Ch. 48 - The Great Pretender is blessed by the gods!

When you mention the word God, what would you think first?

Obviously, you would immediately think of an all-powerful god that created the universe and all living things within it.

It's not wrong. Definitely not, because that is what's currently going on in Maui and Moana's mind after seeing a huge boat that came out dropping from the skies and landed on the surface of the ocean, causing huge sea waves that swept everything including Moana and the Kakamora's boats.

"The gifts of the gods!" Leo shouted to the sky before jumping out and landed on the deck of the Black Pearl, followed by the stunned Maui who unconsciously jumped onto it.

"How is it?"

"....the gods gave you a ship!" Maui's eyes look like they will pop out any moment now.

"Oh? You know what a ship is?" This time, it was Leo's turn to be surprised by the knowledge that Maui possessed.

"Of course I know a ship! I saw a God riding in one when they took me in!" Maui replied, using his big hands to caress the ship as if he was touching a treasure.

"Who....gave you this gift?" Maui asked.

"....The God of the Pirates, Jack Sparrow." Leo stared at his eyes and seriously said.

"Jack...Sparrow?" Maui was weirded out by the name, it doesn't seem fit for the term god.

"Yes. Him." Leo said while tinkering with the ship, thankfully, the original Black Panther has some memories about ships like these and how to sail them.

'All Hail the Black Panther.' Leo prayed in his mind while noticing the darts coming on their way.

"We gotta move!" Leo quickly went to the ropes and pulled them, letting the Main Sail and Fore Sails off the ship.

*Fwoosh!*

Surprised by the speed of the huge ship, it didn't take long before the Kakamoras couldn't keep up with their speed.

Meanwhile, Moana was already within their area, so Leo slowed down the ship and along with Maui, helped Moana get up on the ship, along with the small boat.

"Well?" Leo smiled as the two of them were gawking at him and the ship.

"Are you sure you're not a Demi-God?" Maui asked for the last time, however Leo still refuted him.

"I'm not, I'm just loved by the gods." Leo shrugged his shoulders and said.

"Well, nonetheless this is good for us, it just made our journey much easier." Although Maui still has many questions, as long as it doesn't harm him and his goals.

"It's time to fetch my Magical Hook!" Hearing his words, Leo and Moana both nodded their heads at the same time. They knew that with the help of Maui, restoring the heart of Te Fiti would become easy.

Not even Leo himself is confident he could face Te Ka, unless he has his Panther Habit suit.

So, it's obvious that they would help Maui get his Magical Hook back.

***

"It's so big!" In the middle of their sailing, Moana and Maui were roaming around the ship and couldn't help but be amazed by the structure and the size of the ship.

It's like they built an entire house in the ocean!

"Unfortunately, it's not as fast as a small boat." Maui commented, he noticed this earlier when Leo was sailing the Black Pearl.

"Well, Black Pearl is a huge boat. What do you expect?" Leo shrugged his shoulders.

"Black Pearl?" Moana and Maui asked him at the same time.

"It's the ship's name. I call her Black Pearl." Leo winked at them as he explained.

"Huh, that's a first. Naming your boat-I mean ship."

"I just want her to be different, you know what I'm saying?" Leo replied, however the two of them still don't know the reason or not get it why Leo would name the ship.

From what they know, you can only name your children. Does that mean Leo considers the ship as his own child?

Oblivious to their thoughts, Leo stood on the ship's deck and stared at the wide sea.

Leo knew that their next journey would be the hardest one they'll have so far. Which is the monster realm, where Maui fought with the giant crab and almost died along with Moana.

Leo glanced at his status panel and saw his Black Panther Template being at 75.173% which used to be 70% before he claimed the reward in defeating the Kakamoras, just 5 percent away from getting the Panther Habit, the black panther suit that made Black Panther become one of the strongest characters in avenger. A suit that is capable of not only absorbing kinetic energy but also reflecting the absorbed energy, making it one of the strongest armors in the entire Avengers.

Probably only Iron Man's suit is ahead of the panther Habit.

Nevertheless, if Leo wanted to survive his encounter with Te Ka, he must persist and finish the next quest which is to help Maui recover his Magical Hook. The quests would give him 5% of the template, which is enough to reach 80% of the template.

"What are you thinking?" Being interrupted by Moana, Leo glanced at her before shifting back to the seas.

"Nothing, just wondering how much this journey will bring us." He answered.

"How much? Leo, this journey will bring us a lifetime of freedom to the seas! Once we restore the heart of Te Fiti, the seas will be brought back to us! And-."

"And then what?" Leo interrupted her.

"Huh?"

"And then what? What happens next after we restore the heart of Te Fiti?" Leo completed.

"Uhm....." Moana got confused. Leo was right, after restoring the heart of Te Fiti what is she going to do? Go back to her village, assume as the new chief of Motunui and bring her people back to the sea as voyagers? After that then what's next?

"Moana, let me tell you this. Planning a goal is good, achieving the goal is also good but you should also consider the aftermath or else life becomes boring." Leo shrugged his shoulders, he's currently speaking from his own experience.

"He's right you know." Maui interrupted them from behind.

"When I was stuck on that island for a thousand years, I started thinking about my goals and aspirations. All my life, my only goal is to help the humans and become their hero but after what happened to Te Fiti, I became lost. Sure, I've achieved the goal of stealing her heart but look what happened to me next after achieving my goal." Maui then looked down on the ground in sadness.

"Sometimes, I wish I could turn back time and slap the head of my past self." Maui chuckled with a mix of regret in his tone.

Before Leo and Moana could go and comfort the big guy, Maui quickly shifted the topic.

"Anyways! Our next destination is Lalotai."

"Lalotai?" Although she wanted to know more about the demi-god's past, noticing that the guy seems to be uncomfortable, Moana could only abandon the topic and ride on the new one.

"It's an island or an entrance that leads to the realm of the most exotic, dangerous and ferocious creatures in the world." Maui explained according to his knowledge.

"Please remind me why we are going there again?" Hearing the explanation, Moana was having doubts whether they could come out of there alive.

"To get my Magical Hook, if there's someone in this world who desires my hook, it would be Tamatoa, a collector, whose lair resides inside the realm of monsters."

Hearing the answer, Moana knew there was no choice but to go to this realm of monsters.

"We'll be fine, Moana." Taking notice of Moana's anxiety, Leo patted her shoulder and assured her.

"Hopefully." Moana forced a strained smile at Leo, not wanting to show weakness in front of him. After all, she's the one who initiated this journey and dragged Leo into it, he is now her responsibility and if something bad happens to him, it would weigh a heavy guilt in her heart.

***

After a few days of constant sailing with Leo's turn in teaching Maui, including Moana on how to sail the ship, Leo has also claimed the devil fruit and decided to take it out of his inventory once they arrive at their next destination.

Nonetheless, they have finally arrived at their next location.

Lalotai!

"It looks so.....small but tall." Moana raised her head just to look at the top of the tall island.

"Alright, you stay here with HeiHei. Leo will come with me." Maui said and before Moana could respond and complain, he had already jumped out of the ship and landed on the outer part of the island.

Feeling the hard surface on his feet, Maui smirked and stared at the top of the island, whatever happens, he'll definitely make sure to get that Magical Hook of his and maybe take a small revenge on Leo for kicking his ass.

Knowing the power of his magical hook, Maui is confident that Leo wouldn't be his match by then, just imagining the petty revenge makes him want to barge on Tamatoa's lair and steal his magical hook.

But that would be suicidal. They need a plan.

"What's the plan?" Coincidentally, Leo asked him.

"We'll talk about it once we reach the top. For now, try to keep up." Without further ado, Maui jumped and quickly started climbing the huge tower.

Meanwhile, Leo stayed as he had to claim something first.

The devil fruit!

'Alright Genesis, show me what I got as a devil fruit! Hopefully, it's something very strong.'

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[Next Chapter: Ch. 49 - The Great Pretender's new ability!]

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