A Vice Admiral

"Let's see, how about…Sword of Xebec" It was the name of the Blackbeard ship, but I didn't choose it for that reason or because it sounds cool. I chose it because it emphasizes my goal on becoming the strongest pirate, ultimately surpassing the Yonko who were once part of The Rocks Pirates and eventually surpassing Rocks himself. (It was the suggestion of "TheOnlyKing", I also thought about Black Pearl, but I think it's overused in Fanfiction)

"It's a cool name, but who is Xebec?" Franky asked in curiosity.

"It's better if you don't know…Tell me, do you want to see your ship sailing the whole world?" I asked him.

"Huh? The hell are you talking about?" he looked confused at my question.

"I'm talking about you, if you want to witness your ship sailing across world?" I asked him seriously "I imagine you putting your all building it, so why not make sure it makes it to the end of the grand line?" He looked at me in surprise while raising an eyebrow.

"Are you asking me to join your crew?"

"Yeah…I need a shipwright, and you are the right one for the job" I said, "Join me and become the shipwright of the next pirate king!"

"You have a big ambition, but anyone could make the same claim" he said.

'He has a point, but I'm not anyone' I thought while looking at him for a moment before I cracked a smile and spoke once again "You only have two choices" I said raising two fingers.

"You could either stay here and keep building ships for the rest of your life…Or you could join me and have the adventure of your life, the choice is yours I won't pressure you" I said, he looked to be thinking thoroughly about my words "Let me know if you change your mind before I leave"

I turned back and left after that. I proceeded to go back to the same Inn that I visited before.

"Welcome!" Amber said before she turned back to my direction "You came back pretty quickly…Are you here to take me on that date?" She said jokingly.

"No, I'm here to give you an offer" I said in a serious tone of voice.

"What kind of offer?" She looked at me curiously.

"I want to recruit you. You just have to cook some delicious food for me and the crew that's all, what do you say?" I said as I approached her slowly. She looked surprised at my offer and stayed silence for a moment thinking about it before she replied.

"How much do you pay?"

"More than you would dream off while working in a place like this" I said as I brought out a bundle of money from my pocket "I'll pay you in advance"

She checked the money before she changed her gaze to me once again "…Let me know when you're leaving" she said as she proceeded to put the money away.

"Today, come and find us at Tom's Workers before the afternoon" I said as I left immediately after that.

I went to find the crew, and then we headed to Tom's Workers once again to show them the ship. I was also bringing some money back with me to pay the rest of the ship's construction fees, it was from the gold that Ian and Diana cashed, which was a total of 425 million berries.

"Captain, how big is the new ship?" Yamamoto asked me.

"Big enough, you'll see it soon" I said while everyone was walking behind me.

When we arrived, I saw Shanks talking to a long-horned cowfish fish-man. He was Tom, the best shipwright in the world, though he seems to be alone this time.

He looked busy so I just walked past him towards the ship location.

"Meet this new beauty, Sword of Xebec!" I announced the name, as I pointed with my hand at the ship.

When everyone saw the ship, they all had the same reaction.

"Shit! It looks so cool!" Ian said in amazement.

"I can't wait to steer the ship!" Ken said in excitement.

"I like it! It has that dangerous feel around it!" Urouge examined the ship closely.

"Sword of Xebec…It will become the nightmare of many people" Calvin stated with a smirk, "By the way, what does the name mean?"

"I'll tell you guys a story later, for now I'll leave the ship's landing for you…let me know when it's ready, we'll be setting out immediately" I said, then left. On the way out I saw Shanks again.

"How about another drink before we part ways?" he approached me with a big smile.

"Do you not get tired from drinking and partying?" I asked him.

"Hahahaha! you should enjoy yourself more!"

…

A few hours earlier somewhere in Water 7,

"Pulupulupulupulu…Pulupulupulupulu…Pulupulupu-…Mushi mushi?"

"Kuzan, I heard that you just set foot on Water 7"

"Ah…I was chasing a certain individual and decided to make a stop"

"We got information from our agents. There are some troublesome supernovas residing in the island, could you take care of them while you are there?"

"I'll see what I can do…"

"Well then, let me know if there is any news…*Gatcha*"

"What should we do Vice Admiral?" A Marine Commodore asked Kuzan.

"You're the Marine Commodore stationed here?...Let's spread the men across the island and wait for them to make an appearance"

"Hai!"

…

While I was walking next to Shanks, we came across a bunch of marine soldiers walking on the opposite direction of us, but they were very weak. I could feel their strength using my Observation Haki.

"We got some company" I looked at them carefully, they were seeking us.

"Let's see what they want first" Shanks told me before the one leading the marines stopped our way, he was followed by another marine on his left side, while the rest encircled us.

"Halt!...Captain of the 'Red Hair Pirates' Shanks…And Captain of the 'Ashen Pirates' Ashen" he said with his hand on his Katana hilt "We have orders from HQ to arrest both of you here!" he said before he took out his sword.

I looked at him with a straight face for a second before I spoke "I'm waiting for the punch line"

"What are you talking about?" He asked while looking at me in hostility.

"I thought you were joking?"

"…Bastard! are you looking down on us?" He clenched his sword harder while saying that in an angry tone of voice.

"Let's try to calm down here, both of you" Shanks said while stopping in between.

"Go bring a Vice-Admiral with you or something if you want to capture us" I said looking down on him "Trash like you don't stand a chance…Now, piss off before I get angry!" I said while gazing at him in hostility. There was no way they would let us go peacefully anyway, so I took the chance to mess with them.

"You're going to regret saying that!" He stated as the rest of the marines took out their weapons.

"Ahh! Now there is no going back..." Shanks said looking annoyed. I didn't mind him and proceeded to approach the marine soldier.

"If you don't move, your head is going up his ass" I said pointing at the two of them, they both looked at each other in confusion before they turn back to me "Y'all fellas sure you want to ride this train?"

"That's Enough-!!!" Just as they were going to attack us, I felt a strong burst of energy being released from Shanks body that rendered every marine soldier in the area unconscious.

"I feel a tingling sensation on my skin" I said as I turned my gaze to him.

"That should deal with them without raising any unnecessary attention"

"Your Conquerors Haki is a lot stronger than before"

"Want to go for a few rounds?" Shanks looked at me with a smile while holding his sword hilt.

"Maybe another time…"

"Hahaha! Whatever you say!" He said relaxing his grip "Let's get g-?!!!!" Shanks stopped mid-sentence when we felt a strong presence behind us.

"Arara…" a deep voice sounded from behind us, that had us freezing in our place.

'That voice!'

"…"

'Don't tell me-' I slowly turned my head back.

"Where do you think you're going after knocking out my subordinates like that?"

'Aokiji!'