One Piece: I have Hacks

[Hilight]

Current Dan - 55 Doriki.

Arlong - 480 Doriki.

You may agree or disagree. I appreciate opinions on this matter.)

Click to shrink...

I'm gonna have to disagree. According to this Arlong is about the same level as the lowest CP9, and that's worthwhile strength in the first half of the Grand Line despite Arc 1 Luffy beating him like a drum. Granted, this is unless your explanation is Arlong spends about a decade not training or fighting to the point he get's drastically weaker by the time Luffy fights him.

 

[The Synonym]

I'm gonna have to disagree. According to this Arlong is about the same level as the lowest CP9, and that's worthwhile strength in the first half of the Grand Line despite Arc 1 Luffy beating him like a drum. Granted, this is unless your explanation is Arlong spends about a decade not training or fighting to the point he get's drastically weaker by the time Luffy fights him.

Click to shrink...

That, in the show he just went decades having it somewhat easy and fighting lower level people. So I thought that, per the logic of One Piece with Crocodile or Moria, he was bound to get weaker, even if not totally. But since this is Arlong fresh from the Grand Line, he ought to be more of a challenge.

 

[Yohnos]

Dan doesn't need to decapitate Arlong, one good slash deep enough in the neck should do the trick.
Also no need to fight fair

 

[The Synonym]

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[Sugar Rush]

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…

"This looks like a good place." Dan muttered, glancing around as he stood in the middle of the forest, then looking down at himself and scratching the back of his head. "Now then, how do I try this?"

Sugar Rush. It was time to activate it for the first time.

Sure, he just wanted to get a taste of it, so it didn't need to be anything complicated—but he wanted to do it right. Given the hack's effects, he wanted to actually test its limits while it ran, not just stand here looking around like an idiot.

The hack was also only supposed to last five minutes, which was a fairly limited window. Whatever he wanted to try, he had to move fast.

"Let's see..."

Looking around the forest, he mapped out a path. The most uneven and difficult stretch he could find—surfacing roots, low branches, dense bushes, and all kinds of obstacles that would normally force him to slow down significantly.

A path he'd actively avoid even during regular training runs.

Now? It looked like the perfect course to get a proper feel for what this Sugar Rush actually did.

"Phew..."

Dan let out a breath, smiling with a mix of nerves and excitement. At last, there was a new hack to try out.

"Took me a while, but the time has come."

He began stretching, working through the burn in his muscles while he thought over what else to add to the session.

"Whatever, I'm sure I'll come up with something on the spot."

The hack did say creative thinking got a boost too—whatever that meant in practice.

Warm-up done, he took a deep breath and straightened up, opening the system window.

"Alright then."

And so—

He activated it.

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[Sugar Rush Hack Activated!—Time left: 5 minutes, 0 seconds.]

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"...!"

The instant the hack went off, it was like a switch clicked inside his head.

The world around him stretched like rubber—like cranking a game's FOV to a thousand percent.

He couldn't see himself, but he was pretty sure his pupils had just blown wide open.

It was like getting hyper high—only with superpowers instead of lightheadedness.

Though, unlike what the hack's description had implied, the world hadn't slowed down.

No.

Instead, it was he who had become faster. His thoughts, his reflexes, his processing of visual information.

His perception of time was still normal—he didn't suddenly mistake a second for three, or an instant for a whole minute. A second was still a second. But in that single second, he could cram twice as many thoughts, notice twice as many things, and make twice as many decisions as he could before the hack's activation.

His body was still running the same. He wasn't stronger, more flexible, or physically faster.

In terms of physique, he was exactly the same.

But his mind wasn't.

"This feels weird." Was the only way he could put it.

But that was enough of being surprised.

═══════•°• ⚠ •°•═══════

[Sugar Rush Hack—Time left: 4 minutes, 57 seconds.]

═══════•°• ⚠ •°•═══════

The clock was ticking.

"Phew..."

He didn't waste another second and dropped into a running position.

The instant his eyes locked onto the path he'd chosen—

—BAM!—

—he felt his muscles pull and push, compressing into pure explosive power that transferred directly to the toes of his feet, digging into the earth and converting all that force into kinetic energy.

In an instant, he shot forward, the world stretching even further as he did.

The next few seconds were filled with amazement and invigorating hype.

As he tore through the natural course—packed with every kind of obstacle that would normally force him to slow down just to keep his brain from falling behind—now it was completely different.

He could see all of it, register everything with ease, and command his body to react accordingly.

Several tree branches and a bush blocking his path? His mind snapped to a small gap between them before he'd even consciously registered the problem, and his body was already threading through it.

Uneven terrain that would make anyone stumble? Every time his foot came down, he had already calculated the landing—the fraction of a second between seeing the ground and hitting it was more than enough for his mind to run all the math on its own.

The same went for everything else.

At some point he started parkouring—grabbing tree trunks, swinging off branches like a monkey.

Normally he'd manage it for a stretch before missing a grab and eating dirt.

Now he didn't. Every branch caught perfectly, every swing releasing at exactly the right angle and force to carry him cleanly to the next one or the best landing spot to keep his momentum going.

If there was any way to describe this state in a single phrase, it was locking in.

That moment when everything clicks and you start doing things perfectly, one after another, and the brain and your body feel like they're running at 100% capacity in sync.

Only this was even more absurd than those moments.

He even let out a laugh as he pulled something he'd normally be incapable of.

He had no idea how unhinged that laugh sounded right now. Probably pretty maniacal.

But he couldn't care less.

Every time he dodged a branch by a hair's breadth—not out of a near miss but because he simply didn't feel like dodging further. Every time he contorted his body into a perfect form on the move, his instincts barely keeping up with themselves. Every time he kicked off the ground and launched overhead to clear an obstacle too big to avoid any other way.

Every time he did any of those things, he felt more and more invigorated. Having the belief that whatever he willed, his body and brain would follow to accomplish it perfectly.

So invigorated, in fact, that before he realized it—he reached the end of the path he'd chosen, arriving at a small clearing.

As his feet landed on stable ground and his run slowed, his mind finally caught up, making him blink with a start as the growing hype began to descend now that the rush was behind him.

"Where am I?" He looked around, realizing he must have moved on pure instinct at some point and drifted off the circuit he'd planned for himself.

A small clearing. A pond nearby. Some trees with budding pears.

Quite the little paradise he'd stumbled into.

He let out a curious hum, then shrugged, jumped up toward one of the pears, grabbed it on the way down, and took a bite as he landed and began walking the perimeter of the clearing, taking in the small find.

-Thud!-

Just as he was looking around, however, the sound of something heavy landing behind him pulled his attention back.

"Hmm?"

He turned—and found a figure bigger than him casting a shadow over him and glaring directly into his eyes.

"A monkey?"

"Uh-uh-oooh!"

Brown fur. Dumb-looking face.

Dan nodded.

A monkey for sure.

He hadn't known they lived on these islands—not that he ventured this deep into the forest unless he was training or heading to his boat.

What kind of monkey, exactly? He had no idea. He wasn't an expert. If anything, it looked like a cross between a chimp and one of those long curly-tailed ones—basically the vivid image of what a cartoon monkey would look like if you made it real.

"Oooh, ooooh!"

It made a series of sounds and smacked a fist into its palm, glaring at him.

'The hell?'

Dan flinched. Somehow, it looked like he had angered it. He had no idea why—until it clicked. His eyes dropped to the pear in his hand.

'Oh. I barged into its home and ate its lunch. Yeah, I'd be angry too.'

He laughed wryly, tossing the pear aside and taking a few steps back as the monkey's aggression visibly climbed.

'Well, a fight looks unavoidable—hmm?'

Just then, something else caught his attention.

Something familiar about this whole scene.

'This... is this the cliché fight against an animal?'

Plenty of fanfic authors threw one in when their character was training—and even Luffy himself had done it in canon.

Was it really happening to him now?

"Heh." He let out a short laugh, planting his feet and raising his fists into a proper guard instead of retreating further. "Well, bring it on. A bit late for this kind of thing given how strong I've gotten, but fine—sword or no sword, you won't be much of a problem."

-Thud!-

-Thud!-

-Thud!-

-Thud!-

-Thud!-

Following his words, several more figures dropped down from the trees above, landing behind the first monkey.

At least five more of them. All glaring at him with the same hostile energy.

Dan's confident look dropped into a flat stare, a bead of sweat rolling down his temple.

"Hey, hey. That's not how this is supposed to go. This is meant to be one-on-one."

"Eeh eeh eeh."

They showed their teeth in wide grins. He didn't know whether that was an aggression display or whether in this world those were actual grins.

Either way, they clearly didn't care about fairness.

He was getting ganged up on. Without his sword, no less.

Staring in silence as the monkeys began closing in slowly, looking like thugs savoring the moment before the beat-down, Dan let out a sigh.

'No matter.' He thought, smirking and taking a step forward instead of back.

Normally he'd avoid this kind of outnumbered brawl without his sword—even if he could probably handle all of them easily, there was always the chance of a mistake, and getting bitten out here without proper medicine was not a complication he needed.

Unluckily for them, though, they'd picked exactly the day that couldn't happen.

═══════•°• ⚠ •°•═══════

[Sugar Rush Hack—Time left: 2 minutes, 52 seconds.]

═══════•°• ⚠ •°•═══════

"Good. Just running around wasn't all that fun anyway. Bring it on!"

...

°

°

°

| Minutes later... |

...

Dan, now walking back through the forest with a satisfied look and a relaxed step, tossing one pear up and down, taking a bite every now and then, while on the other hand he carried a bag of more pears.

As you might expect, the fight with the monkeys was nothing complex. Yonko level the monkeys were not—and with the hack still running in the background, whatever chance they might have had at any other time was completely gone.

All of them ended up beaten, crying loudly, and swinging away through the trees without having landed a single hit on Dan.

There didn't need to be much more detail than that—except to note that with the hack active, five attackers coming from all directions simultaneously became something not just manageable but genuinely fun.

Not because their attacks were slow, the way action scenes get portrayed in a lot of shows.

But simply because he could react fast enough, and dodge well enough, that it stopped being threatening.

'I wonder if that's what Observation Haki feels like.'

He thought with a smile, taking another bite, feeling the sweet juices flood his mouth.

After a moment, he shook his head.

'Nah. This is enhancing the processing speed of my brain. Observation Haki should be about sensing intent, and later on even glimpsing the future. They sound completely different at a fundamental level, even if they seem similar at this level.'

…

'Well, it's not like I'll know firsthand for a while,' he thought, a snort escaping through his nose.

The truth was that over the past year—yes, a full year—he had tried to train for Haki.

After all, it was essentially the core of the power system in this world. If there was anything to develop as early as possible after arriving here, it was Haki.

Sadly, either his natural aptitude for it was poor enough that even SpeedyGains wasn't making a dent—which he hoped wasn't the case—or he was missing something fundamental about how to actually develop it.

Which, honestly, was very likely. Oda had been fairly ambiguous about the process, beyond showing Luffy's observation training consisting of being hit while blindfolded... And even that probably left out details.

Haki was described as something born from will. Maybe there was a spiritual side to it he had no access to yet.

Regardless, it all pointed to the same conclusion: he probably wasn't getting Haki until he found someone who actually understood how to develop it—which was easier said than done in this part of the sea.

While he looked dismayed at the fact that he wouldn't get access to that power any time soon, the sound of crunching came from beneath his shoes as he, at last, stepped into the sand of the beach.

The boat wasn't too far, even from here he could see it. So without much thought, he made his way toward it.

All while his mind remained elsewhere.

"That's a thought for future me, though." Dan thought, still on the Haki thing. "...For now I guess I'll have to make the most of what I have."

He took the last bite of the pear and tossed the core aside.

And by "making the most of it," he meant earning more NP, buying everything he could, and preparing as thoroughly as possible for what might be his first—and very possibly last—battle to the death.

'Strangely, I don't feel scared.'

He held up one hand, noting the lack of trembling. Of course, the fishman wasn't here yet, so there was nothing concrete to be scared of—but he didn't feel nervous either. No sense of impending doom.

Was it because part of him had already died once? Maybe that part no longer feared death the way it should.

Though the other part was still a young kid's. If anything, that should cancel it out.

'Well, I'm no expert on soul or memory fusion. For all I know, maybe I've always been a little wrong in the head and just didn't realize it.'

He let out a low chuckle.

"What are you laughing at?"

Dan's amused expression froze.

He was approaching the boat, a few meters from it, when he noticed someone was sitting on it.

With the orange hair shining so blatantly, the intruder's identity was unmistakable.

"Nami... why are you here?" He asked.

To his question, she jumped down to the sand, before patting off her clothes and giving him a slightly sour look.

"Bell-mère said dinner's almost ready. She sent me to come get you."

'Again with that?' Dan stared at her with a flat look.

He'd had dinner with them once, and since then Bell-mère had been including him every single time.

He appreciated it. But it also annoyed him.

After a moment of massaging his temple, he looked back at Nami.

"Forget that for a second—how did you know where my boat was?"

Their conversations so far hadn't been many, or particularly friendly, so he genuinely couldn't figure out how she'd found it. It wasn't close to the house—not a ridiculous distance, but far enough that most people wouldn't wander out there without a reason or a direction.

"Bell-mère told me the general direction," she said.

"Of course she did." Dan grumbled.

Then Nami started digging through her pockets. "The rest I figured out myself—with this!"

She pulled out a folded piece of paper and spread it open for him to see.

A map. Hand-drawn, of the island.

She held it up with a certain grandeur—turning her face away as if she were completely indifferent to his opinion—but the pride was obvious in how close she was to shoving it into his face.

He pushed it back a few centimeters and looked at her flatly. "I see. You made this, right?"

"Hm, yes."

"You must be a genius, huh?"

She smiled, clearly satisfied by the dishonest praise.

While she was distracted by that, Dan moved to inspect the boat.

"You didn't go through my things, did you?"

"Hmm?" She perked up at that. "Why? You have some kind of treasure?"

Dan's mouth twitched slightly at the glimpse of her usual trait from the show. Luckily he wasn't facing her, so she didn't see his expression.

"If you consider my underwear treasure... then yeah. Quite the haul in there."

"WHO WOULD CONSIDER THAT TREASURE?!"

Dan sneered at her outburst.

'A very old skeleton might—although I'm a man, so probably not.'

Smirking, he jumped onto the boat, stowed away the bag of pears he'd gathered from the clearing, and grabbed one to give to Nami on the way back down—tossing it without warning, which left her barely catching it with wide eyes—then landed back on the sand.

"Alright, let's go."

"Hmph."

'Did she really just hmph me?'

He gave her a flat look, and the two started making their way back through the treeline.

As they walked away, Nami gave the boat one last glance—eyes lingering just a moment longer than they needed to—before the forest swallowed them both.

Dinner was on.

...

°

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| Somewhere else in the East Blue... |

...

"HAHAHA, COME ON, BRING MORE BEER! YOU THINK YOU CAN SATE ME WITH JUST A FEW GLASSES?!"

-Crash!-

Inside a bar, a gigantic, hairy, and foul-smelling man laughed merrily with his feet kicked up as he tossed a glass toward the wall, shattering it in several fragments. Despite his hideous appearance, his long hair shone with a beautiful gleam—clearly maintained with extraordinary care.

Around him, several rough looking men laughed loudly too, lifting their still somewhat full glasses in cheers.

The man grinned, before looking around the place with squinted eyes.

"You've got quite the collection of my bounty posters around this pigsty. So I figured you already knew who I was, and knew my great taste for beer. If so, this pitiful amount of glasses—should I take it as you insulting me?!"

The bar owner, visibly sweating bullets, dropped to his knees.

"No, please. We... we only worried about your health. We didn't want to tempt you into overdrinking."

"Overdrink?! Me?! Manic Mane John?! Do you have any idea who you're talking to?!"

He drew his sword.

"That's enough consideration from my end. I think I'll make the world a better place by getting rid of such a bad bartender!"

"No, please!"

"DIE!"

—BAM!—

The spontaneous execution came to a halt as the doors of the bar were kicked open, sent flying off their hinges and crashing inward, dragging every eye in the room to the entrance.

Manic Mane John turned, looking furious at the interruption. "What bastard—hmm?!"

His eyes went wide as he saw who was standing there.

Then his mouth curled into a mocking sneer.

"What hideous thing crawled in here?! HAHAHA, look at you—are you some kind of freak? Did your momma fuck a fi—?"

—Swoosh!—

Before he could finish, the figure crossed the distance between them in under a second and, without the slightest warning, threw a punch.

—SPLAT!—

The pirate's face ceased to exist. Several chunks of skull, muscle, and other things best left unnamed scattered across the walls and floor of the bar.

"...!"

Then, under the stunned silence of everyone inside, the figure flicked his wrist in disgust, shaking off what remained on his red-stained knuckles.

"Y-you bastard, how dare you?!"

"You think you can kill our captain and walk away scot-free?! You're outnumbered!"

"Fucking freak!"

The pirates around the room rose to their feet, swords drawn.

The figure looked at them.

Then—

"SHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"

—let out a maniacal laugh that filled the bar entirely.

Then he fixed his gaze on them, a murderous glint crossing his eyes as a devilish grin spread across his face, and his finger flicked back and forth beckoningly.

"Bring it on, you pests."

The pirates didn't wait another second, roaring in unison as they surged toward the killer of their captain.

...

Minutes later, the bar was stained red and littered with bodies—each having met a different end. Smashed, ripped apart, chest caved in, skull crushed.

The killer had enjoyed himself.

And he was still there, standing with a wide smile as he admired his work.

"T-thank you... without you, I don't know what would have happened!"

A voice approached. The figure's cold eyes shifted to the owner of the bar, who was bowing low in gratitude.

"Lift your head, bartender."

"Y-yes—hmm?"

When he looked up, he found the figure's large, scaly webbed hand extended toward him.

"What is...?"

"Money. Pay me."

"M-money? I see, yes, it's only fair. H-how much—?"

"A million beli. Your worthless life should be worth at least that much, right?"

"I-I'm sorry, I don't have that mu—"

—BAM!—

—CRASH!—

Before he could finish, the figure swung his fist in a clean horizontal arc, connecting perfectly with the bartender's skull and sending his body flying limply into the wall, where it crumpled to the floor.

"Then what use is there in keeping a lowly thing like you alive?" The figure smirked.

"Arlong-san!"

A figure appeared at the entrance. A fishman—one with octopus traits.

"What is it, Hachi?"

"We got some good information from the humans around here. Apparently there's a cluster of islands in this sea that sounds like the perfect place to make our base. It's far from any serious marine presence except for one weak branch, and there's plenty of villages and towns riddled with humans that we can use for both funding and as a labor force."

"Really? And where is this paradise?"

"Up north, pretty close to the border of the sea. It's an Archipelago called the Conami Islands. About a week from here."

"..."

Hachi was met with silence.

"Arlong-san?"

"Shahaha..." A low laugh built from somewhere in the figure's chest—then burst outward. "SHAHAHAHA!"

Arlong turned to Hachi with a wide grin.

"This must be the heavens blessing us, Hachi. For a place like that to exist… then what are we waiting for?! Set sail immediately!"

"Oh!"

As Hachi hurried out to tell the rest of the crew to prepare, Arlong's smirk widened, his sharp teeth showing.

"Time to give these humans a taste of what they deserve."

…

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-To Be Continued...-

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(A/N: Tik tak, tik tak, time is clicking)

 

[Gobble'n]

A/N: I honestly didn't know whether to put this on NSFW, since I'm still not sure about whether I'll do those kind of scenes, and if I do, it'll be way further ahead, when he ain't a brat no more.

Though, since I've already put this on the SFW section, might as well just suck it up, and not do them altogether.

—That or I can just write the NSFW scenes and leave them on my patreon so they work as bait.

Click to shrink...

Most of the people already reading this aren't here for NSFW shit (though you'd probably draw more viewers in if you did put it in the NSFW section).

 

[Gobble'n]

Didn't you see him? We shook him, yelled at him—he didn't respond to a thing. And the fish were coming in so fast it looked like they were swimming straight onto his hook of their own free will!"

"Impossible!"

Click to shrink...

And I'd much rather read silly shit like this than romance and sex scenes.

 

[Witen]

Honestly, not everything on NSFW part of QQ actually has smut in it, so you could have still published it there. For violence if nothing else.

Beings on SFW side really hurts the fic popularity, as only a very small part of QQ users even checks SFW. Personally only found it directly through your page.

 

[The Synonym]

Honestly, not everything on NSFW part of QQ actually has smut in it, so you could have still published it there. For violence if nothing else.

Beings on SFW side really hurts the fic popularity, as only a very small part of QQ users even checks SFW. Personally only found it directly through your page.

Click to shrink...

Interesting... I may check that out for later ffs then. It's too late for this one now

 

[The Synonym]

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[Navigation]

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...

A few minutes later, Dan and Nami arrived back at the house.

As soon as they stepped inside, they found Bell-mère by the kitchen, stirring what appeared to be their lunch. Hearing them enter, she turned and smiled at them.

"You found him, Nami? Good. Now go sit at the table, you two—I'll start serving right away!"

They nodded and did as told.

When they got there, Nojiko was already seated, looking bored out of her mind.

"Why did you take so long, Nami? I had nothing to do while Bell-mère cooked, and she wouldn't serve me until you two got back!"

Nami pointed at Dan. "Don't blame me. He wasn't even at his boat when I got there. I had to wait for him to show up."

Nojiko turned her gaze to Dan next, as if shifting the blame to him now.

He noticed—and responded by sticking out his tongue and pulling down his eyelid. Not a hint of shame on his face.

Once that successfully sent a vein popping on her forehead, his expression returned to normal, and his eyes drifted elsewhere as if nothing had happened.

"You—!"

But before she could get a fight started—

"Alright, food is served."

-Tap-

Bell-mère appeared from behind her, setting down the dishes and beginning to serve.

Nojiko had no choice but to swallow her complaints and act as if nothing had happened.

Before long all four of them were served, and they began eating in relative peace.

Meanwhile, Bell-mère glanced at Dan mid-bite.

"So, kid—Nami said you weren't at your boat? I've invited you to join us a few other times and you said you were busy. What exactly could be keeping a kid like you so occupied?"

Dan barely lifted his gaze from his plate.

"Uhhh... training."

Bell-mère raised an eyebrow.

She had expected him to have some other source of income on the side—hunting, fishing, something—since she clearly wasn't paying him enough to be comfortable on his own. She didn't pay him poorly by any means, not anymore after business started picking up because of him, but it still seemed a little short for a kid with no home of his own.

Kids his age weren't usually careful with money, spending it on anything but what mattered.

But if he was living off what she gave him alone...

She eyed his clothes, then remembered she was also feeding him and letting him sleep on the couch.

He had almost no expenditures compared to what he'd have living fully independently.

And yet he didn't seem to be buying much at all, judging by the state of his wardrobe.

'He appears to be living quite frugally.' She thought with an amused look.

The kid really was a strange one.

Still—training? He was spending his free time training?

"What kind of training?" she asked. "You mentioned before that someone taught you swordsmanship. Still keeping at that?"

Dan shrugged. "I do whatever makes me stronger. Sometimes swordsmanship, sometimes just physical work."

"You're quite diligent, kid. Is there a reason, or is it just routine?"

Dan's gaze wandered, clearly dodging the question. "...Not really? Just, you know, to get stronger and stuff."

Bell-mère didn't look convinced.

"You're just a kid like us. What's the point of training?" Nojiko asked, idly playing with her food. "When a real threat shows up, the adults take care of it anyway."

Dan said nothing, just looked at her with a faintly pitying expression.

By now he had a good feel for how people in this part of the sea saw the world. It was grounded, maybe too much, like things had been back on Earth. Devil Fruits were something most people half-believed in like myths. Even among pirates, there were plenty who still thought they were already near the top of what the world had to offer. Ordinary citizens had no real concept of what the Grand Line held, and assumed the strongest figures out there were only slightly beyond the human norm.

Maybe, being in the weakest sea of all, they couldn't believe the stories of what was happening outside of here—hell, even he wouldn't if he was in their situation.

Which was also why they had been so terrified Arlong. The guy was an actual monster—by the standard of normal people at least. He was the first superhuman they came across, and thus, a fearsome existence beyond logic or reason.

So of course, a kid training this relentlessly made no sense to them. Around here, kids would always be weaker than adults—that was the common logic, and it wasn't unreasonable.

But it just wasn't the case anymore, given that he was already felling trees with sword slashes and fairly confident he could outrun or overpower any adult on this island, regardless of profession.

'Well, they say ignorance is a blessing for a reason. I wouldn't be sleeping soundly at night either if I knew there were people out there who could level a city bare-handed.' He thought with a quiet snort.

But then he paused, remembering something.

'Bell-mère is a former marine, though. She's been places. I wonder if she knows...'

His gaze shifted to her briefly.

After a moment, she noticed—and responded with a small, helpless shrug and a smile.

Dan snorted again. 'Yeah. She does.'

"Well, he travels around, doesn't he?" Nami offered suddenly. "Maybe he's preparing to deal with pirates. They're everywhere."

"Oh." Nojiko seemed to consider it, then nodded like that made enough sense.

Dan glanced at Nami, mildly surprised by the assist—and by how quickly Nojiko dropped it.

But on second thought, it made a bit of sense.

The two of them had chilled out considerably after the first week of him having practically moved in. Replacing them in the farm had stung at first, but the days that followed had brought a noticeably happier Bell-mère, and some extra spending their way.

Nami had gotten a few books and a new dress. Nojiko new clothes and some toys. Bell-mère's cooking had started including more nutritious things alongside the usual tangerines.

The two hadn't been oblivious enough to miss where those changes came from.

So they antagonized him less—Just less, not zero.

A kid's stubborn pride didn't evaporate overnight, especially when they'd started on bad terms. They weren't about to abandon that position just because their reasons for it had faded.

'At least they don't pick fights with me anymore.'

Dan thought, relieved that the most tiresome part was gone.

They weren't getting along exactly. But they weren't enemies either.

So long as he could carry on with his plans here in peace, that was enough.

...

°

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°

| Minutes later... |

...

Dan walked out of the house, patting his belly and letting out a satisfied sigh.

He had to admit, this lifestyle wasn't bad at all. No worrying about food or a place to sleep, and the job left him most of his time free for training.

It was also far less all-consuming than the fishing work had been. Some days on old Shun's boat had stretched the whole day.

'And on that note, time to get back to it.'

He smirked and reached into his pocket, materializing his gravity cuffs from the system.

After all, the price for this comfortable life was a steep one: beating Arlong.

He might as well use every available hour to prepare for when the billing arrived.

He was fitting the cuffs on as he walked when—

"What are those?"

"...?"

He turned with a flat expression. Nami was standing at the entrance.

He glanced between her and the cuffs, taking a moment to come up with something.

"Uh, you know... accessories."

"Hmm." Nami nodded, looking surprisingly uninterested despite having been the one to ask.

Silence followed.

'Awkward.'

A wry smile found its way onto his face.

After enough time passed without either of them saying anything, he turned back around, ready to leave.

But once again—

"Hey."

"...What now?"

Turning, he found Nami fidgeting in her spot, like someone working up the nerve to say something embarrassing.

'What's this about?'

Dan could only stare at the unfamiliar display.

Fortunately, she got it out on the next breath.

"Can you... let me sail your boat for a bit?"

His confused look flattened.

"So that was it?"

For a moment he'd almost thought she was working up to an apology or something.

'Guess I expected too much.'

He shook his head faintly.

"So?" Nami pressed, looking hopeful.

Dan scratched the back of his head, thinking it over. He'd been about to start training so this was mildly inconvenient—

But after a moment on which he seemed to realize something, he shrugged it off.

"Yeah, sure, why not."

Nami's face lit up.

"Rea—"

He held up a finger, cutting her off. "Just give me one second."

He turned the cuffs' knob to ×3.

The next instant, he buckled at the knees, barely catching himself. A few seconds passed before he had his balance back, straightening slowly and rolling his neck left and right with a mildly pained expression.

He looked at Nami with a bead of sweat rolling down his temple.

"Alright. Let's go."

"Okay!"

Nami glanced at him with a trace of confusion, but she was too pleased about the boat to dwell on it, so they set off toward the coast—Nami practically skipping, while Dan's steps somewhat heavier than usual, his back quietly fighting not to hunch.

'I was planning to do my usual routine at ×2 first, but this works too. Getting used to ×3 through everyday movement before pushing it in training seems fitting.'

The faster he could get to using five times gravity, the better his chances when Arlong finally appeared.

'How long is that going to take? Two more months? Four?' He mused.

It was hard to say. Hopefully the fish-man would take his time.

A few minutes later, their feet crunched onto the sand. Nami's eyes lit up the moment the boat came into view, tied to the trees at the edge of the beach, and she ran toward it immediately.

Dan followed at his own pace, doing his best to move naturally under the extra gravity, watching as she climbed aboard and started murmuring to herself—rehearsing, by the sound of it, running through the theory she'd spent months reading before finally getting to apply it.

Once she seemed to have gotten her bearings, he walked to the mooring line, untied it, and began pushing the boat out.

"What the—?!"

She grabbed the mast to keep from falling, watching in disbelief as a kid her age shoved a boat of at least a ton across the sand without much more than a moderate amount of effort.

Before long it hit the water. Dan took a short run-up and jumped aboard.

-Thonk-

As he hit the planks, he patted the sand off his clothes, then gestured at the boat around them with a lazy sweep of one arm.

"Well then. All yours, Nami."

He settled himself down directly on top of the storage compartment where his stash was.

Couldn't exactly have her stumbling into that.

"Ah, right."

She blinked, then turned to face the open water, took a breath—

"Uhm, what should I do first?" She asked, turning to him again.

She had apparently gone completely blank.

Dan's mouth twitched. "First, decide where we're going."

"Right!... Uhm, where should we go?"

"...You're the captain right now. That's your call."

"I—I've barely left Cocoyashi, so I don't really know what's worth going to."

"..."

Dan exhaled through his nose, then lifted a finger and pointed. "There's a town over that way. It has a decent library. That work?"

She brightened instantly. "Yes, that!"

With a destination set, she got to work.

She took the rudder first, gripping it firmly. The sail caught the breeze well enough, but the moment she tried to steer them straight, she overdid it and the sail went slack, flapping uselessly overhead.

"Do it carefully," Dan said from behind her. "It's more sensitive than it looks."

She adjusted, a little too far the other way, then found it and the boat steadied. She blinked at how little it had taken.

From there, the basics started coming together, though turning was more trouble. The first attempt she didn't commit to it, and the boat ended up pointed directly into the wind and stopped dead—going nowhere, sail slapping the air helplessly.

"Do it all the way," Dan said. "And remember to duck, unless you want a bump on your head."

She got it on the second try, just barely remembering the boom in time.

As the task turned more monotonous, she focused back on the sea breeze, staring at the endless sea ahead with a vibrant look.

Though, once the landscape got old after a minute or two, she focused on something else.

With Dan sitting across from her, she kept stealing glances at him when he wasn't looking, and looking away when he shifted.

Whatever she thought, known only to her.

After that, the trip smoothed out considerably. Her hands found the right spots without thinking, her decisions came faster. The gap between theory and practice was closing faster.

'She truly is the most talented navigator in the world,'
Dan thought with a quiet snort.

Even with doubled training gains, he hadn't caught on this fast. Though she probably had years of book reading behind her that he didn't.

He settled back, only standing up when something needed more strength than she had.

Then she tried to turn the other way—the harder way—without warning him. The boom swung across suddenly.

"Watch the—" Dan shouted as he tried to catch her.

Sadly, the only thing that caught her was the boom.

"AAAH!"

The hit sent her off the boat's railing, making go take a dive.

"Aw, crap—!" Dan was after her before the splash settled.

...

°

°

°

| An hour later... |

...

-Tsssssk-

As the sun began to dip, the boat's hull grazed the sand of the beach.

-Crunch-

Dan jumped down and began pushing it back toward the tree line, then set about tying the mooring line back again at the same tree.

Nami jumped down behind him, a new navigation book tucked under her arm—sourced from the library they'd visited on the other island.

The two of them were slightly damp. The sun had dried them somewhat on the way back, but the evidence of a watery incident was still there for anyone who looked.

None of which seemed to affect Nami's mood at all. If anything she looked like she'd just had the best afternoon of her life, eyes moving happily between the road ahead and the book in her arms, which she hugged tightly.

Dan, for his part, looked thoroughly wrung out. Not discouraged—just tired of what was a lot of physical demand for a relatively normal afternoon.

Which was good in his view.

'Gravity training plus an unexpected swim. Actually not a bad combination for training in the future. Just have to be careful not to drown.'

While he had such thoughts, Nami glanced at him, catching his expression.

After a moment of hesitation, she looked forward again, head tilting slightly down. "...Uhm, thanks."

"Huh? Oh, no prob." He gave her a short nod.

All in all, this had been genuinely punishing training.

Just as he prefered.

"So..."

"Huh?"

"Could I... try again next time?" Nami asked, shooting him a hopeful look.

Dan turned it over briefly, looking for a reason to say no.

He couldn't find one. So he shrugged.

"Sure."

She beamed, her mood climbing somehow even higher than it had already been.

Dan, on the other hand—

'Man, I am sleeping early tonight for sure.' He thought, massaging his temple as the fatigue began pressing in despite the ×3 still being active and pushing his body to stay in high energies in order not to collapse.

'And I'll have to keep this up all the way until Arlong arrives… It's going to be rough.'

He exhaled, rolling his shoulder.

But as he did, and caught Nami's content expression from the side, his thoughts drifted.

More specifically, over the time he'd spent here.

Bell-mère, with her annoying generosity.

The villagers he'd bothered relentlessly with his nighttime activities.

The people he'd met across the archipelago.

None of those connections were especially deep. Maybe not even more than acquaintances in plenty, and somewhat friendly at some.

But maybe he was a sentimental person by nature, with just putting a face to their names, or a name to their faces was enough to make him genuinely not want any of them going through what Arlong was going to put them through.

Especially not the family of three he was currently living with.

'This is exactly why I was worried about taking the job here.' He grumbled, scratching his head.

Still, what was done was done. There was no time-reversing hack.

'Or is there?'

Scoffing at his joke, his seriousness returned as his eyes went to the cuffs on his wrists.

Regardless of how he felt, there was one simple answer to the approaching problem.

He just had to give it everything. As simple—and as complicated—as that.

Arlong was strong. But he was still cannon fodder by the standards of the world's true peaks. He could be beaten.

All he needed was to keep training.

'Although, maybe I should focus on training swordsmanship,' Dan mused, staring at the knuckles of his fist this time.

A cut was going to be better than his fists against something that durable, at least when considering his current level. Who knew just how much punishment Arlong could take?

Instead, cutting him off seemed a lot more straightforward.

Still, that part of the training was going to be on pause for a while.

'Five days more.' Dan thought, sighing at the long time he had ahead of him without his sword.

Hopefully the fish-man wouldn't arrive before that.

'Nah.'

He allowed himself the small optimism.

While he had such thoughts, eventually, the two arrived home. Bell-mère was waiting at the entrance.

Nami ran to meet her, getting pulled into an embrace.

"Look who came back. Nojiko told me you two went out sailing, is that right, Nami?"

"Yes! It was amazing, Bell-mère!"

She smiled sweetly, before blinking as she caught sight of something.

"And I see you brought a souvenir. You didn't sneak it under your clothes or anything, did you?" She eyed the book in Nami's arms.

Nami stuck out her tongue. "Dan bought it for me."

Bell-mère looked at him, a trace of surprise in her expression.

Dan gave a tired nod. "She kept giving me the look at the library. So I gave in."

Bell-mère smiled slyly. "Ah, my daughter. So young, yet already such an enchantress."

Nami smirked, clearly proud of herself.

Dan just looked at them both with a thoroughly done expression.

Like mother, like daughter.

...

────────────────────────

-To Be Continued...-

────────────────────────

Join my Patreon to get access to more chapters, and you'll help me make ends meet while doing so.

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───────────

(A/N: Unluckily to Dan, his hopes for more time won't be kindly answered. Nor will his hope that his sword will be ready by then.

At last, time to get onto the bloody part of this.)

 

[Barcode123]

Noticing that Dan is so focused on Arlong that he's completely forgotten that he has his entire crew with him too. Hatchan alone is still a danger. He is weaker than Arlong but he still fought Zoro. Granted, Zoro was still recovering from Mihawk kicking his ass but this was also a much older Zoro so he was physically stronger and faster than he is as a kid.

Even if he somehow manages to take Arlong down he still has like a dozen+ other Fishmen to deal with.

 

[Yohnos]

Even if he somehow manages to take Arlong down he still has like a dozen+ other Fishmen to deal with.

Click to shrink...

Yeah but they are inferior to Arlong a by a wild margin, if he gets Arlong quickly he should be able to kill most of them

 

[The Synonym]

────────────────────────

[Excrement Has Hit The Rapidly Spinning Device]

────────────────────────

| Five days later… |

...

"Hup!" Dan let out a faint grunt as he threw a crate full of tangerines over his shoulder and carried it in a sprint toward its spot under the shade.

He did the same with five or six more. Once done, he leaned against the porch railing and exhaled, sweeping a few droplets of sweat from his forehead.

'That should do it.' His mouth curled up faintly.

He had done it quite fast. And better yet, he was barely winded at all.

Normally, that wouldn't be remarkable given his physique. But with the cuffs at his wrists currently set to ×3, it was a different story entirely.

What had made even mundane movements thoroughly exhausting nearly a week ago, he could now sustain through bursts of real intensity without much trouble—like just now.

Maybe it was because going from ×1 to ×2 had meant a full doubling of effort, while ×2 to ×3 had only been a fifty percent increase. But the adaptation had come faster than he'd expected.

He had even taken a few cautious tries at ×4. He could move in it, but not cleanly—not the way he could in ×3 now. At ×3 his performance was roughly at Olympic human level, still well below what he could do at ×1, but getting there.

Yeah, anime logic told him that there was a high chance if he moved to x4 now, his growth's speed would increase.

However, something in him insisted on nailing that ideal performance at first before jumping ahead.

Maybe he was just being oddly perfectionist about it. Or maybe jumping from one level of gravity to another too soon was actually detrimental for the body and this was his body's way of telling him. Either way, two or three more days at most and he'd be ready to step it up, so no need to rush all that much.

Though, besides his improvement through gravity training, he had of course done other things as well.

The past five days had genuinely been productive in all the aspects that mattered.

And what was better...

'Today I get my sword back.'

Dan's faint smile widened into a smirk.

Maybe he'd gotten a bit attached to the thing, but he couldn't wait to have it back in his hands.

First he had to finish his shift, though. Which was at Bell-mère's discretion, which although a bit ambiguous, sometimes ended pretty early—which meant extra training time.

And criminaling time.

So he was pretty fine with it.

On that front, the past few days had been productive in NP too.

═══════•°• ⚠ •°•═══════

Current Infamy Tier: Starter

▸[Current Bounty: 0 / 500K]

▸[NP: 21]

═══════•°• ⚠ •°•═══════

"Quite a lot," Dan muttered, letting out a short laugh.

He was joking. The real figure had been around 430. He'd just spent nearly all of it already.

Which, considering it had only been five days since he'd bought Sugar Rush and gone back to zero, was a massive return.

'Maybe it was because I didn't have my sword, and the days ticking by without knowing when Arlong would show up made me extra anxious—but I may have gone a bit overboard with the terrorizing.' He thought with a wry smile.

Not only had he expanded his territory to more islands and villages, and spent more of the nights hitting them, but he'd also shifted how he went about it.

His boat's compartment was already full of valuables, so robbing for money wasn't really on the table anymore.

So without more need for it, he decided to change the message he was sending.

Before, he'd just been an odd bandit who beat the sheriffs of each town and took a few things before vanishing.

Now that he didn't need anything from them?

He switched to attacking purely for spectacle.

And he made sure to say so out loud, so there was no ambiguity about it.

'... yelling "I relish in your suffering" at the top of my lungs every time I beat a sheriff made me want to bury myself underground.'

He dragged a hand down his face at the memory.

But at least it drove the fear factor up. And more fear meant more NP.

All that combined produced the respectable 430-something he'd earned. Which he immediately spent in another bottle of Hyper Glue, another smoke pellet, and finally, the item he'd been building toward for months.

═══════•°• ⚠ •°•═══════

≡[Hacked Item: Haki Knot (Weak Level)]

▸ A Haki Knot taken straight from Shanks' secret stash. This one was sourced from a relatively weak pirate who had only awakened Conqueror's Haki the day before—hence its strength is quite limited, but its effect is still enough to topple a great number of enemies.

▸ Warning: Depending on the strength of body and mind of the target, the effect will vary. From knocking weak enemies unconscious, to briefly stunning stronger ones, to barely registering as a tingle at the very top.

▸ Warning 2: SINGLE USE ONLY.

═══════•°• ⚠ •°•═══════

At last. The Haki Knot.

Funnily enough, it seemed to reference the Shanks memes from back on Earth.

That, or Shanks in this world was actually a fraud who collected haki knots.

'Or has he always been a fraud?' Dan wondered.

Maybe the memes hadn't been so wrong after all.

Regardless, that covered everything he'd gotten done the past few days.

And now that he'd be getting his sword back, he'd finally get to see how much stronger he'd become.

'Maybe I'll be able to split a rock clean in one slash?' He fantasized with a foolish smile.

And luckily—

"Hey, kid," Bell-mère called from the doorway, leaning out to look at him. "That's enough for today. I can handle the rest."

'Hell yeah.' He pumped his fist inwardly, while externally giving a calm nod and a small smirk.

"Also, I'll start on lunch in about thirty minutes. Whatever you're planning, be back for that."

His smirk went slightly crooked.

'She isn't even letting me say no anymore.'

Not that he was going to anyway.

"Alright."

At his response, she went back inside, and with the last of his responsibilities lifted, he turned and started walking away.

It was time to go fetch his sword.

With that thought pushing him forward, he broke into a jog toward the beach, moving at a solid speed despite the cuffs still being set to ×3.

Yes, the blacksmith was reachable on foot, but he still had to pay the second half of the job—and his money was all on the boat. So he had to stop there first.

He'd also installed a sturdier lock on the compartment recently. It wouldn't stop anyone truly determined, but it'd buy enough time for there to be a chance he'd stumble on the bastard in the middle of the crime, and thus, beat their asses.

'Though I should probably still try and find a better hiding spot altogether. The boat stands out even if it doesn't look like much.'

The less chances he got robbed, the better.

He sighed at the thought and kept jogging.

The beach wasn't far, and it was even less far at this pace. Before long the sand crunched under his feet and he slowed to a walk, heading toward the boat.

Once aboard, he popped the compartment open and rummaged inside.

His hand came out holding a wine bottle, an old one from what it looked like.

"Oh. I forgot about this one."

He turned it over, inspecting it.

Then shrugged, uncorked it, and took a swig—tilting his head and licking his lips as he evaluated the aftertaste.

"Pretty meh. I like sweet, but not that much sour."

The older set of memories in his mind seemed to have liked wine—or rather, most alcoholic beverages.

As for the younger set of memories—they'd never tasted it, so there hadn't been much of an opinion there, only curiosity.

Now that he'd tasted it, though, he could say he wasn't as sold.

Who knew why the older set of memories liked it so much?

With a shrug, he forced the cork back in and returned the bottle. Child's play with his grip.

'Right, the actual objective,' Dan thought as he resumed his search.

Money.

As he rummaged a bit, he soon found a tied stack of bills, shoved it into his pocket, and climbed back out of the compartment.

With that done, it was time to go back to his quest of recovering his sword.

However, just as he was crossing over from the sand to the grass—something caught at the edge of his vision.

'Smoke?'

Coming from another island a bit blurred at this distance, but visible. And it wasn't just one pillar of smoke either—squinting, he could make out several, scattered across different points, even across different islands.

"What the hell is..."

Then his eyes went back to the most visible spot—squinting until he was finally able to discern the source.

"That's... the docks?"

Not the docks themselves. The boats. Ships and smaller vessels—destroyed, some burning, others listing as they sank.

"Why would that—"

The words cut off as his brain connected everything at once, his eyes going wide.

"Oh, shit!"

It was Arlong.

He remembered it now—in the show, the fishman had destroyed every ship around the islands immediately on arrival, cutting off any route for escape or calling help.

And with the same happening right now…

It was a no brainer.

Not that he gave it any thought either. He couldn't stop to think, so he turned and started shoving his boat further back into the vegetation, working it in until it was out of plain sight. He threw a few dead leaves over the top just to make sure.

He couldn't have them destroying his boat, could he?

Then he turned back around and set the cuffs to ×1.

'I need to get my sword, right now,' Dan thought, steeling himself to run without stop if needed.

He was winding up to launch forward—

—Shaaaaa—

—when the sound of something large moving through the water behind him reached him.

He turned.

And saw it.

Arlong's ship, riding the coast and moving directly toward Cocoyashi Village.

"...!"

He was far enough into the tree line that they almost certainly hadn't spotted him.

But that wasn't what held him there.

Teeth gritting, he turned back in direction to where the blacksmith would be, and thus his sword—his only real shot at dealing meaningful damage to Arlong.

But as his body coiled for the sprint, ready to give it his all—

"..."

He stopped. His head turned slowly back toward the boat he'd just hidden, and then in the direction of Bell-mère's house.

"..."

...

°

°

°

| Twenty minutes later, near Bell-mère's house... |

...

A large group of fishmen walked side by side, raising dust with every step, approaching the house at the outskirts in a calm but deliberate line.

Hachi snickered as he walked alongside Arlong. "We almost missed this one out at the edge. Lucky the smoke from their cooking gave it away—otherwise we'd have passed right by. Right Arlong-san?"

"Yeah..." Arlong grinned, glancing at his crew. "Let's give them a proper greeting, shall we?"

""Ooooh!""

Before long they arrived at their destination, slowing down as they saw both Nami and Nojiko playing happily outside the house.

The playing session was cut short as the two caught sight of them and ducked inside the house immediately.

Arlong gestured for the others to hold back and approached the door himself.

-Click-

—BAM!—

However, the moment he stepped through, the closet door beside him flew open and slammed into his face—Bell-mère coming out right behind it, driving a kick into him and jamming a rifle barrel straight into his mouth in one fluid motion.

The impact was enough to send him stumbling backward, toppling onto his back and hitting the dirt with Bell-mère landing over him, rifle still held firm right on his mouth.

"Too bad for you. I'm a former marine," She pressed the barrel harder. "Cocoyashi Village is a long way from the Grand Line. So what's a pirate like you doing here?"

"SHAHAHAHA!"

""Hahahaha!!!""

Arlong burst out laughing, and his crew followed.

Bell-mère's smug face cracked at the shift of the situation. "W-what are you—"

-CRACK!-

The rifle barrel snapped clean in two—bitten off in an instant. Thanks to that, Bell-mère's confidence evaporated with it.

Then, in one motion, Arlong threw her off and slammed a foot down onto her.

Bell-mère hit the ground hard, blood escaping her lips as the air left her.

"You humans are so pitiful. Take away your weapons and what's left? Weaklings of the lowest order! Shahahaha!" He laughed like it was the funniest thing he'd seen all year.

"Aaaargh!" Bell-mère snarled through the pain.

Arlong's eyes settled on her arm.

—BAM!—

"AAAAARGH!"

His foot came down on it. The bone cracked.

"Bell-mère!"

The two girls rushed out of the house toward her. The fishmen nearby stepped in and blocked their path, snickering.

Pinned to the ground with a broken arm, Bell-mère could only stare at the two of them—tearful, held back, unable to reach her. Unable to do anything.

'These guys... are monsters!'

She had underestimated them.

"Bell-mère!"

Suddenly, a voice from further away cut through everything. Genzo, running toward them.

The fishmen tensed—but instead of attacking as they thought he'd do, Genzo went straight for Bell-mère, his expression a mix of anger and worry.

"Bell-mère, don't throw your life away on some stupid show of pride. There are fights that aren't worth it—just pay up!"

Arlong's grin spread wider. The sheriff had already fallen in line, huh?

Wonderful.

"Listen to him, marine girl. A hundred thousand per adult, fifty thousand per child. Pay for your whole family and you all get to keep your lives—as long as you keep paying every month. So, how does 200k sound?"

"My family?" Bell-mère muttered faintly.

Arlong's gaze moved to Nami and Nojiko. "Two kids, and one adult. That's 200k."

Genzo's expression contorted.

200k. Even he wouldn't be able to pay that straight up.

He leaned close and lowered his voice.

"How much have you got?"

Bell-mère shifted, forcing herself up onto her knees despite the arm.

"... About 140k. Business has been better lately, but I haven't saved much of it yet."

Genzo's face fell. He could scrape together maybe another 10k himself—enough to bring her to 150k. However, that was still 50k short of covering all three.

Then a thought hit him.

"If we pool with the other villagers we might reach another 50k. That covers the three of you, right?"

"..."

"Bell-mère?"

"No. There's still Dan."

"The kid?!"

He looked around sharply. No sign of the boy anywhere.

"They haven't found him yet, and he isn't in a registry of the island, maybe we can hide him long enough so he can escape once they leav—"

Bell-mère scoffed. "No, that won't work. Pirates like these destroy the escape routes first. Even if we hide him now he won't be able to escape later on… He is trapped here with us."

"Then..."

"What are you two whispering about?"

Arlong's cold gaze swept over them.

"Pay up."

Genzo went rigid, the words dying in his throat. Bell-mère looked up at him, then took a slow breath.

"Genzo... you said you could help reach 150k?"

"Y-yeah..."

"Then..." Bell-mère smiled, faintly and with effort. "Pay for those three."

"Bell-mère, don't—!"

She ignored him, pushing herself to her feet to face Arlong.

"Listen, pirate. There are three kids in total. I can pay for them, but not for myself. So..."

She met the fishman's eyes with a steady grin.

"Do what you gotta—"

"Don't get ahead of yourself, old hag."

A voice from behind the house cut her off.

"You think you can give me character development? Over my dead body."

Every head turned.

Dan was walking around the corner of the house with a completely composed expression.

"Another brat?" Arlong's face twisted with contempt before settling back into its usual grin. "You pests really do multiply. No matter—the more of you there are, the more this costs. 250k now."

Genzo's expression worsened. Bell-mère let out a short, wry scoff—and was about to open her mouth again to sacrifice...

But Dan got there first.

His hand went into his pocket and came out holding a fat stack of bills.

"250k. Right here."

...

────────────────────────

-To Be Continued...-

────────────────────────

Join my Patreon to get access to more chapters, and you'll help me make ends meet while doing so.

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───────────

(A/N: Well well well, the focus of all this preparation has finally showed up, and Dan is instead paying him? What might be going on that head of his, I wonder.)

 

[TheDanny]

(A/N: Well well well, the focus of all this preparation has finally showed up, and Dan is instead paying him? What might be going on that head of his, I wonder.)

Click to shrink...

Extra training time I guess. This gives him a month to prepare before the next deadline.

I hope he ends up fighting and killing Arlong in his Sunglass Bandit identity. Maybe with a "these islands ain't big enough for the two of us" type excuse.

 

[Gobble'n]

But Dan got there first.

His hand went into his pocket and came out holding a fat stack of bills.

"250k. Right here."

Click to shrink...

That was smart of him. In a month he'll be much better equipped to deal with Arlong and his crew. Though I wonder if he still has enough in his stash to buy back the sword. Assuming the Fishman haven't already taken it by the time he goes to retrieve it.