Change of Plans

Jayr POV - Blue Star, Grand Line, Paradise - 20 GAP

A few days passed since our meeting with Crocus, the doctor and the overseer of the Twin Cape Lighthouse, and Laboon, the huge Island Whale with a heart of gold.

After singing with me Binks' Sake, Laboon was finally able to accept that most of the members of the Rumbar Pirates passed away, but at the same time, I also reassured him that at the very least Brook was still alive and that I would make sure that they will reunite making sure that he would stop harming himself by bashing against the Red Line.

After that, we spent the rest of the day in the company of Crocus and Laboon with Python and the kids playing with Laboon, as the four of them truly got along, of course, Eri and the rest of the girls were also nearby to make sure that nothing happened, but the scene of Galen, Kharna, and Python being gently ejected by a jet of water from Laboon's blowhole, just for them to start flying around him and then rushing in the waters once again to swim together was a truly amusing one. 

Meanwhile, I made Koby swim against the currents of the Reverse Mountain as a form of training before I started to talk with Crocus about the various illnesses that we have encountered during our careers, the symptoms, and possible cures for them, and I have to admit that this world is really dangerous on this aspect, especially in the Grand Line where all sorts of climates, seasons, and absurd conditions like the existence of a prehistoric biome like the island Little Garden allows the existence of countless different diseases, luckily it seems that nothing that Crocus told me about is outside of the knowledge I have gathered thanks to the Asklepios Imerológio (Diary of Asclepius) that I found so many years ago.

Crocus noticing my extensive knowledge started to talk about Gol D. Roger's illness, and hearing about its symptoms directly from the mouth of Crocus, an expert doctor who spent over 3 years taking care of him, I quickly realized what probably affected him.

Gol D. Roger very probably had a Rheumatic Heart Disease, a systemic immune condition that occurs as a complication of rheumatic fever, this usually occurs after a beta-hemolytic streptococcal infection of the throat.

Basically, it's a disease that occurs after an initial infection from a bacteria, like S.pyogenes from a throat infection, that eventually involves the joints, skin, and more importantly the heart.

What's interesting about this disease is that if left untreated and the infection persists long enough, your body will create antibodies that will injure your own tissues, and that is bad especially if the heart is involved.

This could progress to scarring of the heart and lead to the valves that can't function anymore which may lead to their hearts failing, however, this only develops in a certain amount of people due to their genes.

This means that even if the bacteria initially was gone, the body will continue to damage itself afterward.

So in a way, the cause of Roger's death was Roger himself.

Especially if caught late the symptoms are debilitating and can cause early death via heart problems.

Knowing that fighting and adventuring involve a lot of cardiac activity, this progressively worsens his condition due to the stress and guarantees maybe a limited life even with treatment.

In my previous world, there was still no effective cure for Rheumatic Heart Disease, and the same can be said for my current world, at the least the not supernatural one, as Asclepius found a cure for it many eons ago. 

He basically developed a poison that not only killed all the bacteria that are the source of the infection but also systematically attacked the body's immune system causing some kind, let's call it a soft reset, turning it back to the same status the patient had at birth making so that it won't be able to produce the offending antibodies anymore, after that, it was simply taking care of the remaining symptoms of the infection and the possible damages to the organs, that can be easily done through surgery, and slowly reinforcing the immune system with targetted vaccines.

That is the hard way that he developed so that anyone with the right ingredient and skill is able to use it, then there is the faster and supernatural way of simply using his Gold Blood to eliminate the infection and cure the immune system, and the Dark Resurrection to heal the patients' organs taking more or less a couple of hours. 

In fact, currently, I have an even faster option of using Restoration Magic to turn back the time of the patient body to a point before he got the infection to heal him and then speed up the time of the now healthy body back to its actual age, something that takes just a couple of minutes at most. 

Of course, when I told Crocus all of that, he remained stunned in silence for a couple of minutes then he rushed inside the Lighthouse and started to write down everything I said about the disease and the cure, of course for the poison part I asked Python to produce a sample for Crocus to study so that he can synthesize one with the materials available in this world.

Another interesting thing that happened is that Nikita, with Bidi's help, once again checked the Compass of Eternal Paths, and found out that her close friend, fellow Champion, and possible love interest, Zandeer is now a lot closer than before she was even able to sense his vague position and found out that it is very likely that he is actually on the Grand Line at the moment maybe a couple of islands or so ahead of us. 

After spending the whole day with Crocus and Laboon, we said our goodbyes and left the Twin Capes behind as we headed toward our next destination.

Right now, I'm standing on the deck as Koby goes through his usual morning training, and I'm looking at the clear and sunny sky thinking back at what we have experienced in these few days, 'I have to admit that the weather here is even more crazy that what depicted in the anime. In these couple of days of traveling the Grand Line, we have already encountered 4 storms, a couple of hails, 6 tornados, a sharknado, quite a few maelstroms, a few brief heat waves, and heavy snow, and let's not talk about the sudden icebergs appearing out of nowhere and the chaotic waves that try to steer the ship away from her intended course!' 

Then I look at Koby as he goes through his exercises and think, 'At the very least the crazy weather of the Grand Line is quite good to train Koby in adapting to various harsh conditions. And luckily Athena's God Bidoof is a fantastic ship that can easily power through everything standing in her way unscratched so despite the crazy weather our journey is still a relaxed and peaceful one.'

All of a sudden, I'm brought out from my musing by Koby's voice as he yells, "Jayr-san! I see an island in the distance!"

I look at where Koby is pointing and indeed there is an island with a quite peculiarly shaped set of mountains that can be easily seen in the distance, it is our destination, Cactus Island, where the city of Whisky Peak can be found, a town where I hope to train Koby in a one against many situations, not that he knows about it as I plan to prank him a little.

On Cactus Island there are several rock mountains with multiple graves on top, the shape of the mountains along with the graves gives the mountains the appearance of giant cacti, which is the main reason behind the island's name.

As we continue to get closer, I notice the existence of a river flowing through the island which allows ships to dock inland and reach the city more easily.

Soon we are all standing on the deck as the Athena's God Bidoof slowly enters the river to dock on the port of Whisky Peak, and of course, as we get closer, more and more people appear to enthusiastically greet us, waving at us with handmade flags, and cheering for us.

This of course confuses Koby who looks around confused as he asks, "What is going on here? Why are they greeting us like we are some kind of heroes!?" but before I can explain what is going on, Saori declares, "Of course, it is to hide their true intentions and to lower our guard... Carefully look at them, even if they are clearly cheering for us their eyes are all full of greed and they can't even hide it well, moreover, they have all kinds of weapons on their bodies some hidden, some not so much."

At this point, Nikita adds, "Saori is right, this place's name is Whisky Peak a city inhabited entirely by bounty hunters working for an organization called Baroque Works, who capture any bounty heads or rob any wealthy gullible travelers, that land here to help fund the missions of their organization. As such, the city does not have much supplies. The citizens here fool pirates, and other travelers into thinking that they are kind and hospitable and proceed to throw a party for them, only to turn them in and steal everything from their ship when the pirates pass out, or in case of regular travelers such as merchant simply steal everything and send them on their way. Whisky Peak is also apparently famous for its liquor, but whether that is the truth or an excuse to have many barrels of alcoholic beverages to better subdue pirates and gullible merchants without suspicion is unknown."

While Nikita is explaining that, I notice quite a few familiar faces among these bounty hunters.

One is a tall, muscular woman with dark skin and pink hair pulled into short twin-tails, she wears a short dress with a magenta and white diamond pattern, and three green flowers, if I remember well, she is Miss Monday and is quite strong one among this mob.

Then there is Mr. 9 a young man who wears a golden crown on top of his red hair, he wears a green suit with white lace along with a ruffled red scarf.

While his attire makes him look like a prince or a king, he isn't, anyway his current alias isn't Mr. 9 but Mr. None, because he doesn't have his agent number written on his cheeks, meaing that he is still a member of the Millions. 

The next one to catch my eye is a young woman of medium height with long wavy light blue hair pulled back into a very high ponytail, with two locks hanging down, one on either side of her head which is at about chin-length, and brown eyes. 

She has a slender body but she also wears heavy makeup to mask her true identity while also making her look older than she is and making her facial features look much more angular. 

She wears a shirt with light blue and dark blue stripes, shorts fastened with a belt, and a white coat, she is of course, Nefertari Vivi, the princess of the kingdom of Arabasta, who is currently undercover to find out more about the organization that is causing chaos in her kingdom.

(Image Here - Nefertari Vivi)

Right next to her, there is a big duck of yellow-brown plumage, with black-tipped wings and tailfeathers, he is Karoo, Vivi's pet, a Super Spot-billed Duck, a fleet riding bird and one of the fastest modes of transportation available in Arabasta. 

Typical of his species, he bears a black band around his bill and stands roughly as tall as the average human, his feet are tetradactyl, with ostrich-like talons, unlike the webbed feet of normal ducks.

His current attire consists of a blue-and-white chullo, pink goggles, and a large saddle carrying multiple saddlebags. 

(Image Here - Karoo)

And a few meters away from her there is also a tall man with a small red nose and blond hair in a style that resembles a powdered wig, he is dressed like a gentleman. 

Reflecting his current codename Mr. 9, he has the number 9 at the tips of his collar, he is, of course, Igaram, the captain of Arabasta's royal guards, and obviously, he is also undercover as an agent of the Baroque Works just like Vivi.

(Image Here - Igaram)

Seeing them here in this place, I immediately understand that this world Champion didn't do anything to fix the problem in the kingdom of Arabasta, meaning that at this very moment, many people are suffering because of the drought and famine caused by Crocodile, making me realize, 'I hoped that the Champion would have done something about this, but now it is clear that the situation didn't change much from what I remember, just what the hell is he doing?... Oh well, since I don't care about the canon as it has already gone flying out of the window, it is better to go and quickly take care of that little problem called Crocodile before too many people suffer from his plot...' 

While I was thinking that and looking at these familiar faces, the Athena's God Bidoof was able to easily dock on the port of this town full of bounty hunters.

I look at everyone around me and say, "Change of plans, it seems that the Kingdom of Arabasta is still in a state of emergency, and I don't want to waste too much time here knowing that..." then I look at Koby and say, "Sorry Koby, we will find some other place to train you in one against many situation." but Koby then exclaim in surprise, "Wait, Jay-san! You wanted to make me fight against all of them!?"

I look at Koby and candidly reply, "Yes, that is the only reason we came to this island in the first place... Come on look at it, there is nothing here worth seeing nor is it a good place for a family outing. This was just a brief stop before we visited the more interesting islands." 

After saying that, I looked at the girls and said, "Stay here, we will come back soon with some guests." 

Soon after that, only Koby and I jump down the Athena's God Bidoof and set foot on the dry soil of this island, a middle-aged man slowly walks toward us with a jolly smile on his face, his gait is a little unstable almost as if he is drunk, but in my eyes, it is clear that he is simply faking it to lower our guards even more, as the man in front of us is totally sober and lucid. 

He has mid-length black hair and black eyes with a wide jaw and a pointed and slightly red nose, wearing a ridiculous orange leopard print overcoat with a furred collar and an equally orange leopard print fedora hat with a strangely tall crown, under those, he wears a simple green shirt and dark blue pants, moreover, on his hat band the number 8 can easily be seen, a clear hint to his true identity, he is the current Mr. 8.

Once close enough, Mr. 8 smiles widely and says, "Hic... Wel- Welcome. My name is Gopher...Hic... I'm the mayor. You may be a little shocked at the... Hic... welcome, but this is Whisky Peak, a town of liquor and music. Hic... Hospitality is our middle name. If it's fine liquor you want, we have an ocean's worth... Hic! So please, I cordially invite you to our banquet, and I hope that you may entread- Hic! I mean entreat us with tales of your adventures."

Then he turns around and facing the crowd he jovially yells, "Everyone! Prepare the banquet! And let us sing and drink to our heart's content for these adventurers who graced us with their presence! Hic! It's time for a party!!" 

Already tired of this farce, I urge my Spiral Cosmo and release a small spiritual shockwave that covers the whole island and instantly knocks out cold everyone who is now falling on the ground unconscious while foaming from the mouth.

Soon, everyone is lying on the ground, excluded, Saori, Seika, Eri, Tio, Kharna, Galen, Nikita, and Python who are still on the deck of the Athena's God Bidoof, and Koby who is beside me, I also made sure to not knock out Vivi, Igaram, and Karoo who are now looking around with clear panic in their eyes, unable to fully understand what is going on.

Seeing that, I quickly call them out and reassure them, "Princess Vivi, Captain of the royal guards Igaram, please calm down they are just knocked out, they will all wake up in around 2 or 3 hours at most and won't remember anything about this."

Hearing me call them out with their true identity causes both of them to stiffen up before, Igaram quickly rushes in front of Vivi to protect her and with a wary tone he asks, "Are you the one behind this? How do you know about us? And who are you!?"

I calmly smile and reply, "Yes, I did this. I just didn't want to waste my time with some unscrupulous bounty hunters. But don't worry I mean no harm to you guys, in fact, I want to lend you a hand in fixing the sticky situation in Arabasta. As for who am I, well my name is Pucci Jayr, and I'm someone who likes to help other people and kick some bad guy's ass."

Then I gently invite them, "But let's not talk about that kind of stuff here, please come on my ship I'm sure it will be more comfortable." but soon I notice that they are still wary and very uncomfortable with my invite, so I try to reassure them while pointing at all the bounty hunters lying on the ground, "As you can clearly see, if I had any intention of truly harming you there is next to nothing that you can do to stop me. Moreover, you don't have anything I desire, I already have as many riches as I desire, I clearly don't lack in power, and I have a loving family. I have everything a man can desire and even more. I just want to help." 

At this point, after a few moments of hesitation where she is biting her bottom lip, a resolute expression appears on Vivi's face as she starts to step forward while a worried Igaram exclaims, "H-Hime-sama..." but Vivi ignores him and continues to walk toward us with Karoo right behind her, and quickly after, Igaram steels his resolve and quickly follows after them.

Vivi POV - Blue Star, Grand Line, Cactus Island - 20 GAP

I slowly follow the young man called Jayr Pucci, the man who easily knocked out all the bounty hunters present in this town as he leads us on his strange-looking ship.

At the same time, countless questions swarm chaotically in my mind, 'What is going to happen now? Who is he? How does he know about me and Igaram? Does he truly want to help us or is this some kind of trap? How did he do that? Is he a Devil Fruit User?' 

Soon I'm standing on the deck of his ship, and the scene in front of me isn't something that I expected, as the first thing that catches my eyes is a pair of very young kids playing on the floor with some kind of small, cute winged serpent, besides, sitting next to them there are 5 beautiful women, who are clearly watching over the kids.

The man called Jayr quickly introduces them to us one at a time. 

They are Saori an otherwordly beautiful young woman with long light violet hair, and greenish blue eyes, wearing a simple white dress, Seika a very beautiful and gentle young woman with light brown short wavy hair reaching just above the shoulders and dark brown eyes, Eri a short young woman with short black hair that is kept in a tiny bob, brown eyes and like me she is wearing glasses, but despite her appearance something about her seems scary, especially since she is looking at me with some kind of strange gaze, almost as if she is evaluating if I'm a threat to be dealt with or not, and lastly there is Tio, a beautiful and volumptous woman with long black hair, golden eyes, and stragenly slightly pointed ears.

There is also Jayr's friend Nikita, a short young woman, about 1,58 meters tall, with wavy auburn or dark brown hair, and bright light-colored blue eyes, she appears to be quite friendly and Koby, a lean young man with kobi pink hair and round-frame glasses. 

But the most surprising things are the two children playing on the floor, they are Jayr's children, the older one is a cute girl with black hair, dark golden eyes, and pointy ears, a clear hint that Tio is her mother, and her name is Kharna-chan, then there is the younger one, a boy with dark blue hair and green eyes, just like Jayr-san, and whose mother is Saori, and his name is Galen-chan.

Lastly, there is the family pet, Python, the small, cute feathered green serpent with small wings and yellow eyes full of intelligence.

After the introduction, he led us into his ship and I couldn't help but be stunned by its inside, as it doesn't lose out to the palace in Arabasta in both size and comfort, it doesn't even look like the inside of a ship.

Before I even notice it, Jayr leads us into a cozy dinner room where we all sit on the comfortable chairs as Jayr offers us some light but delicious fruit juice then he says, "Now that we are all comfortable... let's get to the most pressing issue. The main reason that you and Igaram infiltrated the Baroque Works in order to discover the identity of the mastermind and ultimately prove the king's innocence for what is happening to your kingdom, right?"

Once again I'm stunned and can't help but ask, "How did you know!?" but Jayr simply smiles at my question and says, "Well, first of all, the man behind what is happening in Arabasta is Crocodile one of Seven Warlords Of The Sea, also referred to as the Shichibukai, he plans to take over the Kingdom of Arabasta in order to find the poneglyph, which was hidden somewhere in the kingdom, then he wants to decipher the poneglyph and gain information about Pluton, which is one of the Ancient Weapons, a group of three weapons capable of mass destruction, each taking a different form." 

Hearing that, my body starts to shake in horror and terror while at the same time, Igaram beside me exclaims, "That bastard!! How could he deceive us like that!?"

Indeed, to think that the man that many people acclaim as a hero because he was always defeating pirates who attacked the island so much that the citizens admire him and even my father, the king acknowledged his good deeds, is the very person behind everything that is currentily happening in Arabasta.

I look at Jayr and see him nod as he says, "Indeed, Crocodile is purposefully destabilizing the country with ravaging sandstorms created by the power of his Devil Fruit and an artificial drought generated through the use of Dance Powder, leading to misery and rebellion among the many citizens of your kingdom."

With this new revelation, for a moment, I truly didn't know how to react and what to do, but before I could really think of a solution, I once again heard Jayr's voice as he said, "Luckily, with my help, this tricky situation is also quite simple to fix. We just have to go to Arabasta and kick Crocodile's ass while also exposing to everyone his plan."

Hearing that, I can't help but look at him, and with a reignite hope, I can't help but ask, "Are you really willing to help us in fighting someone of the caliber of Crocodile!?" but then I quickly remember about Jayr's children and I shake my head and mutter, "No, he is one of the Seven Warlords Of The Sea, one of the most powerful pirates in these seas, moreover he has the World Government support! I can't ask you to go through such danger for us, you have to think about your family firs-."

But Jayr interrupts me and says, "That isn't a problem. First what he is aiming to do goes against what the World Government wishes, so once they learn of it, they will take our side. But more important, Crocodile isn't strong enough to be even considered a danger to my family." a confident smile forms on his face as he adds, "We are a lot stronger than you think."