(Dante's POV)
I stood at the side of the deck, looking at the water as the sound of waves was heard. The sun was shining from above as some clouds covered the sky.
It was the following day after getting the crew back together and last night, we all had a decent dinner together for the first time. It was as rowdy and good as always, having everyone together, plus a new friend made.
I looked at the water, thinking about what had happened at Marineford, "Hm...." I said, "Old Man....."
Back then, I simply joined the fray because Straw Hat Luffy asked me for the favor. I was at Amazon Lily when he had suddenly appeared there, having flown there in order to try and fix my relationship with the Kuja Empress. She was angry at me for a myriad of reasons and Luffy helped me out during that, telling Hancock that I was a good guy.
Because he had helped me out a lot at that time, I felt like I owed him a favor. And when the whole execution of Ace happened, I was compelled to do so. I was on good terms with Ace as well as Old Man Whitebeard. So when I showed up with Luffy at Marineford, it seemed possible to stop the execution and save him.
But Fate decided against it, and I couldn't do much about it. I merely watched as Ace and Whitebeard died, feeling helpless. I felt nothing but shame about the whole thing, but it was the way things were supposed to be. I heard that Luffy was safe after escaping, which gave me some relief. The Kuja were keeping him safe, and I left it at that. I haven't seen the squirt as of late.
But that event changed everything. The balance of the Grand Line was thrown out of proportion, and Whitebeard's death left a vacuum of power. I know that Pirates are going to try to take advantage of this and ascend. But I won't let that happen so easily, so I should make my own moves.
"What's on your mind?" I heard Ryoma say as he walked up to my side, "Dante..."
I looked at him, "Hm?"
"Now that we are back, there are several things we must discuss." He said, looking at me, "I think you know that."
I nodded, "Yea...."
"About Kaido...." He started
"It wasn't time, Ryoma." I said, "You know that."
"I know." He said, "You made the right call."
"Yea..." I said, "We were divided and I wasn't sure what would happen. So I made a gamble. I may have lost it, but at least I saved your lives."
"Hm..." He looked at me, "Right...."
I leaned on the railing, "What are your thoughts?" I asked, "About the new girl?"
"She seems alright to me." he said, "If Grey's idea works, she would be of great help to our cause. Especially with what you want to do."
"Blackbeard is going to make his move." I said, "We ought to keep him from gathering those fruits."
"Mhm." He said, "In Paradise, are you sure the intel is correct?"
I nodded, "Yea." I said, "We have no choice but to hunt him down and kill him."
Ryoma crossed his arms, his face hardened, "I couldn't agree more." He said, "That man is not someone we should let walk free."
"He should've been dead long ago."
**************
"Raijin Island is near." Grey said as he was on the helm, "You wanna swing by or do we commit to the crossing?"
I nodded, standing next to him, "Keep going." I said, "We have to get to Paradise as quickly as possible."
"If we run into trouble?" He asked
"We deal with it." I said, "This could take a while, but it's going to be worth it."
"Ryoma filled me in." Grey said, "Letting that fucker walk around with breath is a huge crime, he should die. But you not only want to put him down, but you want his Devil Fruit."
I crossed my arms, "Did you go over the notes?" I asked, "The ones I sent you?"
He nodded, "The Weaponized Devil Fruit is something we had already known, or most of it." He said, "But it's the Zero Point and the Legendary Beast Zoan notes that took me by surprise. I'm glad I recruited Eleanor."
I nodded, "I'm glad too." I said, "Well, we have enough time to gather our bearings. Our first target is Him. Afterwards, we hunt down other fruits and add them to the Arsenal."
"Attacking the Government Convoy was risky." Grey said, "You now got heat on us again."
"Does that worry you?" I asked him, raising an eyebrow, "I'm surprised, Grey."
He smirked, "Ha! As if!" He said, "I want as many Government Agents to try and hunt me down, I'll crush their skulls in with ease!"
I looked over the deck, seeing Myriam and Luna were holding some weapons on their hands. Myriam was holding a large shield and a lance-looking weapon, which was bulkier than a simple iron lance. It looked like some sort of giant revolver with a massive blade on it.
"W-What is this, Grey...?" Myriam said, "It's heavy...."
Luna was holding two large blades in her hands, "These are quite sleek and sharp..." she said, "I think I might keep them."
Grey chuckled, "Oi, Myriam, I thought you'd like that!" He said, "It's my new invention! I call it a Gunlance!"
"Gunlance?" She said, "It's heavy....!!"
"Ah, but your Heavy Gun isn't? Hahahaha!" Grey laughed
"It's not as heavy as this!" Myriam scowled
"How does that one work?" I asked Grey, "Looks really bulky."
"Well, you stab something, and you pull the trigger, firing the shell." Grey said, "Then it goes Boom!"
"Wow." I said, very intrigued, "Sounds crazy. I want one."
"You can use this one...." Myriam said with a frown
"You wound me, Myriam!" Grey said, "I made it for you!"
"Yes, but it's heavy!" Myriam pouted
"Well, we got time." I said with a chuckle,
"Train with it and you'll get used to it."