It has been three weeks since I've dealt with the cp9 agents and one month, give or take a couple of days, since we came to Kano country, and Don Chinjao finally returned to the island yesterday.
I've spent this time training my conquerors Haki on a small island Laffite discovered nearby that was swarming with all manner of beasts while drilling Byron and Elly in the six powers in my free time, with Wilson or Laffite taking over when I was away.
Elly had finally managed to master Rankyaku, and she can perform at least three air steps before she has to land again for a couple of minutes when it comes to Geppo, while Byron is now in the same place Elly had been when we left Ballywood kingdom.
He managed to learn Tekkai, Shigan, and Kami-e very quickly, but he seemed to struggle with learning Soru as he couldn't figure it out until the end of the month, and he is now struggling, even more, to master Rankyaku and Geppo.
Wilson was being Wilson, disappearing once in a while to do some more secretive training that he refused to share with us, only saying that it's related to his original full-gorilla form.
Bob was also being Bob, being a lazy bastard and not doing any training as he sat on his ass, cooking and reading books all the time, but I didn't mind. That shitty cook always felt like he was holding back his power, hiding for some reason.
Laffite was very interested in my Impact Fist and asked me to teach him the technique after hearing about Kumadori's fighting style, saying that he had an idea about mixing the Impact Fist with Shigan and other things to come up with something very destructive.
Kozue was only interested in Tekkai, kami-e, and Geppo, and she managed to learn the first two and is beginning to master mixing them to achieve mobility with Tekkai active before she learns Geppo.
As for me, well, I spent the first week trying to recall the feeling of unleashing my Conquerors Haki during battle and became able to release it successfully once in every three to five attempts, until the end of the month at which I was able to do it at will, but I couldn't control at as it affected everyone within its range.
Fukurou and Kumador had also left Kano country and made their way to the grand-line as soon as their wounds healed about a week ago, contacting me and asking me about further instructions before they did.
And this brings us to this very moment. I am now leaning on the black pearl's railing, holding a newspaper and reading with a smile as I do.
"Portgas D Ace, captain of the spade pirates, huh?" I murmur while reading the news about him, defeating Ensign Isuka of east blue, causing him to get a bounty of twenty-five million.
'It looks like he already left Sixis island with Masked Deuce and ate the Mera-Mera fruit, but it doesn't look like he's in the grand line yet. I wonder if we'd bump into him in the future,' I think to myself with a smirk.
"I didn't think that you were this kind of person, captain. To think you'd look at a picture of a man with such a lewd smile, how perverse," Kozue said as she made her way near me and took a look at the newspaper in my hand.
"The only perverted thing here is your thinking, begone pervert," I reply with twitching eyes as I plant my fist at the top of her head.
"So you would even strike a lady such as myself. You are indeed a wicked rogue, captain," Kozue said while rubbing her head.
"Rehahahaha, I'm a believer of true equality between genders. I'll smack anyone in need of smacking regardless if they were a lady or a not," I stated with a smirk as I spread my arms to the side for dramatic effect.
"Besides, you're a pervert and not a lady, so you're fair game either way," I added with a grin, causing Bryon to chuckle only to cover his mouth and look away after Kozue sent him a dirty look.
Kozue tried to say something back, but Laffite interrupted her. "Captain, it's time to meet with Don Chinjao," he said promptly as soon as he appeared out of nowhere, causing Kozue to swallow her words and me to nod carelessly with a shrug.
In the past couple of weeks, I've come to the conclusion that I was putting too much weight and importance into this meeting with the old geezer because it's the first time I was so close to accomplishing one of my long-term goals, which blinded me to other solutions that would have been obvious if I wasn't so anxious.
"Wilson, Laffite, and Kozue, you're with me. The rest of you stay on the ship," I ordered while removing myself from the railing, tucking Satori and my gun in my belt as I did.
Hearing my words, everyone nodded except for Elly, who pouted instead as she wanted to tag along, but she refrained from objecting, causing me to smile and nod at her in approval.
"Lead the way, Laffite," I ordered, causing Laffite to nod with a smile as he jumped off the ship, causing Wilson, Kozue, and me to follow after him.
It didn't take us long to find ourselves standing in front of a giant pagoda-like building as one of the guards stationed at the pagoda's gate approached us. "State your identity and business in coming here," He demanded while smacking the ground with the butt of his spear.
"Johnny silver hand and his companions. We have a meeting with Don Chinjao," Laffite replied as he took a step forward, causing the guard to nod. "You are expected. Follow me," the guard said, turning around, opening the gate, and making his way inside with us following behind him.
After a minute or two of walking, we found ourselves in a spacious room filled with Chinese-style furniture and decorations, with Chinjao sitting on the far end of it on a very large chair befitting his size as he looked at us, surrounded by his two grandsons, and a lot of Happo navy members.
"I rarely waste my time on brats like you, but even I would be a little curious when a bounty hunter who appeared out of nowhere and took out one of five families asks to meet me," Don Chinjao said with a curious expression.
"So tell me, brat, what do you hope to accomplish by meeting me?" he asked with a curious expression as he moved his eyes to take a look at my companions, his eyes lingering on Laffite a little longer than the rest.
"Straight to the point, eh? That's fine, too," I remarked with a grin. "I'm here to make you an offer that would be beneficial to us both," I added, my grin disappearing, replaced by a serious expression instead.
"Hiyahoho, an offer that could benefit me, you say? What benefit could I possibly gain from accepting an offer from a brat like you?" The old pirate asked arrogantly, his tone and expression dismissive.
"You're already here, so I might as well hear what you have to say," he added with an amused expression.
"I can help you retrieve the treasure you left behind in the Crystal Ice Sheet," I stated with a confident voice, causing the old pirate to frown.
I, of course, didn't take offense to him calling me a brat since he even called Luffy that when he had a five hundred million bounty on his head, and I'm currently just a bounty hunter making a name for myself in west blue.
"And how would you help me retrieve my treasure when even I can't do it myself? I'm warning you, brat, you better chose your next words wisely," He asked, still frowning, his tone one of warning.
"By making you able to break through the ice again. I can give you back that drill head you were so proud of!" I explained gravely while looking the old pirate in the eye, causing his frown to become more pronounced.
"Do you have any idea how many doctors I've visited over the years to fix my head? Of course, you don't. Even I lost count after seeing a hundred of them!" Don Chinjao asked with an outraged voice as he got up from his seat, his beard flowing upwards to show his anger.
"I'm sure you've visited a lot of doctors, but you never found the best doctors," I replied with a challenging smirk. "I know where those doctors are, and I can gather them in one place to fix your head," I added while pointing at his head, my smirk still plastered on my face.
"You forget one thing, brat," Don Chinjao said with a scowling expression. "I'm a pirate, and whether you're telling the truth or lying, I'll find out by beating it out of you," He added, releasing his Conquerors Haki and targeting my companions and me with it.
Looking at this scene, his grandsons and the rest of the Happo navy members prepared for the incoming fight as the conquerors Haki washed over my crew and me, not phasing me in the least, causing Wilson and Laffite to smile eagerly while Kozue merely frowned.
"Go ahead and try it if you think you have what it takes old geezer," I replied, releasing my own Conquerors Haki and causing it to collide with don Chinjao's, creating a shock wave that encompassed the entire room, knocking out everyone except for me, my companions, Don Chinjao, and his grandsons.
(Author's note: discord gg/sEtqmRs5y7 <ā- the link to my discord server. It already has a couple of awesome guys with memes and constant discussions about one piece)