CH10: To be a king, you first need a kingdom

As I pry Mia's pinkish energy, Robin from my other side snuggle to me, and a burst of cloudy blue energy float over us, like saying 'stop it, go back to sleep'.

I stop my action, thinking 'I better listen to her emotion?.. am I suppose to listen to what she feel, influence it, or create it? I better keep finding out soon'.

I try to catch Mia in my hand, yet she escape, smiling, and going away, so I snuggle back into the blanket with Robin in my arm, patting her hair and back.

By the time we wake up, finish breakfast, and I finally end learning about haki from my father's Haki-book, giving it to Robin, saying "father said you can also use it, and it's good for you", We were discussing our plans for today, and we're now on our way to the island.

"I remember you said you're a king, but you got no kingdom, maybe try conquering this island?" Mia joke with me, as she always do.

"Sure, my queen", I tell her, and win her smile, plus Robin's waist-pinch, so I say "Queen Robin, be prepared to conquer and build our kingdom!", and now Robin roll her eyes, between me, Mia, and the island we just anchor next to.

It has a shiny yellowish sand, looking soft and hot, like it came from Egypt to here.

Farther inside, many trees creates a small dense forest in it, covering a mountain, or more like a hill, in the middle. I saw a coconut tree, thinking 'how tropical', and my eyes followed a huge turtle walking on the shore-line.

I embark to a small boat, helping Mia step into it too, and Robin finish locking the yacht, switch the alarm on, and also stepping in, and now I row the boat to the island.

We're wearing training-gear, as those were the most adventurous clothes we had, with Mia caring a backpack, Robin with some device with a huge screen, and me with a sword on my belt's side, a gun strapped to the back of my belt, and when we reach the shore, I drug the small boat to shore.

"This island is uncharted, so maybe we'll find something fun?" Robin says.

"Remember how many training we did in forests, and training in sea with Robin, now it's like a combo of them" Mia laugh, and I nod 'yeah' and start walking into the forest, leading the way.

The deeper we walk inside, the quieter it becomes, leaving the sea noise away, and hearing birds sings, and the ruffle sounds of broken leafs and branches under our feet.

Suddenly, a "OOOO" Sound comes from ahead of us.

We keep walking straight to it, when the same "OOHHHOOO" voice sounds, fiercer, like it's angry.

When the 3rd "OOOhh" sounds heard, we already see it coming from a huge tree cave in the top of the hill, and we cautiously try to look for any detail to see what it is.

We then see a man-like creature with long brown shiny fur all over it, looking like a cave man, when Robin say "Wow, Orangutan live here??", but Mia point at the side of it, and we see a weird panda, or maybe a squirrel, something between, and Robin says "AH, Tree Kangaroo! Awesome!", and Mia yell "kawaiiii".

It seems the little-tree-kangaroo lost his right to be on the tree, jumping down, and looking at us.

It's small, probably a baby, and when Mia take out a fruit from her backpack, that she had picked a moment ago, and throw it to it feet, he takes it and eat.

We keep exploring the small island, seeing there's nothing much but exotic trees, animals, and all sum to 1 hill surrounded by a sandy beach, we return to the forest's edge, where the boat is, and notice the baby-tree-kangaroo following us, or maybe Mia, or her backpack who's filled with fruits.

We set down a blanket, putting all the fruits we found in the middle, sitting around it, and eat.

Mia threw a fruit to the foot of the tree the tree-kangaroo was on.

He comes down, eat it, and start coming near us, so Mia held one more, and he take it from her hand, eat it, and then just come to the blanket, sit with us, and start eating.

"Roo!", Mia announce while patting it's head, "You're our new friend starting today!".

Robin laugh, while I start patting it too.

'It's friendly for a wild animal, even too friendly' I think, and soon enough I see that Roo is sitting on Mia's lap, eating a fruit.

"Just few million dollars. Done. This island is now ours!" Robin says, as she press the screen in front of her, "Now we just need to get things in here, and we officially have a kingdom".

I stare at her, not knowing how to react, saying "wow, my queen, you're really good. You too, queen Mia, you got us our first citizen here, Roo".

We smile happily, enjoying this peaceful moment.

"As your king, my first command is, hmm, what kings do? I know! My first command is for the queens to serve the king, and kingdom, loyally! the future is in your hands!" I declare, and they laugh at me, while Mia says "Just say you've got no idea what you got to do now. I guess leave it to Robin? and I'll check the forest again later, see if we need to do something here to keep the animals happy? maybe bring some more?".

Robin nod in agreement, settling my mind to ease.

When we walk back, Roo stay at the edge of the forest, not stepping on the sand, looking at us in wonder, but we leave it be, embark on the small boat, and get back on the yacht.

Less than 2 hours later we reach our city's harbor, park, and drive back the house.

In the garage we see the 5 animal cages, still standing there for some reason, with 15 more added behind them.

"Let's put them on the island?" Robin asks Mia, who give a nod of approval.

"So where do I find the mystery mother's letter?" I ask Robin, who's busy with her screen, probably getting ready to return to our new kingdom, when suddenly *SMACK* "So you told him, haaa, I guess it's time, come" my father tell me, and I follow him into the house, while he lock it.

"It's not that I didn't want to tell you, but your mother ask me to, before she... , so I just did what she told me. After you read it, if you can, show me what's inside, and anyway, I'll tell you more, or answer your questions" father tell me while moving.

In the middle of the living-room he kick the floor's rug away, then pull out a tile, and push his hand down under it, doing something, and suddenly few tiles sinks, move to the side, and a hole appears there, and I can see a ladder in the hole.

He quickly climb down, and quite fast come back up, giving me a dusted-box.

The hole disappears, seemingly like it's just a normal floor. No hint for what just happened.

"So, you got some Haki from that book?" he asks me.

"Hmm, yeah, actually, Iv'e got the first one even before that, like a 6th sense, but it's nice I have a way to train it now. As for the second, I kinda get it, but I also kinda not, but I think I need to explore it, cause I sort of can break that haki-layer, or steal it from you, so I wonder how many can even use it? and for the third.. well.. I suppose to conquer the living? dominate? I don't get it, but we just bought an island, planning to build on it our own kingdom, so maybe as a king... I'll get that haki-thing from it?" I happily tell him my haki-book experience, but it seems to shock him too much.

He respond in shock "Break it? Steal it? what do you mean? Do that on me" as he stand exposed like a punching-bag.

I walk toward him, focus strongly on his black-energy-layer surrounding him, and *PUNCH!*, I give him the strongest punch I can in the stomach while trying to break, suck, or steal, that black-energy where I hit.

"DAMNNNN, WHAT'S THAT?" he yells at me, but my punch didn't even move him, like punching a wall, so I tell him "that energy... I just move it away?".

He laugh "HOHOHO. That's crazy", *SMACK*, he hit my shoulder with an open hand, and says "Okay, go read what's in that box, we'll talk after".

-

I sit on a shady bench in the garden, open the box, and see only 2 things in it, so I start by taking out the letter, who seems sealed, never opened before, using old papers.

I unseal it open with force, open the paper inside, and start reading:

''' Dear Ayn,

It's your mother. Sorry I'm not next to you right now, talking to you face to face, as things happened, and I'm probably not in this world by now.

First of all, I love you, and wish for your happiness.

My life were a turbulent experience.

A lot has happen, good and bad, but when it reached a breaking point, I had to do what I did, so everything will have a chance to be better, once again.

You see, I had eaten a 'devil fruit', a magical fruit who gave me the power to manipulate time.

When I used that power, I tried going to the past, and it was like the future never happened, only existing as a memory, or a dream, but soon enough the future was exactly as that memory foretold.

Each time I had to pay a price, mostly pain, so I haven't used it much, but when lots of terrible occurrences happened, and I discovered it all start way in the past, I decided I need to risk everything, just to gain it once again, and went as far as I could, without losing you of course.

The price I had to pay for this was immense, way more than I could imagine.

I believe the future I 'saw' is no longer of importance for you, just live your life happily.

I told your father all I could, to grant a better future, but I'll tell you 1 thing he probably won't tell you - Your cousin, who's your half-brother, the son of my sister, will die in the future in a distant land, by his former employee, who went rouge.

We heard about it, but couldn't reach those lands even once all our life since leaving it. My sister, as my parents and family, ain't alive, so you have no reason looking for them, just him, so if you ever reach there - please try saving him.

Always remember mother loves you, and wish for only good and joy in your whole life. '''

-

"So, anything interesting?" My father voice came out-of-nowhere behind me.

I turn, give him the letter, and asks mockingly "two sisters? really? and a half brother somewhere, who's goona die?".

"HOHOHO, yeah, good life" he says half-smiling-half-crying.

'Well, both are dead, that can pretty much break a man..' I think as I feel sorry for him.

He read the letter quietly, throw it back at me, and says "see ya later", walking away.

I stay there sitting, and looking back at the tattered box, seeing a smaller box in it.

-

In the distance, on the second floor balcony, Robin is sitting on a swing-chair, while fiddling with her laptop, preparing all that's needed to the island's kingdom they plan to build.

She look down at the garden, and see Ayn as he was opening a small-box, and a small-slip-paper flew off when he opened it, and under it, still in the small-box, she see a weird-looking ginseng.

'Is that a devil fruit? devil ginseng?' she thought to herself with a wondering smile, and while she's in her thoughts, she see Ayn grab the yellowish-brown, with green lines looping all over it, looking like a wild Ginseng.

Before she could yell anything, *CRUNCH*, Ayn bite the weird-ginseng, obviously a 'devil' fruit, and instead of speaking now, she just creates a hand to kick the fruit off his hands, even though he already bite it, while she also jump off the balcony, with a weird stretching hands softening her landing by still holding the balcony's handrail, like a rope, and run toward him.

-

'Hmm, that taste rather disgusting, but in a good way? I know they say ginseng is good for you, and full of life, but it's actually really does feels like that', I think in my head while the weird ginseng my mother left me fly off my hand by some mysterious force, and Robin shouts at me from the background.

I feel a burst of energy circling my body, making me feel my body can explode and be torn to shreds, and also feel my tattoo suck all the energy into it, and quickly raise my shirt to look at my chest.

When I take it off, Robin is sitting on her knees in front of me, grabbing both my shoulders in her hands, and looking at me with worried expression.

I look at my chest, on the tattoo, and so is Robin, and we see that my tattoo, with the 'planet' painting, and circle around it, has now 2 circles around it, not just 1, looking like 2 rotating spheres around the planet-tattoo, kinda as Saturn's rings.

In my body I feel a bursting, mixing, of energies, rotating from those rings to the planet-tattoo, and flowing back into them.

"WHAT YOU JUST DID IS CRAZY! HOW ARE YOU EVEN ALIVE?! DIDN'T I TELL YOU NEVER DO ANYTHING UNTIL I FINISH TALKING TO YOU?!?" Robin yell at me, while shaking my whole body, as she holds my shoulders, and I stare at her, not knowing if I should apologize, shut-up, or be happy I didn't listen to her, seeing I'm alive and better than always.

"THAT WAS A DEVIL FRUIT! NO HUMAN CAN EAT 2 DEVIL FRUITS! YOUR'E SUPPOSE TO EXPLODE TO PIECES BY NOW!" Robin continue yelling, and now my father and Mia stand next to us, gazing at the scene.

My father put a hand on my chest and says "Damn, that was a miscalculation, are you okay?".

I tell them "..Yeah ..better than always".

Mia *COUGH*, *COUGH*, grabbing all of our intentions, and speak formally "If my assumptions are correct, this fruits, or better known as 'Spirit Souls' of them, and those rings tattoo, let's call them 'Spirit Rings', is what happened to Ayn, and all of that, is what started when I tried a year ago to awaken him, probably the stone-turning-tattoo, turn to be his 'Spirit tool', or something along those line".

We all keep looking at her, and she continues speaking, saying "I do not mean he is alive because of that, but rather he reached the 2nd-peak-energy, we can call it 'the bottleneck', where you cultivate to the maximum possible energy level, and you need to consume a new 'Spirit Soul' to break through that bottleneck".

She point at me, and says sternly "IF you weren't at that bottleneck, I don't know what would happen, and Robin guess can be right, you could have died. My best guess is that that-year-coma you had gotten you up till that bottleneck, for your luck".

Mia takes a step back, close her eyes, focusing, and suddenly a lot of different colors spheres pop up around her body, rotating beautifully, as a radiant power is felt from them.

I stare at her, smile, and asks her "Wow that's beautiful. Are you saying iv'e got that same power as you? but wait, my power is like Robin's power? so what's your power? what's those rings? how do I pop them out like that? am I like super duper strong now?".

"Hahaha", "HOHOHO", Mia and father laugh, and Robin *smack* her hand on her face, while rolling her eyes, saying "Let us begin in the fact you are somehow alive right now, and leave the rest for later. NOW, give me that paper-slip you're holding".

I give it to her, and she read it out loud:

''' Sei-sei-no-mi, the devil fruit you ate in my memory of the future. It granted you the power of life, and I remember you had an energy who helped plants, so if you ever consume it, try it out. What's more, I called it 'Ki-ki-no-mi', because you had a pure aura waving from you, making hugging you feel like it purify my soul. Maybe try finding that out also? -in Love, mother. '''

"Ahh, no more surprises for the next week please. Let's pack up and go to the island, I ordered too many stuff to the harbor. Meet you in the car in 30 minutes" Robin say as she *Exhale* tirelessly, so I quickly nod 'yeah', and she and Mia walk away.

"Father? what you say?" I ask him, as we were left alone, and he *SMACK* my back, and say with a loud tone "YA BETTER NOT EAT ANY MORE WEIRD LOOKING FRUITS WITHOUT TELLING ME FIRST".

I nod, again, moving my whole head up and down, and then ask "So... see ya later?", and *SMACK*, he hit my back strongly, sending me walking into the house direction, shouting "See ya soon".

-

When we got to the harbor again, Robin, Mia, and I, see next to the yacht a few formal-business-women standing, holding tablets and cases full of papers.

Robin go to speak with them, while Mia and I load our bags into the yacht, and a few minute later Robin come in as well.

We went to the control-room, and as we leave the harbor while Robin talk in her tablet, asking "Are all okay? follow us in close proximity. a.t.a less than 2 hours".

I look back, and see a giant ship following us, and on it deck piles of wood-poles, stones, and lots of containers.

'Wow, Robin is the best queen ever' I think smilingly, and as we move to the open sea, Robin and Mia look at me, smiling as well.