7 On to Jaya!

7 – On to Jaya!

"P-please Captain! Can we take a break?!" Konan, Irene, and Charles all begged me in tandem, sweat pouring from their bodies.

It had been about three days since we've set sail… well, more like 'fly' to Jaya and I had immediately begun whipping them into shape.

I was taking it easy on the kid due to his injuries, and with Irene having fixed him up, he was more than able to train a little.

As for the girls, well, I was just pushing them hard, improving their physical conditioning an extent. They might have been somewhat skilled fighters, but they also lived pampered lives as nobles, not to mention the lacking quality of life they experienced as slaves.

I turned to them from my ledge above them, rubbing my chin as I pretended to contemplate their request of a break.

"Alright… it getting to be lunchtime soon enough anyway. Clean yourselves up and get started on some grub," I ordered them as I glanced down at the Log Pose that was pointing towards Jaya.

"Thank you, Captain…" they drawled out together, sunken eyes showing just how much they'd been struggling with the training.

Seeing as we had gone slightly of course during their training I willed the ship to turn towards the left, just a smidge, and we were right back on course in an instant.

Man… my Devil Fruit was busted. I loved it.

It wasn't even the limits of what I could do. If I touched the 'earth' or ground of an island, I could lift it free form the seafloor itself, making it my own and turning it into a flying island.

Not only that, but I could create bodies of water that floated around at my will and I could even reshape the very earth itself to use in battle. Creating constructs of all sort to attack my opponents.

I could also surround a ship in a sphere of seawater, basically 'coating' it and travel underneath the ocean if I saw fit to.

Now, the old Shiki himself had a tendency to create giant lions made of stone and dirt to attack, but I felt that it was, while intimidating to an extent, a waste of an excellent opportunity.

See, if you had macro-control of an island during a combat situation, just instantly create spikes out of the ground, impaling your foes by the thousands all in one go. Simple.

Anyway, it was time to head into my weights room to for some resistance training. I was starting to see some improvement to my physique and I wanted more!

---

-Somewhere on Paradise, Shiki's new tentative crew-

Konan walked out of her and Irene's room feeling refreshed after wiping herself down with some clean water, getting that sweat off her body.

It took too much time to light a fire for a warm bath, so she had to settle for a simple scrub down with a cloth.

Not to mention that they had a limited water supply being on a ship, even if it was stocked to the brim.

It was a far cry from her previous life as the second daughter of a noble family, but it was far, far better than what life had been like on that slaver ship.

The things they said to her, the things that they made her watch caused her to still shiver in disgust and her heart to quicken in a panic that she fought to keep under control. She was grateful they never truly touched her or her sister in all but blood, Irene. The World Noble who'd purchased them had paid far too much for scum like them to risk his ire.

And besides, no one dared risk the wrath of the Celestial Dragons... well, other than men like her new Captain of course.

They knew about him even outside of the Grandline, all the way in their little Kingdom in North Blue. The name, Shiki, the Golden Lion was spoken about in the same breath as Roger, the late King of Pirates.

It had sent shockwaves across the world when the news reported that he'd attacked Marineford on his lonesome, being defeated by Garp the Fist and the Fleet Admiral in tandem.

It certainly came as a surprise to her when she and Irene were saved by one of the most notorious pirates in existence, even if Whitebeard, Big Mom and Kaido were the bigger 'names' these days.

Two years in Impel Down without a peep would do that.

She didn't have much of a positive opinion on pirates before being saved by one. She wasn't like Irene, who used to dream of being a pirate, breaking free of her bonds, sailing the seas and exploring when they were young.

Her opinion on them certainly hadn't improved after 'pirates' came to pick them up after the Saint who had picked her and Irene out as children came to collect. But colour her surprised as she learnt during the trip over to Sabaody Archipelago that they were not pirates, but rather the 'crew' of a Celestial Dragon endorsed slaving company.

Well… she was free now and she was eternally grateful for her Captain and would always be so. She'd get over her trauma and betrayal in time, something that she knew was only possible under the mountain that was Shiki the Golden Lion.

Things were good and would be better in time. If only she could convince Irene to stop lying to their Captain about her heritage.

She really hoped she could beat some sense into her, to inform him that she wasn't only a noble, but also the former Crown Princess of the Saohar Kingdom of North Blue.

---

I was taking a short nap on the Crow's Nest as I spied the kid, Charles Vane laying out a tablecloth on a four-person table, getting ready for lunch.

Charles Vane… a name that rang a bell in my mind, like I should know that name for some reason. It wasn't a memory from the old Shiki, but one of my own haphazard ones. But I just couldn't figure it out.

Whatever… it didn't matter… I hope.

Now, what did matter was the fruit the little man had stolen for me as an offering.

It was certainly an interesting and powerful fruit, with my knowledge of the Devil Fruit Encyclopedia supplying me with just what fruit it actually was.

The Bone-Bone Fruit.

The Bone-Bone Fruit was a powerful Paramecia type that allowed the user to manipulate and 'create' bone at will. Allowing the user to become what was essentially a human porcupine at a whim, if wanted. Fire bullets of bone from their fingertips and whatever other weird shenanigans they could think up.

It also had the added bonus of broken bones never being an issue, with the user being able to fix any breaks or fractures in an instant.

Again… when I thought about this fruit, it reminded me of something else and no matter what I did, I just couldn't put my finger on why this was ringing so many bells in my fucking head.

"Whatever…" I said to myself huffing in annoyance and suddenly feeling a nicotine craving hit me from the stress this was causing.

"Did you say something, Captain?" Vane shouted at me, after likely hearing me muttering to myself.

"Nope, keep doing what you're doing," I replied, leaning back into the railings of the Crow's Nest.

"A-aye! Captain," he shouted back, nodding, and walking awkwardly away.

It was about ten minutes later than Irene shouted for me from all the way down on the deck, "Captain! Lunch is ready!"

"Alright, alright!" I said, jumping from my spot and floating down.

"What do we have?" I asked, taking in the hearty smell that had started to fill the air as I set the ship down onto the ocean, wanting to take in that salty ocean air as I ate my lunch.

"Konan made us some curry today, Captain," Vane told me as he took his seat on the small table.

Shame, for some reason, I felt like Ramen…

Now, we would usually eat in the kitchen, since it was a waste to eat anywhere else with only the four of us, but the weather was nice for now, so I wanted to enjoy it.

"Alright. I'm hungry. Let's dig in," I ordered as I stacked a large spoonful of curry onto my plate.

---

"So, Captain. You never told us where we are headed," Irene said to me as we finished up our meal.

"I didn't?" I asked as I took a big gulp of a dark stout, letting the almost creamy beer coat my throat on its way down.

I really, really liked this brand of beer, reminded me of Guinness from back home. I had to make sure to buy up any I saw in Jaya.

Seeing the three nods at me in confirmation, I answered bluntly, "We're heading to Jaya."

"Jaya? What are we going to do in that shit-hole?" Irene asked me, confused about why we were going to that Pirate haven.

"Hmm… Well. We'll be there in about a week or so if I keep us at our current pace. The plan is to hunker down and start training you three up while we wait for my crew to arrive," I answered them with a smile, watching them pale at the mention of more training.

Gulping, Irene continued, "Your crew? How are they going to find us out in Jaya?"

"My First Mate has my Vivre Card, so he knows at the very least the location I'm pointed at," I said in response, sipping on the beer.

Seeing her open her mouth for another question, I prompted her, "I received news back in Water 7 that he was on his way."

"Oh."

"How many of your crew will be making the journey, Captain?" Irene asked me curiously.

"Hmm… don't know really. John only said he was coming with the crew. Didn't mention much else. Could be ten, could be a hundred or more. No idea," I answered, downing the rest of the beer.

I truly hoped it was on the higher end… I needed as many New World level pirates as possible to quicken my plans… but I could work with the core of the crew if I was forced to.

"What's our plan after the rest of the crew hopefully meet up with us in Jaya?" Konan questioned further.

"Now… that would be spoilers. All you three need to do for me is keep up with the training. Otherwise, you'll embarrass me when the crew arrives," I said with an evil grin, enjoying their paling faces.

---

Irene and Konan were sparring out on the deck with their new weapons, putting all they knew into practise as I watched, making mental notes on areas that needed improvement.

Thankfully, it was all little things that I had would have to correct while we floated above Jaya for a couple of months waiting for Long John Silver and co.

Most of my effort would be spent on getting improved muscle tone and mass, and finally, working on the basics of Haki.

Besides me was Charles Vane, watching on with awe as the girls clashed and pushed each other back and forth, each vying for the win.

Konan seemed to be particularly vicious today… I wonder why?

Seeing the kid got me thinking about the fruit he'd gotten me… He still wasn't in perfect health even with the glasses and Irene treating him.

I could see that he had issues with the bones on his legs, having grown haphazardly in his youth.

Relatively speaking, of course, he was still a 'youth'.

Anyway, by some weird twist of fate, the answer to his problems lay with the very fruit he'd stolen, the Bone-Bone Fruit.

It would allow him to alter his own bones anywhere on his body, giving him a perfect skeletal frame that would be, with time and training, stronger than steel.

But did he have any talent beyond what he'd shown? It was no small feat to steal this heavily guarded fruit even if he had insider information, but I wasn't sure…

While he was certainly not very elegant during that chase, it was impressive he'd gotten away with his heist.

But… this was a powerful Paramecia here. This fruit in tandem with Armament Haki would be an even greater threat against enemies and a massive boon for my crew.

Imagine what the user of this fruit could get up to if they awoke it? It just made me grin with delight… which was another thing I'd noticed.

I was really, really suited to this life of a pirate, with the breaking of laws and battles for life and death, even though none of them had been even the teensiest bit a threat to my life, the fact still stood!

It made my blood fill with adrenaline as I thought of the historic fights I was likely to have in the future against the Marines, Big Mom, Kaido and more.

Whitebeard and the old Shiki were actually good friends, so I doubted we would clash or anything like that. Probably more likely to just share a few cups of sake, though I did prefer wine and beer to the rice liquor the Strongest Man in the World was so fond of.

But yes, I was adjusting to my life with worrying ease… Like I was made for this, to be above the law and beating down those that pissed me off.

Even the thoughts of taking over the Sky Islands for my future territory and ruling over them was immensely exciting.

Ahh… I was really grateful for this new life, for being placed inside such a man as Shiki even if I inherited the good and the bad.

It let me skip decades of struggle and training, I could get to the good stuff, right here, right now!

Well, a few months away, but still!

Breaking me from my thoughts was the sudden change in weather, oh so like the Grandline for it to go from the most perfect of days to a storm that could destroy entire Islands with ease.

Knowing this to be just the opportunity I was looking for, I shouted out, "Oi! Get inside you three and hunker down, we've got a storm coming!"

Standing up as they rushed to get inside, I made my way to the very front of the ship.

"Captain? What are you doing?!" Konan shouted at me, worry filling her voice.

"Don't worry. I'll be fine," I answered without a glance back.

Hearing the Irene and Konan arguing for a bit, the door eventually shut as I took my place.

The storm was coming in fast, I could feel the wind picking up to hurricane levels of strength. The sea below me was churning with wrath and the skies were filling with deadly bolts of lightning.

I could easily raise us high into the air, breaking through the clouds and storm below and fly away in complete safety.

But that's not what I wanted, I wanted to feel the brunt of the storm, fight against it with my very Will.

This was the level of training that I needed to train my Haki as only a battle or life and death situations could push me to new heights.

I was no fool, I knew late Roger and the current Whitebeard were stronger than me. I demanded of myself to breach that gap, to overcome this limits of the Old Shiki and become the strongest.

Stronger than the Strongest Man in the World, stronger than the Strongest Creature and stronger than the Pirate King himself.

These were the standards I demanded of myself, and with determination filling me, I used Emission Armament Haki to cover the entirety of the Frigate in an invisible shield.

The rocking and moaning of the ship stopped immediately, as I had created a bubble that protected everything.

But every second was draining me, and if I faltered, it could spell likely doom for my small crew.

Emission Haki wasn't meant to be used for such sustained lengths of time or even to create such perfect spheres of defence.

But who cares about shit like that? I needed to push myself and push myself I did as the first bolts of lightning battered against my shield, each strike visible draining me.

This… was a little harder than I thought it was going to be…

---

AN: So! Mixed with having my sister come visit (who I haven't seen in a couple of years) and feeling very, very unmotivated, I finally got a chapter out! Yay!

A little on the shorter side, but I felt you all would appreciate an update asap.

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