OP C01 - Unfavorable starting conditions

He thought his memories simply had a filter over them, but reality in the OnePiece world actually looked like it was drawn for an anime. Sure, it was a little more realistic and, most importantly, 3D, but the art style was uncanny. Adam was truly a sick individual to send him so far from his 'actual' reality. Wait, where the other lives on 'Earth' even all in the same reality?

"Oh shit, a celebrity. Hi Nico Robin. Name's Dave, Link Dave. Heh, always wanted to say it like that," Dave introduced himself with a laugh when he saw the Strawhat Crew's resident historian and archeologist sit on a comfortable couch dressed in a green, hooded mantle.

'At least I know for sure where in the story I am now. Just at the end of the Water 7 arc and in the first few chapters of the Enies Lobby arc,' Dave idly thought as he watched the raven-haired beauty look him up and down.

Robin didn't answer but looked at the emancipated man covered in bruises and sunken cheeks with pity. The abuse Dave had suffered was literally etched into his face.

"Do I look as terrible as I feel? I get the feeling I do based on the fact that even a pirate on her way to Enies Lobby looks at me with pity," Dave asked in a joking tone.

Robin shook her head and humored him by answering, "I bet you look charming enough after a shower and something to eat. Maybe a week without a fist sandwhich will do you good?"

"*Cough* heh-heh. Haaa, haven't laughed in a while. Those CP9 assholes were terrible company."

A silence hung in the air as the train quietly passed through the waters. It was broken when Robin decided to do a little more conversation because Dave seemed pleasant enough.

"What egregious crime have you committed to be treated like that?"

"Oh? Want to hear a fun story before we never see the light of day again?"

Robin simply nodded with another pitying smile, as small as it was, so Dave continued, "I ate a devil fruit the World Government is apparently interested in. Or maybe that Spandam shit lord just decided to go rogue as is permitted for a man for his position. They just guessed I had awakened it and tortured me long enough in their Water 7 hideout until I showed that I did indeed. I'm half a mind to join the Revolutionary Army just to wipe out Cipher Pol if it's the last thing I do should I ever escape."

He knew Robin likely wouldn't tell anyone, possibly not even her crew, but the cuffed, bloodied reincarnee still didn't tell her what he could do. He wasn't yet strong enough by a long shot to just publicly announce his powers. And Robin understood, so she didn't inquire.

"I overheard them saying something about teaching me Life Return to exploit my powers better, so maybe I can feign strength and flee eventually. Who knows," Dave mumbled loud enough for Robin to hear. She simply shook her head. Hope was something she didn't believe in these days. Why else would she give herself up so that her crew wouldn't get caught in the cross-fire that was her cursed life?

Suddenly, a wave hit the train and shook up the wagon they were on hard enough for Dave to tip over and roughly fall on his side.

"FUCK! Fuck this hurts! At least send Kalifa to step on me if you want it to hurt!"

Dave cursed without thinking, but he froze shortly. 'I hope that bastard Adam let's me fully scrub the memories from that accursed fourth life! Ugh, I should find a way to do it myself... or can I use this somehow? Turning pain into something else sounds like a sweet de- NO! No boners, no moaning on the battlefield for me!'

"Fufufu. What a colorful image~"

"Tell me! Why am I cuffed in two places and thrown on the ground like a sack of dirt while you're comfortably sitting on that fluffy bench?"

Dave groaned loudly as he sat up once more and added, "Ugh, sorry. Not like it was you who decided my face wasn't agreeable... I hope."

Robin's gloomy frown eased a little and she laid her head in her hand. A few minutes of silence, something changed Dave looked outside to see the storm running rampant outside.

"That masked guy a friend of yours?"

Robin furrowed her brows. "Huh?"

"The window," Dave said as he nodded toward it behind Robin. She reluctantly opened the window and began a heated discussion.

Dave stayed quiet as 'Sogeking' talked about how Sanji and Franky were currently fighting their way over to free her and how the Strawhats would never abandon a friend and everything. Even when that CP9 agent came in and Usopp hid in Robin's robe to do those ridiculous hand movements he did not speak up.

"Why are you glaring at me like that, criminal?"

"Oh eat my ass, Corgi. If I ever get strong enough you and your men are all dead," Dave spat. The agent came over and stepped on his head, pressing it against the wall.

"How would you want to escape?"

"Obviously Spandam that idiot will somehow fuck up and get half of you killed by his incompetency alone. For the head of CP9, a hidden Cipher Pol faction, you miscreants really got saddled with the worst leader possible. Why would he ever even tell me the name of 'the most hidden CP team' along with all their members? Over a den-den-mushi call no less. That idiot is among the biggest morons I know and I know a guy who had his head bashed in by a broken mast during a storm. Dude can't piss straight."

Corgi grew solemn but increased the strength in his leg anyway, just to see Dave squirm a little more. With another kick to his ribs, the agent left the first wagon of the sea train to get back to the other agents, mumbling curses under his breath.

'Shit, zoan for my second fruit all the way for that increased vitality and regeneration speed. Only logia I know of at this time is Ace's fruit during the Dressrosa arc anyway, but fuck letting him die so that the WG can suck their own dicks about it,' Dave thought in agony as his already painful state was worsened. 'At this point I would even take Nezumi's mouse-mouse fruit.'

"Was it really necessary to antagonize him? And why give such crucial information away for free?"

"Hmph, I doubt they'll give me many chances to flee if I don't rile them up. And what better way to do that other than sowing the seeds of discord."

After a short moment of silence Usopp got out from under Robin's robe. A truly enviable happenstance for the man that Dave ignoried in favor of asking him the million belli question, "Hey, Sogeking. You don't happen to bring any lockpicks with you and regular cuffs that look roughly the same so that I don't get continuously weakened by the seastone cuffs?"

"Why would I help you, a dangerous criminal?"

Dave leveled a deadpan at the Strawhat's sniper and said, "Say that again."

Despite the mask and heavy bandaging, Dave could see that Usopp started sweating heavily.

"If you can, please help him, Sogeking," Robin suggested with a strained, barely perceptible smile.

"Ugh, okay! Now then," Usopp agreed and walked over, fussing over the cuffs, "Only your hands are tied with seastone, I think, which is good. I only have one regular pair of cuffs with me."

After Usopp exchanged the seastone cuffs, which took almost ten minutes because of the intricate lock, a loud crash followed by a second crash was heard from the door.

"Sanji, Franky. They must have reached the next cabin," Usopp said as he looked at the door.

"Go on. I won't stop you from fighting with and for your friends," Dave offered as he slumped back on the soft couch Usopp had helped him lay down on.

Dave didn't see much, couldn't hear a lot, but he guessed it went exactly as in the manga. Sanji and Franky were determined to get Robin away by unlinking the third wagon but Blueno with his completely overpowered Doa Doa fruit got her back easily. The CP9 with the weasel face was taken out by Lucci and Robin and Franky were placed into cabin with him, this time in chains despite Robin following Blueno obediently.

Franky and Robin talked about morality, how Franky would do everything he can to get her back to her crew and about ancient weapons. He ended a short monologue with the powerful words, "It's never a crime just to exist!!"

Dave got goosebumps hearing that and vividly envisioned the flashback where Tom the fishman, Franky's shipwright mentor told Franky how a ship can never be good or evil.

He wanted to chime in at times, but his body was lacking energy and his mind started to get heavy. He drifted in and out of consciousness where he thought he saw Franky bite into the head of a marine when they arrived at Enies Lobby and how they were brought the long way around to Spandam's office all the way through the Court House and then finally to the Judicial Tower.

There, Dave was forcefed some gruel so he wouldn't die and chained to the same wall Robin and Franky were kept at.

Hours later, as the CP9 agents held Robin and Franky on the balcony to threaten Luffy and his crew, after the two failed to escape with Franky's fart rocket technique Coup de Boo, Dave digested most of the food he was given and regained full consciousness.

'Well, I can open the cuffs since Usopp rigged them which is good. Was worried they change them while I'm out. Only way I can truly get revenge and flee with Luffy is conqueror's haki. Anything less won't help against Lucci. Now, how to awaken that haki... A powerful will, directed by a goal you must attain at all costs. Freedom, protecting your friends, being the strongest. What do I have? Revenge on CP9 isn't enough, too narrow for sure, and while I want freedom, what I want even more is... well, what?'

Robin had just shouted that she just wants to die while Luffy responded that she should say that again when she was free to choose as part of his crew and Dave loathed the fact that he couldn't see this iconic moment with his own eyes.

"It isn't quite freedom that I crave. It's beating those who torture and bully the weak. Those are the OnePiece characters I always hated most. Yeah, after having 22 years of misery pressed in my skull because a world noble killed my mom and then CP9 beating me senseless and Adam disregarding my will as weak as it is all this time... Let's go with that," Dave mumbled as he unlocked the cuffs, picked up a handful of wooden splinters as long as his fingers from the floor and walked to the balcony as quietly as he could.

After walking through a hole in wall he stepped on glass and created a sound loud enough that most people heard.

Spandam pointed at him and shouted, "You! Where are your cuffs, criminal? Put him back in his place, Kumadori!"

Seeing the giant man with super long hair starting to walk to him as most agents simply ignored him on account of him being beaten black and blue, Dave felt something click in his mind. His anger at these agents was overwhelming.

His strong soul, a will to live and rise above gathered in six lives and the need, no, sheer greed for strength so that Adam couldn't toy with him anymore erupted inside him. With a vengeful expression on his face, a powerful aura washed over everyone present and most people in the Court House where Luffy and his crew were and the Judicial Tower where Dave and the rest was, fell unconscious. The Cipher Pol agents on the balcony who felt the full brunt of this power were forced on their knees, completely immobile.

Spandam, the weakest among them, did fall unconscious and, unknown to everyone for the moment, fell on the golden snail that could call a buster call and activated it. Dave walked forward to Kumadori whose eyes turned fearful and he pressed one splinter into the man's chest. With his devil fruit power, he made the splinter grow to impale the man's heart and the agent fell over, dead.

"He deserved the easy way out. But you three, I'll make sure it hurts," Dave spat with venom in his gaze.

First was Lucci, Dave pressed splinters into his shoulders and hip. With his knowledge on material sciences, engineering and anatomy, he made these splinters grow along the man's bones in a way that would be close to impossible to get rid of and with thorns all over that wouldn't be crushed if the man used Tekkai just once. He did the same to Kaku and walked over to Kalifa who had trouble keeping her eyes open.

"T-this is sexual harrasment," the pretty agent mumbled under her breath.

"If you're trying to act cute so I'll be lenient, don't bother. You pulled my fucking nails out of my hands and ruptured my kidney with repeated kicks," Dave muttered and punched her in the guts to impale her with a splinter.

After getting rid of the other agents by kicking them off the balcony, Dave reached Spandam. He noticed the activated buster call snail and thought about his options. After riffling through Spandam's pockets, he found a den-den mushi with a direct line to marine HQ and decided to fuck with the World Government a little.

The call quickly connected and Dave began his story, "This is CP0 agent Maha. My following words do not leave the room under any circumstances. Only inform the Fleet Admiral. Under Guernica-sama's order I went to investigate CP9 leader Spandam on accounts of treason. As expected of our intel, it turned out to be true. CP9 was on a five year long mission in Water 7 to retrieve the blueprints of the Ancient Weapon Pluton without orders and without reporting it. The blueprints have been destroyed before Spandam could flee with them. I have reason to believe his father Spandine was the mastermind. Place a bounty on his head and his two trusted subordinates, especially CP agent Laskey, the current owner of a certain forbidden book from Ohara."

Kalifa who was already pale and gritting her teeth in pain started to shiver at the mention of her father. The next words of Dave only increased her fears.

"It has come to my attention that Spandine and his two trusted subordinates have secretly liberated a dictionary from Ohara when they were there during the island's destruction and they planned to use a captured Nico Robin to further along their own studies of the forbidden Poneglyph knowledge under the noses of the World Government. Proceed with the buster call on Enies Lobby so that we can ensure this knowledge doesn't leave the island. There will be one ship and one sea train leaving the premise with my CP0 subordinates in 10 minutes. Don't follow or intercept. And tell Monkey D. Garp that CP9 tried to kill his grandson in a trap. I owed him a favor which is now paid."

The living Cipher Pol agents looked at Dave in horror, even Lucci turned fearful at this point. Dave knew enough to sell the lie in the short term and he had just destroyed their careers, likely permanently. If they would even get off the island alive.

The conqueror's haki had by now worn off and they could try to stand up and flee, but they were under the illusion that they messed up big time. He turned to Lucci and decided the man would still be too powerful if he wanted to fight.

"I hope you didn't think I'd be so easily defeated, right?" Dave started bluffing once more and walked over to the three living cipher pol agents to bind them in thorny, wooden cuffs that grew out of the walls and floor with the help of all the wooden splinters in the area.

"You truly are terrible agents," Dave lied to lower their morale even more and turned to Luffy's future shipwright. "Hey Franky. I'm about to pass out so please bring my body and ask that Sanji guy to feed me. Make sure your buddies and the Strawhats leave the island as fast as possible. It's about to be wiped out by a buster call."

"Huh, why would you pass out?" The confused cyborg asked with a cautious pose.

"I'm not with Cipher Pol, I just know a lot and found this unique opportunity to mess with as many agents as possible. If you have a minute, look around for some books in Spandam's office. Especially on the marine six styles and medicine books for your tanuki crew mate. They did promise me a book on Life Return after all. Also, I'm happy your friends came through for you. They are a true family," Dave whispered into Robin's ear as he reached the edge of the balcony.

Using the last of his stamina, Dave grew a makeshift wooden bridge that looked more like a slide so that they could get down from the elevated balcony down to the roof of the Court House where Luffy and his crew was waiting.

It didn't quite reach the other building before he fell over but it was sturdy and engineered well enough that they could easily jump over without the 'wooden bridge' collapsing. The last thing Dave saw was Luffy cheering at the amazing display and the cool slide he created.

In his strangely lucid dreams that followed his unconsciousness, Dave thought about what it would mean for the Strawhat pirates that they didn't have to fight CP9 in Enies Lobby, leaving most of them out of a very much needed opportunity to overcome their own weaknesses or develop new moves. Only Luffy who managed to copy Shave and use Gear Second for the first time while beating the shit out of Blueno the door guy really had the opportunity.

"I'll likely stick around for a while so I can make it up to them by using my awakened devil fruit. Sanji and Chopper should be able to fill up my strength quite easily after I dish it out. After Enies Lobby it's around a week on Water 7 where Franky finishes the Thousand Sunny and a visit from Garp, Koby and Helmeppo. Never understood why Koby of all characters was fine with serving with someone like Helmeppo, even if he supposedly changed from the time he terrorized Shells Town like he did as Captain Axe-Hand Morgan's son."

Dave looked up into the clouds of this dreamscape and continued, "Ace is about to be caught by Blackbeard and after that it's time for Thriller Bark followed by Sabaody, Impel Down, and the Summit War. There's no way I'll follow Luffy to Impel Down, even if he lands in Amazon Lily first. No way I'm immune to Hancock's charm. Would I even get sent away by Kuma in the first place?"

Dave thought about everything and nothing for a while before his future plans for this life continued, "Where'd I want him to send me? Even if I'm serious about joining the Revolutionary Army to fuck with Cipher Pol and Slavers, there's no way he'll just send me to Dragon. I mean he'd have nothing to fear since their leader could easily wipe the floor with me, but that's still not their style... North Blue to join Germa66? My engineering and medical knowledge are out of this world, literally. I could probably get that lunatic Vinsmoke Judge to hire me somehow. Yet unless Sanji's sister falls in love with me at first sight, nothing stops him from enslaving me instantly. Their power is no joke. And Reiju falling in love with me at first sight is definitely not happening."

"I won't delude myself into thinking I can learn Fish-Man Karate or any other 'species' martial art like that thing from the minks, but I could learn one martial art that is simply way too overpowered in its essence. Chinjao Family or Happo Navy Hasshoken, or 'Eight Impacts Fist'. Even if I wanted that special martial art from Lao G in Dressrosa, there's no way he would teach me and no way I'm strong enough to go there anytime soon without dying. Though I might trick him into teaching me if I pose as a Happo Navy traitor if I were to visit Dressrosa before the tournament. Ugh, what a big if."

Dave sighed, "I'd just have to get lucky enough to land in Kano Country, West Blue, at a time when Chinjao isn't present and somehow find a book or a gullible idiot to actually teach me Hasshoken. I could trade a grow-grow fruit power up for it with that Sai dude in exchange for the martial art or maybe just the needed principles behind the 'fake' Whitebeard devil fruit effect. I hope it isn't something as stupid as Shave and you just have to punch the air 10 times in an instant..."

A few hours later, Dave was just pacing around in the silent dream.

"ARGH! I hope my lucid dreams at least have some women next time! Just talking to myself is so boring!!! When am I waking up!?"

The next few hours where Dave couldn't quite place if it's been a few hours or more than a day, the man who was recently tossed into his sixth life thought about the feeling of both observation and conqueror's haki. Somehow, trying to use these two powers in his dream exhausted him enough for him to fall alseep in his dream - not that he knew about that. At least he gained a little bit of control over both forms of haki.

In his four day long sleep, Dave missed the visit of both Admiral Aokiji and Vice-Admiral Garp and since he simply looked like a random guy on the verge of death that the Strawhats nurtured back to health to both high ranking marines' observation haki, they left without inquiring about him.

Sanji cooked nurturing soups for him that either Chopper or Robin fed him while he slept and Chopper also nursed him back to proper health. The long sleep was mostly just him and his mind and body recuperating from the reincarnation process and the torture CP9 made him go through.

"Oh? You're awake?"

Dave hadn't even opened his eyes, but apparently his breathing changed enough for Robin to pick up that he was awake.

"Robin. So lovely to hear your voice. By the fact that you're alive and I'm in a comfortable bed I take it we managed to get away from the buster call and you managed to face and overcome some of your demons, ultimately getting back with your precious friends?"

"Fufu, you're right. Though you seem to know even more than you let on..."

"Thanks to you and your crew for not tossing me down that waterfall, into the ocean or back to the marines then. And of course thanks to your crew's doctor. I feel... reborn."

"You made Franky promise, after all. And you took care of all of them on your own in the end. Though Zoro and the captain were a bit sad they didn't get to fight to their hearts content."

"Mhm, glad I got rid of most of my grievances though."

"Fufu, two of them survived from what I could see. That Kalifa lady is even on the island. Currently she is in Iceburg-san's care. I don't know why he wanted to help her after what CP9 tried to do. Chopper-san is quite angry with what you did to her, though."

"Hmph, no offense to the doctor but she deserves it. And I'm glad they survived, that's what I wanted after all. There's no way those splinters I grew into their flesh don't hurt like hell. Unless they find the Ope-Ope fruit user to do them a favor, I don't think they'll get rid of those growths in the next few months, might even take a year or two."

"Oh my. How sadistic of you," Robin admonished with an amused smile.

Dave had finally opened his eyes and looked to the woman sitting at his bed side.

"How many books have you managed to snatch? Anything from those I recommended?"

"Mhm, Luffy and Sanji are currently repeatedly smashing their faces into the ground trying to learn Moonwalk. They can gain the altitude in one step but they immediately fall headfirst to the ground on the second step. Zoro is trying to work Shave from the six styles into his repertoire and sadly that's it. I think Sanji was extra sad that he won't learn Tempest Kick in the short term, but Chopper is reading an abridged version of Life Return. It mostly describes absorption and digestion, I think that was what you were interested in. They might have prepared that book for you."

Dave narrowed his eyes at Robin before saying, "Be honest. That was the most you talked uninterrupted and in one sitting since forever."

Robin covered her mouth before doing her signature laugh.

"Your laugh before in the sea train was really forced. This one is much better."

"Oh? Are you trying to flirt with me, agent-san?"

Dave just grinned and let his head fall back on the pillow, "I have a new goal, now that I'm free. Before I was content with just helping out the few islands around where I lived with growing plenty of food so that no kid ever needed to go hungry. But now I'll work on uprooting the entire Cipher Pol organisation for what they did to my mom and me."

"You certainly seem to know enough about them to make that happen~"

Dave shook his head, still resting his eyes, "No need to fish for information, Robin. I'll gladly tell you everything I know about Cipher Pol and the World Government. I'll even throw in the location of two more Poneglyph, just as a middle finger to the WG. Just as long as you don't ask me where I got all of that information from, I'll even share with you a piece of knowledge you want to hear more than anything in the world. It's about a good friend who stood by you when nobody else did."

Robin opened her mouth, but with another wry smile shook her head. Clearly this wasn't the time to talk about it.

"Robin-chwaaan, I made two more bowls of soup~! One is made with extra love, just for you!"

Sanji entered the room with Chopper and Usopp in tow and they all looked at Dave who was slowly sitting up with astonished gazes.

Chopper, realising what this means but not quite, began to run in circles as he shouted, "The patient woke up! Quick someone get a doctor!"

Dave gained a big grin at one of the iconic scenes of Chopper forgetting that he was a doctor and his grin only grew as Usopp ran out of the room to find a doctor or maybe just to hide from the scary guy who took out all the cipher pol agents on his own.

"Chopper-san. I think you're the doctor who nursed me back to health, no? I could ask for no one better so if you would please do whatever tests you need, go ahead. And Sanji-san, thank you very much for the food. It already smells amazing."

"Hmph, you saved Robin-chan! This is the least I can do," Sanji answered as he switched from his love-struck persona to his cool, smoking chef persona. He continued, "Who are you then? Other than your name, she couldn't tell us much."

"Hmm, my mom was the best tailor of Sabaody Archipelago, so I'll go out on a limb and say the best tailor of the world. We lived on an island a week of sailing away from it called Cottonspring Island and sold her clothes and sails through a friend so that she wouldn't run into those animals as much as possible, but it wasn't enough... She was doing her best to teach me everything she knew about tailoring when a world noble saw how pretty she was and decided she would become his slave-wife. When she refused to smile for him and even slapped him, a Rear Admiral of the marines shot her dead and Cipher Pol collected her corpse for whatever those animals do with corpses."

Sanji didn't expect Dave to share as much with him and especially not that the topic would be so dark, so he swallowed and looked at Dave solemnly.

The man continued, "After that I kept my head low and used my devil fruit powers to feed everyone on my and neighboring islands. Especially the orphans in the orphanage I grew up in. I managed to grow trees from that rare Treasure Tree Adam genus and sold three logs just big enough to build three normal sized ships with. Before I could cash in the third log at Water 7 my bodyguard turned out to be that CP9 agent Rob Lucci and after capturing me, they tortured me to find out the limits of my devil fruit. That's where I met Robin when they finally decided to bring me to Spandam on Enies Lobby."

Sanji gingerly walked forward and handed him his soup, "You're more open than I thought you would be."

Dave greedily drank the soup without the spoon Sanji handed him and only tilted the bowl down after drinking more than half. He completely ignored the annoyed look of the cook and praised, "Amazing. This might be the best tomato soup I've ever had the pleasure to eat. Any chance I can get something solid after Chopper is done? I'll pay in tips on how to pick up chicks."

Sanji looked intrigued for only a small moment before he feigned being annoyed and left with 'tch' sound. Chopper began to unwrap most of his bandages to check the status of his wounds, listened to his heart and did other doctor's check up things to Dave who complied with a warm smile to all of Chopper's demands. Chopper was a truly pleasant being.

Robin stayed behind and watched unblinkingly even as Dave was undressed, not that he cared. He mused it was to keep Chopper safe, so he didn't mind. And while he might have seen his body in memories, he hadn't even seen it 'live' - so what would he get embarrassed about?

"Thank you very much, doctor. I feel much better being in the hands of someone so capable. Now Robin. I'm not shy, so you may join me in the bath, too, if you would like to keep looking at me?"

"Fufu, maybe another time," she replied with a wink as she opened the door to the bath and walked away to leave the room through the door on the other side of the room together with Chopper.