Twin Cape

(3 Days Later)

"Are we ready to set sail?" Rex asked, with Killer counting the crewmen.

After all, Rex and the officers were not the only ones who had embarked on this self-improvement trip. Every crewman and woman had gone out to train for the past seven months, though they were all in the North blue so Rex could find them.

"I believe we're all set!"

"Good." Rex nods. "Hawkins, set sail, destination, Reverse Mountain."

With that, the King Gucci makes its maiden voyage into the Grand Line.

Rex is pleasantly surprised to see that there is little to no Marine resistance to his final four blue expedition. Though, in hindsight, he supposed it made sense.

After the battle of Minion Island, Devon, Foxy and Doflamingo had massacred and looted most pirate groups in the North Blue to recoup their losses. Consequently, the Marine presence in this sector of the sea had fallen drastically due to a lack of pirates for them to arrest.

Rex smiles, feeling the ship climb up the stream of Reverse Mountain gently. Now that he thought of it, Reverse Mountain wasn't that different from a massive lazy river. What he wouldn't give for a flotation donut at this time…

After the first fiasco on Reverse Mountain, Kid had engineered the ship to easily withstand the roaring currents of the mountain, so the entire trip passes seamlessly.

Touching down in the Grand Line, Rex smiles. "Ah what a soothing frock this trip was. No pirates, no marines, no pirate hunters, no storms… Hawkins, I want you to predict that every subsequent trip will be this peaceful!"

"That is not how the veil of fate lifts itself, my captain. It is much more…"

The entire crew gives Hawkins the stink-eye at this moment, blades drawn.

"Sure, I will endeavor to give you good news."

"That's good. Now, set sail to the Twin…"

Splash!

A massive navy blue figure several times larger than the King Gucci leaps out of the waters right in front of it.

"Oh for the love of jackets." Rex groans. "Battle Stations!"

While Rex knew this entity was almost certainly the whale Laboon, Rex had no intentions to just let the ugly blue beast swallow his ship.

"Faust, let's go! Monkey bros, mobilize!" Rex says, fusing with Faust as he jumps into the sea, riding on the Blugoris' backs.

One thing Rex knew for sure was that he had to stop Laboon from falling, if that fat tub of blubber dropped on his gorgeous King Gucci… Rex shivered. It would take months to get the paint job just right.

"ROCKET THRUST!!!" Rex roared, leaping into the air for the Blugori to get clear of the blast site before launching himself in the air.

After Gem's death, a primary concern for Rex was what to do with the remaining Gem weaponry. At first, he had wanted to leave it as a shrine for Gem, but Rose had taken an interest in it, theorizing that maybe, with Germa technology it could be replicated.

Rex had agreed to this endeavor, robbing many research facilities in the midst of his anti-Joker crusade. Rex felt that Gem would be more than happy to be aiding his crewmates, even from beyond death. He'd probably be yelling 'Haha you suckers, I did more to help the ship than you all and I'm dead!'.

With that, Rose had researched it and had recently managed to synthesize some of the blood in low quantities, allowing Rex to use it again in combat.

Bang!

Rex's fist punches into the massive whale's jaw, knocking it off course. On the ship, Kid, Monet and Hawkins form a massive, triple layer wall out of straw, metal and snow to block the ensuing wave.

Rex gently lands on top of the wall, holding his hands up in victory. "Take that you stupid wha-"

Splash!

Rex's entire body is drenched from the remnant water of the wave. He looks back at Laboon's injured figure scathingly. He felt as if the beast had mocked him with his wave and considered a second attack.

"Dahahahaha! My friend, I feel you've delivered your point quite well. There's no need to take you rage out on that poor whale." A voice calls out from the distance.

Rex could swear that at that moment, he had seven spontaneous heart attacks and wanted to dive into the water and hide. It was Red-Hair Shanks.

For some reason, Shanks still had both arms, making his threat level quadruple in Rex's heart. Little did Rex know, it was Killer and Hawkins who were the result of this, having killed the Lord of the Coast. If Rex knew that, he would have keelhauled them both for their crimes. Shanks's missing arm was for game balance purposes, even Oda knew he was way too OP.

Shanks and Garp were two people who Rex loathed more than any other. They were cheaters! Two maxed out level 100 characters who were just walking around the beginner village, laughing like fools. It was just unfair!

Rex had actually really wanted to go to the East Blue to meet Ace, Luffy and Sabo, maybe recruit Bartolomeo and all kinds of other fun stuff. However, when he recalled the gods who were just walking around over there, he decided not to.

While Shanks might seem all nice and friendly, that was only because he was always around civilians or comrades. Rex had no idea what Shanks's attitude was towards other pirates. If his fight with Whitebeard was any indication Shanks was not to be messed with.

"Jakekeket! Of course I would never strike a downed opponent. I was just curious as to why such a large whale was present at the mouth of Reverse Mountain. For a pirate of inferior skills than myself, this whale could have proved fatal."

"Laboon wouldn't hurt a fly." A grouchy old voice grumbles, leaping onto Laboon's injured body with a medical kit.

Rex shakes his head, leaping back onto his ship with as much haste as he could muster. He wanted to be long gone from here before…

"Hey, you there! Don't I recognize you from somewhere?" A tall man with a scarred face asks.

"We've never met."

Beckman scratches his chin, sure that he recognized Rex from somewhere. The wheels in his brain start turning.

"Oh yeah!" Beckman cries out. "You're that super rookie from the South Blue! Vesta "The Tiger King" Rex!"

After the battle at Minion Island, Rex's bounty had been raised to 125 million Berries, allowing him to officially enter the ranks of super rookies. His Conqueror's Haki and his devil fruit had contributed to his new name 'Tiger King'.

Kid wasn't far behind Rex at 97 million, but Rex felt that his Conqueror's Haki had made all the difference. He was curious as to what the world government would think when Kid awoke his own Conqueror's Haki.

As for the rest of the crew. Killer and Bonney were sitting at 82 and 75 million respectively. Rose had only fought Pica with the help of two others so she was sitting much lower at 20 million. Robin's bounty still hadn't changed as no one knew she was working with the King Pirates. Hawkins, Sugar and Monet still had no bounty.

"Indeed I am, and I am very busy." Rex said, reaching the end of his rope quickly. "Depart to the next island immediately."

Rex knew he couldn't afford to start a fight. Not here, and definitely not against Shanks. Still, he really wanted to clock Ben Beckman in his annoying, smug face.

"Stop!" Shanks shouts from afar, his booming voice causing ripples in the water.

All the King Pirates reach for their weapons upon hearing this, turning to look at Shanks, ready to attack.

"Come, come, how could I possibly let you, Vesta Rex, a man who dares call himself King, go without…" Shanks starts menacingly, pausing for dramatic effect.

Rex tenses up, worried that Shanks felt that he was usurping Roger's legacy with his pirate name. Truth be told, Rex only chose 'King' as his pirate name because Rex was king in Latin, and King pirates sounded way better than Rex pirates. The whole Jacket King thing came after and it was doubly fitting.

"Well, come on, out with it scarface!" Kid shouted, angry at Shanks purely for his epithet, 'Red-Hair'.

"How could I let you go… without a massive feast fit for a King!" Shanks cries out, casually leaping a hundred meters from the bow of his ship to Rex's. "Come on, let's party till we're drunk on excitement!"

Rex is stunned by this, but is unable to muster any words as Shank hooks an arm around his neck and starts asking him about his adventures. The Red Wind, Shanks's ship, quickly docks with the King Gucci, leaving Rex no opportunity for escape yet.

"Oh so you met Tsuru the crane!" Shanks says, laughing as Bonney told him the story of Minion Island. "I remember that old bat. When me and my old captain were sailing out together she would always tell Buggy and me that she'd turn us into laundry and scrub all the pirate filth from our mouths."

"Your former captain had multiple run-ins with a vice admiral?" Killer asks incredulously. "He must have been strong to have made it out alive."

"Strong, maybe. But one thing my captain definitely was is a good drinker! Another round of aqua vitae for my new friends!" Shanks cries out, clearly giving the signal that he didn't want to continue this conversation.

"So, where are you headed on your maiden voyage?" Shanks asks curiously. "There are seven routes of the Grand Line and I've sailed them each at least once, maybe I can give you some tips."

"We're running up the Fool's Gambit." Rex says, giving Shanks his route.

In truth, unlike most crews that needed to follow a route, Rex didn't have the same limitations. The main reason the routes existed was to always have an island to refill your log pose when it ran out. However, in a case like this, Kid was like a portable log pose charger, so Rex could theoretically cross routes if he felt like it.

"The Fool's Gambit eh?" Shanks says with a surprised expression. "You know that's a pretty dangerous route, right? Most pirates would never risk going on such a route on their first trip."

Rex nods, having chosen that route for that exact reason. The marines struggled to navigate the Fool's Gambit as several islands along the route were either non-magnetic or far too dangerous to stop over on.

Moreover, the Fool's Gambit was the route immediately to the south of the route that Luffy took, meaning Rex might have the chance to jump over to some of Luffy's islands while running his own route.

"Well, here's some advice my friend." Shanks said rubbing his hands together. "Don't accept candy from strange big-faced men, don't eat fatty foods, never go to court if you can settle it outside!"

All the King Pirates, barring Rex, look at Shanks like he's an alien, but Rex notes down each of the tips fervently. After all, Shanks had journeyed with Roger, his knowledge and experience in sailing likely eclipsed that of most pirates.

After that little tip, the party continues to uproar. Rose and Ben Beckman engage in mind games back and forth while Bonney challenges Lucky Roux to an eating contest.

There are some friendly competitions with Kid and Bonk Punch engaging in an arm wrestle and Killer sparring with Hongo. The bouts end off around equally, but Rex can clearly feel that the Red-Hair pirates are holding back to keep the fun going.

"So, what's the real reason you stopped us." Rex says, sitting up on the mast of the Red Wind. Next to him, Shanks and Crocus are also seated, the three staring out into the sea. "I don't believe in coincidences, I know you waited for us out there."

"Dahahahaha! You're a sharp one, aren't you? Beckman figured you'd never figure it out if we played it right." Shanks said, staring out into the sea with a smile.

"Not sharp enough to leave my friend alone." Crocus grumbles under his breath, heaving a massive octopus tentacle and throwing it into the water.

"Well, the main reason I came to talk to you is about something an… old friend talked to me about." Shanks said with an odd expression on his face. "Around a year ago, you visited an island in the South Blue, Baterilla to be precise. I needed to ask you…"

"You're wondering if I know about the boy, his son." Rex concluded simply.

Rex was surprised that someone had seen him on Baterilla, but it made sense. If a member of the Roger pirates wanted to visit Rouge's grave unnoticed, it would be easy.

Shanks nods, his relaxed posture tensing up already.

"I know, and I don't really care all that much about him. Blood is just water with a bunch of gunk in it, it doesn't decide anything. The Marines are just filled with idiots. Big Mom's got like 80 kids. All of them put together wouldn't be as threatening to the world government than one of Big Mom."

Shanks smiles, seeing that Rex had agreed with him. This was the main reason that the Roger Pirates had almost never interfered with Ace's life. Ace wasn't Roger, he wasn't even raised by Roger. Ace was his own man, who had the right to his own life.

"Well, now that that bothersome topic's out of the way, let's talk about something more fun! I hear you've awoken that power…"

Rex nods.

"If that's the case, you might want to steer clear of strong pirates for a short bit. There's a pretty gruesome superstition, particularly in the New World, that 'regicide, a king does make'."

"I see." Rex says. Staring down at the murky waters. It seems his Grand Line journey would be tumultuous. "I have a question for you too…"

Rex proceeds to ask Shanks the all-important question.

"Eh? Why would you wanna know that?"

After that, there was a few more hours of partying. One of Shanks's drunken crewmen had accidentally let it slip that Shanks and Crocus were on Roger's crew.

Rose and Jidanbo had picked Crocus's brain dry after learning he was Roger's doctor while Hawkins and Killer had bugged Shanks about swordsmanship. Rex could also see that Robin was eager to ask a question to them, but didn't want to risk outing herself.

Kid had wanted to fight Shanks or Crocus, but Rex had dragged him off before he lost an arm and a leg for a useless fight

Eventually, the two Pirate groups broke off with Shanks heading down one path and the crew headed to the Fool's Gambit.

"I want to beat that smug bastard up one day." Kid grumbled looking at the back of the receding Red Wind.

"The day you can beat him up, you won't need to worry about anything else in the world." Rex explains.

"Huh, that Red-Haired punk is that strong?"

"Not yet, but inside of six years he will be that strong." Rex said, recalling that Shanks became a Yonko four years before Luffy began his journey in 1522.

"Six years, huh?" Kid said. "In six years, then, I'll fight him and kick his butt!"

Unknown Island, Paradise

"Our source in the Twin Capes called. He said Vesta Rex appeared there just like you expected." Gladius says, pausing awkwardly for a moment.

"And?" Doflamingo questions, feeling there was more.

"He also said that he will no longer be working with the Donquixote Pirates."

Doflamingo's fists clench at this. Ever since the multiple reveals of Doflamingo's hidden assets and more recently the newspaper revealing Doflamingo's Celestial Dragon heritage, many of Doflamingo's former allies had turned on him.

What's more, Doflamingo had also been unfortunate enough to run into Dracule Mihawk when he entered the Grand Line. The ensuing fight was massive and in the end, Doflamingo's injuries from fighting Tsuru caused him to be on the losing end.

After losing his underworld brokers in the four Blues, Doflamingo no longer had the means to finance recruitment and he was barely getting by. The once proud Donquixote pirates had broken down to the Cadres and a skeleton crew, most of which Doflamingo was forcing to stay on his ship with Parasite.

"Fuffuffufu! When I'm weak, they just keep kicking me!" Doflamingo said with a dry voice. "Mobilize all of our forces to find the Hobi Hobi no Mi! I won't allow my devil fruit to fall into another's hands, not again. As for Vesta Rex, inform the Devon and Foxy pirates of his route. Fuffuffu!"