[Multiverse]: A Hero's Journey [EN]

Hi, hello, I'm just here to let you know that from now on I'll be doing a sort of speedrun to advance the plot, since there's a lot to cover in this arc and I don't want to do it in 500 chapters, so I won't write anything unnecessary, or I'll just tell it as a summary or anecdote.

I also want to let you know that I recreated the character designs published in the fic in English, so you can check it out if you're interested. Just as a reminder, those photos are out of date. Dante is 20 here, but in the photos, he looks about 25.

Okay, so let's continue with the fic.

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The art of the sword isn't very well explained in this world. But the most important things are two things: strength and haki. Then come the techniques, which can be cutting through a blade or cutting through iron. Things I already mastered when I was on Mary Goise.

I now have enough strength to be considered a high-level vice admiral; next comes speed. I also have a high level of reflexes, capable of dodging strong or surprise attacks from my enemy.

It's been a few months since we arrived in the new world, so our pirate hunt has gone quite well. One good thing is that we're no longer in poverty, as we have enough to buy our own necessities.

Based on my training, I've bought training materials, and with Arthur's help, I've modified them to make them heavy. My priority is to be as fast as Kizaru; it's not something that's possible, but the idea is to get as close to that point as possible.

I'll be able to do it, probably not, since I'd have to have infinite or zero mass to pull it off, but it's not hard to dream.

Right now, I was training in a secluded spot on the island. Today, I'm practicing my sword movements.

Since we entered the New World, I've been a bit distant; it's something I shouldn't be doing, but I need to think and figure out what I'm going to do next.

As I continued practicing, I felt a presence coming toward me. I continued like this until I felt it was right next to me. At that moment, I looked over to see Trini with two bottles of soda.

Trini: "You should get some rest; you've been isolating yourself and training nonstop since we arrived. Have you eaten anything at all?"

Not really, but it's not a priority; I still have energy, so I haven't needed to.

Dante: "Thanks," I said, taking the water bottle.

Trini: "So? Are you going to tell me what happened that day, or are you going to hide it forever?"

Dante: "That's something that doesn't matter anymore. The past is something I'm leaving behind, but I really can't." There's something I still haven't forgotten and can't forget. At that moment, I sat down to rest a bit.

Trini: "It has something to do with them."

Dante: "Yes, and even more so today, since five years ago I made a deal with my father, which ends today."

Trini: "So it's today, knowing that it's been almost five years since we met. I never knew the day you made that deal and what you planned to do then."

Dante: "See if our group will stay together or separate."

Trini: "What do you mean by that?" she said, a little upset.

Dante: "You'll see; in the meantime, let's go back to the cabin. This is something that affects everyone equally."

With that, I left for the village with Trini following in my footsteps. I sensed her concern about possibly separating from the group, and I understand.

The five of us really have nothing but each other and our goal of helping people. The one with the biggest dreams, aside from all of this, is Sulli, but she's doing it by joining us, so she has no need to leave us. Without this group, she has nothing.

Once I got to the cabin, where Hun, Sulli, and Isis were, Arthur was training, so I asked Trini to come get him.

I went to take a shower while I was dirty and sweaty.

Once I finished, Arthur was already back at the cabin, so I could continue with whatever I wanted.

Dante: "Well, since we're all here, I came to see if you want to continue with all this. There's a reason for this. It's not something that just came out of nowhere. From now on, you're going to see a group of people who are going to be chasing us, or in other words, just me. And that influences you, so you can decide whether to stay here or go do something else."

Sulli: "Wait a minute. There's a lot of information missing here, since you're trying to avoid saying anything, and it's quite noticeable."

Isis: "Yeah, can't you just tell us?"

Arthur: "I don't think it's that damaging, is it?"

I thought about it. I should tell them, of course I should. I looked at everyone; even though these people aren't related by blood, they've become my family, even more than blood.

I let out a long sigh, then sat down and ruffled my hair.

Dante: "This has to do with who I am, or more than anything with my true family, and that is that I am a celestial dragon belonging to the main bloodline; my full name is Dante Manmayer..." And so I began to tell him everything, about how I lived in Mary Goise, how I escaped, the deal I made with Ares, and how I met Trini with her father, until today, the day the treaty I made ended.

There was silence in the room; no one could say anything.

Sulli: "What's a celestial dragon?" he said, breaking the silence. Only for us all to look at him in confusion, and then for him to start laughing alone. "Sorry, I know what a celestial dragon is; my joke wasn't as good as I thought it would be."

Arthur: "I think you should stop telling jokes; it's not your personality."

Sulli: "It's something Dante told me: if you want to blame someone, blame them."

Dante: "Me? I was just giving you some advice so you could stop being so rigid so I could impress Trini and win her over."

She came at me like a flash, grabbing the collar of my shirt and waving it at me.

Sulli: "What the hell are you talking about? That's completely irrelevant. Even if I'm a celestial dragon, I'm still going to beat you up for talking nonsense."

Before I could say anything, Trini's voice came on.

Trini: "I knew that." With that, Sulli stopped treating me like a stress doll to look at Trini. "It was kind of obvious; I just want to clear that up."

Isis: "If anyone watching would notice, some of your expressions are really funny."

Sulli's expression was one of disbelief and embarrassment; her face was red, so I had no better idea than to hide in a corner and try to get out of here.

I couldn't help but laugh at all this, only for the others to do the same, making Sulli feel worse.

After we stopped laughing at him, Trini came up to me and grabbed my shoulder.

Trini: "No matter who you are, I'm your big sister, so it's my priority to take care of you and see that you're okay, so you can't get rid of me."

Arthur: "I swore to myself to follow you wherever we go, including hell itself, something we've already done, oddly enough, and I plan to keep that oath to the end."

Isis: "It gives me a little anxiety being chased by such strong people, but I told myself I'd never be weak again, following my dream of helping people make them as happy as possible."

Arthur: "And I think that idiot in that corner will follow us too, because wherever Trini is, he'll go." And with that comment, we all laughed again at Sulli's misfortunes.

Dante: "Hahaha..."

Arthur: "Hehehe..."

Trini: "Hahahaha..."

Isis: "Hehehehe..."

Hun: [Hahahaha...]

After that, and trying to get Sulli out of her depression, we played weight games to pass the day, and then we started training tomorrow, since our trip was going to be more challenging than it already was.

The following days were more harmonious, and I felt freer, as if a burden had been lifted, but something was still missing, and that's why I can't stop yet.

Arthur trained alongside Sulli; the former wanted to practice new spear techniques, while the latter was trying to learn Armament Haki.

Isis went to train her Devil Fruit alone. For her, it wasn't entirely necessary to learn Haki yet; with her power, she could keep others away, but she definitely had to learn Observation Haki, but that will come later.

For my part, I trained alongside Trini; I was helping her learn the embouchure to coat her bullets with Haki. That way, we'd have to go to a blacksmith to have some Sea Stone bullets made.

I was improving my reflexes and my counterattack skills, being shot by rubber bullets from the AT. Maybe they're made of rubber, but it doesn't mean it doesn't hurt.

And so the days passed until something happened. A guy came riding a bicycle in the ocean. He came looking for us, and the moment I heard this, I knew who he was. Kuzan.

Hearing that, I knew he was coming for us. Shortly after, he arrived at the cabin where we were. He came in quite casually; there was nothing that connected him to a Marine.

Kuzan: "Hey, it's been a while, Dante," he said, waving.

Dante: "It has been a while." And with a handshake, Kuzan entered the cabin.

We invited him to lunch, which he graciously accepted; he didn't seem in a hurry; it turned out he was on a mini-vacation. After eating and playing poker with Kuzan, he became serious.

Kuzan: "Well, I appreciate all the time I've spent, but you're not coming to see him just to say hello."

Dante: "I guess. Who wanted to come see us, the others?"

Kuzan: "That's not what I meant," he said with a nervous smile as he ran his hand through his hair.

Trini: "Does this have something to do with the Navy?"

Kuzan: "Sadly, yes." His reluctance to say anything could be heard in his voice. "Even though I'm on vacation, Kong asked me to come talk to you about an invitation to become a Marine Admiral."

I say this without anything to cushion it, direct and precise.

Arthur: "I had no idea the Marines were so desperate and lacking in power."

Dante: "It's not that; they have no shortage of power; they have Garp, Sengoku, and Akainu; there's Kuzan; there's even someone who has the Logia Fruit of Light, so they really don't lack power."

Kuzan: "Dante's right, but those people might not be suitable for the position. There's currently an open admiral position; Tsuru is temporarily filling it so there won't be a vacancy there. She's not really an admiral; the previous one was killed by Big Mom in an affront for wanting to save his comrades. From there, the only one who died was him, which was a victory for him but a defeat for the Navy."

Sulli: "But why aren't you promoted to admiral? You're already a vice admiral and should have the power to be one."

Kuzan: "You're right, but I still lack the merits for the position. This is something that happens to Borsalino; his laziness means he has almost no military merit, and if I were to become an admiral, there would still be one vacant position."

Isis: "I don't understand; it wasn't just one vacant position."

Kuzan: "Actually, there are two; this is because Kong wants to give his position to Sengoku, and that would leave another admiral position free."

Trini: "It's okay to tell us all this; we're not marines or anything."

Kuzan: "Kong and Garp trust you, and in a way, I do too. You're good people; you do a better job than us in certain aspects. This won you over to most of the other marines, but not everyone thinks the same. Interestingly, Sakazuki, I mean Akainu, holds you in high regard; this is because you killed Hades."

Dante: "It both surprises me and doesn't." I sighed at the situation. "Sorry, Kuzan, for wasting your time, but I'm not planning on joining the Navy. I can make an agreement with you, but that's it."

Kuzan: "I understand. I figured it out, so no problem," he said, standing up. "I'll tell Kong about your position. It's already nighttime, so I'll find a place to stay and leave."

Dante: "If you want, you can stay here for the night. I can send Arthur to sleep on the couch, and you go to his room."

Arthur: "Hey, and my opinion counts for something."

Kuzan: "Then I'll bother you for tonight," he said, almost laughing at the situation.

The next day, Kuzan left. I have no idea. He didn't tell us, but he shouldn't have told us either, so it's okay.

We stayed longer on the island training. But we would soon have to leave, as we couldn't stay here forever.

*Time skip*

It's been a year and a few months since that day. During this time, our fame and recognition have slowly increased. If we take stock of what's happened,

First, there's still no new admiral; I think Kuzan is doing Borsalino's thing: slowly cooking everything up. I have no idea when Kuzan became an admiral, but I know that when Arlong was captured, Borsalino was still a vice admiral, and that's still a while away. Second, Kaido is already recognized as a yonko, including him, Big Mom, and Whitebeard. Third, Shanks already has a bounty card, with it being 380,000,000 belly, followed by another card for 150,000,000 for Benn Beckman. Still, if he already has more crew members, I don't really remember anything about that point. My memory is failing me more and more. Fifth, after the horror books I published, I decided to write the Harry Potter series. I had to change things to make it make sense in this world. I'm currently on the sixth book. And finally--

Pururururu*

I couldn't continue with my fourth-wall-breaking monologue because I was being called. Right now, we're on the Skíðblaðnir on the way to a kingdom, which is the next one marked by the log pose.

gacha*

Dante: "Hello?"

???: "When do you plan to see me and your daughter, Dante?"

Dante: "I'm working, Tritoma; besides, if I go, I know you won't let me go for any reason."

Tritoma: "Seeing your daughter is less important than anything else."

Dante: "I plan to go next year to see how the three brats are doing in training. Until then, that's enough for me, and Luna's okay."

Well, I had a daughter with Tritoma; her mission, when I first met her, was accomplished, and with that, she somehow tied me to her.

Tritoma: "It would be nice if Arthur came too, considering I had three daughters; I'm just still surprised he didn't have more, knowing everything he went through with my subordinates."

I'm surprised too; he must have had more than three daughters. And when he found out I'd fathered three babies, he almost died.

Dante: "Look, I'm almost at my destination, so I should hang up. Give my regards to the brats."

gacha*

And with that, I hung up the den den mushi.

Trini: "That's the eighth time he's called you this month; he really wants you to go there, maybe you should go."

Dante: "No, thanks. I like my dignity, and knowing that it's in good condition, maybe he'll want another one."

Sulli: "How long until we get to the kingdom of Doerena?"

Dante: "I don't know, about 3 hours."

And so time passed until we reached the kingdom. It's worth noting that we left by water, so we wouldn't have any more energy when we reached our destination, and that Trini was fishing to pass the time.

*In the kingdom of Doerena*

POV ???

In the kingdom's palace, a young man is seen prostrate on a throne watching two guards fighting to the death while he holds a princess-like woman on his lap. Another slightly older, but very beautiful, woman is behind him rubbing his shoulders, as well as a servant feeding her food.

???: "How boring," and with a single movement, he cut the two fighting guards in half. No one reacted to this as if it were the most normal thing. "Have you heard from Dante?"

???: "He's been seen on a nearby island, so it's quite possible he'll come here; you just have to wait, my lord," said a tall man who looked like a businessman.

???: "Fine, I think I'll go torture the king and prince of this kingdom; don't you mind if I do this to your husband and fiancé?" said the man sitting on the throne as he stood up.

???: "No, it's what he deserves for going against him, my lord." Said the older woman, now recognized as the queen of Doerena.

???: "Not at all. He won't be the next king of this kingdom now, so I don't care what happens to him." Said the younger woman.

???: "I like your attitude. Maybe when I'm done here, I'll take Mary Goise with you."

???: "It would be an honor."

With that, the man walked over to the two women, grabbing the younger woman's butt and the older woman's breast.

???: "Just you wait, Dante. I'll prove I'm better than you in more ways than one."

Dante's POV.

After a long two-day journey, along with boring jokes and eating charred fish, since I can't cook as I drive, otherwise we'd be delayed longer than we'd like.

Dante: "When are you going to learn how to cook, even just one well-done fish?"

Isis: "It's not my fault the fire got out of control."

Arthur: "I was hungry, and I think we were all the same; I just wanted to speed things up."

Sulli: "Just be thankful the ship didn't catch fire."

It didn't occur to me that the ship might catch fire; I think we'll have to bring non-perishable food from now on.

The kingdom looked like a kingdom, if you'll pardon the redundancy. When we arrived, they quickly recognized us, causing people to crowd together.

Dante: "Relax, people. Could you move aside so we can find a place to stay? In exchange, I'll hold a meeting where you can talk and ask me questions, along with photos and greetings, but that will be for tomorrow."

The people listening didn't feel like paying much attention to me, but after a long conversation and a not-so-subtle threat from Trini, they began to disperse, hoping I'll fulfill my promise tomorrow.

Trini: "That's the only thing I don't like about all this; it's annoying."

Isis: "I'd like some privacy too, but it's not as bad as what Dante is going through."

Dante: "I remember they tried to kidnap me once; she was a crazy princess. Thankfully, everything ended well, and I was able to come back whole."

And with that, we went to find a place to rest.

POV ??

He just finished using these two noblewomen; it was a good way to de-stress. He should bring some maids to clean up the blood and other fluids in there.

???: "Sir, the great hero Dante has just been seen in the city." He abruptly stopped what he was doing, only to give a smile.

???: "It's a good thing my trip to this shitty kingdom was worth it. Let's get started on the plan."

???: "Yes, sir," he said, leaving.

We'll meet again soon, Dante. Just you wait. I'll bring your severed head to Mary Goise.