Chapter 216: Persecuting Nika, and a Reunion with Aokiji
As the dust settled, the restaurant owner and his staff stared in disbelief at the handsome, black-haired young man who was yawning and stretching as he climbed out of the crater. He seemed to have fallen asleep during his flight and was only just now waking up.
"Oh? East Blue already? That was fast!" Shane said, looking around. He let out a huge yawn, then pulled his boot out of Luffy's face with a wet pop.
"Fast?! What are you talking about?!" the owner and his staff shrieked, their souls nearly leaving their bodies. "Where did you come from?! Look what you did! You've killed someone!"
Hm? Really?
Shane looked down.
Holy... It's Nika!
What a coincidence. So this must be the Goa Kingdom. It made sense. When Kuma was with the Revolutionaries, he'd been to Goa with Dragon.
"He's not dead. Relax, mister," Shane said with a grin, giving Luffy's limp body a little kick. "This guy is... made of rubber. He's tough. It takes more than that to take him out." Huh. He's really out cold. Youth these days, they can sleep anywhere.
"Rubber?" The owner and his staff stared, remembering how the straw-hatted boy had stretched his arms to escape. It did seem like he was made of rubber. Could it be... the power of the devil, like in the legends?
Just then, Shane coated his fist in black Armament Haki and brought it down on Luffy's head.
BONK!
"OWWWW! THAT HURTS!!!" Luffy shot up, clutching the smoking lump on his head. "Who?! Who the hell hit me?!" He looked up, and his eyes went wide. He rubbed them, but the figure was still there. "Big Brother Shane!" He threw his arms around Shane's leg, his face a mess of tears and snot. "Waaaah! It's really you! I thought I'd never see you again!"
Shane tried to pull his leg away in disgust, but the rubber arms were wrapped around it like pythons.
"Hey, kid, don't wipe your snot on my pants!" he said, annoyed. "And what's with the waterworks? It's only been a year."
"But you always used to come and do magic tricks for me! I thought since you were on the Grand Line now, you wouldn't come back!" Luffy wailed.
That reminds me. Shane's eyes drifted to the straw hat on Luffy's head, a slow grin spreading across his face. The Marauder's Map cost 2000 points per search. He needed someone to foot the bill...
"Wait a minute!" he said, suddenly suspicious. "Even so, you wouldn't be crying like this! What's the real reason?!"
"Hehe..." Luffy scratched his head. "It's the bill... Big Brother Shane, since you missed me so much, can you pay my restaurant bill for me? When I find the One Piece, I'll pay you back with interest!" He remembered Shane having his own big ship when he was just fourteen or fifteen. He had to be rich!
"The bill?" Shane glanced at the aproned staff and sighed. "So that's what this was all about. Fine, how much is it?" He had a few hundred thousand Belly on him for emergencies.
The owner and his staff exchanged a look. They had been about to give up, seeing as this newcomer had literally fallen from the sky. But... he seemed pretty easygoing. "Since you're paying, I'll round it down for you. It's this much," the owner said, holding up two fingers.
"Two thousand? No, with this kid's appetite, it's got to be twenty thousand Belly. Tch. What a glutton," Shane said, pulling out his wallet.
"Two million Belly."
Shane froze. "How much?!"
"We wouldn't lie to you, sir!" the owner cried. "Ask this little brat yourself! For the last six months, he's been showing up in different disguises, tricking us into giving him food dozens of times! When we finally recognized him today and refused to serve him, he got mad and ate all the food off the other customers' tables..."
Shane's face darkened. He turned to Luffy, who was now whistling innocently, pretending to admire the scenery.
"You've been hanging around Ace too much..." he said, a demonic grin spreading across his face. "In that case, you can work off your debt."
"Eh?"
Before Luffy could react, Shane moved like lightning. With a click, a pair of old, worn Sea-Prism Stone handcuffs were locked around his wrists.
"Waaah! What is this?! I feel so weak!" Luffy collapsed to the ground like a deflated balloon. "I can't use my strength... Big Brother Shane, what are you doing?!"
"Mister," Shane said, ignoring Luffy. He picked up the limp boy and handed him to the restaurant owner. "He's all yours. Pay him the standard East Blue minimum wage. He can work as your dishwasher and janitor until he's paid off his three-million-Belly debt."
"Th-Three million?" the owner stammered. "But you said two..."
"Interest. And a lesson," Shane said coolly. "If it teaches him not to be a thief, it's worth the extra million."
"It's not like you're the one paying!" Luffy gritted his teeth. "What the hell, Big Brother Shane! I'm supposed to be setting sail in three years! I have to train and get stronger! I can't waste my time washing dishes!" He struggled against the cuffs, but his rubber powers were gone.
"Those are Sea-Prism Stone. They're used to control Devil Fruit users. Don't bother," Shane said, tossing the key to the owner. He'd "found" them on Smoker last year. "A new Devil Fruit user like you will be completely helpless at first. But if you keep training, you'll get your strength back, and you'll be even stronger than before. When you can do all the kitchen work by yourself while wearing those cuffs, you'll have paid off your debt."
Is that so? Luffy looked down at the cuffs, then back up at Shane, his eyes welling with tears. Waaah... I knew it... Big Brother Shane is too kind and gentle to be so cruel to me! He's just trying to help me train and get stronger faster!
"I get it! Big Brother Shane, you're the best!" he cried, a bubble of snot inflating from his nose.
The owner and his staff just stared. This kid... is he getting scammed and thanking him for it?
"Alright, that's it for me. I have business to attend to. See you around, Luffy," Shane said. He snapped his fingers. "By the way, I did your magic trick for you. Where's your hat?"
"Eh?" Luffy felt his head. It was bare. "When did you—?!" Big Brother Shane's magic has gotten even better!
"Check the restaurant's kitchen," Shane laughed. "I already put it back!" After he left, he'd just stop by the old farm supply store, buy a cheap straw hat from the owner, and drop it off in the kitchen before Luffy got back.
He waved goodbye and was about to leave when Luffy's voice called out, "Big Brother Shane! When I get stronger, I'm going to find you! And you have to teach me that hat trick!"
The shout was loud. "Shane?" several passersby muttered, their eyes widening in recognition.
This kid... Shane sighed. He hated crowds. With a single step, he shot into the sky, disappearing in a flash.
...
After leaving the Goa Kingdom, Shane pulled out Bulma's capsule. With a poof, a sleek, silver-blue hover-motorcycle appeared on the water. Not bad. He hopped on and twisted the throttle. He had already used the map again to pinpoint Shiki's location. It wasn't far. He'd be there in a day or so.
He checked his system panel.
[You have sacrificed Luffy's fake straw hat. You have gained 3000 points.]
The chosen one... always a reliable source of wool. The map search had only cost him a net 1000 points, with Monkey D. Luffy footing the rest of the bill. Shane was in a good mood. He hummed a little tune as his motorcycle sped across the waves.
...
That night, he arrived at a small, remote island. According to the map, Shiki's base was floating in the sky directly above it. "It really is high up," he said, looking up at the night sky. "I can't even sense it with my Haki... hm?"
His eyes sharpened. He turned his head. In the village's only tavern, he sensed a familiar, powerful presence. Not Shiki, but...
Shane's eyes narrowed. He headed for the tavern. He'd go say hello to an old friend first.
He kicked a bicycle out of the way to park his motorcycle—what kind of junk is this, taking up my spot?—and pushed open the saloon doors. As expected, a tall man with curly hair was sitting at the bar, his back to him.
"Hey... that wasn't very polite, little friend," the man said without turning around. "That's the third bike I've had to replace this year. Are you trying to make me buy a fourth?"
"There was no other place to park," Shane said, pulling up a stool. "As compensation, your drinks are on me tonight. How about it?"
"...That's more like it," Aokiji grumbled, finally turning his head.
"Sherry?" Shane asked, glancing at the bottle in front of him.
"Yeah. An old mentor of mine used to love it. I guess I picked up the habit," Aokiji said, pouring him a glass.
They clinked their glasses. Shane took a sip and grimaced. "Too sweet... tastes like caramel. This is for little girls. I don't like it."
"Don't knock it," Aokiji said. "For those of us who are trapped in a world of misery, the sweetness of sherry is a necessary comfort."
"Is that so?"
"Arara. A young star like you, with a perfect life, wouldn't understand..." he said, a chill beginning to spread from his body, freezing the bar around them. "And speaking of which, someone seems to have forgotten something. I am still a Marine. For a newly-crowned Emperor of the Sea with a bounty of over three billion to just waltz up to me like this... isn't that a little too arrogant? This is the East Blue, you know. Not the New World."
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