Read up to 45 Chapters ahead of public release on P atreon at: p-atreon.com/Knockturn_Alley
.
.
Somewhere else in the New World—
A pirate ship sailed across the sea while flying a Jolly Roger depicting a skull wearing a white horned helmet and a yellow moustache shaped like a "W". Behind it is a dim purple circle, while crossed bones in the shape of an "X" lay beneath the skull.
It is the Jolly Roger of the World Pirates, whose captain is Byrnndi World.
Byrnndi World is a tall, broad man with enormous arms, thin legs, a green beard, and a lighter green moustache shaped like the letter W.
Like many other famous pirates of this era, such as Rocks D. Xebec, Gol D. Roger, Asmodeus Zechs, Edward Newgate, Charlotte Linlin, Shiki, Patrick Redfield, Kyo, Ochoku, Captain John, Ganzui, Don Marlon, and Barbell, Byrnndi World is also an up-and-coming man who has been sailing the seas for quite some time… more than a decade at this point, and a few years ago officially shifted into the life of piracy from the initial adventurous life, and has gained considerable fame over the past two or three years.
Indeed, despite being only thirty years old, Byrnndi World had already become a notorious pirate with a bounty as high as 200 million Berries.
In this era, when inflation has not hit as high as 49 years in the future… 200 million Berry bounty is something very serious… making him quite a threat.
But despite everything he had achieved, reading the recent newspapers, not just today's, but also of the previous few months, has left him furious. So furious, in fact, that he slammed his fist down onto the wooden table holding the newspaper and shattered it completely.
Bang!
"What the hell?!" he roared. "Where's my name?! Everyday… These pages are full of Rocks this… Roger that… Charlotte Linlin, there and something else somewhere! Even this Asmodeus Zechs guy is on the front page today! But what about me?! Didn't I beat that Vice Admiral just yesterday?! How did that get pushed back to page 5 and didn't make the top headline?"
He glared at the somewhat crumpled newspaper in irritation. "My news barely gets any attention! Meanwhile, this bastard, who got beaten by a mere Rear Admiral, and was imprisoned at some prison gets to make the headline? Isn't Impel Down just some underwater prison? What's the big deal about it? Is escaping from that place as big a deal as defeating a Vice admiral?"
As an up-and-coming pirate whose fame and notoriety were growing with every passing month, Byrnndi World didn't like seeing other figures overshadow him. Especially not when that person's actions don't even surpass the things he has done.
To him, it was completely unacceptable, and it made him furious.
World's elder brother, Byrnndi Byojack, a sickly, thin man wearing a helmet with one broken horn, tried to calm him down. "World... there's no need to get so angry, right?" he said cautiously. "It's not as if this is some kind of competition. Besides, isn't it better that we are not on the front page so often? It saves us some trouble for a while. The Marines probably won't be focusing on us as much..."
Hearing his brother's words, World hesitated for a moment. "Well..." But then he thought again about all the other pirates overshadowing him, and his expression darkened. "No. You don't understand, Brother. As a pirate captain, how could I accept being less famous and less feared than others? Even my bounty isn't as high as this Asmodeus guy's! Mine is only 200 million, while he has 900 million! He got beaten by a mere Rear Admiral, and he still has a bounty that high?!"
"Bounties do not necessarily reflect strength," Byojack still tried to explain patiently. "They reflect how much of a threat the World Government believes someone is. This guy is definitely weaker than you, but he only has such a high bounty because of other reasons."
"That's even worse!" World snapped. "Does that mean they think I'm less dangerous than him? Or than people like Rocks and Roger?"
Byojack could only sigh helplessly, "I… didn't mean that… it's just…"
He did not know how to explain to his younger brother that being ignored by the Marines was actually a good thing. It spared them countless problems and allowed them to continue travelling and seeing the world.
After all, that had originally been the reason they had gone to sea in the first place, to adventure and explore the world. Their objective was adventure… not to be a pirate!
It was only after repeated clashes with the Marines and government forces that they had been labelled pirates.
But just because they were labelled as pirates did not mean they had to embrace that life completely.
Unfortunately, his younger brother had begun to enjoy the hedonistic life of a pirate far too much.
Drinking, pillaging, partying, robbing... World loved all of it.
Of course, Byojack had tried to keep World under control and stop their crew from going too far.
But life at sea required money. Without money, there was very little they could do. Ships needed repairs, food had to be bought, supplies had to be restocked, and so on and so forth.
And for people sailing the seas with no nation or home backing them... Where else were they supposed to get that money?
The answer was obvious. By robbing others. So even if Byojack tried to restrain his brother, there was no real way to stop all of it.
Still, he did his best to avoid drawing too much attention and inviting unnecessary trouble.
But lately, ever since World ate that Devil Fruit they came across, he had grown more ambitious, more prideful, and more obsessed with attracting attention and amassing power. Adventure and freedom had become less important to him.
That left Byojack feeling helpless.
'What to do?' Byojack had been desperately trying to think of a way to calm his brother down when, suddenly, World's eyes lit up. "I see..." he said. "I know what the problem is now."
"What problem?" Byojack asked, suddenly feeling a very bad premonition.
"Barorororo..." World laughed. "The reason nobody takes me seriously is that I'm not actively going out and defeating powerful people or robbing wealthy countries. If I change that... if I start crushing powerful Marines and famous pirates and start robbing important and wealthier islands... then people will take me seriously, they'll fear me more, I'll gain far more fame... and far more notoriety as well."
"World... you...!" Byojack stared at him in shock.
Most pirates did everything they could to avoid attracting attention from other pirates and the Marines. Yet his younger brother wanted to seek out trouble on purpose.
Wasn't that simply asking for disaster?
But World saw nothing wrong with the idea. "To be a pirate is to be ambitious and unhinged," he declared proudly. "What kind of pirate has no ambition? Since I'm a pirate now, I should aim to become the greatest pirate in the world. And to become the greatest, I need to crush all the other pirates!"
He paused and burst into laughter, "Barorororo...!"
Then he continued. "And not just pirates. I'll crush the Marines too. When I become the greatest pirate, the Marines will tremble the moment they see my Jolly Roger and turn their ships around."
Before Byojack could say anything, several of the crew members were already shouting their support.
"As expected of World-sama! With this plan, the World Pirates will definitely become the greatest pirate crew!"
"But... but wouldn't that be too dangerous?" a few of the others asked nervously.
"What are you worried about?" another pirate replied immediately. "World-sama has the power of the Moa-Moa no Mi! With that power, he can amplify anything by several times! They say it has enough destructive potential to destroy the entire world if used in full capacity, just like the Gura-Gura no Mi!"
"Yeah! With Captain World possessing the Moa-Moa no Mi, what do we have to be afraid of?"
"Well... if you put it that way... hahaha... I suppose I was worrying for nothing. Lord World really is the strongest..."
World was satisfied to hear the minions praising him… and his arrogance only grew, "That's right… I am the strongest… what need is there to be afraid of anyone? Barorororo~"
Byojack gulped, a trace of fear creeping into him at the sheer arrogance in World's words. But he had no idea what to say to calm his brother down. Helpless, he turned toward the other three major members of the crew, silently asking them for help.
Other than World and Byojack, the three main members, or perhaps better said, Cadres of the World Pirates are Gairam, Nightin, and Sebastian.
Gairam is an arrogant man who has absolute confidence in his own abilities and regards anyone weaker than himself as little more than a nuisance. As the user of the Paramecia Cube-Cube Fruit, he serves as both the crew's shipwright and engineer. He is unquestionably loyal to Byrnndi World... at least, as long as that loyalty does not threaten his own life. If a situation arises where abandoning World is the only way to save himself, he would, of course, do it. Still, aside from that small detail, he is very loyal.
Nightin is much the same. Prideful, arrogant, cunning, and blessed with a dangerously sexy body, she holds her beauty, strength, and skills in extremely high regard. She specialises in herbs and poisons, practises the unique martial art known as Kampo Kenpo, and serves as the crew's doctor thanks to her extensive knowledge. She is also very loyal to World... right up until the moment staying loyal doesn't get her killed. Faced with the threat of death, she would abandon him. But otherwise, she is completely loyal.
Then there is Sebastian, a Wotan, a rare hybrid of Giant and Fishman. He possesses the traits of both races, with an enormous body covered in dark blue fish scales. Like Gairam and Nightin, he is supremely confident in his own strength. In fact, Sebastian genuinely believes he can defeat even some of the strongest pirates in the world within two minutes, and do it without much difficulty. And just like the other two, he is fiercely loyal to World... unless saving himself requires him to run away and leave his captain behind. But aside from that, he is absolutely loyal. Yes... absolutely. Believe it.
These three cadres of the World Pirates watched their captain, World, laugh grandly at his own ambitions, while their vice-captain stood there looking increasingly helpless and afraid, silently begging them to do something.
But to Byojack's growing frustration, neither Gairam, Nightin, nor Sebastian thinks there is anything wrong with what World is saying. Rather than trying to stop him, they actively support him.
"That's right, Captain World... we have been sailing the seas for more than a decade, and we have been pirates for almost half of that. It is about time we do something big and make a name for ourselves," Sebastian said confidently.
"Yeah..." Gairam added proudly. "I can even build a giant cannon for our ship to maximise the effect of your Devil Fruit power. With my engineering skills, something like that is no big deal."
"But what should we do?" Nightin questioned while crossing her arms beneath her heavy breasts. "Are we going to attack an Admiral or something? Rocks made a name for himself by killing an Admiral."
The moment Byojack heard Nightin's suggestion, it felt as though his soul was about to leave his body, "Don't be idiots!" he shouted immediately. "Attacking an Admiral is too much! We might all get annihilated!"
"But Rocks did it," World argued. "And he even managed to kill that Admiral. There is no way I am inferior to Rocks in any way. I am even better than him!"
Byojack does not know what to say. He cannot simply tell World that he might be wrong... that Rocks might be far superior to him. For one, saying that would wound World's pride. And secondly, Byojack himself does not truly believe World is inferior to Rocks.
He has travelled with World for years. He knows his younger brother's abilities better than anyone. So far, they have hardly encountered anyone World could not defeat, especially after he ate his Devil Fruit.
Byojack still has confidence in him.
But confidence is one thing. Wanting his younger brother to risk his life is another.
What kind of older brother would willingly watch his younger brother charge toward something so reckless?
So instead of directly disagreeing, Byojack tried to dissuade him another way, "Admirals are not easy to come across on the seas," he says. "We would have to attack Marineford... and that place is still far away. More importantly, attacking Marineford is too much for us right now. There would not just be one Admiral… but there might be two more. Not to mention the Fleet Admiral and several Vice Admirals would be there as well."
After saying that, Byojack looked at World, hoping he understood just how stupid and unrealistic attacking Marineford really is.
World is ambitious, arrogant, and overflowing with confidence... but he is not completely foolish either. He understands that attacking Marineford right now is beyond him.
So he nodded, "Attacking Marineford is indeed still too early," he said. "Either we find some other Admiral out at sea... or we make our name by crushing some other pirate instead."
"Of the two, the second option is far more realistic," Byojack says. "We would have to wait to run into an Admiral, and who knows when that will happen? But attacking a major pirate crew is much easier. There are plenty of them here in the New World."
In truth, even if there is a chance of running into an Admiral, Byojack would still choose the second option because attacking an Admiral is simply too dangerous. There is no end to the Marines. Even if they somehow manage to kill one Admiral, there are always more. And the moment they kill one, they make an enemy of the entire Marine organisation.
The Marines would stop at nothing to hunt them down in order to restore their pride and reputation.
So not only is attacking the Marines incredibly risky, but there is no real reward either.
Attacking another pirate crew, on the other hand, is profitable. They can use the lesser-known crew members, those who are not wanted, to turn in the corpses of captured or defeated pirates to the marines and collect their bounties. They can seize the other crew's treasure, weapons, and supplies. And more importantly, once the captain of a pirate crew dies, the rest of the crew usually falls apart and scatters.
There is little need to worry about revenge afterward.
In every possible way, attacking pirates is the better choice.
World thought about it for a moment, then nodded, "Then find out which major pirate crew is nearby," he orders. "I am going to annihilate them."
Within the World Pirates, Byojack is not only the vice-captain but also the crew's intelligence officer. He has a talent for eavesdropping on conversations through Transponder Snail, so he usually knows far more than anyone else. And because his short, sickly body makes him nearly useless in combat, he tries to contribute in other ways.
Intelligence is his role. He keeps track of rumours, movements, and information from all across the seas. So when World ordered him to find a nearby major pirate crew, Byojack barely even needed to think and said immediately, "In fact, our current location is not far from the island Asmodeus Zechs attacked."
"Oh?" World, Gairam, Nightin, and Sebastian all raise their eyebrows. Then World suddenly bursts into loud laughter. "Is this fate?" he asked. He was just now very angry at Zechs for hogging all the attention, and now he is realizing that Asmodeus Zechs is so close… then… isn't this perfect?
"This man seems to have resurfaced only to be annihilated by me, huh? I suppose this is his purpose... to become my stepping stone. I will kill him, and when I do, I am sure I will make the headlines and attract the attention of the entire world."
Before the others can agree, Nightin suddenly speaks, "Captain World... rather than killing Asmodeus Zechs, would it not be better to subdue him?"
"Subdue him?" World asks in surprise, while the others turn toward her as well.
Nightin smiled, "Yes... Subdue him. That would make you even more famous. Just imagine it, Captain World. A pirate with a bounty of 900 million Berries becoming your subordinate. The world would be forced to acknowledge your greatness… and World Pirates would also become stronger."
Nightin painted an enticing picture that was difficult to look away from.
Of course, her real reason for wanting World to subdue Asmodeus Zechs is very different from what she said aloud, and the reason is that she has already been captivated by Zechs' appearance.
'Such a beautiful face... just a photograph in the newspaper is enough to make my heart race. I wonder how handsome you are in person...? Nihihihi, now that there is a chance to bring you into the crew, I have to make use of it...' she thought to herself as she giggled and slowly licked her lips.
Nightin also knows that Asmodeus Zechs is a notorious womaniser. But in her mind, no woman can compare to her. She is convinced that once she gets her hands on him and shows him pleasures no other woman can, he will forget everyone else and belong only to her.
'Nihihihi... I must make sure World does not kill him and instead subdues him.'
So she continued speaking, giving World one reason after another not to kill Zechs and instead force him to submit.
And World is indeed tempted by her words. "Subdue him... huh?" he mutters.
He thought about it for a while before finally nodding. "Fine. After I defeat him, I will give him a choice. If he agrees to submit, then good for him. If not... then there is only one ending."
"Alright..." Nightin says with a smile.
On the surface, she appeared calm. But inside, she has already made up her mind. No matter what happens, she will make sure Asmodeus Zechs submits.
'After all, it would be far too much of a waste for a man like you to die before I ever get the chance to make you mine, Nihihihi,' she thought, giggling.
Byojack, Gairam, and Sebastian naturally see through Nightin's thoughts, but none of them care very much. If Asmodeus Zechs joins their crew, then they would welcome him. In fact, it would only make the World Pirates stronger.
As for Nightin's personal interest in Zechs, that is none of their business. She is not their woman, nor have any of them ever shared that kind of relationship with her. Whatever she wants to do is her own affair, so long as it does not harm the crew.
And this plan clearly does not.
So none of them opposed it and left the final decision to Captain World.
In the end, no one knows what the final outcome will be. Perhaps Asmodeus Zechs will die at the hands of Byrnndi World. Perhaps he would join the World Pirates instead. Or perhaps the exact opposite would happen, like Byrnndi World dying at the hands of Asmodeus Zechs, and the World Pirates would be the ones to get wiped out.
But one thing is certain. The World Pirates have now marked Asmodeus Zechs.
With that thought in mind, World gives his order. "Alright then. Find this Asmodeus Zechs. Since the island he attacked is not far from us, his ship cannot be too far away either. Navigators! Determine the sea currents, the magnetic directions, everything! Find Asmodeus Zechs for me!!!"
"Ooooohhhh!!!"
The entire crew immediately sprang into action, all of them now focused on a single goal: finding Asmodeus Zechs.
.
.
Nightin (image here)
.
.
A/N:
[1]: Naruto: Unhinged Uchiha is no longer on hiatus, but its updates may or may not be as frequent for the time being. I'll still update as much as I can. Go read that and make sure to drop PW for both.
[2]: I humbly request that if readers can support me on P-atreon, then please do so and enjoy the benefits of reading many advanced chapters, not only for this story, but also for 'Unhinged Uchiha' (which I'm trying to pick up again and start posting chapters on a regular basis).
I post up to 6 times a week on P-atreon!!!!
Currently, readers can access up to 45 Chapters of OP: Incubus' Adventure, 20+ Chapters of Naruto: Unhinged Uchiha (Rewrite), ahead of public release, and 100+ Chapters of Naruto: Unhinged Uchiha (original) on P-atreon.
Of course, I also understand that not everyone can provide P-atreon support, and that's completely fine. I still greatly appreciate all the support through Power Stones, chapter comments, reviews, and everything else… give 'em all to me, guyzzzz!!!!
Please help me make this and the Unhinged Uchiha (UU) more popular so that I can continue writing both stories…
Pa-t-r-e-o-n:Knockturn_Alley