I've been thinking a lot about whether or not I should give the protagonist a Devil Fruit, and if so, which one would it be? After much thought and imagining where I want to go in the afterlife, I decided to slightly modify what I was going to do with the story to add this fruit at some point, since I want to make him somehow become a pseudo-Servant in the world of Fate, similar to Ishtar or Muramasa, and with this Devil Fruit, it will make much more sense to link him to a certain god. So, although this choice is somewhat cliché, it's more for abilities and future story.
Also, he won't eat the fruit until much later in the story, approximately 13 years in the future. That was just my rambling thoughts.
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The country of Offsprings is a place whose main source of income is timber, not on par with the Adam's Tree, but it can be of equal quality; after all, it also has one of those in the middle of its main town. It's not the Adam's Tree, but it's very similar.
It's already May, and we're still waiting; it hasn't been long since we arrived here, but we no longer have anything to do here.
We've been rescuing damsels in distress, taking down bandits, and helping grandmothers cross the road. And we've already been doing nothing for two days.
And what do we do in our free time? Trini spends her time going from restaurant to restaurant, rating them with her sharp tongue. The owners of this place are afraid of her, since with our achievements here, she'll gain a lot of influence among the people of this place, so she can ruin a place if she wants to, and she already has.
Arthur, well, this is a special topic; He likes to gamble, there's nothing wrong with that, but he can't control himself, even losing Durindala.
Well, and I, trying to control them, barely. Sometimes I accompanied Trini to control her speech or when she started arguing with the owner of a store. And with Arthur, I had to go earn his belongings one way or another, but that was more difficult, to the point where I brought Trini with me to help me, even though she's stolen all of Arthur's luck, or mine.
Back to today's topic, I'm on a date with a girl about 16 or 15. The problem with all this is that a guy is watching us with a camera and a notebook.
Seeing as he was a newspaper employee, I already knew where this was going; since she wasn't writing or taking pictures, she was just waiting.
The girl in front of me was just complaining about her parents, claiming she was poor, claiming she couldn't get a good boyfriend, etc. He wouldn't let me speak; he just listened and suffered.
Suddenly, I had an idea, a way out of all this.
Dante: "AAAH, wait just a moment, that guy over there has been looking this way a lot. I'll see what's wrong, and I'll be right back."
I didn't let him answer; I moved quickly toward the guy. As soon as I got to him, I spoke to him.
Dante: "Tell me, you're coming from Morgans, right?"
???: "Yes, he wants to meet you at the dock; the blimp is over there to discuss the transactions you want to make with him."
It was about time. I'm bored of being in this country; I have nothing to do; if it weren't for this, I would have left with the kids by now.
Dante: "Okay, follow my plan," I told the guy. "AAAA, THIS IS HORRIBLE, WE HAVE TO DO SOMETHING RIGHT AWAY," I yelled, acting desperate. I approached my date and said, "There's no time to stay here; as much as I'd love to go on a date with a beautiful lady, I have an emergency to attend to, if you'll excuse me." I left the money on the counter and left.
I didn't look back; I just wanted to leave.
Dante: "Follow me. I'll get the others so you can guide us to the meeting place later." He nodded.
We went to the hotel where we were staying; luckily I knew these two were there. Upon entering, I ran into Trini; she was writing a letter, probably for Ruminoff. I explained the situation and what to expect before going to Arthur.
I arrived at Arthur's room and burst in. There he is, stiff, with empty eyes, tied with a chain. It was the only way he wouldn't want to go gambling.
Arthur: "Forgive me, Dante, I'll never go gambling in a casino again." It's a lie. I managed to advance my observation haki to know how to read someone's emotions.
Dante: "It doesn't matter why we're leaving here anymore. The person we were waiting for has arrived, so we'll meet him and then leave." I could see him getting a little happy about that.
Once he was free, I told him to pack his belongings; Trini was doing the same. Once everyone was ready, we met up with the journalist and went to the dock. As we walked by, people greeted us and gave us food, among other things; with everything we did here, our popularity skyrocketed.
After walking a bit further, we found ourselves in front of Morgan's outpost; it looked a lot like a blimp. Maybe it wasn't; I'll call it an aircraft instead.
We entered the aircraft; there were about seven people working inside. We headed toward an office. Trini and Arthur stayed behind, either not interested or wanting to see how the newspaper was made here.
As I entered, there was a bird-like man staring at me; this was Morgans, the owner of Big News and one of the top brass of the underworld.
Morgans: "What an honor to finally meet the great hero who's been roaming Paradise," he said in a semi-serious and playful tone, as if he believed he had the world in his hands, and in a way, he did.
Dante: "Likewise, I hope this will be a harmonious meeting, considering the deal I proposed," I said with a smile.
Morgans: "So, the deal is, that manuscript you sent me was very innovative; it was very clever of you not to send it to me in full, but it kind of makes me think I'm not going to negotiate with an idiot who can't think, and believe me, there are plenty of those out there."
I imagine the attitude of some pirates isn't very pleasant, if you can put it that way.
Morgans: "Although I read your letter, I want you to explain the deal to me in your own words so that no detail is missed."
Dante: "My intention is to set up a kind of business where I will deliver different types of stories, manuscripts, or novels for you to sell; in exchange, you will advertise both me and my companions. My intention in going to sea is to create a symbol of hope for people so that, knowing I'm there, they can be saved and thus not give up. With all this, I can save as many people as I can, since I believe that is my job as a hero, and for that, I need influence; with your help, I feel I can reach more people."
Morgans looked at me with a smile, as if he knew it wasn't the whole truth, and in a way, he was right, since he also wanted the fame and everything that comes with it. It's not that what I said before is a lie; it's only part of it. Think of it as half the story.
Morgans: "What if you have problems with the Marines? When that happens, you'll be categorized as a pirate, and you'll be given a bounty even if you're not one of them."
He was right; anyone who was against the government or the Navy was a pirate to them.
Dante: "As long as that's not the case, it's all good, but if it does, you can break the deal we have and continue selling the books I sent you without any advertising."
Morgans: "Then it's a deal," he said with a smile. "now give me a piece of your hair and the rest of the story. I want to finish reading it, and the hare is for a vivre card, so I can send a special pelican so you can deliver the books you write."
I had no problem with that; the book and a strand of hair fit. He started reading immediately, since the draft I sent him ended at the moment when Hector and Achilles began to fight to the death, so he must be anxious to find out who will survive.
Once all that was done, we left the airship. The pelicans began to lift it off and left.
Trini: "So how did it go?"
Dante: "You could say we have a business partner. Well, let's get out of here; I'm getting bored here."
Trini: "You're right, I've already visited all the food and cake shops; I have nothing else to do here."
Arthur was playing with a puzzle; it was about a metal ball navigating through trapdoors to reach its destination, so he followed behind us, not really paying attention to his surroundings.
Dante: "Okay, next stop: Welliston."
Trini: "Why that place?"
Dante: "Before getting off the newspaper plane, I was listening to the employees. It turns out they sent an employee to check on the place, and he ended up missing; then they sent another one, but he died mysteriously, so something must be going on there." I looked at Trini. "If that's true, it's our job to investigate and, if possible, stop what happened."
Trini smiled at him, as if she were proud.
Trini: "That's my little brother; I raised him well. That's cute, bro. Let me grab your cheeks."
Dante: "Get away, you crazy old woman," I yelled at him when he brought his hands close to my cheeks.
Trini: "Who are you calling a crazy old woman, you fucking brat?" she said angrily.
Dante: "Who else but you? She was the oldest of us."
And so we argued for half an hour, while Arthur was in his own world with his toy, completely ignoring everyone.
What none of the three of us knew was that this trip to Welliston would be one of the most important and memorable of our trip.