Chapter 73: A Bird's View

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Chapter 73: A Bird's View

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-Zephyr POV-

Being beaten by a child stung because that was what Bear D. Max was a young child barely over eighteen. But that was also what made him dangerous, at such a young age he had been able to beat me, who with Ain's help my body had returned to its prime.

Though my Haki might not have been up to par, I should have been someone that no other nosed brat could ever hope to touch.

Heh, I guess the younger generation was bound to overcome the old one. 

Though as I looked at the ceiling of a temporary shed that had been built in Risky Red. The room had a good amount of light and it wasn't underpowered, it resembled more of a guest room than prison.

Many thoughts went through my mind.

Why did he spare me? The World Government would reward him handsomely if he turned me in or killed me. 

Suddenly Max came in through the door with a confident stride and brought me food. That annoying smirk as if he knew something I didn't know was plastered on his face.

"Are you contemplating something again, old man?" He asked. I hate it how he always seemed to know what to ask and it made me uncomfortable.

Think of the Devil and he shall appear, whenever I thought about him he seemed to come out of nowhere like he could read my mind.

What was a little irritating about it was just how confidently he appeared to do everything, from walking to even cleaning the dishes or being a glorified maid.

"Brat…" I mumbled, but was unable to say anything.

The young man hadn't even bothered to put guards around me or stop my subordinates from visiting these last couple of days as I recuperated. So he essentially had done nothing wrong. But my gut told me he was becoming more dangerous as the days passed by.

This was either very arrogant or confident. The difference between the two was that confidence was arrogance that could be backed up.

Max had beaten me once and could probably do it again. Especially now that I was injured. 

"I hope you like lasagna?" He asked, looking at the food with a frown. "Never tried making it before, so I hope you can evaluate how good it is," he smiled in an infuriating way.

That careless act of his quickly got on my nerves again. It seemed like he was a happy-go-lucky type, the kind who knew nothing and got by just on luck alone.

Yet I knew the truth, Max would never be that kind of person, that much was clear in our fight.

But what was even more worrisome was how good of control he had over his Devil Fruit. Some people had a very hard time controlling the instinctive side of a Devil Fruit, especially Carnivorous Types. Even that famous genius Rob Lucci had a hard time and would have moments where he would become very bloodthirsty.

Yet someone like this guy came out of nowhere and had gotten control of it like it was nothing. The last person recorded to have had the Bear Bear Fruit had been some no-name pirate who suddenly disappeared, probably died by drowning or something similar. His bounty was nothing but a measly 20 million.

The Marines kept files on people like this, so the Devil fruit wasn't anything special. But… Awakening and being able to exert such control was truly something scary. The animals in Impel Down were just manageable pets and nothing more, their humanity was long lost. Plus none of them were carnivorous Zoan, because they wouldn't be able to be controlled that way.

Yet… the mystery still stood… How was Max able to use Observation Haki so fine and still keep a calm state of mind? What made him special from most others?

Everyone else went mad after a Zoan Awakening and even the ones who didn't would be in an angrier mood and unable to use Observation Haki. 

"Man~ if you don't talk then it would make me seem bad," Max scratched the back of his head with a worried look. "I can bring you some sweets if you want?"

"I don't know what you are up to boy, but such tricks won't work on me," my words made sure to stop any of his tricks on their tracks, and even he seemed to hesitate for a bit. 

*sigh* "Listen, old man, I am not your enemy, our goals are even aligned with each other. We both hate pirates and I even planned to take down one of the Yonko, can't say which though until you join." His explanation was on point, and I still couldn't see from which angel he was seeing things.

What was his end goal? If someone knew that, then it would be easy to read someone and what their actions would be. This was a skill I learned in my teaching days.

Still, even though I hated admitting it, his words make my anger at him seem childish.

Even I was starting to believe him, and this was what's even scarier about Max. That invisible charisma that drew people in. It wasn't the kind Roger had… strange… 

"My decision will be my own," I said stubbornly and looked at the ceiling. "There is no need for you to try and entice me anymore."

Because I was already almost sold on him, there was no one strong enough to inherit my will and ambition.

Even Ain would fail, she didn't have the potential to become someone ruthless when needed and can lead people with confidence. Also her strength was nowhere near the level it needed to be.

"I understand," he sighed and walked out of the room mumbling while leaving the food tray on the small desk next to my bed. "Old people nowadays can be so damn stubborn."

As soon as he went out, another familiar figure came in. She had bright pink hair, and a swirly brow which belonged to a certain group of superhumans. Or used to belong to Germa 66, since now they were all dead and this young woman was the last survivor.

"You know the procedure, release as much air from your lungs as you can," she said professionally.

The woman wasn't a big talker and followed the orders of the one who killed her family. There was probably a reason for that, but it wasn't something that I should try and dig into. 

Sometimes it would be better to leave some things as they are. Suddenly I could feel a smokey black liquid come out of my lungs as Reiju hovered her hand above my chest and then mouth. 

The taste was horrible and the black liquid was something that looked like lung disease in its true form. Slowly but surely, my breathing problems were going away… I was getting stronger and Max allowed such a thing.

It was as if he didn't even see the times I tried to kill him and none of that existed, to begin with.

Why?

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-Max POV-

As I walked outside of Zed's room, Ain was there looking worriedly as Reiju went in. 

"Thanks," she thanked me hesitantly. "You didn't have to do all of this for us, so I truly want to say thank you. Even though in the future we could end up as enemies, I will make sure to show you the same mercy you showed us."

I smiled sweetly at her, while Zephyr thought that he was the one I had been trying to convince to join my crew.

The girl in front of me was the goal all along. Sometimes people make mistakes in their assumptions… and it is okay to let them make those mistakes for your benefit.

Even healing Zephyr was a small thing, I had beaten the old man once and could do it again. This time even easier, it didn't matter if he got healed. The small strengthening poison Reiju had been inserting in him could turn into poisonous chemicals within the man's body if he breathed in a certain hand-made concoction.

Essentially the old Admiral now had a death switch on him. Not only would this begrudgingly make the man owe me, and Ain feel grateful.

But the situation was also a test of Reiju's trustworthiness and how far she would be willing to go for me.

Just because she had a pretty face didn't make her trustworthy or naive. Within this whole crew of mine, she was the smartest… including me. So I had to keep an eye on her.

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A/N: Someone like Zephyr looks at things like someone with power and pays attention to the big picture. Like how Max had influenced the world around him and his rise to power.

That blinds him in one eye (metaphorically of course) and he can't see Ain's slowly changing mindset.