A
.
.
"Eat me, eat me, come and eat me...
And become what you could be..."
"What the hell is up with this voice?" Pudding murmured as she carefully walked through the forest, step by step, her ears perked up.
She had been focusing on training both her ability to hear the Voice of All Things and her Observation Haki when, all of a sudden, she began to hear a faint sound.
"Softly swaying on the tree,
Red and silver, bitter as can be..."
'It sounds like some child singing a nursery rhyme or something...' Pudding thought as she tried to track down the source of the voice.
It was a really strange sound. Pudding was sure she had never heard anything like it before, yet now she could hear it clearly.
And that made no sense.
As far as she knew, the only people on this island were herself, Zechs, and her Katakuri Onii-sama. Yet she was hearing a child's voice.
It was strange... and suspicious.
So she continued searching, trying to figure out where the voice was coming from.
"Where did it go?" she muttered, concentrating harder as the voice reached her again.
"I can change what lies beneath,
Turn your body—"
But before the song could continue, it was drowned out by a series of loud impacts echoing from somewhere in the distance.
Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!
"Tch... Zechs-sama... did you really have to make so much noise right now?" she clicked her tongue, slightly annoyed.
Those loud banging sounds echoing in the distance were naturally coming from Zechs' training, and they were so loud that they drowned out everything else.
"Want more strength or want more grace?
Want a smile upon your face?"
'...Or maybe not,' Pudding thought, realising that despite the distant impacts, she could still hear the singing clearly.
And the reason was...
'Because I'm not hearing it with my ears... I'm hearing it directly in my mind. Just as I thought... this isn't something simple...'
Her eyes narrowed.
To hear a voice directly in her mind rather than through her ears... This was definitely the Voice of All Things; she wasn't mistaken about it.
The strange song she was hearing was reaching her through it.
"I need to find the source and figure out what the hell this thing is..." she muttered as she focused once more, trying to track where the voice was coming from.
"I can stir the blood within,
Paint new colours on your skin..."
She followed the voice through the forest, pushing through trees, shrubs, and tangled roots. The further she went, the louder the singing became.
Eventually, she stopped in front of a tree with several apples hanging from its branches. "This is it... the voice is coming from here... but... is it the tree?" she murmured.
Then she shook her head. "No... it's not the tree..."
Her gaze fixed on one particular fruit, then her eyes widened, "This is it... that's what's singing the song... and it's a—"
"Softly swaying on the tree,
Red and silver, bitter as can be...
Eat me, eat me, come and eat me,
Take one bite and set me free...
Eat me, eat me, come and eat me,
Taste the dream inside of me...
I can change what lies beneath your skin,
Turn your body like the enemy of sea...
Want more strength or want more grace?
Want a smile on your face?
I can stir the blood within,
Paint new colours on your skin...
Eat me, eat me, come and eat me,
Hear my whispered melody...
Hormones dance at my command,
With just a touch, I shape and bend...
Eat me, eat me, come and eat me...
And become what you could be..."
…
"Ora! Ora! Ora! Ora!"
With both hands coated in dense Armament Haki, Zechs slammed punch after punch into the hardened, sticky mochi wall, or rather, mochi boulder, in front of him.
Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!
Each strike produced deafening impacts and powerful shockwaves that rippled through the area. Black lightning crackled from time to time around his fists.
The nearby animals could only cower and flee. The sound and shockwaves alone were enough to terrify them, let alone the overwhelming Haki released with every punch.
Katakuri stood nearby with one hand extended, maintaining the hardened mochi boulder and coating it in Armament Haki. Sweat had formed on his forehead as he focused intently on constantly repairing it.
Although the surface of the mochi boulder looked mostly unharmed, aside from the ripples that spread across it with every blow, the inside was a completely different story.
Every one of Zechs' punches devastated the interior, nearly causing the boulder to explode from within. As a result, Katakuri had to keep repairing its insides over and over.
"Internal Destruction... he seems to have gotten the hang of it..." Katakuri murmured in surprise as he continued restoring the mochi wall and reinforcing it with Armament Haki.
In truth, Katakuri had never expected Asmodeus Zechs to grasp Internal Destruction after only three months of training. It was an advanced application of Armament Haki, and even he, despite decades of experience, was not completely proficient in it. He could certainly use it, but only in a basic way... nowhere near the level of making his Haki flow into another person's body and destroying them from within.
'This kind of talent is really...' Katakuri thought as he watched Zechs continue his training.
Although he was watching it happen with his own eyes... Katakuri still had to admit that Zechs' talent was a little frightening.
Fortunately, this Katakuri had never met a certain Monkey D. Luffy, someone who went from being weak enough to lose to defeating figures like Kaido and fighting on equal footing with the Yonko in barely two years.
If Katakuri had known such a Luffy... he might have wanted to commit seppuku out of sheer embarrassment at his own incompetence, or at how unfair the world could be.
Unaware of what Katakuri was thinking, Zechs kept throwing punch after punch into the boulder.
Right then, Pudding came running towards them, shouting, "Zechs-sama... Katakuri Onii-sama!!!"
Hearing her call, Zechs stopped punching.
"Huh? What's up with her all of a sudden… did she stop her training halfway?" he asked, wiping the sweat from his forehead with the back of his arm as he turned towards her.
Pudding was running straight at them, so hurried that she did not even seem to notice her large breasts bouncing wildly with each step, threatening to spill out of her tiger-print cavewoman bra.
Not only Zechs, but Katakuri also turned to look at his little sister. Unlike Zechs, however, Katakuri ignored Pudding's bouncing chest entirely and focused on whether she was running from some wild animal or other danger.
Fortunately, that didn't seem to be the case.
Instead, she appeared to be carrying something in her hand. "Pudding... what's going on?" Katakuri asked.
"Haah... haah..." Pudding panted as she came to a stop in front of them. Then, with an excited smile, she held out what she had been carrying, "Look... look, Zechs-sama... Katakuri Onii-sama... look what I found...!"
"This is...!!" Both Zechs and Katakuri widened their eyes in shock.
What she held in her hands was a strange fruit roughly the size of her head. Its shape was bizarre. Five sharp protrusions extended from it like fingers, each one ending in a nail-like point. The fruit itself was dark pink.
Even stranger was the stem as it split into two separate ends. One side ended in the symbol of masculinity, while the other ended in the symbol of femininity.
Anyone who had lived in this world long enough would immediately recognise what kind of fruit it was.
"A Devil Fruit...?!" Zechs muttered.
That's right.
It was a Devil Fruit.
Pudding nodded excitedly. "That's right, Zechs-sama... It's a Devil Fruit! I found this Devil Fruit!!!"
Finding a Devil Fruit is actually rather rare. So, the fact that she was able to find a Devil Fruit, it explains Pudding's excitement.
Of course, unlike Pudding, Zechs and Katakuri were quite calm.
During his five years as a pirate, Zechs himself had found a few... but most of them had been so useless that they were hardly worth caring about.
So even after seeing another one, he remained calm and tried to figure out which fruit Pudding had found. He mentally flipped through his knowledge of Devil Fruits, trying to match the strange fruit in her hands to one he knew.
Katakuri's reaction was even calmer. Over the course of his life, he had seen more than enough Devil Fruits, and he also began to think about what Devil Fruit Pudding was holding. "Hmm… This Devil Fruit is..." Katakuri began.
"Ahem... well... I'm still not sure what it is," Pudding admitted before quickly changing the subject. "But that's not important. There's something even more important."
"What could be more important?" Zechs asked, tilting his head slightly.
At this point, the most important thing should have been whether the fruit was worth eating. What could possibly matter more than that?
"Aren't you curious about how I found this Devil Fruit?" Pudding asked.
"You just stumbled across it?" Zechs guessed.
That was one of the common ways people found Devil Fruits. Another was accidentally eating one while starving. And sometimes people discovered them after fighting over them.
Those were some of the usual ways.
So Zechs assumed Pudding had found it like that.
But Pudding shook her head and laughed. "Fufufu... no, that's not it, Zechs-sama. I didn't just randomly stumble upon it..." she said, giggling mysteriously. Then she puffed out her chest proudly and declared in an arrogant tone, "I tracked it down... by listening to the voice it was giving off..."
Zechs immediately understood what Pudding meant and asked, "The voice? Pudding-chan... do you mean you used the Voice of All Things to hear this Devil Fruit?"
At the same time, Katakuri murmured thoughtfully, "Do Devil Fruits have voices too?"
"I was surprised too... but that seems to be what happened," Pudding said with a nod. "I started hearing a faint voice some time ago, so I tried to track down where it was coming from. And today... I finally found the source."
She raised the Devil fruit in her hands. "It turned out to be this fruit. Even now, it's still making a faint sound... as if singing a song..."
"Is that so...?" Zechs murmured as he looked once more at the fruit in Pudding's hand.
The idea that Devil Fruits had voices... that they could sing... and that Pudding could hear them through the Voice of All Things...
It was all completely unexpected.
Nothing like this had ever been mentioned in the manga, leaving him with no choice but to think it through himself.
'Come to think of it... If everything in this world, even things that aren't alive, has a voice, then why wouldn't Devil Fruits have one too? Especially when Devil Fruits are said to possess wills of their own...'
That will was strongest in Zoan fruits, to the point that they even seemed to possess some form of consciousness.
But that same will should exist in Paramecia and Logia fruits too, right?
And quite obviously it was that will... the will inside the fruit itself... that was giving off a voice.
And, surprisingly enough, Pudding could hear those voices through the Voice of All Things.
The more Zechs thought about it... the more absurd it seemed. And yet, somehow, the more it also made sense. 'The Voice of All Things... it really is an incredible ability.'
At the same time, he couldn't help thinking about what that implied...
His gaze shifted toward Katakuri. Katakuri looked back at him for a moment before both of them turned to look at Pudding.
They were both intelligent people, and they both understood exactly what this meant. It meant that Pudding could practically be treated as a kind of Devil Fruit tracker.
Out at sea, stumbling across a Devil Fruit was mostly a matter of luck. Finding one was incredibly rare, not only because Devil Fruits themselves were rare, but because there was no real way to track them.
A person could be standing within ten metres of a Devil Fruit, but if they never happened to look in the right direction, the fruit could remain hidden forever.
But if someone could hear the voice of a Devil Fruit...
Then finding it would become much easier.
The fruit might be a hundred metres away, hidden behind several walls, but as long as its voice could be heard and followed, it could still be found.
Of course, this wasn't perfect tracking. Pudding would still need to be within a certain range to hear a Devil Fruit's voice in the first place, and she probably couldn't hear them from extremely long distances.
Even so, it would still greatly increase their chances of finding Devil Fruits.
And all of this came from her ability to hear the Voice of All Things.
'The Voice of All Things, huh... the more I learn about this ability, the greedier and more jealous I become...' Zechs thought with a sigh.
It was a pity that he still hadn't obtained that ability.
Back when Zechs had fucked Pudding's asshole, instead of receiving the Voice of All Things as he had hoped, he had received a Physique Enhancement Card instead, which could enhance someone's physique to fifty percent of Charlotte Linlin's Steel Balloon physique. The card was still sitting in his inventory, gathering dust because he hadn't used it on anyone.
As for the Voice of All Things... he still hadn't obtained it.
Of course, that was also because he hadn't fucked Pudding again after the second time. And that is not just because he didn't want to, or because of her training, or because he is practicing abstinence. No, neither of those is the true reason. The true reason is that he just doesn't want to risk missing his chance to obtain the Voice of All Things.
Based on what Miss System had told him, he could receive rewards from a Gold Class woman at most three times. After that, the only things he would receive were attribute points and bloodline points.
He had already used up two chances with Pudding.
That meant he only had one chance left.
If he failed to get what he wanted on the third attempt... then he might never get it at all. After all, there really isn't any other woman in canon with the ability to hear the Voice of All Things.
Because of that, he had been holding back and not fucking Pudding these past few months. First, he wants her to master the Voice of All Things. Only then would he properly rail her again. If she completely mastered the Voice of All Things... then perhaps he would finally be able to obtain that ability too.
Thinking of that, he asked, "Since you were able to hear the voice of this Devil Fruit and track it... that means you've already mastered the ability, right?"
"Probably...?" Pudding replied uncertainly.
"Probably?" questioned Zechs, raising an eyebrow.
"This… actually, I am still not fully certain…" she replied.
She didn't really know.
There was no way for her to be certain. Her own understanding of the ability was limited, and there was nobody else around who could use the Voice of All Things for her to compare herself to.
The fact that she had managed to track this Devil Fruit using her ability should mean that she had made quite a bit of progress, right?
But when it came down to hearing the voices in Zechs' heart... or Katakuri's heart… she still can't do it, leaving her uncertain if she has really mastered the Voice of All Things.
"Is that so...? That's fine... keep working on it..." Zechs said.
If obtaining the Voice of All Things was possible, then he didn't mind waiting longer before fucking her for the third time.
Besides, it wasn't as if the two of them had stopped doing anything sexual. Only the actual penetration was off-limits for now. Everything else still happened regularly.
After all, Pudding still needed to maintain her diet.
And how else was she supposed to do that if she didn't get to eat her favourite yogurt?
Ahem... but putting that aside, their attention returned to the Devil Fruit.
"Are you going to eat this Devil Fruit?" Charlotte Katakuri asked Zechs.
Out of the three of them, only Zechs wasn't already a Devil Fruit user. Both Katakuri and Pudding had already eaten Devil Fruits, the Memo-Memo no Mi and the Mochi-Mochi no Mi, respectively. Since neither of them was Marshall D. Teach, neither could eat a second Devil Fruit.
Which meant that out of the three of them... only Zechs could eat the fruit that Pudding had found.
"Before that... I need to figure out what Devil Fruit this actually is," Zechs replied.
To be brutally honest, after nearly drowning and ending up stranded on this island with Pudding, Zechs was extremely reluctant to eat any Devil Fruit at all.
Back then, if he hadn't still been able to swim, both he and Pudding would almost certainly have died.
With the will of the world and fate still seemingly against him, it wouldn't be surprising if he encountered more situations like that in the future. And in those situations, having a Devil Fruit ability could easily become a death sentence.
Keeping all of that in mind, unless this Devil Fruit, or any future Devil Fruit they found, possessed a truly heaven-defying ability, Zechs had absolutely no intention of eating it.
He simply didn't want to lose his ability to swim.
Anyway, his own Incubus bloodline was no weaker than a Mythical Zoan Devil Fruit... and as Kaido-Sensei said, Haki transcended everything. On top of that, he also had the System, which allowed him to obtain all kinds of rewards like other bloodlines, and even abilities such as Kotoamatsukami.
In that case, did he really need to eat a Devil Fruit?
Zechs didn't think so.
Still, he was curious about what this Devil Fruit actually was. If it turned out to be an unbelievably powerful one, then he wouldn't mind considering it.
"This Devil Fruit..."
With that, all three of them began to think.
The Encyclopedia of Devil Fruits contained far too many entries, making it impossible to remember every single fruit. Even though both Zechs and Charlotte Katakuri had read it, neither of them could be certain.
Not to mention, there was always the possibility that this was an entirely new Devil Fruit that wasn't listed in the encyclopedia at all.
Of course, just because Zechs and Katakuri couldn't remember didn't mean Pudding couldn't.
Thanks to her Memo-Memo no Mi ability, she was able to mentally flip through the pages of the Devil Fruit encyclopedia she had read and quickly identify it.
"It's the Horu-Horu no Mi..."
"Ho... Horu-Horu no Mi?" Zechs muttered in shock.
Then he suddenly realised it, the male and female gender symbols on the two ends of the stem... and the strange nails that looked like fingers...
It was the Horu-Horu no Mi, a Devil Fruit that allowed its user to become a hormone-controlling human.
In canon, the fruit was eaten by Emporio Ivankov, one of the slaves who escaped during the God Valley Incident. Ivankov later became one of the founding members of the Revolutionary Army and even took part in the Summit War of Marineford, helping rescue Luffy's sworn brother because Luffy was the son of Monkey D. Dragon. On top of that, Ivankov was also the queen of the Kamabakka Kingdom.
"This Devil Fruit... I didn't expect it to end up in our hands..." Zechs murmured, feeling strangely unsettled.
'Isn't there supposed to be a Will of the World and Fate? Then how the hell did the Horu-Horu no Mi end up with us?' he wondered.
For such a distinctive Devil Fruit to fall into his hands... did that mean this was fate too?
Zechs could only wonder.
As for the Horu-Horu no Mi itself... it was difficult to say whether it qualified as a heaven-defying fruit.
Emporio Ivankov had never shown the full potential of the fruit. Ivankov's usage wasn't bad by any means; she could do a lot with it, such as gender change, poison antidote, adrenaline pump, and so on, but that was definitely not the limit of what the Horu-Horu no Mi could do.
The fruit should be even more versatile. Because the user could control hormones, in a sense, the fruit allowed them to control biology itself.
After all, hormones determine almost everything in a living body: gender, ageing, healing, muscle growth, body size, exhaustion, paralysis, confusion, depression, and even emotions such as rage, fear, courage, despair, loyalty, obsession, or the complete absence of fear.
What exactly was there in the human body and mind that the Horu-Horu no Mi couldn't control?
And that was only when using hormones that already existed naturally in the body.
What if the user could inject entirely new hormones, ones that didn't even exist in normal humans?
In that sense, this Devil Fruit might genuinely be a heaven-defying ability with nearly limitless potential.
'Fuck...' Zechs cursed. 'Out of all the Devil Fruits we could have found, we had to find one this absurdly powerful...'
He was incredibly tempted to eat it.
Every fibre in his body seemed to be telling him to eat Horo-Horo no Mi.
Because it really was an insanely powerful Devil Fruit.
But...
He still forced himself to resist. 'No... I can't eat it. I absolutely can't. This fruit isn't that amazing... it's mediocre...'
He knew he was lying to himself, but he still forced himself to believe it. He even started inventing reasons to resist the temptation.
'This has to be the Will of the World and Fate trying to lure me into a trap through temptation. They must have realized that they can't kill me normally, and their previous attempt to get rid of me failed, so they have changed their tactic. The moment I eat the Horu-Horu no Mi, there'll probably be an earthquake, or some giant Sea King will swallow the whole island and drag it to the bottom of the sea. Then, because I won't be able to swim anymore, and would be weakened by the sea, all three of us, me, Pudding, and Katakuri, will fucking die.'
'Yeah... that has to be it.'
'This is fate trying to tempt me to my death.'
'I won't fall for it.'
'I refuse to give in.'
Suppressing his desire, Zechs swallowed hard and shook his head.
"I'm not interested in eating the Horu-Horu no Mi," he said. "Let's save it for later. I can always give it to someone else... maybe a doctor. A fruit like this would probably be far more useful in the hands of someone with real medical knowledge."
Neither Katakuri nor Pudding knew the real reason Zechs didn't want to eat the fruit.
Still, the explanation he gave them made enough sense.
A Devil Fruit like the Horu-Horu no Mi really did require knowledge of the human body to use properly, and Zechs wasn't a doctor.
So neither of them pressed the issue, and they stored the fruit away for later.
After storing the Devil Fruit away, Pudding returned to training her Observation Haki. Meanwhile, Zechs went back to refining his Advanced Armament Haki.
After three months of training, Zechs had finally become familiar with the feeling of letting Haki flow out from his hands during his attacks, the basic requirement for using Advanced Armament Haki.
And since he could now use emission, he naturally wanted to master Internal Destruction, the next stage beyond it.
As for Future Sight... he still hadn't made any progress there.
But at least his Advanced Armament training was moving forward.
With that in mind, he clenched his fists, coated them in Haki, and began punching the sticky mochi wall.
Once he fully understood how to make Haki flow through his fists, he planned to start training with a sword as well, learning how to channel it through a blade.
But for now...
This was what he needed to master first.
…
On a certain sparsely populated island somewhere in the New World...
The sound of singing and dancing echoed through the night.
… Shave his belly with a rusty razor
Shave his belly with a rusty razor
Shave his belly with a rusty razor
Early in the morning~
… Way hay and up she rises
Way hay and up she rises
Way hay and up she rises
Early in the morning~
The ones singing were none other than the pirates of Asmodeus Zechs' crew. Even though Zechs himself wasn't there, that didn't mean they had forgotten the songs they had learned over the past five years while sailing with him.
And now, after spending almost five months sailing alongside Charlotte Linlin's crew, they were still singing those same songs.
Not only that, they had even begun teaching them to the pirates of Charlotte Linlin's crew. So the two crews sang together, danced together, and partied together, thoroughly enjoying themselves.
Even Linlin herself was singing and dancing around the bonfire, enjoying herself with the crew. She was surrounded by several women, former attendants from Zechs' ship who had once served him directly with their bodies, letting him use themselves however he wished.
In his absence, with Linlin now taking charge or sort of responsibility of his crew, those women had naturally taken up roles around her, acting as her maids.
And now, all of them were singing and dancing alongside the others, making the entire atmosphere lively and full of energy.
… Put him in a long boat till he's sober
Put him in a long boat till he's sober
Put him in a long boat till he's sober
Early in the morning~
… Way hay and up she rises
Way hay and up she rises
Way hay and up she rises
Early in the morning~
In the middle of that lively atmosphere, a small ship slowly approached the island.
As it drew closer, Bel—who had been singing and dancing along with everyone else—heard the Mini Den Den Mushi in his pocket begin to ring.
Buru buru... buru buru... buru buru...
"Y-you guys keep going... I-I'll see who it is..." the cook said, breathless and sweaty, excusing himself as he walked away from the group, which continued singing and dancing without him.
Kacha!
"Moshi moshi..." Bel answered.
{Bel... It's me. Streusen. I'm approaching the island.} Streusen's voice came from the other side.
The moment he heard that voice, Bel's body tensed.
He quickly looked around. Once he confirmed that no one was paying attention to him, he lowered his voice.
"Understood, Streusen-san... but please be careful... Don't do anything that'll make Ane-san angry... a-also... don't..."
Gulp.
"Ohh... I just hope Ane-san doesn't kill me for this..." He could only pray.
For the past three months, he had secretly been informing Streusen of their location. In a way, it was a betrayal. Streusen was no longer part of the crew.
But Bel owed too much to him.
It was Streusen who had first recruited him into the crew. So even though Linlin was now the captain, part of Bel still listened to Streusen.
Besides, Bel believed that the conflict between Linlin and Streusen was nothing more than a fight between father and daughter.
Linlin had been angry and rebellious, so she had thrown Streusen out of the crew. But Bel didn't believe they truly hated each other.
As a father himself, one who had once had a daughter before she died, he understood that daughters could sometimes rebel against their fathers.
That didn't mean they stopped loving them. Even now, he still regrets never reconciling with his own daughter. And because of that... he didn't want Streusen and Linlin to end up the same way. That was why he had allowed Streusen to come.
It was his weakness.
Even so, he was still afraid... and all he could do was pray.
{Don't worry... it'll be fine...} Streusen said from the other side, trying to reassure him.
"Hope so..." Bel muttered with a nod.
The two exchanged a few more words, during which Bel told Streusen their exact location. Then the call ended.
Kacha...!
Bel let out a sigh and turned to look at the people still singing and dancing.
He really hoped Streusen was right.
… Put him in the bed with the captain's daughter
Put him in the bed with the captain's daughter
Put him in the bed with the captain's daughter
Early in the morning~
… Way hay and up she rises
Way hay and up she rises
Way hay and up she rises
Early in the morning~
As the singing and dancing continued, the small boat docked after which Streusen jumped to the island and slowly made his way towards where the pirates had gathered and were partying…
His arrival… it naturally didn't go unnoticed… several homies that had been on watch duty noticed him arrive at once and had their eyes widened at once… but… they didn't stop him and allowed him to continue forward as Streusen was soon near the bonfire where the singing and dancing was going on…
As he arrived… the people there… obviously noticed him… "Hey… he is…"
Many people… as they noticed him approach the bonfire stopped dancing or singing… and were stunned, not knowing what to do… nobody expected to see Streusen at the moment…
At the end… only Linlin was left who continued to sing and dance, raising her glass filled with booze…
"… That's what we do with a drunken sailor
That's what we do with a drunken sailor
That's what we do with a drunken sailor
Early in the morning~
… Way hay and up she rises
Way hay and up she rises
Way hay and up she rises
Early in the morning~
...Way hay and up she rises
Way hay and up she rises
Way hay and up she rises
Early in the m— YOU—!!!!!"
Only while singing the final line did she finally notice the man standing not far away. By then, the rest of the crowd had already fallen silent, and only the sound of the flickering flames was echoing.
Her expression instantly turned cold as she stared at him. "What the hell are you doing here?"
"Linlin... I-I came to apologise..." Streusen said, his voice catching slightly. "Please forgive me..."
"Apologise, huh...? Apology accepted," Linlin replied.
For a moment, Streusen brightened, thinking she had forgiven him.
But before he could get too happy, she immediately poured cold water over him, "Well... now that you've done that, you can leave."
'Figures… of course, it won't be that easy…' Streusen thought, and then said stammering, "I... I want to come back to the crew..."
Linlin scoffed. "You've already been thrown out of the crew. Now get lost..."
"I... I won't leave..." Streusen said, shaking his head.
Then he dropped to his knees and prostrated himself before Linlin, bowing his head low. "Please... please forgive me, Linlin, and let me be part of the crew again...!!!"
Seeing him kneel before her, Linlin hesitated for a moment.
After all, no matter what Streusen had done... that didn't erase the fact that he had raised her for twelve years. Her feelings toward him, as a friend, as a foster father, still existed somewhere in her heart.
And now, seeing him lower himself so earnestly before her... she hesitated.
Sensing that hesitation, Streusen smiled faintly where she couldn't see him. 'Hmm... I knew it. She'll give in. After all, I'm the one who raised you... so stop acting up and just accept it, bitch.'
Linlin, unaware of his true thoughts, clenched her fist.
Crack.
The cup of booze in her hand shattered, spilling alcohol across the ground.
That sharp sound jolted her awake.
She snorted, turned on her heel, and walked away. "My decision won't change. Get lost... or I'll kill you!" she said before leaving and heading back toward the ship to sleep.
In response, Streusen gritted his teeth and lifted his head, glaring at her retreating back. "I won't leave, Linlin...! I'll kneel here day and night if I have to... but I won't leave!"
"Suit yourself," Linlin replied coldly without even turning around and disappeared.
The others left behind didn't know what to do.
What they did know was that there was no way they could keep partying. The mood had been completely ruined.
So they quietly packed everything up and decided to go to sleep. Since they had already strung up their hammocks on the island, they planned to spend the night there.
A few people wanted to approach Streusen... but none of them dared. Streusen was no longer part of the crew.
Still, quite a few greeted him from a distance.
The members of Zechs' crew remained silent and did nothing. This wasn't their place to interfere.
Of course, Rob was different.
He watched Streusen with obvious wariness.
After all, he and Linlin were the only two people who knew exactly why Streusen had been thrown out of the crew. And now that Streusen had suddenly returned, Rob found the whole thing suspicious.
Even so, he said nothing and chose to remain silent. This wasn't the place for him to speak.
And so Streusen remained there, kneeling on the ground in front of Linlin's ship, making sure that when she came down the next morning... the first thing she would see was him.
…
The next day—
After a full night's sleep, Linlin stepped out, stretched her body, and came down onto the island.
The first thing she saw was Streusen, still kneeling on the ground.
"Linlin... please forgive me...!!!" he pleaded.
Linlin walked right past him without even sparing him a glance.
"Ane-san is really angry... she didn't even look at him... I wonder if she'll ever forgive him at this rate..." some of the crew murmured.
Streusen ignored them and continued kneeling. 'Within a few days... Admiral Kong should arrive here. As long as I stay here until then... everything should work out fine...'
…
Day 3—
"He's still kneeling..."
"Has he even eaten anything these past three days?"
"I haven't seen him eat a thing at all...!!!"
"Tch...!" Linlin clicked her tongue, irritated that Streusen was still kneeling there. Just seeing him ruined her mood.
At the same time, though, it also made her feel guilty.
As if she were somehow the one at fault for ignoring his suffering, even though—
"Ane-san..." Bel began carefully, wanting to persuade her to forgive Streusen.
But Linlin cut him off immediately. "Silence... especially you, Bel. The fact that I haven't thrown you out, together with him, should already be more than enough for you. Don't make me even angrier..."
By now, Linlin already knew that it had been Bel who told Streusen where they were.
She had been so furious that, for a moment, she had wanted to rip his soul right out of his body.
But after hearing his explanation... and because she knew him too well... she restrained herself.
Even so, she was still angry.
Angry that one of her own crewmates had helped Streusen find them.
And even angrier when she realised that so many of her crew had originally been recruited by Streusen.
"Fuck...!!!" In a burst of rage, she punched a nearby boulder, smashing it to pieces, then stomped away and returned to her cabin to sleep.
Watching her disappear, Streusen gritted his teeth and continued to bow while internally wondering, 'How many days until the admiral arrives?'
Since he cannot make a call to Kong under the watch of so many pirates… he doesn't really know how long till Kong arrives. He could only hope that it won't be too long.
…
Day 7—
"He really doesn't intend to give up... does he?"
"And he looks terrible... he hasn't eaten anything, hasn't had anything to drink... he's been sitting there the entire time..."
"I don't even know what he did... but honestly... I'm starting to feel sorry for him..."
"Maybe Ane-san is being too harsh on him..."
"I mean... this is still Streusen-san. He raised Ane-san... seeing him like this is really..."
The pirate let out a sigh.
Linlin clicked her tongue.
Of course, she had heard every word.
And hearing them only made her feel even more guilty, 'Am I being too tough?'
'It's already been seven damn days... what's taking Admiral Kong so long?' Streusen thought.
By now, he looked weak and shrivelled after going so many days without food or water. And he was starting to grow irritated with the admiral.
…
Day 15—
"At this rate... he'll die... look at him... he's already on the verge of death..."
"Ane-san... I don't know what he did... but seeing him like this... Streusen-san must really regret it. You should forgive him..."
"Ane-san... if you don't... and something happens to him... you might regret it for the rest of your life..."
"Ane-san..."
"Ane-san..."
Listening to her crewmates, Linlin let out a long sigh and rubbed her temples.
Even she felt that maybe she had gone too far.
At this rate, Streusen really would die.
And as much as she hated to admit it... she couldn't just stand by and watch that happen.
"Pull him up... he'll start as a deck cleaner," Linlin said flatly before turning and walking back toward her cabin.
It took a moment for the pirates to process her words.
Then, as it sank in, many of them burst out excitedly, "Streusen-san... Streusen-san... Ane-san agreed! Ane-san agreed...!"
"You idiots... don't crowd him... look at how weak Streusen-san is... he needs food and water first. Everything else can wait..." Bel said, quickly bringing over food and water and helping Streusen eat slowly.
Rob watched in silence. He glanced in the direction Linlin had gone, then back at Streusen, and couldn't help but wonder, 'Is he really guilty?'
He wasn't sure.
Still... if Streusen weren't guilty, would he really kneel and beg like this for two whole weeks?
And yet... Something about it felt off.
Rob couldn't explain it, but his gut kept telling him something was wrong. 'Better stay vigilant... just in case...' he decided.
Meanwhile, as Streusen was fed food and water, his thoughts were far from grateful. 'What the hell is going on? Why aren't the Marines here yet? Damn it...! In these two weeks, Linlin should've already been delivered to the Holy Land... and I would've had plenty of chances to step on her... but... damn it!!! Kong... what the hell are you doing?!!!'
…
Sometime later, Streusen was scrubbing the deck while talking with Bel and the others.
"I was really worried, you know..." he said. "When that article came out saying that Asmodeus Zechs had been captured by the Marines, I thought Linlin would immediately attack G-17. It was obviously a trap, but..."
"Yeah... we thought the same thing..." Bel replied, lighting a cigarette. "Luckily, Ane-san didn't do it."
Streusen paused for a moment, then cautiously asked, "Then why didn't she? And why didn't she attack the Marine ship that was supposed to escort Asmodeus Zechs to Impel Down?"
Bel shrugged. "No idea. Ane-san never explained anything. She just dropped the matter... and since then we've kept hiding and lying low..."
Streusen was surprised.
For a moment, he considered asking Linlin about it directly, but he quickly dismissed the idea. She had only just allowed him back into the crew. She still barely spoke to him. There wasn't a chance in hell she would answer him.
As he pushed that thought aside, Streusen noticed Rob standing in the distance, watching him.
"What's his deal? Did he join the crew?" Streusen asked.
For the past few days, ever since he had been allowed back on the ship, he had constantly felt Rob's gaze on him. And even when Rob wasn't directly looking at him, Streusen could still sense his presence through Observation Haki.
Because of that, he hadn't been able to contact Kong at all.
It was a real headache.
"This... I guess..." Bel replied uncertainly.
He wasn't really sure whether Rob and the others from Asmodeus Zechs' crew could be considered part of the Charlotte Linlin Pirates or not. They had been together for five months, so in a way, they were part of the crew.
But Linlin had never officially announced that they had joined her, which left Bel unsure.
"Is that so...?" Streusen murmured thoughtfully, deciding to be a little more cautious from now on.
…
After making sure with his Observation Haki that he was alone and that everyone else—including Rob—was asleep, Streusen took out his Den Den Mushi and called Kong.
Buru buru... buru buru... buru buru...
The call rang for a while before it was finally answered.
Kacha...!
{Moshi moshi... this is Admiral Kong.}
Kong's familiar voice came from the other side.
Immediately, Streusen asked in an angry whisper, "Admiral... it's been almost three weeks since I returned to Linlin's side. Three fucking weeks. What the hell is going on? Where are you? Don't tell me you've given up on capturing Linlin?"
{Ahem... that isn't the case... currently, the Marine forces are occupied with more important matters in the South Blue,} Kong replied with a sigh.
"What could possibly be more important than capturing Linlin?" Streusen demanded, clearly dissatisfied.
Here he was, forced to endure seeing Linlin every day without chains or a collar around her neck, while he scrubbed decks like a servant.
Meanwhile, Kong was off in the South Blue doing who the hell knew what.
{Actually... the reason I'm here in the South Blue is because I failed to capture Charlotte Linlin. Some Celestial Dragons are angry, and I've been assigned the troublesome task of assisting with their triannual event. That's all I can say. I'll have to remain here until the event ends. It will take some time before the Marine forces stationed here can return to Marineford. Until then, you'll have to wait and continue lurking. I'll contact you.}
The moment Streusen heard that it involved the Celestial Dragons and some kind of triannual event, he stopped complaining.
He had no idea what event Kong was talking about, but he understood that even Kong had no choice in the matter.
So he could only grit his teeth and accept it.
"Then hurry the hell up..."
And with that, Streusen ended the call.
Kacha!
…
On Kong's side...
As the Transponder Snail returned to normal, he stood on the deck of the warship and looked toward the island in the distance.
Smoke constantly rose from it. Along with the smoke came pained screams, desperate cries for help, and people begging for mercy.
"It's already been three weeks..." he muttered, clenching his fist.
For the past three weeks, he had been forced to listen to those cries, along with the sounds of gunfire and other horrors.
But he was powerless to do anything.
For one, the island wasn't affiliated with the World Government.
And second... the ones causing all that suffering were the Celestial Dragons.
"I had heard about this Native Hunting Event... but..." He let out a long sigh, feeling both disgusted and helpless to do anything about it.
He was just an admiral… Compared to the World Nobles, who are gods and the masters of this world… he is really helpless.
…
Back on Linlin's ship, inside her cabin—
Having changed into her sleepwear, which consisted of nothing more than a tank top and a pair of panties, Linlin lay down on the bed and pulled the blanket over herself.
"Mama mama... It's time to see Zechs... It's been a few days..." she murmured before closing her eyes and drifting off to sleep.
When she opened them again, she found herself sitting in Zechs' lap, her arms wrapped around his neck as she gazed into his face.
"Zechs..." she said with a smile.
"Linlin..." Zechs replied with a smile of his own as he wrapped his arms around her waist.
The two of them looked at each other for a long moment before leaning in and kissing.
Quite obviously... the two of them were going to fuck.
.
.
A/N:
As always, I'll ask for Power Stones. Give them to me, guys. Don't leave me starving for them.
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