Sorry for the delay; Monday was a busy day. I had practice, then I had to study for an exam, then take it, and then get home to fix a project. Afterward, I threw myself into bed and passed out; I was too tired to write, but here it is; I hope you enjoy.
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It's been three years since my fight against Kizaru; several things have happened, things that have nothing to do with me. The most important thing you might read would be that Shanks is now formally considered the Fourth Emperor of the Sea.
Unlike me, I don't have any subordinate pirate gangs or anything like that. First of all, I'm not a pirate, so even if I have strength on their level, according to some—because I have no idea if that's the case—I'm only facing Kizaru, nothing more. I'm not a Yonkou.
Trini: "You do see that newspaper a lot; how about you help me carry those materials instead? That way you're not a nuisance," she said, her tongue as dark as her humor.
I just sat down at the table where I was drinking coffee while holding my second three-year-old son in my arms, playing with a toy truck I got him.
Dante: "Don't you see, I'm babysitting Nathan? That's not doing anything or being in the way."
Trini: "We all know you're lazy, and you use that as an excuse to do nothing. Nathan is the quietest kid around; if you leave him on the floor, he won't move all day. You should be babysitting the other one, who seems to be on a constant sugar rush."
I didn't say anything, since I had no way of contradicting her.
And where was Maximus? I have no idea. He's probably up there lifting women's skirts just to be annoying.
I should correct him, but as long as he doesn't do anything serious, I'll let him be happy, because when he's older, I'll make him suffer just like he tortured Yamato with training.
So I took a box of materials and went with Trini to his school.
About two years ago, he achieved his dream of creating a place where all children could study and become better people, making well-rounded humans for the world—something new in this world, so you could say it's experimental.
I told him to write down all the data on how his experiment was going and then make a book and send it out into the world, something like a thesis or one of those books that no one reads except academics.
The place wasn't that big; it was bigger than a house but smaller than a mansion. Sphinx wasn't a large island, but with our intervention and the attempt to prevent this place from stagnating, more people have come here, mostly to escape this world invaded by pirates.
You could say that Whitebeard's flag and our presence scare even the bravest pirate.
The school serves children between the ages of 5 and 11, which includes my oldest son, Maximus, or Maxi, for short.
A messy child is quite rebellious; Celestia doesn't do anything to him, only intervening when I do something, because, as ugly as it sounds, Celestia isn't very interested in Maxi; her primary and total interest is always me. Hence his rebelliousness, which is only to get his mother's attention, which almost never works.
That's why I don't scold him and let him be for a bit, since I understand what's going on and can't reason with my wife. Luckily, Nathan was born with a more independent mindset, as if all the problems that arise in life were just air.
The children have white hair like their mother and red eyes, something all my children have for some reason, so if I see a child with red eyes, I can say they're 100% mine. Since none of my siblings have red eyes, it was something I inherited from my biological mother. However, Maxi resembles Celestia more, while Nathan resembles me more.
Speaking of Celestia. She hasn't changed in all this time; from what I said earlier, you already know what her personality and way of thinking are like. If she could, she'd be glued to me all day, all month, all year. The only moments of respite I have are when she goes to the greenhouse and orchard to continue her work and when I travel; the rest of the day I spend with her, or rather, she's all over me.
And it doesn't really bother me. She's a woman who rivals Hancock in terms of charm; in other respects, she's not far behind. If I could describe her, I'd say she's like those MILFs you see in hentai manga. I'm not ashamed to say that's one of the reasons I haven't run away from her, despite all her red flags, as the kids would say.
Not to mention the fact that I could do anything to her and she'd accept without complaint. And I don't mind going to sleep with a big, soft pillow.
As for the others, Sulli managed to expand her clinic further with the increase in people on the island, and being the manager and boss of the clinic, he makes a lot of money—not millions, but you could say he's the richest person there.
His daughter Irem is the same age as Maxi; they're childhood friends, but right now they can't stand each other. She can't stand his rebellious behavior, while he can't stand his "prudish" behavior, or two-faced, as I see it. I have no idea where they heard the expression "prudish"; it's something I'll have to find out soon.
Isis has been doing quite well; along with Celestia, she has prospered in her flower shop, one of the main buyers being me and Trini, who gives us a companionship discount, since the flowers we buy are for Arthur's grave or me when I need Celestia to say yes to some things.
Her relationship with Marco has been going well; they're at the stage that happened with Trini and Sulli, where they're into something, but they don't want anyone to notice. And that's a bit complicated, having two people with observation haki at an extreme professional level, and it's not because I want to spy on them.
They're still in wheelchairs, but with our help and some modifications in different places to make it easier to get around town, their life hasn't been bad at all.
Trini: "Hey, how have your other kids been? Have you heard anything from them?" she asked me as we walked to school.
Dante: "Well, from what I heard from Marie, Gil will be joining the Marines next year, when he turns 15; at least that's what the four of them decided." I said, following her, one hand carrying a box and the other holding Nathan's hand as she walked.
Trini: "All four of them?"
Dante: "Marie, Garp, Bogard, and Gil."
Trini: "Marie's still there; I thought she'd already left to do something else."
Dante: "And what else could I do?"
Trini: "Hmm, now that I think about it, why did you come to my house? Normally, you would have gone to Isis's house."
Dante: "Didn't you hear? The old man and the others arrived last night, so Isis must be with Marco right now, and I honestly don't want to bother them."
Trini: "You don't want to bother Isis, but you do want to bother me," she said, somewhat annoyed.
Dante: "It's my duty as a younger brother to interfere in your life and bother you, and your duty as an older sister is to put up with me and feed me when I arrive," I said simply.
Trini just clicked her tongue without saying anything, since you had already arrived at school, and saying rude or harsh things would ruin her image.
We arrived at a room, where I placed the box on a table, picked up Nathan, and placed him in a corner after checking for any spiders or bugs. I returned to Trini to help her with the supplies.
Trini: "Okay, what about the others?" she asked again.
Dante: "Luna's fine, terrifying both pirates and marines; as for Jaenne and Olympe, I have nothing."
Trini just nodded without looking at me.
Trini: "And what about that other brat?"
Dante: "Kaori?"
Trini: "That same one."
Dante: "She's fine. I was thinking about bringing her mother here, but I regretted it the second that thought crossed my mind."
Trini: "I still can't believe you got Vice Admiral Monsalves's granddaughter pregnant, after how well she treated us, and you repaid her like that."
I didn't say anything, since saying it was an accident would sound worse than sorry.
Dante: "The last time I went to see her, she gave me a drawing of her and me in a park; it's a memory I made with her the second to last time I visited."
Trini: "Next time you go, invite me. I want to meet my new niece."
Dante: "I'll see," I said as I finished my part, then went back to Nathan, carried him again, and went to another room. After all, I also played the teacher sometimes to help Trini, and today I had to teach a class.
Just as I was about to leave, I turned around to speak.
Dante: "Today was poker night, right? We're inviting the others."
Trini: "Yeah, the more the merrier; who would we end up being?"
Dante: "You, me, Sulli, Isis, Celestia, Marco, Thatch, Juzo, Ricardo, Estefanía, Balesca, Yamato, Ali."
Trini: "Ali?"
Dante: "Yes, the one who just arrived with his wife, in that area where a house was being built. Remember Sulli invited them; I don't remember his wife's name, but she'll be there too."
Trini: "There are more of us than I thought there would be."
Dante: "The more, the merrier, right?" he said, and I left the room.
...
Thatch: "I have a trio, so I win," he said, showing his cards, which included two identical cards and one of the same rank on the table.
Isis: "Not so fast," she said, showing her cards, which made Thatch open his eyes.
Balesca: "Ha, he's got a draw, I'll beat you. That's what you get for opening your mouth too soon."
Dante: "That'll take your money; if you're not going to sell your body, you can go to the corner with Sulli, Yamato, and Ricardo."
I heard him grumbling as he stood up and went to where the others were, the losers' area.
I took the cards to shuffle them and continue with the next round.
If you're wondering where the old man is, well, he's being a grandfather to his grandchildren and incidentally to the children of the others they had, like Irem or the son of Ali and his wife, Olga.
Marco: "Hey, Dante, now that we're more relaxed, I have something to tell you," he said while sipping his liquor.
Dante: "Oh, really? Are you finally going to ask my permission to marry Isis?" I said, imitating his action, but with an orange juice box Celestia had given me at my side.
Marco spat his drink in Juzo's face, who was standing next to him.
Marco: "That's not right," he said, almost panicking.
Isis: "It's not right," she sounded a little embarrassed.
Marco: "Wait, that's not what I meant."
Juzo: "Be a man and don't back down. Look how sad you made him." He said, hitting him hard with his sword, out of spite for the spit.
Trini: "Fufufu, Marco looks for young women to take advantage of and then discards them." She said mockingly.
Balesca: "The first commander of the Whitebeard Pirates is that kind of horrible man; imagine when everyone finds out he's a womanizer."
Marco: "I'm not like that, Sister Celestia, help me."
Celestia just looked at him with a big smile.
Calestia: "But isn't that true?"
Marco's head ached, along with his depressed expression.
Marco: "Wait, we've gone off on a tangent," he said as he looked over at me. "We found some information about Arthur's Devil Fruit."
That stopped the cards I was dealing. I shifted my gaze from the cards to Marco.
Olga: "Arthur?" she said innocently.
Trini: "He was our partner. He died on our last joint mission. Since then, Dante has been searching for his Devil Fruit so he can fix both Sulli's arm and Isis's disability."
Olga: "Now I remember he was 5; I thought he wasn't with you, that he was gone, not that he was dead. My deepest condolences."
Arthur's death isn't widely known; it's not hidden, but you could say that, to the rest of the world, I'm the only one still alive, since they don't appear, and it doesn't make sense for me to die with my individual strength. Basically, I'm still in the collective mind of the people of this world.
Sulli: "If he were here, maybe he wouldn't be in the Lost Zone, since I would have even taken his underwear," she said, somewhat resentfully, in her corner while listening to our conversation. "Cheers to Arthur." She uttered, raising her glass.
Everyone: "Cheers to Arthur," they all said, imitating Sulli's action.
Everyone returned to the game, accustomed to the flattery of the losers and drunks in the losers' zone.
Dante: "And how reliable is the information about the Devil Fruit?" he said as he dealt the cards again; he tried not to let the new information distract him.
Marco: "50/50," he said as he looked at his cards.
Basically, it's not really reliable.
Trini: "Where did you get the information?" she said, paying the table.
Marco: "From the underworld, I continue."
Juzo: "I continue."
Balesca: "I continue."
Isis: "I fold."
Ricardo: "I fold."
Estefanía: "I continue."
Ali: "I fold."
Olga: "I continue."
Dante: "The information doesn't sound so reliable to me, then."
Marco: "That's all anyone has heard of the fruit; take it or leave it, but if it really is the real deal, then you won't have to continue your aimless travels around the world."
Dante: "Maybe."
Estefanía: "I heard Ruby's holding a tournament, or rather, a coliseum, where there will be a great reward."
I just looked at her.
Estefanía is Celestia's friend from when they were children; unlike the others, she decided to travel the world, something that left her with several scars. She's been to many places, including the underworld.
Isis: "I've been to that place before, right? Do you know anything about it?"
Estefanía: "Only the place hasn't been the same since you guys pulled off that big heist; the place almost collapsed, but the leaders managed to keep the roof on the place and keep it going. Currently, Doflamingo is in charge, due to his influence and status as a Shichibukai."
Juzo: "I really want to squash that flamingo every time I see his smile."
Dante: "And what about Ruby?"
Estefanía: "I have no idea. Last I heard, she had an alliance with that woman named Adelina; that woman gave me the creeps every time I saw her. I was working for Leandro, but when he retired, I had to leave that place for safety's sake."
Isis: "Dante, do you think they could be plotting something?" she asked me as I laid out some cards on the table.
Ricardo: "Most likely, those two women are troublemakers; both seek ecstasy and pleasure, but in different ways."
Ricardo is someone who also worked in the underworld and is currently Estefanía's partner.
Dante: "If you know about the Devil Fruit and there's a coliseum nearby, chances are the two pieces of information are connected in some way. Ruby is most likely the one who has the Devil Fruit and is using it as a potential prize for her games," I said as I looked at my cards. "Raise by 100,000."
Trini: "I fold."
Marco: "I fold."
Juzo: "I fold."
Balesca: "I call."
Estefanía: "I call."
Olga: "I fold."
And so I showed another fourth card, having 4 face-up cards out of 5.
Dante: "I continue."
Balesca: "All in."
Estefanía: "I fold."
I looked at my cards; I had a good hand, so I took a risk.
Dante: "All in."
I turned over the last card and showed my hand. I had a full house; I was feeling confident until I saw Balesca's hand, a four of a kind, ironically.
And so Balesca took all my chips and sent me to the losers' section to cry and complain in silence.
Just as I was about to stand up, Celestia got there first. I thought she wanted to get a good seat for the two of us, but she grabbed a glass and a spoon and slammed it down, calling for attention.
Celestia: "Dante and I are going home now," she said simply, not taking my opinion into account. "But before we go, I want to give you some news, since almost everyone is here." She let the silence drag on. "I'm pregnant again."
Everyone fell silent, looking from Celestia to me. I tried hard not to have any more children with her, but it's complicated when both want to have sex, but only one side is interested in having children. There must have been birth control or something, or else she wouldn't have gotten pregnant, and I didn't even realize it.
All I could feel was the pressure in my body dropping, and I saw everything black and fainted.
I already have enough brats in the world. Why does the world keep punishing me like this?
...
*A few days later*
The place was almost completely destroyed; in the distance, you can see three children almost the same age looking on in admiration. These were Irem, Maxi, and Julies, Ali and Olga's son.
The three of them were watching my training with Yamato. Yamato was fighting me with her kanabo, while I was bare-handed, fighting like Garp, only with my fists.
Dante: "It's okay, Yamato, it's progressing, but," I said, dodging her blow and using Soru along with my speed to stand next to Yamato and punch him in the stomach, sending him away. "You're not close yet."
She fell to the ground, blood pouring from her mouth.
Dante: "Your Armament Haki is good, but you still fight on instinct, and you still can't use Observation Haki well in combat."
Yamato: "It's not that easy," he said, wiping the blood from his mouth.
Dante: "You need to be more focused; that's the key; you can use both, but not at the same time. We have to fix that. Let's continue with the fight."
We were about to continue, but at that moment, Balesca arrived with a den den mushi at our position.
Balesca: "Hey, Dante, it's Marcos, and he has information about the Colosseum."
I went to her and spoke to Marcos. To summarize, it's what I suspected: Ruby was going to build a coliseum, where there will be many rewards, including the Renki Renki no Mi, Arthur's Devil Fruit.
The rewards for these are unknown, but according to leaks, one of the rewards is that one.
Now the problem is the obvious one. If this isn't a trap, why does it smell like one?
I barely finished my conversation with Marcos when Yamato came to me and spoke to me.
Yamato: "Are we going to the Coliseum?"
Dante: "No, Balesca and I will," I said.
Yamato: "But I can fight and be of help, please."
I looked at Yamato, the beautiful and strong woman she had become over this time. Thanks to my brainwashing, I managed to erase the fact that she was Oden, but I didn't erase her fanaticism, only the attempted life-stealing she was attempting.
Dante: "The Coliseum is in two weeks; if you can use Armament Haki and Observation Haki at the same time, I'll bring you with me."
Yamato: "I won't let you down," he said cheerfully, in a battle stance.
Dante: "I hope so," doing the same so we could continue the fight and prepare for the next two weeks.