NOVEL NEXT Chapter 157: Welcome
"Hey, you, winged guy..." growled Kid, doing his best to appear menacing as he postured off to the side with five members from his crew, including a masked man with a long mane of spiky golden hair.
Understanding that Kid was speaking to him, even though he had already retracted his wings to prevent Luffy and Chopper from curiously messing with them, Vahn, still holding Camie, looked over and asked, "Do you need something...?"
"Your name..." responded Kid, his grim expression souring further as he remarked, "I don't recall reading about you in the newspaper or seeing any bounties for a twelve-winged birdman who can teleport. What kind of Devil Fruit did you eat...?"
"My name is Vahn Mason, and I didn't consume a Devil Fruit," responded Vahn, his expression and tone calm as he pointed out, "And if I were you and your crew, I would hurry and set sail or go into hiding. This place and time are a conflux point. If you do not want your journey to conclude here, you should depart before the Admiral invariably dispatched by Marine HQ arrives..."
"Vahn Mason, right? I'll remember it..." said Kid, looking back at his men over his left shoulder and gesturing for them to follow before turning back to the group and declaring, "And you, Straw Hat...you should pray that our paths do not cross in the New World. I will not show you or anyone else in your crew mercy..."
Sporting an uncharacteristically serious expression, Luffy precluded Kid's departure by stating, "Fine. But no matter what happens, I'm the one who will find the One Piece and become King of the Pirates."
Hearing Luffy's declaration, the expressions of Kid, Law, and many others present changed. Kid, in particular, cracked a rare, marginally less sadistic smile as he retorted, "Give it your best...but I'll be the one who prevails in the end..." before turning to resume his departure.
"We should get going as well..." stated Law, a slim man with tanned skin, distinctive grey eyes with prominent dark circles under them, short black hair that was mostly covered by a furry, white, brown-speckled hat, save for his sideburns and a goatee. A similar speckle pattern covered parts of his blue jean pants, while the rest of his outfit consisted of a long-sleeved yellow hoodie with elbow-length black sleeves and the smiling symbol of the Heart Pirates on the front, black dress shoes, and, as he was virtually never seen without it, an inordinately long katana with a pale lavender ito and a fluffy white tsuba(guard) sheathed in a black scabbard covered in white crosses and wrapped with a red sageo(the cord wrapped around a katana's sheathe).
"Try not to send yourselves to too early a grave," remarked Law, casually raising his left hand as he departed with his four crewmates, each of his fingers bearing a letter for the word death, befitting a man renowned as the Surgeon of Death.
'There they go...' thought Vahn, briefly following the two groups with his gaze before turning to meet the sharp gaze of the bespectacled, elderly, prominently goateed, curly, white-haired man Hatchan had been speaking to since they teleported. The man looked like a bum at a glance, modeling a ragged, two-layer cloak that was grey on the outside, olive green on the inside, and covered in holes, but any fan of One Piece would immediately recognize him as the First Mate of the legendary Roger Pirates and Gol D. Roger's right-hand man, famous throughout the world as Silvers Rayleigh, aka, the Dark King.
Noticing Vahn's gaze, the almost perpetual smile on Rayleigh's face broadened as he chimed in to remark, "We should be leaving as well. Hatchan here has informed me that you need your ship coated. Come with me. We can discuss the matter further once we're well outside the Marines' search area."
"Wait, you're the Coating Mechanic we were searching for...!?" exclaimed Luffy, going from surprise to unfettered excitement as he raised his hands and shouted, "Awesome! Now we can finally set sail for Fishman Island...!" in a voice that could probably be heard as far as the auction house, even with massive, hundreds-meters-wide, several-kilometers-tall, green-and-white-striped mangroves to bounce the sound around.
"Keep your voice down...!" shouted Nami, nearly as loud as Luffy as she punched him in the back of his head, mysteriously overwriting his natural resistance to conventional physical attacks.
"Since we're on the subject, I should make myself scarce..." stated Vahn, handing the pouty Camie to Hatchan, causing her to adopt large, puppy-like eyes as she asked, "You're leaving?"
Nodding, Vahn produced an ornate golden key, casually passing it to a marginally surprised Robin before meeting Nami's gaze and explaining, "As I mentioned before, this time and place are a conflux, a point where the fates of countless people converge. Just me standing here creates a prominent disturbance within its flow, so I should leave before things get too out of hand..."
"Mmm...alright, then..." responded Nami, blushing slightly due to the many gazes focused on her as she stepped forward and seized the initiative to kiss Vahn's lips before meaningfully turning her brown eyes up at him and muttering, "I owe you one..." in a hushed tone. Her actions caused Sanji to clench his teeth hard enough to make his gums bleed. Fortunately for him, Robin noticed this, making her change her mind about stepping forward to kiss Vahn herself. Luckily, she now had what she presumed to be a key to Vahn's palace, meaning she could visit the mysterious realm and give him much more than a kiss when the opportunity presented...
"Then, off I go," hummed Vahn, sporting a broad smile as he passed his gaze over the Straw Hats, consisting of Luffy, Nami, Zoro, Sanji, Chopper, their skeletal, afro-haired musician, Brook, their exceptionally long-nosed marksman, Usopp, and the turquoise-haired, perpetually speedo-wearing cyborg, Franky. For a brief moment, he considered staying with the group to prevent what he believed would come, but since it would reinforce that he couldn't intervene without the situation escalating, requiring additional intervention, he eventually departed after meeting Nami's gaze and giving her silky orange hair an affectionate, apologetic caress...
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"Welcome back..." hummed Venelana, drawing Vahn's gaze to his bed, where she and Grayfia were lying breast to breast with their fair, elegant legs entangled. That was eye-catching in and of itself, but they were also wearing scant and sexy belly dancer outfits with transparent harem pants, Venelana's being red and pink with Grayfia's being royal blue and gold.
"And, like that, my pensive mood is gone..." joked Vahn, adopting a faint smile that belied the flames of passion that had ignited within the depths of his eyes. He had originally planned to monitor the situation in the world of One Piece, but now, instead of brooding silently, it looked like he would be spending the intervening period with his two favorite women...
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With ample time to get over his guilt, Vahn was watching the events of One Piece play out when something unexpected occurred. In the canon, after conversing with Rayleigh, learning his identity, and convincing him to coat their ship, a process which would require three days, the Straw Hats left Shakky's Rip-Off Bar with the intention of splitting up or camping out in the shadows of one of the giant mangroves. Instead, after saying that she would run it by him, Nami messaged him to ask if they could pass the time in the palace.
'In hindsight, I should have expected this...' thought Vahn, exhaling from his nose. Nami was the type of woman who liked to chat and stay in the loop, so she was well aware of the changes occurring within the palace, including that the bottom floor was set to become a commercial hub for Ascendees and people from other worlds. It would be another month or two before all the planned facilities were fully staffed and operational, but it wasn't like they couldn't accept guests...
"What are you thinking about...?" asked Venelana, unable to see Vahn's face as she enjoyed his lap pillow and having her hair caressed. However, even without observing him directly, she was very sensitive to even slight changes in his mood.
"Nami is requesting that she and the Straw Hats stay here until their ship is ready to set sail..." explained Vahn, causing Venelana to promptly recall everything she knew about the plot of One Piece. She personally wasn't a fan of anime, but she went to great lengths to know everything there was to know about the worlds that Vahn's present and future harem members originated, understanding him well enough to know he wouldn't be able to avoid getting involved with them.
"Mmn...well, if memory serves, they don't attempt to fight Kizaru directly. Due to their weakness, Kizaru stood still and allowed them to attack as he postured to kill Zoro underfoot..." remarked Venelana. "The key event that occurs is their separation at the hands of Bartholomew Kuma, who, given the context of the situation and what we know of his future, likely traveled there to separate them. In other words, even if we harbor and allow them to avoid the encounter with Admiral Kizaru, he would theoretically appear to separate them at their ship..."
"That incident is just the catalyst..." remarked Vahn, reminding, "If Luffy isn't sent to Amazon Lily, he never befriends the Amazons, Boa Hancock never falls in love with him, and the raid on Impel Down never occurs. In the worst-case scenario, he would convince his crew to set sail for Marine Headquarters to join the Summit War directly..."
"That might not be as bad as it sounds..." responded Venelana, leaving Vahn at a momentary loss before she calmly explained, "The Straw Hats are key figures influencing the fate of their world, and we've been curious to see how powerful the safeguards surrounding protagonists are. So long as they are still favored by fate, they should be able to escape death. And once they realize how helpless they are, they could be convinced to train by Rayleigh or someone similar."
"It's definitely possible..." conceded Vahn, resisting the urge to ask about individuals like Jinbe. The whale-shark Fishman should be able to escape when Blackbeard's crew invades Impel Down, and once he learns Luffy is Ace's brother and sees how committed he is, fate should invariably draw them together, just as it had with Franky.
'Now I'm curious...' thought Vahn, causing the smile on Venelana's face to become more prominent as she instantly detected the change. Since she was enjoying having her head caressed, however, she kept the discussion flowing a while longer...
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"Welcome to my home..." greeted Vahn, modeling a dark grey yukata beneath a black haori bearing his seven-winged symbol on the back in glistening gold.
"Wow, Vahn! This is where you live!? Everything's so huge...!" exclaimed Luffy, placing his right hand atop his straw hat as he raised his gaze to the first floor's shadowy ceiling, nearly fifty meters overhead. From an exterior vantage, there was only a ten-meter difference between each of the palace's floors, but spatial limitations were inconsequential when you had Magic and spatial compression technology.
"More importantly, who are they...?" asked Sanji, doing his best to appear cool as he closed his eyes and puffed on a lit cigarette. As for who he was referring to, it was Grayfia, and twelve modestly dressed Maids lined up in three rows of four behind her. They were technically still in training, but as most were former slaves from Roxanne's world, they were keen and adept at various kinds of service.
"They work here on the first floor..." stated Vahn, explaining, "They have been tasked to attend and guide you around, so if you have any questions about our facilities, they will either be able to explain things or direct you to someone who can. Everything here will cost Tower Points in the future, but as test guests, you're free to eat, drink, and try our various facilities at your leisure. Just don't cause trouble for our employees."
"Drink...?" repeated Zoro, standing with his arms crossed, feigning calm but understandably on high alert as he was in a different world from the one he was used to.
"That's right..." affirmed Vahn, nodding slowly as he explained, "We have many different drinks and venues available to make merry, but I'll let you locate and learn them on your own. I have other matters to attend, so I'll leave you with our capable staff and personnel. If you need to speak with me directly, Luffy can either message me, or you can let one of our Maids know, and they will pass along your request."
Finished with what he had to say, Vahn promptly turned to leave by way of the huge red and gold elevator at the end of the city-sized floor. Had he been the version of himself that had just received The Path, he might have stuck around to get to know each Straw Hat. However, as Zoro and Franky were cautious of him and Sanji outright resented him, he felt it was best to keep his distance...
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