Planning a Heist

Evos focused his hairline, drenched in sweat. Blinded, Evos tilted his head, trying to hear something. Picking up a rock from a bucket, I hurled it at Evos, hitting him squarely in the chest.

Grunting, Evos took a step back. For the past month, Evos and I have trained every day. The kid had incredible talent picking up on some of the techniques I taught him. He had even grasped the Soru technique but not to the point of instant movement.

I wanted the kid to learn to control his devil fruit, leaving only a split second in between the strike and him transforming. It was also a little experiment of mine. If Evos could also learn Observation Haki, he could maybe use his devil fruit like Katakuri.

"Another mystery of this world." Seeing that Evos was waiting again, I decided to test him and picked up three rocks throwing them in quick succession. Seemingly knowing that something was different, Evos turned into a cloud, letting the stones pass right through him.

"So you still can't get past three." Evos took off the blindfold and threw it on the ground, "I don't understand why I can't. It should be the same thing, but I can't help but flinch."

I smiled, "I would be scared if you could do it. My teacher had to throw rocks at me for months before I was able to get it. Also, I have a gift for you." I reached behind my chair, pulling out a mask, two knives, and a few vials filled with a green liquid.

Tossing the mask and Knives to Evos, he caught them, "What is this?"

"The mask is a filter that should give you invulnerability to your poison clouds. And the knives are special daggers I made myself." Evos tilted his head, "What poison clouds?" Smiling, I flashed the vials of poison in my hand.

"What do you think I was doing when you weren't in the lab. Place these vials in the slot of the mask, and you'll see." Putting on the mask, Evos looked like a demon. The mask was pitch black with slide parts that clicked into place.

Taking the vial, Evos found the slot on the side and pushed it down, priming the vial. "Now twist counterclockwise and use your devil fruit." Evos did so, and thick green mist started to spray out of his mask before sticking to his clouds, dyeing them a bright green.

"Woah, I never thought I could use my powers like this." Evos looked at the green clouds in amazement, "Is this my Ricin poison? I was ready to ditch the idea as I could never get it to bind to my clouds fully."

I nodded, "I tinkered with it a little. I mixed the base protein with a chemical binder. From there, it was pretty easy to turn it into a mist and have it bind to water molecules in the air. Unfortunately, I have not devised a collection system yet, so each vial is only one use. So make it count in the upcoming fight."

Evos's smiled faded, "What upcoming fight?" I pointed ahead of us at the shadow on the horizon, "That my boy is the land of Alabasta, home to one of the seven warlords, Crocodile."

I saw the color drain from his face as he realized what we were going to do, "That's right, we are going to be taking on Crocodile. You see, we are running low on funds, and Crocodile runs a casino that I'm sure is just waiting to be looted."

Evos looked up at me, "I know the World Government is bad. I heard that most of the warlords protect the towns they watch over." I sighed as I realized I was about to shatter Evos' worldview.

"Unfortunately, that is only the surface. Most of the warlords are corrupt, seeking to gain power through every system that gives them invincibility." Evos looked straight ahead at Alabasta, "Let's rob the bastard."

Clapping Evos on the back, I smiled, "Glad you understand, well get ready and meet in the kitchen for mission briefing."

Ten minutes later, everyone was in the kitchen looking down at the map I laid out on the table. "Okay are target is the Rain Dinners, the casino owned by Crocodile, and the Baroque Works headquarters, a mercenary company. It's a giant golden pyramid impossible to miss. The plan is to act like a rich family seeking to enjoy themselves. From there, I will cause a distraction, giving you four times to run off and find the vault room. Leana, you will be playing the role of my wife, Evos will be my son, while Cal and Ace are our bodyguards."

"But Leana has ears and a tail. How can she be my mother." Evos raised his hand like he was in a classroom, and I couldn't help but smile. "Excellent question Evos, I can simply say that Leana is my mistress, and I had you with my first wife."

Leana blushed, "Captain, don't tease me like this." Ignoring the eccentric mink, I continued, "There might be a problem, however. There is a possibility that a group of somewhat highly trained people will be present. All of them have devil fruit powers, so be careful. I am sure that all of you can handle yourselves. Any questions?"

"What about our clothing? I don't think that anyone will believe that we are upper class dressed like this." Ace looked down at his open shirt and straw hat. Rubbing my hands, I reached underneath the table, pulling out several fancy outfits, "I am always prepared, and don't worry about it fitting. I have all of your measurements."

Cal snatched an outfit from my hands, "Nice job, did your mother teach you how to make a quilt for a school project." Scoffing, I turned up my nose, "You insult me, my masterpieces go beyond simple projects. Just try on the damn thing and tell me if I need to make any changes."