All or Nothing

For Lynx, everything was now settled on the ship. He had taken control, and the crew was willing to cooperate to stay alive.

At this moment, he had two choices ahead of him: play it safe by continuing directly to Grand Line, or go all out by stopping at Loguetown.

But hey, a promise is a promise anyway. And he intended to keep the one he made to Nym. For the sake of his crew, both economically and in terms of mutual trust.

He couldn't back down. So accordingly, he began to prepare for what lay ahead.

Seated in the main cabin, he said to his second:

- Nym, I need you to do me a little favor.

- A favor? What's up?

- It's related to our plan to get the money.

- Go on.

- First off, were you able to locate the room where they store the artillery on this ship?

- Yeah, I stumbled upon it while looking for your fruit.

- Perfect! What I need you to do for me is to go there and gather as many explosives as possible.

- As many?

- Yep, enough to make a huge fireworks display. Can you handle it?

She glanced at him, judging him with her eyes.

- Uh... I mean... without blowing everything up prematurely.

- Tss... seriously, who do you think I am? No one handles weapons better than me.

- That's a bit of a stretch, don't you think? You have some big rivals on Grand Line.

- Then I'll challenge them, and my name will be cheered across the seas.

- Haha, I like that ambition.

'I wonder how strong she really is,' Lynx thought, watching her closely. 'Especially compared to Usopp or even Yasopp, the world's best marksmen.'

- I got this, I'll gather your explosives.

- Be careful.

- Chill, bro.

She then went off to fulfill her mission.

Meanwhile, Lynx had to prepare for what awaited them. With the help of one of the crew members skilled in navigation, he knew they would arrive at Loguetown the next day.

So he prepared accordingly. He started by cleaning and disinfecting his wounds before covering them with bandages.

It would have been nice for him to get a good night's sleep to lessen some of his apparent fatigue, but he had too much to do. He needed to devise a plan bordering on perfection.

After all, his opponent was the marines accompanied by an admiral. He hadn't even mastered his new powers yet, which still hadn't manifested, and he had no idea how to control them.

But luckily, he had his mind to fill in the gaps. He had chosen a plan that didn't rely on his new powers, but still left room for the unknown and any unforeseen events.

...

Now that he had thought about this plan extensively overnight, he briefed the crew the next day.

"ASSEMBLE!" he shouted as he arrived on the ship's deck.

So everyone dropped what they were doing and gathered in front of him.

- Today is a big day, and I'm going to need your help. As you probably already know, we have a transaction to make, and it's today. But, unfortunately... the fruit is gone!

- ...

- ...

- What!!! They all exclaimed, realizing the gravity of Lynx's words.

- Yeah, I ate it!

- We... we're all dead! They said fearfully. "LET'S RUN, GUYS! LET'S THROW OURSELVES INTO THE SEA, IT'S BETTER THAN GETTING KILLED BY AN ADMIRAL."

- I advise against it. Nym interrupted with a menacing look. "I would have taken you all out before you even took your first step."

She had finished the task Lynx had entrusted to her and was now coming to see what was happening on deck.

The crew immediately calmed down after her words. They were at least aware that the admiral was only a future problem and that they already needed to survive this crazy Lynx.

"Alright!" Lynx continued.

"Now that we're all bound by the gun's ties, I can get started.

We may have lost the Devil Fruit, but nothing stops us from seizing the loot. We're pirates after all.

There's 500,000,000 berries at stake.

I know I won't win your loyalty that easily, so just to do everything I ask, I'm offering you half."

- What?!?! they exclaimed. You're offering us 250,000,000?

- Of course! The only thing I ask is for you to stay quietly on the ship during the transaction. Two of you will accompany me for the exchange, and a third will do a small task for me. Oh, before I forget, is there a carpenter among us? We need to fix that old wooden chest.

- Yes!

- Alright, in that case, everything will go smoothly... maybe... with a bit of luck.

So far, things were going as he had planned. But unfortunately, contrary to his desires, his plan was far from perfect and left a lot of room for the unexpected.

All because of one factor: there would inevitably be a marine admiral on the scene.

But it was all worth it. He had to try, at least to truly start his pirate life.

Speaking of money, Nym had come to see him to clear things up with him in the cabin.

- Can you explain to me what this promise you made to them is about? She asked Lynx, crossing her arms. "I remind you we have a deal."

- Promise?

- Half of the loot we'll win.

- I see... Are you sure I promised?

- I... Oh! You're such a bastard. She said, laughing.

- Haha, I know.

- And how do you think they'll react when they find out?

- It doesn't matter at all. We'll have already disappeared by the time they realize we screwed them.

- Wonderful! Hmmmm... how's it going with your new powers? She continued.

- Still nothing. I have no idea what fruit I ate, and there's still no manifestation. Any idea how to deal with it?

- I haven't eaten a Devil Fruit, remember? How would I know.

- I admit.

* Sigh * 'In the world of One Piece, it usually happens very easily. Guys who eat a Devil Fruit know its identity, it becomes easier for them to master his power. Like when Sabo ate the pyro fruit.

Even in Luffy's case, who resembles me more, since he knew nothing about his fruit, it's very different. His fruit at least manifested after he ate it.

But nothing happened in my case. Either it's because I'm new to all this, or my fruit is just trash.

I'm seriously starting to doubt it, I hope it's not just some shit, like the Kilo fruit, or the Giraffe Zoan. Ah, damn it!"

Lynx was completely lost in his thoughts, almost forgetting Nym's presence beside him. He quickly regained his senses upon hearing the words of one of the crew members.

"LAND HO!"

- Here we are, cap. From now on, everything depends on your plan.

- Yeah! When we dock, there's no turning back. It's all or nothing.

****