#6

Chapter 6: The Mission

'What' - Thoughts

"What" - Speaking

[ ] - Scene/POV Change

{ } - Techniques

[Somewhere In The East Blue - Year 1495]

It had been four years since Jeremiah started forming his crew, and in that time, they had all been training hard and bonding with one another, and all had tight bonds at this point.

Jeremiah was especially busy.

He had been extremely busy trying to find a few different devil fruits he felt would be perfect for some of his crew, which was made easier due to his devil fruit encyclopedia, along with training rigorously. His body and abilities/powers had continued to evolve due to the nanobots inside his body.

Speaking of the nanobots, he had also injected some into his friends, with their permission, of course, and was very curious about how they would all develop.

He had gotten more used to the feeling of his body becoming one with the wind, even though it still wasn't what he would describe as "pleasant". It was great for travel and stealth, though.

He had perfected a good number of his wind techniques though, and was satisfied with the level it was at. For now, of course.

His telekinesis was growing at an impressive rate, which he figured a large part of that was due to his limitless mind and body. He barely had to lift a finger to lift something three times his size.

He had increased his workout regimen to 5500 reps for each, and 50 laps around the large training room on his ship. His strength and speed were still not at the level of Saitama, or even Superman yet . This wasn't an anime/manga after all. If he had to wager, he'd say he was probably closer to Sakamaki Izayoi's level in terms of physical abilities (from the anime, not the light novels).

He had also begun to use his shapeshifting power more, and he really had fun with this power. There were times where he would make himself into a fly, and buzz around Naruto and Asta's heads for hours, or turn into a bird and peck at their heads to get a rise out of them. Their reactions were always great, and the best part was that they still didn't know it was Jeremiah.

They thought animals and bugs hated them for some reason.

He also trained in more styles of martial arts, and had about seven styles nearly mastered at this point, while he was fluent in a multitude of others.

He had also helped his crew with their training, though he helped Ryoko the most since she was the weakest, at least originally. Now she was...

Well, she wasn't weak. That was certain.

Jeremiah was proud of the progress they had all made so far. Naruto had assisted him in training some of the others, and they all were on track to eventually become perhaps the strongest crew in the world.

They hadn't only been training with each other either, though. Jeremiah had made sure that they all, including himself, got battle experience over the years. They had fought pirates, marines, slave traders, etc. They did lose a few times, but they always came back stronger. Though Jeremiah made sure they always did it away from any other ships, islands, or anything else, and also used disguises, since he had a specific time and place that he wanted his crew revealed to the world government.

"Captain!" Came Diane's cheery voice.

Diane was wearing a black one piece that stopped at her thighs, with short, slightly puffy sleeves, and a black brace on her left forearm. She had on black, shin length boots, and her hair was tied in twin tails. She also had a brown hammer on her back.

The ship was more than big enough to support Diane's Giant size, even though she wasn't fully grown yet. Though she often preferred to be human size, so that she could be closer to crew, especially Jeremiah, and it was more convenient for a lot of things.

Looking up, he gave her a smile and replied, "Hey. How's my favorite giant?" He asked as he used his wind power to hover in front of her face.

Jeremiah was wearing a combat suit he created that looked like Kaneki's, but with a few differences. The white lines were red instead, and the top had a hood connected to it. He also had on black combat gloves, black steel toed combat boots, and had a black shield replacing his gold one. It was currently deactivated, making it appear as a black, metal brace.

He, as always, was wearing his two necklaces, and had his glasses off, which he only really wore these days when reading .

Diane blushed lightly while pouting. "Aren't I the only giant you know?"

"Of course. Still, you'd always be my favorite regardless. You're too adorable to not be." He said as he rubbed the top of her head. She may not have been able to feel it as much as she would have if she was in her 'human' form, but the affection in the gesture was all there, and she blushed in a way that Jeremiah enjoyed a lot. She really was adorable.

"You always tease me..." Diane mumbled.

"Do you dislike it?" Jeremiah asked with a raised eyebrow while flying closer to her face, and giving a small, sly smile .

"..." Diane just looked away while still blushing.

Chuckling, Jeremiah decided to spare her anymore teasing, lest she end up with steam shooting out of her ears.

"Where's the little vampire? When she's not clinging to me she's usually with you or Asta." Jeremiah asked. The girl, as innocent as she was, was a ball of energy once something caught her interest. Being the youngest on the ship, she and Asta were good friends, while Diane was like a big sister to her. Everyone else was like an older sibling to her really, its just that she was closest to Diane and Asta (not counting Jeremiah).

"She was sleeping in your room like usual last time I checked." Diane replied.

"Good... That's good. Hopefully she'll stay asleep for a while, given what we're about to do. While she isn't weak, I don't know if she's ready for something like this yet." Jeremiah said as he turned his head to the sky.

Diane's face turned serious as she replied "You're right. I'm sure she'll be ready within a few years, though. Especially since its you, of all people, that's training her."

"Let's hope. Anyway, it's time. Tell Naruto I'd like to talk to him, and I need you and the rest of the crew get ready." Jeremiah said as he slowly descended to the deck of the ship.

"Got it." She replied, taking a pill to make herself smaller, and went to go do what Jeremiah requested.

Not even a minute later, Naruto was on the deck with Jeremiah, fully dressed for the mission.

"Yo! So, it's time, huh?" Naruto asked as he stood near Jeremiah.

"Yeah. I'll be counting on you, as always." Was all Jeremiah said, as he stuck out his fist to Naruto. He knew he didn't need to say more.

Grinning, Naruto bumped fists with him and replied "Heh, Of course. I do wonder, though... Why would they put something this important to them in the weakest sea in the world?" Naruto asked with confusion. It just didn't seem to make much sense.

"Who knows? Maybe they figured since powerful anti-government people weren't as likely to come to this sea, that it would be easier to complete it here. In the end, your guess is as good as mine. All that matters is that it will be gone after today." Jeremiah said with a fierce look in his eyes.

"Couldn't agree more, Captain!" Jeremiah and Naruto turned around to see the rest of the crew smiling at them, with each of them wearing all black.

"Looks like that's everybody... Alright then, listen up everyone. Today is an important day. It's the day we finally step into the spotlight, and pretty much declare war against the world. We've trained a lot, and have all had huge boosts in power these last four years. I really did hit the jackpot when I chose you all." Jeremiah praised as he looked around at each of them with a proud smile, and they all smiled with pride .

"You're my family. Which is why I'll trust you guys to watch my, and each other's, backs today and for the rest of our journey. Always." Jeremiah continued as he walked up to each of them, and looked each one in the eyes.

"I'll say this ahead of time. This shouldn't be too difficult, given all of our individual skill sets, but stay sharp regardless. I've sensed around the place ahead of time, and there are a few strong people here, so be careful. I'll leave it up to you if you want to kill your enemy or not, but keep in mind that the majority of them would not show you that same mercy." Jeremiah said, and saw as their faces all turned serious .

They had all killed before. None of them enjoyed it, but they weren't gonna give crazy or powerful enemies the chance to come after them again for revenge. They would not let the people they care for be hurt because they were unable to finish their enemy.

"Lastly, even though I know you all don't need the reminder, do not fight if you don't have to. Prioritize the main objective. If you can quietly take out the guards, then go for it, but don't start an all out fight unless you see no other way to get around them." Jeremiah finished as he walked up and patted each of their shoulders.

"We won't let you down, Cap'n ." Bisca said with a smile, while rubbing her thumb and index finger along the brim of her black cowgirl hat.

"Of course we won't. Even Shrimpsta can be stealthy if he tries hard enough." Souma said with a small smirk, while mentally counting down.

"That's right... Hm? Hey! I said don't call me that!" Asta exclaimed as he pointed at Souma.

"Hm? Did you say something? Its hard to hear you from all the way down there." Souma said, as he put a hand near his ear for emphasis.

"Yooou! Just watch when I hit my growth spurt! I'll be as tall as you! No, I'll be even taller!" Asta said, though the bloodshot eyes and waterfall tears going down his face weren't exactly helping his case.

"You three! Don't look at me with those eyes!" Asta exclaimed hysterically, as Ryoko, Diane, and Bisca looked at him with pitiful eyes, while covering their mouths with one of their hands.

"Poor guy. Anyway, you all know what to do. Masks on." Jeremiah said, and Asta and Souma quickly stopped what they were doing, and got serious once again .

Naruto had a black fox mask(Menma's mask, but black), Asta had a black mask with a straight line for a mouth, and a purple lightning bolt over the right eye hole (Hei from Darker Than Black), Diane had a black mask that had a kanji for earth on the forehead, Bisca had a mask that was black and looked robotic (think Deadshot's mask), Souma had a black mask with black fur around it that looked like a lion, and Ryoko had a black mask with purple fangs on it.

Jeremiah had the same mask he created years ago. He created all of his crew's masks as well.

Once Jeremiah pulled on his hood and mask, he gave the command.

"Go." And with that, they all blurred out of sight.

[ With Naruto ]

'Hmm, let's see... From what I can tell, most of these guys are close to captain level. No sweat.' Making a few signs with one of his hands, Naruto made his steps lighter, and started sneaking through the building he was in.

Seeing two people about to come near where he was, he quickly jumped and turned his body in midair to attach himself to the ceiling with chakra .

He really loved his powers. They were ridiculously versatile.

Watching the two pass by under him, he silently dropped down, took out a blowpipe from a small holster on his waist, and shot them both with non-lethal poison darts. He quickly caught them before they could hit the ground, tied them up with rope, and put them in a mostly empty room.

'All good so far.'

Exiting the room and continuing his search for a few minutes, he heard yelling, and decided to head towards it. As he got closer, he started to hear the words more clearly.

"Useless pieces of shit! Get back to work!" That yell was followed by the cracking of a whip and pained screams.

"P... *pant* Please j- just a few minutes. That's a- all we ask. We've worked a- all day, with no breaks." Whimpered a pitiful voice.

The first voice came back with extreme anger and arrogance "You! You actually dare to speak back to the World Government?! When you're commanded to do something by us, YOU DO IT! NO QUESTIONS!" He then brought up his whip, preparing show this slave his place.

Only for a hand to grab the whip as soon as he cocked it back, and wrapped it around the guard's neck, before proceeding to choke him.

"I'm not usually this brutal, but trash like you doesn't deserve much mercy. Burn in Hell." A cold voice whispered in his ear, before his neck was snapped.

Dropping the body and whip, Naruto turned to the prisoners, and saw that they were happy, yet fearful at the same time. He raised his hands to show he meant them no harm.

He could sense that there were more guards and prisoners in the upper and lower levels of the building he was in, but he needed to help the people in front of him first.

"I'm sorry you all had to see that. I'm here with my captain and the rest of our crew . We're gonna help get you guys out of here." He said with sincerity and they all started shedding tears of happiness.

"I need you all to stay quiet and follow me. Once we've finished our work on this island, we'll get you all to a safe place. I know you've all been hurt in some way. I'm so sorry that you all had to have an experience like this, but we will make sure you're all free after tonight." Naruto said, and a female slave(now formerly) walked up and hugged him as tightly as she could while sobbing.

"Thank you. Thank you so much." She said while crying and sniffling.

Naruto patted her back as he replied, "Don't worry. This'll all be over soon."

[ With Diane ]

Diane was traveling through the ground, while occasionally popping up to drag guards down in to the ground. She really wished she could just create a huge earthquake, but she knew that would only end badly, since the prisoners would be caught in it as well.

Plus, her captain had asked her to try to be stealthy, and she didn't want to let him down.

[ With Asta ]

Asta was blurring in and out of sight as he knocked out guards, then grabbed prisoners, and quickly took them to the ship. He had trained incredibly hard these past few years, and his physical prowess, which had already been very good, was now right below Naruto in his base form, though Naruto was more powerful overall, of course.

Stealth wasn't his specialty, but Jeremiah and Naruto had both helped him with it for occasions like this.

And he would be sure to use all he learned to complete his objective.

[ With Ryoko ]

Ryoko was disgusted with what she'd seen in this place. She had experienced and seen a number of different things over the years since joining her captain on this adventure, including slave selling/trading, but seeing it before doesn't mean someone would be numb to such cruelty.

She was very thankful that Jeremiah hadn't held back (much) when training her. Admittedly, she may have been a little traumatized from said training, but she was happy that he actually took the time to help her with different things.

It allowed her to be skilled enough to rid the world of people like the guards here. Sure, she was a doctor first and foremost, but she would not allow herself to fall behind the rest of the crew.

She would never be powerless again. For her own sake, as well as her friends/family. Especially her captain.

She did love him, after all.

[ With Bisca ]

The sniper was currently laying on top of a very large building at one end of the island they were on, while looking through the scope of an advanced sniper rifle that had a built in silencer, courtesy of Jeremiah.

The rifle was a real piece of work, and it had multiple useful features. It was one of her most powerful guns. She didn't know how her captain got so good at inventing so many different things, but she definitely appreciated his skills and creativity.

She had, so far, sniped about ten guards in different locations that had been hassling the prisoners.

She really needed to get laid once they were done with this.

Somewhere on the island, Naruto suddenly grew a massive grin under his mask, and started walking with a confident "swagger", making the former prisoners look at him in confusion.

[ With Souma ]

Souma had just finished knocking out a guard with a chop to the neck. He was sorely tempted to just cook these bastards, but he couldn't let Asta think that he was more stealthy than him.

He would never be able to live that down.

Then again, he figured, that shrimp may have an easier time being unseen, given how small he is.

He could sense that there were a few decently strong guards on this island, as Jeremiah had said, but so far he had only been coming across fodder.

He had developed his own fighting style, with a bit of help, that worked nicely with his abilities.

Since joining the crew, he hasn't regretted it once. Before he had left his home island, he had thought that his dad was easily the best cook in the world, with himself being at least in the conversation.

Traveling has certainly humbled him. He couldn't believe how narrow his world view once was.

As he knocked out more of the fodder, he sensed that the others were about nearly done with their first objective.

Looks like he would need to speed up his work.

[ Thirty Minutes Later ]

"Well done, guys. That was faster than I thought it'd be, not that I'm complaining. All of the slaves have been saved, so let's move on to the next step." Jeremiah said, as they all stood near the huge bridge that was under construction.

Tequila Wolf.

Just seeing the damn thing annoyed him. Especially when he remembered that these monsters dared to make Robin a slave, even if it hadn't happened in this world.

And he would never allow it to happen.

"Diane." He called out to his shipwright, and that was all that was needed .

"Right!" Diane walked forward, and as she did, she grew to her giant size.

Taking the huge brown hammer off her back, she cocked it back over her shoulder, before swinging it down with tremendous force.

"{Tremor!}" She yelled, and as she hit the bridge, it had an amazing effect .

The bridge, which was hundreds, if not thousands of miles long and incredibly thick, shook as a devastating earthquake was created. The crew watched as the bridge started to collapse rapidly, like a scene straight out of San Andreas.

Diane - Earth Earth Fruit .

Jeremiah had quickly gone to find this for her within a month after Souma had joined. He knew she could use it to its maximum potential, given enough time. As it stood, she could already do a number of cool things. Especially with the extra boosts he gave her.

As the crew watched the bridge completely crumble, they heard an alarm bell being rung.

Step 1: Rescue all the slaves - Complete.

Step 2: Destroy the bridge and draw attention - Complete.

"Looks like they're upset." Naruto said with a smirk, as he saw a few hundred guards charging at them while shouting war cries.

"But of course. They know what would happen to them if those bratty world nobles found out that their guards allowed something like this to happen. They had been making slaves build this bridge for over five centuries after all." Jeremiah replied, as he casually looked around at the people "surrounding" them.

Though he did chuckle seeing a lot of them shaking at the sight of Diane. Certainly, you'd never expect to see a giant in the East Blue, of all places.

"Everyone ready to fight?" Jeremiah asked, as he prepared to take out the fodder first.

"Of course!" They all replied, as they stood at the sides of him.

Jeremiah gave a small nod, before he walked forward while taking his mask off with a fierce look in his eyes, which were glowing bright gold. His crew also took their masks off.

He looked at every enemy coming towards them. His eyes narrowed.

Suddenly, a wave of energy seemed to burst from him, washing over every guard present.

And the guards began to fall unconscious, foaming at the mouth. The few that didn't pass out were all standing on shaky legs.

This was Conqueror's Haki. He had trained extensively with it to make sure he would never accidentally use it on someone he didn't want to, like his crew.

Looking at who he guessed was the chief guard, he addressed him. "Are you guys really who those snot nosed, bratty world nobles thought would be able to protect something this important to them?" He asked, as he and his crew approached them.

"D- DAMN YOU ALL! DO YOU REALIZE WHAT YOU'VE DONE ?! WHEN THE LEADERS OF THE WORLD HEAR WHAT YOU'VE DONE, YOU'LL ALL HAVE A KILL ON SIGHT ORDER !" The chief yelled as he shook with anger.

He knew that he would either be killed or made a slave once the nobles hear about this. He would, of course, gladly give his life for the Holy Dragons, but he didn't want them to think he was a failure!

"That's fine. We are here to declare war after all." Jeremiah said casually, and the remaining guards eyes all widened, before he continued. "Souma."

"Got it." Souma replied, before he looked up and snapped his fingers, which produced a small spark, and suddenly, the flag of the World Government that was on top of the base went up in flames.

"Take that as a bonus statement." Jeremiah said, as he looked directly into the chief's eyes, who was looking at him and his crew with outrage and disbelief.

"MEN! KILL THEM! HURRY UP AND KILL THEM! WE MUST KILL THEM, AND HOPE THE HOLY DRAGONS TAKE SOME MEASURE OF MERCY ON US!" The chief yelled, and the soldiers rapidly nodded, before each of them charged at Jeremiah's crew.

[ With Naruto ]

Naruto and his opponent quickly met, and each threw out a few punches to test each other.

Naruto could sense that all these guys, besides the ones him, Jeremiah, and Asta were fighting, were at above average captain level in terms of power. The guys he, Jeremiah, and Asta were fighting seemed to be close to or at the level of vice admirals, a few of which they had fought before.

"So, what's your name? I'm Naruto." Naruto asked casually as they continued to trade blows.

His opponent, who was a pretty plain looking guy ( short, sort of spiky black hair , brown eyes, average size) glared at him, before responding, "Yamino." He said, while glaring hatefully at Naruto.

"Yamino? Hmm... How about about a nickname? Ya-Ya? Or maybe Yammy?" Naruto asked with a raised eyebrow, before blocking a kick.

"Shut the hell up! Because of your captain, we're gonna have to suffer the wrath of the Nobles. Do you have any idea what they do to those who don't do what they say, exactly as they say it?!" He yelled as he flipped back, and then charged at Naruto once he landed.

"Sure I do." Naruto said, before he quickly smacked Yammy's arm to the side, and landed a mean uppercut, before he jumped and launched him further into the air with kick after kick.

"{Air Walk!}" He yelled as he used it to go high above Yammy, before he gave a brutal spinning kick to his stomach, which sent him rocketing to the ground.

"{Uzumaki Barrage!}" He said, as he finished the technique.

"Gah! *cough cough*" Was the sound of one Yamino as he coughed up an unhealthy amount of blood. Naruto may have been pretty thin, but he had a huge amount of strength hidden in that body.

"We just don't care. You all brought this on yourselves." Naruto said with cold eyes, before he got into a fighting stance.

Snarling, Yamino got up and dashed at Naruto, while covering his arms and legs with haki.

Doing the same, and also shifting into his one tail form, Naruto met him halfway, and the two traded blows rapidly, with each of them getting hits in. Though, there was a clear difference. The hits Yamino landed on Naruto were mostly superficial, whereas Naruto landed multiple solid hits in quick succession, which added to Yamino's earlier injuries.

As Yamino threw a right jab, Naruto grabbed his arm and aimed a chakra haki enhanced punch to his elbow. And it connected.

"AAAAHHH!" The soldier screamed in pain as his elbow was punched so hard that the bone was now very broken and sticking out his flesh, even with his haki.

As he was fretting over his mangled arm, Naruto charged up an attack he'd come up with recently. Igniting his haki covered right arm in blue fire, he drew it back, before he blurred out of sight and reappeared in front of Yamino.

"{Tyrant Fox's Claw!}" Naruto yelled, as his entire arm was engulfed in blue fire, throwing a punch so fast that he created a small shockwave from the force, before his arm was buried in Yamino's chest, and sticking out his back .

"{Burn!}" With that exclamation, his arm glowed brightly, before a huge flame was expelled as the fire on his arm all coalesced into his fist, and it all shot out like a beam, destroying many buildings, and scorching a lot of the surrounding area.

Needless to say, Yamino was dead. His body was dried out from all the heat, and even before that, his heart had been punched out.

"You would've had it worse if I hadn't killed you. Be thankful I showed you the mercy that you never gave those former slaves." Naruto said, before he hopped on top of a building to watch everyone else's fights.

[ With Diane ]

As Diane and her opponent charged at each other, she quickly shrank back to her human size, and used his surprise to land a big hit with her hammer, which also shrank.

Her opponent had brown wavy hair, brown eyes, a bigger than average nose, and had a slightly above average body size. He was wearing the same red outfit as the other guards.

Her hammer, which was called Gideon, was just one of the many different types of melee weapons that her captain had made for her. The one she was currently using could change size and amplify her earth powers, although she was powerful even without it .

She was definitely above the level of most marine captains. Especially in her giant form. She just preferred to use her smaller form for one on one fights when her opponent was smaller, or sometimes when she sparred with different crew members.

As the guy rolled across the ground, she watched him as he struggled to stand up, though eventually he did, even though he was wobbling a bit, and his eyes were a little unfocused.

"D- Damn you. You ate a devil fruit didn't you? One that l- lets you change your size." He said, like he was sure that was it.

"Not quite." Was all Diane said, before she charged at him with incredible speed and her hammer cocked back.

Throwing up his arms that were coated with some decent haki, he threw a punch to clash against her hammer.

He didn't expect Diane to coat her hammer in haki at the last second, which was much stronger than his, and just added to her already monstrous strength, and break his hand, before he was sent flying through the air.

"Gah!" He didn't know which was worse. His crushed hand, or his body breaking through the walls of multiple buildings. It felt like every bone in his body was on the verge of breaking. Sure, he knew how to use haki, but he wasn't the best with it.

Diane walked up, and watched him shakily stand after about one minute. Feeling merciful, she decided to end it quickly.

"You're brave to keep standing against an enemy you know is more powerful than you. What's your name?" She asked. She figured she could at least do him a small honor.

"*Pant pant*... Kosui." Kosui finally answered after a few labored breaths. He knew the fight was over.

"I see. Rest well, Kosui." With that, she stomped her foot on the ground.

"{Earth Tomb!}" She yelled, and the earth around Kosui shot out of the ground, and covered his entire body in a large sphere that crushed his body. Diane then stuck out her left arm, balled her fist, and then yanked her arm back while exclaiming,"{Burial!}" and the earth melded back into the ground with Kosui's body still inside, burying him .

Smiling, Diane walked away and joined Naruto in watching the rest of the battles.

[ With Asta ]

Asta and his opponent, whose name was Lupo (they had already exchanged names- swordsman's courtesy, and whatnot), were clashing swords. Lupo was an older guy with peach colored skin, short, graying hair, a beard that was stubble on the sides, with a bushy goatee, and dark blue eyes. Despite being old, he was still in great shape, which was easy to tell, even through his clothes. He seemed to be built for power over speed.

"You're not bad, old geezer." Asta said, as they both grinded their swords against each other.

"Hmph. As if I need to be told that from a brat like you. I'm known as one of the top swordsman the World Government has." Lupo said, as they both separated briefly, before clashing again.

Arcing his sword back in a reverse grip, Asta swung his sword up with great speed as he yelled his attack, "{Arc of Night!}" He exclaimed, as a black wave of energy was released from his huge, black sword.

Quickly dodging out of the way, Lupo watched as the attack carved a deep trench in the ground for miles, before ending with an explosion that resulted in a large crater.

"That's impressive. I didn't learn anything like that until I was maybe half a decade older than you." He complimented Asta, who didn't care for the praise.

"Thanks, but I really don't care for praise from someone working for those damned nobles." Asta said, before he charged at Lupo, who met him halfway, and they began to clash swords at a fast pace, with both looking for an opening.

"Hmph! You understand nothing! When one is a soldier, they are not always able to do what it is that they want! There will be times where you must do things you don't want to, even if it goes against your own morals!" Lupo yelled, as he started to strike with more fury, briefly pushing Asta back.

"That's bullshit! If you hated it so much, then you wouldn't work for them as long as you have! How many people's lives have you ruined over the years, all while telling yourself that you only did it because you were ordered to?! You spineless coward!" Asta yelled back angrily, before he coated his arms and sword in haki, and gave a powerful swing of his sword, making Lupo have to quickly cover his own sword in haki as well, or it would have likely been cut through. Though, even then, he still went skidding back.

Enraged, Lupo stabbed his sword into the ground to come to a stop, before he charged at Asta once again, with his sword glinting in the moonlight.

"And you think you could have done better than me?! It's easy to judge when you're on the outside looking in!" Lupo yelled, as they swung their swords at a very fast pace, and they clashed against each other with enough force to crack the ground around them, with it growing larger with each strike .

After one particular clash, Lupo saw a brief opening after Asta's sword had been pushed downward, and quickly capitalized on it with a horizontal slash across his chest.

Grunting in discomfort, Asta took a few steps back and took a deep breath, before he blurred past Lupo, and aimed a spinning reverse slash to his hamstrings and achilles. Lupo was able to sense it thanks to his observation haki, but he was built for power not speed, meaning he wasn't fast enough to do anything about it.

That's not to say that he was slow. In fact, he was faster than average, but compared to someone with speed like Asta's? He may as well have been moving through molasses, especially with his leg wounds.

His muscles were slashed, and it was excruciating. He involuntarily dropped to his knees instantly, which only served to amplify the pain... But Lupo refused to let his pain be vocal.

Asta walked to the front of Lupo, and pointed his sword at him.

"I don't know if I could do better if I was in your position. But I do know that I would NEVER have even considered working for, or with, people like them. If anything, my captain is the exact opposite of the assholes you work for. Even with all the power he has, he would never use it to oppress people for his own enjoyment, and I'm proud to be a member of his crew! Now more than ever." Asta exclaimed, as he poked the tip of his sword to Lupo's neck, drawing a small amount of blood.

The two glared into each other's eyes, before Lupo closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and then looked at the sky with a melancholic look on his face.

"What was I supposed to do? I am strong, that is something I know to be true. But in the end I'm only one man. What could one lone soldier have possibly done?" He asked, as his eyes showed a bit of sadness.

"...I don't know. I don't know what a single person could have done. But that's the thing, you wouldn't have had to be alone. That's what friends are for. On our crew, we all understand that no one person can do everything by themself. That's why we all watch each other's backs, and do what we know we can, while trusting the others to do the same. If you really wanted to change things, then maybe you should have tried something similar. We're not the only people unhappy with the state of the world, after all." Asta said, while pulling his sword back. The fight had been won.

Still looking up at the sky, Lupo let a single tear fall from his watery eyes, before he closed them tightly.

"Please kill me now." He requested with a regretful voice.

"Nah." Asta replied simply, as he rested his sword on his shoulder.

"What? What do you mean, 'no'?" Lupo asked, as his eyes snapped open, and he looked at Asta with a bit of anger.

Why was he being denied death?

"You said you want things to be different, right? So help make it happen. Go start your own thing, or even if you just join some other group. Death would be easy. If you really want to atone for everything you've done, then live, and try to help rid the world of monsters like the higher ups of the World Government." Asta said with a smile, before wincing a bit as his hand brushed against the open wound on his chest, making it sting.

With that, Asta turned around and walked away, with Lupo staring at him in shock.

"See ya whenever!" Asta yelled as he waved over his shoulder, before he blurred out of sight, and reappeared near Naruto and Diane.

"Hmph. Cheeky brat." Lupo said with a small smile.

[ With Ryoko ]

Ryoko was dodging a flurry of punches and kicks from her opponent, who was bigger than her, though not as much as Jeremiah, who was over a foot taller than her.

Unlike Lupo, who was built for power, but still had good speed, Ryoko's opponent was slow. Plain and simple. Which was great for her, since she liked to end all her fights quickly.

The tradeoff was that he had massive strength, made evident by the fact he made a small crater in the ground from one of his earlier missed kicks, and that was without haki.

"What a brute you are." Ryoko said, as she dodged a sloppy punch. He was strong, sure, but he was horribly lacking in skill.

"Brute? You mean my strength? Then, how about you come to my place, and let me do you the honor of sleeping with a beast like me." He said with a confident smirk, as he stopped trying to hit her.

"And corny as well. Unfortunately for you, I have my eyes and heart set on another man. And he is much greater than you'll ever be." Ryoko said with a smirk, and, before he could reply, she coated a single finger in armament haki, and dashed at him faster than he could see or react.

Closing the distance easily, she executed a very quick {Finger Pistol} to the left side of his chest, before jumping back .

The fight was over.

"What the hell? Did you really think a small wound like this would-" He was abruptly cut off as his body began to suffer through agonizing pain, as if he was being melted from the inside out.

"AAAAAHHHH! MAKEITSTOPMAKEITSTOPMAKEITSTOP! " He screamed in absolute agony. It was truly unbearable.

Ryoko may have been the doctor of the crew, but she was probably the most brutal of all. She was a very kind woman to her friends and people she likes. As for her enemies... Exhibit A.

Mikado Ryoko - Poison Woman.

As his body began to literally liquify from the inside out, Ryoko simply turned, and walked off to the others who had finished their fights.

[ With Bisca ]

Bisca had strapped her rifle to her back, and instead pulled out two powerful pistols to deal with her opponent. One was a long barreled, silver pistol, while the other was a long barreled, black pistol. They both had brown grips. The silver one had the word "Star" engraved on it, while the black one had "Jewel".

(Similar to Jackal and Cassull from Hellsing.)

Said opponent was a woman with pink, long hair, pink eyes, and a nice, curvy body . She was in a female version of the guard outfit.

"Hihihihihi, You think you can beat me with those little things? I'll have you know I'm known for my speed. You won't even be able to properly aim at me." She taunted, as she blurred in and out of sight faster than most would be able to track. It seemed that she was using {Shave}. She certainly was fast. But...

Shaking her head, Bisca threw her right arm in a wide, horizontal arc as she fired her silver gun, Star.

"Hihihihi, What was that supposed to be? Are you even try- AH!" As she was taunting Bisca, she suddenly felt horrible pain in her stomach. Looking down, she was horrified to see a gaping hole now present in her stomach, and through her back.

"Curved shots. No one ever expects them." Bisca said, as she twirled her guns on her fingers, before holstering them. This woman was fast, thats true . But when you've trained for years with people as fast as Jeremiah, Naruto, and Asta? This woman didn't even compare. Especially considering Bisca herself was no slouch in speed, though certainly not at those three's level.

As the woman was on the ground screaming in pain and bawling her eyes out, Bisca decided to give her mercy and end her suffering.

Plus, she was a little annoyed from all her yelling and laughing.

[ With Souma ]

Souma was currently locked in a stalemate, as he and his opponent tried to push each other back. They had been fighting for a while now, and it showed. There were multiple craters around the area, destroyed buildings, and both of their clothes were torn, though Souma's were in better condition.

Souma was annoyed because the idiot kept trying to use tricks to beat him. Like now.

"I'm telling you, your shoe is untied! Just go ahead and look, I swear I won't try to hit you." The idiot said.

Irritated, Souma jumped back and decided to just put an end to this fight.

Souma took a deep breath, and suddenly there was the sound of an explosion, before he went blasting toward his enemy, with his fist cocked back.

The idiot's eyes widened, and in his panic, he made the mistake of trying to block.

"{Habanero Fist!"} Souma yelled as he gave a literal explosive punch to his torso, which was being blocked by the guy's arms, making them break, along with his spine, and giving him severe burns.

Souma Yukihira - Bomb Human.

A few days after he had joined the crew, Jeremiah had transferred the bomb power to him. He also gave him something else, but he didn't use it much in live combat yet, since it was hard to control at times.

Souma could have easily obliterated the guy, but he was so pathetic that he decided to just permanently injure him instead.

He would be very unlikely to ever walk again.

With his opponent out of commission, Souma looked down, and couldn't stop his eye from twitching.

His shoe really was untied.

[ With Jeremiah ]

Jeremiah and the chief were trading blows back and forth, with neither side giving an inch of breathing room.

"Looks like all your underlings are down. Are you mad?" Jeremiah asked, as he knocked the chief's fist away, and aimed a punch at his face, which was blocked, though he did slide back a bit.

Glaring with hatred, the chief charged at Jeremiah with his arms fully covered in haki, and Jeremiah could tell that it was strong.

Deciding to test just how strong it was, Jeremiah met him halfway, and threw a punch at the same time he did, only without the use of haki.

It was strong, indeed. Strong enough to send him up into the air, and the chief would have followed up with the attack, were it not for Jeremiah using {Air Walk} to create some space.

"Hmph. All bark and no bite." He said to Jeremiah, who tilted his head to the right and stared at him.

Suddenly, a cut appeared on the chief's cheek, and he recoiled in shock .

'What the hell was that? I know he didn't move, and I didn't feel anything touch me.' He thought, touchong his new wound, before he glared again at Jeremiah.

All Jeremiah did was make a small wind blade to graze the chief's cheek.

"You fucker, what the hell did you do?!" He asked angrily. Not many people could get the drop on him like that, and it infuriated him that it happened in the East Blue, of all places.

They stared at each other for a few seconds, before Jeremiah finally replied with a deadpan, "You... don't seriously expect me to tell you, do you? I would have to be an idiot to explain how my moves work."

If his enemies wanted to tell him all their secrets, then that was fine, but he would not do the same for them. It was idiotic, plain and simple.

"How dare you mock me?! I'm on par with some of the strongest marines, and you are a nobody!" The chief yelled angrily.

Jeremiah would admit that the guy was strong, stronger than at least half of his crew, but he was way too emotional.

With pure speed, Jeremiah disappeared fast enough to leave an afterimage, and gave a hard palm thrust to the chief's stomach, making him go flying back.

Recovering quickly, the chief snarled, "Enough!" and once he yelled that, Jeremiah watched as his body began to shift and grow bigger.

He grew to at least double his old size, he had paws with sharp nails, and he had brown fur covering his whole body.

He was a grizzly bear.

'Devil fruit huh... Looks like it's a grizzly zoan. No doubt, his physical strength and durability have both gotten a major increase.' Jeremiah thought as he analyzed his opponent's new form.

"What do you think? Pray while you can, for once you see this form, you will die!" He yelled confidently, before he bull rushed Jeremiah, who dodged out of the way of a paw slam, and watched as the ground was cratered deeply.

Jumping back, Jeremiah started charging up his own attack. Bringing both of his arms behind him, he gathered wind in his palms and shaped it like lances, before he threw them both at the chief, who had just turned around.

Using observation haki, he was able to dodge one, but the other got him in his left shoulder. Only, it didn't really do much damage, seeing as his skin was very thick, making it harder to penetrate.

That was fine for Jeremiah, though. That attack wasn't meant to end the battle or anything, he just wanted to see how durable the chief was. He would admit to being a little impressed. That would have been enough to pierce straight through most people.

"Hmph. As if that weak attack would hurt me. You won't be able to damage me at all now." The chief said with his rough voice.

Jeremiah watched as the chief coated his entire body in haki, which seemed to make his muscles even bigger, before the chief came rushing at him with at least double his previous speed, and his paw raised.

The chief reached him in no time, and Jeremiah quickly activated his shield and used it to block the attack, which still sent him flying back, and made him crash through and uproot multiple trees. He would have turned into wind, but it wouldn't have mattered with how strong the chief's haki is.

Jeremiah recovered quickly, and used {Shave} to arrive at the chief's location in an instant. His forearm behind the shield was aching quite a bit, but it wasn't anything he couldn't handle.

"You're definitely strong. No denying that." Jeremiah said, as he stretched to get the kinks out. Crashing through trees wasn't pleasant, no matter who you were. It didn't hurt, but it certainly was not a comfortable feeling.

"Now you see. This is the power of the world-"

"You're strong, but..." Jeremiah cut the chief off, before he blurred out of sight, and reappeared with haki covering both his legs, and gave the chief a mean double drop kick to the face, sending him flying.

Not letting up, Jeremiah chased after him and gave a powerful punch to his torso, which launched him up in the air, before creating a large hammer made out of wind above the chief's body, and delivered a huge hit with it that made the chief go rocketing towards the ground, with his body making the already big crater, even bigger.

"I'm pretty sure I'm stronger." Jeremiah finished as he appeared back in his original position and waited. He knew that wouldn't be enough to finish the chief.

He was right. As the dust settled, the chief could be seen walking away from the crater with his body looking more human, though still covered in fur, and his face more feral. He had blood dripping from the side of his head, but other than that, he looked fine.

"What a tough bastard." Jeremiah muttered while getting into a fighting stance.

The two stood still, with the tension rising with each second. It was the chief that made the first move.

He took off with such force that it cracked the ground, and reappeared in front of Jeremiah with his fist raised.

Seeing the chief coat his arms in haki, Jeremiah did the same, and as the two repeatedly clashed fists, they made shockwaves shook the entire island.

"Why would someone as strong as you bow to those snot nosed nobles?" Jeremiah asked, dodging a swipe that almost got him in the eye. As one would expect, the chief's hybrid form allowed him more diversity in his attacks.

"Because the trash of this world should be treated just as that- trash! The Noble Dragons are all wise, and should own everything in this world! If they order someone to kill their own family, it should be done with no hesitation!" The chief yelled hotly, and Jeremiah's eyes widened slightly, before narrowing with distaste as he jumped back.

"You... What the hell did you do?" Jeremiah demanded with an icy tone.

"Hmph. I'll tell you, since you'll be dead soon, anyway. It was about half a decade ago, my family had been having a family outing on Sabaody while I was working. I had been informed that, while they were out, my idiot of a son had made the mistake of running across a noble's path, while trying to retrieve his toy that had fallen out of his hand when my wife pulled him to make him bow. A marine that was there recognized them as my family, and called me to their location immediately. Luckily I wasn't far, just on the other side of the island.

When they told me what had, happened I was furious. I was blessed when the noble gave me a choice: I could kill them myself, or we could all be killed together by him. My wife and son looked at me with hope. Of course, it was an easy choice for me.

I killed them with no hesitation. It was their own fault for being so stupid as to disrespect the nobles! My failure of a son, and disappointment of a wife, should have been honored to die for our lords!" He yelled as he finished, and Jeremiah's crew, who had been watching the fight, looked at him with disgust and rage.

Jeremiah himself simply looked at the chief with cold eyes, before he pulled one of his necklaces off. The one with the gold and black spear pendant.

"I had, for some odd reason, actually considered leaving you alive, but I've squashed those thoughts. You've forfeited your right to live. The reinforcements on the way will be more than enough to send my message to your leaders." Jeremiah said with a stony expression.

Enraged, the chief was about to charge at Jeremiah, until something surprising happened.

The little pendant in Jeremiah's hand started to produce sparks, before it began to grow to a full sized weapon. It had a black blade with a gold star on it, a black pole with two gold rings on it, and in-between the blade and pole, there was a hole with two out-turned lugs. There was also a gold ring at the bottom of the pole. It was nearly as long as Jeremiah himself. (King's Sacred Treasure, just with different colors.)

This was Jeremiah's personal weapon, and he was the only one who could wield it. He didn't use it often. Only against people he wanted to end quickly, or had earned his respect.

The chief was in the former category, obviously.

Using his tech power, and sticking up his right index finger, he made the spear float near his head and coated it in haki, before flicking his finger toward the chief, making his weapon spin around in the air, before it shot toward the chief fast enough to break the sound barrier.

Eyes widening in shock, the chief quickly yelled "{Shave!}" and dodged by a hair, making him think he was in the clear, only for his observation haki to alert him to something right behind him, and, before he could react properly, his right arm was chopped off right below his shoulder.

"FUUUUU! SON OF A BITCH!" The chief yelled through clenched teeth. He was clearly trying to hold in his pained yells l, but having your arm chopped off is not something you can just shake off.

"Its not over yet." Jeremiah said as he channeled his wind power, and made it boost the power of the spear's rotation so much that it started to heat up the air around it, which combined with the cool air of the wind to make a small tornado around the spear.

As he stared at the possible instrument of his death, the chief couldn't help sweating at the sight of it. Not to mention the noise it was creating, like a loud screech. He had to dodge. He had to get away. To somehow-

His thoughts were cut off when the weapon was sent rocketing through his torso and out of the back, faster than he could even hope to react. He looked down in shock. He hadn't even been able to see it. All he could do was hear the sonic boom, and then feel the excruciating pain.

Coughing up blood, the chief fell to his knees while reverting to his human form. He had lost.

Stretching out his hand, Jeremiah's spear flew right into it, and once he had it, he walked up to the chief's downed form, and pointed the spear at him.

"Any last words?" He asked as a final courtesy. He wasn't heartless after all.

Pant Pant*... L- long live the Holy N- *cough* Nobles." Were his last words, before Jeremiah channeled sharpened wind around his spear, and used it to decapitate the chief in one swift motion.

After staring at him for a few seconds, Jeremiah turned around and walked back to his crew, with them meeting him halfway.

"Nice fight, Captain!" Diane said, giving him a big smile.

"I would expect nothing less." Ryoko said with a smile, as she walked up and gave him a quick hug.

"Obviously. As if he'd lose to someone like that." Naruto said as he walked up, and they bumped fists with each other with small smiles.

"See, Shrimpsta? I can't believe you doubted him. Shame on you." Souma said with a smirk, before he walked over to the others.

"Liar! There's no way I'd do that!" Asta exclaimed as he chased after Souma, who was laughing obnoxiously, purely to annoy the swordsman.

"So now is the last step, right, Cap'n?" Bisca asked with a smile as she stood near Naruto, who was holding her hand.

"Yeah. I'm sure you all can sense it as well, but there's a ship of reinforcements a few miles out. Everyone on the ship is what you'd expect from the East Blue, but they'll serve our needs just fine. Let's go." Jeremiah said as he turned around and grabbed the chief guard, and they all followed him to one of the island docks.

[ Twenty Minutes Later ]

"Its about time." Asta said, watching as the marine ship was finally about to dock.

"Tell me about it. Anyway, you all know what to do. Get ready." Jeremiah ordered, and they all did just that.

The captain stepped off the ship, and immediately began barking at them, "You! Who are you all, and what are you doing on government owned land?" He asked pretty rudely. Not that they cared at the moment.

Looking over each of them, Jeremiah made sure he counted properly, before he activated his King's Haki and took out half of the marines, which was about one hundred of them.

The captain, now fearful, took a shaky step back. "W-W-Wh- *gulp* Who the h- hell are you?" He asked again, in a more subdued, albeit still rude, tone.

"We are New Dawn. We'll be the ones to turn this world on its head. We aren't pirates, we aren't revolutionaries, and we clearly aren't dogs of the government. We're simply a group of dissatisfied individuals, who are very unhappy with the current state of the world, and will stand for it no longer.

I'm letting you and your men live, not out of mercy, but because I have a message that I want delivered, and you WILL deliver it if you value your life. Go back to your leaders, and inform them that if they do not shape up soon, then they will die by our hands. One by one." Jeremiah said, with his eyes glowing a blazing gold.

Once he finished, he and his crew unleashed their power one by one, and combined, it was enough to crack and shake the entire island, and create huge waves in the sea with thunder booming in the sky.

The captain and his remaining crew were all trembling and sweating bullets, and many of them lost control of their bladders.

"I-I-I- It'll b-be d-d- done." The captain responded pitifully.

"See to it that it is. Now take this trash with you, and go." Jeremiah said, as he threw the chief guard, along with his severed head on the ground in front of them, before he and his crew vanished.

Once they were gone, the captain dropped to his knees and vomited, along with a few others. He had never been in front someone so powerful, except for maybe the Fleet Admiral, Vice Admiral Garp, and the Admirals.

Staring at the corpse of the chief guard, the marine captain felt the contents of his stomach threatening to rise again, but he was able to just barely keep it down. He had to be strong for his men.

Standing up, albeit still shaking a bit, he gave his orders, "Men! Quickly search the island, and see how many more soldiers were lost! We also need to see if the slaves are still here! Get to it!"

"Yes sir!" They all yelled while saluting, before doing as they were told.

Looking down at the corpse again, the captain shook his head tiredly, before pulling a den-den mushi out of his coat to make a call.

[ One Month Later ]

Jeremiah was having a peaceful sleep. After he and his crew had saved all those former slaves, it had taken them a while to get them all somewhere safe. Luckily their ship, The Big Dipper, was more than big enough to accommodate that many people.

Ryoko and Souma had probably been the busiest, with Ryoko having to give medical care for all the rough treatment they had gone through over however long they had been slaves, and Souma having to cook for well over one hundred people.

They didn't mind, but it was clear that it had been exhausting for both of them. More mentally than physically.

The former slaves had been crying tears of happiness, and thanking them repeatedly nearly the whole time they were with the crew, which was also a little tiring, but definitely understandable.

Jeremiah was woken up by the feeling of something sitting on top of him, and bouncing on his lap.

Sighing, Jeremiah rubbed his face, before lazily opening his eyes, and looking at the culprit. Said culprit was a small girl with long, snow white hair that reached her knees, pale white skin, and a pair of big, red, innocent eyes.

She had on a white skintight bodysuit that was decorated with red circles and stripes, with her toes and heels sticking out.

This was Shiro (Deadman Wonderland), a 14 year old girl who Jeremiah had saved four years ago. She ate a devil fruit that had caught her crazy father's interest, and he quickly began to run test after test on her, hoping to find some way to gain that power for himself, or find a way to make Shiro totally submissive to his orders.

It was lucky that the crew had been on her home island at the time to restock on supplies, and Jeremiah, who had a very high level of observation haki thanks to his wind powers, was able to sense all the pain she was going through, and instantly went to save her.

When he arrived, he had been furious, which was very rare for him. He had easily knocked out her father with a punch before he could even react, before he unhooked Shiro's unconscious form from the table she was strapped to.

Once he saw all the scars she had from her sperm donor, Jeremiah's eyes began to glow a blazing gold, and he took a calming breath, before he wrapped Shiro in his jacket, which covered her entire body, and carried her back to Ryoko, who he immediately ordered to begin helping Shiro.

Barely waiting for her reply, he had blurred out of sight and reappeared at the place of Shiro's pain, and tortured the one responsible for it ,before killing him, and destroying all the notes he had about her.

A day later when Shiro awakened she was, as expected, scared. Especially when she woke up in a doctor's office.

Ryoko had quickly run to get Jeremiah, who wasted no time in going to Shiro and helping to calm her down. He informed her about how she would never have to worry about her asshole of a father hurting her ever again, and that she had a place on his ship if she wanted it.

She had initially been hesitant, but pretty soon, she became a member of the family. Everyone loved her, and she loved them just as much. Though she always clung to Jeremiah far more than anyone else. Diane and Ryoko were often jealous that Jeremiah allowed Shiro to sleep with him every night .

Looking into her eyes now, Jeremiah couldn't help but wonder how she had retained such an innocent outlook on life after everything she'd experienced.

It was something that, even with his super intelligence, he simply couldn't understand.

Although she did have nightmares from time to time, which is why Jeremiah let her sleep with him.

"Jeremiah!" Came Shiro's cheery voice, shaking him out of his thoughts.

"Good morning, Shiro." Jeremiah said as he propped himself up on his elbows, letting out a small yawn.

Still bouncing excitedly on his lap, Shiro replied, "Good morning! How'd you sleep?" She asked with a smile.

"F- fine. Shiro, maybe you shouldn't bounce on me like that right now." Jeremiah said. She always did this, and while he didn't mind, it wasn't good for his sanity.

Considering that he only slept in a t-shirt and boxers, plus the fact that his body was always very sensitive for about half an hour after waking up, on top of the fact that Shiro often went without panties or a bra under her bodysuits, meaning he could faintly feel the outline of her nether regions...

To put it simply, he was having to hold back orgasms every morning, from a girl too innocent to even realize what she was doing.

He really didn't think his mind, as strong as it may be, could take the thought of a girl at Shiro's young age and mindset making him feel pleasure. He wasn't a lolicon after all.

"Huh? Am I too heavy now? Am I hurting you?" She asked with a red face and watery eyes, along with a quivering bottom lip.

'Why me?' Jeremiah thought as he threw in the towel and just shook his head, before he grabbed Shiro by her sides, lifted her up, and moved her to his stomach instead, and brought her down on top of him into a hug.

Objective Stop Unwanted Orgasm: Complete.

"What could possibly make you think you're getting fat Shiro? You're not heavy, and you're definitely not hurting me, I just... need to do my morning routine," 'That works.' "and besides, I wouldn't care if you did get fat. You'll always be my little vampire." Jeremiah said as he hugged Shiro while rubbing her back, while she had her face in the crook of his neck.

Pulling her up to a sitting position, Jeremiah saw that, although her eyes were still a little watery, she now had a big, toothy smile.

"Hehe, I'm the coolest vampire!" Shiro said with a smile as she pumped her right fist into the air.

Smiling, Jeremiah rubbed the top of her head, before he kissed her forehead and got up to brush his teeth, shower, and get dressed.

If he looked back at that moment, Jeremiah would see the cute sight of Shiro putting her hands over the spot he had kissed, while giggling softly.

She may not have totally understood love (then again, who did?), but she did understand that she was in love with Jeremiah. She would do anything for him.

Anything.

[ 25 Minutes Later ]

Jeremiah had just got out of the shower, and wrapped a towel around his waist as he walked back into his room. Everyone had their own bathroom, which was something they all loved.

Closing the door behind him, Jeremiah turned around, and saw Shiro had changed into a different bodysuit. It was the same style, just colored black, and still had red designs.

"Shiro, how come you didn't go where the others are? I wouldn't have minded." Jeremiah asked as he looked at her while tilting his head a bit, with his still slightly wet hair dripping water on the floor.

"I just wanted to wait for you so we could go together like usual..." Shiro said while staring at him. She couldn't help it.

Raising an eyebrow, Jeremiah shrugged his shoulders, before walking over to his dresser and dropping his towel. He didn't really care if anyone saw him naked- he didn't have anything to be ashamed of after all. Although, he did at least try to make sure she didn't see his penis. Shiro was young, but he figured it didn't really matter, since her innocent mind would be unlikely to think about any "ero" thoughts anyway. Or, at least, he hoped. He wasn't sure how he'd feel if he ended up corrupting her.

Funny enough, she was the first one on the crew to see him naked. Even Ryoko, his doctor, had never even seen him without a shirt on.

Jeremiah was RIPPED. Like, Saitama ripped. Sure he wasn't as powerful as him yet, not even close, but he definitely looked the part. It was funny for the other guys on the crew, watching as Jeremiah always wore long sleeved shirts, something Ryoko and Diane hated. They (Ryoko and Diane) knew he had to have a nice body, but they didn't know just how great, since he always indirectly denied them a chance to see it.

Jeremiah, of course, did know what they wanted to see. He just thought it was so cute to see them try to come up with new ways to see him shirtless/naked.

Shiro watched Jeremiah the entire time he got dressed, mesmerized, with a strange feeling building up inside her. It was like the feeling she got when she bounced on his lap in the mornings.

Sometimes, her private area would get wet when she did it. She had touched it one time to see what the liquid was, and a tingle went through her whole body. Since the tingle felt good, and being the curious girl that she was, she had kept doing it until she felt something building up inside her, and before long, she had had her first orgasm.

Since then, she had touched that part of herself often, and each time, she would start thinking about Jeremiah. It happened a lot when she really did bounce on his lap, and it came a lot quicker when she did, especially since Jeremiah usually had morning wood when she rubbed against it. She was lucky that he usually didn't wake up until she had already done it. She never told anyone, fearing that if Jeremiah found out he would be mad at her, and not let her sleep with him anymore. Or worse, hate her and kick her off his ship.

Simply imagining that is enough to cause her mind to nearly shutdown. She couldn't bear to live without Jeremiah. No way. He made her so happy all the tim , and he always made time for her, no matter what other important things he had to do. He protected her from everything, and gave her a life more fun than most people could ever hope for. More importantly, she could always feel the huge amount of love he has for her whenever he smiled at her, hugged her, etc.

She really loved him. So much that, sometimes she would get up in the middle of the night, and simply watch him sleep. For hours. She would literally let him do whatever he wanted to do to her.

She was his, after all.

"Shiro." Jeremiah said with his face right in front of hers.

Shiro blushed as she realized she had completely spaced out, seeing as Jeremiah was now fully dressed.

He was now wearing a black shirt with red stripes going down the sleeves, matching pants, and red shoes with black laces and black bottoms. He also had on his two necklaces, as he always did.

"I figured I'd match with you today." He said with a small smile as he stood up to his full height, while looking down at her.

"Let's go join the others." Jeremiah said as he stuck his hand out for her to grab, and she wasted no time in doing so with a bright smile on her face.

As the two reached the deck, they saw the others all crowding around something.

"What has everybody so excited?" Jeremiah asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Captain!/Jeremiah!" They all yelled as they smiled and crowded around him.

Grinning, Naruto grabbed a stack of papers and held them up for Jeremiah to see, and replied with a single word.

"Bounties!"