Chapter 19: 19. The Grind must go on. A Castaway?
│3rd Person POV│
[Grand Line, New World, Sphinx Island, East Coast, Polar Tang…]
After some discussion and with Bonney's consent, it was decided that since the Whitebeard Pirates couldn't do anything about Kuma's current condition, Kuma would be better left in the care of the Revolutionary Army.
According to Bonney, the Revolutionary Army had some sort of contact with Vegapunk.
They were in a better situation to reverse whatever was done to Kuma.
Honestly, Bonney had wanted to straight up march towards Egghead Island, in hopes of confronting Vegapunk and forcing him to return her daddy to her.
However, Jeanne and the former members of the Bonney Pirates were able to dissuade her from taking such an action.
Bonney had to accept the fact that as she was now, she wasn't capable of disregarding possible retaliation from the World Government if she did anything to Vegapunk.
And she didn't want to create problems for the Whitebeard Pirates just after joining them.
Apart from growing stronger and getting strong allies, the main reason she joined the Whitebeard Pirates was that she loved the care and treatment she received from them after the Summit War.
Therefore, the best course of action now was to leave her father in the care of the Revolutionary Army.
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│1st Person POV of Ace│
[Grand Line, New World…]
Three hours have passed since we departed from Sphinx Island.
Right now, the Polar Tang was drifting on the ocean surface instead of being submerged so that the ship's occupants could get some fresh air.
The Heart Pirates had a rule of resurfacing the Polar Tang once every three hours during their voyage from one place to another. Though only if the situation wasn't very urgent.
The reason for this was twofold.
One, this would give the machines responsible for underwater sailing some respite. Although the Polar Tang was capable of staying underwater for days, it was better to sail in this way and avoid any possibility of the ship malfunctioning.
According to Law at least.
After all, this ship was made by the painstaking effort of Wolf.
The Heart Pirates only knew how to perform maintenance and some repairs to the mechanical parts of the ship.
They weren't capable of building a second ship-submarine hybrid vassal like this.
So, Law took great care of the Polar Tang. He wanted the ship to accompany him till the end of his journey.
The second reason for the Polar Tang resurfacing for an hour once every three hours was to avoid the crew growing bored by having nothing else to do other than admiring the underwater scenery.
I didn't have a problem with this as it allowed me to continue practicing my flight trick during the hour Polar Tang would sail on the ocean surface.
Hovering in the air a slight distance away from the Polar Tang.
I looked ahead of me and saw a blue phoenix maneuvering in the air in a clumsy manner.
The blue phoenix in front of me was none other than Bonney.
Approximately an hour ago, I had asked Bonney the way her Devil Fruit worked while we were playing Tic-Tac-Toe.
Bonney had shared everything with me, from how she normally uses her Devil Fruit powers to render her opponent incapable of battle by turning them into a child or old men and women to her special move Distorted Future.
Once she did that, I brought up the idea of using the Distorted Future to envision a future where she had the powers of various Devil Fruits like Marco's, Pops', or even her Dad's.
Bonney mostly used her Distorted Future to gain Nika's abilities, which was a waste of its potential in my opinion.
Until she saw Nika in action, she wouldn't be able to use his abilities fully.
On the contrary, if she could use Distorted Future to use various Devil Fruits' powers according to the future, she would become a formidable opponent in battle.
After some discussion, Bonney decided to try to use Marco's Devil Fruit powers.
With the powers of Phoenix in her hands, Bonney would be able to gain great maneuverability through flight, healing powers, and a significant boost in strength.
Additionally, through time and practice, she should be able to use Distorted Future for far longer periods of time.
Suddenly, I saw the blue flames flicker out of existence and then, Bonney reverting back to her original form.
'Seems like her stamina ran out.'
Adjusting the position of my hands, I shot towards her before she fell into the ocean below.
Easily catching her in my arms, I wobbled slightly in the air as I had to adjust the output of the flames from my feet to steadily hover in the air.
Looking at Bonney's exhausted countenance, I said with a smile, "Your stamina is shit. Do you even exercise?"
Her face scrunched up as if she swallowed something sour, and she retorted angrily, "Shut up!! You just wait! After this, I will practice Daddy's powers and send you flying to the North Pole!"
"Heh, is that so? We will see then. Now hold tight, I can't maneuver properly with just my feet yet."
Saying so, I placed Bonney on my back, freeing my arms in the process.
Within a minute, we landed on the deck of the Polar Tang.
Bonney quickly jumped off my back and ran past the open main entry door, before turning left to use the stairs to descend into the lower decks.
Just before she disappeared from my view, I saw her drooling slightly.
"Hahaha~!"
Watching Bonney's antics, a laugh escaped my lips. She had lunch just over three hours ago and after training for less than forty-five minutes, she is hungry again.
Her appetite was not much lower compared to my little brother.
Clang—!
Sounds of metal clashing with metal echoed, drawing my attention towards the center of the deck.
Looking over, the scene of Law and Izou engaged in a spar using their respective swords only came into my view.
Izou always stated that he was not a very good swordsman and he preferred to use guns instead. This was true only to a certain extent.
Izou was only 'untalented' in the way of the sword in comparison to Oden and his retainers.
That was the major reason he preferred to use guns as he knew that he wouldn't be able to stand equal to them by only relying on swordsmanship alone.
Compared to Law, Izou was still a step above in terms of pure swordsmanship.
Previously, when Law had asked Vista for a spar to test his swordsmanship skills, the latter had told him to first defeat Izou without relying on his Devil Fruit before looking to spar against him.
After observing their spar for a few moments, it was clear to me that Law was consistently on the back foot the entire time.
I took a seat on the railing of the deck and continued watching the spar. At the same time, I used my Observation Haki, trying to predict their moves before both of them even thought about executing them.
The method of learning advanced techniques in battle was an unconventional method.
Only exceptionally talented individuals like Luffy could do it.
While I was sure that I could also do it if the situation demanded, I preferred to learn it in a relatively safe manner.
At the moment, my Observation Haki was very good. I could sense everything within a radius of two kilometers. I could also accurately sense the presence, intent, and strength of everyone within this range.
Only the Emotion Sensing aspect of my Observation Haki was somewhat lacking, which, in my opinion, wasn't quite important if one wanted to learn Future Sight.
Canon Katakuri couldn't discern the murderous emotions and intent Bege had towards Big Mom.
So, I was qualified to learn Future Sight with the current level of my Observation Haki.
If I had to compare the strength of my Observation Haki, I would say that I was on par with post-Dressrosa Canon Luffy.
Anyway, as I was immersed in sensing every aspect of Law and Izou's spar, I detected Bepo arriving on the outdoor deck by using the elevator.
A few seconds later, he called out, "Captain, it is time to dive again!"
The next second, Law and Izou disengaged after their swords clashed for one last time.
At this moment, Law's forehead was dripping with sweat, his eyes radiating tiredness.
I could see that he was only mentally exhausted as his physical body was still brimming with strength.
Izou, on the other hand, looked completely relaxed.
He looked at Law with a smile and said, "You have made some improvements. At this rate, you should be able to surpass me in about six months' time. Keep it up, Law!"
"Thank you!" Law calmly expressed his thanks before turning towards Bepo.
"Alright! Let's go to the control room."
Then, he swiftly made his way towards the elevator with Bepo following behind him.
Izou and I also went inside, closing the main entrance door behind us. We decided to take the stairs to reach the lower decks.
"Hey, Izou! Have you ever thought about going to Wano and freeing the country from Kaido's clutches?"
I suddenly asked the question as we reached the kitchen. It was located on the second level below the main deck.
Izou was taken aback for a brief moment after hearing my sudden question.
Gathering his wits, he clenched his fists tightly while answering, "Of course I do! I think about it every day! I want to reunite with my sister.
"I want to have a drink with my fellow retainers of Oden-sama again. I want to see Hiyori and Momonosuke, who I am sure are alive to this day.
"I want to save all the citizens who are suffering under Kaido's and Orochi's rule. However, I am weak. I am not even strong enough to defeat the All-Stars in a one-on-one battle.
"Every day, I live with the guilt of leading a fulfilling life with the Whitebeard Pirates while who knows in what condition my comrades or Wano's citizens are in.
"However, I also know that I can't do anything that could ignite a war between our Whitebeard Pirates and the Beasts Pirates.
"I can only hope that one day, I will get the chance to go Wano Country and free it from Kaido's clutches."
'Well, it seems that Izou has been bottling up his feelings and desires for a long time now.'
I watched as Izou took some deep breaths in an attempt to calm himself after he finished venting.
Stepping close to him, I placed a hand on his shoulder and said, "During my journey before joining the Whitebeard Pirates, I had been to Wano.
"Seeing the state it was in, I also wanted to liberate it and even foolishly went to Onigashima to fight Kaido.
"Fortunately, Kaido was away on a raid at that time. Dissatisfied with this, I was trying to destroy Kaido's castle when I was stopped by his daughter.
"Even while cuffed with Seastone handcuffs, Yamato was evenly matched with me. So, you can imagine how much stronger Kaido could be.
"But, don't worry! In two years, we will free Wano from Kaido and Orochi."
Afterward, I shared with Izou the plans that I drew up in order to prepare Wano for the Twenty-Year Promise.
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│3rd Person POV│
[Hours Later…]
[Grand Line, New World…]
As the Polar Tang once again resurfaced, Ace arrived at the upper deck for my flight training again.
However, before he could launch himself into the air, he detected the presence of a person adrift on a small raft just at the edge of his Observation Haki's range.
Furthermore, the person's breathing was slow and rhythmic, indicating that they were either asleep or unconscious.
With haste, he shouted, "Law, there's a castaway on a piece of wood about two kilometers north of the ship."
A few seconds later, Law, Bean, Jean Bart, and Izou joined me on the deck.
Jean had a Den Den Mushi and a Binoculars in his hands. He quickly handed over the binoculars to Bepo.
Bepo swiftly scanned the northern direction with the binoculars, then handed them to Law. He then used the Den Den Mushi to direct the crewmates in the control room to sail the ship toward the castaway.
Within a few moments, the castaway was right in front of their ship's hull. Even then, the person didn't wake up.
"Room!"
A sphere of light blue aura spread from Law and quickly enveloped the Polar Tang and the castaway's raft.
"Tact!"
Announcing the technique's name, Law made an upward motion with his index finger. Using telekinesis, he lifted the castaway into the air and brought them in front of himself.
"Shambles!"
The next moment, Law, Bepo, and the castaway disappeared from the deck.
With his Observation Haki, Ace was able to sense that the three of them appeared inside the Operation Theatre located on the floor below the upper deck.
Although his attention was focused on a less significant fact at that moment.
"That castaway…"
Izou turned his attention towards Ace and questioned, "What did you say?"
It seemed that he heard Ace's mumbling.
Ace looked at Izou and said, his voice a strange mixture of shock and excitement, "That castaway is a Catgirl!"
…To Be Continued!
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A/N: I am attaching some photos of Polar Tang so that you guys gain a better understanding of what I have written in this chap.
Unfortunately, there were only three photos available. The OP had only posted these three on Tumblr and he intended to share three more but he didn't for whatever reason. Here's the link.
https://www.tumblr.com/waterchestnut123/188897630249/the-polar-tang-part-12?source=share
Anyway, If you see any mistakes, please don't hesitate to point it out.
And you like this Fic, right? Then please give it some Power Stones, Save it in your Library, and Post a Review if you feel like doing it.
Lastly, Shameless P@treon plug...;
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As of now, this is how far along each story is.
First Tier:-
>>One Piece: Copying The Phoenix Fruit At The Beginning ➜ Up to Chapter 84.
>>One Piece: As Portgas D. Ace ➜ Up to Chapter 24.
>>DxD | A Devil with Three Essences ➜ Up to Chapter 29.
>>Collection of Snippets ➜
>>>>>Snippet 1 – Naruto: Through the Eyes of Fugaku Uchiha (Fugaku SI). ➜ Up to Chapter 6.
>>>>>Snippet 2 – Danmachi: Is It Wrong to Stop Tragedies in the Dungeon? ➜ No Advanced Chapters in this Tier.
>>>>>Snippet 3 – Douluo Dalu: I have a Niffler as my Martial Spirit? ➜ Up to Chapter 8.
Second Tier:-
>>One Piece: Copying The Phoenix Fruit At The Beginning ➜ No Advanced Chapters in this Tier yet.
>>One Piece: As Portgas D. Ace ➜ Up to Chapter 26.
>>DxD | A Devil with Three Essences ➜ Up to Chapter 31.
>>Collection of Snippets ➜
>>>>>Snippet 1 – Naruto: Through the Eyes of Fugaku Uchiha (Fugaku SI). ➜ No Advanced Chapters in this Tier.
>>>>>Snippet 2 – Danmachi: Is It Wrong to Stop Tragedies in the Dungeon? ➜ No Advanced Chapters in this Tier.
>>>>>Snippet 3 – Douluo Dalu: I have a Niffler as my Martial Spirit? ➜ Up to Chapter 10.
So this is how it is. If you are joining my Patreon for my One Piece TL fic, don't purchase the Second Tier as I haven't yet posted any chapters for that fic in this Tier yet.
Also, while your support would be appreciated, don't feel pressured to join. I'll upload stuff outside it and not keeping it behind a paywall forever.
Well then, Good day and See ya guys later.