Arthur: "So you fucked her to escape?"
Dante: "I'm not very proud of what I did."
Isis: "You're not proud of the others either?"
Dante: "What did you want me to do? I was on the ropes the whole time."
Arthur: "Dude, he has a weakness for women."
I stopped listening to them both, because if it were true, I'd be groped by every woman who came near me, and that's not true; it's only half of them, not all of them.
Right now, we're waiting for Trini and Sulli to arrive; there are still a few days until the end of the four-month break.
Dante: "What happened? you got here early, Arthur? What did you do to Doll?"
Arthur: "Period."
Dante: "That makes sense."
While the four of us, including Hun, who was on my shoulder, were resting, we heard the screams of the local villagers.
Villager: "Pirates at the dock, be careful."
I opened my eyes when I heard them; I didn't sound scared. This place was protected by Whitebeard, so there shouldn't be any problems, but they didn't know who they were, and pirates are people with few brain cells, so I stood up to see what was happening.
Isis: "You need help," she said without opening her eyes. I looked at her; she was wearing sunglasses, a bikini, and a flash of light. So calm, it's as if she didn't have any visa issues, and she did; it made me so envious.
Dante: "No, whatever, I'll go with Hun, so if anything happens, I'll tell him to come get you."
And so I left, walking calmly, since I didn't feel anything wrong with my Haki, so after a few minutes I arrived at the dock.
There was a boat with a Jolly Roger of two skulls joined together. I couldn't recognize the guys, but I saw two people who looked almost identical, probably brothers, getting off the boat.
???: "Well, well, what do we have here?" said one of the guys.
???: "But if he's the great hero of our times, what a coincidence it is to have you here," said the other.
They both approached me and surrounded me; I could see a strange smile on their faces. I didn't sense anything from these guys, so I stayed still but ready for anything. I saw them take something out of their pants.
Only to take out some papers and kneel on the ground in supplication.
Both: "We would be very grateful if you would sign these drawings we made ourselves." I went blank, as if my brain was being reset; I don't expect any of this at any moment.
...
It turns out these guys are Whitebeard's pirate subordinates, which is why they could enter this place without any problem. They wanted to be great heroes when they were kids, which is why they have such admiration for me. The drawings they had were of them achieving their dreams.
First Brother: "I see. I've never been to Whole Cake, but I'd be terrified to face Big Mom."
Second Brother: "Yeah, bro, but the good thing is that you managed to escape without any problems."
Dante: "Escape without any problems"—he doesn't put it that way. I was telling him a little about why I'd been so inactive these past few months; I didn't tell him everything, just the essentials. These people aren't bad; they've just had bad luck in life, and I wouldn't get into any trouble with some Yonkou, so I didn't mind chatting with them a little.
While I was drinking orange juice, I saw one of the brothers beating up the other.
Second Brother: "Hey, don't you remember what he said to do if we find Dante?"
First Brother: "True, I'll come and go." And with that, he left for the ship. I just looked at them.
Dante: "What happened to Whitebeard?"
Second Brother: "They told us all that if we run into you, we should contact Moby Dick."
More trouble? I don't want to have any more trouble with pirates; it makes me want to retire from all this.
A little later, he arrived with a den den mushi in his hand. He immediately handed it to me. It was shaped like a kind of hair, like a pineapple. I just took it.
Dante: "Hello?"
???: "Dante, it's been a while; it's Marcos."
Dante: "Oh, it's been a while. I see you're doing well; you're not coming to me to recruit me, are you?"
Marcos: "I wish, but it's for something else; Father wants to meet with you and make an agreement, there's no problem with that."
Dante: "No, but I have to talk to the others about it."
Marcos: "I understand. I'll tell the brothers to give you my number so we can get in touch. Talk to your team and give us a time and place to meet. See you." And with that, he hung up.
I just wondered if these were the years of meetings and agreements.
...
It's been almost 10 years since I started the journey, and I'm almost 25; there are only a few months left. Honestly, I didn't expect to go this far; at this age I saw myself in Mary Geoise, in jail, or dead.
Trini: "Dante, you've deviated about 20 degrees. Bring your mind back to earth and steer the ship well."
Dante: "Good," I said between moans and complaints, all in my head. No matter how silent I was, Trini had the talent to listen to almost anything, especially if it was something about her.
Arthur: "I'm sure it's a good idea; the last time we saw that old man, he ended up hospitalized like a mummy."
Dante: "How many times have you said something might not be a good idea?"
Sulli: "I counted like 10 times."
Isis: "Yeah? I counted 17 times."
Arthur: "That's not a big deal."
Dante: "I think it's more important than making deals with Whitebeard."
Trini: "Hey, why did you even think of starting alliances with different pirates? I thought we were dedicated to hunting them, not making friends with them."
Dante: "You're wrong there. It was never my intention to capture pirates. My priority has always been to help people, save them, see their conditions, and, if possible, do something." "Capturing pirates is a consequence of that and of making money, since it's the fastest and surest way to get a good amount of belly."
Hun: [Land nearby, land nearby.]
Dante: "You heard, we're almost at the rendezvous point. Trini, do you see any pirate ships?"
Trini: "Yeah, about three kilometers away, almost reaching the island."
Dante: "It must be them. Prepare for anything, and when I say anything, I mean anything."
In less than a few seconds, we arrived at the location. As I got off, I saw several familiar faces, mostly from the bounty posters. I had memorized most of Whitebeard's commanders so I would never repeat that incident again. Of course, not all of them were there; there were only five commanders, that's all.
In front of me was Whitebeard, commanding respect.
Whitebeard: "Hey, brat, long time no see."
Dante: "Yeah, long time." I won't admit I was a little nervous and uncomfortable, but I was nervous and uncomfortable. "I didn't know the strongest man in the world made time to meet with me."
Whitebeard: "Don't get your hopes up; I'm doing this more for someone else than for myself. Back to the point, I'd like to do something similar to what you did with Linlin to avoid conflicts between us, but if it comes down to it, I want you to do something for me." He looked at me with a face from beyond the grave.
I just nodded, a little self-conscious; I knew I couldn't beat him, so I just had to go with the flow. Seeing my nod, he just smiled at me.
...
In my hands, I held the book I had just written and sent to Morgnas for publication, Red Dead Redemption 2. On the first page, there was a quote that read, "To Celestia, from me, Dante," next to my signature.
I'd had them sign all the books I'd written, and there were about 24 of them. Some were short, about 40 pages long, and others were long enough to be multi-part, Harry Potter being the example.
Dante: "So, who's Celestia?" I asked Marcos, who was standing next to me.
For a moment, it occurred to me that Celestia was Whitebeard's middle name.
Marcos: "You're not allowed to know that information; now smile," he said, pointing the camera at my face.
...
In the end, I got a rather unfair deal. I couldn't attack any of Whitebeard's pirates or allies, but in return, I could stay in his territory without any problems. Plus, if there was a problem, one of the parties could ask for help.
First, I was already walking around Whitebeard's territory without any problems, and second, I couldn't ask for help from this old man just out of common sense.
I could only feel my head in my throat like a fool. What a pain! When I have all the advanced-level Hakis, I'm going to beat him up; even if he falls into a coma, it'll be worth it.
While I was mentally arguing everything, Marcos approached me with a very friendly face.
Marcos: "Don't frown so much; you'll make yourself uglier than you are." I just looked at him with a sour face, and he responded by raising his hands in a sign of peace. "Relax, I didn't come just to bother you. I heard there's an auction nearby, and there's a slave trader who wants to sell merchandise, along with one of the underworld bosses. We could go, but I know this is your job; see you later." And with that, he left.
...
Later that night, we were on an island, which Marcos gave us directions to, to watch this auction and see which of the underworld bosses was coming.
Isis: "Who do you think it is?"
Trini: "At this point, anyone."
Arthur: "Look, here he comes."
We were hiding among the buildings surrounding the auction. The place wasn't much, but it was striking, not to mention the fact that it was underground.
I watched the people entering without much attention: nobles, politicians from the same area, and the occasional pirate. It wasn't until almost the end that I saw a certain person who made me smile.
A tall man, with an arrogance that could be seen from the clouds, but with short blond hair, shorter than mine, sunglasses, and a strange scarf, not to mention the way he walked as if he were trying to arrange his coconuts.
Dante: "Who would have thought we'd meet today, Donquixote Doflamingo?"
Trini: "This guy sounds familiar."
Isis: "Oh, I remember, Donquixote Doflamingo, current bounty of 250,000,000 belly."
Sulli: "And if I remember correctly, a former Celestial Dragon, right, Dante?"
Dante: "Yes, his father and mother left Mary Geoise, taking their children, one of them being Doflamingo."
Arthur: "What are the instructions?"
Dante: "There are no important people here, and the island has no dealings with the World Government, so," I focused my gaze on the entrance to the place, "don't leave even a single trace of the place."
Everyone: "Understood."
And with that, the four of them went off to break down the door and cause chaos. They should be fine; perhaps the most troublesome would be Doflamingo himself. So I used my Observation Haki skills to sense everything that was happening at the auction.
Arthur with the Durindala facing anything that comes his way, Isis supporting him with wind, Sulli with her surgical blades looking and checking the place, and finally, Trini with her pistols alongside Nemesis, whom I no longer need to use, guiding the others where to go.
I felt them already splitting up to take cover and go after the most important thing: the slaves. Sulli was the only one who was going to see if they could take any valuables, since you'd be a fool not to.
But my target wasn't them but someone else, specifically three people. Walking through a secret area.
Wasting no time, I followed them from above to see when they would surface and give them a good scare.
After reaching the forest, I saw a trapdoor, from which a guy with hair that went against gravity, along with a strange mask, emerged. Then followed an old man in a suit with a hood with rabbit ears. And finally, the main course, Doflamingo.
Doflamingo: "Those guys are a pain."
Dante: "Who, me?" I said, emerging from the shadows, with a small smile of mischief.
The three of them tensed, but Doflamingo, seeing me, broke into a broad grin.
Doflamingo: "Look who's here, the hero Dante himself, someone I've wanted to meet for a long time."
Dante: "I also wanted to meet the guy who tried to return to the Holy Land and was resoundingly rejected."
A vein popped out in his head when I mentioned that, but he didn't stop smiling.
Doflamingo: "That's in the past. I'm not interested in that place now, and you yourself must think the same. How about you form an association, having a common hatred for those World Nobles?"
Dante: "But I don't hate World Nobles."
Doflamingo: "Huh?" he said, sounding confused. His men also looked at him strangely, still ready to attack.
Dante: "How can I hate an ant for being raised to be an ant? It doesn't make sense; those people are like that because they were raised with arrogance and a superiority disorder, that's why they are like that. It's normal for them to always have a stick up their ass; that's why I can't hate someone who is like that, because they weren't born that way, they were molded to be that way." "That doesn't take away the bad things they do, but it does avoid the fact that I hate them; they're just annoying, like ants, and when ants are annoying, you just squash them, that's all."
Doflamingo was shocked by my words, only to start laughing like crazy.
Doflamingo: "I thought you didn't have any of those guys' characteristics, but I was wrong; as you say, you were raised to be that way."
Dante: "Yeah, well, back to business. I came to capture the boss of the underworld who was here, but I didn't expect it to be you." I saw him stop smiling only to tense up further; the others were already ready to attack.
Doflamingo: "Could you let me escape this time?"
Dante: "Sure, no problem," he smiled at my comment, "but only if you're covered in blood and scars."
And with that, I charged forward, Fusion Sword in hand. Before I could reach Doflamingo, the old man was already in front of me, his fists raised and his Haki in his fists.
We both attacked each other, but I immediately took the advantage; I began to launch attacks nonstop; he could only defend himself with his fists. Only for the masked man to launch himself to my left side, his arm extended and swollen, to throw a punch, which, before it could reach me, exploded like an explosion.
Knowing this, I jumped to the left, avoiding the attack, but just as I was about to fall, I felt a sense of danger, and with a horizontal slash that covered my entire body, I cut about 10 threads that were almost reaching my body.
Dante: "They're annoying." If it were one on one, it shouldn't be difficult to defeat them, but if it were three on one, I'd still win; it would just take longer.
???: "Young master, you go; we'll keep him here."
Doflamingo: "It's no use leaving; he can continue without any problem. It's more effective for the three of us to fight together."
I saw how the old man's hands were covered in blood; it shouldn't be difficult to break through his defense; I just need a clean blow and that's it.
And with that, I launched myself at Doflamingo again. The old man got in the way, but that's what I wanted. I feinted, so instead of hitting my sword, he ended up hitting the air, creating an opening, which I immediately seized. With a horizontal slash straight to his stomach, I sent him flying across almost the entire forest in about two seconds.
The other guy tried to attack in the same way, but I was already prepared, and with a quick slash, I cut off his arm, which was about to attack me, before he could do so.
???: "AAAAAH," the guy screamed.
Doflamingo: "Damn it." I heard him curse me, and threads shot out of his fingers like bullets from a gun.
I dodged them like I was dancing; that made him even more angry. And with a wave of my hand, three threads shot toward me, cutting everything in their path.
I just jumped and spun between two of these threads, only to launch myself at him again.
I saw you clasp your hands together, and when you opened them, you saw a buildup of threads, which stopped my attack. But it didn't stop me from moving back a few meters.
Dante: "What a pesky fruit," I said, launching three energy attacks at him.
Doflamingo jumped into the air just to stay there, as if floating.
Doflamingo: "Such strength! No wonder they say his strength is like Garp's when he was young."
Dante: "So that's what they say about me? I should talk to that old man and see if he's true."
I dedicated a large part of my training to being able to use the Fusion Sword without any impediment, managing to make it look like a normal wooden sword.
Dante: "Well, let's get this over with." With that, I drew a blade from the Fusion Sword and launched myself with Soru and Geppo.
Doflamingo opened his eyes in shock and fear, managing to create a few threads to defend himself, but they were cut by the main sword. He launched an energy attack, hitting him dead in his tracks and sending him sprawling to the ground.
Once I fell to the ground, I saw Doflamingo had blood in his mouth, but he wasn't bleeding. His abdomen was covered in threads, with a red stain there.
Doflamingo: "If you hadn't covered me with thread and Haki, I might have died. I thought you'd let me live."
Dante: "Sorry, I'm used to fighting guys stronger than you, so I'm holding back now."
I saw his fury about to explode. I felt him throw a thread into the sky and create a kind of giant prison on the island. But I'd be stupid to let him do that.
Using all my strength and a soru, I reached where he was, almost breaking the sound barrier, shattering the place where I was standing and creating a trail of smoke.
Doflamingo barely registered that I was there; being unsteady, he couldn't use his observation haki properly, and by the time he saw me, it was too late.
With one movement, I slashed twice at his body, throwing him far away from where I was. I saw him travel far away with blood on his body and coming out of his mouth.
I just waved goodbye, knowing he'd seen me. I had no desire to follow him, so the fight ended there.
I saw the guy whose arm I cut off, unconscious on the ground. And without any remorse, I cut off his head. I might have managed to rescue him or get him out of jail, so it's better to eliminate the few allies he has, just to make him angrier.
Dante: "So, where did the old man fall?"
...
After a few minutes, I arrived where the others were.
Trini: "You're here. I thought you'd come with the flamingo," she said, then pointed. "Who are they?" Pointing at my hands.
I only raised them to see two severed heads, more specifically those of the men who had accompanied Doflamingo.
Dante: "I have no idea. Let's see if they have a bounty."
Arthur: "Why did you let Doflamingo go?"
That question stopped me in my tracks; I thought a little about why I did it, and an idea came to me about my behavior.
Dante: "Maybe he's not a current World Noble, but he was, and something inside me tells me it's better to make him suffer and anger him to suicide than to kill him outright."
Sulli: "Basically, a grudge from the past, mostly because of the World Nobles."
Dante: "Something like that."
Isis: "But it's not a bad idea to antagonize him like that."
Dante: "Don't worry, he can't do anything to us, not now or in the future." I said as I stuffed the two heads into a garbage bag. "Let's go to a Marine branch to get some belly fat out of his budget."
...
Third-person POV.
It's been a few months since Dante met Whitebeard, and things weren't all peaceful or rosy on the Moby Dick.
A pirate was carrying a snack for Whitebeard, who was in his room, but was stopped by Marcos, who was nearby.
Marcos: "I recommend you stay out; he's not in the mood right now, he's talking to someone."
???: "Is he talking to that person?" he asked, only for Marcos to nod.
No one knew who he was; only a few higher-ups knew about it, but everyone knew he existed. No one knew his gender, age, race, or anything; they could only address each other by the name "that person," but that was all.
In Whitebeard's room, the great pirate was talking on a den den mushi.
Whitebeard: "But I already gave you the signed books and photos, my princess."
???: "That's not enough; if I had known you'd met with him, I would have gone with you."
Whitebeard: "That's dangerous. It's better for you to stay on the island; it's safer. The best example is what happened with the signature collection. If you had been there?"
???: "Nothing would have happened, since you or Marcos or one of the commanders would have been there too."
Whitebeard: "Yes, but..."
???: "No buts. If I can't go there, you'll have to bring him here. If you don't, I'll never speak to you again in my life."
And with that, the call ended. Whitebeard's expression was grim and pessimistic.
Whitebeard: "Marcos!!!" I shouted.
Marcos: "Yes, Dad!" He said, entering the room with the snack.
Whitebeard: "I think it's time to hunt down that punk."
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Here's a screenshot of the program where I take photos using AI, just so you can see it.
[Image]