One Piece: It's Just Business

Premise: A person dies and gets reincarnated with some wishes. It's mainly about his devil fruit though which allows him to trade things with other people.

...

  'Is this really how I'm going to die?' A man thought as he felt blood pouring out of the slashes on his body.

*ROAR*

Attacking him, a Bear with reddened eyes seemed to thoughtlessly continue its rampage. Managing to muster up enough energy to move, his hand reached for the firearm strapped to his leg. He tilted the barrel upwards...

*Bang*

*Crush*

The titanic body of the Bear seemingly collapsed on the man, sealing his fate,

'So...Soft...'

As his lifeless eyes closed, he felt himself being lifted up and into the cosmos. His arms scrambled to cling onto his body but the pull towards the universe was stronger. He couldn't hold on and could only watch the events after his death from above.

He gazed down and smiled softly at the circle of crying people gathered around his corpse. His eyes then looked at the Bear's corpse before sighing,

"At least I managed to stop your coke-fuelled rampage...Still, I wish I got to see...the end of One Piece..."

The world now becoming a tiny marble in his view, turned his eyes towards the ever-expanding universe. It would seem that he was still being pulled somewhere. 

....

'How long has it been?' He thought as he felt himself coming to a standstill. It had finally stopped. He could finally stop. It had been...

Strange for him. As he moved through the vast cosmos, the soul saw many things that an average person would have killed to experience.

The birth and death of empires, worlds and even entire stars. It was beautiful...and at the same time, tragic.

'So here I am now...Stuck in pitch black darkness,' He sighed. He was an accomplished Organic Chemist in his past life, everything he had been trained to think of and use had gone out of the window as of this moment. Everything he was experiencing was completely unscientific. 

'But maybe that's the beauty of it, ey? To enjoy Nothingness after seeing...Everything-ness. The give and take of Reality itself,' A small smile escaped his mouth.

.....

Ting!

[Judgement Confirmed: Reincarnation.]

[Reincarnation location.....confirmed. The world of One Piece has been selected.]

[Please confirm a devil fruit name you would like to have, if any. Abilities will be generated based on the name of the fruit.]

[....]

Seeing this set of messages on an interface in front of him caused the man's face to light up. It had been a very long time since he experienced such a feeling of excitement. Over the time he had spent in this darkness, he felt that the darkness had become... smaller somehow.

'If I'm reincarnating...then I've got to go with the power I've thought of since seeing everything,' he thought, 'Even if it risks being bad, at least the options are limitless...'

[Devil Fruit: Trade-Trade No Mi.]

[Devil fruit Confirmed. It will present itself to you when you are five. Now randomly generating an out-of-universe ability...]

[Observe Ability has been confirmed. Adapting ability to One Piece world...ability successfully integrated.]

Suddenly feeling himself disappear from the darkness, he feels himself being grounded in...Biology again. His existence was now of matter, he had physiology not just being a soul.

*Blink*

A bright light entered his eyes as he felt the assault of colours. 

"Honey, look, he's staring at us in Wonder..." A young woman spoke to the seeming thin air as she rested on a ragged bed, "Han... Han Maren." 

The young woman seemed to be in a shack in a slum area. Surrounding her were doctors who had haggard and depraved expressions, staring giddily at the areas of her body where organs were located. Black market doctors. At the back of the room, Black-clothed men who looked like gang members smiled as the birth seemed to be successful. They were all relatively tall and wore bandanas around their mouth and neck area. When some of the doctors tried to act out of place, the gang seemed to keep the doctors in check.

(A/N: Han is his first name, and Maren is his surname. Han is pronounced like Han Solo.)

After sorting her baby out and cleaning him up, the people surrounding her nodded before grimacing,

"Well...you have served your purpose Lilita, the master asked us to deal with you after his child was born. Take this bag of Belly and stay quiet forever now. If you cause trouble for the master... You know what awaits you."

Hearing all of the new information, Han seemed unable to process what was going on. It was only the very beginning moments of his new life yet he was already having someone threatened in front of him. His own father had threatened his mother's death after his birth. 

'What the fuck... do they think they're doing?' His eyes contained an unbridled fury, a hair-raising sight as the child seemed to gaze at the men surrounding his mother. As he was about to cry out, a sudden tiredness overcame him. 

*Snooze*

Han seemed to fall asleep before he could do anything causing the so-seeming leader of the group to widen his eyes.

'Was that...'

Before long, he shook his head, it was preposterous that a newborn could have that ability, let alone use it straight from birth. Departing from the small shack, the people left some Belly on the counter. 

The mother simply smiled as she ignored the threats of the gang, cuddling her newborn son tightly.

....

Boom.

Boom.

Boom. 

The sound of water breaking resounded across a forested area. A five-year-old child was throwing a trident at fish that he noticed coming with his observation ability. An extraordinary sight if you were back on earth, but something seemingly normal in this world. Finally catching the last fish, Han placed it onto a makeshift sleigh and wiped away his sweat,

"I've got to go and sell these fish to Hernandez before nightfall." 

Wrapping the rope of the sleigh around his waist, Han began to trudge back from the forest area. However, as he passed through the forest, he kept activating his observation ability.

[Apple.]

[Tree.]

[Tree.]

[Apple.]

[Devil Fruit: Trade-Trade No Mi.]

His eyes widening, Han rushed towards the oddly colour fruit. It seemed to be a completely black apple, a tie-like red stripe trailed down its body to the base of the fruit.

Grinning at the sight of the fruit, Han simply pulled the stem of the fruit off and ate that. 

Holding back his disgust at the taste of the stem, He felt a power surge through his body a few seconds later.

"So it's true that you only need to take a single bite of the fruit..." Han smiled as a plan began to form in his mind, " I still have the rest of the fruit..."

Wanting to hide the fruit, he knew he couldn't just place it on his sleigh. Before long, he felt a flow of power move through his body as a distortion appeared before him. Han thought about what this could be before thinking about the tropes in his previous world,

'Inventory?'

He placed the fruit in the distortion before it closed. Thinking about the ability again, the distortion reappeared and he thought about the fruit whilst he placed his hand in. 

*Grasp*

He grabbed the fruit inside the distortion and nodded before letting go,

'Definitely an Inventory...'

.....

Han was trudging his way to the market before dealing with the local fishmonger.

"I'll give you 200 Belly for it today," A large tanned man with tattoos across his shoulder spoke to the young Han. A gobsmacked expression hung itself on Han's face as he looked at Hernandez incredulously,

"It was 250 yesterday though?"

"Even I have to make a profit somedays and recently some of my customers have gone to other channels. So 200, will you take it or fuck off?" Hernandez looked at Han lazily as he gave an off-hand comment about his circumstances.

'I need to go and get mum's medicine this weekend...and I could barely afford it last week with our stash anyway. Let's see if this goddamn devil fruit can ensure prices,' Han thought before stretching his hand out towards Hernandez.

"Deal, but you can't lower the price any lower than 200 from now on. Also, you're not allowed to tell people about any of our conversations or ever touch me with the intent to attack. That's already pretty low and you know I need to buy medicine," Han spoke with a glint in his eye as he felt his devil fruit ability activating and a flow of power rushing to his hand.

Before long, he nodded and shook Han's hand. After a moment, Han felt the power binding Hernandez to himself. In his mind, a line of text formed,

{Hernandez Alcina will buy Han Maren's Fish catch for a minimum of 200 Belly. This is a private agreement with a non-violence clause added.}

Before long, the text seemed to burn into his mind but he felt that he could re-open the text whenever he wished to. Taking the 200 Belly, Han smiled as he left the shop.

'What a weird kid...' Hernandez thought as the kid left his shop.

....

Getting back to his house, he opened the door gently and placed his trident at the side. He walked over to the stash of money his mother kept and looked inside before gritting his teeth.

Tch.

"Even though we still have about 100,000 - It still will only be enough to cover about another year of mother's medication. I need to learn how to use this fruit more and get the money to cover the rest of her medical costs," Han began muttering to himself as he counted the money remaining after he added his 200 Belly to the bag.

After putting the stash away, he quietly walked into his mother's room and noticed her asleep. He gave a gentle smile upon seeing her peaceful expression laying there in her bed. Remembering all the moments when she took care of him the last few years even though her condition was worsening, he closed his eyes and thought to himself,

'I wish you were that peaceful when you were awake mum...'

Moving into the kitchen, he began cooking their dinner. Placing some onions and peppers into a pan, he began to lightly fry them. 

After some time, he placed some sliced tomatoes and water into a pan, gently letting them simmer. After a while, he stirred the mixture, breaking the tomato slices into the mixture, and forming a tomato sauce.

Before long, the bubbling of the mixture indicated that the sauce was nearly ready so he retrieved some eggs and sausages. He cut the sausages into smaller pieces and placed them into the mixture, letting them cook in the sauce.

Once that was done, he cracked the eggs above the pan and stirred them into the mixture. As he was doing this he was going over ideas that he could use from his previous life to start making more money. 

'Goddamnit, all those other protagonists get Haki off the bat or spend some time training it and it's all going good. But here I am, slaving away at the very bottom just to stay alive. Fuck this shit. Fuck this type of life,' Han thought as a silent fury overcame him. 

Snapping out of his thoughts, he took the pan off the fire and put the last bits of seasoning on top. Looking at the herbs he was putting on an idea came to him...

'Herbs. What things did rich people like to use other than people...Of course, drugs,' A light flashed in Han's eyes. Thinking back to his undergraduate biochemistry, he remembered some recipes that he had managed to understand.

'Methylamphetamine requires too much of a set-up. Speed is also an amphetamine so its difficulty is similar to Meth. Weed is easy and there's already an empire for it in the gang-controlled areas of the slums. Maybe when I've got some power, I could start stepping on their toes, but for now, that's impossible,' Han thought as more plans began to form in his mind. Placing the food in two separate dishes, Han got some bread out and ripped it in half. One part for him, one part for his mother.

Remembering a plant he saw in the forest that he knew he could work with relatively easily, his eyes shined,

'Coca Leaves. And they're a silver colour as well.'

....

Gently shaking his mum's pale-white shoulder, he woke his mum up so that she could eat her food. There was a study table in her room so he placed the plate and bread on it,

"Mum, wake up, dinner's ready. I made your favourite, Sausage and Egg Soup," Han spoke as his mother's eyes slowly fluttered open.

She smiled as she saw her son's face. Even though he was only five, Han could probably pass for an eight or nine-year-old. Nodding, his mother gave him her arm to help her up,

"How long have I slept for today Han?"

"Majority of the day, but that's okay, you need the rest mum," Han spoke as he let his mum use his shoulders as support. Getting to the chair in front of the table, she let go of him.

"Thank you, Han, you should go and eat yours as well," She spoke as she ruffled his dark-brown hair. This caused Han to huff a little before bringing his own food into the room. Placing a pillow on his knees, he sat on his mother's bed and ate with her.

"So how was everything today?" Lilita asked her son. Nodding as if everything was okay, Han smiled.

"Pretty good, no sea kings or any weird fishes this time," Han replied thinking back to the last time that a large serpentine creature attacked him whilst he was fishing on the coast. He managed to survive by running the fuck away as soon as it appeared. After that, he vowed that he would never fish around the coast again. 

This allowed Han to figure out that there were a lot more normal fish species inland as they weren't threatened by the existence of sea beasts or sea kings. But that was a matter of the past. 

"Thanks, Han, I think I need to get back to bed now..." His mum said as a tired expression showed on her face. Her ragged physique slowly trudged over to her bed causing Han to get up and help her immediately. Tucking her into bed, he gave her a kiss on the forehead before closing the door behind him and letting her rest. Taking the plates, he put them in their sink. 

'I'll just wash them tomorrow morning,' He sighed as the muscles in his body ached.

Today was a day of change for Han, it would be the day he transitions from being a peon to beginning his plan of subtle world domination. Through what you may ask?

Well, of course, capitalism.

....

The next day, Han woke up and smiled as a plan for his day already. He already hard some of the necessary things at home such as caustic soda and drain cleaner. What he'd need to pick up though is some cement, petrol and other chemicals such as boric acid and benzocaine. If that's not available he'd manage to do with creatine or amphetamine. But he doubted that he'd be able to get his hands on the latter since he'd never heard of it being synthesised.

'Should be easy enough. Hernandez knows a guy that sells oils, cement should be easy to obtain from Bob,' Han finalised his plan as he prepared a large bucket and some of the ingredients he would need. Placing them in his sleigh, He began to trudge out of the slums and into the forest. 

'First order of business, harvest about a kilo of the leaves into the sack. After that, I'll go fishing for the other half of the day. When I get back to Hernandez, I'll ask him for his friend's oil shop. I'll see if he wants to go into business together. If not, I'll just use my ability to legally shut him up. After that, It'll be about whether I end up doing it myself or in partnership,' Han spoke internally as he lay out his plans for the day.

...

"Haah, final plant harvested," Han thought as he placed the last leaf in his satchel. Dragging his sleigh towards the river, he left the sack on the sleigh. Retrieving his trident, he began using his observation ability to notice fish that were coming down the river.

"Gotcha." 

*Splash*

A crimson colour dyed a small area of the river as Han retrieved the fish from the river.

"Looks similar to a tuna..." 

He then spent the rest of the day spearfishing before collecting everything up.

...

"Hernandez, Here's the fish," Han smiled as he glanced at the man.

"This is way less than you usually bring, I can only give you 10-" Hernandez was about to speak before he felt a constricting feeling around his body and mind. The only thought occupying his mind right now was to hand over 200 to the kid. Without thinking about it, he gritted his teeth as his hands reached for a 200 Belly note before handing it over to Han. After that occurred, he felt the constriction lifting.

Han turned around and closed the door gently.

*Creaak*

"You little shit! What have you done to me?" Hernandez began to yell as he came over the counter and tried to snatch Han's 200 Belly back. However, his body encountered an invisible barrier when it approached Han. This meant he couldn't ever get within a meter of his target. After a while of exhausting himself trying to move even an inch further, he fell to the floor.

Step.

Step.

Step.

Han stepped towards Hernandez, his feet being at eye level with the grown man.

*Grab-*

Hernandez tried to pull on Han's foot.

*Fwoosh*

A massive repulsive force erupted from Han's body which caused Hernandez to fly back and hit the wall. 

"Tut. Tut. Tut," Han spoke with a devious glint in his eyes but a clear grin on his face, "Don't you remember our little agreement Hernie..."

This caused Hernandez's eyes to widen as he thought of the deal he made with the little devil. 

"You fucking...I'll tell everyone about this," Hernandez spoke out in front of Han. This caused the five-year-old to clench his head as he shook it.

"No, No, No. You're still not getting it yet are you?" Han said with a devilish grin, "You're stuck here. With me. Now I'll leave your premises immediately if you give me something of yours..."

Hernandez pulled himself up from the ground and nodded for Han to say what he wanted.

"Smart man. Now...Give me 90% of your Physical Ability," Han smiled as he crossed his arms. This caused Hernandez to grit his teeth before nodding, he finally understood his place in the food chain. Unfortunately, he didn't understand that he could just reject Han's proposal and simply close the shop for the day. It seemed that Han had imprinted a very potent image in his mind this day.

"Tch. Fine. Just take what you want and leave me already..." Hernandez said as he shook Han's hand.

{Hernandez DeSilva has transferred 90% of his Physical Ability to you permanently.}

Suddenly, Han felt the muscles underneath his clothing bulk up incredibly. He felt like he had the power of a full-grown man in his current body.

'First long-term step completed,' Han thought as he left the shop,

"Oh, and which way is the shop of your friend who sells oils?"

Hernandez pointed him in the direction of his friend called Shell, the oil seller. Han smiled as he left the shop.

*Ting*

The door closed, leaving a wrecked store and a very skinny individual who looked almost deathly. Glancing at the fish that the kid brought him, Hernandez thought about his sales,

"Fuck, My health is more important anyway..."

....

*Ting*

Han walked into the oil shop. Noticing a slightly pale, lanky individual with shaggy hair and green eyes behind the counter, Han recognised him as Shell. With a spring in his step, Han walked over to the counter and asked for the chemicals he needed.

The man raised his eyebrows at Han's order,

"An interesting set of chemicals that you've requested. Especially for your age."'

Han nodded, not entertaining the man's roundabout question. Collecting his chemicals, Han was about to pull out a wad of cash before he paused.

"You know, Hernandez was telling me you're an interesting guy. But I didn't think you'd be this interesting," Han spoke whimsically. This caused a slight smile to rise on Shell's face.

"Well, that guy does owe me for losing a game of blackjack, bringing me customers like this is great," Shell replied with a grin.

"Have you got private quarters...I only wanted to see if you were a smart man, and it seems that you are...to an extent. I have a business... proposal," Han spoke with a serious glint in his eyes. Unlike Hernandez, Shell seemed to not underestimate the child in front of him.

Ushering him towards the back of the store, he pulled out a chair in a break-room area,

"Let's hear it then. No one buys chemicals with such specifics without having a synthesis route already mapped out."

"Before I tell you though, you can't talk about what you hear from me to others, or hurt me. Okay?" Han asked while placing his hand out. Grudgingly, Shell shook his hand.

This caused a surge of energy to move through Han's body as another contract was written up in his mind. Nodding, Han began speaking,

"I've found a drug that's more addictive than Weed, and is still relatively easy to process as well," Han spoke with conviction.

This caused Shell's eyes to widen,

"And you want me in on this... to provide you with the space to make it."

"Not just that...I want you to become a partner. I need another person to make this operation more efficient," Han spoke as he thought about the logistics of how his operation would occur under the nose of the other underworld dealers,

"And since you seem like an educated man, I'm going to need your help as you seem competent."

Shell smiled,

"So out with it, what's the recipe?"

"The base is those Silver Coca Leaves..." Han spoke as he began to narrate the process, "But what you need to make sure, is that our product is pure. The less petrol or cement in it, the better as our customers will experience a better high."

"How are we splitting?" Shell asked.

"80-20, to me," Han spoke before thinking, 'Good old, start high and haggle down to your intended target.'

After a long time back and forth distinguishing each other's capabilities, their contributions to the operation and the risk taken, they came to a conclusion.

"55-45, No Snitching, no selling off your share without consulting me. We keep this operation tight" Han spoke.

"Deal," agreed Shell as he seemed okay taking 45%.

A contract was written up in Han's mind which caused him to smile. The day was then spent organising the space as Shell had agreed to start the business with Han. 

"Shell. Tomorrow at 9 meet me by the river that runs through the forest just off the end of 42nd street in the slums. We have some crops to collect," Han waved as he left the shop, leaving his chemicals on a clean desk in the back of the oil shop.

....

*Swish*

Hacking away at the Coca Leaves, Han and Shell were moving through the forest, filling the sacks at their side as they progressed. 

"We both have two kilos nearly..." Shell voiced his thoughts.

"We're nearly done, maybe another hundred or so metres of harvesting and we can go back to the lab," Han replied as he roughly mapped out their surroundings.

Before long, Shell found himself observing a master at work. 

As Han worked in the laboratory, Shell watched in amazement at the masterful way Han handled the chemicals. With each precise movement, Han expertly mixed, measured, and poured the various substances, never wasting a drop or making a mistake. Shell could tell that Han had years of experience in the field yet, this made him question the identity of the child in front of him. He could tell that Han had honed his craft to a level of expertise that few could match.

Shell was determined to absorb as much knowledge as possible from Han's expert work in the extraction. He watched carefully as Han explained the complex reactions taking place, noting the exact measurements and calculations that went into each step. As Han worked, Shell felt himself growing more and more confident in his ability to assist Han in the process, knowing that he would be able to speed up their efficiency.

Throughout the day, Han continued to work with a focus and determination not seen in many. Han never hesitated or second-guessed his methods, always trusting in his knowledge and expertise to guide him. And as Shell watched, he knew that he was witnessing the work of a true master - one whose skills and knowledge would be invaluable to anyone who wanted to partake in this trade.

The duo looked at the pure, white powdery substance they had synthesised with amazement. The substance was so pure that it sparkled with a silver gleam in the light, and they could see their own reflections on its surface. They marvelled at how perfectly the crystals had formed as if they had been created by some magical force.

"It's like nothing I've ever seen before," Shell said in awe.

Han nodded in agreement, 

"The purity of this substance... It's a testament to our hard work today, and to each other's efforts I would hope as well."

As they continued to examine the substance, Han and Shell knew that they had created something truly special. The purity of the substance was a sign of their skill and expertise, and they felt a sense of pride and accomplishment wash over them. Even Han had never seen something so beautiful in his past life, mainly due to the silver sheen on the crystals.

"It's almost too beautiful to let go of," Han said, a hint of reluctance in his voice.

Shell nodded in agreement, but they both knew that their creation had a purpose. They carefully measured out a small amount of the substance before Han nodded to Shell,

"A dealer never consumes his own produce."

Shell reluctantly agreed. As Han and Shell continued their work, they carefully portioned out the substance and placed them into small sachets, preparing them for use in the wider world. Yes, Han didn't want his product to stay in Flevance... No, no, he wanted it to be exported worldwide.

Han and Shell continued to weigh out the sachets of their creation, confirming the best way to share it with the world. They had already agreed on the general plans of the operation as they knew that their Cocaine had the potential to change society in Flevance.

"But how exactly are you going to get the product to circulate Han?" Shell asked, still in amazement at his little partner's devilish work.

"Shell...What's the best thing that rich people enjoy, other than 

using people?" Han asked with a devious smirk.

Shell shrugged as he thought to himself,

  'I'm a scientist...Not a socialite.'

"Think Shell, think. Of Course, it's food and drink," Han said with a smile, 

"If we start putting it in food as a 'secret' ingredient, it will attract less initial suspicion." 

With a quick nod from Shell, they both knew that Han was right. Food and drink were consumed regularly, especially amongst the wealthy, who loved to eat the finest delicacies. If they used the drug in cooking then they wouldn't immediately notice it, which meant that the only person who would find out about the cocaine being added would be the chef or the owner of the establishment. And even then, most likely not until after several days had passed.

"Do you have any Chef friends?" Han asked before Shell nodded, "I know a few."

Shell began to list the names of some of the chefs he knew, "They'll be able to help us."

Han nodded as he began to think of all of the places where their drug would be sold once they had finished with it, "There are plenty of restaurants around here," Han spoke as he pointed in the direction of a building near the edge of town, just out of reach of the slums, "And if we can get the word out to these places... Well..."

"We're looking at a very profitable business," Shell finished for Han. Before long though, the tiredness in Han's eyes was clear as he voiced it, "But for today, I think that will be all partner, after all, we both have families to attend to."

Shell nodded before giving Han a firm handshake,

"A good grip you got there for a kid..."

Han nodded, 

"I know." 

....

"Mother, I'm Home."

"Yes, dear?" replied the middle-aged woman in front of her son.

"I've got some news..."

She waited patiently while her son told her his news. She had always given her son her patience when he wanted to talk, and while it was nice to hear of his success, it left her wanting to know more about what type of product he was selling.

"Well?"

"My company is doing well Mum is all I can tell you," he spoke with an air of confidence as he sat down with his mother, however, it still seemed to disappoint him that he couldn't tell her more. 

"I know this sounds silly mum, but I'm going to be one of the richest men on this planet if everything works out," His mother just smiled at him, after all, what could a child of that age truly do to impact the world. She thought it was the amazing imagination of children at work here,

"Of course son, just make sure to get those fish to hernandez..."

After a while, Han could tell that his mother was getting tired as her eyes began to flutter slowly, showing she was trying her hardest to keep them open. 

He gave her a soft kiss on her forehead as he tucked her into bed and took her dinner plate away, "Sleep tight mum, I'll go do the washing up now."

She simply smiled as she closed her long-waiting eyes, "What an amazing son I have..."

Han smiled with a melancholy look,  'If only I was a bit more competent... I could have learned Haki or something but unfortunately, due to my circumstances - if I didn't work then I'd not be able to pay for mum's medication. It's all a cycle of depriving my time for training. Even so... I don't think I have any talent for haki anyway...'

After washing all the pots and pans up from their dinner, Han went to sleep - awaiting his business meeting tomorrow.

...

A couple of days later,

You're sure that you want to do this?" Shell asked Han.

The two were sitting in a restaurant in one of the relatively better hotels in Flevance.

"We can make a fortune, Shell. And you don't need to worry about your family, they'll be taken care of," Han reassured his partner, "and my mother can never find out either, otherwise I'd be dead before I can blink." 

Distracting them from their discussion, a man wearing a white hat that extended into the air with a white apron began to approach their table. This prompted both of them to get up and greet the chef. As Shell shook the hand of the cook, he could tell that he was not the usual type of chef, he seemed to be older than Shell and he carried himself with quiet dignity.

After the exchange, the chef turned to Han, "So, did you like the meal little one?"

Han nodded, "It was delicious, Chef..."

Hitting his own head, the chef noted he hadn't introduced his name yet,

"Jin, Chef Jin. but please, just call me by my name," the chef said as he bowed slightly to Shell, "Welcome to our fine establishment, I hear from management that you might be going into business with our kitchen."

Shell nodded in thanks and acknowledgement of his business proposal. The chef looked back to Han, who was standing in front of Shell and also nodded at him. Han simply smiled and allowed Shell to take lead. 

Han smiled as he permitted Shell to take control of the interaction, Shell knew what he was doing as they had discussed possible scenarios popping up and any worries that the chef may have. Shell patted Han's head as he had to keep up the facade of a child,

"Han, you stay here son okay?" 

Han looked at Shell with deadpan eyes before nodding and ordering a bit more food. Chef Jin just smiled at the apparent father-son moment with a longing in his eyes. 

"This way Mr. Hague," Chef Jin ushered Shell to move on with him to more private quarters. The duo walked through a series of halls towards their destination.

As they walked along, Jin continued to speak, "Now, before we begin, let me ask you a question."

Shell nodded, waiting for his cue to answer.

"Why do you want to be in this trade so badly? What drives you?"

Shell paused briefly before answering, "It's in my blood to do business."

As Jin nodded in understanding, he continued his questioning, "Have you ever thought of leaving the field and pursuing a different path?"

Shell nodded as he thought to himself, 'How much does he suspect?'

Shell knew that this was the chance that they had been waiting for as he was the one who would convince Jin that their product was the perfect candidate for this restaurant.

Shell knew that if their product was used by this chef then it would soon spread across the city... And then it would spread worldwide.

As they entered a large dining area, Shell could see that they had prepared their product for a demonstration in cooking. Shell saw the bottles of alcohol lined up and knew that they had already begun experimenting on Han's recommendation that Shell relayed.

"Mr. Hague...Allow me to present you with something new," Jin called out to Shell as he placed the bottle of Cola into Shell's hands, "Our new drink that we plan to roll out across our two restaurants in Flevance. If your product is up to scratch and enhances flavour as well as causing a slight euphoric feeling, as you claim, then we will both be in to make a large amount of money. Now taste it without the ingredient." 

Shell was excited as he held the drink, noticing that it was a dark colour with a thick consistency as well as a strong smell.

He tasted the drink, and as he had suspected the drink was quite fizzy, but he felt nothing from drinking it. After a few moments of tasting the concoction, Shell had come to the conclusion that their ingredient would be a suitable addition to the drink. With a nod of approval, Shell handed the drink back to Chef Jin.

Shell smiled as he pulled out a small sachet of the salt-like powder. He removed some of the ingredient with a small spoon and placed it into a separate bottle before swirling it. Once it was done, he put the bottle to his lips and gave it a quick sip. Then he reached out and offered the liquid to Chef Jin.

"Here you go..." Shell spoke before handing over the small bottle. This was it, the make or break. Depending on this chef's decision made Shell's palms sweat ever so slightly before he calmed down. Everything would go according to plan. The chef took a sip of the drink.

"What is this?"

Before Shell could reply, the chef spoke again,

"It's really good! It adds a good smooth undertaste to the drink once the fizz ends."

With a smile, Chef Jin nodded,

"Like I said, it's very good... But..."

Shell spoke,

"But?"

"We would like to know how much of it you have in stock..."

Shell nodded with a smile, "Of course, We have about twenty five kilograms in stock. And as you saw, only one teaspoon was needed to get a bit of a kick out of it."

The two men shared a knowing look as they smiled at each other, before long, they shook hands as they came to an agreement. 

"Well done," Jin complimented Shell, "This'll make you a rich man, Mr. Hague. We'll be in touch."

"...I know," Shell replied in satisfaction, "I know."

***

Whilst that was going on, in the main dining room, Han was simply eating as he looked around the room for any interesting individuals. There were many of them, but he had little interest in them, they were all just rich people, after all.

Glancing over one last time though, Han noticed one particular face, however, which caught his attention; he recognised a small boy, wearing a northern-style fur hat, which was white and had a spotted pattern along the bottom and the bill. 

Han smirked as some of his plans were finally coming to fruition, 'Trafalgar D. Water Law... You finally appear. Even after all those times visiting the hospital.'

Han didn't need to say anything. He just stood up from his seat and walked past where the boy was sitting as he held a glass of water. He was pretending to aim for the window as he 'wanted to see the view',

*Splash*

The glass slipped from Han's hand and spilt on Law, "Who did that..."

Law looked around the room and the patrons watched him as they tried not to laugh. His eyes fell on the culprit which caused Han to begin apologising profusely, offering to bring him wipes. 

Law looked ready to swing at Han before his dad smacked his arm, 

" Law, calm down, I'm sure our little friend here didn't mean to spill it on you, did you, son?" 

Han nodded, "It's my first time in this place and I just wanted to see the view from the window..." Han spoke shyly. Before long, His parents had cleaned up Law's clothes. A hand appeared on Han's shoulder causing him to turn around, it was Shell. 

"Now Son, what trouble have you gone and got yourself into?" He asked with a smirk on his face.

"Dad! I promise it wasn't on purpose, I just wanted to go and see the view from the window..." Han spoke shyly as he cursed in his head. Shell looked at the event and snorted in his mind, 

'Bullshit, you wanted to see the view? who's this kid that you deemed important enough to cause a fuss here...'

"Okay then, I guess you should just stick with me for now, son, have you apologised?"

"Not yet, but I'm going to once they get back," Han said as he held his 'Fathers' hand.

As soon as the Trafalgar family came back to their seat, they noticed the new man that was with Han, which caused the mother to ask,

"Is that your son?" 

"Yes, this is Dad. And I just wanted to again say, I'm sorry...to Law. My name is Han by the way," Han spoke as he tried to pull Law to one side, allowing the adults to speak among themselves. Looking at the view from the window, Han began to speak wistfully,

"You know, this is the first time I've seen a view from this high up in this life...Everything seems so much smaller in comparison from up here."

Law gave a quizzical look to the new kid he met,

"You've never been to a second floor?"

Han shook his head,

"I used to live in the slums before Dad made a breakthrough, now he said he sells ingredients to the restaurants around here. We live better now." 

Law gave him an interested look, after all, Law only began to struggle when the true symptoms of amber lead syndrome began to flare up. 

Thinking of that, Han asked,

"Do you have any brothers or sisters?" 

Law nodded, 

"Younger sister, but she's been ill recently...Mum and dad won't tell me what it is but. But I want to help."

Han agreed, 

"My mum has been ill for a while, dad takes care of us mainly. I just want to make sure she is comfortable though..."

Law thought for a while as he noticed they both seemed to be in a bad place with family, no matter their individual successes,

"So you want to be a doctor then, like your parents?" 

Law nodded before offering his hand out to Han,

"Would you like to be friends?" 

Han smiled, ' Just what I was waiting for.'

"Of course, still...I feel bad that I spilt that water on you. But either way, I guess I'll see you at the hospital sometime," Han said as he noticed the adults had finished their conversation. Shell seemed to be ushering him to leave now. The kids waved at each other as Han and Shell left the restaurant with smiles on their faces.

"Mission successful?" 

"I guess you could say everything went well, they just want a bit more volume but they're assured of the quality," Shell answered, "By the way, my wife is making dinner tonight and was wondering if my mysterious partner could come along?"

Han smiled before shaking his head, "Maybe some other time Shell, after all, Imagine your wife's face when you bring home a kid that isn't yours..."

Shell's face fell as he made a sombre expression, "Point taken. And noted. I choose life."

"Some other time though, maybe once I'm a bit older," Han lied as he knew that he only had about 2-3 years to escape the island before the extermination. He was beginning to worry about it already as he was only a child still, but he knew that he couldn't do anything about it. He just had to keep himself and his mother alive.

***

"Mum, I'm going to the hospital now, I'll be back later this afternoon with the medication," Han smiled at his mum before looking at the fat stack of money hidden away in the house, 

"Soon...Soon I can get us out of this shithole..." Han said with a determined expression. He was always thinking of ways off of the island, but he could never find the right opportunity to do it. 

He could try and sell the drug and use the money to buy his own boat and sail across the sea but the problem was there were too many boats on the ocean and the marines would eventually catch them. Also, how would his mother take to that sort of life?

If he could have found a way to become a successful pirate then he might have had a chance but pirates were mainly criminals right now and were hunted down easily by the marines. If his devil fruit gave him some offensive capabilities, he might have considered it as well, but it didn't. He had to bide his time and slowly accumulate power, after all, his ceiling is theoretically limitless with his devil fruit.

***

*Bump*

Han seemed to be engrossed in his thoughts on his way out of the hospital and seemed to bump into someone. He still wasn't completely out of the slums, but was far enough to feel safe in the area. A large burly man turned around to see a kid had bumped into him and glared at Han before speaking,

"What the!"

"Sorry..." Han mumbled, not knowing how to react to the situation. He looked at the man, whose muscles bulged from his clothing before he realised it was one of the marines that frequented the restaurant that they provide to. An idea seemed to come to mind as he thought of this man's reputation.

"I'm sorry sir, I'm just a bit lost