Naruto''s gave up the attack and spread out around the nine tails. "Big mistake, brat!" Nine tails sneered and all of his tails came down and smashed all the clones that took up a spot behind the fox. ''My punch did nothing to him.. How can haki not work..'' Naruto still stood where the boulder had been. And he was watching the nine tails swiping his claws and taking out more clones. "Let''s just go with the straight forward approach." One of Naruto''s clones that stood beside him said and fist-bumped the air in excitement. "We''ll die!" Naruto refuted angerly. "No. We''ll die! We always die while you, the original stays alive." The clone said and smiled while pushing Naruto forward with his hand. "Okay then! let''s go!" Naruto gave himself away to the hype and readied himself to rush the big beast. Naruto did a familiar hand sign and 200 hundred shadow clones appeared in a line beside him. This was Naruto''s famous Jutsu but he rarely used it because haki was enough for now. In the beginning the clone couldn''t use haki and it took Naruto a few months to figure that problem out. "THIS IS THE CHARGE OF ALL CHARGES! ARE YOU READY?" One of the many Naruto''s yelled to the rest of them in an excited tone. "AYE!!" 200 Naruto''s yelled at the same time and shook the ground around them. "GOOOOOOO!" Another Naruto yelled and all of them charged the nine tails with their fists covered in haki. The Naruto''s ran at full speed at the giant fox while yelling and shaking the entire area with their chakra infused steps. One after the other they jumped up in the air and flew towards the nine tails. The fox started to swipe at the mass of shadow clones and they seemed never-ending because they kept coming. The clones that saw the claws coming towards them banded together and using haki they all raised their hands to try and stop the claw from crushing them. But because they were in the air they didn''t have any solid footing to stand on to help withstand the mighty strength of the nine-tailed fox. But by using haki and their numbers advantage they were able to stop the claw for just a moment. And that moment was all a few clones needed to pass the barrier of the claws and reach the nine tails body. 11 clones managed to reach the nine tails and 4 were caught in the mouth of the fox. But the rest made it onto the body of the massive fox. Now with 7 Naruto clones on his body, the nine tails tried to squash them with his tails. But when he tried he noticed that all his tails were being held down by a bunch of clones. Each tail had 15 Naruto''s holding it down with armament haki on full blast. ''More clones? When did they get there?'' Nine tails looked at the clones and felt the impressive force they managed to put up. He couldn''t move his tails. ''Clever boy.'' Dragon that stood up in the air said to himself and praised Naruto inwardly. 20 Naruto clones on the ground were running towards the nine-tailed fox. Their speed was a lot faster because they were on the ground. So while the fox were killing clones and dealing with the ones that were on his body already. They approached quietly. "We need to speed up, hurry." One of the said quietly to the rest and they sped up even more. The 20 Naruto''s quickly came upon the giant fox and one of the clones standing on the fox''s head saw them and nodded towards them in acknowledgment. It was their job to draw attention away from the small squad. "Okay, spread out!" One of them said and they spit into 4 groups. All the groups ran towards the nine tails hind legs "Okay, NOW!" The group of Naruto''s saw their opening and they all made their move without a second delay. They used armament haki to punch the hind legs of the nine tails to try and destabilize the beast. But clearly, Naruto had underestimated the nine tails. "So that''s what your plan was. I see it was worth it to let you play around." The nine tails felt the 20 Naruto''s combined punch hit it''s leg and it hurt it quite a bit. But the strength Naruto possessed now was not enough to overpower the nine tails. "There are better ways to cripple me in a fight, but you are only 9 years old so I''ll let it pass. But it''s time to show you my power." *ROOAAR* The nine tails roared and it''s chakra exploded out of it''s body and it blew all the Naruto''s away immediately. "AAAAAH" The Naruto''s were thrown across the ground and they all disappeared into a big cloud of white smoke. "Your power isn''t bad. But it''s not even close to your father. Keep training Naruto." The nine tails looked at the only Naruto left standing in the distance. He looked dirty and damaged from that roar. He had been one of the Naruto''s that stood on the nine tails body. "I''m not done yet." Naruto swayed for a second but slowly started to run towards the nine tails. "Stop this or you will get hurt badly." The nine tails said and looked at Dragon. ''Let''s show Naruto what the top in this world looks like.'' Dragon nodded towards the nine tails and continued to watch. "I apologize for this Naruto. If you survive this, I''ll even tell you my name. You have earned that." The nine tails raised it''s claw. The claw started to descend and as Naruto came in range of the nine tails, the claw swiped passed and blew him away hard. Naruto''s body bounced across the ground and crashed straight into a tree that exploded from the collision with the boys body. "Are you sure that''s okay? I could have killed him with that." The nine tails said to Dragon that was descending towards him. "You really think i would allow that? I made sure that Naruto didn''t feel that last one." Dragon surprisingly walked in the air, and he walked over to the nine tails and sat down on his head. "I am not the perfect father. Far from it actually. But this is the best way that i could show Naruto how far the climb to the top is. I won''t always be here to protect him so i can''t allow him to think that he''s immortal." Dragon said while petting Nine tails fur. "The boys got heart and plenty of talent. In a few years, I''m pretty sure immortal will be the proper term to describe him." The nine tails were laying down with his eyes closed now that the fight was over. "That all depends on what your decision is, Kurama." The nine tails opened his eyes when he heard his name spoken out loud after so many years. "So you knew it, huh. Should have figured. It''s you after all. By the way, are you ever gonna tell me your origin? I have lived here for a thousand years and not even i know it. You are more of a mystery then the old man is." Kurama didn''t seem to mind Dragon petting him. "Probably never. Now about that decision. Even if he beats you someday. If you desire freedom, just ask. You have more than deserved it and I am sure Naruto wouldn''t mind letting you go." Dragon was sitting in the lotus position. "I wouldn''t mind freedom. But going to another world. That takes some time to decide." Kurama said in a serious tone. "Whatever decision you decide to go with. Let me know and i will make it happen." Dragon said and stood up. "Now i should take care of Naruto. His true body fell unconscious, go figure. I need to go be a dad." Dragon laughed and started to faint away from this inner space. ''Freedom, huh. What''s that like?'' Kurama asked himself before he fell asleep again. The normal seal around Kurama had been returned to normal and he was back in the cage again, credit for that goes to Dragon. ----------------------------- End Chapter 72 - Chapter 74 Inside the land of fire, on a tree branch stood a young boy with slicked-back dark brown hair. He was smiling widely even though he was surrounded by multiple masked individuals. The boy had on the black kung fu outfit of his father''s dojo and the people surrounding him had on the classic anbu outfit. "If you would just come with us, you won''t be harmed. We just want to talk to you." One of the masked men said. They had on no headband so it made it impossible to identify their allegiance. "How about you tell your Raikage that I''m not interested in becoming his experiment. And if you want me to come along with you, you''ll have to catch me." He said and smiled provocatively at the group. "You''ll regret that kid. Get him!" The supposed leader of the group said and the ninjas around the boy drew their weapon. "RASENGAN!" From above the enemy leader, an old man with long white hair suddenly appeared and smashed a small blue energy ball into the back of the enemy ninja. *boom* The branch that the ninja was standing on was blown to hell together with the ninja that got firmly planted into the ground below. The stranger did a quick acrobatic move and with the help of the recoil of his attack, readjusted himself in mid air and landed on another branch. "Legendary Sannin! Great Toad sage! JIRAYA HAS ARRIVED!" The man yelled with arms stretched widely in the air. "Retreat! We can''t fight that man!" One of them said and they all jumped away immediately and disappeared. "There we go! You''re welcome kid." Jiraya turned to the kid that was the target of this group of villains. "What the hell, old man. You just ruined my mission!" He yelled at the old man with an annoyed expression. "WHA... Be grateful, you brat!!" Jiraya said after recovering from the unexpected answer from the boy. "I needed them! You just scared them away... dammit!" He fell on his back and sighed out loud. "I''m sorry? I guess..." Jiraya tilted his head in confusion and continued talking. "So anyways. What is a kid doing all the way out here? It''s dangerous you know." Jiraya did like Hiruzen and took out a pipe from who knows where and started to smoke. "Failing a mission because of an old man interfering." He waved his hand and a spiral appeared beside him. "What do you need, young lord?" The masked man that appeared from the spiral asked with respect. "Those that escaped. Capture them all before they make it back to their village." The boy said with many different emotions swirling inside of him. "It will be done." The man said and disappeared from the place in a spiral. All the while Jiraya was watching this with careful eyes. ''That Sharingan? I wonder if Kakashi knows yet..'' Jiraya questioned to himself but on the outside he kept his silly and unaware expression going. "So what''s your name kid? Mine''s Jiraya. But you already knew that!" He smiled at the boy. "Gildarts! But you already knew that, didn''t you, Jiraya?" Gildarts looked at Jiraya with eyes that shone with intelligence that a 15-year-old boy shouldn''t have. "hahaha, you''re pretty interesting for someone so young. You mind explaining how that Uchiha is working for you. Last time I heard he died and gave his last working eye to a friend of mine." Jiraya asked casually, but with an undertone of cautiousness. "He has sworn loyalty to protect my family. You could say that a couple of years ago, my father made him see things differently. And he took him off a very dangerous path that would have led to self-destruction and maybe even the worlds end." Gildarts was already 168 cm tall and he spoke with a tone of an experienced adult. Nowhere on his person could you see the child that he had been a few years ago. "Your family is one big mystery, you know. You appear out of nowhere and you all possess incredible strength. Mind telling me where you came from?" Jiraya spoke to Gildarts like an old friend. And the reason Gildarts told him as much as he did is that he was told Jiraya is one of the few people in this world who truly fights for the good side. "You should meet with father. He''ll tell you all about us if he likes you enough. I''m just trying to enjoy my life. I don''t care about politics or whatever. I just wanna explore the world." It''s true that Gildarts doesn''t care about running an empire or doing missions all his life. His father had countless people working for him that all did this. So he just wanted to explore the world and find all it''s mysteries. "Fair enough. A kid should be a kid. It''s not fair for a child to train to become a killer at age 6." Jiraya looked a little lost in thought when he said it. He remembered a very special kid he met years back that really made him aware of what war does to people. "Here take this! You should be old enough." Jiraya took out a book and threw it to Gildarts. "What is it?" He caught the book and looked at the cover and saw the title. He looked back at the old man and smiled awkwardly. "This is my masterpiece! This is some quality over quality kind of stuff. Very premium." Jiraya yelled at the top of his lungs as he flexed his biceps. Gildarts opened the book and started to flip through the pages. The more he flipped through and the more he read the redder his face became. He also started to smile with a stupid innocent smile. "This is art!" Gildarts said after flipping over the last page. He seemed to only be half awake at the moment. His head was in an entirely different reality. "RIGHT! If only that old hag could see it that way. She just doesn''t know art as we do." Jiraya said quietly while showing a clear annoyance to this person he was referencing. "D...Do you have any more of this?" Gildarts said and faked coughed into his hand. "Nope! But I''m currently on my way to a bathhouse a few km away from this place. I''m going there to relax and do some.... research." Jiraya said and gave Gildarts a gaze that said it all. "Well, since this was such a tough mission I should be allowed to take a little break, right." Gildarts looked at Jiraya and received a quick nod. "Absolutely! We all need a good break." Jiraya nodded along like the wise old man he is. "Let''s go then!" Gildarts stood up followed quickly by Jiraya. They both nodded and Gildarts followed the white-haired old man as he jumped away using the branches of the trees. ''Should I report this to Lord Dragon?'' Obito had appeared on the branch that Gildarts sat down on. He looked confused, but he also followed along since his mission was to guard Gildarts. --------------------------- End Chapter 73 - Chapter 75 Dragon and Sylvia were sitting inside the dojo and talking while drinking some tea. They were talking about Gildarts and Naruto''s future. "Has he said when he wants to leave yet?" Sylvia asked her husband with a sad tone. "Yes. He wanted to travel back when he was done with this mission. Though, he should have been done with it by now. I don''t know what''s taking him so long." "Maybe he''s hurt? What if an enemy he couldn''t handle caught up to him." Sylvia let the anxiety take over and she started to panic and breath hard. "do not worry. Obito is with him for this reason. There is no one that Obito can''t escape from. So they probably just found something interesting on the way back." Dragon didn''t know how right he was. "You''re right! Obito wouldn''t lose to anyone." She told herself this over and over just so she wouldn''t become overwhelmed by the urge to rush out and look for Gildarts. "There''s no need to panic about that boy. He is strong enough on his own now. You should be focused on Naruto. He still needs the guidance of loving parents, and he chose us as his guiding light and we can''t fail him in that, can we?" "Gildarts has already shown that he is more then ready to adventure out and find himself. He is more then capable of protecting himself from harm." Dragon said and put his hand over Sylvia''s to calm her down. This worked beautifully, and Sylvia started to calm down as she gripped Dragon''s hand tighter. "I just find it a lot more difficult to let go of him then i expected. Sending him to find Paradise island almost killed me inside. Now i am going to be an entire world apart from him. How am i gonna make that work?" Sylvia looked at Dragon for some help in this matter. She didn''t want to abandon Gildarts or Naruto. But they lived in different worlds so how she would manage this. She didn''t know. "You can always go with him. Time flows differently in each world. So 20 years here might be 2 years over there. If you feel you need to be where he is, then I will understand." Dragon said while showing a caring smile. Sylvia listened to what he said, and she chose not to speak on it. She didn''t know what she wanted to do. She wanted to be with Dragon but she didn''t want to world hop every few years. She wanted a permanent home, but Dragon had clearly stated that he wanted to explore all worlds that existed. "I don''t know, Dragon. I am not a world explorer at heart like you. I want a permanent home somewhere." She spoke with a distant tone, lost in her own thoughts. "We''ll figure it out someday." Dragon said in a calm tone of voice and sipped some of his tea. *boom* One of the walls to the dojo exploded and a body came crashing inside and landed on the floor. Six shadows appeared around the body that came crashing inside. "WAH" Sylvia was scared half to death by the explosion. And she quickly looked over at the body that came crashing through. "SASUKE!!" She screamed seeing the boy on the ground badly wounded. A moment later, before Sylvia could move, another body came flying through the same hole Sasuke did. It was a yellow-haired boy. The odd thing was that he was holding onto something else. In his embrace was a small girl with white eyes. "NARUTO! WHAT''S GOING ON!" Sylvia was in full panic mode. She saw two boys she considered family come crashing through the wall badly damaged. She was so up in arms that she didn''t notice the insane killing intent building up inside the man sitting next to her. "No witnesses, take the boys and retreat. The Hokage will be here shortly." One of the masked individuals said in a commanding tone. He paid no attention to what house they had invaded. From nowhere a hand appeared like a phantom and it removed the heads of five of them and gripped the throat of the 6th masked man. "It appears that i have been too kind for too long. You people just won''t stop until you are all dead and buried. Then so be it." Dragon''s hand tightened around the neck of the last masked intruder and his entire head exploded and blood decorated Dragon''s entire body. For a second you could see true and pure evil spread across his face. "DRAGON! What are you doing?" Sylvia yelled while sitting by Naruto and checking the vitals of all 3 children. "Sorry Sylvia. I didn''t ever want you to see this side of me. But this has gone too far." "Gildarts has stopped 4 attempts on Naruto and Sasuke''s life, but they still won''t quit. No one comes after my family for this long and gets to walk away. No more chances." Dragon waved off the blood on his hand. "Shisui!" Dragon said and a body rose up from his shadow. "Yes, my lord!" He bowed down. "Stay here and protect them. I am going hunting." Dragon said and walked towards the front door. "Dragon, wait!" Sylvia yelled trying to stop him. "Listen to Shisui. Do not leave his side and take care of Naruto and Sasuke." "This world is out of second chances." Dragon took a step and he disappeared instantly. ----------------------------------------- End Chapter 74 - Chapter 76 Outside the hidden leaf village on a tree branch which was a common trait among the ninjas of this world. Two cloaked men stood in silence. "Lord Orochimaru, we should leave soon. I have a bad feeling about this. They should have been back by now." A man with a sickly pale colour to his skin said to the legendary snake sannin. "We will leave when Lord Orochimaru say so." Another man landed gracefully on the branch. He was dressed in a full black cloak like the other two on the branch. "Kabuto. How did the Kumo ninjas do?" Orochimaru asked without looking at him. He had a strange feeling over him since a while ago. He didn''t know what it was but he didn''t like it at all. "We identified the targets and I sent them in to take them. I made sure nothing will lead back to you." Kabuto said respectfully. "That doesn''t matter. As long as we get what we came for I don''t care who knows about me. The Akatsuki are the only ones we need to be wary of." Orochimaru said and the feeling kept rising and Orochimaru scanned the surrounding but nothing came of it. "Kabuto, Kimimaro, we are leaving. Something is not right. Kimimaro is right. I believe the Kumo have failed in their mission." Orochimaru waved his hand which was the signal for all his people in the surrounding area to retreat. But before they could move, a hand came from nowhere and took both of Orochimaru''s arms clean off. "AAAAAAHHH" "I am afraid that you can''t leave yet." A powerful aura appeared behind them and Kabuto and Kimimaru were blown away and crashed through a couple of trees. "We are going to have a chat, you and I, snake brat." Dragon picked up Orochimaru by the throat. From the palm of his hand seals started to spread out and soon they covered Orochimaru''s entire body. "Now we can talk." Dragon threw Orochimaru down on the ground without holding back. *BOOM* The ground exploded and Orochimaru''s body made a crater on the ground and the snake sannin vomited out blood from his mouth. "I was being patient so that I could spend a lot of time with my kids before I started uniting this world. But the greed of you people is starting to really piss me the fuck off." Dragon almost spit the words in Orochimaru''s face. This Dragon was someone that had not appeared since he saved Sylvia from that cult years ago. Someone he thought he would never need to become again. "I now realize that, wherever I am. There will always be people like you that only know one language." Dragon picked him up by the throat again and his body dangled lifelessly there in his grip. "Wake up!" Dragon took a firm hold off Orochimaru''s leg and simply ripped it off. "AAAAAAAAAAAH" Orochimaru screamed in pain. "I have been so very patient with you Orochimaru. Don''t think that i don''t know that you are working with that arrogant prick, A." He stared into the eyes of Orochimaru that held a fiery hatred for Dragon. "If you would have backed off earlier then I wouldn''t have come after you. But ones you step too close to a dragon''s mouth. You die!" Dragon started to squeeze his neck. "W...Why don''t we w..work together? Take down A together. Think about it, you will need my help." Orochimaru said while struggling to get out all the words because of the pressure around his throat. "I don''t need help from a weak little poisonous snake. [Erase]" Dragon''s hand started to glow and Orochimaru''s body also started to glow in white light. "AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH" What Orochimaru was now experiencing was the most painful thing any one can be put through. Dragon was erasing his entire existence. All that Orochimaru was now was just a memory in people''s minds. That was the only thing Dragon allowed to be left. He wanted people to look back at Orochimaru and know what happens should they choose a path just as dark as the snake sannin. From the bushes came Ryu. He had two bodies in each hand. "Lord Dragon. What shall be done about these two?" He held up Kabuto and Kimimaro for Dragon to see. "Take them to the Hokage and let him deal with it. Also Ryu, after you''re done with that, i want you to take a round around the village and make sure Orochimaru left no snakes inside our borders." Dragon was pretty sure he had cleansed the spies early on, but Orochimaru had been around for many years so you can never be too sure. "Yes, Lord Dragon. And what will you be doing?" "I will go meet with the Akatsuki. It''s time to do something about these villages." Dragon disappeared like the wind and his presence in the area was all gone. ---------------------------------------- At the usual gathering place for the Akatsuki, the usual tension was not present. Alucard had just come and informed the group that the emperor himself was coming to see them. None of them had seen him before, and whoever managed to tame Alucard would naturally scare them, even if they hadn''t met. "ey, Sasori, what do you think is important enough for the big guy to come here for?" Deidara, one of the few that rarely gave away his arrogant and sarcastic persona, asked the master puppeteer. "I think if you call the emperor "big guy" again, Nagato or master Alucard will have your head." Sasori stood there in the corner like usual and stared at the walls of the room. His mind was always working around the clock, but on his face you would see nothing even resembling an emotion. "Maybe that''s for the best. Deidara is weak and also highly annoying. I approve of the leader killing him." Kakuzu said and smiled at Deidara to annoy him further. "Watch your mouth, or I''ll use you for my next art project." Deidara raised his hands and displayed the mouths present on both his palms. "Go for it! Let''s see who''s got more heart!" Kakuzu licked his lips. "Stop this annoying squabbling. I want you all focused today." Nagato looked over a map that displayed a certain village. "Is that our target?" Sasori said and referred to the village on the map. The other members listened in now as well. "One of them. From what I know, we are hitting multiple locations, and targets. Something pissed off the emperor and Master Alucard didn''t say what it was. Or who did it, so we are to wait here." Nagato was in full planning mode. Even if he didn''t have all the details, he knew most of the targets they were hitting. So his job was to already know everything about them before the emperor got here. "Sweet, I''ve been longing to fight that muscle head," Kisame said when he saw the village displayed on the map. "You all will be assigned your own targets. You are not allowed to roam free in this operation. Not a single failure or delay is allowed this time around." Itachi came walking inside. He had been out on his round around the village. Nagato assigned all the Akatsuki to have security rounds around the village. Today was Itachi''s turn. "Hope I get someone strong. Too many weak people nowadays. The world isn''t as fun as it used to be before." Kisame said and leaned back on the wall with closed eyes. "I''m sure you will find it to your satisfaction. Are we all here?" Itachi looked around for all the Akatsuki members. "Yes, we are ready. Here is your ring Itachi." Nagato threw Itachi''s finished crafted ring to Itachi. "Thanks, now all of you should look more alive. The emperor is in a bad mood. That means you two shut up when he gets here or he might kill you." Itachi pointed at Deidara and Hidan, who responded with sour faces. "Unfair. He talks more then I do." Deidara looked over at Hidan. "Doesn''t matter. Just remember to shut up." Itachi said and walked up to Nagato. ------------------------------------- End Chapter 75 - Chapter 77 On the side of the rain villages kage tower a man was walking up it. He was walking up the side of the tower with his thoughts in constant motion. He was perplexed about how easy he reverted back to the killer he ones was. ''Maybe I haven''t changed at all?'' Dragon watched the clouds in the sky that was pouring down rain on his face. "NO!" He yelled out and an incredible wind pressure appeared around the entire tower and blew away the rain together with the clouds from the area of the kage tower. ''I can''t doubt myself. I must find a balance.'' Dragon took a deep breath and rain ones again started pouring down on his face. He finally reached a window with a size of two doors. Dragon took a step inside and jumped onto the floor of the tower. Inside the tower, there was a strange warmth present. Like the lord of the tower cared for the buildings state. The feeling of the tower wouldn''t lead you to believe it housed a group of killers. He heard voices in the distance, and he immediately identified one of them as Itachi. But he had no idea who the others belonged to. And frankly he didn''t care at this moment. He knew they belonged to the Akatsuki and that was all he needed to know about them for now. He started walking through the narrow corridors, completely masking his presence so no one would detect him. He did this for no particularly good reason. He was just curious if someone in this group of savages had some skills to their name. If they could at least sense that someone was standing here on the other side of the door. Then maybe they needed a better position inside the empire. Powerful and completely loyal soldiers are hard to come by. "My master, you have arrived." Alucard came walking through the wall. He was using his abilities to simply walk through the wall like it wasn''t there to begin with. "Let''s go inside." Dragon put his hand on the door and pushed it open. All the eyes inside the room turned in their direction. The group of powerful killers all had their respective weapons ready as soon as the door flew open. Their awareness even though it couldn''t detect Dragon was top tier. "Stand down!" Alucard''s voice echoed out inside the room and forced the members to go down on their knees. "No need for that Alucard. Release them." As Dragon''s voice sounded out the Akatsuki members all got their bearings back. "My name is Portgas D Dragon. I am the emperor of the Gotei. Sit down, shut up and listen." Dragon walked inside and sat down on the chair by the table. It was Nagato''s chair, but he didn''t dare to say anything at this moment in time. Dragon walked inside and spoke with the demeanour and aura of a true emperor. The Akatsuki members couldn''t help but feel like ants, or even dust rats in front of this mighty presence. "What are your orders, Your Majesty," Nagato said while standing behind Dragon. "I have held your mission back for years. I have wanted to resolve this worlds problems with words and my great patience. But that is no longer entirely possible. Action is needed now." Dragon said and scanned each member carefully. The always cocky and arrogant members were stone silent. As soon as they felt that terrifying gaze sweep over their bodies, their blood almost froze solid entirely. A tailed beast could barely be considered a puppy in front of this person. "Your targets are from three tails all the way to seven tails. one tail, two tail, eight tail, and nine tail is for me to go after. Alucard will provide you with the general location of your targets. There is no time limit. I don''t care how long it takes." Dragon took a breath and the air inside the room seemed to disappear when he sucked in to breath. He breathed out and a mighty wind storm swept passed the members and sent them crashing into the walls of the room. "You will go in pairs of two. Nagato will assign you your partner in this mission." "Nagato, after you are done with everything here. You shall go and eliminate Orochimaru''s new sound village. It''s filled with rouge ninjas." "No witnesses!" Dragon voice echoed out inside the room and all the people present felt the anger and desire to kill inside the voice of their emperor. The members of the Akatsuki were all struggling to get up from that attack earlier. This wasn''t Dragon, the kind and loving father. This was the long-forgotten killer hiding inside Dragon''s body. After many years, he had ones again showed his face. "Yes, your majesty." Nagato said and the other members also joined in. Alucard was standing behind Dragon as well. Though he was the only one that wasn''t terrified of Dragon''s aura. He was similar to Dragon in the way that it was hard to really place his level of strength. He and Bradely were the only ones that could really stand up against Dragon''s might and still smile calmly. They were his strongest followers and they had the power to back that up. "Your mission starts as soon as Nagato assigns you your partner. Do not fail me!" Dragon stood up and looked at them all ones more. "Itachi, Your brother was attacked by the Kumo. He is fine now, Shisui is taking care of him. Take this as extra motivation to complete this mission." Dragon said to Itachi and got a nod back in return. Anger and worry was visible on him and Itachi felt his resolve strengthening. And Itachi finally figured out why Dragon was so angry. Sasuke and Naruto were always together, so if his brother was attacked then the chances of Naruto being there was very high. Dragon waved his hand and a gust of wind appeared and his body vanished into thin air like magic. "Okay, let''s begin assigning the pairs." Nagato said and took up a scroll from the table. -------------------------------------------- End Chapter 76 - Chapter 78 Above the village hidden in the clouds floated a man with both hands placed behind his back. His eyes were traversing the ground below and eventually stopped at the biggest building in the place. ''So this is the village in the clouds. What a disappointment." Dragon was free-floating in the sky using his wind magic. He would show them the raw power he possessed. And since wind is his main element, he would show them hell using this power. Dragon did a slow circular motion with his right hand. And this motion didn''t look significant, but the wind pressure and wind currents around the village started to pick up speed slowly. "Close your heart to what is about to happen." Dragon closed his eyes and told himself this over and over again. ''After this. I hope you have it in your heart to forgive me, Sylvia." Dragon did another rotating motion with his hand and the winds got even stronger. The currents that fully responded to Dragon''s call started to form a special invisible barrier around the village. It was made fully from the winds he called forth. ---------------------- Inside the office of the Hokage, a few people were gathered and discussing a recent failed mission. The famous brother duo was of course present during this meeting. "Brother! Send me instead of those kids. I never fail a mission ya fool!" A man with many swords sheathed around his body said to the scary-looking man sitting in the kage chair. "No! And how many times have I told you to call me the Raikage when we''re here?" The man said to his easy-going brother. "Don''t sweat it, brother! I understand ya know!" He did an embarrassing pose, and the Raikage hit his head on the table. {B! Something is going on around the village. I think an attack is coming.} A voice inside the man''s head said to him. ''What ya say, fool? Who would attack us?" B responded while not letting others know that he was conversing with his partner. "The winds are acting up. And I feel a great source of power above the village. It rivals, or maybe even exceeds mine. Be careful, because something is coming." The deep sounded voice said to B again. "Brother! Someone is probably gonna attack the village soon." B said to the Raikage in a casual tone. The others in the room including the kage looked at B with a strange and questionable gaze. "What are you saying B? What attack?" The Raikage said in a serious tone. "Eights told me he feels a great power source above the village. He says some fool will attack the village soon." B was still talking with his playful and easy-going tone. "The beast told you? And you believe it?" The kage asked carefully. "Ye, ya fool. He doesn''t lie." B said and did another weird timed pose. "Darui, check the perimeters, C, see if you can make sense of this source B is talking about." The Raikage said to the two people standing on each side of the desk. "Yes, Lord Raikage." They both answered and disappeared. As soon as they disappeared both the Raikage and B, the only people left in the room felt a weird pressure change and they turned and looked at the window of the room. As soon as the two bodyguards had left, the windows started to shake violently. "What''s going on? Those winds feel unnatural." B watched some trees outside the window sway back and forth because of the sudden increase in wind pressure around the village. "B, prepare to fight. I think the eight tails was right. Something strange is going on." The Raikage known as A said and stood up. "We need to mobilize our shinobi force. We are under attack." A said and prepared to get ready to leave. This is when the roof to the building exploded and a strong wind current swept in and slammed into both brothers. "AAAH" The Raikage was sent crashing through the wall behind his desk out into the village at high speed. He crashed straight into a building a few seconds later. Inside the Raikage office, B was also slammed by the wind. But he was not sent through the wall. No, he was pressed up against it, unable to move. "So this is the famous eight tails. The one who fought against the fourth Hokage. You''re not half bad. It would be a shame to kill you. I can see you have the making of someone great." Dragon came floating down from the hole in the roof. "The question is. Are you willing? Your Raikage failed your village so his time is over. But are you willing to take his place and become a different kind of symbol? One that will make actual change." Dragon stopped floating down and now he was just hovering in the middle of the office like he owned the place. "I ain''t dying today!" The Raikage appeared at the hole that Dragon sent him through. His body was covered in lightning and he looked angry beyond belief. "Lord Raikage!" Two people appeared beside him. One looked lazy but with a glint of seriousness. The other one looked anxious and confused. "So you heard me? I gave you four chances to change your mind. But not only did you not give up. You went to Orochimaru for help. Now that''s low." For a split second, extreme shock appeared on the Raikage''s face, but he masked it instantly like a true master of emotional disguise. "That''s why, today, you will lose that life of yours. Bad choices will do that to you in this world." Dragon said and the wind pressure inside the room started to pick up. "Now come! Let me experience the power of someone rumoured to match the speed of the fourth Hokage." Dragon said and taunted A with his finger. ----------------------------------- End Chapter 77 - Chapter 79 "Arrogance will get you killed." A disappeared in a burst of speed and appeared behind Dragon and delivered a full-powered punch to the back of his head. "Predictable!" Dragon bowed down and tilted his body to the side. And like flowing water he perfectly dodged the punch and countered with his own palm strike to the side of A''s face. He ones again sent the Raikage crashing through the walls of the building and hurling down towards the village. This was now two houses that Dragon destroyed using A''s body as a replacement for his own attacks. "If you two don''t wanna die. Stay there and shut up!" Dragon turned his gaze towards the two bodyguards. "Darui, distract, i will set it up." C said to his partner and went down on one knee to prepare a jutsu. "Wrong choice, child. But still so right."Dragon''s hand appeared from behind C and took his head clean off. It appeared from what seemed like the void and Darui couldn''t track Dragon''s movements at all. "What''s your choice?" A voice appeared behind the white-haired bodyguard. "HAAAAH" Darui grabbed his sword and drew an arc with it behind him incredibly fast. Thought it was an impressive speed, it cut nothing. "Honorable. Bravery or foolishness. Who am i to decide." Dragon appeared in front of him and pierced his heart with his hand. It was a brutal scene to watch because Dragon''s hand was sticking out from Darui''s back. And Dragon''s handheld Darui''s heart in it. "you died fighting for your friend. Go on to the afterlife and know that you did not die a coward." Dragon saw the life leave his eyes and at the same time a smile spread across his face. The source for the smile was unknown to Dragon. But it raised the respect he had for Darui. "Now for the rest of you." Dragon saw A arrive back in the room again. "BASTARD!" A raged out when he saw Dragon place Darui''s heart on his body before using the wind to wipe the blood away from his hands. "I KILL YOU EVEN IF I HAVE TO DIE FOR IT!" A flew at Dragon with insane speed that definitely rivaled the Fourth Hokage. His first appeared in front of Dragon and it held all of A''s rage and killing intent. Dragon quickly, punched out and met A''s fist with his own. *boom* The entire room exploded and A and B were thrown ways away because of the blast. Dragon now stood in mid-air where the Raikage office used to be. "Raikage. Your speed is impressive, i admit that much. But as long as i have Haki. You will never win." Dragon said and looked at A with no emotion. "Now you should know who I am? You have tried to get your hands on my son for so many years now. All because of this technique." Dragon raised his fist and it started to turn completely black. He closed his eyes and sighed out loudly. A was laying down among some rubble struggling to stand up. He was watching Dragon floating arrogantly in the air and talking down to him. "You thought it was powerful on my son Naruto. He has barely mastered the basics. Let me show you what it can do when a real master uses it" A watched as an almost visible pulsating force exploded out from Dragon''s body like an exploding volcano. The force swept past the entire village in seconds and on its the way it destroyed buildings and made boulders and trees explode. It covered every living person inside the village. And every civilian were spared but the shinobi force fainted. And some of the weaker ones just died as soon as the haki pulse passed them by. "A, this is haki. Your greed for this power is what caused this situation. No one but you is to blame for this." Dragon watched as A had been firmly planted inside the ground. He had taken a direct hit from the conquerors haki and he was barely able to stand. As Dragon was explaining the situation to the Raikage. An unknown shadow appeared behind Dragon and aimed a kunai at his throat. It almost reached A''s attack speed. Dragon tilted his head to the right, and as the kunai was passing by his throat he grabbed it and used it to quickly throw the person towards the ground. Because of how quickly Dragon reacted to the surprise attack. The attacker didn''t let go of the kunai in time and was thrown towards the ground by him. The person landed on all fours on the ground like an agile kitten. They quickly looked up at Dragon, only to see that he was gone from view. "Good to see you Matatabi. How''ve you''ve been?" Dragon said while standing behind a shocked Yugito. She was the Kumo''s other bearer of a tailed beast. Their second jinchuriki. "Sleep for now!" Dragon reached and grabbed a hold of her head, and she fainted form some unknown force invading her. "Now for the second one." Dragon places her on his shoulder and disappeared from that place. In another part of the village, B was helping a civilian man that was trapped under some rubble. He was covering an elderly male from the rubble, so he was badly hurt. "Don''t move, ya fool!" B said and grabbed a hold of the rubble and threw it off the civilian. "Thank you!" The man said and fell unconscious now that the elder was safe from danger. "You have a good heart B." Dragon came floating down from the sky after he watched this act B performed. "Don''t draw your weapon. I only mean to talk to you now." Dragon said and released Yugito and made her float beside him. "What have you done to Yugito, ya fool?" B talked with an unhurried tone and no real visible anger or worry. But he was on full alert because he spent his whole life training as a ninja. Every second of every day, he observed and paid attention to everything around him. "Nothing. She is fine. I want you to come with me to a more quiet place. I want to have a chat with the eight tails." Dragon said and made sure to not do anything rash so B wouldn''t attack or change into beast form. That would just make this so much more annoying to deal with. {B, I know this person. Go with him. He will not hurt you, and i think you need to listen to what he has to say.} Eight tails said to B. ''He killed C and Darui.'' B responded to the eight tails immediately. {I think going with him is how you will stop his rampage further. You can''t fight him, even with me and the Raikage cooperating. That''s how strong he is. Just hear him out.} B took a second to think about it, and he slowly lowered his hands and calmed down. "Okay! I''ll go with you."B said, and Dragon smiled at his success of making this less annoying. "Then let''s go." Dragon waved his hand and all three started to float and soon disappear above the clouds. --------------------------------------------- End Chapter 78 - Chapter 80 The group of three were flying in the sky towards a mountain in the distance. B that was the conscious jinchuriki of the two took the time to admire this view. You just didn''t get this every day. "Is my brother dead?" B said while looking at Dragon that was flying beside him while carrying the Yugito. "No. But there is a high chance that he will be at the end of the day." Dragon said without letting his complex emotions run wild. "If you try again. I''ll stop you, ya fool!" B said and regained his normal speech pattern. "If I desire his death at the end of this day, then he will die. And you couldn''t do anything the first time around so nothing will change the second time around." Dragon shot down B immediately and he didn''t give him time to respond to it either. "We''ve arrived." Dragon dove towards a plateau sticking out of the mountain and he landed on it together with B and the girl hanging over his shoulder. "Now let me tell you what I came here to do." Dragon said and placed Yugito carefully on the ground. "I am here to have a chat with these two tailed beasts. It would be so much easier if you didn''t refuse. So I am going to proceed now. Don''t fight it." Dragon pointed one finger at both of them and a string of chakra flew out from his finger and invaded both Jinchuriki''s. Inside a blank white space. Two massive chakra beasts stood with each beasts having a person on top of their head. And in front of them stood Dragon with his majestic aura for all inside this space to experience. "Matatabi, Gyuki, how are you doing?" Dragon said and looked at both chakra beasts. "Dragon. It''s been a long time since I heard that name." Matatabi said while reminiscing on her past. "What do you want, Dragon. You have been quiet for years and suddenly your here attacking our village." Gyuki said with what looked like anger but was really just annoyance. "Your village? You finally accepted that you belong here?" Dragon asked Gyuki specifically. "I don''t belong anywhere. But this is my host''s home, and that also makes it my home of sorts." The eight tails said. "That''s right, ya fool!" B said while sitting lotus style on his head. "What about you Matatabi? Is this your home?" "My answer lies with Gyuki. This is my host''s home, so that makes it my home as well." The monster cat said with some mix of emotion. "Then let me ask you something. If I can give you freedom, would you take it?" Dragon saw the emotions twist within the beasts and they both stood still there staring at him. "If you mean to kill Yugito then I will fight with her to defeat you," Matatabi said after a while. This earner her a smile from Yugito herself. "I feel the same for B. I will protect him from harm," Gyuki said directly after the monster cat. Both beasts looked determined in this cause. "I wouldn''t hurt them. I can offer freedom without harming your host." You could see the emotions on the beasts go from one to another in quick succession. They both stood there still and stared at Dragon for a while. Ultimate freedom away from humans was all the beasts dream. No matter how much they got along humans were still their prison. And nothing would change that fact. "Why would you do that?" Matatabi asked. The monster fox could feel the change in Yugito''s emotions. It appears the girl was getting a little nervous about the cat''s answer. "I despise the creation of jinchuriki. I have the ability to free you and take you to a place that no human will ever be able to target you again." Both beasts could feel no lie in Dragon''s words so that most likely meant he was speaking the truth. "What if they decide to stay?" Yugito asked. She had not shown as much resistance as Dragon was expecting her to. "Then they will live in the outside world. My plan is to unite the villages, and the creations of jinchuriki''s will be forbidden." Dragon looked at the girl and she took a step back when faced with the gaze from the emperor. "I accept. I like my host well enough, but freedom is my desire. If you can offer that and protection. Then yes I accept. As long as Yugito doesn''t die." Matatabi said with determination and seriousness. The survival of Yugito was still important to her. "Matatabi... Are you sure?" Yugito asked and placed a hand on the cat''s head. "Yes. I apologize Yugito. This has been my dream for many years." "Well, it was fun while it lasted, wasn''t it." Yugito smiled and then turned to Dragon and spoke to him. "Don''t hurt her. And don''t go back on your promise." She already knew she couldn''t stop it, so why would she even bother with it. "Gyuki. What say you?" Dragon said and looked at the eight tails. The second strongest tailed beast. "I also accept. For too long have I been sealed away and cast from one human''s belly to another. I apologize, B. This is my choice." Gyuki said and raised his head a little. "Fool! You''re my partner, my friend, take your freedom and rise to the top in a new land, weeeeeee!" B stood up and screeched. Much to the amusement of the group. And Dragon especially was impressed with the level of maturity and understanding B showed. This facade of a rapper or whatever he was trying to be. It couldn''t entirely mask the smart guy hiding underneath the surface. "Okay, then I''ll meet you outside." Dragon snapped his finger and disappeared from the white space. The two jinchuriki also disappeared and regained their consciousness outside again. "Yugito, B, sit there and don''t move." The two obeyed and sat still with closed eyes while Dragon placed a hand on each of them. "This might feel weird. I am going to pull them out of you, so it might hurt or it might not. It all depends on how much you fight it. So do not fight the feeling no matter how uncomfortable it is." Dragon had one hand on their stomachs and he actually used his divine energy. He sent it inside and grabbed a hold of the two-tailed beasts inside the body. The feeling of having divine energy flow through you was very comfortable, but it quickly started to hurt as it reached the seal. "Be ready now. Because this might hurt a little." Dragon used the energy to forcefully open the seal and quickly trap it all inside a barrier made from divine energy. And then he just pulled it out of them at the same time. A few seconds later. Chakra exploded out from the two like an active and dangerous volcano. The ground was shaking and the air was vibrating from the intense release of so much chakra at ones. Two massive beasts were then pushed out of their bodies. In a spiral-like motion, they were being released from their hosts and soon they hovered in mid-air in front of the group of three. "AAAH" Yugito finally fell forwards and breathed out. She was sweating heavily and her breathing was ragged. And B was not much better off than her. "You... Said... It would hurt a little!" Yugito glared at Dragon. "Okay. So I lied. But it was just easier to get you to do it if I said it wouldn''t hurt or anything." Dragon shrugged his shoulders and turned to the beasts and ignored the two former jinchuriki. "Can you change the size of yourself, or do I need to help with that?" Dragon gave them a look and they both nodded and started to change. "So what now, ya fool?" B said in a tired voice while staring at the eight tails that were even smaller than him now. "Now we return to your village. All Kage''s are guilty of something. But your Kage contacted Orochimaru just to get a successful kidnapping of my son and his friends off. Fate isn''t smiling upon him today." "Doing any further damage will only make it harder to unite the villages. And Kumo no longer has any tailed beast. Why don''t you stop while you''re ahead." Yugito said. Both B and Yugito stood no chance, not even the beasts did. If they had to fight they would, but maybe they could avoid it if they played this perfectly. "We are going back." The wind picked up and it carried them all towards the cloud village. -------------------------------------- End Chapter 79 - Chapter 81 The place that the world recognized as the cloud village currently was going through the devastation. 90% of the entire village had been destroyed. The dragon had come to this village, and from a terrifying display of haki, destroyed the village. It was unrecognizable for even the Raikage himself. Someone that grew up here and learned the layout of this place at a very young age. Even he himself didn''t recognize this place anymore. "How many casualties?" A asked the ninja standing behind him. The behind him still had his nerves shaken by what happened earlier this day. No one had ever seen a display of power on this scale. "Luckily, there were no deaths among civilians. Some are hurt and are being treated at this moment. But no deaths among them." "You''re saying my shinobi force took a hit?" A turned around and asked with no emotion in his voice. He was angry beyond the point of insanity. There were so much anger and frustration that he shut down emotionally to not go on a blinding rage rampage. "27 dead, Lord Raikage." The ninja went down the list and read the names of the ninjas that died. A listened in silence, and he felt the regret bubble up like a storm inside of him. He was cold-hearted, he knew that. But his entire village was now destroyed and he could do nothing to stop it. These events will put everything in a different perspective. "Any sign of B and Yugito yet?" "No, Lord Raikage. No one has been able to track them down. An old man on the west side of the village reported that B saved his life together with his son. But nothing after that. It''s like he vanished into thin air." "He has them. That can be the only explanation for this. He is after the beasts. Mobilize the Anbu. We are going after B and Yugito." The Raikage said in his commanding voice and left the place. "Brother!" From nowhere, B''s voice appeared and not even a second later he dropped from the sky and landed in front of A. "B! WHERE WERE YOU?!" A rushed forward and grabbed his shoulders. He stared into B''s eyes and scanned his body for injuries. "You''re alright?" Genuine concern was heard for the first time come out of A''s mouth. He pulled B into a bear hug for a second before letting go. "What happened?" A looked at B for some answers. "Let me explain, lighting boy." Dragon came floating down with Yugito beside him and the beasts behind him. His feet touched the ground and he put his arms behind his back. "[LARIAT!" The Raikage appeared in front of Dragon before he could continue speaking. An arm covered in lightning assaulted Dragon and he saw the rage inside A''s eyes. A blue tail swished passed Dragon and clashed with the Raikage''s famous Lariat lightning attack. Both attacks met in front of Dragon''s face and the blue tail after a while managed to push A away from Dragon. "I can''t let you hurt him, Raikage of the cloud village," Matatabi said and jumped up and landed on Dragon''s shoulder. "Two tails! You belong to the village. Yugito EXPLAIN." A turned to the blonde girl with a furious expression. "Lord Raikage. Dragon offered them freedom and they took. They no longer belong to the cloud village." She said in a tone so calm and slow that it almost became a whisper. The anger and rage were very clear to the people here and that''s why didn''t know what A would do when he got this piece of news. "And you didn''t stop it? And why are you budding up to him? Come over here, we are killing this bastard today!" A said, and his eyes never left Dragon. Who just smiled back like all of this didn''t concern him at all. "Lord Raikage. He explained all of this to us. He didn''t kill any civilians and we were the ones who went after his family first. Let''s just end this here. It doesn''t need to escalate further than this." Poor Yugito had to stand between these two and try to negotiate peace. "Yugito. In war, we have no need for feelings. Leave those behind. If you can''t do that, then you don''t deserve to fight like a ninja for the cloud village." A said and now turned and looked at her. His fierce-looking eyes piercing straight into her like two sharp spears. "Brother! This Dragon fella is stronger then all of us, ya fool. I don''t possess the eights anymore and Yugito doesn''t have two tails. Stop this now." B said and approached A in an attempt to calm him down. "B, I''ll deal with you later. Yugito, where does your loyalty lie? With me or with him? You will join me and B to deal with this man." A had lightning covering his arms and body. He was talking right now, but he was ready at any moment to attack Dragon. His vigilance was off the charts. "Lord Raikage. More civilians will die if we fight. We are lucky not to have lost any so far. Don''t make it worse." At this point, Yugito was pleading for her and the sake of the entire village. "He will never listen again. All of what transpired today has made him borderline insane. He needs dealing with." Dragon took a step forward and A smiled and did the same. "I''ll kill you this time!" A said and his lightning flared. "BROTHER!" "LORD RAIKAGE!" B and Yugito dashed in the middle of them. They drew their weapons and B held it against Dragon while Yugito held hers against A. "Pointing your weapon against your Kage. Punishable by death." A didn''t even hesitate. He dashed forward and pierced Yugito straight through the chest. A fountain of blood splattered onto B''s back and covered him in it. "BROTHER!" B turned around and saw Yugito slide off A''s hand and fall on the ground lifeless. B dashed forward and held up her head carefully. He looked into Yugito''s eyes and saw tears falling down. B quickly turned around and gave Dragon a sort of pleading look. With his eyes, he was begging Dragon not to let her die. "She still has breath. Save her, please!" B said to Dragon. "Leave her B. She made her choice. Anyone not on my side deserves death and nothing less. She was worthless to us." A said with a stone-cold tone. He had been raised as a stone-cold killer. Like all ninjas were. He just now became the truest version of what a ninja supposed to be. "Brother, ya fool! You have gone mad!" B said and tried some different simple techniques to keep her breathing. "Move aside." Dragon said and kneeled down beside B. ''I thought I could. But I am unable to become entirely without emotion. Today I killed many people with no hesitation. But I am unable to watch her die. I thought I could, but I can''t.'' Dragon placed a hand above the hole in her body. A that saw the opportunity present itself, dashed towards Dragon with his lightning on full blast. He was closing in, only to have his mad dashing interrupted by a blue flaming cat paw. Its claw came in at incredible speed and managed to scratch him across the left side of his face. "You, Monster cat." The Raikage had jumped back and seen Matatabi land in front of Dragon. "You will pay for what you did to Yugito." She said and dashed towards A. It was an understatement to say that she was fast. Now you could see who Yugito got her agility and speed from. Matatabi arrived in front of the Raikage in seconds and jumped and used her claws to try and scratch A all over his body. He met her paws with his fist and stopped all of her advances. And even though he stopped it, he clearly couldn''t keep up with her speed of attacking and her raw physical prowess. She was pushing him further and further away from Dragon. "You will pay, Raikage," Matatabi said and made a big last swipe of her claw that sent A flying along the ground and crashing into some rubble ways away. --------------------------- End Chapter 80 - Chapter 82 The black-blue flaming cat watched the Raikage crash into the rubble. She smirked with satisfaction, even though her mouth didn''t really animate properly to show her emotions., "This is for Yugito." Matatabi bent back in a way that only cat-like animals could. And chakra started to gather inside of her mouth. It all slowly came together in the form of a black ball that screamed death if you looked at it. This little ball was the tailed beasts most powerful attack. Matatabi didn''t put everything in it because there were still people inside the village and she didn''t wanna kill them all. She was finally done, and as the Raikage was using his hands as support to try and stand up, she released it on him. It traversed the ground with amazing speed and were upon him in almost a second. *BOOM* A massive explosion appeared and alarmed every single ninja in the village to the fighting going on over by the Raikage. Unfortunately for them, this was a fight on a level that most of them will never reach in their lives. "Pretty ruthless. I never pictured you like someone to finish off your opponent." Dragon came up and sat down beside her with crossed legs. "He''s not dead. So there''s that." Matatabi said and walked up and laid down on his lap. "ooh, someone is getting a little comfortable." Dragon teased and pet her on the head. "Something about your aura attracts me, and your lap is comfortable." She didn''t even seem to know what embarrassment was or personal boundaries. The tailed beasts have lived for a long time and they look at emotions entirely different. To Matatabi, laying in Dragon''s lap wasn''t a strange act at all. And it also helped that Dragon was powerful. Submitting to someone stronger willingly is not something rare in both beast or people. And I don''t wanna judge the Raikage whether he lives or dies. That''s your job now, he is over there, barely alive." Matatabi said and pointed over in A''s direction with her paw. Dragon waved his hand and the winds immediately obeyed and grabbed a hold of the Raikage and carried him over to the two of them. Matatabi watched him with anger. But she still left it all to Dragon like she said she would. "P...Please, Lord Dragon. Don''t kill him." Yugito came up behind him with weak steps. "After all that, and you don''t want him dead?" Dragon asked casually. "No, I don''t. He did a lot for me and I just can''t watch him die. No matter what he did to me." Yugito said and watched the Raikage laying there unconscious. "hm," "Then let''s do this." Dragon placed Matatabi on the side and walked up to A. He placed a hand on his chest and closed his eyes. "[Erase]" Dragon said and the Raikage started to glow in white. "What did you do? That energy you just used, even I felt like a house cat in front of it. What is it?" Matatabi asked under a state of shock. "I took away his ability to utilize chakra. He will from now on and until the day he dies, never wield it again." Dragon said and saw the jaws of everyone here crash to the floor. "You can do that? how?" B came in and asked. Chakra was the lifeblood of any shinobi. Not wielding it would immediately remove any status you had as a shinobi. "Can''t say. Trade secret." Dragon smiled. He was afraid that too much killing would revert him back to a man with absolutely no emotions. He loved Sylvia and his kids too much to let that happen. "So now what?" Yugito asked carefully. "Now I return to my home and if you want, you can come as well, Yugito." Dragon looked at the blonde shinobi. "Why would you ask me that? And another village wouldn''t take me in that easily." She said in a downcast tone. "I am not talking about a village. I am talking about the place where the tailed beasts are going. I have a home there that you can live in if you want. You could spend time with Matatabi and also keep these guys in check when I''m not around. Which is most of the time." "I don''t know. My home is here." Yugito said and looked around at the destroyed village. She felt frustration and anger towards all parties involved. Her Raikage, Dragon, even herself. They were all to blame for this. "If you wanna stay here and deal with what''s to come. Then I''ll understand since as you said, this is your home." He didn''t press the issue. And he still had some things to take care off, so if she declined then he wouldn''t try and argue with her. "I think I''ll stay. I can''t leave the village after what just happened." She was silently glaring at him. Trying to not lash out about the destruction of the village, and all the people that would now find themselves without homes. "If that''s your decision then I won''t say anything. Matatabi, Gyuki, we are leaving now." Dragon waved his hand and all three of them started to float up together. "And I forgot to tell you something. One of my people will visit here soon. I have an offer for your village and he will tell you more about it." Dragon sped up and he disappeared together with the beasts. -------------------------------------- End Chapter 81 - Chapter 83 Inside the forests of the land of fire, three shadowy figures were travelling at high speed. They moved at a pace that made them look like shadows but they themselves were barely out of breath. "He is just up ahead. The tiny one is mine and the bigger one is just a big ugly toad." Dragon said and with the help of his incredible sight, he pierced the forest and laid eyes upon the two people ahead of them. "That boy, is he your son then? Your actual son?" Matatabi asked because she and Gyuki also had amazing eyesight and they could spot a person at the same distance as Dragon could. "Yes, he is. Is it that noticeable?" He smiled because the tailed beasts seemed impressed with his son. An accomplished son would make any father proud. "If just comparing amounts of energy then it''s clear as day. He almost rivals my amount of chakra." Matatabi said and Gyuki nodded in agreement. "At this time I could beat him in a fight, but honestly I am terrified at the thought of what that boy will become. So young and almost rivals Matatabi. That''s pure insanity if you ask me." Gyuki said his piece and went back to his much-preferred silence. "I have many children. But Gildarts is the only one with my actual blood flowing through him. His eldest brother Bradley is a lot stronger than him. He would give Kurama a run for his money. But Gildarts will in time surpass even him. It''s just a matter of time at this point." "You birthed a monster, Dragon," Matatabi said and sighed. Both son and father were crazy monsters that this world hasn''t ever seen before. Well, the two had been told about the fact that they were not from this world. So now it made sense as to why Dragon''s name pops up all over the place and in many different time periods. At least that''s how he explained it to the beasts. The difference in time between worlds. "Let''s speed up, there''s no point in stalking my own son." Dragon landed on a branch and springboarded off it and disappeared into the distance in an incredible burst of speed. "What an impatient boy, "Gyuki said and shook his head. "No kidding. I had more questions for him." Matatabi looked at the eight tailed octopus. "Wanna race? First to pass Dragon wins?" "That''s unfair, you''re based on speed." "Didn''t think the mighty eight tails was such a chicken." She gave him a cheeky smile. "Fine. But when we get to that paradise island place we are setting up a spar where I shine." Eight tails said in a grumpy manner and both landed on a branch and stopped. "Ready?" Matatabi said and lowered herself into a sprint starting position. "Yes!" "GO!" Matatabi yelled and both beasts took off so fast that they almost uprooted the tree they were standing on. As they were zooming past all the trees, Dragon had arrived just behind Gildarts and the old toad sage. Gildarts hadn''t noticed him yet, but a certain well-trained sage had picked up on the fact that they had a tail. "Let''s stop here." Jiraya landed on a big branch enough for two people to sit on. He started going through his travel bag and took out three teacups. "Come, let''s have some tea, kid." Jiraya waved Gildarts over. "We''re having guests?" Gildarts landed gracefully on beside the little tea spot and sat down. "Any time now." As Jiraya said it, he started to pour the tea into the cups. He just finished filling up the second cup when he saw a hand grab the cup. "Looks amazing, Jiraya." Dragon said and slowly took a sip. Gildarts eyes widened in surprise and Jiraya stared at Dragon in shock. " Father? What are you doing here?" "Passing by. Also bringing some news." Dragon took another sip. "It''s time to move back home soon. So you need to make your final decision. Are you staying here or going home?" He looked at his son. "So it''s finally time. I said I wanted to go home and I''m sticking to that. This place is not for me." Gildarts and Dragon both ignored the strange looks they were getting from the tea-drinking sage. "Very well. Then you need to return back to the leaf. We are leaving in a few days. Be back by tonight." Dragon didn''t waste words on the small talk this time. There were still things that needed doing and he wanted them all wrapped up before he left. "I understand, Father." Gildarts bowed in respect. During these years Gildarts had this feeling of fear of the unknown whenever he talked with his father. He loved both his mother and father. But Dragon''s mysterious origin and his immense power made him proud to be his son but also scared about the fact that he was the son of such a mighty person. An entire world has lived for decades worshipping and fearing his father. As his son, Gildarts didn''t know what to do. How should he behave when he was the son of the worlds most powerful mage? The question had him questioning his own future, what it would be like and what awaited him when he arrived back in his own world. "Good. Now, Jiraya. Nice to finally meet you." Dragon bowed to Jiraya in respect. Entirely because Jiraya was one of the few genuine good guys that could be what Dragon believed he would never become. And he had respect for Jiraya because of that. "no, no, it''s an honour meeting you as well. Never have I seen someone as skilled as you." Jiraya cupped his hands and gave bow in return. "Thank you. But I must be going now, places to be and people to see. You know how it is. Thanks for the tea." As Dragon gave his thanks two shadows passed him and gave rise to a small wind storm that sent the tea and all the cups flying away. The two passed Dragon quickly and disappeared beyond the trees, only to jump back and return to Dragon''s side. "Told you this was your area of expertise, not mine," Gyuki said in a sulking tone. Both of them stood beside Dragon and Jiraya had lost control of his jaw at this point. "I... Is that two of the nine-tailed beasts?" He looked up at Dragon for confirmation. "Yes. I freed them and they are coming to live at our home. There no one can hurt them and they can have a few peaceful years where people are not using them for war." "That''s... An impressive achievement." Jiraya stood in awe at the mini beasts. "Yes, it is. But I need to go, I''ll see you back home again, Gildarts." Dragon got a nod from his son and then he jumped away with the beasts behind him. ------------------------------------------ End Chapter 82 - Chapter 84 Iwagakure had for many years been one of the instigation''s for big wars and small skirmishes. They had so much blood on their hands that they became infamous for their hunger for war and domination. Their Tsuchikage also contributed to this endless cycle of war with his stubborn nature. You would be hard-pressed to find someone else that was willing to sacrifice his entire army rather than work with another person. He did not play nice with others and he bore a striking similarity to a child because he didn''t know how to handle a loss. In the Kage''s office inside Iwa, the Tsuchikage had ordered an emergency meeting. The destruction of the cloud village had reached their ears and now was the time to figure out what to do about it. Onoki, the Kage over Iwa was always looking for an opening to overtake another area of influence. And this incident was a one in a lifetime opportunity for him to strike the iron while it''s still hot. Past alliances and grudges weren''t something on his mind when he got news about the cloud village. "I still feel this is somewhat sketchy. Whoever destroyed the village and put a Kage out of the game isn''t just gonna go into hiding again. We should increase our defences and sit back right now." A woman with short black hair said to the Kage and the advisors in the room. "We won''t find a better opportunity than this. I stay with my decision that invading Kumo during this time is our golden opportunity to expand our borders safely." Onoki turned his tired gaze towards his advisors. "There is no doubt that others are also thinking about this. Going through with this could start another world war. And we don''t have the man power at the moment to deal with that. Especially if we''re the ones forced to sit in the middle of it." A man with a long beard and a powerful physique said while almost staring down the Tsuchikage. This proved how much power he held over the politics in this village. Not many others could treat the Kage like that. "Do we know of any movements among the villages yet?" "No, Lord Tsuchikage. There have been no major movements. There have been rumours that Kumo lost their tailed beasts. Though that has yet to be confirmed." A ninja said while down on one knee in front of the desk. "Send out a scouting party. I want a full report about the state of Kumo." Onoki folded a scroll and gave it to the ninja. "Understood, Lord Tsuchikage." He disappeared from the room and now the room only had Onoki and his advisors left. And of course, the Anbu hiding in the shadows. Onoki was about to start looking over the rest of the reports about the attack when suddenly black fog started to pour inside the room. It came from the windows and even the walls were covered with it and it all started to rise inside the room without a sign of stopping. "What''s happening?" Onoki said and quickly floated up in the air, calmly observing the fog. "Protect the Tsuchikage." The black haired woman said and together with a few anbu''s that came out, they surrounded Onoki. Vigilance was shot through the roof and the anbu had already started a search of the building. They moved as soon as the fog appeared, and the rest went to guard their Kage. "How''s your day been, Onoki?" A voice that sounded like a whisper appeared from the fog. It was a whisper but it was so clear that the person could just as well be inside your ear. The voice was clear as day and it sounded terrifying. Like it came from the biggest and worst demons from the depths of hell. "Wanna show yourself, scum?" Kuro, the black haired woman and Onoki''s granddaughter said to the voice with her kunai drawn and her eyes scanning the fog. "I can never get enough of these funny reactions. Always when I appear, people seem to think they still hold the advantage over me." The voice came again and it circled Kuro''s head, making her cut into the fog around her. "Is it the numbers? Do you think you''re safe because I am alone and you have an army?" The voice was close enough to Kuro''s ear that she felt the unknown man''s breath on her neck. "Show yourself." She yelled and threw a kunai in the direction the voice disappeared in. She was starting to feel fear and Onoki was just standing in the middle of the group trying to locate their adversary. "Calm down. I''m not here to harm you, even though I could... I am with the Akatsuki... Onoki you are invited to come to this location. Come within three days." A note had appeared on the desk and Onoki saw it and picked it up. "And what if I decline?" He asked, keeping watch around for any movements within the fog. "You read what happened to Kumo. Three days, Tsuchikage." The voice drifted away and the fog also started to disappear. As the fog that made sight limited started to disappear, Onoki and Kuro got a good look around the room. And what they saw shocked them to the core. Bodies. It was fifteen maybe twenty bodies laying around the office. Some missing heads, others had fist-sized holes all around their body. And then came the brutal ones that were just a torso without anything attached to it. But the one thing they all had in common was that on their body somewhere they all had a headband. And on that headband, you had the symbol for a village. And that was Kumogakure. These were all ninjas from the cloud village. "Kuro. Arrange an escort." Onoki said and observed the bodies. This was some of the most brutal killings he had seen in his time. --------------------------------------------------- End Chapter 83 - Chapter 85 There was an area of the world that had been devoid of life for a very long time. And since the world was plagued by continues war this area was never arranged to be explored. Out at sea, this area existed as its own independent island. It had no human or animal presence and it didn''t have any valuable plant life. It was a dead land and no one wanted it because no one could afford to deal with it when war was always at your doorstep. It was on this land that Rize and the Undertaker, also known as Sebastien had started construction on the empire. Dragon made sure to place a branch of the empire in every world he had visited and would visit in the future. And each branch was run by an overseer that handled all the affairs in that world. The overseer of the elemental nations branch was Danzo. A newly reformed Danzo at least. The plan had been to kill him but Sebastien looked into Danzo and his history and he found him quite fitting to lead. The only problem was the personality he had before his rebirth. So Sebastien and Rize had taken it upon themselves to change Danzo''s personality. And he was now completely changed. He had been reborn into a soldier for the empires use. And Undertaker was proud of his creation. Even though Dragon strongly reprimanded him at first. He soon came around and decided to let them continue to use him for the empire. But he made sure those two would also come to him first when they found someone new and interesting to experiment on. This former dead island was under heavy construction at the moment. Rize was mainly responsible for the construction of the city portion itself so she had been very busy these years. But luckily for everyone she loved and respected Dragon deeply so she loved working for him. That meant that the constructions went underway nicely. The city was a sort of modernized version of the hidden leaf village. Dragon didn''t want to bring in futuristic knowledge to the world so he only made sure that the city itself looked nicer. So it was basically the hidden leaf village but the materials used for the construction were better. So you could see houses made of all glass. There were no more simple wooden constructions, mostly steel only. So, all in all, it was a simple modification to the leaf village. The placement was similar to the leaf village. And Dragon''s office was placed in the centre of the city. Dragon was in his office here in his empire''s new city. You could say that the world was already inside Dragon''s palm. The only reason he didn''t attack the other villages was that it could lead to an even worse future. That''s why he arranged a meeting with all the Kage''s here. And if he could get them to see reason, then great. But if he couldn''t, then he would have no choice than to show them that they don''t really have a choice. "My master, all the Kage''s have been informed about the meeting and they have all left their respective villages with an escort." "How''s the new Kage of the mist doing? Is she any good?" Dragon stood and looked out his window with his back turned against Alucard. "She is eager to show her worth, but she is a little too impatient. It could lead her down a dangerous path." Alucard had only met with the Kage''s for a short time but he had made his evaluation around their personalities already. "Which of them will push back when I present them with my offer?" "Most likely only Onoki would do so at the meeting itself. The others except for the Hokage would most likely return to the safety of their village before saying or taking action against you." "Then it is as I predicted. Let us hope that this goes well." --- Night had fallen on the empire and the single ship was approaching the shore. You could tell that the ship didn''t intend to be seen because all the lights were out. This was meant as a stealthy approach and so far they had succeeded. The ship successfully docked on land. And the people on board jumped over the railing and landed on the ground. "Lord Mizukage, this should be it." A young man with short blue hair said to the Kage of the mist. "Thank you, Chojuro. Now, do we know the location of the village itself?" She looked at her bodyguard. "No, you don''t. That''s why I am here." A voice came from behind them. And in this darkness, it took a second or two to make out who it was that said that. "A tiger?" Chojuro tilted his head in utter confusion at the talking animal. "My name is Atlas. And please follow me as I will take you to your destination." Atlas started walking away into the darkness. "This night keeps getting weirder and weirder." The Mizukage said and smiled to her bodyguard, and they both followed Atlas closely. ---------------------------------- End Chapter 84 - Chapter 86 The newly established Gotei empire in the elemental nations had opened its gates today to hold a meeting between the Kage''s. Through some light intimidation, Dragon had managed to get all the stubborn and arrogant village leaders to gather inside the borders of this branch office. Dragon didn''t have any plans to expand this area he had here. To hold a firm grasp on the world, he didn''t need a big base. He needed loyal soldiers, and that he had plenty off. In the building where his office was located, he had a secret room set up for meetings like this. It was underground and you used an elevator inside the building to get there. Right now inside the Dragon''s office, he had all the village Kage''s in front of him. They had finally arrived and most of them were staring daggers at Dragon. They didn''t want to start a fight so they held their open hostility on the down-low and only cursed him in silence. Dragon was sitting and observing them in great detail. He made sure nothing escaped his sight, not even the rhythm of their own breathing. And behind him was Atlas. He was asked to serve as the guide and also guard dog for these Kage''s. "How was the journey over here, Mei?" Dragon asked the redhead. He skipped all formalities and just called her out using her first name. "It was pleasant. But it sure took us by surprise that you have a talking animal. Is it like a tailed beast, because one glance will reveal he is not a summoned animal." Mei observed Atlas and his tail. To which Atlas growled at her and showed his teeth. And surprisingly he looked quite threatening so Mei stopped looking at him. "No, Atlas here is not a tailed beast. And you are right, he is no summoning contract either. Think of him as a more evolved version of a regular tiger. I raised him myself." The people in front of him all raised their eyebrows in curiosity. There were no Jutsu for making this kind of animal. At least not anything that these Kage''s knew off. "And Yugito, how are you doing? How is your village doing?" Dragon looked at the woman dressed in the Raikage outfit. "It has been good, lord Dragon. Our people are adapting to the situation, but they are having quite a difficult time adjusting to the idea of me becoming the leader. But the people you sent to help rebuild the village sure sped up their acceptance of me." She gave him a smile. Yugito was the only one among the Kage that used honorifics when speaking to Dragon. And her acceptance of him and understanding as to why he attacked them, made it so the people had a hard time accepting her as the Raikage. "I see. So then you and I are equally hated by the cloud village." Dragon smiled at her and she nodded back with a strained smile. "Enough of that! Mind telling us what we are doing here, boy." Onoki said while glaring at Dragon. Dragon invitation to this meeting hadn''t been very formal or respectful. So to say Onoki was annoyed was an understatement. But he also feared this unknown individual so he didn''t go so far as to straight-up insult the man. Little did he know he did just that. "First of all. What you perceive as reality is not always the truth, Onoki." "What would you mean by that?" "He means that he is older than you and that you should show some respect. And that is true, you should show some respect here." Hiruzen Sarutobi jumped in and translated for Onoki. Mostly because he knew how old Dragon was. So understanding the message in Dragon''s words came easier to him than any of the others. "Well enough of that now. We will move to the meeting room. Hold on to your chairs." Dragon had a red and blue button under his desk, that was out of sigh to the others in the room. He pressed the red one and the entire floor started to slide down in a tunnel leading downwards. "wow, this is interesting," Mei said and watched as the surface disappeared from view and the floor entered a sort of tunnel made out of steel. "Very convenient." The Kazekage said and inspected the floor. The floor kept going until finally they arrived at their destination. Deep underground the floor they were sitting on arrived in his underground meeting room. "That was quite something," Yugito said with genuine respect for the technologies used here. "Please take a seat at the table and the meeting shall begin." A man came up from behind with his hands behind his back. "Danzo?" Hiruzen stood up in a hurry and discerned his old friend he thought had died by now. "Hello, Hiruzen old friend. Nice to see you again, now please take a seat with the others at the table." Danzo said and beckoned for the Hokage to take a seat at the table. "I.." Hiruzen stood there stunned for a second or two. It took him a little while to get his mind in order and walk over to the table. "So now that we have all gathered let us get this underway. First of all, welcome to my empire." "Let the meeting begin!" Dragon said and sat down at the big round table with the Kage''s at their own table. ------------------------------------ End Chapter 85 - Chapter 87 "So how about you tell us why we are here already?" Onoki was still glaring at Dragon. "I was getting to it. How can someone that has lived for so long be so incredible inpatient as you? You should spend some time to develop a proper attitude." Dragon said to Onoki which earned him a slap on the table from the dwarf Kage. "How about I slap you across the room?" "Okay, let us begin." Dragon said and ignored Onoki''s remark. "I will tell you what I desire. And that is the world. More specifically a world without these pointless wars." "So what I ask is that you surrender to my empire and become vassal states to me." Dragon smiled and leaned back on his chair. Now all he had to do was to sit back and enjoy the shit show that was about to occur. He watched the words sink in on the people around the table then started laughing to himself after seeing the anger on Onoki''s face. "WHAT! You drag me here to surrender to you? Are you out of your mind?" Onoki stood up on his chair and waved his arms in the air. "Calm down, Tsuchikage. At least let Lord Dragon speak." "You! He destroyed your village, why are you sitting here calling him lord like he''s your saviour. You should want to kill him." Onoki shot Yugito down with anger and yelling. "I have more sense than doing something that would be my people''s downfall. And I''ve come to respect Dragon a lot so what''s wrong with me following a path that I believe in." Yugito stood up and slammed her hands on the table. "You are a naive child! You are not worthy of being a leader!" "And you are a fossil that is too old to admit the fact that the world needs new directions!" They were both yelling. "So destroying villages are new directions, are they?" "Like you can say that! I''m not the one starting world wars." Yugito created a crack in the table thanks to the pressure she was exuding with her hands. "I agree with the young Raikage. War is not the way to world peace. Why don''t we listen to what this man has to offer." The Kazekage finally said his first words since arriving. "This is enough! I don''t need to be here, I am leaving!" Onoki and his granddaughter that followed along as a bodyguard started walking back towards the elevator. "Now, now, I need you to sit down again, Onoki." Dragon said while Onoki passed his chair. "Whatever your goal is, it will be over my dead body." He said in disdain. "That can be arranged." Dragon released his magical pressure on Onoki and his granddaughter, and they both faceplanted on the ground. "It would be best for all of us if you walk back and sit down." Dragon increased the pressure again and you finally heard a snap from the Tsuchikage. "STOP! We''ll stay!" Kuro said and the pressure disappeared. Kuro rushed towards Onoki and check his body for injuries. "You broke his arm!" Kuro said and helped Onoki stand up. "And I can heal it just as easily. So sit back down and this will be the end of it." Dragon hadn''t turned to look at them. His gaze was locked on the others in the room. And right now, the Kage''s were sweating from that pressure he released. Even though it wasn''t affecting them directly. They could still feel it just as well as Onoki and Kuro could. "I will be honest with you now that the meagre squabbles are done and over with. I never planned to give you any choice. This world needs a change or it will end faster than any of you can comprehend." "So sit still and listen for the next minute." "First of all, you know by now that I destroyed the Cloud village. This was an act mainly done out of anger because several kidnapping attempts on my son." "Even though I regret destroying the entire thing. It was a much-needed wake-up call for the five villages. You all believe you can go around murdering and kidnapping at your own discretion. That will not fly anymore." "You will become vassal states to my empire. We will show you how to make a better world, a better future." "You might not believe in my power to accomplish what I say I will. But let me show you how little you all have mattered to me since the beginning." "HAH" Dragon released a short war cry and his aura was released. But this was nothing like what assaulted Onoki. This was so much aura that the entire island started to shake. Dragon''s killing intent was released fully and the walls, floor in the room broke apart. The ceiling had cracks in it and I looked like it would fall apart any second. The Kage''s bodyguards had lost consciousness as soon as the aura showed itself. ''A... A... A monster...'' Yugito sat there in her chair and was shaking from the terror she was experiencing. It felt like the hand of the Raikage was piercing her chest over and over again. ''This has to be at least a hundred times that of the one-tailed beast. No wonder this man could take the second and eight.'' Rasa the Kazekage thought while trying to regulate his breathing. "This is is insane!! How can someone like this exist? I feel like a flea." Mei sat hunched forward and she was barely able to take a breath. "This is not my entire aura. If I release it all, the entire world would start to break apart. Do you see it now? I have the ability to change this world however I want." Dragon waved his hand and Danzo walked up and placed a paper in front of each Kage. He didn''t get affected by Dragon''s aura so he had a neutral expression on his face as he walked around. "Sign this and surrender to the Gotei empire. Know that it will never be an alliance. But know that I will make sure all villages will be treated equally. The future will be looking brighter if you sign this paper." "I hope you make the right decision." Dragon released them from the pressure and the island stopped shaking and everything soon calmed down. "I.. I am on... Board.." Yugito was having a hard time staying conscious. But she took up the pen that was placed there and signed it without hesitation. She had decided to follow Dragon before coming here. And even more so now. If someone had this much power then they had all the rights to rule the world. "I believed in you before all of this. And being one of the founders of the leaf makes you the most worthy one to take this step." Hiruzen was the strongest Kage here so he was the one that recovered his composure first. "Thank you Hiruzen." Dragon bowed to the Hokage. "You are a village founder?" Mei asked while still shaking somewhat from fright. "I had a hand in it." "I see." Mei took up the pen and signed over her village to this vassal agreement. "I don''t like you, but I don''t want my granddaughter to die because of my stubbornness," Onoki said while holding Kuro in his arms. And he also agreed and signed over his village. "Make sure you deliver on your promises." The Kazekage said. He had barely said a word but he was in agreement with the other Kage that going against Dragon was nothing but a suicide mission. That aura alone was enough to destroy an island. "I am glad you all decided to give me a chance. Now it''s time for me to deliver on my promises." Dragon did a hand sign to make it look like a Jutsu. Onoki''s arm started to glow green and in a few seconds, his arm was back to normal, almost better than before. "Thank you." He said and went back to silence. "So now, let us go over all the benefits of being a vassal state to the Gotei empire." Dragon beckoned for Danzo to deliver the papers he held in hand. As Danzo went around he was being watched by Hiruzen. The Hokage observed Danzo completely and came to the conclusion that this wasn''t the old Danzo at all. This was someone else, and it made him incredibly sad but also relieved. ''Find peace, old friend,'' This was the only thing he could think of saying at this moment. -------------------------------- End Chapter 86 - Chapter 88 Dragon was standing in his office and looking out of his window. His eye scanned this little side branch city of his empire. Rize and Sebastien had travelled around the nations and recruiting rouge ninjas to act as the city''s defence force. They were tracking down and capturing the worst of the bingo book and experimenting on them. Dragon had set some ruled about who they could take by force and who they could experiment on. For example, if the target is known to harm and kill children then they have been allowed to do whatever. But he also made his limits clear to them. They are not allowed to touch innocent civilians and children. They are not allowed to massacre a village or cause mass destruction. And with Rize''s abilities, causing mass destruction is pretty easy. ''Who do I wanna be?'' Dragon was standing with his hands behind his back and focused on this long-overdue question. "Alucard, who am I to you?" Dragon asked and Alucard stepped out of a shadow in the corner of the room. "A mighty and wise master that is brutal and merciless. But also calm and good at collective thinking." "The thing is, I don''t know who I am most of the time. I could have spared those two boys, Darui and C. But I killed them in cold blood." "Would Naruto and Gildarts recognize that version of me? And more importantly, would they accept that person? And what will Sylvia think." "Perhaps master needs to figure that out." Alucard was genuinely worried for his master. What would happen to the master he adores, respects and fears if he loses sight of who he is. "In that, you are correct, Alucard. It''s about time I finally figure out who this new version of me is. And more importantly, who I wanna become. If I wanna protect my family for an eternity then all the questions I have needs to be answered." "Alucard, call Danzo in here." Alucard bowed his head in acknowledgement and sunk down through the floor. A minute later there was knocking on the door. "Come in," Dragon felt Danzo''s aura behind the door so he didn''t bother to turn around. "You sought me, Lord Dragon." Danzo kneeled down, "Yes, I am heading back to the leaf village. And from now on this office is yours. I have questions about myself that I need answers to and I won''t get that by sitting on this seat, or any seat for that matter." "So from this moment and until the moment where I return, you will handle the matter with the five villages. All of that falls on you now. Ask Sebastien and Rize if you need anything. You are taking over my position until I''m back so you have full authority over this branch office." "I hear and obey, Lord Dragon," Danzo said and bowed his head in respect. "Don''t destroy the world, and act according to my wishes. Do not fail me, Danzo." Dragon wanted Danzo to become this worlds, permanent overseer, so he would use this time to test Danzo. Test his loyalty and his capabilities. "I understand. I will not fail you, Lord Dragon." Dragon didn''t say anything more, he just opened the window in front of him and disappeared with the wind passing by. --- A few days later Dragon was sitting inside his home with Sylvia and drinking tea. The feeling of returning back home after a journey was still the best in his opinion. Naruto and Sasuke were at the academy since it was still noon. And Jugo was in the back and cleaning the tea kitchen. Gildarts and Obito had already returned and Gildarts was out and about in the village. He was trying to pass the time doing something fun. And fun for him was sitting outside the academy and observing Naruto and his class do some light sparring. He was sitting on a branch and watching the kids go up and demonstrate their skills. What he enjoyed most was watching when they would spar. ''They are so young yet so skilled in fighting. I wasn''t this good when I was nine years old.'' Gildarts watched with anticipation how Naruto and Sasuke made their way up on the stage. ''I have a bad feeling about this. those two get way too excited in a fight.'' Naruto and Sasuke threw three shurikens at each other and they clashed in mid-air, creating sparks that acted as the signal for the match to start. Nauto ran up and threw a punch that was blocked by Sasuke. He used his left arm to block the punch and immediately he launched a strike that was aimed at Naruto''s stomach. Naruto saw the punch coming and raised his leg and used his knee to block Sasuke''s strike. Sasuke did a leg sweep and tried to get a hit on Naruto''s legs. But Naruto jumped up and brought his leg down on Sasuke''s head. The boy dodged the leg by jumping back. Naruto dashed after Sasuke and simultaneously covered his hand in haki. Sasuke saw the hand turn black and quickly did the same, his fists also got covered in haki. ''Oh, this won''t end well...'' Gildarts observed the fight and sighed. Sasuke that was jumping backwards with Naruto chasing after him, stopped moving and quickly charged Naruto instead. Both boys raised their fists and collided with each other. As soon as their fists touched a small outburst of aura appeared and broke apart the stage. it looked like two conquerors haki''s were clashing in mid-air. Naruto and Sasuke stood there and were pressuring each other. The boys let go at the same time and then they started to trade punches at a speed only a jonin level ninja could keep up with. They kept throwing and countering each other''s punches for a few solid seconds. And lastly, they put all their strength into their dominant hand and traded a final blow. They collided, and another, much larger outburst of aura appeared and the entire stage blew apart. The teachers and students had already moved away so the majority of them didn''t get affected by the explosion. But two rouge blocks from the stage, that was half the size of the kids here flew off and headed for the kids. A girl with long blonde hair saw the block heading towards her and fright bubbled up inside her. ''nononono'' She said to herself as the rock flew at her. A rustle was heard from a distant tree and a shadow moved at incredible speed towards the girl. As the block came to smash into her, Gildarts appeared in front of her and raised his hand and let the rock collide with his palm. The block of stone started to light up and bend unnaturally just before it got obliterated into nothingness. "Are you okay?" Gildarts bent down and looked the girl in the eyes. Her eyes were wet and she stared at Gildarts and nodded carefully. "Good. Now stay here." He smiled and looked over at where the other rock had headed. The rock Gildarts didn''t stop almost crushed a group of three kids but just before it landed, a giant man appeared and slapped it to the side. The rock seemed as light as a feather when you saw how easy he slapped it aside. "How irresponsible." Dragon said and looked at the teachers of the class. He glared at them in fact. "Why would you let those two fight without the Anbu around. If my son hadn''t been here, that girl would have died." "I apologize master Dragon. The rules were a simple and short sparring session. It was my mistake for underestimating them." Iruka the teacher, said to Dragon and bowed. "No matter. I need to take my son and Sasuke home a little earlier today." Dragon turned to the three kids that he saved from a crushing end. "Are you three okay?" "Y...Yes, thank you, master Dragon." Said a very familiar white-eyed girl. Hinata stood there with two other boys. One had a bag of chips in his hand and the other one had a haircut like a pineapple. "That was amazing, can you teach me how to slap away a rock like that?" The boy with the bad of chips asked. "One can not predict the future, so maybe someday." Dragon smiled and gave the boy''s forehead a quick tap. He smiled and nodded at the pineapple boy who gave a nod back in return. No words were exchanged between them. "We have something to discuss at home, and also. Now there is definite punishment in store for both of you." Dragon grabbed Sasuke and Naruto by the collar and disappeared from the spot. "W...Wait!" The blond girl asked Gildarts. Her cheeks were red and when he turned around and saw it, he predicted trouble in his future. "Yes?" "My name is Ino. What''s yours?" She asked while standing there and looking at the ground and occasionally into his eyes. "hm, Gildarts. Nice to meet you, Ino. But I must be going, have a nice day." He said and bowed like a proper gentleman as Sylvia had taught him. Gildarts did like Dragon and also ran away from the scene as fast as he possibly could. --------------------------------- End Chapter 87 - Chapter 89 Dragon opened the door to his home and inside was everyone that lived here. He had gathered everyone for this meeting and now he had arrived with the last two people. Dragon walked inside with the boys following behind him. They had a frown on their face because they knew Dragon''s punishments were never kind. "I''m glad all of you could gather for this. Let''s get this family meeting going." Dragon sat down at the head position at the table. "This is about you leaving isn''t it?" Naruto said with a depressing look. He knew this day would come eventually. "Let me explain first." Dragon put his hand on Naruto''s shoulder and gave him a reassuring smile. He didn''t like the idea of leaving, but it couldn''t be delayed any longer. Dragon initially wanted to leave when Naruto had grown up but that just wasn''t possible anymore. "Gildarts is going back to his homeworld alone. Sylvia and I talked through this with Gildarts and we decided this was the best option for us." His eyes scanned through the crowd and felt the respect and adoration most of them had towards him. "Obito, Jugo, you two have the option of staying here or following me back to Gildarts homeworld. The choice is entirely up to you." "Master Dragon, I... I wish to follow along. I have longed for the day where I can explore beyond the boundaries of a single world." During all these years, Jugo had gotten a full understanding of what made each word different, and just how many there were. He had mentioned early on that he would love to one day explore another world. So this was his chance to make that dream come true. "I understand. And Obito, what about you?" "Lord Dragon, I wish to stay here. I swore that I would protect this house and this family. So I will stay and protect Naruto, Sasuke and Lady Sylvia." He said in a tone that spoke about how much he burned for his duties to protect them. "I''m glad that both of you have found something you burn for" He smiled at them both. "I remember when I found you both. Even though you lived completely different lives, you were oddly similar in how you perceived the world around you." "Now look at you. You have both found something worth living and fighting for. I asked both of you a few years ago to live and show me that you are someone of worth. And I am happy to say that you both have become someone that I am proud of." "Thank you, Lord Dragon!" Both men slammed their head on the ground and thanked Dragon deeply. "Atlas, what''s your decision? Even though I think I already know the answer." He looked at the Giant tiger. "I wish to accompany Gildarts if he agrees to it." Atlas bowed his head to the god that had birthed him and given him all this power he held. "Of course you can. You''re my first friend after all." Gildarts gave Atlas a big smile in response. "Ryu, you will stay here and work with the other commanders. Keep working according to my plan and this world will soon be ours without much resistance." "Understood, Lord Dragon." He bowed and answered. "Now, Sasuke and Naruto. Listen up." "I know you have your differences, and I know you love beating each other up. But while I''m gone try and take care of each other, because the family doesn''t come from blood, it comes from love, trust and respect." Dragon put one finger over each of the boy''s hearts and poked their chests. "It''s in here, Naruto, Sasuke, if you ever start to question who you are, look into your heart. The answer is always inside." "Can''t you ever stop being so cryptic," Naruto complained loudly, and Sasuke sighed in disappointment. "Do you understand, Sasuke?" Dragon looked at the Uchiha boy. "I understand, master Dragon. When will you be coming back?" "I don''t know. Only time will tell." "Now, all of you, clear the hall I need a moment with my wife." Dragon said and all the people around him bowed and left in a hurry. And when the last person disappeared from the hall, Dragon finally turned his focus on his wife. "Where will you go?" Sylvia asked while snuggling into Dragon''s bosom. "I don''t know. This power I possess is corrupting me, I can feel it more clearly every day." "I need to go to the furthest reaches of the universe. I need to find myself, find a power I can claim as my own. Not something my so-called father gifted to me." "So you really have no idea how long you will be gone?" Sylvia was caressing his hand, and slowly lifted it up and kissed it. "I don''t know. But there is a difference in time in the universe, and as far as I understand it. The further out you travel in the universe the faster time goes by." "What does that mean?" Sylvia looked up at him in worry. "It means that this world and your homeworld, that is very close to the centre of the universe, time moves slower. In the worlds I am going to, a thousand years could very well be only ten years here with you." "So next time we meet. It is guaranteed that much more time will have passed for me then it has for you. So if we''re lucky you will only need to wait for one year." "We can hope for that. But either way, it doesn''t matter because I would wait a thousand years for you. I love you and I will never stop." "How I managed to find the best woman in the universe I will never understand." Dragon and Sylvia shared a long kiss then sat in silence and just enjoyed the moment they had with each other. ------------------------------ End ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________ So this is the last chapter in the Naruto world. So yes, that''s this volume done... I have to admit now that I have done a full volume in the Naruto universe. it''s very boring. There have been so many Naruto FF and whatnot, so I definitely won''t be doing FF in Naruto again. Well, at least not for a while. It burned my creativity away a little I must say. But anyway, hope you enjoyed it, and tomorrow begins the new volume. And as a heads up. It is vastly different from this one. No more brutal Dragon and lots of killings. it is more in the direction of adventuring and meeting people. There will still be fight scenes and Dragon will still be OP. So that part will not be gone from the novel. But as stated, the tone of the story will change a bit. Thanks for reading this far and hope you stick with me until I finish the novel. Also, the name of the novel will change as we go into this new volume. :) [And if you want something more brutal and bloody, read my other novel "Child Of God" The MC is not the "nice guy" Dragon is. She is quite brutal..... and a little bit funny.] Chapter 88 - Chapter 90 On the always mysterious Paradise island a portal opened up and a couple of people jumped out. They were Dragon, Jugo and Gildarts with his partner, the talking tiger behind him. "Feels good to be back!" Atlas said and stretched his body and gave a mighty roar. "Atlas you will behave inside Lord Dragon''s home or you will be punished." A black-haired woman in a maid outfit had appeared in front of the group. "Welcome back, Lord Dragon." A familiar grey-haired old man said and went down on one knee. He had two maids behind him, and one was the black-haired woman. And the other one was a woman with long red hair. "Thank you, Sebas. How have things been here?" "Everything is in order. Will you be staying long this time?" He asked with a serious expression plastered on his face. Dragon had doubted that Sebas could even show other emotions. "No! I will leave right away. And this is Jugo, my apprentice, treat him well." Dragon shoved Jugo forward. "H...Hello!" Jugo said awkwardly and waved with even more awkwardness. "Now I will get going, I can''t delay my journey any longer." Dragon turned to Gildarts and bent down and hugged him. "Be good, and be safe! And I know there is something that has been weighing on your mind. But let me tell you this, don''t let it bother you. Live according to your morals and everything will be fine. "And I''m so proud over you, Gildarts. Continue like you have always done and everything will be okay." Gildarts listened with a tear in his right eye. And he wiped it away quickly and gave his father a confident smile. "I will make you proud, Father. And I will make sure I become someone worthy of the family name." He said with all his determination shining through his eyes. Dragon nodded and gave Gildarts another hug. "Sebas, one of my subordinates will come and deliver a few beasts that will live here on the island. He will use this mirror to traverse the space between the worlds. So welcome them when they arrive." Dragon handed Sebas a tiny mirror that Alcuard could now use to traverse worlds where Dragon had been. "I understand, Lord Dragon." Dragon had arranged that Alucard and Danzo would take care of the tailed beasts. There were still more of them to collect, but Dragon honestly didn''t want to deal with that any longer so he left it to the Akatsuki and Danzo. "Okay, now is the time where I say goodbye to you all again. We will see each other when this journey of mine is over." Dragon back off and summoned another portal and it swallowed him up. --- Inside the stream connecting all the worlds, Dragon was floating and talking to his system. ''Tell me about this system. Will there be any drawbacks from the erasing powers I possess?'' [Answer! No, the host will not be injured by that. But ones erased from you, your soul will never have the ability to possess them again. This is the only drawback when erasing an ability from your own soul.] ''I see. Then let''s not delay this any further.'' Dragon closed his own eyes and entered his soul space. It looked very similar to the white space where he met two and eight tails. It was just a white space that stretched on forever. ''So these are all the abilities I have now.'' Inside this white space were small purple floating energy balls. And they all represented an ability Dragon possessed. ''Let''s begin the removal of my poison.'' Dragon was convinced that the strange yet familiar feeling of endless hunger was the cause of his chaotic state of mind. He had an obsessive hunger for power that he had kept suppressed ever since he reincarnated. And he was sure that this huger for power was corrupting his mind in some strange ways. So that''s why he wanted to go on this journey to cleanse himself so to speak. He needed to truly understand what he was. After a few seconds of silence he stretched out his arm, and a purple ball was drawn into his grasp. [Erase] Dragon used his most powerful self created ability. With this, he would permanently delete abilities he had created. These powers made him feel like a god and he hated that feeling. He wanted nothing to do with divinity so he deleted them without any regret. ''That''s one. Now for the rest.'' Dragon said and called for the next one. ---A few hours later--- Dragon was floating inside his white space and looking at only a handful of purple balls. ''Law Of Space, Law Of time, the ones I need to travel inside the stream." And Emperors Road had fused with his soul. So erasing that would be like committing suicide." "I feel sort of empty without having thousands upon thousands of useless abilities.'' Dragon laughed to himself. This was the current Dragon. Now he was someone that possessed an unimaginable energy supply. But no abilities to use. He would choose a random world and walk a new path. A path to find out what he was. ''What a surprisingly freeing feeling this is. I don''t feel like I''m carrying around a million tons on my shoulders anymore. I feel free, and I feel excited about what this new world will bring me.'' Dragon smiled genuinely and watched as he had now arrived at the outer reach of the current universe. Here he could take his time because of how fast time moves here in comparison to his homeworld. ''That one looks good." Dragon saw a white dot in the distance that shined brighter than most others in this place. So he guided the stream towards it and prepared for his new adventure. ------------------------------------- End ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________ As I stated in the previous author note. The ending is a little rushed. But nothing major was missed, so everything that Dragon needed to resolve got resolved. And about removing his powers. I have this long-ass list off ALL of his abilities. And you guys saw maybe two or three of those. So if you are salty because Dragon removed his abilities, don''t be. I never showed them in the first place. So this new volume will be about getting his "own" powers that he will use for the rest of the novel. So no more random powers popping up in the future. Hope you enjoy the new volume. Chapter 89 - Chapter 91 In the remote Patola Mountain Range there stood a proud and peaceful looking temple. It was surrounded by grassy mountain tops that added a feeling of tranquillity to the temple. On top one of these mighty and beautiful grassy mountain tops, a portal appeared. And out from this portal stepped Dragon. Because of the high altitude, he felt like he stood inside a tornado. The winds were ruthless but at the same time they felt nice against his skin and added a relaxing feeling. Dragon had to take a step back just to find his balance inside this powerful storm. He looked around this empty mountain top and saw a few trees and some rocks. He looked at the trees and gave a silent compliment to these trees. They managed to grow here without getting uprooted by the wind storms. ''What a beautiful temple.'' Dragon stood at the edge of this little mountain top plateau. His eyes were piercing the clouds and all the fog and landed on some of the people running around inside the temple in the middle of all these mountains. ''It''s an active temple. And is that wind magic?'' Dragon saw both kids and old men using what he believed to be wind magic. ''But why does it feel so strange? That''s not wind magic! Wind magic is taking command of the winds, but that''s not what these people are doing.'' Dragon closed his eyes and started moving his hand with the wind. But he had no result with this. He had tried to command the winds, but it was like they were alive and were refusing his commands. ''How peculiar. This is so strange." Dragon sat down with closed eyes in the lotus position. Suddenly he sensed something behind him. It was faint and almost invisible, but it felt like a human signature. Dragon turned his head around and there stood an old man with a classic orange Munk outfit on. He had an impressive moustache on his face and a peaceful smile. "Hello there, old-timer." Dragon said and the man tilted his head and smiled even wider before saying. "It is not good to lie... old man." He also sat down in the lotus position. "Are you calling me an old man?" Dragon was smart, and he had a lot of life experience. He knew that this strange but kind-looking old man figured out that he did not look his actual age. "I have studied the spirit, the soul and the heart all my life. It was not difficult to notice that you are at least twice my age. The only question is, who are you?" He was still smiling and he had no malicious intent coming off his body. He was a genuinely good person inside and out. "I''m a nobody. A traveller trying to find himself." Dragon said and went back to inspecting the temple. "And what are you seeking here, traveller?" The old Munk asked with his hands hidden in his sleeves. "Answers. Question about myself and my purpose. I am here to have them answered." "aah, yes, that is a tricky one. So have you gotten anywhere with it?" "No. I got a little sidetracked when I discovered your people''s amazing control over the wind. But at the same time, it''s not controlling. It''s more like you are cooperating with them. Can you explain." Dragon swiped his hand passed his body and the winds swirled around it for less than a second before going away again. The stranger saw what Dragon did and his eyes dilated in surprise. After the shock settled he looked at Dragon with an interesting smile. ''What an amazing talent he possesses. I wonder who he is." "Excuse my rude behaviour until now, so let me introduce myself. My name is Gyatso, an air nomad and a council member of the Southern Air temple. And that would be the temple that you are starting at." He smiled. "My name is Portgas D Dragon. Nice to meet you, Gyatso." Dragon didn''t turn around, but he just kept moving his hands and trying to understand this strange energy in the air and even stranger connection he could feel towards the wind in the air. "That''s an odd but domineering name. Would you mind if I asked where you are from?" Gyatso said while sitting there calmly. The winds that were hitting Dragon''s body and trying to throw him off the plateau didn''t even seem to notice Gyatso''s presence. "A place very far away. I promise you wouldn''t not it. How about you explain how you noticed me arriving. I''m quite good at staying out of sight." Now Dragon turned around and looked at Gyatso. "The winds can do more than push you off a cliff." Gyatso winked at Dragon while smiling. "I figured, I have some experience in that field myself. When I look at the people inside that temple and then at you. I see a huge difference. you have something figured out that they don''t. You are ten times stronger, why?" "So many years alive but you have still not figured it out. It is not about seeking some true hidden power. It never is and will never be. Find your balance, find your power." Gyatso said and his body started to float and hover in the air for a moment. And he sank back down onto the ground again. ''This man is powerful. His manipulation of wind is even better than wind magic. This is unlike anything I have ever seen.'' Dragon was here to find his path, and what he was looking at is what he believed to be the beginning. "How do I find balance?" Dragon had told Sasuke and his sons just a while ago how to solve these issues. But here he is, asking for advice about the same issue. "How about you follow me down to the temple and we can talk more about it." "I suppose it can''t hurt. Lead the way." Gyatso smiled and in one swift motion, he rotated his body while standing up. Not a single wasted movement and he had perfect bodily control. "Follow me!" He said and started walking with his hands behind his back. ------------------------------------ End Chapter 90 - Chapter 92 Gyatso and Dragon entered the temple through the gate under the gaze of many children. Council elders at the top balcony of the temple were observing the two old men enter the temple in a casual manner. The council elders held a watchful eye on Dragon the moment he passed the gates. Everyone in this temple lived in tranquillity and their aura reflected that, but Dragon''s did not. His aura was all over the place and very chaotic, and they didn''t like that. Gyatso glanced back and noticed Dragon watching his fellow elders with caution. He could see that Dragon was extremely well trained and disciplined. The moment he walked in, he had already located every potential threat. "Do no mind, my colleagues. They are fine people, but a little short on patience." "Isn''t that something you Munks are supposed to be good at?" Dragon said and gave a quick look at the elders staring at him. "Stereotype. Most of us get a lot more impatient the older we get. Do not let yourself be fooled by rumours." "Fair enough. Anything else I need to know before going further in?" "We love cake. And that''s about it." Gyatso laughed and now after a long climb up some stairs, the two had arrived at the balcony with the other elders. "Gyatso, who is this man that you brought inside our temple?" An elder man with a black moustache asked. He had a very neutral expression on his face. "My name is Portgas D Dragon. And I am a simple traveller." Dragon bowed in respect. "Nice to meet you, Dragon. I am the High Monk, Pasang." He cupped his hand and returned the bow to Dragon. "Dragon, you are no simple traveller. Your entire being screams of a lifetime of war. Where do you come from?" Another elder that looked a lot older then Pasang and Gyatso. "As I have told elder Gyatso, I am from a place so far that you would have never heard of it. It took me a lifetime to travel here. So the distance is quite far." The cryptic speech was something that Dragon enjoyed and that was exactly what he used on the elders. "Interesting. I would enjoy hearing some stories about this place someday." Pasang smiled cheekily and then bowed to Dragon and the other elders. "I am afraid I need to excuse myself. It was nice to meet you Dragon." He calmly turned around and slowly walked away. "I have duties to take care off as well. Have a nice day, and nice to meet you." Said the elder that still hadn''t introduced himself. "Do not mind his manners. His name is Tashi, and he is just a little careful around strangers." Gyatso laughed while watching the two elders depart. "Now, shall we proceed, I believe we have things to talk about." Gyatso got a nod from Dragon. --- Dragon and Gyatso were sitting inside of his home, which was just a simple hud like building. Very simple in design, like almost everything around this temple was. "Elder Gyatso, please tell me what it is called when you control the wind as you all do." "It''s not about control. It''s about balance. And that is clearly something you are struggling with." "hm, I have been seeking something like that for a long time. But every time I came close to figuring it out, suddenly it was nowhere to be found." Dragon had some actual frustration in his voice. "Go figure. Dragon, it is not about figuring something out. We can never figure out what we are or the purpose we carry. So you have gotten this wrong from the start," "Then would you please enlighten me on this. I am so lost that I don''t know if I will ever make it out." "It is about acceptance. Ones you accept yourself and what you are, you will find balance in your life." "It''s that simple? I doubt that." Dragon tried and keep calm even though he felt the frustration in himself build up. "Simple? No! Definitely not, not for you, not for any one of us. You have a lot to accept about yourself, all the blood on your hands. Was it spilt for the right reasons? Or is there even a right reason. I feel these are the questions that are most pressing for you to answer." Dragon''s eyes went wide in shock when he heard what Gyatso said. This old Monk had completely seen through him in ways he didn''t understand. "How can you see so much of me? No one has ever been able to see through me like that before." "When you spend a lifetime dedicated to all of this. You pick up a few things." Gyatso looked around his simply designed home. "How cryptic. Guess I earned that one." Dragon sighed after not getting the straight answer he sought. "Dragon, I will teach you the meditation technique that we practice here. You can stay in this temple for as long as you wish. I can''t do much when it comes to guiding you. As a human, you can only learn to accept yourself by facing yourself alone." Gyatso and Dragon looked at each other and Dragon kindly accepted the offer to stay here. This place was a good location to start his journey. "Then we will start now. Listen up as I will now teach you our meditation practice." Gyatso and Dragon went to work right away. And Dragon was feeling that the slight excitement from before he arrived here had come back to fill him up. ---------------------------- End Chapter 91 - Chapter 93 A day had passed since Dragon decided to start his new life inside the southern air temple. Gyatso had taken the entire day yesterday to explain meditation and how to do it correctly. He had outfitted Dragon in some proper Monk clothing. Dragon had also been offered to live inside the temple, but he had kindly refused. It might be strange to say that one day could bring change to a person. But it truly had brought about a change in Dragon. He didn''t want to live inside a house, he didn''t want to sleep on a bed. He had made his home on top of the mountain top where he arrived. The winds up on the mountain top calmed him and they helped tremendously when trying to enter a meditative state. Seeing the way the air nomads lived and how they were raised. Everything that met his eyes and everything he took in, it made him feel incredibly disconnected with himself. Suddenly the feeling of luxury started to anger him. Thinking of all that he owned and still wasn''t happy being himself. Then coming here and seeing people with nothing to their name, but seemingly at the same time have everything. It brought about a great change in Dragon, and a feeling of anger rushed to the surface. An anger that was directed at no one but himself. Anger for essentially having control of three worlds, but still walk around feeling lost and depressed. An anger like a raging fire burned inside of him. He was sitting in the centre on this mountain top and tried to connect with the winds passing him by. They were in contact with every part of his body, but he had never felt more disconnected from them than he did now. He was sitting in the lotus position and tried to enter deep sleep meditation. It''s when the mind empties all its content and you transcend barriers to become one with your element. Gyatso explained that to become an elder for an air temple. It was required that you have entered this form of meditation and become one with the element of your soul. It is an extremely difficult state of being to enter successfully. And that is why there are so few elders in this temple. The winds were strong and powerful, but calm and peaceful at the same time. As a former multi-elemental mage he thought this was gonna be easy. But when Gyatso had explained their techniques. Dragon understood that what they called bending the elements was nothing like magic. If magic was forcefully taking command of an element and forcing it into submission. Than bending was the opposite. It was asking for permission and letting the winds naturally travel through you and live in balance and harmony around you. Bending the element was the most powerful and purest connection to an element. If comparing only mastery of an element. Then a child air bender was a hundred times better than an adult wind mage in understanding and utilizing their element. "I don''t mean to disturb you senior Dragon. But as you are now, entering deep sleep meditation will be nigh impossible for you." Gyatso had appeared behind Dragon suddenly. "Was afraid of that. I have been sitting here for thirteen hours but I have had no progress." Dragon opened his eyes to look out over the cliff and the beautiful scenery before him. "Deep sleep meditation is nothing you progress towards. It is something within yourself that comes to you when you are ready. There have been people meditation for many years and still have had no progress, as you call it." "You can''t search for it. You should meditate on yourself instead. Who are you and where are you going. These are the questions you need to meditate on." Gyatso stood there with his usual kind smile. "I understand, elder Gyatso. How about we go and find something to eat, I am starving." Dragon stood up and stretched. "Great idea. I have something perfect in mind." Gyatso and Dragon made their way down the mountain towards the temple. --- A few days later on top of the mountain top. Gyatso and Dragon had just gotten back from an important meeting with the elders. It was to test if Dragon had the capabilities to air bend. "Now that the elder council has tested you, you are allowed to practice the art of air bending. Are you ready, Senior Dragon?" Gyatso said with his hand hidden inside his sleeve. "Yes, I am. Please show me the ways of an air bender." Dragon bowed in respect and Gyatso cupped his hands and bowed as well. "Then please follow along with my movements." Gyatso took a stance and waited until Dragon adopted the same stance. Then he began doing simple martial arts movements. His body looked to almost transform into an element as he was moving around. "This is the movement that you will practice every day. This is how we lay the foundation of all air benders." Gyatso kept repeating a series of movements and Dragon naturally caught on. Because of how long Dragon had lived and just how skilled and talented he was, it didn''t take long until he could do the movements with closed eyes. The two of them stood up on the mountain top and repeated the movement over and over again. Dragon hadn''t even noticed the winds starting to flow along his arms and legs. The wind looked to be attached to him and every time he punched out, a small gust of wind would pass by the grass and trees and shake them slightly. ''What an incredible person. Not even an hour and he is already attuning himself with the element around him. With such a talent for bending you could almost believe he is the avatar.'' Gyatso smiled for himself while observing Dragon that danced around with closed eyes. This kept going for hours upon hours, and at this point, Gyatso was tired and had stopped the exercise. He was sitting on the side and watching Dragon dance around like he was in a trance. After another hour or so, Dragon''s movements started to slow down and eventually he stopped entirely. "You are a naturally born bender. But tell me, what did you discover when you entered that little trance." Gyatso asked Dragon that felt, sad, happy, confused and pretty much all emotions a human could feel. "I think I figured out why I have been spiralling into darkness lately." Dragon sat down in the centre as he always did. "And what was that? What did you discover?" Gyatso was very curious what someone like Dragon would have as their biggest flaw. Every human had flaws, and Dragon naturally had them too. "Hate and fiery anger. I feel incredible hate towards myself. Anger and hate for all the destruction and chaos I''ve spread. I think I''ve suppressed it for so long because I don''t want my family to see me like that. And I think to keep that side hidden has been what''s eating me up from the inside." "Good. And now comes the hard part of being a human being." Gyatso didn''t need to finish the sentence because Dragon already knew the task that he was faced with now. "Acceptance." Dragon looked up at the passing clouds, and they formed in his eyes, the last moment he had with Sylvia, where she was curled up in his bosom while sleeping soundly. "It could take years for us to admit that we have flaws, and even more years to find them. And then the longest period of all is when you are forced to face those flaws and not bury them deep inside, but embrace them and accept them." "When you can do that. You shall see that the deep sleep state will show itself to you." Gyatso as always spoke with a smile on his face. "I will return to meditation. Do you mind leaving me alone." Dragon said in a tired voice. And Gyatso just nodded and started making his way back down towards the temple. ''Acceptance.'' Dragon closed his eyes while memories of Sylvia and his sons passed through his mind. ---------------------------- End Chapter 92 - Chapter 94 On top of Dragon''s mountain, Gyatso and Dragon were sparring using simple martial arts. Dragon was a master martial artist but he requested to be taught the basics of the southern air temples martial arts. They were doing a gradual sped up training exercise. Gyatso would lead and Dragon would follow as best he could. And because of who he was, Dragon followed perfectly, and he adapted so quickly that Gyatso though for a second that he wasn''t even human. They had been doing this for the last seven days and Dragon could feel himself changing. Not physically, but mentally. He was feeling himself adapting to a more tranquil lifestyle than before. When he lived in the elemental nations, he was constantly plotting and worrying about how to unite the different worlds. And how to spread his empire as far as the universe allowed it. But now he started seeing the pointlessness in what he thought mattered. And he started seeing the purpose in minor things. Dragon spent most of his days meditating and practising air bending. And the more he did this the more convinced he became that this was the world he needed to stay in. A week on top this mountain did more good for him than a hundred years would in the elemental nations. There was no logic in this, so Dragon could at first not understand why he could feel such change here. But as the days passed and he conversed and sparred with Gyatso. He realized that what he needed to survive in war-torn worlds was a proper outlook on life. And since he is quite unique in the life aspect, he wasn''t able to dive into himself alone and figure that out. Gyatso had been his saving grace. Sylvia, Gildarts and Naruto. None of them could see the intense and scary struggle that had been going on inside of him for years. But Gyatso managed to do it with just one glance. And that''s why Dragon threw logic out the window. There was nothing logical about seeing the soul of a person. Or bending an element. It was all dictated by a balanced mind that would only suffer if you used logic to define it. This world and its people were living with a spiritual mindset. And everything here was based and dictated by a spiritual balance. and Dragon had just started to adapt to that mindset. "Dragon I have something to discuss with you." Gyatso cupped his hands and bowed as thanks for the sparring session. "Of course. What is it Gyatso?" Dragon also bowed with cupped hands. "How much do you know about the avatar?" "Nothing. What is it? An artefact? It almost sounds like a deity." "It is a combination of many things. But most of all. It is the physical manifestation of balance." Gyatso saw a little bit of shock manifest on Dragon''s face. "What I am about to tell you can not be repeated to anyone else. Is this understood?" Gyatso wasn''t smiling when he said that. This told Dragon that this wasn''t a joking matter. "I understand. I will not reveal what you are about to tell me even if I have to die for it." Dragon said with an equally serious tone. "The avatar is a spiritual presence that exists inside only one human at a time." "It is the human embodiment of light and peace through the connection with the Avatar Spirit. Since ancient times, an avatar has always existed. only one human will possess this connection at a time." "Each time one dies, another avatar is reborn into the world to keep the balance of the elements stable." "And what makes avatars so special, is their ability to bend all four elements. And here comes the part that you can not reveal to anyone until the time where we elders choose." "The avatar has been born as an air bender this time. And more importantly, he is currently within the southern air temple." Dragon was definitely shocked, but even more confused. He had no idea why Gyatso would reveal that. "This is all very interesting and mystical. But why tell me this? I am just a traveller." "Firstly. You are very much nothing like a simple traveller. And I will explain why." "First of all, do you know anything about the spirit world?" "No, but I have during the last seven days felt a strange calling, but I can''t identify it so maybe that has something to do with the spirit world." Dragon said and recalled a strange feeling he has had during the last few days. "That would be the spirit world indeed. And it is calling for you because of your soul. Or your spirit would be most accurate to say." "My spirit? What''s so special?" Dragon didn''t expect anything about himself to be normal since he was a reincarnated human. But he wasn''t well versed in spirit magic or soul magic. So he had never explored his own soul much. "you have a multi-coloured spirit. That means you have the ability to practice multiple elements at one time." Gyatso started smiling again because of Dragon''s shocked expression. "But I am not the avatar. And you explicitly told me that humans can''t use multiple elements." "I know. That''s why I never said anything until today. All this time when I have not been here I have been communicating with the spirit world. And using a spirit technique called All-seeing eye, I have personally confirmed that you can use more than one element." "This is all a lot to take in. First of all, start with why you can talk to the spirit world." "Certainly. A human can set up a connection with the spirit world through achieving enlightenment in meditation. Or you can be carried over by a spirit from the spirit world. I myself have set up the connection through years of deep meditation." "And it took many years for my connection to become stable enough for me to cross over myself. And when I eventually succeeded, I spent years learning the ways of the spirits. And the one thing I managed to achieve is the All-Seeing Eye." And what is this ability exactly? What does it let you see?" Dragon was extremely curious at this point. "The soul of any living organism." "I can identify a fire bender without seeing them bend any fire. A fire bender will have a red coloured soul. An air bender will have a white or slightly silverish colour. A water bender, a blue one. An earth bender, a green spirit." "So that''s how you knew I could use multiple? By seeing my soul?" Dragon felt an entire new world open up before his eyes. "Yes! But you are different. You have in fact five different colours on your soul." Now even Gyatso looked perplexed. "Five? You said there only existed four elements?" "I know that I did. As soon as I mentioned a five coloured soul to the spirits I contacted, they stopped responding to me. So whatever that last one is, I can''t help you with it." "What colour is it?" "It is constantly switching between red and blue. But lately, it has been blue a lot longer than red." "Well, it is nothing we can do about right now. Let''s move on to why you started to tell me about the Avatar." Dragon changed back the topic. "oh yes. It is quite simple actually. The elder council have a request, and that is that you become the Avatars trainer. You are disciplined and well trained. The Avatar will need someone like you. But you can always decline if you are not comfortable with it." "hm, if you think he will need it in the future, then bring him up here. But you should know beforehand that I am not someone that cares for titles when I''m training a student. Avatar or not, I will not treat him any different from any other kid." "And that''s exactly why I asked you. Because I can''t do that, and neither can the other elders. I did say all of us have flaws and that''s one of my own." Gyatso became casual and carefree all of a sudden in his speech. " Then I guess, I will accept to become his teacher." Dragon bowed and smiled. "Great to hear! Now let us continue our spar." And with that, Dragon and Gyatso started to spar again, and this time they were taking it a lot more serious. -------------------------------- End Chapter 93 - Chapter 95 One year had now passed for Dragon. He was currently sitting on top of his mountain with three elders sitting behind him. "When did he enter?" Elder Pasang asked while studying Dragon''s condition. "It has been sixty-two hours since he entered Deep Sleep meditation," Gyatso answered with a hopeful expression on his face. "This state is as dangerous as it is wonderful. Dragon is currently facing himself in his purest form. And some people can lose themselves in this state. I have read about people going insane by the things they experience." Said elder Tashi. "We can not interfere so we can only wait and hope he is strong enough to face it alone." Elder Pasang said and closed his eyes. --- Two days later, Dragon opened his eyes to the world ones again. He had a newfound aura of determination around him. And inside his eyes burned a fiery flame that didn''t exist there before. It was like his spirit had gone through a complete change during this meditation. "Good morning, Dragon." Gyatso said with the two other elders sitting beside him. "Deep sleep meditation is a lot different than what you made it out to be." Dragon looked at Gyatso. "It is different for all of us, so I could never have given you a description of what it would be like. Now do you wanna share what you experienced?" Gyatso looked at him with interest and curiosity. "I was trapped in a maze, and at every wrong turn, my sons or my wife would experience a tortures death in front of my eyes." Dragon''s body shivered slightly at the mention of the trial he went through. "You had some powerful demons rooted inside you. How did you solve it?" Pasang asked with a worry-filled expression. Not everyone who makes it out of deep sleep meditation retains their sanity like before they entered. "I listened to the winds and allowed them to guide me on the path I needed to take to reach the end. It took me a few years to even notice that the winds were present inside the maze. I just wondered around, lost for years before I managed to pull myself together." "Deep sleep meditation is dangerous for a reason, and you just experienced that. But try and sense the element around you. Feel how it has changed with you." Gyatso spoke now. Dragon moved his hand and felt how the winds were present on his body, but he couldn''t even feel them. It was almost like he had become wind itself. It felt like a perfect partnership. He moved right, and the wind also moved right." "Congratulation on passing your personal trial. Now, you have a choice to make. Keep living as a stranger to the temple, or accept the position as an elder and become a true member of this family." "I appreciate the offer. But I will have to decline. An elder will be expected to stay within the confines of the temple grounds. But I can not make such a vow. After I am done training the Avatar I will leave for a journey of my own." Dragon bowed and hoped they would forgive his rudeness. The three elders looked at each other and shared a nod. And after that, they started to giggle like children while looking at the confused look on Dragon''s face. "We expected as much. So we have another offer ready." Gyatso said and took out a pendant from his robes. "This here is a special status that we created just for you." He handed Dragon the pendant. "That is what we like to call the guardian medallion. It represents someone''s status as a temple guardian. We would like you to take it." Gyatso said. "I can''t take this. I won''t be here to guard the temple at all times." Dragon wanted to hand it back, but the elders wouldn''t have it. "The title is just so it sounds more official. Just think of that pendant as something of a reminder that you always have a home and family inside this temple." Gyatso smiled with his famous smile. "I see. Well, thank you very much. I will accept it gladly." Dragon hung it around his neck. And he did look more official with that pendant around his neck. "Now comes the important news we originally came here to deliver. The avatar has reached age three. And we would like you to begin his training as soon as possible, Temple Guardian." Pasang also smiled like a child when he said Dragon''s title out loud. "hm, I see. Bring the boy here in two days, and I will begin his training." Dragon said without addressing how uncomfortable it was to have these old men smile at him like that. "Good. We will leave you alone to familiarize yourself to your new connection with the elements." Gyatso said and rose from the spot together with the other two. "Temple Guardian Portgas D Dragon, I never did welcome you to our temple one year ago. So, welcome." Elder Tashi said and bowed with his hands cupped. "Thank you, I appreciate you all for allowing me to take up a spot on this mountain." Dragon did a bow in return. "Goodbye for now, and I will see you when I come here with the Avatar," Gyatso said and together with Pasang bowed towards Dragon. "I look forward to it." Dragon said and bowed while smiling. --------------------------------- End Chapter 94 - Chapter 96 Dragon was on his mountain as always and practising air bending. He wanted to know if element bending had any limits to it. But so far he had not found it. He would start by moving very slowly and feeling the changes in the air. Then he would do a gradual increase in speed until the wind speed around the mountain itself increased. He would increase the wind speed so much that a normal person couldn''t walk the path up the mountain without being pushed off. And he believed that air bending if mastered completely could be the most dangerous one. ''I still need to come in contact with the spirit world. Gyatso said that he couldn''t assist in that, so the question is, how do I do it?'' Dragon''s arms were moving very rapidly around his body while he was spinning his entire body. ''oh, they arrived.'' Dragon started to slow down because he felt the presence of two people arriving at the mountain path. Dragon sat down in the centre and waited for Gyatso and the legendary Avatar to arrive. He had been told that this boy did not know he was the Avatar. He was just under the impression that he was here for regular martial arts training. "Good morning, Temple Guardian." Gyatso and a little bald boy arrived at the top after a while. Gyatso looked like his usual self. But the boy had that childish excitement oozing off him already. "Do not call me that, I have a name, so use it please." He sighed at Gyatso''s persistence in calling him by his title. "Let me introduce you to one of our new air nomads. This is Aang. Introduce yourself to the Temple Guardian." Gyatso nudged Aang forward and laughed to himself. One of Gyatso''s favourite things to pass the time was to tease Dragon. "My name is Aang and I''m three years old. That''s this much!" Aang held up his hand and showed four fingers with a bright smile. Gyatso reached down and readjusted Aang''s fingers so it showed three. Dragon smiled warmly at the scene, and it reminded him of Naruto''s early days when he was still living at the orphanage. "It is nice to meet you, young Aang. My name is Portgas D Dragon. You can call me Dragon if you want." Dragon walked up to the young boy and bent down to face him. And because of Dragon''s massive size, Aang backed off at first. But Gyatso held him in place. "I am just a big softy, so you do not have to be afraid of me." Dragon reached out his hand and held it in place. It required some help from Gyatso, but Aang eventually shook hands with Dragon. "Do you have w-wings?" Aang asked with a slight stutter because his speech wasn''t fully developed yet. "No, Dragon is just my name. I am not an actual dragon." He showed his back to Aang and pointed. "See, no wings on me." He smiled and stood back up, before looking at Gyatso. "Any more children you want me to train? Or is this enough?" "We can handle the rest. You just need to take care of this little trouble maker." Gyatso said and got the stink-eye from Aang. "I am not a troublemaker. I am nice!" Aang said and puffed up his chest. "Whatever you say. But listen here, Aang. As I explained before, as long as you are on this mountain, what the temple guardian says goes. Obey him and these lessons will be over before you know it." Gyatso said and now he also got the stink-eye from Dragon. "Will, you ever call me by my name again?" "No. What would be the fun in calling you by your regular name?" Gyatso smiled and stepped back, away from Aang and most of all Dragon. "It would be a shame if you fell off the mountain on your way back." Dragon said and stared right into Gyatso''s eyes. "I would have to be quite clumsy for that to happen." Gyatso smiled and stepped back even further. "Indeed..." Dragon said and retracted his gaze after a while and turned his attention over to his new student. "Okay, Aang, come here and stand next to me." Dragon said with his back turned against both of them. Aang did as he was told, and now Dragon and Aang stood with their backs turned against Gyatso. "Follow my movement." And Dragon started moving in what looked like slow motion to make sure Aang could follow. The boy struggled to follow so Dragon had to stop multiple times to readjust Aang''s stance. What they were doing wasn''t anything air bending related. This would help with balance when moving around fighting. Introducing air bending to Aang was Gyatso''s duties. Dragon would just help the boy get familiar with combat. "Now punch the air as hard as you can," Dragon said and Aang nodded. He punched out while standing in a horse stance. Dragon and Gyatso saw a small change in the air around his arm. ''Avatar indeed. three years old and the elements already like him.'' Dragon smiled while observing the boy standing there throwing punches. "Aang continue doing that. I will go and talk with Gyatso." "Yes, T-Teacher!" Aang yelled with childish enthusiasm. ''What an energetic child,'' Dragon shook his head and laughed to himself. He walked over to Gyatso and sat down beside him. "I made my decision finally. I will be leaving in two years." Gyatso didn''t look surprised. He just kept his smile going. "Am I right in guessing that you are going to discover the other elements?" "Correct. And I also plan to find out what my mysterious fifth colour is." "Then I can say nothing but good luck." Gyatso and Dragon had become very good friends. Gyatso nor Dragon needed to say a lot for their feelings to be understood. "Thank you. Now, I should stop neglecting my student." Dragon stood up again and dusted himself off. "Yes, you should." Gyatso smiled and closed his eyes to meditate until the training was over. ----------------------------------------- End Webnovel is BROKEN now! It continuously puts chapters in the wrong volume!! AAAH SO FRUSTRATING! Chapter 95 - Chapter 97 Dragon was walking around inside the walls of southern air temple. He was looking for Aang because the boy had missed the appointed time for their training. He spotted a group of kids that looked to be Aang''s age. So he approached them in hope for some answers. "Excuse me, little ones. Do any of you know where Aang is?" He said and watched all kids turn around at the exact same time, it looked a little creepy how in sync they performed that. "Aang should be with elder G-Gyatso. He''s always there, I''m so jealous." The kid said and immediately forgot about Dragon again. His massive size didn''t earn him any cool points with the kids. "I see. Thank you, little one." Dragon had for some bizarre reason gotten into a habit of calling the kids here, little ones. He didn''t know when it started, but now it had become a habit of his. ''He couldn''t possibly still be with Gyatso. That can not be the case, he is fifteen minutes late after all.'' Dragon started walking towards Gyatso''s house. The closer he came to the house, the more he realized how lax he had been with Aang and Gyatso. Because right now, he could hear loud laughter from inside the house. He arrived at the house and walked inside. And immediately he was faced with the scene of Gyatso and Aang eating cake and laughing. "Gyatso! I accepted this role out of respect for you. But if you do not want me to teach Aang, then you could have just said so." The more he talked, the louder he became and the more violent the winds around the house became. "Whoops! It seems we forgot about your practice today, Aang." Gyatso said and smiled. But that smiled disappeared when he was met with Dragon''s gaze. "Aang, there is no training today. But if you don''t show your face on my mountain tomorrow. Then I will just leave now instead of two years from now." He was staring at Gyatso but talking to Aang. "We understand! Forgive us, Temple Guardian!" Gyatso said and laughed silently to himself. But he also forced Aang to bow down by using his hand to press on the boys head. "Forgive me, Teacher!" Aang said. But he didn''t mean any of it. Aang was three years old so much of the things going on in his life, he didn''t understand. And that was also true for his training. He didn''t know that a specific time was set up. That was Gyatso''s duty. "If I find you doing this again, there will be a price to pay." Dragon glared at the duo before walking out of the house in frustration. ''Should have stayed on my mountain.'' Dragon complained like an old man already. And it didn''t take long before he heard Aang and Gyatso laughing again. ''I will never leave my mountain again!'' Dragon walked away with a depressing and annoying aura around him. --- Dawn of the next day arrived and Aang together with the carefree Gyatso arrived on the mountain. Gyatso looked healthy and refreshed, but Aang looked like he was still asleep. "Wake up!" Dragon waved his hand towards the boy, and a gust of wind appeared and washed over the boy like a bucket of cold water. "The moment you step on my mountain, training is in session. Start doing the practice exercise I showed you." "Yes, teacher!" Aang said and started to awkwardly do the exercise because he was very tired. Gyatso sat down and started to meditate like he always would while waiting for Aang to finish. Dragon did not join him this time. He focused completely on Aang. "No, that is wrong!" Dragon started using his emperor tone now that he realized how relaxed Gyatso was. And since he was very annoyed at their behaviour he would break down and build up the boy as payback. "Raise your arm two more centimetres. Your leg needs to be here instead. That stance will give you horrible results." Dragon walked around the boy with a stick and readjusted every mistake the boy did. And even Gyatso raised an eyebrow at this change of tone in the training. ''Someone''s definitely annoyed.'' He smiled and laughed silently and went back to meditating in silence. --- A month passed like this in the blink of an eye. Dragon and Aang met every day to train in close combat. But today was different. Dragon had cancelled their practice because a few days previously he had discovered something interesting. Three days before during a session with Aang, he had seen an eagle flying passed his mountain. Now, this wasn''t odd at all. What interested him was that this particular eagle had used wind bending while flying. So Dragon would go out for a mini adventure to find the nest of this eagle. He really liked the idea of an eagle mount, and also he believed these eagles could give him some insight into flying. That was one of the things that he still hadn''t mastered. Flying with wind magic was easy. Flying with air bending was unbelievably difficult to master. Through a scroll Gyatso had given him, he knew flying was possible, and he also had an idea of how. But that didn''t change the fact that it was very difficult to master. Dragon''s mountain was the third tallest mountain in this gigantic chain of mountains. And he believed the eagle to have its nest on the tallest mountain, so that was his destination. The entire mountain range had a wall connecting all of them. And you could walk upon this wall, and it was, in fact, the only way to reach this temple from the outside. And it was a difficult path to walk. And that is the reason why this temple is so peaceful and safe. Dragon arrived at the wall that was connecting all the mountains together. It was about half the size of his mountain and the narrow path on top it was dangerous to walk on. ''Do not fall down.'' Dragon said to himself and he started his journey away from the temple for the first time since his arrival. --------------------------------------- End Chapter 96 - Chapter 98 On the dangerous and narrow mountain path, a very tall man was walking with no visible fear or hesitation. He was nearing the tallest mountain in this entire mountain chain. Dragon had been walking on this path for a few hours, but nothing too exciting had happened. A small portion of the path, breaking apart. That was about the most exciting thing that happened on his journey. He finally arrived at the spot after another thirty minutes. At this point, the path divided into two directions. One would lead you to pass this mountain, and the second one would take you up the mountainside. And Dragon''s goal was the top of this mountain so he chose the second path without any hesitation. He started walking up and immediately he could feel that the air was different on this mountain. And he felt a powerful presence at the top. A while later, he had finally reached the top of this mountain. The path leading up the mountain didn''t lead to the highest plateau. So Dragon had to jump, and with the help of air bending, he flew up at great speed and landed on the top plateau. "Well hello there." As he landed he immediately felt a gaze lock on to him. So he greeted the lord of this mountain. At the centre of this plateau, there was an eagle sitting on guard and watching Dragon. It was massive in size and it had a natural arrogance about it. Dragon inspected it from where he stood, and he was sure it had to be at least twenty-five meters in height. And its wingspan was maybe between twenty or thirty meters. Its entire body was angelic white in colour. It had eyes that glowed with a sharp silverish light. And inside its eyes was a spark of intelligence, letting you know this wasn''t a normal eagle in any way. "This might be a stupid question, but do you speak?" Dragon asked with not much hope for a response. But to his surprise, the eagle shook its head as if it could understand him. "Do you understand me?" He immediately grew excited about the revelation. The eagle nodded and screamed loudly like he was establishing his dominance. "Tone it down, that''s too loud!" Dragon pointed at the eagle and said in a stern voice. What he got back was just another even louder scream. And the giant bird also spread its wings while screaming. They were massive and the intimidation level that the eagle had, shot through the roof. Now it looked like an apex predator staring down its prey. "You get only one more chance to calm down. Or this will turn ugly." Dragon said and glared at the bird. The eagle didn''t listen and it started to move its wings. And Dragon looked around shocked at the power behind each wing flap. The winds started turning violent and trying to push him off the mountain. "Oh no, think again." Dragon waved his hand lightly against the Eagle. And so the eagle''s and Dragon''s winds collided with each other, and it caused a little outburst that struck both of them. Dragon was sent flying a meter or two, but he recovered immediately. The eagle didn''t get moved, but he got more annoyed by the fact that its winds couldn''t get rid off this human. Dragon smiled in excitement and threw a palm strike toward the eagle, sending a massive air blast towards his opponent. The giant bird that saw the attack approaching did a sideswipe with its wing to block Dragon''s attack. But he couldn''t stop it with his wing alone, so the eagle was struck and sent flying off the edge. "Size doesn''t matter. You could be a hundred meters tall and I would still win this." Dragon said. The eagle had recovered in the air and he was hovering above the plateau. "Want some more?" He looked at the eagle and smiled with confidence. The eagle took it as a challenge and he dived down towards Dragon. Dragon had learned a very handy trick to use in combat. And that was when he needed to dodge he would perform a quick kick and at the same time blast air from the same foot. And this would propel him towards whatever direction he aimed it at with very high speed. And he named this technique air-dash. And he could essentially use this to stay in the air for as long as he had the stamina for it. So when the eagle dove down, he used it to dodge to the right, and immediately after that he gave chase to the eagle. They were both up in the air now and trading blows. The eagle flapped its wing and sent a razor-sharp air gust at Dragon. "I''m not that weak!" Dragon saw the attack close in and he gathered very dense wind on his palm and then he slammed the razor-sharp gust head-on with his palm. The two attacks collided and gave wake to a small hurricane that broke apart parts of the plateau. Dragon recovered faster than the eagle so he used air-dash to approach and land on the eagle''s body. He covered his hands with a small visible armour made of wind. Similar to how haki users cover their bodies with haki. With the wind fully covering his hands, he slammed them both down on the eagles back. And with the extra force caused by his wind armour, He sent the eagle crashing down on the ground. The eagle crashed down on the plateau and screamed in pain. Dragon air-dashed down immediately and slammed his palm on the exposed back of the eagle. It had just tried to get up again, but Dragon''s palm decisively knocked it out. ''Now that the alpha has been identified between us, hopefully, this bird will at least not attack me again.'' Dragon sat down beside the giant eagle and decided to meditate whilst waiting for the bird to wake up. ---------------------------------- End Chapter 97 - Chapter 99 After many hours, the knocked out eagle finally showed movement again. Its eyes were starting to open so Dragon stopped practising and quickly walked over and sat down in front of it. He kept his gaze on the bird. "Good morning. have you calmed down now?" The eagle nodded and its aura had entirely changed from before Dragon knocked it out. "And, will you listen to what I have to say?" The eagle took a few seconds to think about it, but it eventually nodded again. "Fantastic. So here is my offer to you. I want you to abandon this mountain and come live with me on my mountain. It''s the small one over there." Dragon turned around and pointed at a mountain far off in the distance. The eagle screamed in his face and shook its head. It had a determined look in its eyes, and from how it reacted, it was not gonna abandon this place. "hm, I can just take this place from you using force." Dragon said with an equal amount of determination. It released its wings and flapped them violently and brought about a strong storm that made all the rubble on the plateau fly all around the two of them. "Oh, so you''re saying you''d fight me then?" Dragon cupped his chin and watched the eagle nod its head firmly. "Knowing that you will only lose again?" It shook its head and flapped its wings more violently than before. "You''re thinking this time will be different?" Dragon moved his arm in the opposite direction of the wind, and the storm started to disappear. It screamed loudly and stood up. But it was still hurt so it fell down again in great pain. "See, how are you going to fight me like that? Why don''t you just surrender and follow me back to my mountain?" He saw the eagle struggle against its own body to try and intimidate him. "How about this. I will help you with that injury, but you will need to follow me back to my home." The eagle shook its head and started up another storm with its wing flapping. "hm, you drive a hard bargain. A visit? You need to visit my mountain and stay there for one week." Dragon and the eagle were staring at each other. It turned its head to the side in refusal. Dragon put up one finger in front of his face. "One day! That''s my last offer! I help you with that injury and you have to stay on my mountain for one day!" Dragon yelled out loudly and glared at the eagle. It looked at him again and after a few seconds, it nodded at Dragon. "Fantastic! Now I can''t deal with that injury here, we have to visit my mountain to take care of it completely." Dragon said and at the same time as the words left him. The eagle that felt betrayed started screaming in anger and frustration. "Calm down! I can do a little bit here, but we have to go to my home to fully heal your injury." Dragon ripped off a big chunk of his own robe and walked up to the eagle. "I''m just gonna wrap this around the wound. Do not attack me." Dragon took the big piece of clothing and skillfully wrapped it around the wound. "So are we good now?" Dragon said and stroked the eagle''s wing and felt the soft and almost silken fur it had. The eagle moved quickly at the cost of some pain, and with the use of its wing and some air bending, sent Dragon tumbling backwards. It screamed in happiness and pride when seeing the awkward position Dragon landed in. "Okay, so now we can call us even, right?" Dragon said and dusted himself off. It nodded and laid down again. Dragon walked up and sat down in front of the eagle''s giant beak. He started to touch it out of curiosity, much to the displeasure of the eagle itself. "You''re a majestic animal. How long have you lived here?" Dragon looked into the eagle''s eyes. And he saw the eagle tilt its head, and Dragon finally slapped himself on the forehead. "Right, you can''t talk. forgot about it. So let''s do this. Have you lived here for more than one year?" Dragon held up a finger. The eagle nodded and Dragon increased it to two fingers. And again, the eagle nodded. "hm, ten years?" Dragon held up all of his fingers. And the eagle upped the number again. "Twenty years?" Now that Dragon knew it understood numbers he just started to say the numbers instead. "No? fifty?" Dragon saw the eagle shake its head again. "More? really? Then let us try with a hundred years?" He looked at the eagle with interest. And the eagle finally nodded and a prideful flame was lit inside of its eyes. "You''re an old man just like me, hahaha" Dragon fell backwards and laughed at the mental image he got of a grey-haired and wrinkly old eagle. The eagle''s anger flared and he screamed loudly again and almost attacked Dragon. He didn''t seem to like people attacking its pride. "Wait! Are you a guy, or are you a female?" Dragon asked with a questionable look. And this really pissed off the bird. His pride insulted and his gender doubted. He glared at Dragon like he wanted to rip him apart. "This is gonna be a great partnership!" Dragon said between tears. The eagle flapped its wings and screamed. "Yes, I am serious! We are now partners in crime." Dragon started to somewhat understand the eagle by the way it changed the pitch and tone when it screamed. And how it moved its body, it all had a pattern to it, and Dragon used that to somewhat translate what it was trying to say. "You should try and sleep, it''s a long way back to my home from here. And you can''t fly so we need to walk back." Dragon said after finally calming down. It responded to Dragon with a soft scream. "That sounded rude! What did you say?" Dragon snapped his head towards the eagle and glared angerly. It just looked to the side and ignored him. "Fine! You say that you are a hundred years old, but you are acting like you have not passed ten years old. What is the matter with you." Dragon said in his angry parent tone. It screamed at Dragon and laid down and closed its eyes. It took up its sleeping position and went to sleep. "As you wish. If you wanna play it that way, then I get all the good food when we get to my mountain. You will eat rocks!" Dragon said and went into meditation with annoyance building up inside him. -------------------------------------- End Chapter 98 - Chapter 100 "Hey, kid, wake up!" Dragon sent a gust of wind that flipped the eagle around. It cried out in surprise and shock at being flipped on its back. "It is time to move. We have a long walk today." Dragon in his ripped monk robe said to his new partner. Even if his partner wasn''t the most willing participant. "KAA" It screamed at Dragon and turned its body around and stood up. It looked majestic with its white and silky fur moving in the wind. Its broad body really gave it a manly and alpha-like feeling. "ye, ye, I apologize, I should not have flipped you. And I know you are injured. But you refused to wake up when I called you. So I had no choice." "KAA" "Whatever, let us not argue about this. We need to move." Dragon shook his head and wished he met a less stubborn eagle. "KAA" "Drop it! Now, before we move out. We have to name you. I can not keep calling my partner you all the time. So what do you think?" Dragon looked at his partner. "KAA" It clearly didn''t seem happy when Dragon mentioned a name. "Too bad! Or do you want me to start calling you roasted chicken?" Dragon said with an evil glint in his eyes. "kaa" A much less threatening scream came from the eagle this time. "I thought so. Let me think of something good. I promise you will like it." Dragon cupped his chin and started thinking. "How about earl? That is quite nice, right?" "KAAA, KAAA" It started flapping its wings in anger and screamed in his face. "I was kidding! You are a hundred years old, learn to take a joke." Dragon had to raise his arms in surrender to get the eagle to calm down. "KAA!" "Ye, ye, calm down, will you." He started thinking for real this time. "How about, Baxter?" "KAA!" It shook its head strongly. "No? hm, then how about, Bobo?" "KAA!" It shook its head again. "oh, I know something perfect! How about Orlando? Is that not the best?" Dragon nodded at his own suggestion. And he really liked the name. "Kaa, kaa," it didn''t seem to disagree completely. "So you like it! I told you we were are the perfect partners! We even have the same taste." Dragon smiled and pointed at his partner with a smile on his face. "KAA!" It flapped its wings and started a mini storm again. "Great! It is decided. Welcome to the family, Orlando." Dragon and Orlando shared a gaze as the storm died down. "Now we need to go, this naming event wasted a lot of time, come on now." Dragon started walking towards the path that led down the mountain. "KAA!" Orlando followed behind Dragon leaving giant footprints wherever he stepped. --- Dragon and Orlando were traversing the path back to his mountain. It was a narrow path so Orlando could just about walk here without falling off. Dragon was very amused by how much Orlando struggled to walk. "You could see this as payment for ignoring me yesterday. And it is not very far now." Dragon said while also laughing at how funny Orlando looked when he was walking. "KAA" Orlando wanted to get physical, but he couldn''t do that while walking here. "No, I am not lying. My mountain is just over there." Dragon pointed at the mountain in the distance. Dragon had started to really understand Orlando. He wasn''t really aware how strange it was for him to understand a screaming eagle. It felt natural to him. "KAA" "That would be a horrible idea. Flying right now would definitely lead to your death." Dragon turned his head around and looked at the sad-looking eagle. Not being able to fly took away the one thing that made Orlando who he was. "But don''t worry about it, I have a friend that will help you with the wound." "KAA" Orlando started becoming agitated. "Calm down. What do you mean others are not allowed to touch you? I have done so." Dragon looked at Orlando with a questionable look. "KAA!" "I am flattered that you think I am special and all. But my friend is not a bad human, so why is he not allowed?" "KAAAA!" "Fine! I will stop asking. I will just take care of the injury myself." Dragon turned back and looked in front just in time to notice he was about to step off the edge of the path. "Woah! that was close, why didn''t you warn me I was about to walk off the path?" Dragon stopped and asked Orlando. "kaa!" Orlando looked away in an innocent manner. "Yeah sure, like I would believe you didn''t see anything. Now you are definitely getting rocks for dinner." Dragon started walking again and both of them started ignoring the presence of the other. After another hour of walking, the duo returned back to his mountain. And without saying a word they made their way up the mountain. And when they took that final step onto the top plateau, they both saw a little boy practising air bending. And an elderly that man sat near him and meditated. But as Dragon and Orlando arrived he opened his eyes. "Aang, you need to coordinate better than that. Each time you move, you need to already know the next five actions you are going to take. Right now you look like a drunk old man with no coordination or plan in mind." "Work on connecting each movement with another. Bending is a balance. And martial arts is about coordination and forward-thinking. Do not ever throw a random punch. Every movement needs a purpose to it." "Yes, Temple Guardian!" Aang answered and turned around to bow. But what he saw when he turned around froze him in place. "Did you have to go and force him to say it too?" Dragon glared at Gyatso. "Dragon, how did you meet him?" Gyatso was almost as shocked as Aang. "On another mountain, you know anything about him?" "You could say that again." Gyatso looked Orlando up and down with a strained smile. "That is a King Eagle. Eagles have a somewhat common history with the air nomads. Let me explain." Gyatso said and took a second to collect himself. "It is about the first air nomads..." Gyatso started explaining to both Dragon and Aang. ----------------------------- End Chapter 99 - Chapter 101 "The air nomads that live in the four temples today is not how we were in the beginning. In fact, the ancient air nomads were, how to say this... A more aggressive group of people." "Go on. You piqued my interest." Dragon sat down. "Wind is one of the most powerful elements in the world. It has incredible potential for murder and mass destruction if mastered to a high enough degree. And this is exactly what the ancient air nomads did." "The first people to migrate to these lands before the construction of the southern air temple did not possess air bending." "And this is where the eagles come in I presume?" Dragon asked with a neutral tone. "Yes, you are correct. The ancient air nomads were a more prideful and aggressive group of people. And because of that, they connected with the prideful and arrogant giant eagles. "As far as our history books go, we know that the eagles are a lot older than the sky bison. And they were the ones to teach our ancestors how to use air bending. But because of the eagle''s nature, they only taught humans how to use the art of bending to inflict pain on others." "The thing is. We thought that the Eagles were extinct. Where did you find him?" Gyatso pointed at Orlando. "On another mountain. His name is Orlando, though I had no idea you already had such a majestic name. King Eagle, quite good." Dragon said and smiled while looking at Orlando who was trying to make himself seem bigger. "You named him?" Gyatso asked in surprise. "Yeah, he was against it at first, but we eventually figured it out." "Incredible. You managed to contract a king eagle. Never thought I would see something like this in my lifetime." Gyatso leaned back and sighed. "What do you mean contract?" "Like we do with sky bison. But we enter more of a peaceful partnership. From the legends and stories. The only way the ancient nomads could get a King eagle to follow them around and enter a partnership would be to dominate them in battle. Did you fight Orlando?" Gyatso already knew the answer but he asked anyway. "Yes. Orlando is strong but of course, he didn''t hold up against me for long." Dragon smiled with pride. "Well, all I can say is congratulations. Just the fact that it allowed itself to be named shows that he most likely already accepted you as someone worthy to follow." Gyatso said and looked at Orlando. "Is that true, Orlando?" Dragon looked back at the King eagle. "KAA" "So are you saying Gyatso is lying?" Dragon questioned the angelic white eagle looking at him. "Dragon, if you can understand Orlando like we understand sky bison speech, then that means he truly has accepted you. And nothing will change that. And as with our bison''s, no matter the distance, you two will always have a connection to each other." "Fantastic. Now we can travel the world together, partner!" Dragon stood next to Orlando and stroked his wing. "KAA!" Orlando flapped his wings and screamed at the top of his lungs. Dragon had to dive after Aang because the poor boy was about to leave the mountain in a not so pleasant manner. "Don''t worry, Aang. Orlando is just excited, that is all. He was happy screaming." Dragon felt the boy shaking in fear. So he did his best to calm Aang down. "Orlando! You are scaring my student." Dragon''s voice penetrated the storm and Orlando stopped flapping his wings. "How about you continued practising. I have something to take care off with Orlando. He is a little hurt so I need to fix that." Aang nodded and walked away with somewhat shaky legs. --- A day had passed and Dragon and Aang were training as usual. It was only the two of them present on the plateau. Dragon had observed Orlando ever since they met and he was now attempting to learn how to fly. And not how Gyatso was doing it. He revealed that he didn''t know how to really fly freely in the air. He only knew how to float above the ground. All of a sudden a storm kicked up as a giant eagle zoomed passed them. Orlando that was promised rocks for dinner left to find his own meal somewhere. And Dragon had to hold onto Aang or he would fly off the mountain every time Orlando landed or even flapped his wings. "So, did you find something to eat, you baby," Dragon asked Orlando and dropped Aang back on the ground. "KAA!" "Good, and I will not stop calling you a baby. You cry about everything despite being over a hundred years old. And you can''t even eat some rocks. A BABY!" Dragon yelled at Orlando. "You two have quite the relationship." Gyatso came walking up the path with the usual smile on his face. "KAA!" "What? You have a problem with Gyatso now? Whatever it is. Get over it." Dragon turned to Gyatso and ignored his partner. "Time for Aang to go home?" "Yes, Aang, come one. If you hurry up there might be some cake left at home for you." Gyatso barely finished talking before Aang rushed past him at light speed. He disappeared from view, and Gyatso sighed and shook his head to the strained laughter coming from Dragon. "Dragon, I also came to warn you. I have been having a bad feeling for a while now. I do not know the root of the feeling, but something evil is on the rise. Be careful, I do not know what it is, but whatever it is. It is bad, very bad." "I understand. I will make sure to keep my eyes peeled at all times." Dragon cupped his hands and bowed, Gyatso also did the same and left with Aang. --------------------------------- End Chapter 100 - Chapter 102 A year has passed since Dragon met Orlando. And Dragon was sitting on the mountain and meditating. Ever since Gyatso got the bad premonition, he had been teaching Dragon about the spirit world. The need to knows and how to''s around spirit meditation. And he had also started to dabble in other forms of bending. Much to his and Gyatso''s surprise, Dragon had a natural affinity for all elements. He needed nothing more than being around an element to get a connection with it. So lately he had tried his hands at earth bending since he lived on one massive rock, he imagined this to be a good opportunity to explore it. Earth bending was very different from air bending. It was hard, stubborn and not at all flexible. The very opposite to air. So he could not yet move any rocks, but he could at least feel the life inside the earth move around. He imagined if someone mastered earth bending, you could probably feel the entirety of the earth''s rotation. And if someone held enough power, they could maybe even affect the rotation of the earth. But this was just theories and nothing he could confirm. "KAA" Orlando came zooming passed above Dragon. He made a circle in the air and then landed gracefully on the ground in front of Dragon. "Did you have fun?" "kaa!" "Great! And how is the boy? Is he alive?" A small boy''s roar came from Orlando''s back and Aang jumped off. He did a flip in the air and landed beside Dragon. "I had a fantastic time, Master Dragon," Aang said and gave an enthusiastic thumbs up. "Good, now let us spar. It''s time to see what you can do." Dragon opened his eyes and stood up. Every single movement he performed, big or small, caused the winds to pick up or slow down in speed and force. "I''m ready, master!" Aang took on the stance of the air nomads. it was their own created style that focused on speed and agility. "Attack me!" Dragon commanded. Aang did a frontal kick that sent a blast of air towards Dragon. Dragon analysed the air blast and before it hit him he used his hand to cut it apart. Aang continued his assault, he started going close combat against his teacher. He was mixing air bending and martial arts smoothly. Every punch and kick released blasts of air and Aang was bombarding Dragon with them. "Good. Do not let your opponent breath even for a second. Look for opportunities, everyone makes mistakes so find them." Dragon was blocking each of Aang''s strikes and he also released blasts of air that rendered Aang''s neutral. The matchup wasn''t really fair towards the boy, but Dragon still didn''t go easy on him. He pushed Aang to the limit of his capabilities. As a final test Dragon gathered a little more air in his hand and shot it towards Aang. The boy brought up his hands to block it, but the impact was too much and he got blasted away. Before Aang was thrown off the mountain a gust of wind came from behind him and shot him back onto the plateau. "That was good, Aang. You have come far in just a year. And this year will be the last I stay here and teach you, as you know. So this year we will focus on perfecting your foundation. Making sure that you have something stable to stand on in the future. "Are you gonna take Orlando with you?" Aang had already jumped up and started stroking his angelic and silky white fur. "Of course, Orlando and I are a team. Aren''t we, buddy?" Dragon was scratching Orlando right under his eye, which seemed to be Orlando''s favourite spot. "KAA!" A happy cry and a happy looking eagle answered Dragon. "ooh," Aang layed on Orlando''s back and began to sulk at the thought. "Hey, kid. You are gonna get a sky bison. They can also fly, so no need to be so sad." "But I also want a King eagle. Orlando is so cool!" Aang sat up straight and stared at Dragon. And Orlando stretched and looked mighty proud that this little kid called him cool. "Master Dragon, you caught Orlando, so can''t you find me one as well?" Aang had hope in his eyes. "KAA!" Orlando immediately cried in anger and flung Aang off its body. "What was that for? It hurt!" Aang looked at the giant eagle. "He didn''t particulary like that you said that I caught him. And I didn''t. We battled and I won. And no I won''t try and find another King eagle for you. Gyatso already thought they were extinct and Orlando doesn''t know if there are others either." "Okay..." Aang sat down and continued sulking. "Just wait until you get a sky bison. And when you get the same connection Orlando and I have, you will never wish for King eagle again. And plus, you are way too weak to win over a King eagle. You would have to be as strong as Gyatso at least." "But anyway, the best way to get rid of sadness is training. So let us spar some more." Dragon waved his hand and a wind blast knocked Aang on his back. "Come on!" Dragon smiled cheekily. "Fine!" Aang took a stance and they started their battle up again. ------------------------------------ Important READ! I have officially started Uni again, and already, I can feel it taking so much time off of my day. And because I live far away from school, I have a 2 hour, train ride there. So ones my premade chapters are released you will immediately start to see a decline in chapters. To set up my day for you guys, I leave home 6.30 in the morning and come home 7 in the evening. And then I don''t get free time until 9, at which point I go to bed, because I need to get up at 5 in the morning. So this is how it looks right now, and I can''t do much about it. End Chapter 101 - Chapter 103 Young Aang''s two-year training program had come to its end. Dragon had not attempted to make the boy a future god of the world. That was not his goal, so he just helped the boy stabilize his foundation in martial arts and air bending. Dragon, Aang and Gyatso were standing on his mountain like any other day. But today everything was a little different, and the feeling among the group was not the same either. Aang was sad and depressed, while Gyatso was somewhere in between anxious and happy. Aang was mostly depressed about Orlando not staying here. "Dragon I want to thank you for the last two years. It has been very fun and exciting. And I am sure Aang feels the same way." Gyatso cupped his hands and bowed. "It''s no problem. It was highly useful for me to stay here. And I want to thank you, Gyatso, for being such a good friend. And now when I leave I have to ask that you continue to be a good boy and take care of Aang for me." Dragon bowed as well and gave a cheeky wink to Aang. He didn''t like drawn out goodbyes so he picked up his bag that was the only thing he would bring with him. "Make sure to come back someday. And please do it before I kick the bucket." Gyatso laughed and waved at Dragon when he jumped up on Orlando''s back. Aang was standing beside Gyatso and waving goodbye to Orlando. Dragon sat down and made himself comfortable on Orlando''s back. Not even a bed could compare to the comfortable feeling his fur gave. That was probably why Aang had begged Dragon to leave Orlando behind. "Goodbye for now, and say bye to the others for me." Dragon waved and Orlando pushed off the ground with incredible force. His massive body shot up in the air like it was launched from a cannon. "Do you think he''ll come back someday?" Aang looked at Gyatso with sadness in his eyes. "I am sure Dragon will never forget you." "No! I was talking about Orlando?" Aang''s words made Gyatso let out a hearty laugh. "Well, I would say that their journey will probably take them around these parts someday in the future." Gyatso looked out over the horizon with a gaze that almost made it seem like he pierced the boundary of time and was looking at the uncertain future. Aang didn''t say anything more, so he and Gyatso stood there in silence while the eagle''s body was getting smaller and smaller in the distance. --- Dragon and Orlando were travelling south towards the closest landmass to them. And that was the southern water tribe. It was a well-developed sister nation to the northern water tribe. It was a thriving nation, but still not up to the standards of the northern water tribe. Orlando could fly for weeks without rest if he wanted to. And because this ocean that surrounded all the nations was enormous it would take a while for the two of them to reach the borders of the water tribe. During the two years stay with Gyatso and Aang, Dragon learned a great many things. It also took two years for him to figure out the secret to flight. And since free flight and floating were very different techniques, Gyatsoo couldn''t help him in achieving it. But through old texts and deep sleep meditation, he realized the secret to flight was letting go. According to records, only one person achieved this before. And that was Guru Laghima. He spent his last years never touching the earthly ground again. ''Letting go. I hold on no longer.'' Dragon opened his eyes in revelation, and without second-guessing he willingly fell off the back of Orlando. The eagle noticed the shift in weight on his back looked around and saw Dragon falling towards the ocean. "KAA!" Orlando panicked and dove after Dragon with great speed. But Dragon adjusted his body like an arrow and headed straight towards the water surface. A few meters above the water Dragon finally opened his closed eyes and did a summersault and flew straight up into the air. He disappeared so quickly above the clouds and into the distance that Orlando didn''t even see his body pass by. He only felt and heard the sonic boom when Dragon took off like a shooting star. Orlando felt the connection between himself and Dragon. So Orlando wasn''t worried about losing Dragon''s position. He gave out an annoyed eagle''s cry and also flew in the direction he felt Dragon''s presence. ---- Dragon was hovering above the massive icy landmass known as the southern water tribe. They didn''t utilize the entire landmass, but they held control over it and made sure no pirates would set up on near their home. Dragon was up in the air completely fascinated by his new ability. The discovery of weightlessness took him two years, while it was rumoured to take Guru Laghima forty years to figure it out. But to be fair, Dragon worked off the words that Guru Lahima wrote down. "No more earthly desires. Originally Guru Laghima taught through his texts that all desires need to be let go off. But that is not right either. Earthly desires can be interpreted differently since I don''t feel attached to wealth, housing or even the earth we walk upon." "But despite all of this, my love for my family has never burned brighter. Perhaps someone should add some extra notes to Guru Laghima''s texts. They do not hold the entire truth. the flight ability appears to be a lot more complicated then he thought." Dragon took a few seconds to move around in the air. He felt the wind on his face, and finally, after two whole years, he felt complete. Almost like there was nothing holding him down anymore. ''Now I only have three elements left to master. And then that strange multi-coloured piece inside me. Now it is just to continue moving forward and see where this strange life of mine will take me.'' Dragon''s eagle-like eyes suddenly caught sight of a small boat in the distance. And right now it was being surrounded by four other bigger boats. ''That looks bad. Let''s see if they need assistance.'' Dragon stopped messing around with his flight ability and moved to assist the small boat if needed. ---------------------------------------- End Chapter 102 - Chapter 104 A small water tribe fishing boat was always the easiest targets for pirates working in the area. Ransom or just a night entertainment. It all depended on who was in the fishing boat. And right now the pirates were licking their lips. The little southern water tribe boat contained three kids. It was two girls and a boy. The eldest one seemed to be one of the girls. The boats surrounding it wasn''t much bigger than the little boat. It was about two times the size of the kid''s boat. "Come on, kid. Stop acting like that. We are nice people so why don''t you just let us get you home. We know the way." A man standing on the leading pirate ship said with a blade in hand. He looked a lot more ready to kill than he did helping. "I''d like you to leave. You have no place being here. Anytime now my dad is coming here and he''ll kill you all." The eldest girl said with a simple looking spear in hand. It was a stick with a shark tooth as the pointy end. "Brave words. But I''m afraid that you three have allowed yourself to drift into the wrong neighbourhood." The men around him started aiming their throwing spears. "Don''t worry, this won''t hurt one bit." He raised his hand and brought it down, signalling the attack to start. The pirates took aim at mainly the eldest girl and threw the spears. Coldness and cruelty were written on their faces. Fear and panic on the kid''s faces. "May I borrow that one, thanks." A man suddenly appeared behind the eldest girl, and he grabbed the simple-looking spear from her. He held it up against the incoming volley, and in one swift motion, he moved the spear around and blocked all the incoming spears. He sent them all back at the attackers without much effort. Pure weapon mastery was everything that the man used. "AAH" One of the pirates got his own spear lodged into his thigh before he could even see what happened. "Time to go for a swim." He raised his right hand slowly. And then he threw a simple palm strike towards one of the pirate ships. A mighty and precise air blast was summoned and slammed into the pirates. They were launched off the boat like a cannonball and landed in the sea. He quickly did the same to two other pirate ships. Now only the leading ship was left with any people on it. "Wait here, and here''s your spear, thanks for letting me borrow it." He gave back the spear to the girl that stood there in complete shock. She grabbed hold of the spear like she was on autopilot mode, she moved like a complete robot at the moment. He took a step forward and he almost instantly arrived on the leading pirate ship. The pirates that saw him appear before their captain almost fainted from fright. He was just like a ghost, appearing and disappearing whenever he wanted. "Men! Kill him!" The captain jumped in fright and was about to cut the man. But the unknown man was faster, go figure. "You are coming with me. I am sure that this water tribe would love to learn more about your operations." Dragon quickly tapped his neck before he could say anything more and he lost consciousness. "The rest of you should go and swim. I hear the water is refreshing." He waved his hand and another air blast slammed into the pirates and shot them off the boat like the rest. He moved back with the same movement technique and he was back on the little fishing boat again. He threw the unconscious man on the floor and sat down in the boat. "I-I am sorry, Sir, but who are you?" The eldest girl among them said with a strained smile and an unknown fear building up inside her. "Portgas D Dragon. Nice to meet you." He bowed with cupped hands. A common greeting in this new world. "ahm, T- thanks for saving us, but who are you?" She said and also cupped her hands carefully. "The easiest answer for you to understand would be, a travelling air nomad. I just happened to come by here and see you were in trouble." He smiled and that seemed to somewhat calm her down. Dragon''s smile had developed a calming and tranquil effect during his years as an air nomad. "This is out in the middle of nowhere, how did you get here?" "Nothing is nowhere. Everything is somewhere and it all has a purpose." Dragon almost saw smoke rise from the girls head. "W-What?! What are you talking about." She almost yelled in his face. "Not now, wait a second." Dragon was staring up in the air, and suddenly he whistled. The sound seemed to travel for miles and it was incredibly clear. "Now we wait." Dragon said and smiled and leaned back against the side of the boat. "KAA!" Suddenly from above the clouds appeared the scream of an eagle. Orlando came diving down and he brought a storm with him. He did a circle around the boat and caused it to almost tip over. The kids inside of it screamed in fear for their lives. And Orlando finally calmed down and he started to hover beside the ship. "How are you doing, Orlando? You were really slow to catch up." Dragon laughed and calmed down the wind storm in the area. "KAA!" Orlando seemed annoyed and he screamed louder than usual. "I know. Sorry for leaving you behind and also scaring you with that little revelation of mine." Dragon raised his hands in defeat. "That''s a giant eagle. I''ve never seen anything like it before. Is it yours?" The girl asked carefully but also in slight excitement. "He is not an object I own, little girl. He is my partner. My friend for life, and also our ride back to your home." Dragon saw the faces of the kids evolve to pure shock. "We are riding it?" She said while staring at the massive wings spread out in front of her. "If you keep calling Orlando it, you''re gonna have to get home by yourself." Dragon used his angry tone because he really found it rude and annoying that she kept calling Orlando it. "I''m sorry, I guess. So are we riding i... Orlando?" She said and swallowed nervously for almost messing up again. "Yes... We are, so hang on." Dragon started to really dislike the child, but he grabbed hold of her arm and threw her onto Orlando''s back. "AAAAAAAH" She screamed the entire flight up with tears in her eyes. And her brain hadn''t even fully processed everything that happened here. "Now, you two." Dragon said and walked towards the two other kids. They were trying to back off from him with tears of their own flowing down their face. ------------------------------------------ Chapter 103 - Chapter 105 Dragon with his three new acquaintances was travelling on the back of Orlando. Just from the fact of how big he was, four people could easily fit on his back. "So... What are your names?" Dragon asked while sitting on Orlando''s head. That was his favourite spot to sit on. "I''m Cassie, and these two are Grace and Noah." Cassie the eldest among them answered for herself and the other two. "I see, and why were you hanging out among pirates?" Dragon wore a cheeky smile, trying to garner a reaction from Cassie. "We didn''t mean to be there. We got caught in an unexpected storm and it pushed us where we didn''t wanna go." Cassie got a chill down her spine when she recalled the look in the pirate''s eyes. "Good thing I got there when I did." Dragon said. And he intentionally left out the part where he suspected his excitement of acquiring flight, was the cause for the storm. He chose not to reveal himself as the one that accidentally brought the kids to where they ended up. "Yeah, but I didn''t expect you to have someone like Orlando. I have never seen anything like it. Where did you find him?" Cassie very much enjoyed the feeling of the eagle''s fur. "On a mountain top. We had a little confrontation and then he pretty much became my best friend rather quickly." Dragon did a quick summersault and landed on the back of Orlando. Noah and Grace hid behind Cassie because of the freakishly tall height of Dragon. "So, tell me about yourself. Are you three siblings?" Dragon''s eyes scanned the children. "Yes, we are. I am the eldest and Grace is the middle child and Noah is the youngest." "You don''t have to be so afraid of me. I won''t bite like those pirates probably would. I am just a big softy, just like Orlando here." Dragon started petting Orlando while giving the kids a warming smile. "There''s our village!" Cassie stood up and yelled suddenly. In the distance, there were a few igloos stacked together with a simple snow wall around them all. "Orlando buddy, take us there, and try not to scare the living hell out of them all." Orlando did a turn and he started to head straight for the tiny village. Down on the ground, inside the little water tribe village, everyone was running around like headless chickens. The four tall guard towers around the village had spotted a massive creature heading their way. There was only one person inside the village that still had a calm and collected expression on his face. "Man the walls, and bring the woman and children inside the chief''s hut." A man stood on the wall of the village and overlooking his people. He was the chief of the village and he was also the only one that would stand a chance against whatever this creature was. "Yes, chief!" A young man answered and set out to make it happen. "Give me that." He said to the guard beside him, and he received the binoculars. ''an eagle? What''s it doing here?'' He wondered when he saw the massive shadow approach the village at a quick rate. "Are my kids still out on the sea?" He turned to one of his men, "Yes, chief." "Good. At least they''re not here for this." He moved his hand and the snow below their feet hardened a little to make a better foundation. ''As the chief, I swear I will protect this village with my life." He said and hardened his will as well as the ground underneath him. "Tell the men to prepare to fight. This will not be easy." The guard nodded and jumped down the wall. "YOHOOOOO, DAD WE''RE OKAY, IT''S CASSIE!" A very familiar voice reached his ears and he curiously looked over at the eagle with his binoculars. "WHAAAA!" He almost lost balance and fell off the wall from what he saw. On top of that massive eagle''s head, he could see his eldest daughter standing and waving. Everyone, stand by! No one is attacking this creature yet, my daughter is on it." He yelled out to the village. Orlando approached the village and he zoomed passed it to display his majestic body. He circled the village one time and then slowed down and hovered in front of the village walls. "Cassie, is that really you?" He yelled up towards the creature that was hovering above the village. And barely a second later, three shadows came flying off the eagle''s back. "aaaaaah, not again!!" Cassie and her two siblings were nose-diving towards the ground. Their father that stood on the wall freaked out and he ran to catch them, but they were all spread out in the air. "Do not worry, I would not harm them." A man had appeared beside him and the man waved his hand and the kids started to slow down. Now instead of nose-diving, they were slowly being carried over to the wall by the passing icy winds. "Thank heavens you three are safe." The village chief said and ran over to his children. They made a safe landing on the ground after the winds caught and carried them over. "Who are you and what the hell did you do to my kids!" He snapped his head around and glared angerly at Dragon. But Cassie jumped in and defended Dragon before a fight broke out. "Dad, he saved us. We got caught in a storm that took us to the pirate territory. And he saved us just before a spear would have pierced me." Cassie said in a hurry to not let his dad develop some misunderstanding. "hm, I see. I suppose I owe you thanks for that." He put his hand out and the two men shook hands. "It was nothing at all. I was just in the area so I thought I should step in." Dragon smiled and they broke off the handshake. "What''s your name?" He asked Dragon as he looks over his children bodies for any injuries. "It is pretty common to introduce yourself first. But I don''t mind. My name is Portgas D Dragon. It is a true pleasure to meet you." Dragon cubbed his hands and bowed. "hm, the names Connor, thanks for saving my kids." He didn''t look at Dragon when introducing himself. He was fully focused on his kids and not the freakishly tall man standing behind him. "I''ll excuse myself. I will see you later, Chief Connor." Dragon said before jumping back up onto Orlando. The eagle made a wing flap and flew away with Dragon on his back. Connor turned his gaze away from his kids for a moment and stared on the man standing on the departing eagle''s back. ''A genuine master. It''s been so long since I''ve seen one.'' ----------------------------------------------- End Chapter 104 - Chapter 106 Dragon and Orlando were heading back to the village where they dropped off the kids. They had forgotten that they left a pirate and single tiny fishing boat out at sea. So Dragon thought it would be best to go and get those two back. Orlando had a boat in his talons and inside that boat laid the unconscious pirate. Dragon had knocked him out cold so he would be out for a good while. And he could already see the village again. "Orlando put down the boat outside the village and then you can wait there. I am going inside to talk to Connor." "kaa" Orlando responded. "yes, yes, you don''t have to wait there if you don''t want. You can explore as long as you don''t go to any other village. They would probably try to attack you if you came flying towards them." Dragon warned before he took a step off the eagle''s head. "See ya when I see ya," Dragon winked at his eagle and started free falling towards the ground. He looked much like shooting star that was flying across the sky. "Cassie, you need to pay attention to your feet more. They''re always open to attack," Down in the village, Connor was sparring with his eldest daughter. "Yes, Father!" She said and moved her feet closer together, but she also lowered her gaze to inspect her own feet. "Never take your eyes off your opponent," Connor said and now he had moved in and he stood with his katana resting on Cassie''s neck. The girl swallowed nervously and nodded. No matter if it''s your parent or not, a sword to your throat is always gonna make someone nervous. "And you, Connor, need to pay more attention." A finger was placed on the chiefs neck and a whisper like voice entered his ear. A chill spread through Connor''s body before putting away his sword. "As I suspected. It''s an honour to meet a genuine Grand Master." Connor said and turned around to cup his hand and bow to Dragon. ''Grand Master, like Gyatso talked about." That title reminded Dragon of something Gyatso had talked about. In this world, people that had achieved a peak in bending were referred to as Grand Masters. People with that title were rumoured to be able to stand toe to toe with an Avatar that had control of every element. They were talked about in legends mostly. Benders that were on par with the avatar wasn''t something people believed existed. "May I ask what makes you suspect me to be a Grand Master?" Dragon was always after knowledge and ways to improve himself, so he would never say no to free knowledge or tips and tricks. "You''re an air bender, correct?" Connor asked with a look that needed no confirmation. "As you already know." Dragon answered after reading Connor''s expression. "Well, sneaking up on me when we are standing on my own element," Connor said and pointed at the snowy ground. "That would be impossible unless you have achieved Grand Mastery in air bending. You guys are famous for your ability to delete your presence. To be one with the wind, visible but still completely invisible at the same time. At least that''s what the rumours say." Connor showed a respectful expression to Dragon. Cassie that stood off to the side looked at Dragon with more admiration. She didn''t understand at all what they were talking about. But if her father said all this nice stuff about him, then in her eyes, Dragon had to be someone truly amazing. "I''m impressed. But it is an honour meeting you as well, Grand Master Connor, How about a spar. I can sense the excitement inside you." Dragon bowed in response to Connor''s respectful greeting. This world lived on respect so it was completely natural to show respect to each other. Something that Connor lacked during their first meeting on the wall. "Absolutely, I''ve been longing for an exciting fight such as this." Connor had the biggest smile on his face as he answered with enthusiasm. "Great! But first, we should eat something, we can not fight on an empty stomach." Dragon''s words managed to calm down the excited water bender. "Of course, come this way. Cassie, go and take your siblings and prepare something to eat." Connor shoved his daughter away from them and turned back towards Dragon. "So, tell me, Dragon, do you have a goal in mind for this journey?" Connor asked while using water bending to make an ice bench for each of them to sit on. "No, but you know us old air nomads. We are natural wanderers. We go where the elements take us. Not much more than that." Dragon said and noticed all the curious gazes that were plastered on him. They were coming from all the people peeking out their windows. "oh, I see. Yes, I have heard you air nomads like your long walks. Is this the first place you have visited so far?" Connor knew this place was far away from anything else so he couldn''t figure out why people would come here and explore. "Yes, it is. I found water bending very fascinating so I simply can not wait for our little sparring session to begin." Now even Dragon failed to contain his excitement for the upcoming match. "Food coming through, watch out!" Cassie came in between them and placed down a table. Noah and Grace came afterwards and placed down some fish dish that Dragon didn''t recognise. "Dig in, hope it''s to your liking, Grand Master Dragon." Connor said and bowed before digging into the food. "Thank you for the food." Dragon did a more proper and respectful bow before he too dug into the food. ------------------------------------------------ End Chapter 105 - Chapter 107 A good distance away from the tiny water tribe village, Dragon and Connor stood facing each other. It was time for their spar to start and they both wore expressions that spoke of how excited they were. Connor was excited to face someone on his level of power, and Dragon was excited to see a water bending master. They had different reasons to be excited, but they were both gonna take this seriously out of respect for each others strength. "Are you ready Grand Master Dragon?" Connor said with his hands hanging lazily down his side. On looks alone, he looked like a novice that had just learned how to form a ball of water. But his aura spoke about his high master in the water element. "Yes! Ready anytime." Dragon said with his hands hidden inside his sleeve. Connor nodded and time for just a second seemed to slow down. The two mighty auras grew outwards and they were approaching each other slowly. Dragon''s wind-based elemental aura and Connor''s water-based aura. They were almost upon each other. A bender usually identified each other by their aura. And the higher your mastery was, the more intense your natural aura became. Connor was a Grand Master, so the area around him was always much colder and that was all because of his aura. Most Grand Masters had to supress their auras because they lived with other people. Otherwise their aura alone could make it difficult for normal people and novice benders to exist around them. Air benders were naturally talented in hiding their presence. And a Grand Master like Dragon was could most likely walk into the most secure palace in the earth kingdom without being spotted. Only a Grand Master would have the chance to notice him, and even then, that Grand Master would have to focus on detecting him. This was how powerful air bending was if mastered to a high enough degree. Finally, the auras collided and an invisible pressure appeared and cracked open the ground around them. This served as the start of the battle. Connor ran his hand along the ground and seven small but sharp spikes of water were sent towards Dragon. Dragon saw the attack coming and utilized the agility and flexibility among air benders to move through the spikes. He leaned side to side and continuously dodged the spikes. And as the last one passed by, Conner waved his finger and three tiny water needles grew from the passing spike. He felt the danger behind him so Dragon turned around and did a leg sweep behind him. He successfully knocked the needles away. And he immediately dashed towards Connor. ''Close combat will work best against a water bender that has Connor''s level of mastery.'' Dragon approached at high speed. Connor kicked the ground in front of him and a snow wave grew and stopped Dragon in his approach. Dragon did a roundhouse kick and released an air blast that blew the wave apart. But Connor was gone from sight. ''Below!'' Just in time Dragon jumped up and avoided two hands grabbing onto his legs. He did a downwards leg sweep and blew a hole in the ground. The seawater was exposed and another hole appeared behind Dragon. Connor jumped out of the hole with his whole body surrounded by an armour made from water. He created an ice spear from water and launched it at Dragon. Dragon let the spear approach and as it did, he covered his fist in wind and destroyed it with a quick palm strike. He disappeared from the spot using air dash and appeared behind Connor in the air. He delivered another palm strike and it successfully hit him on the back. Connor was launched towards the ground and crashed through the hard icy surface. ''Let''s see what other tricks he has.'' Dragon observed the ice surface carefully. Suddenly the ice started to break below Dragon. The cracks spread across the surface, and the spot below Dragon exploded and forcing him to jump up. Connor appeared from the explosion, riding a water tornado. He had water covering his entire body and he held an ice sword in one hand and an axe in the other. He swung his sword and ice needles were launched towards Dragon. "you''re gonna have to do better than needles." Dragon spun around in place, and a great storm appeared and swatted the needles away. And a proper tornado started to form under him and it carried him away. "Let''s do this for real now," Connor said and raised his weapons in the air. He waved his hands and sent blasts of water from his water tornado towards Dragon. Dragon used his wind to counter the water, and the two elements clashed in mid-air and destroyed the area around them. The two respective benders on their own tornados kept sending blasts of wind and water at each other. Massive outbursts of wind and auratic pressure appeared and completely destroyed the landscape. Any normal person close to this would not be able to stand up ort walk around. Dragon''s elemental aura created a fierce storm for miles around him, and each clash between the two Grand Masters was like multiple explosions occurring. Connor''s elemental aura caused huge waves and that coupled with the storm Dragon cooked up, any boat on this sea, no matter the size would immediately be destroyed. This was a battle that only a Grand Master could survive in. "Let us finish this now, so that our fight do not reach your home village." Dragon raised his hands up into the air slowly. This caused the massive storm around them to condense and start to form four tornados around Connor. Dragon spread apart his arms and slammed his hands together. And as his hands moved so did the tornados. They moved in to collide with Connor. The man saw no escape from these massive tornados, so he quickly raised his hands and his water tornado grew in size extensively and covered him. The tornado made from water started to expand outwards and clash with the incoming tornados. The five natural catastrophy class attacks collided, and a massive storm broke out from the point of contact. Connor that covered himself with his own tornado lost control for a second and got flung aside. He crashed hard on the ground and coughed up some blood. The giant storm that broke out from their clash started dissipating and the sea started to calm down. Dragon cancelled his tornado and he flew down towards Connor. He landed beside Connor and sat down by his side. "I had n-no idea there could be this giant of a difference between Grand Masters." Connor sat up while groaning in pain. He laughed at himself for thinking that he stood on the same stage as Dragon. Clearly, there were worlds apart between them. "All I can say is this. Grand Master is not the end, Connor. There is no end to this road we walk on. I can feel it, the next step in my air bending. I don''t know what lies beyond, but I know it''s not the end. So who knows if bending even has a limit to it. Maybe we humans are the ones that create the limitations." Connor looked at Dragon with a questionable gaze, but he couldn''t ignore what Dragon said. Somewhere inside of him, he felt it too. "hm, I think I know what you mean. The more attune I become with my element and the more I advance in my water bending, I feel more and more resistance. It''s getting harder and harder to improve myself." "How about we go back and eat something. This was a good spar session. I thoroughly enjoyed it." Dragon helped Connor stand up and smiled. "Sure, I can get behind that." Connor simply moved his hand and the snow underneath them both hardened and it started to move like a sledge. ''Guess he passed my test with flying colours. I need to contact that old man and tell him about this. But that''s after I get something to eat.'' Connor told himself while glancing at Dragon with pride and respect in his eyes. -------------------------------------- End Chapter 106 - Chapter 108 High above the village, among the countless clouds in the sky, Dragon sat and meditated. He was replaying the fight he had with Connor over and over again in his mind. He looked over every hand movement and facial expressions. He had gotten so little success in earth bending that he thought to master water first. It was closer to air bending in nature, and how the benders moved and practised it. So it was no wonder that it felt more natural to him than earth bending. He had become an air bender in body and spirit, but he was interested in what changes would take place when he mastered all the elements. All elements and the ones practising them. They were different from each other. Fire benders were loud, social and strong-willed. Air benders were calm, more seclusive and not as driven by will or desire as the other benders were. There was a mindset to master for each element. And that was the hardest part for most avatars. Growing up calm but forced to act aggressive or vice versa. It doesn''t sound difficult but it is one of the biggest obstacles for an avatar. And now the same for Dragon, just on a smaller scale since he wasn''t born into this world. Dragon had a cup of water in one hand and with the other hand, he practised simple movements he had seen Connor do. He wouldn''t reveal to just anyone what he could do. He wouldn''t care if people found out because his flight ability made it impossible for people to locate him anyways. He remembered how he felt when he first arrived on his mountain. How the wind spoke to him, and how he could feel it like it was a living organism. He managed to do it with earth to an extent. And now he tried to do the same with the water in his cup. He put the tip of his finger inside the water and tried to spiritually connect with the small amount he had here. Ones he could do that, he could start with mimicking the training movements Connor showed Cassie, the only other water bender in the village. "KAA!" Suddenly a giant eagle came flying passed and circled overhead. Orlando brought with him a gust of wind that knocked Dragon a little off balance. "HEY! What have I told you about surprise visits when I am meditating. Not allowed!" Dragon looked at Orlando that hovered in front of him. "KAA!" "Connor sent you?" Dragon showed surprise now and he sighed loudly and realized that his alone time was over. "KAA!" "Yeah, yeah, I''m coming. Take me down to the village." Dragon flew over and landed on his back. He laid down and closed his eyes and allowed the winds to stroke his body as they passed by him. "KAA!" Orlando responded with a scream and began his smooth descent down towards the village. --- A giant eagle with the wingspan of close to thirty meters had become quite the regular sight in the village. Orlando rarely stayed within the village because of his massive size, but every time Dragon was visiting, he would rest outside the village. Being so large made him very distinguished in this part of this world. Connor was the only person in this village that had travelled out into the world before settling here. But the rest of the village members had never seen a creature as large as Orlando before. Orlando with Dragon on his back approached the village. And their appearance didn''t set off any alarms within the village anymore. With Connor''s own seal of approval, Orlando was allowed to fly and walk within the grounds of the village. Thanks to all the loose snow on the ground, Orlando caused a mini snowstorm when he approached. He touched the ground outside of the village and Dragon jumped off and gracefully landed on the ground. "Grand Master Dragon." Cassie came running out of the opening in the wall that served as the gates in and out of the village. She had an excited smile on her lips that came forth every time Dragon visited. "Cassie, how are you doing today?" Dragon said and bowed to the little girl with a smile on her face. "I''m excellent!" She said and performed a proper bow that you would expect from young nobles. But because Cassie had only started using this when Dragon arrived, she wasn''t too good at it so she almost lost balance and fell down while bowing. "oh, careful there." Dragon reached out his hand and caught Cassie by her hand before she fell over from tripping over her own foot. "So what brings you here today?" She found her footing again but with her face a little more red the before. She placed her hands behind her back and swayed back and forth to try and look as adorable as possible. "Orlando here came to fetch me. Apparently, your father had something to talk to me about. How about you be my guide and take me to him." Dragon wasn''t the most brilliant man in the world, but he wasn''t oblivious either. He knew the girl had a crush on him and he had no idea when it happened. "Absolutely! You can count on me!" Cassie said and started guiding Dragon, but not before waving to Orlando. She and her two siblings much like Aang was very fascinated with Orlando. Every time he came here, he would try and play it down as much as possible. He knew these kinds of things was nothing serious, the girl was probably in love with an idea or a concept, rather than a person. He felt it was similar to how a student might fancy the teacher. And in some cases he had encountered in both his lifetimes, the student would sometimes be in love with the concept of love and not the actual teacher of the class. But Dragon was far from the ideal romantic, so he had no idea how serious this childish crush was. He absolutely didn''t wanna lead this girl on in any way. But she became a reminder of how much Dragon wanted a daughter. Someone he could spoil to no end and read stories to at night. "How is your water bending coming along?" He asked while looking at the girl sashaying through the village with a smile on her face. "Could be better. It''s weird, but every time I water to bend it feels like something is holding me back. I don''t understand it and dad have to be all cryptic so I don''t understand a word he says." She stopped her walk of confidence and stopped just to sigh out loud. "He says it''s all about control, but I have control. I want the water to move right, then it moves right! So I don''t get what the problem is." "hm, you know what I discovered during my time practising bending?" Dragon saw Cassie turn around with the pleading for help look in her eyes. "If it''s gonna help me water bend than please tell me," She said and looked at him with the helplessness she had built up inside. "When I first started air bending. I sought to air bend for the sake of air bending. I sought to control for the sake of control. I sought to control everything when all I needed was to surrender myself to the idea, that control doesn''t have to be controlled. When you find the thing that guides you, control will appear in the shape it''s supposed to be in." Dragon was explaining with a smile, but the girl''s look of frustration only grew more intense the more he talked. "Is it a requirement for Grand Masters to be so damn cryptic?" Just tell me what the problem is!" Cassie lashed out and fell backwards on her back and landed on the snowy ground. "I don''t see it as being cryptic, it''s more like helpful guidance." Dragon waved his finger and the wind picked up Cassie and placed her on her feet. She was still wearing that sour face. "How can it be helpful when I don''t understand any of it?" , "Bending exists in a way that it can''t really be taught to someone. Yes, I and your father could tell you how to move your arms. But that isn''t what makes you a good bender. If control over water isn''t the problem, then what is? Could it be in here?" Dragon lightly tapped Cassie''s forehead and gave her a knowing smile. Like he had her issues already figured out. "Bending is more than just moving an element. I can''t wait until you figure that out, Cassie. "And think about it, maybe your descendants will be benders. How are you going to guide them down the right path if you don''t even know what path that is for yourself?" Dragon stood back up and smiled. Cassie touched her forehead and she looked to be back to her usual happy self. "I''ll show you the rest of the way!" She said and sprung into action. She ran away and left Dragon standing there. ''Become one with your element. Water benders become gentle. Air benders achieve freedom. I can''t wait to see what sort of bender she chooses to become.'' Dragon started walking while thinking of the woman she would grow up to be. All Grand Masters had taken their own route towards achieving mastery. But in the end, they all always come to the same conclusion. Adopt the personality of your element to achieve mastery. -------------------------------------------- End Chapter 107 - Chapter 109 Dragon arrived outside the little hut where Connor resided in. He turned around and bowed to Cassie that had been his guide this time. "Thank you for taking me here and for the pleasant conversation. I had a great time." Dragon said and knocked on the frail and old looking wooden door that was barely hanging on. "Come in, Master Dragon." Connors''s voice rang out from inside as he was knocking. His tone was completely different than before. And Dragon noticed it before he even saw Connor''s face. Just from his tone, he knew this was not a regular meeting. Dragon walked inside the dimly lit hut. A single candle was carrying the heavy burden of lighting this entire space up. The little flame burned bright and stood tall, despite the burden resting on its fiery shoulders. "Please sit down, Dragon." Connor used his hands to direct Dragon to the pillow on the ground in front of the water Grand Master himself. It was a simple-looking hut with a candle, two pillows and a tray with two small cups filled with some liquid. "This looks more like a ceremony than a meeting between friends. What is going on, Connor?" Dragon wasn''t nervous or even confused about the setup inside this hut. Connor had an entirely different aura about him. Connor usually walked around and spoke like a warrior that had lived his life on the battlefield. But he now sat in front of Dragon with an aura of a proper elder. His tone carried weight and heavy responsibility. Something it didn''t display before. "Dragon, ever since you arrived here on the back of Orlando, and delivered my children to safety. I have been testing you. Though I believe you have noticed already." Connor said and patiently waited for a response. "I did, to a degree notice that you had something other then curiosity driving you to challenge me to a sparring match." He smiled and relaxed a little now that he practically knew what this was about. "Expected as much. I belong to a society. A secret one, that has existed for many years. One that stretches beyond borders of different nations. And in this society of ours, I have been tasked with finding the next member." Connor took his hand out of his sleeve and placed something on the ground in front of him. It was a small circular wooden piece, with a symbol on it. "White Lotus." Dragon closed his eyes and gave a small chuckle at the realization of what was happening. "I''m glad you''re already aware. I have travelled the world for this moment. Finally, I found someone that I believe is the perfect representation of what our order believes in. Before you leave this hut, you will either take this white piece, or you will leave it and never speak of this again." Connor''s tone of voice didn''t change, but his eyes shun through with the meaning behind each word he spoke. "Help break down borders and changing the future for the better. If I can be a part of it when that day comes, then I will have proof that I have become someone I am proud of being." Dragon picked up the piece and did a little sleight of hand for dramatic effect and the piece disappeared in his hand. "Portgas D Dragon. Welcome to the Order Of The White Lotus." Connor reached behind him and took out a wooden board. "Now, how about a game of Pai Sho?" He smiled and got a playful nod from Dragon in return. ---------- A few weeks passed inside this peaceful little water tribe village. Dragon was asked if he wanted to stay inside the village. But he declined, saying that he prefered to live outside. What he didn''t tell them was that he lived in the air. His flight technique allowed him to stay in the air for all eternity if he wished it. it wasn''t magic, so it didn''t drain stamina or his energy supply. His body was just weightless, so he barely even needed to concentrate to fly. He could sleep while floating and not fall down even ones. Dragon was currently standing on a massive ice block that drifted around in the ocean. He learned air bending by connecting with the wind spiritually. And he would use the same approach to all elements because they all had their roots in the spiritual. He was standing with a straight back and breathed in and out. He breathed in the cold, which represented the element, and he breathed out part of his spirit to mix it into the cold and become a part of the land. Each intake of cold air would cause the water around the massive ice block to slam against the side of it. And every time he breathed out, the water that was slamming against the ice block would be shoved outwards in decently sized waves. He had been doing this breathing exercise for two weeks now and finally, he started feeling himself becoming a part of the ice-cold land around him. He started feeling the emotions of the water, and he started sensing the movements of the fish in the ocean around him. As he started to gain insight into water bending, he felt a new world open up to him. It was almost like a picture becoming more and more clear. With air bending, he had perfect vision in the sky. And now he started seeing the true world as he liked to call it. He wasn''t using his eyes to see his surroundings when he was flying. When he was intuned with the winds, he could close his eyes and still see further then his eyes had ever been able to. He believed the higher the mastery, the more of the true world would open up for him. "Break!" Dragon said and slammed his foot on the block of ice he stood upon. And straight down and through the whole ice block a crack appeared and it split it in two. Dragon quickly took to the skies and watched the massive block break apart and create enormous waves that swept away all other smaller blocks in the water. "Success!" He closed his eyes and tried to feel the water move, but it became increasingly harder to keep the connection with the water element when flying high above the water surface. He closed his eyes as a smile made its way onto his face. He breathed out and caused an uproar among the winds constantly present around him. "I''m no master yet, but it won''t be long now." -------------------------------------------------- Chapter 108 - Chapter 110 Connor and Dragon had bonded quite well during the weeks he stayed in this frozen wasteland Connor called home. But Dragon had gotten the basics on water bending under control finally, so he was preparing to leave the south pole behind. Dragon didn''t feel like revealing that he had multiple elements under control so he chose to leave early. Because if he stayed here, Connor would eventually sense Dragon''s heightened connection to the Water element. And he wanted to fly under the radar as long as possible, even within the White Lotus. It wasn''t that he didn''t trust or respect the order. But the White Lotus has existed since ancient times to protect and guide the Avatar. That''s is one among many of the secret missions that they perform in the shadows of the world. And if the members found out about his secret, then the chances of him getting a high status within the Order would be certain. A position in which he would be required to know a lot about the world and guide an entire Order full of Grand Masters in a world he didn''t understand. He wasn''t against a position of higher status. He created an Empire and took a high position in multiple worlds, so it wasn''t necessarily the status that was off-putting. He didn''t feel that controlling an order filled with Grand Masters was something he was worthy of. He knew little of the world so he needed to learn more if he wanted to lead the White Lotus. One step at a time, Dragon was approaching the village that had served as his first experience beyond the mountains of the air temple. There was a lot of heart inside this tiny place and coupled with the good people living here, he had nothing but good things to say about it. For the last time, his feet passed the man-made gates of the village. And this simple-looking village proved that the impressiveness among humans is not in what they create. But how they create it. This little water tribe village had more heart than most places because of the care and love it received from the inhabitants on a daily basis. The eyes of the villagers opened up in surprise as he walked inside the village. He was famous in the village for being another powerful bender, just like the chief in this place. But what he was more famous for was his unique partner that he was usually arriving on. Even though Orlando wasn''t with him, his natural arrogance and loftiness had rubbed off on Dragon. Walking inside here without Orlando by his side, Dragon still carried that natural arrogance as Orlando did. A clear cut sign that Dragon was present in any place was his aura. Or more specifically the phenomenon it caused when he didn''t suppress it at all. He would affect the air wherever he walked and this was still when his aura was mostly suppressed. Depending on how much of his aura that he let slip out, the area around him would experience different things. Right now when he was walking through this village, the winds picked up speed, so if people walked around with loose clothes, they would flutter around uncontrollably as soon as Dragon was in the vicinity. Dragon was walking towards the chief''s hut because he couldn''t leave this place before saying goodbye to Connor and his family. He had gotten really close to them, a lot closer than with the rest of the villagers. All five hundred of them. To get to Connor''s home, he would have to cross over the village square. And as his eyes scanned this place that barely passed for a village square, he couldn''t help but notice in the distance, Cassie standing and waving at him. "Master Dragon! Over here!" She stood with her siblings next to her. They had always been afraid of Dragon ever since he arrived. And they still hadn''t opened up to him at all. But it wasn''t like he was annoyed over it or anything. He was always training and meditating so he didn''t mind not having a perfect relationship with every villager. Cassie and her siblings stood in front of something huge that had a big blanket covering it. Cassie had the biggest and silliest smile on her face the entire time he walked over. "Be prepared to be AMAZED!" She said as Dragon stopped in front of the three siblings. She turned around and grabbed hold of the big blanket. And after counting to three silently to herself, she pulled it off. "TADA!" Now, what came into view almost floored Dragon completely. ''What the hell? That''s so not good for my ego.'' Right now he was staring at a massive ice sculpture of himself and Orlando. It was huge and it displayed Dragon standing on the head of a massive and majestic ice eagle. Orlando looked almost more beautiful as a sculpture then he did in real life. "So? What do you think?" Cassie asked and looked incredibly proud. Her siblings were hiding slightly behind her back, but you could see tiny smiles plastered on their faces. It was an incredible thing to do, but Dragon was mostly confused about why this thing existed. "It''s fantastic, I assume you did it, Cassie?" He looked at the girl and she nodded proudly. A quick sigh escaped his mouth and he also started smiling. "It''s amazing, as I said. But... Why is it here? Logically, shouldn''t a sculpture like this be of your father instead? He has, and always will be protecting this place. I won''t." Dragon was smiling as he said it. But that quickly disappeared when he saw Cassie''s smile warp from the brightest and proudest smile. To something resembling utter disbelief and despair. "Y-You''re leaving?" She said and tried so very hard to not let Dragon hear the lump that got stuck in her throat. The intense sensation to burst into tears came over her, and but before Dragon could even defend himself, she took off running. "Cassie!" Dragon said but to no avail in stopping her running off. Noah and Grace remained standing there a loss off what to do now that their sister was gone. "oh boy, that didn''t go very well." Dragon hung his head in guilt and disappointment. Grace and Noah nodded along, but they also started to awkwardly walk away from Dragon. And he didn''t try and stop them since he had no idea what to say. Suddenly without Dragon noticing, reality itself looked to be bending in front of Dragon. The air twisted and suddenly a shape started to appear. "Do you have kids?" An elderly woman had appeared where the kids stood in front of the statue. She had a face full of wrinkles, and among them all, you could see a smile radiating kindness. "I do," Dragon looked up at the woman. And immediately something caught his interest. He could see right through her. Her body looked solid and she was standing on the ground, but that didn''t stop Dragon''s gaze from piercing right through her and landing on the ice sculpture behind her "Who are you?" Dragon asked quickly. He scanned the woman up and down, but nothing was gained since he still couldn''t feel anything from her. Whatever she was, he either wasn''t skilled enough or strong enough to know. "When you find me, I''ll give you the best piece of advice any parent could ever hope for." She said with a smile and faded away into nothingness. Her image blurred out like a hallucination in the desert. "What is going on here? I didn''t know this tiny little village had secrets." Dragon sighed again and despite being utterly confused about everything that transpired. He resumed his walk to Connor''s hut. ---- It didn''t take long for Dragon to arrive at Connor''s. He hoped to find Cassie in here so he could clear out everything with her before he left. But unfortunately, she wasn''t there. Neither of the three siblings was. Only Connor''s mighty aura was present inside the hut. And since their spar, Connor had arguably gotten a little stronger. "Come in." Connor''s voice came from inside the hut. Dragon obeyed and walked through the broken down door that Connor had yet to fix. "What brings you here today?" Connor sat and drank tea, like how most people spent their downtime in this village. Dragon went and sat down on the pillow by the table and poured himself a cup. The sweet aroma of the exotic herbs they used in their tea filled the little hut ones again. "My time to leave is upon us. And I came to say my goodbyes." "I would like to say that I''m surprised. But since you have been coming here less and less, I would be foolish to think you wouldn''t leave very soon. Though it is quicker then I thought." Connor said and took a sip from his cup of tea. He put it down on the table and sighed out loud. He met eyes with Dragon and smiled, "Did my daughter get a hold of you? She has been working on something for you in secret." Connor got a little prideful thinking about Cassie''s hard-working attitude the last couple days, "Yeah, we met, and it apparently came as a great shock to her that I would be leaving eventually. I think she was so caught up in whatever thoughts she had that the reality of the situation took her by surprise." "That sounds like my daughter, alright. She tends to go for something with nothing less than everything she got. it''s that highway or no way kind of lifestyle she got from me." Dragon and Connor shared a laugh and enjoyed the peaceful atmosphere between them. Grand Masters rarely get to meet others on their own level and converse like the two of them are doing. Dragon started feeling more guilty about how careless he was when speaking to Cassie. Because he was fully aware of how she felt, he felt stupid for not taking it more seriously. If he kept acting carelessly like that, he could lead her down the completely wrong emotional path, and resulting in hurting her immensely. And he would never wish that for Cassie. She was about to turn thirteen years old this year and Dragon had never dealt with that age before. He wasn''t there for Robin and that was one more person he felt incredibly guilty about leaving behind. Because he had no prior experience with girls that age, he had no idea how to approach those conversation pieces. With only a few words he had appeared to have ruined Cassie''s day and also days of her hard work. That was also why he slightly dreaded having a daughter. He didn''t want to accidentally ruin her life. There was another reason why he would probably ruin any future his daughter would plan for herself. And that was because Dragon was pretty sure he would throw any boy asking out Robin beyond space and time. So thinking about what he would do to someone asking out his daughter. These were things that kept him awake at night. "Dragon, are you okay?" Connor was waving his hand in the air in front of his friends face with an expression of worry. "You completely spaced out there for a second." He said and sat back down when he saw Dragon regain focus. "I apologize. that was very rude of me. Night demons coming and visiting me during the day." Dragon said and felt his anger starting to boil now that he was imagining Robin alone out at sea with the world against her. ''Those commanders of mine better protect her or it''s gonna be hell to pay.'' Dragon''s aura flared up and shook the house a little. "Dragon, calm down. Whatever''s on your mind, I''m here if you wanna talk about it." Connor said and raised his aura to stabilise the imbalance in the air, caused by Dragon. "I''m sorry. I was thinking about my granddaughter. I left her in a place when I left for my journey a long time ago. And lately, I''ve started having incredible guilt for leaving her so abruptly." Dragon started breathing in and out slowly. "Dragon, as a father myself. Let me tell you this little secret. Your granddaughter loves you. I know you, and without a doubt, she couldn''t have gotten a better role model in life." Connor smiled and poured more tea in the two cups. "Thank you. But when I left, I was. Let''s just say, I was different then. This journey changed me, and I wish she was first introduced to this version of me." "My friend. Just from the fact that you are here talking about her proves the genuineness in your relationship. No one can fake that, not even a Grand Master can fake genuineness like you are displaying. So I''m sure she feels the exact same way." Dragon opened his eyes and his usual calm and tranquilly aura showed itself again. And Connor smiled at his success of calming down Dragon. "Now come on, no more depressing thoughts, let us make a toast in the name of your granddaughter." Connor raised his cup. "To Robin!" Dragon said and raised his glass with love and care now the only emotions mixed in with his aura. "To Robin!" Connor said, and they both drank from their cups. And this became the perfect way to see Dragon off. Now he only had one more person to appease before he could leave, and he dreaded for that conversation. ------------------------------------------------------- End Chapter 109 - Chapter 111 A few miles away from Connor''s peaceful little village, a girl was walking with her head hung low. She was staring intensely at the ground and not paying any attention as to where she was walking. Her mind was too occupied with replaying the horrifying scene she was apart of earlier that day. ''Stupid, stupid, moron, dumbass, stupid! How are you ever going to talk to him again after doing something that embarrassing.'' Cassie felt like shoving a cold piece of ice right through her heart. Because that was the current mood she was in after her conversation with Dragon. "Who runs away crying like that? Of course, he was gonna leave, he doesn''t even live here. I know that! AAAH! Why did I have to open my stupid mouth." Cassie was walking on a massive frozen lake that she and her dad usually used water bending to skate on. It was this place where she perpetually went to vent and scream her issues out into the world. "I should go back, I want to at least say goodbye first. BUT IT''S SO EMBARRASSING!" She fell down on her knees and screamed as loud as she could towards the sky. Her voice echoed around the lake and brought life to this dead wasteland. But silence quickly returned and she was left sitting out in the middle of the lake with tears stuck in her throat. "It''s so unfair!" Cassie felt the cold evening winds hit her in the face. And much like the cold winds, the reality hit her hard and the first teardrops escaped her eyes. And much like a broken dam failing to keep the water at bay. Her tears started falling like a waterfall down her face. The snow that was covering the ground beneath her started to melt away thanks to the warmth of her tears. Her beautiful ocean blue hair was stuck to her face and her green coloured eyes were shivering from the sorrow and pain filling her up from head to toe. Cassie was sitting there on her knees crying her eyes out, failing to notice multiple shadows approaching her from all directions. As the darkness was slowly taking over the world, Cassie had almost buried her head in the snow. She was crying so much that it was starting to physically hurt her. Her happiness that had been building every time Dragon visited the village. Or every time she laid eyes on Orlando''s majestic form. It all came crumbling down with one poor timed word from Dragon. And she wasn''t prepared to handle the reality that came as a punch to the stomach. As Dragon put it, she was too caught up in whatever was going on with her that the fact about Dragon not staying around was something she never even considered. In her mind, Dragon was a gentle teacher, a knowledgable elder. And everything she could ever think about nowadays. As Cassie sat there in her sorrow, the shadows had all surrounded her. She had many hungry eyes inspecting her, observing whether she was prey or a threat. The red eyes lighting up the dark night sky seemed to have made a decision and twenty or so howls sounded out at the same time around the crying girl. ''Shit!'' Cassie knew immediately what was happening. Still, with tears running down her face, she stood up just in time to see a big mouth with razor-sharp teeth open up in front of her face. "I''m sorry." Was the last words she could think about. "KAAAA!" An eagle''s scream so loud that it put a crack in the ground came from above, and a massive talon appeared and crushed the beast preparing to bite into Cassie. A shockwave from the sheer force of the eagle blew Cassie and all the other beasts aside. Cassie rolled on the ground and lucky for her the ground had a lot of snow, meaning she didn''t hurt herself that badly when she got knocked away by the giant talon. "O-Orlando?" It had become very dark, but Cassie could still see that massive shadow of Orlando standing where she had stood. "KAA!" Orlando screamed towards the other beasts and glared at them with his piercing gaze. It looked like he was daring them all to attack. An apex predator looking down on simple prey. The unidentified beasts stood there growling and staring at Cassie and Orlando with bloodlust in their eyes. But they eventually left the place without attacking again. With Orlando here, getting to Cassie just became impossible. Orlando would have killed them all the second they moved towards her. "KAA!" Orlando screamed in victory as he made his way over to Cassie. And she was in awe at the sheer power and aura Orlando gave off. It was only because Dragon was always there that she didn''t notice until now. But if you take Dragon out of the equation. Orlando was a real top apex predator. Very few beings in this world could even manage to put a scratch on him without dying for it. "Thanks for that, Orlando," Cassie said and dried her tears with her sleeve. "What are you doing here?" She asked the eagle and tried to stay strong and not cry anymore. Orlando just turned his head and looked at the pathetic looking carcass of the beast he had killed. Well, it was mostly a pile of flesh and bones now, because when Orlando crushes something, they get crushed for real. He holds immense power and not many beings can withstand it in this world. "A-Are you going to eat them?" She looked at the dead creature and then she turned to Orlando with a questionable gaze. "Kaa!" Orlando flapped his wings and screamed out in anger at her question. "What? What did I say?" Cassie said, now terrified she would be next on Orlando''s crush list. At this moment, the sound of crushed snow was heard behind them, and Cassie for an unexplained reason got a chill that started at her toes and spread all the way through her body. "No need to be afraid, Cassie. He is just a little annoyed that you thought he was gonna eat that. According to him, they are not worthy to be eaten by him." A deep voice, Cassie was very familiar with was heard behind her. She quickly wiped away all the dried tears on her face and turned around. "I-I''m sorry, Master Dragon. I didn''t mean to run away like that before." She said while staring at the ground. She wasn''t able to look him in the eyes. "It''s forgotten already. And I apologize for not telling you about me leaving sooner. But are you okay? That was pretty dangerous there." Dragon asked and sat down on his knees in front of her. "Yeah, I''m okay. It was my fault, I knew that snow wolfs hunted here. I was just a little too focused on other things." She said and looked at the dead snow wolf. All the blood made it difficult for her to look at it for too long. "Your mind was occupied. It''s understandable. So how are you holding up now?" He said and waved for Orlando to come over, which he did. He jumped over with air bending and landed beside Dragon and Cassie. "I''m okay, really. I just need some rest I think." Cassie delivered the line with sincerity, but her smile was so fake and strained that Dragon could be blind and still be able to tell the emotion displayed on her face. "You know when I miss my family back home or I''m feeling down. I go to sleep on top of Orlando. His feathers make it feel like your sleeping on the softest clouds. Try it." Dragon nodded to Orlando and he put out his wing so Cassie would be able to just walk on to it. "Is that okay?" She looked at Orlando. And he nodded like the kind and understanding king eagle he was. Cassie got up with the help of Dragon and she climbed up on Orlando. She had done this before, but never just for the purpose of sleeping. And as she got on she immediately knew what Dragon was talking about. The feathers felt amazing to touch. "Now lay down and relax." Dragon said as he stood on the ground beside the sitting eagle. Orlando was a giant creature so even when he was sitting down he was many times bigger than Dragon. His height was 27 meters. Cassie closed her eyes and let the nice and cool night breeze in collaboration with Orlando''s feathers guide her to the land of possibilities. The land is also known as the dreamland. And she got there quickly because of how tired she was. "Orlando take us to the village." Dragon said and jumped upon his head. And Orlando took off in flight with the sleeping beauty sleeping peacefully on his back. -------- Inside the chief''s hut, a bed was set up with a blanket and a pillow. And on this bed, a blue-haired girl was sleeping. She was one of the chief''s daughters and the only other water bender in the village. She was sleeping soundly and she looked peaceful while laying there under the blanket with only her head showing. "Are you not going to wait for her to wait up? She would appreciate it, you know." Connor and Dragon stood and overlooking the bed that Cassie was sleeping on. Dragon had already explained the situation to Connor and now that he had delivered her home, he would leave. "Give her this when she wakes up. tell her that if she manages to get this back into my hands, I''ll take her in as a student." Dragon gave Connor a small blue rock. It had a strange inscription on it. "Very well. I''m sure that will be one hell of a motivator for her." Connor smiled and took the rock from Dragon''s hand. He inspected the rock, but after a few seconds of nothingness, he just put it in his pocket. "And are you sure you know where to go from here?" Connor asked Dragon about his next stop on his journey. In fact, the White Lotus was very familiar with this place for one specific reason, so explaining the direction wasn''t difficult for Connor. "I''m sure. And I have a flying eagle so how hard can it be to find an island of that size." Dragon gave Connor a laugh and put on his new cloak Connor had gifted him. Dragon was wearing a water tribe inspired attire and a full-body cloak that covered both his front and back from view. "I sincerely hope we meet again before my time is up." Dragon said suddenly and earned a strange look from Connor. "I''ll have to agree there, my friend. So make sure you don''t go and die on me." Connor held out his hand with a smile. "Come back anytime, my door will always be open to you." Connor and Dragon shook hands and shared a smile. ''Leaving this world behind might be a lot harder than I thought.'' Dragon said to himself as he walked out of the hut leaving Connor and Cassie behind. ------------------------------------------------------ End Chapter 110 - Chapter 112 Next on Dragon''s journey was the land that had for hundreds of years been dominated by fire. An element with immense destructive capabilities. And benders that harnessed this element were naturally aggressive and they carried high ambitions that they would live and die for. You would be hardpressed to find a fire bender not completely driven by their maddening desire for power. This land was also the cause of the dwindling peace that had existed in this land for many years now. The Fire Nation and the earth kingdom were the two most powerful nations in the world. They stood responsible for shaping this current era in the world. If these two mighty nations decide to act out and attack another nation then the entire world would be affected. And for the last four or five years, there had been the talk among the people that another war was on the rise. Soldiers were recruited and skirmishes among the earth kingdom and the Fire Nation was becoming more and more common. There was more proof of war then most people were willing to see. And it was getting difficult to manage the balance within the world. And with the Avatar gone from the world, there was no one to keep the powerful nations in check. And most of all there was no one to keep the Fire Lord in check. He was the man to focus on if a war was part of the discussion. It was common knowledge that the Avatar and the Fire Lord had a falling out years ago. It was a gradual process caused by the rising madness within Fire Lord Sozin. And when the Avatars death was confirmed, Sozin full-heartedly began his plan that he had been working on for years. Although the fire nation was nigh impossible to sneak into normally. Ones you were actually inside the borders, it would become easier to move around. And for a flying eagle, getting across the border was as easy as just finding the right altitude. Inside the borders of the fire nation, there was one island that was never watched. It used to be a high priority target that Sozin kept a strict eye on. But after the owner of that island died, the entire place was abandoned. Sozin didn''t even think about it before he went to sleep. And that''s why it was the perfect place for someone like Dragon to settle down in. He wanted to dabble in fire bending and what better place to start than the home island of the Avatar himself. Dragon and Orlando were approaching the island from high above the clouds. And the closer that they got to the island the less security they saw. The island that they were looking for was where Avatar Roku had taken his last breath. It was here that Sozin''s ambitions bloomed into reality since the threat that kept him at bay was gone. The world didn''t want to admit it but they all felt the feeling of war hanging in the air. The deprived sense of safety was evident among the Nations of the world. But there were two people, or more likely you should call them beings, that didn''t get bothered by the depressing state of the world. Dragon and Orlando didn''t bother with worldly matters. Orlando only followed Dragon but he had no care for the world itself. Dragon had enough of war and killing. He was tired of it, but still, he knew that when he left this world to return to Robin, Sylvia and all the people he left behind, another never-ending war would be forced upon him. He couldn''t escape it, his touch brought death to a world. That''s the truth he found out about himself. He wanted nothing to happen to people he cared about here. But Dragon was convinced that his involvement would destroy the world even more in the long run. He may be able to stop a few fire benders now, but any change he does would be undone when he left. He was torn between taking action or staying silent. And this world had an Avatar for a reason. Gyatso explained it to Dragon, and that just further proved his thoughts that he wasn''t here to stop wars or start them. In the end, the Avatar would always reinstate balance into the world and he had to believe that. "Orlando, go faster, the island is in sight." Dragon sat on the eagles back and watched as the legendary island came into view. It was here that he would stay for a while. It was here that he would become a Grand Master in all the elements. Earth was gonna be his most difficult element to master. He had already figured that out. So before taking on earth bending he sought to master the other elements first. Orlando dove down and brought a storm with him as he zoomed through the sky. His talons touched the ground on the island and both of them looked upon the burned ground all around them. "Orlando, we''re staying here until I master them all. Do whatever you want, just don''t go poking at the Fire Lord." Dragon said and jumped down from Orlando. Being part of the White Lotus allowed Dragon access to a lot of information. Information that most civilians wouldn''t have access to. And one of those was the location of Roku''s island, and what happened to it those years ago. The entire island was made up of two volcanos that during that fateful night erupted and caused the death of the Avatar. Roku had shaped this entire era and in the end, his own island and his own element had taken his life. Dragon bowed towards the island with his hands cupped in front of his chest. He closed his eyes and said, "Please look after Aang on his life''s journey." Dragon held the position for an entire minute. He got up slowly and took in the silence of the island. There was nothing on this island that would attract people to visit it. It was a dead land. But he still couldn''t drop the feeling that this island had a part to play in the future. ''There is something here,'' Dragon closed his eyes and breathed in the air around the island. And like a punch from Garp, something hit his mind space. Dragon opened his eyes and in front of him stood a white silhouette. It constantly changed shape. First, it was a man, than a woman. And it continued until finally, the silhouette started to disappear. It all happened in only a few seconds. Dragon felt a familiar feeling from somewhere inside that silhouette. ''That old woman back in the water tribe village. I feel her here. Is she one of the previous Avatars or something else.'' Dragon watched the place where he saw the silhouette. He turned towards Orlando that stood behind him, "Did you see a silhouette right there?" Dragon pointed at the spot and looked at Orlando. "KA!" Orlando tilted his head in confusion. "No? Maybe it only showed itself to me." Dragon stood there for a few more seconds and thought it over. "Well, this is what I am here for. to figure out all the secrets about my soul." Dragon started walking towards the tallest volcano of the island. ------------------------------------------------- End Chapter 111 - Chapter 113 Entering the spirit world was something that very few people would ever live long enough to accomplish. It was something that the Avatar was famous for, but most normal humans never even touched upon its borders. On the tallest volcano on the island, Dragon was meditating in silence. His plan was to master the elements but since he saw that silhouette he couldn''t stop thinking about it. He was sure its mystery was in the spirit world so he was meditating on the spirit world. He didn''t know if he had the capabilities of reaching it by himself but that wouldn''t stop him from trying. He had already been sitting here for six weeks and meditating without a break. And it had been four weeks since he entered deep sleep meditation. He sat like a statue on top of the volcano and he only took a breath every ten minutes. He was completely absorbed by the meditation. Nothing existed inside his mind and nothing mattered in the outside world. Only one single thing was guiding him through it. And that single motivator was the silhouette. Dragon was searching for anything that would summon it again. A smell, a feeling. Anything that held relevance towards that day when he arrived here on the island. Suddenly the ocean outside the borders of the island started acting up. The water started turning and the clouds above the island started to converge and turning dark. The rain started pouring down and the wind kicked up around this landmass. Orlando was forced to land because of the intensity of it all and that alone spoke of how powerful the winds were. Dragon that was sitting on the volcano top started glowing in a dim red colour. The colour around his body started changing and blue mixed in with it. Soon enough one side of Dragon''s body was blue and one was red. The divide of the colours reflected itself in the real world. One side of the island had rampaging whirlwinds that were growing stronger every second. The other side hosted a number of cyclones over that side of the ocean. It appeared as a show of dominance. Two sides belonging to the same source fighting for dominance. And Dragon was located in the middle of this storm. The island was slowly starting to break apart. If nothing was done about this, the two sides had the possibility to grow into something that even Dragon himself couldn''t stop or control. But Dragon was stuck in between the red and blue and he couldn''t make a single conscious decision. He was neither awake nor asleep. He was not present, but something else was. Something had taken ahold of his body, and it and Dragon were clashing inside his body and was fighting for dominance. "KAA!" Inside this massive storm that was slowly destroying the island, Orlando was struggling to move around. He was desperately trying to get to Dragon on top of the volcano. One emotion was driving him forward, and that was fear. Fear of this storm and fear of what was happening to Dragon. He was flying towards the top and the closer he came the more visible the two colours became. No one had a clear advantage over the other. Red was pushing blue, and blue was pushing against red. But the more they clashed, the more it corrupted his soul. Dragon was strong. But he wasn''t immune against corruption. If clashes like this dragged out then there was a real possibility to cause permanent damage on Dragon. That damage would not be physical, but psychological. Orlando was using all his strength to conquer this storm. "KAA!" He was close to Dragon, but his screams could not overpower the storm so it didn''t reach Dragon. Seeing that his partner didn''t hear him, Orlando became more anxious. He gave up on his own safety. Now he decided to priority Dragon''s safety over all else. He dove down towards Dragon and landed beside him. He wrapped his wings around Dragon and he did the only thing he could do. He screamed as loud as he could right into Dragon''s ear. This jolted a reaction and something inside Dragon changed. The red light covering half his body lost some light, and in one single moment, Dragon''s body had an outburst of blue light. The entire island experienced a massive quake and the outburst that came from Dragon seemed to have stopped time itself. Everything stopped for a single second and when it passed, the storms disappeared like they hadn''t ever been real. Now the only evidence of their existence was the damage they had done to the island. "O-Orlando... Thank you.." Dragon said and collapsed forward, unconscious. This was something that Dragon had never experienced before. A losing battle. Orlando had no idea what had transpired inside Dragon''s mind. But seeing that he was safe, Orlando sat down and wrapped his whole body around Dragon and went to sleep. -------------------------------------------------------- End Chapter 112 - Chapter 114 Three days later on top of the volcano that belonged to Avatar Roku''s island. Orlando started waking up from his sleep. He made no noise as Dragon was still unconscious. He sat up properly and stared at Dragon as he laid there flat on the ground and breathing peacefully. Orlando looked around the island and all the damage that Dragon had done to it. And still, Orlando had no idea what had happened here to cause Dragon to do this. They had not been together for long, but these years were enough for them to get a connection stronger then most humans get in a single lifetime. The winds of the night were calm and peaceful. The air was cold but refreshing. Orlando''s feathers were swaying in the night wind. And with the enchanting light of the moon bouncing off his body, he looked like a creature of legends. "Orlando? How many days have I been asleep? " Dragon opened his eyes and sat up with his vision still a little blurry. He looked around and realized something was different. It was nothing physical, but he felt a strange connection with something beyond his current understanding. Orlando turned around and bowed down and snuggled his beak against Dragon. His worries were gone now that Dragon had woken up and he could relax. "kaa" "Three days? Not so bad. I just wish I understand what happened to me." He sighed and continued to go through the battle piece by piece. Dragon suddenly got enlightenment and he closed his eyes again. And immediately, what looked to be a piece of his soul broke out and shaped itself as a person in front of him. "We have a lot to talk about." Said the soul form of the man that now stood in front of Dragon. "Who are you?" Dragon felt the level of power that this soul possessed. If he was alive he would have given Dragon a challenge. "I am Roku, the previous Avatar that walked this wordly ground. Now I exist as just a memory. You connected with the energy that was left of me on this island. And now that you called, I have come. Ask your question, I don''t have long. This is a temporary form, I can''t keep it for long." Roku said while standing there without emotions visible on his face. This seemed more like a prerecorded message than an actual part of Roku''s soul. Dragon''s shock lasted but a minute and he quickly got his thought in check. "Are you aware of the battle that took place inside of me three days ago? If you are, then do you know what it was that I battled. It was powerful, and I felt like it wasn''t even its complete form." Dragon looked perplexed while asking the Avatar about his battle three days ago. "I am aware of it. And I don''t know who you were fighting. But I can tell you I have never felt anything so evil in my life. Whatever attacked you, it is still inside of your soul. It has just gone to hiding. And if you wanna get rid of it, you need to master Energybending." Roku said in a monotone tone of voice. "Can you teach me?" Dragon said without much hope that it would lead to the previous Avatar becoming his teacher. "I can''t teach you because I don''t know it. The only known users of this bending arts are the Lion Turtles, but they are all rumoured to have died to hunters of their kind." "Can I possibly master this myself? Have you seen anyone energy bend?" "Never seen it, but if you are gonna try and master it by yourself I recommend finding a place with a high spiritual connection. Nothing in the world is impossible. And the Avatar isn''t the only one that creates miracles. But I am running out of time, so heed my last words carefully." Roku said and his form started to blur slightly. "There is unrest in the world. It''s the Avatar''s task to solve this unrest, so I ask you not to interfere in his mission. But guide him. Show him the way when he loses hope in his ability to guide the world." Roku said and as the last words left his mouth, his form dissipated and he disappeared from the world again. "hm, a place with a high spiritual connection. It took me weeks to get a reaction from the spirit world. So maybe this island is too far gone to provide a good spiritual connection. Should I leave and try to find something else?" Dragon asked himself in a calm tone. Dragon looked at Orlando, and asked himself what the right decision would be. ''Not interfere? Am I not to interfere even if my friends are in danger? What if I go and kill the Fire Lord right now, how would I affect the future?'' Dragon closed his eyes while feeling his stomach turning. "All this weight never affected me before. Why am I suddenly afraid of the future? Why am I dreading the consequences of my future actions?" Dragon felt sick to his stomach, and it felt like three hundred years of misconduct came to settle a score with him finally. It was all to overwhelming and Dragon vomited on the ground. Orlando reacted strongly and thought someone attacked his friend so he took a battle stance in front of Dragon with his wings spread out to look bigger. "I''m okay, Orlando. I am just not feeling all that well." Dragon got up, but he managed only to walk a single step before falling down because his legs had no strength. His body couldn''t muster enough strength to keep him standing. "I''m shaking? Why?" Dragon looked down on his hands and saw that they were shaking, and they wouldn''t stop no matter how hard he gripped them. "What is going on with me?" Dragon was on his knees and held his shaking hands in front of his face. "This feeling? Is this fear?" Dragon looked out over the ocean and saw fire nation ships approaching the island. "Fire nation? What are they doing here?" Dragon''s eyes focused on the ships, and he saw that they were filled with soldiers. "Kaa!" Storm? I did that?" Orlando nodded and Dragon understood that something serious had happened to him during his meditation. "We need to leave. I am in no shape to fight. And we don''t want my face plastered on posters all around the Fire Nation. Take me out of here, Orlando." Dragon said and jumped upon his back. "KAA!" Orlando screamed and took off into the sky. He flew as high as he could and he didn''t hold back his speed this time, he was like a bolt of lightning as he took off away from the island. The duo were thousands of meters up in the air and Orlando watched the beautiful scenery around him. But he didn''t take it in, and he didn''t focus on flying, he was only focused on taking Dragon far away from that island. In his eyes, that island was evil and if he could, he would destroy it for causing so much hurt to Dragon. Hours passed and Orlando was flying over a massive continent now. He had entered its borders a few hours ago and now the ocean had disappeared from view. Even Dragon couldn''t see the ocean anymore. "Orlando, we are about to enter the desert. Be careful of sandstorms" Dragon said in a pained tone. His hands were still shaking and he was focused on trying to enter his soul space, but with no success. Everything around him became a distraction and he had suddenly become sensitive to everything around him. The winds, the heat and the roaring pain inside his head. This was something he had never experienced before. He had never felt fear, and he had never experienced this kind of instability inside his mind. The desert was massive and Dragon had no idea where in the world they were currently. The highest priority for him was to find the source of his current state of mind. But unfortunately, the only thing he found was more pain and confusion. The ground was sparkling from the sun rays, and the endlessness of the desert itself painted a beautiful picture. And suddenly this endless desert experienced a change. A spiritual presence had appeared within its borders, and a calling appeared inside of Dragon. He who sat upon the giant eagle looked up, and for a single moment in time, only this strange calling existed inside of his mind. "The desert is calling me! This is what Roku was talking about, the spiritual connection. That place is here somewhere." Dragon looked around but saw nothing. But he could still feel it. "Orlando, go west. There is a calling towards the west." Dragon yelled, and Orlando like a good soldier changed directions and started flying west. ''Hurry!'' Dragon spoke to himself. He was afraid the connection would disappear and his goal would again disappear from view. "There, Orlando, in the distance. Is that an oasis?" Dragon and Orlando both saw the magical land that appeared like a sparkling treasure in the desert. Orlando landed about a mile away from this beautiful oasis. It was a small pond of water with a few palm trees surrounding it. On the outside, it looked like a regular oasis that Dragon had seen hundreds of times. But no other oasis had this dense amount of spiritual energy surrounding it. "Let''s go." Dragon said and started walking. And a very peculiar thing about this oasis was that the closer Dragon got to it. The bigger it became. The trees grew bigger and the pond turned from a pond to a lake. When Dragon finally came close enough, he felt the connection strengthen and suddenly his vision went black. He lost consciousness again, and this time Orlando joined him and also fainted on the spot. ----------------------------------- End Chapter 113 - Chapter 115 Unsteady eyes fluttered open. A mind in shambles, and a wavering heart. Dragon awoke on what felt like sand. With the help of his hands, he pushed himself up. His heart was racing and he had a splitting headache. His eyes needed a second to get used to the blinding light provided by the sun hanging in the clear sky. He was sitting up and as his eyes readjusted themselves to his surroundings, he saw that he was sitting on an island. But it wasn''t any kind of island he''d seen before. The island was entirely from sand. No vegetation around, and Orlando was also nowhere to be seen. The island was very tiny. It would take about thirty seconds to walk from one side to the other. This tiny piece of land was surrounded by the ocean, as far as his eyes could see, there was just water. ''No life?'' He tried and connect with the water through bending and he succeeded. But there was no life. No fish, no vegetation in the water. "This is most peculiar. This is like a barrel without content. A world without life, just a shell and nothing more. How did I get here?" Dragon stood up and looked around, but no matter what, he couldn''t find any signs of life. He closed his eyes and spread out his senses. He used his aura and spread it out, looking for an auratic response from anything considered alive. "Nothing, huh. Orlando is not here. But where is here?" Dragon opened his eyes after his aura pulse failed in finding anything. He walked to the edge of the island and bent down. He touched the water, and it was without substance. Like touching a hologram, it wasn''t real. "Okay... So at least I should be able to deduce that this isn''t real. Is this maybe the spirit world? That would make sense, and that would also explain why Orlando isn''t here, right?" He asked as if expecting someone to answer his question. Which of course no one did. There was complete and utter silence around him. "Let''s just try and leave." He started floating and his body soon shot off like a bolt of lightning. He disappeared into the distance. "Okay, so that didn''t work." He sighed out loud when he found himself arriving at the same island once again. He floated down and stepped down on the island again. "It has to have something to do with the spirit world. But what?" He closed his eyes and sat down in his meditative position. He started to clear his mind of distractions and tried to recall everything that happened before he lost consciousness. "Oh, maybe not the spirit world. But spirit bending. What if the key is learning and mastering spirit bending?" A smile grew on his face as he felt he was starting to figure it out. But that soon melted away when he realized on important detail. "I have no idea how to spirit bend," He sighed and plopped down on his back. He laid there, staring at the sky with no clouds, and the sun that gave off no heat. Suddenly, from nowhere a pulse-like force came from inside of Dragon''s body. His body spasmed, and he spat out blood on the ground. "Not you again!" Dragon said, recognizing the energy signature as the one who previously took hold of his body on Roku''s island. Dragon shot up in a sitting position. He spat out more blood, and he felt a pain like no other. It wasn''t physical, it was a pain assaulting his very being. It was dark and evil. "GET THE HELL OUT OF MY BODY!" He roared. A red coloured light started appearing, and it was slowly covering his body. "Not this time you bastard!" Dragon roared out even louder, and his magnificent and powerful aura was released. The same pressure that broke the Tsuchikage''s arm. The same aura that could shake an entire continent. The space around him started vibrating and suddenly out from his chest flew a dark red spirit with tentacles. "T-There you are, you piece of shit!" Dragon said with a dark and scary tone. His personality switched and he stared at the tiny spirit sitting on the ground. "For a human with so much power. You have a pathetic excuse for a soul. But I admire your tenacity, maybe not even the Avatar could withstand the assault your soul was forced to endure." It looked at Dragon and spoke with no clear indication if it was happiness or anger it felt towards him. "You who invited yourself into my body. Who are you?" Dragon said with a slightly calmer tone. Though he was ready to fight at any time. "Vaatu. You are wrong, traveller. I did not let myself in. Our merge was accidental when you entered this world and therefore unstable. I have been trying to leave your body for some time now." Vaatu said again with no clear emotion in his tone. He was almost impossible to read. "Traveller? You know I am not from this world? How?" Dragon sat down on his knees, still fully on guard against an attack. "When you entered this world, you manipulated space and time in ways I do not understand. But as you entered the world, your soul passed through the tree of time where I was trapped. And we accidentally merged and I was released. And as we merged I got a glimpse at your outer memories. There I saw other worlds, people with strange clothes and using strange techniques." Vaatu explained how this all happened, and Dragon was not fully following but he understood most of it. "I see. So you were trapped in this tree of time. What happens to it now when you are gone?" Dragon didn''t know what that tree represented, but time was a sensitive thing, so he didn''t wanna screw with it in this world. "Nothing. If anything would happen, it would be positive. With my presence gone, it will most likely bloom once again, and spirits will return to its surroundings." Vaatu said. "Vaatu. Since we are trapped here. Tell me about your history." Dragon said and summoned forth his emperor aura and stared down on Vaatu. "Very well. Listen well, traveller." Vaatu said. -------------------------------------------------- End Chapter 114 - Chaper 116 On this mysterious tiny island, Dragon was sitting and talking with Vaatu. This old and yet intelligent spirit had been talking about his history. And his part to play in this world. And at one point he won over Dragon to his side. There was a link between them, and the man felt empathy for this mighty spirit. "Now that you are aware of my story. May I ask for your thoughts about this world? You may have been here just for a short moment in time, but you must have your opinion about it." Vaatu asked with his dark and malevolent tone of voice. "Born to walk one path. Never to stray from that path, even if one wishes to do so. I know that feeling too well. But may I ask one question in return. You represent chaos, but you seem like you have changed in some way. I want to know what changed." Dragon said. "When we merged, I absorbed some of your soul. I saw your memories, and I felt every emotion in your soul. Because of that, the pureness of my soul got tainted. I am no longer fit to represent chaos." Vaatu said. "Can you really lose that role? Won''t this world be imbalanced if you disappear?" Dragon asked. He was sitting quite relaxed now. Vaatu showed to be no threat so Dragon dropped his overcautious mode. "No. This world needs balance. It will always have a balance. If Raava disappears in a manner like this, someone would take her place as the light. Same with me. In fact, my connection to chaos is already fading away from me. My desire to leave this world is fighting against the reason for my birth. And that is causing me to lose my connection to the chaos." Vaatu spun around with his body and then continued talking. "Chaos and Light will always exist, but they aren''t concepts tied to one entity. Chaos and Light are older than me and Raava combined. My time is up, and I am finally gonna be free from it." "I am starting to understand. So tell me, Vaatu. What will you do now? Will you disappear or continue to exist?" "Spirits never really die. But what I want to do is leave this world. That is why I will request something of you, Portgas. D Dragon. I ask that you and I merge in a permanent contract. Become one with me." Vaatu said, and with his malevolent tone, it sounded more like a command than a request. "Merge? What will that do to me? And also becoming one can be translated into something completely different in the human tongue. So try and refrain from saying that again." Dragon said and smiled a little awkwardly. "As you wish. I will not speak of that again. Anyway, imagine what the Avatar is. You will become something similar to that. And you will gain a connection to the spirit world through me. The spirit bending that you desire, I can grant you that. I can teach you many things about it. You, humans, know nothing of how powerful spirit bending truly is. The human race has barely explored the real power of spirit bending." Vaatu said and added in arrogance into his tone. "Are you sure this is what you desire?" Dragon asked in seriousness. "Yes! This is the only way for me to leave and experience all those worlds I saw in your memories. Unfortunately, I will be trapped inside you, but with enough mastery in spirit bending you could bring me outside your body temporarily. This is my wish, I ask that you grant it. And behold the might of Vaatu!" He said and his body started to grow. He grew so he was at least ten times bigger than Dragon. "This is the power I offer you. This is the power of one of the oldest spirits." His aura was mighty, and the pressure brought to the surrounding couldn''t budge Dragon. But it was about five or six times the power of Hiruzen. "Very impressive. I didn''t excpect to find powerful beings like you here. But again, I should expect someone that has lived for this long to be at least this strong." Dragon smiled and brought forth his aura. He released just enough to perfectly match Vaatu''s own. "I accept this deal. I accept to become the host for Vaatu, one of the ancient spirits." And almost as if the universe heard the declaration, clouds started gathering in the sky. Roaring thunder all around them, and Vaatu together with Dragon started shining in bright lights. The world transformed into a pure white paradise. "AAAAAAAAH!" Dragon, inside of the white light roared louder then he had ever done before. The sea around them was blown away. The clouds parted and from the sun came white and black beam that struck down onto Dragon. "WE ARE ONE!" A voice escaped his mouth. A voice with happiness, anger, disappointment, malevolent and, pride all mixed in. Dragons eyes had a bright red glow and all the elements except for the earth started acting up. The wind, which there was none previously started causing mighty tornados. The ocean around him and several meters long waves crashing against his island. Dragon lowered his head, and his eyes soon started shifting back to normal. ''Vaatu, are you there?'' Dragon asked the spirit that now had merged with him. ''Yes, Dragon. I am present inside your soul. Now... Shall we begin your training?'' Vaatu asked with his malevolent tone. ---------------------------------------------------------- End Chapter 115 - Chapter 117 Spirit bending was a concept that the human race thought they had great mastery in. But what they didn''t know was that spirit bending was so much more then they had knowledge of. ''Dragon, what do you know of spirit bending?'' Vaatu had become a voice inside Dragon''s head. Since the two had merged, Vaatu became almost like a natural barrier around Dragon''s soul. He was present inside Dragon and would act independently if someone targeted Dragon''s soul. "Not much at all. Nothing concrete." Dragon sat with closed eyes. ''Well, it is also known as energy bending. In fact, many names exist for what essentially is the same thing. Spirit bending is revolves around manipulating cosmic energy. This is an energy that is needed in the creation of anything. So that means it exists everywhere, and it always has and always will.'' Vaatu said. "hm, so it''s not energy bound to this worlds spirit dimension. Interesting. Does it have a limit?" Cosmic energy, for example, is what the bridge between worlds and universes are made out of. Dragon uses a very specific energy stream every time he travels. And the stream is entirely made out of cosmic energy. ''No, the reason spirit bending is so weak here is that the humans aren''t powerful enough to manipulate it to a greater extent. And that is where you come in. You have an energy supply so massive it rivals that of an entire world. Meaning manipulating cosmic energy will be easy for you.'' ''Easy to sustain it you mean? I still have to master it.'' When Dragon erased his abilities, he erased abilities like instant mastery. This is why completely mastering air bending took him two years. And also since he wasn''t born in this world, it took him longer to adapt to how these people live. Bending is about personality as much as it is about moving your hand. A free spirit will make air bending easier, while a will of steel and a stubborn mind makes for a great earth bender. And when Dragon came here, he had no defined personality like they have here. He also didn''t think as these people do. ''Correct. You are picking up this rather quickly. And now that you merged with me, you already have a strong connection to the cosmic energy. And if you can tap into that you can practically live in the spirit world since it is entirely made out of cosmic energy.'' ''I understand. So where do I start?'' ''Cosmic energy is everywhere. Start to meditate, and try and sense a different kind of energy in the air. Not an element like you have been doing, but also not completely unlike it. The elements are cosmic energy. But what you need to tap into is the energy inside the elements. The energy between the elements, and in the ground, and everywhere. Look for it, and when you find it, the real training can finally begin.'' Vaatu said in a malevolent tone of voice. His tone made everything he said sound like a command. "No reason to delay this any longer." Dragon said out loud. He started doing breathing exercises designed to help him clear his mind. He was sitting still in that position for a long time. He spread out his aura and consciousness as far as possible. He tried to enhance the feeling of when he connected with the elements, in the hope of finding that purer cosmic energy. Finally, Dragon started to feel new and powerful energy around him. It was much purer than anything that he had encountered before. If a fire was red energy and the water was blue, and all other elements had a colour. Then cosmic energy was colourless. But in a weird way, it was also the only energy in colour. ''Vaatu, the connection with cosmic energy is established. I can feel it inside me and all around me.'' Dragon opened up his eyes and now he could see different kinds of energies in the air. His eyes had evolved and he could also see the truth of this prison world. ''Good. Now what you are experiencing is what the humans call The All-seeing eye. It''s the ability to look at the truth of anything. With your new eyes, you can identify the Avatar with just one look. You can look into any object or person and see their true self. The higher your mastery is, the more you will see.'' Vattu''s malevolent voice rang out inside of his head. ''I can see the barrier to this world. It''s some kind of illusion. I better get to learning spirit bending if I ever want to leave this world.'' Dragon closed his eyes and just focused on strengthening his connection to the cosmic energy. ''I will go to sleep for a while. Wake me up when your connection is fully stable.'' Vaatu''s voice sounded like it drifted far away into the distance. And all that was left was complete and utter silence around Dragon as he meditated. And hours passed with no movement from Dragon, not a single twitch from his fingers, to his toes. He sat with closed eyes, perfectly still without disturbing the sand he sat upon. His body was weightless, but it sat there solid as a mountain. Dragon was perfectly still, the ground under him was perfectly still. But all around him, the elements were in a constant motion. The ocean was covered in huge waves, and the wind increased in speed every second. The sun''s rays started to give off heat finally, like they had never done previously. Even the sand on this island was rotating and sand particales filled the sky. And with the wind acting up, the two elements combined and created a minitature sand storm with Dragon in the middle of it. For days the elements raged around him with Dragon completely unaware that any of it was going on. For days, Dragon had been in deep sleep meditation, and without him noticing, Vaatu''s connection to his soul strengthened and Dragon revieved benefit after benefit. All of this happened without Dragon or Vaatu realizing, since they were both in different forms of deep sleep. -------------------------------------------------------------- End Chapter 116 - Chapter 118 The Earth Kingdom incorporated an entire continent, and on this extensive piece of land, there were cities that stood responsible for the army protecting the continent. And inside the borders of the Earth Kingdom, also lied this worlds biggest desert. This continent had some of the most unique and beautiful geographical locations in the world. And under the blazing sun, inside the Earth Kingdoms massive desert, a spatial crack appeared in the air. And out walked Dragon with confident steps. "So I finally broke free, huh, Vaatu." Dragon said out loud as he looked around the massive desert. ''Of course. I told you spirit bending is much more powerful than humans think.'' The familiar malevolent voice sounded out inside his head. "But spatial travel. That''s pretty powerful." He stretched his body since he felt he had been sitting in one place for years. "Manipulating cosmic energy. The possibilities with spirit bending are close to unlimited. It''s all on you to figure out how to do now. My connection to chaos is almost gone. I need to go into a deep sleep for the next few years or so. So you are on your own until I am done.'' Vaatu said. He wasn''t much of a conversationalist so he immediately went into sleep, a perk of being a spirit. ''Okay. This is perfect, now that he can''t hear me, hopefully at least, I can do this again. Are you there, System?'' Dragon called out to the thing he hadn''t used in many years. [I am, host. What is it you require of me?] A robotic voice appeared inside his mind again. ''I have a few last requests. Ever since I became this, what I am today, I have been living with a fake name. I have not been myself. That shall change today. I want to use divine energy to change my name in the multi-verse. I want to bear the name that I bore before my reincarnation. Make it happen, name me Portgas D. Amell to all known universes. And place me inside the Portgas D family. Since I like it so much it would be a shame not to take advantage of this opportunity.'' He spoke his wishes to the system, and a pulsation headache came over him, indicating that the changes were happening. The more people that knew about him, the more intense the pain would be, so now he was experiencing pain like no other. [It is done, Host. The host has become a member of the Portgas family. The system took the liberty of hiding your last name so the host can choose when to reveal his ties to the Portgas family.] The system said and its voice went silent again. "This feels too good. Amell once again walks among the living." He said to himself as he started laughing to himself. This was something he was afraid of changing because his bond with his family and friends would seem fake. but now that he finally took this step it felt more real than ever, since this was his true name, and now Sylvia was finally gonna live with the real him. He felt excited to meet her again, and he longed to meet his family again, hug them and talk to them. He yearned for it. "I really need to master spatial travel. It''s very different than before. But nothing beats some good ol practice." He smiled brightly. Amell swiped his right hand vertically in front of him and a crack in space appeared. He took a step inside and the hole in space closed and he was gone from the area. Inside a dark cave with no light source, he appeared. "Well, this is not right. I wanted to travel a few meters, this could very well be in the fire nation. I definitely need more practice in this." Amell sighed and looked around the cave, it was dark but the darkness didn''t hinder him in any way. Amell bowed down and closed his eyes, and then he struck the ground with one finger very lightly, and the whole cave system showed itself to him. This was the seismic sense that he first got a glimpse of on his mountain during his two-year stay with the air nomads. After years of practice, he finally mastered it and named it since he didn''t know of it previously being used. "Why is there a child here?" Amell looked up, and his eyes locked onto a tiny form in a tunnel above his own. He waved his hand and the ground above him opened up and he flew up through the hole in the roof above his head. Inside a tunnel in this cave, a small blind human girl crawled around carefully. She was somewhere between sacred and excited. This was the longest she had ever been from home, and it was also the most fun she had ever had. Suddenly a hole opened up in front of her and as she was unaware of it, she put her hand inside it, thinking there would be more ground to step on. She lost balance and started to fall, this was until a hand caught her wrist and lifted her up again. "What are you doing here, little lady?" Amell asked while carefully placing her on the ground again. He didn''t wanna hurt her, or accidentally send her to outer space through a spatial crack. "Exploring," She said in childlike wonder. She didn''t seem concerned about being picked up by a random person, she actually sounded more excited about it. "Do your parents know that you are in a big scary cave?" Amell said, trying not to sound too much like a parent. "I''m in a cave!?" She said and her excitement grew even more. And it was at this point, Amell knew he messed up. "Come, let me take you back home." He said and tried to take her hand to lead her out. But the little girl strongly refused. "NO! No fun at home, show me more!" She demanded, determined not to go home. "hm, quite the stubborn child you are. I will show you something cool if you tell me your name." Amell said, using rewards to prompt answers out of her. "Toph. Now you need to show me something cool!" She demanded and yelled in his direction. "Okay, stay still." Amell moved a finger and the ground underneath Toph raised itself. "Wow, the earth is moving by itself. Incredible! Teach me!" Toph now said in her most stubborn and demanding tone. She crawled forward without fear and fell off the pillar he had raised. Amell caught her mid-air, but his heart still skipped a beat when she just simply walked off the pillar. "Are you sure you can do it, little lady?" He said in a teasing tone. Toph not understanding she was being teased, tried to stand up straight with an angry expression, only to fall down because of temporary loss of her sense of balance. "I was just teasing you, little lady. No need to look so mad, calm down and I will teach something useful. It''s something I encountered a few years ago when I was learning earth bending. I named it Seismic Sense." Amell said, clearly proud of his discovery. "Teach me! I wanna move the ground too!" Toph said, and now she sat with crossed legs instead of trying to stand. "Okay." He took Toph''s hand in his own and placed it on the ground. "Feel the earth." He said slowly as he dragged her hand across the ground. "All you have to do is feel the earth." He let go off her hand and let her continue it on her own. The truth was that when he saw her with his own eyes, he noticed that Toph''s connection to the earth element was unlike anything he had ever seen. With proper training, she could easily be the youngest Grandmaster ever. "Toph, take long breaths in and out, and try and see me as you touch the ground." He said and sat down in the lotus position. Amell started calling cosmic energy to Toph''s location to heighten her connection to the earth element. "I-I see something, I can see walls! I can see a boulder, wait, no that''s you. You''re HUGE, WOW!" Toph was growing so excited, and she accidentally removed her hand from the ground. And her vision went away. "No, wait, don''t go!" Toph said and reached her hand out to try and catch the fleeting images. Amell stretched out his hand and grabbed hers carefully. "You did great. Now you need to learn to see with all the parts of your body." Amell said and pulled her to his side. "My name is Portgas D. Amell. It''s nice to meet you Toph." He said and smiled, completely aware that she had no sight. And even if she did, this cave was so dark that you wouldn''t be able to see anything anyway. "A-Amell... I want to see again." Toph said and put her head in between her knees. She wasn''t crying but she felt the tears closing in. Never having sight, and suddenly getting it wasn''t something that was easy to handle for a kid. Especially if they lost it just as they got it. "Don''t worry, Toph. I will teach you everything I know. Just rest for now." Amell said. Toph nodded and leaned her head against his arm and closed her eyes to sleep. ------------------------------------------------------------------- End Chapter 117 - Chapter 119 "That''s great, Toph. Now do two of them." Amell said. The little girl fist-bumped the air and jumped up in happiness. "I did it, Master Amell!" Toph yelled while sprinting towards him. She had just managed to throw a decently sized rock using earth bending. "Yes, very good! But no time for celebrating. Now you need to move two rocks at the same time." Amell said and adopted a strict voice. "Okay," Toph stopped her sprint and went back to where all the rocks were placed on the ground. She took a stance a slammed her foot down on the ground and punched the air, but only one rock was launched, the other fell down hard on the ground. "Focus. No hesitation, and make sure to stand firm. You are solid as a mountain, nothing can move you. Now do it again." He said in a firm tone of voice, and the girl started practising again. A few hours later, Toph was again, leaning against Amell while sleeping. She found it very comfortable because of how sturdy and hard his whole body was. She said it was like sleeping against a mountain or a hard rock. So it became her new favourite place to sleep. And Amell was worried that she wouldn''t wanna return to a bed after this. So maybe he just ruined some poor parents life by turning their daughter into a rock-loving maniac. ''Well, it''s time to return you home, little lady.'' Amell said as he looked at the cute little girl that slept against his arm. He carefully took her tiny body into his embrace and stood up. She was in deep sleep so if he was careful she wouldn''t wake up. He knew exactly where she lived, and he felt bad about taking her home while she slept, but he was feeling himself getting too attached to Toph, and he didn''t wanna kidnap another parent''s child. While training with Vaatu, he had discovered many things he could do through spirit bending. And one of those was entering the mind of another target. He used it on Vaatu, but it took a lot of years to beat Vaatu''s mastery in spirit bending. But he did eventually do it. He felt horrible, and he had no desire to intrude into Toph''s mind at all. But the little girl was clever, so she told him nothing except her name so she could stay there with him longer. But Amell still needed to find Orlando, and eventually, return home, so he didn''t wanna get too attached to Toph. "Okay! You can do this, Amell. Just focus on the location." He once again made a vertical slit in the air and the spatial crack appeared. And with toph surrounded by cosmic energy as an extra layer of protection, he stepped inside. Inside the town of Gaoling, there was one family that had a great social status. They were very well known within this town. They owned a big mansion, with an impressive looking backyard. And in this backyard appeared a spatial crack. It was in the dead of night that Amell landed in this backyard with Toph in hand. ''Okay, success. Now to find a bed.'' He closed his eyes and gave a quick tap to the ground. The entire town came into view for him, but he focused on the inside of the mansion. He saw what looked to be Toph''s room. He disappeared in a burst of speed, looking like teleportation, and in the next moment, he stood inside the room. ''It saddens me to leave you, I had a lot of fun, Toph. But I can''t keep you from your parents. This is your home. Goodbye!'' He said while tapping her forehead with his finger. A tiny, yet completely invisible aura surrounded her, and with that, he laid her down on her bed. And immediately her expression went from peaceful and adorable to uncomfortable but still adorable. Amell saw it and wanted to laugh, but he smiled instead and kept the laughter inside. He disappeared like teleportation and Toph was left alone, in a bed that was too soft for her liking. Amell appeared outside of town, "I''m sorry, Toph. Hope you didn''t come to like this old man too much." He said and looked back towards the town. And once again, he dashed away which resulted in looking like teleportation because his body had since a long time ago reached the absolute peak in human performance. He was beyond human even now after years of staying still. Amell had a reading on Orlando''s energy signature already, so he followed that as he dashed across the ground. Each step would take him hundreds of meters, so it literally looked like short distance teleportation. He would appear and disappear every few hundred meters. As he was entering the desert again, he used earth bending to solidify the ground where he stepped. His mastery in all the elements had reached at least the level of Grand Master. He needed no fancy dance move to cause a storm. A thought and he could summon a mountain. He was most likely the most powerful bender of all time. Orlando''s energy signature was coming from the middle of the desert. Very far away from where Amell appeared after escaping that temporary prison world. He had no idea how long he had been gone, but he missed Orlando immensely. Amell finally stopped in his tracks. He closed his eyes, and cosmic energy slowly infused with his eyes. And when he opened his eyes again, a whole new world was opened in front of his eyes. And Amell saw Orlando, trapped in an iron-barred cage suspended between the mortal and the spirit world. The world between the mortal and the spiritual was a place of great chaos. It was an endless abyss of darkness with no light and no heat. It was cold and distant and like nothing humans or spirits of this world had ever seen before. This was the space between worlds. "Orlando! Hold on!" Amell slowly gathered an immense amount of energy around his hands. And when the energy reached the amount where it started affecting the space around him, he slammed his hands together in the direction of Orlando. And the bars on his cage vibrated and slowly a crack appeared in one of the bars. It didn''t take long for the whole cage to break apart. And at the moment where Orlando''s body started to fall towards the endless abyss beneath him, Amell snapped his finger and a portal appeared in that world, so Orlando''s body fell through it. The portal manifested in the mortal world and Orlando''s body fell down on the sand. Amell quickly dashed towards his partner, and he sat down on his knees by Orlando''s head. He started stroking his head slowly with a smile on his face. "Good morning, partner!" He said to the giant eagle. ---------------------------------------------------------- End Chapter 118 - Chapter 120 Amell and Orlando laid still on the scorching hot ground. Amell was stroking Orlando''s feathers while talking to him in a calming tone. He found out that Orlando was trapped in a similar place as Dragon was. The cage creates a world inside the mind of its prisoner, and the only way out was through the use of spirit bending. "Do you feel okay on the inside? Nothing feels out of the ordinary inside your mind?" Amell asked. Orlando slowly shook his head while enjoying the stroking going on. For someone like Orlando that only had limited knowledge of bending and no knowledge of spirit bending, a prison world like that was a place of great suffering. Alone for years upon years with no one to lean on for help. "That''s great. When you feel rested, we will go and visit Gyatso and the others again. We can take some time off, and get back to exploring once we are in top form again." Amell said and Orlando nodded happily. He slowly stood up to show he was good to go. "Wow, Orlando. You got taller!" Now that Orlando fully stood up on his talons, Amell could see that a change had occurred. Orlando had become double his previous size. He was absolutely massive. Forty meters in heigh and a wingspan not far behind his height. He was truly very huge, and would most definitely scare the crap out of the people of this world if they saw him dive from the sky towards them. "So you are good to go?" Amell said while laughing. He already knew the answer, so he mainly asked as a formality. "KAA!" Orlando screamed, and after so many years of solitude, the scream caused an outburst of wind that caused a miniature sand storm with the duo in the centre. "It''s so good to see you again, Orlando. Now towards the Southern Air Temple." Amell made a simple jump and flew forty meters up and landed on Orlando''s head. "Take flight, Partner!" Orlando screamed as he shot off the ground and immediately broke the sonic barrier. He zoomed across the sky as the ground underneath passed like a blur to the naked eye. Amell was anything but ordinary. He caught each and every little detail as they were quickly approaching the borders of the earth kingdom. An undetermined time later, Amell and Orlando could once again lay eyes upon that majestic mountain chain. Here had his adventure started, and this is where they became partners in crime. It was meaningful to both of them. A happy occasion indeed, but Amell was sitting ontop his partner and frowned. "Orlando. Slow down, something is different here." He used to be able to sense the great life force these air nomads gave off. But now, there was nothing, it was all dead silent. Orlando passed over the peak of one of the mountains that were conjointly aligned with the Temple. Then they saw it, the glorious temple, or what used to be a peaceful and beautiful place to live. Now it was half destroyed and the air was littered with the smell of death. "W... W-What happened here?" Amell''s heart started beating faster. This was the time he cursed his eyes, as they could pick up the bodies of the dead kids even from up here. He saw it all, every single dead body. Orlando landed on a plateau and bowed down as Amell jumped off. "Gyatso... You warned me it was coming, you knew it and still let me go so easily. "AAAAAAAH!" Amell screamed at the top of his lungs and almost caused the collapse of the mountains around the Temple. Amell collapsed on his knees with tears running down his face. He wasn''t crying a river, but every single teardrop held thousands of memories of this place. "Aang!!" He suddenly slammed his hand down on the ground and used his seismic sense. He had mastered it to an outrages degree. He could see the tiniest of details of anything with it. It surpassed Observation haki on pure sight and target location basis, if or when you mastered it to Amell''s degree. "He is not among the dead!" Amell could easily identify who was who among all these bodies. Even when they were only skeletal remains. Amell looked up and saw Gyatso''s corpse sitting there and posed in such a way that he was staring at Amell. "Gyatso..." Amell closed his eyes, and he felt all the emotions a human could possibly feel at this moment. He was an old killer, so going and killing the Fire Lord would be almost too easy to do. But there were a plethora of reasons as to why he didn''t. Orlando walked up to Amell and wrapped one of his wings around him. Amell sat inside the protection of the wing and cried his heart out. The pain of not acting against the Fire Nation was eating him up inside. "Orlando, what would Gyatso say if he was here now? He would tell me to move on and live for all of them. He would tell me to find Aang, if he''s alive, and protect him. Roku said the Avatar has to enforce balance, so am I not to act at all?" Amell said while digging his fingers inside the ground. "How long was I gone? When did this happen?" Amell looked around, but all he could see in front of his eyes was the memory of him and Gyatso walking through here for the first time. "Kaa!" Orlando removed his wing and sat down beside Amell. They both sat there for hours upon hours and said nothing more. Amell felt helpless, but he knew he couldn''t start doubting himself or he would immediately start reverting back to his cold-blooded personality. "Orlando, if I go on a slaughter spree inside the Fire Nation, I am afraid I would enjoy it too much. And especially now that I''ve seen this." Amell looked around at the bodies of both fire and air benders. " I kill when necessary to protect. I should not avenge a slaughter like this because that will set in motion a great and evil circle that is destined to never end. I have too many people important to me, and I can''t risk their safety by coming home worse than when I left." Amell stood up and breathed in to try and clear his mind. "If Aang is alive, I will find him. I will wait here for one year, in case he returns to this Temple. Otherwise, I will move on to another location. I know I am late, Aang, but please be alive out there. I need you to be alive, even if it is for my selfishness of wanting to feel better. Just to know I can still do something for all of you that took me in years ago. Give me the chance to guide the Avatar to do what I can not." Amell said and sat down in the lotus position and closed his eyes. "One Year!" ------------------------------ End Chapter 119 - Chapter 121 A year had yet to pass, but Amell opened his eyes and looked toward the south. His eyes cross miles upon miles and he stood up in a hurry. "Orlando, we are going to the southern water tribe. Something is happening." He walked towards the edge of the temple and looked back at Orlando. "Try and keep up!" He suddenly shot off the ground so fast that Orlando was blown back by the pressure from his takeoff. He had already disappeared and Orlando screamed out loud for his abrupt decision to leave like that. But he spread his wings apart and took off with a sonic boom following him. Amell crossed the ocean at an unbelievable speed, he could already see the landmass that he recognized as the Southern Water Tribe''s home. He felt the life signatures of many people, but he felt evil killing intent spread around the village. So he increased his speed. Among the village, there was great distress because it was currently being raided by the Fire Nation. And this village had no fighters left inside its walls. All the capable warriors were out fighting what the world had come to know as the hundred-year war. So it was to be expected that no one inside this village stood a chance against the raid. Inside one of the huts of the village, there was a water tribe village woman being questioned by a Fire Nation soldier. "I know there is one left, so don''t lie to me." The man in the Fire Nation outfit said while smiling sadistically. "There are no more, you people took everyone already. Haven''t you had enough already!" The woman on the ground said while desperately trying to stay alive, and also protect her family. "Our sources say you have one left. So tell me, or do you want me to go out there and take care of it, one person at a time?" He said with his sadistic smile plastered on his face. "No please! ... It''s me! I am the last Water Bender. Take me prisoner, and leave my people alone." She said and stared him in the eyes. "I''m sorry, I''m not taking prisoners today." He said and threw a punch at her that summoned a wave of fire to consume her. But a massive fist came and gripped the soldier''s hand and caused the fire to blowback into the man''s face. "AAAAAHH!" With parts of his face burnt, he stumbled out of the hut and fell down on the snowy ground. "Sit tight, I will be right back." Amell that had appeared from nowhere said while smiling. He was still hurting on the inside, but just because he was hurting, didn''t mean he was gonna let other people experience it too. "AAAH! Men inside, KILL HIM!" The commander of this raiding party yelled at his subordinates. His name was Yon Rha, and he was in unbelievable pain from his burnt face. Amell came walking out, covered from head to toe by a cloak and a hood. He fit perfectly into the category of mysterious saviours. "Commander, what happened!?" A soldier came running over but stopped when he saw the giant step outside the hut. "You brats have made a big mistake raiding this village." Amell came walking out so that both soldiers and the villagers being held down could see him. And everyone noted his extreme height. "KILL HIM!" Yon Rha yelled frantically to his subordinates, and his voice finally jolted them awake. The soldier that ran over first took a stance against Amell. "Surrender, giant!" He said, a little too nervous to actually attack this strange man, "What are you doing!? Kill him!" Yon Rha said while on his knees and glaring at the soldier. "All of you, KILL HIM!" He yelled towards all of them. And finally the hesitating soldier attacked, but a tentacle made out of snow shot up from the ground underneath his feet. It latched itself onto his attacking arm and yanked him down towards the ground, and he was knocked out from the blow to his head. "Don''t hesitate in battle," Amell moved his finger and behind each soldier appeared a tentacle of snow and wrapped themselves around the soldier''s necks. And as with the first soldier, they were all knocked out, and more tentacles appeared and wrapped around their bodies, and locked them in place. Amell turned to the commander and saw how pitiful he looked down there on the ground. "Here is what''s going to happen." He bowed down and put on finger on their forehead. And simultaneously the tentacles holding down the soldiers touched their foreheads as well, and Amell then entered the mind of every Fire Nation soldier here. ''Your mission was a success. You took care of the last water bender, there is nothing left in the Southern Water Tribe.'' Amell let go and the tentacles also released their prisoners from their iron tight grip. The soldiers, and the commander, almost like zombies started standing up and walk towards their ship. "What did you do?" The woman in the hut now stood behinds him and looked at the back of his hood. No one here had seen his face yet, so they were more than curious as to who he was. "Mom!" Two kids yelled at the same time and ran up and hugged the woman. She bowed down and embraced them, truly glad to still be alive so she could hug her children again. She felt immense gratitude towards this unknown stranger. "Your village is safe. They will not return again, that I can promise." Amell said while feeling the familiar stares on him. They felt the same as when Connor and the three siblings lived here. He felt Connor and Cassie''s spirit''s looming around the woman he saved, so he suspected that Connor and his family was gone. "KAAA!" Right at this moment, Orlando with his massive body flew passed the village and did a circle before landing close to Amell. His approach caused a little snowstorm inside the village, and all the villagers looked up both scared and in awe at the sight of his majestic body. "O-Orlando?" The woman said slowly, and both Amell and Orlando turned to look at her. Amell smiled and laughed a little at the thought that he might have become a local legend during the years of his absence. "I''m gonna assume that you are Cassie''s daughter?" Amell said and turned around while taking off his hood. Under the hood was the face that hadn''t aged a day in about a hundred years. He looked just like before, like a slightly older adult Gildarts look. The slicked-back dark brown hair with his silver eyes that almost sparkled like jewels. If Gildarts and Amell stood next to each other, it was clear as day that they were father and son. "Mother used to tell me stories about you, while we were standing in front of your statue. To this day I don''t even know if they were true or not." She said and laughed a little trying to recall the memory of her mother. "Knowing the Cassie I knew, they were probably wildly exaggerated." Amell smiled and waved Orlando over. He came walking and the two kids slowly hid behind their mother, Orlando was after all forty meters tall. "I don''t know, seeing that display earlier, I am starting to believe it." She said while slowly walking towards Orlando. "Is it okay if I pet him?" She asked Amell. "Ask him yourself, he is almost more intelligent than me. So as long as you don''t treat him like a normal house cat then it should be fine." "Is it okay, Orlando?" She asked, and Orlando nodded. He could also sense Cassie on her, so he didn''t mind. She brought her two kids along and Orlando bowed down enough so they could also pet him. "WOW SO SOFT!!" The little girl yelled, and in just a second she became a complete child, no fear or hesitation. She started to fiercely pet Orlando while stars were shimmering in her eyes. "What is your name?" Amell asked the woman standing behind her kids. "Kya. And this is Katara and Sokka. It is nice to meet a living legend," She said and smiled. Amell said nothing and just closed his eyes while reminiscing on Connor and Cassie. "I would like to stay and talk more. But now that I know how aggressive the Fire Nation is, I have to go and make sure of something. I have a student of sorts that I need to make sure is safe where she is." Amell said, and he jumped ontop Orlando with a simple skip. And Sokka had stars in his eyes as he saw Amell easily clear that height without any difficulty. "I understand. But you are welcome here any time, Grand Master Amell." She finally used the title he was known by in this village. Orlando silently scoffed at being left out so much. But none the less, he took flight while knocking most villagers back from his takeoff. "Hope we meet again." Amell said and waved while smiling at the family of three. ------------------------------------------ End Chapter 120 - Chapter 122 Outside the town of Gaoling, Amell was walking, thinking about what to do about Aang. He had this strange feeling that he was alive, but he had no idea where to start. He couldn''t get a read on Aang''s energy signature, so he couldn''t do much other than waiting around for Aang to show a sign that he was alive. And Amell felt he had to be alive. But if he wasn''t he swore he would find and train the new Avatar, as a service to Gyatso and the air nomads. He stood on a sharp cliff overlooking the town. He had a perfect view of everything going on inside the town. His look was stern, cold and calculative as he scanned the town for traces of the Fire Nation. This was all until his eyes swept over Toph''s house and saw her sitting beside the pond in her backyard with an aura of sadness around her. She was using her bending to make three tiny rock circle around ontop of palm, but her motivation for bending seemed to have dwindled slightly since he left. "What have I done to you, Toph. With your family situation, I should have realized that you would attach yourself to the first sign of a real father figure. So I can''t abandon you, can I?" Amell smiled while the guilt inside of him only increased. "Toph. inside now, time for bed." Toph''s mother stuck her head outside of the door and yelled before going inside again. They were so overprotective of Toph to the point that they stopped being parents for her. She became more like an item that they were just proud of owning, and feelings rarely got involved in their interactions with Toph. "Okay, mom!" Toph said, and stood up and walked inside while making it look like she couldn''t see anything, but Amell, of course, knew she now most likely had better sight than her own parents. Toph looked towards the west with a longing gaze before walking inside again. "What will you do, Toph. Will you leave on an adventure, or will you stay here inside this small and suffocating lifestyle?" Amell said. Amell stood there watching the moonlight bounce off the water of the pond inside Toph''s garden. He suddenly sensed movement inside Toph''s room, and a quick look revealed Toph escaping out a window of her house. She was dressed in her nightgown dress that was clearly not made for night exploration, but she didn''t seem to care. She started running, and she didn''t stop until she stood outside the entrance to the cave where she met Amell. She breathed out nervously and walked inside. She didn''t need eyes inside her, her seismic sene gave her perfect vision inside these dark tunnels. "This was certainly not something I was expecting her to do," Amell said as he stood on the clifftop and his cloak moved with the wind. He lightly pushed off against the ground and disappeared. Inside the cliff Toph was walking with careful steps, "Amell, are you here?" She whispered and looked around despite her not being able to see anything with her eyes. She kept calling out his name, and she eventually reached the scene where he had trained her. She used seismic sense, but only saw stones and a slightly bigger rock. ''No, be here! You have to be!" She said to herself and used her seismic sense again, but picking up nothing. ''Be here!'' She kept using it, but it always came back with the same result, nothing. After a few seconds Toph just stared at nothing, and she felt like breaking apart. She wanted to meet Amell more than anything, she wanted someone that really cared for her, since none at her house did that for her. "A little too late for a little lady to walk around here, don''t you think so?" A voice came from behind her and she immediately recognized it. She turned around and her seismic sense picked up the man she once mistook for a boulder because of his size. She immediately ran up to him and as hard as she could, she rushed into him and accidentally hurt her shoulder. He caught her before she fell down, and he held her gently with one arm. "Now why would you do that? Let me have a look at that shoulder now." Amell said and removed the part of the nightgown that covered her shoulder. "You are real, I wanted to know that you wouldn''t disappear again. I was so sad when you disappeared before." Toph said, and when she felt Amell''s gentle touch on her shoulder it immediately started feeling better. This is what she wanted her parents to do, to blow on a wound to make it better, or at least ask if she was okay, but they rather think about the damage to the clothes than a bruise on their daughter body. "Of course I''m real, m''Lady. I''m sorry for leaving so suddenly, but I had a really important friend to go and save. Will you forgive me?" He asked while smiling. "Yes, pay with hug!" Toph yelled happily while diving into him. And after a long hug, she finally released him from her embrace. She smiled from ear to ear with the most childish face Amell had ever seen. He started to feel the guilt and the pain from losing his friends to slowly melt away through the use of her smile. It was so incredibly pure and innocent that he was hesitating in touching her because he hated how much blood he had on his hands. He didn''t wanna contaminate her by spreading all his death and gore over to her. "Toph, you have barely any clothes on, so let''s go back to your house. But I promise I won''t disappear again without telling you." Amell said in a cam and tranquil tone. Toph took on an adorable and stern expression, and she quickly reached out and grabbed his hand, "Promise to not leave again," She said and stared straight into his eyes, or close to it since her Seiesmic sense couldn''t completely locate his eyes, and that made the act accidetaly much cuter since she was staring straight onto his forehead. "Yes I promise. I won''t leave without telling you where I''m going." Amell said. And Toph, after finding satisfaction with that promise agreed to go back home. So they walked back hand in hand. ------------------------------------------------ End Chapter 121 - Chapter 123 Amell was back on in the southern air temple. Last time he came here, he decided to stay for a year, but he barely made it a week before the Southern water tribe was attacked, so he was back to wait out his time. He enjoyed spending time Toph more than anything here, but he promised himself he would not stop searching for Aang. And this tactic wasn''t necessarily the best way to search for him, but Aang''s energy signature was gone so realistically he could only wait for a sign of some sort. Because he refused to believe Aang was dead. Orlando was just coming back from a hunting trip in the mountains, and Amell heard his familiar scream above beyond one of the peaks. But then something unexpected happened, another eagle''s scream appeared, and the pitch much higher than Orlando''s. Amell''s eyes snapped open immediately and he looked in the direction of the two screams. "No way! This I have to see." Amell jumped up on his feet and flew over to one of the mountains located close to the Temple. And once he rose above the clouds and reached the top, he saw two eagles going at it, in a battle for death. Orlando was two times bigger and he was dominating the fight completely. And the other eagle, with gold coloured feathers, had fought long and hard but in the end, it was exhausted and Orlando just played with his opponent now. "Orlando, stop," Amell said as he landed on the mountain top. And a chill went up through Orlando''s body as he heard Amell''s voice, and especially the underlying tone of anger in his voice. "How could you beat up such a young beauty?" Amell slowly walked over to the downed and hurt eagle. He wrapped his hands in cosmic energy and slowly started to change its properties until the energy turned light green in colour. "I''m just gonna heal those injuries, is that okay?" Amell said and smiled towards the eagle. It looked at him with some cautiousness, but eventually, it nodded and laid back down relaxed. Amell put his hands on its body and slowly through stroking its body, dispersed the energy to help heal those injuries. Amell made quick work of it, and then quick as lightning flew up to hit Orlando on the head, kinda hard, but not enough to seriously hurt him, but he still got angry from it. "KAA!" Orlando screamed at Amell. "You know we don''t go around and randomly hurt people or anyone else. That''s for barbarians, and I will not have one of those as my partner, so you apologize to her, right now!" Amell said and pointed at the golden eagle. Orlando however, refused to do something like that. "kaa, ka!" He argued back while sitting down like a stubborn child. Amell felt his frustration growing. "I don''t care if that is how you say hello. Apologize to her or I will show you a welcome so grand you won''t be able to fly for another hundred years, at least." Amell released his killing intent, and this immediately got Orlando moving. "Kaa," He said towards the golden eagle, though in a very lazy and uncaring tone. "Well, that''s better than nothing. So, tell me where you two met." Amell said to Orlando. "KAA!" He answered proudly. "So you''re saying she lived here on this mountain since a few decades ago, and you came and took it over. Is that true?" Amell turned towards the golden beauty lying behind him. "ka," She answered timidly. Obviously, she wasn''t as old as Orlando was, and therefore not as strong or confident as he had become after travelling with Amell. "I see..." Amell slowly turned towards Orlando and quickly delivered an even harder punch to the head. "KAAA!" He screamed back from being punched out of nowhere. "You beat her up, stole her home, and then you bragged about it to me. I thought you knew me better than that. How did you think I would react? We are solving this now, sit down!" Amell said to Orlando, and having no choice in the matter, he sat down and glared at the other eagle. "So tell me how you met and the event leading up to it, in great detail," Amell said and crossed his arms over his chest. A few days later, Amell, Orlando and their newest addition to the group was eating dinner inside the Temple. Amell had managed to smooth things over between the two eagles and they were starting to get along, but they were still in the beginning stages of their relationship. They sparred each and every day, and of course, Orlando dominated because he refused to show mercy in even a spar. Amell was finished eating so he was experimenting with Fire Bending. And more specifically improvements to it in the forms of hotter and more powerful flames. He discovered that through the use of spirit bending he could increase the heat to what he believed to be an indefinite amount. He didn''t go crazy with it because he knew he could melt this Temple by just increasing the heat around himself through Fire Bending. And so far he had only experimented with Fire bending, and he was extremely excited for how the other elements could be improved. While playing and experimenting with the fire, his stomach started turning. He was starting to feel ill, but he knew it was nothing physical. "Toph!" He suddenly stood up and looked towards the east. He had slight panic written across the face. Toph had just gotten hurt, he could feel it. It wasn''t super serious but he felt her feel it. "Orlando, Gold, you two stay here, I have to go, I will be back soon." Amell ran off and jumped off the edge of the temple and disappeared beyond the horizon in only seconds. Orlando and Gold were so absorbed in their food that they just silently nodded, and immediately went back to eating without caring that Amell left. --------------------------------------------- End Chapter 122 - Chapter 124 Amell was walking inside the town of Gaoling, there were people rushing, either way, causing the streets to be filled to the brim with people. Everyone was forcing their way through, and knocking down other people. All expect for Amell. Running into him was similar to morons that willingly rush headfirst straight into a metal wall. So most people that were knocked down were people trying to push Amell out of the way. Amell didn''t sense Toph inside her home so he was a bit more anxious than before, "Excuse me!" Amell grabbed the arm of a young man rushing past him. "What do you want, old man?" The young man said in disdain and annoyance. "Tell me, why is everyone in such a hurry?" It didn''t slip passed Amell that the people were more excited than he had ever seen them. So obviously something was going on, but he had no idea what. "Earth Rumble, the fighting tournament! You never heard of it, old man?!" The man said and forced himself loose, but he only succeeded because Amell let go of his grip, otherwise he would never have escaped that iron grip. "Earth Rumble. An underground thing maybe," Amell tapped his foot on the ground and his sense went deep and finally, he came upon the massive arena hidden underneath the earth. And his senses also picked up a little lady standing on the stage, facing off against a much bigger man. ''There you are! No wonder I couldn''t find you by just searching the surface level in this town. Toph, my sneaky little lady.'' Amell tapped the ground again with the same foot and a hole opened up underneath him. He fell down into it and the hole closed before anyone noticed he vanished from his spot. On the stage underneath the town, Toph stood bravely against her opponent. And her opponent was just below two meters tall. Toph was a talented bender, maybe the most talented earth bender in the world, but she had just started and her opponent had been fighting for many, many years. The stands were filled all around this arena, except for the front rows. People loved all this fighting, but they weren''t suicidal so no one dared to sit on the front rows where rocks would be flying constantly. Usually, if someone sat here it would be the other contestants. And right now on the front row sat a couple of contestants and watched the fight on stage. And suddenly a hole opened up right next to them and Amell flew up and sat down right next to them. The casual movement of his whole entrance what was caused the people next to him to lose control of their jaws. From nowhere someone just came jumping out of the ground and sat down like it was nothing. "H-Hey, man. Only fighters can sit here!" A timid looking man in his late twenties said to Amell carefully. He was slightly nervous because of Amell''s massive size. He towered over them even when sitting down. Amell''s hand came down on his head, hard. "shhh" Amell shushed him without even looking at him. "What the hell!!" Another slap came down on his head, and this one almost knocked him out completely. He felt almost getting buried inside the ground. "No talking while they''re fighting!" Amell said and raised his hand to threaten the men sitting next to him, and surprisingly they all shut up. They gave him a glance full of evil intent but no one dared say anything on their own. At this point in the match, Toph had lost her chance in going on the offensive. Her opponent had been hesitating when he saw that she was blind, but after finding out how skilled Toph was, he stopped holding back. Toph could now only defend rock after rock that her opponent threw at her. The longer the match was going on the more ground Toph lost against him. She was almost at the edge of the arena and her opponent, the man with a shaved head took a big step forward and summoned an earth wave and it took off toward Toph. The entire stage was vibrating from this move and Toph finally smiled slightly, she kicked the ground and the man''s wave stopped abruptly and he flew off it towards Toph. "Gotcha!" He said in mid-air as he sent two pebbles he held in his hand toward Toph. One hit on the shoulder with enough power to force her out of balance, and the second one hit her in the chest and sent her to the absolute edge of the stage. With a roar from the audience, he landed right in front of Toph and with his fist covered in a hardened layer of earth, he aimed his punch towards Toph''s head. "Stupid move!" A man appeared between Toph and the punch, and the rock punch hit Amell right on his chest. The whole arena shook, and the man hurt his hand from hitting Amell right on the chest. "That punch would have killed her. Do you have a conscience?" Amell grabbed the man''s wrist and squeezed until a loud crack was heard and the man fell down screaming. Amell walked up to him and grabbed his shirt. And threw him towards the stands, and he landed and crashed into the first row while destroying a few seats. Amell looked at the host with slight killing intent in his eyes, "I interfered so she lost the match. But if I ever see one of your competitors go for a killing strike again, I will come for you. Is that understood?" Amell said the last part really slow and also he increased his killing intent around his words. And the host was a normal person, so even though Amell barely released his aura, the man almost fainted from fear. "U-Understood, Sir... What is your name?" The host while feeling dizzy. He tried to stand straight because he didn''t wanna show weakness to all these people that he was entertaining through this event. He was feared by his own people and all of these people coming and watching his organized fights, and he needed it to stay like that. Amell chose to ignore the host''s question and instead turned towards Toph. And the girl stood there looking at him in shock and slight disappointment. "What is it, little lady? You look so upset," Amell said and smiled. "Why are you here?" Toph said in clear disappointment. "Let us go somewhere else," Amell tapped the ground with his finger and it flipped over and the two disappeared from the stage. And left around this arena was just pure silence. Inside the cave where they met, the earth flipped over and the two of them now stood inside the cave. Toph who finally experienced her master''s earth bending to a degree looked around in amazement, but also longing. "How freaking strong are you? Am I ever gonna be this freaking skilled?!" She felt the frustration build-up, but Amell''s hand landed on her head quickly. "Ouch, why did you hit me?!" Toph said and looked at him. "Watch the language. You are just a young lady, my students don''t need to swear to articulate what they are feeling. Proper language." Amell said with a smile. And toph just sighed. "Yeah, okay, so answer me, why did you come?" She changed the subject back on track quickly. "I was away dealing with a lovers quarrel, and suddenly I felt you were injured, so I panicked, thinking that the Fire Nation got to you. But imagine my surprise when I reality you had gone and signed up for a tournament without my blessing." Amell took on a sterner tone the usual. But Toph hit him right back with an even harsher tone. "That was the point!" She almost yelled in his face. Amell immediately lost his train of thought. "Mind explaining what that means?" He said and properly sat down on the ground. "I signed up to that stupid thing so that when you returned I could s-show you that I am strong, you know. I kinda wanted to you to be proud of me." Toph said with a tinge of red colour spreading across her face. Amell immediately changed his tone to a more serious one, "Toph, a day doesn''t go by where I am not proud of you. A young blind girl rising through her own weakness to become an earth bending Master. How can I not be proud of that." Amell went over and gave the girl a hug, to make sure that she understood that he was genuinely proud of her. "Y-You mean that?!" She said while his arms were wrapped around her. Her eyes were wet, and she felt something she had never experienced before. A feeling of truly belonging somewhere. She belonged right here, next to him, that''s where she felt safest, and most cared for. She wouldn''t let go off this feeling easily. "Yes, I do. But, since you lost against that baldy, I am gonna have to increase your training. Come along now, no more tears, if you are gonna try, then it should be because your arms are about to fall off thanks to my amazing training." Amell said and stormed off into the distance. "Follow along now! We will start light, with a casual jog around the earth Kingdom!" His voice came drifting from inside the cave. Toph quickly wiped her tears and put her game face on. "Yes, Sir!" She yelled and started jogging after her master. ----------------------------------------- End Chapter 123 - Chapter 125 Amell and Toph were walking just outside the border of the town. They were walking hand in hand because Amell had a surprise so he made Toph promise not to use Seismic sense to peek. Toph was holding on hand over her own eyes for some reason and the other one she held tightly onto Amell''s hand. "Toph, there is one thing that I don''t understand. Why are you covering your eyes?" Amell said with his kind and tranquil tone of voice. "To make this feel more real of course," Toph said and smiled brightly, not saddened at all by the lack of her visual sense. Through Seismic sense, she had acquired a new hope for a brighter future for herself. "I see, I suppose that makes enough sense to justify it." Amell laughed at Toph''s silly behaviour. They had walked for about five minutes when Amell finally stopped. And Toph felt excitement build up inside her. Whatever Amell had planned, the anticipation of the reward for this blind walk almost caused her to use Seismic sense to find out. But she just barely managed to hold herself back. "Okay, you can remove your hand from your face and have a look," Amell said, and Toph quickly removed her tiny hand from further covering her eyes. And as her sonar-like sight came back and she got a visual on what was in front of her, she lost the control of multiple body parts. Her jaw hit the floor, and her legs gave out and she fell down on the ground. "M-Master, W-What is that?!!" She sat there shaking and staring at the giant forty-meter eagle standing proudly in front of her. "That, my dear student, is Orlando. My partner in crime. He and I do almost everything together and we rarely separate." Amell said and Orlando spread out his aura and tried to look even more intimidating now. "You do crimes!?" Toph turned to her master in shock and slight terror. Amell, on the other hand, facepalmed realizing she hadn''t heard that expression before. "No, Toph, we don''t. It is just a figure of speech. It means that we do everything together and that he and I are best friends." Amell explained with a calming smile. And Toph visibly relaxed after hearing that. "Master, why are we here?" Toph said and tried to look at Orlando, but he was so incredibly big that it scared her just slightly looking at him. Forty meters to a normal adult is very big, but to six-year-old Toph, it was like nothing she had ever seen. And the underground fighting seemed like child play compared to being forced to fight this eagle. "We are gonna ride Orlando of course. Haven''t you ever dreamt of flying?" Amell said. But Toph''s reaction totally surprised him. "NO, NO, NO! I LIKE IT ON THE GROUND!" She screamed and tried to run away, but Amell grabbed her by the collar and started walking towards Orlando. "Don''t be such a baby, you''re a big girl now. And how would your fans think if the great blind earth bender was afraid of some flying, huh?" Amell said and jumped ontop Orlando. "NO! LET ME DOWN!" Toph screamed in fright. "No, you will love this, I promise," Amell said. And he put down Toph on Orlando''s back and tapped his foot to signal Orlando to take off. And took off he did, like a rocket. And with Toph''s terrified screaming, they took off into the distance together. Amell was all smiling while Toph held onto his arm with an iron grip. "Toph, trust me, sit up straight and take in a deep breath. And then feel the refreshing winds on your face. You will love it I promise." Amell said and stroked her cheek carefully. And Toph trusted him more than anyone in her life, so she slowly sat up, but of course, she held onto his hand as hard as humanly possible. "T-This is nice..." She said while feeling the wind on her face. It was terrifying not feeling the ground or having any visual sight, but with Amell right next to her, and having that feeling of safety beside her, she could admit to enjoying the feeling of the wind on her face. "Not so bad, right? I am the only person in the world that can give you this feeling." Amell said. "I suppose so, so where are we going?" Toph asked while sitting close to him and hugging his arm that had the same hardness as a rock, which surprisingly offered her the most comfort. "Nowhere, just flying and enjoying this breif moment of peace and quiet. These kinds of moments are rare now a days, so enjoy them while you still can, Toph." Amell said and stroked her hair, and she closed her eyes and truly enjoyed the moment. "I will, Master." Toph said and smiled while enjoying the truly quiet and peacefullness thousands of miles up here in the air. ----------------------------------------------- End Chapter 124 - Chapter 126 Amell was training on his mountain at the run-down Southern Air Temple. Five years have passed since he woke up, and since he met Toph. He still had contact with her and he visited her from time to time. But most of the time he stayed at this place, mastering the elements further, or he was out exploring the world and searching for Aang. And Amell started to believe that Aang had passed away a long time ago. The more he travelled, the more it became clear to him just how much time had passed out here in the world. The chances of Aang being alive were slim, so he started looking for signs and rumours about a new Avatar. If Aang was dead, he wanted to be the one that guides and protects the new Avatar. Amell had during these five years figured out that the four major elements had sub-categories of themselves. From fire he discovered lightning and from the earth, he figured out that he could bend metal. Though metal bending was his weakest technique so far, it was still sloppy and unrefined. He could not use it in a battle to an efficient enough degree to justify fighting with it. But there was one technique inside the earth element that he was using regularly and had completely mastered. And that was lava bending. Through manipulation of molten rock, he could, much like a certain lava user he knew, control and fight quite proficiently with lava. But among all of them, the most terrifying out of all, was water bendings, blood bending. This was the kind of ability that the former Amell would have loved to have. The assassin in him screamed out in joy when he became aware of this ability. It''s a terrifying technique and one he will hold hidden from everyone. He didn''t wanna imagine how the world would look if this technique got out among the water tribes. Right now he was practising accurate output of power. Amell was powerful enough to cause a literal sea of flames by just using one hand. And on top of that, because of his power and the insane heat coming off his flames, they had turned permanent white in colour. His flames could melt pretty much anything within seconds on contact. So he was refining the control of his power output so he wouldn''t accidentally burn down a city, which he definitely had the ability to do. As he was training a warm feeling appeared inside of him, and a very familiar malevolent voice appeared, ''Portgas D. Amell, I have awakened from this slumber, and I am now a free spirit. '' Vaatu, the former spirit of chaos said slowly. ''ah, look who has finally escaped his endless nap. How was it? How are you feeling?'' Amell stopped training and he sat down and closed his eyes to enter his soul space. Inside there he was faced with the giant form of Vaatu. Menacing and exuding an aura of majesty and pride as well as a whole lot of killing intent. ''I feel free, not bound anymore by a predetermined road for me to walk on. I am glad, and I feel powerful as well.'' Vaatu said and let his aura out and it slightly shook the mountain Amell sat upon. "Easy there, big fella. We have some things to discuss now. For example, I found out that we were trapped on that island for close to a hundred years. Did you know of this?'' Amell said, not angry at Vaatu at all, just curious of how knowledgeable the old spirit was. ''I did not. Interesting, indeed. I am somewhat familiar with the pure concept of time, but no one, not even I, can predict the path of time, it is a foolish action to try and do. We simply have to accept and move on, that is life.'' Vaatu said in his normal tone that hadn''t changed at all. ''Look at you, aren''t you the unstoppable force of endless happiness.'' Amell said and gave a dry and tired laugh to Vaatu''s whole personality. ''Happiness is a wasted emotion, focus solely on your goal and fulfilment shall come.'' Vaatu said. ''What happened to you? I swear you used to be more fun to be around.'' Amell sighed and exited his soul space and opened his eyes to the world again. And right at that moment, almost like a lightning strike, Aang''s energy signature he had been tracing went through the roof for just a second or two. ''Vaatu! Did you feel that? Tell me I am not crazy!'' Amell said and stood up. He looked south with an excited expression. ''You are not crazy, Amell. That was most certainly a powerful energy signature spike. And if I am not mistaken, that felt like Raava. Most likely that Avatar boy you talked about finding. Though you should hurry, who knows what state the Avatar is in.'' ''I am aware!'' Amell jumped towards the temple in one giant leap. And he landed on the temple ground right next to Orlando and Gold. the eagles were scared half to death by his intense landing and his leaking aura. "Orlando! Aang has shown himself finally. I am sure it is him, so put down that deer, and start flapping those wings." Amell said to Orlando that did have a full deer hanging out his mouth, it was quite disgusting, but Amell had gotten used to it. "KAA!" Orlando screamed in excitement and as soon as Amell landed on his back, he took off and immediately broke the sound barrier on taking off. "Kaa?" Gold was left sitting there with her head tilting to the side. But after a few seconds, she stopped worrying about it and went back to her meal. ------------------------------------------ End Chapter 125 - Chapter 127 Orlando was flying as he had never flown before. He sensed the urgency in Amell''s aura and that caused him to lose the childlike personality he usually showed. Amell started to more accurately focus in on Aang''s aura to get a specific location. ''That''s interesting, his location is inside the water tribe village. I wonder if they know who they are dealing with over there.'' Amell opened his eyes and his eyes pierced the space between him and the water tribe village. Amell suddenly looked in another direction, ''Fire benders? And another Grand Master at that, interesting. I wonder if they know about Aang.'' Amell didn''t pay them any mind and instead focused on the water tribe village. The night sky that hung over their heads started to disappear the closer they got to the village. The night turned to early morning and the world brightened up. Amell and Orlando arrived at the south pole after quite some time and a very familiar but tiny water tribe village became visible in front of them. They were a few hundred meters up in the air, but both of them had a perfect vision of the ground. They had arrived just in time to see a fire nation ship closing in on the village, the Grand Master was on that ship as well. "Aang, good to see you again," Amell said as he watched the young air bender running towards the village. It looked like a battle was gonna happen soon, so Amell chose to just observe for now. And down on the ground, the ship had now smashed through that sorry excuse for a village wall. And on the ship stood an angry-looking teenager. He looked determined, and half his face was burned from a fire bending injury. As the front of the ship was lowered and destroyed the rest of the village, Sokka, the only male over ten years old still left in the village got knocked back a few meters by the ship bridge that lowered and destroyed his wall. Down on the walkway came a dozen or so fire nation soldiers. And leading these soldiers was the angry-looking teenager, and he walked with pride, and his entire aura spoke of how important this was for him. "That boy sure is interesting. His soul is twisted and caught in a major struggle similar to my own. His good side is forcefully suppressed by the boy himself. Almost like he acts evil and cruel because he thinks that''s what he is supposed to be. Very interesting." Amell found the boy fascinating and he really wanted to see how he handled this exchange. "AAAAAAAH" Sokka ran up to the teenager but got defeated with just two kicks. And Amell shook his head slowly at Sokka''s lack of any skill in combat. A five-year-old Aang would decimate that poor water, tribe boy. "I want the Avatar, I know you''re hiding him, so give him up now." Said the fire nation teenager. Sokka got back up and picked up his weapon, "AAAAH" another try, but also another failure for he was flung overhead and landed on his ass, and lost his breath for a second. "This boy! Don''t announce your location like that." Amell again shook his head at how predictable he was. He couldn''t be more obvious in how he moved and attacked. "Last chance for all of you to bring me the Avatar!" He said and glared at the villagers. His patience was running thin. "I''M HERE!" A voice came from behind him and Aang appeared on a penguin looking animal knocked the teenager over. Aang jumped up and landed in front of the villagers. He brought forth his staff and aimed it all the fire benders. "Who are you, and what are you doing here?" Aang asked and actually tried to look intimidating like Amell had taught him in the past. He made sure that all the villagers were safe behind him. "My name is Zuko, and I''m looking for the Avatar. Bring him to me!" Zuko demanded. "I''m afraid you''re looking at him," Aang said with regret and guilt in his voice. "You''re the Avatar?" Katara and Sokka said from the sidelines simultaneously. "Sorry, I should have told you," He looked at the two siblings with an apologetic expression, but he kept his guard up against Zuko. "You can''t be him, you''re supposed to be a hundred years old. I trained every day for this, but you''re just a kid," Zuko said with shock and disbelief. He couldn''t believe that the person even his great-grandfather failed to find and capture was just a kid. "A kid who can kick your ass." Aang took on the battle stance Amell taught him, and immediately Zuko''s awareness shot through the roof. Just changing his stance caused a chill to spread through his body. On the ship stood a short and chubby man and observed Aang, ''Whoever trained him is one scary individual,'' he thought as even he felt danger from Aang now, and he had reached Grand Master status long ago. "AAAH!" Zuko got agitated by Aang''s response and attacked, but Aang was trained by Amell, so he perfectly countered and contained every flame Zuko sent out. There was no spread of the flame so the villagers were safe, and Zuko couldn''t get an advantage over Aang in bending. "Do it!" Zuko ordered and his soldiers spread out around the villagers and pointed their weapons and flame-filled fists at them. "Surrender and they shall not be harmed. "That''s dirty, but all is fair in war," Amell said and waved his hand, and multiple blasts of air appeared and knocked the soldiers unconscious. "What!?" Zuko looked around in confusion, and then at Aang, but the boy had already moved in and he landed a strike with his fist on Zuko''s face and made him crash into the snow wall. "Zuko!" The old man on the ship let his aura out and he prepared to move in, but a hand landed on his shoulder and held him in place, "We seniors should not interfere in a fight among children, don''t you think so, Grand Master?" Amell said in a whisper tone, but the killing intent inside his voice froze the old man in place. "Who are you, Sir?" He asked Amell while slowly taking up his cup that was placed on the railing of the ship. He took a sip, and let the sweet flavour of his favourite tee calm him down. "I am the guardian of the Avatar. Grand Master Iroh, I am not your enemy." A white chip flew with the help of air bending and landed on the railing. "We want the same thing for this world, so don''t force me to do something I''ll regret doing." Amell''s voice drifted away and Iroh felt the grip on his shoulder disappear. Iroh picked up the chip and sighed while observing it, ''The world might finally have a chance to pull through this nightmare.'' he put away the chip and watched some soldiers carry an unconscious Zuko on board the ship. "Retreat, this operation is a failure, retreat!" Iroh said and watched the villagers celebrating Aang and Sokka. ''Stay strong, Zuko.'' He said before walking inside again. ---------------------------------------------------------- End Chapter 126 - Chapter 128 Back at the Southern Air Temple, Amell sat, conflicted and contemplated the decisions he had made in this world so far. For quite a few years now, he had been absolutely positive that his job was to train the Avatar. But once he actually laid eyes upon Aang again and how he was doing, his certainty shattered like a fragile old mirror. Aang already had companions now and Amell could already see the strong bond between them. He didn''t need his all-seeing eyes to see the bond between, Aang, Katara and Sokka, it was as if fate wanted them to find each other all along, and as if Amell held no significant place among them. "Maybe that is for the best anyway. I shouldn''t interfere because the more bonds I create, the more people I would be leaving once I leave this world." Amell sighed out loud and he felt like he was the same as when he arrived here. He still couldn''t find the answer to the actually important questions in his life. "Maybe I should act my role as a Temple Guardian? If Aang just woke up from some sort of slumber he will definitely return here eventually. I should welcome him when he arrives. Maybe at that time, I would find my place in this." Amell fell backwards on his back and put his hands behind his head and started cloud gazing, one of his favourite past times. He saw Orlando and Gold flying around in the air above him. They spent almost every waking hour together and Amell had already started to imagine thousands of tiny Orlando''s flying around the Temple, which was obviously an exaggeration, but he didn''t think it would be long now until that happens. On the fire nation ship, Zuko just woke up on his bed. He had a headache and his body hurt from the quick but efficient beatdown Aang gave him. His room was dark and a single light source in the form of a candle was lit inside the room. And even that tiny source of light agitated his headache. "Zuko, I''m so glad that you are awake. How are you feeling?" Iroh said. He sat in the darkness beside the bed. His eyes held regret, guilt, and sorrow. "I''m fine! Where are we? And what about the Avatar?" Zuko asked with a raised voice, but that proved to be the wrong move as his headache acted up and he let out a painful moan. "Forget the Avatar for now. You need to rest." Iroh said in hope that Zuko would entirely forget this chase, but inside he knew better than that. "How can you say that, uncle? You know what is at stake here." Zuko got another backlash from the pain. And this time his whole body woke up and gave him a painful surprise. "REST!" Iroh said in a loud and stern parental tone of voice. And Zuko listened this time and laid back down without arguing anymore. He stared at the ceiling and replayed his fight with the Avatar over and over again. "Rest for now and we will talk later, Zuko." Iroh sighed quietly and walked out of the room. He didn''t know what the future had in store for him, but he couldn''t help but worry a little bit. A week later at the Air Temple, Amell was practising spirit bending, and more specifically space relocation, or transfer, however, someone wanted to phrase it, it was all the same thing. Amell was creating a space door when he felt Aang''s aura approach. ''So it''s finally time for him to face reality.'' He looked towards the direction of where Aang''s aura was coming from. Amell finished creating the door and he walked through. And on top of his mountain, he reappeared casually. Space transfer was very easy for him now if he had seen the location before. But to only go after an energy signature was much tougher. "Orlando, Gold, you have to stay up here for now. A guest is arriving so be sure to also not make a single sound." Amell looked at the eagles and they nodded in understanding. Orlando chose not to argue with it once he saw the seriousness in Amell''s tone. Approaching the Air Temple was a large white and furry animal with three people on it. And it was also flying in the air, so without much difficulty, it landed on the platform in front of the Temple entrance. And three people jumped off, and one of them much more excited than the other two. "Aang, just... Be careful here, it looks abandoned and broken down." Katara said and looked at all the cracks in the Temple walls. "You''re right, why would they not keep this place in ord..." Aang spun around the Temple grounds while reminiscing about the past. But that only lasted until his eyes landed on the first corpse on the ground. "What... Dead?!" Aang said without being able to properly grasp the situation. And immediately he forgot everything else and rushed inside. And Katara and Sokka looked at each other with worry present inside their eyes. And they were about to follow Aang when his horrified scream came from inside, "AAAAH!" And the inside of the Temple exploded and a storm came from inside the Temple and it hit Katara and Sokka, and flung them back off the Temple itself, the wind was too powerful for them to handle. A hand came and grabbed hold of their arms, "Whoops, close one," Amell said and held onto the water tribe siblings. "Master Amell! What are you doing here?" Katara asked with shock as she realized who was holding her down on the ground. And Sokka was fanboying. He respected Amell a lot so he had a big smile on his face. The roof to the part where Aang had run into had been blown to smithereens by the boy himself. He had forcefully entered the Avatar state and now he was hovering over the Temple and more of the building was being destroyed every second. "I am the Temple Guardian, but let''s talk later, let me take care of Aang first," Amell said and waved one of his fingers and a bubble of air appeared around Aang''s head, and quickly the boy lost his ability to breath and he lost consciousness soon after. The winds died down and Amell''s wind caught Aang and brought him over to the three of them. And Katara and Sokka could finally stand on the ground by themselves again. "Now we wait for the sleeping beauty to wake up," Amell said and smiled at the siblings, and they just nodded along obediently. -------------------------------------------------- End Chapter 127 - Chapter 129 A few hours later on top of Amell''s mountain, Aang opened his eyes as he rested on the cold and hard surface. He felt dizzy and his mind didn''t have full clarity. It took a few seconds of cloud gazing to get his memories in order, and he finally sat up in a panic. A hand came from behind and forced him to stay in place, "Calm down, Aang, getting upset will not help you now." Amell''s familiar strict voice entered his ear and the boy turned around and was greeted with the sight of someone he also thought was dead. "Amell!" Aang said and jumped up and gave the man a bear hug. The feeling of sorrow started to disappear a little, the happiness of seeing someone he grew up around helped immensely. "How are you here?" Aang asked genuinely shocked because Katara and Sokka had told him multiple times that almost a hundred years had passed since he was frozen in the ocean. "You have your secrets and I have mine," Amell said and gave Aang a teasing smile. "Where are Katara and Sokka?" He looked behind Amell but saw no one there. And Amell just smiled cheekily and pointed at the place next to Aang. "WOW!" Aang looked behind him and right next to where he had been laid Katara. And Sokka was a bit further away from them and sleeping against Appa, Aang''s flying bison. "Yeah, she was so worried about you she could barely sleep. She laid there half the night and just stared at your face." Amell was almost in tears as he laughed while telling Aang about Katara''s behaviour. "And the funny thing is that she tried and hide it. She was pretending not to look, only to sneak a peek a second later, it was absolutely adorable." Amell said and continued his hysterical laughter. "ANYWAY! Have you been up here for a hundred years, master?" Aang asked with a completely red face. "No, I have not. I have only been here for the last few years while waiting for you to show up again. I knew you weren''t dead so I waited and waited, and here you are," Amell said and smiled. "Why would you wait for me?" Aang asked with a curious yet cautious tone. He was still apprehensive towards his responsibility as the Avatar so he didn''t want any lectures on what responsibilities now lies on his shoulders alone. "There is a war Aang, one I could stop, and have been able to stop for years. I could have stopped it a hundred years ago. But I can''t do that. This world relies heavily on the balance of all things. And the Avatar exists for only one purpose, to restore and protect that balance. So I can''t directly interfere in the war, because I have no place in this world any longer. Your duty, Aang, is to stop the war and bring back balance to this world." "I-I can''t do that! Why can''t you just do it, what''s stopping you?!" Aang was starting to become agitated because duty this and duty that, everyone kept telling him all of this, but he understood none of it. "Universal law. Something not even I can fight against, yet. But you will understand in time, Aang. I only ask that you do this for Gyatso. And for everyone that has died or will die in this war. There is a pressure to being the Avatar, and it will not be easy, but the world chose you because you were the bravest and most powerful air bender of your time." Amell said and Aang just stared at the ground, completely lost in thought. "You can think about this more as you rest up. You will be completely safe here, but I need to go now. Unfortunately, I don''t have time to teach you anything. My time in this world is almost over, and before I leave, I have a few things to do." Amell said and it completely alarmed Aang. "What!? You can''t die!" Aang said and looked up in a panic. "Aang, everyone has a time where they need to go. But leaving doesn''t always mean goodbye forever. If you ever have doubts about anything at all, come and meditate upon this mountain." Amell said and smiled. And he started to disappear very slowly. "Wait! I have more questions! What do you mean your time is up? Where are you going and what are you going to do?" Aang said and sat up on all four and looked at Amell with a pleading look. "I thought once I met you, I would find my place in your story. And I was right, unfortunately. I noticed that the longer I stay in this world, the more unbalanced it becomes because of my presence in it. You can always come here and meditate because my spirit will always watch over this place." Amell''s body started to dissipate and turn into light particles. "What should I do now?! I don''t know how to be the Avatar." Aang said with tears in his eyes as he looked at Amell with a pleading look. Amell walked up, without legs so it looked more like floating than walking, he pressed his forehead against Aang''s, "You already are!" He said and right then his body completely transformed into light particles. "WAAAH!" Aang opened his eyes in a panic and raised his body from the cold ground. He looked at where Amell had been sitting, and it was now nothing but emptiness there. Then he felt a hand placed on his shoulder and he turned around in happiness. "Aang? What''s the matter?" Katara said with a worried tone. She looked at him, concerned about his strange behaviour. "Master Amell! Where did he go?" Aang said and raised his voice. But Katara looked completely lost at the words. "Who is that? There is only us here." Katara said and pointed at Appa and Sokka in the distance. "I-I see..." Aang went back to silence. Confused, but also, he had this warm and cosy feeling inside his chest. Like he felt someone''s warm gaze looking over him. "Never mind that than! I''m just gonna go back to sleep again," Aang said and laid back down with a silly bright smile plastered on his face. ------------------------------------------ End Chapter 128 - Chapter 130 In the city of Gaoling, Amell was walking with Toph by his side. The streets were full of people and most of them would stop and stare at the giant that was casually walking through the town. No one paid attention to the little girl by his side, most didn''t even see her because she became so tiny in comparison to Amell. Toph wasn''t smiling now like she usually would whenever Amell came to visit her. He hadn''t said anything, and he barely needed to. Toph felt the aura around Amell, and it wasn''t happy. He also wore an apologetic expression without having done anything wrong, and this, in turn, made her very sad because she was smart enough to figure out what that meant. Her town wasn''t all that big so it didn''t take long for them to reach the outskirts of the city border. Neither one had said anything this entire time, it had been absolute silence between them since Amell picked her up at her house. But her parents had yet to figure out that she had been sneaking out of her house for years. "It''s a beautiful town, ever thought about leaving it?" Amell asked as they walked on the dirt road leading away from the town. "Every day, I suppose. Just don''t know where I would go." Toph said, without looking at him. She had grown up now, and she was twelve years old. Soon to turn thirteen. So Amell was really worried how a teenager would react to him pretty much abandoning her. "Toph, I have something to tell you," Amell said and stopped walking. Before he could continue, Toph interrupted, "Let me go with you!" She said, and the ground beneath her feet broke apart from her clenching her toes. Amell sighed, "No! You can''t follow me to where I''m going." He said, trying his hardest not to give in. You could see on his face, him trying to look and act cold because one emotion from him would cleeve his resolve in half and he would give in. "Why!? You are more of a father to me than anyone in the damn house ever will be!" toph said in frustration. She also tried to keep it together on the surface. Inside of her, she was breaking down from just Amell flat out denying her request to tag along. "It''s not about that, Toph. You won''t understand now, maybe never, but you have a role to play in this world, I don''t. I have no idea what your future holds, but it is important that you stay in this world and find out." Amell said and earned a great look of confusion from the girl. "What are you talking about? World this, and world that! We''re all from the same world, aren''t we?!" Toph said and stood there and looked determined. "No, we are not! I have talked to you about the spirit world, and how that is its own existence. Well, what I didn''t tell you is that there are more like it. And I am from one of those many different worlds. And I must go back to mine now. That''s why this world has no place for me in it, I have no part to play. If I had, I would stay, but now that I know that I have no part in it, I have to leave before I cause harm to this world, and to you." Amell said in a monotone voice while looking over at the horizon. "Stupid, I couldn''t care less about whatever place you come from. All I know is that you do have a part to play here, and that''s with me! You are MY family, old man!" Toph said as her voice cracked because she was fighting against a lump that was stuck in her throat. Amell bent down and put his hands on her shoulders, "Toph, I have never had a daughter. But you are as close to the real thing as anyone could be. You will always be my family, and I will never forget your laugh or that adorable face you bring out whenever you sleep. You will always be in my heart!" Amell said and brought Toph in for a hug, and he heard Toph silently sobbing while pressing her head against his chest. Amell pushed her away while still holding on to her shoulders, "Toph, I have to leave. But I do have a gift for you before I go." Amell summoned a multi-coloured form of weird-looking energy to his right index finger. "For being the most exemplary daughter I have ever had, I will give you the best gift I could think of." Amell placed his index finger on Toph''s forehead and guided that energy towards her eyes carefully. And a warm and fuzzy feeling came over her as in front of her eyes, a strange, blurry and wavy figure started to become visible. "Hi!" Amell said with a bright smile, and Toph saw the blurry figure starting to wave one of its hands at her. And without warning, she started to cry, she completely opened the flood gates without any constraints. Toph dove head-first straight into Amell''s embrace and cried her eyes out for the next few minutes. "Toph, it''s okay, look at me!" He said and pushed her away again. "H-H-How did you do that?!!" Toph said, barely being able to speak audible and understandable words. "You have your secrets and I have mine. That''s my gift to you since I couldn''t leave you without a proper goodbye gift." Amell said and his smile was going full force. "T-Thank you!" Toph said and turned around and wiped away the tears on her face. "it''s okay!" She said as she stood with her back turned against him. "What is?" Amell asked and tilted his head, "That you''re leaving! You can leave now because now I can always just close my eyes and you''ll be here." Toph said and closed her eyes, and Amell''s attractive middle-aged face popped up in front of her. "I will miss you, Toph," Amell said and stood up. "Of course you will, daddio, who wouldn''t? I am the greatest person in the world after all." Toph said and took her first step away from him. And on her cheek, the tears were streaming down, but she was smiling with the greatest and brightest smile she had ever shown. "I will make something out of myself, you know! I will become the strongest in the world!" Toph said and took another confident step away from Amell. "Yes, you better since I trained you, I wouldn''t allow anything other than the top spot," Amell said and waved towards the clouds, signalling his partner that he was ready for a pickup. Toph didn''t answer him, she just laughed and made a life long promise to herself, ''I will become the strongest in this world, and then... I will look for you all across the universe if I have to!'' Toph clad this promise in iron, and she soon disappeared from view. But none of them was sad, Toph had a never before seen burning determination, and Amell was as proud as any real father would be of their daughter. "Burn bright, Toph!" Amell said and made a giant leap towards the eagle flying high in the sky above him. ----------------------------------------------------------------- End Chapter 129 - Chapter 131 On Roku''s island, Portgas D. Amell stood with closed eyes. He was about to use spirit bending, the manipulation of the cosmic energy to try and connect with the universal stream, the bridge between every world and dimension in existence. So he slowly raised his hand up high and gathered energy around his it. By just the sheer amount of energy around his hand, it started to disrupt space around him, small cracks in the air appeared for just a millisecond. The elements were going crazy around him. After a few minutes of standing still like this and gathering energy, he did a lightning-fast chop and split space in front of him into two halves. As the space gate opened for him to walk into, the ocean also divided into two behind it. The air current around the island stopped for a second and the island started to break apart. "Whoops, I need to get better at this." Amell snapped his fingers and the gate expanded and became massive. And this sent out a concentrated outburst of energy that split the island in two. "Orlando, Gold, go through now, I''ll see you on the other side," Amell said to the two eagles standing behind him. They showed no fear because Orlando trusted Amell, and Gold would now follow Orlando anywhere. They flapped their wings and flew through the gate. "Goodbye, Toph, Aang," Amell said and walked through the gate as well. And when he disappeared beyond the gate, it closed and the world returned to its calm and peacefulness. Though Roku''s island wasn''t much of an island anymore. Amell was sucked out of the portal and found himself inside the universal stream. As usual, it was incredibly beautiful and colourful. Made up of a multitude of colours it was only now that he realized that the whole stream was made up of cosmic energy, and now that he could control it he finally realized just how powerful he had become. If he truly mastered this then he would most likely be able to completely change any aspect of reality at will. Did someone die? Not anymore, the thought of being in possession of this amount of power both scared and excited him. Amell spotted Orlando and Gold, and they also noticed him, "Come over here and stay close to me or you might end up in a world where a house cat can kill you." Amell said in amusement to his eagles. Orlando didn''t like being compared to a house cat so he tried to send an air blast towards Amell, but nothing came of it, his bending didn''t work in this stream. "Too bad, you overgrown baby!" Amell had some time ago located Orlando''s sour spot. And that was his age and maturity level, strange thing for an eagle to care about, but most people that knew Orlando often forgets that he is as intelligent as a human in many ways. He perfectly understands multiple languages, and he understands the concepts of emotion, and age and many other things thought exclusive to humans only. And Orlando''s absolute sore spot was when you called him anything other than mature. Age represents authority among his species so he despised when someone undermined him by getting his age wrong. "Rest for now, it''s gonna be about an hour before we arrive at our location." Amell laid down and an incredibly relaxing and tranquil feeling came over him and he started to space out. He felt it had been years since he got any form of rest. He had basically trained for about a hundred years straight. And after exactly one hour and twenty minutes, they could finally see a tiny little blinking star. This tiny little blinking star looked small, but it was only because of the insane distance still between it and the stream. This star was a whole world. A world inhabited by many planets and many different races. And one of these planets was the elemental nations. Amell smiled as he could from even this distance recognize the energy signature of that world. "You two, stop your cuddling and get ready now." Amell turned his gaze to Orlando and Gold that was having the time of their lives. Amell sighed and shook his head when he noticed that he was being ignored by both of them. They clearly prioritised snuggling above world travel safety 101. So Amell let them be and he sent them all towards that tiny shining little star using the stream. A few km outside the immediate border of the village hidden in the sand, a bright multi-coloured beam appeared and struck the ground. A few meters around the place where it struck was now completely destroyed. This was caused by Amell''s lack of control of that multi-coloured beam. This beam could in face obliterate a tailed beast in seconds. Only Amell and people with his blood running through them could control the universal stream to this degree. And Amell had still not mastered his control of cosmic energy, which this beam was entirely made up of. So his lack of control caused this whole area to look like a comet had hit. Amell, Orlando and Gold were revealed as the beam faded away, "Well, this is slightly off from my original target." He looked around at all the sand around him. In the distance, even though the sand storms were raging he could see the walls to the sand village. "We have just a short distance to cover, let''s go!" Amell said and jumped up on Orlando''s back with a bright smile. He was finally back, and since the world wasn''t destroyed yet with Alucard lose in it, much time couldn''t have passed. Orlando gave a quick nod towards Gold and they both started flapping their wings with ever-increasing ferocity. They took flight towards the hidden leaf village, where Amell''s family was located. A place where he had wanted to return to but had not been able to for very long. The place where his final journey will begin. And the place where he raised his kids, and the place where the love of his life was hopefully still waiting for him. ------------------------------------------- End Chapter 130 - Chapter 132 The evening light had drowned the world in a beautiful orange colour. Amell stood on the head of Orlando and observed the forest passing underneath him. But it may have just looked like he was observing the trees in all their beauty, but what had caught his eyes was the shadows moving among the trees, clearly tracking the two giant eagles. ''A welcome party this far away from the village? Something''s going on.'' Amell said and looked as more shadows joined into the chase. But of course, they weren''t blurred or shadows to him, he could see the hidden leaf symbol on their headbands. "Orlando, speed up! Leave them in the dust," Amell said and Orlando and Gold both sped up. They broke the sound barrier as they took off and left their shadow tail far behind. They had now arrived above the village, and it looked pretty much the same as usual. It had a slightly more modern look to it because it now belonged solely to the empire as all hidden villages did. But the place still looked very much like the ninja village where he raised his sons. And Amell started to reminisce because for him it had been a hundred years or so since he stepped foot inside this village. Amell was wearing a white full-body cloak that covered both his front and his back. Underneath the cloak, he wore his martial arts school outfit, which was a white Tai Chi Kung Fu top, with black baggy pants. He had on casual black Tai Chi slippers. "Orlando, Gold, stay out of the village for now. You two are way too big to move around inside the village." Amell said and stepped off out into the air and started floating in front of them with his hands behind his back. "KAA!" Gold screamed at him, offended about something. "No, I did not call you fat. And why would that matter? This kid will have sex with anything." Amell said and pointed at Orlando, who in blind rage swiped his massive claw at Amell. "Calm down, you big baby. Don''t think I haven''t heard what you said about me to Gold behind my back. And do believe me when I say that there will be hell to pay eventually." Amell said started to wave away the eagles from the spot. They were very high up so no one in the village noticed them arguing and screaming at each other. Orlando shook his head in denial at Amell''s accusations. He glared one last time at Amell who laughed at him, and he gave out a small scream before departing into the distance. Amell started floating down, and while doing that he was also distorting the light around him so that he effectively became invisible to others. Through spirit bending he had created a whole other form of bending that he called light bending, which in truth it was not, since it can''t be done with having control of cosmic energy. The four bending arts don''t require direct control of cosmic energy as light bending does. He landed on the streets, still without being seen. But Amell saw a lot of jounin ninjas running around the village, and he could only guess he was the cause for it. They didn''t look panicked, but they were all on guard for something. ''It appears that Orlando and Gold have them spooked. But that''s not my problem.'' Amell said and started walking along the streets and observing all the shops and people he passed on his way towards his dojo. He arrived at his dojo very quickly with how unnaturally fast his casual walking speed was. And the dojo hadn''t changed much in appearance, the only real change he noticed from the outside was that the building got bigger, a lot bigger, about three or four times its previous size. The building was standing on its own now, it had merged with its neighbours and become a gigantic traditional dojo. ''My home, good to be back.'' Amell said walked to the door. But before he could reach it, the whole front of the building blew open and a body came flying out. ''ohhh? after years away, it''s still this lively around here,'' Amell said, slightly annoyed that as he admiring his house, someone had to come and destroy it in front of him. And after the body, a bunch of teenagers followed and surrounded the target. They had their weapons drawn, and among them was two with an exceptional amount of chakra, they had yellow and black hair respectively. "Naruto, I''m getting sick of this! This is the sixth time that our house suffers from these stupid fights." Sasuke said. "You guys can try and talk to Alucard if you feel like it! I have tried, but he will only do something if it threatens the Empire." Naruto said and sighed while scanning the surrounding for the enemy that had disappeared. "Yeah right! Like that would work, he would probably cut out our tongues. He listens to no one." Ino, the girl Gildarts saved before he left the world said in an annoyed tone. "Dad can, Alucard listens only to him. Hope he returns soon." Naruto said while applying haki to his hands. "Since uncle Amell isn''t here we have to protect this place. So let''s seal this one and then get to repairing the house, AGAIN!" Sasuke said and his sword blackened as he applied haki to it. "Good luck with that, I am immortal!" A voice sounded out and the ground in the middle of the group exploded upwards. A huge smokescreen was created from the dirt and the group of teenagers lost vision of each other and the surrounding. "BACK TO BACK!" Naruto yelled, and all of them quickly found a partner and stood back to back with their weapons drawn. They stood still and used all of their senses to observe the surrounding. The smoke cleared slowly and everything soon became visible to them again. And they all now saw how their enemy stood in the middle of their ring, but he didn''t stand there alone. Amell had appeared and he held their opponent by the throat. "Hi, Naruto, would you mind explaining what is going on here?" He said as he stood there casually and restraining someone Naruto''s whole group failed to defeat. "H-Hey, Dad..." Naruto said, not able to comprehend what just happened. The rest of the group stood there with their jaws on the floor. "Uncle, that''s a reanimation of someone Kabuto revived. That snake guy escaped a year ago, and we haven''t been able to locate his hideout yet." Sasuke said as he recovered his composure quicker than the others. "Oh, I see. That''s an easy fix then." Amell gathered a tiny amount of cosmic energy around his finger and placed it against the random reanimated ninjas forehead, and immediately the ninja started to break apart like paper would if you threw it in a fire. And soon only ashes were left of the random ninja. "What the hell was that? We fought that guy for a solid fifteen minutes, and he defeats him in two seconds," Tenten, the girl with a love for all kinds of weapons said to Shikamaru quietly. And he just nodded along slowly. "Little lady, that''s because you are still very young, and the world is a lot bigger than you think it is," Amell said and turned to Tenten with a calm and collected smile. "Come all of you, let us go inside. I am curious about what I have missed." Amell looked lovingly at Naruto and Sasuke while inviting everyone inside again. ------------------------------------- End Chapter 131 - Chapter 133 Amell was quite annoyed at how poorly he apparently planned his return to The Elemental Nations. There was as he suspected, something big going on in the world now. The twelve leaves are what Naruto, Sasuke and their friends had been named by the world because of their outstanding results in this war that was brewing. What this all meant was that Amell had basically been dropped into another situation where he would get no rest, which he did not enjoy at all. But Naruto''s group had become quite famous around the world. They were known as the twelve leaves, and Naruto and Sasuke were known as the collective leaders of the group. And they became famous for fighting and sealing away the reanimated ninjas that had popped up around the world lately. They all went inside the house, following Amell as no one wanted to walk in front of him. The first floor was like it had always been, a hall used for sparring and training. But now it was just a lot bigger than before, and all the leaves could probably fight at the same time, and it would still be space left to spare. "Nice change, who designed this?" Amell asked as he walked inside. He quickly walked to the centre of the room and sat down. "Mom did, she designed it so that the team could have somewhere to hang out and train. We''re pretty happy with it." Naruto said. Amell looked at him in shock because he said Mom, that was not something he had ever heard Naruto say before. "Mom?" He questioned Naruto while smiling in a silly manner. "Yep, that would be me, darling," A beautiful female voice sounded out and footsteps echoed around them as Sylvia came walking down the stairs with her still beautiful smile plastered on her face. "Sylvia," Amell said and observed her enchanting form, and the absolute perfect face, the same one he fell in love with all those years ago. "Welcome back to the world of the living," Sylvia said and walked up to her husband. Without hesitation, she jumped up and wrapped her hands around his neck, and gave him the biggest kiss they had ever shared together. Naruto gagged and almost threw up, "Gross! Do that any other place, please!" He said and looked away. And it was the same with the rest of the group, they all looked away while looking and feeling a little uncomfortable. "Deal with it, son," Amell said and smiled. He signalled everyone to sit down, and he and Sylvia did the same thing. "It''s good to see you, Naruto. And you too, Sasuke. You''ve both grown a little too tall for my liking." Amell said and laughed. Naruto and Sasuke had grown taller than Sylvia, so they looked like proper teenagers. "Thanks, Dad, I''m fourteen this year! So I''m not a little kid anymore." Naruto said with his signature big bright smile. Sasuke sighed and shook his head, and he turned to look at Amell again, "Uncle Amell, Alucard listens only to you, can you get him to help us with capturing Kabuto?" He asked with a serious tone. Amell looked a Sasuke with a serious expression. But he soon broke off his expression and smiled confidently and said, "No! This is not my war. You started this when you let Kabuto escape from prison. This is your fight now, and plus, I am not staying that long, I have another journey to go on." Amell said and shocked both the boys greatly. "Are you leaving here and going to the same place again?" Naruto said, not especially upset that he was leaving. He and Sasuke knew Amell pretty much controlled or had great influence of many worlds, so they both had stopped behaving like brats that asked why this? And why that? They accepted that they had their lives here and that Amell had responsibility for an entire Empire spanning three worlds. "No, it''s a different place, it''s been a very long time since I visited it. I will be gone for many years this time as well, but this time I won''t hold it a secret to where I am going, so if you two ever feel like visiting, just ask Alucard to take you." Amell said with a smile, and the boys nodded slowly. "Well, I am going with you this time! I need a good vacation!" Sylvia said and fist-bumped the air excitedly, which earned her laughs from the group. "So, Naruto, have you been in contact with Gildarts at all since he left with me?" Amell asked in genuine curiosity. "That idiot? I love my him dearly, but Holy Hell can he be annoying... He came and visited a while back, and literally all he did was brag about all the girlfriends he had. And apparently, he is famous over there for being a cool and powerful fighter. But I don''t see how the words cool can possibly fit in on him." Naruto said and crossed his arms. "I mean, he defeated you with one arm, Naruto, and that was pretty cool to me." Ino said and blushed a little while smiling. She almost immediately dreamed herself away in some sort of fantasy. "SHUT UP, INO! He cheated!!" Naruto screamed with his face entirely red, his conquerors haki actually flared for a second and caused a small crack to spread underneath his feet. "Calm down there, fox boy!" Tenten said and laughed out loud, and the rest of the group also laughed a little at Naruto. "Yeah, I agree, Gildarts is actually very cool in comparison to his idiot younger brother." Kiba, the boy with the big dog next to him said and started laughing hysterically. Naruto snapped his head over in Kiba''s direction and launched himself at him with his chakra flared. But a guy with insanely bushy eyebrows stepped in and held Naruto back. "Let me go, Lee! I AM GONNA KILL HIM!" Naruto screamed while struggling, and Lee was forced to use his full strength just to hold him back. "Naruto, calm down, Gildarts is a lot older than you, so no need to panic, you have all the time in the world to catch up." Neji, the Hyuga prodigy said in a tranquil tone of voice, and he sat there and stole a glance at Amell, someone he greatly admired, hoping he wouldn''t notice. "Well said, kid, you have a great future ahead of you." Amell said to his secret fanboy. "Thank you, Master Amell!" Neji said and bowed his head enthusiastically. Amell nodded and took another look around the room, and all the people that were gathered here. And his eyes landed on Sasuke, so he locked gazes with him and stood up and walked over. "Sasuke, stay still!" Amell put a finger against Sasuke''s forehead and channeled controlled amounts of cosmic energy into the boy. And much like Toph experienced, Sasuke felt a sensation inside his eyes, it felt weird to him, like it should hurt but it didn''t for some reason. "There we go," Amell took away his finger and walked back to Sylvia while Sasuke opened his eyes. "What did you do to my eyes?" Sasuke asked. He trusted Amell, but that didn''t mean he wasn''t at all curious. "You''ll see eventually. Let''s just say I made things less complicated." Amell didn''t say anything more after that. "Anyway, tell me about the last couple years, what interesting things have happened here?" Amell asked the group, and they started telling him about the events he had missed. ------------------------------------------- End Chapter 132 - Chapter 134 The strange Portgas family was standing inside their house in silence. Naruto and Sasuke had been unusually quiet the whole morning, and they were standing with blank expressions in front of Sylvia and Amell. "What is the matter with you two?" Amell asked while standing there and holding hands with Sylvia. She looked equally puzzled at their behaviour, and Naruto finally broke the silence between them. "I know it''s been a while since you guys saw each other and all, and I''m sure you were impatient, but next time please make sure your room is properly soundproofed," Naruto said in despair, and Sylvia got red as she realized what she had put the kids through. "hahaha! Oh well, my bad!" Amell said and laughed hysterically. Naruto and Sasuke glared at him when he started laughing. "This is no laughing matter! At one point it sounded like someone was killing Mom," Naruto said, and he got sick to the stomach and felt like vomiting. Sylvia wanted to just sink into the ground and die, and her husband was too busy laughing at Naruto and Sasuke to notice her struggle. "Try and see the positive in the negative. At least now you won''t need to fear the thought of forgetting us." Amell said and gave the boys a casual and confident thumbs up. "I fail to see how that is a positive," Sasuke said and continued to fight the urge to throw up, just like Naruto. "Anyway! We should leave before it becomes even more uncomfortable here," Sylvia said what everyone except Amell was thinking. "Honey, please just let us go." She said to Amell, and he smiled. He performed a much smoother cut than last time and the space gate appeared again in front of him. "Step inside, there is nothing to fear inside." He said to Sylvia. She nodded and before leaving she looked up at the boys and waved with an uncomfortable smile on her face. "b-Bye!" She said and quickly stepped inside the gate. Naruto and Sasuke breathed a sigh of relief as soon as she was gone. "Remember to talk to Alucard if you want to visit sometime in the future," Amell said and smiled and waved towards the boys. "Y-Yeah, sure, Dad. Have a good time!" Naruto said and waved. "Good luck, Uncle Amell!" Sasuke said without much emotion. Amell jumped in and the portal closed behind him, "THANK GOD!! THAT WAS HELL!" Naruto yelled at the top of his lungs. And Sasuke smiled slightly and walked away. __________________________________________ Inside Amell''s office on the top floor in the massive building standing on his floating island, a beam struck down and destroyed the roof of his office. The beam quickly faded away and Amell and Sylvia were left standing inside his empty office. "Wow, this is interesting! I have never seen things like this before." Sylvia said excitedly while observing the modern looking office. There were four monitors on Amell''s desk and behind it was the beautiful giant window that gave you an overview of the world underneath the floating island. "Out of all the worlds I have been in and spread the Gotei to, this is by far the most technologically advanced world. So you will see things in this world that you have never seen before." Amell said and embraced her from behind. He started to kiss her neck, and it was then that the big double doors to the office exploded and Shiryu dashed into the office with five other people. "C-Captain?! Is that you?" Shiryu said while standing and holding his sword with both hands. He signalled the others that had surrounded Amell and Sylvia to stand down. He put away his sword and breathed out in relief. "I sensed a crazy powerful aura and thought we had been invaded by a powerful enemy. I apologize for not recognizing that it was you all along. It''s just that your aura and almost everything about you has changed, Captain." Shiryu said in slight embarrassment. "No worries, Shiryu, I have changed a lot in the years I have been gone. So let''s sit down and you can tell me about everything that has happened during my absence." Amell said and walked over to the round table and sat down. And all the people around him followed suit and also sat down, except Sylvia, she went and sat down behind Amell''s desk since she had made it clear she didn''t ever wanna take part in being a leader of any sort. "So I can assume this is the Zero division''s inner circle? I like what I see so far." Amell said and looked at all the people sitting around the table. They all wore confident expressions as they too observed the legendary individual they had served for years without having ever met. "Yes, these are them." Shiryu sat so Amell was at his left, so he started introducing them from his left. "This is Annabelle," He introduced the woman that was just shy of two meters tall, and very slim. She had long hair divided into yellow and green colours. She had one yellow coloured eye and the other one green. She confidently did a quick salute while being introduced by Shiryu. "Next we have, Albion." He pointed at the man beside Annabelle. He was three meters tall and looked like one big muscle. He looked like four bodybuilders had merged and the result was this man. He had tanned skin with a bald head. He smiled brightly and waved at Amell. "Next up is, Rick." A man sitting bare-chested with only a pair of pants on. His entire body was covered with scars of all kinds, swords, knives, he probably had more than a hundred scars all over his body. He smiled from ear to ear as he was being introduced. He was also a tall and slim man. He was unhealthily skinny. "And then we have Genma." A short and chubby man with a full black beard sat there and looked at Amell with great admiration in his gaze. One entire half of his body was burned, so the right side of his body including his right arm had burn marks all over it. "And the last one is Minerva," Shinryu pointed at the last member of the group. She had long wavy purple hair with violet coloured eyes. She held a lot of arrogance and disgust inside her eyes. But none of it was directed at Amell, so it was likely a product of her belonging to a powerful pirate group. She most likely just got used to the authority and power she had because she also belonged to the strongest Division inside an Emperor''s pirate group. So she probably looked at the whole world as being underneath herself in terms of power and importance. "This is the members of your inner circle, and they are some of the most infamous pirates in the world. And they are the primary fighting force standing against the light unit." Shiryu said and sighed in annoyance at the mention of the light unit. "Right, I forgot about them. The World Government''s unit created especially for me. What was it they told the world again? They were gonna Drag the evil Emperor out from the shadows or something?" Amell laughed at the ridiculousness of how they advertised their unit to the world. "Yeah, that''s what the world sees. But during the time since their creation, they have destroyed nine civilian villages because some rumours about you hiding out in them. That''s the side the world doesn''t see." Shiryu held no positive thoughts against the Marines or the World Government anymore. He was fine with his position here. He was insanely busy, but at least he had completely free will and even a high position inside the Gotei. "How are my commanders doing?" Amell asked. "Good. They are about as famous as someone can get. They all have insanely high bounties, except for Bradely who is an Admiral inside the Marines now. He is as worshipped by the Marines as Sengoku and Garp are. But I have to admit it is quite creepy just how loyal he is to you, I have never seen anything like it before. May I ask, where did you find someone like him?" Shiryu asked carefully, very careful not to offend Amell. "hahaha, I would expect nothing else, he is my son after all," Amell said with a bright smile. At this, the people around the table lost control of their jaws. "Really!? That explains so much about his behaviour." Shiryu said and laughed heartily. "Captain, your darling son gave me this scar last time I met him! He can be such a meanie sometimes..." Rick said in an overly flamboyant tone of voice, and he waved around his arms at the same time. And he also showed everyone a blade scar that went from the base of his neck almost down to his waist. "Perfect! That means he is playing his role nicely." Amell said and leaned back on his chair. "Meanie!!" Rick said and sat back down and sulked. The other members just shook their heads and sighed at his behaviour. "Just out of curiosity, do you have the bounty posters here?"Amell asked with an excited expression that he tried to hide to the best of his ability. "Yes, we do, Annabelle would you please go fetch them," Shiryu asked the green-yellow-haired beauty with some freckles around her nose. "Okay." She said in a monotone voice. And Annabelle took one of her hairs and threw it behind her and it turned into another Annabelle. And it ran out of the room to fetch the posters. "Cloning? Interesting, does it work with only your hair?" Amell asked her. "No, I can do it with anything that is a part of me," Annabelle said in a respectful tone of voice. "That can be useful. What is the power divide among your clones?" "I can create up to five clones. And my power divides by twenty per cent per clone. So in a fight, I usually never make more than one. But clones have no limit, so they can stay active until they are killed or I dispell them. So because of the weakness of this fruit I usually only work as an information gatherer. The enemy can never capture my clones since I can dispell them whenever I choose. And whatever they experience through sight, hearing and smell, I experience as well. But I feel no pain should they be killed or hurt." Annabelle explained slowly and her clone came walking in with the posters. "Let''s see here!" Amell looked at all the posters that the clone laid out on the table in front of him. He saw most of the commanders, not all of them. __________________ WANTED Dead Or Alive {Byakuya Of The Billion Blades} 1,600,000,000 Belly __________________ Amell picked up Byakuya''s poster and smiled, "Fitting nickname for him," He said and picked up the next one. __________________ WANTED Dead Or Alive {Toshiro Hitsugaya, The Traitor} 1,101,100,100 __________________ "hm, guess you should expect the Marines to give him a title like that." Amell was angry about Toshiro''s title, but if he knew Toshiro like he imagines he did, then he suspected that Toshiro didn''t care what the Marines called him. All that matters to Toshiro was the downfall of the World Government. "What do you think, Captain? The whole world now fears us as much as they fear the other Emperor''s. We are standing at the top of this world where only a selected few can oppose us," Minerva said while sporting an arrogant smile. Amell glanced up at her and just nodded along because she wasn''t wrong. He said nothing and just continued reading the posters. ___________________ WANTED Dead Or Alive {Kenshin Himura, The Merciful Killer} 1,999,999,999 ___________________ ___________________ WANTED Dead Or Alive {Cal Shekar, The Copy Cat} 1,700,000,000 ___________________ ___________________ WANTED Dead Or Alive {Guts The Unstoppable Force} 1,500,000,000 ___________________ ___________________ WANTED Dead Or Alive {Hisoka The Insane} 1,200,000,000 ____________________ ____________________ WANTED Dead Or Alive {Vash The Stampede} 1,000,000,000 ____________________ ____________________ WANTED Dead Or Alive {Lubbock The Mass Murderer} 1,102,100,100 ____________________ ____________________ WANTED (EXTREME DANGER) Dead Only {Alucard The Immortal} 3,900,000,000 ____________________ Amell looked over the last poster with a puzzled expression, "Why does Alucard have such a high bounty? And more specifically, why does he have one in the first place?" He asked Shinryu. "Well, while you were away Alucard would sometimes come over and make an appearance somewhere around the world out of boredom. But about his bounty, there was this one time where he encountered Garp, Sengoku, Kizaru and Aokiji and he fought them all singlehandedly. And it was also in that fight where he got his nickname. During that fight, those four powerhouses destroyed his body one hundred and seventy-one times. He just kept coming back." "hahaha, and where exactly did he encounter them?" Amell asked while laughing hysterically. The members around the table weren''t laughing, they all had met that immortal vampire and they feared him more than anything else. "Well, he kind of walked into the Marine HQ and waltzed right into Sengoku''s office and asked him to fight him, and after that, they all fought for two days straight," Shinryu said and shuddered slightly. "hahaha! That is hilarious, and also something Alucard would very much do." Amell continued laughing. "Captain, to move on, why don''t you have a look at your bounty poster." Shinryu put down on the table the piece of paper that he held onto. ___________________ WANTED Dead Or Alive {Amell The Enigmatic Emperor} 5,100,000,000 ___________________ "hm, not bad! Why is my bounty so high though? What do the Marines base it off" Amell questioned as he looked at his bounty? "They look at everything. But probably the scariest thing to them is that you have such a powerful army under your command. And especially Alucard. So that''s just one reason for them to fear you." Shiryu said and the others just nodded along. "A valid concern I suppose," Amell said and smiled, now very curious to how big the Gotei 13 had gotten. The Gotei 13 began officially here in this world and it was here where the HQ was and most of its forces. "I apologize for interrupting this meeting, but I just remembered something quite important." Sylvia came over and talked with a quiet yet firm and confident tone. "Yes, what is it?" Amell wondered curiously and turned to look at her. "I think we forgot those two eagles back in the leaf village," Sylvia said and immediately a smack was heard as Amell hit himself on the forehead and left a bright red mark. "Shit! He is never gonna let this one go! Sylvia I''ll go back for him, just wait here." Amell said and stood up in a hurry. The people around this table said nothing to object his departure because they could feel that he was quite annoyed right now. "I''ll be back later, Sylvia. You six take care of her and protect her to the best of your ability." Amell said and created a rift in the air leading to the Elemental Nations. And he quickly jumped in. ------------------------------------------ End Chapter 133 - Chapter 135 A giant portal opened up inside Amell''s office and two eagles together with Amell himself walked out of it. "Damn, opening a gate directly between two worlds is a lot harder than I thought it would be." Amell sighed and closed the portal behind them. They were alone now in the office and it was total silence, so Amell walked over to his desk and sat down. "Fourteen years I have been away from this place. Robin is twenty-four this year. If I knew leaving and returning would both feel this awful, I would have never left. But then I wouldn''t have met Naruto. Maybe I should have just stayed on Ishgar and not travelled to other worlds." Amell leaned back on his chair that followed his movement bent back with him. "Kaa!" Orlando looked at Amell while tilting his head. "Yeah, you can go outside, just don''t go too far away from this island." Amell waved them both away and Orlando flew straight through a window on the ceiling and out into the open air. ''What the hell? After forgetting him in another world, I should expect a lot of my things to get destroyed or go missing.'' Amell watched Gold fly up after Orlando. And right at that moment when the eagles had left, a man with long black hair, and beautiful, almost feminine facial featured barged into the office. "Honorable Grandfather, I was made aware of your return! Welcome back!" Byakuya said while fighting the many different emotions bubbling up inside of him. "Byakuya," Amell stood up and walked around the desk so that he now stood before his kneeling grandson. "Drop formalities this one time, will you," Amell said and helped Byakuya stand up, and Amell embraced his grandson in a hug. They separated and Amell went back behind the desk and sat down. He observed Byakuya carefully with a warm gaze, "How have you been, Byakuya?" He asked while crossing his arms and leaned back on his chair. "I am doing fine, Grandfather. I have been busy with the expansion of the Gotei 13. At this point in time, we are secretly in control of East blue and North blue. And we publically control a large part of the Grand Line, and we just took over another island that was under Big Mom''s control in the New World." Byakuya said in his proper military tone while kneeling. "hm, how active are the other commanders?" Amell asked calmly. He naturally exuded an Emperor''s aura without thinking about it, it was just a part of him. "They have fought in random skirmishes with other crews from time to time. But no one has made any big moves since that requires your approval first. So what they have been doing is mostly establish their powers around the world. Some of them has taken more control than others. Hisoka for example subordinated one of the Seven Warlords. They are seven extraordinary pirates that have the Marine and World Government behind them." Byakuya said. "So Hisoka became a politician, interesting," Amell said and looked at the monitors where he saw the thousands of pirates walking and running around on his island. They all served him, and this was just one division among all thirteen of them. He started to understand why the Marines feared him as much as they did, this was an absolute massive fighting force. Probably rivalling the Marines in terms of quantity, maybe only slightly less. "And how is Robin doing? I take it the Gotei have kept her safe." Amell said and his aura was released and slightly shook the entire building. "Yes, she is well. She has joined one of the Warlords as a spy, and she is using him to get to the poneglyph he is hunting." Byakuya said. "I see. Then we will let her continue. I wouldn''t want to mess up anything for her. I will meet her later, for now, let her focus on her mission." "Yes, Grandfather!" Annabelle came walking in through the open double doors, "Excuse me, Captain, Commander Guts has engaged one of Kaido''s commanders on an island both the Gotei and the Beast Pirates are aiming for. It looks to be escalating quickly." She said with both her hands behind her back. "hm, Byakuya, go back to your island and await further orders. I will go there personally. Tell Cal to move over there as well." Amell said calmly. "Yes, Grandfather!" Byakuya stood up and walked out, and Annabelle walked after him. "Time for me to make an appearance again," Amell said and smiled confidently. ----------------------------------- End Chapter 134 - Chapter 136 There were more islands in the New World then people could count. Many were known, but most were not. There was one island in the New World that had attracted a lot of attention from two very powerful groups. And those two groups were the Beast Pirates and the Gotei 13. Two Emperor''s that were feared by the entire Grand Line, and right now on this island two powerful men were fighting with their lives on the line. And they were Guts, commander of the Gotei, and Jack, an All-Star of the Beast Pirates. This island was one that the Beast Pirates and The Gotei 13 found at the same time. And they both needed it so this battle that was currently ongoing just kept escalating because these two were equally matched in power. Guts won in physical strength by a lot, but Jack''s defence, stamina and endurance far outranked Guts. So they still hadn''t gotten any advantage over each other. They stood and traded blows, Jack with his scythes and Guts with his massive two-handed sword and his fists. Guts was a master in armament haki so his fists could easily trade blows with Jack''s weapons. "You are one annoying tiny ant, you know that!" Jack said with bloodshot eyes. Guts showed no emotions, he just stood there with his sword and glared at Jack. "hm, annoying indeed." Guts said and he dashed towards Jack and they clashed again. They were fighting on a big grass plane. The fight started by the coastline and now they were fighting in the middle of the island. Guts sword was swung with a crazy speed which was hard to believe because of it being such a heavy sword. Each blow increased in power, and Jack blocked and redirected every blow, but he could feel himself losing ground during tradeoff they had. Guts charged up his blow and finally it managed to penetrate Jack''s defence and his sword sliced into Jack''s shoulder, "AAH! YOU BASTARD!" Jack raged and swung his scythes at Guts but missed because Guts ducked under them. Guts then dashed forward again so he was directly below Jack, and he jumped up and his punch landed square on Jack''s face and sent him crashing backwards. "Looks like you have this under control," Cal said as she had appeared behind Guts. "Hm, annoying," Guts complained and went and picked up his sword that he let go off during his dash. He looked at the blood on the sword and smiled. Cal stood there and stared at Guts, "I heard Kaido is coming to kill you off for good. That''s what Annabelle''s clone inside Wano reported. So who knows how accurate it is, it might just be King or Queen coming." Cal said and crossed her arms. "You heard the news?" Guts said and glanced at Cal, not seeming to care about Kaido potentially coming to kill him. "You mean Captain? Yeah, he is back, he is probably on his way here." Cal said with a little more respectful tone. "Good, we will need it!" Guts said and pointed at the distance. And far into the distance, you could see a bunch of clouds moving towards them in an unnatural manner. And on the top of those clouds was a massive eastern dragon. "Well, that is interesting. I didn''t think the big guy would actually come here just for a skirmish. There must be something more to this than him being bored, right?" Cal said and sighed. And Jack finally came walking from the distance. He was a little dizzy from that blow to the head. Guts was the strongest physical fighter among the commanders, so Jack had quite the headache after that punch to the head. "Look over there elephant boy, your captain is coming," Cal yelled over to Jack in the distance and pointed at the dragon coming towards them. Jack''s face lit up in delight but also fear as his captain despised failure. He glared angerly at Guts and Cal and clenched his fists and took a step forward towards their direction, but hesitated because he could hear Kaido roar angerly in the distance. "You bastards will die today, and I do hope that your coward of a captain does come so I can kill him myself," Jack said while glaring at Guts. In the next second Cal appeared in front of Jack''s face and punched him on the head with a downwards punch so he was slammed down on the ground headfirst. The ground cracked from Jack''s head hitting it. Cal drew her sword and started falling towards Jack, ready to pierce his head. But a giant Pteranodon came flying towards Cal, so she was forced to abandon her attack and defend against its claws with her sword. It transformed into a massive man in a black leather full-body outfit. He landed beside Jack and immediately scoffed at Jack''s pathetic performance against Cal and Guts, "Get up, how can you put on such a pathetic show for Lord Kaido?" "eeh, you weren''t fighting him so you don''t get to say that, King," Jack complained as he stood up mostly unhurt from Cal''s punch. He looked over and saw that Kaido had almost arrived at the island. "Come on, we need to kill them before Lord Kaido arrives!" King said and Jack nodded, fearing what Kaido would put him through should he fail in his mission to take over this island, which technically he had already failed to do. "Guts, we need to buy time for the captain to arrive," Cal said and both parties dashed at each other. But they didn''t make it far as a man with an afro and marine attire landed in front of Cal and Guts and put his hands to the ground and froze both of them into ice statues. And on the other side, another marine with a yellow striped suit appeared and shot a laser at Jack and King respectively. It barely took a second for Cal and Guts to break free and just shake it off, "Why are you interfering Aokiji?" Cal said and glared at the easy-going marine. "oy, oy, not even a hello, nice to see you? I thought we were close." Aokiji said in a casual tone. He stood up and put his hands in his pockets while looking at Cal and Guts. "You better leave this place Aokiji, I can''t guarantee you''ll live passed this," Cal said in an annoyed tone. She and Aokiji had fought a lot through the years. Their fights never escalated all the way to someone dying, so their attitude towards each other had gotten quite casual. And Cal strangely cared for Aokiji, or at most, she wouldn''t accept him getting killed by anyone else than her. "haha, a pirate caring for my health? I never thought I''d see the day," Aokiji laughed sarcastically. Cal simply scoffed at him. Jack and King were fine even though they were hit by a laser head-on. They glared at Kizaru with anger and he looked at them with a neutral almost bored expression. But the thing about Kizaru was that you would never see his true feelings on his face, even if he was very angry or sad. "We are still the authority in the world so we can''t allow your captains to start a war. That war would be bad for us all, so we... eeh... ..Will kill you if we have to." Kizaru said in a lazy tone, and almost forgetting what he was saying in the middle of his speech. "Very cute, now step aside," Cal said raised her aura, and the ground started breaking apart under her feet. Kaido was close enough to see everyone on the island and his anger rose when he saw Cal, Guts and the Admirals. From his point of view, this island was already his. He opened his mouth and released his heat breath aimed at Guts and Cal, the first offenders against him. And Kaido absolutely hated The Gotei and Amell who controlled it, so when he saw Guts and Cal his anger rose to new heights. His heat breath was an incredibly fast and accurate attack that could obliterate a mountain like nothing. "Well, this isn''t good!" Cal said, and both her and Guts turned their heads just in time to notice Kaido firing his attack, and they both disappeared in a burst of speed, they had no intention of taking that attack head-on. The attack approached the island ready to cause massive damage, but at this moment, Amell appeared floating in front of the approaching beam, and he held up his right hand and Kaido''s attack and his palm collided and caused a shockwave that forced the Admirals and the commanders to take a step back. Kaido closed his mouth and noticed his attack failing to hit its target. And this was when he noticed Amell floating in front of him with his hands behind his back. "AMELL!" Kaido roared angerly, but he didn''t move yet. "You need to be careful where you aim those, Kaido. You were about to blow up my island." Amell said with a smile, and the aura''s these two emperors possessed were so intense that the sky divided into two. "I''m gonna have to ask you to leave, or I will make you do so," Amell said and the wind started picking up speed, and Kaido roared and moved against Amell, ready to kill. ------------------------------- End Chapter 135 - Chapter 137 Kaido had not only a massive size, body-wise, he also had stamina and a defence that was absolutely monstrous. So it was no wonder that Cal said "Let''s help!" and was about to rush out and help her captain to deal with Kaido. But Guts grabbed her arm and stopped her, he got her attention and pointed at Kaido''s All-stars, "Deal with them first!" Guts said in a low and deep and almost growling tone of voice. Cal saw Jack staring intently at her, waiting for her to move so he could have an explanation to Kaido as to why he chose to interfere in his battle. One thing about Kaido was that he hated people interfering with his fights, so Jack and King didn''t dare think about interfering unless Cal or Guts moved to help Amell. Kaido approached Amell with his massive dragon body that towered over the Enigmatic emperor. Using his head he flew towards Amell and Kaido''s head and Amell''s palm collided and their clash caused another shockwave that split the sea in two. Kaido pressed against Amell, but against Amell''s insane physical strength he failed to push him backwards. Amell stood there and kept the dragon''s charge at bay with just one hand. Kaido''s tail moved and at lightning speed, it closed in on Amell, and it connected with Amell''s body and sent him crashing down into the sea. Kaido aimed another heat breath attack down towards the sea, and his breath attack was launched and immediately evaporated the sea. Kaido looked at how the water, filled in that hole and soon that part of the sea was back to normal again. "I had no idea you were this angry, Kaido," Amell said as he had appeared behind Kaido. The massive dragon delivered another tail whip, but Amell raised his hand and a wind wall appeared and blocked the tail, and the collision created another shockwave and Amell pointed his index finger at Kaido and the wind wall moved forward and pushed Kaido towards the island. He fought against it but it was of no use as the wall of wind pushed him further towards the island. Amell disappeared and immediately reappeared above Kaido and he raised his hand and covered his hand with wind and focused on the piercing property as he slammed his hand down on Kaido''s back. *ROOAAARRR* Kaido roared loudly enough to shake the entire island as Amell''s hand landed on his back and the wind blast pierced straight through his body. Over by the others where no one had moved yet, Aokiji whistled then said loudly, "How scary. Did we know he had a devil fruit?" He asked and looked at Kizaru, and the yellow striped marine shook his head, "Nope, this is also the first time I see it. It looks to be awakened by how powerful it is." "Looks like your captain is losing, elephant boy," Cal said to Jack and smiled. The Mammoth man glared angerly at Cal and prepared to start fighting, but King stopped him just in time, "Look again, Copy cat." He said to Cal and pointed at Kaido. Amell floated up there in the air and watched as Kaido''s injury healed in only seconds. He was fully healed by the time he got up again, "FUTILE" Kaido roared as he raised his body. Amell pointed his palm downwards and a gigantic wind blast came and forced Kaido down on the ground again, "Oh, I know something like that can''t kill you, Kaido. If I was gonna kill you, I might have to actually try. I simply wanted to test you, that''s all." Amell had a plain looking straight sword hanging at his waist, and he quickly drew it and sent a flying sword slash towards Jack. In the middle of its flight, the slash disappeared and Jack immediately got a deep cut on his chest, and he screamed out in pain. "You see, Kaido, killing you would take time but killing Jack and King would be very easy. So unless you want to lose two of your All-stars, then withdraw." Amell said in a casual tone while applying more pressure on Kaido. Kaido quickly raised his head and fired another heat beam at Amell. He covered his hand in haki, which is something he didn''t lose the ability to use. He blocked the beam with his palm successfully, but a tail came towards him from above, "Not this time," Amell blocked it using a wind wall. But immediately Kaido''s massive claw came from the side and successfully connected and knocked Amell into the only mountain on the island. And Kaido turned his head and fired a beam that obliterated the entire mountain. "Not so tough!" Jack said in a condescending tone of voice to Cal and Guts. He and King had victorious smiles on their faces. But suddenly Jack felt a screaming pain that originated from his left side where Amell had appeared and cut off his left arm. "I told you, Kaido, these two are like babies when compared to you, so killing them will prove no challenge," Amell said and caught King''s punch and grabbed a hold of his fist. He closed in on King and punched him in the stomach, and that sent him flying far into the distance, smashing through a bunch of trees that stood in his path. Cal appeared and Kicked Jack''s knee, making him fall down, and Guts jumped up in front of Jack''s face and punched him with all his strength, knocking him out. "Kaido, you now have two choices. Stay and fight, and lose two of your most trusted and loyal followers, or go back to Wano with these two still alive." Amell said with a much colder tone than before. Kaido was about to attack but King appeared in his fully transformed form, "Lord Kaido, let''s go back, this situation is not optimal for us. And if you want your long term plan to succeed, then we need to go back." King said in the most respectful tone he could pull out. Amell watched with a smile, "Guts, give them Jack," He said and Guts picked up Jack by the neck and hurled Jack back at Kaido, and King caught his fellow All-star in mid-air. "Let''s go," Kaido said in a dangerously low and dark tone. The killing intent around Kaido was so intense and fierce that even the Admiral''s had some cold sweat running down their backs. Kaido, King and the unconscious Jack left the island under the careful gazes of everyone there. Amell turned to his commanders and smiled, "Nice to see you two again. This was a product full day, wouldn''t you say?" "Very much so," Cal said and Guts just nodded. Admiral Kizaru and Aokiji looked at each other and nodded, and they started walking away completely casually, not worried at all about a sneak attack. "Goodbye, snowflake," Cal said to Aokiji. She was in a much better mood now. "Yeah, you too, Copy Cat..." He responded and raised his hand and waved while walking away. ------------------------------------------- End Chapter 136 - Chapter 138 Amell, Cal and Guts were currently standing on the deck of Guts ship. It was a massive ship comparable to Big Mom''s own Queen Mama Chanter, in fact, all the commanders had a personal ship of a similar size. Guts ship was very simple in design, and it had no defining features other than their jolly roger and his number among the commanders on the sails of the ship. And the Gotei''s jolly roger was a simple skull like all others, but it had a question mark behind the skull, to play into his role as the enigmatic emperor, despite his face being one of the most recognized thanks to his bounty poster. "Captain, what is the plan now? I doubt Kaido will stay quiet after this. I feel a war is on the rise now that you personally appeared and dealt with him. He is not one to give up whatever he aims for this easily." Cal said and leaned against the railing of the ship. "No, he is not. I have an idea of what his big final plan is. But if I know Kaido, whatever that plan turns out to be, death and chaos will certainly be part of it." Amell sighed out loud. He may have won that island from Kaido for the moment, but it still wasn''t a good idea to send any personnel there since Jack or anyone else belonging to the Beast pirates could attack randomly. That abandoned island was the perfect way into the New World for the Gotei, but now it had become extremely dangerous to establish a presence there. "We could move Kenshi there, Jack wouldn''t dare attack if he knew he was stationed there. I mean Kenshi almost killed Queen two years ago." Cal came with a suggestion while enjoying the view of the ocean. "That won''t work. Jack is insane, he will keep attacking until he succeeds, and if we kill Jack, Kaido will start a massive world war where millions will die. We need to take this slow for now. And first of all, we need a stronger presence in the New World before we do anything else." Amell closed his eyes and enjoyed the refreshing feeling of the sea breeze hitting his face. "Whatever you say, captain," Cal said and jumped down and started walking towards her room. Around her Guts crew gathered and wanted to escort her to her room, but she knocked them all unconscious and walked away while growling how annoying it was to be attractive. Guts crew were made up of simple-minded folk. Fighting and eating were all they were good at, and they all had the same physical physique as Guts, muscles upon muscles. "oh?" Amell''s eyes lit up as he suddenly felt a surprising aura approaching, he looked into the distance and smiled, "Two emperors in one day." Amell and Guts both saw that in the distance, a decently sized red coloured ship with a carefree and happy looking man standing in front was approaching them. On that very ship, the man that was known famously worldwide as red-haired shanks stood smiling, and not minding the slightly worried expressions that his crew showed, "Captain, are you sure this is a good idea?" A fat man with a smile on his face asked while casually eating some meat. "Yeah, I''m sure, there''s nothing to worry about, Lucky," Shanks said while smiling brightly. Minutes passed and the two ships approached each other until they were close enough for Shanks to easily bridge the gap between them. Amell watched Shanks jump from his ship and land on the deck of Guts ship with a thud echoing out, "Welcome aboard kid," Amell said with a calm tone and a smile on his face. "Thanks, sorry for the intrusion," Shanks said while speaking slowly and with a careful tone. "It''s no bother, welcome aboard. Want something to drink?" Amell said casually while leaning against the railing and scanning Shank''s crew with a quick look. For most members of Shanks crew as soon as Amell''s gaze swept past them, they felt a sudden increase in heartbeats. Fear was building up, uncontrollable fear, like a lion staring down on the smallest of animals. "No, thank you, just here for some friendly conversation, got anywhere we could sit?" Shanks said like it was just another Tuesday. "Follow me, brat!" Amell said in a calm yet commanding tone. Shanks and Amell arrived in the ship''s kitchen and Amell drove out anyone in the crew that was inside the kitchen, "Take a seat!" He said and pointed at the bar stools, and he himself walked behind the bar and started taking up bottles and placing them on the counter. Shanks sat down quietly on one of the stools. "He''s an interesting boy, but are you sure giving him that straw hat was the right choice?" Amell said while mixing two drinks, one for him and the other for Shanks. Shanks opened his eyes in great shock and surprise, and for what felt like hours, he was completely tongue-tied. But after the shock settled he started smiling softly and just nodded. "Yeah, I''m sure," He said and stared at Amell''s smooth movement while mixing the drinks. Amell gave one of the glasses to Shanks, "Here, drink to Luffy." Amell said and both of them took a sip, and they held it in their mouths for a second, to savour the flavour and then they swallowed. "It''s good, thank you," Shanks said and smiled. "Thank you, and I know. It''s my own creation and I call it, For The New Era," Amell said and spread out his arms like it was a great revelation. "Haha, cheers to that, old man," Shanks said with a bright smile and downed the whole drink in one go. What he didn''t expect was Amell turning furious and gave him a chop on the head that would have killed any random crewmate on this ship. "What the hell was that for?!" Shanks yelled out in anger while carefully rubbing his head. "You are supposed to enjoy that! Not down it in one go, you idiot!" Amell said genuinely angry that Shanks did that. "That''s how I drink, you got a problem with that?" Shanks yelled in his face. "That''s why I hit you! How dense can you be? It''s all the partying that''s rotting your brain! Stop partying!" Amell now also started to raise his voice. "Hell no! Make me!" Shanks yelled and slammed his hands down on the counter and put some cracks into it. "Brat... That was a mistake," Amell stared at the counter, and at a speed, Shanks just couldn''t follow Amell hit him three times on the head and knocked him out. A few seconds later, Shanks woke up and shook his head, "aah, you are dangerous, old man." Shanks said and saw that Amell had refilled his drink so he took a sip and refrained from downing it all this time. "You have no idea, brat," Amell said and took a sip from his drink, "So how was Kaido doing? Was he angry?" Shanks asked with a smile. "He was very angry. I''m just lucky he doesn''t have your skills or I might have actually had to be serious against him." Amell said calmly, and Shanks nodded. "Old man, you know what''s coming don''t you?" Shanks said suddenly and looked at Amell with a serious expression on his face. "Of course," Amell answered and nodded. "I guess you also know my role in it. So... Can I count on you when the time comes?" Shanks asked in a serious tone, yet a strange eerie calmness was present over him that made the aura around them almost suffocating to weaker-minded individuals. "I designed the Gotei 13 to fight the World Government," Which was partly true. "Anyone standing in my way will not last for long. So you Shanks... Have the support of the Gotei should you need it. But the question is, are you prepared to take responsibility for what will come after this is done?" Amell asked while taking another sip. "That is the question," Shanks said and emptied his glass. But this time Amell didn''t hit him, he simply nodded along in understanding and downed the rest of his drink as well. ------------------------------------ End Chapter 137 - Chapter 139 Thousands of meters above New World, two interlocking islands hovered silently. The two islands weren''t just a pair of normal-looking islands either. Both islands had very distinct features with one being made entirely from ice, and the other being made entirely out of very thick and dense strings. These two islands belonged to the youngest of the Gotei commanders. The two brothers, Toshiro and Lubbock. The two brothers were not actually on their respective islands, they were down on the ground, on the island where Amell and Kaido had just fought. They had come here to help fight Kaido, but unfortunately, they had just arrived, and all they saw now was the badly damaged island that the emperor''s left behind. "You know, Toshi, this all your fault," Lubbock said in disappointment while scanning the battle scene. "What are you talking about? How can any of this be my fault?" Toshiro exclaimed in annoyance. He was tempted to kill his brother just to escape this daily banter Lubbock always started but he refrained from doing so. "Your island is always slowing mine down and that caused us to miss this fight. Just imagine how fun it would have been to fight Kaido." Lubbock shook his head and he grieved silently on the inside for being so unlucky to miss this fight. Toshiro drew his sword and slashed at Lubbock''s neck, but he dodged it, albeit barely. "Your island is my island, you moron. My speed is your speed, our islands literally can''t slow down each other." Toshiro sheathed his sword and took a deep breath to calm down. "I don''t know! Maybe your thick head is secretly slowing us down!" Lubbock said while slowly backing away from Toshiro. "If there''s someone that''s thick-headed, then it''s you!" Toshiro''s body started emitting a cold aura that froze the ground underneath him. "If you want to start something, then stop talking and come at me!" Lubbock said and glared at his brother. "That doesn''t make any sense, as you are the one that never shuts up!" Toshiro''s body started to slowly turn into ice. "BOYS! No need to fight over me, I''m here now!" A sensual, yet eerie and creepy voice rang out and behind Lubbock, Hisoka had appeared. The expressions on the two brothers faces went from anger and annoyance to absolute horror the moment Hisoka appeared. "IT''S HISOKA! FUCKING RUN!!!" Lubbock bolted towards his brother, and Toshiro froze in place, multiple horror-filled memories played inside his mind. "Boys, come back here! I won''t bite," Hisoka said and tilted his head slightly upwards while staring at Toshiro. "That''s what you said last time you freak!" Lubbock said and as he was about to pass Toshiro, he noticed that he still stood frozen with his eyes open. "Moron! Wake up!" Lubbock slapped his brother across the cheek. Toshiro woke up from his trance, "T-Thanks" He said and was about to start running, but another voice stopped them. "Everyone, please calm down." Byakuya together with Kenshin and Vash came walking from the distance. Byakuya had a calm expression on his face, Kenshin smiled calmly like usual and his innocent smile always served to calm down even his enemies. Vash''s face, on the other hand, was split into a wide grin. "Hisoka, stop using your [Reality Play Maker] on your allies," Byakuya said, referring to Hisoka''s left eye that was shining in bright purple light. "Just a little bit of harmless fun," Hisoka said and closed his eye. And when his left eye opened again, it was back to normal. "Screw you, Hisoka! I almost feel sorry for that little warlord that you have wrapped around your finger. I can''t imagine what he is going through." Lubbock said and shuddered from thinking about it. "Oh, he is fine. I like to think that I am quite a compassionate and generous boss." Hisoka winked at Lubbock and smiled sadistically. Toshiro and Lubbock felt sick to their stomach''s and their skin crawled when they saw that terrifying smile. "How the hell could you ever be compassionate?" Lubbock was running over to hide behind Byakuya while yelling this to Hisoka. "hm, I don''t think the famous mass murderer has the right to speak about compassion," Hisoka said with a sarcastic tone. "Enough, you two! We have important things to discuss so let''s stop this meaningless teasing." Byakuya spoke in a commanding tone, something he had practised from observing Amell. "So what is it that is so important that it needs all of us here?" Toshiro asked. He and Lubbock had no idea that the other commanders were gonna be here. They were expecting to fight Kaido, not participate in a meeting. "The downfall of the current world, and the construction of the new world," Byakuya said in a serious tone. --------------------------------------- End Chapter 138 - Chapter 140 Amell was sitting inside his office and Sylvia was sitting on his desk with a pure and gentle smile on her face. "Are you sure you''re not going to go see Robin? I know she''s on some super-secret and dangerous mission and whatnot, but don''t you think she deserves to at the least know that you have returned?" Sylvia said and put her hand on top of Amell''s hand that was resting on the desk. "I don''t want to jeopardise her mission. And I don''t know how she will react to seeing me, maybe she will lose her resolve to finish her mission." Amell gripped Sylvia''s hand tighter. Robin was one of his soft spots. The disappointment and guilt he felt for leaving her all those years ago made it harder for him to approach Robin again. "Give her some credit, Love. She is not a ten-year-old girl anymore. Now she is a strong and young woman, so stop expecting the worst and go see your granddaughter." Sylvia said with a little sterner tone of voice. *sigh* "You''re right. I have been expecting the worst, haven''t I?" Amell almost laughed at his own irrational fear. "On another note," Amell said and stood up, "Have you seen Orlando lately?" He looked at Sylvia, but she shook her head slowly. "Maybe he found a good place to build a nest with Ms Gold. If you know what I mean." Sylvia said and hit Amell with her most seductive gaze. "Yeah, imagine that," Amell said while dreading the thought of hundreds of Tiny Orlando''s flying around everywhere. "Well, I''ll be off then," Amell said and walked towards the door, but not before giving a quick but meaningful kiss to Sylvia. "have fun!" She yelled to him as he disappeared out of the room. Outside of his building and on the edge of his island, he stood still with closed eyes. All around him, pirates stood ready and waited for orders or simply just to gaze at him since he was one of the worlds most mysterious dangerous individuals. "Out of the way!" Minerva, one of the inner circle members yelled as she squeezed through the crowd of pirates. She pushed through finally and found herself behind Amell. "What''s up, Captain? Anything on your mind?" She said in quite the casual tone. Some pirate behind whispered something in line with, "Talking so casually to an emperor. As expected of someone from the inner circle." And Minerva with her pride and high ego smiled arrogantly after hearing that. "I was on my way to meet my granddaughter," Amell said with his eyes still closed. He was searching for Robin around the world through his connection with the elements. And this act by itself proved how immensely powerful he was. "Let me follow along, Captain. I can''t let you go out there alone!" Minerva said in an odd show of loyalty which is something she usually never displayed. Maybe this behaviour was evidence for just how much she respected his power or the authority that his name represented around the world. "Are you saying I can''t protect myself?" Amell didn''t need to look at her to know that she just started sweating. Thinking that she just insulted an emperor didn''t exactly make her feel good. "No, not at all, Captain. I just think it should be standard procedure to always have someone accompany you." Minerva tried to quickly ease Amell''s anger, having no idea he was just screwing with her. "haha, I''m just teasing you, Minerva. Of course, you can follow along, but I have only one question for you." Amell smiled evilly and said, "Can you swim?" "Yeah, I don''t have a devil fruit," Minerva answered with a respectful tone, but secretly she was a little annoyed that she fell for his teasing. "Good," Amell reached back and grabbed a hold of Minerva''s collar and with one smooth motion, pulled her towards him and threw her over the edge of the island and towards the sea below. "I''ll meet you down there." He said and waved towards her with a smile. "CAPTAIN!" Minerva''s scream disappeared quickly as she pierced the clouds and free fell towards the ocean. Amell smiled in success then jumped off and dove after her. Minerva came fastly approaching the water surface. And all she could do was to cover her body in haki and hope for the best. But death couldn''t get to her this day as Amell had appeared below her and he was standing on the water surface. He performed a slight circular motion with his index finger and Minerva started slowing down until she was just hovering inches above the water and staring Amell straight in the eyes. "I don''t know what to say," She said in a stone-cold tone like she had no life left in her body. "Well, you''re alive, that''s a positive." Amell turned the water under them into ice and he dropped Minerva down on it. "What is this ability? I thought Aokiji had the only ice fruit." She looked at Amell in confusion. "I haven''t eaten any fruit. This isn''t a devil fruit ability." He motioned with his hand and the ice platform started moving forward. "Amazing," Minerva whispered as she stared at Amell with respect and awe evident inside her eyes. "We have quite the distance to cover so hold on." The speed picked up and Minerva had to dig her fingers into the ice to not fly off it. ------------------------------------- End Chapter 139 - Chapter 141 Amell and Minerva arrived at Alabasta where Robin was currently located. Amell stood at the front of the ice platform with his hands resting behind his back. He was wearing his extra-long Kung Fu master outfit, with black Kung Fu slippers on his feet. This was the outfit he felt most at home in and such became the one he wore most of the time. And also because he was lazy and this outfit was the easiest to slip in and out of. They stepped onto the shore of the island and what greeted them was an endless amount of sand, a desert stretching for miles with no end in sight. Their goal was Rainbase, a city that was prospering despite the drought that was currently ongoing in this country. This was the city where Robin was currently located. Operating on this island was also Crocodile, the Warlord that Robin was working for. And Amell had been thinking for a while about how bending translated into this world. Since he was a peak master in bending and sub-bending, he thought about how that would work against elemental based devil fruits. He theorized that he should be able to render them all obsolete, since for example if crocodile''s body was made out of sand then he should be able to control it and essentially control Crocodile himself. "So now we just have to walk the rest of the way? I hate walking!" Minerva complained while gazing over the endless desert. "Of course not! That would take days to accomplish." Amell waved his hand and the sand underneath their feet started moving and soon they were riding a wave of sand. They were travelling across the desert on this wave at incredible speed. Inside the city of rainbase, Amell and Minerva traversed the streets and observed the unique culture they had in Alabasta. They were wearing hooded cloaks that Amell had made Minerva buy before they entered the city. Walking around with Amell exposing his face would spell disaster. And there were plenty of hooded figures walking around this city so they blended in just fine. "This is a beautiful city, I''m so surprised that Crocodile is managing to keep this city afloat with only criminals." Minerva was street smart, with a look she could identify where every person she saw fit in on the social ladder. "Crocodile is a clever boy. He knows how to manipulate people and he is a great businessman. And with his devil fruit being sand-based, this country is perfect for him." Amell saw a great and shiny casino in the distance and that was where crocodile lived. "I suppose so," Minerva quieted down and chose to observe the city instead of talking. So now they were just walking beside each other in silence. Amell was walking while using observation haki and to say that his haki capabilities were impressive was an understatement. He could without even trying, cover this entire city inside the influence of his observation haki. And he saw Robin inside the casino, standing together with Crocodile. "Robin and Crocodile are inside the casino, so let''s wait until Robin leaves." Amell turned his gaze towards the building on his left. It looked to be a run-down bar and that was the perfect place to lay low for a while. They went down a small staircase and entered a dimly lit room with only a couple of tables and not enough chairs to cover that small amount of tables. They walked inside with their hoods on and sat down at a small round table that had only two chairs. "What will it be?" Yelled the man behind the bar in an unfriendly tone. He had barely any hair on his head and a scraggly beard that the man seemed to have forgotten that he had by the state it was in. "Two glasses of water, please," Amell answered in a hushed tone while holding up two fingers to the man. "Water? You must be outsiders then. That''s not something that comes easily, even in this city." The man said and his eyes narrowed as he tried to figure out the identity of Amell and Minerva. ''So Crocodile is already hard at work, I see.'' Amell thought and gave the man a nod in confirmation. "So what brought you to this dump of a city?" He said while pouring himself a drink. And he downed it in one go and afterwards let out a deep sigh. "Dump? You''re not pleased by living here?" Amell said and smiled under the hood. "It''s all that damn Crocodile''s fault! Everyone thinks he''s such a hero, but I was born in the slums and I have lived here all my life. So I can recognize a fellow no-good low life scum whenever I see one. He''s gonna be the death of us all, but why do I care? I will have drunk myself into the deep sleep ages before that happens." He poured himself another glass and that drink disappeared down his throat in about a second, just like the last one. "I''m impressed, Crocodile has managed to avoid suspicion from the Marines and the Government for years. But who''d had thought that his exposure would come from a miserable old man inside a run-down old bar." Amell laughed a little and stole a glance at the man''s arm, where a jolly roger was tattooed in. "That''s neither here nor there. I''m just a useless old wining fool tasked to serve disgusting drinks to other worthless and useless scum." He poured himself a third drink and downed that as well. And as he sat down his empty glass on the bar counter, the broken-down old door to this bar flew open by a kick delivered from the person standing outside of it. In, walked five men with arrogant smiles on their faces. They scanned the room, and after look over Amell and Minerva, they walked up to the bar. "Old man, have you heard or seen anything related to this kid?" The leading man with a bushy beard asked the grumpy old man and pulled out a bounty poster. "Can''t say I have, though feel free to hang it up on the wall over there, though no one ever comes in here, hahaha!" He laughed while pouring himself a drink. "Drunk old fool," The leading mn said, and then turned to Amell and Minerva. "Oy, have you seen this guy lately? He is rumoured to be here," The bearded man showed the bounty poster to them. "oh," Amell''s eyes lit up in surprise as he saw the smiling, hat-wearing teenager displayed on the poster. Minerva noticed a change in Amell''s aura, but she, herself had no idea what significance this boy held towards her captain. "Nope, no idea," Amell said and leaned back on his chair with a smile. The casual attitude of this act is what angered the men. They noticed Amell smiling under his hood and a vein popped up on the leader''s forehead. "You better not lie to us, we control this town so show some respect, you bastard!" The leader slammed his hand down on the table and glared at Amell. But he didn''t have time to say more than that, because Minerva planted her fist on his face in a fit of anger. And he got flung back and crashed into the bar counter. "Watch what you say and to who you say it." Minerva glared at the rest of the men there. Her hood had flown off when she moved in to punch him so her face was finally revealed. And the old man behind the counter showed a shocked expression that after a few seconds morphed into a smile. ''I see, how interesting,'' He said to himself while staring intently at Amell. "BOSS!" One of the men ran over to check on their leader, "He''s dead!" He said with fright and disbelief in his voice. "Minerva take care of them!" Amell said in a commanding tone. "Yes, captain," Minerva answered loudly with a smile. She looked at the closest man and he was so scared that he drew his sword with shaking hands. Minerva appeared behind him like a ghost and snapped his neck, "That''s two!" She said and disappeared again. And then three neck-snapping sounds came in quick succession. "I never thought I would meet the Enigmatic emperor," The old man behind the counter said and smiled cruelly. He didn''t seem at all bothered by the fact that Minerva just straight-up snapped the neck of five adult men, in fact, he actually looked quite satisfied like he waited for it to happen. Amell pulled down his hood and smiled calmly, "You are quite well informed for someone living inside this run-down bar. There are not many people who recognises Minerva with just one glance." "The life of a dying miserable old fool," He said and downed another drink. -------------------------------------- End Chapter 140 - Chapter 142 Inside the run-down old bar, Amell and Minerva were sitting and staring at the old man behind the counter. "So, what is an emperor doing this far away from the New World?" He said while resting his arms on the counter and looking at them both with curiosity, not scared at all. "Personal business, you understand," Amell said while still leaning back on the chair. His gaze casually resting on the old man''s face. "Not feeling too chatty, are we?" He said in an attempt to source some more information from Amell. "It would do you good to quit while you''re ahead. And while I''m still in a good mood." Amell said and leaned in against the table, and a loud shriek came from the old and broken-down chair that almost gave out from his weight. "Aah, you ain''t scaring me that easily. And if I''m gonna die, what''s better then dying in a fight against a real opponent for once." He said and laughed. Amell stood up slowly, "You''re an interesting fellow. But I am not in the mood to kill." Minerva followed Amell as he moved towards the door. "Now that''s power alright. The choice not to kill because you are not in the mood. If I had that power I would sail around the New World with my head held high as well." The old man laughed out loud with his raspy and nasty sounding voice. "You take care now," Amell said and pulled up his hood and walked outside. Minerva said nothing she simply pulled up her hood and walked out after Amell. The city had still not fallen asleep, there were people everywhere, walking, running, rushing to wherever they were going. "Minerva, let''s go," They started walking towards the casino in the distance. The same one that Crocodile and Robin were in. The closer they got to the casino, the bigger it became in their eyes. And without any hesitation, Amell walked inside with Minerva following behind him. The inside of the casino was impressive, to say the least. Amell couldn''t even begin to imagine how much money this place generated on a daily basis. And he didn''t care about that in the least, money meant nothing to him, and he cared only for the well being of the people close to his heart. They didn''t stop to admire the phenomenal golden pillars that stood out even among the very beautiful interior of this building. They had no interest in anything other than Robin and Crocodile. Amell''s gaze swept across the room and he spotted the staircase leading down towards where Crocodile was. "Too far, too lazy," Amell said and tapped the ground and both of them got swallowed up by the two new holes in the floor. And the holes closed up and the stone floor returned to normal after they were gone. Under Raindinner, which was the name of the casino, was a hall with a beautiful design. It was long and wide and the only way into this place was down a staircase from the casino and then through a long straight corridor. At the back of the hall, Crocodile sat behind his desk, and Robin stood in front of him and reported any news related to his organization, "The last seat for a number agent has been filled." "That''s irrelevant, what''s the status of the rebellion?" Crocodile rested his arms on the table and spoke to Robin in an indifferent tone. "I say you have done quite well in destroying this country." A voice came from the corridor, and from the narrow path came two cloaked individuals. Crocodile upped his alert level when his eyes landed on the tall one out of the two. Robin felt a tingle inside her body because that voice was so familiar she wanted to scream. But it felt distant at the same time, she knew she recognized it she just couldn''t place it yet. "Oh? And who are you?" Crocodile was ready to attack or defend at a moments notice. These two scared him greatly just from their presence, but he wasn''t a veteran for nothing, he kept up his calm and collected appearance. "A guest!" Amell said and removed his hood. And immediately Robin felt her world turn upside down. She was so dizzy that it felt like she had been spinning in place for hours, her body swayed to the left and she had to take a step back to try and stabilise herself, but her legs were weak and they were ready to give in. "What are you doing here?" The Warlord asked with subtle rage hidden in between each word. "Watch your tone, Croc, you are speaking to an emperor," Minerva said and glared at Crocodile. Robin was reaching her limit. She grabbed ahold of the table to try and give herself some extra time before her legs would give out. She couldn''t think straight at the moment. Her grandfather, the man she loved and adored in her youth appeared after fourteen years, give or take a few months. Her brain couldn''t process the situation she was in. Crocodile shot her a glance since he obviously noticed her weird behaviour, "What''s going on with you?" He asked Robin in an impatient tone. "N-Nothing!" Robin struggled slightly but she managed to play it off and she pretended to just use Crocodile''s desk to lean on casually. "Crocodile, I am here with an offer for you," Amell said calmly. "Exciting as it is to have an emperor come to visit, I am not interested in striking any deals with you, Amell." He said with a monotone voice. "Don''t be like that, kid, you haven''t even heard my offer yet," "Not Interested! Leave my office!" He said while glancing at Robin. Minerva finally had enough and dashed forward and kicked the desk with her foot. It crashed into the wall and taking Crocodile with it, "I gave you the chance to be more respectful." Minerva said angerly. Sand particle started to gather some distance away from them and Crocodile now stood there unscathed. "Annoying fly," he said and glared at Minerva. "Today I''m gonna beat some sense into you finally." She dashed towards Crocodile and this is where he showed that he wasn''t a warlord for nothing. Crocodile clashed with Minerva equally even though the former was using armament haki, some Crocodile was also capable of using so their clash caused major damage to the room. Amell appeared in front of Robin in a moments time, "Let''s talk," He said with a smile and placed his hand on her shoulder and they both disappeared. And outside the casino on the rooftop of one of the more luxurious houses, they appeared. Amell let go of Robin and relaxed his hands by his side, "I am sorry. Even though I don''t have the right to say that after all these years, I am so sorry. For centuries, people have called me brilliant, powerful, and dangerous. But fourteen years ago, I did something that put into question if I was ever really as great as people said I was. All those years ago I abandoned you in a world where any random passer-by could have reaped your life. I am sorry, Robin." He finally stopped talking and was now patiently waiting for Robin''s response. Robin had stood with her head down, and the more Amell talked and the more she heard his voice, the more intense her crying became. And when his speech ended, she could feel his gaze on him so she looked up and was met with his soft gaze, and not the usual domineering and cruel he naturally wore as an emperor. "You''re right!" She said finally and caused a shiver to go up Amell''s spine. "You don''t have the right to say that." Robin started to smile lightly, "But that doesn''t mean that I won''t let you try to earn it." She let go of the last strength she had in her legs and allowed herself to fall right into his embrace. "I missed you so much!" Robin whispered while wrapping her arms tightly around his body like she was afraid that he would disappear again. "It hurt so much when you left me!" Like a broken dam, her tears streamed down her face and stained the ground. Amell said nothing, he wrapped his arms around her and kissed the top of her head and then hugged her even tighter. --------------------------------------- End Chapter 141 - Chapter 143 Amell and Robin stood embracing each other for what felt like a long time but was probably closer to a couple of seconds. But nonetheless, Robin especially enjoyed every second of it. And for the first few seconds of their hug, she refused to let go of him. It took a few more seconds, but Robin got her strength back again and she backed off from his embrace but remained standing in front of him not worrying about Crocodile finding out she was gone. "How was your trip?" She asked calmly now that her emotions had somewhat stabilised themselves. She knew where he had been and somewhat what kind of being he is, so that was the main reason she hadn''t scoured the planet trying to find him, she knew it would be futile to do so. "It was good, our family got a lot bigger now. I have two more sons, Naruto and Gildarts, and I took in a disciple named Toph as well. All and all, it was a fruitful journey." Amell said and gave a big and bright smile as he thought about Naruto, Toph and Gildarts. And of course he liked Sasuke as well but he wasn''t as important to him as Naruto was. "Maybe I can meet them someday. But I''m glad that you are safe, Grandpa!" She could now finally after so many years lay all that worry about his safety to rest. When the most important person in your life leaves for a journey, you will worry every waking second of every day. If Robin hadn''t had Saul to play with, train with, and to cheer her up she didn''t know if she would''ve been able to handle Amell''s departure. "I am perfectly safe, Robin. You should know by now that no one can stand up to your grandpa. People can only dream to defeat me in battle!" An intentionally exaggerated tone escaped his lips, and it made Robin laugh and roll her eyes at him. "Of course I know, I still have nightmares about Byakuya''s twelve-hour lectures about what it is to be powerful. Your name came up a lot in those lectures." Robin got a slight shiver thinking back to those days. "Haha, that certainly sounds terrible." Amell gave out a loud and genuine laugh. "Now, should we go back before my subordinate kills your boss?" He said and grabbed a hold of Robin''s shoulder, to which she simply nodded and with that they disappeared from that roof. Inside Crocodile''s office, things didn''t look so neat and tidy as they did before. All the luxury that the room previously held was entirely gone now. Holes everywhere and blood splatter a little all over the place, and at each end of the room stood the combatants in this battle. "For a sandbag, you have an annoyingly high endurance." Minerva stood and grinned, and with all the blood on her face that belonged to them both, she looked more demonic than human at the moment. "Then just let me rip that head off of your shoulders so we can end this, I have a country to run." Crocodile said, and he looked slightly worse then she did. He had bruises and blood all over him, and he had finger-sized holes in his body from Minerva using her fingers to pierce his body like small haki infused blades. "The captain wouldn''t like that very much, so how about you do us all a favour and die!" Minerva leapt forward and put cracks in the ground where she had stood. She clashed with Crocodile''s hand which was coated in haki just like hers, and he made a swipe with his hook trying to land the finishing blow but Minerva back off a centimetre or two and kicked his hook hand away. She followed her kick by spinning around and kicking him with her left heel, but he blocked it with a kick of his own, and he quickly jumped up and deliver another kick towards her which she blocked with her right arm but was thrown backwards by the force exuded by Crocodile''s kick. "You''re not half bad, truly worthy as one of the most powerful pirates in the world." Amell''s voice sounded out as he had appeared behind Minerva. And Robin stood leaning against the wall off to the side. "Where the hell have you been?" Crocodile glared at his partner, the devil''s child, Nico Robin. He had intense killing intent spreading from his body which was quite suffocating to Robin since she wasn''t nearly as strong as he was. "She was negotiating with me, to save both of your lives. I was gonna kill you, her and everyone else around you. And I was gonna destroy your organization and all that it has built. But she accepted my offer for the both of you." He said and spread out his incredibly domineering aura which made the Warlord take a step back. "What! Unacceptable! I will not allow you to take over my organization, and I won''t be a slave to you!" He refuted back both angerly and determinedly. "You may not like the idea, you may even hate it. But that won''t change the fact that you can''t do anything about it. With overwhelming power comes absolute authority. So either you do this or I kill you and make Nico Robin the new Number Zero." Amell said stoically and released his conquerors haki, and it made Crocodile go weak in the knees and almost fall down in a kneeling position. The Warlord was digging his nails so deep into his hands that blood was streaming out of his palms. He stared daggers at Amell, but eventually, he took one long and deep breath and his expression and voice turned apathetic, "Baroque Works will join the Gotei 13 as a subordinate entity, albeit only Nico Robin and I will know of this. Your goals with this organization will be perceived from the outside as my own goals. And also, know this. One day, I will come for your head, and you may hide behind those commanders of yours, but I will not die until I have ripped off all your limbs and mounted your head on my wall." "That''s the spirit!" Amell smiled brightly and all his domineering aura was gone. "Use that to drive you towards greatness!" He suddenly disappeared from view, and not even a second later, Crocodile felt a blade on his neck. "Because you have a long way to go until you can proudly come before me and take my head." And with those words came five hundred years worth of killing intent and Crocodile couldn''t handle it. After Amell''s final word left his mouth, he pushed his intent a little further and the Warlord fainted on the spot and fell face-first down on the ground. "Minerva, you will stay as Gotei''s representative in this country. And mostly it''s because I don''t want those annoying little flies from the Light Unit to come and disrupt Crocodile''s operation. I am sure the World Government has Light unit members almost everywhere. If that is so, then I need someone here to keep a constant eye on Crocodile and Baroque Works." Amell said sternly. Minerva nodded confidently, she was probably the one inside Amell''s inner circle that had been the most confident about her loyalty towards him all these years. When she first became a member of Amell''s army she wasn''t even an adult. Her loyalty began as her being a lovestruck teenager obsessed with Amell and his strength. So no matter the mission, and no matter how tedious it was she would do it if he commanded it. "Robin, I assume you don''t wanna abandon your search. Since Crocodile will be working with us now, take advantage of that and keep up your search. I will always be here should you ever find yourself in trouble." Amell said confidentially. He knew nothing about the ponyglyphs she was looking for so he couldn''t help her in that search. "I know, grandpa. And I will be sleeping more peacefully tonight." She smiled and said. "Most excellent! Now, I need to go. Something that will change the very foundation of the New World is about to take place and unfortunately, your tired old grandpa is in the middle of it all." He sighed but kept a positive aura around him. "What''s going to happen?" Robin asked and tilted her head. She rarely met or spoke to any Gotei member because of how deep her undercover mission had gotten. She didn''t want to jeopardise it so she didn''t keep in contact with her grandpa''s crew while she worked in Alabasta. "War against Kaido!" ------------------------------------------- End Chapter 142 - Chapter 144 In the middle of the New World sailed an ordinary-looking Marine warship. But any Marine or powerful pirate would immediately recognize the spiral symbol in the shape of an eye that was painted on the sails of this ship. That symbol was famous mostly in the New World, and among the pirates, only emperors would have the confidence of fighting on equal ground with the man that controlled this ship. "Admiral Bradely! We are approaching ground zero, should we dock directly at the island?" Rear-Admiral Catacombo asked the legendary Admiral respectfully. Reverence was seen in his eyes as he gazed upon Bradely that stood by the ships railing and staring at the island. "hm, no need. If the information is valid then our job is to try and not start a war but to prevent it." Bradely spoke with the dignity of a king. It was only one person in the universe that he wouldn''t ever talk down to, and that was obviously Amell, his father. Bradely had on multiple occasions forced to listen to Sengoku yell in his face for talking to the five elders with a condescending tone of voice. "Are you sure that we can prevent it? If Jack''s fleet arrives here, wouldn''t that be enough as a trigger for war? Kaido is not really known for his great patience, Admiral." Catacombo said. "I can''t guarantee that we will prevent a war from happening. In my opinion, I say we let them go to war against each other. But that Sengoku was adamant about not letting that happen, so if we can stop it then we will." Bradely let out a small, barely noticeable sigh. Catacombo watched the Marine elite soldiers running around this ship. An Admiral''s ship was always filled with only elite Marines for they sail primarily in the most dangerous sea in the world. New World sea. "The risk of such a war spreading to more than one island is too great to let happen." He said strongly, believing every word he said. "Bold words, Rear-Admiral. Only someone with sufficient strength can talk about preventing such a thing." Bradely glanced back and Catacombo tensed up as the atmosphere suddenly got very chilly. "I apologize, Admiral. I didn''t mean to sound presumptuous or ignorant. But, I must say I stand by my beliefes of us Marines having the ability to stop this war. After all, we have you, Admiral. You drove back Alucard by yourself, and you are the only one that even Kaido''s All-Stars fears." Catacombo said proudly. "Ass kissing won''t get you anywhere with me, but I appreciate the analysis, Catacombo," Bradely said before letting out another sigh. Catacombo smiled awkwardly before asking concerningly, "Something bothering you, Admiral?" He said after noting that even a single sigh from the Admiral was strange, but two? Something had to be weighing on him since Bradely never used to show even hints of exhaustion, tiredness or even emotions. "He''s late!" Bradely said while watching the island carefully. "Jack? I don''t think the information specified any certainty that he would even show up." Catacombo placed his hand on his chin, trying to recall any additional information. Bradely glanced back towards the centre of the deck and shook his head, "You''re late!" He said suddenly, greatly confusing Catacombo. Suddenly there was a small thud sound and an overly flamboyant voice rang out in the ears of all the Marines here. "I don''t remember setting a specific time for this meeting, and I am never late, I arrive exactly when I''m needed." The man with very strange clothes and a creepy smile on his face said out loud. "HISOKA!" Catacombo yelled and drew his sword. He and the rest of the crew were too shocked about his appearance to notice what Bradely had said. "This is nice! A full course meal just for me!" Hisoka said and looked around, and at the same time, he made sure to make eye contact with every Marine surrounding him. "Imagine my surprise when I saw a Marine ship approaching our island. And more then that, you guys interrupted my sweet lone time with Lubbock, you guys will have to help me release some stress." Hisoka smiled viciously and some of the Marines took half a step backwards out of pure instinct. The aura Hisoka was releasing would make you believe that you stood in front of the grim reaper. "Clearly you know nothing, you crazy clown! Do you know who''s ship you just stepped onto?" Catacombo said with a smile on his face. He and the rest of the Marines reminded themselves that they stood in the presence of Bradely, someone that stood equal to Garp and Sengoku. "What need I fear? I''m the one here that''s the less likely to die!" Hisoka raised his voice and did a quick spin with his arms stretched outwards and five or six Marines immediately fell down on the ground with a deep cut on the throats. "YOU MADMAN!" Catacombo yelled and made an emotional and impulsive decision to attack. He used Soru and traversed the short distance between them in an instant, and his sword buried itself deep into Hisoka''s chest. The Marines let out a victorious warcry at the Rear-Admiral''s success. ''Can''t believe I did it!'' Catacombo thought and he felt his hands shaking from the fear he built up before attacking this monster. But without warning, ten additional soldiers fell down dead on the ground, and Hisoka''s head, much like an owl, turned around 180 degree''s and stared straight into the Rear-Admiral''s eyes, "Disappointing! You''re nothing like Lubbock, I''m getting that wonderful tingly sensation from just imagining those long and hard strings cutting and leaving scars all over my body!" He yelled in pure extasy! "FREAK!" Catacombo pulled out his sword, earning a pleasure moan from Hisoka. And with all his strength he swung his sword and cut the head of Hisoka, killing him once and for all. Or that''s what everyone thought as Hisoka''s head hit the deck and his body fell down lifeless. "I-Is he dead?" One of Bradley''s men asked while looking at the Admiral with a hopeful gaze. "Hahahahaha, FANTASTIC! WONDERFUL! AMAZING FACE!" Hisoka''s head rolled to an upright position and stared at the Marine that was talking to Bradely. "Show me more of that!" Hisoka yelled and the Marine''s face together with everyone else''s turned green. They were looking at a floating head and it wasn''t as pretty as one might think. "Admiral! Kill him! Your men are dying!" Catacombo skipped all the formalities and respect, he angerly yelled towards the man he knew could kill Hisoka but wasn''t doing anything about his soldiers dying one after another. "I can see that they are dying, but that is the consequence of coming here. I told Sengoku to let me come here alone, but he was the one that insisted that I should sail with a crew here, so you can only blame him that you are about to die." He said without even a shred of emotion. His tone was ice cold and for every word he spoke, the paler the faces of the Marine''s became. "A-Admiral, don''t tell me!?" A thought rose inside Catacombo''s mind, but he didn''t wanna believe it. Bradely finally moved, he walked up to the nearest Marine and slowly drew his sword, "Haven''t you ever wondered why none could ever locate Gotei''s last commander." Bradely possessed conqueror''s haki and when he had drawn his sword it exploded out of him, so all the Marines, including Catacombs, were being forced down on their knees by the pressure of his soul''s will. He looked at the random kneeling Marine, "That''s because he was placed right in front of your nose. The one place very few people ever expect an enemy to be." Bradely with his sword raised, pierced the Marine''s heart, killing him immediately. "I am the thirteenth commander of the Gotei Empire! And I thank you for being just another forgettable, unimportant stepping stone for my father." Bradely swiped his sword in a 360-degree circle around him and all Marines except the Rear-Admiral himself got their throats cut. "BRADLEY!! YOU DISGUSTING TRAITOR! HOW DARE YOU SULLY THE MARINES NAME!" Catacombo''s emotions twisted and turned and all at ones, they exploded out in a loud and emotion-filled warcry. "Rule number one when stepping onto my ship." Bradely took out a cloth from inside his suit pocket and wiped the blade clean, "No yelling!" He threw the bloody clothe overboard and turned to face the struggling Marine. "The Gotei will rule supreme in whatever world my father set''s his eyes on. I am the sword of the Empire. Tasked with removing any and all obstacles standing in the way of the emperor. Your death will be quick so be thankful, Read-Admiral." Bradely disappeared, and a second later Catacombo''s head separated from his shoulders. He was not granted any last words. He was granted only the knowledge of who killed him. "Your son is much more fun to be around. He lets me play with them for days or weeks. You are just no fun at all, simply killing them when you can do so much more." Hisoka sat on the railing and spoke to Bradely in a bored tone. "I am not here to please you, Hisoka. I am here to follow the orders of the emperor and I suggest you do the same if you want to truly keep that head on your shoulders." Bradely sheathed his blade and looked towards the island. "Let''s go, we are still not done here." He took a step and with just a single leap he traversed the sizable distance between the ship and the island. "Bully! But how I wouldn''t love to fight that man." Hisoka said with a cruel and sadistic smile on his face. And he stood up, did a spin and his body disappeared like a poof and just some lingering smoke was left in his place. -------------------------------- End Chapter 143 - Chapter 145 There was never a calm moment when sailing on the seas of the Grand Line. Anxiousness about when your ship would be destroyed by a passing typhoon, or suffer under the wrath of one of the many thousands of sea kings living under the surface of the ocean. These are just two of the reasons as to why people feared sailing on this massive sea. Amell was currently walking on the sea by freezing it like Aokiji did when traversing the sea on his bike. He was in deep contemplation about this war with Kaido, a war he did not want but rather needed for the betterment of this world. Betterment had always been his goal when creating the Gotei Thirteen. The methods he would use has varied a little from his past self, but he still would not hesitate to kill pirates or Marines if he had to for the future of the Gotei. The only thing he forbade was the killing of innocent bystanders, and he would use the Gotei to protect them since they could not protect themselves. This war that Kaido were rumoured to be planning would be inevitable, so all Amell was doing was speeding it along and at the same time trying to cause minimal damage. And he had a pretty good idea about that. He would trap Kaido in Wano and also at the same time try and not let all the civilians die. Trapping Kaido in Wano he could do pretty easily with his commanders, but try and not let any civilians die was an impossible task, so he was trying to think about the people that would hopefully benefit from this rather than the ones that would die. Amell looked up at the night sky, "Changing the future will always be uncertain so I need to be prepared for what''s to come." A sigh escaped his lips, and his eyes focused in on the stars in the night sky. "To make the Gotei the supreme power, Kaido and Big Mom need to die, and one of them will be a lot easier to take care of then the other." Amell was traversing the sea at incredible speed, he would probably appear as no more than a blur to even Vice-Admirals of the Marine HQ. "I should go back and spend the next few days with Sylvia, I will probably be away for a long time when we move on Kaido." He nodded to himself and he accelerated his speed and it caused a sonic boom as he disappeared into the distance. **************************** A few hours later somewhere in the New World, Amell was flying towards his island that was stationary high up in the sky. It didn''t take long for his eyes to land on the giant island floating thousands of meters above the sea. And after another quick increase in speed, his feet touched the ground on his island, and the first thing he saw was the hundreds of pirates running around and training like a regular old military camp. None of these sweaty men and women caught his eyes, but what did catch his eye was the beautiful middle-aged silver-haired woman sitting down in the garden did what looked like planting something. ''hm, I forgot she had an interest in gardening. But it looks like she is being well taken care of." Amell looked at the twelve pirates surrounding Sylvia in a circular formation. They wore stern expression, and a heavy killing intent surrounded them all. If he had to guess these pirates most likely had a bounty of at least two-hundred-million. And now someone had put them on bodyguards duty for Amell''s wife, and from their expressions, they seemed to take it seriously. Amell started walking towards her and immediately he grabbed all the attention from everyone as soon as he started walking. "Captain! Welcome back, where is Minerva? Did you kill her?" Genma, one of the inner circle members and one of the Gotei''s highest authority figures, only losing out to Amell, Sylvia, Shiryu, and the commanders, said stoically. "Haha, no I didn''t, I tamed Crocodile and I left her to keep an eye on him," Amell said to the dwarf-sized man. And Genma nodded in understanding before looking around at all the pirates that had stopped their tasks just to gaze upon the emperor. He took a deep breath and yelled, "Stop staring! Get back to work!" And one thing that the world knew about this man was to not underestimate him just because he was short. The amount of raw strength Genma possessed would surprise even Whitebeard, even if he wasn''t as strong as that old emperor, his raw physical prowess was nothing to scoff at. So when his voice echoed out, even the elite guards that were guarding Sylvia felt a shiver go up the spine. One of the pirates guarding her saw Amell and walked up to the woman digging in the ground and bowed down respectfully, "Your Majesty, Emperor Amell has returned." And Sylvia looked up and after a few seconds her eyes located her husband, and a smile coupled with a giggle showed itself as she saw the scene of the incredibly short Denma talking to the very tall Amell. "Thank you!" She said to the pirate, and he bowed once more and went back to his position in the formation. Sylvia removed the gloves on her hands and started walking towards Amell, and her security detail followed her with the pure resolve of protecting her, even though the emperor of this island stood just a few meters away. "Welcome back, love" Sylvia walked passed Genma and Amell bowed down to meet her for a hug. And after she firmly planted a kiss on his cheek, her smile blossomed into a thing of beauty and she looked him dead in the eyes and said, "Guess what!" Amell played along cheerfully and asked, "What?" And Sylvia''s smile grew so wide that it looked like it would escape the boundaries of her face. "I''m pregnant!" She said and immediately the atmosphere together with the people gathered around her froze. "What?" Was all Amell could get out before his brain stopped working. ------------------------------------------------- End Chapter 144 - Chapter 146 "S-Sylvia, y-you''re pregnant?" Amell was hearing the worlds, and now he was working on believing them. And the same could be said for Genma and the twelve elite guards around them. Genma was the first one to recover from his shock due to this revelation, "Congratulation, Ma''am! Believe me, I will protect you and your child with everything I got!" He said and he kneeled in front of Amell and spoke his next words clearly and with determination, "Your majesty! I request that you put me in charge of the child''s protection. I will give me life for this duty!" Genma''s words finally caused Amell to wake up from his stupor. He looked at the kneeling bearded man and sighed out loud, "Genma, I appreciate your enthusiasm, but I just managed to comprehend the news my wife just delivered. So let''s talk about that at a later date." He turned to Sylvia and looked into her eyes, and with one step forward he arrived in front of her. "Can I?" He gestured toward her belly. "Of course, I''m sure that the kindhearted and warm touch of the father will give comfort to our child. And it''s your child, so you and I should be the first people our baby interacts with." Syliva said with a smile. Amell nodded nervously and placed his right hand on top of her belly. And immediately he could feel the new life force existing inside Sylvia, and when that first pulse of life force hit him, he felt a tear rolling down his cheek. "A strong soul, this one. One hell of fighter I bet!" Amell said with a bright smile, but Sylvia delivered a quick shop on the head to the kneeling Amell. "Hell no! I will not have another one of my children become a fighting obsessed maniac." Sylvia said sternly. "But, Honey, our children need to be able to protect themselves. The same goes for any future children as well." Amell said and stood up. "No! I said no! With you, Gildarts, bradely, Byakuya, and the entire Gotei, I would be surprised if anyone in the world can get within even two kilometres of this child without their heads separating from their shoulders" She scoffed and turned around and walked away, and as per usual, her protection followed after her. "We''ll see! Watch how I turn our child into the worlds strongest fighter!" Amell said in a whisper tone. ******************************* In the land of Wano a man with long brown hair, a classic samurai outfit, and a big straw hat was walking on a deserted road in the middle of the night. He wore a calm and tranquil smile that reflected his current good mood. The wind ruffled his hair and waved his brown cloak back and forth. For each step he took, the closer he got to the flower capital where his current assignment was located. His eyes pierced the distance and locked onto the big castle in the middle of the city. "Kurozumi Orochi, I have come for your head. May the angel of death have mercy upon your soul." And with that, a cold smile grew on his face and with his next step, his presence completely disappeared. ******************************* A few days had passed and after getting nowhere with Sylvia in their little argument, he decided to leave. He had a lot to do in preparation for the war with Kaido, and his head hurt after all the yelling that the two of them had been doing the last few days, so much to his annoyance, he was forced to take the loss in this war. But as he saw it, until the baby was born the war between his wife and him was on. So he might have lost this battle, but ultimately he would win the war. "Boss, you look tired, something going on with you?" Lubbock came walking up to Amell that stood leaning against the railing of the ship they were currently sailing on. "Oh right," Amell glanced back at his commander and smiled, "Forgot I didn''t tell you guys about it. Sylvia is pregnant, so we''re having another kid." The exhausted emperor said. Lubbock walked up to the railing beside Amell and leaned forward against it. He gazed out over the ocean with a deep and understanding look in eyes, "I see! My condolences!" He said seriously and sighed out loud. And immediately a flying kick came and hit Lubbock in the back that launched him forward and through the railing, destroying it completely. "Moron! Why did I have to be related to this brainless, cold-blooded green fart cloud!" Toshiro landed where his brother had stood just a second ago. "Captain! I apologize on behalf of my brother, so please don''t kill him." Toshiro bowed respectfully, hoping that Amell had become less ruthless than before like the other commanders said that he had. Otherwise, he feared for his brother''s life. "Haha, it''s fine, Toshiro. No need to be so tense. I like that side of your brother, it''s what gives him character and makes him so likeable." Amell gave out a hearty laugh and watched Toshiro visibly ease up. "I have to respectfully disagree with you there, captain. Try and spend more than a decade with him and you will tire of his attitude as well." Toshiro''s aura leaked out from him on accident and brought the surrounding area to close to zero degrees. "Captain Hitsugaya, p-p-please stop freezing the area. You might kill us soon!" One of the pirates on this ship that belonged to him said while shaking from the sudden temperature change. "Sorry, thinking about that air-head makes me so angry." Toshiro stopped leaking his aura and the temperature was slowly returning to normal in the area around the ship. Suddenly a barely visible string even by Gotei commander standards appeared and wrapped itself around the railing of the ship, and soon Lubbock came flying out of the sea and landed on the deck of the ship. "What the hell was that for? Your kick launched me down in between two clashing Sea Kings! Do you know how annoying it is to kill two Sea Kings that both know how to use Haki?" Lubbock yelled while breathing heavily out of fuming anger. And as he said that, massive amounts of blood bubbled to the surface in a wide area around the ship, and right after that, hundreds of tiny pieces of two different Sea Kings floated to the surface. Lubbock himself didn''t have a scratch on him which most likely meant those two Sea Kings were no match against Lubbock''s power. "No, I don''t know how annoying that is, and I am not planning to find out either. And as for why I kicked you, that should be self-explanatory." Toshiro turned toward his brother with an irritated expression. "Oh really? Please, why don''t you try and enlighten me!" "You insulted the captain without thinking twice. Now, he may not mind that, but I definitely do, you clueless green fart cloud!" Toshiro released his aura once again, albeit now he controlled the release. "I did NOT insult him! I merely stated the universal truth!" Toshiro tilted his head in utter confusion. "Universal truth?" "A man should never settle down! A new woman EVERY night! This is the one and only universal law!" Lubbock did a confident self-five with himself and a happy yet a slightly perverted smile spread out on his face. At this comment, Amell started laughing and Toshiro face palmed himself while quietly groaning. "MORON! How the hell would you know anything at all about that, you''re a freaking VIRGIN!" Toshiro yelled out loudly and a few pirates around the ship involuntarily spat out their drink, and they had to forcefully hold down their laughter or they would personally get to experience why Lubbock was nicknamed The slaughterer. Lubbock grew as red as a tomato in the face and his killing intent rose to such levels where even Amell raised his eyebrows in interest, "I am not some freaking virgin!" He yelled while eyeing his brother''s crew contemplating whether he should kill them or not for hearing this. "We are twins! I know you better than my right hand!" Toshiro yelled back and cancelled out his brothers killing with his own so his crew wouldn''t suffocate to death. "GROSS!" Lubbock yelled and summoned hundreds of strings around him, his anger reaching extreme levels. Before this could escalate any further, behind Lubbock like a ghost, appeared a tall man with spikey blonde hair and a long red coat. He instantly put Lubbock in a chokehold and because of Lubbock''s extreme anger and lack of control, he was quickly put to sleep by the figure that appeared behind him. "Even though I''m always up for a fight, I would prefer if we kept all the killing focused on our enemies and not our allies." He said with a smile and dropped Lubbock on the ground like a sack of potatoes. "Welcome aboard, Vash," Amell said and smiled at the newly arrived blonde. "Heya, Cap''n! Sorry for the late arrival, some rookie pirate crew saw me and wanted to cash in my bounty so I had to deal with them first." Vash said and stretched his arms. "No worries, you''re actually right on time." Amell turned around and looked at the island coming up over the horizon, "Welcome to Dressrosa, Boys!" Amell said and glanced back with a smile. ------------------------------------------------ End Chapter 145 - Chapter 147 "Cap''n, are you sure that this is a good idea? You know how unstable that guy is, right?" Vash said in a lazy tone while pouring himself a drink. "Unstable? That''s one word for his overall personality, though it''s not entirely correct. He can be very useful if you can manage to gain control over him, and since he only responds to one thing only, we shall see who he fears more when this day is over. Me or Kaido." Amell laughed and thought back to his life when he used to wander the continent of Ishgar over a century ago, though it had not been that long for anyone else than him. Back in those days, his favourite pass-time was to drag off arrogant kids off their high-horses, like he was about to do now. ************************************* Inside a small apartment in the Flower Capital of Wano, a woman and a man sat facing each other. The man had brown hair and classic samurai robes on, and the woman had yellow and green colour in an equal divide in her hair. These two were Annabelle from Gotei''s zero division and Kenshin, the third commander of the Gotei. "So this is everything we have on him?" Kenshin was sitting comfortably and looking over all the information that Annabelle had on his target. He glanced up at her face to see the seriousness stuck on her face, "Yes, lord Kenshin. This is all I could gather on short notice. If I had been notified earlier I could have started prioritizing the target soon and gotten more thorough information." She said almost apologetically. "No, no, this is quite outstanding, Miss Annabelle. To get this much in only a couple of days is incredible. It''s terrifying to think about what you might dig up about me if you had more then four days." Kenshin smiled and laughed lightly, much to the embarrassment of Annabelle. "You flatter me," She said in a low tone with slightly rosy cheeks. "Absolutely. You deserve it, Byakuya wasn''t lying when he said that you were the best in the business." Kenshin picked up a report about the security surrounding the castle and he scanned it carefully and then looked at her, "Are you absolutely sure about this?" He wore quite a serious gaze. "No, because Kaido is backing him, he could possibly have hidden security measures that I don''t know about. But in that report are all the current subordinates that protect the target at all times." Annabelle had managed to in just a few days, gather an incredible amount of information. So much that it stunned Kenshin at how efficient and talented she was at her job. "So do you think I stand a chance?" Kenshin put down the report and glanced up at the best intelligence officer in the Gotei. Annabelle cupped her chin and took a moment to think about it. "You should have no problem. None of them matches up to Kaido and his crew, and in terms of swordsmanship, you outrank them by a lot." Annabelle said with confidence while she grew a little red in the face. "If you say so" Kenshin smiled and stood up slowly, "Tea?" He asked and directed his smile toward Annabelle. "Yes please, Lord Kenshin!" She bowed her head and her smile grew more childish and innocent. "Please, skip the lord title and just call me Kenshin." He said and walked away toward the kitchen. **************************************** Back on Dressrosa, the group were strolling through the city in the most casual way they could, and they didn''t seem to mind all the terrifying gazes they were getting from the civilians around them. Toshiro and Amell didn''t seem to even register all the people staring at them. But Lubbock and Vash were completely enthralled in the attention and Vash would occasionally wink at some woman that stood frozen in fear as they passed by. Lubbock would try and do the same thing but no woman would look at him, they would all just stare at Amell, Vash, or Toshiro. "Don''t you ever get tired of the attention, Vash?" Toshiro glanced at his fellow commander. Vash hit him with a look like he was crazy," No way! I mean, I don''t care a lot about this sort of attention. But the more I show myself like this, the more people seem to for whatever reason wanna kill me. And that means more fighting, so if being famous is what it takes to get a good fight then I will be the most famous guy ever!" Vash declared confidently. "I don''t know if I agree with that logic, but you do you," Toshiro said and turned to Amell and started speaking with a respectful tone. "It appears we have caught the attention of the King, finally." He said and Amell knew what he was referring to and nodded slowly. Behind those two, the situation had now gotten more heated than before, "Answer the question, you stupid blonde moron!" Lubbock almost yelled at Vash. "How can I answer that? Maybe women of this world have some hidden power that lets them see something we don''t." Vash raised his shoulders in genuine wonder about the problem Lubbock was facing. The women wouldn''t even spare him a single gaze, almost like he literally wasn''t even there. "What are you talking about? What is so different about me?" He said as his previously very confident spirit grew weaker every second. Vash looked around at all the people staring at them, and after a few second something seemed to click as his face lit up in delight and confidence. "Why don''t we try men? They are about equal in number to the women and they all seem to notice you. And look, I won''t even stand in the way of you on this one, so go nuts, buddy!" Vash smiled like your typical world-saving saint, and he felt immensely proud of himself. "What the hell!? I DON''T SWING THAT WAY!" Lubbock yelled after he heard what he thought was the most insane advice he had ever been given by someone. "Swing this way or that way. I''m sure there''s not much of a difference. Love comes in all shape and sizes, embrace this new beautiful side of your life!" Vash sped next to Lubbock and reached his arm around his shoulder and pulled him in closer. "Yes, I agree. Embrace it, brother!" Toshiro said stoically from the front of the group. "Toshi, shut up or I''ll take your head!" Lubbock said under his breath while trying to control his anger. "And I don''t swing that way! I like girls, women! You understand, blonde moron?" Lubbock pushed Vash away from him and started doing breathing exercises to try and not lose control of his anger. "Fine, I was just trying to be a supportive friend. Well, forget about me ever helping you again." Vash decided to start completely ignoring Lubbock, so he went back to flirting with all the women that entered his gaze. "Boys, the first part is done, now we just need to finish the last part, let''s go!" Amell took a firm step forward and disappeared in a burst of speed. The three commanders turned serious and also disappeared toward the big mansion on the island where this island''s king resides. ---------------------------------------------- End Chapter 146 - Chapter 148 Inside the palace on Dressrosa where the current king resided, a tall man with spikey blonde hair spoke to three people that stood in front of him with nervous expressions. They were located in what looked to be this mansion''s garden. There was green grass, a decently sized swimming pool and many palm trees that together formed a large protective shadow over Doflamingo that sitting down next to the pool. "Doffy, what should we do about Amell?" Trebol asked with a trembling voice like he was going through puberty. He, Diamante, and Pica had all put their subordinated on high alert since the news came that the fifth emperor had arrived on Dressrosa together with a few of his commanders. "Obviously, we shouldn''t do anything, let''s just observe what he intends to do here. Trying to force him to leave is the same as if you were to spit Kaido in the face. You must be prepared to die if you try it." Diamante spoke up before Doflamingo. They all had essentially raised Doflamingo so they had an incredibly casual relationship with him, so they could act almost however they wanted and he wouldn''t punish them for it. "I say let them come, we won''t lose!" Pica in his high pitch voice said confidently, and at that Doflamingo started smiling and said, "Oy, Pica, don''t get overconfident now. His grandson fought Garp and Sengoku equally over a decade ago, so you have to imagine that he''s probably many times stronger than that." Doflamingo''s smile very naturally turned cruel and sadistic, and this time was no exception. He looked like a smiling devil as he sat there sipping on his drink. "I''m sorry, Doffy, let me go and welcome them then. I can bring them here instead of waiting for them" Pica said and looked up at Doflamingo from his kneeling position. Diamante lightly hit him on the head and glared at him, "Didn''t I say that we shouldn''t do anything yet? They will come here so there is no reason to go looking for them." He returned his gaze to Doflamingo and continued talking, "Doffy, I think we should contact Kaido. He has a deep hatred for Amell, so we can use that" Before anyone in the garden could answer him, a deep, profound, and terrifying pressure assaulted the area. It was similar to conqueror''s Haki, but still very different, and it pressed Trebol, Pica, and Diamante down on the ground without them being able to resist it. "I would appreciate it if you didn''t speak to him yet. I want this to be a surprise" Amell came floating down from the sky like a god descending on the world filled with mortals. His gaze swept passed the three top officers and their hearts stopped beating for the duration they felt the gaze on them. And for them, it felt like hours passed before their hearts started beating again. Amell''s gaze landed on Doflamingo, and the false king''s blood froze as he met the gaze of the emperor. "It is customary to bow when standing in the presence of an emperor." He made a swift motion with his hand and three blasts of wind came down and buried those three deep in the ground, "Now that is how you bow in front of an emperor!" Amell smiled in contempt and proceeded to land on the ground. "What do you want?" Doflamingo was angry beyond belief for this, but he wasn''t dumb, he needed a better opportunity to attack, and right now he knew he would die should he attack the man standing before him. "Sightseeing?" Amell smiled calmly and took his first step toward Doflamingo. The pressure he had been exuding was no longer running wild and putting cracks in the ground, or forcing everyone down on their knees. Doflamingo stood still with a calm smile on his face and he watched Amell get closer with every step, and soon, Amell stood only two meters in front of him. "Funny" Doflamingo smiled cruelly as brutality and cruelty had become his very nature. And inside his eyes existed pure and unadulterated hatred against the emperor in front of him. "I hope you weren''t expecting a warm welcome," Doflamingo said and he released his haki against Amell. He was wary and cautious, but he wouldn''t let himself be threatened so easily. Doflamingo was both strong and confident so he chose to stand tall and not give in to Amell''s presence. "I wasn''t. But if this was your attempt at one, it is quite a sad attempt." Amell said and looked at the three big holes in the ground behind him. And right at the moment when he looked away, Doflamingo kicked against his head with blinding speed. Amell, with a speed that surpassed even Doflamingo''s previous speed, raised his right hand and caught the incoming leg in his iron grip. "Yeah, this welcome party sucks" Amell stood with Doflamingo''s foot in his grip and looked calmly at the false king. "I told you, you shouldn''t have expected one." Doflamingo moved his fingers and launched five strings to take control of Amell''s body. Amell did one incredibly quick cutting motion with his other hand and all the strings were cut at the base, and Doflamingo had to quickly move his hand away less he wanted his fingertips cut off. "Who do you think I am?" Amell twisted Doflamingo''s leg and forced his body to make a half turn in the air, and Amell delivered a quick but incredibly powerful kick to Doflamingo''s abdomen and sent him crashing through the mansion. "The world will change soon, and I am here to see what side you are picking. The losing side or the winning side." Amell said and straightened out his clothes. His eyes suddenly darted to the ground beside him and he lightly jumped backwards just in time to dodge a big stone hand that came out of the ground. It didn''t stop there, after missing the opportunity to grab Amell it chased after him. "You''re a little out of your league, Pica" Amell stood waiting for the giant stone fist. He raised his hand and threw out a casual punch that blasted Pica''s stone hand to smithereens. "OVERHEAT!" Doflamingo''s rage-filled scream came from inside the building and a condensed bundle of strings came from his location inside the hole his body had made in the building wall. Amell''s hand turned black as he covered his hand in haki. And he raised it so his palm and Doflamingo''s attack collided and caused a shockwave that spread out from their collision like a pulsating force. It uprooted some palm trees and practically destroyed this entire area. "You have a nice force behind those attacks. But unfortunately, I am the walking definition of an old monster. So you are a few years too early to attack me like that. But I''m still interested in hearing your answer, kid." Amell watched Doflamingo walk back out into the open with a brutal grin on his face. "Are you asking me to join you?" Doflamingo looked at the three holes made by his top officer''s bodies and his grin went sour. "Why ask a question you already know the answer to, kid?" Amell felt the ground underneath him move around, and he located the giant man swimming around down there through the use of his seismic sense. "Clarification of what it is that you''re offering." "Are you doubting my capabilities, kid?" "You''ve been silent for the last decade, you think I''m wrong in doubting you?" Doflamingo sat down on a big piece of rock that formerly belonged to Pica''s giant rock hand. "I suppose it''s gonna have to be a relationship based on trust." Amell smiled and released his killing intent directly at Dofmlamingo. And he immediately fell down on his knees with unquestioned terror building up inside him. His pupils dilated and his stomach turned to make him feel the urge to vomit, but the killing intent froze him up completely. He wanted to breathe, but it wouldn''t let him, so if this kept going he would soon pass out, and not long after that he would die. Amell stared down Doflamingo, and he appeared before the false king and gripped his throat, "I would like to think that I''m a good person. You see, I don''t go around announcing how twisted and evil I am like Kaido or Big Mom does." He looked directly into Doflamingo''s eyes and simultaneously increased his killing intent by a few times. And Doflamingo felt a new wave of terror, unlike anything he had ever experienced before. "But do not ever make the mistake in thinking that I am not as scary as them. In fact, those two brats don''t even come close to me on any level. They will never possess this level of killing intent. They will never possess the power I hold. They will never have the authority or reach that I have." Amell took back his killing intent just before Doflamingo passed out. "AAHHHH!" Doflamingo took a big breath and the fear inside him was so intense that he vomited out a mouthful of blood on the ground. His whole body was shaking and now after experiencing that killing intent, he couldn''t muster up the courage to look Amell in the eyes. "Never judge the book by its cover, Doflamingo," Amell said cheerfully to the kneeling king. "Let''s see how the others are doing." Amell put his palm to the ground and it opened up and from its depth rose three bodies. It was Diamante, Trebol, and Pica. They all had one multi-coloured chain wrapped around their bodies. "Doffy! Get up! Doffy!" Trebol screamed and struggled against this chain, but as with all other attempts, it ended in failure. Diamante and Pica watched the pitiful state that Doflamingo was in cursed their own inability to do anything to save their captain. "So what say you now, kid?" Amell leaned in closer to Doflamingo without worry for anymore resistance. Doflamingo looked up at Amell, "Safety of my family and the death of Kaido. That''s the deal!" He was forced to look down again, he still couldn''t meet Amell''s gaze for long. "Done and done! Good to have you onboard, kid" Amell snapped his fingers and the chains around the three officers disappeared. And as soon as he regained his freedom, Trebol launched himself at Amell. His anger was like a sleeping nuclear bomb, as soon as his freedom was given to him his rage exploded and he launched himself at Amell without regard for anything or anyone else. "Trebol, stop!" Doflamingo yelled, but even his voice seemed to get drowned out by Trebol''s anger, for he was not stopping. But a moment later, a red blur passed Doflamingo and Amell and headed for the raging muscus monster. A closed fist came like a lightning strike and struck Trebol in the face and knocked him uncounscious. "Play dead for a while, snot rocket!" Vash appeared beside the unconscious Trebol. He quickly glanced at Doflamingo''s group before turning to Amell with excitement. "They are here now, should we take care of them?" He said, clearly eager about something. "yes, you can take care of it. I still need to talk some more with Doffy." Amell''s use of that nickname seemed to greatly piss off Diamante and Pica, but they didn''t dare to say anything about it. "Thanks, Cap''n!" Vash gathered strength in his legs and jumped towards the centre of the island. "Finally a good fight!" Vash yelled happily from his location, hundred of meters above the island. And after a few seconds of letting out some built up steam, he dove towards the centre of the island with an excited smile on his face. --------------------------------------------- End Chapter 147 - Chapter 149 Vash landed gracefully on one of the smaller houses in the centre of town. His gaze scanned the people walking down on the big main street that stretched through the entire city. He was still smiling, and that smile only grew larger when he laid eyes on his targets. "Found you" He whispered as he watched the people in masks walking down on the street. Their masks were pure white with a tiny yellow sun above the right eye. They had an aura of supremacy around them, and that coupled with their tall heights was the reason why the people on the streets were avoiding them. Toshiro and Lubbock appeared like two ghosts beside Vash. Lubbock was smiling similar to Vash, and he was also longing for a good fight. Toshiro, on the other hand, felt no excitement toward the actual fighting. His life''s goal was to destroy the World Government, so every time he could mess something up for them he would do it without question. "You guys ready?" Vash asked and looked at the two brothers. And they both nodded with determination and confidence. "Okay then" Vash made a grabbing motion with his hand and his gun appeared from thin air. He aimed it at the group with the sun masks on them. And after taking aim, Vash pulled the trigger and shot the bullet that served as the signal to start the fighting. A pure silver bullet left the barrel of the gun and travelled in under a second the distance between the two groups. Down among the masked individuals, one of them looked up and followed it by covering his entire arm in haki. He then quickly used that same arm to block the bullet. And all of this happened in less than a second. The government agent that blocked Vash''s bullet was forced to take two steps back after being hit. "You okay?" Another one of the agents asked with little emotion in his voice. "Yeah! A simple miscalculation of the force behind the bullet. It won''t happen again." The male agent said to the female agent that asked him. "Three of them. The Traitor, The slaughterer, and the gun maniac. Target is nowhere in sight." Said another one of the agents while staring at the three commanders. He slowly placed his hand over the golden sheath hanging by his waist. "Where is your captain, Vash?" The agent with the golden sheath asked. "Cap''n doesn''t wanna see you guys right now, so you are gonna have to make do with us," Vash said and smiled brightly. The agent''s eyes narrowed slightly and he gripped his sword firmly, "I see" He said and drew his sword with a speed few would be able to follow. An almost visible slash shot out from the sword and sliced the house they stood on in half. Vash, Toshiro, and Lubbock jumped away just in time to avoid the vertical slash that the agent sent out to cut the house with. The three of them landed around the agents with Vash now standing faced with two of them and the same for Toshiro. Lubbock on the other hand only had one opponent. The civilians in the area had already escaped far away so the street was completely empty except the agents and the commanders. "Your captain made a big mistake showing himself here. This is the day when the Gotei gets to experience the might of the Light unit. So say your silent goodbyes to your crew because you will never see any of them again." Once again the golden sword left the sheath of its master and another flying sword slash attacked Vash head-on. Vash jumped slightly to the side to avoid the attack and at the same time, he fired two bullets from his gun. One aimed at the wielder of the golden sword and the other aimed at the agent standing next to him. By the time the sword slash passed Vash, the two agents had both dodged the bullets. The slash cut apart the house behind Vash, and he looked back and whistled in amusement. "Impressive skills. But there is no mistake here. You haven''t been able to locate any of us for fourteen years, but now suddenly out of nowhere, we show up in Dressrosa. Do you really think any of this was a mistake?" Vash looked at the two agents. The one with the golden sword was slightly shorter the other one. But both of them wore the same white suit and white coat with the white sun mask on. The only thing that differentiated them was the number on the back of their hands. The golden sword agent had the number "One" and the other one had "Three". "No plan is without faults. Your biggest mistake was to show yourself. That mistake will be the death of you." The agent with the number Three on his hand suddenly jumped towards Vash with his entire body covered in dense and powerful armament haki. "Guess this means no more talking!" Vash raised his gun and fired at him, but the giant man that easily exceeded three meters in height wasn''t affected by the bullets as they simply bounced off his haki infused skin. Vash smiled at this and covered his fist in haki and clashed with the giant agent. Because of the forward momentum that the agent had, Vash was pushed back. The agent moved again toward Vash. But this time Vash performed a small dash backwards to increase the distance between them. He took aim again and shot the agent and the bullet had doubled in speed this time, and much to the shock of both agent One and Three, the penetration power had also doubled. The bullet lodged itself into the shoulder of agent number Three and at the same time pushed him back a few meters. "Okay, playtimes over!" Vash looked over at Toshiro and Lubbock and noticed that they were also mostly playing with the other agents to properly test their strength. He looked back over at the agent with the golden sword. "Have you guys ever seen an unstoppable force? If not, let me show you what that looks like!" He disappeared and reappeared in front of agent Three and buried his fist in his stomach, and he hit with enough force to make the agent vomit out a mouthful of blood. But he gritted his teeth and covered his head in haki and went to headbutt Vash. Unfortunately, his headbutt was stopped halfway through by Vash''s gun. Vash smiled while holding the barrel of his gun right on the agent''s forehead, "Cya, big guy!" Vash pulled the trigger and he blew the agents head off. Blood splattered everywhere but Vash wasn''t bothered by the sight of this amount of blood. "Don''t you care about your comrade?" Vash said and looked over at agent number One that looked at this scene with apathetic eyes. He met Vash''s gaze and simply shrugged his shoulders at the question. "No, I don''t. He was a brainless tool made for war. His death proved we just wasted money making him." He put his hand on his sword and drew it very slowly. "A bit harsh, don''t you think so?" Vash wiped off some blood from his gun while observing the sword that the agent held in his hand. "I think that''s enough talking. I don''t have all day!" Agent number One said without a shred of emotion on his face. "Killing you will be fun!" Vash said and fired a shot at the agent. His bullet was cut in two by the agent in one smooth action. "Fun is overrated. Killing you is a necessity." Agent number One dashed toward Vash, destroying the ground from where he took off. "Let''s go!" Vash also took off against agent number One. ----------------------------------- End Chapter 148 - Chapter 150 Metal created sparks in the middle of the street as Vash and agent One clashed sword against gun. The speed of their exchange would have made it impossible for even Vice-Admirals to follow should any of them have been here. The agents fighting against Vash and the twin brothers were created and trained for a single purpose. To take down Amell and the Gotei. And they had been stripped of emotions, as displayed when agent One just watched his comrade get killed by Vash. Five, ten, twenty, fifty. Countless blows were traded between them and the nameless and mysterious agent One had managed up to this point to perfectly follow Vash''s speed in combat. Every haki infused punch was blocked and countered and if Vash tried to fire his gun then the bullet would either get sliced in two or outright blocked. Agen One sidestepped another bullet and dug his hand into the ground and flipped a piece of the ground up in front of him. He raised his fist and punched the large piece of ground so it exploded and sent hundreds of small pieces of rubble flying towards Vash. The red-cloaked gunslinger watched on in annoyance and confusion, he raised his guard. ''He definitely knows I possess observation haki, so why use a trick that is rendered useless by haki?'' Vash had a goofy personality normally. But his mind became a steel trap the moment he stepped onto the battlefield. ''He hasn''t moved yet'' About a second had passed since agent One created this rain of rubble, and Vash already had two theories about what his opponent was planning. And in his mind he had already come up with at least one countermeasure to any attack he could think of. Finally, the agent moved. He flashed forward three times and each time he launched a flying sword strike. Vash now had three flying slashes coming at him from three different angles. ''What''s the play?'' Vash watched the attacks approach, ''A distraction!'' The thought came to him just as he used his gun to block the first two attacks. When he raised his arm to block the third, a piece of rubble that just flew passed his head disappeared, and in its place appeared agent One. And Vash was a few milliseconds too late to react to the sword that came flying from the side. "AAAH! Shit!" Vash bent down and kicked the agent in the stomach, making him crash into the side of a building. Vash flashed away and he reappeared a ways away from the house which agent One had crashed into. Vash put a hand over his left eye and groaned in pain. He watched agent One get out of the rubble of the house that Vash kicked him into. "Fancy powers you got there. But now that I have seen it, it will not work again." Vash smiled while blood from his left eye ran down his face. "Stop talking like you are the one that holds the advantage. That cocky attitude will be the cause of your demise." Agent One said with a stoic tone of voice. "I fully admit that I look down on you and your comrades and I also admit that I underestimated your skills and abilities a little. But don''t kid yourself in thinking that you are gonna be the one that will walk out of here in the end. Cap''n could have ended you the second you stepped onto this island. But he let us go and take care of you. So let me show you why!" Vash put a finger on the barrel of his gun and whispered, "Release" and a bright golden light enveloped his gun. And a moment later his gun had transformed into a beautiful golden gun with red tripes alongside both sides of the barrel. Vash raised his gun and aimed it at Agent One. "It''s useless, and you know it is." Agent One said and raised his sword in a guard stance. Vash smiled calmly and said, "Right index finger" Before pulling the trigger confidently. And within the milliseconds, agent One''s right index finger disintegrated into nothingness. "What!?" Agent One flashed away immediately, but Vash''s voice rang out again, "Left hand" and just like last time, Vash''s attack landed without a problem. Agent One''s left hand was entirely gone with nothing left. "What are you!?" Agent One asked with an ice-cold tone. He glanced at his left hand and his mind started setting up possible countermeasures. "Vash The Stampede! Nice to meet ya," Vash flashed away and the strength behind his takeoff was so immense that he raised the building behind him to the ground. Before agent One could register what happened, Vash buried his fist in his stomach and sent him flying across the street towards where the twins were fighting. But his body didn''t make it that far, Vash appeared above him and kicked him into the ground and created a small crater with his body. All this happened within the span of a second. Vash appeared above agent One and placed one of his feet on his throat. "Right eye" Vash pulled the trigger and Agent One''s left eye disintegrated into nothingness. "Left eye" And Vash took his left eye away as well. "This was fun, I had a great time. As thanks, I''ll give you a quick death." Vash aimed his gun at agent One''s head and smiled. "I''ll be waiting in hell." Agent One said stoically. It didn''t seem he cared that he had lost, and even less that he was about to die. "Might be a while before that happens. But make sure to save me a seat." Vash pulled the trigger and with that, he ended the life of agent One. "Phew, great workout. Hope the twins aren''t too banged up, it seems I got separated from them." Vash looked into the distance and felt the small vibrations in the ground which was an indication that they were still fighting the agents. "Guess I''ll go and have a look after I tend to my eye." Vash stretched and released a hearty laugh. ----------------------------------------------------------- End Chapter 149 - Chapter 151 A few miles away from the location where Vash killed agent One, the twins were playing around with the other number agents. But there was a very big difference between them and the ones that Vash fought. The agents that the twins faced off against had a very different attitude towards their fellow comrades. In battle, they were actually nothing like agent One at all. They had great teamwork and they looked out for each other. Toshiro was fighting agent Two and Four while Lubbock got matched against agent Five. Both Two and Four were loud and very vocal women while Five was a mute man. No matter how Lubbock had tried to taunt him, agent Five would not respond, he would barely show a visible reaction to the taunts at all, something that greatly annoyed Lubbock since one of his favourite things to do in a fight was to taunt enemies until they would go mad. Agent Five was a natural counter to Lubbock''s personality. But this didn''t mean the agents had an easy time. The twin''s powers were extremely difficult to fight against, and even though they outnumbered the twins they could barely keep up with them. "Toshi, shouldn''t we end this soon? The captain is probably done with Doflamingo." Lubbock yelled towards his brother. They had been fighting for a long time and the surrounding area looked like a proper war zone. The buildings were destroyed and almost everything around them was frozen solid, credited to Toshiro. "I don''t know what you''re on about. I''m already done here." Toshiro yelled back in a lazy tone. Lubbock looked back at his brother while dodging attacks from the spear-wielding agent Five, and what he saw was the two female agents frozen in ice all the way up to their necks. "So you went ahead and finished without talking to me first? uncool, Toshi!" Lubbock dodged the spear coming at him and at the same time summoned strings that wrapped themselves around agent Five. "What are you talking about? Why would I need to talk to you before defeating them?" Toshiro created a chair out of ice and sat down. "Because now I look like the weaker brother. You defeated two opponents before I defeated one. This is why communication is so important." Lubbock stringed up agent Five in the middle of the air and watched him struggle to get free. When someone got caught in his strings like this one simple tiny little movement was all that was needed for the strings to cut you open. So agent Five already had hundreds of tiny cuts all over his body since he was struggling pretty fiercely. "You ARE the weaker brother so I don''t understand the problem here." Toshiro looked at the two agents he had frozen up in his ice prison. "One day I will beat you to death and then you will regret ever saying things like that!" Lubbock moved his finger slightly and one of his strings wrapped itself around one of the agent''s fingers. And with a sadistic smile on his face, he cut agent Five''s finger off. But still, the mute agent showed no reaction, almost like he could feel no pain at all. "This guy is no fun to play with at all..." "We aren''t here to play, and also you make no sense. If you for some reason managed to beat me to death, how would I be able to regret it? I would be dead, no?" Toshiro had now walked up to the two agents encased in ice. And he was observing their masks. "That kind of talk is the reason as to why I will one day beat you to death," Lubbock said while cutting off agent Five''s entire left hand, but still no reaction. "Keep dreaming, dear brother," Toshiro said and reached out to grab the mask of agent Two. She tilted her head back and spoke through her teeth, "Don''t touch me!" The voice of an elderly mature woman came from under the mask. "Stay still" Toshiro''s hand moved quickly and with one quick motion he ripped her mask off. And her true face was now revealed. She looked to be in her late thirties with dark brown hair and brown eyes. She had small amounts of wrinkles around her eyes and on her forehead that displayed her age, but overall she was a very beautiful woman. "Wow! A beauty!" Lubbock saw her face and immediately left his playmate and rushed over to his brother''s side. He leaned in very close to properly inspect her facial features. "Acceptable!" He said after having inspected her closely. "What the hell do you mean by that!? Release me from this ice and let''s see if you dare say that again!" She yelled while glaring daggers at Lubbock. "She is dangerous! Keep her on lockdown, Toshi" Lubbock backed off with a mocking smile on his face. "I can''t believe we lost to these two..." The other female agent with her mask still on said in a depressing tone. "Well, believe it, baby!" Vash appeared beside Lubbock, giving him a good scare. "Don''t sneak up on me like that, Vash. I almost ripped you to pieces, stupid!" Lubbock lowered his hand and breathed out in relief. "It will never happen again, boss!" Vash saluted nonchalantly with an aura of relaxation and comfort around him, "Now, may I ask why you are chatting with the enemy?" His aura did a one-hundred-eighty turn and his tone went ice cold. And he summoned his gun and shot agent Five in the head, and his head exploded like a watermelon meeting a baseball bat. "Shit!" Lubbock took a quick step back in surprise, and Vash''s current ice-cold aura caused the last two agents bodies to tense up. Toshiro was the only one that seemed semi-calm about the current situation. "It''s been a long time since I saw this side of you, Vash. So this can only mean that you were forced to release your seal, huh?" Toshiro raised his guard a little. He wasn''t that worried that Vash would attack them, but he knew full well how Vash gets when he releases the seal on his powers. "That agent One was stronger than I thought, and he had a troublesome devil fruit so I needed to end it quickly, you know, Toshi!" Vash''s aura went into a neutral and calm state again, and he grew a smile on his face. "I get it. Are those two agents dead?" Toshiro asked calmly. "Of course they are. Or do you think I''m incapable of killing two tiny government agents?" Vash''s tone went cold again and a killer glint appeared inside his eyes as he stared at Toshiro. "I didn''t say that, nor did I imply that you weren''t capable of it," Toshiro said calmly while slightly raising his hands in a sign of peace. ''I need to speak to the captain about this soon. Something must be done about this, we can''t have Vash enter this state in this upcoming war.'' "Vash, buddy, which seal did you release¡ä?" Lubbock asked nervously. Depending on what seal he released would determine how the twins needed to go about in dealing with him. "Relax, greenie, only the first one. That agent wasn''t Garp or anything, so I didn''t need to release more than that." Vash said jokingly with a slight laugh. "That''s good. Well, how about we take these two agents back to the ship. They are coming back with us to the Gotei for interrogation. You wanna help me by taking one of them? And Lubbock can go and fetch the captain, what do you say?" Toshiro hated speaking like this like he was talking to a child, but Vash''s state of mind whenever he released a seal was always very sensitive. The world lacked a couple of kingdoms since the last time Amell was here thanks to Vash. "Sure, I''ll take the tall one." Vash approached the maskless agent with confident steps. "Stay away from her, you scum!" Yelled the other agent suddenly and without warning. Maybe because she knew she was an important prisoner she hadn''t expected anything to happen by just yelling out some random words. There was a loud Bang and just like agent Five, her head exploded with blood and gore splattering everywhere on the ground around her body. Toshiro and Lubbock both sighed out loud and cursed themselves for not stopping this from happening. "Do you wanna say that again?" Vash with an evil smile on his face stood and stared at the headless body of agent Four. He switched target again and aimed at the other agent, "Do you have anything to say to me?" He was close to pulling the trigger but a wall of ice was erected between his gun and the agent Two. "So, you''re choosing her side instead of mine, Toshi?" Vash turned to Toshiro with a stoic expression on his face. "No, I am on your side, Vash. But we need her, she may have important information that would be useful to us." Toshiro leaked a very cold aura, and he didn''t like fighting his own friends, but with Vash, he knew it might be the only way to get him out of this temporary madness. "Stay out of my way!" Vash aimed his gun at Toshiro, fully prepared to pull the trigger if he was forced to. But like a ghost, a slim but quite muscular arm appeared and grabbed Vash''s wrist. "We don''t fight our own." The one that held onto Vashs'' wrist pulled back his arm and in one quick motion, he broke his arm, and with a quick kick, Vash was forced down on his knees by his unknown assailant. "Byakuya, it''s not that I don''t appreciate you stopping by, but shouldn''t you be in Wano by now?" Toshiro said to the second division commander that had appeared and stopped Vash. "In a second!" Byakuya looked down at Vash and with one quick chop, he knocked him unconscious. "Now to fix this" Byakuya placed a finger over Vash''s heart and with the help of a little magic, he sealed his powers again. And after double-checking that everything was alright with Vash he gave himself a pat on the back and turned to Toshiro. "The plan has changed. I had to come here in person since none of you are carrying any form of long-distance radio on you. Kaido is coming here to Dressrosa." Byakuya said seriously. "Wait, what? Why would that guy be coming here? Does he know the captain is here?" Lubbock jumped into the conversation from his spot over at agent Five. "We don''t know. But we do know that he has connections inside CP0 so we''re thinking that maybe they leaked your location to him. But the reasons as to why he is coming here doesn''t matter now. Dressrosa is about to become a battlefield in just a few hours, and what we need to focus on now is getting all the commanders here. You two need to make sure that you are ready for Kaido when he and his followers come here. I will take Vash with me and go and speak with grandpa." Byakuya threw Vash over his shoulder and turned back to Toshiro and Lubbock. "Good job dealing with these guys. Take her somewhere safe for now, we will deal with her when all of this is over." Byakuya disappeared in a burst of speed. "Well, this day took one hell of a turn," Agent Two said with an exhausted expression, and Toshiro looked at her with a "You don''t say" look. ---------------------------------------------- End Chapter 150 - Chapter 152 Byakuya was jumping from rooftop to rooftop with a serious look on his face, he was also looking at all the people in this country and trying to come up with the best way to keep them all safe during this war. This wasn''t the place where they had planned to deal with Kaido, so he was trying to come up with a plan right here on the spot. He was quickly approaching the castle where Doflamingo lived so he sped up and traveled the last bit of distance in a single flash jump. He arrived at the entrance of the castle and was greeted with the sigh of two people standing by the entrance and talking with smiles on their faces. They were baby 5 and Buffalo and Baby 5 noticed Byakuya first and she immediately backed off in shock and surprise. "B-B-Billion blades BYAKUYA!" She screamed out his name in fright but also with a little nervousness mixed into her tone. "I''m here to see my grandfather. Take me to him." Byakuya commanded sternly. Buffalo stood in a stupor at the sudden appearance of one of the most powerful pirates in the world. Baby 5 forced herself out of her shocked state and smiled at him, "Of course, Sir!" Baby 5 and all of Doflamingo''s subordinates had been informed about the new alliance between these two pirate groups. Albeit, an alliance was not exactly the right word to describe the relationship between the two groups. The Gotei was more like the parent and the Donquixote was the child that could do nothing but obey the parent. Amell never put it like this but Doflamingo knew exactly what kind of position his family had in this relationship. And Doflamingo understood that his position with the Gotei wouldn''t change until Amell felt he could trust the Donquixote family, which might be never. "Then get walking!" Byakuya commanded harshly again since Baby 5 still hadn''t started walking. Baby 5 saluted to Byakuya. She didn''t know why she did so, but it felt appropriate. Something about his aura, and his tone of voice, and just the way he carried himself with such an incredible amount of authority. She felt like if he commanded her to get down on her knees and shoot herself in the head, she wouldn''t be able to resist it. It was an invisible pressure that he constantly exuded that made his every word impossible to ignore. She and Buffalo started walking into the castle, and the reason why he even needed a guide to finding his grandfather at all was that since the last time Byakuya saw Amell, he had gotten even more masterful at controlling his worldly presence. Byakuya was pretty sure that Amell could hide from even observation haki if he really wanted to, but that was of course the only speculation on his part. "Who is that hanging above your shoulder by the way?" Baby 5 looked curiously over at the man Byakuya was carrying around on his shoulder. "Vash, one of Gotei''s commanders," Byakuya said without bothering to use a pleasant tone when answering her. "Oh, I''ve heard scary stuff about him. Is it true that he invaded a small kingdom in North blue and declared himself king after having slaughtered the entire royal guard, including the king himself?" Buffalo asked with a slight excitement peaking through his tone. He appeared to be a fan of Vash by how he was looking at him. "Curiosity killed the cat," Byakuya said slowly and glared at Buffalo. "What cat?" Buffalo asked in plain naivety since the meaning behind what Byakuya had said had somehow escaped Buffalo. "Nothing about a cat, Buffalo. It means there are questions you shouldn''t ask since they can get you killed." Baby 5 held up a finger and explained what she knew. And at the same time, she glanced over at Byakuya with slightly rose-colored cheeks. "Anyway, what happened to him?" She looked at Vash and asked with a slight smile on her lips. "Couldn''t hold his liquor" "Really? A lightweight? Interesting!" Baby 5 smiled to herself. "Are all the Gotei commanders lightweights?" She glanced back at Byakuya with a mysterious glint in her eyes. "I don''t know, but I don''t drink," He said looking mostly uninterested in the current subject of conversation. "Oh, I see" The glint in her eyes disappeared and she went back to choosing silence while leading Byakuya through the impressive halls of this castle. It took about five more minutes for them to reach the doors leading into Doflamingo''s personal office. For someone that knew a war was just hours away at this point, Byakuya was surprisingly calm and relaxed in his behavior. Maybe this had something to do with the fact that he knew that the strongest person in the world was behind this very door. That fact alone brought comfort to him, also a strong sense of pride for being related to that person. "We''re here. Let me just check that the young master is in." Baby 5 went to knock on the gigantic door, but Byakuya didn''t bother waiting since he could sense Doflamingo inside, and now that he was this close he could also feel Amell''s aura inside. But Amell''s aura was faint and distant, so loose and quiet that Byakuya had to focus intently on Amell''s aura to not lose it. "Wait! You can''t go in there! The young master will punish me!" Baby 5 yelled in a panic after Byakuya walked passed her and went directly up to the double doors and pushed them open. Inside the room sat Doflamingo in his chair in front of his window that looked out over the city. He has a few of his subordinates in his room as well, and all of them looked nervous to be here, and that most likely had something to do with Amell sitting in a chair right next to Doflamingo. His presence put a nervous spin on everything here. The only two people that weren''t uncomfortable was Doflamingo and Amell. "Byakuya, welcome to Dressrosa, what are you doing here?" Amell asked after locking eyes with his grandson. Before Byakuya answered that question he put down Vash and then bowed down on one knee as he usually would when meeting with Amell. "Honorable Grandfather, our plans have needed to be changed. Kaido is on his way here, we don''t know the nature of his visit but we imagine that someone in the world government informed him about you being here." Amell looked away from the window and his gaze landed on his grandson. "How many men is he bringing with him?" Doflamingo asked with a somewhat worried tone. If Kaido had for some reason gotten word on his betrayal, this day was about to get a lot more stressful. "As far as we know, Queen is still in Wano, but everyone else is on the move towards Dressrosa." Byakuya''s tone went stoic when answering Doflamingo. He made sure to shower the Warlord with plenty of killing intent to drive his point home about how he did not enjoy being questioned by anyone else than Amell. "So it appears that this war will start a little earlier than expected. But no worries, this is still perfectly acceptable. Byakuya, contact Kenshin and have him continue his mission in Wano. So except for Kenshin and thirteen, have every commander rush here, and tell them they got max two hours to get here." Amell''s tone was calm and collected and it helped to ease the minds of all the worried minds inside this room. "Yes, Grandfather!" Byakuya got up and performed a slight bow before disappearing in a burst of speed, not even Doflamingo could track. "So that''s the legendary Billion blades. I must say, he takes a lot from you, it''s close to impossible to try and measure his strength in any normal sense." Doflamingo turned to Amell and saw that he has closed his eyes and now sat completely relaxed in his chair with one leg crossed over the other. "You''re right about that. But he inherited more than just my power. Out of his father and him, he was the one that got the lion''s heart. He is the perfect candidate for the seat as the head of the Gotei, so hopefully, when I can retire in a few years, he will still be around to take that seat from me." Amell spoke with closed eyes and a tranquil and soothing tone of voice. "I didn''t think it was possible for an emperor to retire. I guess you learn something new every day." Doflamingo smiled nonchalantly and stared out the window and looked towards the horizon, waiting for Kaido''s fleet to appear. ----------------------------------------------------- End Chapter 151 - Chapter 153 "Young master, I tried to stop him from entering but I couldn''t. Please forgive me!" Baby 5 stood by the door to Doflamingo''s office with her head facing down. She was deeply disappointed in herself, but she convinced herself there was nothing she could do. The man she had guided here was Byakuya, the billion blade pirate worth almost two billion, who was she compared to that person? No one, that is who she is if compared to him. "let it lie. We have more important things to do. Speaking of important tasks, I want you to take Buffalo and locate Kaido''s fleet and I want a full report on who he has brought with him." Doflamingo said lazily, appearing on the surface as if he was very calm about this whole war dilemma. "Yes, young master!" Baby hurried out of the room to Buffalo that stood confused outside the room. "How did it go, Baby 5?" He asked with a slight tilt on his head. "We have an important mission, big guy!" Baby 5 rushed past him like there was a fire lit on her behind. "Wait, Baby 5! What did young master say? Did you get punished?" Buffalo yelled and started running after his partner and childhood friend. Back inside the room, silence prevailed as none said anything at all, not even a slight squeak from one of the chairs was heard. "Are you nervous?" Amell turned his gaze to Doflamingo. "As long as you stick to our deal and kill Kaido I have no doubt about our bright future," Doflamingo said with a relaxed smile and leaned back in his chair. His attitude suggested that he was indeed very calm but nothing escapes the eyes of the fifth emperor. Amell could clearly see the deep concern on his face, even though Doflamingo did very well in hiding it deep within himself, it still didn''t escape Amell''s eyes. "I see" Amell''s gaze lingered on him a little longer before he too turned away and started staring endlessly into the void. ******************************************* "I can''t believe this thing is still open," Lubbock said as he stood in front of a large colosseum. It was an impressive building, even Lubbock had to admit that. He had left his brother to deal with that agent and he was currently just walking around aimlessly waiting for the fun to start. He slightly away from the entrance and observed what seemed like an endless stream of people coming and going from inside the building. Since he stood out in the open and not caring at all about hiding his face he was practically alone in his area because most people walking by recognized him on first glance. The Gotei commanders couldn''t go anywhere in the world without being recognized almost instantly, they were literally the most famous people in the world. "Corrida Colosseum, let''s see what you got to offer today." Lubbock leapt off the ground and he landed on top of the building. What he saw first was the gigantic arena where currently tons of lightly dressed men and women were fighting and killing each other. He looked around and spotted Diamante sitting in a booth overlooking the arena. The booth had no window so Diamante was leaning over the railing while watching the blood and gore with a smile on his face. And without warning, Lubbock landed on the railing right next to Diamante. "Sup, man!" He said loudly while standing on the railing and looking down on the master of this colosseum. "What the hell!" Diamante jumped up in surprise and he had almost drawn his sword and cut Lubbock into pieces. "Sorry to scare ya, buddy!" Lubbock said and sat down on the railing. "What are you want, Lubbock?" "Can''t I just come here and talk to my good friend Diamante without being expected to want something?" He said and faked a look of hurting. "No? I would think not!" Diamante said and emptied a glass filled with alcohol that he had in his hand. "I''m hurt!" Lubbock smiled widely, "But you''re right! I''m super bored, Kaido is taking forever to get here, so I just came to let you know that I''m joining the next match." "Why would you want to join this? None of these guys has the strength of Kaido''s pinky." Diamante tilted his head in slight confusion. "I don''t know why, but I have a good feeling about joining this thing. And hope you won''t try and stop me!" Lubbock''s aura went dark and Diamante''s heart skipped a beat when faced with that pressure. "N-No, you do you, man!" He said and gestured to his servant to refill his glass. "Awesome! I think this will be fun!" Lubbock turned around and started watching the match. "So, are you afraid of what''s to come?" Lubbock said casually. "If you''re referring to Kaido, then no. After meeting your boss, I can''t even imagine what possible way Kaido has to win. Amell''s strength is out of this world." Diamante said and shuddered slightly. "Yes it is, and don''t you forget it. If any of you show even a hint of disloyalty, a commander will be sent here to wipe you all off the map." Lubbock''s words caused the blood inside Diamante''s body to run cold. The knowing that the Gotei had that power was what scared him. And the commander in front of him that looked like a young boy was actually a monster almost without equal in this world. These were the facts that made Diamante accept the Gotei as their parent crew. He was unimaginably scared of the commanders of the Gotei. "I''ll be sure to keep that in mind," Diamante said quietly while sipping on his drink and watching the battle down on the arena. -------------------------------------------------------- End Chapter 152 - Chapter 154 Lubbock jumped down to one of the walkways leading up to the arena, and after his feet touched the ground he was immediately walked into by a gladiator coming from the prep area inside the building. The gladiator fell down backwards after having walked straight into Lubbock. Despite his stature, his body was sturdier than a rock wall, so it was no wonder why this particularly petite gladiator fell down after having walked into him. "Excuse you!" Lubbock said and turned around to look at whoever had walked into him. And what he saw was a cute girl with pink hair and the absolute minimum amounts of clothes. After having shaken off the shock she looked up and saw Lubbock and she didn''t recognize him so she put on an apprehensive look. "What a beauty you are, here, let me help you up!" Lubbock smiled and offer his hand to help her up, and she happily accepted after seeing him smile at her. He was among the first in this place smiling at her and not immediately trying to rip her clothes off, so she accepted his help almost on natural instinct. "Thank you, Sir!" She said with a smile and dusted off her buttocks. But she just remembered that she was apart of this upcoming fight so her expression hardened and she quickly interrupted Lubbock''s next words. "I''m sorry, Sir! I need to get to the arena, so excuse me would you," She said and ran off, but not before hitting Lubbock with her best smile, and it caused his heart to skip a beat. "I think I''m in love!" Lubbock said as he watched her run away toward the arena. ****************************************** On the rocky shores of the island, Cal, Guts, and Hisoka anchored with their ships. The three ships were massive and all comparable to Big Mom''s flagship, The Queen Mama Chanter. And their ships were designed to fit their personalities. Hisoka''s ship was clown inspired with a multitude of colours. And Guts and Cal''s ships were both extremely simple in design, nothing extravagant, except for Guts ship only having men in the crew and Cal only having women. "Fancy seeing you two here," Hisoka smiled sweetly, but Cal got the creeps whenever she would see that smile. Guts glanced at Hisoka then loudly sighed out loud, "Not really, we were summoned here to this island. I was expecting to see you, Hisoka" He said after his sigh. "I suppose that''s true, good observation, big guy!" Hisoka said awkwardly before turning away from both of them. "This is quite a colourfull country. I think I will like it here." He said and looked back and waved towards his colourful ship, "Sail to the east side, we will intercept Kaido there!" "Yes, Master!" Yelled a woman with full clown makeup on her face, and a pink leather catsuit on. This was Hisoka''s vice-captain, and she was almost more evil and twisted than he himself was. "I didn''t know you were such a strategist," Cal said with a teasing smile. But that washed away when Hisoka turned to her with a smile of his own, "Sure I am, we can set up private lessons if you want me to teach you," He said seductively while licking his lips. "N-Never mind!" Cal said and also waved to her ship, "Do as Hisoka said, dock at the east shore!" She yelled to her vice-captain which was a woman that was covered with multiple layers of bandage. The only visible part of her was her eyes, everything else was covered completely in bandage. Guts also yelled the same towards his own ship, and all three ships started moving towards their designated locations. "How long do you suppose Kaido will live in his fight against the boss?" Hisoka asked curiously while the three of them were walking towards the city. Cal and Guts weren''t really talkative individuals so Hisoka always had a hard time making any conversation stick with them. "Don''t know, don''t care really," Cal said completely uninterested in the fight. "Don''t be like that, Cal, you need to learn to socialize otherwise you will never find love," Hisoka said happily with a smile on his lips. "Damn you, quit it with that annoying argument already! I''m not looking for some goddamn boyfriend. I have my girls and emperor Amell, those are the ones I need to protect and they are the only ones I care about." She said angerly. It always bothered her how Hisoka''s words even though she found them irritating and untrue always managed to get under her skin. "Fine, fine. Now, how you answer the question? Do you think he stands much of a chance?" "No, I don''t think so. I don''t think the thirteen commanders combined could kill him, and here you are asking if Kaido stands a chance?" Cal seemed greatly annoyed, and even terrifying aura leaked out and put cracks around her as she walked. "Have you ever seen the boss go all out?" Hisoka asked while dreaming himself away into a fantasy, and what was happening in there only he knew. "No, I haven''t. I don''t think anyone in this tiny world is enough to put a scratch on him." Cal answered nonchalantly and with zero doubt in her voice. To her, there was no doubt that Amell was the strongest person in the world. "Agreed!" Guts said sternly. "Then we''re all in agreement. Great!" Hisoka smiled and started whistling a happy tune. "Like there was ever any doubt about that!" Cal said quietly while calming her aura. -------------------------------------------------- End Chapter 153 - Chapter 155 "Mad with power, a desire to see the world burn down to ashes. That''s the most fitting description of Kaido." Amell was floating up in the sky and was speaking out loud to what appeared to be nobody. But there was a presence deep inside himself that was listening on as Amell was describing the various people that would take part in this war. "That sounds much like my chaotic self," A deep malevolent voice rang out inside his mind. Amell smiled at the comment and nodded along, "Your previous personality maybe. You may still represent evil and darkness, but you are far from the mindless destructive beast Kaido plays himself up to be." "You think he plays into the role and is not actually a mindless beast?" Vaatu asked with curiosity evident in his tone. "I don''t believe he is stupid if that''s what you ask. I do believe he knows exactly what he''s doing, and if his personality and attitude weren''t so unpredictable I would let him live. And whatever happens today, I can at least say that it''s been fun watching him wreak havoc on the world." Amell let slip a tiny bit of his dark side. His evil and chaotic side had been suppressed for so long that it was getting difficult for him to keep it under check. He could feel Vaatu''s deep desire and longing for destruction. "You don''t have to pretend with me, Amell," Vaatu''s voice rang out, surprising Amell with his choice of cryptic words. "What do you mean?" Amell turned his focus inwards and appeared inside his mindscape right in front of the gigantic body of Vaatu. "I am one half of your soul. You don''t have to suppress your dark side when we''re alone talking." Vaatu lowered his body and got closer to Amell, "I know that you''re missing the feeling of blood on your hands. I can feel your soul longing to release its world-destroying power and drown the planet in chaos. Why are you neglecting your true self?" "Neglecting is not the right word to use. I''m doing something closer to postponing it. I know I can''t keep you locked up forever, but I can''t release my full power on a world I control because if I release my powers in full there is a big chance I will completely destroy whatever world I''m in." Amell said apathetically. "So, go to a world filled with evil and wickedness and annihilate it all. Or go to an abandoned world and let loose. Leave your family behind if you''re afraid of them finding out about your dark side." Vaatu said stoically. Vaatu had a positive view on Amell as his host, but he cared not at all about Amell''s family or his empire. "When everything is said and done in this world I might go on another adventure and then we shall see if we can find a world where you and I can let our powers loose," Amell said with a stern tone. And he was adamantly about not ever destroying a world he controlled. "I can''t wait!" Vaatu said excitedly. He straightened his body up in an upright position. *********************************************** Down on the ground, conversations weren''t nearly as morbid or interesting as the conversation between Amell and Vaatu. The commanders that were present on the island had all gathered on Cal''s ship and they were waiting for Kaido. "This wait is killing me!" Hisoka said with a bored expression on his face. He glanced over at Lubbock and smile appeared on his face, "Hey Lubbock, wanna come and sit on my lap? Time moves faster when you have some fun." Hisoka''s tone was happy and innocent, but his expression, or more exactly his smile was not. Lubbock sat on the railing with legs crossed. He didn''t even bother looking back at Hisoka, he just answered with a stern, "No!" as he kept gazing at the sea, hoping to see Kaido''s fleet pop up over the horizon. "You know, I don''t understand how we can''t just fly over and sink Kaido''s fleet," Vash complained loudly to the rest of the commanders. Toshiro looked at him and answered in amusement, "If I were to guess, I would say that the captain just wants some fun." "Yeah, that actually sounds like something the captain might do," Cal said while cleaning her sword. "Master, I see them, they have arrived!" Hisoka''s second in command yelled while free-falling down from the ships peak. Lubbock immediately came alive after hearing that. He jumped up on his feet with an excited smile on his face, "FINALLY! I''m gonna kill them all for making me wait this long," "Everyone, focus now! We have a war to win!" Cal said and stood up with a smile. ----------------------------------------------- End Chapter 154 - Chapter 156 Amell came floating down from the sky and landed in front of all the commanders. "You need to work on your motivational speech, Cal." He turned around and looked at her with a teasing smile. "I understand, boss. I will work hard on it!" She answered seriously like it was a command. This caused Vash to facepalm himself. But now that Kaido had arrived his fighting spirit had been awakened once again. He glared at the three big ships approaching the island. He was having a hard time to hold himself back, something that Amell noticed, and he made a mental note to take a look at Vash''s mental health in the future. "Toshiro, do your thing now," Amell said and glanced at the blue-haired twin. Toshiro nodded and jumped off the ship and landed on the ocean. It froze as soon as he approached so he landed on the frozen water like it was solid ground. "This is gonna be fun," Toshiro said as a rare smile showed itself on his lips. He put his right hand on the frozen ground and immediately the entire ocean for miles upon miles started to freeze. It didn''t take long until even the water around Kaido''s fleet of ships was completely frozen. "Damn it, they froze the ocean!" Jack that stood behind his captain on said angerly. King was also there, and he was a lot calmer than Jack, and he said in a serious tone, "It''s Toshiro. He is one of the more powerful commanders. His fruit is even more powerful than Aokijis, so trying to destroy it will be a waste of time and energy." King feared Toshiro greatly for the sheer power behind his ice. It was common knowledge among the top brass in this world that Toshiro''s power was more powerful than Aokiji''s. "What are we gonna do then? We are sitting ducks here!" Jack roared back at King. He hated feeling weak and he hated losing in any capacity. This is when Kaido started speaking and Jack immediately went quiet. "Walk across the ice!" He said in his usual ice-cold tone of voice. "Won''t that brat just unfreeze the sea?" Jack asked respectfully. "No, he won''t. Amell might be a bastard in all sense, but he is not a coward. He won''t resort to cheap tricks like that." Kaido took a swig of his bottle of alcohol and then threw it to the side. "Get moving! We''re going to WAR!" Kaido''s voice caused vibrations to spread throughout his ship. "YOU HEARD THE CAPTAIN, WE''RE GOING OVER THE ICE! GET MOVING!" Jack roared loudly so everyone on all the ships heard it. "Aye!" Jack''s crew yelled, and they were the first ones to do as commanded. The other ships were lagging slightly behind, but after realizing Kaido was looking around glaring at them all, they also joined dash towards the island. "You two go as well! Kill them all, but leave Amell to me!" Kaido said to his two closest subordinates. "Finally!" Jack ran and jumped down on the ice. "Leave this to me, lord Kaido!" King said and followed Jack. He also ran and jumped but instead of landing on the ice, he transformed into a large prehistoric bird and immediately took flight against his enemies. "Amell... I don''t care what I need to do here, but I will not leave until one of us dies. And I promise that it will not be me!" His voice was low and sounded very much like drunken mumbling. The beast pirates were charging for their lives, but thanks to the very long distance between the two groups they weren''t very close yet. Though this was only true for the foot soldiers and the weaker members, Some of them had already covered a large distance, and King was one of them. He had already covered the entire distance, and he only had a hundred meters left. "Block this!" He opened his mouth and used his flaming breath attack. He sent an enormous stream of fire at Amell and the commanders. Amell glanced at his own berserker, "Guts, you''re up," He said in a commanding tone. Guts nodded and started gathering magic around his arms. Guts magic was a little different than the other commanders, his magic was the only one purely based around physical prowess. Guts magic power was also the only one that was visible to the naked eye. So when he started gathering magic, red energy started to appear around him. There was only one way to describe this energy, and that was raging, and angry. "HAAH!" Guts let out a warcry as he slammed his hands together. From that, he caused a red-coloured shockwave to appear and clash with the stream of fire coming towards them. As soon as they clashed in the air, the two attacks that caused a massive explosion that forced the weaker people to cover their ears from it. Down on the ice, Ginrummy, a headliner of the beast pirates stood wide-eyed after bearing witness to that clash, ''H-He matched King''s attack by causing a shockwave with his hands, what a monster,'' Her cautious personality kicked in and she suddenly felt much less inclined to just mindlessly rush into this battle as Kaido commanded. She glanced up at Amell and his commanders and suddenly felt an incredibly intense feeling of fear come over her, ''Are we dead?'' she asked herself before taking a small unconscious step backwards. ----------------------------------------------- End Chapter 155 - Chapter 157 "Hey, Ginrummy, what''s the matter with you?!" Sheepshead, another Headliner of the crew yelled and came up and grabbed her by the shoulders. "Wake up!" He slapped her across the face when he noticed that she seems completely lost in the void. After the slap, she came back to reality, but she didn''t act like her usual self. She slapped his hands off her shoulders and quickly started backing off while mumbling, "We are gonna die! We are dead! We can''t do this! I can''t do this!" Her eyes were locked on Amell and for some reason, she couldn''t look away from him. It was like she saw the world-destroying power behind those eyes and she felt completely trapped. She wanted to look away and escape but she couldn''t do that at all, she was completely trapped, and Amell''s terrifying figure kept growing in her eyes and it quickly became too difficult for her to stand up. "Hey, Ginrummy, what''s going on?! Tell me!!" Sheepshead yelled loudly, trying to bring her back, but she refused anything he did. It went so far that when Sheepshead tried to pick her up again, she punched him in the stomach with a haki infused fist. He went flying and bouncing on the ground while blood decorated the ground where he passed. "I don''t wanna die!" She yelled and started running back towards their pirate ships. She was looking down on the ground as she ran, so she didn''t see Jack standing in her way, she ran straight into his leg and fell backwards. "What is this? Mutiny?" Jack said angerly. He was furious over her behaviour since he hated cowards more than anything else in the world. Even the Gotei was below cowards on the list of things he hated. "You''re all gonna die!" Ginrummy said with despair. She knew she was dead now that Jack was here, so she didn''t care what she said. "H-He''s terrifying! We don''t stand a chance. Flee!" She yelled at Jack. And at this, even King looked over in curiosity. Never before had anyone besides Kaido even dared to raise their voices at the three disasters, Jack, King, and Queen. "A traitor and a coward! Nothing to do but to kill you!" Jack raised his foot and prepared to crush her. Amell that had seen all this smiled enigmatically and said softly, "Byakuya, don''t let her die," "Yes, grandpa!" Byakuya took a single step and disappeared from view. Down by Ginrummy, Jack slammed down his feet to crush her while smiling sadistically, "DIE!" He yelled and felt his foot his the ice-cold ground and even put small cracks in it. But it felt nothing like crushing a human underneath his feet. So he removed his foot and inspected the spot where he slammed down his foot. Ginrummy was no longer there. "Who did this? Where are you?" Jack roared out in anger, it was obvious someone had saved her at the last second before she would have died. He looked around but saw no one around him that could have done this. Amell still stood up on Cal''s ship, looking down on him with a smile. "I suppose you are my opponent now," From directly above him he heard a condescending voice. And when he looked up, he saw Byakuya carrying Ginrummy in a princess carry, though he had knocked her unconscious so she had no idea her enemy had just saved her life. Jack glared evilly at him and haki started forming around his arms. He wasn''t the sharpest tool in the shed, but he was smart enough to understand that Byakuya wasn''t someone you could fool around with during a fight. Byakuya had once, many years ago fought the legendary Marine duo alone on somewhat equal ground. And everyone knew he was Amell''s direct blood-related grandson, so that also spoke of his incredible power. "Why are you hiding in the sky like a coward, Byakuya!" Jack yelled while taking out his weapons. He had his usual sadistic smile on his face. "I''m not hiding, I''m observing a moron," Byakuya said while standing in the sky with his condescending expression visible for everyone to see. Under his foot, you could see a small pink flower petal that he used to stand on, so Byakuya wasn''t flaying, he was literally standing in the air on that tiny petal. "If you''re not coming down, I''m coming up there!" Jack leapt up in the air with his weapons infused in haki. But Byakuya raised his index finger and pointed at Jack, and out from his sleeve came a stream of pink petals that all contained the sharpness of Byakuya''s Katana. Jack was a veteran fighter so he didn''t panic at this, he simply readjusted his centre of gravity and used his scythe blades to block the stream of petals. He managed to block them all without sustaining any injuries, but he was knocked down onto the ice-cold ground again. "Patience, Jack," Byakuya said teasingly, "Give me a second, I''ll be right back with you!" He disappeared and reappeared beside Amell. "I''m going again, grandpa," He bowed his head slightly to Amell before disappearing again. He appeared on the ground in front of Jack again, "Okay, let''s continue," He said and slowly drew his sword. -------------------------------------------------- End Chapter 156 - Chapter 158 "Let''s see what you can do, Jack," Byakuya gestured for Jack to attack with his free hand. His whole aura was as sharp as a sword and just looking at him would make you feel like you had been cut in half. Jack answered the provocation by taking a big step forward and swiping his scythe against Byakuya, hoping to cut his body into two pieces. "Too slow," Byakuya used his sword to block Jack''s attack, and he waved his index finger slightly. That produced a wound on Jack''s chin, and it was clearly caused by a blade from how smooth the cut was. Jack hadn''t seen anything move past him, he just felt it when the blade actually came in contact with his skin, but he was too slow to do anything about it. "Is this all you got?" Byakuya asked casually. "Of course not, and if that is all you got, this will be easier than I thought." Jack''s wound had already healed and his sadistic smile was back on his face. Byakuya let out a disappointing sigh and shook his head slightly, "You just proved how truly far behind you are." He gestured for Jack to make a move, to which he did. Jack took another confident step forward and started swinging his scythe''s without mercy. Byakuya smoothly dodged all of Jack''s attempts to cut him. He couldn''t even cut Byakuya''s clothes, albeit the speed at which they were moving was impressive in itself. Byakuya started blocking Jack''s strikes instead of dodging and this caused Jack''s confidence to shoot through the roof, "Already tired, Billion blades, Byakuya?!" Jack screamed while swinging wildly at him. And even though it didn''t look like he knew what he was doing, there was a pattern to his fighting, which proved he very much knew what he was doing. "Definitely not, Jack. I Just wanted to test your physical strength." Byakuya saw the next strike come towards him, so this time he didn''t just block it, he raised his hand and caught the blade of the scythe. "And now it''s my turn!" Byakuya swung his sword and caught Jack''s scythe in two. And directly after that, he dashed forward and kicked Jack in the stomach. Jack flew across the battlefield and only stopped after Byakuya appeared above him and kicked him down on the ice. Jack was on the ground and vomiting blood. Byakuya stepped onto his chest and delivered a palm strike to his chest. Jack vomited blood like a fountain and his eyes contained unimaginable hatred. "Y-You''re a dead man!" Jack said hatefully with a weak voice. And behind Byakuya, a shadow even bigger than Jack''s appeared and he felt a wave of killing intent appear and hit him like a wave. He quickly turned around and blocked a giant club with his sword. An incredible pressure was released from the clash and most of the weak-willed pirates were knocked out cold from their clash with each other. "Nice to see you again, Kaido," Byakuya said after the clash ended. He looked at the emperor that had appeared and swung his massive club at him. "Step off him, kid!" Kaido said in a low growl. His eyes glowed with intense hatred and it was all directed at Byakuya at the current moment. "You mean Jack?" Byakuya said and pierced Jack''s stomach with his sword. "Oops!" Byakuya said nonchalantly. Kaido''s anger exploded and he swung his club at Byakuya, but it was stopped mid-flight, and not by Byakuya. "Let the kids play," Amell''s voice rang out as he had stopped the club with his hand. "Amell!" Kaido said and drew back his club again. And without mercy or hesitation, he started swinging it at him. And each swing held enough power to completely demolish any warship, no matter the size. Amell blocked each club strike with a palm strike of his own, and he redirected the force behind Kaido''s strikes so Amell was the one who advanced forward and Kaido couldn''t find a way to change the tide of this fight. Even though Haki was used, nothing changed, Kaido gained nothing against Amell. Amell smiled at Kaido while deflecting his blows without effort, "I hope you understand now, Kaido. This was never a fight between emperors that was fated to be written down in history. And this is also not your glorious world war." Amell blocked another hit and disappeared from view. He reappeared in the air behind Kaido''s head. "Do you know what this is?" He swatted the air like he would swat a fly. Kaido was immediately hit by an incredibly powerful wind blast that sent him crashing through the battlefield crushing to death many of his own men. Kaido retained balance and stopped himself. He got up while his body was quickly healing itself. As he got up, blood was seen all over his front from all the wounds he had, and also all the people he had crushed to death when Amell sent him flying. He glared angerly at Amell that was standing in the air some distance away from him. His Haki was causing cracks in the ice and he took a big step towards Amell. "After this day, when my crew and I go back to Wano, we will celebrate your death and your crew''s destruction. And when we do that I will drink your blood using your head as the mug." Kaido''s voice sounded savage and his anger had clearly brought him to the brink of madness. "You will regret going against me when I rip your dear grandson in two in front of your eyes." Kaido changed target and his gaze landed on Byakuya and he disappeared in a speed that was surprising for a man of his size. Amell could perfectly follow his movement and after he shook his head, he moved after Kaido. And before Kaido reached Byakuya''s location, Amell appeared exactly where Kaido appeared and struck him in the chest. Amell watched Kaido''s body get buried in the ice and Kaido spat out blood from the sheer force behind Amell''s punch. "You never answered my question. Do you know what this is?" Amell looked around the battlefield and then he turned his gaze back down on Kaido. "This is a slaughter!" -------------------------------------------- End Chapter 157 - Chapter 159 The fighting had truly picked up speed, but it was nothing like Kaido had expected it to be. Instead, it was exactly what Amell described it to be, a slaughter. The common pirates belonging to the Gotei was on average better equipped and better trained than any other pirate crew, emperor or not. They completely massacred Kaido''s crew and the once beautiful bright-blue coloured ice was now stained red in most locations between the two emperor''s ships. Kaido was climbing out of the crater that Amell caused by using his body. His wounds were healing but every hit from Amell felt like someone picked up a warship and hit him with it. Kaido was furious and he locked eyes with Amell that floated casually above the crater. Amell summoned a small ball of pure wind to his hand and aimed it at Kaido''s ship, "Say goodbye to your only way out of here," he released the ball and it travelled the distance in less than a second. *Boom* The entire ship was blown to smithereens and the incredible outburst of wind completely swallowed all three ships and within seconds thousands of tiny pieces were all that was left of Kaido''s three ships. "AMELL! I''LL KILL YOU!!" Kaido roared and his Haki spread far across the battlefield and knocked out countless pirates. And even most of the reporters that had been on Dressrosa already and got caught up in this war were knocked out as well. They all stood on the shore and recorded the entire battle to the best of their ability, albeit now there only a few reporters left that were still conscious. "Come, let''s play some more," Amell dashed forward and punched Kaido in the chest while simultaneously dodging his club. Kaido was sent sliding back on the ice with blood rushing out from his mouth like a waterfall. "Take a good look around, Kaido, you are losing," Amell said while covering his right index finger with his wind. He swiped vertically towards a group of beast pirates and a massive wind blade appeared and completely cut apart every single pirate in the group. Huge amounts of blood decorated the ground and Amell accidentally let out a smile and the surrounding got heavy as his killing intent seeped out from him. "Boss, you''re getting a little excited aren''t you?" Hisoka stepped out from behind Amell almost like he had been there all this time. Amell glanced at him, "Just my old self taking a peek at the surface." "Sure," Hisoka said and giggled to himself. Amell shrugged his shoulders and continued saying, "Hisoka, take care of the headliners, and go nuts," Amell said and pointed towards the headliners that were leading the charge of the beast pirates still conscious. "On it, boss!" Hisoka said and faded away from view. After he disappeared, Amell turned to Kaido, "Should we end this now?" he asked his fellow emperor in a casual tone. Kaido had gone beyond his normal madness. After hearing Amell''s question, he roared out his warcry and his body started to change drastically. He was turning into his dragon form. Soon, a massive dragon floated on a bunch of weird clouds above the battlefield. His shadow covered many of the ongoing fights and everyone looked over to either admire or inspect his dragon body. "At least he''ll die in his coolest form!" Cal that stood on the ship said stoically. "After everything he has seen, I can''t believe Kaido still thinks he has a chance here," Vash said. He, Cal and Toshiro didn''t need to join the war so they just sat back and enjoyed the show. "Some people just don''t learn." Toshiro didn''t even look at the battle going on, he was busy sculping tiny statues of ice. Vash nodded along knowingly and said, "Very true," Kaido and Amell had started trading blows with each other. Their fight destroyed whatever they came in contact with and took the life of anyone stupid enough to stand too close to them. Kaido was using his full strength in this fight and every swipe of his claws brought incredible power with them. The speed at which they were fighting made it impossible for anyone at the Headliner level to follow. The wind pressure from their clashes caused the ice to be destroyed all over and craters of different sizes were created wherever they passed during their fight. "Come on, Kaido, you can do better than that!" Amell said while deflecting hundreds of punches from Kaido''s dragon form. Amell had thrown casual taunts at Kaido through this whole fight and they served to anger him to greater heights. This whole day seemed like nothing more than a joke to Amell, and that was what bothered Kaido the most. "Heat breath!" Kaido opened his mouth and shot his breath attack at Amell, but it missed as the commanders expected. Though it missed him, it kept travelling towards the three commanders standing on their ships observing the battle. "I''ve got this," Cal said and her right eye started shining in a slight golden light. Then she gathered magic in her mouth and shot out her Heat Breath to stop Kaido''s. And stop it, it did. The two attacks collided in mid-air and caused a massive explosion that destroyed a very big part of the ice, and with it killed many more pirates. King that was currently in a brawling match with Guts looked over, ''Right eye of the Naked Goddes. Allows her to copy any ability she sees as long as she has visual contact with her target. Another extremely annoying opponent to deal with.'' he started formulating a plan in his head while trading blows with Guts. "Kaido, how are you feeling? Sensing the despair of your men yet?" Amell smiled evilly. He drew his sword and disappeared from view, "AAAAAAAH" Kaido''s agonizing scream soon sounded out as Amell had appeared in front of his face and pierced his left eye. "Turns out you''re not immortal after all," Amell said and pulled out the sword, and a flood worth of blood started streaming down from his left eye socket. "AMELL!!" Kaido roared and started swiping his claws at lightning speed at him, but his arms stopped suddenly when Amell raised his finger in the middle of dodging all his claws. "Not so fast, Kaido. The people of Wano has a deep-rooted hatred for you so I will elect myself to play the role of avenger and punisher." Amell looked at Kaido that had completely stopped moving. "First, you used fire to initiate your rule over Wano, so let me use fire to end your rule over that country." Amell turned his palm upwards and summoned a flame to his hand. "Let me show you hell!" He flew over and placed his hand on one of Kaido''s massive dragon fingers. And the flame started seeping into Kaido''s skin, and immediately you saw his expression twist from anger to absolute pain. "AAAHHHAA!" Kaido started to roar in pain and agony. The place where Amell placed his palm started melting and just within seconds, bones were showing out in the open. This was the first time anyone had ever penetrated his skin as far as anyone inside the beast pirates crew knew. Jack that was being toyed with by Byakuya was shocked and completely horrified by this. King panicked and abandoned his fight with Guts immediately and flew towards Amell with rage and killing intent flowing out of every pore on his body. "AMELL! YOU DIE NOW!" King flew over in his full dinosaur form. Amell saw him coming and signalled Guts to leave it be. Amell moved his finger and Kaido''s massive claw swiped at King when he was close enough to not be able to dodge in time. "What!?" King couldn''t dodge in time as Amell predicted so all he could do was raise his arms in defence and get sent crashing down into the ice. He struggled to get out of the hole his body created, and when he got up he had shock and confusion written all over his face, rightfully so. "Lord Kaido! What are you doing?!" He yelled, but Kaido kept screaming in pain as the flame had turned almost all of his hand to ashes, and it showed no sign of stopping. "Kaido is not the one steering this ship now," Amell said and moved his hand, and King saw how Kaido''s massive arm moved exactly as Amell''s did. "What did you do to him!!?" King roared furiously. He flew up purely on emotion alone. He spewed out a massive cone of fire at Amell. "Not gonna cut it," Amell pointed his finger at the fire and it all stopped advancing. It instead started rotating and decreasing in size until it was the size of a basketball, and then he sent it back at King. And when it collided with King''s body, a massive fiery explosion took place that shook the battlefield. "How are you feeling, Kaido?" Amell looked at him with no pity, nor mercy in his eyes. Kaido couldn''t answer, let alone hear what Amell said, the pain was so unbearable that Kaido had almost fainted from it, and if he hadn''t gone mad from it yet, he wasn''t far from that state of mind. King was on the ground badly hurt. His body was slowly healing, but he could barely stand anymore. Sheepshead, the headliner ran over in a panic, "Sir King! We need to retreat! Everyone is losing, and we have only killed a handful of Gotei footsoldiers. No commanders or Vice-captains have died on their side, yet we keep losing more people every minute." He said in a not so respectful tone. King wanted to refute him, but on what grounds could he possibly do that. He was too hurt to fight a commander and let''s not even think about fighting Amell, that was impossible for even his immortal captain. "Keep fighting, we have no ships to escape in! Either we die or they die! That was the captain''s orders! Keep fighting!" King roared over the battlefield. He slowly stood up, and he had reverted to his human form. He had blood all over his body and a determined expression decorated his face. This was a man who knew he was gonna die, but fully accepted it and embraced it. "You''re insane, King! We stand no chance!" Sheepshead screamed and started running away. Unfortunately for him, he didn''t get far as two bandages swished past King and wrapped themselves around Sheepshead''s legs. A woman completely covered in bandages from head to toe came flying through the air and kicked him in the back so he face-planted down onto the ground. "What happened to all that macho talk, little sheep? Not that long ago, you said I was a foolish woman for trying to stand up to you." She lifted his head slightly off the ground and kissed him on the cheek. "See now, you just stole a kiss from me, that warrants some proper punishment." She slammed his face down on the ground hard enough to break his nose. "Sir King! SAVE ME!" Sheepshead yelled towards King, but the big man didn''t move an inch, he simply stood there and watched this. "A traitor can die a traitors death. Kill him!" King said sternly to the bandaged woman. "As you will, Lord King!" She said playfully and quickly and scarily efficiently snapped his neck, ending his life in the blink of an eye. "What is your name, girl?" King said and took a deep breath in. "Aroma," She said and bowed slightly after having stepped off Sheepshead''s body. "Funny name," King said stoically. He cracked his neck and started walking towards her, "He was a traitor and a coward, but he was still a pirate on our crew, so let me reward you for killing him by also snapping your neck." He said threateningly. Aroma showed little to no worry at King''s threatening words. Heavy footsteps sounded out behind King and Guts growling voice reached his ears, "That will only happen if you manage to survive your fight with me." he came walking while dragging his massive sword behind him. Without warning, he started dashing towards King and brought his sword down on him. King defended against the sword with his arms, but even though he used Haki, the sword still lodged itself in his arm causing King to scream out in pain. "As the captain said, playtimes over." Guts used the rest of his strength and cut off King''s entire arm using his sword. The blood from his arm flowed out like a river and coupled with King''s agonizing scream, it made for a terrifying scene. "It''s nothing personal, I promise," Guts punched him in the chest, making King fly across the battlefield towards where Jack was lying unconscious. He had been knocked out by Byakuya and no one knew why Byakuya hadn''t killed him yet, but Jack''s men had long since escaped or gotten killed by Byakuya. Guts lept over and crashlanded down on King''s body with his knee first causing a massive explosion. Another painful scream came out and Guts drove his sword through King''s belly, staining the ground red. "You were pretty entertaining, I''m sorry to see you go already." Guts said with apparent apologetic words, but as his sword was ripped out of King''s stomach and instead got driven straight through his chest, there were no emotions on Guts face. "You are truly brutal when once you truly start fighting," Byakuya said as he sat casually upon Jack''s body. He was wiping a great deal of blood away from his blade, blood that quite clearly came from Jack. Guts looked over at him, "And you? Why let Jack suffer any longer?" Byakuya shrugged his shoulders at the question, "For all the people he has tortured over the years, I see this as justice." "That''s not like you. What happened to the apathetic Byakuya we knew?" Byakuya stood up, "Nothing, just think of me as the grim reaper of vengeance. I am simply handing out the punishment this man deserves." he raised his sword and walked over to Jack''s head. "He deserves a painful death and that''s what he''ll get," Byakuya sliced at Jack''s throat and a wound opened up and blood started flowing out. Jack''s eyes popped open and he wanted to scream but no sound came out. His gaze landed on Byakuya that stood on his chest with his sword dripping blood down on his body. He knew he was gonna die within seconds, but there was nothing he could do about it, his body had no strength left from the severe beating Byakuya had administred since their fight started. ''Ho-How did this happen? Have they always been this powerful?'' Jack found no comfort in knowing death was only seconds away, ''the captain was wrong. There is no reason to seek this feeling out.'' His vision started to blur. As his consciousness escaped him all he saw was Byakuya with his bloody sword standing over him like the grim reaper himself. "Whatever makes you sleep at night, Byakuya" Guts watched Jack bleeding out with an apathetic expression. He was rarely if ever bothered by the sight of brutality. Byakuya wiped clean his blade then sheathed it again, "Now only Kaido remain. Kenshin will clean up Wano, so all we have to do now is to finally annihilate the beast pirates." "Easy enough," Guts turned around and started walking towards the left-over beast pirates that were spread out over the battlefield. "I''ll take care of the rest," he said and started running, while his feet left holes in the ground wherever he stepped. --------------------------------------- End Chapter 158 - Chapter 160 Amell floated in front of Kaido''s body with his golden-coloured emperor sword. This was a blade specifically crafted for Amell. The sword was nothing like the one the Light unit agent carried around. The incredible detail around the hilt spoke of great royalty. The pure golden blade had a small golden light coming off it and it gave off a real worldly pressure to the especially weak-willed individuals gazing at it. "Do you understand now, Kaido? You and your crew were never our equal, and I sincerely apologize for making you think so. If you had understood the difference earlier maybe you wouldn''t have lost everything this day. But you can''t change the past, now can you." Kaido had reverted to his human form already and he was lying on the ground slowly dying a torturous death. His face had lost all colour, indicating no life in his body. But his eyes held an incredible flame of anger. He was staring at Amell with pure unadulterated hatred, not thinking about how close he was to die. "It-It''s impossible for y-you... You can not stop i-it!" Kaido said and coughed up some blood. "Are you talking about your great war? May I ask how exactly you will start when you won''t live past today?" Amell''s voice was powerful and deep, and it demanded attention from everyone on the battlefield. "No matter that I die. This world has always travelled down the path of destruction. It will happen one way or another. If I can''t start it, someone else will, maybe you will, Amell!" Kaido started laughing while blood was spewing out from his mouth like a volcano. "I will not play into your fantasies, Kaido. But let me tell you something. If a war does happen, you are a fool to think I will allow it to consume this world. The moment I arrived here and created the Gotei Thirteen, this worlds fate was placed upon my palm. Nothing shall happen in this world without my approval." Amell''s voice went dark and it spread despair on the souls of the remaining beast pirates, "You''re the one living in a fantasy, Amell! A war is coming! You can''t stop it!" Kaido was laughing like a maniac. Amell activated his conqueror''s Haki and just like a pulse wave, it spread across the battlefield and knocked out every single remaining beast pirate. "Kaido, that''s where you are wrong. War isn''t coming, war just ended!" Amell raised his sword with a stoic expression. Kaido''s Haki flared up one last time as he screamed, "AME..." the golden sword came down and separated Kaido from his head before he could fully scream out and curse his name one last time. "Your death is tragic but it was overdue by a few decades. The blood you spilt in the name of your fanatic beliefe in war is on my hands." Amell sighed out loud and sheathed his sword. He took a look around the battlefield before locking eyes with Byakuya and waving him over. He appeared before him in a flash, standing on one of his pink petals. "Byakuya, this war is over! Finish off them all, we don''t need them in this world anymore. And make sure Kaido''s fruit comes into our possession." Amell was referring to the unconscious beast pirates scattered across the battlefield. "Yes, grandfather!" Byakuya said and disappeared in a flash. Amell turned back to Kaido and summoned a flame to his hand. "The least I can do now is give you a proper funeral." Amell''s flame quickly changed colour and quickly became pure white. The ice around him started melting and the Goteu pirates standing around admiring him backed off because they suddenly felt themselves having a hard time breathing. "Goodbye!" He said and sent the flame towards Kaido''s body. When the flame touched Kaido''s body, it took no more than one second for the flame to consume the corpse of one of this world''s emperors. Amell took a breath in and then breathed out, "Good. This proved to be quite a productive day after all. Now I just need to talk to that flamingo boy." He stretched his arms and disappeared from sight like teleportation. ----------------------------------------- End Chapter 159 - Chapter 161 On the Grand Line, on the desert island, inside the Alabasta kingdom, Robin was walking down the dry and sandy roads leading to Crocodile''s casino. She walked like royalty and she held her head high, looking down on anyone crossing her path. After meeting with Amell, she realized her identity once again. She was the granddaughter of the Enigmatic emperor. The strongest emperor, no doubt. After their meeting, she started to pay attention to how she carried herself and how she talked to people. Her entire aura had changed and you could see a mini version of an emperor growing inside of her. From nowhere, Minerva appeared and snatched her away from her current path. They appeared on a random rooftop almost like teleportation. Robin had to take a step to steady herself. "Minerva, what did I say about doing that!" Her tone was audible and domineering, nothing like the previous her. But if you paid close attention you could still hear that timid and laid back personality through her tone, since she wasn''t quite used to acting like Amell yet. "Apologise, lady Robin, but I thought this was quite exciting news, so I got carried away." Minerva gave Robin a newspaper and Robin looked at the page Minerva had already pulled up. "W-What!? A war? Is Grandpa okay?" Robin asked urgently after reading the first words on the page. Minerva nodded, "Keep reading!" she said impatiently. "H-He killed Kaido? Grandpa!" Robin said and fell on her butt. She let go of the newspaper and closed her eyes. "Isn''t it awesome!" Minerva was almost bouncing around in excitement. "No! It is not awesome!" Robin raised her voice and glared at Minerva. "Grandpa is all I got, and I just got him back! I don''t wanna lose him again to some stupid war." Robin fully believes Amell was the strongest in the world, so it wasn''t that she doubted his strength. "But you didn''t lose him, didn''t you read the rest. Kaido lost big time. It was a complete slaughter." Robin looked up at her and sighed, "Yeah, I know. But that doesn''t mean I''m not allowed to worry about him. Losing focus for one second is all it takes to die in a war, it doesn''t matter if he is the strongest in the world I still don''t want him starting wars around the world. Especially not wars with emperors." Robin breathed in and out, trying to calm her beating heart. "If you''re worried about him, train and join him on the battlefield so you can look after him yourself," Minerva said and sat down next to her on the ground. "Do I look like someone that belongs on the battlefield?" "Not really, then the way I see it, you only have one option." "And what''s that?" Robin asked curiously. "Believe in him. No one can hurt him. Believe that!" Minerva threw her arm around Robin''s shoulders. "You say that now until I am the one crying at his funeral." Robin laughed a little to herself. She felt a little pathetic for not being able to believe in her grandpa. "That will never happen. I am serious when I say that I think the captain is immortal or something. The stories I''ve heard about him, I don''t know how people survive things like that if they''re not immortal." Minerva laughed out loud. She hit Robin on the back and stood up. "If you say so," "Damn right I do! Now cheer up kiddo, you can''t have that gloomy attitude when meeting with Crocodile." Minerva grabbed hold of her and they both disappeared and reappeared on the street again. "Damn it, Minerva, stop doing that! I am gonna throw up!" Robin had to start breathing deeply and calmly so she wouldn''t throw up. "Get used to it, kiddo!" Minerva said and winked and disappeared from the street. Robin sighed and gazed up at the clouds in the sky. ''Grandpa, be safe!'' she soon started making her way towards the casino. ************************************ Marineford was one of the most fortified places in the world. Not since the Gotei invaded this base many years ago has anyone even come close to that feat again. Since that time, the Marines has gone through many changes within itself. Among the biggest changes is the Three Admirals of the Marines. Especially Bradely, his presence within the Marines changed everything for them. The emperors couldn''t move freely around the New World anymore since Bradely could fight equally to Shanks, Whitebeard and Kaido without sustaining high amounts of injuries. He was a prized possession and the Marines and World Government regarded him as a stronger player on the board than even Garp The Hero. Inside Sengoku''s office, all the Marine Admirals and some extra personnel were having a meeting about the recent war between Amell and Kaido. The plan had been to intervene in the war, but it ended before they could reach Dressrosa. The Gotei had wiped the floor with Kaido at a speed Sengoku didn''t expect. "How do we go about this now? Anyone?" Sengoku asked the room filled with veteran Marines. "Well, what do we know as of now?" Tsuru, a Vice-Admiral, and one of Sengoku''s oldest friends spoke up calmly. Very few events would shake her anymore, but this war sure had done so. It came out of nowhere and ended almost immediately and the Gotei disappeared without a trace like usual. These were troubling times, and she would be the first one to admit that the Marines were losing ground against a single emperor. "We know Whitebeard has come forward and personally defended Kaido''s territory against Big Mom''s advances. What we don''t know is why he is doing this. We have information of Shanks meeting with Amell, but nothing of Whitebeard and Amell meeting. As of now, an allience between them can not be confirmed." A nervous-looking Marine that stood at attention behind Sengoku reported to the group. "That''s it?" Bradely asked stoically. As usual, he wore almost no emotions on his face. "We also have reports of Marco fighting Katakuri on an island near Wano. The reports say Marco came out victories and nothing about whether Katakuri is alive or not." "Fourteen years of silence, and as soon as he appears we may have two wars back to back. How is it possible for one man to cause such a headache for us?" Sengoku sighed out loud, he glanced at Garp, "Anything about the Gotei''s location yet?" "Nope, ghosts as usual," Garp said while leaning back with closed eyes. His tone was calm and relaxed, but his mind was anything but that. He really didn''t like the direction the world was heading in. "How is it that we know nothing about their movements but they know everything about ours?" "There is the theory that they live in the sky, but that just can''t be proven," Tsuru said. "Should I travel to the New World to stop another war from breaking out?" Bradely asked, trying to change the subject. "Yes, we need all the Admirals in the New World to stabilise the balance. We can do nothing until Kaido''s territorial war has been dealt with. The emperors are needed to thoroughly maintain the balance again. We will observe for now, but we shall not allow another war to break out." Sengoku spoke diligently. "Understood," Bradely said and under his eyepatch, his Sharingan lit up in a small bright red light. ------------------------------------------ End Chapter 160 - Chapter 162 A few days after the war with Kaido, Amell was sitting inside his office with Sylvia on his lap. They were reading the newspaper and laughing together, "I didn''t think it was possible for you to be any more famous than you already are, honey." Sylvia said and sipped on her tea. "Yeah, my attention was never to garner more attention on me. I am of your mindset, I wholeheartedly believe the fame I already had was enough." Amell changed the page in the paper and out from it fell a bounty poster. He caught it in his grip before it escaped his reach. He placed it on the table and when he saw it he shook his head and sighed out loud. "What do they expect will happen by increasing my bounty?" He showed it to Sylvia and she shrugged her shoulders at it. "I don''t know, honey. But your bounty is starting to become impressive." She said calmly. "So it wasn''t impressive before? When was the last time you had a five billion bounty?" Amell laughed casually and took a sip of his whiskey. "That was not what I meant, and you know it. But isn''t your bounty the highest in history now? A little over six and a half billion. That''s a lot." Sylvia said and gave him a kiss on the cheek. "I don''t know. Bounty has never been anything I care a lot about. But I think mine is highest, but who cares." Amell burned the bounty and placed a hand on her belly and smiled. "The only thing that matter to me is you and this little human growing inside of you." He said calmly while carefully rubbing her belly. "Yeah, about that. Are we sure our baby will be human?" Sylvia said to him. "What do you mean?" Amell looked at her with confusion evident on his face. "I mean, with all the things you can do, are you sure that you''re human still?" Sylvia raised a good question. Amell hadn''t thought about that in many years. What was he? He convinced himself for a long time that he was and will always be human. But maybe Sylvia was right, maybe he had somehow transcended his own race. After some quick thinking, he answered, "I don''t think that is something we have to worry about, love. Even if I am not a human, I am still our babies father, and you better believe I will rip apart anyone coming to hurt our family." Amell said seriously. "That''s fine and all, but try and not do that a lot in front of our baby, we don''t wanna traumatize our child," Sylvia said with a smile. "I promise." Sylvia nodded in satisfaction, "Now, what''s our next step? Are you gonna take over Kaido''s territory together with the other three?" "No! I will not remove the emperor system entirely. I will just remodel it slightly. I will never use the Gotei to rule without mercy. Like in the Elemental Nations, I will make sure things are fair, but I will use the emperors as peacekeepers over the world, and they will work for the Gotei." "Are you sure you can control, Big mom and the others. Whitebeard I don''t think will go along with this." Sylvia said, seeming quite troubled by this. "That''s assuming I will actually allow them to keep their status. The emperors will eventually become tools for the Gotei, and those seats will be occupied by people of my own choosing. No more free-willed emperors. In my worlds, there will always only be one free-willed emperor. And that is whoever sits upon the throne of the Gotei." Amell spoke proudly of his new system design. "Are you sure that will work?" "Yes! I am sure of it. Without the World government, this world will find peace soon enough. Plus, for our baby, I will tame any world in the universe." "It appears I made the right choice when I chose to stay by your side all my life." Sylvia giggled and leaned in to rest her head against his chest. "Definitely. You will always be safe as long as I''m around." "Okay, enough with the flattery. I have stuff to do so I can''t laze around all day long!" Sylvia grew a determined expression and struggled free from her husband''s grasp. "And don''t you have emperor duties to do?" "I suppose so. Love, if you see Orlando out there, ask him to come to see me, I need to have a word with him." Amell said. Since they arrived back here in this world, he had barely been in contact with Orlando. There was a two-part reason for this, one was that Orlando was still angry at Amell for forgetting him in the Elemental Nations, and the other was that Amell had promised Orlando and Gold total freedom to do whatever they wanted. Reason for this was that Amell no longer needed Orlando to travel long distances on. He was faster on his own, so the only times he called Orlando back personally was when he needed to take Sylvia somewhere and he didn''t have time to do it himself. "Will do, but I doubt he is here," The two pirates standing by the door opened them up for Sylvia while bowing their heads. She gave them a smile and walked out of the room. "Ash, go fetch our guest. It is time her and I had our meeting." Amell said to one of the pirates standing at the big double doors. "Yes, captain!" Ash yelled loudly before running out of the room. Amell leaned back in his chair and stared at the ceiling. He closed his eyes and his mind began to wonder. So much had changed for him in just a few days. Since the moment he took the head of Kaido the New World exploded in chaos and confusion. The World Government was furious with him, and the Light Unit had mobilised all their forces to try and locate and arrest Amell. Though this went without any success. After the Dressrosa war, Amell together with his entire crew disappeared from the world once again. This was exactly what made the world so afraid of him. He showed up, killed an emperor and disappeared without a trace. In the New World, Big Mom had moved in on Kaido''s territory, but in response to this, something truly unexpected happened. Whitebeard had moved in and stopped any and all advances she made on Kaido''s islands. The thing that perplexed Sengoku was that Whitebeard didn''t make a move on Kaido''s territory. He simply stopped Big Mom and declared all of Kaido''s islands off-limits. This, of course, caused the Marines and the World Government to suspect that he and Amell had a secret alliance, albeit nothing of that nature could be proved. The doors to the office opened up and Ash rushed in with a woman behind her. It was one of the Headliners of Kaido''s crew. "Thank you, Ash. Leave us!" Amell said in his emperor tone, making her very nervous. "Yes, captain!" Said both Ash and his companion and they left the office. "Ginrummy, welcome to my office!" ----------------------------------------- End Chapter 161 - Chapter 163 "Ginrummy, how are you feeling?" "F-Fine, S-Sir, l...Lord," Ginrummy felt tiny and helpless in front of his physical presence. On top of not knowing how to address him, she couldn''t find the courage to look him in the eyes. "Just call me Amell. No need for formalities." "Okay. W-Why am I here?" She glanced back at the double doors leading out of the office. She then took a second to inspect the office as a whole. And she had to admit that she had never seen a bigger or more impressive room than this. "To listen to my offer. Are you willing?" Amell put no pressure through his voice. He gestured for her to sit down on one of the chairs in front of his desk. "What offer could you possibly offer me? I am a nobody, better to just let me go," she didn''t have any confidence about her current chances of survival, but that didn''t mean she wanted to die. If there was a chance to get out of here alive, she would do whatever it took to make that happen for herself. "True, you are indeed a nobody as you are now. Sitting in front of me is a nobody, someone who broke down from just looking into my eyes and realizing how weak she is in comparison." He leaned forward and simultaneously she unconsciously leaned back. "How does that feel, Ginrummy? How does it feel to be a nobody? Someone who runs at the first sight of real danger?" His voice hit something deep inside of her, and her confidence and anger surfaced for a single sentence worth of time. "I am not that person! I am just not stupid enough to fight a losing battle!" Ginrummy''s little tantrum wasn''t stopped by Amell. She herself caught on to who she just yelled at, and she fell down on the chair as she had stood up for that little speech. "O-Oh god... I-I''m sorry, I didn''t mean to yell at you, Sir!" She bowed her head, her whole body shaking. "No, do not apologize. That is what I was looking for. So, are you now ready to hear my offer?" Amell leaned back with a calm smile. The atmosphere in the room got unusually peaceful and it helped to calm her fast-beating heart. "I suppose," a quick answer while still having her head lowered, not daring to look at him. Amell took out something from behind the desk and placed it on the desk. It was a strange-looking fruit and Amell stroked its surface. "Have a look, do you know what this is?" "A devil fruit?" Ginrummy would never claim to know more about the world than an emperor, but she found it quite strange if Amell assumed she didn''t even know what this was. She had lived most of her life in the most dangerous sea in the world. "Correct. But that''s not really what I am asking. I am asking if you know what fruit this is." Amell rotated the fruit using his hand, giving her a complete view of it. "No, sir, I do not know." "Then let me give you a hint. A giant club, a body like a giant and suicidal tendencies." Amell enjoyed watching as realisation appeared on her face. Her face twisted from confusion to utter shock. "C-Captain... He is dead?" "They all are. But as you know now, this is, or was Kaido''s devil fruit." "And why are you showing this to me. You can not possibly be thinking of offering that to me! I already ate one." "About that, I removed the devil fruit you had. Incredibly ugly business those artificial fruits." Amell enjoyed another show of various emotions running amock on her face. "Y-You removed it? W-What! HOW?" She stood up again and yelled at him. She had never heard about anyone doing this. "Try using it if you do not believe me," Amell said casually and sat back. And Ginrummy tried to use her Zoan fruit, but nothing happened. She couldn''t transform, nothing happened. She sat down with a panic-stricken expression on her face. It took quite a few minutes before she looked back up at Amell. "W-Why me!? What''s the catch?" She didn''t know what to say to this. But one thing she learned from living this long was, in a pirates lifestyle, nothing''s free, ever. "Glad you asked. The catch is that you serve the Gotei. I will say this now, and it is up to you whether you believe me or not. The Gotei will control the world eventually. Well, we already do control it, we will just wait a while before we make it public. And with this fruit, you will be one of the four most important and powerful pirates in the upcoming era." "Four? Are you offering me an emperor position?" "Yes. Not what you think though. My emperors will be servants of the Gotei. Peacekeepers of the world. So in simple terms, you will be below me, but above the rest of the world. So, what say you?" Amell''s tone was deadly serious and his gaze started putting real pressure on her body. "If I eat this, I will gain the powers of Kaido, but forced to join you?" "Exactly! You are catching on quick." "I accept!" Ginrummy reached over and took the fruit, and Amell didn''t stop her. She looked at it for only a second before taking a bite of the fruit. She immediately showed an ugly expression from eating it. The sour, almost sun-drying garbage taste made her want to throw up on the floor. "How is it?" Amell asked her as she was on her knees on the floor and trying not to throw up. "Disgusting!" She said after finally succeeding in swallowing it all. "Good, that means it''s working." A bright smile dressed his face, but it served to only anger her further. "Bastard!" She whispered under her breath. "Fantastic, one of four done!" Amell said and leaned back on his chair. "Now, let us discuss what comes next for you." ---------------------------------------------------- End Chapter 162 - Chapter 164 Amell and Ginrummy had been inside the office for a couple of hours at this point and discussed the future. Mostly the hours were filled with her expressing her worries in forms of hundreds of question spewed at machine-gun speed that Amell tried his best to answer. She had yet to even show interest in trying her new devil fruit, she was most worried about how she was gonna take over for one of the most powerful pirates in the world. And during this time Amell had been nothing but respectful and kind so she started acting a lot less shy and drawn back when talking to him, she even started addressing him as Amell without staggering in her speech. "Amell, about Wano, I do not seek to rule as a tyrant. I would very much like a small compact crew instead of a whole country. A crew fits me a lot more." "Much like red-haired than? You want a few good loyal men instead of taking over the empire Kaido created." Amell was drinking whiskey and smoking a cigar, much like a regular crime boss. "Yes, exactly. You can do with Wano as you see fit, I am not interested in that place at all." "Not to worry about that. My third commander has been in your country for a couple of weeks now cleaning up all of Kaido''s men. And about Wano, I will not be taking it. They have suffered enough, and there are plenty of decent samurais that can still lead that country in the right direction. After the Gotei has cleaned out the major corruption, we''re pretty much leaving that place alone, unless something major happens that will force us to step in again." Ginrummy did not doubt his words anymore. She did not trust him completely, which was understandable, but he had shown that he was fully capable of keeping to his word. He had shown her more decent leadership in two hours than Kaido had done in years. This feeling she had that this man could do anything is what made her accept his offer. "I am impressed, Amell. You have great personal power, and your empire can rival both the Marines and the World Government, and yet, I see less corruption in you than a standard Marine foot-soldier. Why is this?" Ginrummy tiled her head to the side and stared into his eyes. She was no longer afraid to meet the gaze of this man directly. "Your eyes show you the truths that are lying only at the surface level. You have to look deeper. There is corruption in everything, no one is an exception to that rule. The only difference between me and the Marines, for example, is that I control my corruption. I know what it looks like, and what it seeks, they don''t. They allowed corruption to shape them a very long time ago, and now that has become their identity, so on some level, I feel sorry for them." Ginrummy showed a disturbed expression and she started thinking back on her life as a Headliner for Kaido. She thought for a second that she had finally found a place where she could be free from deep-rooted corruption, but as Amell said, corruption would be present evermore and it is something everyone has to learn to live with eventually. "Say, about Whitebeard, what is the deal there? Why is he doing what he is doing? He is going all out for you and I do not understand why." "Who knows," Amell shrugged his shoulders, "I believe he is trying to stop another annihilation war between two emperors. No matter how long he stands in the way of Big mom, she will never go after him like I did Kaido, and both of them understand that. Both Whitebeard and Big Mom understand that two emperors can not disappear right after another. The New World would go up in flames if such a thing happened. The changes I have in mind for the New World needs the emperors to stabilise it a little longer by themselves." "What war is he stopping? Isn''t a war brewing between them already?" Ginrummy couldn''t see the benefits in Whitebeard''s actions. After all, if Amell wasn''t sure, then it would be even less likely that she will understand the reason behind one of the oldest and most pirates in the world. "I think Whitebeard came to the conclusion that I was coming for everything Kaido owned, and he didn''t want me to go annihilate Big Mom as well should she interfere in that. As I said, the New World can not lose two emperors back to back. It would take a very long time to settle the chaos that would come from losing two emperors in about four or five days. Whitebeard doesn''t want that chaos in his sea, or at least that is my guess of his reasons." "Pretty good guess, I think. I have a lot to learn if I want to survive as an emperor." Amell smiled and nodded before saying, "At least you have one of the most powerful devil fruits in the world. With some proper Gotei beatdown training, you will rival Big Mom in no time." "Ginrummy pouted her lips cutely, "So, not Whitebeard or Shanks than? Will I ever catch up to them?" Her pouting became stronger when she Amell''s teasing smile. "Whitebeard is not impossible to surpass, especially if you train with my commanders. But still, that boy holds world-destroying powers and the climb to surpass him will not be easy for you. About Shanks, forget it for now. Considering Shanks is my personal disciple, don''t try to set him as a goal, for now, girl." Amell''s smile turned into a burst of hearty laughter. Ginrummy''s hands came slamming down on his desk with incredible ferocity. "WHAT! Red-haired Shanks is your disciple!?" her body stood erect while she stared un-blinkingly at him. "Oh, yes. A very long time ago when Shanks was still an immature kid I saw great potential brewing in him, so I appeared before him and offered to train him, and him only." "What did he say? Was he an emperor back then?" Ginrummy''s mouth had the greatest "O" shape he had ever seen in his long life. "He refused immediately!" Amell''s laughter continued. "So, I started beating him black and blue until he accepted. It took seventeen days of beating him close to death then healing him and rinse and repeat before he accepted my offer. Shanks will power is far from human and except for me, no one can kill him. Only Alucard, my strongest commander can win over him. Shanks can easily fight to a draw with my second strongest commander." Ginrummy''s brain went on a holiday and it took her several minutes to recover. Suddenly she slammed her hands down on the table again, "Then why is he laying so low? If he is stronger then Whitebeard and Kaido and the rest, why is he letting them take titles as strongest human and such? Shouldn''t his territory be massive if his power is so impressive?" "Shanks cares nothing for titles. I trained him over a decade ago when you were just a little kid. Back then Shanks and I put a plan into motion that will change the world, and ever since those days he has been doing his part in this plan. Shanks is a true friend to freedom for this world, and in time you will see what powers he wield." Amell''s tone was calm and collected, but Ginrummy''s emotions were going through a rollercoaster. "W-Why are you telling me this? How can you already trust me with this information?" She asked quietly. Her mind was spinning and she had to sit down to not faint. "I can read minds," Amell leaned forward, ''Like this," his voice appeared inside her mind suddenly. She jumped up on her feet in total panic and on her way up her knee hit the desk and completely destroyed the part she collided with. S-Sorry!" She got out before falling down on her chair again. "No worries," Amell said and removed a piece of wood out of his hair, "You gained immense strength when eating that fruit, so this was expected to some degree." he started efficiently removing the rest of the pieces of wood from his hair. "B-B-But, mind reading, how is that possible? And what can you see!?" Her tone was panicky as if she had great secrets inside her mind she didn''t want to let out. "How this is possible stays in my family. Plus, only people with my blood in their veins will ever be able to learn this." He said casually. "A-About, ehm, what I t-think of you, j-just ignore that please..." "Ah, about that. I am flattered, I am. You are quite beautiful, but I am married and loyalty is something that means a great deal to me. But, you have my word that anything related to your feelings I saw inside your mind will never escape my mouth. I stake my marriage upon that promise." "Thank you. S-So mind reading is how you know if someone is loyal to you?" She asked, slightly disturbed about the idea that her mind wasn''t her own. "Among other things. But I never read the mind of an Ally unless I suspect something is wrong. I respect your privacy, but disloyalty is something I have absolutely zero patience for, so if I suspect betrayal, you should know I will always find out." His tone went deadly and Ginrummy got a chill that travelled up her back. "I-I understand!" She said with a head lowered in both embarrassment and fear. "I can''t believe how perfectly it fits you!" She said after several minutes of contemplation. "What?" '' "Your title. The one who named you the Enigmatic Emperor is a true genius!" Her words caused Amell to lose his seriousness and start laughing out loud instead. "You think so, do you?" He smiled sweetly at her. "Well, you have nothing to fear from this emperor as long as you stay loyal to the Gotei. "Yes, Sir!" Ginrummy said loudly and proudly now that her mood had bettered, and she had somewhat managed to swallow the fact that Amell was a monster on a whole other level. -------------------------------------------------- End Chapter 163 - Chapter 165 Outside of Amell''s division building, Albion and Rick, two of Amall''s inner circle members were sparring with each other. Their battle stopped the workflow around this floating island. It wasn''t often you would see these inner circle members on the island, so when they were present and sparring, most people stopped what they were doing to observe the fight. Nothing brought people together than watching a good fight. And whenever Rick and Albion were fighting, mass destruction was always something that would follow. Rick was considered mad and completely crazy, and Albion, to most, was just one large walking muscle that would bring destruction upon whatever he touched. Amell came walking out hand in hand with Sylvia and the pirates that would usually welcome him didn''t notice his arrival. He looked over at what had grabbed all of their attention. "Oh, my, they appear to be at it again." Amell looked down on his wife. "Then stop them before they destroy my garden again! Last time they destroyed a month of my hard work!" Sylvia pushed Amell towards the two rampaging pirates. "Fine!" He sighed and started walking towards them. He raised his finger like a school principal and both fighters felt foreign energy seep into their bodies. Their movement started slowing down and slowly and without warning, both of them fell on their knees. "Boys, we can not have you brawling our here and destroying everything my wife builds up." Amell''s voice had no evil intent in it, but still, it caused a chill to spread throughout everyone''s bodies. "Captain, I was so close to killing this giant, just give me one more minute, please!" Rick pleaded and pouted his lips. "No! Go and calm down, both of you!" Amell held two tiny rocks that he threw at both of them and they got launched far back from the force behind the rocks. "No more fighting, continue working!" He said in his emperor tone. All the pirates scattered and quickly went back to their duties. Sylvia came walking up with Ginrummy now in tow, "Thanks, sweety. You just saved my garden so I think that garners a reward of some sort." Her tone had an obvious sensual quality to it, and it caused Ginrummy to smile awkwardly. "I need to take a rain check on that reward. I have an overdue meeting with Whitebeard closing in. It just so happens I know exactly where he is heading and I need to have a long and nice talk with him." Amell leaned in and kissed her on the cheek. "When I come back you better be ready for me to rock your world, love!" He said and turned to Ginrummy. "How do you feel about meeting Whitebeard?" Amell''s smile worried Ginrummy for some reason. When she looked at his expression she got this feeling like things were about to become hectic. She said a silent farewell to her quiet lifestyle and then nodded firmly. "Let''s go!" She said. "Great. Sylvia, I don''t know how long it''ll take, but make sure you mention my name to our child at least once a day." "Got it!" Sylvia smiled at his dedication as a father. She loved every part of Amell, but his fatherly side had always been her favourite one to observe. Suddenly a very familiar eagle''s cry sounded out around the island. "Orlando?" Amell looked up at a specific place and Sylvia and Ginrummy followed his gaze. "Who is Orlando?" Ginrummy who had just become a member had no idea about who that was. Orlando had yet to make a public appearance in this world so the only ones who knew about him were the members of the Zero division. "That''s my husbands mount!" Sylvia said, her tone containing slight pride for how mighty and beautiful Orlando was. Except for his attitude, Orlando was perfect for her. He was strong, had an incredibly soft feather to snuggle into, and on top of that, he was the most beautiful creature she had ever seen. "I had no idea that you had a mount!" Ginrummy barely had time to finish her sentence as a large shadow appeared on the ground and a giant eagle soared down from above the clouds that floated above the island. With magnificent white feathers, he sparkled in the sunlight and just from the sight of him, Ginrummy could tell that Orlando was crazy powerful. The eagle never bothered to hide his mighty aura, so a powerful fighter could instantly recognize him as a truly mighty creature. "Wow! That is one big eagle, he must be at least forty meters tall or something." Ginrummy stood with a wide smile on her face. Just gazing upon Orlando''s body filled her with lots of feelings she never expected. "Orlando!" Amell''s voice rang out and caught the attention of the eagle slowly descending towards the ground. His piercing eagle eyes landed on his partner and another scream came out and he dove down towards the ground. He brought with him, an incredible windstorm that knocked almost all pirates down on the ground. Amell protected Sylvia and Gunrummy from being knocked down, and Orlando''s talons caused mini craters where he landed. Amell and Orlando stared at each other for a long time without saying anything. That was at least what everyone else saw. Those two were conversing with each other through just looking into each other''s eyes. Orlando leaned down suddenly and snuggled his beak into Amell''s embrace. He closed his eyes as Amell started petting him. "I guess this means you have forgiven me?" He said and smiled while continuing to pet Orlando. Orlando raised his head and nodded at him. "Great! So, since you are already here, wanna come along with me and Ginrummy here? We are visiting a friend of sorts." Amell saw his giant eagle partner nod. "Then it''s settled. Ginrummy," Amell turned to look at her, "Orlando had given his okay for you to ride on him, so get on quickly before he changes his mind." Orlando lowered his wing so she could climb on board. "A-Are you sure it''s safe? Won''t I fly off?" She was moving very slowly towards the wing, and this didn''t sit right with Orlando. He bowed down and used his mouth to lift and fling Ginrummy onto his back. "Well done, partner!" Amell gave him thumbs up and started floating on his own. "Sylvia, take care of things here while I''m gone." Amell waved to his wife then quickly flew down towards the ocean with Orlando close behind him. ------------------------------------------------- End Chapter 164 - Chapter 166 Somewhere in the New World, a giant eagle soared just a few meters over the ocean surface. It''s beautiful feathers reflected in the water and the ocean all around them sparkled like diamonds thanks to the sun shining down on the world. A great distance ahead of them laid anchored a big and mighty ship. No one in the world wouldn''t recognize this as the emperor''s Whitebeard''s flagship. The simple sight of this mighty beast of a ship could instil fear into even the most fearsome pirates. This was Amell''s destination and some ways away from Whitebeard''s ship a Marine ship had anchored as well. They were here to observe Whitebeard as all emperors have Marine observing them, and usually, Whitebeard never cared about this, and that was true this day as well. He could destroy that Marine ship in seconds but to him, they were not worth the effort of standing up. On Whitebeard''s ship, the pirates were screaming at each other. This was what they called a party, alcohol and screaming, nothing beats that according to them. And if they weren''t screaming and arguing they were laughing about everything and nothing. Majority of them were drunk enough to forget how to balance. The pirate up in the crow''s nest suddenly froze in fear as something appeared in the distance. He immediately leaned over the edge and yelled down towards deck, "Amell approaching! And a giant eagle!" His voice echoed out over the ship and it caught the attention of the giant man sitting in the middle of the ship with a mug of alcohol in his hand. "So, he has finally decided to talk, huh," Whitebeard drank the last of his drink and then threw the cup away. "Settle down brats! We have important company!" His voice got the party under control and everyone went quiet. "For a moment I thought he would never come. Should we prepare for a fight?" Marco, the first division commander said from the side. He had a drunken smile on his face and he among a few others was the only ones that didn''t look afraid. "He is here to talk, Marco. Lower your weapons brats!" His voice was powerful yet soft at the same time. An eagle''s cry sounded out as Orlando passed over the ship suddenly and brought with him a great wind storm. The high ranked commanders managed to stand firm on the ground, but all other pirates on the ship fell. After Orlando past by, Amell came floating down on the deck with all eyes on him. "Edward, nice to meet you!" He said calmly. His aura was majestic and even Marco swallowed down his anxiety trying to stand and look as confident as possible. "My name is Whitebeard!" His tone was powerful and full of anger. "Edward Newgate, Whitebeard! This meeting has been a long time coming." Whitebeard showed obvious displeasure at his attitude, but he sat there glaring at him for a few more seconds of silence. "Speak your mind!" Was the only words he said to him before returning to silence. "I know you do not seek war, but that is impossible. I just came here to say that when war arrives step aside and you and your family don''t need to suffer. Should you participate in the coming war, you and your entire family will suffer the same fate as Kaido." Whitebeard''s haki exploded out and large visible sparks appeared between them for a second. "You dare to come here and threaten me? You have guts, I give you that!" Whitebeard''s crew started getting ready for a fight. They could feel their captain anger rising. "Gus is not the only thing I have. You do not want this fight, tell your brats to stand down, or they will get hurt." Amell let the wind pick up and he made the water waves rise. Whitebeard signalled them to stand down. "I knew you were an intelligent man." Amell placed his hands behind his back and the winds calmed down again, "I need to introduce you to someone." He waved at Orlando up in the air and he dropped Ginrummy down towards the ship. Amell commanded the wind to carry her down. And she landed safely on the ship. "Meet Kaido''s legacy. I will hand everything he owned to her. She is to become the new emperor, the only question is will you fight me when I move into the New World?" "Her, an emperor? That''s not a title you have the right to give out to anyone. The New world sea is the sea of the free and if you move here to take that away I will kill you." Whitebeard said angerly. He didn''t take lightly to people stepping over him or his authority. "The world is changing, Edward. I came here as a courtesy to warn you not to interfere. But, now that I have gotten my answer, we both know what happens the next time we meet. I play for the good side, try and figure that out before it''s too late." Amell looked at Marco. "Take care of him, kid. Whitebeard is a great man, it would be a shame to lose him for stupid reasons." His words greatly shocked the first division commander. There was a genuine concern in Amell''s voice and those paying very close attention could pick up on that. "I did not come here to seek a fight, so I will leave before this escalates as it would be a real shame to have to kill you." Amell smiled at the giant man grabbed ahold of Ginrummy. He started floating with her in his grip. "The emperors have a deadline, as does everyone in this sea, be sure to stand on the right side when the great change comes." After those parting words, he flew up, causing a sonic boom as he left. "Captain, that was the strangest exchange of words I have ever heard. Do you know what he meant by all that?" Marco asked. "A new era is coming," Whitebeard said quietly. ---------------------------------- End Chapter 165 - Chapter 167 In the land of Wano, depression used to be the word to describe the state of this country, but after Kenshin infiltrated the country, corruption started dissipating slowly. About the same time as Kaido died, Kenshin started the cleanse of Orochi and his corrupted politicians. It took him only one night to completely clean out Flower Captial where Orochi had his castle. Together with Annabelle, the clone woman from Amell''s inner circle things went very smooth. Kenshin only had one big threat left, and that was Queen, Kaido''s last powerful subordinate. The few Headliners that stayed behind on Wano with him ran away when the news came of Kaido''s death. Only Queen and a few other pirates stayed behind to try and start the crew up again. Somewhere on Wano a group of men walked around cheerfully and observed the beautiful scenery. "Captain, what the hell happened in this country? It''s so depressing."One of the men said to the shirtless man with a hat covering his eyes as his head was lowered. "That''s to be expected though, Kaido just died, you can''t repair a country overnight." Another man answered him. The captain of this little band still said nothing, he quietly observed the land. "ACE!!" A young cute girl in kunoichi styled clothes came running from behind them with teary eyes. The men sighed out loud all at the same time, "Looks like she found us, Ace," a man known as masked Deuce said to his captain. The captain named Ace turned around and looked at the girl that came running towards them. His expression went from stoic to a big happy smile in one second, "What are you doing here, Tama?" He asked the little girl that was exhausted from running from her village to catch up to them "You left WITHOUT telling me! How DARE you!" She pointed at Ace with an angry pout. Ace laughed, "I knew you were gonna start crying, and I don''t need a crybaby slobbering all over me before I leave." His voice was cheerful as his laughter increased. His crew were all shaking their heads with smiles that said they had already given up with these two. "I am NOT a crybaby! You are!" Her hand started shaking from how intensely she was pointing at him. Her pouting face transcended anger and entered the realm of adorable. "You are already crying and I haven''t even said goodbye yet, hopeless." Ace shook his head. "You''re mean! When I become a kunoichi I will beat you up!" "Sure, sure, whatever you say!" Ace and his crew started laughing. Suddenly Ace dashed forward and scooped up Tama in his arms, and where she had been standing an arrow landed and cracked the ground. "Haki?" Ace observed how the arrow was many times more powerful than any normal arrow. The only explanation he knew of was haki infused arrows. "Guys, ready up, we''re in for a fight." And how right he was. Further down the road stood a couple of dozen pirates, and behind them stood Queen, the man trying to revive the Beast pirates. Ace put down her and looked into her eyes, "Run home now, you can not be here, this will be tough even for us." His words caused worry to build up inside her. "No, run with me, I don''t want you to get hurt." She tried to drag Ace along with her, but his body wasn''t moving. "Sorry, kid, this is our fight. Now go on, run!" Ace pushed her away, and even though she didn''t wanna leave, she still started running. "Captain, do we run or fight? That''s Queen, I don''t know if we can win this. Plus, all of those pirates with him know at least rudimentary haki. This fight could lead to our deaths." Deuce would follow Ace anywhere, even into certain death. "Might I suggest standing back." A voice rang out behind them that none of them recognized. Ace looked back and saw a man dressed in casual samurai attire and his brown hair tied into a bun. He had a calm-looking expression on his face and his stance was lax. "Rurouni K-Kenshin! What are you doing here?" Deuce asked with a shaky voice. "Queen is my prey, I can''t let you steal my kill." His killing intent started to slowly leak out of him, and just from the small amount that escaped him, Ace and his crew started backing off. This was not a man they could compare with. "He''s all yours," Ace said and signalled for his crew to withdraw. "Kenshin, so you finally dared to show your face to me. For all the damage you have done to the Best pirates, I will pay you back a hundred times over!" Queen pointed at Kenshin and yelled for his men to charge. As the pirates started charging against him, Kenshin placed a hand on his sword, "The Beast pirates no longer exist." He took a step and appeared behind all of the charging pirates. As the sound of a sword sheathing was heard all their head slid off their shoulders showing a clean cut on all of them. "I could have killed you anytime I wanted, but saving you for last sure made this more enjoyable." Kenshin dashed forward and planted a fist into Queen''s stomach making him fly back hundreds of meters. Kenshin looked back at the men standing with their jaws on the floor. "Nice to meet you, Portgas D Ace. Your uncle says hello." After that, he disappeared. "Uncle?" Ace stood confused and tilted his head, "Did he mistake me for someone else or something? I don''t have an uncle." His crew showed just as much confusion as their captain. Kenshin had arrived at Queen''s location and watched as the giant fat man struggled to get up. "I was planning to take my time with you. But, I changed my mind. I feel disgusted being close to you, so I will end it now." Kenshin took one step forward. Queen pulled out a gun and fired, "DIE!" He yelled in one last attempt to survive. Kenshin disappeared into thin air and Queen felt a sword on his neck. "Dimensional step," Kenshin said and sliced the throat of the last All-star. "You should feel honoured. Very few get the pleasure of seeing my greatest speed up close." Kenshin took much pride in the fact that he was known as the fastest man alive, His dimensional step ability was not many that knew off, but with it, he outclassed Kizaru by many times. Kenshin took a well-deserved breath. "Finally, the era of lord Amell has begun. Let us see what fools dare to step in his way. I swear I will cut down anyone that stands in your way, my lord!" He looked up at the passing clouds and smiled cruelly. ------------------------------ End Chapter 166 - Chapter 168 Three months passed since Amell''s meeting with Whitebeard occurred and to say it shook the foundations of the authorities of this world is an understatement. Not only did they not fight, but they also seemed to have left the meeting with somewhat of an understanding. This was at least what the reports said and Sengoku felt another headache coming on. As usual, he was sitting at his desk reading the Admirals reports. Those were currently the only ones he cared about, he couldn''t give less of a crap about super rookies and the like, he had emperors to deal with and not enough men to go around. He had now a very good idea why Kong left this job as early as he did. A knock came from the door and they opened and Bradely walked inside. "You summoned me!" His tone stern and steady like a military man. He walked forward and stood in front of Sengoku without sitting down and making himself comfortable. "Yes, I did indeed do that. I need to know how confident you are in beating Big Mom." Sengoku looked at him with seriousness written all over his face. His tone made it clear he had a good reason for asking. "Very. I could most likely kill all sweet commanders as long as Big Mom does not interfere. Against her in a one on one, I have a seventy per cent chance of killing her. And to be clear, the other thirty per cent representing my death only comes into play should her commanders join in as well." Bradely had always hidden his strength from the Marines and showed just enough to make people wonder if he could beat Garp and Sengoku alone. No one in the world had ever seen his true power revealed. "Good, because I need you to deliver a message to her. We as Marines must control the sea rather than these despicable pirates. This mission will be highly dangerous." "What kind of message are you looking to deliver?" "More of a statement! We need to reassure the world that we still have a say in what happens in these seas. In the New World, there is an island best known as Candy Land. It gets its name from being one of Big Mom''s main supplies for her candy. At this moment, Cracker is residing on this Island. Do I need to say more?" "No! Only want question." Bradely said. "Yes?" "Do you want his head on a silver or gold platter?" Bradely got a small chuckle out of the fleet captain. "A silver will do fine, we haven''t won yet so let''s save the gold one for Amell." He said and went back to his reports. "Yes, Sir!" Bradley''s tone didn''t change but in his mind, he was planning out all the different torture methods he would try out on this fleet captain. He said nothing more and walked out of the room. *********************** A few days later a few miles outside Candy Land, a blur was crossing over the ocean at the speed even faster than lightning. It took but a few seconds for that blur to reach the shores of this Island. The blur stopped on the island at last and now on the rocky shore of the Island stood, Bradely, one of the Marine Admirals. Tasked with hunting down and killing Cracker, one of Big Mom pirates sweet commanders. Bradely straightened out his suit and put on his marine coat as he was forced to take it off when moving at that speed or else he would never see it again. After that was done with he started walking towards the location where Cracker was last seen. Bradely came upon a small village that from appearance alone looked to be sixty years behind this world''s most advanced technology. The housing was simple, wood, but only some houses used brick. The village was dead with no sound nor any people around. That was until the sound of multiple gunshots was heard and Bradely performed several dodges to avoid them all. Suddenly countless people with funny candy dressed outfits came rushing out from everywhere and surrounded him. "It was brave of you to come here alone, Bradely. And you suck at sneaking." A large man with biscuits dressed on his body said as he stood behind his army with a mocking smile. "Who the hell told you I was sneaking? I don''t give a crap if you knew I was coming from the beginning. Nothing was gonna stop what is about to happen." Bradely raised his hand and gestured for the army to charge. "Kill him!" Cracker said angerly. At his command, his army charged Bradely with weapons in hand. Bradely titled his head to dodge a bullet and then charge into the army. "Too fast!" A pirate said as he saw the blurry figure of Bradely show itself for a second before his neck was snapped. Another four necks were snapped after that unfortunate pirate met his fate. Bradely stopped in the middle of the army. "Ready for death, Cracker?" He punched a pirate in the chest so he flew and crashed into Cracker. Nothing happened except the pirate got even more hurt from crashing into Cracker''s hard body. "Let me make this quick!" Bradely raised his eyepatch to reveal the Sharingan he possessed. The eye started changing the pattern and as it did, he drew his sword and sliced another pirate across the chest, killing him. "Zone magic: Pierce" Bradely voiced the magic to life, and then he used his Sharingan to mark the chest area right above the heart of every pirate in the army. He then raised his sword and performed the piercing motion in mid-air. All the pirates spit out blood and fell on the ground with a pierced heart. "WHAT!?" Cracker stumbled backwards after seeing what just happened. He had seen it, so now he was just working on believing it. But time was not something he had a lot of now, Bradely had already appeared before him and with one solid punch Cracker exploded into dust. "Come out, Cracker or I will just come to you, and you know I know where you are," Bradely said and looked towards one of the houses in the distance. Suddenly dozens of biscuit soldier appeared from thin air around him. The real Cracker came walking out from behind the house. "I will show you the meaning of pain!" He created another doll around himself, and together with the other dolls, he rushed at Bradely. "Let''s see you try!" Bradely sent a sword slash at one of the dolls destroying it instantly. He looked to the others and they all had used haki to cover most of their bodies. Cracker could use remote haki on his dolls so they were all jumping at Bradely with their black blades raised high. "For someone weaker than me, you would indeed be right in acting so confident, but unfortunately for you, I was stronger than the current you when you were just a little kid." Bradely caught one of the dolls blades in his hand and swung its body around knocking every other doll away. He slashed apart the doll he holding and looked at the others. "How about this!" Bradely started changing suddenly. A massive armour appeared from within him and covered his entire body. It was silver in colour and had twelve arms. "Feels good to get to let loose after so long of holding back everything." Bradley''s new body started moving and all the arms started extending and flying towards the dolls. When they caught them in their grip, the silver arms crushed the biscuit dolls without effort. Bradely looked at the real doll that the real Cracker was inside of. "This is the end for you." He summoned a spear to his hand that was made entirely out of the silver fire. In one powerful thrust, he threw the spear at Cracker, and the spear beat the speed of sound as soon as it left his hand. It pierced straight through the doll and crashed like a meteor down on the island and the spear fully split the Island in two. A massive crack appeared from one side of the island to the other because the spear had pierced the entire island and split the Island in two in the process. "Hm, I thought I adjusted the power accordingly." He sighed out loud, "No matter, I can easily blame all civilian death on Cracker and his men." Bradley''s Susanno dissipated and he fell on the ground again. "I promised Father I wouldn''t destroy any more Islands as a Marine Admiral, how should I explain this? Hm, maybe I don''t tell him." He placed his hand on his chin. "Yes, that works. I simply won''t report the existence of this island, hopefully, we don''t have records of it either." Bradely started walking towards the ocean while the Island was falling apart around him. ---------------------------------------- End Chapter 167 - Chapter 169 Bradley walked into Sengoku''s office while the fleet admiral was on a break and chatting away the daylight with his oldest friend, Garp. The Hero marine raised his gaze to meet eyes with Bradley. "Bradley, I hear he sent you away to deal with Cracker, how did it go?" Garp said with his mouth full of cookies. "Mission successful. Cracker lies dead at the bottom of the ocean. There were some complications, our fight happened to destroy the island. Candy Island does not exist any more. And during out clash, Cracker took the island''s civilian population hostage, and with the island''s destruction moments later, they all died. I am the sole remaining survivor." Bradley stood in front of them both and lied through his teeth, just like he planned to do, and he did it perfectly. Garp and Sengoku did not doubt him in this matter. To them, Cracker wasn''t an emperor, but they still assumed Bradley had between there and an Admirals level of strength, so it made sense to them that their fight would cause mass destruction. They didn''t know Bradley could have just swung his sword ones and split the island into a billion pieces together with everyone on it if he wanted to. They still believed that Cracker would be able to put up quite the fight since he was still an emperor commander. "How unfortunate. And how exactly did the island get destroyed? Your devil fruit I assume?" Sengoku and Garp were the only ones that Bradley told about his imaginary devil fruit. He had none, he had only magic, but he had said to them that he possessed a devil fruit on par with Whitebeard and that was the reason why Sengoku could accept reports he came with about islands being destroyed by him alone. "Yes. Now that the Island is destroyed, we should be aware of Big Mom making a move. She cares more about these islands then she does of her children or even her emperor title. She will not let this go easily." "We are aware, Bradley. Garp and I were just discussing how we will react when Big Mom eventually makes a move on us. What we do know is that she won''t ever attack Marineford. Ever since Gotei''s attack sixteen years ago, Marineford is too protected for her to do anything. Whitebeard would potentially be the only one with the ability to destroy us here." Sengoku said seriously. He took a sip of his tea and continued. "Now, what we discussed her most likely move to be taking her personality into account would be to go after you. Setting a trap, direct assault on your ship. She will mostly do something along those lines so I want you to be safe. I know it isn''t in your personality to run from even Amell should he come after you, but try and keep an extra eye over your shoulder for the next few months because she will make a move against you." Sengoku looked at Garp and he nodded in agreement. "You are right in assuming I would refuse to sit locked up in this place for my own safety. Big Mom is very welcome to come and personally knock down my door for that simply means I don''t have to run so far to get rid of that fat sadistic pirate." Bradely was known for cursing at pirates and generally showing a nasty attitude towards them and every one of their kind. And most of that was his true feeling as well. He refused to see his Father, Amell as a simple pirate. Kaido, Whitebeard, they were all pirate scum and Amell was a million times mighter than any of them so he hated that his father was associated with their kind. "Well, good to know you''re confident, kid!" Garp said laughing. "Garp, I am older than you! Stop calling me kid or I''ll show you exactly how Cracker spent his last moment on this earth." Bradley''s relationship with Garp was good and he liked talking with that giant man-child. "Fine, fine! What''s the plan now then? Are you returning to the New World right away?" "Indeed! I have some business to take care of over there. A pirate that slipped through my fingers six years ago, he has surfaced again." Bradley said stoically. "I see, so it''s him again. Good luck with that, and don''t die. You know his abilities are even more dangerous than an emperors entire existence." Sengoku nodded in understanding for what Bradley wanted to do. He was rather worried though since he knew how strong that pirate was. "I will! Now, if there wasn''t anything else I will take my leave." "You can go, we are done here!" Sengoku said and released Bradley. "See you later, Fleet Admiral! And you, kid!" Bradley looked in disdain at Garp before walking out of the office. ----------------------------------------- End Chapter 168 - Chapter 170 A week later in the New World on a tiny little island with just a medium-sized castle on it, screams of terror were heard from all over the island. Inside the run-down castle hall, a group of pirates were on the ground pissing themselves while crying profusely. "WHY ARE YOU DOING THIS, Y-YOU MADMAN!" The pirate captain looked up at the sadistically smiling man sitting on the chandelier. All around him on the floor was his crew with arms missing, intestines spewing out of their bodies, and some of the pirates were currently beating each other to death with any means necessary. They used their teeth, they gouged the eyes out of their comrades who they fought together with just minutes ago. "Why? I don''t think this has a rational explanation for it. If I am mad as you say, how could I possibly explain why I am doing what I am doing? Can''t it be so that I''m just crazy?" The man laughed sadistically and something appeared in the middle of his index finger and his middle finger. "Time to say goodbye, kid. Think twice before entering the New World. This sea is not for the weak!" The thing that the man now held was a playing card and he threw it and pierced the head of the pirate captain sitting there crying. "I think that is the first pirate to piss his pants in front of you, Hisoka." Bradley appeared at the doors to the castle. He looked inside and saw what could honestly only be described as hell on earth. "This is disgusting, Hisoka. I knew you liked to play around with your victims, but if this continues, our fake feud might actually turn real soon enough." Bradley spoke to Sengoku and Garp about a pirate he headed to New World to capture. That was Hisoka. They had set up this fake feud between them six years ago when Bradley was still under judgment for whether he had what it took to be an Admiral. This feud helped elevate his position and throughout the years they had a few real sparring battles disguised as real life and death battles so their feud would not be forgotten. "Sure, that day will only come when the captain declares it so. And the captain loves me so you''ll be stuck with me forever!" Hisoka smiled and jumped down from the chandelier. "Good to see you again, Bradley!" Hisoka and Bradley casually bumped fists and Hisoka said, "Let''s get out of here, these fellas will kill each other soon enough. It''s starting to become depressing to watch on how much difficulties they have in killing one another." He started walking out of the castle and now the pirates outside had stopped screaming, indicating they had likely all died after a fierce struggle. This was the reason Hisoka was so feared in the New World. Extreme mastery of observation haki is the only way someone can ever escape his illusions. This rookie pirate crew was a perfect example of what Hisoka could make you do with just one simple illusion. Back when Akainu was delivered by Hisoka to Marineford, Sengoku declared that anyone that doesn''t have high mastery of observation haki is forbidden from going near Hisoka. Once caught, without haki it''s completely impossible to escape his illusions, and his illusion has no time limit nor range limit. He is among the most famous and feared pirates in the world. The Marine dreads Alucard just a little bit more than Hisoka, but both of them can cause the Marines to mobilise everything to kill them, that''s how scared Sengoku is of those two commanders. "How is Marine life treating you?" Hisoka asked while making his way to his ship. Bradley shrugged his shoulders at the question, "As well as it can, I suppose. I just killed Cracker for the Marines so Big Mom will likely come after me now." His words caused Hisoka to turn around and look at him while continuing walking backwards. "Oh yeah? So that''s why you asked to meet, you wanted me to inform Lord Amell of it. Here I was foolish enough to believe my good friend just wanted to see me after so long." Hisoka stretched out his tongue and pouted sadly. "Stop that, you creepy clown. Just get the message to Father, will you!" Bradley handed Hisoka the envelope containing his full report on the encounter and battle prowess of Big Mom''s commander. "Will do, my absolute best friend in the whole world!" Hisoka took it and simply threw it in the air and it disappeared. Hisoka and Bradley arrived at Hisoka''s ship and it was filled with men and women dressed as clowns. All colours in existence could probably be found on his crew''s clothes. As soon as they got close, a young woman looking to be nineteen years old jumped down from the ship. Her hair was styled as two ponytails with one coloured black and the other one white. She was wearing a feminine and slightly tighter version of Hisoka''s own outfit. Her outfit was also divided between black and white colours. "Boss! How did the show go? I am so sad I missed it, I apologize for oversleeping again!" She got down on her knees with a genuinely pained expression on her face. She was absolutely stunning, but her beauty was somewhat ruined by the obvious craziness seen in her eyes and her exaggerated movement when she talked and moved around. "They sang a beautiful tune, Melody. Though they died quite pathetically so we left early." Hisoka said and shrugged his shoulders. Melody, his second-in-command looked on his in confusion, "We?" She tilted her head. "Yeah, Bradley is here!" Hisoka pointed at Bradley that stood right next to him. Melody seemed to only notice his existence when Hisoka acknowledge him to be there. This was further proof of how mad she was. She would often do this, she even did this to Amell. She once forgot he existed and interrupted him when giving a command to Hisoka as those two came to talk to the emperor. The surprising thing to the guards that day was that Amell didn''t do anything to Melody. Hisoka had immediately knocked most of her teeth out of her mouth then delivered a savage beating so extreme that even Amell couldn''t recognize her. "Oh, hello Admiral!" She bowed in and greeted him in obvious sarcasm. Bradley didn''t wanna bother with her so he pretended to not notice her. "Let''s get on board, we can''t miss it!" Hisoka said excitedly. Melody once again tilted her head at him. "What do you mean, boss?" Her tone displayed obvious confusion. "I told you already! I guess more beatings are needed to improve that memory." Hisoka shook his head in disappointment. "Anyway, in two days, Kenshin and Mihawk will fight for number one swordsman in the world. It''s a secret event and most journalists have been invited by the Gotei and will be there to record it. So we need to hurry!" Hisoka said and jumped up on his ship. Bradley followed, with Melody following last. ----------------------------------------- End Chapter 169 - Chapter 171 At an undisclosed location in the New World, there was a massive gathering of ships that spanned for miles. The ships were docked in a way that they made a circle, and in the middle of this miles wide circle, a large floating stage was located. On that stage stood two men and eyeing each other. These two men were Dracule Mihawk, current candidate for strongest and most skilful swordsman in the world. The other man was Kenshin. The third commander of the Gotei thirteen with a now raised bounty to two and a half billion. That''s right! After he cleansed Wano by himself his bounty was raised by about five hundred million. His bounty could now almost be considered entering current emperor territory. "Sir Kenshin, I have admired you for almost two decades now. I must say before this begins how much of an honour this is for me." Mihawk spoke the truth. He sincerely looked up to Kenshin as he was considered the fastest man walking this earth and one of its best swordsmen by far. According to rumours, not even Admirals had forced Kenshin to take things seriously. During the battle at Marineford when they invaded it sixteen years ago, rumours say he took Akainu''s arm before Garp''s eyes just as a way to say "I am in control here" Not even to kill him, just to show how confident he is in his abilities. "I''m flattered, kid. You have heart, great skill and a lot of determination. I admire you as much. Good luck to you." Kenshin spoke to Mihawk as he would to Robin when she was young or any other kid, despite the man essentially also being an old man now. To Kenshin though, no matter how he looked at Mihawk, he couldn''t see anything other than a child. Kenshin didn''t look old, but like all other commanders, he was quite old. They all had lived two lifetimes worth of time now, with only remembering this one since they were copies of original people from different universes. "It glads me to hear that. I have waited for this moment for sixteen years, and only now, after almost two decades of crazy training do I feel somewhat confident in beating you." Mihawk wasn''t confident at all in defeating this legendary swordsman standing in front of him. For him, the title came second-hand. First of all, his ultimate goal for sixteen years had been to beat this man, and he had felt stuck in his training so he reached out to Kenshin and arranged this match to test how far he had come. "Not good enough! I didn''t come here to beat a somewhat confident swordsman! I came here to fight the man the world declared one of its most skilful swordsmen. Bring that man here, or I am leaving." Kenshin''s entire personality seemed to have changed. His demeanour was dark and evil, and killing intent surrounded him and it was so dense that people over at the ships, miles away felt fear build up. Mihawk stood wide-eyed for a few seconds before closing his eyes and taking a deep breath in. When he breathed out and opened his eyes again, he also radiated killing intent and confidence. "Prepare for the toughest fight of your life!" He said and took out his black blade that was famed all around the world. For several minutes, nothing happened. But from nowhere, Mihawk disappeared and the black blade Yoru sliced the air right next to Kenshin, not because he missed, but because Kenshin had turned his body almost before Mihawk moved. It was almost like he could see Mihawk''s actions before they happened. Kenshin kicked Mihawk in the chest at lightning speed making him fly back at incredible speed. "Kid, you have to do better if you want me to draw my sword." "Better I can do!" Mihawk dashed towards him again, and he reached Kenshin in just a second or two. While running toward him, he released sword slashes powerful enough to slice buildings and ships in two without effort. Kenshin raised his sheathed sword and lightly tapped against the incoming sword slashes to disperse them into nothingness. Mihawk appeared behind him and tried piercing his back, but Kenshin used his sheathed blade to block Yoru''s tip coming from behind. "Do better!" He disappeared and hit Mihawk in the stomach with his sheath causing him to spit out blood. "Get up!" Kenshin said without emotion. Mihawk gripped Yoru tighter and got up. After that, the match started for real. Mihawk swung his sword so fast that only the Gotei commanders among the ships could follow his movements. Kenshin parried everything without ever drawing his blade. Whenever an obvious opening appeared, he would go in with a speed Mihawk couldn''t follow, and make him hurt to know he just messed up and showed an opening. To the journalist, this was an epic and historic fight that would go down in the history books. To the strong pirates in the audience, this looked more like a master training a disciple. One whole hour later, Mihawk was laying on the ground, bloody and exhausted. Yoru was off to the side and he no longer had the energy to even look at the blade. Mihawk could fight for days with opponents equal to him, but Kenshin had delivered a severe beating every time he showed an opening, and this was equal to Garp beating down on a normal Vice-Admiral. That was how large the disparity was between their strengths. "Overall, not bad, Mihawk. You''re skilled so it''s not your swordsmanship that''s lacking. I am sorry to say this, I am simply stronger and faster. Skill is essential, but if the discrepancy between strengths is too much, the skill will not matter for you. Do you understand?" Kenshin knew Mihawk was forty years old, but to him, he was just another youth he was forced to teach a cruel lesson to. Mihawk sat up slowly, though he was almost not able to because of how much his body hurt. After sitting up he responded to Kenshin, "I do understand. I understood as soon as I laid eyes on you that I was not ready yet. But thanks to this match, I have ideas on how to progress in my swordsmanship. Thank you for this opportunity, Master Kenshin!" Mihawk said attentively. This was the only man he would ever show such respect to. "You are very welcome! Now, go and train and in another sixteen years you can come back and challenge me for this title again." Kenshin said and walked away. By the edge of the arena he stopped and looked back at Mihawk, "Take this advice to heart. Taking in a student can sometimes bring more merit then you would first think. Give it some thought, will you." After that Kenshin disappeared and then the event that would soon take the world by a storm had officially ended. ------------------------------------------- End Chapter 170 - Chapter 172 "On your left, Rebecca!" Lubbock said loudly to the pink-haired gladiator as she tilted her body to the left and dodged a sword coming with the intent of slicing off her shoulder. "Thank you, Sir Lubbock!" She said and knocked out the gladiator with a punch straight to the face. Lubbock gave her a thumbs up and snapped his finger causing the body of a large gladiator behind him to be sliced into seven different pieces with blood flowing out over the area ground. "You''re very welcome!" Lubbock caught a whip coming towards his face. "Can''t you see that I''m trying to have a conversation here?" He gripped the whip tighter and took the owner of the whip on a round trip in the air before slamming them down on the hard ground causing cracks to appear and simultaneously splitting the gladiators head open. "You''re not even supposed to be in here! You''re not a gladiator are you?" Another male fighter yelled while trying to strike Lubbock down with his club. The green-haired commander raised an eyebrow and sighed, "No, of course not, I''m not a gladiator! Why would the great me stoop so low when I have fifty thousand men and women that will follow my every command. You are quite the moron, are you not?" He stopped the club with a finger and glanced past the clubhead at the face of the gladiator wielding it. "Are you sure that you have a brain in that head of yours?" He slightly pushed on the club and the gladiator flew off the arena in high speed. Rebecca that struck down another man without killing him turned to Lubbock in confusion. "What are you doing here, Sir Lubbock? And how is it that you can come and go however often you please?" She was genuinely curious why Diamante never stopped Lubbock from killing every single gladiator even though he wasn''t even signed in to this competition. "Easy! I''m awesome! That''s it!" Lubbock felt thousands of death glares from both fighters and audience members zooming in on him. Though nothing about that bothered him in the slightest, he continued killing mean-looking gladiators. He glanced at Rebecca again, "To alleviate my boredom as well. In that war, I wasn''t really needed for anyone powerful so I have this sour taste in my mouth and I can''t get rid of it!" He lightly tapped on another gladiator and made them fly off the arena, luckily for them, they didn''t die of that as they landed in the water. She suddenly looked at him with worry and a great amount of pity. "You are a victim of war as well? I am sorry for what you must have gone through." Rebecca and Lubbock were having this conversation while defeating opponents one after another. Lubbock nodded sadly, "Yes! A great victim, indeed. Jack, King, Kaido. None of them left for me. I-I was left with footsoldiers! Truly sad!" Lubbock wiped genuine wetness away from the corners of his eyes. He then looked up again at Rebecca, "But, another one is coming, and in that one, I will be sure to find some good people to slice up!" His maniac and psychotic personality never seemed to affect Rebecca as she always misunderstood it for literally anything other then what it was. She genuinely thought he was a good guy going through a hard time, while everyone else only saw a sadistic cold-blooded killer. "Unfortunate soul, plagued by war! I will grow stronger and when I have finished my mission I will help you prevent this war as well, Sir Lubbock." She gripped her sword and spoke with great determination. "Wait? That''s not it! We are causing the war, we are the ones that are gonna kill everyone!" He said and killed another gladiator. Rebecca nodded along firmly with small tears streaming down, "Indeed! The humans capacity for war, how awful! I can''t presume to know what you must have been through, Sir Lubbock. Stay strong!" She said and looked up with an angel smile. "What I have been through?" He tilted his head, "Well, torture, slaughter, and killings of all ages. I don''t wanna brag or anything, but I have quite the track record." Lubbock placed his hands on his hips like a certain superhero and stretched, trying to look taller than he was. "Unforgivable! How could someone force a child to go through such cruel acts? It''s a miracle you survived, Sir Lubbock!" Rebecca was full-on crying now. Lubbock just looked at her with utter confusion filling his head. "What is going on here?" He looked around and saw that there were no gladiators left. He glanced up at Diamante and shrugged his shoulders. "Rebecca won, I guess!" Lubbock said and started leaving the arena. "I''ll see you later, crybaby!" He yelled towards the pink-haired gladiator who nodded in confirmation. ''I will liberate your soul from these horrid memories, Sir Lubbock!'' She made a vow in her heart that was so wrong, but so honest and noble at the same time. --------------------------------------------- End Chapter 171 - Chapter 173 Up in the air floated two islands that had essentially merged, but still held their own identities related to their owners. These were the twins floating islands. Lubbock''s made out of reinforced webs, and Toshiro''s made entirely out of ice. Lubbock''s was quite humid, while his brothers were ice-cold all the time. Right now on the ice island walked Toshiro with a floating piece of ice beside him. On this piece of ice sat the only living agent that they had fought on Dressrosa. "This is quite the revelation. This is how the Gotei managed to stay under the radar for however long you have existed. How long has the Gotei existed exactly?" She asked, seemingly very interested. Her agent attitude was gone, what grew forth was maybe something you would see in a scientise, infinite curiosity. "Shut up! I don''t feel like talking." Toshiro continued walking towards his base on the island which was a large ice building. "Oh, come on, I am either dying here in the next few days, or I''ll be imprisoned here for the rest of my life. I am not going to escape this place, and you know that. I have no way off. So, just answer my questions, please!" She said, not with a smile of kindness, but a smile of anticipation. *sigh* "We, the commanders were all recruited at different times, and even the oldest commander was not there at the beginning. Supposedly, the Gotei has existed for five hundred years or so. And as far as we know, Amell has always been the emperor of this empire. And yes, Gotei is not a pirate crew, that''s just a cover, we are an empire." Toshiro said the last part with some pride. He glanced back to see her reaction to this, and it was not what he expected. "So, that means, Amell is older than five hundred years! How is that humanly possible? Is it technology or something?" She didn''t focus in on the point he thought she would. "No, it is not. Gotei has technology that Vegapunk hasn''t even thought of yet. But, his long life is not technology. It''s just him, he has never said anything about it. Alucard has the most information about Lord Amell. He simply states that Amell is so old and wise that he knows the truth to all things. I have no idea what that means, though." He smiled a little and continued, "But, he certainly knows something we other commanders don''t. Lord Amell gave all of us powers way beyond even the ancient weapons and his own powers are truly something to fear. That enough for you?" He looked back at her and visibly saw on her expression that she was currently digesting everything he had said. She finally nodded to herself and looked up, "Okay, let me in!" She said with determination. "What do you mean?" Toshiro asked casually. "I want to join the Gotei, take me in!" She said, causing Toshiro to laugh out loud for the first time in so long. His laugh was real and genuine on every level. "No freaking way that''s gonna happen. Not even if you start claiming you have never been loyal to those dogs, that will never happen." He started walking again, and she floated after him on the little piece of ice. "I was never loyal to them, that''s the truth! I''m a scientist at heart! Let me join!" She didn''t give up, she wasn''t even bothered that he said no and laughed in her face. "No, stop asking!" "I won''t stop! You will have to kill me for that to happen!" She said and showed her stubbornness. "Fine, then you will die!" Toshiro started walking faster towards his home with his prisoner still not showing fear or anything less than absolute determination. "Before I die, answer me this, who is commander number thirteen. The World Government never even got a clue of it!" She almost pleaded for him to answer this one. Toshiro glanced back at her and laughed, "How do you think we always know the movement of the Marines? Living in the sky sure doesn''t give us eyes on everything you do on the ground." He said nothing more, and he didn''t have to. "Someone on the inside. Someone with a high level of clearance. Could be anyone, interesting. Kizaru, Aokiji or Bradley. Garp or Sengoku? If the Gotei is old, is it possible Amell groomed Kong as a spy in his childhood. OH, THIS IS SO FASCINATING!" She yelled out loud while her mind worked overtime. "You figure that one out, lady," And after that, she shut up completely. Small sounds escaped her from time to time, but she was clearly working on this puzzle he set up for her. Gotei''s thirteenth commander was among the most famous and legendary unsolved mysterious in the world for both the Government and the public. ------------------------------------------------------ End Chapter 172 - Chapter 174 Things were progressing smoothly in the Portgas household. A few months have passed since Kenshin was declared as the worlds greatest swordsman. The news came from nowhere as The Gotei held in the event and only certain people were invited to watch it. The World Government was furious with Sengoku because this drew even more attention to Amell and now his commanders started gaining real respect from the public as the greatest swordsman title was something even civilians agreed was respectable. This kind of development was not something they wanted, but what could they do in all honestly. They had one "Weapon" they believed could deal with Amell, but it couldn''t leave the Holy Land. So, they had to just sit still and watch on how Amell slowly turned the world against them and started to replace them. There was nothing they could do as he couldn''t be located by any means they had. Vegapunk had tried for years to find ways of finding the Gotei, but he had no success, just like everyone before him. Far away from all these worries, Sylvia and Amell were discussing the future while riding on Orlando to go and see his nest. "My child will NOT be a fighter, Amell! We have had this discussion before. I want one kid that I can relate to. All our kids wanna be just like you, running around fighting dragons and whatnot. Well, NOT THIS TIME!" She slammed her hand down on Orlando''s back, making him scream in annoyance. "Sorry, Orlando!" She apologized but quickly turned to her husband again. "And I said, I just wanna take our child on a small journey when they turn three or so. Just a small one, we''ll be back in no time!" His tone was soft and sharp at the same time. Sylvia''s anger rose even higher at the stupidity behind his words because she knew exactly what a "Journey" with Daddy would be like. "Every single time you go journeying, you disappear for YEARS! Not with my kid, you''re not!" She palm struck him on the forehead for suggesting something so stupid to her. "We''re immortals, what''s the harm?" "Yeah, so what? Kids only have one childhood! You are not robbing our child of their childhood to teach them how to destroy an island!" "Island? Honey please, my kid? Within ten years, I would have them destroying worlds if not more!" He said proudly but completely forgetting that there are a time and place for everything. Sylvia''s killing intent, which she had almost none of started to appear. "NOT THE POINT!" She breathed in and out and continued in a low tone. "Get off! Orlando, I and my child are going alone to the nest!" She stared unblinkingly into his eyes. "You can''t do that, and that''s my child too!" Amell tried arguing, but Sylvia pushed her hand into his face, "My child has no father, now get off!" She pushed him towards the edge of Orlando. "Fine! You want me off? I''m gone!" Amell stood up and walked off Orlando''s back, free-falling towards the ocean below. Orlando instinctively wanted to turn around to follow Amell down, but Sylvia''s words reached him already, "Keep flying, bird, or we''re having eagle for dinner. Alucard, Bradley and all those guys obey me just like Amell. Don''t force me to get Alucard here to cook you!" Her voice was dark and evil. On the surface of the water, Amell stood and watched Orlando fly away with his wife and child. They had a constant connection so if he wanted to, he could find Orlando wherever he was in the world, but he accepted that Sylvia had a point and deserved to win this argument. She had right when she said that she didn''t really have any kid watching and looking up to her. All their kids and grandchildren all looked up to and followed in his violent footsteps. It wasn''t to say that their family hated Sylvia, they all loved her, and that counts in the commanders too, but none of them followed her footsteps of wanting that quiet life at home with the person they love. *Sigh* "I just want our kids to be safe. If we go away on vacation far away into the universe, who will protect our family? They need to be able to protect themselves. Or, I guess Alucard would do, he could probably stop an entire world''s assault. Maybe I''m overprotective." He laughed a little. After that, a small vibration came from his ear and he pressed the tiny audio device he had in his ear. "Lord Amell, Portgas D. Ace is seeking battle with Whitebeard, he is currently battling Jinbei of the Warlords. Shall we send a commander to rescue Ace?" The voice in his ear asked. Amell grew a smile and shook his head, "No need, I will go. Anything else I need to know?" "Ginrummy is in need of assistance. Big Mom has invaded an island previously controlled by Kaido and she just happened to be there. She is alone and three of Big mom''s children are part of the invasion force, though no commanders have been reported yet." "Oh my, so much to do. This is one chaotic world. Send Byakuya. Permission to kill, Granted!" He said in his emperor tone. "Understood, Lord Amell!" The connection broke off and Amell closed his eyes and started communicating with the elements. "There you are!" His eyes opened and he summoned a large wave and started riding it in the direction of Ace and Jinbei. Chapter 173 - Chapter 175 On an island in New World, a large feminine-looking version of Kaido''s dragon form was fighting three people with apparent panic in her movement. The natural intimidation that Kaido carried wasn''t seen on her, she was thrashing around destroying everything in sight. The three people fighting this dragon was Charlotte Amande, and her two siblings Charlotte Opera and Custard. They came here with a small fleet of ships to take over this island for its rumoured creamy chocolate. Ginrummy in her dragon form had already destroyed their ships and killed all the cannon fodder they brought with them. Even though she was now in possession of one of the most powerful fruits in the world, she was far from mastering it and the combined strength of these siblings was slowly draining her energy. "Big sister Amande, just a little more and she will die!" Custard said seriously with her sword drawn. She had to suddenly jump back a far distance as Ginrummy started destroying the ground where she had stood. "She has very poor control of that fruit. If this was Kaido, we would have died the moment he saw us, we''re lucky a weakling got it!" Custard continued saying in obvious provocation towards Ginrummy. "Weakling?" The dragon''s quite odd female, yet low and growling-like voice asked. She looked directly at Custard with hate-filled eyes. "I will eat you!" Ginrummy was losing this fight badly, but for some reason, her voice still sent a chill up Custard''s spine. She opened her breath and a powerful [Heat breath] escape her mouth and flew towards Custard. Amande appeared in front of her sister and blocked the attack with her haki infused Nodachi sword. "Don''t be complacent. That''s still a dragon, lose focus and she''ll kill you." Amande said nonchalantly while caressing her wrist. It wasn''t easy to block that heat breath, but just from the fact that she could, confirmed that Ginrummy wasn''t even close to Kaido''s previous level. If that had been him, Amande would not have even delayed that breath attack. "Let''s finish her off!" Opera said and summoned a massive wave of whipped cream. He sent it towards Ginrummy. The new emperor dragon sent another [Heat breath] to counter the wave made out of cream. She successfully warded it off, but she wasn''t any closer to winning. "Don''t kill her. Mom would want her, I''m sure." Amande was oldest in this group so she held literally all the authority over them. whatever she said was how they would go about it. Both her siblings nodded and prepared. But unexpectedly, Ginrummy transformed back to human. The siblings could see a bright smile on her face, and she even let a laugh escape her lips. "What''s so funny? Finally accepting death?" Custard asked, clearly annoyed by her behaviour. Ginrummy shook her head, "No, not at all. I just accepted the fact that I will survive and you three will die!" She said happily. Opera started laughing at this, "What do you mean? How could you possibly make that happen?" He really wanted to hear this. "I can''t make that happen, but he can!" She pointed up into the sky, and quite a fair distance above them stood Byakuya gracefully on his tiny little flower petal. He looked down on them with his usual emotionless face. He spoke in a monotone voice, "Foolish! We made her, we gave her that power, how can you be so naive to think we weren''t protecting her." His voice reached them, and the expressions on the sibling''s faces went from confidence and amusement to utter terror. Byakuya stood in league with Kong, Garp and the like, they did not, and they knew that quite clearly. "Byakuya! Fuck!" Amande lost her calm composure and looked back at Custard and Opera. "Flee now! No arguing, I will hold him back for as long as I can. You two survive and report back to Mother, I will die here today! Avenge me later, live today!" She said all that incredibly quickly and raised her sword. "I got it, big sister! We will gather everyone and avenge you!" Custard believed her sister held enough skill to hold Byakuya back a few minutes, enough time for them to escape. Through Opera''s fruit, they could escape across the sea. She and Opera turned around and bolted towards the ocean. But they didn''t get far as something came crashing in front of them. After a second of horrible realization, both of them acknowledged that they were looking at the headless corpse of Amande. "It is warming to the heart to see you have such faith in your sister. Unfortunately, you three are so weak that it''s not even fun playing with you." Byakuya walked down from the sky with Amande''s head in his hand, he held it by the hair and let the blood drip down on the ground in front of the two siblings. "BASTARD!" Custard jumped up at Byakuya on pure instinct with her sword drawn. Opera summoned massive amounts of cream to assault the commander. "Futile!" Byakuya raised his finger and millions of tiny petals flew out from his sleeve and stopped the cream. He raised his hand and at the top of his palm lied one single petal. He blew lightly on it and it disappeared from view. Opera''s body dropped down lifeless on the ground a second later, he had a small hole in his forehead from that very same petal. "Go in without expectations and you won''t be disappointed. I Wasn''t expecting a challenge, and I got none, so thanks for teaching me that valuable lesson." Byakuya leaned to the side and dodged Custard''s sword slash. He tapped her blade with his finger and the blade exploded into thousands of pieces, some of which lodged themselves inside her eyes and skin. "AAAAAAAAAH!" She screamed out in pain after having her eyes and skin pierced by shrapnels of her own sword. "Sir Byakuya, can I finish her off?" Ginrummy came and asked from behind. He had barely woken up from his nap so for a second he forgot she was still alive, the screaming was something he was completely immune to. "Sure, I''ll be going again, I only got four hours sleep yesterday. I am going to take a nap." He started walking up towards the heavens, where only gods and apparently sleepy cold-blooded killers reside. "Told you I was gonna eat you!" Ginrummy said with a cruel smile as her body started to change again. ------------------------------------- End Chapter 174 - Chapter 176 Pillars of flames erupting all around them, two individuals stood trading punches with each other, one a lot more distinct than the other. This was Ace and Jinbei and currently, they had been fighting for five days straight. Reason for the fight? Simple, Ace wanted some one on one time with the legendary Whitebeard. Ace wasn''t as much arrogant as people believed him to be, that included his crew members. He just had great confidence in his power. Jinbei fought with great determination, he had held out against Ace''s powerful logia fruit for five straight days, and on the surface, he looked more energetic than Ace. "Feeing tired yet?" Ace asked with a great smile on his face. He held respect for Jinbei for standing firm in his determination and belief for this long without even showing signs of backing down. Jinbei chuckled loudly and took a stance against him again, "Not a chance, kid! You have no idea how many times I have seen someone like you roaming this sea. You all go after the old man and die quickly after, you don''t need to waste his time, I am enough and I will show it as I will be the one standing in the end." "It''s your funeral! [Fire Fist]!" Ace yelled and Jinbei''s view got occupied by a massive wave of flames rushing at him from the front. [Kairagi] Jinbei crossed his arms and applied haki so they hardened and turned completely black. Ace''s flame hit Jinbei but failed to hurt him as the Fish-man''s defence was one of the best in the world. "Your haki is REALLY annoying!" Ace yelled while breathing heavily. For normal humans, a few minutes could greatly exhaust them, these two had been fighting for five straight days without a break. Ace was dead-tired, and Jinbei found himself in a similar position. "You are unhappy that your Haki is not powerful enough to break mine. If you can''t break my defence, how the hell did you expect to defeat the old man?" Jinbei wore a smug smile. He felt Ace was most likely the one that would be walking out of here alive, but he also felt contentment with how long he had stood and defended Whitebeard''s name and honour. He felt proud of himself, and if death would come for him, he could die happy. "Let me worry about that, will ya?" Ace jumped at Jinbei again and their fight started heating up once more. Jinbei could control water all around him through fish-man Karate, and Ace controlled fire, this was partially the reason why Jinbei could last so long against Ace. Also, he was greatly skilled in haki, but so was Ace, so this match-up was about as equal as they come. A punch to the face, another one to the chest, a third one to the stomach. They stood and traded punches because they were both too tired to walk or run around each other. At this point, the match came down to endurance, which one of them could endure this endless torture the longest. The answer came quickly as Jinbei very quickly collapsed on the ground unconscious. Ace breathed out and collapsed on his knees. "Captain! Are you alive?" Ace''s crew yelled, clearly overjoyed that he wasn''t dead. "I-I''m fine, just hella tired!" Ace cracked his neck and let out a moan of sweet pleasure. "Jinbei, Knight of the Sea. Without my devil fruit, another two years at least before I could defeat him. Damn, he is powerful!" Ace said all this with a smile, indicating as stated previously that he had some respect for the fish-man. "No kidding, you fought him for five days. I have never seen anyone last that long against you before." Ace wore a smirk as he nodded, "Let''s get out of here, I need food and sleep." Ace tried standing up, but his body wasn''t feeling it so his crew ran over to help him walk. As they helped their captain stand up, an outline of a ship appeared in the fog and coming closer to the shore. "Where is the brat that wanted to take my head?" A mighty voice rang out and Ace and his crew saw a giant man standing at the front of the ship with a weapon in hand. "I-It can''t be!" Masked Deuce prepared to fight. He and the rest of the crew could recognize the man on the ship, it was their goal to eliminate him after all. "Whitebeard!" Ace pushed his help away and fully rose to his feet. His body experienced a jolt of energy and fire started appearing on his body as he got ready to fight. Whitebeard jumped down from the ship and started walking towards the Spade Pirates. "So, are you the boy that think you can take my head?" He stopped some distance away from the Spade pirates and looked them over one at a time, and stopped his gaze on Ace. "Run!" Ace looked back at his crew then yelled out a warcry to summon the rest of his energy. [Fire Fist] He summoned forth the absolute last amount of energy he had and hit Whitebeard with an attack bigger than anything he had thrown at Jinbei. Whitebeard raised his weapon and sliced through the attack, cancelling it. "W-What!?" Ace stood dumbfounded and watched as his attack was casually defeated by Whitebeard. He was about to try and throw another attack by summoning upon the infinite stamina supply he and his brothers had been rumoured to possess. Whitebeard stamped on the ground and caused the exhausted Ace to lose balance and fall. He smiled and raised his weapon, "Goodbye, brat!" Whitebeard swung his weapon lightly and activated his fruit at the same time. After the initial cracks formed in the air, the attack travelled towards Ace, ready to obliterate him. But, suddenly, from nowhere a decently sized wind wall grew in between Whitebeard and Ace and it stopped the attack dead in its tracks. The Spade pirates looked on confused, "W-What happened? Ace, are you okay?" Masked Deuce yelled over to his best friend and captain. "Yeah, I''m fine!" Ace said and gave a little wave to his crew. While the Spade pirates, including their captain, were confused, the Whitebeard pirates grew anxious. They were Overlords in the New World, so they knew about other bigshots, and they knew only one person who could manipulate the wind like this. "That specific brat is under my protection, would you mind not hurting him, Edward." Amell came floating down and landed on the ground so Ace, Whitebeard and him created a triangle with their positions. "AMELL?!" The Spade pirates yelled and backed off unconsciously. Now two emperors stood on the same small island only meters apart. This could quickly turn into a fight where their survival rate would be zero. "What are you doing here? Why are you involving yourself in the business of me and this boy?" Whitebeard asked, not hostile, nor friendly in tone. Since their meeting, Whitebeard had spent most hours of the day contemplating what was said. After some time Whitebeard had concluded that when Amell made his move in the New World, he would need to pick a side so his family could survive past whatever happened. This was the reason for him not exploding in anger at this moment, he had chosen one of the sides. "I came here to make that clear, but there is a little too crowded here." For a second, Amell''s aura revealed itself and skyrocketed above anything Whitebeard had ever seen before. Amell''s Haki appeared as a great and powerful ocean wave that swept passed everything on the island. Sounds of bodies hitting the ground reached Ace''s ears as he saw every single Whitebeard pirate collapsing on the ground, even the powerful Marco wasn''t safe from Amell''s willpower. He turned around and saw his entire crew out cold on the ground. "GUYS! WAKE UP!" Ace, in a fit of panic, yelled at the top of his lungs. Whitebeards reaction was a lot laxer. He cleared his throat and spoke up, "Brat, for Amell to do this and allow you consciousness means the secret involves you, I would listen if I were you." His voice reached Ace''s ears and the boy turned to Amell. "What do you want from me? I don''t even know you!" "That''s my fault, Ace," Amell said and sat down in mid-air in the lotus position. "Let me ask you this, why do you choose to carry the family name of your mother instead of your father?" He looked serious but you could see the hint of a smile. "What''s it to you?" Ace started growing suspicious. Did Amell know who his father was, or was this about something else? "Is it wrong of me for trying to get to know my descendant?" Amell said cheerfully. Whitebeard immediately released a chuckle, "I didn''t see that coming!" He shook his head, but beyond that, he didn''t seem to care. Ace couldn''t quite comprehend what was just said. "Descendant? Do you mean me? But, I don''t know you! I have never even seen you before except wanted posters!" "Hahaha, that sounds fair!" Amell looked at Ace''s expression that screamed complete and utter confusion. "Let me formally introduce myself. My name is Portgas D Amell. I''m not quite your uncle, but feel free to call me that anyways!" Amell smiled and said casually. "Wait, wait, wait, WAIT!" Ace stood up abruptly, seemingly full of energy again. "You''re my family?" He looked to Whitebeard, but the old man held a calm and confident smile but remained silent. "Technically, you''re my family since I am a lot older than you, brat!" Amell started floating over to Ace still in his lotus position. "Give me your hand!" He commanded Ace. He grabbed ahold of Ace''s hand after he offered it. "Look at this," He swiped his free hand through the air and water now covered his hand. He placed that hand over Ace''s and the water seeped into his body and disappeared from view. "Woah, what''s going on?!" Ace felt an incredible energy and power rise inside of him. It felt like he could fight anyone, even Whitebeard and win easily. "Rejuvenation water, a secret technique belonging to the Portgas family. Neat, right?" He flicked Ace on the forehead hard enough to knock the boy down on his ass. "Our family is quite special, but you''ll understand in time." "M-My family has secrets?" Ace tilted his head to the side. "Quite a lot!" Amell summoned a small flame to his hand and turned his palm upwards to display the fire to Ace. "What do you think?" "Fire? How is that possible?" Ace touched the flame Amell summoned and it hurt him, even though he was a flame human himself. "How is that hurting me?" He looked at his hand and it was red from touching the fire. "Secret!" Amell said and changed the colour of the flame to blue. The heat changed and Whitebeard could feel it now from where he stood. Ace had to take a step back because the heat started bothering him as well. "Why are you telling me this now?" Ace''s tone turned stern and now that his brain had caught up to the things Amell said he started his questioning. "I have been unable to come and see you for quite some time now, and I just came back from something important so I wasn''t available until now. When I saw that you became a pirate it was all about picking the right time to show myself." "I thought I should at least make you aware that more Portgas are running around. Now, whether you want anything to do with me at all is all up to you. If you choose to never see me again, I understand." Ace took a second to compose himself properly. "Can you teach me how you made that flame so hot?" He looked seriously into his eyes. "Of course. It''s the Portgas legacy made especially for members of our family. I can teach you how to master those flames of yours." Ace bowed low like Makino had taught him as a boy, "Please make me stronger!" He said loudly. "Gladly!" Amell put out the flame he summoned and looked at Whitebeard. "Edward, I''m gonna train this boy and his crew for a while, would you be willing to wait for your fight a little longer?" Amell was polite enough to ask, but his tone told Whitebeard that he wasn''t asking. "Anything to make life more interesting is what I say." He laughed out loud. Amell continued saying, "Also, about the things that transpired here..." He said and glanced at Whitebeard. The old emperor nodded sternly, "I am not the enemy of the Portgas family." His tone stoic and his expression neutral. "Looking forward to working with you some more." Amell gave him a friendly nod, and Whitebeard did the same. "The feeling is mutual, old man" He said casually and started walking away from them. Ace that heard what Whitebeard said looked at Amell. ''Old man?'' ------------------------------------- End Chapter 175 - Chapter 177 Whitebeard had left some time ago, so Ace, his crew and Amell was left alone on this desolate island. The two of them sat next to each other with Amell floating inches above the ground. "Amell?" Ace said with an expression dying to ask a question. "Something bothering you?" "Not bothering me, I''m just curious about whether you ever met my father?" Ace''s mind had been stabilized so he could finally start to process this situation. "You have never really shown acknowledgement towards your father before, why the sudden question about him?" Amell had nothing against this topic of conversation, but he was curious why Ace suddenly asked him that question. He would never read Ace''s mind, this boy was family, and he only read family members minds in emergencies. "How would you know that?" Ace tilted his head to the side. "Just because I wasn''t around doesn''t mean I didn''t protect you." Amell smiled. He took great pleasure in seeing the confusion on Ace''s face. "You are an enigma, I guess your emperor title fits you." He lightly shook his head and continued, "So, stop dodging the question now. Did you know my father?" Ace''s expression became serious. "No, I did not. If I took an interest in pirates earlier, I could have. I never saw a reason to meet him before. When your father and his crew finished their journey I thought that would be it for them, but little did I know that he would start the biggest pirate era in history. I wonder if that was his plan form the start." Amell''s body floated up a few inches and then down again as he contemplated Roger''s intentions. "I don''t think it''s that great, how could someone rumoured to be so powerful even let himself die like that?" Ace wasn''t particularly angry anymore. In his youth, he did hold lots of anger but since meeting Luffy and Sabo, he changed as a person and now he was more interested in knowing what kind of man his father was. "I did not say his actions were great. I don''t agree with what he did for the world in his last moments on it. He started the most chaotic era in history. And let me indulge you in a little secret. Your father wasn''t captured or defeated, he surrendered himself to the World Government. Make of that what you will." His words stirred a reaction in Ace, and he could see a change inside the brat''s eyes. "He k-killed himself?" "Essentially. Your father lived with a very special disease, so he wouldn''t have survived either way. I will remind you of something very important. You are not your father, Ace. Whatever he did or set into motion, you do not have to follow. Family is not defined by blood." "Thanks," Ace listened to his every word, and he was reminiscing about his past. What drove him in the past used to be anger and frustration on everything and everyone, but that''s not how he lived his life anymore and he was happy it was so. "Speaking of family, Luffy is about to begin his pirating adventures, right?" Clearly Ace didn''t think Amell knew about Luffy despite all the knowledge he displayed. Ace''s expression turned soft after the initial surprise settled down. "You know about Luffy?" "Yeah, he sure is something isn''t he?" Amell laughed and remembering his brother put Ace in a good mood. A second past and both of them started laughing out loud. "You boys have grown up nicely. I can''t imagine what kind of hell you two will raise in the future." "Hey, can I ask for a favour?" "Aren''t we family, Ace? Ask away, kid!" Ace''s tone a little serious but he was still smiling. His smile hinted at the intention behind his sudden seriousness and Amell was pretty sure he knew what he would ask of him. "Would you keep an eye on him for me? I know he has grown strong, but as his big brother it''s my duty to worry about him and make sure he''s safe." "Not a problem, I quite like your brother so I would like to see what comes next for him. That goes for you as well, if you ever need my help, whisper my name to the wind." A strong breeze past them by in this moment and added another level of mystery to Amell. "Whisper to the wind, hm, how enigmatic of you." Ace lightly smiled at the emperor. Ace had gone into the world with his view on emperors pretty much the same, arrogant pirates ruling through fear. That opinion was slightly taken off course when he met Red-haired Shanks, and now Amell started to also break down the stereotypical behaviour of an emperor. "As a Portgas you have my full support and you would be surprised by what kind of forces a single member of the Portgas family can summon to their side." "What the hell is that supposed to mean?" Ace tilted his head to the side and looked at Amell, "Do I have some secret army I can call upon?" He spoke in a tone that made it obvious that he was joking. But Amell''s facial expression told another story outside the one Ace believed. "Who knows? Rise to the top and defeat me and maybe you''ll find out!" "Okay, now you''re freaking me out!" Ace leaned back and gave Amell a strange look. The emperor dismissed the look and gestured towards his crew. "They''re waking up, I guess it''s time to get moving!" Amell said to Ace and the brat ran over to his crew and prepared to calm them down. ''What incredible potential you have Ace, truly unfortunate that fate fights so hard to kill you. But lucky for you, you don''t stand alone against fate. I am here now, and fate is in for the fight of its life if it thinks it can do whatever it wants in my world.'' Amell smiled unconsciously as he pondered over Ace''s future. ---------------------------------------------------- End Chapter 176 - Chapter 178 A week later in the desert of Alabasta, two people were fighting with each other. Both of them were controlling fire, and one swipe from their hands or one casual kick created waves upon waves of fire that could easily burn down cities. Whenever the flames of these two individuals clashed pillars of flames would appear and incredible explosions occurred around them. These two were Ace and Amell, and they had been doing this for three days now. Ace''s crew stayed in the nearest city because no one could be near their location when they were fighting. Amell taught Ace how to combine his powers with martial arts. Previously, Ace had relied too much on his invincibility as a logia user. "It''s IMPOSSIBLE!" Ace fell backwards on the scorching sand with sweat pouring down his body. It looked like he had just gone through an hour-long torture session, and that wasn''t that far from the truth of the situation. Amell didn''t pull any punches during this intensive training camp. He gave Ace the very feared, Gotei training session. "Nothings impossible, it''s all a matter of finding the silver lining in things. you are a lot stronger than you were three days ago. I taught you proper martial arts, and I showed you how you can master your flames. Now, you just have to do it, and all you need is some talent and hard work. Talent, you have plenty of, and hard work shouldn''t be difficult either." Amell stood casually on the sand with not an ounce of sweat visible on his body. "Don''t give up, Ace!" "Give up? I have thrown everything I have at you, and I''m not even close to getting you to use your other hand!" Ace lifted his head and glared at Amell. "Do not compare yourself to me, brat! I killed Kaido almost without touching him, and I could kill Whitebeard just as easily. First, you should focus on beating an admiral, then move on to emperors." Amell hit him with a teasing smile. "Uncle, are you even human?" Ace''s head found its place on the sand again. "Of course not! Hahaha!" Amell waved his hand and Ace was lifted on his feet by the wind. "Now, come attack me again!" Amell gestured with his hand for Ace to attack. "AAAH!" Ace gave in to the taunting and flew at Amell, he threw out hundreds of concentrated and accurate punches. The longer they spent together and the more Ace observed Amell fight, the more he started to adapt to that style of fighting himself. He started fighting more like a fire bender instead of how he usually fought, which consisted of simply pumping out as much fire as possible on his opponent. Amell used the back of his hand to counter all of Ace''s punches, and every time Ace used his fire to attack either up close or from a distance, Amell always managed to redirect the fire. "Be more accurate with your power. When fighting powerful opponents, small concentrated flames rather than giant waves." Ace glared at him in frustration, "I know, concentrated fire means more power and more damage." He dodged a punch from Amell by quickly leaning to the side. He rushed in and delivered a punch against Amell''s stomach, but he performed a sideways spin and dodged it. Amell delivered a palm strike against Ace''s head making him plunge into the sand with his face first. "It''s IMPOSSIBLE!!" Ace flew up on his feet with a big red mark on the side of his face. Suddenly soft clapping was heard from the side. "Reminds me of when grandpa used to train me!" Robin''s sweet and seductive voice was heard from the side. She and her guardian, Minerva stood off to the side with Minerva holding a black umbrella over Robin to shield her from the sun. "Who''re you guys?" Ace calmed down and observed the newly arrived party of beautiful women. Their arrival was so random and unexpected that Ace didn''t bother analysing the context of what Robin said. Robin stopped looking at Ace and turned her gaze to Amell, and she quickly left the comfort of the black umbrella and ran over and hugged her grandpa. Ace looked on with confusion, "You two know each other?" "This is Robin, she is my granddaughter," Amell said and let go of her after their hug. "It''s good to see you again, little one," Amell winked at her and flicked her softly on her forehead. "It''s really good to see you too. Why don''t you visit more often?" She wanted to look angry but she couldn''t stop her beautiful smile from spreading across her face. "A lot of things going on, you know. Had a war with Kaido, and now I have three other emperors to take care off." He said with a smile. "HELLO!?" Ace flipped out and he finally couldn''t take being ignored any longer. "Granddaughter? So, she is a Portgas too?" He said now that he had their attention. "In name only, grandpa rescued me when my home island was attacked by the World Government many years ago. My real name is Nico Robin, nice to meet you, Portgas D Ace." She performed a bow, and because of her somewhat baggy shirt, Ace got an uninterrupted viewing directly into her shirt and on her somewhat bigger than normal breasts. His face grew red and he himself started behaving weirdly. He started nodding while clearing his throat and saying, "I see, good, good," over and over again. "What happened to you?" Amell tilted his head and asked Ace, whose behaviour suddenly turned weirder than usual. "N-Nothing, just exhausted!" Ace sat down on the sand while trying to cover up the fact that he was blushing. "So, uncle, I forgot to ask, but how many members of the Portgas Family are still alive?" "Except myself and you, three, my two sons and my grandson. Maybe you''ll meet them someday." "Are they strong?" Ace always grew excited at the prospect of fighting powerful opponents. "Very," Amell said. "My grandson, Byakuya, I''m sure you know about. To put his strength into perspective, you met Kenshin, my third commander, well, Byakuya is stronger. His father is even stronger than him. Lastly, my other son, Gildarts. Well, he is still quite young, but he would beat you into the ground with his index finger." Amell''s description of his family got Ace thinking about the fact that no matter what you do, there will always be someone stronger waiting around the corner. "Suddenly the world seems bigger than before." Ace was in a weird mood. He was excited, nervous but also fearful of the future. Amell noticed the slight hesitation building up inside Ace. "Not to worry, kid, among my family members, you have a very real chance of beating Gildarts if you two should ever meet. The only thing stopping you is you. Both you and he have that powerful Portgas blood running through your veins, so if you keep working hard you will see how truly powerful you can become." Amell finally smiled kindly at Ace, and Robin smiled at him as well, and when he noticed that, his blush came back in full force. This time though, Amell noticed what was the source of his previous weird behaviour. "Ace!" His tone became a little more serious. "My granddaughter is off-limit!" His words caused Robin to almost fall down. "I don''t think that was his intentions." She said and awkwardly marched over to Minerva. "Better not be! Let''s get back to it, brat!" Amell brought Ace up on his feet again, "Attack me!" He said sternly. "I''m done being nice now!" He started radiating incredible heat. "You were nice before?" Ace took a step back. "Save me!" Ace said softly before everything went black. ------------------------------ End Chapter 177 - Chapter 179 On a snowy mountain path, Amell was walking while his dark blue coat fluttered in the freezing winds passing by this mountain path. It had been five months since Ace''s training with him finished. After they were done training, Ace and his crew went after Whitebeard again despite how much his crew begged him not to do so. Amell''s thoughts were quite chaotic, and not for some reason like fear of the World Government and their power. No, Sylvia''s due date was coming up and it was messing with his mind more than expected. Fear of something going wrong, or worry about his role as a father despite him being a father and a grandfather to multiple people. Whenever it came to people you care about, irrational fears begin to surface no matter how you have mastered your emotions. As he walked up the path the snow around him all past him instead of touching him, it was quite literally like he had a protective barrier around him that pushed all the snow away. ''If it wasn''t so important I would never come to this snowy hell.'' Amell complained mostly at nothing since the snow did nothing to hinder his vision, and he could not feel the cold, nor could it affect him, his complaining came mostly from the fact that he wasn''t at home with Sylvia and his baby that was only one or two weeks away from popping out into the world. Near the top of this mountain, there was a cave that right now housed a very famous redhead. This was one of the rest stop islands Shanks crew protected. Amell came upon the cave a lot quicker then Ace''s crew did when they visited this place. The snow couldn''t do anything to delay him. He looked into the cave and saw the entire crew unconscious, presumably from too much partying. Amell erased his presence entirely and walked into the cave. He walked all the way over to Shanks that was sleeping while leaning against a wooden log. He sat down on the log and glanced at his disciple. ''Gaddamn drunks! Nothing good ever comes from alcohol... Except for Gildarts of course'' Amell chuckled to himself. ''Amell, my friend, why not wake them up?'' Vaatu''s voice appeared inside his head and Amell turned his focus inwards. ''Because, if you wake up Shanks during one of his blackouts, you will have to deal with a baby. So, when it comes to him it''s better to just let him sleep it off, no matter how annoying it is that he can never seem to stay sober.'' ''Sounds exhausting! And speaking of annoyance, do you know how irritating it is to be in here and never get out? When can I get out to let loose?" Vaatu always sounded creepy and evil in his tone even if the context of the conversation was a positive one. ''Soon, my friend, soon!'' ''Alright, I at least hope it''s within the next decade.'' Vaatu wasn''t really one to bicker on a subject. He couldn''t overpower Amell, he would never be able to, so when his host said no, he accepted it and only hoped for the best. That was all he could do. Amell sat in the lotus position for a couple of hours and meditated. When finally there was a movement among the crew. It only took seven hours, but Shanks finally started to wake up. First to show life, was his eyes, they slowly opened and for several seconds he just sat there staring out into the blizzard going on outside. "Welcome back to the world of the living!" Amell''s voice was powerful and sharp, and he intentionally spoke a lot louder than he needed to so his words were like nails through the skull of Shanks and his crew. Beckman''s eyes fluttered open wildly and he gripped his gun tightly, "Who the hell is the shithead speaking so loudly!?" He instinctively pointed the gun in the direction of the voice. "Take a good long look who you''re pointing that at, Son!" Amell said with a smile that wasn''t a smile. It took a few seconds, but Beckman finally connected Amell''s face with reality and he realized who he was pointing at. "Master Amell!?" He lowered his gun in a panic, but it was a few seconds too late. Amell tapped the ground and the earth opened up and swallowed up Beckman until only his head was visible over the surface of the ground. "I ain''t your master, boy. I am his!" Amell said and knocked Shanks on the head. "MASTER!?" Shanks woke up and yelled out loud. He fell down on the ground as his own screaming aggravated his headache. !W-What are you doing here? And how long have you been here?" He asked while crawling on the ground rubbing his head trying to mend the pain. *Sigh* "You are one hopeless disciple," Amell reached out and touched Shanks on the forehead. Suddenly all pain seemed to have disappeared. Shanks stood up and cracks his neck, "That''s better, thanks!" He said to Amell with a bright smile. "So, when did you arrive?" Shanks sat down, grabbed a mug with some alcohol in it and downed it all in one go. Amell arrived in front of him like a ghost and grabbed his whole head with his big hand. "I arrived seven hours ago when you all were blackout drunk. And the first thing you do is to drink more, I am disappointed!" Amell knocked Shanks on the head slamming his head down on the ground. "Are you saying i have a drinking problem or something?" Shanks roes up with almost no injuries anywhere on him. He got right up into Amell''s face and stared straight into his eyes. "Master, you never did understand the wonders of my alcohol!" He was close to spitting but managed to refrain. "Your alcohol?" Amell''s voice turned evil. Beckman''s eyes went wide and he swallowed with very much difficulty, "Oh no..." His words were the catalyst Amell needed to unleash a barrage of assault on his student. "Who here is the one funding your alcoholic ass? Me! Who here made you the strongest pirate alive? Me! Who here is doing your job for you? Me! Who here can kill you with a snap of his finger? ME!" Amell punched Shanks in the face making him crash into the cave wall. His yelling finally awoke the rest of the crew. They all took a second to readjust themselves to the light before one of them asked loudly, "What''s going on?" "Master Amell is back!" Beckman answered quietly to his mates. "That explains why the captain is losing a fight, and why you are where you are." Yasopp chuckled while observing Amell beating the life out of Shanks. No one inside the crew was present during Shanks and Amell''s training session, so no one knew what Shanks went through, but what they did know was that ever since that time Shanks had never lost a single battle, even Mihawk stopped challenging him to fights. Whatever Amell did to him, it created their current captain, the strongest pirate alive known only to this crew and the Gotei. Amell slapped Shanks two more times across the face and threw him over to his crew. "I took time away from my pregnant wife to come here and discuss our plan, Shanks. So, speak one more time of alcohol and I will wipe you and your crew off the face of this earth!" Amell let out his aura and knocked out most members of the crew instantly. "Shit, the master is angry!" Beckman had sweat running down the side of his face. Amell glared at him, making him sweat more," Beckman, for the millionth time, I ain''t your master." He turned away from the obsessed gunman and focused on Shanks. "Master, you''re having another kid? This requires a party!" Shanks got another slap across the face but his smile still persisted. "Kid, it''s starting soon! Your era is approaching, you better be ready for it." Amell''s tone transformed from playful to serious in a matter of seconds. "I was born for this." Shanks wiped some blood away from his lips while smiling with confidence. His aura had changed and now you could finally see the aura of an emperor on him. "After so many years, it would seem the master deems you ready to do this, captain!" Beckman said to Shanks. Lucky Roo nodded along, "It would seem so." He said. --------------------------------------- End Chapter 178 - Chapter 180 Chaos, excitement, anxiety. This was all the emotions running through Amell''s mind at the moment. Many might ask what could possibly make someone like Amell afraid. The answer would be the birth of his child. Right now Amell was walking back and forth outside the doors to Divisions Zero''s medical wing. Inside, laid Sylvia, currently giving birth to their child. The doctor had forbidden Amell from being in there with them as a tiny portion of his aura leaked out and knocked out everyone except the doctor. Amell recruited this doctor because she was also a powerful pirate, so in case anything like this happened, she could withstand it. Luckily, nothing beyond knocking out the nurses came from his aura accidentally leaking out. Some time passed and the doors to the gigantic medical wing opened up. The doctor responsible for Sylvia''s birth and for shoving Amell out of there walked out with a slight smile on her lips. "You can come in now. The babies have arrived!" Her tone was soft and serene, but you could hear tiredness in it as well as happiness. "Babies?" Amell picked up on the doctor''s use of plurals, albeit he thought it must have been a mistake because of how tired she must be. "Yes, babies. Your wife just gave birth to twins, Lord Amell." "Twins? Well, that was certainly not something I expected." "That might be the case, Lord Amell, but that just became reality. You should get in there with Lady Sylvia, she is quite exhausted so I think she could use the help." She bowed slightly at him before walking away and leaving the emperor standing there in complete silence. "Twins, huh. Looks like the universe answered her wish. One to follow in my footsteps, and one to follow in hers. Hopefully, she won''t claim custody of both." Amell chuckled and walked inside. As soon as he stepped into the room his eyes landed on his beautiful wife that laid in the bed with two blankets in her embrace. "Hello there, beautiful!" Amell walked over and sat down on the bed under the watchful, but the tired gaze of his wife. "I heard you birthed not one, but two miracles." He spoke softly and chose his words carefully. Angering a woman directly after birth is never a good idea, so he made sure to think twice before saying anything. "True enough." Sylvia''s gaze no longer rested on her husband, instead, it rested on her newborn children. Amell didn''t wanna ruin the moment for her, but he was also dying to hold his children. "You don''t have to be so cautious, love. I''m no longer angry with you. How could I, with these two beauties in the world?" Sylvia gestured for him to come over and take one of them. "I can''t very well deny you this meeting since you had a little to do with their creation." Sylvia smiled like a sly, but tired old fox and let Amell take on of the children into his embrace. "A girl and a boy?" He looked up at his wife, and she nodded in confirmation. "This little angel is mine, I just love her endlessly. I just met you, but I already love you more than my life." Amell spoke softly to the little girl sleeping in the blanket he was holding. "Daddy will protect you for eternity." "I''m glad you feel so strongly for our daughter, but you can''t claim her like she''s some piece of land." "Of course she isn''t, but this little angel is definitely mine." Amell stopped looking at Sylvia and rested his gaze on his newborn daughter. "I will teach you everything I know. I will make you a world-destroying monster." His tone was so casual and sweet despite talking about destroying worlds. Sylvia shook her head and looked down on their son. "Then I claim the right to this handsome little devil. I will develop your brain to surpass everyone before you. You will change the world not through sweat and blood, but through intelligence and kindness." Sylvia and Amell looked at each other after making their vows and together they shared a laugh. "You''re going to be a great mother, as you always have been." Amell looked into his wife''s eyes with a smile on his face. And she returned the smile to him and nodded. "And you as well. No child could be safer with you as their father." "The future is looking bright now," Amell said and kissed his daughter on her forehead. "What about a name? Do you have anything decided yet?" He looked at his wife. "I have an idea. For her, Valerie. For him, Valerius." As soon as the names were said out loud, it all clicked in the emperor''s mind. "It''s absolutely perfect!" He said and looked at his daughter. "Welcome to the world, Valerie." As Amell welcomed their daughter, Sylvia welcomed their son, "Welcome, Valerius." They rested their gazes on each other, then at their children. "We did it, Love!" Sylvia said softly as Amell stroked Valerie''s cheek with his giant finger. "Yes, we did." He answered with a small tear going down his cheek. ---------------------------------- End Chapter 179 - Chapter 181 Amell and Sylvia stood outside the Zero division headquarters building on top his floating island. He was holding onto Valerie and his wife was feeding Valerius while seven scary-looking pirates surrounded her. This was her protection detail, and even up here where no one would ever be able to hurt her they still took it extremely seriously. They would not let anyone near her, only Amell was allowed to see her, if anyone else tried, they would attack them without mercy. This was proven true when Rick, one of the inner circle members tried to approach her to look at the baby and they immediately tried to kill him. "Amell, Love, has that boy started his journey yet?" She looked away from her son and looked up at her husband. "Of whom do you speak?" Amell played with Valerie. She was biting his finger or tried to at least, but his finger was almost bigger than her head so she tried and tried, but couldn''t even grip it properly. If he paid attention to his wife he would know of whom she was talking about, but he couldn''t stop staring at his daughter. "That boy you said Shanks took an interest in. ahh... Ace''s brother, right?" Sylvia only ever half-listened whenever Amell talked about pirates and Marines and the like, so she knew some names but had no idea of how they all related to each other. "Oh, Luffy, you mean? That boy, yes, according to reports he left his home island quite some time ago. Right now, all I care about is this little angel, I couldn''t care less about that boy." Amell''s opinion on Luffy wasn''t negative or anything, but with his daughter and son now born, Luffy was the last thing on his mind. "You told me that you promised Ace to protect Luffy. Are you going back on your word?" Sylvia had never seen Amell ever go back on his word, so she was genuinely surprised if he had truly done that, and to family no less. "No, I haven''t, I would never. You simply underestimate how powerful I am. Through the wind, heat, water and the earth, I can observe any location on this planet. I could summon a devastating tornado on Big Mom''s archipelago if I wanted to. I always have one eye on Luffy, so if he happens to be in trouble, I can be there anytime. I just don''t want him knowing an emperor is watching over him, and if he is anything like Ace, he would likely get angry about the fact that someone is interfering in his fights." "I see, he sounds like an interesting boy." Sylvia covered up her breast as Valeriu was done with his meal. She looked at her husband, "What about Ace? Have you heard anything?" "What''s the sudden interest in those brothers? You usually never care!" Amell turned around and met her gaze. "Would you like to meet them?" He asked calmly. "Someday, maybe. I think they sound interesting. And if your student, the strongest pirate alive find one of those brothers fascinating, wouldn''t you like to know why?" "I suppose so. I can''t say I see what Shanks sees. I admit that Ace and Luffy both are very special, and most likely, with some proper training, they could probably surpass Shanks pretty fast. But Shanks sees something in Luffy beyond his genius-level fighting prowess, and that, dear wife, I do not know what that is." "Guess you would need to look him in the eye to know more. I have never seen anyone you couldn''t see through." Sylvia said while waving over one of her guards, "Can you fetch me some water, please," She smiled at him and the pirate nodded seriously and walked away to finish the task. "That''s because I can read minds. Mine and Luffy''s meeting is coming, I can feel it. I have no reason to rush it. For now, I will enjoy the time with my family." He stroked Valerie on the cheek and watched as his daughter yawned and her tiny little adorable eyes closed. "That makes me happy to hear." Sylvia saw her guard come back with a fancy-looking glass filled with sparkling water. "Thank you, Lou!" She said and bowed to the man. He nodded seriously and said, "No need to bow your head in front of me, Ma''am! This is my duty, and I''m more than happy to do it." He went back into formation with the other six pirates. ***************************** In another part of the world, or more specifically, in the New World on a very specific island, Bradley stood with his hands behind his back. His current mission was of the killing kind. This island was famous for one thing, and one thing only. That was its slave auction. The slaves you could by here rivalled the ones sold on Sabaody. He was currently standing on top the auction house when suddenly its doors flew open and a large party of people walked out. All of them were dressed in fancy-looking suits with one very special individual riding on a human male slave in the middle of the group. Bradley observed the party leaving the auction house and making their way down the cobblestone street. He drew a breath and his body faded away, leaving a slight afterimage for a single moment. Down on the street, the man riding on the slave was laughing while whipping the man walking on all fours like a dog. The more he laughed, the harder the whip came down on the slave beneath. This was until suddenly everything stopped, the people on the streets stood frozen, the guards around this man all had stopped moving. The slave had stopped moving, the only person in motion was the man on top, and of course, Bradley that had at some point appeared right in front of the slave and his master. "Good day, Saint Jalmack. My name is Portgas D Bradley and I am here to liberate you of your life." Bradley performed a slight bow and observed how the confusion on Jalmack''s face turned into anger. "Take my life? How DARE YOU! Who are YOU to come here and say such things? If you so much as touch me, an Admiral will be sent to hunt you down!!" Jalmack screamed at Bradley and the spit swelling over inside his mouth found its way out and covered the slave in spit. "Hahaha, Saint Jalmack, I am an Admiral!" Bradely appeared on the back of the slave and grabbed ahold of Jalmack''s throat. "Say goodbye to your miserable existence!" Bradley''s words were the last things Jalmack would ever hear in his life as Admiral Bradley squeezed the life out of the Celestial Dragon. He saw the life inside Jalmack''s eyes leave and he nodded to himself when he confirmed that the man had died. "Part one, clear. Now, to finish part two." He raised his eyepatch as his Sharingan started rotating. [Mortal Magic: Puppeteer Of The Living Dead] Bradley''s eerie voice sounded out as green ghostly mist appeared from the hand squeezing Jackman''s throat. The mist seeped into the dead World Noble and soon after, Jackman started moving his fingers. "Excellent! The magic worked better than expected." Bradley disappeared and reappeared on top the roof of the auction house. "Albeit stopping time is slightly more exhausting than anticipated." He deactivated his time magic and everyone started moving again as if nothing had ever happened. jackman was acting just like before, whipping the slave and laughing while doing so. But if you focused in real close on his eyes, you could see that those eyes weren''t entirely alive. "You are playing Father''s game now. How long can you last, Im?" Bradley said as he faded out from reality. ------------------------------------ End Chapter 180 - Chapter 182 Two new-born babies together with their parents inside their darkened down room. Syliva and her emperor husband had for the last four days done nothing that did not involve their newborns. To some degree, it was spooky how different they acted around their children. Amell started looking at every passing male with eyes that could kill them, which caused the Gotei members to make great efforts during work hours to not have to meet their emperor. Same could be said for the commanders of the Gotei. Amell was so unfocused that no matter the issue they presented during meetings, he wouldn''t bat an eye to it. Byakuya was sure that even if the world was to end tomorrow by a great war, Amell wouldn''t even notice as his intense focus on his family had become everything to him. "Love, again, I am not complaining about you spending so much time with us, but don''t you have duties to uphold? I know you want this world to be safe, but for that to happen, don''t you need to do something?" She spoke in the slightest tone of a whisper as to not wake the undisturbed five-year-old boy lying next to her on the bed. Her eyes watched on as Valerie turned her body slightly while making herself comfortable on her father''s chest. Amell could not turn his eyes away from the chubby and adorable little face of his daughter. He still pondered on the issue and chose his words carefully before answering her. "I better master cloning, because I am not leaving the side of my children empty and without a father." He turned to look at Valerius and just at that moment a smile grew on the boy''s face, that smile managed to melt the old emperor''s heart. "I wasn''t present for any of my adult children''s first months in the world, and you believe me when I say I won''t miss it again." "I would say, fair enough, but just don''t forget how many people depend on you being the emperor you told them you were. I just don''t want a few million people rising in rebellion, thinking you have lost your spark." A valid concern in her heart, Sylvia cared for the immediate time greatly, but however one tried not to, concern for future days will forever be present in the hearts of people, strong or weak. "Not to worry, as long as this heart keeps beating strongly, our future shall be safe!" Not Weakness nor strength was evident in his tone, only confidence. His ability to keep them safe will never dwindle as his body was immortal, and his soul was nigh so. "The future will reveal itself in time." She rolled over toward Amell and placed her hands under her head, "Amell, if you have to, you have my permission to destroy the world. Just promise that you keep our children safe from harm, all of them. Gildarts, Naruto, Bradley and now these two. Every member of our family, obliterate anyone that would cause us harm." Her sweet smile plastered on her beautiful face framed by her angelic silvery hair didn''t match the cruelty in the form of the destructive words that escaped her lips. "You have my word when I say, your word is my command. All shall know the terror of the Enigmatic emperor." "There we have him, the man I signed on to spend my life with." The two leaned in and shared a bonding kiss, held together by the red string of fate. They went back to gazing at their children with their adorable sleeping habits. ****************************************** In the country of Dressrosa, everything had gotten back to how things were before Amell took over things. Doflamingo sat in his throne with Trebol, Diamante and Pika behind him. Of course, the Gotei commander assigned especially to watch over this place was present as well. Lubbock sat on his throne sized chair beside Doflamingo. In front of them, standing nervously and waiting for review was Caesar Clown, the mad scientist working out from Punk Hazard island. What emotions could be seen on his face? The answer was too many, so many in fact that his expression came out as stoic, when in fact, it was far from being so. "How goes operation SAD, Caesar?" After several minutes of close observation, the Pink-feathered Warlord began his questioning of the mad scientists progress. To the Gotei, the collaboration between emperor Kaido, Doflamingo and Caesar Clown was well known, but despite knowing about it, Amell didn''t stop the production of artificial Devil Fruits. He respected Caesar''s intelligence and he was very interested in what the mad scientist could create if he had unlimited funding, which he now had through the Gotei. Of course, what Amell didn''t know about was Caesers secret deal with Big Mom, which incidentally was the reason he was so terrified to see a Gotei commander here, he thought they had discovered it. Caesar took a few moments to pace himself and then answered the man that was essentially the judge for whether he lives or dies this day. He gave a glance at Lubbock who smiled evilly at him, "I-it operates well. I have made fantastic progress in that department, but speaking of it. Are the Gotei taking over, now that Kaido i-is, no more?" For someone like Caesar, this atmosphere was slowly killing him. Doflamingo on his own was terrifying enough, but then you place one of the Gotei''s world-famous commanders beside him. Expecting him not to be scared was the same as if you were to ask Ace not to be nervous when standing in front of Whitebeard in a one on one battle. "Oh, so you haven''t heard?" Doflamingo chuckled creepily as he often did before killing someone, which caused Caesar to tense up. "Ginrummy, a previous Headliner for the Beast pirates have been publicly recognized as Kaido''s replacement. Her bounty rose to two billion in one night." Caesar took the news with a great degree of shock. His heart was beating fast, not out of fear, but uncertainty. What if this new replacement emperor had no use for his research, what would she do with him then? This one question swirled around inside his mind. "But not to worry. The Gotei still wants you to continue researching SAD. Instead of Kaido, Ginrummy will now take his place as the one who funds you." Doflamingo spoke the half-truth. Gotei was in charge of it all, but on the surface, you would never find them connected to any of it. Ginrummy would take that role. She was growing stronger every day, and every day she was sparring with Gotei commanders so her strength skyrocketed in a very short period. "I see, that''s good. Is this it then? Can I return to my research? I have quite a lot to do as you can imagine." "You can, Lubbock''s ship will take you back as it took you here. Don''t forget to consistently update me on your progress, you have been a little lazy in that department lately." He chuckled loudly and his three top commanders laughed with him to further tense up the atmosphere around them. Lubbock''s smile grew wider as the fear inside Caesar grew more evident. "The Gotei can replace you any day of the week. Do not forget that you are expendable, Caesar." His naturally cruel tone and way of speaking to people made his threat the more real to the scientist. "I will be sure to update you regularly, Sir Lubbock!" With a half-confident salute, Caesar started to awkwardly make his way towards the doors. under the gaze of the many powerful individuals inside this room, moving became just as difficult as breathing underwater without gills. "I like him!" Diamante said in petty sarcasm when Caesar had finally left the room. Lubbock, gave a small nod, "Not trustworthy in the slightest, I can''t imagine what kind of sick experiments he performs inside that lab of his. But, until the captain decides to care to find out, I don''t!" He stood up and walked out under the careful watch of Doflamingo. --------------------------------- End Chapter 181 - Chapter 183 ----- A few days later in East Blue----- Amell had left the comfort of his floating island to take part in the Straw Hats departure into the Grand Line. Not much about One Piece was known to Amell, so he arrived here to make sure that nothing happened to Luffy, as he had promised Ace. The current island they were docked at was Lougetown. Famous for stopping hundreds of pirates from reaching their goal. The fame came not from the island itself, but the logia wielding Marine captain presiding over it. He stood currently on a roof overlooking the plaza. A battle that would scare or excite any East blue Marine was taking place in this plaza. To Amell, this fight was what made him want to run away from here and return home to his children. The battle was boring, but he promised Ace, plus, he thought that maybe something fun could happen to this crew here, but nothing but disappointment filled his eyes. That was not to say Luffy''s crew was disappointing, he found them somewhat interesting. He had infiltrated the surface level thoughts of everyone except Luffy and found out about some of their histories. What surprised him the most was the loyalty his crew already felt towards him. Not long had they been together, but already Luffy had loyalty from all of them. ''I suppose that might be what Shanks was referring to. The kid does have a rather impressive ability to find and gather talent. Both Zoro and Sanji have incredible latent talent. If I took them into the Gotei, I could have them fighting Lubbock to a standstill in a couple of years.'' He watched Luffy climb up on the plateau where Roger was executed twenty-two years ago. The boy looked genuinely excited as he sat down cross-legged on the plateau. Amell stopped paying attention to Luffy''s crew when footsteps sounded out behind him. "Imagine my curiosity when I noticed the Enigmatic emperor in East blue." "Shouldn''t be more surprising than the head of the revolutionary army." He glanced back at Monkey D Dragon, Luffy''s father. albeit not a very good one and nodded to him so Dragon knew it was safe to approach. "Do you wanna divulge why you''re here?" "No, I do not. I also don''t like being questioned by urchins." He was already in a poor mood so Dragon''s attempt to vet him annoyed him further. Amell and Dragon stood beside each other when Luffy got caught by a man in clown makeup. The Straw Hats were caught up fighting either Marine or pirate so none of them could help their captain. Amell glanced at Dragon, "Not gonna help your son?" "Oh, you knew? You become more interesting every time I come across you." Neither one seemed concerned about Luffy, but above them, dark clouds started to gather. Amell paid almost no attention to Dragon''s comments and instead glanced upwards to the clouds. "I don''t want your interest. Your rebellion is making my job harder." He turned around and placed a hand on Dragon''s shoulder. "New World is my territory, and I''m only gonna say this one time. Stay out!" As he turned around, the commotion down in the plaza was reaching its peak. "I''m afraid that''s not possible anymore, too far I''ve come to back down now." Despite the increasing pressure from Amell''s grip, Dragon''s will and determination didn''t waver in the slightest. Amell sighed out tiredly and released his grip. "Stubborn brat!" He turned around again towards the plaza. Buggy raised his sword in the air and brought it down with great ferocity. When the blade was inches away from the monkey''s neck, a bolt of great and powerful lightning struck down and obliterated the executions platform. "Certainly, I am stubborn, I get that from my father. It''s my families stubbornness that source our great undying willpower. Without stubbornness, I would have died in my youth." Dragon watched his son step out from the wreckage of what was previously Lougetowns famous executions platform. "That stubbornness could get you killed if you start to test my capabilities. Removing you and ending your rebellion would be easy. The reason I don''t is because of my respect for the Monkey family tree. So, do not ever take my hesitation to action for something silly as an inability for action." His gaze turned east and a few thousand meters in that direction he saw Smoker, the logia wielding Marine captain approach his target pirate. "I leave the safety of Monkey D Luffy to his capable father." After sending a chill down Dragon''s spine with his apathetic eyes, Amell faded away with the passing gust of wind. "That man might eventually force me to move up my plans. I hope Sabo finished that task I gave him." Dragon also turned away from the plaza and his body faded away in the heavy downpour of rain. ---------------------------------------- End Chapter 182 - Chapter 184 Amell was sitting inside his office and overlooking the weekly reports coming in from the Gotei commanders. Valerie, he had placed on his knee, and he let her play with his finger while he was doing his duties as the emperor of the Gotei, much to his own displeasure. For many decades, he had been an emperor and towards the desk-side of that job, he felt nothing but abhorrence. From a single moment of carelessness, Valerie shifted her own weight accidentally and fell off his knee. As she was falling some deep-rooted reflexes seemed to activate and she did a little flip in the air and landed steadily on her two feet, only to immediately afterwards fall down on her butt. Amell could have caught her at any time during her little fall, but when he saw what she did, he stopped himself from intervening. "Look at you. A natural-born fighter is what I say." Amell picked up his daughter and placed her on his knee again. "My little angel is growing up so fast." ******************************** In the kingdom of Alabasta, Robin and Minerva had made quite a comfortable home for themselves. Robin also had a comfortable position inside Baroque Works. She didn''t agree with Crocodiles ideas and his way of doing things, but that man had Amell''s backing so apparently he was good for something. Minerva, on the other hand, had a little simpler job than Robin. All she was there for was to monitor Crocodile and protect Robin, a job she was very good at, and something she loved doing since she loved seeing Robin mature and grow more powerful by each passing week. "Why did you invite me here?" Robin with her hooded cloak covering her body and half of her face looked around at the tattooed skinheads sitting spread out around the bar. Minerva who did not care to conceal her female form shot Robin a curious gaze. "To discuss Crocodile, of course. Also, I was very thirsty." Her smug smile perfectly reflected her playful mood and she signalled the cold-blooded-looking bartender with her index and middle finger. "I''m not thirsty!" Robin glanced at the bartender that was pouring two drinks into mugs and placing them on the bear-stained wooden tray that sat on the counter. "Don''t be ridiculous, you can''t talk business without some alcohol in your body. Didn''t your grandpa teach you anything at all?" Minerva gave her a disapproving look before throwing her feet up on the round table and leaned back on her chair. "You''re going to invite certain trouble if you keep acting like that!" Robin pulled a little on her hood as she felt those hungry gazes burn into her body. Her naturally seductive voice coupled with the natural curves that her cloak was unable to hide had already attracted the interest of the rough-looking men sitting around the bar. "I do invite it!" Minerva looked at the table over her shoulder and caught the sneaky gazes of the men sitting around the broken-down table. "You want me? How about you grow some balls and come and get me!" Her provocation worked wonders as the last thing you should do is insult a man, especially in this place. "You don''t know what you''re asking for, little lady!" A quick kick from the leading man and the chair behind him went flying across the room. The floor creaked under their heavy steps as they approached and slowly surrounded the table where Robin and Minerva sat comfortably. The confidence of the leader wavered slightly after seeing how calm Minerva was. Why would a lady with such nice proportions and with a face that could pierce the heart of every red-blooded man not be afraid? "I highly suggest you not to do this, gentlemen. There is no fighting allowed inside the walls of this bar, and starting this endeavour will garner you nothing but loses." After years at sea, and many more years with Crocodile, Robin had an eye for zeroing out the small percentage of scumbags that were capable of rational thoughts. "Abandon your current path and you might live to see tomorrow." Her words struck deep with the leader of the ruffians, but not so much with his crew. "Shut up, Bitch! You will pleasure me tonight!" The man stood diagonally behind Robin to the left side of her left-side shoulder. He made a quick and drunken attempt to pull down the black silken hood covering her face. Instead of managing to grab hold of the hood, a large, sweaty and warm-blooded hand took hold on the man''s wrist. The bartender stood beside the man with his beer-stained try resting comfortably on the palm of his hand. "No fighting allowed!" "Let go of me, old man!" The stoic expression on the face of the elderly bartender hardened and he tilted his head to the side to dodge the incoming fist of the drunken youngster. Despite how he was balancing the beer tray, he did not spill one drop. When the fist went flying by his face he grabbed the youngster by the throat, and through a forceful pull he brought the boy''s head down to meet his knee close and personal. Blood went flying and so did one of the youngster''s teeth. As he fell down, Minerva pushed off against the table and did a small. concise and accurate mid-air flip. She landed between the two men behind her, one was the somewhat rational leader while the other one was a nervous-looking kid, not any older than eighteen. "Boo!" She delivered a quick backhanded slap to the kid making him fly across the room and smash into the bar counter in the front of the room. "Minerva! That''s enough now, don''t you think?" The princess of the Gotei came forward with a harsher tone than before, the old bartender placed the mug at the table in front of her in an orderly manner. "You heard her! Get out, all of you!" He yelled in his raspy, smoke-infused voice while glaring around at the men still left in the bar. "What''s with you, Old man? We ain''t done nothing," A couple of kids sitting a few tables away in this dimly lit basement room were enjoying the show, that was until they were asked to leave. "You either leave now. or you''ll leave in ten minutes with no balls attached to your third leg!" He looked around the room, and his words began to take effect. Everyone started to leave, though not willingly so the old man got many death stares that he simply dismissed. "Thanks," Robin glanced up and looked at him as her beautiful eyes pierced through the darkness of the overdrawn hood. The bandit leader ran off to get the kid Minverva had almost killed with a simply backhanded slap. His crew followed closely behind, but not before looking at her one last time and committing her to memory. "Erh, a bunch of dumbass kids. If you hadn''t started it, they would have. Those boys are young and hot-blooded, they have a hard time keeping their dicks inside their pants when they see even the lowest levels of beauty." He gave Minerva her drink and walked back to the bar. "And what about you? Wouldn''t you like to throw me in bed and dominate me?" If the youngsters that just left the bar saw how Minerva was licking her lisp towards the old man they might have lost control. She waited for a sizable reaction, but she got none from him. "You''re a beautiful lady, young girl, but in my old age I''ve learned that I would much rather share the bed with my fellow man instead." He smiled like an old fox as he stood leaning against the counter as he was looking at them. "I did not see that coming!" Minerva chuckled and Robin simply kept her silence. "Few ever do!" "I would imagine so!" Minerva drank half the content of the mug in one go. She slammed it down on the table and released a loud burp. "So, you have the report from HQ?" She looked at the old man and he nodded. "Apparently phase one is done. When your finale evaluation of Crocodile comes in, the Gotei and Lord Amell can start to move for real!" "Shouldn''t be too long now. That sandman shows some real promise, and a surprising amount of loyalty towards us." She drank the last of her beer and laughed quietly to herself. "The future is looking bright now, I can''t wait until I get to see the stupid expressions on those elders faces when they realise that they lost before the fight even started." "Indeed, it will be fun to see!" He said and joined in on the laughter. ------------------------------------ End Chapter 183 - Chapter 185 In the Holy Land of Mary Geoise on top of the Red Line, the World Government had their base of operations. As Bradley''s feet struck the ground small cracks appeared, something which greatly annoyed and worried the soldiers escorting him. Bradley was exerting his physical presence in full so the terrain he walked upon couldn''t handle the pressure he was exuding. Bradley wasn''t the size of a giant, but to the people, he passed on the way to his goal he sure seemed to be. His presence made it hard for people to look at him. He possessed the soul of his father, so without enough power and strength of will, you could faint just by looking at him for too long. This was Bradley whenever he interacted with the World Government, he never gave them any room to question him. The five elders would never admit that they feared him, but that they did as their power and titles had never had any success in controlling him. Bradley only had his position because the World Government knew they could not under any circumstances have him as an enemy. With Dragon, the emperors and all up and coming super rookies, they couldn''t add Bradley to the list of potential enemies so they treated him well despite disliking him and his attitude towards them. Bradley and his company of unwilling escorts arrived at the gate guarding the Pangaea Castle. The guards standing by the gate swallowed nervously when they saw him approaching with calm but powerful steps. "Admiral Bradley! Welcome to Pangaea Castle! Commander-in-chief Kong awaits you inside!" The captain fo this guard saluted and spoke while trying to hide the fear in his voice. He met gazes with Bradley when the Admiral looked down on him with his stoic expression. "If you ever stop me to say such trivial things again, I will kill you." He said it stoically and the captain tensed up before only nodding and waved for the gates to open up. Bradley made his way inside the Pangaea Castle grounds and after another fifteen minutes of undisturbed walking, he arrived outside Kong''s office. His hand struck the large gold-decorated door leading into Kong''s gigantic office. "Come in!" A powerful and commanding voice came from inside and Bradley opened the door and walked inside. "Good day, Kong!" He said respectfully to the former fleet-Admiral. "I know you don''t like this place, but while you''re here you can not call me Kong. To you, I am Commander-in-chief." His voice was rough and a little tired, but just as powerful as it had always been. "Please, speak to me about matters that actually matter. I have said before that I will follow their orders out of respect for you as a former Marine. But, if you expect me to address you with that stupid title they gave you, you''re very mistaken! The day I show them any respect is the day I admit the World Nobles are good people, it will never happen." Bradley was the only Marine in the world who could speak like this to Kong and not get reprimanded for it. Kong had tried before, but Bradley was stronger than he was so for the fear of Bradley walking out and joining the emperors or worse, Dragon, they allowed him this behaviour, to an extent at least. "You''re spelling our doom here, Bradley. You will certainly kill me someday!" Kong gave out a long and loud sigh. "If you say so!" Bradley''s expression changed not one bit, but look underneath the surface and you would see his true face which displayed a smile that could make an emperor cry. "Now, wanna tell me what I came here for?" Kong nodded, "The vote has been cast. You have been chosen as Sengoku''s successor to the Fleet-Admiral position." His tone was serious, he didn''t want Bradley to make light of this decision or refuse it. Bradley was needed as Fleet-Admiral, this was Kong''s opinion, not the elders. His attitude was a problem, but when it came to controlling and battling the emperors, no one did it better than him. "Took you long enough." A small smile grew on his lips. Kong raised an eyebrow at his comment, "You were expecting to get it?" He asked curiously. "Kizaru is not well-liked by those five and most other elders, Aokiji doesn''t want the position at all. It was only natural it came to me." The arrogance in his tone left a sour taste in Kong''s mouth, but he didn''t have words to refute. "I suppose that is true." Kong leaned back in his chair. "We still have a lot of business to discuss so make yourself comfortable." He pulled out a stack of papers from underneath the desk. "Oh, great, paperwork!" Bradley took a seat in the chair, and Kong showed him a wry smile. "For the next few hours, you will know the pain of having this job!" He slammed the papers down and the desk shook so much that Bradley thought it would break apart. "I can''t wait!" --------------------------------------------- End Chapter 184 - Chapter 186 The doors slammed open to Amell''s office, Shiryu walked in with quick steps and stopped right in front of his captain. "Captain, urgent report from the kingdom of Alabasta!" He waited for Amell to finish whatever he was writing. He looked up after he was done and raised an eyebrow, "You said it was urgent, so..." "Right!" Shiryu cleared his throat and did ones over of the report in his hand. "The Straw hat pirates invaded the Alabasta kingdom together with its princess, Vivi. An all-out war is currently ongoing between the royal army of the kingdom and the rebel forces. Minerva is requesting to know your orders at this time." Shiryu stopped talking and observed as Amell''s face underwent rapid changes in expression. "Crocodile is compromised. Tell Minerva to observe, for now, whatever the outcome of that war is, make sure Crocodile doesn''t die or lands himself in the hands of the Marines. He is one of my future emperors after all." "Yes, Captain! And another piece of information, Portgas D Ace, commander of the Whitebeard pirates was seen in Alabasta but has since disappeared. Should I have our agent investigate?" "No, don''t bother." Amell suddenly looked up at Shiryu with a puzzled expression. "I didn''t tell you, did I?" He saw Shiryu tilt his head, "Tell me what, captain?" "Ace and I are family!" No chock came over Shiryu, just a smile. "Yes, you did tell me. Not directly, but I know your family name, so connecting the dots wasn''t hard." He said proudly. "Oh, how wonderful. Now, hurry up, I am sure Minerva is dying to receive her orders." Amell waved away Shiryu and he left in the same hurry as he arrived. ********************************************************** In Alabasta, Minerva stood on the street a pretty fair distance away from all the fighting. She stood leaning against the walls of a house with a hand to her ear. "Observe? How boring... Yeah, yeah, I got it!" She said to what seemed to be no one, but inside her ear was the tiny little device that the Gotei used to stay in contact with agents out in the field. "Have a good day, Sir!" She took down her hand and looked towards the direction where all the noises originated from. "Now, where is Robin?" ____________________________________________________________ Back on Amell''s island, a massive dragon was approaching at high speeds. It was a black dragon with hints of pink in its hair and on its body. You would expect panic to insue if you saw a big dragon approach you, but nothing like that happened. Everyone remained calm even after the dragon landed on the island. The dragon started transforming and moments later, a half-naked pale-skinned woman stood where the dragon had been. "Is he in?" She asked the nearest pirate. "Captain is in his office." The pirate said respectfully. Ginrummy nodded and made her way up. She had stopped being nervous around him a long time ago now, so after a heavy knock on the door, she made her way inside. "Boss, we need to talk!" Her gaze landed on the miserable-looking emperor that was completely buried in papers. "Sure, what is it you want to talk about?" His voice was still calm and friendly despite looking like he could strangle someone alive. "Did you put me in charge of Doflamingo and Caesar clown? I got a very disturbing message from Byakuya that told me he would behead me if I failed a task I didn''t know I had!" The anger in her voice was quite justified since getting death threats from Byakuya was something you generally took seriously. "Right, I forgot to inform you about that. See, my wife just had twins so my mind has been preoccupied with that. Sorry, I''ll talk to Byakuya and I''ll give the duty to someone else." Amell did not look up at her, his eyes and hands were working in tangent to blaze through all this paperwork. "No, don''t do that! In the reason months, I''ve thought a lot on that. I want Wano back, I want to start the Beast Pirates up again!" This time she got him to look up from the paper pile. "You sure?" Was the first thing he asked. "Yeah, definitely!" "Alright, I''ll get it done! Anything else you want? "Kenshin, he is very liked over in Wano, so can you send him there to smooth things over when we move in?" "I think he wouldn''t mind. I''ll talk to him as well." "Okay, you''re agreeing with everything I''m saying today. Are you okay?" She found his behaviour really strange, but again, maybe it had something to do with the twins. "I am in a good mood. Do not expect this to last, so take advantage of it while it''s here." "Oh, great! Can I have the throne to the Gotei?" Ginrummy took a shot in the dark, Amell looked up at her, there wasn''t any anger in his eyes, only confusion. "I''ll think about it!" He said and returned to his reports. ''Wow, he''s happier than I thought!'' Ginrummy bowed to him before leaving the room again. ----------------------------------------- End Chapter 185 - Chapter 187 Rebel army versus the royal army. The fighting was escalating every second and since the leader of the rebel army had been shot while waving the white flag together with the royal army, chaos ensued. In the middle of the battlefield sat the Straw hat crew. They were all hurt and exhausted, and they were waiting for development from up in the clock tower where Vivi and her royal guardian, Pell stood. They stood together with a bomb that Crocodile had planted there. Nami looked at Zoro, the Vice-captain of the crew, and most of the time the most logical thinking member of the crew. "What''s happening up there, Zoro? i can''t see anything!" She was distressed and her tone was panicky. None of them had experienced a war like this before so they''re emotions were running high. "If you can''t see anything, how do you expect me to see anything?!" He grunted back quietly. "I don''t know! You''re inhuman, so do some inhuman stuff, tell me what''s going on up there!" The more she spoke the more demanding and unreasonable her tone became. Sanji nodded along. "You heard her! You better tell her now!" He glared at his arch-enemy. "Shut up, both of you! We all need to calm down or we won''t survive this!" Zoro didn''t take the abuse lying down. He roared back at them while his wounds acted up and started spewing blood. "Shit! Look at what you did!" He sat down on the ground with a pained expression. From behind them, a gunshot was heard and Sanj flew backwards and landed on his back. "SANJI!" Nami screamed out loud after blood from where the bullet penetrating him spewed onto her face. "Crew members of Monkey D Luffy, correct?" A woman with a monotone voice asked as she lowered her gun down to her side. Beside her, she had seven other people, all dressed in white suits. And one distinct feature they all had were the white masks on their faces with a small sun overlapping the hole over their right eye. "Who the hell are you!?" Zoro was quick to his feet, but his wounds didn''t make it easy for him to stay standing. "Chopper, check on Sanji! Nami, help him with anything he needs. Usopp, stay out of the way!" Zoro looked at the masked woman who shot Sanji. "Now, it''s time for some answers!" He drew his swords and took a stance against them. "Eleven, you''re enough for this man, make it quick." The woman said to a tall and slim man standing right behind her. "Thank you for this, Ma''am!" The masked man had a lot more emotions when speaking than the woman had. On the back of his right hand, he had the number eleven. The woman who ordered him was also numbered, she had the number eight written on the back of her hand. "You guys need to escape far away from here!" Zoro said before taking a heavy and bloody step forward. He pushed off the ground and flew towards agent number eleven. "Oni Giri!" As he flew he crossed his three swords and prepared to cut agent eleven into pieces. ''He doesn''t know haki!'' Agent eleven raised his arms and defended against the [Oni Giri] and with that, he stopped Zoro in his tracks. "What?!" The green-haired swordsman watched as his swords were stopped by two hands, but as they collided, he could swear on the fact that it felt like he was clashing with swords and not hands. "You''re overreaching, kid!" Agent eleven said and planed a kick that sent Zoro flying and skidding across the ground. "ZORO!!" Chopper and Usopp yelled at the same time. Their yelling attracted the attention of agent eight. "Better to eliminate threats early!" She raised her gun and shot Nami, but before the bullet could penetrate her, a black blur appeared and a second later more blood splattered on her face as Sanji once again took a bullet for his crew. "hm, how fascinating. The boy is barely conscious, but still, his body moved to protect her." Agent nine said with a cheerful tone. Agent Eight raised an eyebrow and once again pressed down on the trigger. Before the bullet left the barrel, a tiny rock flew at incredible speed straight into the barrel and caused the gun to explode on itself. "AHH!" Agent Eight fell on one knee in pain. "What happened?" Eleven turned around as he was walking towards Zoro. He saw Eight sitting on the ground growling in pain, "A malfunction, most likely!" Agent ten answered Eleven. "No! My guns do not break! Someone interfered!" Eight looked up with rage and heavy killing intent radiating off her. "Spread out! Search the surroundings, FIND THEM!" Her rage grew quickly and her finger broke apart the ground as her grip was iron tight. "No need, Sweetheart! I''m right here!" A low-pitched voice sounded out from above them. All the agents looked up, and so did the Straw hats. What they saw on the roof was a dwarf-sized man with half his body scarred from what looked like a burn injury. "Genma!" Eight hissed while holding her hand that needed immediate medical attention. Genma smiled back at her and jumped down from the roof. He landed on the ground in front of the half-dead Sanji and terrified Nami. "You three," Genma glanced over and Nami, Chopper and Usopp and said. "Stay put, let us handle this!" "W-Who are you?" Usopp asked, scared out of his mind. This short man radiated power. He was more scared of this man than he was of Crocodile. "Friends, that''s all you need to know!" Shiryu had appeared behind them, and with him, he had most of the Zero division Inner Circle members. Everyone except Minerva and Annabelle as they were away dealing with another affair. "Why are people like you allying with rookies like them?" Eight said. She had a hard time controlling her tone of voice. You could hear the extreme pain and hatred she was experiencing. "Who said anything about allies? Do we need a reason to fuck over your operations?" Rick, the tall and slim man with hundreds of scars on his body said happily. Albion, the giant man that looked like one big muscle nodded to Rick''s words. "On top of that, we just love killing you guys, so you better prepare yourself for death, Eight!" Said the giant with a smile. Zoro finally managed to stand on his feet again. "Guys! You okay?" He yelled worriedly. Even more, people had joined now and he didn''t know if they were friends or not. Eleven that had temporarily forgotten about him dashed towards him with the intent to kill. "Oh, no you don''t!" Genma raised his finger and the ground in front of Zoro rose and created a natural barrier blocking Eleven. "Rick!" Genma said and immediately, the scarred swordsman spun around on one foot and springboarded off that foot to fly towards Eleven. He appeared by Eleven''s side quickly and the agent was forced to abandon Zoro to defend against Rick. "Nice to see you again!" Rick said as they pushed against each other, sword against fists. "Can''t say the same!" Eleven stopped pushing, forcing Rick off balance for a single moment. "Die!" He raised his fist and prepared to kill Rick. "I''m just baiting!" Rick said and right then Shiryu''s blade came and cut Eleven into two pieces. ''W-Who are these people?'' Nami thought as she watched the brutal killing of agent Eleven. She woke up from her trance when Genma spoke to her. "Girl, you should hurry to save your friend or he will die. We will take care of them so focus on keeping him alive. "Eh, Y-YES! Thank you!" Nami said and turned to Chopper. "Come on, we can''t let Sanji die!" She said and Chopper nodded and started working on Sanji. ------------------------------------------- End Chapter 186 - Chapter 188 Shiryu and Rick joined Genma and Albion back with the panicked rookie pirate crew. "Spread out, separate and retreat, we can''t win against them!" Eight declared her orders and immediately and without hesitation the now six other agents separated and started running in different directions. Eight with her injured hand also disappeared. "Should we give chase?" Albion asked Shiryu, the leader of the group. "No, let them be. Only agents above six are worth our time, Albion, go fetch Crocodile." "Understood!" He bent down and jumped away. His leap took him across half the city towards where Crocodile was fighting against Monkey D Luffy. "Who the hell are you people?" Zoro who was barely alive asked as he stumbled over to them with his swords in hand. "Boy, you should rest unless you want to succumb to your injuries." Genma gave Zoro a stern look that made it clear he wasn''t joking. Zoro had inhuman willpower, but as the saying goes, even Gods can die, and if Gods can die, so can Zoro. "Not before you tell me who you are!" "You aren''t ready for that yet!" Shiryu interrupted and said. "Your crew just entered Grand Line, it is so much you don''t know, and even now, by just us saving you, those agents will come after you again. Your journey just became a lot more dangerous!" Shiryu waved towards his men and they started walking away. "Be careful, and lay low for a while!" He said as the two groups parted ways. "Zoro, do you have any idea of who they were?" Nami asked carefully. She was looking at the departing group of strange yet unknown men. "No idea, another Warlord maybe. They did appear to have some form of connection to Crocodile. But I don''t think they''re related to the rebellion, so maybe they came to stop it." He was just throwing out wild guesses. "Yeah, maybe! I doubt that''s the last time we''ve seen them." Nami said quietly. ****************************************** "By order of the Marine Headquarters, acting with the authority of the world government, in accordance with the naval enemy seizure clause. You are henceforth stripped of all your titles and privileges granted to you by the world government." The female Marine known as Tashigi stood above the unconscious body of Crocodile with a slightly saddened expression. She was completely exhausted, she slowly raised her hand and pointed at the now-former Warlord of the Sea. "Men! Take him!" She looked back at her men. It was then a figure that no one saw appeared far above them, and that figure was quickly falling towards them. "Look out down below!" The figure yelled loudly and crashed down beside Crocodile. Tashigi together with her men got blown away when he landed on the ground. Albion stood up and looked around, in his grasp he had Crocodile. "I did warn you, so you can''t blame me if you''re all dead!" "STOP! Who are you?!" Tashigi yelled while forcing her body to stand, she drew her sword and dashed towards Albion without regard for her safety. He just looked at her calmly. "Don''t hit me, little Marine, I won''t be nice if you do!" His tone was almost childlike, but it still carried tons of weight. "Release him!" Tashigi raised her sword, jumped up and struck down on Albion''s shoulder with all her power. Her sword bounced off his skin like she had struck the worlds strongest metal. "What? How?!" "Little Marine, not too good at listening to others!" Albion''s hand moved quickly and gripped her by the throat. Thanks to being just as tall as Doflamingo, Albion looked like a giant compared to her. "You hit me, so I have to kill you now!" "TASHIGI!!" One of her men yelled as all of them tried to stand up. "Goodbye!" Albion raised Tashigi into the air. ''I''m sorry, Captain Smoker!'' That was her last thought as the ground exploded from having Albion slam her down on it. He let go off the now dead Marine and looked at the other Marines with tears streaming down their faces. "No means no! You don''t hit me if I don''t want to!" After speaking his piece, he took off in another incredible leap and disappeared from view. He left the Marines with broken hearts and spirits, and the civilians were terrified. ---------------------------------------- End Chapter 187 - Chapter 189 Bradley was back in Kong''s office, and both of them wore sour expressions, except one of them wore it genuinely while the other one was quite content in reality. "What to do!?" Kong looked more miserable than when Sengoku saw a large stack of papers. "The news coming off Alabasta is troubling, to say the least. The king has the throne, the rebellion was settled, but Crocodile has yet to be located." He looked up at his favourite Admiral. "This is your speciality, where has Amell taken Crocodile? His headquarters? Or maybe with Ginrummy!" "First of all, I can see that you''re blaming yourself, don''t do that. No one could have known Crocodile had the backing of an emperor. So, for the moment, stop focusing on that Warlord, as capturing Crocodile is impossible now that Shiryu managed to recover him. He is gone, so let''s focus on the bigger picture here." "I know, but it''s damn frustrating. Fourteen years of silence, and now suddenly he''s making all these moves. Why now?" "I think I have an idea," Bradley said and received a glare from Kong that told him to stop withholding information. "Take Toshiro for example. He hates pirates, yet he joined the most dangerous one, why?" Kong was apprehensive to where these questions were going, but after a few seconds of recalling, he started to understand. "Common goal! He joined Amell because the one thing he hates more than pirates are us, the world government. So, you''re thinking his goals are in line with Dragon''s?" "Maybe. I see that as the most likely option." Bradley adjusted his position and continued. "What do we know for sure? Amell controls the biggest army in the world, almost surpassing the Marines and world governments combined forces. Now, for our speculations, Amell has power or technology to keep his bases air-born, as it would explain how we can''t locate the biggest army in the world. If you had the biggest army in the world and you lived and could freely move in the air, and you hated the world government, what would you do?" Bradley raised one of his eyebrows and watched how the gears inside Kong''s head was turning. "If I had all that. All I would need to do is pick a date for the attack! This is of course under the pretence that he has truly mastered flying." Kong sighed out loud. "Of course, but what I''m saying is, would it be so bad to prepare for such an attack?" "I will talk to the elders about your concerns, Bradley. As always, I appreciate you coming here, I know you''re busy with that new emperor and Big Mom becoming more aggressive." Kong leaned back on his chair. "Knowing those old fools, as soon as they hear that these are my concerns, they''ll just dismiss it without a second thought. That''s how it''s always gonna be, for I hate them, and they hate me." Bradley''s tone was stern, and Kong knew it was no changing his mind on this, at least not easily. "It can not always be like that, my old friend. Especially not if you''re gonna be fleet-admiral soon." "Yeah, we''ll see about that! Those bastards are gonna wanna have me sign papers, making me their slave, like poor Sengoku is now. You know I would kill myself or defect the second they try that, and they are gonna try and control me the higher I climb in the ranks." "We''ll cross that bridge when we come to it. For now, let us focus on Amell!" Kong was twirling his pen between his fingers. "We need to be ahead of him here, Bradley. Got any ideas?" "No, but let''s brainstorm!" Bradley and Kong shared a chuckle and a knowing look. Before they could continue, a knock came from the door to the office, "Come in!" Kong said loudly, escaping his silly persona and entering Chief-commander attitude. "Sorry to disturb you, Sir Kong!" A seemingly blind man with a walking stick walked through the door and into the room. Kong held up his hand to stop the man, "Nonsense, Issho, what''s the nature of your visit?" "Confirmation just came in from the number team tracking Straw hat Luffy. Nico Robin seemed to have joined them. Should we move in to apprehend her?" "No, continue to observe!" Kong took out a letter from behind the desk, "It''s not confirmed whether or not the Gotei is protecting them, but if they are, engaging without enough information will only get those agents killed." He offered the letter to Bradley. "Take this to Sengoku!" He said. "In that case should we call off the tracking team? They are just as likely to get caught by The Gotei as if they would have engaged." Issho said seriously. "Don''t call them off just yet. Tell them priority number one is safety on this mission, and tell them to keep their distance and not engage Straw hat under any circumstances." "I understand! Well, if you''ll excuse me!" Issho bowed and walked out after Kong gave him permission to leave the room. He turned to Bradley and smiled. "You should go as well, you have duties to attend to!" "That I do!" "It was good seeing you again, my friend!" Kong and Bradley stood up and shook hands with a smile. "You too, Kong!" Bradley said and left the room. ------------------------------------------------------ End Chapter 188 - Chapter 190 "How''s this?" Sylvia said as she held up a very tiny dress. Amell looked up and tilted his head to the side, "I think Valerie will have a hard time moving around and training in it!" "It''s not for training, stupid! Plus, they are only a few weeks old, so at least let her learn how to walk before starting plan out her training." "As you wish. But, since you said it like that, the second Valerie takes her first steps, her training begins." He signed the last report and looked over at the crib where the twins were sleeping. "You''re impossible, you know that?" She was too exhausted to argue, so she simply let it be. "I know, it runs in the family!" "Run its course is what it should do, and soon," Sylvia complained silently as she turned her back to Amell and walked over to the twins. "Don''t be like that! You love this side of me!" He wore a smug smile and tapped the desk slowly with his finger. "I''m not sure I do." She leaned over the crib and looked down on her adorable children. "I love them, that I know for sure. By the way, Ryu contacted me when you were out." She turned to her husband who was looking at her with suspense. "And? What did he want?" "Naruto and Sasuke wanted to come and visit. I told them they could come and visit anytime, I hope that was okay?" "Those two boys are my family, and I would never say no to family. Plus, this is surprisingly good timing for them to visit." Amell put a finger to his chin and leaned back on his chair. "What do you mean, love?" "A war is brewing, and those two still hasn''t experienced the horror of war. They are war-virgins so to speak." Amell''s vulgar wording caused Sylvia to cringe, but still, she agreed. "Indeed, but do you think it''s necessary to drag them into this world''s problems?" "The Elemental nations have Kabuto to worry about, and when he makes a move, Naruto and Sasuke will most likely be at the front lines guiding and inspiring their armies. It will do them good if they get to experience war before that so they won''t freeze up when their war against Kabuto begins. And, this war will happen on my terms, so I will have no problem to keep them safe." "Wow, what a thoughtful father, those boys are lucky to have you." She said in sarcasm. "By the way, it''s been a while since I saw Shisui, where did that boy go? I liked him." Sylvia started reminiscing. "Oh, he is here." Amell pointed behind him and from behind the chair, a familiar Uchiha stepped out. "Lord Amell, Lady Sylvia, good day!" Shisui said calmly. He received a cheerful nod from Amell, and a surprised expression adorned Sylvia''s face. "Shisui, how long have you been here?" "Three weeks. Lord Amell brought me back into active service after the twins birth." Shisui smiled at Sylvia who after a few seconds smiled back at him. "I have been super busy being the emperor lately so I activated him again as an extra pair of hands." "Do you have to say activate? That sounds like he is one of Gotei''s machines, isn''t he family?" Sylvia offered a sympathetic glance to the semi-immortal Shisui. "Sorry, sorry, it''s the apathetic emperor inside of me." "I do not mind the wording, My Lord!" Shisui placed a hand above his heart and bowed with sincerity. "Stop that, Shisui. Don''t let my husband treat you like some object!" "If that is what is required of me, then I would accept becoming a wooden box." "Where the hell is this conversation going?" Amell looked back at his Uchiha shadow, "Shisui, my wife has barely slept for five weeks, so just ignore everything she says." "Your will is my command, My Lord!" Shisui straightened out his body and bowed his head. "Things is starting to go off-topic, so, let''s bring it back. When Naruto and Sasuke come I most likely won''t be here as I have a bunch of stuff to take care of in the upcoming weeks. I will leave the boy''s arrival to you, Sylvia." Amell said. "Do you really think that is such a good idea, love? As you said yourself, I have barely slept at all since the twins birth, the chances of me filling their heads with awful ideas are pretty big, wouldn''t you say?" "I think Naruto and Sasuke should count themselves lucky to hear the wise words of your majesty!" Shisui managed to say that without any embarrassment. A feat that Amell silently complimented him on. "Don''t try and flatter me, boy. Well, Amell, do you still want me to handle their arrival? Wouldn''t Byakuya or one of them boys handle that better?" "You don''t have to sit them down and give them some great life advice, just welcome them and introduce them to the place." Amell snickered to himself for reasons the other two didn''t understand. "Contact Ryu and tell him that the boys are welcome any time." He looked at Shisui and the young Uchiha nodded. "And now that you reminded me of that, I suppose I should get going, I have too much to do so I can''t justify sitting here any longer." Amell rose up from his chair and stretched his arms. "Shisui, stay here and help my darling wife with anything she needs, and if the boys come when you''re here, make sure they understand the dangers of this world." "It shall be done, Lord Amell!" "Good, now comes the frustrating part, where to start?" He ran through all the things he had to do in his mind. "What are the most pressing concerns?" Sylvia asked while stroking her daughter''s cheek. "I have to meet Whitebeard, then I have to find Rayleigh and those are just the easiest to do. Sometimes I do wonder why I created an empire, especially since I hate fame." He laughed at himself, and Shisui tried not to laugh but he couldn''t help but smile. "You are a walking contradiction, love," Sylvia said. "It appears so." Amell and Sylvia shared a look. "Take care of the twins while I''m away, and make sure you mention my name in every other sentence." "I''ll be sure to do that, love!" "Good, and if anything important comes up, tell Shiryu about it before contacting me. Only call me if it''s an emergency." Amell appeared beside Sylvia in an instant and stole a kiss from her, "Take care!" His words echoed for a moment after he disappeared. "Hopefully he comes back within the next decade." She sighed and returned her focus on her kids. ********************************* For the last few weeks, Robin had experienced some of the best time she had ever had. After Alabasta and all the craziness that happened over there, her plan was to return to the Gotei and serve and train directly under her grandpa. That was what she dreamed of doing. She wanted to follow in his footsteps, as the commanders did, and more specifically, as Toshiro did. She was about as close to him as she was to Amell. This was until she stumbled upon a very strange crew, with a very peculiar captain. She had almost immediately become fascinated with them, and with Luffy as the captain of them all. She decided to try and see if she could join them for a while, just to experience what they were like even more than she saw in Alabasta. Now, after a few weeks with them, she found herself not wanting to leave them. She had never had this much fun in her life. "Robin? Are you okay?" Nami asked as for the last thirty seconds Robin had been standing still outside a shop window, just staring longingly at all the products at display. She snapped back into reality and gave Nami a quick nod. "I''m fine, I usually find myself lost in thought a lot nowadays." She tried to smile, but some unknown weight on her heart made the smile feel disingenuous. "Okay... If you say so." Nami could clearly see that something was up, but since Robin was new to the crew and had a very mysterious air to her, she decided not to dig deeper this time. "So, you wanna go inside or what?" She changed the subject to try and clear the uncomfortable atmosphere. "In where?" Robin tilted her head, not really sure what Nami was talking about. "The store?" Nami pointed at the window in front of them. "You have been standing here for like a minute just staring at it without blinking." A smile crept onto Nami''s face as she saw Robin''s cheeks grow a little red in embarrassment. "No, I-I''m fine!" "Are you sure? I sto... I mean, I borrowed some of Zoro''s money, so we could if you would want to." Nami took out a large stack of money that clearly wasn''t hers, and you could see that by how sneaky she tried to be when showing it to Robin. "I''m fine really, thanks anyway Nami." Robin relaxed and her smile became a little more genuine with Nami''s amusing behaviour. "Your loss, I''m going in. We wouldn''t wanna waste this opportunity Zoro provided for us." Nami''s foxy smile put Robin in a much better mood than before. Just when the redhead beauty was gonna enter the store, Robin''s hand came and grabbed Nami''s arm and threw her to the side, slightly hurting the money-hungry pirate. "Robin, what the hell!? That hurt!" Nami was about to yell more, but the place where she had been standing blew apart when some sort of thin energy blade struck the ground. "Nami, get behind me, we have company!" Robin''s entire aura changed extremely quickly. Nami had never seen this side of her so she was very slow to react to what just happened. In fact, she was so slow to react that it took about the time it would take her to blink ones, and now they had both been surrounded. "Impressive combat reflexes, Nico Robin." A man dressed in a sort of tribal tattoo said to the black-haired beauty. "You know what comes next!" He said and his tone hid killing intent that Robin picked up on, but Nami didn''t. "Come willingly, and she gets to live. Resist, and she dies!" Another one of the group said stoically. Nami''s entire body tensed up when she heard those words. Dies? She would die if Robin didn''t come with them, what was going on here? She had no idea how they knew Robin, or what she had done to anger them. "Nami, listen carefully!" Robin took a deep breath and said. "I need to go. Don''t ask why, do not argue with me, and do not try and stop me!" While speaking, she made sure to speak clearly and emphasise all the words so the masked individuals would focus on her upper body, and not pay attention to her hands specifically. "Robin, wait! What is going on here? Who are these people?!" Nami, in spite of her cowardly personality, stood up and grabbed Robin''s arm with a stern look. Her mind screamed danger, but her body moved despite that. "Nami! Do not argue with me!" Robin grabbed Nami''s hand and yanked it off her arm, while simultaneously transferring a tiny little device from her hand to Nami''s. "Just leave and tell the crew to forget about me, for you will never see me again!" Robin pushed Nami down on the ground with a cold look, something which scared Nami a little. "I''m ready to go!" The man leading the group walked up and grabbed hold of Robin, and together with the rest, they disappeared using some form of movement technique. "Robin!" Nami got up on her knees and yelled in every direction around her, the panic was evident on her face. She looked around the street devoid of all life with a distant look, unknowingly, she had grown very close to Robin. As the only other woman on the crew, they shared a bond together that none of the guys on the crew could relate to. "I-I need to tell the others!" Nami looked down and looked at the tiny little device Robin had stealthily given to her before they took her away. "What is this?" A small square with no defining features other than a little blue button. She stroked the button with her thumb but decided in the end not to press it until she had consulted this with the others. -------------------------------------------------------- End Chapter 189 - Chapter 191 "WHAT!" The table split in two as her captain drove his fist through it. Nami stood in front of her crew while the light in the room diminished slowly as the sun settled down and the fleeting daylight left. She had expected this reaction from him, but what she didn''t expect was the utter silence from the rest. Nobody said anything, and they didn''t need to as their facial expression made it clear how they all felt. Anger, sorrow and disappointment. This was the emotion running rampant inside all of them. "What''s the plan, captain?" Zoro''s powerful yet oddly cold and detached voice came from the side after all the table splinters found their place around the room. "I say we have two choices," Sanji started in an equal amount of seriousness. "We press this button, or we don''t. No matter the choice we make, we are still going after her, right?" He glanced at Luffy who at the end of the day had the final say in all of this. "Press it, Zoro!" Luffy said to his vice-captain. "It doesn''t matter what happens after we press it, someone took one of my crew members, and I won''t stand for it!" After he was done listening to Luffy, he pressed the button with some caution. After a little static noise, everything went silent until a voice pierced the silence. "Robin? Are you okay?" A cold voice that almost by itself froze the room came out from that little device. "WHO ARE YOU? ARE YOU THE BASTARD THAT TOOK ROBIN?!!" Luffy snatched the device from Zoro and screamed into it as loud as he could. "Shut up!" The voice said, clearly very annoyed. "Firstly, who are you? Secondly, what happened to Robin?" The voice was calm, cold, almost emotionless. Zoro took it back from Luffy and started speaking. "This is Zoro of the Straw hat pirates. This device was left to our navigator by Robin before she was taken away by unknown attackers. Now, identify yourself!" "Straw Hats? I see... This was unexpected!" "Stop screwing around! Who are you, and how do you know Robin?!" Nami said from the side. Her frustration was building up, and she didn''t understand why Robin gave her this device. "Calm down!" The voice said, "Navigator, you were with Robin as she was taken, describe the attackers. Tell me everything, any distinct features on them, anything at all." Nami calmed down and started thinking back. She started slowly, but the more she talked the more she started to remember about the attack. "Hm, from simply targeted guessing, that most likely was World Government agents. If your navigator wasn''t there the chances of Robin being successfully taken would have been slim. They moved in and used your navigator to make sure Robin would surrender. Without you there, Robin is quick and skilled enough to escape them in a packed city like Water 7." The voice didn''t have any directed hatred or anger towards Nami, it was more like it just spoke the facts. "It''s my fault?" Nami sat down on a chair as she lost a little piece of herself. Her gaze was hollow and mentally, she was kicking and screaming at herself. "It was not your fault, Nami! Don''t listen to this bastard!" Sanji blew out some smoke and glared at the little device in Zoro''s hand. "What now? You still haven''t told us who you are, and somehow I doubt you will, so just tell us where they took her!" "You''re in Water 7. Most likely, Enis Lobby. Though I should tell you, you don''t have to worry about her. Those agents most likely didn''t know who they took. Robin will be back in no time." "What do you mean? Who are you?!" Nami said, very confused. "Hahaha, your crew has been placed in the middle of a big plot you''re not even aware of. Albeit, that is something you don''t have to worry about yet. You can just sit tight, Robin is in our hands now." After that, the connection cut off. The crew stood around and just stared at the device. This was until Luffy started walking towards the door. "Luffy?" Nami said worriedly. Her voice stopped him in his tracks and he looked back at them with determined eyes. "Get ready, we''re going to Enis Lobby. Robin belongs to my crew, she''s our friend. We will go there, and we will sink that place to the bottom of the ocean if we have to!" ********************************************** On the sea train to Enis Lobby, the agents sat inside one of the carts with Robin in shackles. Together with them sat a certain cyborg, and among them all, he was the only one that had said anything. He was sporadically yelling at the agents, trying to find out why the hell they took him as well. "Hey, you, the loud one, what''s your name?" Robin finally asked as she had enough of his yelling. "FRANKY! Who the hell are you?" His tone, his attitude, everything about him became more violent and energetic now that he finally got someone else to talk beside himself. "Robin, and can you calm down! You are giving me a headache, so please stop yelling." She tried to speak as calmly as possible, but that proved more difficult than she thought because she was very irritated. "Calm down? Why!? They came and beat me up and kidnapped me, so, tell me why should I calm down?" He glared at the agents around them, but they didn''t even seem to acknowledge his existence. "Because as I said, you''re giving me a HEADACHE!" She lost control of her voice and yelled at him. This provoked a reaction from the leader of the agents. "So, you can in fact display emotions, Nico Robin." He said calmly. "Stop calling me that, that''s not my name!" She glared at the agent, not caring at the moment for what she was revealing. "Oh, it''s not?" Another long-nosed agent asked he seemed quite interested in her. "No, not anymore. I stopped being Nico Robin when you people slaughtered my home and my people!" Her tone was fierce, the agents could tell she didn''t fear them, and that intrigued the leader greatly. "Where does this confidence come from? Where is the woman that would do anything to keep her life, you are not like the reports speak of you." He said. "I grew up, got accepted into a new family, don''t think that I fear you anymore." "A new family? Tell me, who is this family of yours?" "You''ll see. My grandfather knew of your actions before you even thought of them, I''m sure of it. There''s nothing he doesn''t know or see. So, at the end of this day, you all will die, and I will walk out with a smile on my face and without a scratch on me!" That little speech earned her a slap from the only female agent among them. "You would be wise to shut up now!" She said stoically. "That, you will regret!" Robin was mad, very mad, so she couldn''t help herself. When the first words left her mouth, it was already impossible to stop them. "Quite the feisty one, aren''t you," The female agent got in before she noticed her leader glaring at her. He then looked over Robin and Franky and said, "It matters not who she is, or who she thinks will come and save her. Eventually, she''ll die by the hands of the government. I will have peace the rest of the way to Enis Lobby!" His words brough back the silence, even from Franky. Though, Franky started to like Robin a bit more from how she talked to the agents. ------------------------------------------ End Chapter 190 - Chapter 192 Amell should have by now arrived at Sabaody to seek out Rayleigh, but on his way there, he felt something tug on his soul. It was almost like a calling to his very being, and it was coming from off-world. So, in the middle of his flight, he stopped and sat down crossed-legged in the middle of the air and proceeded to meditate with closed eyes. Amell had a spiritual connection to every world he had ever been in, so it was possible for someone to contact him off-world, but you needed to be pretty powerful to do that. ''Vaatu, help me find this energy source, and if you recognize it, tell me'' He was searching every nook and cranny of his soul to find where this source was coming from. If he could find it, he could backtrack its path and find out which world the calling came from. ''Found it!" Vaatu''s stoic voice sounded out soon after. ''And I know who it is, I won''t forget that spiritual presence ever.'' He said. From that Amell immediately jumped to the most logical conclusion. ''Rava?'' He asked Vaatu. ''Indeed. It''s an unintentional calling. I assume it to be the avatar, but he is doing it without knowledge. He managed to tap into the lingering spiritual presence of you on that world.'' ''Is it Aang? Is he still the Avatar?'' Vaatu opened up the spirit channel so Amell could tap into the calling as well. As soon as he did, he felt that familiar energy of Aang. Just this time, Aang seemed to be at least a hundred times more powerful than before. "I suppose I could take some time off and go say hello!" Amell gathered abundant amounts of cosmic energy and sent his consciousness towards the outer reaches of the multiverse. ****************************** There existed only one place in the world where Aang could go to escape the stress of being the Avatar and one of the leaders of the world. That place was the mountain where he currently sat and meditated on. The same mountain of the master he hadn''t seen or heard from in over two decades. Aang was thirty-two years old this year, and by this point in time, he was a father, a husband, and one of the two founders of the newly established Republic city. Between all his duties, the only place where he could come and talk freely anymore was here with his forgotten master. Someone only he knew about. Katara and Sokka had mysteriously forgotten about his master when he disappeared all those years ago, and Aang still didn''t know how his master did that. Though, he knew his master was a lot more powerful and knowledgeable than he let on so he accepted it as one of his master''s many magic tricks. "Master, you would not believe the week I''ve had..." Aang sat with crossed legs and stared at the spot where his master stood when he turned into hundreds of light particles and disappeared. His voice was rough and quite deep as he was now in his early thirties. Aang also looked the part of someone that had left their twenties behind. He looked exactly his age, and he was quite handsome, a "Ladykiller" as his wife had put it. "I don''t even know where to start. Oh, I can start with my kids as they are growing up fast." Aang sighed out loud and slowly closed his eyes. "Though, I feel a rift with, Kya and Bumi. I don''t know what it comes from, but sometimes it feels like they are looking at me with anger rather than the tranquillity like I try and instil on them. Is that just my demons playing tricks on me?" "Do you want an answer to that?" An old, familiar voice sounded out and Aang looked up at the spot in front of him, and there, now sat his old master, Amell. This temples guardian from over a century ago, and one of the most powerful benders in the world. "Master?!" Aang on pure reflex and instinct shot a blast of air against Amell, and to his surprise, it passed right through his master. "Am I seeing things?" He asked himself and the image of his master. "You are not. Though, I''m not really here." "What''s going on?" Aang sat with his back straight and stared into the eyes of his master. "I heard your calling and I came to answer. So, here I am!" "My calling? Do you mean to say, you can hear what I say up here?" Aang was shocked to the core. It was true that no place made him feel safe like this place, but he always thought it was because of the memories planted here, and not the fact of his master still being here. "No, that''s not entirely right. My spiritual energy will always linger here, and this time you somehow tapped into Rava''s energy. That split second gave you enough power needed to call upon the lingering energy here, which is mine." The more he talked, the wider Aang''s eyes got. "Rava? Who is that?" "How much do you know about the birth of the Avatar?" "Nothing I suppose. Haven''t Avatars always been?" Aang knew of Avatar history, but not enough to claim to know this "Birth" Amell was talking about. "Come closer, knucklehead." Amell''s use of his old nickname for Aang caused a smile to sprout on the Avatar''s face. Aang stood up and knelt in front of Amell. "Let me show you." He placed a finger on Aang''s forehead, and in that instance, thousands upon thousands of images and vivid memory fragments played inside Aang''s mind. They stood connected, finger to forehead for ten minutes before Amell removed it and allowed Aang a second to comprehend everything he saw. "I-I don''t know what to say, Master. How do you know of this? This was a very long time ago." Aang was still analysing everything he had seen. "As I said all those years ago. You have your secrets and I have mine." He smiled at his student, who answered him with a tired sigh. "I see that you haven''t changed at all, Master." "No, I have not, still the same nice guy I was when you were walking around in diapers," Amell said teasingly. Aang shook his head, but quickly raised his head and stared at Amell''s hand. "Master, you touched my forehead, how?" Aang noted that his air blast went through Amell previously. "Magic?" Amell answered with another tease answer. "Master, please! Is it spirit bending? I had no idea you knew that form of bending." Aang was quite excited about that prospect as maybe his master could teach him more of spirit bending. "It is. I am using it to be here. And it is spirit bending that allowed me to touch you, though I call it energy bending, it is the same thing." "Is this similar to manifesting inside the spirit world?" Aang studied Amell''s figure, but no matter how he looked at this it did not look at all like how he projected himself inside the spirit world. This looked so real, and he had never heard of spirit projection in the physical world by a human who was still alive. "In a way, this is a more advanced form of spirit projection. By using this technique I can manifest my physical presence in this world, and that''s how I was able to touch you. Though, that is a very draining thing to do." "Master, will you teach me more about spirit bending, or energy bending as you call it." Aang was in the process of reverting to his old child self the longer he talked to his master. "Do you wish for that? Your family already seems to be slipping away from you, and starting training with me again won''t make that problem stop growing it might get worse since my training will take a few years for most to learn. Maybe since you''re the Avatar it will be faster for you." "I love my family. I love my children and I wanna be here for them as long as possible. You can help me with that, can''t you, Master?" Aang''s words held a lot of weight and responsibility, and deep inside those words laid a hidden meaning. The meaning of those words wasn''t lost on Amell. "Who knew that air-bending brat from a hundred years ago would grow up to be such a caring father," Amell said and released a little chuckle. "Aang, you''re talking about your fleeting life force, correct?" "So, I was right, nothing escapes your eyes, Master!" Aang bowed low to him and said with a shaky voice. "Is there anything you can do?" "Are you doubting me, brat? After all these years, haven''t you learned that there is nothing I can''t do!" Amell said proudly and Aang''s eyes lit up in delight. "Can you do something about it then?" "Your spirit is tired. Those hundred years trapped in that ice weakened you immensely. I can rejuvenate you and essentially give you those years back. What say you to that?" Amell saw the delight on Aang''s face grow more prominent. "I would say please!" Aang bowed his head in respect again. "Lean forward!" Amell said to Aang and the boy did as he was told by his old master. Amell raised his hand and placed it above Aang''s heart. "This might feel a little uncomfortable," Amell said as he began the process. He was right, Aang could still breath, but the sensation he experienced was that he couldn''t breathe and therefore wasn''t getting any air into his lungs. He was still breathing, but the feeling of not being able to breath was so strong that he genuinely thought he wasn''t breathing. About fifteen minutes later that uncomfortable sensation disappeared and he could once again tell that he was breathing just fine. "We''re done! Your slowly rotting soul is back in peak condition. How do you feel?" Amell asked his student. Aang sat there clenching his fists with a wild smile on his face. "I feel incredible. I haven''t felt anywhere near this good since back in those temple days with Gyatsu and everyone else. You''re incredible, Master!" Aang looked at Amell and placed his forehead to the ground. "Thank you, Master! I can never repay this debt!" "Do not worry about that! See this as the parting gift you never got when I left." Amell smiled and brough Aang up from the ground. "Now, I need to go, I can''t stay here any longer as this is very tiring to do. I am quite a distance away from this place." Amell laughed, but he was telling the truth. He was communicating with the outer multiverse. It can''t be explained how much energy this drained. Not even someone like Amell could do this for very long. "Thank you again, Master! Have a safe journey back!" Aang cupped his hand towards his master. "Thank you. Oh, and Aang, traditions, legacies and all that, it''s all-important stuff. But, nothing''s more important than family, so make sure you spend some time with your family! Also, don''t worry about your energy bending training, I''ll return in time." Amell said before he exploded into a mass of light particles leaving Aang sitting there looking at his departing light with a stunned expression. ********************************************** Amell opened up his eyes and he was still hovering above the ocean with crossed legs. He stared at the horizon for a second before sighing to himself. "I didn''t wanna use you anymore, but I can''t deny how useful you are." He said before he spoke in his mind. ''System, hear me!'' [What are your commands, My Host?] That very familiar stoic tone of voice sounded out inside his mind. ''System, is it possible to sync Aang''s world''s time to this one? One second here is one second there? Is this possible?'' [yes, Host. Divine energy can rewrite anything and everything. Nothing is impossible.] ''Do it! Sync our world''s times. I want to meet Aang again, and Toph.'' [Syncyng... Complete! Worlds, 11 and 172,222,554 are now synced together] ''Thanks, System, I appreciate you still being here with me!'' [System is owned by host, Portgas D Amell. The system can not be unbound from Host.] ''Good to hear, thanks, for now, System.'' [No problem, Host] And with that Amell smiled in success and started planning his return to that world someday in the future. Just then his earpiece started ringing. "Yes?" He said as he answered. "Lord Amell, Lady Robin has been taken by who we suspect to be CP9!" The female voice said somewhat emotionally, you could tell the operator cared for Robin''s well being. "Who reported it?" Amell asked as the winds around him picked up in speed. "Toshiro Hitsugaya. He was contacted by the Straw Hat crew via Robin''s emergency responder connected to Toshiro. He is on his way to Enis Lobby where he suspects they have taken Robin." "I see. Call Toshiro and tell him to lock down Enis Lobby." Amell hung up and turned his gaze towards the direction of Enis Lobby. "Robin, sit tight! Grandpa is on his way!" ----------------------------------- End Chapter 191 - Chapter 193 There wasn''t an exact timeline for when the train carrying Robin, granddaughter of Portgas D Amell would arrive at Enis Lobby. Though, that didn''t matter to Toshiro as he casually strolled around Enis Lobby and waiting for this train to arrive. Toshiro was among the most experienced people inside The Gotei. Even if his height made you think he was more inexperienced than he was, you would come to regret that preemptive judgement of character as he pierced you with his sword. He walked around Enis Lobby without anyone seeing him nor barely perceiving his presence. He was using one of Amell''s own created techniques. It was an ability that used magic to blend into the surroundings, basically becoming invisible. "Hello?" Toshiro''s earpiece started ringing and he answered immediately. "Sir, Lord Amell has ordered the lockdown of Enis Lobby. You are to only isolate it, not engage in battle. Lord Amell is on his way to Enis Lobby as we speak." "I see, thanks!" He hung up and started walking towards the main entrance to this Government base. **************************************** At the entrance which was Toshiro''s goal, the train had now arrived and out from it stepped Robin who had the agents walking behind her. "So, this is Enis Lobby? Looks nice, and I always wanted to visit this place." Robin looked around with a cheeky smile. "Probably looks better than the shithole you crawled out from." The female agent responded to her and pushed Robin forward so that she almost fell down. "Though it looks nice now, it will look better when it''s all up in flames." Robin smiled at her and spit back without a second thought. At this point, Franky was beyond impressed by this woman. She kept agitating the agents over and over and still, they didn''t kill her, and it looked like she knew they wouldn''t. "I will personally see to your execution!" "No, you won''t. When the time comes, you will beg me for forgiveness instead." Robin kept walking forward with each step becoming more confident than the last. Franky was, however, a lot more nervous then she was as he didn''t have a powerful grandpa or whatnot. The leading agent picked up a responder snail and called a number on it. "Hello?" A loud and arrogant voice came from the snail a second later. "Nico Robin is in custody and we have now arrived at Enis Lobby!" He said stoically. "Excellent! Bring her here now!" The voice said and the connection was cut off. "You heard the boss, move out!" The leading agent said with his very stoic tone of voice. ************************************************ On a weird-looking train approaching Enis Lobby, the Straw hat crew together with a bunch of shipwrights had gathered for an attack on Enis Lobby. Luffy, together with Zoro and Sanji stood on top the front of the train with anger and worry spread across their faces. Their anger was of course justified. "Are you guys sure you should do this?" A voice came from behind them, and a green-haired teen had appeared on the train and he was sitting with his legs dangling off the side. Even at this incredible speed, he didn''t look out of balance. One look told all three of them that this teen was more powerful than them. "Who are you and where the hell did you come from?" Sanji said with some caution. Zoro placed one hand on his swords and Luffy took on a serious stance. "Calm down, kids, I''m not here to fight you. Even if I were, you would be dead before you even knew how you died. So, how about dropping the caution, I just wanna talk!" He said while nonchalantly picking his nose. "Talk! What do you want?" Zoro said, still with his hands on his swords. Telling him not to be cautious only caused his alert level to shoot up even more. "The name''s Lubbock, I was just coming to have a look at this pirate crew everyone keeps talking about. This generation has some interesting rookies!" Lubbock said without a care in the world. Sanji lost his temper and kicked against Lubbock''s head with the intent to split it open. That didn''t go over well as Lubbock caught his leg inches away from his face. "Rude!" He said playfully. Luffy threw a punch and Zoro drew his sword and dashed at Lubbock. "Don''t think so," Lubbock raised his finger and both of them stopped immediately in their tracks. "What did you do to us?!" Zoro asked, bewildered as he couldn''t move, but couldn''t tell why. "Attacking Enis Lobby will set the whole world against you, are you ready for that?" Lubbock turned his head to Luffy and asked. "I''ll fight the world, I don''t care about that. I am just here to get our friend back!" Complete seriousness was the only thing audible emotion in his tone. Lubbock smiled and nodded. "Hahaha, I see! Let me give you guys some advice, don''t rush into New World. You and your crew are not ready for that sea yet." Lubbock snapped his fingers and they got their movement back. "See you around!" He said and disappeared from the spot in a burst of speed. The three friends were left standing there on the train slightly stunned. "Who the hell was that guy? And what was with that weird-ass ability of his, I couldn''t move no matter how much strength I put into my arms and legs." Zoro sheathed his swords again and sat down. "I don''t know either. But, the name Lubbock somewhat sounds familiar, I just can''t figure out where it''s from." Sanji took out another cigarette and lit it casually. ********************************************* In the air above the vast blue ocean, Amell was casually flying along. "If I appear here, my relation to Robin will definitely be exposed and that will put the Straw hats in even more danger then before. If Robin wants to continue with them, is it worth exposing that she is my granddaughter?" He shook his head and sighed. "They kidnapped my granddaughter, they won''t learn their lesson unless I destroy Enis Lobby entirely." He let out a slight bit of his aura and the sea parted ways underneath him as if it showed its respect and loyalty to a superior deity. "Time for the world to know what happens when you anger the worlds strongest grandpa!" --------------------------------------------------- End Chapter 192 - Chapter 194 Inside the main building of Enies Lobby, Robin was sitting huddled against the wall with a man practically scream-spitting in her face. This man was Spandam. He was the chief of the CP9, the group of agents that took Robin and Franky into custody. They were sitting on a couch in the same room, waiting for Robin''s transfer to be accepted and ready to go. "Not so tough now, are you?!" Spandam screamed directly in Robin''s face. His iron face mask covered most of his head, but the parts of his face that one could see revealed the madness lying somewhat dormant inside of him. Robin wanted to refute him many times, but he didn''t let her. whenever she would speak up, he would hit her across the face leaving a bright red mark and some blood, or he would increase the volume of his voice to overpower hers. Rob Lucci, the leader of the CP9 agents and the one leading the mission to kidnap Robin suddenly stood up with a worried expression. "Chief, call an emergency alert. Lockdown Enies Lobby and contact Marineford!" He said and his voice was no longer stoic and cold. He looked genuinely worried. "What''s going on? What do you mean?" Spandam took a break from abusing Robin and asked Lucci. "We''re under attack!" He said and pointed out the window. Outside, as soon as Lucci said they were under attack, and explosion occurred by the main gate. Spandam''s jaw hit the floor before rage started flowing through him. "WHO THE HELL IS ATTACKING US? GO DEAL WITH IT!" He looked at the members of CP9 and screamed in their faces. His spit flew everywhere and he ran over to his desk and picked up his snail phone. "It''s not working! Why the hell is this not working?!" Spandam screamed when he failed to get a signal. "They cut our communications, we appear to be on our own!" The only female CP9 agent said cautiously. "Blueno, go and find out who it is that''s attacking us." She said to a man that had hair like two horns on top of his head. "Right away!" He said and opened a door in mid-air and stepped inside and disappeared. "Chief, stay here while we go and deal with this," Lucci said now that he had somewhat calmed down. The reason he panicked wasn''t that they were under attack. No, as the explosion went off, he had felt an incredible aura. Something he would have expected from an emperor. It disappeared as soon as he felt it, but just that tiny bit of it had him pretty shaken up. "Obviously, it''s your job to fix this stuff!" Spandam said and sat down at his desk and started fiddling with the snail phone trying to fix the connection issue. *********************************************** At the entrance to Enies Lobby, the Straw hats had arrived and had begun their assault on the Government Base. Currently, they were stuck outside the gates battling hundreds of Marines and Government agents. Toshiro and Lubbock sat upon the first gates of Enies Lobby while observing the fighting. "So, that''s Ace''s little brother? He doesn''t look like much, does he?" Lubbock said as he glanced at his brother. "Well, I think he has great potential to be someone strong. It''s just that he might be a little too dense for my liking. He is the kind of person that will die fighting for the most stupid reason. I dislike those people." "isn''t the boss like that?" Lubbock asked as he was trying to embarrass Toshiro. "Yeah, maybe. But, in his case, it''s different as he can''t die." Toshiro sighed. "HEY! WHO ARE YOU? GET DOWN FROM THERE!" Ontop the gate, a Marine rookie had seen two teenagers sitting on the edge overlooking the fighting in the distance. And as those two teenagers turned around, the rookie''s face twisted into terror. "T-T-T-TOSHIRO!!" The marine stumbled backwards and immediately took off towards the door leading off this roof above the gate. "What was that about? How come he didn''t acknowledge me?" Lubbock said in anger. He stood up quickly, "I''ll go and beat some sense into that marine brat. Teach him who the true scariest brother is!" "Sit down, idiot! We have a guest!" Toshiro said lazily. "Hm, you mean him?" Lubbock pointed at nothing on the roof. But, where he pointed soon opened up like a door and out from seemingly mid-air stepped a man in a black suit. "Toshiro the Traitor. Lubbock the Mass Murderer. Are you two the ones organizing this little attack?" Blueno asked the two commanders. He had his guard up but still faced them both calmly. "No, this is all their dealings. Robin is part of their crew, right, so they''re here to get her back. Don''t you think so, brother?" Lubbock asked Toshiro cheerfully. "Indeed. they''re stupid and naive." "Are you two going to interfere?" Blueno asked with his guard now raised slightly in case they would attack. "Hm, are we?" Toshiro said to himself. "I don''t know, brother. Should we start a massacre? I could increase my fame further by starting a slaughter at Enies Lobby." Lubbock turned and smiled at blueno. The CP9 agent felt his mood worsen and a bad feeling started rising in his chest. "You should run along now, little agent. We have no interest in you, but if you continue to bother us. I will kill you myself." Lubbock said and raised his aura to put some cracks under his feet. Blueno was forced to take a step back when he was faced with that aura. "A-Air-door!" Blueno used his power to escape the place. "Don''t you get bored with bullying government agents"? Toshiro asked his brother with a lazy expression. "Never!" Lubbock said arrogantly and sat down next to his brother. *************************************** Back in Spandam''s office, a door opened up in mid-air and blueno came falling out of it. He had sweat running down his face and he looked around in worry, presumably checking so he landed in the right place. "Oy, Blueno, how did it go? And, why are you so jumpy?" Kalifa, the female CP9 agent asked worriedly. "They''re here! They''ve come!" Blueno said between deep breaths. "What are you talking about? Who has come?" "The Gotei! The twins are here, by the first gate!" Bluenot''s words caused distraught among the group. Spandam immediately felt his life flash before his eyes. "This is retribution for all the evil you''ve done!" Robin sat with a smug smile and looking straight at the chief of the CP9. Among the many things, Spandam despised, one of them were people looking down on him. "YOU, SHUT UP!" Spandam didn''t have time to say anything more as the windows in his office all exploded inwardly at the same time. One of the pieces of glass from one of the windows flew in the direction of Spandam and pierced his right arm and lodged itself in there. "AAAAHHH, SON OF A BITCH!!" From the outside, a man floated in and touched ground on the floor of the office. "I am here for a pickup!" ------------------------------------------------------- End Chapter 193 - Chapter 195 "Grandpa!" Robin said in the most cheerful tone she could muster. The horrifying realization for Spandam brough Robin great joy to see, and in turn, her smile grew wider. "G-GRANDPA!?" Spandam screamed at the top of his lungs. "HES YOUR GRANDPA!!?" "That I am! And, kidnapping her was a bad move, metal face." The overpowered Grandpa pulled out his emperor tone and stared down Spandam with his casual killing intent leaking out, which made the CP9 agents unable to take a single simple step in either direction. Amell turned his gaze towards Robin and noticed the fading, but still visible red mark on her cheek. "Now, this! Makes me angry!" He took a step in Spandam''s direction and the CP9 chief almost left his boots behind as he was launched back by a great blast of air. He crashed into the wall next to Franky. Amell turned to look at the core agents of CP9 and his tranquil smile sent a chill down their spine. "I am not killing someone who can not fight back." He stopped the leakage of his intent. "Come at me one at a time or all at once, I do not care either way." He stood casually with his hands behind his back and looked at Lucci. "DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA OF WHO I AM? WHO WE ARE? DO YOU DARE TO MAKE AN ENEMY OUT OF US!!?" Spandam had struggled his way upon his feet. His eyes were bloodshot and his mind was in shambles. "Lubbock, shut him up, please!" Amell said and Lubbock that stood by one of the windows. But, before he could do whatever it was he was planning to do to the chief, the massive door leading out from the office was slammed open and countless marines rushed into the room. This room was massive, so even though all of these marines rushed in, there was still plenty of empty space left. "Well, what do we have here?" From out in the corridor to the office came Bradley. He strolled in casually like he owned the place. "This is not what I expected to find when I came here!" He walked to the front of all the marines and laid eyes on Amell. "ADMIRAL BRADLEY! I COMMAND YOU TO KILL HIM! KILL HIM AND MAKE HIM PAY FOR HURTING ME!" At this moment it was like Spandam had seen the light. The graceful light of God. Bradley was known for having power comparable to an emperor, so it was no wonder that his confidence just shot through the roof. Bradley looked at Spandam and then back at Amell. "You have returned! I suppose this meeting was inevitable." His aura increased, causing random marines all around the base to faint. His might was truly immovable and rock-solid, just like a mountain. "A little earlier than expected, but now, it''s not going to change anything." The talk between these two thoroughly confused the marines around Bradley. CP9 stood frozen in their place admiring Bradley''s God-like presence. "Sir, what are your orders?" Bradley''s second-in-command asked while keeping one hand on his sword. He couldn''t deny that he was terryfied standing in front of Amell, the strongest emperor. But, Bradley''s reputation did him justice for no marine in here thought they could lose this battle with him here. "What a mess this is!" Bradley placed a hand on his sword and slowly pulled it out of its sheath. "May I?" He looked at Amell. "You may!" Amell answered casually. "WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON HERE!? DO SOMETHING, YOU USELESS ADMIRAL!!" Spandam screamed at the top of his lungs as Bradley turned around and faced his own marine horde. His aura went dark and dark clouds gathered in the sky above Enies lobby. The marines took a step back unconsciously. "I can''t believe that this is the second time I have to do this." Bradley looked over all the marines and started speaking. "My name... Is Portgas D Bradley. Son of Portgas D Amell, also known as the Enigmatic emperor. I granted you this knowledge so that when you get to the Underworld, you know who to blame. Wait for me there when I eventually join you all!" Bradley raised his sword slightly as all the people unaware of the truth felt their heads spinning in terror. "ADMI....!" A quick sideways slash was all it took for the heads to drop onto the floor, and for the sea of blood to quickly fill the floor of the office. Bradley sheathed his sword and looked back at Spandam. "Forgive this useless Admiral, for he just killed all of your men." ------------------------------------------ End Chapter 194 - Chapter 196 "BRADLEY! WHAT ARE YOU DOING?! I COMMAND YOU TO TURN THAT SWORD ON AMELL!" Spandam stood against the wall while still screaming and yelling out orders like he was still in command of this situation. Bradley looked upon him with pity. "How the government has fallen. This is what happens when any random street trash gets placed in a position of power." He vanished from his spot and appeared in front of Spandam. "Find peace of mind in the Underworld." Bradley raised his fist and drove it through his chest, causing his entire upper body to explode like a human flesh bomb. "You stole my kill, Bradley!" Lubbock spoke with near to no emotion. True to his nickname as a slaughterer, all of this killing barely made him flinch. Robin, however, had already closed her eyes to all of this. "Is it over?" She asked with closed eyes. "Yes, dear granddaughter. You can look!"Amell evaporated all the blood covering the floor and he disposed of the bodies as well. "That was scary, Uncle Bradley!" Robin let go of her arrogant attitude at last. Now that Amell had arrived, she could finally revert to the good girl she was at heart. "What about them?" The agents of CP9 felt their blood freeze when essentially Robin asked her grandfather how to get rid of them. Kalifa remembered what Robin said on the journey over here. That she would be the one to beg her for forgiveness before the day was over. "Rob Lucci, come at me! Attack as you please as there is no way for you all to walk out of this alive with the information you now know." Amell placed his hands behind his back again and started walking toward the agents. "If you do not attack me you are going to die a coward, is that how you want to die?" His words caused seeds of spite to grow inside the more emotional agents. Agent Jabra, this group''s loud mouth finally moved. But, not against Amell. He flashed over to Robin and grabbed her by the throat. Or, he almost succeeded in that. In her place, Amell had appeared, and what Jabra managed to grip was Amell''s wrist. "Coward, I see you chose your death." Amell used his right hand and pierced Jabra''s chest. "I-Impossible!" Jabra mumbled as he fell down on the ground in a pool of his own blood. "Who''s next?" Amell looked over at the other agents. Robin who originally stood in this place now stood behind Bradley. None of the agents even saw Amell move. They couldn''t even comprehend how someone could be that fast. "Amell! I have a request, will you listen to me, please!" Kalifa stepped forward slowly. She was among the agents that still held plenty of emotions inside of her, and she didn''t wanna die here. So, she would risk it all this time and see where it got her. Lucci just stood there, not moving, nor saying anything. "I have never denied anyone their last words. What have you got to say to me?" Amell towered over her in height so the closer he got to her, the scarier his image became. "I don''t want to die! I will banish myself from the world government and I will never speak a word of what took place here. Please, let me live!" She stood with her head slightly tilted downwards, but her voice never wavered. She was determined to live and to do that she was willing to beg for forgiveness as Robin had said she would. Amell smiled and intentionally held back his answer a few seconds to see how the stress and fright almost made this female agent shake in frustration. "I commend your bravery of asking me such a thing. But, you do understand my scepticism when it comes to believing the words of someone trained by the CP9 since childhood." Amell''s words tensed up her body further. "I-I promise, I would never betray that promise. Even if I die, I would not speak of this day to anyone!" "Alright, I believe you, calm down! Just, answer me this final question. From the time you took Robin at Water 7, and to when I arrived here in this office. Did you ever hit her?" His unexpected words caused Kalifa to look up in a panic. "I-I-I didn''t!" She fumbled out, but her next words were cut short as Amell grabbed her throat tightly with his right hand. "As a government top agent, I thought you would be better at lying." He snapped her neck, giving her a quick and merciful death. It was not that she forgave her for hurting Robin, it was that Amell saw the act of prolonged killing as just waist of time. In the end, they always die, so why drag it out just to waist time. "Did none of you care for this woman? Why are you not attacking me?" Amell threw a little scorn their way, but the agents didn''t react. The reason for this wasn''t that they didn''t care for Kalifa. It was that except for Lucci, the other ones were all completely frozen still out of fear. They were utterly paralyzed. "I see. Then, why drag on it." Amell raised two fingers, and the agents except Lucci got red in the face, then blue or slightly purple, and finally, their hearts slowed down and small amounts of blood flowed out from their eyes and nose before their hearts finally stopped beating. "Lucci, I will give you an opportunity for I have had my eyes on you for some time. My inner circle needs another member and I think you would do just fine for that. So, what say you about joining me and live another day?" "I decline. No matter how I struggle or try this day, I will not walk out of here. The more I try the more embarrassing my death will be. So, kill me and be done with it." Lucci stood fully prepared for death. "As you wish. Shame you wouldn''t join me, I could have made something out of you." Amell took a quick step forward and pierced his chest with one quick thrust with his hand. "Rest in peace!" Amell burned the blood of his hand and sighed out loud. "Now only one thing remains to be done," Amell said and turned around and walked over to Robin. "ROOBBBIIINNN!!" From just outside the building a familiar voice to Robin came and caused all the people in the room to look over to where it came from. "It appears my captain has arrived, grandpa." Robin smiled sweetly, almost melting Amell''s heart with that smile alone. "It appears so. My time to meet Shanks apprentice has come at last." -------------------------------------- End Chapter 195 - Chapter 197 Father, before you go!" Bradley walked over with steady steps. Amell turned to him with a smile, "Yes?" He said and waited for his son to speak. "Welcome back! It is good to see you again, Father!" Bradley bowed in a show of respect he would not give any other person in this universe. "You as well. You have fulfilled your duties better than I could have ever hoped. I am immensely proud of what you have accomplished." Amell offered his hand and Bradley took it and shook it with pride. "Thank you, Father. I will continue to fight in the name of The Gotei!" "I would expect nothing less from you." Amell took a second to appreciate this moment and then started walking towards the window. Robin had already gone ahead of him. Upon the roof of the opposite building, Luffy and his crew stood looking at the massive building where just minutes before, a great massacre had taken place. How blissfully unaware these kids were, or else most of them might have emptied their stomachs from the brutality of Bradley''s actions. "Luffy, what if Robin isn''t here anymore. What if they have already taken her somewhere else." Chopper asked as he stood in his somewhat human-looking transformation. Nami glanced over at Luffy. Her train of thought was similar to Choppers. Most likely the only one not worried about that was Luffy, and that was only because when he does something, he can''t think about anything else. Rescuing Robin was everything present inside his mind and stuff like her inevitable transfer to HQ didn''t enter his mind. "She''s here! I feel it!" Luffy stood there with dirt and blood all over his body. It had been one long endless fight to get to this point. The door leading up to this roof opened up behind them and Robin walked out. The crew didn''t notice her arrival as they were too focused on the other building. "Hello? Are you guys okay?" Robin asked the statues that looked a lot like her crew. As her voice travelled out it caught the attention of them all and they turned around in perfect sync. "ROBIN!" Nami was the first one to react as among the crew, her guilt was the highest for being the one that allowed this kidnapping to take place. She immediately wanted to rush over and hug her friend but Zoro stopped her. "This could be a trick. Why would they let you go?" His tone was cold as he questioned the woman in front of them. "They didn''t. My grandpa came and beat you to it." She winked at Zoro, trying to get him to let down his guard. "Grandpa? Are you telling me your grandpa can just stroll in here just like that? Who is he?" The straw hats stood back and waited as Zoro questioned her. Even Luffy hung back this time, his usual goofy attitude wasn''t present this time. "Why don''t you ask me that yourself" Zoro drew one of his swords and slashed it backwards as suddenly an immensely powerful present appeared behind him on the same platform he stood on. Amell who was the one that had appeared from thin air stopped Zoro''s sword with his index finger and smiled at the young swordsman. "Be careful so you don''t hurt yourself with that blade. It is quite sharp." Amell lowered his hand and watched as everyone except Luffy went completely wide-eyed and tense at the sight of him. "Eh, who are you, Old man?" Luffy, although very clueless to the world wasn''t an idiot in combat. He, just like Zoro and Sanji noted how stupidly fast this man had to be to appear like that. "LUFFY! T-T-THAT''S A-AMELL!! A PIRATE EMPEROR!!!" Usopp yelled while his heart was close to leaving his chest. Nami, Chopper was in the same tier of fright as Usopp. Amell was one of the very few individuals who everyone in every sea knew just by his face alone. He was maybe the most famous person in the world, alongside, Bradley and Garp and of course the other emperors. "An emperor? Him?" Luffy was aware of the emperor titles given to certain pirates, he just didn''t care about it. "Ace told me a lot about you, Luffy. You''re exactly as he described. Titles don''t impress you, do they?" Amell said as he observed Luffy''s personality in person. As he said, Ace''s description of Luffy was spot-on. "Ace? You know Ace, Old man?!" Now Luffy seemed to come to life finally. Amell flashed away and appeared over by Robin. "Yes, I do. He is one of my students." Amell''s words gave the rest of the crew some much-needed enlightenment. "I now understand why your brother is so strong, Luffy," Sanji said as he lit another cig with somewhat shaky hands. His emotions ran from both excitement and fright. Only Zoro and he truly understood the difference between them and this man. They could physically feel themselves weakening when trying to compare themselves to Amell. Luffy knew Amell was strong, but he wasn''t the guy to look into the technical, and especially since Amell obviously wasn''t after them this time. "a-a-are you going t-to k-k-kill us?" Nami managed to squeeze out, although her voice was quiet as a mouse. "You can calm that beating heart of yours, Nami. Why would I hurt you?" "Y-You know my name?!" This freaked her out more than her potentially dying. "Do you think I wouldn''t look into my granddaughter''s crew. I know everything about all of you. Secrets don''t stay buried for long in front of my eyes." This arrogant, yet threatening statement made Sanji flinch a little. He had one pretty big secret he would not want the crew to find out about. "Anyway, I came here to see you, Monkey D Luffy for Shanks spoke highly of you," Amell said seriously. "Shanks? You know Shanks?!" Luffy got even more interested now than ever, Any mention of Shanks always got him super excited. "Of course I know my fellow emperor. He likes you quite a lot, kid. And, you should know how proud he was when he saw your first bounty." "Shanks!" Luffy said and touched his hat. "Thanks, old man!" He said and looked up at Amell. "No problem, kid. Now, come stand by Robin, or else you might die because of what''s to come." Amell said casually, but Usopp, Chopper and Nami went completely stiff. They, of course, thought he was gonna kill them. "Hurry!" Amell said once again, and this time Sanji and Zoro helped the three cowards to move. After they positioned themselves beside Robin, Amell raised his hand and glanced back at the crew. "What''s your goal, kid? Are you aiming for the New World?" He was talking to Luffy. "I will find the One Piece and become King of the pirates!" Luffy said proudly. He started to like Amell the instant he found out that he knew Shanks. "Then observe. Getting the One Piece requires mighty strength. The New World is a hundred times tougher than the Grand Line. Maybe even more than that. So, observe this and experience the power of the New World." Amell raised his hand higher, and the higher he raised it the more violent the wind around them became. The tiles of the ground they stood upon were uprooted and they felt the entire island starting to shake more and more. "AAAAH, WHAT IS THAT?!!" Usopp screamed at the top of his lungs and pointed upwards towards the sky. High above them, a tornado was forming. It was massive and you could even see lighting mixed in with it. Amell looked back at the crew with a mischievous smile. "Hold one, kids!" He brough his hand downwards and the tornado started moving towards them. The fact that the tornado was bigger than the entire island was only one point of concern for the crew. The other one was that a fucking tornado was heading straight for them with no sign of stopping. "WHAT ARE YOU DOING YOU OLD SENILE PSYCHOPATH!?" Nami yelled and before she got her answer she fainted, her mind appeared to have exhausted itself as she just fell down on the ground unconscious. Before the other two cowards could curse him out, Amell increased the speed of this makeshift tornado and it finally struck down on the island. A bright like coming from an unknown source came and blinded the crew, and together with came a massive explosion coupled with everything that would come with an island being literally obliterated off the surface of the world. The crew couldn''t open their eyes for a couple of minutes, but when they finally could, they almost all lost strength in their legs and fell down on the ground. Of the entirety of Enies Lobby, only the piece they stood on was left, and that piece of ground was floating in the air above where Enies Lobby had stood just minutes before. "W-WHAT THE HEEEEEEEEEEEEL!!!" Usopp once again spoke for the rest of the crew when he opened his mouth and screamed the first words that made sense to say at a time like this. "Welcome to the Big Leagues, Straw Hat Luffy!" Amell said with a casual smile on his face. --------------------------------------------------- End Chapter 196 - Chapter 198 "New World, my ass! This is crazy!" Sanji stood stunned as most would after witnessing the destruction of an entire island by the simple swing of a hand. How could someone so casually destroy an island he didn''t understand. Sanji and the straw hats that were awake couldn''t even comprehend how someone like this could exist. "Sorry I didn''t tell you guys about this. I didn''t want you to treat me differently because of who my grandpa is. I hope you can forgive me, Luffy!" Robin had no desire to leave this crew and return to Gotei with Amell. But, she also couldn''t control Luffy or make decisions for him, if he wanted her out she would have no choice but to leave. "No worries, it''s already forgotten!" Luffy had stars in his eyes from witnessing this display of incredible power. Robin leaving his crew was completely out of the question now. And, Zoro and Sanji might have forced him to accept her if he denied her, mostly out of fear that Amell would kill them for denying his granddaughter. "What happens now?" Zoro asked seriously. The question everyone should be asking but were too shocked or afraid to ask was the only one he could think about. What happens now? They invaded an important government base, then stood with an emperor as he destroyed it all. "Nothing will change for you, kids. Enies Lobby was within my sights, you all just forced me to speed up its destruction some. Robin belongs to your crew so there is no way to stop Sengoku and his Marines from putting more focus on you now." "Then how can you say nothing will change for us?! What if, because of you, they send an Admiral after us?" Chopper asked, trying to sound as scary and manly as possible. For someone so cowardly, Zoro secretly applauded Chopper''s bravery of talking like that to an emperor. "Then, good luck to you, brats!" Amell laughed but received a punch to his arm by Robin herself. "Don''t be mean, grandpa!" She didn''t approve of scaring the cute little reindeer. "Haha, sorry, sorry!" Amell stopped laughed and bowed down next to Chopper with a smile. "Little Chopper. If they dispatch an Admiral after you, I''ll send one of my commanders to come and rescue you." He patted Chopper on the head, and the reindeer didn''t dare to wave his hand away. "How does that sound?" "G-Good, I guess!" Chopper said and tried to hide the red-tinted colour on his cheeks. "Then that solves that! But, your bounties will increase after this, no doubt. So, you should prepare for lots of powerful people coming to claim those heads of yours." Amell looked specifically at the monster trio in the crew when he said that. "Let them come, I say. I need training!" Zoro placed his hand on his swords with a determined look. "Moss head is right, let them come!" Sanji lit another cig. "Stop it, you two! We already have enough people that want to kill us! We don''t need more!" Chopper felt like chewing those two muscle brains right up. "What do you say, Straw hat Luffy?" Amell turned to the rookie captain. "Do you know what needs to be done?" "I just have to beat them all, right?" He said with a smile that perfectly showed how innocent he is at heart. Luffy was an even purer soul then Aang was, and that put a genuine smile on Amell''s face. "That''s right! You better do just that! I entrust Robin''s safety on you. Can I trust you to keep her out of harm?" "Sure, no problem, old man!" Luffy said as casually as he would to his grandpa Garp. Another display of how pure, or stupid Luffy was. Amell''s position and power didn''t change how Luffy would feel about him, or how he would talk to him. Maybe that was a sign of how just like Garp he was also as careless about authority. "Boss!" Lubbock''s annoyingly arrogant voice rang out as twins came floating down from above them on a small flying ice block. "The shipwrights and the rest of Water 7 rebels are safe back on their own island." He leapt down on their piece of land right beside Robin. "Good job, you two. I believe you three met with Lubbock before?" Amell looked at the monster trio. They nodded and finally they understood why that weird green-haired teenager knew about them and their plan. "I see you kids made it out safe! Good for you!" Lubbock always carried arrogance and always made it easy to see on him that he placed his own worth high above most other people, including some of his fellow commanders. "Stop calling us kids! Aren''t you younger than us?" Sanji was immensely annoyed with Lubbock''s attitude, and after getting familiar with Amell, this commanders title didn''t intimidate him as much as it would if he knew about his position when they met on the train. "What did you say, you little shit?!" Lubbock was about to charge over and kill Sanji when his body was mysteriously encased in ice. "Stop freaking out, Idiot!" Toshiro sat on his iceblock with a bored expression. "Let me go, Toshi! I''m gonna kill him!" Lubbock glared up at his brother and Sanji took a hesitant step backwards, a little afraid that he would go through with it. "That voice?" Luffy placed a hand on his chin and started thinking. "You! Toshi-guy! You are the voice on that little device back on our ship?" Luffy''s question was completely innocent in intent, but Robin''s eyes dilated slightly in fright. "Luffy, apologize!" She said quietly. Too late! A heavy killing intent assaulted the area and Ussop and Chopper fell down as it made them lose the strength to stand. The ice around Lubbock broke apart like glass, "Idiot! You can kill them now!" Toshiro''s voice was ice-cold. His voice could freeze the air itself. "No one is killing anyone here," Amell said casually, but both Lubbock and Toshiro went from angry to calm as soon as he said it. "That''s Toshiro and Lubbock. Two of my commanders. To clear the air around here, they look young, but they are three times older than any of you. So, a little respect for your seniors will go a long way." Amell didn''t wanna waste time with this pointless banter. "Now, someone, grab Nami. I will take you back to Water 7 where you can organize yourself again." Amell waited for Sanji to pick Nami up in a princess carry. He then waved his hand for some extra dramatic effects and they all started floating. "WOW! WE''RE FLYING!! LUFFY, WE''RE FLYING!" Usopp screamed, currently between super excited and extremely terrified. "Hold on to Nami, Sanji!" Amell said and immediately the group disappeared like a comet towards Water 7. AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!" Usopp''s terrified scream faded farther and farther into the distance as Enies Lobby was left behind in seconds. Chapter 197 - Chapter 199 "WHAT!? IT''S GONE!?" Sitting in his office, Sengoku had just gotten the news about Enies Lobby delivered to him by Vice-Admiral Momonga. The only other person there was the always cheerful Garp. He was happily snacking on some chips while listening to Momonga''s report. "Y-Yes, Sir! I can''t believe it myself, but it is true. Enies Lobby is no longer present. It has been completely wiped off the face of the earth. The last report coming from Spandam was that Nico Robin had been successfully brough to Enies Lobby. After that everything went radio silent and that''s when you ordered me to investigate. That is all we know!" Momonga had taken the trip back to HQ to calm his nerves from the pure shock and fright he felt when he first laid eyes upon what once had been a massive government-run base. "That''s not entirely true! I do have some relevant information!" By one of the walls of the office, Hisoka stood and played with one of his playing cards. He was looking over at the fleet admiral with a condescending gaze. "HISOKA!" Momonga''s rage brought him to immediate action, so he drew his sword and dashed over with the intent to kill. A quick slash and Hisoka''s body was cleaved in twain, only for his bottom and torso to fade away like a mist passing by. "Momonga, calm yourself! Use Haki, without it, Hisoka will play with you endlessly, or until you go mad." Garp said calmly and put another chip into his mouth and started chewing. "Yes, you are entirely correct, Hero! Haki is indeed my one greatest weakness." Hisoka now stood by the door, playing with the same card as before. "Though that might be true in your case, that boy doesn''t have high enough mastery to avoid me!" His words served as poison for the Vice-admiral and caused his rage to bellow up further. "Lucky for him, I didn''t come here to argue or fight. I am but a humble messenger for the boss!" Hisoka bowed nonchalantly. "Let me guess, your boss had a hand in Enies Lobby and its mysterious disappearance?" Sengoku and Garp had fought most commanders multiple times. They knew that even though they could counter Hisoka''s illusions, that wasn''t all he had. Hisoka was a top tier user of Haki, like all commanders. And his card magic made him extremely deadly and hard to catch. They wouldn''t start a fight with him even here in Sengoku''s office unless it was unavoidable. "Right you are! And, it could have been avoided, but that boy Spandam just had to test fate by abducting the bosses granddaughter." Sengoku and Garp shared a quick look of acknowledgement and went stoic again. "Nico Robin, I presume?" "Right again, Mr Fleet Admiral! I knew you had this position for a reason, look at you, you''re so smart!" "Save the flattery, Smart Ass! But, now I understand!" Sengoku stared intently at Hisoka. His rage, sorrow and exhaustion couldn''t be seen on his face. He wouldn''t allow himself to lose his cool in front of this pirate he considered the garbage of humanity. Losing his cool would be giving Hisoka, and then Amell another victory. What he needed to be right now was clear-headed. He could leave the yelling and cursing to the Five Elders sitting up there on their mountain. "Hisoka, if that''s all you came to say, then leave my office. And, next time you decide to break into my office, be prepared to lose that miserable little life of yours." Sengoku wouldn''t bother chasing Hisoka around HQ. That would only further worsen this situation. His threat wasn''t said with any real intent behind it. Hisoka was the most difficult commander to kill beside Alucard, so the times it was worth trying to kill him were few and far between. "Good to see you again, Gentlemen! Have a most wonderful evening!" Hisoka faded away as the card in his shone with weak light. "Garp, Nico Robin is currently with your grandson''s crew, right?" Sengoku looked at the always casual Vice-Admiral. "Yup! And, I think it''s time I go and see him, making sure he knows to keep out of harm''s way." Garp stood up and walked out of the room with the most casual of walks. He was so used to this life that Hisoka''s visit didn''t even bother him. Sengoku watched him walk out of the office and released a tired sight after Garp disappeared beyond the door. ***************************************** "Moron, it''s that way! Shisui explained it three times, how can you have already forgotten it? I can''t believe you are actually Uncle Amell''s son." Sasuke and Naruto were running across the ocean at ridiculous speeds. Running on the water was nothing overly normal in this world so the one ship they had passed earlier had caused some very confusing and shocking looks to be thrown their way. "No, you''re wrong, it''s totally that way!" Naruto argued as they stood on the water glaring at each other. "How are you this dumb? Didn''t Amell train you since you were three?" Sasuke facepalmed a bright red mark on his own face. His frustration over Naruto''s careless and oblivious nature had on multiple occasions caused fights between them that almost destroyed the leaf village. "He said North, so we''re going North! End of discussion!" Naruto said stubbornly. "YES! We are going Nort, but you''re pointing South!" Sasuke pointed in the opposite direction. "That is North, now can we move?" Sasuke saw how Naruto grew bright red in the face. Getting something this basic wrong was something to be embarrassed about. "R-Right! Let''s move! And, we should hurry too, we''re lagging behind our time schedule here." Naruto started to jog away in shame. "Yeah, because of you!" Sasuke said and started running after his air-head of a friend. ------------------------------------------------------- End Chapter 198 - Chapter 200 Naruto and Sasuke zoomed across the ocean at a speed almost too fast for the average naked eye to follow. These two teenagers were extraordinarily trained and when compared in terms of combat prowess, they ranked among the best of the best. Naruto had Nine tails and Sasuke had his Sharingan, tweaked by Amell himself. "Naruto, another ship." Sasuke and Naruto both noticed at the same time a very strange looking ship in the distance. It wasn''t exactly sailing in their direction, but if they were to continue on their current path, they would come very close to it. "There''s someone quite strong on that ship." Naruto and Sasuke were both trained by Amell and the commanders so they could identify and judge aura quite accurately. "Compared to Master Ryu or Alucard, that person is quite the disappointment." Sasuke had the strange habit of judging enemies based on how they compared to Alucard and the other commanders he had met, which was something very stupid to do. "Still not bad, should we go say hello? Maybe they have food, I''m starving!" Naruto''s stomach jumped in with perfect sync and roared out in a loud growl telling everyone it was hungry. "No, can you stop thinking with your stomach!" Sasuke slapped his brother-in-arms in the back of his head to get him to focus, though all that did was to trigger more of Naruto''s complaining. "I miss Hinata!" Naruto cried loudly to the skies. "FOCUS!" Sasuke yelled even louder. His Sharingan suddenly came alive and he drew his sword and deflected an incoming arrow. "What a shot!" Naruto said after noting the distance between them and the ship that the arrow came from. "Haki, that arrow had haki infused into it." Sasuke looked at the wooden arrow floating atop the ocean surface next to him. Now it was completely harmless, but when in the air, this arrow was the same as a ship''s cannon, maybe even stronger. "Awesome, now I can finally get to experience this world''s strength. Let''s go Sasuke!" Naruto egged on Sasuke to fight, and this time he gave in. "Fine, but let''s make it quick!" Sasuke and Naruto took off at blinding speed completely disappearing from view. On the weird ship that shot at them, a group of half-naked women stood around a woman with a snake bow in her hand. "Did you get them, Marguerite?" Asked Boa Marigold, a large woman exuding a natural air of arrogance. "No, the black-haired one deflected it, most likely using haki as it looked easy for him." This was Marguerite trial run for a position on the Kuja pirate ship and her heart was beating incredibly fast because she didn''t wanna disappoint Marigold. "I see. Shoot another one, bait them over here. We need to question them how they are standing on the water!" Every word that left Marigold''s lips became an unavoidable command. That was the type of personality both Sasuke and Naruto had a problem with as none of them took orders very well. "They''re gone, Mrs Marigold! I can''t see them anymore!" Marguerite said in a panic. She was afraid that this failure would lead to punishment as the princess and both her sisters were quite cruel for messing up even the simplest tasks. "Sasuke, I don''t like her!" Naruto said casually as he sat on the railing some ways away. He was, of course, referring to Marigold that was leaning against a wall glaring at Marguerite. "Agreed!" Came another stoic voice from above them. Sasuke sat on the railing on the second deck just above Marigold. The Kuja women were shocked at how they could appear here so suddenly. They were incredibly far away just seconds ago. "This speed!" Marguerite said quietly to herself as her eyes landed on Naruto. The boy sat there on the railing, casually twiddling his thumbs. "This disrespect! Unacceptable!" Marigold took her spear weapon and rushed at Naruto. Her heavy steps shook the foundations of the ship. She swung her weapon fiercely, aiming to leave his body in two. Naruto was left disappointed with how slow she was. He raised his feet, covered them with Haki and met the spear with his feet. The force behind her swing flung him out into the open water and Naruto landed softly and gracefully on the sea. "Quite a lot of raw power you got there!" He said teasingly. "You ain''t seen nothing yet!" Marigold pointed at her squad, "Shoot him! Don''t miss this time!" Her tone harsh. "You shouldn''t tunnel vision in a fight," Sasuke said casually as he stood over the unconscious group of women previously shooting at him. "That''s when this stuff happens!" He took out his short blade and smiled provocatively. "Where''s your leader?" He asked as he placed the tip of his blade on one of the women''s necks. "I am here!" A relatively tall and incredibly slim woman now stood on the second floor overlooking the area where they were fighting. She had large breasts and looked to be missing some ribs from how slim she really was. "What are trash doing on my ship? Why haven''t you killed them yet, Mari?" She asked the big red-haired women with the spear. "I-I tried, Sister! They are quite strong!" Her attitude changed from a tigress to a kitten as soon as this women started speaking. "You think that''s an excuse?" She asked with a glare. She turned her attention to Sasuke and looked him up and down. "I order you to kill yourself!" She said after a few seconds of awkward silence. She wasn''t subtle with her superiority complex either, she wasn''t asking him, she was commanding him like an empress would a peasant. "What''s wrong with you? This is just my luck, the first challenger I meet is a total weirdo." Sasuke sighed out loud and sheathed his blade. "Naruto, we''re leaving, I have a bad feeling about her, and not the dangerous kind of feeling like with Alucard." "WAIT! Are you ignoring me?" She asked with an expression on fury. "Obviously. I don''t like dealing with weirdos." Sasuke jumped up on the railing and was about to leap into the sea when a long tender but dangerous leg came wooshing past his head. If he hadn''t seen it coming and dodged it, his head would have exploded from the sheer force behind that kick. The woman also landed on the railing after her attack failed. "You shall pay for your insolence!" She put her hands out in a heart-shaped form and leaned backwards. A bright pink beam hit Sasuke as he stood there in a stupor at how ridiculous this woman looked standing in that pose. when the pink beam swept over him, his Sharingan blazed to life. "What is going on?" He asked and looked back at Naruto. "I don''t know? Ask her!" Naruto said and looked at the woman that attacked her. That same woman stood wide-eyed staring at him after her attack failed to do anything. "Y-You''re not stone?!" She asked, completely stunned at how she failed in her attack. "Stone? Why would I be stone? Was that the purpose of your weird attack?" "Sasuke! Let''s go! They are not worth it, and we don''t know their abilities!" Naruto yelled from where he stood on the sea. "Not so fast!" Marigold dashed towards Sasuke, but a giant bright palm appeared and slammed her into the wall of the ship. "Sasuke, now!" Naruto had a bright yellow tail growing behind him now, and that was the same one he hit Marigold with. "Right!" Sasuke disappeared from his spot and appeared next to Naruto. "What a weird world," He whispered to Naruto. "I know, I can''t wait to see what more it will show us." Naruto and Sasuke both disappeared again right in front of the eyes of Boa Hancock, the woman with the incredibly awkward backwards leaning pose. "Big sister, are you okay?!" Marigold said after getting up on her feet again. She took quite a lot of damage from Naruto''s tail whip. "Find out who he is!" Hancock said and jumped up to the second floor again. Marigold was left staring worriedly at her departing sister. ------------------------------------------------- End Chapter 199 - Chapter 201 Naruto and Sasuke had arrived at their location and immediately they could tell they were too late. "See, we''re late because you wanted to stay and play with that weirdo back there! Just one time, I wish you would listen to me when we''re out on missions." Sasuke wasn''t in any particular good mood. Being late here meant their mission failed. "So what? If Ace won, Blackbeard, is back in the New World with Whitebeard. If Blackbeard won, we know where he''ll take Ace. Let''s just go and check with Whitebeard." Naruto and Sasuke were elite-level ninjas so they had already memorised all the relevant information about this world, and their first mission that was stopping Blackbeard and Ace''s confrontation. "Sure, strongest man in the world. Let''s just waltz right in and demand to see Ace." Sasuke sat down on the ground to take a breather. They had run the entire way here, so their chakra levels were down quite a bit. "Why not? Dad did it, right?" Naruto and Sasuke were told about what Amell had done so far, and what his general plan was. "Yeah, because that''s the same thing. First of all, it''s not even certain that my Sharingan or your beast can survive against Whitebeard. Secondly, Ace doesn''t know about us. Our mission was primarily stealth. Don''t you remember what Shisui said? Only intervene and save Ace if he needs it." "He needs it now! Let''s go check HQ or Impel Down and see if Ace is there!" Naruto was overly excited about everything. He was amazed by the idea of world travel so he wanted to go everywhere and see everything no matter the danger attached to it. "Let''s just contact Shisui and see what he''ll say." "No need, I can tell you what needs to be done." From the shadow of a nearby building, someone looking like an adult version of Sasuke walked out. "Brother!?" Sasuke jumped up on his feet. His eyes almost popped out of his eyes. Naruto wasn''t much better off. He didn''t instantly recognize Itachi as the man had changed a lot since they last saw him. "How are you here?" Sasuke asked. He was very excited as he hadn''t seen his brother since he became Alucard''s disciple. Itachi''s hair was now longer and spikier. His eyes shone brightly in the colour of the perfect blood moon. He had grown another head in height, and he was in very good shape. "Same as you. I travelled here right after you did." Itachi walked over slowly. Even the air seemed to dodge out of his way, he had a whole other level of killing intent naturally exuding off him. "Why? Shouldn''t you be back home leading the Akatsuki against Kabuto?" Naruto asked as his knowledge of Itachi and the Akatsuki were quite limited. There were so many moving parts in their war against Kabuto so he didn''t have full knowledge of it all. "I got a new mission, protecting you two here. Did you think Amell would send you out here without some backup?" Itachi smiled kindly and threw a picture over to Sasuke. "That''s our target!" He said calmly. "This is? Isn''t this..." Naruto stared at the picture because he knew he had seen this man somewhere. "AAH! I know him now! Why are we going after him?" Naruto finally figured out who he was and Sasuke slapped him in the back of his head. "That''s obvious if you stop to think for a second or two." "Right," Naruto laughed awkwardly. After one second of playing connect the dots in his head, he was now caught up with the plan. "I get it. So, Itachi, why are we going after him?" "Who said we''re going after him? We''re to do what we''re trained to do. Track and observe." Itachi''s aura was powerful, it was like standing in front of a mini version of Alucard. His words carried massive weight and Sasuke stood in awe at how his brother had changed. "Brother, what happened to you? First of all, why are your eyes red? I don''t see your Sharingan." "I''ve been under Master Alucard''s training for a few years now. I got accepted as the Vice-captain of the first division that he governs, so I had to become a little stronger to be able to do my duty." Somewhere deep inside those blood-red eyes, you could see the torment of years of Alucard based training. "Congratulations Itachi! You did it, it seems!" Naruto said with a big smile. "Indeed. I''m surprised I survived everything he put me through." "So, what happens now?" Sasuke asked quietly. "We do our mission like good soldiers, and when the time comes for us to act, we will!" Itachi said and the ground shook slightly from the powerful intent behind those words. "So, where is he?" "It''s not important to know where he is now. We will go where he will be. So, our target island is Sabaody and we need to go now as there''s quite the distance to go." Itachi gave them a serious look and the boys understood his intent and put their game faces on. ------------------------------------------------ End Chapter 200 - Chapter 202 A week or so after the events of Enies Lobby, a certain crew had grown immensely in notoriety. The Straw hat crew were now world-famous for their involvement in the destruction of Enies Lobby. Amell and the Gotei couldn''t get any more famous then they were so their name mixed in with the story served to propel Luffy''s fame further. The straw hat had moved on and now they were currently busy with battling one of the Warlords of the sea. Gecko Moria had made his home on the floating island ship called Thriller bark. Luffy and his crew had just finished their mini-war with Moria. They were helping out a friendly skeleton named Brook and they were resting now that Luffy had fallen unconscious and Moria was defeated. The crew sat with a bunch of other pirates who had been trapped here on this island thanks to Moria and his powers of shadows. By using that power, Moria could steal shadows and take away the ability to walk in the sun. People who walked under direct sunlight would evaporate slowly and painfully. The castle on the island had almost completely collapsed and among all the rubble sat everyone that was alive to experience the sensation of freedom. Through the presence of the snail-phone, his presence was made known just in time for when Nami remembered meeting him. Sitting high upon the collapsed castle tower sat Bartholomew Kuma, another Warlord just like Moria. "I completely forgot about him, you guys! This is serious, he is dangerous!" Nami said and pointed at Kuma up there on the rubble. Robin immediately recognizes him as her job with Crocodile forced her to know all other Warlords. "That''s Bartholomew Kuma!" Robin said slowly. "Kuma? Who''s that?" Usopp asked, not yet registering the danger they were in. "A warlord just like Moria or Crocodile." "ANOTHER ONE!?" Chopper and Usopp yelled simultaneously in despair. Their crew Could just barely defeat Moria, and now someone just as strong, or, maybe even stronger appeared here on this island. "Nico Robin, granddaughter of Emperor Amell." Kuma turned and said stoically as he put away the snail-phone. His apathetic look made him even more intimidating to be around. "WHAT?!" The people around the crew screamed and backed away from her in fear. Robin herself looked up at Kuma, "What do you want with us?" "Obliterate!" Kuma appeared behind Zoro without anyone seeing how or when he had moved. Before any obliteration could be done to any of them, something came and slammed into Kuma''s chest that made him fly away and crash into the rubble. "WHAAAT! WHAT HAPPENED!?" Chopper ran over and his behind Sanji''s leg. Usopp and Nami hid behind Robin and Zoro drew his sword on reflex. "Bad kitty, Bartholomew Kuma!" A low whisper, almost sensual voice sounded out behind Robin. Everyone looked back and saw a man standing there with clown inspired makeup on his face and with quite revealing clothes on his body. "ANOTHER ONE? WE ARE SO DEAD!" Usopp didn''t know who this was but he just assumed everyone was out to kill them at this point. "What a funny little boy!" Hisoka said while leaning forward and licking his lips. "GET AWAY!!" Usopp used his long slingshot to wave in Hisoka''s general direction. He was too scared to look so he waved around his weapon with closed eyes. "Hisoka The Insane" Kuma climbed out from the rubble with little to no reaction to Hisoka''s arrival. "Hisoka?!" Sanji looked the clown up and down and then turned his eyes to Robin. "This is Hisoka? Do you know him?" What met his gaze was Robin''s silent nod. "Robin here is my little sweet pea!" Hisoka wrapped his arm around her with a smile that wasn''t quite a traditional smile. Zoro felt the feeling of disgust build up inside as he saw that smile. "Changing strategy. This became troublesome." Kuma changed to a horse stance and started throwing attacks made up of compressed air at the crew. These attacks were super quick and as deadly as Doflamingo''s strings. "Diamond Reflection!" Hisoka threw one of his playing cards against the incoming barrage. The card expanded and became a translucent diamond-shaped shield that reflected all the attacks back at the Warlord. This time the attacks travelled even faster and sent Kuma crashing into the rubble again. "Thank you, Hisoka!" Robin said and gave a slight bow. "Just doing my duty, sweetpea!" "What are you doing here by the way? Shouldn''t you be in the New World?" Robin knew that the commanders rarely spent time in Paradise, and most of them were too focused on dealing with their duties in the New World. "I got a distress signal from my subordinate so I came here to check it out! I had no idea that the distress signal was because of you guys." Hisoka laughed to himself. "Your subordinate?" Sanji asked carefully. "That annoying sack of shit over there!" Hisoka pointed at Moria with a smile. "You? He works for you?" Brook the skeleton narrowed his hollow eyes at Hisoka. "Were you the one that ordered him to take my shadow?" He was close to drawing his sword and attacking Hisoka. "Your shadow? No, I don''t care about that. Moria is my spy inside the Marines. Though, now that his position may be compromised he is useless to me." Hisoka shook his head in disappointment. "What a waste." He turned around and blocked another punch from Kuma that had appeared behind him. The shockwave of their clashed caused the people around including the Straw hats to be swept away from them both. After their clash, both of them disappeared from view. The only thing they all could see were the explosions that came from all around then. Sometimes the explosions came from a hundred meters away and sometimes it all erupted right next to them. "What speed, I can''t even see them!" Sanji said. He was trying to look for them but to no avail. He couldn''t even get a glimpse. Right next to Zoro came to a sudden large object crashing down. That something was Kuma. His body was wrecked beyond recognition, but what nobody was expecting was what they saw. "A cyborg?" Zoro said after seeing his body. "Vegapunk!" Hisoka appeared next to Zoro with no visible injuries on his body. "That''s the guy who did that to Kuma. This Warlord used to be a human." "Is this the difference between Paradise and New World?" Sanji asked carefully. Hisoka wasn''t gonna harm them with Robin here, he understood that much, but this level of power still scared him. Hisoka was like Amell or Toshiro or even Lubbock. So many levels above them that they couldn''t see that level. "You kids shouldn''t think about the New World yet. You are not even close to being ready for that. Especially not with what''s to come." Hisoka suddenly held in his hand the joker. He threw the card at Kuma''s very damaged body and did a strange hand sign. Kuma''s body got sucked into the card and instead of the joker appearing on the surface of the card, Kuma replaced it. "I-I''m so glad he is with us!" Usopp whispered to Nami while his whole body was shaking uncontrollably. Hisoka looked back with on eye closed and his head tilted slightly upwards, "Me too, little Usopp!" "AAAH! HE KNOWS MY NAME!!" Usopp back off very far very quickly. "Hisoka!" Zoro turned to the clown with a serious expression. "Is Kenshin in the New World?" His question caused Hisoka to tilt his head in confusion. "What do you need him for?" "He is the greatest swordsman in the world! My goal is to beat him!" Zoro said and Hisoka immediately started to laugh. "You want to beat him? Boy, as you are now, he could kill you with a toothpick. But, to answer your question. He is in the New World, in a country named Wano. Though let me tell you this. If you can''t beat Mihawk first, Kenshin will never accept your challenge. So, defeat Mihawk first, then Kenshin might accept a dual with you." Hisoka was still chuckling. Kenshin was among the most powerful in the Gotei. Zoro defeating him was something Hisoka didn''t even consider being possible in the next century. "Laugh all you want! When I see you again in the New World I will make you regret ever laughing!" Zoro fainted soon after saying that as the constant fighting and taking heavy damage from their fight with Moria overwhelmed him finally. "Robin, what an interesting crew you joined. Take care of yourself, and I''ll see you all in the New World. That is if you can survive that long! Hahaha!" Hisoka and his laughter disappeared as he faded out like the morning mist. "I-Is it finally over?!" Chopper managed to squeeze out between all his shaking and crying. "Yes, now we can finally rest!" Sanji said and sat down on the ground. "Why do I have the feeling that things will only get worse from here?" He said and looked at Zoro. "We are heading into the New World, right? Did you hear Hisoka? We are guaranteed to die!" Usopp said from his position behind some rubble far from them all. "Maybe you''re right. It''s been a pleasure!" Sanji said as he too fainted. Chapter 201 - Chapter 203 On top of the deck of Hisoka''s ship, Kuma''s body was laid out for his entire crew to see. Hisoka himself sat beside the body as the ship swayed in the strong winds assaulting them. "You know something Kuma? You''re about to be reprogrammed and become another spy for the Gotei. How does that make you feel?" "Vegapunk is the greatest mind on the planet. What you seek to do can''t be done." Kuma had lost almost all of his humanity to the government''s experiments. Only fractions of his own will were left. But, no one in the world knew just how advanced The Gotei''s technology was. Reprogramming Kuma was child''s play. "Do you really believe us to be that useless?" "I think he is! He looks like the stupid kind of cyborg!" Said Hisoka''s second-in-command, Melody. Her white and black ponytails swaying beautifully in the winds. Her adorable features would send any young man spiralling into madness. "Oh? And How would you know that? What does a smart cyborg look like?" "I don''t know, just not that!" "Melody The Mad" Kuma looked at the young woman with his dead eyes. "Yup, that''s my name! Don''t wear it out, dummy!" Melody jumped down from the second floor and gave Kuma a kick to the head. "That was a little rude, don''t you think?" Hisoka said while fiddling with a gold coin. "He deserved it!" "What for?" "For being a stupid cyborg!" Hisoka chuckled and flicked the coin to Melody. "Did you contact HQ? When can they come and pick up this guy?" "They said they are gonna send a team to pick him up tomorrow." Melody went and clung onto Hisoka''s back while delivering multiple kisses all over his face. "You heard that, Kuma? We''re gonna spend the night together!" Hisoka pushed Melody away much to her sorrow. "Let me tell you some stories about how the world is gonna look in a few years!" Hisoka leaned back and pulled out his storytime voice. "It will all start with the fall of the Five Elders..." ******************************************* On Sabaody three ninja were walking and staring in wonder at everything this world had to offer. The island, the sights, they are all so different from the land they were born into. In the Elemental nations, you could search forever, yet you would never find an island like this with such uniqueness to it. "Is our target here yet?" Sasuke looked over at Itachi who was enjoying the scenery around them. The bubbles that covered the sky had him and Naruto mesmerized by how they perfectly reflected sunlight onto the ground. "Not sure. It''s our mission to find out, but you don''t have to be so serious Sasuke, enjoy this time of calmness. When the war starts, you will not find these tranquil moments easy to come by." Itachi said and punched his brother lightly on the arm. "I prefer combat. I find my calmness in the middle of the enemy army." "How dramatic!" Itachi said with a grin. "Yeah, you should slow down and take a breath, Sasuke. Maybe even eat something ones in a while." Naruto gave him a quick slap on the back. "Well, I am hungry," "Great, then let us find somewhere to eat!" Itachi and Naruto grabbed one of Sasuke''s arms each and dragged him away. ******************************************** On another part of this island, inside one of the many auction houses, a new batch of goods had arrived. This particular batch was delivered exclusively to this auction house as it dealt in the slave trade. The newly arrived slaves were sitting in the backroom with their explosive collars around their necks. This collar was attached to all of them in an attempt to keep them in line. Amell sat on one of the benches with a smile on his face. He had erased his entire presence and sneaked in here to meet a certain someone. He had been sitting here for ten minutes and he had finally formed his opinion on the man he was here to meet. "You are not like I imagined you to be." He said. His voice was the first thing they heard since getting here, so everyone in the cell looked up after hearing it. And, imagine their surprise when they saw the fifth emperor sitting there with a calm smile on his face. "Ohh, this I didn''t see coming." Said the old man that had caught Amell''s attention. "Even in my old age, I get treated to a few surprises it seems." "What is a man like you doing in a place like this?" The presence of an emperor in this small enclosed space made everyone painfully aware of their own voices, movements. "I ran out of money, and if you can do this old man a solid, I would really appreciate it if you could loan me some." a synchronized nervous breath among the spectators watching this crazy old man asking an emperor for some money. "Don''t have any on me. Maybe you''ll find my good company as a satisfactory replacement." "Depends on the quality of the company." Said the old alcoholic. "At the moment my wife thinks of me as a great conversationalist. But, you know ladies, their opinion can change at any time." "I have some experience in that field myself. What you say is true, hahaha!" "Old man, how do you know an emperor?" Said the mean-looking giant sitting in the middle of them both. "All old people know each other!" Amell said as he sat fiddling with his White Lotus chip in his hand. "Rayleigh, we have more to talk about but you''re about to be busy, so we''ll talk later." He saw Rayleigh''s expression change from goofy to stoic. "What do you mean?" "You''ll see!" Amell''s voice faded away as did he himself right in front of their faces. The giant spoke for all slaves present when he said to Rayleigh, "Old man, you have strange friends." -------------------------------------------------- End Chapter 202 - Chapter 204 After much argument back and forth between the three, Sasuke agreed to their suggestion to go and eat. To him, it didn''t matter if he was hungry or not. The mission came first in all situations. But, when it became two versus one, he no longer had a choice in the matter. That was how it came to this. Them sitting in a random restaurant with discourage expressions. They had unfortunately picked a place that was popular among rookie pirates stopping by this island. And, table manners weren''t that important to most pirates. The three ninjas couldn''t focus on their food when food from the table over kept flying everywhere. "I hate this! Can we go?" Sasuke sat with his face down. His anger was visible on his face and in his voice. "Yeah, my appetite is gone anyway. Such a shame to waste all of this food." Naruto said dejectedly. Most of the food on the table didn''t even look good anymore after witnessing how those pirate animals devoured it all. "Can I kill her first?" Sasuke asked, referring to the pirate in the building with the most disgusting eating habit. "She does have a bounty. Bonny something. I think she''s pretty famous. But, we are to stay out of sight, so no, you can''t kill her." Itachi said quietly. Despite his quiet whisper, he underestimated the ears of a rookie. A man with exceedingly long arms sat in the corner of the room, and his ears perched up at Itachi''s words. Being the only one solely focused on the ninjas, he expertly caught the content of their conversation despite hearing only some of the words. "We''re gonna follow them. Something interesting is bound to happen around them." He whispered to his comrades and continued observing in silence. "Boys, we''re leaving," Itachi said and stood up. He glanced around the room, put down some money on the table and left with the boys in tow. Outside the building, things had come down despite this being a heavy pirate-infested area of Sabaody. Speculations could be made as for why, but that didn''t matter at this moment in time. Itachi wasn''t stupid or weak, nor was the two boys. They felt that long arm''s man''s stares from the moment they entered the restaurant. Itachi wanted to leave because staying further would only entice the man''s interest. Clearly they had left too late because they had a following. Itachi was a master in many things, one of those happened to be tracking. It took him about one second to identify their tail and their location. "Boys, a fight is about to start. Be ready!" He pulled out a shuriken and threw it towards one of the nearby rooftops. His movements were so quick and smooth that the man didn''t react in time and got pierced through the head because of the impressive power behind that throw. After the body hit the ground, several men landed some distance away from them, one of them being the long-armed man from the restaurant. The street was practically empty except some teenagers sitting by some wall some distance away not really paying attention to this confrontation. Fights were too common here, so even kids like them didn''t care unless it involved powerful pirates or marines. "You killed my man!" Said the long-armed captain of this little pirate group. Itachi recognized him from his bounty poster. This was one of the many rookie pirates currently gathered at this island. The Gotei had eyes on all of them, and all of these up and coming pirates were now on this island together. "You shouldn''t have followed us. Now you have to die so we can continue our mission." His voice was monotone. Sasuke immediately recognized this version of his brother. This was the attitude Itachi used whenever he was dealing with Akatsuki. Cold, detached and merciless. From just the sound of his brother''s voice, he knew this rookie pirate was already dead. So, all he could do was help make sure this went smoothly. "Is that so? I just want to talk!" Said the long-armed rookie. He showed a playful exterior, but behind that fascad lied a tiger in waiting to strike. "Unfortunately, that''s no longer possible." Itachi took a step forward, his eyes glowed bright red and it became hard to breath for everyone, including Sasuke and Naruto. {Listen to the sound of my voice} His tone was mesmerising, no longer cold, but something you would use to seduce another person. His voice was perfection to the ears and it immediately put the entire group into a trance. {Scratchmen Apoo. I want you to get down on your knees. All of you, do the same." Itachi''s words held weight beyond a world noble''s. Though the effects were the same. They went down without a word of resistance. Naruto and Sasuke weren''t spared either, they went down on their knees, but Itachi ignored that. Itachi quickly threw shurikens to kill all of them except Apoo. As blood was soaked into the earth, he drew his sword. "This is a little more dramatic than wanted, but then again. Master Alucard does have a flair for the dramatic." Itachi drove the sword through Apoo''s heart and watched as his body hit the ground. "Naruto, Sasuke, wake up" Itachi gave a slap to both their faces and the boys woke up from the trance. "What just happened, and why is my memory foggy?" Sasuke asked while holding his head. "Yeah, that, but also, why do I have this massive headache?!" Naruto was down on his knees rubbing his forehead with his fingers. The boys looked up and saw the dead bodies and then turned their gazes to Itachi. "One of the benefits of what I have now become. Though it is tricky to learn, and I haven''t mastered it yet so that''s why you two were caught in the illusion as well. Sorry about that, I''ll master it eventually." "That''s a dangerous illusion," Naruto said and backed off a little. "Is it like the Sharingan?" "Almost. I am invading people''s bodies by combining magic with my manifested intent and then use that through my voice to control people. The problem is the range of it, and that I am not yet that accurate with my targets." "Wow, you''re even more invincible than the last time we saw you." Naruto''s laugh was strained, but his fear of Itachi was dying down again. "People with strong wills can easily resist it. At least mine. Master Alucard successfully mesmerised Garp the Hero a few years ago. I can''t do that, Garp would break it immediately and kill me on the spot." Itachi said it with a slight chuckled. "Well, he is as strong or slightly below Lubbock, I would expect that of him." Sasuke had admiration for the strong and powerful, and Garp was definitely one person he wanted to fight someday. "I just hope Alucard or any other commander doesn''t kill him before I have a chance to fight him." "I wouldn''t worry about that. Garp is Luffy''s grandpa, and dad likes Luffy, right. So, Garp will most likely be spared or something." Naruto said. "What he said!" Itachi pointed at Naruto with a cheeky smile. "Hope so, Garp is the closest I can come to the commanders right now." Sasuke clenched his fist and breathe out. "So, what now?" "We go find our target, let''s leave these guys. Nothing can be traced back to us anyway." Sasuke answered Naruto that had asked. "Firstly, Sasuke, there were some teenagers that saw us. Their hiding in the building over there. Go take care of them so nothing here leads back to us. After that, we can leave." Sasuke nodded and disappeared from his spot. "Are we killing innocents now?" Naruto wasn''t as ignorant or naive as he used to be. He knew sacrifice and necessity in war. But, that didn''t mean he liked any of it. He would do whatever it takes to protect the mission and his loved ones. "We have always done what is necessary to do. And, for your information. There are more ways to silencing someone other than killing them, for future reference." Itachi smiled and put a hand on Naruto''s shoulder. "Whatever you say!" Naruto said and showed a slight smile. ------------------------------------------------------ End Chapter 203 - Chapter 205 The most horrific event that this island had ever seen just took place a few minutes ago. Monkey D Luffy punched a Celestial dragon. A world-noble as they were called. The reason why people were panicking was that hurting in any shape or form a Celestial dragon would result in an Admiral being sent to that location. Even though this island held countless powerful pirates, most of them couldn''t stand even a few seconds against an Admiral. The one who was sent was Kizaru, the light human. The rumoured fastest man alive, which of course even he knew he was not. Inside the auction house where the Celestial dragon was first assaulted, things had gotten slightly out of hand. The Straw hat crew had just laid eyes on the giant and the white-haired old man that came walking from the back room. His intense and powerful aura had knocked out all of the marines and guards fighting the crew. He stood on the stage opposite the crew and stared Luffy directly into his eyes. ''Amell was right, did he orchestrate this? How could he have known?'' Rayleigh, who this old man was revealed to be was also the one that Amell went to see just hours before. His amazement and wonder with Amell only increased after he successfully predicted this meeting. "Who are you, old man?" Luffy asked after the silence in the room had gone along for a little too long. Luffy stood ready to fight, and the other pirates in the room, including the rest of the Straw hats, stood petrified at what Rayleigh had done. The Straw hats recovered slightly faster than the others thanks to meeting Amell not many days before. Their shock and horror over what he had done to Enies lobby still haunted their dreams. "A fan of yours. I''ve wanted to meet you, Straw hat Luffy." Rayleigh laid eyes on Hachi. The Fishman that had been a previous enemy of Luffy and now was showing them around this place. Luffy''s actions of punching a world-noble came from Hachi being shot by that very noble. Rayleigh saw the would and narrowed his eyes and started analyzing the scene. "I have fans?" Luffy tilted his head to the side and dropped his guard. "Luffy, the marines are gathering in mass. We need to go, NOW!" Nami yelled from the side. Not even mentioning the fact that this Rayleigh scared her, she couldn''t let them be completely surrounded or escape was gonna be almost impossible. "Old man!" Luffy said sternly to Rayleigh. "Take my crew and Hachi and escape from here. I''ll distract the marines." Luffy showed his stubborn nature and walked immediately towards the exit. Two other captains in the room silently followed after him. "Straw hat Luffy. You intrigue me!" Said a man with a long sword leaning against his shoulder as he walked. "Who are you guys? I don''t need help!" Luffy said sternly again. "Who said I''m helping you? I just don''t like the marines." Said the other pirate captain with an entire arm made from scrap metal, most likely from some devil fruit. "Whatever, just don''t get in my way!" "Same to you, Straw hat!" As the three rookie pirates went out to fight the marines, Rayleigh stood still in the same spot watching the crew. "You guys let him go so easily. Do you not fear his death?" "Luffy won''t die, we know that much from spending so much time with him. Nothing kills him, and that''s final." Sanji said cheekily. "You might be more right then you think. Did you guys know you caught the eyes of a very scary person?" Rayleigh said, trying to figure out the mystery surrounding this crew and the Gotei. "Y-Y-YOU MEAN! HIM?!" Usopp fell down on his butt while shaking uncontrollably. Same for Nami and Chopper. Zoro sheathed his swords and nodded to Rayleigh, now that Luffy was gone, he had to lead the crew as that was his duties as Vice-captain. "You mean, Amell? Yeah, we met him and he sank Enies Lobby with a wave of his hand." Zoro almost lost balance as he said it. Not even him or Sanji had yet to recover from seeing that sight. "Hahaha, sounds like something he would do!" Rayleigh didn''t know Amell at all before today. But, people like Amell and Rayleigh only need one conversation to find a real connection. "You know him? Is he here?" Sanji said with a somewhat shaky voice. "No, you can rest easy, he is not here. I would advise you to take things slowly. The marines and World Government knows your connection with him, so your journey will be ten times harder than any other pirate." "Not to be rude, Sir. But, can we talk about this when we''re safe in another location?" Robin said to Rayleigh. She wasn''t scared at all. She grew up around monsters many times more powerful than Rayleigh. Alucard to just name one of them. And, she wasn''t afraid of Rayleigh acting against them. Amell had told her about what people, marine or pirate that she could put her trust in. One of those was Rayleigh. "You''re right, it seems I got slightly carried away there. My apologies. Pick up Hachi and follow me." Rayleigh said. ****************************************************** Outside the building, a massive fight was happening between marines and pirates. Or, more accurately only three pirates. Arguably, the three most powerful pirate rookies versus hundreds of pirates. On a tree branch, hundreds of meters away sat Itachi and his boys. "Do you think we should help?" Naruto asked, fully ready to jump into action. "No, his crew are safe with that old monster. And, Luffy isn''t pathetic enough to lose against this opposition. We only need to act when the Admiral comes for Luffy''s head." Itachi said quietly. "Why did that muscle head have to punch one of the bubbleheads, so annoying." Naruto laid back on the branch and complained loudly. "About that, brother!" Sasuke began, but Itachi knew what he was gonna ask and interrupted him. "Could I kill an Admiral? Unsure. Can I stop Kizaru and Aokiji from killing Luffy? Absolutely, but to kill them, I think we three need to work together. I am still weak because I haven''t mastered my new abilities. When I do that, Admirals will become a joke in front of me." "And, how long will that take?" "Master Alucard estimates it will take me a hundred and fifty years to fully master all my abilities." Itachi laughed, but Sasuke and Naruto dropped their jaws. "What?! That long? What kind of crazy powers do you have now?" "You don''t wanna know, Naruto. My strongest abilities could consume worlds. That''s what Master said, and he forbid me from using them until I was ready or I would die as well." "I want that too. I need to ask if Alucard can bite me as well!" Naruto said playfully, but he got a stern look from Itachi. "Don''t joke about that, especially in front of him!" "I''m sorry! I won''t!" Naruto bowed his head slightly in shame and continued to silently observe Luffy''s fight. "Someone powerful just arrived!" Itachi looked up towards the east. "An Admiral just arrived. Prepare for a fight, this will be a tough one!" He said and closed his eyes to meditate. ---------------------------------------------- End Chapter 204 - Chapter 206 Countless bodies were dropping dead all around the island because Kizaru had arrived. His light-based powers made sure even massive groups of people died on the spot without the chance of fighting back. As one of the most powerful people in the world, these pirate rookies were comparable to babies in his eyes. Naruto and Sasuke were moving across the land like two bullets. They got confirmation that the Straw hats except for Luffy had gotten intercepted by Marines and Rayleigh wasn''t with them, so Naruto and Sasuke went after them while Itachi stayed by Luffy. Rayleigh and the Straw hats had separated because he told them where he lived and then took Hachi and sped off with him. He was faster than them and Hachi needed immediate care so he left them by themselves, a big mistake as they were now surrounded by countless marines. The Marines themselves weren''t the danger, it was how they slowed down the crew that was worrying. "Nami, Usopp, Chopper, Robin and Brook make a break for it. Run to where Rayleigh said to meet him! Sanji, Franky and me we''ll stay here and delay them. We have to split up to survive. You three being here will slow us down." Zoro was thinking clearly and he made the most rational decision he could think off. Sanji and he had no problem here, but it was who these marines were waiting for that worried him. When the Admiral arrives, the weaker members couldn''t be here or else they were all gonna die. Zoro knew the crew had a better chance of survival this way. "Got it!" Brook and Robin said in sync and forcefully dragged the others with them and escaped. "Nico Robin is escaping with the rest! Stop them!" The marine captain in charge yelled loudly and sent a squadron after them. Sanji immediately jumped into action and lept into the middle of them and started a brutal beating on the rookie marines. The fact that Robin was Amell''s granddaughter hadn''t been released to any other marine yet. Only Garp, Sengoku and Momonga knew about that. "Hold out until Admiral Kizaru arrives! Don''t give them any headway!" The captain of the marines yelled loudly. He saw how his forces were diminishing at an astounding rate, and that was mostly done by two men. Zoro and Sanji. Failure in this would put a huge setback on his career so he tried desperately to restrain the Straw hats. In the distance, explosions were heard, massive explosions, and they were getting closer and closer. But, no one noticed them since they were busy trying not to be killed by who they were fighting. Zoro and Sanji were busy mowing down marines so they barely paid attention to anything else. The first one to notice among them was Franky. He felt the shockwave from one of the explosions and looked for Zoro in this giant mess. "Zoro! SOMETHING BIG IS COMING!" He yelled hoping Zoro would hear it. "What?!" Zoro answered in frustration. He couldn''t handle another thousand marines. He could beat them, but these huge numbers were exhausting him quickly. "What''s coming?!" He didn''t connect it to the explosions. Not until a huge explosion went off right at his location, claiming multiple marines as well. "That''s one down," Said Kizaru as he casually stood beside the marine captain. "Admiral Kizaru! You made it!" "Of course, I thought I better take care of his little crew before I go after Straw hat himself. That way this will be less of an annoyance." Kizaru''s tone hadn''t changed in years. He still spoke slowly and with what appeared to be little care for anything or anyone. "Then you need to do a better job!" Zoro said as he wasn''t dead. His location had changed from inside the cluster of marines to outside it. Kizaru showed some surprise at this as even he hadn''t seen this boy dodge his attack. "How did you dodge that, Roronoa Zoro?" "Wouldn''t you like to know!" Zoro said. Even he had no idea what just happened. One second he felt the heat from Kizaru''s attack hitting the ground, but before it could do damage, he had appeared here. "Well, no matter. I just have to kill you again." Kizaru raised a finger and shot a light beam at Zoro. The swordsman jumped to the side just in time to only receive minimal damage from the impact. He was still flung across the ground and his exhaustion kicked in again. Sanji and Franky ran up to him with worried expressions. "Zoro, we have to escape! Somehow, we just have to!" Sanji said while observing Kizaru. The Admiral stood there leisurely and without care that his attack was dodged. This time he could see that Zoro was the one dodging it and he could see Zoro''s reaction time. ''The boy had help! But who? He had no idea my previous attack came for him. So I have to flush out the one who helped him.'' Kizaru said to himself and his leg started glowing. "I can keep this up all day long." Kizaru disappeared and reappeared above them. He kicked towards them, but the three straw hats disappeared again like before. "Okay, how about you tell me who''s helping you?" Kizaru couldn''t see anyone moving them. Nor could he sense anything with his Haki. Whoever was helping him was very skilled in stealth and was an experienced fighter. The fact that he couldn''t detect anything worried him a little, but they also didn''t attack him. This either meant that they didn''t need to directly intervene, or they were apprehensive of his strength. So, from all of this, Kizaru figured that the one helping them was only skilled in stealth and had access to strange teleportation powers. "No one!" "This is getting troublesome." Kizaru shot another beam at them, but this time, a massive bright yelled hand came out of the ground and stopped the beam. The shockwave caused the three to get blown back a slight distance from the hand. "Admiral''s are so annoying! We have no choice here, moron!" A black-haired youth appeared behind Zoro with a hand on his sheathed short-blade. "You''re right, Sasuke. This is annoying, and we have no choice." The hand transformed from a hand to another youth, this one hand dirty blonde hair and a sweet smile even though an Admiral was behind him. "Look here, the culprits shows themselves finally. Now, I don''t recognize you two. Who are you?" Kizaru said very slowly, almost apathetically. "Isn''t that a rather stupid question, Borsalino. Why would I, an enemy to you, reveal who I am?" Sasuke said in annoyance. He knew Kizaru was stronger than him and Naruto. He didn''t know by how much, but he speculated that they had a slight chance of beating him together. "Sorry, sorry, I got a little carried away." Kizaru wasn''t bothered by the use of his real name. Or that''s what he showed to them. Not many knew his name. Kizaru was a codename for him as Admiral. Borsalino was his real name, and he had no idea how these two that looked younger then Zoro could know that name. "Sasuke, we should leave!" Naruto said quickly. Sasuke nodded and both of them placed one hand each one, Zoro, Franky and Sanji. Then Sasuke''s eyes started to change and his conquerors haki revealed itself and his chakra spiked very high very quickly. "Haki?! Shit!" Kizaru panicked a little for the first time. He shot a beam the fastest he could at the boys, but before it could connect, they disappeared in a flash. Kizaru sighed out worriedly after seeing their successful escape. "Well, that''s not good. Sengoku''s going to yell at me again, how annoying!" -------------------------------------------------- End Chapter 205 - Chapter 207 On a rooftop somewhere on Sabaody, five people appeared from nowhere. It was one of those moments where there was nothing, then suddenly there was something. Five something''s in fact. Naruto and Sasuke looked at each other and both nodded, so understanding the nod, Sasuke disappeared again. "Where did he go?" Sanji asked and sat down on the elevated ledge of this rooftop. Zoro stood up ready to fight and Franky fell down thanks to his head spinning like crazy. "He is going to get the rest of your crew. So, sit tight, blondie!" Naruto said not realizing how ironic his nickname was. "Whatever, way too many weird things have been occurring ever since we took in Robin. It''s that damn emperor who keeps harassing us, I''m sure." The spiral eyebrow blondie looked Naruto up and down before saying. "Thanks for saving us!" Naruto just nodded, and right then Sasuke appeared now with the rest of the Straw hats in hand. "I''m freaking exhausted!" He said and sat down and leaned against the ledge. "Next time, you''ll be doing the transportation, Naruto." He said. And, at that Robin perched her ears immediately. "Naruto? Is that you?" She had never met this boy, but she only knew about one person with such a unique name. "Been a long time coming, nice to finally meet you, Robin!" He waved while sitting down on the ground with a smile. "Why am I not surprised you know him too?" Zoro said with an exhausted tone. "Someday, we will sit down and you will tell me all about yourself." "Not her fault, really. Most members of the Gotei are forbidden to talk about other members and their duties within it." Sasuke said while glaring at Zoro. The disdain between them was immediately apparent. "You''re with the Gotei as well?" Nami asked, now somewhat clear-headed. Teleportation could cause severe headaches or dizziness for first-timers. "Haha, if you only knew!" Naruto said cockily with slight playfulness. Sasuke shook his head and said, "He is Gotei''s own personal moron!" "Funny!" Naruto tried kicking the sitting Sasuke in the head, but the kick was blocked by his hand. "This grumpy one here is, Sasuke. My manservant!" Naruto flashed a cheeky smile. Sasuke''s aura exploded and rocked the foundation of the entire house they stood upon. "Take that back, moron!" "Calm down, or you''re gonna kill us all!" Robin stepped in and said with a stern tone of voice. "It''s an honour to meet you, Naruto. Grandpa told me a lot about you." Robin bowed slightly like you would in front of royalty. "Stop that, Robin. If he told you anything real about me, then you should know I hate all that young master trash talk. Just stick with casual and we''re good." "How about you fill us in now?" Zoro asked and also sat down now that the atmosphere was no longer tense. "That''s Naruto. Grandpa''s son!" Robin dropped a bombshell on them and the Straw hat''s reacted appropriately. The cowardly trio felt like fainting as they were spiralling further down a dangerous rabbit hole. "Adopted son. Dad and I met when I lived in an orphanage and I moved in with him when I was three." Naruto started to further explain their relationship. "So, how old are you? You both look very young!" Franky asked curiously. "Fourteen, soon to be fifteen!" Naruto said proudly, and Sasuke simply leaned back on the wall without confirming what Naruto said. "Fourteen? You blocked an Admiral, and escaped successfully as well? Are you telling me a fourteen-year-old did that?" Sanji expected them to be around his age and not that young. "Dad had trained me since age three. What you saw back there was nothing, though. Sasuke and I could kill Kizaru if we fought together, right Sasuke?" Naruto was getting more heated and his bragging intensified. "Sure, whatever, I''m gonna take a nap. Do NOT wake me up!" He said and closed his eyes. "Ugh, I don''t know why I became a pirate. This is too much!" Nami complained. "Wait, how come you two haven''t met before?" Nami asked suddenly. She was also not the only one that picked up on that and was curious about it. "Our family is quite big, and the world is large. That''s about it!" Naruto shrugged it off as not a big deal. "Yeah, I would say it''s indeed like that. Naruto and Sasuke belong to a special unit. So do I, or used to before I joined you guys." Robin didn''t think of it as a big deal either. "Plus, we''re not the only ones. I rarely, if ever meet my other siblings. We are rarely in the same place together. I don''t think that''s ever happened." "How many of you are there?" Nami asked. "A few. But, as for me, I''m closest to Gildarts, my big brother. I should visit him someday soon." Naruto drifted off as he started thinking about Gildarts. Robin had to snap him back to reality. "Sorry, I drifted away there," He scratched the back of his head. "Now, where do you guys need to go? We will take you." "I think back to Rayleigh would be best," Sanji said, and Zoro nodded. "Yeah, I think so. He was pretty confident that his place was gonna be safe from Admirals and any other threat out there. Also, Luffy is supposed to meet us there, but I don''t know if he ever remembers the way." Zoro dreaded going back for him and running into Kizaru again. "Don''t worry about your captain. We have him covered as well. Even Kizaru will have trouble reaching him." Sasuke said. Suddenly, a bright light appeared on the rooftop and a second later, a very tall man in a striped suit stood there staring at them. "Will I know? How interesting." He appeared in front of Sasuke and tried splitting his head open like a watermelon but failed because Naruto clad his hands in Haki and blocked the kick. "Everyone, jump off the roof, NOW!" Naruto yelled and all of them on pure instinct jumped off the roof. Naruto was left on the roof with Kizaru and Sasuke summoned his Susanoo and wrapped all of them in it as to protect them from the fall. "My, oh my, you boys are growing more interesting every second. Such mastery of haki at such a young age. If Sengoku hadn''t ordered your execution, I would try to recruit you." Kizaru put more force behind his kick and Naruto was flung off the rooftop. Kizaru appeared in mid-air above Naruto. His leg shone with a bright light and he was ready to kick Naruto but strange yellow energy covered the boy, and a long and massive tale appeared and swept Kizaru far away into the distance. "W-W-WHAT''S THAT!!?" Usopp almost fainted when the gigantic nine-tailed fox landed in front of him. The fox released a roar that shook the ground the stood on. Sasuke immediately summoned his entire full-body Susanoo and now a massive fox and equally big demon-man stood beside each other facing the Admiral. "What kind of devil fruit is this?!" Zoro was beyond stunned. He floated together with everyone inside the head of the Susanoo and observed the massive titans standing there proudly. "Nothing like I''ve ever seen before," Robin said quite calmly. "Is this what they said when they warned us about the New World. Is this the new normal over there?" Sanji asked and looked at Robin. "I can promise you," Sasuke started saying, "This power doesn''t exist anywhere else." He looked at Naruto that calmly floated in the head of the fox. "Sasuke, you focus on protecting them, I will focus on dealing with that guy!" Naruto saw Kizaru standing on the ground a ways away observing them. "Let us fight too, the least we can do is act as a diversion," Sanji said. He and Zoro hated not being able to do anything other than floating here just watching. "You all, sit down and shut up! I don''t wanna hear a peep from you, especially not now. This is an Admiral." Sasuke said coldly and sternly before making his Susanoo draw his sword. "Naruto, he''s coming!" "I know!" Naruto and Sasuke were using haki to track Kizaru. When his light travelled through the air and all around them, they could mostly keep up with it. The fox let out another power-filled roar that shook the ground. Sasuke''s Susanoo grew two more arms and it slammed those together and a massive ring of black fire spread all around them, including Kizaru. All three of the combatants were present inside the giant ring of Amaterasu flames. "That''s dangerous, better not touch it," Kizaru observed the fire and noted them to be on the same level as the fire Amell could summon, or at least around that level. Which meant it probably took a lot out of him to summon them. Sasuke''s eyes rotated and lit up in red light. The black flames started moving and spears made out of that fire shot out from the ring of fire against Kizaru. "Naruto, go now, I can keep his movements restricted pretty well!" Sasuke kept shooting all kinds of things made from that dangerous black fire. "Good work!" Naruto dove straight for Kizaru, or he tried. Kizaru was fast, very fast, so Naruto manipulated his tails to follow Kizaru wherever he went. Everything inside the ring got destroyed quickly as his tails could stretch almost infinitely and they held amazing power. "Screw this guy!" Naruto did a hand-sign and summoned four other identical nine-tails to the battlefield. "HE SUMMONED FOUR MORE! THIS IS CRAZY!!" Usopp, as well as all of them, had never seen a fight this high-level before. This was way beyond Paradise sea level. Kizaru occasionally shot beams at Sasuke. The flames were annoying and very restrictive to how he could move. And, thanks to them he was forced to keep using his fruit or else he would get hit, for those flames were also imbued with haki. On of the nine-tails clones placed itself in front of Sasuke to block Kizaru''s attacks, which worked very well. Kizaru couldn''t focus on accuracy on doing a lot of damage so the attacks were easily stopped by the clone. "Kurama, I''m too slow using full transformation. Take control of it and support me as I go in for melee." Naruto''s body was clad in a flame-looking full-body cloak. As he heard the nine-tailed fox confirm the command he left the fox head and dashed at Kizaru with just his body. "Finally, one of you left the comfort of your beasts," Kizaru said and appeared in front of Naruto. Unlucky for him, both Kurama and Sasuke predicted it, so he was forced to abandon the attack otherwise he would have gotten hurt really bad. Naruto had already appeared where Kizaru landed on the ground, and finally, they got a hit in on him. Naruto''s fist was firmly planted on his back and sent him tumbling forward. In the Susanoo head, the cowardly trio started singing victory songs. "Shut up! Are you stupid? Do you think he''s an Admiral for nothing?" Sasuke was on full guard, as was Zoro and Sanji. They were all fully aware that a punch like that was good, but not nearly enough to take down an Admiral. This would be a long fight still. "You have clones? Well, let''s make this even." Several lights left Kizaru''s body and transformed into other Kizaru''s. "Now, let''s see how you fare." All of them disappeared at the same time. Naruto jumped back just in time to dodge a fatal kick to the head. His five foxes now fought their Kizaru, while the real one dealt with Naruto. Sasuke also had his version of Kizaru to deal with. Explosions occurred everywhere and the Straw Hats could barely see the giant foxes move around. That was just how much smoke and dust covered the area. They had to rely on Sasuke to protect them from the light clone. And, Naruto was now fighting the real Kizaru. Kicks and punches were being thrown at lighting speed. Naruto was on the losing side in the exchange. He couldn''t keep up with Kizaru''s stamina and strength. If it wasn''t for him controlling the nine-tailed fox, he would have died a hundred times over already. ''Kurama, how are you doing? Are you alive?" Naruto asked his pet fox. He felt himself getting weaker every second. Kizaru obviously noticed this because the attacks got even faster and stronger the longer they fought. Naruto was almost at his limit and Kizaru was pressing him as much as he could now that he felt that the boy was close to losing all strength. "I''m immortal. A being of pure energy! Don''t worry about me, worry about yourself instead!" The giant fox fighting one of the clones said in a loud growl-like voice. His worry for Naruto grew ever so high, but he couldn''t do anything. Naruto wasn''t strong enough to handle all his power, so he could only use a limited amount of it, and they still weren''t in perfect sync. That took many years to achieve, they were close to it, which is why they can fight an Admiral for this long. What to remember is that Naruto is fourteen and Kizaru has passed forty. His experience in battle is four times that of Naruto and yet, the boy can hold his own for quite some time. Just when things looked most grim and the clones were close to killing their opponents, dark red tentacles penetrated the Amaterasu fire from the outside and wrapped themselves around the clones before they could react. The tentacles moved at close to light speed. Kizaru didn''t notice them until his clones were caught by them. Through the fire, a dark red humanoid-shaped person came walking. He walked through the fire as if it didn''t exist. He had no face, only two bright red eyes. Everything other than his eyes was just a dark red outline of a male human body. He looked like a spirit projection. "Feels good to be on the outside." Said the shape in a monotone voice that sounded like death itself. Kizaru jumped away from the exhausted Naruto and turned his attention to this new individual. He sensed extreme danger from him. The same level of danger he would when Kong or Garp fought. The mysterious individual looked at the light clones and they got crushed to nothing more than light particles. "Show me what the real one is capable of." It said before disappearing and Kizaru got kicked in the stomach and sent flying. He stopped himself just before the black flames. "How dangerous," Kizaru wiped some blood from his lips that he had involuntarily spat up. That kick was Garp level of dangerous. He could not take many more of those before dying. So, he raised his alarm level to the extreme and tunnel-visioned on his new opponent. Yet, that didn''t help, the glowing individual appeared in front of his face immediately and wrapped a tentacle around Kizaru. He used it to throw Kizaru overhead and slammed him down on the ground. "This is not good." Kizaru used is fruit to appear far away. He looked at the mysterious person currently kicking his ass. He coughed up some blood and turned into light and disappeared from inside the ring. No one did anything to stop him. Naruto reverted to his normal form and Kurama disappeared and so did the giant clones. "Hey man, thanks for saving our asses. Who are you?" He talked casual but stayed at a distance, not that it would matter with how fast this individual was. "You''re welcome. Unfortunately, I don''t have time to talk. My time is up!" He said and disappeared in a flash. Sasuke undid his Susanoo and immediately fell down unconscious on the ground. He had kept all that up for ten minutes so his chakra supply was basically drained. Up in the sky far above the group, that mysterious individual appeared again. Except now he wasn''t alone. There stood another man there with him, and that man was smiling proudly. "Well done, Vaatu. How was the outside world?" He asked the dark red spirit. "Good. I now long for the day where I hopefully can stay out permanently." As he spoke, he disappeared and was sucked back into the man. ''For that to happen, I will need to fully master energy bending.'' ''Then I will wait for that day however long it takes. Thanks for letting me stretch my legs today, Amell. I needed that.'' ''No problem, Vaatu. More fun is to come. Look forward to it." Amell said and disappeared. ------------------------------------------------- End Chapter 206 - Chapter 208 Somewhere on Sabaody, Luffy was walking around confused. He had successfully escaped the Marines so all that was left for him was to find his crew. The problem was that he didn''t know where they were, and he couldn''t recall where Rayleigh''s house was located. So, that resulted in him walking around aimlessly looking for any trace of his crew. "Monkey D Luffy. Are you perhaps lost?" Itachi appeared behind Luffy with his hands behind his back. He had observed Luffy for hours and he had finally had enough of sitting around. "Who are you?" "Itachi Uchiha. I can take you to your crew. That is if you choose to trust me." Itachi''s tone was not as cold as it usually was. Luffy''s personality had that strange effect on people. It made then open up and be more inviting than they usually would be. "Sure, are you certain you know where they are?" Luffy was sceptical, but there''s nothing he wouldn''t do for his crew. "Of course. Just follow me!" Itachi said and started walking. Luffy followed him without questioning his motives. To say Luffy was a little naive in these things would be an understatement. ******************************************* "Are we not gonna address the elephant in the room?" Sanji sat by the bar inside Rayleigh''s house. His eyes scanned the crowd, especially Sasuke that was lying on the bed next to Hachi. "There''s no elephant here! Nor is there something we need to address." Naruto said while drinking the juice Rayleigh''s wife poured him. "I don''t agree with that! Your identity, the strange devil fruit you are wielding. And, the fact that your father keeps sending people after us. Do you wanna tell me what''s going on?" Only him, Zoro, Naruto and the owners of the house were awake. Even Robin had gone to sleep. "It''s not like that, you know. Dad does see your potential, but that''s not why he protects you." Naruto drank the last of his juice and continued. "He was asked to protect Luffy when you guys entered Grand Line." Zoro and Sanji got a mighty shock from that. "Do you mean someone told him to do this? Who could tell your father to do anything?" "It''s not like that either. Luffy''s brother, Ace, he''s the one who asked dad to do it. It was a request he made to dad because he knew you guys would have trouble when you entered this sea. You should know, dad only agreed to help you out in Paradise. When you enter the New World, he won''t send people to rescue you, even if you were on the verge of death." Naruto said stoically. "What a nice fellow," Zoro grunted. Naruto spun his glass playfully with one of his hands, "It''s the New World. In that sea, you take care of your own, you don''t go around helping other pirates because that''s how you get yourself killed." "Fair enough!" Sanji said and lit another cig. The door to the house opened up and in walked Luffy with a bright smile on his face. "ZORO SANJI!" He ran in and breathed out in relief. "I finally found you guys!" "Quiet! People are sleeping." Sanji said and looked lovingly over at Robin and Nami. Rayleigh smiled and glanced at Luffy. "Welcome, Straw hat Luffy. How was your journey?" "I had some nice guy show me the way here. I don''t know where he is though," Luffy looked around but didn''t see Itachi so he put stopped worrying about it. "How''s everyone doing?" He saw everyone asleep, and Hachi sleeping beside some guy he didn''t know. "Who''s that?" Luffy then saw Naruto, "Who are you?" He questioned nonchalantly. "Friends of Robin, nice to meet ya, Luffy!" Naruto said and gave him the thumbs up. "You got any meat?" Luffy ignored Naruto and walked right up to the bar where Rayleigh and his wife, Shakky. "That we do, you got any money?" Shakky answered. "No!" Luffy looked down sadly, then up again, "Can I have some anyway?" He was on the verge of using puppy eyes. "Sure, why not! Have at it." Shakk pointed at the fridge and Luffy went nuts with it. He started devouring the food at ludicrous speed. "Naruto, where are we?" A voice came from the bed and Sasuke sat up in his bed with some slight struggle. He looked around and saw everyone, including Naruto looking at him. "Rayleigh''s house, you good?" "Yeah, we should leave, our mission is done!" Sasuke stood up like nothing was wrong. He put on the shirt that someone had taken off him for some reason. "You should still rest! If Kizaru comes back, or god forbid, Bradley shows up, you need your rest." Shakky said to Sasuke. Even though Rayleigh could help out with Kizaru if it came to life and death. If Bradley showed up. That would be a different matter entirely. Bradley was someone legends like Rayleigh would hesitate to fight, no matter how strong he was, Bradley was surely stronger. "Don''t worry about that. And, don''t worry about us. Just forget us, we were never here!" Sasuke said similar to a depressed teenager. His tone was miserable and he didn''t look any one of them in the eyes. "Kids are so hasty these days, there''s not always a need to rush everything." "Come one, Naruto. We are leaving!" Sasuke had already disappeared from the door when his last words left his mouth. Naruto stood up, bowed and said, "Thanks for having us, I doubt we''ll see each other again. So, when she wakes up, tell Robin to come and visit sometime, dad misses her." He got a nod from Zoro and that became his cue to leave the house. "Only fourteen years old. That is hard to believe, even for me." Rayleigh chuckled and drank some of his whiskey. His mind wandered and however much he wanted to, he couldn''t predict what Amell would do next. Even after meeting him, that question didn''t become easier to answer. -------------------------------------------------- End Chapter 207 - [Final Arc] {Quick Message} - We have now entered the final arc of One Piece. Not sure how long it will be, but when it''s over, then it''s over! The novel will is done (officially) I have the Fairy Tail volume already mostly written and it will be up to you all if it''s released or not. I don''t mind writing that as well, but in that case, there won''t be any plot of any kind. So, if you guys want the FT volume released after One piece is done, let me know down below. Also, I''m curious as to how many are reading this novel still so please leave a comment. A simple "hello" will suffice for that. If you want to! :) Enjoy the chapter ************************************************ In his office, things were running smoothly like a well-oiled machine. After many years of struggle, Amell had finally come up with a system to handle all the paperwork so that his stress would decrease, and it worked. As long as someone didn''t bother him he could go through papers in seconds. Byakuya came walking in through the big double doors leading into the office. He went down on one knee, something Amell tried many times to explain that he didn''t need to do. "Honourable Grandfather! Portgas D Ace is confirmed to be held inside Impel down, what are your orders?" His expression was respectful and his posture perfect. "Hm, what''s Whitebeard doing?" Amell didn''t look up from whatever he was doing. He had maps laid out on the desk and he was tracing his finger across its lines. "Nothing as of now. We suspect he will intercept the transfer to HQ." "He will not!" Amell remembered only pieces from when this world used to be something he read or heard about. Those pieces were also scarce, so this upcoming war he actually knew very little about. He knew Whitebeard would attack HQ, and that fate came for his life the same day, that was about all he knew. He had no knowledge of details. He could ask the system, though he would rather win these battles on his own. "If you don''t mind me asking, how do you know that?" Byakuya knew Amell as someone that was close to All-knowing, or maybe even completely all-knowing. Never in his life had he seen or heard about Amell making a mistake when it came to predicting events. Even without the future knowledge he had, Amell was very intelligent, and most fights he had ever been in was something he always saw coming. The Avatar world was the only world so far to best him in some ways. "He wants to take full advantage of his fruit. That works best when his enemies are stationary. He will not attack the convoy, it''s too much trouble to bypass the doors between the bases, even for him. The Marines will be trapped on an island he can sink with his hands. He''ll attack HQ, I''m sure, and I am damn certain Sengoku predicts that as well." "Should we hold off from attacking Impel down?" "No, we will. Just not right now. The World Government will fall, all of it. No exceptions. But, one thing at a time. First off, gather the commanders. This war will serve as the beginning of the end for the World Government." While tracing the map with one hand, he fiddled with his white lotus piece in his other hand. Byakuya noticed it of course and got curious. "Grandfather. That piece. I have never seen it before? It''s not Gotei is it?" "No, it''s not. It''s the bond that connects all old people of the world. But, you''re still too young to understand." Amell smiled and the piece mysteriously disappeared while travelling between his fingers. Some sleight of the hand still managed to impress this powerful commander. "Maybe one day you will enlighten me on its purpose." Byakuya bowed in respect. "Maybe if the lotus finds you worthy." Amell folded the map and yawned. "You''re dismissed, boy. I will go spend some time with my children before this all begins." Amell dismissed his grandson and he was left alone in his office. "Shisui, contact Bradley and make sure he is ready for our arrival." His shadow twisted and turned and Shisui came about as usual when his name was called. "Yes, Lord Amell." He vanished into the shadow again. Amell leaned back in his chair with a sigh. "How things have changed..." He closed his eyes. ------------------------------------ End Chapter 208 - Chapter 210 There was unrest on the sea. Ace''s execution was known world-wide, and Ace is one of Whitebeards top commanders so the inevitable war that was to come from this had the whole world sweating bullets. The man with the power to destroy the world versus the entire fleet of the Marines. This would go down in the history books as a legendary event. Not only because of the people involved but because this war was the event that set in motion a great change that turned the world upside down. In Sengoku''s office sat the Admiral''s together with most other high-ranked Marine officer. The plan for how to welcome Whitebeard was currently being developed. Bradley sat among them, amused to the idea of whatever they do, his father. Portgas D Amell had likely already predicted it. He knew the importance of this day, and he knew what his mission was. This was the moment that he had waited over a decade to experience. This was the war of which his father told to him long ago. The simple fact that Amell predicted and perfectly set into motion all of these events amazed him time and time again. Seemingly unconnected events that Amell planned out would all come together here, and from this, they would craft the ideal world. "Bradley, are you with us?" Sengoku had asked a question to the Admiral but he was busy contemplating his life so he was drifting inside his own mind not paying attention to the meeting. Bradley heard his name called and looked up. "Yes?" "Are you alright? I think this is the first time I''ve seen you space out." Sengoku looked intently at Bradley trying to detect any deceit. "I am alright! Preparing myself mentally for the incoming battle." Bradley showed no hesitation nor embarrassment. He was a smooth talker and an even better liar. No one had yet suspected him, which was surprising due to how mysterious he was and how secretive he was about his private life. "I had gotten the impression that nothing ever worried you. I was starting to believe you weren''t capable of emotions." Aokiji said with minor sarcasm. "Surely you jest, I''m certain I''ve smiled at least once." "Don''t know about that, I don''t think your mouth can curve upwards." "No need to be rude, boy. You''re forty years too young to insult me." Bradley wasn''t especially bothered by opinions. The only one that mattered to him was his father''s. "I wouldn''t dream of it. Just making a simple observation." "Okay, enough! We have a lot to do, and not much time to do it in. Portgas D Ace will arrive tomorrow. We need to be fully prepared for that." Sengoku traced his finger over some documents and sighed. "How likely is it that Amell will intervene?" He looked at Bradley. The only Admiral to fight and survive against most of Gotei''s commanders in single combat. "I don''t know." Bradley placed a hand on his chin. "Ask yourself this. What would he have to gain from interfering?" "His goal is the World government, of that we''re pretty sure. So, joining the fight could be ample opportunity for him to strike a major blow against the governments strongest force." Sengoku looked troubled. They were planning a fight against Whitebeard, but if another emperor would come, whether or not Amell would help Whitebeard, that would complicate things on a big scale. "Bradley, talk with your sources, listen for whispers. Anything that can tell us of Gotei''s movements. If he is planning on coming, we need to be ahead of him on this, not behind." "Understood! Don''t expect much, he is after all, enigmatic for a reason." Bradley wrote something on a little piece of paper and put it in his pocket. "What about, Big mom? Do you think she will move on this?" He asked, waiting for anyone to answer. "Definitely not. War isn''t something you would associate her with. Kaido would have maybe done something like that?" "I agree with Sengoku, she will most likely not move." Garp had been sitting quietly and eating snacks til now. "What I wonder about is those new emperors, or what we now call them. Will they do something?" He asked Sengoku. "You mean Ginrummy and Crocodile. I don''t know. If Amell moves, they will most likely do the same." Sengoku suddenly felt his famous headache make an unfortunate comeback. "Our results tomorrow depend on Amell." "I need to contact the Holy land. If the Gotei shows up we need the Light unit. I''ll set that up, Aokiji, Kizaru, you two will coordinate our forces here. Go now, and don''t fail me!" "Understood!" Both said and stood up and left the room. "Garp, you... Just sit there and look pretty." Sengoku said. He got a thumbs up from the cookie-loving Vice-admiral. "Great! That''s it for now! Work hard to live up to the standards of the Marines." Sengoku said loudly and proudly. Everyone except Garp left which was standard since he practically lived in the office together with Sengoku. "We might die tomorrow, you know that?" Garp said casually. Sengoku looked over with a solemn look. "I know. I''m not confident in beating Whitebeard, not even counting Amell." "Not to worry. There are great kids to lead the Marines after us. Plus, we''ve had a good and long run together, old friend." "True. Would be nice to retire finally." Both of them shared a laugh and after the laughter died down they sat and absorbed the silence in peace. This would either be their last day as Marines or the last day in their life. Whatever would happen tomorrow, a great many things will change. That, they both knew to be true. ------------------------------------- End Chapter 209 - Chapter 211 The sun had risen over the horizon on this fateful day. Marineford was packed with soldiers, foot soldiers all the way to the three arrogant and proud-looking Admirals. Everyone Sengoku could muster up was taking part in this war. Down by the harbour where the soldiers stood packed tight, heavy breathing could be heard. "This silence is so eerie. I can barely breath!" One of the many faceless soldiers spoke harshly with his rough and tired voice. Many of these men had neither slept nor rested the night before. They were dead-tired, yet also full of energy. "I know what you mean." Another faceless man answered. He glanced up towards the execution platform where Ace was kneeling down with his head hung low. "Look at those three, it''s like it''s just another day at the beach." The man was, of course, referring to the Admirals who sat up there on high ground on their important-looking chairs. "We can''t compare to that. How many wars and terrifying battles do you think they have been in. Just focus on you or you''re going to die." One woman standing behind them said in a cold tone. Her face was stoic but her heart was in her throat, she was just that nervous. And, who could blame her? They were up against the strongest man in the world with a fruit that could destroy an island easily. "But, why is the Fleet-admiral streaming this war live? There is so much about this I don''t understand." "You don''t need to understand. All you need to do is grip that rifle, point and shoot." The woman answered and effectively shutting him up in the process. Ace felt more shame and guilt now than he had ever done in his entire life. He could barely look up at Garp, a man he grew up knowing as his grandpa, just like Luffy. "Ace, do you have any regrets? If so, speak them now!" Garp said, trying to sound as distant as possible. "No! I served my father, Whitebeard to the best of my ability. I die without regrets! You''re the one that holds regrets, so don''t put that on me, old man." Ace glanced over the massive army they had amassed here. Even an emperor that had sailed these seas for many decades could not compare to these numbers. There were hundreds of thousands of Marines here. Granted, the majority of these marines were not elites, just foot soldiers used to add a more intimidating air. Numbers can be off-putting for the enemy, and that was Sengoku''s goal with having normal soldiers stationed here for what was to become a certain death. "You''re right. Over the span of my long life, I have gathered a few. Maybe today I can rid myself of them once and for all." Garp''s voice broke for just a second but recovered almost immediately. He had been a Marine for far too long to allow emotions to get in the way, that''s what he believed in. This justice that he was fighting for. He would die to protect it, even when his grandson stood to die from it. Before they could continue, an explosion was heard across the entire base. Though the sound didn''t come from the base itself. It came from the water just outside the harbour. Moby dick, Whitebeards ship had suddenly burst out of the water. "Now it begins!" Aokiji said calmly. "So it does!" Bradley said, slowly placing his hand on top his sword. He observed his fellow Admirals and leaned back on his chair with a knowing look in his eyes. His gaze also travelled upwards with a certain expectation visible on his face. "I would wish you two good luck, but that almost feels like signing our death warrant." Aokiji looked over at Bradley, he noticed how his behaviour from the previous meeting was still present. He nor anyone had ever seen Bradley act this distant, almost emotionless when interacting with them. He rarely showed emotions, but you could always feel the respect behind his actions, but today, Bradley was ice-cold and Aokiji didn''t like the feeling that gave him. "People die every day, we all have our expiration dates." "Jeez, aren''t you just a ball of sunshine," Kizaru also felt the unease Aokiji felt. Something was definitely off with Bradley today. Maybe it was simply the realization that this might be his last day, or it was something bigger. Either way, the two of them kept his behaviour in the back of their minds and again, turned their attention on Whitebeard. The seven-meter tall emperor stood on the helm of his ship and overlooked the mighty army that Sengoku had gathered. "An army without substance." He said as his gaze and voice crossed the distance and reached the Fleet-admiral stationed upon the execution platform. "Ace, sit tight!" His mighty voice boomed loudly and he proceeded to put down his weapon and squeeze his fists together. With one mighty movement, he struck the air with his fists covered in translucent white energy. From this came what every Marine here feared, the power to destroy the world. The sea rose up in two massive waves that were three times the size of the base and on the verge of swallowing it. "You''re up, boy," Bradley said and glanced over at Aokiji. The Admiral in a white and blue suit disappeared from his seat and appeared in mid-air with his hands covered in ice. "Ice-age!" He spoke softly as two streams of ice left his hands and collided with the waves that were about to crush the base. The rising tide froze instantly and so did the sea for miles. The stage had officially been set by these two powerful forces and now everyone waited for who would make the first move. --------------------------------------------- End Chapter 210 - Chapter 212 In the distance behind the Moby dick, silhouettes of a fleet showed themselves and the nervous energy on the Marine side increased. This was Whitebeards allies. All of them were New World veterans and people that would die for this emperor. "This just became more troublesome," Kizaru spoke lightly and rested his head against the back of the throne-like chair. "I suppose we should test the waters." He stood up, and he disappeared as his body shone in brilliant light. He also appeared in mid-air as his fellow Admiral did minutes before. He released a shower of deadly laser-beams. "Marco!" Whitebeard spoke slowly and a flaming blue phoenix zoomed past him and collided with and stopped the rain of lasers Kizaru sent. Marco pushed even further and delivered a kick to Kizaru which sent him crashing down on the ground, though doing barely any damage to the Admiral. "Marco the Phoenix." Bradley''s Sharingan spun to life and a literal second later he appeared behind Marco. "The standard for commanders are embarrassingly low nowadays." "What the hell!?" Marco spoke with difficulty. Bradley had now appeared in front of him with his hand now gripped around his throat. "Don''t get cocky on Marine grounds, boy." He delivered a quick punch to Marco''s stomach that sent him crashing towards the ice below. Lucky for him the ice was tough enough so he didn''t go through it. "B-Bradley! Forgot about him," Marco sat up while holding his stomach that hurt like hell. "Pops, sorry about that," He yelled upwards towards Whitebeard. He had landed right in front of The Moby dick so he felt safe in the stretching shadow of Whitebeard that covered the ground. "Are you alright?" The emperor spoke while glaring at Bradley who had appeared by his chair again. He sat down with a bored expression, but he got questionable looks from his fellow Admirals. "I''m alright!" Marco said and flew back up on the ship. "His haki is scary strong. He let me live there, I don''t know why, but he could''ve easily killed me." There was some genuine fear in his voice. "No point thinking about that." Whitebeard gripped his weapon and struck the ground with it. As he did, the rest of the Whitebeard pirates had appeared and the fleet of ships had arrived. "MEN!" His voice sounded out and caught the attention of his crew and allies. "Upon that platform, they have my son chained down like some animal. This they will regret, we will make them regret it! NOW! CHARGE!" His voice rocked the ship and shook the ground. Together with his mighty voice, the thousands upon thousands of pirates that he brought with him all jumped down on the ice and started their charge towards the platform. The pirates and the Marines met half-way and instantly chaos broke out on the battlefield. In just seconds, hundreds of people lost their lives. The smell of blood rose quickly around them and screams of dying soldiers were only overpowered by the warcry of the pirates. "Stop it! Stop dying for me!" Ace sat with his head pressed against the hard wooden platform. Garp glanced at him with his heart slowly dying inside his chest. The lives of Whitebeard and his allies meant nothing to him, but Ace''s crying had his iron-will wavering. "Garp, don''t do anything you''ll regret!" Sengoku said sternly. He knew Garp all too well so it wasn''t difficult for him to know exactly what he was thinking of doing. "My loyalty lies with the Marines. You know that!" Garp couldn''t look at Ace much longer. He instead looked around the battlefield for signs of that man appearing. "When is he coming? You think he would miss this?" He glanced at Sengoku and the man shook his head lightly, "I don''t know. He has no relation to either side for what we know. Maybe he doesn''t wanna risk his men for this." Just then, a small dot in the distance made itself visible. No one had yet seen it, but Garp''s extreme senses picked it up in the form of someone screaming. "Do you hear that?" He looked over in that direction and saw that dot become bigger very quickly. Very soon both he and Sengoku could see what that dot was. It was a ship. A flying ship with a lion''s helm. "I-It can''t be!" Ace also saw this phenomenon and he couldn''t believe his eyes. "Ships don''t fly." He said in shock. It wasn''t every day you would see a flying ship. "Garp, look at that flag." Sengoku''s voice went cold. Garp looked at it and his eyes dilated. "Not you as well!" Garp''s will weakened even further. The flag on that ship was a skull with a straw har placed upon it. A very well-known jolly roger after the events of Enies Lobby. "It''s your damn family again!" "Luffy..." Ace said after obviously recognizing it. The ship didn''t allot their conversation to continue much further. It made itself known to all on the battlefield because Luffy stood on the helm screaming at the top of his lungs. He yelled Ace''s name over and over. "A ship? Who the hell is that?" Marco said out loud to himself. All the fights stopped for a few seconds as everyone observed the strangest thing they had ever seen. The ship arrived above them and quickly crash-landed on the ground and slid across it for a couple of meters. The ship itself wasn''t even damaged by the landing. "AAAAAAAAAACCCCCCCCCEEEEEEEE!!" Luffy''s loud and preteen voice sounded out from atop the ship. He together with the Straw hat pirates all stood on the helm of the ship with battle-ready expressions. "WE ARE HERE TO SAVE YOOUUUUU!" Luffy''s voice died down again and everything was quiet. That was until some random pirate shot a Marine dead and the fighting broke out again. In seconds, the straw hats were forgotten by the majority of the people as they all were fighting for their lives. "Oy, Luffy, are you sure this is a good idea? Look at how many Marines there are!" Usopp stood behind Zoro, trying to subtle hide away from prying eyes. His legs were shaking but he was trying desperately to stop them from doing so. "Perfect spot to train!" Zoro said happily. He was more than excited to start this. Luffy didn''t bother with any of them, he directly jumped off the ship and started running towards the platform. "Follow the captain!" Zoro said loudly as he, Sanji, Robin and Brook jumped down and ran after Luffy. ------------------------------------------------- End Chapter 211 - Chapter 213 "It''s that Straw hat again. That boy is quite the handful, and he has some powerful friends." Kizaru said as he was remembering his beatdown on Sabaody by that mysterious shape that turned out later to be Vaatu in physical form. "Let''s hope those friends aren''t here," Aokij said calmly. He didn''t wanna have to deal with anymore Whitebeards. One person of such freakish strength was enough for him. "Those kids are barely wet behind their ears. They won''t last against a vice-admiral, they can''t even use haki." "Oh, you know about them, Bradley? I thought you didn''t care about rookies." "You''re right in assuming that. I do not care for any of them, but that crew has some decent talent, plus, that captain is Garp''s grandson." Kizaru and Aokiji looked over wide-eyed. They had no knowledge of this, which showed on their expression. "You don''t say. I wonder how that old man is taking this then," Kizaru looked up at Garp, and his expression said it all. He wasn''t happy about Luffy showing up here. Garp couldn''t protect Luffy from being arrested or killed here, much like with Ace. "Let Sengoku worry about that. We are responsible for Whitebeard." "True enough, but it looks to be going well. Those warlords are doing a pretty fine job as well." Kizaru saw Doflamingo slicing up hundreds of pirates, there wasn''t even a challenge for him. His relationship with Amell was known, but not to what extent so the Marines kept him as a Warlord, hoping to get to Amell through him. Doflamingo sat upon a small pile of bodies with a smile on his face. He was observing Hancock killing pirates with a pleasant expression on her face. "You look as beautiful as always." He said casually while controlling different pirates and using their bodies to cut up other pirates. "Shut up, you scum! Do not talk to me!" Hancock, believe it or not, was still running on that anger from when Sasuke and Naruto invaded her ship. That, to her, was the greatest insult and she barely wanted to come here because she was busy looking for those two. "Why so serious? Loosen up, this is like a vacation away from all that official business. Enjoy it a little, might do you good." Doflamingo showed his sadistic smile while cutting people down using other people''s hands. "Don''t you have anyone else to go and annoy?" Hancock turned a pirate to stone with her kick. She turned to Doflamingo, "I''m not in a mood to chat to a madman." She went on her merry way, leaving Doflamingo on his pile of bodies. He glanced up with a smile, "I wonder when the boss will get here," He said and chuckled to himself. ****************************************** Up in the sky above Marineford, a few islands floated stationary beside each other. Each one looked unique and they all were ruled over by different people. On these islands, hundreds of thousands of pirates combined ran around preparing for something. They wore uniforms matching each boss of their island. Some of them were dressed like old classing samurais and wielded nothing but swords, while others were dressed as clowns. On one of these incredibly large islands, a small group of people stood together at the edge overlooking the world below. "Are we ready?" Asked Byakuya a man standing behind him. "Yes, Sir! The troops are ready for deployment." Answered the man seriously with a touch of respect. "Then there is nothing delaying us. Deploy now!" Byakuya said. After the man behind him signalled someone with his hand, the bottom of each island opened up. Each of them had a hatch attached to its bottom side which all opened up simultaneously. What came out of them were hard-to-believe-in massive ships. On these ships were a mind-boggling amount of pirates. All of them with the skill slightly above a New World veteran. This was the Gotei army. In fact, the scary thing was, this was only three islands out of the thirteen that existed. Meaning, Amell by a very large margin controlled the biggest army in the world. The world was about to be in for a rude awakening. -------------------------------------------- End Chapter 212 - Chapter 214 The clock was ticking, and the pressure was increasing. Sengoku glanced down on Ace and sighed. "It is time. Begin the execution!" Two men with long-bladed weapons walked up the stairs leading up to the platform. They were being watched by the entire world through the cameras that were streaming this war. Whitebeard saw the two men and yelled at his men to increase the pressure on the marines. But, the Warlords did too good of a job with holding the line. The Whitebeard alliance couldn''t get through. "Luffy, the execution has started!" Sanji yelled from behind Luffy. They were separated from the Whitebeard pirates and they had no relation with them so their advance was just as slow. None of them knew Haki, so neither Zoro nor Luffy could stand against a vice-admiral, Which was exactly why they had stopped. Vice-admiral Doberman stood face to face with Zoro, Sanji and Luffy in a stalemate. They weren''t strong enough to push past him, but just strong enough to stop him from completely dominating them. "The worst generation! A seed to kill before it can mature." "I don''t have time for you!" Luffy was fully using his second gear and landing heavy blows against Doberman. Still, none could penetrate that defence, nor overpower him in terms of speed. As a vice-admiral, his strength was even higher than the agents of the CP9 unit. "Luffy, let''s attack together!" Zoro prepared his three swords, but Doberman stood resolute against the assault. The rest of the Straw hats were locked in their own battles with either powerful elites or just overwhelming numbers of rookie marines. Penetrating the line of defence proved much harder than they thought. "Robin, be careful!" Sanji appeared behind Robin and kicked a marine in the head before he could cut her down. She gave him a sweet smile as sweat ran down her forehead. "Luffy is not thinking clearly. We won''t survive this unless he calms down." She said and exhaled audibly. She didn''t have the stamina that the monster trio, Zoro, Luffy and Sanji had. None of the crew had their endurance or their pure fighting prowess. This was one of those moments where Robin regretted fleeing away from her grandpa''s lessons. "I know, the farther in we go, the tougher the enemies are gonna get. The Admirals are still guarding that platform. And, then it''s the Fleet-admiral and Luffy''s grandpa. This might be more than we can handle." Sanji would never abandon his crew, not even in this situation, but his viewpoint right now wasn''t positive. They were neck-deep in danger. "You don''t say," Franky said from the side while bombarding marines with bullets. "I seriously have a hard time believing we will survive this." He sent a rocket punch at another marine and continued shooting. Luffy right now was in deep trouble. He was already overusing his gears and he had three major cuts on his body from Doberman''s sword. His stamina was being wasted very quickly thanks to him not thinking straight. With little to no thinking involved, Luffy had backed himself into a corner and Doberman''s sword was coming straight for his neck. "LUFFY!" Zoro tried forcing his way through the army of marines to try and get to his captain. But, it was too late for him. Though, not too late for others. From seemingly nowhere, a half-naked barbarian-looking woman appeared and delivered a punch right into Doberman''s gut, sending him skidding across the ice. "You okay, kid?" The woman asked. "Yeah, thanks!" Luffy said and ran off again without even bothering to ask why she helped him. "What a rude boy!" She said and glanced back at the Straw hats. Doberman got up from the ground after wiping blood off his lips. He eyed the woman with anger, "Ginrummy, why are you buddying up to a rookie?" He coughed and got up on trembling legs. "Bosses orders! Nothing personal! Well, a little personal." Ginrummy said playfully. She charged at him giving him very little time to defend himself. She delivered punch after punch while still keeping a smile on her face. "Boss? Who would that be?" "Guess it''s above your pay-grade!" Another slip-up and Ginrummy got another clean hit in that knocked him down on the ice again. "Hate to do this to you, but you have to die now." Ginrummy now used her haki and dashed towards him. "Not so fast, lady." The ground froze, and with it, so did Ginrummy. Aokiji rose from the ice in front of Doberman. "Took you long enough to get here." He watched her break out of the ice pretty quickly. She had a sour expression as she came out. "Why you? Why couldn''t it have been Kizaru!" She complained quietly. "Oh... Not satisfied? I promise I won''t disappoint!" Aokiji let the atmosphere around him slowly drop in temperature. He was ready to fight. She was clearly not, she looked back at the Straw hats and then at Aokiji. "AHH! So frustrating! I''m not allowed to fight you, so can you switch with Kizaru, please!" Ginrummy completely floored Aokiji. He dropped his arm to his sides and tilted his head. "Huh? You''re gonna have to help me out here?" "You''re not allowed to fight me?" "No, my lady''s orders! Nobody can kill you but her." Ginrummy''s words seemed to have enlightened Aokiji as he took a step back. "No, not her! Not today! This day is really not getting any better..." He looked around with a cautious look. "Tell me, is she here?" He seemed almost afraid of something, or someone. "Not allowed to speak about that either, sorry!" Ginrummy started walking away, but not before she turned her head around and said, "She did tell me to say hello if I ever ran into you." She smiled and slightly shook her head. "She also really looks forward to seeing you." She stopped herself and spoke again, this time with more nervous energy around her. "That part was more from me, she didn''t actually say that, more about how she was gonna torture you and stuff." After that, she continued walking. "Admiral! T-That''s the new generation emperor, right? Are we not gonna stop her?!" Doberman asked carefully. He had great respect for Aokiji, so that was why he didn''t yell and ask what the hell he was doing, letting her leave. "No, if that person is here, things are about to go south. Mostly for me!" Aokiji complained and walked away with his head hung low. ----------------------------------------- End Chapter 213 - Chapter 215 As the hour of the execution approached, the war started to escalate in brutality by a large margin. "PUSH THROUGH!" "DON''T LET THEM NEAR!" The Whitebeard pirates pushed from one side while the Marine forces pushed from the other. And, independent from those were the Straw hats. Their ship stood untouched on the battlefield while the crew pushed through the horde of soldiers by themselves. They had no help from the Whitebeard pirates, so it was a miracle that they had lasted this long. Or, it could be for the fact that Ginrummy sat on their ship, clearly stating that anyone getting in their way would have to deal with her. The big players on the Marine side couldn''t afford to deal with that, so they let the Straw hats be for now. A vice-admiral was all they could spare. Aokiji only interrupted before because he and Doberman had a close friendship. "Men! Begin the execution!" Sengoku said loud enough for his voice to echo to the nearest Whitebeard commander. "PUSH! SAVE ACE!" The commanders showed their desperation now more than ever. They swung their swords with ferocity and fired their guns with bloody accuracy. Yet, they were so far out that they couldn''t do anything no matter how they tried. "MY SON SHALL NOT DIE THIS DAY!" Whitebeard dropped his weapon and got into stance to use his fruit. His hands folded inwards, and in one powerful motion, stretched them wide and with that sent one world-destroyingly powerful force towards the platform in one last effort to destroy it. "The old fool is getting desperate," Bradley stood up and raised his hand against the incoming attack. As if an invisible shield stood in its way, Whitebeards attack lost all momentum and crashed into this invisible wall and dissipated. "Say goodbye to your captain, Ace," Sengoku said and signalled the execution to start. The two executioners placed their weapons in position above Ace''s head. In just one moment, two loud thud sounds were heard, but it didn''t belong to Ace. "Made it just in time." Behind Ace, standing proudly and unafraid was Kenshin, the most supreme swordsman in the world. "Kenshin!" Sengoku turned serious in the blink of an eye and jumped at the commander. Without any hesitation, Kenshin plunged his sword into the platform and the entire thing erupted in a massive explosion that created a big smokescreen blocking everyone from seeing what was going on inside it. Inside the smoke, where the platform had stood, Garp and Sengoku stood facing Kenshin that held onto Ace. "I am gonna assume you are not letting me pass." He said calmly. His eyes scanned the surroundings carefully. "You''re not leaving here alive, Kenshin. Give up the boy!" Sengoku had clad most of his body in haki. Garp stood calmly and assessed the situation. "Then I''m going through you." Kenshin took off in a burst of speed that broke apart the ground. His speed surprised the two old marines. It took but a second for Kenshin to leave the smoke cloud with the two in tow. In only a few seconds they had crossed half the battlefield and caused massive damage in the meantime. Aokiji''s ice stood no chance against their punches, so there were hundreds of holes in the ice where Garp and Sengoku had struck with either their feet or fist. "MEN! USE EVERYTHING WE HAVE, DO NOT LET THEM LEAVE!" Aokiji took up the temporary leader position. They now needed to do everything they could to not let Whitebeard escape successfully. "Luffy, look! Someone saved Ace, let''s leave!" Sanji yelled, trying to get his captain''s attention. Zoro that was absorbed in his fighting heard his yelling and quickly grabbed Luffy by the collar as he was right next to him. "We need to leave now!" He dragged Luffy forcefully away from the marines. The chase between Garp, Sengoku and Kenshin ended when Kenshin used his famous dimensional step and practically teleported away from them. Though, it was just a speed so fast that it could easily be mistaken for pure teleportation. The two old marines could not follow the commanders any longer and lost sight of him. That was until they saw him standing beside Whitebeard on the Moby dick. "That was quite satisfying. They were still a lot slower than I thought. But, as entertainment, they did fine." Kenshin said and let go of Ace. "Ace, I''m glad you''re safe!" Whitebeard bowed down and proceeded to use his fruit to destroy the cuffs he has on. "And, you, Kenshin. I appreciate your help, but what are you doing here?" "The captain couldn''t bear to see the boy die. So, he asked me to swing by." "Thank you! Marco, call a retreat! All that matters now is getting away safely. We did not come here for any more slaughter than necessary." "RETREAT! PULL BACK, WE''RE LEAVING!" Marco''s command sounded out across the battlefield and the Whitebeard alliance stopped celebrating the successful rescue and focused on pulling back while defending against the charging marines. "Do not allow them to leave!" Kizaru appeared behind a large group of pirates and ended their lives in a couple of seconds. "Charge! Kill them all!" He shot another laser and more screams of pain and death rang out from the retreating pirates. "Time to settle a score!" Kizaru turned to light and disappeared from view. Across the battlefield, Aokiji was murdering pirates in mass. His ice spread far while he stood with his hands in his pockets and watched them all freeze to death. He watched with sympathy, but this was the fate they chose when going into this war. He looked around as he suddenly felt a feeling of unrest. "What''s going on?" "Look who it is... Snowflake, how have you been?" A feminine and elegant voice sounded out behind him and despite being ice, Aokiji''s body froze up when he heard it. He knew exactly who this was. "Copy cat... I''ve been good, you?" He turned around and faced, Cal Shekar, one of the Gotei commanders and someone he had fought more times than he could be bothered remembering. "I''ve been good. Certainly better than you." Cal said cheekily. "Always with that competitiveness. How many times have I told you to drop it? It''s no fun fighting you if you keep score." "That''s only because you''re losing, Snowflake. What is the score? Twenty-one wins for me and two for you, was it?" "Well, only because I''m not trying that hard to win..." Their casual conversation didn''t reflect the seriousness in the atmosphere around them. Most marines around had fainted thanks to Cal''s mighty aura. You needed to be at least of Admiral rank to combat it head-on. "Ready to give me my twenty-second win?" Cal placed a hand on her sword and smiled. "Not a chance. This time I''m gonna try a little harder." They both disappeared and a clash broke out that immediately destroyed this part of the battlefield. This fight gave way for powerful emotions within themselves. Despite not truly comprehending it, a bond had since long ago been created between them. That is what happens when you gain an eternal rival. ----------------------------------------- End Chapter 214 - Chapter 216 "SNOWFLAKE! TRY HARDER!" Cal and Aokiji''s fight had escalated to something truly massive. The icy battlefield had turned to absolute dust, so Aokiji had to keep recreating the ice so he could comfortably fight Cal. "You''re so annoying, why can''t you just leave me alone!" They clashed again and the shockwave from their clash caused gigantic waves to form around them. "Who would be here to keep you from lazying off if I disappeared? Just admit that you need me!" Cal sliced with her sword, missing Aokiji''s throat by just a couple millimetres. "Yeah, I don''t know. I would rather take your boss. He is certain to be kinder," Aokiji blocked her sword with his own ice blade. "I''m hurt! I thought we had a connection, snowflake!" "I don''t know what kind of connection that is. But, usually, friends don''t tend to try and kill each other." "Sure they do! I try to murder Vash all the time, and what''s wrong with that? A little spice for your life," Cal said as the waves raged and their weapons were like blurs as they clashed in the middle of the storm they created. Miles away from them, the Straw hats had gotten into a little trouble. They stood face to face with Mihawk. He got wind of Zoro and decided to test how far he''d come since they met on the Baratie months back. "Luffy, Sanji, take everyone back to the ship, I''ll be right behind you." Zoro wore an excited expression as his swords were released from their restraints and he got into stance. Mihawk still hadn''t drawn his sword. "You''ve improved, impressive." Mihawk suddenly got flashbacks from his fight with Kenshin and the words left to him by that man echoed in his head. "I might not be able to beat you yet, but today I will make you fight seriously with that sword." He gazed readily at Mihawk''s famous black sword. "A dog can bark, but can it bite?" Zoro dashed at them and the fight began. The crew didn''t do as told by the vice-captain. They all stood behind and watched the dual. There were barely any marines left in the area, and even the ones that were left couldn''t bring themselves to go near that battle. Luffy, Sanji and Zoro were Warlord level so they wouldn''t be able to harm them either way. From a high altitude, a bright flash of light appeared and behind the Straw hats, a laser struck down and Kizaru appeared. His striped yellow suit was slightly dirty, and he had a frown on his face. "Been looking for you, Straw hat. Your crew and I didn''t get to finish last time." "KIZARU!" Usopp disappeared from his spot and hid behind Robin. She had already pressed her emergency button, similar to the one Toshiro gave her. "Luffy, what do we do now?" Sanji''s leg started burning as he got ready for a fight. Even though they stood no chance, they wouldn''t die lying down. "We fight, we escape, and then we''ll go to Fishman island!" Luffy activated gear-second and lowered his body. His focus was currently halved, as he wanted more than anything to go over to Ace, but now he had to deal with an Admiral. INCOMING!" A red blur zoomed past them and Kizaru got kicked in the face by someone. He was sent flying far away and in his place stood Vash, the most energetic among the commanders. "You called, My Lady!" He turned and bowed to Robin, who in turn smiled in relief. "Yeah, thanks. I hoped you guys would be nearby. I kinda counted on you not wanting to miss this one out." "You got that right, I love me a good ol'' fashion war. Are these your friends then, the ones I''ve heard about?" He looked the Straw hats up and down and nodded in approval. "I definitely approve. They seem like good kids." "They are, so, could you help us get outta here?" "No problemo, kiddo! YO GINRUMMY! KEEP THAT DUDE BUSY!" Vash yelled to Ginrummy who sat on the Sunny, having almost fallen asleep. His voice was the thing that finally jump-started her again. "Sure!" She dashed after Kizaru who still hadn''t shown himself again, which was weird since he and Vash had quite the rival history together. Though, not as close as Aokiji and Cal were. Kizaru and Vash were more like proper enemies. "Now, shall we go?" Vash bowed low in exaggeration and hurried them along. What they all forgot was that Zoro was still off in the distance and fighting Mihawk. -------------------------------------- End Chapter 215 - Chapter 217 The call for a retreat caused a storm of chaos bigger than before. The Whitebeard alliance lost almost all coordination and each crew went their separate ways. Not to say they were losing, because they weren''t thanks to the Gotei commanders coming in and keeping the Admirals busy. Whitebeard right now, stood on the helm of his ship looking down on Garp and Sengoku. Beside him stood Kenshin, with a hallow smile. Both sides were waiting for the other one to make the first move. "Garp, how do you think you stand against Kenshin?" "With no interruptions, I might be able to beat him. But, I definitely can''t kill him, that''s asking too much." "That''s all I need. We two will keep them busy while Bradley takes back Ace. Is that clear?" "Crystal!" Bradley stood beside them with his hands cupped behind his back. "When I give the signal, we go," Sengoku spoke in a whisper. "Before that, you might wanna look at that," Bradley said and pointed upwards. From above the clouds, three flying ships came floating down. They were huge and their incredible size caused massive shadows to cover the land. Marine and pirate alike all stopped to observe the unthinkable take place. "He''s here!" Garp said quietly. His eyes glued to the flag those ships were flying. Everyone in the world recognized that flag. The Admirals, the commanders of both Whitebeard and Gotei, as well as the Warlords, everyone stopped what they were doing. "HAHAHA THE BOSS HAS ARRIVED! TIME TO BEGIN!" Doflamingo suddenly went from zero to a hundred and before anyone could register what he meant, he spread his arms and the slaughter began. The slaughter of the navy soldiers that is. His strings went wild and immediately he created a river of blood around him with the use of the marine army. "DOFLAMINGO! YOU SCUM!" Vice-Admiral Onigumi dashed at him with fully dilated eyes. He couldn''t believe that in just seconds he saw countless marines cut to pieces by this madman. But, this man didn''t get far. A couple strings appeared from nowhere and cut the vice-admiral up into four pieces. "I HAVE ARRIVED!" Lubbock''s voice echoed out as above the battlefield on strings mysteriously hanging in the air stood the remaining commanders, and with them stood also Amell. The strings were practically invisible so it looked to most that they were simply standing in mid-air. "AMELL!" Another vice-admiral by the name of John Giant threw a fist against the emperor. Thanks to John being an actual giant, his fist was huge in comparison to the tiny people standing in the air- "YOU''LL PAY FOR THAT!" His rage over the loss of his great friend just now overtook his mind and he attacked in a blind rage. "Forgive me for what we''re about to do." Amell stared at the incoming fist and it stopped. John the giant lost control of his body and he froze. "Captain''s blood bending sure is scary!" Lubbock waved his finger and John got sliced up in hundreds of pieces. His cut-up body parts rained down on the marines below and crushed some of them to death. Sengoku and Garp stood still with wide eyes. In seconds they lost two vice-admirals and hundreds of marine rookies. Doflamingo was still slaughtering and Kizaru and Aokiji were caught up in their own fighting. "Garp, stop Doflamingo!" Garp moved instantly towards the warlord with the pure intent to end his life in seconds. Amell didn''t bother with it, he had planned for everything. He didn''t come here with the intent to let the Marines have a fighting chance. "Go!" Amell signalled with his hand, and from the ships jumped so many people that you couldn''t see the sky anymore. They covered the sky, and among this huge army was the inner circle members of Amell''s division. First one to land on the ground was Albion. The strongest physical fighter inside the Gotei. "Tiny people! Albion is here to destroy! Come to me!" He roared so loudly that he shook the ground. "YOU!" A voice made of pure rage came from behind and Albion turned around to see a man with white hair standing there staring at him. "IT WAS YOU, WASN''T IT!" His body turned to smoke and he flew at Albion with no regard for his own health. "Little smoke man is first!" Albion and the man clashed and with no surprise to it, Albion won. When their fists met you could hear something break, and it turned out to be the man''s hand. "So weak! So boring!" Albion hung his head, seemingly genuinely disappointed. "You''re not fun. Bring me someone stronger now!" He took a giant step forward and brough his hands together to crush the man made up of smoke. From behind him, vice-admiral Momonga dashed in and delivered a sword strike to Albion''s back. "Smoker, are you alright? Pull back, this is not someone you can take on." Momonga jumped back to avoid a kick from Albion, "THAT HURT, YOU LITTLE SHIT!" On Albion''s back was a long scar, thought very shallow as it wasn''t easy to break through that defence. "HE KILLED TASHIGI! I will see him cut to pieces." Smoker gripped his weapon tight and moved in to fight again. Momonga not seeing any other choice also moved in. They were now fighting two on one, with them dodging for their lives as one kick or punch from Albion would probably kill them. They had superior speed, but that proved useless as they couldn''t do any real damage to his skin. While that fight was going on, the hundreds of thousands of Gotei soldiers had all landed on the ground and started their assault. They were all elites so the Marines stood no chance against them. They moved in squads and they left thousands of dead marines in their path. Sengoku stood there gritting his teeth. He didn''t know what to do. The army of the Gotei was not something he expected. He knew they were many, just not that they all were this well trained and disciplined. His army stood no chance, and he was losing men every second. "AMELL, STOP THIS INSANITY!" He yelled to the emperor who watched this with a stoic expression. "Sengoku, the world needs a better future, and that does not lie with you. The world government as you running errands for scum worse than the worst pirates. You are the ones who should have done something a long time ago. You preach justice, but you''re nothing but guard dogs for sadistic scum." Amell''s tone was harsh. If Robin overheard this or anyone else in his family, they wouldn''t believe this to be him. This was his hidden side. The one who could do anything for the greater good. Even if that thing was a mass slaughter of navy. Sengoku couldn''t find the words to refute. He looked at Bradley, "Use everything you have. Kill them all!" His rage had boiled over and he was ready to give his life for this. "No!" Bradley said calmly with his hands cupped behind his back. "What?!" Sengoku turned around completely stunned at the unexpected response. "As the Thirteenth commander, I am sworn by law to always act in accordance with the Gotei." During the single second it took Sengoku to comprehend what was being said, Bradley drew his sword and pierced the Fleet-admiral''s heart. "I always respected you, but I was never loyal to you." He said and twisted the sword before pulling it out and allowing a river of blood to pour out on the ice. "I-I can''t b-believe... this i-is happening... G-Garp, s...Save y-yourself" Sengoku fell forward, dead. "Father, shall we proceed?" Bradley looked up, slightly emotional. He wasn''t loyal to the marines, but he had just killed a man he could call a friend and someone he respected to a certain extent. He wasn''t ice-cold inside, so some emotions were expected to bubble up. "Yes! No survivors, and leave Garp to me." Amell said right as Garp came flying towards him. Amell raised his leg with his high flexebility and clashed feet to fist. Their clash erupted a shockwave so massive the other commanders standing next to Amell was blown away, though not really hurt. "You surprise me! Who is he? No way you would send just a commander inside the marines for this long, is he your son?" Garp''s tone was dark, very dark. He oozed killing intent, but the remaining calming aura around him is what was truly scary. The fact that he could remain somewhat clear-headed and calm spoke of what an incredible fighter and veteran he was. "That''s right. Bradley is my eldest son. You''re smart, and I applaud you for being this calm." Amell floated in air while Garp stood on the ground. The strings had broken apart during their clash. "Fourteen years. You planted him fourteen years ago. We truly underestimated how patient and dangerous you are." "Most do. I never did show my strength to you. So, as a show of respect, I will allow you to see the true me." Amell''s aura erupted in a never-before-seen massive explosion. Immediately everyone on the battlefield, including all the commanders, even Bradley were blown away and fainted in the process. The icy battlefield completely evaporated, the remaining marines caught on fire as he commanded the cosmic energy to burn everyone alive, though they died so quickly that they couldn''t feel any pain. Something he did out of mercy, he still didn''t enjoy torture. The pressure crushed Marineford completely and the island started sinking. Amell used his bending to keep the Gotei army safe, but even some of the New World pirates who were a little too close to marineford evaporated. After five seconds of that, his aura died down, and all that was left around them were the rubble that was previously the HQ of the Marines. The Gotei army were all unconscious but alive and he sent hem up towards the ship using his air bending. The straw hats were gone with their ship, thanks to Vash helping them. All of Amell''s allies were unconscious but alive. Kizaru was dead, Amell had killed him during that eruption. Aokiji was supposed to be dead, but Cal protected him by wrapping him in a magic barrier to stop Amell''s bending from affecting him. This meant that Cal took the brunt of it and lost consciousness. "Another great man lost." Amell spoke softly, "Hopefully I can someday forgive myself for what I did here today." He reverted to his soft-hearted self and stared blankly at the ocean. He had just killed thousands of marines and even though no one would say anything since this was war. He had to live with it. "This war is over! Now, the question is. How have my actions here today shaped fate? I can no longer rely on my knowledge from before my reincarnation nor the system I command. From here on out, not even I know what will transpire." Amell placed his palm together to say a silent prayer for both the pirates and marines who lost their lives here today. War is always ugly, but Amell wholeheartedly believed that his actions here today stopped even more bloodshed in the future. This world would be much brighter when he ruled it instead of the people fueled by greed. -------------------------------- End Chapter 216 - Chapter 218 On an undisclosed island in the New World there stood a facility. It was huge in size and guarded by hundreds of soldiers with stoic expressions. The island was under the control of this organization. And, they were, of course, The Gotei. The group that was responsible for the destruction of Marine HQ. The inside of the facility was even bigger than the outside, something that was only possible if you had magic, which The Gotei had. The inside of the facility was the size of the entire island, which was about ten times the size of the structure as seen from the outside. Inside the command centre of the facility, Amell and a few others sat and discussed the aftermath of the war and also the future to come. Inside the room was Byakuya, Shiryu, Bradley and the rest of the commanders. Also, a few high ranked officers sat in on this meeting. For them, the pressure of just being near this many commanders took a toll on their mental health. "Lord Amell, I believe that after sorting out the survivors, our next logical move is to move against Big Mom. Whitebeard has proven to not be an obstacle for us. Every meeting that we have tried to arrange, she has ignored." Shiryu spoke with his clipboard in hand. "I agree! Big mom is reckless, very impulsive, loyal to no one, not even her own children. She would eat her firstborn if it meant keeping her power. Killing her and her twisted family is what I would suggest." Byakuya''s words held incredible weight inside the Gotei since he was an heir to the throne. So far, Byakuya is the only one that explicitly said he would not decline if he was offered it. Naruto and Gildarts, both wanted nothing to do with the throne, and the same was true for Bradley who had nominated his spot to Byakuya. They didn''t wanna be tied down and have control of such a cumbersome entity. "I believe my son and Shiryu is speaking sense. She is far too reckless to be left alive. Or if you, Lord Father, want her alive, we should heavily restrict her movement." Bradley''s words also held weight. When two of Amell''s children had spoken, not much else needed to be said from others. "I agree as well. Their era is over. Pirates on this sea will never disappear, but one pirate can''t rule forever. The seat of the four emperors must be passed on to the next generation." Amell''s words laid invisible pressure upon the souls of the individuals inside this room. His demeanour had changed entirely after the massacre. Until this war with the World Government was over he refused to go home to Sylvia, for during this war he couldn''t wear the outfit of the good husband. Right now, The Gotei needed the cold-hearted emperor and that was someone he didn''t want her or the twins to meet. "Grandfather, I ask that you let me go. I will make swift work of everyone there." Byakuya said and bowed his head in servitude. "Hm, take your fellow commanders. You will all go! No mercy to the Big Mom pirates. No survivors. But, most importantly. You will not kill any innocent bystanders. The Gotei does not kill civilians." "Yes, Grandfather!" Byakuya said and performed a bow, as did the others. ********************************************** In the long stretching halls of the facility, Amell was walking with Shiryu in tow. They were on their way to a very special room. A place where the housed some very special people. They arrived at a pair of massive steel doors. Maybe fifty times larger than Amell, so high that it would fit an airplane going through it. "Lord Amell, to what do we owe the pleasure?" A guard outside the door bowed his head. "Open the door, I''m going in!" "Are you sure, My Lord? They have been banging against that door nonstop for the last four days. I''m quite sure that they will attack sight." "You don''t question the emperor!" Shiryu glared at the guard. "Now open the door!" The guard nodded nervously then ran into a little room beside the door where the controls were. A few seconds later, the massive doors started opening slowly. As the crack in the door got wider, the room became visible to Amell, and the people inside could also see Amell and Shiryu standing there. A voice from the inside drifted out, "Look who it is! Our captor, hahaha!" Monkey D Garp sat on the ground in the middle of the room with his usual calm smile. "You''re no prisoner here! You can leave any time you want!" Amell shrugged his shoulders and continued walking inside. "You just have to get past those doors." This room was huge. It currently housed thousands upon thousands of people, young, old and everything in between. "YOU MONSTER!" A young marine rushed at Amell. No fear or hesitation, he was attacking out of anger and grief. Amell tapped his foot lightly on the ground and the boy was rooted by the steel floor. "Garp, control your men." Shiryu said angerly. "Can you blame him? The boy hasn''t seen war before. This is all new to him," Tsuru, another veteran marine said stoically. Everyone inside the room was observing in silence. "What''s your name, boy?" Amell walked up to the marine rooted in the ground. "You should also try and calm down, being angry won''t make things better." "You monster!" The boy was visibly struggling to keep his emotions in check. He had tears streaming down his face, and a splitting headache. "No choice," Amell placed a finger on the boy''s forehead. "I see, Coby. You have barely fought one battle. I see why this is hard for you." Amell transferred some energy inside the boy and his emotions calmed down and he could finally breathe calmly again. "H-How do you know my name?" "I am more than I look!" Amell flicked Coby''s head and the boy was thrown back threw the air to his seat. Amell looked around at everyone present. "Many of you wonder why I have taken you here. Some of you already know." He locked eyes with Garp. "You want us to join you," Garp said casually. The marines around him all looked over in shock. Never had they thought that would be the reason? "Yes, correct!" Amell increased his presence a little bit. "I won''t explain what my ultimate goal is. But, know that I am going after the World Government next. You should also not fear to decline. If you decline my offer, you will walk out of this base a free man, we will not pursue you, nor will we care about what you choose to do with your life. But, one thing is for certain. The Marines are no more!" "I decline! I''ve got no reason to fight anymore. My war is over." Garp said immediately. Tsuru coughed and continued, "Me as well. Guess I''m retiring now." After those two, a chain reaction started and every single former marine in the room declined. "Expected as much." Shiryu said calmly. He was quite pleased since he didn''t like marines that much. "I accept!" The preteen voice of Coby echoed inside the walls. The boy received hateful, and disgusted looks from the people closest to him. "I''ll join on three conditions." He continued. "Speak then, boy." Amell was smiling. "First condition, no more Warlords. The second condition, the well-being of the world''s population comes first. Third, owning or producing slaves becomes illegal. If you can fulfil these three, I''ll join the Gotei." "You shall see that one of them is already taken care of. The warlord system is already in shambles and they have fallen under my rule. As for the other two. When the World Government falls, I promise you boy, that I will do my utmost to hold up righteousness and justice without falling victim to slavery as the marines did." "Now, can I ask you a question, young Coby?" Amell looked curiously at the boy. "Why do you join me?" "If the world is gonna change, I want my chance to do my part in that change with as little killing as possible. I believe your way might be that way. But, if that is to be wrong I will turn my blade on you without hesitation." "This is what fighting is all about. Don''t let go of that resolution. If I stray from the path I have laid out in front of me, I will need that blade of yours to point me in the right direction ones again." Amell saw the boy''s mentality grow ten times in just a few seconds. Was it the effect of the war, or was this just who Coby was? He did not know. "I suppose I''ll join you as well," A voice of pure laziness drifted past Amell''s ears. In the distance, Aokiji, or now, Kuzan since his Admiral status was nulled. He laid down on his side with one eye closed. "Not too good on my own, and if you''re going after the World Nobles, I''ll gladly join." Slight killing intent rose around him. "Kuzan, I believe Cal will be quite happy to hear that. Also, you should visit her in the medical wing. She is still unconscious from protecting you." "I see, so she''s alive." Kuzan turned around and closed his eyes, "I''m glad." He said quietly as a smile crept onto his face. "I-I''ll join as well! Where Coby goes, I''ll follow!" A man with long blonde hair stood up. He tried to look brave but his legs were shaking so he came off as only cowardly. Amell''s eyes lit up for a millisecond and with a smile, he said, "Helmeppo. I know what Kuzan and Coby can achieve. But, why would I need you?" "Y-You might not need me! But, Coby does! Where he goes, I''ll follow, we are a team!" Coby lost his cold exterior and a warm smile grew forth on his face. Helmeppo was someone he treasured as a friend, so this declaration meant a lot to him. "I understand, young man. I accept. Kuzan, Coby and Helmeppo. Welcome to The Gotei. You are no pirate nor marine any longer. Now, you are soldiers serving under the strongest empire in history!" Amell''s voice rang out and he snapped his fingers and the thousand upon thousands of marines inside the room disappeared. Only a few remained behind. "Empire? You aren''t pirates?" Coby asked, somewhat shocked at the power of Amell''s teleportation. "No! Pirates were the cover we took up sixteen years ago when I declared myself emperor. Pirate emperor was simply the fastest way to gain notoriety. There was nothing more to it. If you didn''t notice. The Gotei has never killed a civilian unless they were casualty in war. We have strict morals and rules, unlike most pirates. You will see that The Gotei is not that different from the marines. The only major difference is how powerful we are in comparison." "What''s your goal now?" Tsuru and Garp had not been teleported away. Now with everyone gone, she could ask some questions that he wouldn''t ask with everyone else here. "My commanders are going after Big Mom as we speak. Her corruption will soon be no more. And, the same is true for the World Government." "Big Mom? Isn''t that a large undertaking? Are they gonna be fine?" Coby wasn''t worried about their health, it was more in the line that he didn''t believe in their power. "I haven''t quite been honest with you throughout the years," Amell said with a smile. "You don''t say," Tsuru had on her stoic expression. "My commanders have never used their full power when fighting you. Even you, Kuzan. Cal can kill you pretty easily if she wants to do so." All he got from Kuzan was a cough and a quiet, "damn," "Big Mom won''t be a problem. The civilians will be taken care of by the Gotei. We will make sure they have homes and food, but beyond that, they are on their own." Amell looked at Coby. "See, we aren''t so evil as you think. War is war, I don''t like it, but people die in war and there''s no escaping that." "So, why did you save us? I''ve been thinking about that since I got here." "Just because people are your enemies doesn''t make them evil. The marines I saved during the war were the truly good ones I believe were worth saving. It took a lot out of me to pull all of you out of that blast. I saved the ones I believed would help the world move towards a better future. No matter if they are part of The Gotei or not." Coby stood in silence and just nodded. Amell looked at Garp and Tsuru and flicked something to them. "What''s this?" Tsuru looked at the little piece in her hand. "Something I started for fun," Amell smiled, "It''s a group called the White Lotus. If you''re interested in finding out more, keep it, if not. Well, throw it away." Amell saw both of them put the piece in their pocket. Garp sighed out, "You got something to eat?" "Follow me," Amell said and started walking with them in tow. ------------------------------------- End Chapter 217 - Chapter 219 Soaring over the ocean in the New World, thirteen islands was cast their shadows onto the water. They travelled in a pack and the island ahead of all the others was hosting a meeting that included only the most powerful individuals of the Gotei. Around a very large circular table sat the new generation emperors, together with the commanders, and most of Amell''s most loyal and trusted people. This time, even Shanks was present, which had been a major surprise to everyone here. Only a select few knew about his status as Amell''s disciple. Shanks sat and tapped his finger on the table in rhythmic movement, "Have we decided on a straight forward assault?" He glanced at Amell. "Should we inform Dragon first?" "That man can die for all I care, all he is doing is making it harder for us to bring order to this world," Byakuya said. "We do not associate with him, or his men. When the Gotei takes over, he will have to bend the knee or die." "I agree, so why not just go and kill him now? You know, get it over with?" Lubbock threw his feet up on the table. "Wouldn''t that solve having to deal with him later?" "You''re so moronic, brother! Not everything needs violence. I''m sure the boss can persuade him to drop his rebellion." Toshiro was the yang to Lubbock''s yin. Everything Lubbock was, Toshiro was the exact opposite that. "Leave Dragon alone for now." Amell''s voice rang out in the room. "We will arrive above the Holy land in just moments, is everything done and ready?" He looked to Bradley. "Yes, Lord Father! Everything is ready! The army is on standby, and my doll inside the Holy land has completed its mission without a hitch." "Good! Then I declare this meeting adjourned. You all should finalise your preparations before the final act of this war begins." Amell stood up with his hands on the table. "Today we take back this world for the sake of its people! I will not tolerate mistakes!" He received clear nods from everyone around the table. And, just like that, the final gathering of these might fighters ended. What waited now was the war to end all wars. ********************************** In the Holy land of Mary Geoise, Chief-commander Kong sat in his office with a familiar blind man. Around them was quiet and the only sound audible to the human ear was Kong''s pen racing across the surface of the paper. "Kong, you should slow down some. At this rate, you will have no energy when the Gotei''s assault comes." Issho, also known as the new agent number one of the Light unit. "We simply don''t know when that will be, so until we know more I can''t slow down. The elders expect me to take care of everything. You should get back to your duties before those five get angry with you." "What''s the hurry? We can''t win against Amell. You know this, and I know this. That''s not even counting his armies. He could walk in here and kill all of us, but those five elders are too high on their ego to acknowledge him as a threat to their lives." "Even so, we are here to serve order and justice, that means we do our duty even if it kills us," Kong said sternly as his writing intensified. "Order? Justice? Is that what we serve? Or are we simply guard dogs to slave masters and mass murderers?" Issho said. Kong let go of the pen and sighed before looking up at his one remaining friend. "Issho. Do not speak of such things. Your words hold too much weight. I am just barely holding onto my faith. Bradley, my closest friend, commander of The Gotei all this time. The marines destroyed. And, my bosses completely blind to the truth! I am barely hanging on, so I beg of you. Do not force me to doubt what I have followed and believed for all my life." Kong picked up the pen again. "Maybe it''s time to find something else to follow?" "My ways are set in stone, Issho! You are dismissed, go make sure your unit is ready for when hell breaks loose." "Maybe you''re right, Kong! Perhaps all of our ways are set in stone." Issho stood up and made his way out of the room. ****A few hours after**** Saint Jalmack was walking inside the Holy land. His current destination was the first set of gates leading into the Pangaea Castle. He had a sizable escort with him and they were about as stoic as he. They said nothing, only pushed people away or glared at the ones staring at Jalmack. "Saint Jalmack! To what do we owe the pleasure?" The same captain that had once stopped Bradley here many times in the past now stopped this World Noble. "I need... To get inside." Jalmack''s voice was stoic, even worse maybe. It sounded like there was no life in his body. "Forgive me, Lord Jalmack, but that is not possible today. Kong has forbidden entrance, even if it''s you." The guard captain bowed his head, hoping that this usually cruel World Noble wouldn''t punish him. "I see." Jalmack dug down into his pocket and took out a small device. His eyes lit up in green bright light for just a second. "This will do then!" Jalmack raised his hand, and after a deep breath, he said. "For the Gotei!" And then he pressed the button on the tiny device. *BOOOOOOOM* --------------------------------- End Chapter 218 - Chapter 220 *BOOOOM* In just one moment, Saint Jalmack had brough terror upon the Holy land. The entire land had been consumed in flames, almost every house burned or had been wiped off the map. The gate leading into the Pangaea Castle had blown open and all the guards surrounding it, including Jalmack''s escort, had died immediately. Up in the sky, you could see millions of tiny black dots. Those dots got much bigger, very quickly. Soon they were close enough to identify. They were people. In fact, they were soldiers, belonging to Gotei. They approached the ground very fast and soon they all landed on the ground and shook the foundation of the earth thanks of their numbers alone. "GOOD TO FINALLY BE HERE!!" Lubbock and Vash yelled at the same time, then looked at each other. "First one to kill one hundred nobles wins?" Vash said to Lubbock and the boy nodded. "You''re on! That''s if there''s even any left! HAHAHA!" Immediately they rushed off and disappeared within seconds. Now, with them gone, you had the entire Gotei army standing by. Millions of soldiers at the beck and call of Amell. In front of this army stood the emperor himself. "Your Majesty! What are your orders?" A captain in the army asked while prostrating in front of his Lord. "Lead the charge! Kill everyone. No one up here is free of sin, they all have a fated meeting with our blade." Amell spoke without any form of emotion. As soon as his voice left his mouth, the ground around him started to freeze. This was the physical representation of his current mindset. His heart was now ice-cold. It had to be so now. "YOU HEARD HIS MAJESTY! IT IS TIME FOR US TO SHOW THE RESULT OF OUR TRAINING! KILL THEM ALL! CHARGE!" The captain yelled loud enough for his entire army to hear him. And, truly, there was no majestic sight that could ever top the wonder and awe you felt when watching several million soldiers charging at one time. They shook the ground and air with their combined aura, that was fueled by their intense killing intent. "Lord Father! What are we to do? Should I go take care of the elders?" Bradley asked. "No, you take the commanders and deal with the Light unit, as well as Kong. I believe he should at least die with dignity, and I think you will allow him that. Am I right?" "Yes, Lord Father! I believe Kong deserves a noble death!" Bradley bowed and signalled the commanders that were still left here. "Let''s go!" They all disappeared in a burst of speed. This would not be like the war with Kaido, or the war between Whitebeard and the marines. The commanders were this time, allowed to use their full strength. "Is it time then?" Shanks who stood behind Amell said. "Are you ready? I can take care of it if you''re not willing!" "No, master! I appreciate you doing all this just so I can get here. What kind of man would I be if I backed out now? I would be a failure to this world, and to you, master, who trained me for this moment." "For who you are here to kill, backing out would not make you a failure. It would also show that I raised you right." Amell said with a smug smile. "Maybe I should call you, dad?" Shanks laughed. "I beg you to not joke about that. I adopt way too many kids nowadays. I don''t think I need a bigger family than I already have." "You''re breaking my heart... Dad!" Shanks had to dodge under a casual swing from Amell''s arm, that if it had connected would have killed the red-haired emperor. "Enough with the useless banter. Get going already." Amell pointed towards the castle in the distance. "Just wanted to annoy you for what might be our last time conversing. Who knows what I''ll become after today." Shanks lost his calm and happy expression. He took on a more sour one while taking his first step towards the place where his life long goal resided. *********************************** Vash and Lubbock had already caused mass hysteria. Any surviving noble they came across had all died in the absolute most horrible ways. Spiked alive against a wall, tongue ripped out from their mouth. The barbaric nature of their killings had reached the extreme. But, maybe people could argue that eight hundred years of slavemasters and extreme torture had finally caught up with these nobles, and now they were getting what they deserved. "NOW, THIS IS SOMETHING WORTH LIVING FOR!" Lubbock screamed at the top of his lungs as his strings ripped the body of another noble in half. He looked to Vash with a winning smile. "That''s fifty-five!" He yelled victoriously. "HAHA! You are surely kidding me? Fifty-five? Only? I myself am on my seventy-third meal!" Vash stood with a savage expression as he shot nobles hiding behind walls or running away. The distance didn''t matter to him. He could kill them five meters away or five miles. His guns had yet to show a limit. Only his eyes prevented him from reaching new heights. "WHAT! NO FAIR! I don''t have any guns! Give me some!" Lubbock''s rage went throught the roof as he swiped his hand and cleaved a mansion in two with one string. "Pretty sure I''m winning!" Vash turned around and saw a woman running out of a house, probably trying to get to the castle where Kong was situated. "I see youuuu..." Vash let his voice drift into the distance and past the woman as he lifted his gun. "BAM!" And the woman''s head exploded like a watermelon getting hit by a sledgehammer. "I will sleep well tonight!" Vash started to whistle and jumped over towards another area where he picked up more life signatures. ----------------------------------- End Chapter 219 - Chapter 221 "Captain Kuzan! Enemy ahead!" A woman dressed in Gotei attire and with blue hair spoke to the former Admiral as he was sitting down against a wall. He looked up at the woman with a smile, "Of that, I am aware, Lieutenant. Why don''t you join me down here, it''s quite relaxing." "Captain, take this seriously. The enemy is confirmed to be Issho. The new agent one of the Light unit." "Of that, I am also aware. I''m serious, sit down, calm your nerves. You are a little too nervous." Kuzan had been promoted to Captain, which was just below commander rank inside the Gotei. This, of course, meant that his transition from Admiral to captain rank was not that strange. The duties he had were similar, the men he controlled was about the same. The only thing that really changed was which side of the war he stood on. "Captain! I''m serious here! Listen to me!" The woman had rose-coloured cheeks and an expression of supreme annoyance. She cursed her fate for having been placed inside this unit that housed this incompetent captain. "Whoops," Kuzan said and disappeared with the Lieutenant in tow. The spot where they had stood was destroyed by a field of gravity. "That was close." He said as the two of them appeared some distance away. "T-Thank you!" She said and sighed, she was alive, for now. "Nicely dodged. I see your skills remain despite having turned to the dark side." Issho came walking calmly with his sword sheathed. "Sweetheart, take the men and join the others nearby. You don''t wanna be near for what''s to come." She nodded after seeing how serious Kuzan had finally become. "Issho, who decides what side is light or dark? Do you know how the supposed magical floors of this holy land actually operate? Can you truly call this place good?" His body started turning to ice, and so did the surrounding but at a much slower pace. "A friend just told me, our ways are already set in stone. Dark or light no longer matter, we are now fighting for the right to rule. Also, who are you to speak of anything, you went from Admiral to traitor." "It isn''t treason if there''s nothing to betray." Kuzan and Issho stood staring at each other, the atmosphere was heavy and people without mastery of haki wouldn''t even be able to breathe in their vicinity. "This isn''t what I would have expected out of you. What made you do this?" Issho slowly drew his sword while waiting for his answer. "Hahaha, would you believe me if I said a girl?" Kuzan''s ice suddenly erupted outwards and everything around him turned to solid ice, including Issho. Issho''s body shook slightly and the ice broke apart. "I certainly would," Issho said and drew his sword fully. An intense gravity field appeared around Kuzan, but he dodged right in time and from his new position he summoned an ice sword and dashed at Issho. "I wish you the best!" "To you as well!" Their weapons clashed and a shockwave erupted. Hundreds of clashes and in just seconds, countless mansions and been destroyed by their clash. Things were just getting more intense the more time passed. A long ways away, Kuzan''s Lieutenant stood watching the explosions. "Be safe, captain!" She turned around and ran towards her squad. ------------------------------------------- End Chapter 220 - Chapter 222 The slaughter continued. The army of Gotei quickly made their way through the nobles and their guards like butter through a knife. They were highly efficient, scary efficient and brutal as every person was a kill without mercy. If some noble was left alive but badly hurt, they didn''t finish their job, they just let them bleed out on the ground and die in a pool of their own blood. As this all happened, Bradley stood outside Kong''s door. He knocked three times with great force. His knocking put three dents into the door that was supposed to be made out of incredibly hard steel. "Come on in!" Kong''s voice came from inside. His eyes met Kong''s who sat behind his desk with his arms crossed on the table. He was watching Bradley walk up until he stood in front of the desk. "Never did I believe I would have to do this with you. This just shows how soft I''ve become by sitting up here on this mountain." Kong said. "If it''s any consolation to you. Sengoku and Garp had no idea either." "It''s not! Let us begin before I become too weak to continue." Kong delivered a quick kick to his desk. The desk was sliced in two before it reached Bradley. "Quick as always," Kong glanced at the sword sitting comfortably in Bradley''s sheath. "Would you have expected anything else?" "Not really," Kong and Bradley moved against each other and their initial clash brought down the walls around them. A storm was brough about by their fight and everyone around the Holy land felt the ground shaking. **************************************** Amell and Shanks stood in front of a pair of gigantic white doors. Amell placed a hand on Shanks''s shoulder, "Are you ready, boy?" "Yes, I am, master!" "Then let''s not delay any longer." Amell drew a breath and blew on the doors and they flew off their hinges with great force, almost like dynamite had exploded. The two of them walked inside the most important room in this castle. "Portgas D Amell! What is the meaning of this?" At the bottom of the long winding staircase leading up to a throne stood the five elders. Before the throne, stood an incredibly tall individual that was staring down at the uninvited guests. "Answer us, Amell! Unlike the boy, you have no right to step in this place!" Another elder said angerly. They stood ready to fight, but Amell spared them not a single glance. "Oh, the world has had enough of you, won''t you die already." With a wave of his hand, the five elders fell down on the floor, dead, with broken necks. "Good riddance." He said and lowered his hand. He looked at the person standing before the throne and their eyes met. "I saw this day come!" A pure, almost angelic feminine voice escaped the person. Shanks narrowed his eyes and Amell chuckled lightly. "I am the inevitable, Im! You invited me to play in your game, and look where it got you." The pressure coming off of Im''s stare would make Admirals go mad. But, here stood Amell and Shanks unafraid by that very gaze. "I saw you standing here in this spot before your empire arrived. That''s why I never bothered playing. I knew my death was inevitable." She looked at Amell. "But, what I didn''t expect was that it would happen by your hands." She switched targets and looked at Shanks. "How far you have fallen." Her pressure increased and a chill spread through the air. The atmosphere around Shanks was heavy. His usual calm smile was strained, but still, he looked her in the eyes and bowed slightly. "This has been a long time coming, Mother!" His aura reached out to clash with hers and they created sparks in space itself. Im''s long red hair swayed back and forth in the storm cooked up by their aura''s clash. "You lost that privilege the moment you abandoned this place. You were born as my child, but you are NO son of mine." Her voice caused half the staircase to break apart. Her power from her aura alone was equal to five or six Admirals. It kept increasing but Shanks stood strong. "You have a point there. I would never call myself the son of a woman who would have the world enslaved for her own amusement!" Shanks shot back words of equal pressure and the throne room started to break apart. "Your tyranny ends today, Mother! And, even if I don''t want to admit it. I am your son, and it is and has always been my duty to kill you. To save this world from you!" Shanks drew his sword and with it came the entire eruption of his power. For the first time he released everything he had and the entire castle started to break apart. The mountain itself started to shake and once Im also released her full aura, it started breaking apart. "Shanks remember, you can''t keep this up for long," Amell said to Shanks before he disappeared from the throne room. And so, the fight began. Im and Shanks began their clash. Just how people would describe Whitebeard and Shanks as titans, rulers of the New World. This fight was truly the clash of titans. Im carried a sword at all times, and it was similar to Shanks. These two swords weren''t of relative importance unless they were in the hands of this mother and son duo. "Shanks you know what my duty is! WHY CAN''T YOU SEE I AM NEEDED!" Im and Shanks were two lightning strikes as they appeared and disappeared within the room. The roof had gotten destroyed and the entire castle was close to falling apart. Shanks slid across the ground after blocking another strike. "I know your duty! Remember, I am your son! I strive to protect the same thing you are. But, that does not give us the right to do anything we want!" Shanks sent back another sword slash. Im dodged it, but it cleaved the entire castle in two. "WHY NOT?! I HAVE BEEN QUEEN OVER THIS WORLD FOR A THOUSAND YEARS!" Im started to grow in size. She started at two meters, and now she had grown to three. "You can''t win against me! You are a thousand years too early for that!" She simply punched the air and everything in front of her blew apart almost as if a tornado had come through. "When I left, yes, I was too weak! But, Master Amell found me and he is more powerful than you can imagine. He prepared me for this. I was born to do this, and I will NOT fail!" Their clash started again, but now Shanks stood with his back against the wall. Im''s power had grown and she had become a lot faster than before. Shanks struggled to keep up with his mother in both speed and power. Each clash of their swords shook everything, even the mountain. Amell currently hovered by the mountain, "Those two will destroy this whole damn mountain soon. Better I do something about it, this damn thing is still needed." He placed a hand against the mountainside and everything stopped shaking and the red line stopped breaking apart. He was using earth bending to stop the mountain from being destroyed. The fight between Im and Shanks has escalated rapidly and Shanks had been beating black and blue. He was down on his knees and Im stood above him with her sword in hand. "I should never have birthed you, my greatest failure. But, today I can finally remedy my biggest mistake." Im raised her hand high. But, before the killing blow could be struck, she also fell down on her knees with a severe cough that sprayed the ground red with blood. "N-Not now! J-Just a little longer!" Im glared at Shanks. She reached for her sword but an invisible string snatched it before she could. "You want this?" Lubbock stood with a mocking smile as he held the sword between two fingers. Im''s eyes shot open and she flew up, "YOU SCOUNDREL!" She screamed and in the process grew to five meters in height. She appeared before Lubbock quicker than he could comprehend and delivered a punch to his face that knocked out almost all of his teeth and sent him flying thousands of meters away in an instant. "MOTHER! YOU''RE GOING TO DIE! STOP USING YOUR FRUIT!" Shanks possessed the goodness his mother didn''t. His heart broke now that he saw how far she had fallen. "STOP THIS MADNESS! WE''LL FIX THIS!" Shanks rose slowly to his feet. Im at the same time turned around and he saw how his mother''s face had changed. When they arrived, his mother looked to be twenty. Now, she looked well over a hundred years old. "YOU! YOU RUINED ME!" Im said slowly. She took one step, her sword in hand, before she fell down on her knees, with her gaze still locked on Shanks. "Y...Y-You ruined e-everything... M-My son..." She fell flat on her face, her face pale and old, and her soul no longer present in the world of the living. "Mother..." Despite not understanding, he allowed for a single tear to fall down his face. "How could you enable yourself to be turned into this..." His exhausted mind and body took over and he fell down, unconscious. ---------------------------------- End Chapter 221 - Chapter 223 Days after the battle, the core members of Gotei sat inside Amell''s office. They were here to hear the truth of Im and Shanks. Something Amell had withheld from them for years at the request of Shanks himself. "As you all now know." Shanks began, "I am Im''s son. And, Im, has for the last one thousand years or so, been the ruler of this world. In the beginning, before the world government, she was one of the many rulers, but not the only ruler." "So, she is older than the boss then," Vash said and everyone glanced at Amell. "I... Well, possibly," Amell sank down in his chair. "Give me another five hundred years and I''ll be the senior." "Anyway," Shanks shook his head at his masters sulking behaviour. "My mother is... Was," Shanks stuttered a little, "A very special individual. And, her two powers worked in balance and they are the reason that she was able to stay alive for so long." "Immortality? If so, why is she dead now?" Byakuya asked. "Not quite. She was... immortal, in a special way. Perhaps I should begin by saying why the World Government was created." Shanks took a breath and placed two swords on the table. "This is why. This is my sword," He rested his finger on one of them and then rested another finger on his mother''s blade. "And, this is hers. The reason my mother founded the government was to protect these two swords." "Why? Are they perhaps weapons of mass destruction?" Vash said with an excited smile. "Not quite! They''re keys to my mother''s immortality. Or more accurately, they are keys to a door that guards the World Government greatest secret." Shanks placed the two swords tips against each other and they merged together to create one beautiful golden blade. "Inside that room lies the fountain of immortality, as my mother named it." He held up the blade for everyone to see. It was beautiful and shined like a bright golden star. "Your mother''s immortality comes from a fountain? That''s new," Toshiro said, "I have never heard of this? Is it only you two that knows?" Kuzan said, obviously referring to Amell and Shanks. "Including my mother and the five elders, no one else knows. Kong didn''t even know my mother existed. She created the position of the five elders to make sure she still had power whilst she could stay hidden from the world." "This is quite the development." Bradley leaned back in his chair. "But, you said there were two parts to your mother''s powers? What is the other one." "Right, that would be her fruit. The reason she won the great war all those centuries ago. It''s an incredible devil fruit. One of the first to be found. Probably the strongest one, but of that, I''m not sure. But, it can not be used without the fountain." Shanks separated the blades again and now they looked like two ordinary unbreakable swords. "Allow me to explain." Shanks took another deep breath. "Her fruit was of the growth type. For each meter she grew in height, so did her power. But, the drawback and the reason only she could use it was because by each growth spurt, she lost years of her life equivalent to how many times more powerful she grew. For every meter she grew, she gained three times her current strength, but that also took away thirty years of her life. So each use of the fruit is three times the power but at the cost of thirty years of life. She could have killed us all in that fight, and Lubbock is lucky to be alive. What killed her, in the end, was her life force running out." Shanks almost fell another tear. "That''s why she needed the fountain?" Toshiro concluded what everyone was thinking. "Yes. Despite the name, it doesn''t actually grant full immortality, just an extension of life force. When I ran away, I took this sword with me, meaning I took away her access to that life force." "Okay, but, if the sword is that important, why did she not come after you? She hid in the shadows like a coward." Cal said coldly. "Another curse for drinking out of the fountain. The further she is away from it, the faster she ages. She created the five elders and the system around them so they could handle all her business as she needed to always be within the castle." "So, what happens now? The fountain isn''t destroyed is it?" Byakuya glanced at his grandpa. If someone could get through a door that can''t be opened without keys, it would be Amell. "No, it''s not, dear grandson!" The Enigmatic emperor gave Byakuya a look that almost froze the boy solid. "I''m not that impulsive." "Shanks and I talked about it extensively. Do you wanna announce it, boy?" "Gladly!" Shanks turned to the people and straightened his back. "Together with the Gotei, we will create a new organization. I still believe in my mother''s original plan, which was to simply protect the fountain from people who should not be made aware of its existence. That I believe, is still to be my mission." "My organization will serve as gatekeepers to the fountain. The Gotei will take the World Governments place as the peacekeepers, like Amell''s original plan was. I have no desire to control or rule the world like my mother. I want to see the fountain protected, that has always been my mission, and will continue to be for generations." "Wait, you will drink from it?" Lubbock said, his teeth had grown back thanks to Amell, but his pride would most likely never heal. "No! My action as guardian will be to seal that room. The keys can not be destroyed, so I will protect them. I believe it was the influence of the fountain that drove my mother mad in the first place. From what I learned, my mother used to be a benevolent ruler. But, after finding the fountain, everything changed. I will not make the same mistake as her." "Good to hear!" Amell said. "Well, now that you are all been brough up to speed. It''s time for me to leave, my wife and kids are waiting and I''m dying to see them." Amell clapped his hands and he disappeared from his chair. "Wait... I-I had more to say," Shanks looked at the now empty chair with disbelief. Toshiro just chuckled at him, "You''re his disciple, right? You should know his ways. He hates trivial conversations. A perk, or a curse for living for far too long. He only cares about essential things, and when that is done, he stops caring. Quite the efficient, but highly annoying personality. Bradley looked around, "Okay, lots of work to do. We don''t have time to sit around here. Get going!" "But, I lost all my teeth in that war, I demand a weeks vacation!" Lubbock stood up on the table while glaring at Bradley. "So what? I had to kill my best friend with my own two hands. His blood will never wash away, I now I carry a sin heavier than any other. But, you don''t see me crying for a vacation. Get over it!" Bradley teleported away, leaving Lubbock chocked. Vash walked up next to Byakuya. "I never realized how much Bradley has given up for the Gotei. I mean, I''ll gladly kill my best friend, that''s just who I am and such. But, how does he do it? He''s not like me, is he?" Vash for once sounded sincere and oddly worried. "My father has the strongest will I have ever seen. Maybe even stronger than Lord Amell. I respect him highly. For how he manages all of this, I suppose he has faith." Byakuya glanced at Vash before leaving the room. ************************************ On an island somewhere in the world, Amell appeared out of thin air. The island wasn''t that large, it had a tiny little forest with a small-sized manor standing in the middle of it. That was his destination, a place only he knew about, a place only his family were welcome to. This was an island raised from the ocean floor by Amell himself. Before he reached the forest, a familiar eagles cry was heard and beyond the treeline, a shadow, impossibly massive appeared. "Orlando, how I''ve missed your stupid smug face." Amell''s voice was naturally powerful so Orlando had no problem hearing the words that left his mouth. The giant eagle struck down with his talon and Amell met it with a powerful fist. The ocean behind them split in two from the sheer force behind the clash. "what? Why are you so mad? I said I''ve missed you a lot!" Amell pushed back and toppled the eagle over. "You still can''t take a joke, can you?" Orlando stood, up with his back straight and his arrogant gaze piercing through Amell. "Okay, I hear you. But, you have to forgive me, I had so much on my plate that I simply forgot to bring you along." "KAA!" "Hey! You don''t call someone that! And, the battle wasn''t that great, you didn''t really miss anything! haven''t you had a great time here with Gold? Where is your other half by the way?" "KAA!" Orlando became even more prideful than before. "Caring for the babies, I see. And, how many tiny Orlando''s do I have to worry about now?" Amell chuckled at the thought of gifting his children eagles as mounts. "KA!" "WHAT!? What are you two? Some kind of Sex demons?" Amell almost fell backwards, "How is that even possible? How is Gold not dead yet? Did she really birth a hundred and fourteen babies? That''s insanity!" "Ka!" "Don''t tell me that, I know you guys are special. Especially stupid!" Amell laughed at his own joke, much to Orlando''s annoyance. "We should head in, I can''t wait to meet Sylvia and the twins again. Been so long since I saw them." Amell jumped up on his partners back but Orlando didn''t take off. Instead, he sat down on the ground. "What? You''re protesting?" "Ka!" "The joke? You''re offended by a joke? Wasn''t it you who told me way back that you are a powerful and prideful King eagle? You know, way above us mortals in standing? Do you remember that?" "Ka!" "I will not apologize! I can just walk on my own." He jumped down and started to walk towards the manor in the distance. "KAAA!" Orlando took off flying on his own and quickly left Amell behind in the dirt. Even without his mount, he arrived within minutes of walking. The manor gave off a welcoming and cosy radiance of light. "Finally, I''m home." He walked inside the door, and immediately Sylvia came flying into his arms. Lucky that he was who he was or he and Sylvia would have been thrown out of the door by the force from their collision. "You''re back, and you''re not dead! Thank the heavens!" Sylvia snuggled into his embrace, trying to squeeze her husband to death. "No, don''t thank the heavens, that''s where my dad is. Thank yourself instead. You are the one constant thing that keeps me going. Without you, I would be completely lost." "You sure haven''t lost your smooth-talking. Well said, Portgas D Amell." She took his hand and led him inside. "Where are we going?" "Where do you think?" Sylvia turned around and winked, "The twins are sleeping, and Mama''s thirsty!" With a smile on her face, she dragged her man inside the bedroom and the door was slammed shut. ----------------------------------------- End Chapter 222 - A Simple AfterThought (A Thank You) Soooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo Here we are! The official (not really) end of "A New Path" I''m quite in disbelief that I actually managed to end it. When I wrote the Naruto volume, I truly believed that I would never reach a point where I could comfortably end it. I was so afraid I would have to drop this story out of reasons like no good way to end it, or just growing bored of it. I must say. I am glad that I finally got to end it, because (secret) I was starting to feel really burned out writing this. Like, I know how to make an OP MC work now. After a few mistakes on my part (forcing Amell to leave fairy tail) I know how to make OP a good entertaining genre to read in. But, it is also very tiring to write, because I can''t really ever give my MC a challenge because I wrote it that way. So, I have to constantly scale villans to my supporting cast, which is hard because I didn''t design all of them. Maybe you have no idea of what I''m talking about, and that''s fine. This is just a rant to get my frustration but also gratitude out there. So, let''s get to that. My gratitude. I have no idea how to thank all of you for reading this far. If you have been here since the first chapter was released, you might feel like I feel right now. Very good! I can feel my writing becoming better, I felt it during the story, and I feel my ability to write dialogue and building characters growing every day. So, from me to you. A massive THANK YOU! Chapter 223 - Return To Ishgar {1} When A God Returns On the edge of God''s mountain, a rift surfaced and out stepped an older looking version of Portgas D. Gildarts. The one thing that really separated their looks was his full bushy brown beard that covered the lower parts of his face and hid some of his wrinkles. "Good to be back!" He said and breathed in the fresh and clean air. His eyes scanned around and everything looked the same, the castle, the extensive garden, everything was the same. The clouds gathered around this peak would normally make it quite difficult to see the island below, but not for him. Much to his surprise, the island''s look had become even more magical. The word paradise wouldn''t cut it anymore. "It''s been far too long," His tone was calm, but there were subtle hints of childlike wonder hidden within. He suddenly felt a powerful presence come alive from the direction of his castle. It took no more than a few seconds before his eyes caught sight of a girl in her mid-teens to come flying towards him with a bright smile on her face. "Lord Amell!" She yelled loudly as she landed on the ground in front of him. She bent down on one knee and a tear or two fell from her eyes. "Welcome back, Lord Amell!" Her voice was weak but her posture was graceful. "Thank you, Alora. I see you mastered transformation magic. You look beautiful," Amell smiled kindly. "Thank you, my lord! Are you back for good?" She asked with enthusiasm. She had so much excitement building up inside of her that she thought she would explode. "You know I don''t stay in any world permanently. But I will definitely stay for a few years, maybe even decades. I handed the empire over to my son, Byakuya, so for the next upcoming centuries I will laze around and do whatever I want." He was genuinely happy that he now had almost no responsibilities. "You have no idea how happy that makes me," Alora was close to breaking out into dance. "Now come on, stand up, I won''t have you kneeling any longer," Amell commanded the wind to pick her up. "What''s been going on here during the years of my absence? Tell me as we walk!" Amell took Alora and started walking. Alora followed behind him. Amell had gotten used to being an emperor, so it didn''t bother him anymore when people were walking behind him instead of walking beside him. "For a report on the outside continents, you will have to speak to Sebas as he is in charge of information gathering. But concerning this island, I know most things. For example, after years of the feeding of your magic, the strongest beasts on this island are now comparable to Acnologia in strength." "Interesting," Amell said and took a second to think about something, "What about the hierarchy among the beasts? I can already feel that your dragon brethren are no longer the strongest among the beasts." "It is as you say. There are still five Overlords, but only one of them belong to the dragon race. The other Overlords are Luna, a giant python. Aurora, a Griffin. Eleanor, a Pheonix. And lastly, Leo, a Golden Sun lion. They all possess strength equal to Acnologia. Aurora is probably the overall strongest among all five of them. But Leo is the physically strongest, while Eleanor has the most powerful magic among them." "What''s the name of the last Overlord? The dragon," Amell asked while glancing back at Alora. She responded happily as always, "Caleb, my lord!" "I see, and Gildarts?" Amell''s tone of voice turned a little more serious, but his aura got warmer. "Gildarts and Atlas comes back every few years to challenge the Overlords. He has yet to beat them, but he has fought to a draw with Caleb and Luna. But he got completely demolished By Leo and Eleanor." Alora seemed both happy and sab about her report on Gildarts. While reporting on him, her expression went from happiness, anxiety, sadness, and lastly anger. Amell had no idea what exactly caused these feelings inside her to bubble up, but he guessed that it had to have had something to do with Gildarts. "So his strength is progressing well then?" "Definitely. His power grows very slowly, but the scary thing about him is that I don''t know if his power will ever stop growing. I can''t even imagine how powerful he will be in the future." Alora looked proud as she said that, and all the depressing feelings inside of her was gone. "Well, I will be staying here a while so I won''t search him up this time. He and I will meet when the time is right." Amell and Alora were approaching the castle and the big double doors were kicked open by a woman with long red hair and tanned skin. Behind her followed another woman with glasses and an apathetic expression. Both women were wearing stylish maid outfits, and beside the woman with glasses stood an elderly man with white hair. He had a calm expression, and his aura would send a wizard Saint running for their life. Of course, that doesn''t mean he compares to the eight wizard saint. For that position still belonged to Amell. They walked out to meet Amell, and when they arrived two meters in front of their lord, they went down on one knee as Alora had done. "Lord Amell, welcome home! We are honoured to have you grace us with your presence." The butler said respectfully with his deep and powerful voice. "I have returned! This mountain shall once again be walked upon by its God." Amell''s voice rang out over his island, forcing everyone, even the mighty Overlords to bow down to the might behind his intent. --------------------------------------------- End Chapter 224 - Return To Ishar {2} Let The Dual Commence "Now, let us go inside." Amell said with a smile, "Sebas, I will need a full report on the state of the world." Sebas nodded and everyone followed him inside. The group made their way through the halls of the castle. The endless sparkling coming off the floors and the walls made its beauty breathtaking. "How is Acnologia doing?" Amell asked while navigating these massive halls. He remembered every path in the castle, and he seemed to know exactly where he was going as his pace increased, indicating that he was a little excited about this. "He spends most of his time in the rocky area far off to the West. And he rarely leaves his cave. Over the years we have noted one important thing about him. He seems to be waiting for something, or someone, that we still don''t know." Sebas reported it all in an orderly manner. He didn''t seem nervous or flustered in the slightest, he was a true professional. "Good. Does he know we have been watching him?" "No, my lord. We have observed all targets with utmost caution. They never even suspected that they were being watched." Sebas didn''t hesitate. He spoke only with absolute certainty. Amell nodded in acknowledgement. And finally, they had arrived at the place Amell was looking for. And that place was the massive arena located in the courtyard of the castle. "Here we are. Alora, you and I will spar, I want to see how strong you have become." He said and gestured for her to walk to the arena. "Yes, my lord, I can''t wait!" She said and ran up to the ring with an excited smile. Sebas and the maids immediately combined their efforts to create an incredibly powerful barrier around the arena. "Are you ready Alora?" Amell said while standing there with his hands behind his back. Amell was wearing his long martial robes, it was white with golden lining along the arm and shoulders. "I''m ready, my lord!" She took a battle stance against him. Now they both just waited for Sebas to announce the start of the match. The butler looked at them both then said, "Ready?" and after getting a confident nod from Alora, and a casual nod from Amell, he yelled out, "Begin!" The ground cracked under Alora''s feet as she took off at supersonic speed. He raised his right hand and blocked her fist and the collision caused a shockwave that almost destroyed the barrier. "Whoa, lady Alora is strong!" Lupus said as she stood off to the side twirling her red hair with her index finger. Yuri glanced at her in annoyance, "Of course she is. She was the first Overlord of this island and the first one to bow her head and accept lord Amell as God. She is the strongest dragon in the world." "I know, I know, I have just never seen her fight before, so I was just a little shocked that our barrier could barely handle their initial clash." Lupus said with a sour expression. "About that, Sir Sebas, we should strengthen the barrier further." Yuri turned to Sebas and said respectfully. And he quickly nodded. "I''ll take care of it." He said and walked forward. He put his hand on the barrier and released his magic power. [Thousand Layer Barrier] He said loudly and a thousand extremely thin but powerful barriers appeared on top of the already existing barrier. Inside the barrier, Amell and Alora were trading blows with each other. Or to be more accurate with it, Alora was using both her hands and throwing thousands of punches and Amell was blocking them all with his right hand. She was getting a hands-on experience on the disparity between their strengths. "Good power, and even better speed. You have grown splendidly, Alora," Amell said with a smile while casually blocking thousands of blows from her. Her expression went from determination to anger to annoyance, "Can you please not say that with a smile while still only using one hand, it''s kind of hard to believe I''ve grown at all." Alora increased her speed as much as she could, but she still couldn''t force Amell to use two hands. "Think about who it is you''re fighting. Trust me when I say that you have grown a lot during my absence." At Amell''s words, her expression brightened up a little. And she went at it with even more ferocity, but Amell stopped her suddenly. "Okay, let me experience your magic instead. I have already gotten a good overview of your physical strength" "Okay! You asked for it!" Alora said and she quickly jumped back. Fire, wind, water, and earth magic power started to revolve around her. Everything started to shake as her magic took control of the four main elements inside the barrier. "I will make you use your other hand!" She slammed her hand down on the stage and roared, [Earth Golem] And twelve massive earth golems rose up from the ground. "Charge!" She yelled and the golems took charge. "Powerful golems, but against me, you''re gonna have to do better than that." Amell threw out a palm strike and a gigantic wind blast completely destroyed all twelve of them. Thousands of pieces of stones were sent flying against Alora. She stopped her own charge and slammed her palms together, [Converge] she yelled and every piece of stone, big or small merged together and transformed itself into a giant spear. Alora slammed her hands on the spear and yelled, [Combine Magic: Meteor Spear] flames spread from her hands and covered the entirety of the giant stone spear. Alora pointed at Amell and the spear took off at close to supersonic speeds. Amell smiled and waved his index finger and his own shadow rose from the ground and transformed into a giant black hole that completely swallowed the spear. Alora stood wide-eyed at the sight, ''Shadow element! He mastered the advanced elements before me.'' but she was immediately taken out of her stupor by Amell''s next action. He snapped his fingers and the black hole opened up behind Alora and her own flaming spear came flying out of it. She kicked down on the ground like an earth bender, [Wall Of Stone] She raised a fifteen-meter thick earth wall in front of her, and she wasn''t done yet. She put her hand on the wall and said, [Absolute Hardening] and the earth wall was transformed and became a glowing bright blue-coloured wall of stone. ''She''s incredibly skilled. Her ability to almost instantly adapt to any unknown situation in a fight is fantastic.'' Amell showed a proud smile for a second. The spear and the wall clashed and caused an explosion that uprooted most of the stage around Alora. And after having dealt with that, she turned to Amell again with an ecstatic expression on her face. She took a long and deep breath and said [Ultimate Elemental Magic: Chaotic Hurricane] Alora''s entire magic power rushed out of her. Those thousand barriers Sebas sat up around them stood not one single second against her power. They all broke like a stone being thrown against a glass mirror. "Lady Alora has lost her mind, she will destroy masters entire castle at this rate. We need to stop her!" Yuri said while preparing to interfere in the fight, but Seba''s hand gripped her shoulder and stopped her. "We shall do nothing at all." He said sternly. Alora raised both her hands to the sky and the air around this mountain peak started to change. With her as the centre point, a hurricane started to form around her. Amell stood with his hands behind his back and smiled proudly. ''This is something she created herself. The destructive power should she be allowed to fully form the hurricane would easily be enough to eventually destroy the entire continent of Ishgar.'' "Very impressive, Alora. But I can''t let you continue an attack like that since I still want a bed to sleep in tonight." Amell said and raised his right hand in front of his chest. He performed a sign with his hand Alora suddenly lost control of her body. Her hurricane started disappearing and her own body started moving according to someone else''s command and not her own. She stared horrified at Amell, "Lord Amell, what did you do? What is this magic?!" She was freaking out because she couldn''t feel any foreign magic invade her body, but still, she had absolutely no control of her power or body. "This is blood bending. I am controlling the blood inside your body," He said with a smile on his face. Alora''s facial expression was more of the creepy kind. Creepy in the sense that blood bending creeped the hell out of her. "EEEWW! Stop that! That''s so CREEPY!!" Her screams stemmed from horror while Amell forcefully made her walk to him like a puppet. "STOP!!!" She screamed louder, but this time she was screaming at her legs that wouldn''t stop moving. "I control everything inside of you," Amell said with a jokingly sadistic expression on his face. When Alora had walked over to him, he cupped her chin and looked into her eyes. "I am very proud of you, Alora!" He stopped controlling her and kissed her on the forehead. And after that, he simply walked away, leaving all this destruction behind him. Alora stood frozen in place not sure what to think. "P-Proud of me? Lord Amell is proud of me!" She said to herself with a smile. -------------------------------------------- End Chapter 225 - Return To Ishgar {3} What Makes An Overlord After Amell had left the courtyard, Alora, Sebas and the two maids stood in silence. "Sebas, how far behind am I, lord Amell if you were to base it of this fight?" Alora asked the leader of the maids. Sebas looked at her, "I don''t know. I would say it is similar to how you would describe the difference between an ocean and a pond." He said calmly. "Hm, I thought so," Alora sighed out loud and sat down on the stage, "He is just too freaking strong!" She said sadly. But while saying this, she had the biggest and brightest smile on her face. Sebas and the two maids shook their heads with a smile and then bowed towards Alora. "Miss Alora, we will start with the cleanup, please go get some rest," Sebas said respectfully. Alora nodded slowly, "Sounds good. I also need a bath!" She started walking away from the scene, leaving Sebas and his maid squad to fix the quart yard. ************************************* Amell had left the castle, and he had left the mountain entirely. He was on his way to one of the Overlords of the island. He was traversing the deep and dense forest without any difficulty and every beast inside the forest that layed eyes upon him bowed their heads in servitude. It didn''t take long for him to reach the place where this Overlord spent most of his time. And where he had arrived at was a large cave, similar to the one Alora lived in when Amell first took over this island. And immediately he felt an incredible heat coming from inside the cave. "To what do I owe the pleasure, God?" Leo, one of the five Overlords came walking out from inside the cave. In his human form which he was currently using, he was a tall man, around 190 cm. He had a body so large and muscular that he didn''t look flexible or nimble in the slightest. He also had very long golden hair that hung down his front and back. On his face, he had a large bushy beard that hid most of his face from view. He only had baggy pants on, so his mighty chest was exposed. And as soon as he had stepped out of the cave he knelt down on his knees with eyes closed. "I''m just here to talk, Leo," Amell said and commanded the wind to pick Leo up. And Amell raised to stone chairs directly from the ground and gestured for Leo to sit down on one. "I heard you fought my son," Amell said calmly, no real emotion could be identified in his tone. "Yes, lord. I did indeed do that. It was a while ago now. I haven''t seen young master Gildarts in some time now." Leo said in a tone between lazy and respectful. Amell smiled, "According to Alora, he was completely demolished by you and Eleanor." His voice was serious and Leo''s body tensed up a little bit. "That''s true, my lord. If you want to punish me, I am ready!" Leo said and bowed his head, almost like he was offering it to Amell. "Hahaha, nothing like that, my boy!" Amell broke character and gave out a hearty laughter. "Gildarts has my own blood and magic running through his veins. I was afraid that he wouldn''t ever get a real challenge from anyone." Amell was laughing in between sentences. Leo took a few seconds to get accustomed to his God''s strange behaviour and then joined in with a smile of his own. "Well, I held back forty per cent of my power against him. It won''t be long until he can defeat me. But as of now, he still isn''t strong enough." Leo clenched his fist and said, "And I still haven''t found a way to surpass Alora. Gildarts goal is to beat me and my goal is to beat her. It''s like one long vicious destructive circle." He sighed out loud after saying it. Amell''s laughter calmed down and he looked at Leo with an understanding gaze. "Everyone needs someone to surpass, believe me. It''s what makes life as a fighter worth living. It is no fun being the strongest, and that''s why I travel. I''m always looking for the next person that can honestly challenge me." Amell summoned a small flame to his hand, and it was constantly changing colour. It went from orange to bright red, to blue, and lastly white. With each change, the heat around them changed. Even Leo, an Overlord of Paradise island, and a beast based in fire felt afraid of that tiny little flame. "The day I find someone that will look upon this flame with no fear, but excitement, that''s the day I will truly live again," Amell said and put the flame out. "How can that be possible? Who can stand against God?" Leo asked seriously. What Amell had said had shocked him almost beyond beliefe. "Leo, how do you think Gods are made? None of us starts out as Gods or emperors. You fight for it! One day someone will take the place as whatever it is I am now. I can''t die, but that doesn''t mean I will stand at the peak forever." Amell glanced at his mountain and smiled calmly. "To challenge God, they will need to kill us Overlords first! You have my eternal loyalty, God Amell!" Leo bowed his head and said without stuttering. "I am grateful, Leo! When the day comes for me to step down from the throne, it will be on my terms. I spoke no lies when I said my time on the peak is limited. But that doesn''t mean I will allow just anyone to succeed my throne." Amell''s emperor aura blasted out of him and the entire island started shaking from it. Leo''s entire body was heating up. He and every other beast on this island were created from Amell''s magic, so they all felt an incredible connection to him through the cosmic energy that existed everywhere. "My successor will be of my choice, and when that day comes I hope you will help the new God of this island walk down the proper path," Amell said with anticipation. Leo looked at him in silence for a few seconds and then shook his head, "God Amell. I think I speak for all Overlords when I say this. The day you pick your successor, we will pick our own. Overlords will follow only their God, no one else." Leo said without holding back his emotions. Amell started laughing, and then said, "I understand. Then let it be so! For the future!" He stretched out his hand for a handshake. Leo hesitated for only a few moments, and then he shook Amell''s hand and said, "For the future!" ------------------------------------------------- End Chapter 226 - Return To Ishgar {4} When Evil Turns Good Bad Amell stood on a cliff of the island that overlooked the southern beach. The sand sparkled beautifully in the blazing sunlight and the beach seemed to stretch endlessly. And it was not wrong to think that. The island''s beach would be the first thing you will see when you arrive no matter what direction you come from. To get on to the actual island, you would have to scale the massive cliff-wall that served as the first test for the brave or unfortunate souls that would end up here. But to this day, that still hadn''t happened. The only outsider to step on this island was Gildarts, and of course Jugo if you considered teleporting onto the island itself. And Gildarts wasn''t technically an outsider. Amell looked out over the ocean and observed the dense mist around the island. It had been one of the first things that he created after terraforming this island all those years ago. He was inspecting one specific part of the mist and that was because in just a few seconds the first-ever outsiders were about to arrive, and he recognized two auras among the people approaching the island. There were eight auras in total. And a few seconds later, a flying ship pierced the mist. It was a very large black-coloured ship and it quickly approached the island. Amell stood between anger and excitement, and all his emotions were brough about by the leader of this ship. The ship had docked at the beach and a group walked out of it. They were eight in total, but only seven seemed happy to be here. Amell recognized the eight-person, the one that looked a little beat up and tired. "Jugo," Amell whispered. He felt his anger rising inside of him, but he ignored it. The rest of the group was a mixed bunch, some kids, some teenagers, and one old man that looked to be in his seventies or eighties. The group was walking towards the island with excitement showing on most of their faces. The old man leading the group glanced back at Jugo and asked, "Boy, I need no words, just a nod. Is this Paradise Island?" his voice was cold and distant, clearly displaying that he didn''t care about Jugo at all. Jugo said nothing and made no movement at all. He refused even though he knew what would follow if he refused to answer the master of this group. "HEY! Master Hades asked you something, you better answer him you bastard!" A young boy with long spikey yellow-coloured hair and strange eyes yelled in Jugo''s face. He raised his fist to punch Jugo repeatedly in the face like so many times before. But, this time was different. His fist stopped mid-air, but not by his own choice. "I would highly recommend not doing that here." A powerful voice echoed out around them suddenly and it freaked out the blonde boy, "W-Who are you?! Where are you, you bastard!?" Nothing was heard after that, the beach was just as quiet as it was when they arrived. That silence held on until the voice sounded out again. But this time it was much closer, "Who knows," Amell had appeared behind the group where Jugo and the yellow-haired boy stood, but no one could move their bodies so they couldn''t see who was talking to them. "What''s going on? I''m scared!" A young-looking boy that was a little too big for his age called out in genuine terror. Master Hades that this group called the old man was someone Amell knew since a long time ago. He sighed out and said slowly. "I recognise this voice. I just can''t place it, who are you? And do we know each other?" Amell easily removed the binds holding Jugo, and before the boy could even feel relieved, Amell placed a finger on his forehead and put him to sleep. He carefully walked away a bit with Jugo and placed him on the sand and commanded the sand to form an igloo around his body. He then walked back to the group again and slowly he passed them to walk up and stand in front of them all. "I would think so, Precht. Are we not guildmates still?" Amell said calmly while looking at the shell shocked expression on the second guild masters face. "Amell! You are alive! Where have you been all this time?" Precht said while fighting hard not to let his jaw hit the ground. He couldn''t believe his eyes. There were two absolutes on the continent of Ishgar, and those two are Amell, The First Saint. And The Black Wizard Zeref. These were two wizards everyone knew about. And it could be argued that Zeref''s fame had piggybacked off Amell''s because the reason Zeref is so feared and famous now is that people are still constantly arguing who between the two is the stronger wizard. Amell is looked up to like an icon of what makes the perfect wizard, and Zeref has become the source of countless nightmares and horror stories. But nowadays, Amell has faded into more of a historical piece as very few still believe that he is alive. "That''s information you are not entitled to. But enough about me. Tell me about yourself, when did your heart turn dark?" Amell tone wasn''t that of asking, it was that of commanding. Precht''s kids behind him didn''t like how Amell was talking to him and it showed on their expression. "What do you mean I''m not entitled to?! Who are you to keep that from me? Weren''t we comrades?!" Precht said sternly. His tone was anything but submissive. Amell pointed at the overweight kid behind Precht and spoke slowly, "For each time you dodge my questions, one of your own dies!" the kid started screaming in pain, but that didn''t last for a long time as Precht''s voice rang out. "Don''t kill him! I''ll comply, for now!" the screaming disappeared and that kid fell down unconscious on the ground. "I would be glad about the fact that you still have humanity. But the sad thing about this is that if these kids didn''t carry precious magics you wouldn''t care if I killed them all." Amell''s sad tone came out again, and he lowered his finger. "What magic is this? How are you controlling us?" A little girl behind Precht asked cautiously. Amell looked into her eyes and immediately the little girl started losing her ability to breath. Sweat started running down her body and her body went weak. ''S...S-So p-powerful!'' She yelled in her own mind because she completely lost the ability to produce any sound after locking eyes with Amell. Amell looked away from the girl, giving back her freedom. "There is always someone stronger than yourself. Remember this, for it might save your life one day." Amell turned his focus on Precht again. "Now, I believe you had something to tell me." "Amell, I found the truth. After a lifetime of searching, I finally found it, and if the price is my humanity, then so be it." That was all he chose to say, he didn''t elaborate on any of it. "The darker the magic, the further from the truth you will find yourself. And in turn, the more maddening the sense of power will be. There is no secret truth to magic, Percht. At least none you can comprehend in your current state." Amell said directly to Precht with little to no emotion now in his tone. "What are you saying, Amell? Comprehend what truth? What have you found?!" Precht''s speech got a little more intense, and his tone changed from calm to a little hazardous. "That''s not for any of you to know. Most of all, your time on this island is over, and you are not welcome to return. For doing what you did to Jugo, I would normally kill you, but for old time sake, I''m just going to let you go with a warning. Do not come back here!" Amell snapped his fingers and everyone except Precht fainted on the spot. "Amell, how are you connected to this island? What is this place? You can''t keep this knowledge for yourself!" Precht yelled quickly as he felt his consciousness slowly slipping away from him. "Maybe one day you will know. It will all depend on how you choose to live the rest of your life. Now, go home!" Amell''s voice drifted through the wind and Precht was finally knocked unconscious. Amell breathed out a tired sigh, "It''s always sad to see old friend succumb to madness." Leo came walking behind him in his human form. "Leo, take them together with their ship and deliver them all to Ishgar," Amell commanded the sand to carry Jugo behind him. "I will be in my castle should you need me." Amell started floating after that and him and Jugo disappeared beyond the cliff towards God''s mountain. ---------------------------------------------- End Chapter 227 - Return To Ishgar {5} What Makes A Family Man After Leo left with Precht and his little group of future villains, Amell took Jugo away from the beach. He took him to his castle and he didn''t bother going on foot this time he just flew straight there giving all the beasts on the island a good view of their god, and they bowed their heads when they gazed upon him. Inside the castle, things were calm and tranquil, as Amell liked it. Jugo was laying on the oversized bed inside his room and turning in his sleep. From the outside, anyone would be able to see that he wasn''t having the nicest dream. Beside his bed stood Lupus with an expression of angst. The list of people that Sebas or the maids would be worried about was very short, but Jugo was indeed one of them. Lupus and Jugo both had a similar beastly or savage personality when they fought enemies. So over the years, they had built up a close relationship through that similarity. Jugo''s eyelashes fluttered, then his eyes slowly opened. He looked around and saw that he was in his own room, and he could already guess what had happened. His eyes also landed on Lupus and he immediately tried to sit up, but Lupus sat down on the bed and prevented him from moving. "You need to rest," She said softly, not like her usual stoic tone. But there was a subtle hint of anger in her tone. Jugo took her hand in his and said calmly, "I''m fine!" He still tried to struggle to sit up, but Lupus released her killing intent and forcefully pushed him down on the bed, "Rest!" she whispered. Their right hands were still interlocked and it felt natural for both of them so they kept it as is. "Okay," He gave up and raised his arm in defeat. He laid back down on the bed and with a sigh, he asked, "Are they dead?" He didn''t need to say any more for her to understand who he was referring to. "No! Lord Amell scared the living life out of the kids and gave a stern warning to Precht. Then Leo took them all back to Ishgar." Lupus said between anger and disappointment. Jugo smiled "I wouldn''t expect you to be satisfied unless someone pays in blood." he laughed a little at how easily he could still read her. Lupus, on the other hand, wasn''t as happy about it, "They tortured you, then stepped onto Lord Amell''s island. I wouldn''t dare question his decision, but why didn''t he kill them ?" Lupus aura came out in full force and Jugo was glad for this castle''s reinforced material or that would have destroyed the room and buried him under much rubble. "You say that, but I think you just questioned his decision." Jugo laughed, and Lupus''s cheeks grew red, albeit just barely enough to notice. "Shut up!" She karate chopped him on the head so the whole bed shook. "OUCH!" Jugo cried out in pain while holding his head. "That should show you who is in charged here." She said and flexed her biceps. "Well, whatever. I should get something to eat so I can head back as soon as possible." Jugo stretched his body. "What? You''re not staying here?" Lupus seemed caught off guard and she showed her rarely visible anxious expression. It made her look pretty adorable. "I''m currently on a mission. It doesn''t matter that Precht interrupted it, I still need to get back and finish it." Jugo loved doing missions because they took him across the continent. "Then I''m coming with you! I will talk with Lord Amell, I''m sure he''ll let me go with you." Lupus said and scootched closer to Jugo. "You don''t have to do that. I will be fine, and Precht just caught me off guard back there. I''m strong so I can defend myself against a lot of people. I may not be at Gildarts level of power, but I''m not that far behind him." Jugo said confidently. "You''re wrong, you''re weak! You can''t even defeat an Overlord''s Lieutenant. And what happens the next time someone kidnaps you? What if they don''t need you for anything? They will just kill you then!" Lupus everyday tone came back, with a side of harshness. "Ouch, words hurt, you know," Jugo said, with a smile to emphasis that he wasn''t mad. "I''m serious, Jugo. You''re staying here," She glared at him. If she couldn''t follow along, she would force him to stay here. "A successful marriage requires compromise," Amell''s voice came from a corner of the room. "Lord Amell!" Lupus flew up from her place on the bed and went down on her knees in his direction. Jugo now also sat up quickly, even though it hurt to do so. "Ho-How long have you been there, Lord Amell?" Lupus asked quietly. "Since before Jugo woke up!" Amell answered straight with a cheeky smile on his face. "And this was such a surprise, Jugo. When did you steal one of my maids from me?" His voice contained no anger, but his words caused the awkward atmosphere to expand. "It''s not like that, master!" Jugo said and grimaced in pain from too much movement. "I think it is!" Amell''s voice went darker and he stood up and walked towards Lupus. His body was like an unmovable mountain moving to crush you, and his pressure nearly made Lupus faint, but she managed to retain consciousness long enough to say. "Lord Amell! I shall bear the punishment, Jugo did nothing wrong!" There was no fear in her tone. "Indeed, he did nothing wrong this time. But that doesn''t mean I can just let him go unpunished." "What do you mean? What have I done to offend you, master?" Jugo spoke out in distress. He was neither pleased nor relieved that punishment wouldn''t befall him today. "Oh, nothing much," Amell''s offered Lupus his hand and helped her up, "Here this girl is and basically throwing herself at you, and what do you do?" He looked at his student, "Nothing is the answer." Amell raised his finger like a knowing professor, "You are part of my family, Jugo. And in this family, we do not reject women this beautiful and honest. We embrace them, especially the dominant ones. They are much more fun at night. You should see Sylvia in bed." Amell laughed, then said seriously, "Don''t tell her I said that." Jugo looked at Lupus them Amell, then back to Lupus again, "I am very confused right now. So first of all, master, what you do with lady Sylvia, I don''t want to know about because that''s gross. Second, I am not rejecting her, I am just taking it slow." Jugo said. Lupus started smiling while nodding along to what he said. "That''s not good enough. The men in our family don''t take this stuff slowly. Gildarts has been with countless women already, and I impregnated Sylvia on our first date. You are lagging behind. I don''t care if you don''t care for Gildarts lifestyle, but you better make this happen soon, or I will." Amell said in his emperor tone and pointed at Lupus. "What the hell does that mean, you will take care of it? That sounds ominous!" Jugo didn''t dare raise his voice against his master right now, so he just complained in a whisper tone. "Better for both of you if you don''t find out," Amell walked towards the door. "Now, get to it!" He said, opened the door and slammed it shut behind him. Jugo and Lupus sat shocked and confused inside the room. She looked at Jugo and tilted her head, "So, did he just order us to have sex?" ------------------------------------------- End Chapter 228 - Return To Ishgar {6} The Morning After The door leading out into the hallway opened up and out from the darkness of the room stepped Lupus. Soon after her came Jugo and he was slightly out of breath. Lupus hair was dishevelled and her cheeks had a rose colour to it, enhancing her overall beauty. She looked back at Jugo with affection, "Jugo, if Sebas kills me for this, I just want to say that you have helped give some interesting colour to my life." Jugo chopped her on the head, "What are you talking about? We have masters blessing. Do you seriously believe Sebas would ever go against him?" "Oh, right, I forgot about that" Lupus smiled innocently, causing Jugo to facepalm. "Still, I am grateful to you, Jugo. You have no idea what this means to me." Jugo looked away and said, "Now, that''s enough of that. Where did my apathetic Lupus go?" Lupus leaned out, straightened out her maid outfit, then put on her stoic smile once again, "I see. So you wish to be whipped instead. That can certainly be arranged." She said. "No, no, that''s not what I meant. I am just not used to seeing you act this innocently. Aren''t you the same Lupus that has a list of top ten most exciting torture victims?" "Of course I am, but that doesn''t mean that''s all I am. I don''t consist of just loyalty and brutality. I have other feelings inside here," She put her hand over her heart. Her actions coupled with her words caused Jugo to stare in slight shock at her. "I am sorry, I think this is the first time I''ve seen this side of you, so I was just taken by surprise." Jugo apologized sincerely. "Don''t sweat it, big guy." Lupus winked at him, then she grabbed his hand, "Let''s go to the kitchen and I''ll make you some breakfast." Lupus dragged him towards the kitchen while he stuck in a daze. "Thanks, I could really use some of that," Jugo said and cracked his neck. "My neck hurts really bad too. I was stuck in a horrible position in there for so long. You think breakfast comes with a massage too?" Lupus shrugged her shoulders, "I don''t know, maybe. We''ll see!" When they arrived in the corridor leading to the kitchen they started hearing noises of someone cooking. They hurried their steps and when they arrived at the door and opened it to look inside the kitchen, both their jaws hit the floor. Inside the kitchen stood Amell with an apron on and making breakfast. Lupus was beyond shocked. She couldn''t register what she was seeing, the emperor of the Gotei, and the God of this island in an apron making breakfast. "Don''t stand there like statues, sit down, breakfast is soon to be served," Amell said happily as he was ravaging the fridge for something. Lupus maid instincts finally kicked into gear and she started panicking, "Lord Amell! Let me, you should not bother with these trivial tasks!" She ran over and blocked the way so Amell couldn''t get to the table, "Give me the food lord Amell, I will take it from here." her tone was serious and strict. "This day is about you guys, so just sit down and relax, will you." "No! How can I relax when you have been forced to take up my tasks because I indulged myself in the pleasures of the flesh." Lupus screamed out her words. Her nostrils were flared and sweat was running down her forehead. Jugo facepalmed at her behaviour, but Amell smiled brightly, "So, you guys finally did it! Fantastic! Jugo, congratulations on becoming a man." "Thanks, I guess," Jugo walked over and sat down at the table. He was too tired to deal with this, and it was too early for him to care so he simply sat down and waited for his food. "This is not okay! Lord Amell, please allow me to take over!" Lupus refused to give up. "Not happening. Now go sit down," Amell moved his index finger and like strings to a puppet, he took control of Lupus body and forced her towards the table. "Lupus, this is your day off. That''s an order, young lady!" After settling Lupus at the table using blood bending, Amell started serving them food. "I hope it is to your liking." He said and walked out of the kitchen when he was done setting the table for them. Before he closed the door he gave Lupus a stare that said, "sit down and eat without complaint" and Lupus hung her head in guilt. "Sheer up, Lupus, this all looks delicious, so let''s just eat up." Jugo didn''t even look at her while saying that. He was devouring all this food at light speed. "How can I enjoy this, knowing that my lord made it. I am not worthy to eat any of this," She looked like a frail little girl lost in the park. "Don''t let it bother you. Master does such things all the time, you know this. Once he decides to do something, no one can stop him so there is no use in blaming yourself. Now eat before I eat all of this, I seriously can''t stop myself." Jugo said and he bit down on a giant tomato. "Delicious!" He said cheerfully. "No need, I don''t need to eat, my body doesn''t require it to survive." Lupus slammed down her head on the table in frustration. "Fine, more for me!" Jugo started eating with even more ferocity. He devoured every food item on the table and within minutes it was all gone. "That was absolutely splendid!" He rested against the chair with a satisfied smile. "Master should totally quit this whole God business and just become a chef instead." Jugo had to tilt his head to dodge a plate thrown by Lupus. "Do not be rude towards lord Amell!" She said sternly. "I wasn''t! If anything, I was complimenting him on his great talent for cooking." "That''s not what it sounded like," Lupus looked out the kitchen window at the beautiful garden outside. "Jugo, I''m going to bed, I need to rest my head." "Okay, want some company?" "No, you can stay here and make love to this food you love so much." Lupus said and slammed the door shut on her way out. "Ouch," Jugo laughed out loud and closed his eyes. ------------------------------------------------ End Chapter 229 - Return To Ishgar {7} What Makes An Overlord [2] Paradise island was divided into two parts. One was the beautiful, majestic and mysterious green forest region where Gildarts first encountered Atlas. This part of the island belonged to two of the Overlords, more specifically, Leo the Lion and Aurora the Griffin. The island was divided by a mountain chain that stretched from one side of the island to the other. In the middle of the island laid God''s mountain that was directly connected with the mountain chain. The other part of the island that Eleanor the Pheonix, Caleb the dragon, and Luna the python controlled was very different from the green forest side. Their side was divided up into three areas which they controlled each. But overall their side of the island didn''t look green and alive like Leo''s and Aurora''s did. It wasn''t dead, but it wasn''t untouched by battle like the other side was. Battles between Eleanor, Caleb and Luna happened frequently, which caused their part of the island to look not as good as Leo''s did. Currently, Amell was fighting Aurora. He wanted to test his two strongest Overlords in battle, and he had already tested Leo. He was fighting her human form since they were in the forest and her Griffin form was too big for this kind of spar. constant explosions were heard across the forest as they traded blows with each other. Aurora was sweating and her magic enchanted fists could barely ruffle Amell''s hair out of place. He expected this since not even Alora could make him sweat, and she was many times more powerful than any of these Overlords. "Okay, let''s stop!" Amell''s voice rang out louder than any of these explosions. Aurora lept back and breathed out. She looked at Amell that stood with his hands behind his back, not even sweating a little bit. "If I may be so rude to ask, God Amell a question." She said with her head lowered. She took great care to never forget formality when talking with someone higher ranked than her. To her, that was only Alora and Amell. "Go ahead, I do not mind." "How did you become so strong, God Amell?" "That''s a complicated question, Aurora. There is no easy answer. But I guess the easiest answer I could provide is that I am old. Very old." Amell smiled. "May I ask for guidance on how to become strong like you?" "Sleep eight hours a night, and eat your vegetables." '' Aurora looked up confused at his answer. How could the answer be that simple? If that was his secret then she should be a God already. Aurora felt a feeling of frustration build up within her. "I do not mean to be rude, Lord. But that does not seem feasible to me. How can eating correctly be the secret to power?" "It''s not. I just gave you that answer because there is no other answer, Aurora. There is no secret to it. Some are lucky, and if those lucky few trains hard enough, they will eventually reach great power." "Please guide me, God!" She knelt down, speaking in a pleading tone. "No, I will not. Aurora, you posses power most beings of this world can only dream of. You are already at the top of the food chain, so I will only give you one piece of advice. Do not seek infinite power. There is nothing at the top but boredom. When you have no challenge everything will feel meaningless to you. So my advice is, stay at the level where you can be challenged, as a warrior there is nothing worse than being too strong to fight for real." "How can I do that? I was born to rise to the top! As Overlords we were born to travel and protect our God. For that I need power!" She spoke with determination. "That''s what your allies are for. When you are not enough, you look to your comrades for help and then you defeat your enemies together." Amell gestured to one of the stone chairs he had summoned out of the ground. "I see." Aurors looked disappointed at the answer, but she still sat down and tried to understand his reasoning. "I understand this is not easy to swallow, Aurora. When you have not achieved my level of power you will never truly understand what I''m talking about. So, if you really want to chase power, I won''t stop you, but will not help you either. And if you someday reach that pinnacle of power, you will look back to this day and maybe then will you understand the meaning of my words." "I swear I will reach the top and claim the title as the strongest beast from lady Alora. Is this acceptable to you, God Amell?" "You don''t need my blessing to chase your dreams. Besides, you were born from my magic, so that means you had my blessing to do whatever you want since birth." Amell waved his hand and started using bending to fix the forest they destroyed in their spar. "Is this the power of a God?" Aurora asked as she watched how the elements followed Amell''s commands without any problem. He wasn''t using magic, his magic power wasn''t infused in his actions. The elements just simply obeyed him, so Aurora didn''t know how to explain it other than this is what God''s do. "I''m not friends with other Gods, so I don''t know about that. This, however, is something I created on my own." Amell was talking about cosmic bending. How he can bend cosmic energy to command every element in existence. That was something he wholeheartedly believes he was the first to do. Vaatu even admitted that he would probably never be able to do this level of bending no matter how he trained with it. What Amell was doing now was child''s play. He could create an entire continent with bending alone, and he could walk into a city and take control of the minds of every human in that city without effort. He was truly what people would describe as Godlike. "I see. Truly worthy of the title of God!" Aurora bowed her head again to this mighty being. "Well, thanks, young lady," He said playfully. "Anyway, I believe it is time for me to go. I shall visit Ishgar soon, so I need to prepare." Amell rose to his feet and stretched his limbs until he heard the small cracks, and he released small moans of pleasure. "I understand. I will train harder and the next time you see me, I will show you power!" Amell smiled at her, "I will be looking forward to that, little lady!" he started floating and one boom later and he was gone from view. ------------------------------------------- End Chapter 230 - Return To Ishgar {8} When A God Leaves Upon the beautiful mountain top on God''s mountain on Paradise island stood Amell with a calm and confident smile. He was about to travel to the continent of Ishgar after so many years away from it. He was neither nervous nor excited, he was simply aware of the moment he was currently in. That was all he could think about. Though he was curious about how the guild had changed since he was there, which had been close to or maybe even more than a hundred years. He had stopped counting long ago so he had no idea when he last visited the guild. "Do you have everything you need, lord Amell?" Sebas appeared behind him with his usual calm, almost stoic demeanour. "Yes, thank you, Sebas. I ask that you take care of this place while I''m gone." "Certainly, lord Amell. I would not think of leaving that duty to anyone else." Sebas performed a slight bow. "Good. I don''t know how long I will be gone this time, but it shouldn''t be more than a few years." Amell and Sebas heard the sound of running and Jugo together with Lupus had arrived. Jugo bowed his head to Amell when he arrived, "Master, Lupus and I wish to follow along. Well, I wanted to go alone but she won''t stop nagging me about following along." "So, Lupus wants to skip her duties here to keep you safe on your adventures on Ishgar." At Amell''s words, Sebas glared angerly at Lupus. His intent was evident through his gaze. "Yes, that''s about it I think." Jugo didn''t seem awfully worried, but Lupus had her head lowered while glancing up at Sebas. "hm, fine! I''ll allow it. But Lupus you need to change clothes, you can''t go around looking like a maid." Amell snapped his fingers and a bright light appeared around her. When it died down her attire had changed. She was now wearing white pants with a short yellow top that showed her stomach. On top of this, she wore a white jacket that stopped right below her butt. "That looks acceptable! Sebas, call back Nabe to take over Lupus duties. Nabe doesn''t really have to observe her target any longer, I already know enough about his patterns." Sebas bowed with his hand over his heart. "I understand, lord Amell. I shall go and tend to that right away. Have a safe flight, my lord!" Sebas walked away and left them alone. "How was breakfast? Delicious, right?" Amell''s tone was playful and his smile was cheerful. "Very, I even told Lupus that you should quit that whole God business and become a world-famous chef instead." Jugo''s words prompt a violent reaction from Lupus as she jumped at him and tried to rip his heart out. "And I told you not to say things like that again! Lord Amell is not a cook! He is a God, damn it!" Lupus kept wrestling with him, coming dangerously close to actually stealing his heart, for real. Behind the violent couple, a dangerous killing intent rose up. but it was only aimed at Lupus. "Lupus, I used my utmost effort to make that delicious breakfast for you, and now you say this to my face! Are you looking for death?" He took a step towards him, shaking the entire area around them. "No, no, I just meant, cooking food for this idiot and this lowly servant is beneath you!" Lupus gestured towards herself and Jugo. "Hey, who are you calling an idiot? At least I ate the food, you didn''t even take a bite of it." Jugo''s words caused Lupus to start sweating. Amell''s aura went even darker and he leaned in closer to the terrified maid, "Is my food not good enough for you, Lupus?" "Haha, not at all, lord Amell. It was too magnificent so I didn''t dare take a bite." She said in an attempt to avoid a severe beatdown. Amell leaned away with a smile on his face, "Calm down. I don''t care at all, plus, I didn''t even make that breakfast, Yuri did." he started laughing when he heard the sound of Lupus''s face meeting her palm. "You didn''t make it? But we saw you?" "No, you saw me helping Yuri with the final touches and setting the table. I sent her away when I sensed you two coming out of your room. I did nothing, Yuri did it all. I just wanted to see your faces, and oh boy was it worth it." Amell''s laughter became louder and he wiped a small tear away from his eye. "You''re evil, lord Amell," Lupus said quietly. Jugo just shrugged his shoulders at the revelation, "Good job, master." he gave Amell a thumbs up. "Thanks, now, are you two ready to go?" "Yeah," They both said, but Lupus sounded a lot more tired than Jugo. She felt she had aged a hundred years in just a couple of hours. Amell placed a finger on both''s forehead''s and his magic power started to slowly seep into them. Only a few seconds later, they both started floating. Jugo looked over at Amell with curiosity. "What is this?" "Weightlessness. We are flying over there, so I made you weightless to make this journey easier." Amell started floating as well. And he waved his finger and commanded the wind to carry them across the sky, and that it did. They were light as a feather and with Amell commanding the wind around them, they travelled at a very fast speed. ----------------------------------------------------------- End Chapter 231 - Return To Ishgar {9} News On The Guild Above the clouds soared three spectacular individuals. One maid, one disciple and his master. They flew with nothing to stop them and the maid named Lupus had a big bright smile on her face as the world around her had transformed into one big blur because of the speed at which they were travelling. "I love this! I want to learn how to fly!" "Quite energetic, aren''t you?" "Am I disturbing you, lord Amell? I apologize!" Lupus quieted down. "Not at all, I am happy when my people are happy. Lupus, even though you work for me, you must understand that you do not have to feel like a stranger around me. Right now you are not working, so drop the familiarities and talk to me like a friend would." Amell smiled at her. "No, no way! Definitely not, lord Amell! I could never raise my status to become equal to you. I was born to serve you, and it must always be so." Lupus said sternly. Amell shrugged his shoulders, "I understand, then continue as you see fit!" After their little exchange, they continued flying in silence. It took a couple of hours before the continent of Ishgar appeared on the horizon. Because of Jugo and Lupus following along Amell couldn''t fly close to his top speed, which meant getting to Ishgar took a little longer than usual. Ishgar was a massive place with many zones with vast differences in climate and such. Ishgar had large desserts and confusing and vast forests with danger lurking everywhere. This was where Jugo had travelled around for a couple of years and he was nowhere near exploring it all. According to him, this land was alive and cheerful, nothing like the Elemental Nations from where he originated. "Jugo, I completely forgot to ask, but did you join Fairy tail, or did you choose another guild?" Amell turned his attention away from the familiar continent to put his focus on his disciple. "Fairy Tail was the natural choice since I travelled with Gildarts at first." "Understandable. So, what do you think about the guild? What kind of fun individuals have the guild taken in now?" He had skimmed through the reports about his guild so he still knew very little about it. He doubted that anyone even knows what he looks like anymore. Even back when he was an active wizard, basically only the council, Saints and Fair Tail members knew what he looked like. The world never saw his face since Amell masterfully avoided any kind of interview or photo. Amell had essentially drawn back from the public eye even before the current guild master was born. "Lots of them, though I have no idea what kind of individuals the guild had a hundred years ago when you were active in it. But what I can say is that the entire guild is filled with kids of all ages. It is a marvellous guild, and I have a blast stopping by and talking with them all." Jugo seemed to have very fond memories of the guild as his smile was very genuine. "That is excellent to hear. The shy and scared little boy I found over a decade ago is nowhere in sight now. I am so proud of how you have progressed." Amell and Jugo shared a look that alone said more than a thousand words ever could. Jugo was fully aware of the amazing changes that he had gone through ever since accepting Amell as his master. He was now outgoing and eagerly seeking conversations, nothing like his old self at all. "Thank you, master. The guild helped a lot with that. They are all talkative and incredibly energetic, so their personalities helped bring me out of my shell a lot." "Glad to hear it! The guild was created for that very reason, to help bring people together and give a home to people that have none. Mavis would be so proud of what has become of her guild." Amell quickly looked away because he felt feelings of sadness bubble up. "Mavis? That''s the first master, right?" Jugo was somewhat familiar with Fairy Tail''s history but his knowledge was not nearly as extensive as Amell''s was. "Correct! She was indeed the First of the Master of that guild. She was always happy, cheerful and full of hope. And for some reason, she was always barefoot, and that part about her I never understood. Why walk without shoes?" Lupus and Jugo let out a small laugh at his words. Jugo cleared his throat and continued, "She sounds fun. As a guild master, she was strong, right?" Jugo was paying full attention to this history lesson. "Yes, indeed. Mavis was strong, albeit not in the traditional way. She wielded incredibly powerful magic, and she invented some of this world''s most powerful magic." Amell said. He was proud to call himself a member of her guild, and he respected Mavis for her ability to bring people together. "Stronger than you? They always say that the wizards of old were more powerful than the wizard of today." Amell glanced disapprovingly at his disciple, "That particular saying was based on me. I don''t know about now, but around the time Gildarts was born and sometimes into his childhood, I was regarded as the strongest wizard alive. So, no, Mavis was strong, but still far behind me." Amell showed his smug smile. "I believe only my kids have the ability to surpass me. Eventually, I think they will, but as far as anyone in this world, they do not stand a chance against me." "Cocky much?" Jugo sulked off to the side after hearing Amell brag about himself. Amell shook his head, "No, just confident. I don''t believe I am the strongest in existence, I am not that naive, but very few worlds stands a chance against me." "Well, good to hear the fame hasn''t gone to your head, master!" Jugo said. "It is, isn''t it. Can you imagine if I developed a proper god complex? All the chaos I could do." "Can''t and won''t imagine it!" Jugo said quietly. He suddenly lost interest in talking further and instead wanted to enjoy the flight. "Guess no more talking." Amell sighed after seeing Jugo''s not so subtle gesture. "We''re almost there, so soon you won''t have to talk to me anymore." "Whatever!" Amell laughed a little, "I swear, it''s like Gildarts rebellious phase. Mood swings all over the place." He left Jugo alone and started to instead plan what to do next. -------------------------------------------- End Chapter 232 - Return To Ishgar {10} A Saints Return Amell and his two temporary companions touched ground in the dead of night outside Saint City. The grassy fields outside the city and the forest stretching for hundreds of miles were covered with absolute darkness. The only light in this small part of the world came from Saint City itself. As Amell gazed upon that very familiar city, he seemed to recall a city in his past life''s world that adopted the name, The city that never sleeps. With all the brightness illuminating this city in even the blackest night, it reminded him greatly of a city that never sleeps. "Saint city, how you have grown since last time I saw you." "Master, do you have a history with this city?" Jugo asked. He knew almost nothing about Amell''s adventures on Ishgar. "Yes, I have. It was in this very city that Gildarts was born, and where Sylvia and I first started our lives." "So you met in this city?" Lupus asked quietly. She didn''t want to be rude and interrupt his reminiscing, but her curiosity was killing her slowly. "No, I met my wife inside a cave just before she was gonna be sacrificed by a cultist group." Amell thought back and laughed at the weirdness of it all. He was truly amazed that Sylvia has stayed with him through all these years regardless of how crazy his life is. "Wow, and you saved her and became her knight in shining armour, right!" She dreamed herself away. "Something like that, but let''s not stand around here anymore, let us go inside the city." Amell put a hand on Lupus''s shoulder to wake her up, "You can fantasise about Jugo later," he said with a teasing smile. "M-My lord!" Lupus cheeks grew red and she started fiddling with her clothes. Jugo just watched her with sceptical eyes, "You were fantasizing about me? Tell me everything in excruciating detail!" "In your dreams!" "No, but clearly in yours!" Jugo said suspiciously. "Come on you two, you can continue that later. Jugo do you have money for staying at an inn?" Amell asked him. "Yeah, no problem at all." "Great!" Amell gestured for them to start walking. The closer they got to the city the louder the noises got. What they heard were all kinds of noises, parties, brawls and very loud laughter. "Have this city always been this loud? Doesn''t people need their sleep?" Lupus asked curiously. And who answered her was neither of the two she walked with. A hand landed on her shoulder and a drunken voice rang out behind her, "This city never sleeps! People come here expecting a great city-wide party and we''re only delivering what they asked for!" A man behind Lupus said in a loud voice and his tone was cheerful. "Be careful there, friend," Amell didn''t warn the man fast enough. Lupus grabbed his hand, twisted it and causing the man to growl in pain and she followed it up by throwing him over her shoulder. He touched the ground and a roar of surprise was released from his mouth. "Poor guy!" Jugo said as he understood what the man went through. He had spent an entire night with Lupus so as the man was thrown on the ground he got flashbacks from her absolute wildest side. "Not to worry, he is so drunk that he probably didn''t feel much of that. Though he might be sore tomorrow morning, together with a massive headache." Amell shook his head and commanded the wind to pick the man up from the ground. "Are you okay, friend?" He asked the stranger. The first few seconds he didn''t get a response, only awkward staring into his eyes from the chubby stranger. It took a good thirty seconds or so before Amell got his answer. "Of course! Thank you, kind Sir!" The stranger said looking to have finally woken up from whatever trance he was in just then. "What is your name?" "Emilio, Sir!" He said and tried bowing but he overdid the momentum so he fell forwards and faceplanted onto the ground. "He is definitely not okay, Lord Amell!" Lupus said and dusted off her shoulder. "I think he looks fine, at least he is moving so we know he isn''t dead," Jugo stated the facts proudly and helped the stranger up on his feet again. "Emilio, where do you live? Let us take you home, you are way too drunk to walk around out here like this." Jugo said with a smile. "Well, how thoughtful of you, young man!" Emilio smiled at Jugo and started stroking Jugo''s chin awkwardly. He tried focusing in on Jugo''s eyes, but every time he tried his eyes would go cross-eyed and he would start losing balance again. "Master, do your thing, I don''t think he even knows where he lives." Jugo pleaded to his master. "I have to say I agree with that assessment." Amell''s eyes lit up for a second and he laughed, "He lives this way." He started walking and Jugo picked up Emilio and started following Amell. Lupus walked behind Jugo while glaring at the stranger riding on Jugo. "Beautiful lady..." Emilio said in his sleep and drooled on Jugo''s shoulder. He had fallen asleep when Jugo picked him up. "Lupus, I think he likes you!" Jugo said and glanced back at her. "Yeah, well, I do not like him. Only one person should be riding your back." She said with pouting lips. "Someone''s jealous," "I Am not!" She looked at Emilio and how he was drolling all over Jugo''s clothes. "At least I don''t drool like a baby!" She said angerly. "I seem to recall someone drooling a lot last night!" Jugo said and laughed. Lupus face went bright red and she looked away, "That was different. And you liked it," she coughed and pointed out more facts to him. "Plus, you were drooling even before my clothes came off. So, we''re even!" Lupus said with a straight face. "Kids, not that I don''t enjoy a good conversation," Amell''s face went stoic "We''ve arrived!" Amell said and pointed at an apartment a few meters in front of them. "Let''s go inside, and let me handle the talking." ------------------------------------ End Chapter 233 - Return To Ishgar {11} Who Are You? The apartment complex was silent, all you heard was your footsteps and the muffled laughter from the people walking by down on the street. Amell, Lupus and Jugo with the drunk Emilio on his back stood in front of a white door in a small corridor with three other apartment doors. Amell knocked and his knock resounded throughout the corridor. It took a few seconds, but light and quick footsteps were heard from inside. They heard the lock on the door unlock and as the door was opened they were met with a worried but also excited looking little girl. "DADDY!" She screamed prematurely but stopped when she saw Amell, who in her eyes was as tall as a giant. His heigh stretched over two hundred centimetres and she started backing off. "Do not worry, child. We have your father here, we came to deliver him." Amell said and made way for Jugo. When the small girl saw Emilio sleeping on Jugo, her smile came back. "Lisa! Step back!" A woman came walking from inside the apartment and placed her daughter behind her back. "What do you want?" She glared at the strange party at the door. Amell smiled and nodded and gestured towards Emilio, "I believe we have something that belongs to you, miss!" He moved out of the way so Jugo could walk inside. "Oh, Emilio! Thank you so much, we were so worried! P-Please, come inside!" She said quickly. All worry seemed to disappeared once she saw him and she invited them inside without hesitation. "Please, put him down on the couch in the living room." She guided Jugo. Amell bowed down and walked inside the apartment. He was almost too tall to walk inside the apartment, so he finally got some perspective on how normal people usually saw him. Jugo placed Emilio down on the couch and turned to his wife, "He is quite the heavy drinker. He could barely walk when we met him." He laughed a little, and his calm and cheerful demeanour helped calm her down about the fact that she had just invited three strangers into her apartment with her daughter present. "That''s not unusual for him. He can hold his liquor most days, but sometimes he kind of forgets about limits and whatnot and start consuming all alcohol around him. Last time this happened, he was gone for three days and we didn''t hear a word from him." "Then it is lucky that he ran into us instead of someone with ill intentions. In his state, he wouldn''t be able to defend himself at all." Amell came walking in with Lupus behind him looking apathetic as she looked around the apartment. "Indeed it is. My name is Angela. Who are you, people? I don''t know many that would go out of their way to help someone in this city." Angela performed a small courteous bow towards the group. "I am a wizard and a member of Fairy Tail," Jugo said and showed his guild mark that was stamped on the back of his left hand. "This tall man behind me is my master, Amell. And this beautiful woman is my lady, you can call her Lupus!" Jugo did splendidly at introducing everyone. Angela nodded to them all and breathed a sigh of relief that a mage had picked her husband up. Wizards were mostly universally trusted on this continent by the civilians. "Fairy Tail, huh, I won''t say I''m surprised. Your guild has quite the history with our beautiful city. Do you know about it?" Angela seemed genuinely interested in this. She took Lisa in her arms and sat down on the couch next to Emilio. "Sort of. I suppose you are referring to the eight Saint?" Jugo said and tried hard not to laugh out loud by the fact that the eight Saint stood right behind him. "Exactly! Emilio is a member of the magic council and I think I''ve heard every tale and legend about the eight Saint that exists. He is quite the fanatic fan!" Angela said while stroking the cheek of her husband. "Oh, so he''s a council member? Is he high ranked?" Amell asked excitedly. He needed to talk to the council about his absence. He didn''t care for his Saint duties that much but he was a member and he felt slightly bad about disappearing for so long and informing no one at the council about it. "Not at headquarters, no. But he is the Captain of the council''s branch office in Saint city." Angela answered with a smile. She became somewhat of an open book when Jugo was revealed to be a wizard of Fairy Tail since those guys were pretty well known for being chaotic but also very kind to strangers. "I see, too bad. I suppose I have no choice but to go to headquarters directly." He sighed out loud and sat down in a chair that was almost too small for him. "Mister Amell, was it? What is it you do, if you don''t mind me asking." As Angela''s words left her mouth her expression suddenly turned panicky. She turned her gaze to a small statue on the coffee table right next to her. Then she looked at Amell again. "A-According to legends, the eight Saint was named Portgas D Amell. I-If you don''t mind me asking, again, what is your full name, Sir?" She stared intently at the giant man sitting casually in her favourite chair. "Portgas D Amell, miss Angela!" He said with a smile as he met her gaze. Angela lost feeling and control of every limb she had and she fell on the floor while still holding onto Lisa. "I-I can''t believe this! The Eight Saint i-is in my apartment! Am I dreaming? Or am I in Emilio''s dream!" Angela looked at her husband then slapped herself across the face so it left a big bright mark on her cheek. "Calm down, Angela. You are not dreaming, this is all just a coincidence. We ran into your husband and came to deliver him here, that''s all that happened. Now, do you need something," Jugo looked at Lupus, "Go get her some water!" He said and Lupus nodded and disappeared into the kitchen. While all of this was going on, Lisa sat in the lap of her mother completely confused about what was going on. She was too young to comprehend what kind of situation she was in. Lupus quickly came back with a glass of water in hand and gave it to Jugo, who gave it to Angela. "Here, drink this and also, breath." His voice was calm and soothing so Lisa started even feeling tired from it. She leaned her head against the chest of her mother and closed her eyes to sleep. "L-Legends say you died? Rumours speak about Fairy Tail freezing your body below their guild building. Is any of these true? Have you been frozen all these years?" Angela did the only thing she could think of, trying to confirm what her husband would most likely want to know should he ever meet the Eight Saint. "I had no idea rumours like that floated around about me. No, the guild didn''t freeze me anywhere. I am as healthy as I was back when I was an active wizard." Amell flexed his arms jokingly at her. "A-About that! How are you alive? Legends about you were told to me by my grandpa. You have been someone this city has adorned for over a century. You should be dead, or at least a very old man. But my husband looks older than you." Angela inspected every detail of his face, and she could honestly admit that he looked to be in his early forties, and very handsome. He looked nothing like someone that should be well over a hundred years old if legends are to be believed. "A very old man, I am. Honestly, I stopped counting a long time ago, but I think I recently passed five hundred years old." Amell said casually, but this time it wasn''t just Angela who gave him a look. Even Jugo looked at him, but he said nothing since he was used to Amell being anything but human. "F-Five hundred!! How?" Her voice shaky beyond belief. "Imagine Zeref, he has walked this earth for four hundred years. Magic is strange, that''s all I can say. Zeref has eternal life through magic, and to make this easy to understand, so have I." Amell wouldn''t start ranting about how Zeref is cursed and what not. Saying that magic was responsible for it was much easier, and it wasn''t a complete lie either. Though Amell''s immortality had nothing to do with magic. He had immortality directly from the fountain of immortal life. Only very few beings in existence could truly kill him. Powerful curses were one thing that could nullify his immortality, though no one in this world had that kind of firepower, even the God that cursed Zeref wouldn''t be able to curse Amell. You would need to find truly powerful Gods to kill Amell completely. "I-I need to rest," Angela said and with the help of Jugo, stood up on her feet. "Lupus, take Angela to her bedroom and make sure she gets into bed," Amell said to his red-haired maid. She nodded and took Angela by the arm and started leading her away towards the bedroom. "You are quite the celebrity on this continent." "I suppose so. My fame just kind of snowballed, you know. One day you kill a dragon and suddenly you''re world-famous." He shrugged his shoulders and leaned back into the chair. "I will step out for a second, stay with them. I need to talk to Emilio tomorrow, so make sure he doesn''t hurt himself or something, you never know with these heave drinkers. Also, try and get some sleep as well, you need to be rested by tomorrow." Amell said and stood up. He walked over to the front door and opened it up. "sleep tight!" He said before stepping out of the apartment. ------------------------------------------- End Chapter 234 - Return To Ishgar {12} Journey Towards The Council [1] After having taken a walk around Saint City, Amell returned to the apartment just in time for the morning sun to peek through the windows. When he opened the door and stepped inside he heard voices coming from the living room. In there sat everyone awake except for Lisa and drank their morning coffee, something Amell was also craving. "Welcome back, master! How was your walk?" Jugo stood up and bowed then sat down again. He was speaking in a soft and quiet tone since Emilio had the biggest headache of his life. "It was good." He answered and turned to Emilio, "Hello again, friend. I trust you have been made aware of my identity?" His tone quite stern despite having a slight smile on his lips. "Y-Yes, Sir Amell!" Emilio stood up and performed a proper bow even though he felt like he had mini bombs going off inside his head from the slightest movement. Right now he didn''t care about himself or how much he was hurting, he had the worlds most famous wizard in front of him so he focused solely on that. Amell saw the struggle he faced when moving so he took a step forward and placed two fingers on Emili''s forehead. "This should help," he said and Emilio felt the headache slowly fading away into nothingness. "H-Healing magic! How marvellous, such ancient magic, absolutely amazing!" Emilio believed what Amell did was thanks to healing magic, which it wasn''t. But since healing magic was extremely rare magic, it was no surprise Emilio had a bright smile on his face. "I must say, albeit no disrespect to you, Sir Amell, I refused to believe them when they said you had been here last night! I just couldn''t think of a reason as to why you would be in my apartment." Emilio stretched out his hand for a handshake. "Yes, I wouldn''t have been here unless you had spent last night drinking. Alcohol arranged our meeting rather than fate this time." Amell said as he returned the handshake. "I can''t say I remember much about yesterday, I just hope I didn''t say anything to offend you, Sir Amell." "Not at all. From what your wife said, I had prepared myself for a much more overblown reaction from you. I believe the words she used was a fanatic fan. But as I stand here, I don''t see much of that going on." Lupus came and delivered a coffee mug to Amell as well. "Angela! How could you say that!" Emilio turned around and glared at his wife, "I''m sorry for that, Sir Amell. I am very interested in wizarding history, and I guess she only saw that as me being a fanatic fan, which I am not." Emilio quickly cleared up that misunderstanding and continued talking now when his headache was gone. "I was also told you wanted to speak to me. I can only assume that it involves the council since otherwise, I don''t know what I could offer someone great as you!" Emilio said cheerfully. He couldn''t wait to see the faces of those arrogant bastards over at HQ when he brought back the Eight Saint. "That is correct. I simply needed you to tell me if the council is located in the same place as it always has. I would hate to get lost looking for the magic council, that would be highly embarrassing." Amell said, smiling. "Of course, no problem. Let me just fetch my map!" Emilio ran away into the bedroom. He came back a few seconds later and sprawled the map onto the coffee table and placed a finger on the map. "Here, this is where we are now, Saint City. You want to head straight north from here and you will eventually come across HQ." "I see." Amell leaned over the map and inspected it. The world map was incredibly detailed if compared to the time he joined Fairy Tail. Everything on the map was so detailed that even roads through dense forests were highlighted. "This is great, thank you very much, friend."'' "Please, call me Emilio. And it was no bother, helping the Eight Saint made the rest of my life worth living!" He said in a fit of excitement. Angela hit him on the head from behind. "What about me, or Lisa. Aren''t we worth your time on this earth?" Her tone was dangerous and her face was red from the anger bubbling up inside her. "S-Sorry, honey, I just got so excited!" Emilio said quietly while standing there and taking the abuse his wife layed on him. For the rest of the day, they continued talking and discussing magic with each other. Emilio laid out all his questions on the table and finally after years, he got confirmed which rumours about Amell was true and which were not. And as it turned out, all the rumours he had heard were false. He was especially crushed when he heard that Amell hadn''t really battled Zeref like most of the world thought. -------------------------------------------------- End Chapter 235 - Return To Ishgar {13} Journey Towards The Council [2] The night was approaching fast and they had already left Emilio''s home. They were walking the streets of Saint City and observing how the people changed as night approached. From what he could see, everyone in this city developed an entirely different identity as night came, and together with alcohol the city truly came alive during the night. "Jugo, Lupus, tonight we go our separate ways. You guy need to go and finish that mission Jugo has. Lupus, it''ll be your job to make sure he survives his journey from point A to B." Amell was striding along the city streets with his casual attitude. "No worries, you can count on me, Lord Amell. I will not let anything hurt him!" Lupus spoke with real conviction. She was the evilest and brutal maid that worked on Paradise island, but she was also the one that valued love and loyalty the most, which is why she is so attached to the idea of protecting Jugo even though he might not need it. Amell glanced back then stopped and turned around to face them. "I will come by the guild later, maybe we''ll see each other then." After a smile and a nod, Amell started walking in another direction. Jugo and Lupus said nothing, they just waved him goodbye as his form blended into the darkness and disappeared. Now that he was alone he didn''t have to hold back in how fast he moved, so Amell was walking at the same speed that Jugo sprinted in. His feet only touched the ground every twenty meters or so, so he wasn''t walking as much as he was skipping along the dirt road. The distance between Saint City and the magic council HQ was fairly long and with a normal horse-drawn carriage, it would take about eleven hours to arrive. A forest ran along the dirt road so, in the dead of night, Amell could hear all the eerie sounds of the forest. Animal growls and the wind whistling through the tree crown creating music for his ears. Amell''s senses were not in any way comparable to a human''s, and among the senses, a normal human had, Amell''s eyesight was his most powerful tool. If he focused he could see thousands of miles ahead of him. As he was travelling along the dirt road, being nothing but a blur to the beasts watching the road for travellers they could attack and kill, his eyes saw something that caught his full attention. Far ahead on the road was two large black cats, panthers. The panthers large bright yellow eyes were staring at three small bodies lying at the side of the road. ''I should hurry up before they eat them." Amell''s next step shot him forward like a lightning strike and before a second had passed he had arrived right next to one of the panthers. Amell had travelled thousands of meters in just about a single second. He grabbed the head of the panther and threw it against one of the trees. "Stay!" Amell said sternly as he turned and glared at the panther still leaning over the three bodies. "Sit!" His voice rang with shocking might and parts of his aura were released against the poor panther. It couldn''t stand against his aura for a second so it fell on the ground while whimpering like a standard house cat. "Good kitty," Amell walked over to the other one that he had thrown against a tree. It was hurt badly, but still alive. Amell approached and sat down beside it. "I am going to heal you, do not move." He didn''t expect the panther to understand human speech, he just used the intent in his voice to subdue the animal. His hand touched the tiger and through cosmic bending, he started to heal the animal back to full strength. "There we go! Come with me now," Amell walked back to the other panther that still had not moved from its spot on the ground. He pointed at the ground beside the panther, and the newly healed one laid down on the spot. Amell walked over to whoever the panthers had been close to having for dinner. To his surprise it was three kids, not looking to be a day over ten or eleven years old. "Poor things, at least they are not hurt, they are just exhausted." He sat down on his knees beside them. He looked at the two panthers, "What? Are you guys just gonna sit there all day? Come over here!" He pointed at the kids, "Take on each, help me carry them." The panthers walked over to the kids and bit down on the collar of their clothes to lift them. "Follow me!" Amell left the road and started heading into the forest. After a while, he arrived at a small clearing in the forest and he nodded to himself. "This will do!" He snapped his fingers and a simple house made from the earth stone rose from the ground. He pointed at the house and the panthers that seemed to possess quite high intelligence both nodded and walked towards the house. Inside the house, Amell said to the panthers, "Lay down!" And they did without question. Amell laid the kids down against the panther so they wouldn''t need to sleep on the hard ground underneath them. After doing that he removed his green body cloak and carefully placed it above them to shield them from the cold at least a little bit, plus the panther''s fur would do wonders for their warmth. "Now we wait!" Amell said and sat down against the walls of the small house. He leaned his head against the wall and closed his eyes. ---------------------------------------- End Chapter 236 - Return To Ishgar {14} Journey Towards The Council [3] Inside the little stone house, the two panthers slept soundly. One of them had the three kids sleeping against it, Amell had throughout the night inspected the kids and what he found was quite interesting. The one that looked to be the eldest among them was a girl and she was the one that was also the most interesting of the three. Inside her dwelled a devil. Amell very quickly found out that she was a user of powerful lost magic. He looked at her and smiled, ''Take Over magic, been a very long time since I even heard about it. I wonder how she came in possession of it. From their situation, I will guess she came upon it by accident.'' The girl had small appearance similarities with the demon soul inhabiting her, but due to the dried up tears on her face, Amell made a guess that she wasn''t quite happy with that, so during the night, he used his magic power to lock the devil behind a seal so her outer appearance returned to normal. ''It might be nothing, but I hope this helps to calm your hearts.'' He could imagine what these kids had gone through. So young and an unwilling bearer of a powerful devil soul, it was not his first time seeing kids get thrown away and lost in the world. The kids started to slowly wake up and the youngest looking among them, another girl turned in her sleep and said, "So soft" as she squeezed the fur of the panther. This action made Amell laugh. The innocent nature that she showed made it that much more tragic what they were going through. The eldest one slowly opened her eyes and looked around. After a few seconds when her brain caught up to what her eyes were seeing, she rose up in a panic. Her movement stirred the other two and they also woke up. "M-Mira, where are we?" The youngest girl asked while rubbing her eyes tiredly and yawned. "AHH!" The middle child which was a boy woke up, met gaze with the panther they were sleeping on and he jumped back in fright. He fell on the ground with his head smashing into the ground first. "Elfman, get back here! Lisanna, behind me!" The eldest girl named Mira had stood up and was beckoning for her siblings to run over to her. They did as she said and ran and stood behind her back. "You are most certainly a brave little one. Placing your sibling''s lives before your own, that is very honourable." Amell said while still sitting down. He was taller than all of them even though he was sitting down. Mira looked at the two panthers that had woken up, then she looked at the large stranger sitting by the door. "Who are you!?" Mira asked in a hissing tone. She raised one of her arms and took a battle stance. Her younger brother, Elfman watched his sister, but he noticed something even she didn''t. "Mira, your arm! It''s normal again!" He yelled loudly after seeing her arm back to normal. "Mira took her eyes off Amell and looked at her arm, and just like her brother said, signs of her being a monster was no longer there. "What happened?" She asked herself, and then looked at Elfman, "I don''t know, Mira!" He answered innocently, but his tone was very cheerful now that his sister was no longer a demon. "Do you seek answers?" Amell caught their attention again. By looking at his smile, Mira could pretty easily deduce that he is the reason she no longer had a demonic arm. "Who are you, old man?" Mira''s tone was unfriendly and hostile. She might not have demon powers anymore, but that was not gonna stop her from protecting her siblings. "A very old traveller, my name is Portgas D Amell. Now, how about you introduce yourself." "No, I don''t trust you!" Mira said she looked at the door then at Amell again, "Let us go!" Her tone didn''t allow any backtalk. "I would not recommend that, little one. Last night these two cats were close to eating you three after you collapsed on the side of the road. This is a dangerous road for kids to walk on." "Y-You saved us?" Mira started hesitating in her speech. She looked at the panthers. "D-Did you tame them?" Amell nodded at her. He looked at one of the panthers and it started walking towards him. It lied down next to him and allowed him to pet its fur. "They are as dangerous as housecat when I am around. But if I go away, the rest of the beasts in this forest will all fight over who gets to eat you first." Amell''s words might have been a little too harsh as Elfman and Lisanna started crying. "Mira, that is your name, correct?" "M-Mirajane, now what of it?" She hid Lisanna behind her back and embraced Elfman. "I have a suggestion for you. How about you travel with me for a while? I will protect you three, and give you food. What do you say?" He raised his hand and waved his finger and his cloak flew over to him. "How did you do that?" Lisanna peeked out from behind her sister with a curious expression on her face. "Magic, wanna learn?" "Yes!" Lisanna''s mood turned cheerful and she was about to run over to Amell, but Mira grabbed her arm and held her in place. "How did you remove this?" Mira looked at her arm then at Amell. "This old man has some secrets of his own. Maybe if we get to know each other a little better, I might trust you with that secret." Amell showed her a teasing smile and he continued petting the panther. "Is it gone forever?" "Do you want it to be?" His tone turned serious. "Of course! I don''t wanna be a demon!" Mira yelled, and her siblings felt her pain even though they didn''t carry what she did inside. "Mirajane, you are no demon. You are human, as are your siblings. There is nothing demonic about you, believe me, I have seen demons and you are not one of them." Amell meant every word he said, and Mira didn''t feel like he was lying either. She couldn''t explain the strange comforting feeling he gave her. "O-Okay, if you promise to protect Lisanna and Elfman and remove this curse from me, we will go with you." Mira said and Elfman squeezed her hand tighter, "Mira," he said in a low tone. She stroked his cheek and smiled at him kindly. "Don''t worry Elfman, I will protect you both forever!" She vowed in her heart to make sure they would be safe for the rest of their lives. "I promise to protect all of you until my last breath," He bowed jokingly and his tone was cheerful. "Although, Mira, consider holding onto that demon. It is a powerful weapon and should you master it, you could protect your siblings with it." "I will protect them, not some demon!" Her tone went back to hostile again. Unconsciously her magic power started leaking and the panthers together with her siblings got a chill rising in their bodies. "Calm down," Amell sent a small blast of his magic power to cancel hers."We will need to eat something before heading out. You three I guess are starving." Amell nodded towards the panthers and they ran out of the house and disappeared into the forest. "Food will be arriving shortly, so sit tight." He smiled at them, and his smile was the one that Sylvia fell in love with and made Robin feel safe. And the smile worked on them as well, they started to calm down when they saw his calming and kind expression. "Mister, are you a wizard? My mom said wizards are super powerful!" Elfman started opening up and talking about wizards. Amell being a wizard sure changed his cautious nature into explosive excitement. "I am an old retired wizard that no one pays any attention to anymore." He laughed and summoned a small flame to his hand. "But I do have some tricks left up my sleeve." He blew the flame out and winked at Elfman. "wow! Mira, did you see that he made fire!" His excitement was already hitting the roof. Not much seemed to be needed to impress Elfman and Lisanna since they both watched his magic tricks with much excitement. "I saw," Mira on the other hand just watched on with caution. A few more minutes went by as they sat in silence. Soon two black shadows came running into the house again. In the panther''s mouths was a small animal with white beautiful fur. Amell stood up and looked at the kids with a smile, "Look away for a second, will you." Lisanna and Elfman did as told and Amell started preparing the animals. Another few minutes went by and soon the entire room was filled with the sweet aroma of cooked meat. Elfman started salivating and Lisanna''s eyes had transformed into two pieces of meat. "Okay, foods ready." Amell handed all three of them one piece each, though they were big pieces of meat. He threw the rest to his two new cat companions. They devoured it quickly, and Amell smiled as he saw Mira''s face light up in happiness for a second. She went back to a neutral expression as soon as she caught a glimpse of Amell''s gaze on her. "No need to hurry, we have all the time of the world." Amell sat down and leaned in against the wall again. He observed the siblings and thought, ''I swear I recognize their names from somewhere.'' but after many minutes of coming up empty, he stopped thinking about it. -------------------------------------- End Chapter 237 - Return To Ishgar {15} Journey Towards The Council [4] "M-Mister, Elfman and I would like to ride them." Lisanna, Elfman and Amell stood outside the house with the panthers wrestling with each other close by. Lisanna, however, had been working up the courage to ask Amell this favour for an entire hour. She stood and pointed at the panthers while asking him if she could ride them since she didn''t know what they were called. "You don''t like walking?" "I do! But they are so soft I want to ride them, can I, please?" Lisanna pouted her lips cutely. Her childlike attitude won over Amell''s steel-like will, even though he had been around kids most of his life. "Sure, and it is probably a good idea you three do so. We have quite a long distance to cover today." Amell whistled over the panthers. "You guys, these three siblings will ride on your backs so we can travel a little faster." They nodded and bowed down so they could climb up on their backs. "Yeah!" Elfman yelled and jumped on excitedly and following close behind him was Lisanna. They were gonna share ride while Mira would get her own. Speaking of the devil, Mirajane came walking out of the house with a completely new outfit on. Elfman and Lisanna also had new clothes on. Amell had travelled to Saint City in the middle of the night and bought new clothes for them, The previous outfits they had were complete rags that covered barely anything, so Amell bought some real clothes for them. "Looks like I got the right size for all of you, lucky me!" Amell breathed out a sigh. Mira had slightly rose-coloured cheeks. She wanted to thank him for the nice clothes, but she didn''t wanna be indebted to him either. She wasn''t a fan of either idea. "Yeah, T-Thanks, I suppose," Mira quickly walked past him but stopped when she saw her siblings sitting on top of those cat animals. "What are you two doing?" She questioned with a slight head tilt. "Mister said it was okay!" Lisanna yelled happily. She sat there and swayed back and forth behind Elfman. "You three do not have to call me, Mister anymore. If you don''t wanna call me Amell, you can just call me an old man. That works too." "Okay, old man! I understand!" Elfman yelled with an equal amount of excitement as his sister. "Little Mira, hop on that panther, they are gonna carry you, so we can travel a little faster." Amell''s second panther walked up to Mira and bowed down. They were quite big animals, and both of them were bigger than Mira and she was the tallest of the siblings. "No way! I can walk by myself!" "Are you sure you can keep up with your siblings? They are gonna ride on an animal that can run faster than a horse-drawn carriage. But I guess you know that already." Amell started to pretend to walk away with the other two''s panther in tow. "Wait! Okay, just... Give me a second!" Mira said and started to slowly approach the panther. And with one slow movement at a time, she soon sat on top the black panther. It raised its body and Mira immediately pressed herself against its back and gripped its fur as hard as she could. "Now we can finally be off!" Amell started jogging and the panthers followed after him with the siblings on their backs. And so, their journey began towards the magic council. Their speed was slightly faster than a horse-drawn carriage, and two of the three siblings had the time of their lives. Elfman and Lisanna were waving their hands in the air without the slightest thought that they could fall off and die. For Mirajane, this was all she could think about, so she pressed her whole body against the panther and also closed her eyes, she only heard her sibling''s loud laugher and Amell''s occasional chuckle at their behaviour. A couple of hours of this and finally Amell''s eyes locked onto a massive building in the distance. As they got closer and the scales corrected themselves, Amell could see how truly big the building was. "Been a while since I''ve seen this place, looks like they have upgraded a little." He signalled for his cats to stop running. "We have arrived, little Mira, you can finally open your eyes." As everyone stopped, Mira slowly opened her left eye to scan her surrounding. When she confirmed that everything was safe she jumped off and stormed off to Amell. "Do not EVER do that to me again! That was hell on earth!" She yelled this then walked off to see to her siblings. Elfman and Lisanna hadn''t lost their spirit which was unusual for kids. They had strained their voices quite badly after all that yelling. "Quite the attitude on that one," Amell shook his head and chuckled. He turned towards the building, and they were only a few hundred meters away from the large gates leading to the massive building. "Are you all ready? We have arrived now, we are going in there, and when we get in there stay very close to me." He said seriously and waited for Mira to nod in confirmation. "Okay, let''s go!" He started walking after the siblings were done doing whatever they were doing. "Remember, stay close to me!" ------------------------------------ End Chapter 238 - Return To Ishgar {16} Journey Towards The Council [5] Amell and company were walking toward the main council building and on the way, they passed several dozen council soldiers, and the siblings noticed how all of them kept staring at them, though more specifically at Amell. Mira couldn''t take all the staring any longer so she tugged on his sleeve and asked, "Old man, are you famous or something? They keep staring at you." She felt uncomfortable by it all, almost like their stares could penetrate her very being and see the demon inside her. "I hope not, I would hate to have to write a bunch of autographs. Maybe they are staring at you, you are quite cute, you know." Amell kept walking without even glancing at her. "As if! That''s so creepy, they are all old," Mira felt Lisanna grab her hand and Elfman her other one. "Mira, I don''t like this, they keep staring," Lisanna said and she was on the verge of crying from all the judgemental stared she felt on her. "We will soon be inside, little Lisanna, just focus on me and do not pay heed to them." After he said that he felt Lisanna''s gaze burn into his back and it brought a smile to his face. They finally reached the doors to the building and the two guards standing guard stopped them. "Identify yourself!" A threatening tone came from one of them. Amell smiled and said, "Portgas D Amell, Eight Saint. I seek an audience with the council!" The two guards looked at each other then after a few seconds they started laughing The one that stopped then shook his head slowly and started explaining, "In the last year we have had, fourteen Amell''s here, so forgive us if we don''t believe you. Now, walk away, you ain''t going inside any time soon." He waved them away with his hand. They were greatly amused, but Amell not so much. "I came here out of respect of the council and those morons can''t even use their brains enough to educate their soldiers on the most important Saint. Truly moronic!" Amell waved his hand and the two guards were hit with a wind blast and went crashing through the door and opening it up for Amell. "That wasn''t so hard, was it?" Amell said loudly and walked inside with three scared-looking kids behind him. The panthers glared at everything and everyone. They had the duty of protecting the siblings so they were on high alert after sensing all the humans gazing at their group. "Who goes there!?" Another soldier came running after hearing the commotion. He was dressed nicer than the doormen, so Amell guessed he was of much higher rank, especially since he was walking freely inside the building, which only high ranking members could do. "I demand an audience with the council immediately. My name is Portgas D Amell, the Eight Saint. Do not try and stop me like these two idiots, I am not in the mood for silly games." His voice boomed out throughout the building and his magic power was release upon the entire facility and everyone inside. Behind him, Mira who had just become a wizard without knowing it had the ability to now somewhat sense magic power, and her eyes widened at Amell''s magic. ''So powerful! It''s like that demon from the church. Maybe even stronger... Who is he?'' She observed him quietly and with a little awe. "R-Right away!" The soldier didn''t have time to inquire about Amell''s identity, the magic power he released was more than enough reason not to try and stop him. He ran away into one of the corridors and a few minutes later he returns with a lot more sweat running down his face. "This way, please! The council will see you now." He gestured for them to follow him. They walked down a beautiful and well-lit corridor with marvellous marble floors and walls. Amell had to at least admit that the council had a lot of resources, even he admired this building, it was impressive both inside and out. "Here we are now. They are waiting for you inside." He said to Amell and bowed before hightailing out of there. Amell glanced back at the siblings, "Stay out here, I''ll be right back with you. Stay near them, they will protect you as best they can." He referred to his two cats. Mira nodded and embraced her siblings. Amell opened the door and walked inside. What met him was a room with a round table and strange looking people sat around it. Some of them were incredibly short while others were tall and funny dressed. But they all had one thing in common. And that was the fear they all showed as Amell entered the room. "P-Portgas D Amell! It''s true. But how, you look the same as you did back then." A big man with a very large beard said in complete shock. "I do not recognize any of you, introduce yourself, Chairman!" Amell demanded and sent a wave of his aura''s pure power at them. They all felt the strength leave their bodies and sweat started to pour down their faces. Amell''s magic power was like nothing they had seen before, it was many times more powerful then all of them combined. "My name is Crawford, I am the Chairman of this council. I welcome you back, Amell. As the Chairman here, I must be the one to ask you this. Where have you been all these years? You have missed countless meetings and situations that would have required your presence." Crawford spoke in his not so usual respectful tone. "What I have been doing does not concern you one bit, so don''t bother asking about it. I just came back to tell you all that I am back in Ishgar and that I will be here for a while. That''s all!" "You expect you can just come and go from here and do your duties when it pleases you? This kind of behaviour warrants some punishment even though it is you." Crawford tried standing tall, even though he was currently terrified. "Do not try that with me. We all know you will never kick me off the Saints roster. My name means too much to the magic council so you can not let me go or your authority would disappear. So, yes, I can do whatever I want whenever I want. Now, I don''t have anything else to tell you so this is where I say goodbye." Amell said nothing else and started walking back. ''"Wait, Amell, we have more to discuss!" Crawford yelled and reached out his hand, hoping to get a few more minutes with this mysterious legend. Amell turned around, "I thought we had lots to discuss as well, but only ten seconds in this room and one look at all of you told me everything I need to know about the council of this time." He said nothing more and simply walked out without listening to the pleading Crawford inside the room. Outside, Mira and her siblings stood obediently by the door and waited for Amell. "What is a black panther doing in here? It''s dirting down our floors!" Two soldiers came walking up to the siblings. "Do they belong to you?" They asked Mira that took a position in front of Elfman and Lisanna. "What if they do, what is that to you idiots?" Mira didn''t spare them any of her mean attitude. She unconsciously started releasing her magic power again. The panthers reacted to this and took a stance against the soldiers. "What the hell is that magic power?" One of the two men said to the other. They looked at each other than at Mira, "A demon? Girl, calm down, you need to come with us, you have something evil inside of you." They said and slowly drew the swords that were hanging at their waists. "I am not going anywhere. The old man said stay right here!" Mira raised her hands in defence. Lisanna closed her eyes and buried her face in Mira''s clothes. Elfman stood behind his big sister and glared at the two men with their swords in hand. The door opened up and Amell came walking out. "What is this?" He asked, confused about why two men were standing with swords drawn against Mira. "This little girl is the host of a demon. We need to take her into inspection, would you please assist us, Sir." They could immediately sense that they stood zero chance against Amell. His presence alone told them he was miles above them. "No can do, I am their guardian. So, move along now, little soldiers." He waved his hand trying to send them away without hurting them. "You would bring a demon inside the council HQ, that won''t go unpunished." "Whatever you say," Amell just placed his hand on Mira''s shoulder, "Come on, little Mira, let''s go." "Stop! You need to stay here while we inform the council seats. Please cooperate, Sir." Their tones were not friendly, but Amell just sighed, he was tired and had enough of this place and these stuck-up people. "Go away!" He flicked his finger in their direction and both of them went flying far back. They landed on the floor ways back, unconscious. "Now we can go!" Amell smiled at the kids and started walking with them towards the main doors to the building. Mira during the entire time looked at him like she was trying to solve a puzzle. he was starting to grow in her eyes, and mostly because he had been so kind, but also because he was extremely mysterious. He caused a ruckus in this important-looking building and no one did anything to him. In her eyes, he had to be someone very important. -------------------------------------- End Chapter 239 - Return To Ishgar {17} Mirajane Strauss A day has passed since they left the magic council. They were on their way towards their next location, which was a home for the siblings. Amell like them all three quite a bit, but he had no idea where his journeys would take him and he didn''t wanna drag them into something so dangerous. He wanted them to have friends and somewhere to call home and with him, they would get none of that. Amell had left the panthers back into the forest where he found the siblings. He didn''t have a use for them any longer so he let them go back to their home, which they did eagerly. Only Lisanna and Elfman showed some sorrow as they left, Mira, on the other hand, celebrated their departure with cheerful clapping. They had left the forest area entirely and around them were flatland and massive fields of beautiful green grass. Midday had arrived and the sun shined brightly down on this vast land. Amell walked in front of the siblings with his hands resting behind his back. Lisanna and Elfman were discussing the panthers and how they were gonna tame some when they grew up. Mira had been quiet ever since leaving the council, her mind was preoccupied with trying to figure out the mysterious Portgas D Amell. She was looking him up and down, hoping to trigger some old memory or something about his name. The only thing she knew was that his name was somewhat familiar. She was pretty sure she had heard her parents mention it, but she couldn''t remember the context of their conversation at all. ''A famous wizard, surely. He can make powerful soldiers fly with just a wave of his finger, and everyone who hears his name either laughs, thinking it''s fake or starts showing fear. It has to be that he is a very famous wizard.'' Her mind had gone through all kinds of ideas about his identity, but the only thing she returned to was that he was a world-famous wizard. "Little Mira, I know I''m quite interesting, but you have been staring at me since we left the council. How interesting could my back honestly be?" He said while continuing to walk at the same speed and without looking back. Mira freaked out and grew red. What if he thought she looked at him because she was falling for him, she quickly tried to figure out what to say to not make him think that, since that wasn''t the case. "Where are we going? You are a complete mystery, and you have not said anything about where we are going!" "I know you three are without a home. So, I am talking you to someone that will take you in and protect you. If you want, of course." "NO! I want to stay with you, old man!" Lisanna leapt into the conversation after hearing Amell saying he was gonna leave them. Elfman and Lisanna had gotten very attached to Amell thanks to all the incredible things he could do. Elfman had been nagging Amell to show him more magic for an entire hour after leaving the council "I can not take you three with me on my journey." His voice was stern, didn''t allow for any talkback. "W-Why?" Mira seemed oddly worried about departing from him. She still hadn''t figured him out, and that bugged the life out of her. "Because you three deserve a normal childhood, and right now, I can not give you that." His voice got a little colder, and Lisanna backed off after hearing his voice. It scared her. "Screw that! We will never have a normal childhood again! Our parents are dead, our town threw us out because I am a demon! It''s better we go with you!" Mira raised her voice and pulled on Amell''s sleeve, making him stop. "Take us with you! You can protect us, and I can learn to fight, you can train me!" Her grip around his sleeve tightened. "Maybe you feel it''s too late, and maybe you want a life on the road, never settling down, but what about Lisanna and Elflam? Do they deserve a life of no friends or family?" He bowed down so he was on eye-level with her. "Those two need a home. You do too." He put a hand on her shoulder. "Then only take me! I don''t want that life! After Lisanna and Elfman settle in, take me with you!" Her tone was angry, but she was on the verge of pleading for him to take her. "How about this, you will go with your siblings and try to live a normal childhood for your parent''s sake. And next time I come by, if you still haven''t changed your mind, I will take you in as my disciple and train you as we travel. What do think?" Now Amell showed her a little smile to calm her down. She was getting heated and people like that can not be reasoned with. "Only if you promise to come back!" Mira stretched out her pinky. "Promise me!" She stared into his eyes. Amell chuckled and raised his right pinky and made the promise. "It''s a promise!" He said calmly. "Lisanna, Elfman, are you tired? should we rest here for tonight?" He asked the other two siblings after having dealt with the most stubborn sibling. "Nope, we can continue all night!" Lisanna and Elfman said in perfect sync. "Alright then! Let us march on!" Amell stood up, placed his hands behind his back and continued walking. -------------------------------------------------- End Chapter 240 - Return To Ishgar {18} Temporary Goodbye The group found themselves standing at in front of a magnificent city that rivalled the beauty of Saint City. Amell slowly let his eyelids close down over his eyes, and simultaneously, he took a deep breath to breathe in the clean air and magic particles surrounding the city. What no one knew was that Amell could directly control the magic if he wanted to. What others did was to put filters over magic particles to create their magic. Amell could do something that no one else could, he could directly control the magic energy in the universe through his cosmic bending. This meant that he could use every magic in existence by simply bending magic particles to essentially mimic different kinds of magic. Even now, Amell had a hard time to wrap his head around the fact that such a weak world had given him the most powerful ability he had ever had. Through cosmic bending, or energy bending as Vaatu called it, he could, when mastered completely, rewrite realities if he wanted to. Even now, he was far from mastering it, but he could teleport long distances as long as the place he wanted to teleport to was a clear picture in his mind. "Now that we have arrived, how about you tell us who we are here to meet." Mira walked up next to him and tugged on his shirt. Since they had their little talk ways back she had calmed down with the whole, "figuring out who you are, act", that she had kept up for some time. Her attitude was guarded still, but Amell was glad that she had become at least a little more open-minded. "It is not a simple, who. I am taking you to Fairy Tail, the guild situated in this city." He smiled at her, hoping she wouldn''t resist this. "A guild? You mean wizards, we are no wizards, why would you take us there?" Mira wasn''t happy, but she managed to swallow her displeasure and instead investigate further. "First of all, that power inside of you is called take-over magic. It''s ancient magic that not many use today. That power makes you a wizard. As for why I''m taking you here, that''s easy. The people inside this guild are good and they will be able to help you master your power should you allow them to do so." "How do you know that?" Her voice showed hesitation. "I have some ties to them. This guild has two members called Gildarts and Jugo. You can trust them completely. If you ever have a problem you can''t reveal to even the guild master, seek them and tell them that the old man sent you, they will know what that means and they will help you in whatever it is." Amell looked at her, "Understand?" His tone was calm and he wanted to make sure that the siblings knew he wouldn''t leave them with people he didn''t trust. "You three will be safe here, that I promise you. These people will protect you just as well as I did. They take care of their own, and they had lots of people in your age group so finding a friend or two shouldn''t be too difficult." "I understand, stupid old man!" She said the last part under her breath. Amell looked at Lisanna and Elfman, "Be good, you two, and make sure you take care of your stubborn older sister," Elfman nodded while tears were falling down his face. Lisanna went for the more physical route, she dashed in and hugged him. Her arms couldn''t reach around his neck so instead, she squeezed his cloak as hard as she could. "W-Will I s-see you a-again?" Lisanna got out the words just before the tears came flowing like a waterfall. Amell nodded with a smile and put a hand on her tiny head, "Yes, of course, you will see me again someday." He lightly hugged her back and turned to Elfman. "You are the man now, make sure you take care of your sisters and protect them from harm. Make sure you eat your vegetables so you grow big and strong." Elfman nodded with closed eyes, trying to hide his tears from view. "Little Mira, make sure you lose that stubborn attitude until the next time I see you." Amell felt Lisanna squeeze even harder now. Elfman was wiping away tears that just wouldn''t stop coming. "Shut up, old man! Like I would do anything you say," Mira turned her head away. "Little Mira, look at me." He said. When she looked at him, he poked her on the forehead with one of his fingers. "Be safe!" He said. Mira rubbed her forehead and nodded slowly. "Okay, I will send you on your way." Amell raised his hand and a small rock golem rose from the ground. "Follow this little guy, he will take you to Fairy Tail. Now hurry up and go before this old man starts crying as well." Amell said and pretended to wipe away a tear, and as usual, Mira was the only one the siblings who saw through his fake act. "Have fun in the guild, and Mira, make sure you make some friends. They can be great to have, even one is a blessing to have." After that, he stood up and wave as the kids entered the city while following closely behind the golem. ''I can''t wait to see what kind of beautiful flower Mirajane will grow into. She has great magical potential and I think sending her to a guild instead of taking her with me is the right move, not only for her power but also for her personality.'' Chapter 241 - Return To Ishgar {19} Fate Brought Us Together A grandmaster in bending and master of magic, thanks to these to facts Amell had total control over most elements in existence. So, that is why he was able to walk directly on top of the water surface, which he was doing now. The question of why he was walking across the ocean like he had been doing for the last hour was simple. He was heading over to Tenrou Island, the island that belonged to Fairy Tail. There was someone on this Island that he wanted to talk to. Someone he did not fear as the rest of the world did. Another couple of hours of casual walking on the ocean and Tenrou Island entered his sight. It was big, magnificent and beautiful, truly worthy its reputation as a holy land. "He''s here, I can feel that cursed magic even from here." Amell cracked his knuckled and smiled, "Well, no use standing around," Like a fading shadow in daylight, his body disappeared and reappeared on the shores of the island. This was teleportation through the use of cosmic bending. "That way," Amell sensed his target''s specific location and started walking towards it. He didn''t rush it, instead, he walked causally and took in the beautiful scenery. In the distance, he saw a quite young-looking man sitting down against a tree with closed eyes. His breathing was rhythmic and calm, indicating that he was most likely asleep. Amell let out a loud whistle that echoed around the forest, the young black-haired man opened his eyes wide and looked over at Amell. "Only two people have that kind of magic power," he said slowly. He stood up with the help of the tree and faced Amell. "You are not Acnologia. That only leaves, Portgas D Amell, the worlds first and oldest Saint. What are you doing here?" He asked in a soft tone. "You knew this meeting was inevitable, I just helped speed up a fated meeting." The two stood staring at each other. "Fate brought us together, is that what you''re saying? What if I don''t believe in fate?" Amell chuckled, "God cursed you, revealing his existence to you, and you want to tell me fate does not exist. It might not be able to control powerful wizards like us, but it still guides us to what we will eventually do and see. Fate will always take us to where we are supposed to be, and it doesn''t matter how long that takes, it always happens." "Spoken like an old man. You have my respect, Amell." He bowed slightly at Amell, "And you have mine, Zeref Dragneel!" Amell''s words slightly shocked Zeref. "So, you knew? Guess I shouldn''t have expected anything else from the most powerful wizard in history." Zeref sat down against the tree again. "From one old man to another, get some sun, you are unbelievably pale." Amell walked over and sat down against a tree opposite Zeref. "Funny. How has life been treating you?" Zeref didn''t bother being on guard against Amell, he sensed no genuine killing intent from him. Amell was the same, he was just here to talk. "Pretty good. My son claimed the spot as the strongest wizard in his guild, and my disciple is not far behind." "Fairy Tail?" Zeref tilted his head to the side. "Yeah, her guild. Do you remember?" Amell saw sorrow deep inside his eyes. "How could I forget. I am immortal and my memories do not fade away as ages pass. Painful memories will haunt me forever, that is my curse." Zeref clenched his fists. "Do you want it gone?" Amell''s question caused Zeref to look up in anger. "Do not tease me, Amell. I do not take kindly to it." His magic power started rising. "I am not. I have been close to you for several minutes and nothing has happened. I assume you don''t have control, and that''s why you hide here on this Island." "I don''t want to forget the value of life, yet to walk among other people I must become a monster." Zeref''s anger rose and black magic started rising from his body. "Get away from me, Amell! it''s happening!" Zeref said and sat upon his knees. He screamed out, trying to keep it inside but the black magic wave was released and killed everything in his surrounding. Everything except Amell. "I tell no lie, Zeref. I can remove your curse if you want." Amell said seriously. Zeref''s magic couldn''t beat Amell who had control over the very energy the world is built on. With one thought, Amell had stopped the wave from spreading any further. Zeref started crying to himself. "No, this curse is mine to bear. Until my mission on this land is done, I can not die or give away this magic. How about a rain check on that curse removal." Zeref let out a frail smile. "Any time you want your mortality back, come find me. You will remain my friend as long as you seek the best out of life." Amell smiled and raised his fist. "Bump it!" He commanded the black wizard. Zeref did as instructed and when they touched, Zeref felt the sorrow leave his heart. "I thank you, my friend. I shall fight hard to remember the value of human life." He leaned back on the tree and closed his eyes. "That is all I ask out of the great evil black wizard, Zeref!" Amell winked at him with a cheeky smile. His new friend and fellow immortal shook his head followed by a small chuckle. "I can''t remember the last time I had a conversation with someone that truly understand." "And here you went along and bragged about how great memory you have. Was that all talk, you little rascal." "You''re right, I do remember. Over a hundred years ago, with Mavis Vermillion. She understood me with just a gaze." Zeref''s sorrow came rushing back. "I know, she had that eerie ability to completely look through you with just one glance. Might have been that which made her such a good friend. Or lover, in your case." Amell winked again and earned himself another chuckle from the black wizard. "I don''t know what you talking about," Zeref said calmly. "Of course you don''t. Beautiful place you picked to hide in, I must say." The trees combined with the bright sunlight created a truly holy landscape that almost rivalled Paradise Island. "I quite like it, it soothes me." "And Mavis residual magic in this land brings back great memories." Amell did as Zeref and leaned back against the tree. "Stop talking and enjoy the quiet!" Zeref said to Amell. "Fine, this is the last time I will visit, you grump old man," And so silence reigned supreme as they both sat and enjoyed the quiet together with the healthy breeze coming through from the sea. --------------------------------------------- End Chapter 242 - Return To Ishgar {20} Strauss Siblings Struggle After Amell had left the siblings with his little rock golem they made their way inside the city with the help of that golem. They passed hundreds of people who most of the time greeted them with one of two reactions. One was awe as they assumed them to be young wizards thanks to the golem, the other one was of worry for seeing three kids walking alone through a big city. Mira tried putting on her distant and unfriendly attitude to warrant off anyone wanting to talk to them or ask them questions, but the more people stared the more nervous she got. The gazes were penetrating her and they made her feel as if they could see the true monster underneath her skin that she still believed she was. The other two Strauss siblings never even seemed to register that people were looking at them weirdly. They walked after Mira with adorable happy expressions as they had never seen a city so pretty, or a canal running through a city before. Magnolia had already successfully charmed their childish minds. Beyond missing Amell, Lisanna and Elfman had no worries. After walking for an indefinite amount of time they saw a large building that didn''t really fit in with the rest of the architecture in this city. The city was mostly dressed in one colour, but this particular building was colourful and oddly enough the walls and roof seemed to generate life. Mira couldn''t explain the phenomenon, but she felt as if the whole building was one big organism that was alive and breathing life. On the front of the building hung a great big sign that read [Fairy Tail]. Mira swallowed nervously and her breathing started becoming faster the longer she stood and watched the building. "Is that it, Mira?" Elfman said and pointed at the colourful building. She stroked his cheek and nodded, "Yeah, that''s it," she stopped hesitating and grabbed her sibling''s hands and started walking towards the building. In front of the doors to the building stood the golem in waiting. After they reached where it was, it turned from their direction and placed its rock stump-like hands against the doors and swung them open. Inside the building things were lively and people stood on tables and chairs and screaming at each other. Two kids over by some tables prepared to start throwing magic at each other. In another corner, a little red-haired girl sat eating cake with a satisfied expression. On top, the counter farthest into the building sat a middle-aged looking man. He was shorter than most kids in the guild and he was swaying back and forth from all the alcohol he had consumed. When the doors opened, only a few people inside the guild paid attention to it. The short old man was one of them, together with the blond mean-looking kid that sat next to him on one of the stools by the counter. The golem didn''t hesitate, it walked through all the chaos and up to the counter where it stopped. "Who are you, little friend?" The old man asked drunkenly. The golem pointed at the Strauss siblings then fell apart and from the broken down pieces of its body it spelt the words "Take care of them, they need a home" on the floor. "Whoah, that''s weird!" Said a blue-haired elder looking man as he came walking up to his guild master. "You know anything I don''t?" He asked the short guild master of Fairy Tail. Makarov, the drunk little master shook his head and looked at the siblings. "You three, come here!" His voice loud enough to stop the others fights and whatnot. They all started noticing that three kids now stood in the doorway of the guild. Mira while holding the hands of her siblings walked up towards Makarov under the curious gazes of everyone inside the guild. She looked into the eyes of the blonde boy first then looked at Makarov, the guild master. "Who are you?" He asked and his tone wasn''t that of a drunk any longer. He scanned the siblings and managed to pick up on a small amount of evil magic lingering around the oldest girl. He frowned at that since the evil she radiated was genuine. "Mirajane and this is Lisanna and Elfman. We are here to join your guild." Mira tried talking with as much confidence she could muster, but her voice was still a slight bit shaken from her emotions regarding Amell''s leave. "Join us? Those two aren''t even wizards!" The blonde boy said disdainfully. He didn''t mind Mira since she actually radiated quite a lot magic power for someone so young, but the other two he already disliked since they looked about a naive as they come. "Laxus, quiet down!" Makarov said sternly. "Tell me, Mirajane, who created that golem?" He pointed at the letters on the ground. "The old man did it." She answered. She didn''t know how much she should reveal about him to these people. Even though he trusted them, she definitely didn''t. "What is his name if you don''t mind me asking?" Makarov was very interesting in this old man. Mira didn''t like to be put on the spot, but she understood why they wanted to know about the old man. "A..." Suddenly she caught herself in a very awkward position. She couldn''t remember his name. She knew it began with an A, but she had no clue what came after. He had only mentioned his name a few times, and every time she had been busy thinking about something else. She glanced back at her siblings, but they shook their heads at her. "W-We have always called him, old man. I d-don''t know what his name is." Her cheeks started to become red from embarrassment. Laxus sneered at her and smiled arrogantly, "Can''t even remember a name, how do you expect to become a powerful wizard?" He chuckled a little to himself. "Shut up, idiot!" Mira yelled out without thinking, it was her hot-blooded attitude that came into play. She didn''t like Laxus, and now she was definitely sure she didn''t like him. "What''d you say!?" Laxus jumped down from the stool and walked right up to Mira. "Say that again, I dare you!" He was inches away from her with his magic power starting to rise. In the corner of the room, a pink-haired boy wore a smile and yelled, "A FIGHT! GO LAXUS!!" He waved his arms around like a fool. A young red-haired girl stepped between them before things escalated, "Calm down, both of you! Laxus go cool off!" Her tone was commanding and her attitude that of an adult more than a child that she was. "Erza, reliable as always," Makarov said with a smile. "Mirajane, anything else you can tell me about your old man?" Mira blushed at the question and pointed her finger at the guild master, "He is not MY old man! He is A old man that took us in for a few days, don''t EVER make that mistake again!" She was fuming with anger on the surface, but deep inside she was both happy and embarrassed for reasons she couldn''t quite understand. "Oh my, I understand. Won''t happen again, I promise!" Makarov placed his hand above his heart and promised. "Do you know if he''s coming here anytime?" "Yeah, he said he would come when the current goal for his journey was accomplished or something. I don''t know when that is though." "Alright then, well, I see no reason you can''t join us. Do you have any money for housing and food?" Makarov asked. "yeah, the old man gave us some and he said it should last us an entire year in this city." "That''s good. Then I welcome you to the guild Mirajane, Lisanna and Elfman Strauss. LET''S DRINK TO THAT!" Makarov yelled, and what followed was a great, cheerful and incredibly loud yelling competition between everyone inside the guild. ''A guild, huh," Mira said to herself. ----------------------------------- End Chapter 243 - Return To Ishgar {21} An unexpected Encounter Four days had passed since Amell visited Tenrou Island. He stayed with Zeref for three days, talking and discussing the past and the future of this world. They became great friends during his stay, especially since Amell was the only one who could be around him without being hurt by his black magic. Usually, their talks consisted of Amell teasing Zeref for anything and everything. He also dug into Zeref''s history and told him a little about his brother and the state of the world. He had since then moved on and started another search around Ishgar. What was he searching for? Talented wizards, children with great potential for magic. He didn''t want to take control of this world, he wanted to preserve it, so that was why he was searching around for talented people he could recruit. He didn''t set a deadline for himself on this either. He didn''t care if it would take twenty years to complete his group, he was enjoying just travelling around the world. Amell was travelling through a chain of mountains on the west side of Ishgar. The clock had just struck noon and the sky was clear and gave way for the sun to illuminate the world. As he was walking on the shabby and thin mountain pass, his eyes spotted a girl in the distance coming towards him. She was staring down on the ground but was walking with steady and confident steps. When the distance between them shortened a little more she looked up at him. Amell saw strange markings on her face, her eyes looked both dead and alive at the same time. She stopped walking, and so did Amell. She tilted her head to the side. "You have a lot of magic power." A monotone voice sounded out from her. "Quite the understatement, but sure, you''re right." Amell didn''t just have "a lot" of magic power. To put things into perspective, he didn''t need to release half his magic power to split this world in two. His magic power was quite literally, world-destroying. "I need to take that!" She raised her finger and pointed at him. As soon as she did, he felt the same thing he felt when Zeref used his black magic. Amell shook his head and chuckled, "So, you''re the White wizard." After seeing his casual attitude and noticing her magic wasn''t working she grew angry and lost her apathetic approach. "Why isn''t it working on you?" She lowered her finger. She wasn''t insane so when her White magic wasn''t working she stopped trying to use it. "Simple. White magic is the same as black magic, and well, all magic in this world. To put this as simply as possible for you, my control of magic is better than yours, and I control a more fundamental force than you. And also, my soul is thousands if not millions of times stronger than yours so there is just no way magic from this weak world can affect me." "Who are you?" The White wizard took a small step back. "Portgas D Amell. But I''m sure you know me. From what I''ve heard, your little cult has been searching for me since its creation." Amell stood with his hand behind his back with a gentle smile. "Indeed. Though you proved to be a lot more trouble than I thought it won''t stop me from wiping out your entire existence!" The White wizard was very powerful and possessed incredible magic power, but compared to someone as strong as Amell, she could steal magic power from everyone on this planet and not even be close to him. "I have another option, would you like to just sit down and listen for a minute or two?" Amell created a chair out of rock behind her and one behind him. "Sit down, please," He sat down on his chair and waited for her to do the same. "You have two minutes." She sat down as he asked. "Here is the truth. You will never defeat me, nor take my magic power. It can not be done, it is the definition of impossible. So, instead of dying needlessly to me, join me instead. Joining me is the only way you survive because I can kill you anytime from anywhere on this earth." "Are you going to kill me if I refuse?" "Yes, I could. I could kill you right here on this mountain and end the reign of the White wizard. Then I would steal every memory you have, find the location of your cult and slaughter them all with no exception. Or, I could seal away your soul forever and free that poor girl you have taken over" Amell spoke cruel words, but his visible red aura was scarier than anything the White wizard had ever seen. She knew he had lived for a very long time, and the longer you live, the less second chances you give out. She finally nodded to him, "I accept, I will join you." "Good choice, you might just stay alive long enough to see the end of this era and the start of the next one." "Answer me this. What is your goal? I joined you, so I won''t hunt you down anymore, but I will still turn this world into white nothingness." Her tone was very cold and her expression stoic. "That you will not do! I am gathering talent from all over the world for no other reason than to preserve the peace we have now. You are now a part of that, and that means you take orders from me and only me." His magic power spiked and the whole mountain started shaking from the sudden release of his magic. "Your choice will be whether you want to be a good girl and follow orders, or refuse to and die because of it. You need to understand that you have no free will anymore. You said yes to joining me, and until I can trust you, you will have no free will of any kind. Now go to sleep and let the girl out." Amell snapped his fingers and the White wizard "fell asleep". Again, she woke up, but this time as a timid little girl. "Did you hear all that was said?" He asked her. She didn''t respond with words, only a timid nod. This girl was the unwilling host to the White wizard, her alternate personality, and whenever it came out, she went to "sleep", but could still perceive voices and some images of what the White wizard said and saw. "What is your name?" "Touka," The girl said in an innocent voice. She displayed a genuine fear of Amell. She had unconsciously leaned back against the chair to try and create some extra distance between them. ------------------------------------- End Chapter 244 - Return To Ishgar {22} How To Save A Life[1] After the successful recruitment of the White wizard, the adventure continued west. With no direct goal in mind and no urgency for progress, Touka could feel the White wizard''s anger starting to rise. Thankfully Toua was quite strong-willed, so her alternate personality couldn''t "wake up" that easily. "Master, where exactly is it we''re going?" Touka started using Master as a form of formality, and Amell didn''t seem to mind her doing it so she continued going with it. "Well, Touka, right now we are enjoying this beautiful mountain view." He pointed out toward the land. Up here on this mountain road, they could see the land stretch all the way to the horizon and beyond. Touka also agreed that it was beautiful, but she was in agreement with the White wizard. She disliked not knowing what comes next, what plans Amell have. She knew she was part of a group of future powerhouses, and that right now she is the only member, Nothing else was known to her and she didn''t like that at all. "If I may, who are we recruiting next?" She didn''t wanna sound rude so she asked with as soft a tone as she could muster. "No clue, I will know when I see them." Amell didn''t bother explaining anything else. Whatever Touka said or did, he didn''t make a big deal out of it. If she needed rest, they rested no matter where they were. If she had questions he always answered. This continued for days until finally, they left the mountain chain. They arrived outside a forest that had started showing signs of this summer''s end. The forest was beautiful with some leaves having already turned a little orange in colour. The evening wind sang its mesmerizing tune as it whistled through the leaves in the trees and the grass on the ground. Touka glanced up and witnessed a squirrel leap from one branch to another with one smooth motion. She next turned her gaze to Amell in hope that now finally his thought process would be known to her. "Have you ever come across a forest so alive and so beautiful? People of today have forgotten the simple concept of appreciation. How can you look upon this forest and feel the need to destroy it?" A leaf drifting through the wind found itself on his open palm after being guided by the gentle breeze. Touka could see the beauty in the colours of this forest. She could admit to even enjoy the breeze, but she could not relate to how Amell romanticized this place. He clearly saw something she didn''t and she didn''t intend to see it, nor did she even want to do that. "Can you please just tell me where we are going? I am pretty damn sure you know exactly where we are going, I refuse to believe you don''t have a plan in mind!" Her tone harsh, and her eyes started showing small signs of changing. She managed to suppress it before the White wizard took over completely. "Look who finally grew enough backbone to talk back to me." Amell let go of the leaf and it continued on its way still being guided by the breeze. "You are right, I do have a plan. We are here to look at someone that might have the potential of joining us." "You feel like inviting me into the light of knowledge?" Touka wanted to punch him in the face as his attitude went completely against her straight up and honest approach to life. "A group of mages are here to recruit a little girl to their cause. We will take her in first, she has darkness in her heart and she has a wrong outlook on life and I want to change that." Amell''s words made Touka''s opinion on him change a little. "So you''re not just a heartless old man," She nodded with a smile at this revelation. "After recruiting her I will show her the proper outlook of life." He did a dramatic pause for extra effect, "Destruction of everything!" He yelled loudly and performed a clich¨¦ evil laugh. Touka facepalmed herself so hard it left a large hand imprint on her entire face. "You stupid, old man!!" She marched into the forest in frustration. She just wanted to escape the sight of Amell. He slowly stopped laughing and tilted his head, "I was only joking!" He said and followed after her. Inside the forest, the atmosphere and feeling were entirely different than just standing outside of it. "If this girl lives in this place it''s no wonder that she is depressed or whatnot. I have been here for five minutes and I already wanna kill myself!" "Don''t be like that, Touka, this forest has charm." "My toenail has more charm than this place." Touka was walking in front of Amell, and suddenly in the distance, an explosion was heard and the shockwave sent a small body flying that crashed into a tree a little bit behind Amell. "Looks like we found her!" He said and glanced back at the white-haired girl struggling to get up. ----------------------------------- End Chapter 245 - Return To Ishgar {23} How To Save A Life [2] "Is that girl our next member?" Touka asked and observed the small child. "Yes, and it appears that she met some friends." Their voices drew the girls attention and she looked over at them in fear and hatred. "What do you people want with me? I just wanna live peacefully here in my home!" She said. "How mistaken you are. We are not with them. We are just here to talk to you, would you please stay and listen to what we have to say?" Amell''s voice was calm, but the girl didn''t have time to react to him as a group of people appeared behind them. Their group was made up of one adult male and the rest of them were children, and some of them looked to be in their early teen years. "The girl belongs to me!" A man with strange tattoos on his face said. "Oh? Do you?" Amell turned to the girl in question. "Of course not! He is trying to kill me!" "Don''t you hate it when that happens. I feel for you, what monster would do something like that?" Beside him, Touka lost her cool and she flew up in rage. "Who? WHO? YOU, YOU WOULD DO THAT!" She yelled and her magic power was released. "What power! Who are you, girl?" The strange tattooed man asked Touka. "His possession. Not by my own choice!" She said and pointed at Amell. He reacted strongly and hit her lightly on the head. "Don''t say it like that. Saying it like that makes it sound a lot more perverted than it is." "When you go to prison for kidnapping, I''ll make sure everyone knows what you do to the kids you take away forcefully." Touka was still very angry so she didn''t care about what she was saying. "Everyone, let''s calm down! I just came here to save a life. You can leave now, I got this under control." Amell said to the tattooed man. As imagined, he didn''t take kindly to that. "I will kill you, weakling!" He said loudly and raised the skull staff he had in hand. "I said Leave!" Amell waved his hand and the man, together with his group got swallowed by a shadow and disappeared. "WHAT DID YOU DO?!" The girl freaked out and yelled while pointing at the spot where the giant shadow had risen and swallowed the group that assaulted her. "I sent them across the continent. It will take them a month to get here with a horse, so forget about them now." Amell turned his attention to her. "Briar, that is your name, no?" "That''s right! What do you want, kidnapper?" Briar asked. Amell smacked his forehead and sighed. "Do not listen to this troublemaker here, she is just a little moody. I am not a kidnapper of any kind. I came with an offer, and you can refuse if you want." "O-Okay, what is it?" Briar asked with scepticism. "An invitation to the strongest group of mages in the world." His words somewhat captivated her, as her dream was to become a great and powerful wizard. "I don''t know any magic!" Briar said and a saddened expression was visible on her face. "Not to worry, kid. The group only has the two of us in it so far." He gestured to Touka and himself. "She is quite useful when she wants to be, and I am really powerful. You saw what I did to that powerful man with just a wave of my hand." "C-Could I do that with shadows?" She asked timidly. "Do you want to learn to control shadows?" "Very much! I want to be a powerful wizard. Can I?" Her voice grew more confident and she was getting louder as every word left her mouth. "Of course, if you join us I can teach you magic so powerful they would need armies of wizards to defeat you." Amell''s words were to her like candy was to kids on Halloween. "I-I''ll join you! Just make me strong!!" She said with determination. Amell nodded in satisfaction, "Fantastic! You just made the best decision of your life, little Briar." He started laughing and his laughter worked wonders in easing the tension in the air. Briar looked up at him with some uncertainty evident in her behaviour. "What exactly did I join? I want to be strong and all but what will I need to do?" Touka jumped in immediately and said. "You joined his slave harem of young girls." Her comment earned her a great knock on the head from Amell. "Do not let this little one poison your mind, little Briar. I ascertain young wizards with amazing potential and train them so they can stand at the top one day." Amell looked trustworthy and his aura was powerful and calm so Brair found more comfort with his words rather than Touka. "So what now?" Briar asked while moving towards Amell because Touka creeped her out. "We move West. There are unexplored continents everywhere, and this world is massive. We are going on a true adventure. Firstly though, we need to locate our other members." "Alright!" Briar nodded and shook off the creeping feeling that came from Toukas stare. -------------------------------------- End Chapter 246 - Return To Ishgar {24} Let Me Follow Your Light The eerie silence, darkened down middays and deadly, free-roaming magical beasts. This was among the many things Briar''s home had in common with the cursed forests you read about in children''s storybooks. For as long as she could remember, this was all she had ever known, which was why it felt so strange to have someone look upon her body with not greed nor hunger. This happened to be the case with her new master, someone not forcefully claiming possession of her, but giving her his word that she will become something great if she follows him. This remained to be seen. Maybe it was all lies to get another powerful subordinate he could treat as a slave, she wasn''t sure, yet the strangest feeling inside of her told her it was not so. Her body and mind spoke to her, and they said his intentions were indeed true and pure of perverse thoughts unlike what the white-haired girl had suggested. She was lost in the endless maze that existed within her mind, she only snapped out of it when the voice of her master was heard. "Yes, master?" She looked up at him when her name was addressed by his mighty voice. "What kind of magic interests you?" His question forced her heart to skip a beat. This was it, the moment she waited for, the true beginning of her new life. How was it that she had dreamt of this moment for all her life, yet when faced with the question of limitless power, she had only four words to answer him with. "I don''t know, master!" How it angered her that this great and powerful wizard held her only known way to possess magic, yet here she was, with nothing to contribute. Was she a failure? Had she, a homeless, talentless, young girl in just three hours thrown away the only way out of this hell-hole she had lived in for all her conscious life. It infuriated her. "I see." He never stopped to look back at her, he didn''t seem displeased, nor surprised about her answer. ''Was he expecting me to not know?'' Briar asked herself while noting how this eerie and dangerous forest no longer frightened her. Her master shone with a never-before-seen godly light, albeit that might just be her imagination as the light disappeared after she gave her eyes a quick and careless rub. "Briar, I do not have to see into your eyes to sense the insecurity within you. The eyes are the only known windows of the soul of a person. Yet, right now, I don''t have to study them to discern very clearly what your soul is crying out." "I don''t understand what that means, master!" Insecurity, she had plenty of that, and that she was painfully aware of. For years, she had tried masking it with the exact opposite attitude but had yielded her very few positive results. Now, for the first time, she had met someone that spared a single glance and saw her entire self. How could she compare to that? Amell''s presence suffocated her as for every second that went by, his godlike figure grew brighter in her eyes, and that light blinded her and smothered her presence. "It means you do not have to lie to me. You are not allowed to. I am your master, the moment you accepted my offer, you became someone I would give my life to protect. I am naive and stupid like that." Amell finally stopped and slowly turned around. Briar took a step back as the light coming off him took over and Amell stood as a simple black outlining among the blinding light. ''Master, how can I compare?'' She fell slowly on her knees with tears streaming down her face. Amell bent down in front of her and placed a hand upon her shoulder, causing a shiver to run up her spine. "What is your deepest desire? Tell me!" ''My desire?'' Briar had a wish, she had a desire. Was it among the most selfish desires she could wish for? Yes, it was, that is what she believed. She placed her doubts in a box and took a deep breath. Now came the moment that would determine her whole future. Would she be left in this forest for offending him, or would he grant her wish and give her eternal happiness? "My desire, master... It is to live in your light! I want to wield your light like a spear and strike down your enemies. Please grant me this wish!" Her heart was at the risk of failing her because of how fast it was beating at this moment. The silence lasted for at most three seconds, but a whole decade had passed her by. She had seen the next ten years alone in this forest, no friends, no enemies, no weakness, no strength. No nothing. Without the light of her master, she saw the absolute nothingness between the lands of living and dead. The three seconds were up and Amell''s lips started forming to sound out the first letter of the word that would pull her out of nothingness and place her in everything. "Granted! I shall grant you the mastery of light." ------------------------------------- End Chapter 247 - Return To Ishgar {25} What Doesnt Kill You Makes You Stronger "Master, can I truly be granted such a selfish request?" She had never belonged anywhere, and she had never had an easy day in her life, it was but a miracle that this little girl still had her life intact and that her mind was not gone. "Of course. As your master, is it not my duty to grant you power? You don''t need to be so apprehensive about this." He saw that she wasn''t letting down her guard. "Briar, I know that you have had a tough life, and your guarded personality is understandable, but you don''t have to think like that anymore. Changing such a thing about yourself takes time, so when times get rough, lean on me and let me help." When you have five hundred years worth of life experience, if nothing else, you gain a lot of patience. Amell was the ideal person to help break down these mental barriers. He had all the time in the world and amazing tolerance to this specific problem. "Thank you!" Her voice was weak and quiet, and as she sat on the ground she was silently weeping away the sorrow of yesterday and welcoming the comfort of tomorrow. Amell smiled and confirmed their location through a quick glance around. "Get up! This is where we shall make camp tonight." They had arrived in a dimly lit clearing in this cursed forest. This was among the three or four places in this forest where the fog was quite weak, so the sun could penetrate the fog and shine some much-needed light on this land. "I thought we were leaving the forest behind finally!" With the White wizard under raps, Amell received a decent look into the true personality of Touka. When after many days of travelling together, Touka revealed her personality to be nothing like the shy girl under control of the White wizard. Maybe more spirited than the young Mirajane Strauss. "If you want to leave, you are more than welcome to!" Amell smiled, knowing she acted this tough to simply prove a point. Would he offer her freedom through his next set of words, he was confident she would choose this group instead. "And where do you suppose I should go? I''m wanted on multiple continents." "Now, what is this? A week ago you would not have given such lame excuses. Can it be that this group, this already friendly environment is starting to attract the great and scary White wizard?" Amell said and his words prompt a reaction from Touka. Her expression went stoic and the air got heavy and thick due to her entire aura being released at once. "Do not presume to know who I am!" She raised a finger against Briar. "No one stands in my way!" Before her white magic activated, Amell reached out and flicked her forehead, forcing the White wizard back to sleep again. "We will have to work on your control. I promise if you stay with me, I will teach you how to control the White wizard." Amell said in comfort. Clearly Touka didn''t quite believe him as she glanced up at him in doubt. "What would you even know about it? All you did was put it to sleep. The White wizard always comes back, no matter what!" "What I know?" Amell''s aura was released and his eyes started glowing red, much like Aang when entering the Avatar state. The wind picked up and started leaving small cuts on every surface around them. Pure evil was the feeling rising from within Amell. A dark red, visible energy stared appearing with its source being Amell himself. "I have something similar within myself, and as you can see, I am in full control." His voice represented the epitome of darkness, his aura alone forced Touka''s breathing to slow down dramatically. On the other hand, Briar was staring at Amell while the gears in her head started to break apart, one by one. "If I say I can help you control it, I mean I can and will help you control it." Amell''s eyes stopped glowing and Vaatu''s aura was retracted again. Peace returned to the area. "I had no idea you had that evil inside of you." Touka was trying to regulate her breathing while contemplating her future. It was starting to look a little brighter, and it swayed her to think over her options once again. "Evil comes in different shapes and sizes. What differentiates the evil inside of us is our ability to combat it," Amell placed a hand on Touka''s head to help her calm down her raging mind. "An angry mind is a narrow mind. Anger can inspire great change in you but don''t ever let it control you or become the sole driving force that''s keeping you going." "Okay, enough with the life lesson, old man!" She slapped his hand away, "Shouldn''t you start teaching her magic now? Wasn''t that the reason why we''re stopping here in this depressing forest?" Her attempt to divert attention away from her worked beautifully as Briar''s eyes lit up in excitement. "Indeed, that is the reason." He turned to Briar, "Come with me, we will start with the basics." He took Briar and walked to the medium-sized empty plot of land inside this clearing. Touka was left standing with feelings of uncertainty dominating her mindscape. ''Maybe I have a future as well?'' She was still apprehensive about trying to control the White wizard. --------------------------------------------------------- End Chapter 248 - Return To Ishgar {26} The Cult Of Amell As the saying goes. No rest for the wicked. Briar was shown the wickedness of her master during all hours of the day. He barely let her rest during their training. He wanted to hammer in her training as part of her daily routine, and the first few weeks are the time where the person is most likely to give up. Amell would not allow that to happen, so to prevent that, a wicked training regime straight out of hell was made for her. The group was still within the forest despite it having been a few days since Briar and Amell''s training began. She was resting against a tree after having taken a relaxing bath in a nearby river. "I wish master would be more gentle with me. I know I asked for this, but I feel like I''m dying." She had gotten into habit to often talk with the celestial bodies shining in the sky. They offered her comfort on some level. A comfort that was different from the one her master gave her. She felt physically safe with him, but she felt her entire being wrapped in a blanket of warm tranquillity whenever she rested her gaze on those celestial wonders. "What happened to your fanatic faith? you''re not much of a worshipper if you lost it just over a couple of days." Touka sat on the branch above her while also gazing at the stars. "What''s a fanatic?" Briar was young and naive. She had lived isolated most of her life, it wasn''t weird that there were things unfamiliar to her. "Someone with strong faith." "Am I that? I do have faith in the master. I believe with all my heart that he can bring me to where I need to be. Am I a fanatic?" "Would you kill for him?" Touka landed in front of Briar with a wonderous look on her face. "Probably yes. If someone threatened him, or us, I would." Briar just tilted her head. In her world, you killed or you were the one getting killed. If you had something precious then you should kill to protect it. "Congratulations! You are a fanatic!" Touka delivered the news gladly, and taking great pleasure in knowing Briar didn''t understand the context. "Thanks!" Briar said with hesitation. "Is it good to be a fanatic?" "What''s going on here?" Amell said as he came striding in with a solemn expression. "Touka was just telling me about how I am a... mmm" Touka used her hands to cover Briar''s mouth, stopping her from dooming the mischievous lady in white. Amell waved his finger and Touka''s hands were forcefully removed. "Told you what?" He glared at Touka as a way to silently say, stay still. "How I am your fanatic. Supposedly it is a good thing." "Touka, I wish you would stop teaching her these things. You are not even giving her the full context, are you?" "Is it not a good thing?" Briar hung her head. "It''s not that easy, young Briar. You are no fanatic. Not within the context of the human concept. You might be your own version of it, so don''t let this troublemaker tell you any lies. Fanatics are quite notorious for doing anything for their belief, things one would consider very barbaric. If you are a fanatic, you are most certainly the best kind." Amell smiled as he whispered threats into Touka''s mind. "So, I should call myself a fanatic then?" "No, I rather you wouldn''t. This world''s humans aren''t too fond of fanatics. Especially ones wielding ancient and powerful magic." "My light is powerful?" Briar opened her palm and a tiny light appeared within. "Definitely. You can''t imagine how angry my wife would be with me if I told her I armed a little girl with this sort of firepower." He had a little mischievous smile on his face. Now that he was without any of his prior responsibilities he wanted to take advantage of that. Why not arm some clueless and innocent girl with world-destroying magic. What could possibly go wrong? "You have a wife?" Touka turned around to face him in utter disbelief. "Who was stupid enough to marry you?" She genuinely couldn''t believe it existed someone that could put up with his behaviour day out and day in. "The best woman in the universe. You should meet her, so she can teach you some manners." Amell waved his finger and Touka fell down on her behind. A small wind blast had knocked her down. "Back at ya! Aren''t you the one failing as a teacher if your student neglects proper manners?" "You are just calling yourself ill-mannered. I''m fine with that." Amell put down a hare he had caught. "Dinner. Touka, as punishment for disrespecting your teacher I am giving you the duty of preparing us a meal." "I don''t know how!" "Then ask Briar for help. She surely knows how to do it, and while you''re at it, maybe she can teach you some table manner as well. That is something you also lack." "Fine! Come here, brat!" Touka took the hare walked away to make a fire. Briar followed eagerly behind. "I missed this," Amell fell down on the grass with a sigh. "Travelling, exploring. Discovering new things. Maybe when all the kids are fully grown up and strong enough on their own, I and Sylvia can go on a millennia-long quest out in the universe. How wonderful that would be, to simply explore the endless expanse beyond even my reach." -------------------------------------- End Chapter 249 - MAJOR Writers Block The title tells the gist of it. I decided to release every chapter I have in stock because I have a problem with the writing process that I need some help with. So, if you''re sitting there and wondering why the author just exploded... Then please read the rest of this! There is only one reason! I have lost all motivation/ideas for this story. The more I think about it, the surer I become that I should have ended it after One Piece. Because as it stands now, I have absolutely no idea what to write. It''s like I lost it all! The more time I go without writing, the harder it becomes, and whenever I sit down to write, I get nothing... And, this is where you people come in (hopefully). I started writing this Fairy tail volume because so many people longed for that Cana meeting, etc... But, I have no idea where to take things from here. That''s why I''m gonna ask you fine folk to help me if this story is to continue... Please donate to my ******* to see this story through!!! JK For real this time! I would very much appreciate it if you could tell me what you''d like to see in this story from now on. I know I preach a lot about never taking advice from readers because that will mess up the flow and whatnot. But, I''m at the end of my rope here. I have no idea what to write, and I suspect if I don''t write something soon, I''m gonna lose all motivation I have and just end the story where it is now, which is disappointing to say the lease. Please leave any advice/suggestions on where to take this story or I''m just gonna end it. Because I realize I will never finish this alone. It''s simply impossible for me to do! Love, Vallori Chapter 250 - Update! Please Read! I have now been sitting an entire day going through your comments and contemplating how to move forward from here. But, before we get into that! I want to thank all of you that gave me suggestions and advice on how to move forward. Also, to everyone who left really nice comments. It warmed my pure angelic, and innocent heart! Give yourself a big hand! *clap* *clap* *clap* Now, down to business! This novel will continue through Fairy Tail. Your comments sprung some idea inside of me to life and I have just finished planning the rest of Fairy Tail. Might take a while, but it''s coming back! As for the future, hear me out and let me know your thoughts! (BIG RANT COMING UP! PLEASE BEAR WITH IT) While writing the One Piece volume I was so focused on just ending it, getting chapters out, daily even hourly, just to end it. I was so convinced ending this novel would fix something (even though nothing was wrong.) I just felt burned out, and now a few days after (and having read your comments) I realized I was burned out because of my obsession with ending the One Piece volume. This was the result of the burnout and not the fact that I was tired of writing this novel. I actually really enjoy writing this, especially now when newfound energy seemed to have sprung to life inside of me. Don''t know where that came from. But, herein also lies the issue. I know most of you tell me my novel has infinite potential and novels like mine can go on for 1000+ chapters (We do have evidence of that. Not gonna name drop) No matter what your novel is about. If it''s about handling your ridiculous harem of 100+ girls or whatnot. Or about an OP MC going world to world doing whatever pleases their minds. These things do get VERY repetitive after a while. The only reason mine haven''t yet is for the fact that it is only 200 chaps and I have the family, the empire etc. These things will get boring eventually (I''m sure). So, I actually don''t mind continuing this novel. But, I also really wanna finish my other novel. (Living without regret) I wanna rewrite that because that story truly has amazing potential and I loved the idea I had going there. (Sorry for the rant!) This is the part where you come in again (hopefully). I am gonna startup (living without regret). I am a MUCH better author now than when I first started writing that, so I will rewrite it and change most things about it (for the better). The question is. Would you like this novel to continue as a side project? This whole rant is just about if you want this to continue. I don''t mind writing the occasional chapter after Fairy tail is over, but I''m afraid going for 1000+ chapters will make this novel incredibly boring to read. Look at most other novels above 1000. Aren''t they just the same things over and over again. MGA for example! I know this is not like MGA, just putting an example out there. Fighting the same kind of villain, keeping track of your massive harem (In Amell''s case, keeping track of his massive family). I don''t know many novels that can still go strong with integrity even after 500 chapters. Tell me about your thoughts. I haven''t read a lot of long-running novels, so let me know your thoughts about that as well. Also, I saw some of you commenting about a discord server. I am gonna link it here, and in the comments (Also in the synopsis for the novel.) I''m gonna be active on that server ones again, and if you have any questions about it, seek out "Kul" if you see him in the comments. He is an admin on my discord (Yes, I name-dropped you, Kul! Deal with it) Any thoughts you have, leave it down below. I would like as many of you to comment as possible. if you have read, Living without regret. Let me know your thoughts about it. If you have an idea for this one. Let me know as well. And, if you want to chat more easily, join my discord, I''ll try to be active as much as possible. ( https://discord.gg/wNu39f ) Chapter 251 - Return To Ishgar {27} Old Friends Bring Forth Old Memories Still, within the cursed forest, the training with the girls was proceeding smoothly. Briar with her ancient light magic proved every day why Amell made the right choice in choosing her. These ancient magics were almost completely forgotten from the world, and all of the ancient magics Amell knew off were notoriously difficult to master. This one was a little different in the sense that Amell created it specifically for Briar. He had based this magic off of how Admiral Kizaru''s devil fruit worked. Though, since this was magic and not a devil fruit, Briar had what could be perceived as a devil fruit without any limits or flaws in the design. This came at the cost of burning a lot of magic to use. Briar was practising her magic with Amell standing at his usual spot watching over her. Touka was sitting on a branch above him fiddling with a coin. She had been apprehensive towards training so all she did day and night was watching how Briar improved in her field of magic. "Don''t stress the process, Briar. Moving as light particles take a lot of practice. First, make sure you can transform your limbs one at a time, then after that, we will work on more advanced moves." "Master, will I really be able to become light? Are you sure I won''t just lose my body?" The forest was dark and dim at this time of day, so Briar could barely see Amell, and Touka was completely out of sight. This was also part of the training for training the young girl''s awareness. "You won''t. I designed this magic so it won''t be harmful if you follow my instructions. What your doing is similar to teleportation magic, with proper training it''s not harmful at all." Scepticism was running high in the girl''s mind, but she trusted Amell so she closed her eyes and concentrated. Slowly, her right hand started turning itself into light particles that floated in the place where her hand used to be. This state remained for four seconds before it reverted. "Very good! How are you feeling?" "I feel super tired. Why am I so tired?" Briar had to sit down because she was getting weak in the knees. Touka smiled and shook her head, "Magic deficiency. You''re using what could essentially be classified as ancient magic. You are just a kid, you don''t have the magic capacity an adult has." "Touka''s right. That''s something we are gonna work on constantly. You always have to be aware of your magic, if you overuse your it then it''s into the grave with you." Amell walked up and placed a finger on Briar''s forehead and helped replenish her magic. His eyes suddenly darted in another direction and he chuckled, "We have a guest, welcome, fellow Saint." His voice rang out and from a couple of bushes walked a man looking scarily similar to an actual tree. "Fellow Saint? Do we know each other?" This man saw only the back of Amell and not the face. He also glanced up on Touka and his eyes narrowed, but ones Amell turned around, he forgot all about Touka. "Amell! O my! Am I seeing ghosts now?" He took a step back to stabilise himself after the shock that ran through him. He rubbed his eyes but Amell was still there, so he walked a little closer. "Are my eyes deceiving me? We were sure you had died. You have been gone for..." He took a second to think, "I don''t even know... A hundred years, give or take. My, my, what a surprise." Amell still hadn''t said anything. He could very well have been a ghost or a shapeshifting monster because this man answered his own question without waiting for Amell to answer. "Yes, I am real!" Amell flashed a smile and said. "Good to see you''re alive as well, Warrod. I wouldn''t have expected that." This man was, Warrod. One of the top four wizard Saints on Ishgar and a founder of Fairy Tail. "Well, yes, that is quite a surprise for me too. Here I came to investigate a strange magic signature and I never would have imagined running into you." Amell offered a handshake, but Warrod moved in for a bearhug which Amell was forced to accept. Ones they separated, Warrod looked him up and down. "You haven''t aged a day. What''s your secret?" "I never age, Warrod. Didn''t I tell you guys that way back when we were questing together?" "No, you certainly did not!" He said with a wide stare. "Though, I''m not surprised. With your amount of magic, I would be more surprised if you even can die, hahaha!" Warrod laughed so hard he tripped over his own foot and fell on the ground. "This guy is a saint? Like you, Boss?" Touka jumped down with the attitude of a hoodlum. She had her head held high and she was staring down on Warrod that was on the ground still laughing. Amell knocked her lightly on the head, "Never underestimate people. Warrod is still stronger than most mages on this continent. He is simply too humble." "I don''t know about that. I am more of the pacifist kind, I don''t like fighting." Warrod said as he got up and dusted off his knees. "Then why are you a wizard saint if you can''t even fight? Truly worthless," Touka was getting more annoyed by Warrod the more time she spent looking at him. She didn''t like his simple and straightforward personality. "Be careful there, little girl. I said I don''t like fighting, I didn''t say I wasn''t good at it." Warrod turned serious and the murderous intent in the air you could cut with a knife. Touka actually backed off, and so did Briar. "JUST KIDDING!" Warrod flashed a smile and let out another big and bright laugh. "I''m glad you haven''t changed at all, Warrod. Well, that''s not entirely true. I did hope your humour would have improved. But, after a century, it''s still this awful. That''s impressive in itself." Amell manipulated the earth and raised rock chairs for everyone to sit on. "I could say the same thing about you, Amell. You have actually become meaner than last time." Warrod sat down at the table, "So, anyway. Why are you in this forest doing what appears to be training these two?" Warrod shot glances at the two girls. Touka looked annoyed and angry as usual, while Briar stuck as close to Amell as possible, trying to almost hide behind him. "Maybe I''m starting a guild," Amell said casually. Without question, Warrrod showed prizeless expression ones again, "Surely, you are not serious. I don''t see you as a guild master." "You''re right. I''m just kidding. You could say I''m performing an experiment." "HEY! Don''t round my life up to an experiment!" Touka flicked the coin towards his head, Amell caught it with two fingers and placed in on the table. "Sorry, didn''t mean to make it sound so bad. Let me rephrase that. I am teaching snotty brats some manners." His smug smile shone brightly and Touka was almost fuming with anger. "I''m putting together a small group of mages with a lot of potential for magic. If I ever disappear for real, I want to leave this world with a legacy that I can be proud of and that can also carry on my duties." Warrod listened in seriously and when Amell was done talking he chuckled. "That sounds like you. When you joined us way back in the day, everyone always thought you were completely ice-cold, but I knew there was a kind heart sitting in that chest of yours. It makes me glad to know this world still has its guardian watching over it." "I''m not a guardian, you brat. I have family living on this continent so I do this for them and no one else. On top of that, peace was her dream, wasn''t it? I have the power to achieve that, so why not give her that." Amell and Warrod both got quiet, and the girls couldn''t understand why the sudden seriousness had descended around the table. They also didn''t know who "she" was that Amell was referring to. "Mavis would be proud of you. I am sure she would be proud over how her will has transferred from her to the kids running the guild now." Both smiled and Warrod wiped a small tear off his face. "A crybaby, some things never change," "There''s nothing wrong with shedding a few tears. There is power in emotion, you of all should be aware of this." "You don''t have to cry to show emotion." "You don''t cry because you are a cold-blooded psycho!" "No, I don''t cry because I am five-hundred years old. That''s just wasting time. If you have something to say, just say it. No need for tears!" Amell is often completely aware of people''s feelings, yet most of the time what he displays is just empathy for others suffering. Not everyone would have the honour of seeing him shed a tear. "Well, well, here I thought we were at least close in age." Warrod had a look of disappointment in his eyes, "It appears I was wrong. You have been here long before my birth and will be here long after I''m gone. The world''s future might always rest on your shoulders." "I don''t see that happening. I have these girls to look after the world ones I''m gone." Amell chose not to speak about how Warrod was misinformed. Amell had not been in this world when Warrod was born. It was only thanks to his world travelling that he was older than Warrod now. "I-I hope you don''t disappear, master." Briar still held apprehension towards Warrod, but she wasn''t afraid of him, just how he looked. His appearance was that of an actual tree, which was why she kept her distance from him. "I hope so too, but I can''t control the future." Amell was more informed than most about the multiverse and the like. That was why he wouldn''t act and talk like he would live forever. He knew he could be killed, and he knew there were beings that could kill him. He just didn''t know where they reside or if he was ever going to meet them. That''s why he liked creating these groups as legacies so his worlds would be safe for as long as possible. "Let''s get back on track," Warrod cleared his throat. "What do you and your group have planned now?" "He never tells us anything. We don''t know where we''re heading, and I am pretty sure the reason we are not leaving this forest is that he is lost." Touka said with a cheerful tone, not because she was glad but in an attempt to rile up Amell. "We are staying for a few more days, then we are going to visit two other kids. I found them when I passed by the magic council and their potential is very good. Perfect as future mages of this group." "I see. How many mages are you planning for this group?" "I have my eye on a few, but gifting ancient magic to people is a heavy responsibility." Amell smiled. "WHAT!? Do these kids wield ancient magic? Amell are you insane? Do you know what dangers they would be in if the council or the dark guilds find out you are raising ancient magic users." Warrod leaned back while rubbing his brows, "Why did I ask!" "Don''t worry, I''m protecting them." "Can you do guarantee a place of safety for them all their lives? What if a manhunt is started for their heads, are you gonna be there to protect them all the time? Amell I don''t mean to interfere in your business, but please think about these things. What would Sylvia say?" "Do not mention this to her! I''ll find you and throw you in a volcano if you do!" Amel glared at Warrod. Sylvia was about the most effective way of getting through to Amell. As his former guildmate, Warrod knew about Sylvia as did most of his friends from when he was active in Fairy Tail. "Hm, that''s true. I didn''t think about that." Amell looked at Briar and Touka, "I always have Paradise island. There they will be safe. Even if someone found their way there, that place is about as impossible as it gets to get into." "I suppose that''s true. Mavis did talk highly about it. Well, as I said, I won''t interfere in your business. It''s not my place. Just, promise that you will keep these kids safe." "You have my word. I wouldn''t do this if I didn''t have the capabilities to keep them away from harm." Amell and Warrod shook on it, and Warrod''s worries seemed appeased after that. "Should we get something to eat?" Amell threw her coin back to her and said, "Touka, take Briar and go hunt for some food. Would be good training. I will even cook it, you just have to catch it." "No takebacks! You said you''ll cook, so now that''s a promise! Come one, Briar, we''re going hunting!" Touka launched herself off her chair and disappeared into the forest with Briar in her grip. Amell turned to Warrod with a smile, "Let''s catch up while we wait for food." ------------------------------------ End Chapter 252 - Return To Ishgar {28} Cheerful Sherria As the last of the leftover dinner was being consumed by the combined might of the girls, Warrod stood up, stretched and flicked a coin at the girls, "Thanks for dinner, children." Touka caught the coin and bowed her head slightly. "You''re welcome, Sir!" After Warrod''s little intimidation joke, she had started seeing him with different eyes. She never really listened when Amell said not to ever judge by the exterior. She learned that this was the truth when she met Warrod. He was powerful, he just didn''t flaunt his strength like most other wizards did. "Hohoho, I''ll be most interested to see you when you grow up, young one." He winked at Briar which caused her cheeks to grow a little redder. She just nodded without an oral response. "And you, Touka. Take care of yourself, hope you get everything in order." Warrod lastly turned to Amell. "My old friend, I truly hope we see each other again soon. At that point, I shall buy you a drink." "And, you owe me dinner." They shook hands and Warrod went on his way. He still had a job to do here in this forest. "Girls, pack up your stuff, we are leaving soon." "Where are we going?" Briar asked. She couldn''t move at the moment, she had eaten too much food so she was going into a food-coma. "The magic council. There are two candidates there that I want to check on. Go on now, pack your things and meet me here in one hour." He disappeared and left the girls alone. After much struggle, they managed to get onto their feet and get on with their packing. ************************ In the open courtyard of the council, a rift that looked to be spawned from the chaos realm itself opened up. It wasn''t gigantic, but it was big enough for every guard that was on duty to notice it. What came after was even stranger, a little girl came skipping out of it like it was another regular Tuesday. That had the guard''s jaws hit the floor, then came to another surprise from the rift. A seconds young girl, this one a lot timider than the first. And, finally, the last one out was a large man. A gigantic man to be precise. He stepped out like he owned the place and snapped his fingers to close the rift. "This place is massive, but people are a lot weaker than I thought." Touka looked around in contempt, and she was measuring all the people she saw. The White wizard almost awoke from the collective amount of magic-powered beings working in this place. Being around Amell had been training in itself as she had to constantly push her other personality down. Compared to Amell, these mages working for the council didn''t amount to much, and that made it a little easier keeping the White wizard in check. The only problem was how many of them there were. Touka felt the calling of the White wizard deep in her soul to consume them all and take their magic. "Maybe the strong ones are not home yet," "That''s not really how the council works, Briar! The weak ones are usually the only ones to leave this place to go on missions and such." Amell saw an officer approaching so he shoved the girls behind him. "Stay back, for now, we are not here to fight them." He whispered to the girls. "Portgas D Amell! What business have you on council grounds this afternoon?" It was a high ranked officer dressed in white and blue robes. "I''m here to visit the academy." Amell''s tone made it sound like a command and not simply a request. The officer putting on a brave front had sweat running down his back. Amell was a man that could insult the entire council without suffering for it. The officer cursed his colleague who he stood in for because he was sick today. "Are you here to escort me?" "No, sir! We sensed your energy and I must handle your arrival." "Okay! I do not need a baby sitter whilst here. you can report to that council that I won''t stay long." "I''m sorry Sir, but I need to ask what your intentions are with visiting the Academy." "You do not need to do that. If the council wants to know, they will have to get off their high-horse and come down and speak with me directly. Amell signalled the girls and they walked away leaving a stunned official behind. The man cursed his luck once again. The council academy was a place where gifted wizards did magic studies. It was here, Amell knew his next candidate waited for him. When they arrived outside of the academy both girls stopped and stood in awe for a moment. The building was beautiful and there were students running around all over the yard. "You can leave me here, thanks. No more swamps or cursed woods. This is where I belong!" Touka marched away but Amell grabbed ahold of her collar. "This place is for kids, like Briar. Are you a child?" "No, but I can totally be a teacher here." "The moment they learn of your White magic they would have you behind bars. Or, the White wizard would kill them all. I don''t think that letting you stay here is such a good idea." He released his grip and she stopped struggling. "You''re right, curse this stupid white magic. When I finally get this removed I can start living my life." "I thought you didn''t want it removed, glad to see you have changed your mind." Amell gave the two girls a little push since it started looking weird with him just standing outside the academy like some sort of creep. "I can extract the White wizard at a later date, so just for now, suffer through it." Touka''s eyes started changing and familiar markings started appearing, but Amell stopped it by poking her in the back of her head. "Control yourself, Touka. Losing control here would be very annoying." "Sorry, I don''t think the White wizard enjoys the idea of being extracted. Its survival kinda depends on me." "I''m crying on the inside." Amell provided expertly timed sarcasm and continued. "Now, let''s pick up the pace a little bit." The academy building was surrounded by a lush garden with perfectly symmetrical roads through it. The building itself was a slightly modernized version of a very old building, most likely since close to the council''s founding, which was before even Amell got here. They walked through the doors and immediately, thanks to Amell''s impressive height, they caught the attention of the first teacher they came across. "Sir, I have never seen you before, what can I help you with?" A man in his what looked be the early thirties asked with a smile. In hallways this crowded, Amell couldn''t really get away without drawing attention, so a crowd of students stood all-around pretending to do other things while secretly listening in. Amell was used to this so he just focused on the teacher standing there in his white and blue council robes. "If you would be so kind, could you please point me in the direction of the principal''s office." "Use the stairs at the end of the hall then take a right at the top, then you have her office at the end of the corridor." With a little apprehension, the teacher provided the directions then went on his way. "Thank you!" Amell turned around and the girls followed closely. They weren''t nearly as used to this as he was, so the stares bothered them quite a bit. It wasn''t until they had climbed the stairs and had gotten away from the crowds that they calmed down a little. "Here we are now," Amell and the girls arrived outside the principal''s office and he knocked on the door with three solid and confident knocks. After some time they heard a mature feminine voice breached the door, granting them access. As they walked in they were greeted with the sight of an elderly woman with the most serene smile Amell had ever seen. "Welcome to my academy, Sir Amell. My name is Ava, I am the principal of this academy. What have we done to be graced with this visit?" She bowed her head low in a show of respect. She respected him quite a bit and it showed in her display of manners. "You know me by sight? I''ve learned recently that this is a rare thing nowadays even inside the council." Amell sat down in front of her desk and the girls sat down on the couch in the back. "Since your sudden appearance in front of the council members a few weeks back, most higher officials working for the council have been briefed. And, since your deal with the council still stands, your picture hasn''t been released." "I couldn''t care less about that part of the deal now. After all these years, I no longer care if people recognize me. Anyway, the fact that you know who I am saves us a lot of time. Last time I was here I sensed an incredible aura. You have a student here with absolutely extraordinary magic prowess." His words caused her to narrow her eyes a little. "I am particularly careful when it comes to my students, Sir Amell. I must ask you to explain what your intentions are here today in detail." Ava uncurled her fingers and raised her guard. If it came down to a fight, she would have no problem laying down her life for her students. "I''m not here with evil intentions, Principal Ava. The student I am talking about is a young girl, and since I always speak the truth, I won''t stop now. Her potential is wasted here and I want to take her under my wing." Since this was not what she expected, Ava was caught off-guard, and she started to fumble with her words. "I... Those two behind you. Are they your students as well?" "Yes, you can feel the magic she has. I don''t lie when I say I want to take her under my wing. My intentions are not of harm in any way." He pointed at Briar, and Ava could indeed feel how much magic she had. That amount was rare inside kids that young. "What is the name of this student?" Ava asked after a few minutes of contemplating. "I don''t know. Though, I can tell you that she is currently in the classroom below us." Amell said with a smile and Ava started to look through some papers. "That would be this class..." She strokes her finger across the paper and closed her eyes for a second, "There are a few gifted ones in that class. There is one that definitely stands out among the rest. Her name is Sherria Blendy. An orphan girl that came to us a few years ago. No one knows what had happened with her family, and the girl doesn''t talk about it much. In terms of anything magical, be it academics or practical, she aces them all. She is multiple levels above everyone here." Ava took a second to collect herself. "What you say is true, Sir Amell. What we teach her here is textbook stuff. We don''t have time or personnel to handle someone like her." "Can I meet her? I don''t force people into becoming students of mine, I always give out a choice to decline." *Cough* Touka sat on the couch with a sour expression while tapping her foot on the ground. Amell chuckled and said, "Don''t be so angry. You could have picked the other choice, and plus, you enjoy being with us." He turned to Ava again. "Can you call her up here?" "Shouldn''t be a problem. Wait here." Ava stood up and walked out of the room. She came back later, now with a girl in tow. She turned around towards the girl and spoke slowly and calmly, "Sherria, please step inside." Together with the girl, they hurried over to her desk. "I want to introduce you to someone really special." She looked at Sherria then giggled a little, "Actually, in your history class you talked about him." They all saw Sherria''s facial expression alternate between uncertainty and curiosity. "History class? Him?" Sherria pointed at Amell who raised his hand and waved with a grin. She got taken aback by how pretty she thought he was so she flashed an embarrassed smile and waved back stiffly. "We talk about a lot of people in that class. We discussed your life yesterday, Principal Ava." Sherria tilted her head and focused on studying his face. "Nope! Definitely don''t recognize him. No idea who he is!" Amell got a tired of those two talking about him like he wasn''t sitting just a few meters in front of them. He cleared his throat and spoke up. "Sherria Blendy, my name is Portgas D Amell, and I came here to talk to you." He wanted to go in for a handshake but Sherria flew back against the wall. "Whaaaaat!!" Her mouth became wide and round, and she almost managed to go through the wall by the force she slammed into it. "A-A-Amell!!" She sucked in a deep breath of air before falling to the floor staring intently at him. "YOU WERE ALIVE!?" "I apologize for miss Sherria''a rude behaviour, Sir Amell!" Ava bowed her head while simultaneously knocking the girl on her head. "No worries. I get that reaction a lot. I haven''t been an active wizard Saint in almost a hundred years or so. She''s not the first one to react like that, and she certainly won''t be the last." "ANYWAY! Can we focus here!" Sherria stood up with wide eyes, and her arms flailing around wildly. "What does a wizard legend want with me? I''m a nobody, really!" "You are not a nobody. If you would calm down a little, I will tell you why I have come here seeking you." "I am calm! As calm someone could be when talking with a historical figure I read about in my history book yesterday." Sherria''s breathing was sporadic, but her mind was definitely more mature than other kids in her age group. She was ahead of her age group in every way, which is why she handled this as well as she did. "Good! You need to be calm when I ask you what I''m about to ask you." Amell flashed a nice smile for good fortune. "I want to ask if you would be interested in becoming my student in magic. Leave this academy with me and my other students, these two behind me." Touka waved lazily and Briar with her timid attitude tried waving while looking as normal as possible. "W-W-Wha-a-at..." A stutter, then a gasp for air, and Sherria straightened out her shirt, "I don''t understand. Why would you choose me? There are so many talented wizards here." "Compared to you, there isn''t." Amell smiled and Sherria felt a small tingling in her mind. ''You can decline if you want, but these offers don''t come twice.'' "AAAHA! Y-You spoke in my mind!" She stood with her mouth agape and Ava raised an eyebrow to her sudden declaration. She looked at Amell. "You know telepathy. Impressive! Sherria, you should accept this." "What does this mean?" "I travel the land with my students as I teach them magic. That''s the gist of it. You can always decline." The atmosphere in the room managed to reach both extreme serenity and unbelievable awkwardness. Sherria was responsible for the awkwardness since she simply stood there without saying anything. "Me, travelling with the Eight Saint? HELL YES!" Sherria''s outburst was so sudden and so loud that Ava dropped her teacup and spilt hot tea over her lap. "SORRY, PRINCIPAL AVA!" Sherria bowed low and apologized over and over again but Ava dismissed it. "I just got so excited, I didn''t mean to spill your tea!" "Think nothing of it, sweetheart. Are you sure about this decision? There is no going back on this." Ava cleaned up the tea with a towel. Amell waved his hand and the spilt tea, even what was on her clothes flew back into her cup. "Wow! Can I learn to do that?!" Sherria watched the tea move like she was in a trance. " That would be so awesome!" "Maybe someday, now, as Principal Ava said, are you sure you want to become my student? There is no going back from this decision." "I''m definitely sure! My friends are gonna be so freaking jealous." "I''m sure. You should go pack your stuff now. We''re leaving in thirty minutes." Sherria moved like a lightning bolt. The door slammed behind her and Touka released a large sigh and banged her hand down on the couch. "I can already tell that little girl is gonna be exhausting to be around." "Sir Amell. What is the plan for your little party now?" Ava started organizing the papers on her desk after the little tea-spilling accident. "I have two more candidates I am going to go visit after this. Then, I''m taking them to Paradise island where I will train them in various areas of combat. My magic is my legacy and I want somebody to carry that forward when I''m gone." "Paradise island does exist? I must say, this has been one of the most exciting days in a long time." "Glad I could serve for some entertainment, and I would appreciate it if you didn''t talk to the council about what was said here. I would hate to have to visit here again, you understand." "Your threats sure aren''t subtle. You have my word, our conversation is off the record." Ava displayed no overblown reaction to being threatened. She was, after all, a veteran wizard. "Thank you! Just a precaution on my part. I know you play for the right side, Principal. The same can not be said for some of the council members. Now, if you excuse me, I believe we should be going. Tell young Sherria that we shall wait by the front door." As soon as Amell said the word, Touka raced out of the office with Briar trapped in her iron grip. "Until next time!" Amell strolled out of the office. "Meeting Portgas D Amell. Another item off my bucket list." Ava sat down again with a smirk. ---------------------------------------------- End {Big announcement} Living Without Regret is officially out now! A One Piece FanFiction. Go Read If It Tickles Your Fancy! Chapter 253 - Return To Ishgar {29} Deep Talk In A Dark Dungeon After Sherria had joined the group outside of the academy and saying a proper goodbye to the principal, they were on their way. Before they could get far Sherria stopped them and suddenly bowed in front of them. Her lips were shaking and a smile was close to breaking out on her face. "I just want to thank you all for taking me into this family! I never would have imagined myself being here one day." "Woah, Woah! Hey, kid! We''re not a family. Don''t ever call us that, I refuse now and I will always refuse to call that creep, my daddy!" Touka pointed at Amell. He grimaced as much as she did. "I don''t know what you got that from! I certainly didn''t ask you to call me that. If anything, call me grandpa!" He expected another sarcastic response back, but Touka up and left ahead of the group. "Too easy," He smiled in victory. "Okay, grandpa. I hear you loud and clear!" Sherria walked away with her thumb raised high in victory. "Hey, it was a joke, don''t call me grandpa! I have enough people doing that." She didn''t listen to him. She simply turned around and winked, "Sure," She said as she ran after Touka. Briar came up after that and took Amell by the hand. "Come on, grandpa, we don''t have all day." "Not you too!" His spirit broke after he saw even the young Briar give in to the joke. Since the girls didn''t know where they were going next, they had to eventually stop and wait for Briar and Amell that was lagging behind. The group made their way over to the council prison, it was in here where Amell sensed his other candidate. Ones they arrived at the prison which looked almost as nice as the academy, he only had to show his face for them to let him in. But, it was only him, the kids had to stay in the prison waiting room as they weren''t allowed in where he was going. "This is depressing. I Can''t imagine how you guys are feeling." He said sarcastically as he marched through the halls of the prison. Despair and anxiety were hanging in the air and he couldn''t imagine himself ever working in a prison. stuck in this atmosphere all day, he would rather keep being emperor and sitting at home sipping his strongest alcohol until the day he died. Rather that than this. As his mind wondered, the guard that was guiding him stopped and looked at the paper he held in his hand. "T-This is it, Sir Amell!" He made himself scarce quickly after that. "Anyone in there?" Amell gazed into the pitch-black cell, knowing fully well that it was occupied. When he didn''t get a response he took a step forward and walked through the bars and into the cell. "Glad I decided to work on that. Saves me ripping these bars apart." He sat down on the one chair that was in the cell then turned his head to the corner ahead of him. "Come, sit on the bed. I just wanna talk." It took a long while, but whoever sat in that corner finally came forward slowly and sat on the bed opposite Amell. "W-What are you? Some sort of devil or something? I''m not sorry for what I did, so if you''re here to take my soul, go ahead." "Brave words for a mere child. Tell me, what did you do?" Amell waited in silence for an even longer period of time. The child didn''t speak, he sat on the bed and stared into the floor. "You know, you can''t make that floor disappear by just looking at it. How about stop staring at that and look at me instead." That somehow got his attention and the boy looked away from the floor and onto Amell who met him with a relaxed smile. "I know what you did. I think it''s brave. A boy should know how to stand up for himself. I want you to know that I think it''s wrong that they cast you down here in this isolated dungeon, and expecting you to change. Being here will only make things worse, so that''s why I have an offer for you." Amell heard what he just said, and the boy wasn''t wrong. He did sound like a devil coming to bargain. As expected the boy denied by shaking his head violently. "I was right. You are some sort of devil aren''t you!" "I could be, would you want that? Would you like to see the devil?" "No!" "Good, for I am not one." Amell made a tiny light at the tip of his finger, just enough to shine a light on him and the boy. "My name is Portgas D Amell. I am a normal human just like you. Well, maybe not exactly like you since you just saw me walking through those bars." "W-What''s your offer?" "Well, before that. I have introduced myself so now it''s your turn." After a little hesitation, the boy introduced himself. "Orga Nanagear. I want to know your offer now." "You''re not only strong Orga, but you seem quite intelligent too. Let me explain. I am gathering up kids with incredible potential for magic. Not to take over the world or anything. I am here because I want you to join this group. The group currently consists of only girls if that helps your motivation at all." For just a split second, Orga''s cheeks grew a little red. "I would be free here? And, you would become my master?" "Yes to both. You don''t have to call me master. There is a trend going around with people calling me grandpa. Why not stick with that." Amell chuckled, yet Orga just titled his head with even breaking a smile. "Grandpa?" "It''s an inside joke in our group, I think. Anyway. What do you say? Feeling up for some adventure?" "O-Okay, I guess I wouldn''t mind. Not like I have anywhere else to go even if I somehow got out one day." "That''s what I like to hear! I am going to go and have a quick chat with the warden here. I''ll be back in a minute or two." He walked through the bars again. "You''ll be out before you know it, just sit tight." "Okay." Orga laid down on the bed, and with how dark and isolated it was in here, he had no idea what time of the day it was. Or even what day it was. ------------------------------------ End Chapter 254 - Return To Ishgar {30} Last Member, Part I The girls were growing restless as they sat in the waiting area of the prison. Only after about twenty minutes did they see the door to the dungeon opening up and Amell walking out followed by a boy with long light-green hair. The boy''s demeanour was eerily calm for someone that young having just been released from that pitch-black solitude. When Amell saw the girls he stepped aside and pushed the boy forward, "This is Orga. He is the second to last member I have planned to join us. Make him feel welcome." Sherria immediately jumped in and grabbed Orga''s hand without his permission and started shaking it up and down. "Welcome, welcome! Nice to meet you, I just joined myself! Actually, about two hours ago. I like it so far, what do you think. My name is Sherria, by the way!" "Sherria, stop with the twenty questions. Give him some room to breathe." Amell looked at Touka and she walked up and forcefully dragged Sherria away. Briar worked up the courage to talk and she walked up as well, much more calmly than Sherria. "H-Hi! My name is Briar, nice to meet you, Orga." Her manner was miles above Touka''s and Sherria''s. She even gave plenty of time for Orga to answer. "Hm," He stared into Briar''s eyes. "Honest. Good. I am Orga, nice to meet you." His introduction was brief, but it still made Briar happy. He was like her, no long sentences or complicated emotions running rampant. Calm, collected and honest. Just like her. "Now that we''re all acquainted with each other, let''s go get something to eat. You guys must be starving." All the kids nodded in sync, some with more enthusiasm than others. The gang made their way out of the prison with merry steps. They didn''t get far from the prison before a voice sounded out behind them. "Portgas D Amell. May I please have a word." A gentle, yet a voice filled with rock-solid confidence. Sherria was the first one to turn around and her eyes went wide at the sight of who stood there. "Jura! Another Saint! I am meeting two in one day, LUCKY ME!" Sherria ran up without considering the tense atmosphere, she offered her hand for a handshake. "Sir Jura. My name is Sherria Blendy. Nice to meet you." "Hello! Nice to meet you too. I really need to talk to that man, so could you wait a bit?" Jura managed to deflate her instantly and her shining smile almost melted off her face. "S-Sure," She walked back to the group and sighed, "Amell, one. Jura, ZERO!" She whispered loudly so everyone could hear. She had a real talent for switching mood in just a second. She went from being happy to very displeased just from being denied a handshake. Amell inspected the man with a look. Just meeting those eyes made Jura tense up. Amell saw through him instantly. "You''re not half bad compared to the other wizards I''ve met lately. Jura was your name?" "Yes, Sir. I apologize for stopping you here. I am also gonna apologize in advance for this rude and out of the blue request. I seek to test myself against someone of my level. I believe you will offer me my greatest challenge yet. Would you grant this selfish request of mine?" Jura spoke solemnly. He didn''t hesitate or fumble with his words which proved he was a true veteran. Still, he was young and clearly naive. This was Amell''s assessment. Anyone asking him for a spar would be someone born after he stopped being an active wizard. No one from his time would ever ask for a spar, they knew what the outcome would be. "How long have you been a wizard Saint?" "A few years. I am confident in my strength." "Clearly." Amell chuckled to himself, "You are just forgetting one thing. Basic instinct. Let me ask you something. Can you sense the magic power flowing inside of me, like you can any other wizard you come across?" Amell''s question forced Jura off balance. He hesitated in his answer for the first time. "N-No, I can not." After multiple attempts, Amell still felt just like a civilian. He hadn''t registered this before since an opportunity to fight the Eight Saint overtook his basic fighter instincts. A veteran he was, but still, he had a long way to go. "That, Jura, is the disparity between us. Listen closely for I will only say this one time. You are not allowed to make a request like that again. Not until you can sense my magical presence." Amell could freely control how much magic his body naturally release. He could completely erase his presence if he wished. This was a test for Jura, so Amell knew what level he was at. "I..." Jura stood speechless. Sherria, on the other hand, flashed a victory smile. "That''s my grandpa! You better watch out!" She pointed at Jura, but Amell lowered her arm. "It is considered rude to point at someone like that. We need to work on your impulse control, Sherria." "No, no way! That''s what makes me so lovable. It''s half my personality." Sherria took Briar and Touka by the arms and yelled loudly, "Now, FOOOOD!" The three girls rushed away with great speed. "Grandpa, is it safe to let them run off like that?" Orga stood still, very loyal as he wouldn''t move more than a few meters away from Amell. Also, Amell was so used to being called, grandpa, father, honourable grandfather, and all other titles he had so most of the time he didn''t react to it. Like just now. He didn''t register it as weird, which might be normal considering how large his family was and how many titles he had. The most common one was either grandpa or dad, which is why he didn''t react to Orga saying it. "It''s fine. I will never lose sight of any of you. If you are ever in trouble, I will know instantly." Amell looked at Jura who was lost in thought. His confidence had been broken in a very short span of time. "Look here, kid." Amell walked in close. he felt a little bad if he had actually ruined this boy for life. "You are certainly not weak. You are very strong, but that''s only relevant to today''s mages. If you wandered this world when I was active over a century ago. Your strength would not be that high. All you need is time." Amell saw some colour return to Jura''s face. He also dug down in his pocket. "Take this." He wanted Jura a little piece of wood. Something Gildarts would recognize immediately. "Have you heard the legends of my island?" Eh, hm, yes. Certainly, everyone has." "Good. This is a compass. Can you guess to where." He asked with a smirk. "Surely, you don''t mean to Paradise island?" "Exactly that. But, this one is a little different. It can''t be activated on its own. See this as a test. Seek out Gildarts of Fairy Tail, show him this compass and he will explain the rest to you. You can always just throw this away if you want. The choice is up to you. But, if you want a chance to spar with me someday, seek out Gildarts." Amell grinned on the inside. ''Here you go, Gildarts. Let your father see how you''ve grown.'' "T-Thank you," Jura bowed and put the compass away. "Sorry for my rude behaviour. Perhaps I''ve grown too confident in myself. I can see I have a long way to go." "Hopefully I''ll see you on my island in the future. Good luck to you." Amell walked away and Orga followed after closely. "Grandpa, why would you help him?" "He is one of the good ones. Also, his potential is very good. If he was a little younger and wasn''t so set in his ways, I could have taken him under my wing. It would have been interesting." --------------------------------------- End Chapter 255 - Return To Ishgar {31} Last Member, Part II With two new additions to the group and a fun meeting with Jura, Amell was ready to leave this place. With the kids behind him, he cut the air with his index finger which opened up the rift he used for travelling long distances. "Step inside. It''s completely safe, Touka and Briar have already done it." Amell did barely have enough time to explain the concept around the rift before Sherria dove head-first into it with a smile and a laugh. "Someday she will kill herself. And it will be the most stupid death caused solely by that reckless and carefree attitude. I will laugh when that day comes." Touka said and dove after the pink-haired ball of happiness. "Who''s next? Orga?" The boy shrugged his shoulders and walked over to the rift. "I see you on the other side, grandpa." He said and strolled confidently into the rift and disappeared. "Still scary?" Amell looked at Briar. Last time they did this to get to the council, it took a good while for the girl to work up the courage. She walked closer to Amell and reached out for his hand. "Can you hold my hand?" "Certainly." He grabbed her little hand, which in comparison to his was extremely tiny. They walked together through the portal. When they came out on the other side they were met with the brightness of the sun. Thanks to Briar holding onto his hand, she didn''t fall into the ocean that was below. "HEY! CREEP!" Touka''s voice came from below. Down under them, the rest of the group floated in the ocean. Touka was fuming, her anger could probably evaporate the ocean. The other two handled it a little different. Sherria was happily swimming around performing backstrokes with a satisfied smile. Orga floated on his back with a content expression. Both of them enjoyed it. "I didn''t warn you? Weird, I thought I did. My bad, Touka. Can you forgive me?" Amell floated down with Briar and when his feet touched the water, it froze and he let Briar down on it. He used water bending and got both Sherria and Orga onto the ice. Touka as well, of course. "Nooo, that was so nice! Put me back into the water." Sherria turned to Orga. "Back me up here, will ya!!" "I wouldn''t mind it a little longer." Orga stood there squeezing water out of his clothes. "I could use some soap. I haven''t taken a bath for a long time." "Majority wins! Into the water we go!" Sherria jumped back into the water, but a water tentacle caught her mid-air and placed her on the ice again. "Another time. We have places to be." Amell tapped his foot on the ice and it launched forward like a bolt of lightning. "WAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!" If Amell hadn''t secured them on the ice platform, they would have flown off. Especially Sherria that stood at the front and yelled as loudly as she could. With the speed they were going, Sherria started seeing a small dot in the distance. That dot quickly transformed from a dot to a small building, and after another hundred meters or so, that dot became a very tall tower. "Grandpa!! TOWER!" Sherria turned around slowly because of the speed. Her entire face looked deformed from the wind resistance she was hit with at this speed. "I am aware. That''s why we''re here. Prepare for landing." In seconds, they had reached the rocks surrounding the tower. Sherria was the first one off as quickly became the usual. She did some quick stretches and helped Briar on land. "What is this place, grandpa?" Orga asked as he studied the curious structure. It was tall, very tall. Almost piercing the sky. The ambience here was dark and depressing. Briar felt this place was familiar to her home. The cursed forest and this tower shared a similar feeling. She knew exactly what that was. Despair. This tower reeked of despair and desperation. Feelings she was all too familiar with. "What kind of freak would choose to live here. I get chills just looking at the place." Touka felt Briar grab her hand. The little girl was trembling a little so Touka stroked her head and gripped her hand tighter. "It''s gonna be okay!" She assured Briar with a fearless tone. Briar nodded and smiled a little. "One thing before we begin." Amell clapped his hands one time and a pulse force spread throughout the tower. The kids felt no different, but Amell nodded in satisfaction. "Now we can go. Follow me closely. This tower is a little bit of a maze to get through." He started walking and they followed closely. When they got inside the tower, it finally dawned on them what Amell''s clap hand done. "WOW! Are you even human, grandpa?" Sherria and the rest stood and watched the unconscious bodies of everyone inside. That clap had knocked out everyone who was working inside the tower. "I''d like to say yes." If this girl knew what he could really do, she might suffer from a heart attack. The truth was that he didn''t feel human at all. He could destroy a world, and that''s without using his full power. Could one call that human? "That''s an unsettling answer, grandpa." "Don''t worry about that now. We still have a lot of stairs to climb." The group made their way through the tower. When they got to the top they found themselves in a makeshift throne room of sorts. Inside the room was a group of kids, all of them unconscious except for one. A blue-haired boy that was going around and checking the condition of the others. "Good day," Amell spoke up and startled the boy. He went on the offensive right away. He turned into something similar to a human comet and he flew toward Sherria who stood in front of the group. Orga''s attitude suddenly went feral and his expression turned from stoic to savage. He jumped in front of Sherria and raised his arms and blocked the human comet head-on. The collision sent him crashing into the wall, but it also stopped the charge of the boy. "Orga!" Sherria ran back to check on him. Briar''s mood worsened after seeing Orga hurt. She raised her hand and released a laser aimed for the boy''s head, but because her aim wasn''t something she had been working on the laser pierced his shoulder instead. After that, she used her magic to teleport directly next to the boy and delivered a quick kick to his face. "WOW! BRIAR, YOU ARE SO BADASS! KICK HIS ASS!!" Sherria sat with Orga whilst she watched Briar beat the crap out of the boy. "Briar! Enough!" Amell''s words made her stop immediately. She walked back to him and left the boy bloody and half-conscious on the ground. "Sorry, grandpa!" "You did well. Real fights have always been the best training. And, you''ve been holding out on me. That was a solid kick. Well done!" "I grew up in a forest. Had to know how to fight a little." She looked down on the ground in embarrassment, but she also felt that subtle pride from having been complimented. Amell walked up to the boy that Briar had just almost beat to death. He carefully turned the boy on his back, and his sharp silver-coloured eyes lit up for a moment. "Hm, this is interesting." He called forth the cosmic energy and gathered it at his fingertips. He proceeded to place that finger on the boy''s forehead. "AAAAHHHHH!" The boy let out a scream that made Sherria''s skin crawl. What Amell was doing would be the equivalent of someone ripping your brain straight out of your head. Inside of the boy''s eyes appeared very strange red markings that Amell didn''t recognize, but could immediately identify the source of. "Last time we met." Amell looked dead into his eyes. "Did I not warn you that there is always someone stronger than you. Don''t dabble in magic you do not understand. I hope you have learned your lesson." The energy around his finger increased and those strange markings disintegrated. Since Amell was here to handle the procedure of removing the presence inside the boy''s mind, his mind suffered only minimal drawbacks. At worst he would have a splitting headache for a few days. "Grandpa, is he okay? Who were you talking to?" Briar came up while holding hands with Touka. "He is okay now. He won''t attack us again. Someone that I met a while back. A clever and powerful mage was possessing this boy. I removed the possession and freed the boy." "You are a true mystery. You can do so many things, I wonder if I can ever catch up to where you are now." Sherria and Orga came back with him clinging onto her for support to stand. "Do you know how old he is? Take it one century at a time, kid." Touka said. "Oww, what happened?!" The boy woke up again, much quicker than Amell thought he would. It spoke to his great amount of endurance. "Welcome back to reality, Jellel. How much do you remember since your possession?" "It''s all coming back to me... Erza." Jellal looked over at the other kids laying unconscious on the floor. "Millianna, Simon, Wally." Amell sat down in front of him with a smile. "You were possessed, so don''t worry about it. The one controlling you was strong, you had no chance. Don''t blame yourself." "I remember Zeref." "Hahaha, don''t think too much into that. The one controlling you wasn''t Zeref. Far from it, just a Zeref fanatic at best." "Really?" Jellal didn''t recognize Amell, but one look served as enough warning not to mess with him. "I know Zeref. He doesn''t care about stuff like this. He has better things to do with his time." Amell smiled and caused a mini-shock in Jellal. Who would casually blurt out that they know the black wizard? "You know Zeref? Is the rumour true then?" Sherria looked super excited. "Have you fought him? Who won?" "We haven''t fought. Zeref is a friend. Last I saw him, we just spent the entire time talking about life. Normal stuff friends do." "I don''t mean to be rude, but can we return to the part where you explain what you''re all doing here?" "I come here with an offer for you." Amell snapped his fingers and the other kids woke up. "Would be best if your companions heard this as well." "J-Jellal, what happened?!" A young girl carrying very similar features to a cat sat up and looked around. That''s when she saw Amell. "Wooooah... A giant..." She sat in awe for a good ten seconds until the other two started making noise. "What happened? Did I just faint?" Simon, the oldest and biggest among them sat up. His reaction was the same as Millianna, complete awe. Then last to sit up was Wally. "What is going on here?" "Wally, a giant! Look!" Millianna pointed at Amell who was forced to sit there with an awkward smile. "Jellal, how about you explain to them what''s going on. Mostly so they stop staring like that." Jellal nodded and for the next hour or so, he explained in excruciating detail how he had been possessed and everything he had done without their knowledge. For example, blaming their mutual friend Erza that she had been the one to bomb the ships they were gonna use to escape from this place. Before Jellal became the boss here after his possession they had all been just regular slaves forced to work on the tower. "Y-You did all that?" Millianna sat with her head between her legs. Simon and Wally were in disbelief. Jellal himself felt a stabbing pain in his chest and stomach seeing their facial expressions. Not to mention how sick he felt for his own actions. No matter if he was possessed or not, his actions disgusted him. "Jellal, I know it might be too much to ask not to blame yourself. But, I need you to hear me out now. I came here with an offer for you. I want you to join our group. I am gathering very young, but very talented mages and offering to teach them." "I remember," He glanced at Briar. "Thanks for healing me. Another thing I owe you for." He bowed to Amell. "What''s your end goal? You''re not training them just so you can use them to take over the world." "If I was gonna take over the world, I wouldn''t need any of you. I could do that alone, or I could team up with Zeref." Amell chuckled. "That''s not my intention. I will watch over this world for as long as I''m here, and I''ve protected this world for a long time. In more ways than one. When I''m gone, I want this world to be better than it was when I arrived. I know I can''t take in and train every mage in the world, but if I can make you five as strong as possible, I can disappear knowing I left this world in capable hands." He saw the wheels turning inside Jellal''s head. "That is my goal, Jellal." "After what I''ve done, do I deserve a second chance?" Jellal looked up into Amell''s eyes. "Jellal," Simon spoke up. His tone was detached and rather distant. "You should accept. This way, you can repent for what you''ve done. If you''re sorry. Prove it by making it so what happened to us here won''t happen to any more innocent kids." "Simon." Jellal looked at him, but Simon wouldn''t look back at him. "Wally, Millianna? Do you agree with him?" "I do! We don''t have to stay here anymore and wasting our lives. I''m leaving this place, I want to go and find Erza, and my brother. If they are still alive." He said as he glared at Jellal. Millianna took her gaze away from Wally and locked eyes with Jellal. "I-I want..." Her eyes darted back and forth in quick succession. "I want to go with Jellal." This shocked not only Jellal but Wally and Simon too. "Are you sure, Millianna. Didn''t you hear what I did? If Erza is dead, then that would be all my fault. All our friends who died when we rebelled. That''s all on me." "NO! It''s not! You didn''t know what you were doing, you said so yourself." Millianna looked at Amell. "He didn''t know!" She said as she dragged on the words. "He knew. That''s why he can remember everything he did. His possession wasn''t full control. More like suggestive magic. He was aware of what he was doing, he just couldn''t stop himself. That is why I said he shouldn''t blame himself. All of you would see no wrong with what he did if you were possessed as he was." "See, you didn''t do anything wrong. I want to go with you." "Can she?" Jellal turned to Amell. At the end of the day, Jellal wasn''t the one that could decide this. "YES! OF COURSE!" Sherria jumped in happily. "Right, grandpa!" She looked at both of them with a smile. "I''m Sherria Blendy! Nice to meet ya. This is Orga." She pointed at the boy using her body as support. "That over there is Touka, the one holding her hand is Briar. Don''t mess with her or she''ll beat you up. But, you know that already, Jellal. And, last but not least! This is our grandpa! Call him grandpa, please." "N-Nice to meet you." Jellal was slightly taken aback by that aggressive approach. Millianna felt a shiver travel up her body when she locked gazes with Sherria. She ran over and hid behind Jellal. "You''ll grow accustomed to her in time. I''m still trying to not strangle her when she talks." Touka said. "What is your answer, Jellal?" Amell asked. "Perhaps this was meant to be. Maybe this is my chance to atone for the friends I killed." "Stop that! You didn''t kill them!" Millianna hugged his arm. "But I carry their blood on my hands." He pondered over it one last time. "Master Amell, I accept." He said finally. "Thanks for having me, grandpa!" Millianna said, and in his peripheral''s, Amell could see Sherria fist pump the air stealthy. "We shall stay here for another day. I will make sure everyone has transport home, then I will destroy this tower myself." Amell declared and everyone nodded. Simon and Wally took off quickly, maybe to check on the rest of the people in the tower. ''Paradise Island, next up. Maybe I should invite Sylvia to come this time. I miss the twins.'' Amell said to himself. ----------------------------------- End Chapter 256 - Return To Ishgar {32} Paradise Island, Part I The group ended up staying another day just like Amell said. They had to work all night to round up the others and explaining the situation to them. It was now dawn the next day and the group stood on some ice on the water far away from the tower. "Master Amell, the real tower inside the shell is practically all etherion. I shouldn''t need to explain the difficulty of destroying such a structure. I don''t know how you plan to do it, but I can assure you magic won''t work here." Jellal was aware of some of Ishgar''s most powerful magical weapons, yet he knew they would not work in destroying this tower. How Amell planned to do it, he was eagerly waiting to find out. "Jellal, have you no faith in me? I didn''t become one of the two most famous mages on Ishgar for nothing. Watch this!" Amell raised his hand and very slowly started to close his hand. The tower began to slowly disintegrate from within itself. The shell, the layer of metal surrounding the real etherion tower began crashing towards the ground as the thing they were built into started disappearing. "T-This is incredible. How are you doing this?" Jellal couldn''t take his eyes away from the sight of his tower slowly disintegrating into absolute nothingness. "Jellal," Millianna pulled on his shirt, "What''s he doing?" She was just as curious, but among the people here. Only Jellal and Touka could understand the miracle Amell was pulling off. Touka was over a hundred years old and had a great understanding of magic. And, Jellal had genius-level intellect. You could say he was a more advanced version of Sherria. Even though Sherria was absolutely brilliant in her own right. She learned pretty much anything the academy threw at her, and her magic control was off the charts good. "I don''t know, Millianna. What he is doing should be fundamentally impossible. It''s like he is bypassing the laws of reality itself. My best guess would be that he is controlling magic at its most primal and fundamental state, which again, should not be physically possible." "Why not?" Orga asked. He belonged to the quiet, yet intelligent type of human. He would rarely speak, but still had a great understanding of magic, and he was great at taking in and storing information. "First of all. The sheer amount of magical power you would need for that is maddening in its own right. We mages use our spells and weapons as catalysts because we can''t do what I presume he is doing now. This is absolutely incredible to witness. I understand why the council refuse to give up your name, even after your absence." "Done!" Amell closed his fist and right ontop the island appeared a massive rift at almost the same size as the tower. "Hold onto something." He said and the rift started swallowing the remnants of the tower. After a minute of that, the entire island, and every part of the tower was gone. "Grandpa, what was that magic? Was it ancient magic like you teach me?" Briar and Touka were sitting down on the ice with her sitting between Touka''s legs and leaning back against her chest. It looked like she was super comfortable in that position. "No, it was not. Jellal was right. You are extremely intelligent Jellal. But, back to the topic. I don''t need to use spells or weapons. I directly control the fundamental forces that make up the universe. If I want to go somewhere, I do this." Amell cut the air with his index finger and a smaller rift opened up. He closed it again before Sherria had the chance to dive through it. "You''re incredible, master Amell. How did you manage this?" Jellal asked. He was completely enthralled by the mystery behind Amell''s power. "I went on a very long journey that lasted over a hundred years." Amell thought back to his time trapped in that mirror world with Vaatu. It was there he first discovered this incredible bending art called spirit bending that later evolved to Cosmic bending as Amell calls it now. "So, this form of energy manipulation was what you discovered on your journey. While the world thought you had died, in reality, this is what you were doing. You were training." Jellal was amazed. He felt his mind open up and everything he thought to be impossible suddenly felt possible. "Something like that. More on that later, Jellal. We need to go now. Our next destination is my island. There, we shall begin your training." "Finally! I can''t wait! Let''s GOO!!" Sherria pointed north with a fully outstretched arm. "Where exactly is Paradise Island located?" She looked back at Amell "Oh, you know about it? Do all of you know about it?" They all nodded. "We talked about it in my wizard history class. I think that island classifies as one of the world''s wonders. I''d bet money that it''s more famous than you, the one said to have created it." Everyone nodded their heads again. Even Orga nodded along. "I didn''t know your full name until you came to the dungeon. I only knew you as the Eight Saint, like most of the world. But, Paradise Island, everyone knows that." He said. "Wow, Orga. That was your longest sentence yet." Touka clapped, and Briar did as well. Sherria also joined in. Millianna wanted to be apart of this little bonding moment, but she was too shy and since Jellal didn''t clap, she didn''t either. "hm," He made a sound and nodded. "Okay, now that we have had our fun. Let us be on our way. We are going to be travelling quickly so hold onto each other." He tapped his foot on the ice and it disappeared at lightning speed. This planet was massive so even with how fast they were travelling, it took a couple of hours to arrive. When they got close, Amell tapped his foot and the ice stopped moving and just floated on the water surface. "Is this it? I don''t see an island anywhere?" Millianna said and spun around her own shoulder three times, but still saw nothing. "That should be obvious." This was her moment to brag about her knowledge, so Sherria raised her metaphorical glasses that sat on her nose. "No one has ever located this island, even wizard Saints have failed in that. Jose and Makarov are two of the Saints that tried but failed. Why do you think that is?" "They got lost?" "Of course, but WHY do you think they got lost? Including those two. Most people got pretty close to its supposed location, but never saw any part of it. Jose claimed for a while that he caught a glimpse on it, but after much public ridicule he admitted to having lied about seeing the island." "Don''t know!" Millianna said. She was frustrated because she wanted to know the answer so badly she thought she would explode. "Magic! Whenever you can''t figure something out, the answer is ALWAYS magic." "That is correct!" Amell said and waved his hand in front of him. As soon as he did, a heavy mist appeared from every direction, it made even the water difficult to see. Sherria who stood at the front couldn''t see Orga who stood in the back. So thick was the mist around them. "Wow, where is the island?" Briar asked from her comfortable position in Touka''s embrace. Amell pointed forward. "Right there!" The group saw the mist starting to fade away and the first thing they saw was a massive silhouette in the distant that only grew bigger the closer they got. "Look at the water! So pretty!!" Millianna grabbed Jellal by the arm and pulled him closer to the water. "LOOK!" She said very loudly right into his face. The water in here by the island had been refined by Amell''s magic power for over a hundred years. It was sparkling beyond belief and Millianna and Jellal could see their reflection perfectly, even the smallest detail. It was like staring into the cleanest mirror in the world. "Waaaaaah..." Sherria stood in pure awe when she could finally see the island. Just the beach and the water lived up to the name. "Wait until you see what lies beyond that cliff. Beyond that cliff is Paradise island. Are you kids ready to see the most beautiful and magical place in this world?" "YEEEEES!!!" Sherria was dangerously close to jumping straight into the water and swimming to the island. "Then, I welcome you all to my home. Paradise Island!" Amell spread open his arms and bowed his head. ------------------------------- End Chapter 257 - Return To Ishgar {33} Paradise Island, Part II Sherria was the first one to dismount the ice and step onto the legendary island. Jellal and Millianna followed right after her and then they stepped off one after the other with Amell being the last one. "Even the air is filled with an abundance of magic. It''s completely pure too." Jellal bent down and ran his hand through the sand. "I''m glad that my island is to your satisfaction." "It''s incredible! How did the magic in the air get so abundant? Is there some form of massive magic circle underneath the island? Wait, no that wouldn''t be the case when it''s this pure. How long are we staying here, I would love to study this." Jellal let some of the sand run through his closed fist. Each grain of sand held a lot of magic. "About that. Even before I recruited Touka, who was the first one of this group, I had already scouted you all out. Running into you wasn''t random. I saught you out. And, while studying your talents and affinities for magic I designed magic most suited for you. This place is the best place in the world when it comes to training and practising new magic. So, the plan is to stay here until you have your magic under control, especially since the magic I''m about to gift you is extremely powerful." "You designed magic for us. How did you do that? Is that even possible?" Millianna asked. "Well, hahaha, Millianna, you are the only one I didn''t take into account. But, don''t worry, I will teach you just like them. For isn''t that what a grandpa is there for." His smile made it impossible for her not to smile as well. Orga suddenly looked up at the cliff with a serious expression. He lowered his body a little, going into his battle-ready stance. "Something''s coming." "He is right. I don''t know what it is, but it''s strong." Sherria stood ready and she had lost her smile. She stood slightly in front of Orga since he was still hurting from his clash with Jellal. Amell looked at them all and nodded in satisfaction. ''Their instincts and awareness are world-class. Especially Orga''s. His natural instincts are probably among the best in the world, counting both beasts and man.'' While he stood with a smile facing the cliff, the kids all stood with their bodies all tensed up. The silence lasted for a long time. But, finally, in the distance over the cliff wall, they saw the appearance of a massive eagles head. But, the body was not like an eagle. When the entire being could be seen, Sherria''s pupils dilated fully. "A GRYPHON!!" Her sudden outburst forced the other kids out of their battle-ready mood. Millianna and Briar stood with mouths completely wide open. "I-It''s huuuuuuge!" The catgirl said. Her eyes were glued on the body of that beast. "It has to be fifty meters, no, maybe even longer. I wonder what''s bigger, a dragon or it?" Jellal immediately began analysing it. "And, not to mention its magic power. It''s more than anything I''ve ever felt before." "Is it gonna eat us?" Briar asked and she looked up at Touka. Touka was the only one, apart from Amell that wasn''t floored by the majestic beast. She had seen some incredible things in her time, and even though the beast was very impressive, she didn''t feel the need to react as the others did. "It won''t. Don''t worry." She stroke Briar''s cheek slowly while looking at Amell. The massive Gryphon landed on the ground quite some way away from the group. But, two simple steps brought it right up to the group. The whole ground shook when it walked and with it being so close now, they really got a perspective of just how HUGE it was. The gryphon lowered its front body in front of Amell. "Lord Amell. Welcome home." From its voice, you couldn''t tell if it was a female or male. "IT TAAAAALKED!!" Sherria almost fainted. Millianna immediately went and hid behind Jellal. Briar tightened her grip around Touka''s hand, and Orga was now forced to be the one to support Sherria so she wouldn''t fall down. "Aurora. Have you grown even more majestic since I last saw you? You''re a treat to look at." Amell smirked. He walked up to Aurora and started stroking her head. She closed her eyes while enjoying the touch. "You flatter me, My Lord! If I may ask. Who are they? That girl in the back carries corruption. You should be careful, My Lord." Aurora glared on Touka. Amell''s safety was her number one priority, and she immediately identified the White wizard inside Touka as a threat. "You don''t have to worry about that, Aurora. They are my students. We will be staying here while I train them in magic. Be nice!" "As you wish, My Lord!" "Master Amell, are there more like this one on the island? And, have did you manage to control them?" Jellal sneaked up behind him and asked curiously. "Her name is Aurora. If you''re rude, she might eat you, and I won''t stop her if you deserve it." "I-I understand. I apologize, Aurora." Jellal bowed his head, hoping that this Overlord was a kind one. "Apology accepted, Child. There are four others. I am the strongest among us. Then you have Lady Alora who is Lord Amell''s right hand. This should appease your curiosity for a while." "Even worse, now I''m even more curious." Jellal''s whole body was filled with energy, maybe enough to nuke a small village. "Before any more question, we need to leave this beach. And, that''s why Aurora is here. She will take us to my house." "WE GET TO RIDE HER! YEEEEEEEEEESS!!!" Sherria disappeared like a flash and she was seen already climbing on Aurora''s body. Her smile was filled with so much excitement that it almost looked like she had gone mad. "Okay, the rest of you, follow her. Slower, please." "My Lord! You''re not gonna make me babysit them are you?" Aurora had to help out the kids because of how tall she was, Briar and Touka had some trouble getting on, the same with Orga. "Not if you behave and don''t eat any of them. Otherwise, hehehehe..." Amell said and jumped up after the kids and landed on her head. "Now, let''s go. Toward the mountain." "Of course, My Lord!" Aurora said. --------------------------------------- End Chapter 258 - Return To Ishgar {34} Paradise Island, Part III Aurora was approaching the mountain and the group had an uninterrupted view of the castle and its beautiful garden. Sherria in all her glory and happiness stood beside Amell on Aurora''s head and gazed at the castle. Amell had to calm down the Overlord as she had been close to throwing Sherria off when she climbed onto her head. While she was admiring the castle, she leaned in against Amell''s arm with a sigh of jealousy. "Is this really your home? It''s soooo beautiful!" "It is! Though I didn''t build this, Alora did. While I was away on my long journey, she fixed this place up a little." "Alora? She is your right hand, right? Is she strong?" Aurora slightly shook her head, if Sherria wasn''t holding onto Amell''s arm she might have been flung off her head. "Silly child. Lady Alora could most likely take on all Overlords and still come out on top. I aspire to be just like her one day." You could hear the sincerity in her voice. "Why? What''s so different between you Overlords and her?" Sherria crawled forward and leaned right over Aurora''s right eye. Aurora''s eye was larger than Sherria''s whole body. "Alora was the first Overlord. She was also the first one to step upon God''s mountain, and now she lives there. That, naive girl, is my aspiration as well. I wish to live upon God''s mountain someday." "You''re really intelligent, Aurora," Jellal said and walked up on her head with his hands in his pockets. "Are the other beasts, except for the Overlords this intelligent? Can they all speak like you? Do they have goals and dreams they wish to achieve?" He showed an entirely new level of respect now when he had learned just how intelligent Aurora was. "Of course. How do you think I became an Overlord. Together with Lady Alora, there were four others before us. I killed one of them and took that position. After me came Leo, and not far after that, came the others. All previous Overlords has been replaced by us." "That''s incredible. Do you get challenged for your position a lot?" "I used to be. Not anymore. I have my lieutenants to take care of all those that come for my head. I can''t be bothered by that. The only one that I have fought seriously in a long time is Young master Gildarts. And, the other Overlords from time to time." "Aurora!" Amell finally intervened. "I do not remember permitting to talk about him." Aurora panicked and her heart started beating a lot faster. The ones sitting on her back could feel the beats of her heart speeding up. "I apologize, Lord Amell! I did not mean to cause harm to you or the Young master!" "It''s okay. Be more careful in the future or that Overlord position you''re proud of might be taken away. I take my children''s safety seriously!" "Your children? Are you a father, grandpa? I feel betrayed!" Sherria ran up to him again and hugged his arm with her puppy eyes. "I am! You might even meet Gildarts one day. He is an active wizard." "Gildarts?... Wait, you don''t mean Fairy Tail''s Gildarts, do you?" Sherria was getting excited and she looked on in anticipation for his answer. Amell became almost as excited from the idea of his son being a recognized wizard. "Yes, that''s my son! So, he''s a little famous is he." Amell said and performed a short fist pump with a smirk. "YEAH! GILDARTS IS YOUR SON! WHAAAT!!" Sherria had at this point had so many loud and explosive outbursts for all kinds of reasons that none reacted to it anymore. "His suuuper famous too. The rumour goes the council asked him to become a Saint, but he declined. Or, so goes the rumour. And, he is in the newspaper all the time. Fairy Tail is the most famous guild and he is their strongest member. At least that''s what people say." "An apple doesn''t fall far from the tree. Young master Gildarts is strong." Aurora said. She said with some pride since every time they had fought, Gildarts had barely been able to keep up with her. The mountain top was right in front of them now and Aurora landed very smoothly, they barely felt any discomfort at all. "Okay, let''s save any further questions for later. Jump off!" Amell had Sherria clinging to him with her puppy eyes still going, so he jumped down with her. "Thanks, Aurora!" The gryphon bowed her head low when all the kids had gotten off. The wind pressure from her taking off from the ground blew some of them down on the ground. "Lord Amell, welcome home!" Sebas appeared behind the group like a ghost, scaring the life out of Touka. When Jellal laid eyes on Sebas his jaw hit the floor. "It is considered rude to stare, young Sir." Sebas locked eyes with Jellal and the young boy made an unconscious decision to take two steps back. "Y-Your magic... It''s off the charts. Now I see why someone like Aurora dreams of this place. You must have ten times her magic." Sebas wasn''t actively releasing any of his magic, but Jellal was the most magically gifted in this group and very sensitive to magic. So, Sebas didn''t need to have his magic out on display for Jellal to take notice of it. "I will take that as a compliment. Now, how about you stop staring, as I mentioned. It is considered rude to do." "I-I''m sorry!" Jellal looked away immediately. He looked down on Millianna who was restlessly clinging onto his arm. "Sebas, this is Jellal. One of my students. I have taken them all under my wing, and as we talked about, I will be teaching them the art of magic here for quite a while." "Brilliant, Lord Amell. I shall go have the arena cleaned and fortified right away. I shall have the maids prepare their rooms as well." "Very good! You are as reliable as always." "This is my duty as head butler. I shall have it done immediately." Sebas bowed and disappeared like the wind. Amell could see that he simply moved at a ridiculous speed. But, to the others it looked like pure teleportation, or that he just faded away into the air. "Was that your butler? If the world knew what kind of place Paradise Island is, they would flock to here in an instant." Touka said. "You could become the richest person in the world just overnight if you started offering this place as a training ground for mages." "I''m already the richest man in the world. I could buy Ishgar before you were born." He smirked. "Show off!" "You forced my hand. Now, let''s go inside. Today, you can enjoy yourself and relax. Tomorrow your training begins." ------------------------------ End Chapter 259 - Return To Ishgar {35} Paradise Island, Part VI As soon as he had closed the portal in the garden, Amell took Valerie to his bedroom and put her to bed. Sebas who was always no more than a few metres away from his Lord and he had never seen him be this careful before. Amell wouldn''t even allow Nabe, one of the maids to carry Valerie for him. This little girl meant a lot to him. "Sebas, go prepare our best tea. She is waking up." Amell wouldn''t take his eyes of his daughter. Even Sebas who was pretty detached and unconcerned of others that weren''t Amell felt a quite strong connection to the girl. He didn''t know the origin of this feeling, but it wasn''t unpleasant. "Are you sure we should use the best tea? We don''t have a lot of it left." "Are you making me repeat myself, Sebas?" "Of course not, Lord Amell. I shall be back with the tea in but a moment." Sebas walked out of the ginormous room with a little sweat running down his back. That was another thing he learned now. His master had no patience when it came to this little girl, who he still did not know the identity of. Valerie started waking up and her eyes began opening. The room was very bright thanks to the many windows along the walls. So, she couldn''t fully open her eyes yet, she had to let them adjust to the brightness. But, someone with Amell''s genes won''t stay down for long. Even though her body was aching and her eyes wouldn''t open fully, she still sat up on the bed, she was a fighter just like her father. "Where am I? And, what''s with this huge bed?!" She looked straight away and she was amazed by the sheer size of this room. She thought it would go on forever. "It''s like ten times bigger than my room." She rubbed her eyes and then looked down at her body. "At least I''m still alive. Or, maybe not. Where is this? Am I dead? I''m surprisingly calmer than I thought I would be about dying." She glanced to the side of the massive bed, and that''s when she saw the smiling giant sitting there looking at her. "DAD!!?" Valerie sat up properly and rubbed her eyes again. He was still there. Just then, Sebas walking into the room again with a tray on which stood a pot of tea and one teacup. He placed it down on the nightstand beside the bed and then walked over to stand behind Amell. "DAD!! Is that you?" Valerie still felt her body ache a lot, but she didn''t care. She crawled over the bed on all four toward Amell. Seba''s eyes went wide in surprise. ''So, that''s it.'' He chuckled to himself as he watched Valerie slowly make her way across the bed. "It''s not a dream and you are not dead either. Come here, Valerie, hug your old man." He opened his arms and when she was close enough she jumped right into his embrace. "I missed you, dad! This is not the Zero division, where are we?" He forced her back on the bed again, even though she tried her hardest to keep her grip around his neck. "No fair! More snuggle, dad! You''re so comfortable to snuggle against." She made a pout, but Amell managed to resist even though it took all he had. "Later! Sebas, pour the tea. Valerie, you need to get something to drink, and this tea will help your body recover." Sebas poured the tea carefully then walked over to the bed and offered it to Valerie with a respectful bow. "Young Lady Valerie. Here''s your tea!" She took it while looking Sebas up and down. She had never seen him before and the only ones who ever addressed her formally like that were the commanders of the Gotei. No one else was allowed to interact with her, Amell''s orders. Wherever she went, she always had at least two commanders with her, same for her brother. This was why Amell found it so scary and strange that she had come here alone. "Dad, what''s going on here? Who is that? Where are we?" "Valerie, what is the last thing you remember?" "I was in my room with Robin. We were waiting for uncle Zoro to come, today he was gonna teach me the ways of the sword." Valerie took a sip of the tea and her whole face lit up in ecstasy. "WOW! This is incredible! You''re amazing... Eh, Sebas, right?" "That''s right, Young Lady Valerie. It pleases me greatly that you found it acceptable." He bowed. "So, that brat thinks he is good enough to be my daughter''s teacher. Just because his captain is a big deal now doesn''t mean he can do whatever he wants." Slowly but surely his aura started to rise and the kids out on the arena practising their magic felt everything shaking. "Who does he think he is? I''ll go back right now and end the era of the Straw hat pirates!" "DAD!! It''s okay, uncle Zoro is nice to me. He and big sis Robin spends a lot of time with me. Don''t hurt him, please!" "Don''t worry, baby. I won''t. When I get back, I will just have a nice and long chat with him, to make sure he is properly equipped to deal with such a heavy task." Amell patted her on the head. If she could read his thoughts, maybe she would run ahead and warn Zoro for the storm that was about to arrive. "Dad, promise me you won''t hurt him! I like him!" "Ooh, you like him? Has he been around a lot?" The clouds outside darkened, and heavy storms started appearing all over the Island. It went so far that the Overlord thought maybe their God was fighting someone. "Allow me to stop this before it goes any further. Lord Amell, I ask that you calm yourself or this island might not last much longer." "You''re right, Sebas. I went too far. I apologize." Amell took a deep breath and the storms started dying down. "When it comes to my children, I''m weak. They are the centre of my lift, after all." Valerie smiled brightly at that and jumped in for another hug. "That''s why I love you, Dad!" She said and kissed him on the cheek. "Now, continue telling me about this place. I still don''t know where we are!" "Well, currently we''re located on the highest mountain in the world. On an island called, Paradise Island. But, that''s not what''s important. Do you remember when we talked about the special ability that lies within our bloodline?" "Yeah, world travel or whatever it was. If YOU remember, you said we didn''t need to know more until we were older." "That has become clear to me that I was wrong in holding back. I should have trained you and your brother in that much earlier, then this wouldn''t have happened." "This? Wait! Are we in another world? No way! How did I get here?" This explained why she didn''t recognize Sebas. "Yes, we are! And, how you got here. I am not sure. You must have unconsciously activated the ability, and we are very lucky it went this smoothly. You could have easily been picked up by the Universal stream and thrown into an unknown world. Or, you could have teleported yourself into the realm between worlds and died." "I''m gonna be honest. I understood one part of that. I''m not you, dad. Make it simple for me to understand." "Ignore the technical stuff for now. What is important is that you will stay here with me and I will train you in this ability. We can''t allow this to happen again." "I get to stay here? Hell yeah!" She gave him another hug. "But, what about Mom and the rest. We need to tell her. Knowing mom, she will have the commanders turn the world upside down for my sake. We should hurry before she does that." Valerie knew her parents pretty well, and her mother was the one she feared the most, because of how impulsive she could be. Amell agreed with his daughter since he too knew how impulsive Sylvia could be. He raised his hand and pointed and the ground and summoned forth cosmic energy. {I summon thee, Alucard} A red circle appeared on the floor and like a bottomless pit, a black mist started pouring out of it. Together with mist, a body rose slowly from the circle. When the body had fully come forth, the man bowed down on one knee. "My Master, I have been summoned. For what purpose have I been summoned." When Alucard started speaking, the black mist around him turned blood-red. Sebas stepped in front of Amell because of the pure evil and destructive aura surrounding Alucard. "Before that. how goes your mission? Are you enjoying the change in scenery?" Amell signalled for Sebas to stand down. Alucard was the most loyal follower Amell had. Even more loyal than Sebas, almost borderline fanatical. "I am enjoying it quite a bit. This new world you sent me to. It is interesting. It shall soon be ready for the Gotei''s invasion." "I know the other commanders are getting restless. An invasion will surely get their blood pumping again. But, that''s not why I called you. I need you to deliver a message to Sylvia. Tell her Valerie is with me and that she will be staying with me for a while. Tell her also that, I shall contact her shortly." "Yes, My Master! It will be done." "Good I shall send you on your way." Amell pointed at Alucard {I Banish Thee, Alucard} The circle appeared again and Alucard sunk back down into the ground and the black mist disappeared with him. "D-Dad! Who was that? He was so scary to look at!" Valerie had been clinging onto Amell the entire time. Her body was shivering. "He used to be the first commander of the Gotei. He has different duties now. He left his seat as a commander right after you were born. You do not have to fear him, he is nice when you get to know him." Amell tried to win her over with a smile, but she was still doubting him a little. "Lord Amell, do you permit me to speak my mind?" "Always, Sebas." "I believe a warning about his arrival should always be paramount. His aura covered the island and I could feel the unrest in the Overlord''s auras. If a warning is not issued next time, they might take action to remove him off the island." "Firstly, trying to banish Alucard from any place he is not supposed to be in is about as difficult as it gets. Secondly, his loyalty to me is his pride. He is loyal to my bloodline, the Portgas bloodline. But, you are right in what you say, Sebas. Tonight you shall go and inform the Overlords about him." "I understand, Lord Amell." "Dad, you said banishing him is difficult but you just did it right now, easily. What''s up with that?" "Well, that''s a special case. To explain this as easy as possible, he is a supreme entity, more powerful than most things you will see in your lifetime. Actually, probably stronger than anything except me. So, the reason I could banish him is that this time he allowed it, which makes it easier. Secondly, Alucard is bound to our bloodline, completely loyal to it. Anyone carrying my bloodline can summon him as I did now." "I can summon him like that? Like from anywhere? So, if I''m about to die I can summon him to save me?" Valerie liked the idea of having someone that strong always available to her. "Yes, you could. But, and this is a big downside. Summoning him might kill you if you don''t have the energy to supply to the summoning." Amell didn''t have that issue since the power stored in his body could destroy multiple worlds. But, someone like the young Valerie wouldn''t be able to sustain the energy it took to summon him. "Do I have the energy to do that?" "No, not even close to enough. So, I forbid you from using it, or you might be seriously hurt from trying it." "I understand. I won''t try!" Amell nodded proudly. "That''s my girl! Now, we should try getting you on your feet. It''s almost dinner time." "I shall go and make arrangements immediately." Sebas bowed and walked out of the room. "Drink the last of the tea, and then we''ll go and have some delicious dinner. The cooks here and fantastic." "Will you stay with me? We can go together to dinner, right?" She sipped on her tea while looking at her dad with her best puppy eyes. "Of course." Amell smiled and stroked her on the cheek. "I''ll be around forever!" He said softly. --------------------------------------- End Chapter 260 - Return To Ishgar {36} Paradise Island, Part VII his"Get your lazy butt out of bed, and let''s go have some dinner." Amell removed the blanket covering Valerie. "I don''t want to, dad! How about I get to sleep another two hours and then Sebas can bring the leftovers to me." "That won''t do at all! My daughter will not eat leftovers. You have three seconds to get your butt out of that bed or I will be forced to use more drastic measures." "Fine! You win!" She started getting out of bed at a snail''s pace, meanwhile, Amell stood and looked as she intentionally tried to stall. "You know, dinner won''t be served until I say so, so whatever this little act of rebellion is. It won''t work here!" "I don''t like meeting new people! This place is probably filled to the brim with weirdos, do you really wanna expose your daughter to that? What would mom say if staying here turned me into some sort of weird pervert?!" After a moment of silence, Amell came out of his shock. "Don''t try to use your mother to scare me off. It won''t work. And, secondly, what kind of person do you think I am? There are no weirdos or perverts here so you can be safe." "Hm? Have you talked to Hisoka lately?" She had finally gotten out of bed. She had on a white shirt with military pants. This was what she always wore when she trained. "Stop arguing, we''re already late for dinner." "What? I thought you said that they won''t start without you?" "That was just a trick to get you out of bed. Your dad is not as stupid as you think." He flicked his finger and she got pushed over towards the door by a small wind push. "Well played, dad. But, heed my words, daddy! My revenge is coming!" "Good luck!" Amell opened the door and they left the room. They ventured off towards the arena. Amell wanted to check in on his students before dinner and check how far they had gotten in understanding their new magic. He fully expected at least Jellal to have already grasped the concept around his new magic. He was also hopeful for Orga and Sherria, but his expectations of them weren''t as high as it was for Jellal. As they were walking, Valerie glanced up at Amell and she lightly brushed up against him, "Dad I heard some of the guys back home talking about how you... Can''t die or something, is that true?" "What guys?" Amell understood that the time had come to talk with her, he just hoped it wouldn''t be this soon. "Toshi, Cal and them. They argued very loudly about your age, and I just happened to overhear them. So, are they right? Are you immortal or something?" "I knew you would find out eventually, I just wish your brother was here so I could take this up with both of you at the same time. You''re not immortal, but also, not far from it." "What the hell does that mean? Either I''m immortal or I''m not. A pretty straight forward question, isn''t it?" "Both yes and no. You are not immortal, but your bloodline is very special. Let''s just say you will live for a very long time. Far, far beyond any normal human." This was the moment he dreaded most. Would she start hating him for giving her this almost curse-like bloodline? Maybe she was too young and immature to understand the weight of this. "For how long exactly? Like, two or three hundred years old or something?" "Try and add a couple of zeros to that number, and maybe then we''re getting close to the real number." "Wha... wh-what? Are you saying I''m gonna live for like a million years or something? How is that even possible?" "Not a million. Truthfully, sweetheart. I don''t know. There is no way to know for sure. The only thing I know for certain is that every one of my children who carries my bloodline has an extended lifespan. There is just no way to know how long that will be, I''m just guessing." "What if I find a boyfriend or something, I will outlive them every time?" "What!? Yo have a boyfriend? Who is it? I''ll kill him!" Amell broke apart the floor and the ominous black clouds came back again. "No, no, no, dad, I don''t! It was just hypothetical! Calm down, you''re scaring me!" She took him by the hand and squeezed as hard as she could, that jolted him back to reality again. "Sorry, sweetheart. Just the thought of someone chasing after my baby..." The clouds dispersed and the ground stopped shaking. "Please, continue with what you were gonna say." He tried his best to look calm and collected, but the thought of any of his favourite girls having boys chasing them dragged his mind into some of the darkest places. Valerie, Robin, even Toph to a certain extent. In his mind, no one was good enough for them. The only thing stopping him from murdering all these boys in cold blood was the girl''s happiness. That was what trumps his desire to exterminate all the males in the universe. "Thanks, it won''t be any more freakouts now, right? I don''t like that side of you. Anyway, as I was saying, will I outlive all of my boyfriends? Will my future children dier before me?" "You shouldn''t be thinking about these morbid thoughts. You are still only nine years old, so, let''s change the subject to something a lot more cheerful. " Valerie was gonna argue back but Amell hushed her. "Tell me about your bending, how is that going?" "ugh, fine. It''s going good, I think. Valerius and I spar a lot and he is currently in the lead with eighty-one wins and seventy-two losses. But, that''s only because his elements are easier to master than mine are. When I fully master my air and water bending, he is gonna be in some danger. I can''t wait to turn that smug smile of his into an expression of pain and terror." "Cool it there, hotshot! You inherited my two most powerful elements, air and water. You must remember that those two come with a lot of responsibility. Advanced water bending is potentially the most deadly kind of bending. You can''t have that reckless nature when practising an advanced form of bending since it will fog your mind''s clarity." "You don''t have to tell me that again. I am nine years old and I already practise advanced studies in two bending arts. You don''t have to tell me these simple concepts over and over again. I am one in a century genius!" If any ordinary bender found out what this little girl could do they might lose the confidence to ever bend again. Being Amell''s children certainly gave them multiple advantages over other people. One of the things they inherited from Amell was his bending arts. Valerie inherited water and air bending, and Valerius inherited his earth and fire bending. Both of them already studied advanced forms of their respective bending arts. "If you truly understood the importance of those concepts you wouldn''t argue with me this much. Be more diligent in your studies, young lady!" Amell tapped her lightly on the head, but still hard enough for it to hurt just a little. "Whatever, are we there yet?" They had been walking this entire time, yet they hadn''t arrived yet. That proved yet again how massive his castle was. Amell heard the tiredness and annoyance in her tone, he was about to respond, but he suddenly felt a distant calling. A familiar one that he immediately identified as belonging to one of his students. Though, this time it was urgency and panic in this calling to his soul. Amell grabbed his daughter''s hand and they both disappeared from the corridor like they had faded out of reality all-together. They appeared in the courtyard beside the arena where his young students still sat and read their scrolls. "I apologize for the sudden increase in movement. Something urgent just came up, and I need to leave." He looked down and saw his daughter on the ground, her face was green and she had to close her eyes and take deep and slow breaths just so she wouldn''t start projectile vomiting. "W-W-WARN ME NEXT TIME!!" She had to immediately cover her mouth with her hands as to add another layer of protection against the vomit that tried forcing its way up her throat. "Master, you have returned!" Jella stood on the edge of the arena with a humble expression. "You spoke of urgency, is it anything we can do?" He looked back at the others and they all nodded. They had stopped reading and instead started focusing on Amell. "Not this time, Jellal! There are parts of my life that you are not yet allowed to know about. In time, you will. For now, I require all of you to be patient." He bent down next to Valerie, "I trust everyone here completely, but maybe because I''m your father I don''t feel comfortable about leaving you here. Especially when your mother isn''t here. So, here are the options, either you come along with me or I send you home to your mother." Her face lit up right away, for her, this was too easy. "I''m going with you, of course!" She felt better now so she stood up on somewhat wobbly legs. "Grandpa, is this your daughter?" Sherria jumped down from the stage and ran up to them. She directly invaded Valerie''s personal space and inspected her from head to toe. Valerie was considered by many to be very pretty. Her hair was long and angelic white, and she had two bangs on either side of her face that framed her childish and slightly chubby face quite well. She had, of course, inherited Amell''s mystical and beautiful silver-coloured eyes. "Yeah, I am! The more important question is, why are you calling my dad, grandpa?" Valerie took a step forward, forcing Sherria out of her space. "It started as a joke, but now he is, grandpa Amell. Simple as that!" "Dad, is that true?" Amell looked deeply troubled and annoyed, which he was because he didn''t have time to deal with this right now. "Another time, you two. Something urgent has come up, as you overheard. You will stay here, and Sebas will temporarily take over your training. What he says goes. He is kind and knowledgable, but his patience is not as good as mine so do not anger him unnecessarily." "When will you be back?" Milliana asked quietly from the back. "At most, a week! Valerie and I need to go now since our business is quite urgent. One last reminder, follow Seba''s instructions while I''m gone. And, don''t think for a second that just because I''m gone that I will allow slackers. I will be testing all of you when I get back." He cut open a rift in the air with his finger, and Sherria almost jumped into it on pure instinct. "When I get back I will be expecting results from every one of you. Be good, and listen to Sebas. Goodbye!" He and Valerie walked through the portal and it closed right after Amell''s figure stopped being visible. Sherria stood in salute until the portal completely disappeared, then she turned around with her fist raised high. "You heard the boss man, diligent studies!" Yet again, her try for a warcry had been rejected, so she sat down dejected and her mind reflected the words of her respected master. ----------------------------------------- End Chapter 261 - Disturbance Among The Celestials {1} The Grand Return Of The Unknown Master As the chilling wind of another uneventful night jolted him awake from his zombified state, Aang opened his eyes and took in the scenery of the mountain top. the beautiful, almost mesmerising view from the top of the world always had him gasping for air. With the world by his feet, he usually felt serenity, a sense of security. But, not this morning! "No response, I don''t know what I was expecting." Aang let out a long sigh of disappointment. "But I can''t stop yet. This is the only option I have left." He gazed up at the celestial bodies in the sky, and just for a second, he saw a cluster of stars in the sky lit up in an extra bright flash of light. "Strange," He said. "Huh?" Aang felt a disturbance in the energy around the mountain. He turned his head and in his peripherals, he thought he saw a hazy blur pass by behind him. But, when he looked around he saw nothing out of the ordinary. Every tree and tiny pebble were in the same spots they always were. "Why did the air suddenly get so heavy?" He closed his eyes and decided to try his luck with the mind''s eyes instead. Even with him being the Avatar and the master of all four arts of bending, he couldn''t root out from where this uncomfortable feeling originated. Almost like someone was watching him, but they must be way out of his league because he couldn''t even tell if he was being watched or not. He just had an uncomfortable feeling that something was wrong. Aang still sat and tried to source out this problem when a space rift opened up in front of him. Amell and Valerie stepped out and Valerie immediately felt the cold air ontop this mountain, so she turned around and snuggled herself into Amell''s coat. "Aang, my boy. I heard your distress call. What have you gotten yourself into this time?" Amell and Valerie walked out of the portal and sat down on the ground. Well, he did, Valerie took the opportunity to find a comfortable position on his lap. "Master, I didn''t think I would get through to you this time. I have been here for three days and nights, meditating." He cupped his hand and bowed his head as you would when welcoming your master. Valerie tilted her head and inspected the Avatar up and down. "Why is a man wearing a dress?" She glanced up at her father who chuckled and patted her head. "That is the traditional monk robes. Both boys and girls wear them." Amell gave the most simple and direct explanation as he could because Aang''s expression told him that the Avatar was not in a joking mood. "Aang, allow me to introduce you two. This is Valerie, my daughter." "It is a pleasure to meet you, Valerie. My name is Aang. I am a student of your father. He trained me in air bending when I was around your age, maybe a little younger." Aang was usually a very talkative person, someone you could strike up a conversation with at any time. But, now something was bothering him because he didn''t keep his focus on Valerie. Instead, he looked seriously at Amell. "Master, the reason I called for you this time is not for fun and games. Will you stay and listen to me?" "I noticed that you are not in the best of moods right now. I will assume it is something you can not fix on your own." "No, I can not! It''s my daughter. She is sick, really sick. I have done everything I can, and I have travelled all over the world finding every specialist that exists. None can help her." This was the first time Amell had seen Aang experiencing true despair. That was something he could relate to. "So, you came looking for the only person you thought would have a chance of saving her. Did you tell your family about me?" Amell had erased himself from the memory of everyone he had contact with during his stay in this world, except Aang and Toph. "I haven''t. I just said I was gonna look into one last option. Do you think you can help, Master?!" Now, Aang was almost raising his voice against his master, and as a student of Amell, he knew better than that. "How could I answer that while I''m sitting here? Explain her symptoms to me!" "She has a high fever, concurring headaches, and the spiritual channels inside her body are breaking apart slowly causing her immense pain." Amell took a look at Valerie and horrifying short movies started playing inside his head. "We should be off quickly. If I am going to be saving your daughter today, I need to be next to her, and not up here on this mountain." Aang''s eyes lit up in delight. He put his fingers to his mouth and whistled with all his might. It echoed out over the old mountains and only a moment later, Appa, his flying Bison, Aang''s partner for life flew up from somewhere below the mountain. He landed beside Aang and the ground shook when he landed, Valerie almost lost balance because of that. "So, he is still alive. How''s he doing?" Amell looked at Aang for answers even though one look or touch on Appa would tell him everything he needed to know. "He is my partner, so of course, he is okay. He will be around for as long as I am." Aang smiled happily and stroked the Bison on the nose. "Both of you, go on. He will take us back in no time at all." Aang jumped up, but they didn''t follow him. Amell stood with a cheeky smile and lightly shook his head. "Boy, are you forgetting that I have a partner of my own. The Portgas bloodline has its mounts." Amell closed his eyes and concentrated for long-distant communication. After several seconds, he opened up another portal in the air. This was one was huge, three times the size of Appa. And, out from that portal came an eagles talon. The weight behind it shook the ground, and this time Valerie did lose balance and fall. Amell stood firm as a mountain and watched Orlando fully step out of the portal while simultaneously showing off his majestic figure perfectly. "H-He grew even larger?!" Aang who sat on Appa felt tiny. Not only that, he felt so tiny that he didn''t feel like Orlando could see him because of it. "Multiple times. I''m starting to get a little worried. If he grows any bigger, I won''t be able to take him anywhere." Orlando blew a puff of air against Amell, trying to knock him down, of course, it didn''t work. The wind simply past by Amell without touching him. "I''m kidding," Amell looked up at Orlando with a smile. "Valerie, get on!" She nodded and air bent her way up his back until he landed on his head. "S-She can air bend!" Aang who was quite obsessed with the resurrection of the air nomads looked on with slight greed and hopefulness. "Maybe she could marry my son, haha," Intended as a joke. But, Aang did not fully realise the wrath such a joke could bring. "Tread carefully, boy, otherwise, I will personally make sure the line of both Avatar and air nomad stops with you." The intent around his words was too clear to miss, so Aang just nodded and made a mental note of not joking about that anymore. "Now we can go!" Amell jumped up on Orlando''s head. And, they both took off. The combined might of both of these incredible beasts taking off destroyed some of the ground around them. They were nothing but two big white spots streaking across the night sky. They were flying close to each other, but one might not notice Appa since Orlando was almost four times the size of him. His form was majestic and the moonlight bouncing off his feathers made him look almost angelic. "Aang, tell me of your family. Have the situation improved since the last time I visited?" Amell''s voice was crystal clear despite the distance and the speed in which they travelled. "I like to think so," Thanks to Amell''s inhuman senses, he can hear a whisper from miles away if he focuses. "The kids are teenagers, almost breaching into adulthood. So, there is currently quite a lot of drama, especially with my daughter Kya''s condition worsening. Everyone is on edge!" "Your wife is a very proficient healer, correct? And you have your energy bending. How has that worked out for you?" Valerie had fallen asleep in his embrace, maybe because of the combination of the thin air up here and the soothing atmosphere. "Katara''s healing water slowed it down a little bit at first, but the sickness works almost as it evolves from combat. It became resilient to her healing, so that quickly stopped working for us. And, my energy bending can''t do anything here. That is why I come to you for help, Master. Your mastery in that very specific art is miles above mine." "I understand. I shall certainly try!" Amell''s eyes lit up in bright silver and he let out a sigh. "I see that proud city of yours. Very modern. The world sure has changed since I left." "You see it! That''s impossible, Master! We are so far from it!" "Aang, you are the Avatar, and not only that, you are my student as well. You should be well aware that there are more ways than one in which we can see. Do you not remember anything I and Gyatsu taught you?" "I''m sorry, Master! My mind has been one huge blur the last few days, as you can imagine." "Even more reason to get it together. As the Avatar, and Kya''s father. It is your job to never lose focus or hope. Get it together, boy!" The light in his eyes died down and he breathed out slowly. "I see we have quite the distance left to travel. It would be quite enjoyable, but we do not have that kind of time. We are going to jump through a rift." "A rift? Like you and young Valerie arrived by. Incredible!" Aang knew this was energy bending. He wasn''t anywhere near the level of his Master, but he was practising daily in the hope that one day, he would be. "The first few times you do it, it''s going to feel like you are spinning around at the speed of lightning. Most people puke the first time, so prepare yourself." With the warning out of the way, Amell waved his hand in front of him and two rifts opened up and swallowed both beasts and their masters. When Republic City was constructed by Avatar Aang and Fire Lord Zuko, Aang had another air temple built close to it. It became the fifth air temple in the world, and they called it Air Temple Island. It served a multitude of purposes, but the most notable one was that it was the home of the Avatar. Above the island, the two rifts appeared again and Appa and Orlando flew out of their respective rift. Aang managed to hold the contents of his stomach down. He gazed down on his island and his sense of urgency suddenly increased. Now that he was so close to Kya, the mental exhaustion and stress also made a comeback. "Beautiful island, Aang." "We should hurry down, Master. We don''t know how Kya is doing!" Aang and Appa left Amell and Orlando behind as they descended toward Air Temple Island. In the cover of darkness, their arrival wasn''t noticed by anyone on the island, despite everyone being awake. Inside the temple, in Kya''s room, the girl laid on her bed with a group of people sitting around her. The atmosphere was anything but cheerful this night. Kya''s condition had her at the brink of death, and everyone knew it. No one said anything until a girl in the corner sitting with her head between her legs looked up in delight. Her name was Suyin Beifong, and she was an earth bender just like her mother, Toph Beifong. The reason that she suddenly sprouted a smile was because of the ability she inherited from her mother, Seismic sense. She sensed the arrival of Appa outside the temple. "Auntie!" She stood up in a hurry, "Uncle Aang is back!" She bent down and shook the body of her sister that sat asleep beside her on the floor. Katara who sat half-sleeping next to Kya jolted awake almost immediately. "Everyone, Uncle Aang is back!" She said it again, even louder so everyone who hadn''t woken up would do so. "Are you sure, Suyin?" Katara rubbed her eyes and yawned. "Definitely," he struck the ground again and closed his eyes. "There is someone else with him too, but I can''t make out who it is." As she said it, the door opened and Aang walked in. "I''m back everyone." His eyes immediately locked onto Katara, and she smiled when she saw his face. She looked to have longed for this. "So I''m told." She said and walked up and hugged him. As she opened her eyes after the hug she got a look at Amell who stood out in the corridor behind Aang. "Honey, why is there a giant standing in the corridor behind you?" She escaped the confines of the hug and looked suspiciously at her husband. Sokka. Katara''s brother grabbed his weapon and looked at Amell. "Yeah, Aang. What''s up with the stranger?" "I apologize for disturbing the peace this late at night. The highly respected Avatar came before me seeking council about the condition of your daughter. And, how can I refuse a request from the Avatar himself." Aang, being fully aware that Amell was making fun of him wanted to sink into the ground and disappear. Katara looked into his eyes. "Can you heal my daughter?" Sokka moved to stand in front of the bed. The two sisters, Lin and Suyin Beifong together with Sokka moved closer to Kya. Her brothers, Aang''s two sons already stood by the bed, on-guard against this seemingly gentle giant. "I do not know, young Katara. If you will allow me to examine your daughter, I will know more." Amell could easily knock them unconscious, heal Kya and explain later. But, Aang was his student, and if he was gonna build a good relationship with them, it might be best to start on the right foot. Katara turned to Aang, "Can we trust him?" "Do you trust me?" "Yes, you know I do. We all do, you know that. I asked, can we trust him? Kya''s condition is worse than ever." Katara was always with Aang when they vetted previous healers, that''s why her suspicion was great right now. "If you trust him, trust me! He knows what he is doing. I will explain everything later, for now, let him take a look at Kya." Aang placed his hands on her shoulder and moved her away. The others calmed down, and Amell slowly made his way inside the room. The was just big enough to let him walk comfortably. But, if he walked completely straight, his head would go through the roof. Suyin leaned over toward her sister and whispered, "Sis, he''s freaking huge. Didn''t mom used to say she knew some extremely tall person when she was young?" "I vaguely remember her mentioning it. I don''t even know if it was a man or not. But, That''s neither here or there now, let''s focus on this." Amell stood over the bed, and his eyes lit up in bright silver. The occupants in the room who saw it were amazed by it. That was not something you saw every day. It was similar to how Aang''s tattoos lit up when going into the Avatar state, just not as noticeable and dramatic as that. "How in the world?!" Amell turned to Aang, "Boy, tell me exactly when she got sick!" His tone wasn''t tranquil anymore, nor was it neutral. It was actual worry and even some anger. Aang had never seen him like this before. "Did he just call dad boy?" Bumi, Aang''s eldest child asked Tenzin, the youngest sibling. Tenzin looked back, just as shocked, "I-I think so... Yeah," "Twenty-two days ago. It started slow, but it became gradually more aggressive, and eventually, everything we tried stopped working." "Tell me, what was she doing the day she got sick? Anything out of the ordinary? No matter how small or insignificant you may find it." "I and Katara have gone through that day a thousand times in our heads. Nothing stands out about that day." Aang was still in a state of shock and surprise from seeing this new serious side of his Master. While he was trapped in that state of limbo, Katara grabbed his hand and looked at Amell. "You know what it is, don''t you? Can you cure her?!" Her desperation was understandable, so Amell tried to clam down as to not rile her up further. "I know what is doing this to her. I will fix this, but after I am done here, you two will sit down with me and you will tell me everything, and I mean everything Kya did that day. As well, what you were doing." Katara didn''t answer, instead, she remained silent just to make sure she didn''t break Amell''s focus ''Vaatu, are you seeing what I''m seeing inside this girl?'' Amell turned to his spiritual partner. Vaatu who normally was unconcerned for humans was rather upset as well. ''I do not see it as you do. I sense it! It is like you, unlike anything I have ever felt before. The presence that has invaded this human is on-par with you. It might be stronger than you, I am unsure of that.'' ''same here as well, I don''t know its exact strength.'' Amell placed one index finger on her chest and the other on her forehead. ''Vaatu, this will require absolute focus. Do not mess this up or she will die.'' The energy gathered around his hands started turning green and it became visible in the physical world, so everyone could see it. ''Of course, Amell. I am with you!'' His aura was released in controlled amounts, but the people around all felt their hair stand up, and they felt their skin crawl. Suddenly without warning, Amell''s eyes started shining in bright red colour. "What''s happening?! Aang, that''s how you look in the Avatar state! Who is this man?" "I don''t know what''s going on either. I''ve never seen him do this!" "Uncle, can there be two Avatars?" Suyin asked. She was fascinated with what''s going on and she wanted to get closer, but just looking at Amell made her hesitate. Lin hit her lightly on the head, "Stupid, of course, there can''t be more than one. Don''t you know anything?" "Lin is right. Throughout the ages, there has never been two Avatar. There can''t be more than one Avatar, it''s impossible! Utterly impossible." Katara answered. Her eyes were glued on Kya. "That is something different. I don''t know how to describe it. It''s just... Different." Aang focused on Amell more than his daughter, not because he didn''t care, but because he had never encountered another spiritual presence this powerful. Kya''s body started to spasm a little and Katara almost jumped in and pushed Amell away, but Aang held her back. Her mother instincts when seeing her daughter spasm were hard to keep down, especially since she was in such an emotionally vulnerable state. ''Vaatu, I have it trapped! Give me everything you have... Now!'' Kya''s body was enveloped in a layer of bright green light and her gag reflex activated and out from her mouth came a small grey gooey substance that Amell grabbed and disintegrated using his most destructive energy. ''Thanks, Vaatu. Go to sleep, you deserve proper rest after that one.'' Vaatu didn''t hear him as he had already gone into a deep slumber. He removed his fingers and colour already started returning to Kya''s face. "She will be fine. She just needs a long and quiet rest." Katara rushed past him to get to her daughter. "Boy, you, I and Katara have to talk now. This is not over, meet me outside." Amell walked out of the room with a serious expression, leaving everyone inside wondering the same thing. "What the hell just happened?" ----------------------------------- End Chapter 262 - Disturbance Among The Celestials {2} Amells Worry In the garden on air temple island, there was a small alcove which housed some chairs and benches for sitting and casual conversation. From here you had a perfect view of the ocean, and it was almost time for the sun to breach the horizon, so the darkness of night was slowly fading. This is where Amell sat as he waited for Aang and Katara to arrive. Valerie was still asleep on top of Orlando, and Amell had given his partner the job to protect her until this all was taken care of. ''It can''t be him, he would not bother going after some random girl related to my student. He would come to me directly.'' Amell leaned his head back and closed his eyes. ''But, that energy. It was too familiar, are there others like me. People who made a deal with him as I did.'' He snapped his head back up. ''No, I would know in that case. If someone else like me existed, I would know. This is something else.'' Just as he was coming to a somewhat confirmed conclusion, they arrived at the alcove. It wasn''t just Katara and Aang. Sokka also took the liberty to join in. "I don''t know your name, Sir, but I want to thank you for saving the life of my daughter," Katara said in all sincerity. She was calm and her mind was at peace, finally, after three weeks of walking through the fiery depths of hell, she could breathe calmly again. "Amell. My name is Portgas D Amell. You do not have to thank me for what I did. When my student''s child is in danger, is it not my duty as master and guardian to do everything I can?" He saw the gears in their heads turning slowly. "Student? Is that how you know him, Aang?" Sokka, the ever-watchful and protective warrior asked. They had known each other since they were twelve, and he at least was sure Aang had no more secrets left to tell. "He is my air bending teacher from the days before I met both of you. During my days at the Southern Air Temple, before the genocide." "But, that was close to a hundred and fifty years ago." Katara looked back at Amell. He didn''t look a day over fifty. At most, in his late forties. "I''ve said this, maybe a thousand times at this point. I am old, very old. I know more about this world than the people living in it combined. So, now that we have that out of the way. Tell me everything Kya did on the day she got sick. Everyone she met, and everywhere she went." Amell ushered them to sit down. This would take some time to go through, and Amell needed them as relaxed and calm as possible. "Master, not to be rude, but is it possible for you to explain what infected Kya in the first place?" Aang knew Katara very well, and getting an explanation for this would only improve her mood, and in turn, make it easier for Amell to extract information from her. "I can only explain the basics of it." Amell waited until all three of them sat comfortably on their seats. "The reason I need to know what people she met on that day is because someone did this to her. This was not a sickness, more like a poison." "Someone did this to her? Why?! To get to me?" Aang wasn''t in short supply of people upset with him. The creation of Republic city, his changes around the world, there were plenty of people carrying grudges against him. The ones still loyal to the former Fire Lord was among the top of his enemies. "Maybe it was the Red Lotus, they have been getting a lot more aggressive lately. We have had six attempts on Aang''s life just this month alone." Sokka was among the top brass responsible for dealing with the Red Lotus. Since Amell had been gone for a very long time, he hadn''t heard of this organization. "Red Lotus? What happened to the White Lotus?" He looked at Aang. Not even Aang knew that Amell was a Grandmaster of the White Lotus, its most powerful member. "They are still around. I made a decision a few years ago to make the White Lotus a more public organization. We handle everything from war criminals to politics. The Red lotus is a group created by former White Lotus members who weren''t pleased with how we did things." "I see! Well, I can say with absolute certainty that they are not responsible for this." "How do you know that for sure? They are very resourceful, and they have powerful benders in their ranks." Sokka hated the Red Lotus with everything he had. But, he still wasn''t naive, he knew their power, and he rightfully feared it. "In the eyes of beings like me, you are all just a parody of what a true master represents. I was wording that nicely, trust me. The Red Lotus did not do this. Even I do not know who did it, and that''s a problem. But, that is my issue now. You have neither the power nor the knowledge to help. All you can do is continue your lives like normal and let me handle this." Sokka slammed his hand down on the table so hard that cracks appeared on its wooden surface. "How can you expect me to sit here and do nothing while the person responsible for this walks around free. If what you say is true and Kya was poisoned, then I will find the person responsible and deal with it personally." "Sokka, calm yourself. Master is stronger than even I. If he says we should stay out of the way, then he is saying that because he knows we would only be a burden." Trying to convince a hot-head like Sokka to sit still was almost impossible to do. Amell saw that stubbornness in him right away. So, before they had time to argue further, he released a small portion of his killing intent directed at the three of them. "We do not have time for this." They had all frozen due to the intense fear his killing intent brought forth. "That was only a tiny portion of the power residing inside my body. Hopefully, you now see the reality of this situation. I do not need nor want your help." "Master, I promise to keep people out of your way, but, I have another thing I wanted to bring up with you." Aang took a breath and calmed his nerves. Katara and Sokka were still trying to recover from the shock and fear of facing Amell''s power. "We saw you go into a state similar to the Avatar state while you were healing Kya. What was that? I think I sensed another spirit, similar to Rava who powers the Avatar." "It is a complicated matter. I am the host of a powerful spirit, that much is true. Think of it as Similar to Rava, it''s equal in power. But, that is nothing I want you to focus on, we will discuss it another time. What you need to do now is tell me everything that happened the day Kya got sick." Aang nodded and began retelling everything as he remembered it. And he did exactly as Amell said, he started from the time he woke up to the time he went to bed. Amell listened with interest and Katara and Sokka jumped in and added details Aang forgot or didn''t know of. After an hour of detailing that day as accurately as they could, Amell stopped them. "You said Kya spent the afternoon with her friend. Where were they the majority of that time?" "Out here in the garden, a bunch of her friends came and went during the day, but he arrived first and stayed the longest." Aang usually never paid much attention to the teenagers and what they were doing, but Katara did so she was able to explain pretty much everything Kya did with her friends. "What is his name?" "Lee. He and Kya have been best friends since they were very young. You can''t possibly think he did it. He eats dinner with us all the time, he was here today visiting Kya." "I will talk to this boy tomorrow," Amell saw the sunrise and he corrected himself, "I mean, today," He was sure that whoever did this to Kya stepped foot on this island personally. "You three should get some rest, and make sure the others also go to bed. While I am here, nothing like this will happen again. All of you need proper sleep." Amell said it as commanding instead of suggestive. It wasn''t difficult figuring out just how extremely exhausted Katara was. "You''re right, Master. Thank you! What will you do now?" "I will try and get to the bottom of this, and I have another long-overdue reunion to take care of. Now, off with you. After you have gotten some sleep we shall talk more." They exchange a few more words before Aang and the two zombies walked away from the alcove. Those two were still not back to normal. They picked up small bits and pieces of the conversation between Amell and Aang, but they weren''t present since their minds existed in a weird state of limbo. --------------------------------- End Chapter 263 - Disturbance Among The Celestials {3} The Threat Closing In It was in the middle of the day, and Amell was seated on the stone pavement in front of the temple. He wore simple white temple garments that Aang had gifted him. The mid-day sun sat high in the sky with almost no clouds passing by overhead, this was a day of true peace and tranquillity. He was in the middle of meditating when he heard several loud and hurried footsteps from inside. The plain wooden floors made it pretty easy for him to deduce who it was. "Everyone slept well I presume?" A smile grew on his face as he heard them stop just a few meters behind him. "Dad, they asked if they can see my bending, can I show them." Valerie performed a graceful skip over his head and landed with absolute perfect control. These were the traits of an air bender. Graceful and perfectly controlled movements. Amell took a look behind him at the people he already knew standing there. Toph''s two teenage daughters, Kya and Katara and Aang. The happiness exuding from Aang, Katara and Kya were almost too sweet to look at. Like when you eat so much candy you can not possibly even handle looking at more, Amell almost felt uncomfortable from their gazes of gratitude. "How are you feeling, Kya?" He asked. This was the first time she had been out of bed in two weeks, so she required the occasional support from Lin to help her stand. "I feel incredible, almost more alive than I did before I became sick." Kya bowed her head in gratitude, "Thank you so much for saving my life. For a second there I thought I might have actually died, in the end, it didn''t even feel real. The touch of other people felt hollow and distant." "Nasty stuff, a sickness like that. Also, you don''t have to thank me, I''ve gotten enough of those to last me several lifetimes. Just, promise to stay out of trouble." Amell felt a chubby little finger press against his cheek, and he heard his daughter sigh out tiredly. "Are you guys done with the boring stuff already? Can I train with them, dad? Please!!" Valerie tried the puppy eyes, and as usual, they worked perfectly. "Sure. You guys, be careful!" He looked at the three teenage girls. "We promise to be careful, we would never hurt her," Lin said respectfully. "Oh, it seems you have misunderstood me slightly. Be on guard or she will beat you faster than you can blink." "R-Really?" Lin was especially taken by surprise. Why would he warn them about someone so much younger than them? If going by looks alone, she would be right in being a sceptic. Thanks to her bloodline, Valerie looks younger than she is, and she is only nine years old so she looks really young. "Oh yes. Valerie is quite the talented little bender. "Why don''t you show off some of what you''ve learned. The Avatar is an air bender, so, show him how it''s done." "Sure!" With a spring in her steps, Valerie ran up in front of the group. She started by getting in the stance for air bending, and after that, the show was on. Her performance was beautiful, and every move she made showed Aang just how talented this little girl was. "I would expect nothing less from her. She must have been trained even more strictly than me." Aang would still have the clear upper-hand if they fought. But, he understood why Amell warned them about her. "In some regards, yes. But, overall, you two had almost the exact same training in the basics. I only adjusted the training a little to fit her better." As she finished her little performance, his gaze turned slightly to the left, and a little smile crept onto his face. He tapped stealthily on the ground with his finger and the ground a few meters ahead of them exploded and up flew a man. He looked to be in his late twenties, and he landed right in front of Amell. "Hello there, youngster." "What the hell just happened? Why did the ground suddenly explode, and who the hell is this guy?!" Suyin asked. Neither she or Lin felt any earth bending happen, so they instinctively looked over at Aang. The only other person who could earth bend among them, or so they thought. "I believe this man belongs to the organization you refer to as the Red Lotus." Amell picked the man up by his collar. "You do, right?" As he brought the man''s face closer, his eyes lit up in bright silver. "Screw you!" The man wanted to spit in Amell''s face, but for some reason found himself unable to do so. "What have you done with me?! Why can''t I move anything?!" You could see the struggle the man was in. He was trying to move his limbs, but his body wouldn''t listen to him. "Master, let me take care of this, I and Sokka will take him to Toph back in the city. There we could get some answers." Aang stepped up, and Sokka almost immediately afterwards came rushing out of the temple with his weapon in hand, it seemed he had heard the explosion. "Toph?" Amell looked back at Aang. "Our police chief. Suyin and Lin''s mother, and one of our oldest friends." Katara said. "I should meet her sometime, I have never met a police chief before," Amell said with a chuckle. This would be one of the most exciting meetings since he came here. He and Toph parted on relatively good terms, and he had been looking forward to how she was managing now. "Valerie, you can go and play with those three, just be careful not to destroy anything." He glanced at Lin, the responsible teen, "She tends to get carried away, so have an eye on her at all times." "Yes, sir!" As the girl squad disappeared to who knows where they all looked at the Red Lotus member. Amell had knocked him out with the excuse that he was getting too loud. "You can take him into the city and handle all that. I can''t leave the island yet, not until I know that it is completely safe to do so." "You think whoever attacked Kya is still here?" "No, I do not believe they are still present here themselves. This sad youngster sure isn''t involved. But, there is a chance that I missed something, and I can''t take that chance. I will also head to the city eventually. I just have to make sure that this place is safe first." "I trust you! We will go to the city and speak to the police about him. We''ll focus on the Red Lotus since I assume we won''t be of much use here with you." Aang said. "Your assumption is correct. There is nothing you can do, so focus on what you can deal with." Amell wasn''t one for idle chit chat, so he closed his eyes and returned to meditating. "Come on, you two. We should head out now, while we still have daylight." "The council will want to hear about this, the Red Lotus is starting to get too confident for my liking." Sokka placed his weapon back into its sheath. "They managed to place spies on this island without me noticing. That''s a first, and I''m afraid this will escalate rapidly." Aang whistled for Appa, "This island made not be safe for much longer unless we do something about this." "An emergency meeting of the city council, I''ll call it in," Sokka said. "You two, go ahead without me. I remember something that I and Master need to discuss." Amell raised an eyebrow and looked back at his disciple. "Okay, just don''t linger too long. Your word holds a lot of weight." Katara gave him a kiss on the cheek, and then she and Sokka jumped up on Appa and made haste towards Republic city. "What kind of business do we have to discuss?" Aang went and sat down in front of Amell. He took a deep breath and formulated a plan on how to address what he needed to say. "Do you trust me, Master?" "To a degree, I only trust myself completely. Though, I have yet to see you give me a reason not to trust you." He opened his eyes and relaxed. "Good. Then be honest with me!" Aang stared at Amell without blinking, "This threat you spoke of. It is more dangerous than you let on, right?" "What makes you say that, boy?" "First of all. I know you better than you think. Secondly, your behaviour. I have never seen you this upset since, well, never. You are the man that can stop a war on his own without a problem. You can travel across the universe, yet this enemy scares you. So, tell me honestly, will we die in the inevitable fight?" "Aang, do you remember what you said to me when I left for home, all those years ago?" Amell said in complete calmness. "Vaguely, what part?" "You told you me you didn''t know how to be the Avatar. But, look at you now. I just need to say how very proud I am of the man you have become." "This sounds like a goodbye speech. Do you mean to say it is as I fear? This threat is just that dangerous." "I am afraid so. I believe I am capable of killing whoever this enemy is. But, what I know for certain is that my chances of surviving aren''t that great this time around. That''s why I can''t have any of you around, this is one fight where I can''t worry about collateral damage. Any distraction, no matter how minor could be what kills me in the end." "What are the odds of you winning?" "I do not know. It''s simply impossible to say at this time." Amell drew a circle in the dirt, "This is your world as a whole, this globe. Outside it, there is a small pocket dimension, a realm of chaos independent from your world. This is where I will try and face this enemy. In there, none of you will be affected, no matter how bad it gets." "Anything I can do to help in getting the enemy there? We could maybe lay a trap of some kind." "No, against this enemy. A trap won''t work. I will have to either ask that we fight there or forcefully drag them there myself. Both options are risky and have a low success rate." "I don''t like feeling this useless! I am the Avatar, this is the sort of thing I am here to prevent." "No, this isn''t on you. The Avatar exists to balance this world. But, like me, this enemy is not native to this world, that much I know." "I guess you''re right, as always. I hate it when you are right!" Aang felt utterly defeated and useless, but he knew Amell waws right so he couldn''t argue with him. "Do you know when the enemy will show themselves?" "No, I don''t. But, that bug planted inside Kya had to be a bait for me. So, now that I am here, it shouldn''t be long before they show themselves." "Then all we can do is wait?" "Unfortunately. You should go now. Appa has returned, the council is surely waiting for your arrival in the city." Amell''s eyes picked up Appa far of in the distance approaching the island. "Again, I hate that you are right." He stood up and dusted off his clothes, "I know I don''t have to tell you this but keep the kids safe. We should be back by nightfall." Now Aang also saw Appa flying towards the island. "I can protect them, but I won''t cook for them, or I might be the one killing them." "Haha, understood, Master!" The burden on Aang''s shoulders lightened slightly from being allowed the freedom to laugh. --------------------------------------- End Chapter 264 - Disturbance Among The Celestials {4} A Reunion To Be Remembered Another sunny day and Amell was strolling through the streets of Republic city while humming on a light-hearted tune. The streets were really crowded and loud so on one could really pick up on his humming, but what he could never escape was his height. Wherever he went, that was always one thing that would ensure he would be stared at. He could always change his height, but he had been this tall for so long that it had become a part of his identity and he felt no need to change it. Plus, nowadays he wasn''t as appalled by fame as he used to be. He actually didn''t mind people recognizing him, as long as it didn''t go further than a smile. He would still not even consider writing autographs or anything of that sort. "This world has really advanced since the last time I was here. It''s amazing that they have cars now." His eyes were tracking the vehicles filling up the two big lanes on the street. They weren''t as modern or nice-looking as his old world''s vehicles, but they still got people from point A to B. In the end, that was their purpose. He had come here for two reasons. One of them was investigating the mysterious presence inside Kya. He had come to take a look at the boy that was her best friend. But, unfortunately, any trace of him was gone. This led Amell to only two conclusions. The first one being that this boy was the entity that poisoned Kya, this was the least likely option in his opinion. The more likely one being that the boy got possessed and is now lying dead in a ditch somewhere. The second reason for coming to the city was of course to meet Toph, the other disciple he had in this world. "I wonder if she remembers me, hope so or this meeting might be really awkward." He was walking around without paying much attention and he bumped into a man that had been pacing back and forth. Amell, of course, was fine but the man got knocked down on the ground, and a gun fell out of his jacket. "What the hell!? Watch where you''re going, or I''ll kill you!" The man collected himself and looked up at Amell only to feel his blood freeze. Those calming, yet terrifying silver eyes looking down on him almost had him in tears. "Why would you stand there? That was a bit clumsy, wouldn''t you say so?" Amell looked down on him expecting an answer, but he heard a gunshot instead. And, the doors to the jewellery store right next to him flung open and three people came running out. "Why the fuck are you not in the car?! GET IN!!" The leading man yelled while he and the other two robbers in black hoods jumped into the car. "He stuck his head out of the car window and yelled, "We screwed up, there are two benders inside! GET IN THE CAR!" He was yelling to the man sitting on the ground, but that poor bastard couldn''t move because Amell was still looking at him. "Uncle Amell?!" Suyin and Lin came running out of the store, "What are you doing here?" Suyin asked hurriedly until her eyes caught the car and the people in it. "OH NO! You''re not getting away!" "Shit! Fuck him, just go!" The wheels on the car screeched as it took off, leaving the lonesome robber sitting paralyzed in front of Amell. "Lin, take care of that guy, I''m going after them!" "No way, you got the last car chase. I''m getting this one!" The sisters started butting heads, and Amell stood there with a look that expressed his confusion. *BANG* "Monster!" "UNCLE AMELL!" Both sisters yelled at the same time. Suyin ran up and kicked the gun out of the robber''s hands, then she delivered a savage kick to his face, breaking his nose and knocking him out. "Phew, close one. Thanks for the warning girls." Amell gave them a smile as he dropped the bullet on the ground. "Y-You caught the bullet?! How is that even real?" Lin said. Suyin didn''t say anything as she was still working on believing what she was seeing. "Just in time mind you. Scary stuff, those guns." Suddenly and without warning, the car was dropped in front of them on the street. "Just in time," The three looked up and saw Appa approaching, and he landed beside the car. And, four people jumped off. "Anyone wanna explain what happened here?" A firm, yet somehow caring voice rang out, and the sisters tensed up at the sound of it. Lin turned around with a smile, which Amell had yet seen on her until now. "Mom, w-we weren''t crime-fighting, just at the wrong place at the wrong time. That''s all!" Lin and Suyin that had expected a scolding of a lifetime were only met with silence. "Toph? Are you okay?" Katara, Sokka and Aang, as well as the sisters watched as Toph stood paralyzed without even blinking. "Did mom die?" Suyin whispered to her sister. Lin just shrugged her shoulders. "I don''t know. I have never seen her this quiet before. It makes me a little uneasy." "You''re back? You said you wouldn''t come back!" The first words out of her mouth confused the entire group. "It was an unexpected visit, I didn''t think I would be back." All eyes turned to him in hope of an explanation. "It''s good to see you again, and I''m not gonna lie. I am very glad that you still remember me." "You made it pretty difficult to forget you. Someone should tell you that you''re good at leaving a lasting impression." "Oh my god! Is mom crying?!!" Suyin whispered not so quietly. "You''re right! Now, I''m very interested!" Katara followed up and said not so quietly. "Toph and I have a history. Like you, Aang, she is also my student." "Ohhhh... Wait! That doesn''t make any sense, you''re an air bender, right? Why would she become your student?" Lin asked. "How about this, we go somewhere more private. This isn''t exactly the most ideal place for this conversation." Amell suggested and Aang immediately agreed. "Everyone, get on Appa." And, everyone did just that. Amell grabbed the sisters and leapt up onto Appa. They sat down and Sokka immediately asked Amell to continue his explanation. "Right, where to begin." "How about you tell us how you met?" Aang said. "We met when I was six years old. I got lost in a large cave system next to my home town. In there, we stumbled upon each other and after that he became my earth bending master. He taught me how to use Seismic sense. You girls always ask where I learned that, well, that''s where." Toph looked at her daughters with a smile. Her strict and stern police chief persona was slowly melting away. "But how? Only the Avatar can use more than one element." Katara was listening with interest. She wanted to get to know him because he was like a closed book, filled to the brim with mysteries she wanted to solve. "Little lady, you may have helped save the world. But, when it comes to the art of bending, no one compares to me!" Amell created a rock above his palm and summoned, fire, water and air around that small rock. "There are secrets in bending not even the ancient Lion Turtles know about." "WOAH! AMAZING, UNCLE!!" Suyin jumped up in delight, "Teach me that! I want to bend fire too!" She punched the air in excitement. Appa was approaching air temple Island, and high up above him, Orlando was soaring with Valerie on his back, but only Amell was aware of their presence. "Bending multiple elements aren''t as easy as I make it out to be. Ask your uncle Aang, he can do it because he is the Avatar, but I also explained the concept around it from my perspective and he still hasn''t figured it out." "Hurts my pride to admit that, but it''s true. If I wasn''t the Avatar, I''m not sure I could ever practice the bending that Master does. It''s freakishly complex." "So, it''s hopeless for me? That sucks!" "Not hopeless, but the chance of you succeeding in your life is minimal at best." Amell saw the hope die out inside the girl, but what else was he gonna say to her. He couldn''t say, "try your best, and you will succeed." because that just wasn''t true. He wasn''t even sure he could teach the cosmic bending to anyone. Valerie and her brother had the ability because they had his bloodline, but for anyone else, he wasn''t sure it could be taught. Though to be fair, he hadn''t tried teaching someone seriously, and if he could learn it, maybe anyone could, he wasn''t sure. "Where have you been all this time?" Toph asked. She hadn''t reverted to that hot-blooded, yet innocent little girl she once was, but her daughters had never really seen her this calm before. Her tone wasn''t strict either, which was surprising to them. "Here and there," Amell said and smiled. "But, I''m guessing that is not the detailed answer you were looking for." "Uncle Amell!" Suyin interrupted. "How was mom as a kid?" "SU! Cut it out or you''re gonna burn both of us!" Lin whispered to her sister in a threatening tone, while Toph looked over with those very familiar disciplinary eyes. "She was the cutest kid ever, used to cry whenever I left the cave after our training sessions." "Wha..." Toph''s jaw came loose and hit the ground, and Lin and Suyin both sprouted the biggest smiles Toph had ever seen. "I''m gonna kill you!" She looked straight at Amell. "Good luck, while you try and do that, you guys wanna hear another embarrassing story about Toph?" "YES!" The sisters said immediately. "QUIET!" Toph sent a piece of metal to wrap itself around Amell''s head to cover his mouth. He, of course, just had to look at it to make it stop mid-air. "You mastered metal bending, very good. But, you''re still not within my league." He grabbed the piece of metal and threw it away. "I''m having a hard time believing this. I always thought I was the only one that knew about you, Master. How come you never talked about this, Toph?" Aang turned towards her. "What point was there to do that? He disappeared, I moved on, that''s about it." She said with an undertone of anger. "You make it sound like I''m the worst person ever. I had my reasons for going, and they were important." And it wasn''t like those reasons had disappeared at all. He could still feel this world rejecting his presence. The only difference was now was that his mastery in cosmic bending had improved, and technically, he was stronger than an entire planet, energy-wise. He could be here for longe, it would just take more effort on his part. "Whatever, it''s not like I''m still mad about it. I moved on, you moved on, great, everyone''s happy." Her sulking had officially begun. "And, there is the mom we know and love!" Suyin said happily. "There she is, indeed. I kinda wanted the nice one a little longer." Lin said. "You two keep talking like that and you''re grounded for life." Toph glared at her daughters. "Toph, you should be nice to them, at the end of the day, they''re all you have." Amell couldn''t help but let out a chuckle, he had missed the simple things, such as Toph''s voice, or her overbearing personality. With everything that was going on now, he found himself longing for those simple times with him and Toph in that cave, practising earth bending. "Yeah! You go, uncle Amell! Tell her!" Suyin yelled happily. "FLEE"In the next moment, right as Suyin''s laughter died down, before Amell could utter another word of warning, an incredible and pin-point accurate force came and struck him in the chest. "MASTER!" Aang only saw a glimpse of a shadow than the force came and he was gone. A big splash was heard as Amell''s body hit the ocean. "WHAT JUST HAPPENED!?" Sokka stood up with his weapon in his hand, but not before Toph had managed to throw her body over her daughters. "Aang! Where did Master Amell go? What the hell happened?!" Toph met Aang''s gaze and it by itself spoke louder than any words could. Another force passed by them again though this one was much weaker and clearly only used to get everyone''s attention. "He is better than I thought. He sensed my attack coming." "Who''s there?!" They heard the voice. A beautiful yet eerie and stoic voice. But, they couldn''t see the one that uttered the words. It came from all directions, so when Katara turned around, expecting to see someone, she was still only met with the empty air. "Is it just me, or has Appa stopped moving?" Aang looked around and he was the first to notice in all this confusion that his flying companion was no longer moving. He felt someone tap on his shoulder, and then everything went dark. "AANG!" All of them saw a pale-white man step out of space and grab Aang by the throat. He had long white hair that was two times longer than himself. The man flashed a calming smile as he threw Aang to the side. "WHAT DID YOU DO TO DAD!!?" Valerie came diving from above, her eyes had tears streaming down from seeing her invincible dad suddenly just disappear. Her expression showed rage, and her hand were enveloped by an incredibly sharp wind-blade. "Daughter of the candidate. I can not kill you, but that doesn''t mean I can not use you." A single string of hair flew up and caught her mid-air. "Scream for your father!" "AAHHHHH!" Another string of hair, separate from the one that had her trapped pierced her shoulder like a hot knife going through butter. "That looked to have done the trick." A heavy pressure, beyond anything that anyone had ever felt before, came over just not them, but the entire planet. Halfway around the world people were knocked unconscious by this very heavy pressure. Only a select few people could stay conscious, The people on Appa were among those that stayed awake. Soon after the pressure appeared, the ocean started to rise, not only where Amell had struck down, but thousands upon thousands of miles of the ocean started to rise into the air. And, from the water emerged Amell. With eyes glowing bright red and killing intent so thick and vivid that space around him almost broke apart, he rose slowly up towards Appa that was still suspended in the air. "W-W-What''s going on?!! Is this his doing?!" Lin had fallen down on her knees, she was just staring out at the unbelievable sight, just like the rest of them were doing. "Let go of my daughter!" Amell didn''t speak loudly at all, but the group sitting on Appa felt like vomiting when they heard it. His voice carried his intent in full, and they couldn''t handle that pressure affecting their very souls. "Your wish is my command, after all, you decide the rule to this duel." He let go of her and instantly she disappeared, and Amell delivered her to Orlando but not before healing her wound. "Get her to my mountain, fly like the wind." He said. Orlando disappeared like a bolt of lightning. He appeared before the man and the water had become a spherical ball with them in the middle. This was something that would require maybe millions of water benders, yet he managed this with just his mind. "This is what''s going to happen. You will tell me who you are, you will tell me what''s going on. Then, I will kill you in a way so painful and so brutal that it will make gods weep in fright." Amell waved his hand and Appa, together with Aang and the rest got sucked into a rift and disappeared. "A seat among the Council Of Gods is empty. You are one on the fifty-six chosen candidates for the spot. The council chose me as your challenger. Now when I have presented myself to you, the duel can commence at a time of your choosing." "I don''t know of any council, what is it? Give me the short version!" "The council is the gathering of the twenty-nine most powerful beings in the multiverse. We reside in the Celestial Realm, created personally by the Almighty. A seat has opened up and among the chosen for that seat, you are one." "Are you one of them? One of the twenty-nine?" Amell was itching to rip his spine out, but if he had learned something from half a millennia alive, it was patience. Right now, the smart move was to get the basic information, especially since he apparently decides when the killing starts. "Absolutely not! It would take a thousand of me to combat the lowest seat. I am but a servant to the twenty-fourth seat, sent here to test you." The man both sounded and looked offended by Amell believing him to be among the beings seated on the council. "Then why have I been chosen for this? Both you and I know that we are equal in strength. I am not a thousand times stronger than you." "I am surprised you do not know this. You have the mark of the Almighty. Those who carry his mark can fight for an open seat no matter what." He was clearly in awe when speaking about this Almighty being. "Who is he?" Amell had an idea, but he prayed he was wrong. He wanted nothing to do with him ever again. "I am not aware of the Almighty''s identity. Only the council chairman has direct contact with him. No one else is allowed to see or talk to him. All I was told by the council was that you wear his mark on you. That alone qualifies you." "I understand." He ripped open a rift in the air. "I will kill you in here. I do not wish harm onto this world." "Your concern for these insignificant mortals baffles me." The man said stoically and walked right into the rift, not at all concerned about death, or it being a trap. "I never take pleasure in killings anymore. But, I believe that is about to change." Amell walked in after the stranger and the rift closed soon after. ---------------------------------------- End Chapter 265 - Disturbance Among The Celestials {5} Duel Inside The Realm Of Chaos The space between worlds, the emptiness in the multiverse. You might expect this space to be just that, empty. But, it is, unfortunately, the opposite of that. That space is what Amell refers to as the Realm of Chaos. It''s filled with chaotic energy that if it should appear in most worlds, it would destroy that world in just a matter of years, and if a more substantial amount of chaotic energy leaked into any world, it might just take days or hours for total annihilation to occur. This was the realm chosen by Amell for the dual to take place. When the rift opened up and they both walked into the realm, their bodies were assaulted by all the powerful and chaotic energy that existed within. For the majority of people, stepping into this realm would kill you instantly, but these two brushed it off like it was nothing. You could say this realm was deadly for mortals but child''s play for Celestial beings like the man who came to challenge Amell. This realm was the space between everything in existence, and if you world-travelled you would come across this place more than once. Amell''s eyes scanned the horrific and brutal environment that now surrounded him on all sides. Inside here you would find nothing but death and despair, yet Amell found this place to be empowering, something in here was giving him power. "Do you feel it? The calling of our home?" He turned to Amell with a calming attitude. "What are you talking about?" "You must have questioned yourself for a long time now. Are you mortal or not? The answer is no, you are not!" His smile turned smug, and he enjoyed having Amell wrapped around his little finger, which Amell could do nothing about. He knew more about the truth of the multiverse and he was stronger than him. Amell was at his mercy, even though it didn''t look like it. "I suppose you have an answer to all my questions?" Amell closed the rift and placed his hands behind his back. "As long as this is not a plot to get out of this fight, go ahead and tell me what I am." For two hundred years, Amell had asked this question and was this the moment when he would get it answered. "I would not dare to do that. We Celestials have integrity. A promise made is a promise fulfilled." He looked more serious now, which served to emphasis the point that he was serious about it. "You are what we call half-celestial. You are not mortal, yet you aren''t fully Celestial yet. You are in the process of becoming one of us." "Well, thanks for clearing that up for me. But, it would help if you explained to me what the hell a Celestial is? Are you gods?" "Some do see us that way, but that is only for the ignorant, which is most of existence." "We are Celestials, which is nothing more than a fancy word for mortals that have transcended their own mortality." "Are you claiming that all Celestials are former mortals?" "That is right! The council chairman was the first one to transcend, countless aeon''s ago. Some speculate he is as old as the Celestial realm itself. Though no one really knows." He explained in awe. "This is quite a lot to take in. I only have one last question." "Ask away!" "What is the name of the soon-to-be-dead Celestial standing before me." Amell looked deep into his opponent''s eyes with nothing but the pure unadulterated rage inside his own. "Zamza. Captain of the fourth district of the twenty-fourth Lord City of the Celestial Realm." Zamza performed a proper bow, it showed quite clearly that he was well versed in noble society. "Zamza, I would not have killed you if you did not hurt my daughter, but since you did, I will be true to my promise and rip you to pieces." A sword-slash travelling close to the speed of light traversed the distance between them. It was Amell that had drawn his sword, but Zamza wasn''t like anyone he had ever faced before. He disappeared and a slap on the face sent Amell flying. "Do not mistake me for a common mortal. You will have to do better than that." He vanished again, and Amell was still flying, he was unable to stop himself. The force he got hit with was something he had never experienced before. Zamza landed another successful punch and the sound of Amell''s ribs breaking sounded out. "Is this all you got? I hope not," Zamza sent out his hair and grabbed onto Amell and dragged him back towards him. "I ask that you please survive this one. It has been a while since I fought someone, and I am very bored." His hand lit up in white energy and he punched Amell once again. But, this time his punch didn''t connect as he thought. Amell''s body went imaginable at the last possible second and he went straight through Zamza. When he came out on the other side, he delivered a backwards kick that struck Zamza right in the head. "You broke my rib. Congratulations, for you, are the first one to injure me, and you will be the first one to experience my full power." Amell drew his golden sword, and with it came the release of his entire aura. The vast majority of this part of the Chaos realm started shaking violently. "Get up!" He spoke apathetically. "I judged you too quickly!" Zamza pulled out one string of his hair and it transformed into a pale-white plain-looking sword. No more chit chat, they both disappeared and thousands of explosions occurred in seconds, and flashes of gold and white appeared in the centre of these explosions. This was fighting beyond any level Amell had ever been apart of. "You are not experienced enough!" Zamza said calmly as his pale-white sword cut open Amell''s chest once again. "You are so used to playing around with mortals that you simply can not handle opponents on even your own level. Do you not know that carelessness is what kills most Celestials." He delivered a kick and Amell vomited out a handful of blood as he was sent flying. Zamza appeared by him and pierced his chest with his sword. "Will not work twice!" Zamza said as Amell''s body had gone intangible again. Zamza covered his blade in his white energy and proceeded to drive his sword through Amell''s stomach sending another flood of blood flowing out of the Half-Celestial. Zamza kicked Amell''s sword away then grabbed him by the throat. "Let me tell you something. When battling Celestials, cheap tricks will only get you so far. Any Celestial worth his salt won''t fall for them twice." His grip tightened around Amell''s throat. "You should have said goodbye to your daughter before coming here." He pierced Amell''s chest, aiming to destroy his heart. But, something blocked his blade before it could reach his heart. "What?" Zamza looked at Amell''s face and saw that he was smiling widely. "Got ya," Amell grabbed a hold of his hand with all the power he had left in his body. ''VAATU, NOW!'' The black spirit came out of his body in his temporary physical body. He wrapped his arms around Zamza. "Hurry up, Amell. I can only hold him for a few seconds!!" Vaatu was using everything he had only to keep him trapped for a few measly seconds. But, in battles on this level, a millisecond could be the difference between life and death. "I said I would rip you to pieces. But, let''s make it more painful!" Amell raised his hands and summoned two white flames. The most dangerous flames he was capable of conjuring. These flames could destroy anything, maybe even an entire world by just their heat alone. He condensed them into tiny balls of mass destruction. "It has been an honour!" Zamza said. He could free himself, but it would be pointless because the price he would have to pay would mean Amell could easily kill him once he was free. "Can''t say the same!" Amell pierced Zamza''s chest and the two white balls of flame combusted once inside and an explosion occurred similar in heat and power to the sun. Vaatu retreated inside again so he wouldn''t die from that explosion, which he would have, and with that, he would greatly wound Amell''s soul. When the explosion died down, only silence remained. Even the chaotic energy always present within this realm had been temporary wiped away from the area by the sun-like explosion caused by Amell''s mightiest flame. ''Are you alive?'' ''If I wasn''t, you wouldn''t be alive either, Vaatu." ''Are you gonna be okay?'' ''Eventually. It has been so long that I had almost forgotten what it felt like to be hurting physically. It''s surprisingly exhilarating.'' ''Very interesting. But, what should we do now? This trick we pulled will not work on someone stronger than Zamza.'' ''I am aware. My cosmic bending was useless against Zamza. He had another form of energy that was at the same level as mine, and plus his mastery was higher than mine. Whatever we''ve got ourselves into now, I can''t stay the same level as I am now. I believed this to be as strong as I can get, but clearly I have barely scratched the surface of the true ladder of power in this multiverse.'' ''We should get back to my homeworld quickly and think about our next step.'' Amell opened a rift in space just as all the chaotic energy returned. ''Indeed, that is a very good idea. I also have something to do. I think I know someone who can answer all my questions." With his body full of wounds, and blood dripping from all over he walked into the rift. After Amell had disappeared from this realm, two people appeared where he had stood. "Portgas D Amell. lots of potential in that boy. But, currently very weak. Assessment, not a threat." A man in a calming yellow-coloured suit said stoically. "He''s interesting, definitely the most attractive among them all. Maybe I''ve finally found my King." A little girl that was floating on a pale-yellow pillow said in a childish, sweet voice. There was no malice within it, but the aura of these two made Zamza look like a dust rat. "Lady Trik. What did we talk about? When you stop looking for love, it is then that it will present itself to you. So, please do not kill this one too quickly, or the chairman will yell at me again." The man said with an almost pleading tone. "Wipe that attitude away. I promised I would just observe this time around. It''s been a few thousand years since last I saw someone that cute, so I''ll him live, for now." "Very good, Lady Trik. We should head back no, or we will be late for afternoon tea." They both disappeared and their aura completely faded away with not one trace of it left. -------------------------------------------- End Chapter 266 - A New Path ''My life reduced to a science experiment.'' Amell fell on his knees in anger. "Everything! It was all him, all along! IT WAS HIM!" With ferocity and indescribable anger he struck the ground and spread a crack through the mountain. "D-Daddy?!" To no surprise, that outburst of anger awoke sleeping beauty. She rubbed her eyes to try and get rid of the left-over sleepiness looming over her. She was almost too comfortable snuggling against the eagle''s feathers so it made her not want to move away from that warmth. The evening chills still made her body shudder, so Orlando in a rare moment of kindness covered most of her body with his humongous wing. "DADDY!" As reality settled in with her, she realised what she was looking at. Her father in all his grandeur, with eyes that screamed both danger and comfort. The sensation he gave off was new to her. She had never seen him like this before so she couldn''t tell if he was upset with her or glad to see her. No matter how complicated her feelings were at the moment, she still made Orlando remove his wing and she rushed at her father. With a skip and then a jump she landed comfortably in his embrace and immediately she felt a lot safer. ''Daddy is different?'' she glanced up just to see that he hadn''t recognized that she was in his embrace. His body had moved to embrace her unconsciously, like a reflex his body performed without him commanding It to do so. "Daddy, what happened? Where were you? Who was the man that attacked you?" Her body had healed from the damage the strange man had caused, but she still felt weak. Shaking her father awake proved fruitless. She sat there swinging his arm every which way but he just didn''t move, no matter what she tried to do. Fear started building up inside her, and could anyone blame her for that? Not really! The invincible man she knew would always protect her was sitting there pale as a ghost just staring out into the void. It wasn''t until she had shaken his arm maybe a hundred times back and forth that he started showing some sort of a reaction again. "Valerie?" He said. Slowly looking down at her, he palmed the right side of her face and as if nothing had happened, his gentle father-like smile grew back. But, she could see through that smile no matter how he tried to hide it. ''He''s sad,'' she said to herself as she tried to not worry. No matter how strange and unnerving she found this situation, seeing that smile again put her mind at ease somewhat. The entire world started filling with vibrant colours, when previously, just seconds ago, it was a world of grey uncertainty. "It''s me, daddy! Are you daddy?" She said, slightly leaning backwards away from him. His change was too sudden for her to feel completely comfortable about it. "Not to worry, Sweetheart. I am me." His gaze was distant as he continued saying, "for now." His hand stroked the side of her face as it fell to his side without him noticing it was there in the first place. Valerie tilted her head to the side. His final two words weren''t lost from her, she just didn''t know what he meant by them. "D-Did you defeat the bad guy?" Her stuttering coupled with her frightful expression seemed to snap Amell out of whatever mindset he was in. He made a conscious choice to stroke her cheek and lean in to kiss her on the forehead. "Don''t worry, baby. That man will not come back ever again. But, for everyone''s sake, especially for your safety, I have to get you back to your mother." He said smiling. "What? No! I want to stay with you. The bad guy won''t come back, right? I can stay with you for a little longer, please!" Surprisingly, Amell felt it was much easier to deny her requests now. If this was from him learning that a big part of his family was preprogrammed, he didn''t know. Maybe it stemmed from the simple fact that the man he needed to become barely had any emotions in him. No doubt, this would cause huge friction between him and his family, and if Sylvia was free from any further manipulation as God implied then she would absolutely see and feel that something was wrong with Amell. The emotionless aura around him would probably never truly go away again. After what he had learned here today, he wasn''t sure that life could ever go back to how it once was, no matter if he became the new God or not. "I am sorry. I can not risk your safety. I am going on a very long journey to hunt down and kill everyone associated with the man that attacked us." His hold around her tightened as he spoke so easily to her about murder. He wouldn''t dream about talking to Valerie about killing people before, but things had changes and small details now didn''t seem important enough to even care about. The safety of his children was still his number one priority, which was why he didn''t bother with pleasantries. He just needed her to be back with her mother as soon as possible. "Before you say anything," he stopped the words he saw wanted to escape her throat. "The safety of you and your siblings will always be the only thing that matters to me. No one else comes close to the importance you all hold. Your mother would agree, which is why she would never forgive me if I dragged you along with me." Valerie had to swallow her next set of words because she couldn''t find it in herself to argue with him. "How about what I want?" She continued with an expression of pain on her face as the tears threatened to fall. "You might not know or care. But, Valerius and I know about how you used to disappear and leaving everyone alone for years at a time." Her tiny fists were clenched in anger and anxiety. She knew the consequences of her father''s adventures. "What if I don''t get to see you ever again? That guy was strong, almost as strong as you. I have never seen you struggle before! What if the next guy kills you?!" She felt the urge to bang on his chest, but she knew it would do no good, so she opted for just staying still and letting the tears fall down. "Valerie!" His firm and audible tone broke her out of the temporary darkness that had overtaken her mind. "The possibility of me dying is real. It is of no use to lie about that since it could happen. But, from what I understood from my small chat with that Celestial, as they are calling themselves. It is me that they want, and they have more pride and honour then going after their enemies families." This was, of course, a lie. He knew no such certainty. "With you in the safety with your mother, and with my commanders looking after you, I can rest easy. Those Celestials will never claim my life as long as I know that you are safe from them. But, if you start causing a ruckus and start getting their attention, that''s when I could lose focus and lose my life. Do you understand what I mean by this?" "Y-Yes!" She knew but hated that she would be forced to follow it. "I will stay with mom and wait for you. But, if you think for a second I will let those bastards off the hook, you''re wrong! I and Valerius will become strong and he and I will find them and kill them for what they''re doing to our family!" The fierce bloodlust sleeping deep within her bloodline came to the surface and made the thin air on this mountain even thinner. Normal humans would most likely only have a few seconds of air if she continued releasing this amount of killing intent. "I would expect no less from my children, especially now. I would never want my children to develop my inclinations and talent for taking lives. But, that was before I knew the incredible threat that exists out there in the multiverse." Amell took a second to accept what he has just said to his daughter. "When we get back, I will talk with Bradley about him training you. If there is someone who can keep you safe from even Celestials, like the one that attacked me, it''s him." He tried to turn his smile into something genuine, but he couldn''t do it. "What about Alucard? Is he gonna train Valerius then?" "No, Alucard is... Special. He has unusual duties within the Gotei. But I can assure you if anyone attacks my family when he''s around, they are going to regret it. He is much like me, both in power and calculative abilities. The only big difference is." After a little pause to breath, he said. "He has not one shred of humanity within him. No mercy, no empathy or kindness. He never lets anyone die quickly and painlessly. He is the last person I would want training any of my children. Just ask Itachi, his second-in-command. He will tell you what kind of monster Alucard is. A monster that I need now more than ever." There was silence as she swallowed the information she had just gotten. "What now then? I go home, and you start hunting Celestials?" "Yes! That is the general idea of it all." The plan he had in mind was more complicated than that, but Valerie didn''t need to know the gritty details of his plan to destroy most of the multiverse. Of course, that wasn''t necessarily what would happen. But, he was fully prepared to do it if he had to. "You know I love you, right? We all do!" As if she could suddenly see the thoughts swimming inside of his mind, she leaned in and hugged his arm tightly. "Do what you have to do to protect us." She said that as quietly as she could, but nothing escapes Amell''s senses. "I will! And where did my child go?" He tried smiling again, but, yet another failure. "Can you please stop maturing so fast, just stay a kid for a few most minutes." He embraced her in an equal amount of sadness and love. After all of this was over, he knew that then he would have ample time to hate himself for what he was doing. Turning the children he loved into brutal killing machines, bred for war. *****************