5 Finding A Place To Stay

Lowden was shocked. Beyond shocked even. No word existed in his personal dictionary to explain how he was feeling currently. Looking back at it now, it should have been obvious to him. He thought he recognised the hair from somewhere, Aokiji had the same hair even when he was a child after all.

Because he didn't have his signature bandanna on, his afro wasn't shifted to both sides. Lowden decided to attribute that to his lack of perception. Obviously, he didn't have his wounds from the battle against Akainu, giving him the look of a regular teenager, save for for some minor scars from the fights he had obviously been in to become 'boss' of Zumisha City.

But if Aokiji was a child, then what year was it? Was Roger dead? Did the Revolutionary army exist? These were all things that Lowden had to know.

["Hey, Kuzan. How old are you?"] {Lowden}

["Me? I'm 15. Why?"] {Kuzan}

["No reason really, I just wanted to make conversation."] {Lowden}

["Oh..."] {Kuzan}

The two kept walking further along the road for a while before Lowden spoke up once more.

["Hey, Kuzan, is Gold Roger dead?"] {Lowden}

At this, Kuzan just turned around with a dumbfounded expression on his face.

["Are you serious? What are you on about? Gold Roger has been dead for 19 years! How did you not know that?"] {Kuzan}

19 years!? Doesn't that mean this is 5 years before Luffy sets out to sea? But if 19 years have passed since the Pirate King's death, why isn't Aokiji an Admiral? He's not even a Marine for God's sake! Just as he was thinking this, a window appeared in his vision answering the thoughts in his mind.

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[[When God said that the ability to view your Status was the only thing he was able to give you, it was a lie.]]

[[God took sympathy on your situation, he felt sorry for the loss of your family.]]

[[Henceforth, God has given you another perk!]]

[[When you first came to this world, God altered the timeline slightly! When you were taking over as the host of the body, he took that chance to read your memories.]]

[[Based on what he found, he altered the timeline. He knew who your favourite characters were and changed the world accordingly.]]

[[The man in front of you is proof of this. Other than this, no other change has been made to this world. But be warned, he is not the only one who has been changed.]]

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Lowden felt the urge to cry out of happiness. It turns out God hadn't only given him one thing! Now he had the ability to make his favourite characters his allies, maybe even his subordinates! He knew who his favourite characters were, so they had likely all been changed to be around his age, the famous F-C-G trio.

On top of Aokiji of course! But he didn't seem to have his Devil Fruit yet. Could that be a factor in getting him to work under him?

["Then what about the Admirals?"] {Lowden}

["The Admirals? Do you mean Akainu, Kizaru and Ryokogyu? What about them?"] {Kuzan}

["Nothing... It doesn't matter. Forget I said anything."] {Lowden}

["Fine by me..."] {Kuzan}

Shooting a look as if he was weird, Kuzan turned around and continued to walk down the path, not noticing Lowden following behind with a large grin spread across his face.

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["Here we are, Zumisha City!"] {Kuzan}

In front of the duo stood the city of Kuzan's birth, Zumisha City. Lowden was impressed! Obviously, it couldn't compare to modern cities due to the obvious fall behind in technology, but it was still beautiful nonetheless. The walls stood at about 10 metres tall and went on to far beyond the visible horizon. The buildings on the inside of these walls were fairly small compared to what Lowden was used to, but it they far surpassed the buildings of his old life regarding visual architecture.

It was if each house was created for its inhabitants individually. Some were tall and thin, others were only a single story high and as round as a circle. The variety was nearly endless. Next to him, Kuzan was looking at Lowden, who was marvelling at the look of the city, with a grin.

["Great right? And I'm its boss!"] {Kuzan}

["Yeah, It's great! Anywhere for me to stay!"] {Lowden}

["Yeah, I just told you, I'm the boss around here! I can hook you up with a place no problem!"] {Kuzan}

Nearing the end of his sentence, Kuzan's voice turned slightly more gruff as he turned around to look at Lowden.

["I can on one condition..."] {Kuzan}

["Oh, and what would this condition be?"] {Lowden}

Kuzan slowly turned silent before he looked away. With an abrupt turn of his head, Lowden could see his face. His eyes had a trace of desperateness in them.

["I want you to train me..."] {Kuzan}

["What!"] {Lowden}

["I said I wanted you to train me, okay!?"] {Kuzan}

His shout drew stares at the two within the middle of the street. Most of them were directed at Lowden himself. 'Who was this person that even the boss was asking to train under?' Lowden imagined them thinking. Noticing what he had done, Kuzan's face turned a slight shade of red before he dragged Lowden into a side street.

["Why do you want me to train you?"] {Lowden}

Kuzan simply sighed before he answered.

["Listen... You may think that it's a bit ironic of a common thug, but I want to join the Marines! I might be strong in this town, but I need to be even stronger if I want to impress the Admirals! Listen, I've got my reasons and I know strength when I see it. When you knocked that pipe out of my hand, I could feel the strength in that strike, especially *because* it was reflexive! So I'm sincerely asking you, please train me!"] {Kuzan}

Just as Lowden was about to think of the options within his mind, a window that he had never seen before appeared.

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[[Congratulations, you have been offered a new quest!]]

[[Name: Train Aokiji!]]

[[Duration: Must be completed within 3 years]]

[[Information: Help Aokiji gain strength! This can either be through: Training his body to [Basic Rank 3], Awakening either form of Haki or obtaining a Devil Fruit!]]

[[Rewards: 1,000,000 Beli, All Stats +10, Title: Loyal Friend, Aokiji's Loyalty +100, Honour +15, Renown +20]]

[[Will you accept?: Yes/No]]

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