Chapter 36

"Vash! Sorry, we need you again!" Ace called out to Vash.

The group that was at Circus Town was currently on top of the Ashen Dragon's main deck. Ace was in the lead. Behind him was Terzo and Soma. Teach was asleep, leaning on the main mast. Mihar was propping up Eri beside Kotatsu on the side. Augur took it upon himself to go up the crow's nest as a scout.

It didn't take long for Vash to go up to the ship's main deck. When he got there, he instantly sensed two things with his Observation Haki, from what Ace could see.

Vash looked up at the crow's nest before turning to Eri. He was already carrying a case of tools he needs to heal her injuries somewhat. Without a word, he worked on Eri's beaten form.

"Your Observation is getting stronger, Vash!" Ace complimented Vash on the progress of his personal training.

"Well, I'm the first mate. I really shouldn't be weaker than anyone else but you," Vash said as he smirked. His hands were still expertly working on patching up Eri, dealing with her scrapes, wounds, and bruises.

Suddenly, Ace saw something with his Observation Haki. He tried not to laugh.

Eri woke up. Her eyelids were fluttering, trying to stay open. Being able to wake up despite the terrible condition she's in is very impressive for such a small child. Ace supposed she was really tough.

Then, what Ace saw would happen, really happened. Eri's eyes shot wide open at seeing an unfamiliar face in front of her. She panicked. Her hands glowed in a pink energy and caught Vash's arm.

Vash glowed in a similar pink hue. Then, his face turned younger. His body slightly shrank. Baby fat returned to his face. He looked like he was just around the age of Ace and Soma.

"What the-?" Vash escaped from Eri's grip easily. "What is this?"

Vash was observing his sudden changes brought about by whatever Eri's weird power was. Ace recognized it as the Return-Return Fruit that Ain ate in One Piece Film: Z. But, he didn't directly assume. He would ask Mihar about it later.

"Eri, calm down!"

Mihar closed his hand around Eri's outstretched arm. He wasn't affected by Eri's power. Eri panicked again at seeing someone else touch her. She quickly turned her head to the side. When she saw that it was Mihar, Eri instantly relaxed.

"S-Sensei! You're here! You came back!"

"I'm here, Eri! Look, even Kotatsu is here. We came back for you!"

"Meow!"

Kotatsu meowed to let Eri know who it was that she was leaning on. Seeing Kotatsu's bright face that smiled in a way felines would, Eri's face bloomed in joy and relief.

"Thank goodness! You guys… I'm safe…"

Eri fell unconscious again. The rush of relief and happiness instantly calmed her. The adrenaline rush that woke her and kept her energized slowly disappeared. She fell asleep with a smile on her face.

Mihar just looked guilty. He hugged Eri's small form as he muttered his apologies.

"I'm so sorry for leaving you, Eri! I'm a failure!"

After Eri went unconscious, Vash glowed pink again. The fat on his face disappeared. His body slightly grew. His face turned older. He was back to what he originally looked like.

"Hey, I'm back!" Vash said in relief.

"Man, I had no idea you were that old!" Soma commented.

"You're gonna get there someday as well, kid!"

"Great, now another one's calling me kid."

"You started it," Vash stuck his tongue out at Soma.

"Oi, Vash! Finish up on healing Eri first!" Ace quickly reminded their crew's doctor.

"Ahh, right. Sorry, just a few more steps till I'm done," Vash said as he put a hand on Mihar's shoulder to let him know Eri's first-aid treatment wasn't done yet.

"Ahh, sorry. I'll leave her to you, Doctor Vash."

"That sounds so wrong." Vash shivered at the title Mihar gave him. "Just call me Vash."

"Well… if you say so, Vash." Mihar looked like it was his first time encountering someone who wasn't proud of the title they earned.

Vash quickly finished Eri's first-aid treatment. She was all bandaged up and cleaned up. Vash then carried her.

"She needs rest. Follow me. You can wait beside her in the infirmary," Vash said to Mihar and Kotatsu before leading them inside the ship, heading to the infirmary.

Mihar was about to open the door for Vash when it opened from the other side. Hepha stepped out and stood on the main deck in front of everyone. Her eyes, coupled with her Observation Haki, quickly assessed the people on the deck.

"I've been gone for barely three hours and you already got two men, a pet, and an apprentice!" Hepha grinned at Ace. "You work fast, Captain!"

"HAHAHAHA! I know, right?"

"Wait, there's no way I'll let Eri become a pirate!" Mihar said, rejecting the notion that Eri was about to be an apprentice aboard a pirate ship.

"Don't worry, we were just joking!" Ace said, but secretly wanted to have Eri aboard for her Devil Fruit.

Mihar looked slightly relieved. But, one should really never fully trust the word of a pirate. Mihar knew it. Still, these pirates were very helpful and kind. He looked resolute to repay them in any other way that didn't involve Eri.

"Vash, I'm done with the prototype for your Living Revolvers. Come see me later if you wanna check them out," Hepha said to Vash. It looked like it was her main goal for coming on top of the deck.

"I'll be sure to remember that," Vash said before entering through the door Hepha opened, still carrying Eri, followed by Mihar and Kotatsu.

"Living Revolvers?" Terzo asked. His ears perked up at what Hepha said.

"Yeah. Guns made with his Living Metal. Check it out," Hepha said before raising her hand.

They watched a silver liquid-like material emerge from within Hepha's short sleeve. It crawled all the way up to her raised hand. The material changed shape and formed into a silver revolver in Hepha's hand.

The gun looked intricate. It didn't look as if it was made with something that looked like a liquid. Hepha spun the gun with her finger inside the trigger guard to point out it was indeed solid.

"What a strange gun," Soma said. It was obvious he didn't want to compliment Hepha, so he made do with a roundabout way.

"Looks amazing!" Ace said.

"What about the bullets?" Terzo asked.

Hepha reached her other hand into her back pocket. She brought out something that looked like a cylindrical metal. The component would definitely fit in the spot where a revolver's cylinder should be.

"For now, Vash will have to reload it by hand. But, when I figure out how, the cylinders should be able to crawl up my arm to reload itself on the gun."

"Wait, that's the bullet?" Ace asked.

"Yeah," Hepha answered, much to their surprise. "Let me show you."

Hepha aimed the revolver at the horizon… but quickly decided against it.

"On second thought, let's not make much noise," Hepha said. "I can just explain it anyway."

"Yes, please. I think I wanna have one for myself as well."

Ace was almost drooling at the thought of having a gun as awesome as the one in Hepha's hand. He was treating it more like a toy than a weapon. Besides, having a weapon you can hide in plain sight would be very advantageous.

"I can make one for everyone, don't worry." Hepha chuckled at Ace's enthusiasm before explaining the prototype she made. "This cylinder is indeed the 'bullet' of the gun. Honestly, calling it a battery is more appropriate. You see, Vash's Living Metal is stranger than I thought. Not only is it malleable, its properties are also changeable! Look at this."

Ace, Terzo, and Soma watched the cylinder in Hepha's hand. Then, to their surprise, the piece of steel turned into different metals like iron, silver, and gold. Ace noticed how turning into heavier metals made it smaller. It also changed into a strange semi-solid liquid state like they saw earlier. It also turned into powder.

"Does this mean we have unlimited gold?" Soma asked.

"HAHAHAHA! That, we do!" Ace said.

"Not really." Hepha quickly shot down their dreams. "You see, Living Metal needs… a boss, so to speak. Watch."

Hepha threw away the Living Metal in the form of a gold coin. They watched it soon deform into its silver liquid-like state and crawl back to Hepha. The Living Metal crawled back up Hepha's arm.

"Okay, that's creepy." Soma shivered at the sight.

"Shut up, kid! This is awesome as fuck!" Hepha zealously defended the non-living Living Metal's glory. "Anyway. As you guys saw, Living Metal, when it's tempered and bonded to you, would always try to go back to you."

"Tempered and bonded?" Ace noticed Hepha's word choice.

"Yes. Living Metal, in its basic form, is just easily malleable steel. But, when you temper it with your blood as an ingredient, it would be like an extension of you. You could command it."

"How'd you even figure out how to do that?" Terzo was furiously jotting down notes in his journal. "It sounds like advanced science to me!"

"Well, look at it this way. Smithing is an application of science. It isn't that farfetched to say I'm something of a scientist myself when it comes to metals and weapon-making."

"So, how is that a bullet?" Soma asked while looking at the metal cylinder in Hepha's hand.

"Like this." Hepha raised the cylinder in her hand.

The others watched it change form. From a normal cylinder, it turned into the cylindrical component of a revolver. It even had chambers. Then, to their surprise, bullets formed inside the chambers.

"Wait! So, both the bullet and gunpowder are made from Living Metal?" Terzo quickly understood why Hepha would rather call the cylinder a battery.

"Yup!" Hepha was proud of the shocked faces in front of her.

"Doesn't that mean Vash has infinite ammo?" Ace asked.

"Kinda. Yes, the bullets he shot would try to return to him. But, he still has to reload manually. Like I said, I haven't figured out how to make the cylinders load themselves yet. You see," Hepha raised both the revolver and the cylinder in her hands. "These two won't cooperate. They're both bonded to me, but I can't make them work together as seamlessly as they should."

"Did you make them separately?" Ace asked. Hepha nodded.

"Then, that's probably it. They're made from the same blood, but not the same batch of blood. Why not make them in one batch?"

Ace made a random suggestion. He expected Hepha to explain to him how it wouldn't work. To his surprise, Hepha just commanded her Living Metal to go back to… wherever inside her shirt they came from. Then, Hepha placed both her hands on Ace's shoulders.

"Ace! You're a genius!"

"Ehh?"

"I haven't tried that yet! Maybe that's the solution! HAHAHAHA! This is great!"

Hepha was about to rush back inside the ship, undoubtedly going straight to her forge. That was when the door was opened from inside by Vash.

"Oh! Vash! Perfect timing! Wait, let me get your Living Revolvers!"

Hepha almost shoved Vash aside in her rush. The door slammed in Vash's face, leaving him wondering what got Hepha all excited. He turned to Ace and the rest.

"Something happened?" Vash asked.

"She told us about the Living Revolvers she made," Ace said.

"The name sucks, honestly," Soma said. "Bio-volvers sound much cooler."

"Or Evolvers!" Terzo suggested. "We should make a list, Soma! I have to admit, the name Hepha made sounds… lacking."

(A/N: Please comment if you have a suggestion. My default will be Levolvers.)

"Did you already know about them, Vash?" Ace asked.

"Ahh, yeah. She told me what she's been working on. I have to say, I'm excited about it."

"I'm back!" Hepha called out after opening the door. She then went to Vash. "Here they are, your Living Revolvers! Or, Levolvers for short. Give it a whirl!"