Snake In My Boot

The hustle and bustle of the city streets in Water 7 made for the backdrop of Dante's most questionable quest to date. Assisting a talking reindeer in finding his lost friend.

By this point, he wasn't quite sure if he had maybe ingested something bad, or gotten drunk and forgotten about it, because the more he thought over on his circumstances the closer he came to believing this was an elaborate scam or a hallucination.

Sighing in disbelief, Dante turns his head to the still frantically moving reindeer and begins conversation with the little critter.

"So, how'd you lose her anyway? Sounds like someone would have trouble losing you, given your circumstances and all. Reckon she ditched you for something?"

The reindeer seemingly gasped, as if insulted or astonished Dante wasn't quite sure, and glared in Dante's direction before responding.

"Don't you dare act like you know Robin. She'd never do that to us. She's family."

"Woah there, Dasher. I get it, trust. No need to get all hostile on me, I'm here to help, and see where this takes me. Can't have a journey without a companion now, can you?"

Grinning in the direction of the now slightly less angry reindeer, Dante began focusing in on each person he saw walk past, taking key notes on their appearance to see who matched.

Given the description, and the name, Dante believed this little critter may just be talking about the Devil Child, Nico Robin. Try as he might, Dante couldn't help but be intrigued at how a 10 year old managed such a high bounty. Though given his bounty is so high after killing a single man, he figures it far easier than initially expected.

"So, Prancer, you remember where you last saw her? Any specific location? Was it just you two?"

"No, we've been looking for hours, my friend Sanji is helping me look on the South Side... All I did was go in a book store, and then she was gone! Did I do something wrong?"

Spending several seconds to formulate a proper response that didn't sound offensive to the 'homonculus, or whatever the fuck this guy is', Dante eventually settled on expressing his sympathy for the little guy. After all, he didn't expect his friend to just vanish. Poor fella blames himself for it too.

"Don't worry, Comet. Maybe she had an emergency? Truth is, this never could've been your fault. Lemme give you a lesson for the future, if someone abandons you for no reason, you make sure to move on without them. Show them that they don't mean anything to you! You gotta wake up and grit those teeth, Vixen! You'll learn soon enou- Oi. Are you even listening?"

In truth, he most certainly wasn't. Chopper had stopped listening a few seconds into Dante's grand speech about moving on after abandonment, and quite frankly he didn't care for it either. He didn't need a speech, he didn't need condolences. Robin would come back. Of that, he was sure.

"Guess that's a no from you, huh? Alright, don't say I didn't try."

Laying his arms behind his head, Dante leisurely followed Chopper and continued his search, person to person. He noticed an odd fellow in some Tiki mask, so he thinks, but didn't pay much attention to it beyond being some ritualistic celebration.

Tens of minutes pass in this manner, with Dante simply surveying the surroundings and watching each face that passes him. Sure, he could simply activate Quicksilver and sprint across the island to search each nook and cranny for the woman, but he wanted an adventure. He wanted suspense, tension.

It seems as though he would get his wish, because suddenly news reached across the island, far and wide, all at once. Nico Robin, and by proxy the Straw Hats had attempted to assassinate Iceburg.

Now this, Dante had to see.

────────────────────

Deep within Blueno's Bar, a meeting was taking place. To call it a meeting would be quite frankly an exaggeration, as there was little professionalism to be had at the moment.

"He just... he didn't stop! He just kept talking. Over, and over, and over! I tailed him for 2 hours, and all he did was talk with that Reindeer. Does he align with the Straw Hats? Is he going to be a problem for us?"

Kaku, or as Dante had so lovingly dubbed him, Brick Nose, slammed his hand down on the bar to punctuate his words as he spoke. His frustration had only been growing ever since orders came in from Spandam to tail Dante and ensure he does not become an issue.

Instead of having someone without a double identity to do the mission, Spandam had wanted to place the most powerful agents on Dante's trail, requesting Lucci and Kaku to partner up. Lucci, aware of how utterly terrible this idea was instead had Kaku do the job. Now, Kaku had to deal with not only pirates far above his pay grade, but also the incompetence of his captain in relation.

Blueno, aware of the suffering yet entirely unsympathetic to it, simply slid a drink over in his fellow assassin's direction before moving on to clean another empty glass. 'The mission must he complete, the orders must be obeyed'. Nothing else mattered to him.

"If he is allied with the Straw Hats, then we will dispose of him alongside them. He escaped justice, but he didn't conquer it. It is our job to ensure he does not do so again."

Kaku looked at Blueno's determined face with disbelief momentarily, until resigning himself to falling in line, lest he end up like Who's Who and be imprisoned for failing his mission.

Maybe they were willfully ignoring how easily Dante handled a Marine Admiral. Maybe they were afraid to acknowledge it. After all, if he did that to Akainu, what could he do to them?

Even after years upon years of endurance, fear and resilience training, Kaku could not help but feel afraid of the possibilities.

────────────────────

Having followed Chopper to the now loathed and despised Straw Hats, Dante was certainly not expecting for a slap to be headed in his direction upon Nami seeing his face. He had to appreciate the balls on this woman.

"You bastard! Our money, you took it didn't you! I shouldn't have ever trusted you, you slimy conman!"

Dodging each slap with the skill of a man who had experienced this treatment several times over, of which Dante certainly had, our protagonist couldn't help but laugh at the absurdity of the situation, something which only set Nami's nerves aflame more.

"Calm down, lady! I couldn't get the money even if I wanted to, it was already spent by the time I got there. Something about a tree, Adam was the name. But enough about my adventure. How've you been?"

Gazing upon the figures of the supposed main cast of this world, Dante once more was reminded that appearances are deceiving. Nami was angered beyond repair, Soft Nose was missing, Luffy was picking both nostrils at once with a stretched pinky and Zoro, of whom he hadn't yet met was simply standing there, looking at him. Hand on hilt.

"You got something on your mind, mosshead? Seem to be itching to unsheathe that sword."

Zoro only grunts in response, stretching his neck before responding, tightening the grip he had over his precious blades.

"Pirates don't rise up as fast as you did without breaking morals. Hell, most pirates in general don't either. I don't trust you. At all. You threaten this crew, and I'll cut you down. That's all I got to say."

"Ah, I truly am feeling the love. Well, anyways, it has most certainly been a pleasure my friends, but malfeasance is not a habit of mine so I'm afraid I'll have to leave. I simply wanted to see how you were after today's events, and you seem just fine to me."

Luffy, still picking his nose and seemingly digging farther than expected given the twitches every now and then, was entirely oblivious to Dante looking over at Nami and asking the unspoken question of Luffy's mental capacity, only to receive a shrug in response, and the same from Zoro and Chopper.

"Huh. Odd. Anyways, I've got a mayor to meet. Adios, Straw Hats."

────────────────────

The Medical Wing of the Marines was one to be appreciated given the advancements made thanks to Vegapunk, however Akainu didn't have time to care for aesthetic or prestige.

The very second he awoke from the coma his battle with Dante had induced, his first action was to rush out of bed to ask the Fleet Admiral where the Red Devil had last been spotted, and if he could hunt the man down. His request was denied.

"Sakazuki, for the love of God, sit down. Even if I wanted to, I'm not willing to risk sending you out in a damaged state. Not to mention against Dante. He already beat you, quite handily last time. What makes you think it would be any different this time?"

Sengoku's voice infuriated Akainu to no end, but he had to admit the merit in his words even if he had to sift through cowardice to find it.

"It doesn't matter. Nor does my health. Justice waits for no-one, and nor will Dante. If you don't hunt him down like the dog he is, then he will start assuming he can go around killing every Celestial Dragon he spots at his own behest. Fleet Admiral, I insist. He must die."

Sengoku does not give much response, only a simple 'I'll think about it. Return to your bed.' before going back to his regular work. Though, a moment later he began to chuckle slightly, thinking back on the conversation.

"Insists? Hehe. Seems my authority isn't being appreciated much anymore. Maybe I should retire soon."

The thoughts of a beautiful retirement away from the World Government and pirate conflict 24/7 was quickly interrupted by his brother in arms, Garp, bursting through the door, screaming to the heavens.

"Holy shit, Sengoku you gotta see this! I mean, I was skeptical myself but apparently a shrimp fried this rice! Can you believe that!?"

Sighing to himself, and placing the formal resignation papers back in his drawer, the Fleet Admiral accepted that perhaps retirement would not be on the table for now.

At least Akainu would take the time to recuperate and plan a proper operation to entrap and eliminate the Red Devil. Hopefully.