"!"
Middle of the night, at Lucy's house.
Suddenly, Shun's eyes opened.
The sudden movement woke Lucy up too.
"Shun? Did something happen?" Lucy rubbed her eyes as she spoke with her morning voice.
"…I don't know."
"Eh?"
"But I feel like something bad is about to happen. I'll go check it." Shun's unusually serious face completely woke Lucy up.
"Will it be dangerous?"
Seeing her worry, Shun felt warm, but couldn't help but let out a laugh.
"W-What?"
"If whatever is going to happen is dangerous even for me, there is no way to avoid it in the end."
"…"
'This guy…'
What he was saying was arrogant, but it made sense.
'If Shun couldn't deal with it himself, who was he gonna ask help for? The magic council?'
Only now did Lucy realize Shun's loneliness.
Bonk-!
"It's not that deep. I'll go check it," Shun said with a smile as he left through the window.
After checking everywhere, Shun found himself at…
One Piece World. Nami's hometown, Cocoyasi Village.
"Something is going to happen here." Shun's instinct made him get up in the middle of the night from Lucy's house to this village.
"Did I devour too much haki that I am awakening an Ultra Instinct?" Shun joked but he wasn't too far from truth.
Shun was observing from the sky, and he could see a medium-sized ship heading for the village. It had a skull flag, meaning it was a pirate ship. But…
'They are dressed up too well for pirates from the East Blue.'
"For now, I'll just spectate what their aim is." Though Shun had some guesses, he wanted to see the proof.
Meanwhile, on the ship that was nearing Cocoyasi Village:
"Sir! We're landing in 5 minutes," a guy who was dressed like a poor pirate saluted.
"Idiot! How many times do I have to tell you to speak vulgarly like pirates!"
"I-I'm sorry—, no, my bad. Hehe," the 'pirate' said and laughed awkwardly.
"…"
On the other hand, the only sheriff of Cocoyasi Village was alarmed. This village had a history of being under the control of a pirate group just two years ago. Though they had been living in peace since then, the village didn't forget what they went through.
So this time… they decided to fight until they died. A bunch of villagers gathered with their hoes and shovels. They waited inside the woods, waiting to ambush.
Soon, the pirates landed at the port.
"There's no one here?"
"They probably ran away to hide somewhere."
There was a total of six members, all with similar physiques.
The boss of the ship was a tall guy with a lean physique, as if he had been diligently training his body.
The boss nodded as a sign.
'Those Cipher Pol rats, who are they trying to fool?'
Crash-!
Shun fell with his paw bubble straight to the ground, creating a smooth, paw-shaped crater on the ground.
The villagers who were hiding nearby and the so-called 'pirates' both froze in shock.
"T-That guy is…"
"It's the fleet admiral!!" the pirates shouted.
"…That confirms my suspicion. East Blue pirates wouldn't recognize me this fast. You're Cipher Pol, huh?"
"!"
Swoosh-!
They weren't idiots; they didn't bother answering, and instead used Soru and jumped into the sea.
"Even the fleet admiral wouldn't chase us inside the sea."
"…"
"Did you target here because they have a connection with me, and try to shift the blame onto pirates…" Shun was angry as he found out their whole plan.
"Shun-!"
"Brat, when did you arrive?"
Nojiko and her foster father came out of hiding.
"Nojiko…" Shun nodded at Nojiko, then turned to the old man.
"And… Zen?"
"It's Gen, you bastard!" The old man was speechless. He had threatened to beat Shun up if he made Nojiko cry before, but he had already been forgotten.
"Calm down, I got two letters correct."
"…"
Ignoring the furious old man, Shun turned back to the fleeing Cipher Pol agents.
Shun lifted his index finger and used Shiki's basic ability that could lift the entire sea. One of Shun's floating islands had a sea that floated constantly, where sea life lived normally.
"!!"
Within only ten seconds, all of the swimmers were caught with the entire sea, and they now floated above Shun in a square-shaped body of water.
"Nojiko, stand far away from here."
"Eh?" She was surprised, but followed his words and dragged Gen away with her.
The next moment, Shun took a deep breath through his nose and let it out of his mouth. But what came out was a raging flame that devoured everything in its path.
It was Serena's magic, and it hadn't been buffed with more fruit powers; it was just Shun's pure magic power.
The flame towered over the giant square of water that got lifted and evaporated it easily.
"Aahh-!"
Once the water evaporated, a few fish and six Cipher Pol members screamed in agony until… they died of burning.
"…"
Next, Shun gathered pure magic power that took the shape of a white ball about the size of a volleyball. Shun tossed it into the air, jumped, and hit the magic ball into their ship.
"…"
"Is it over?" Nojiko came out, not caring about the people that died.
"Yeah," Shun replied. Every time she met Shun before, he had that smile that showed his confidence. But this time… his expression was cold.
"Who were they?"
"They're my enemies that came to capture you."
"Eh? So that's why you're being moody?" Nojiko laughed to ease the mood.
"You have a cute side to you, huh?"
'What part of this monstrous bastard is cute?' Gen decided to head back to the village before he heard something even more outrageous.
"So what will you do now? Stay here, or take me with you?" Nojiko asked before adding,
"I'm fine with either." The last thing she wanted was to become his weakness.
"Both sound inconvenient. I'll just do this."
Shun touched the ground. As soon as he made contact, an earthquake followed.
"W-What are you doing?"
"I'm creating a home in the sky. I'll take this whole island with me."
"…"
"Oi-! Brat, is this your doing?" Gen appeared in a hurry.
By now, the whole island had been smoothly taken from the ground.
"Old man Zen, if this village was destroyed by a hurricane, you wouldn't have anyone to blame, right? Just think of this as a natural disaster that sent the entire island to the sky."
"…"
Gen turned silent at his ridiculous words, then…
"I'm Gen, you bastard!"
Within a day, the island had already arrived next to Shiki's island in the sky.
Though their location had changed, their living conditions hadn't changed because Shun brought the surrounding forest and even the sea with it.
As for the exact location, they were above the sky of the Sabaody Archipelago.
Shun didn't wait on the island flying for a whole day; instead, he and Nojiko had already arrived at Shiki's island.
After a light exercise and dropping Nojiko off, Shun went to his office.
'I slacked off for a few days, probably nothing much happened,' Shun thought as he walked to his office.
When he got there… a loud scream was heard.
Smash-!
"Who gave you permission to release them?!" It was a scream of rage.
'…Kalifa?' Shun was a bit scared, but he entered anyway.
"Kalifa? What's happening?" When he entered, what met him was a stack of papers and a destroyed table, along with a flustered Hibari and… a furious Kalifa on the Den Den Mushi.
Shun smoothly fixed the destroyed table.
"…We'll be there soon," Kalifa said an ominous word to whoever was behind the call and hung up.
Instead of a fuming Kalifa, Hibari explained,
"Um… the people that got arrested at the human shop were released…"
"Huh? How much did they pay for the bail?"
"…Nothing."
"…"
"How is that possible?" Shun was confused by this weird situation.
This time, Kalifa answered.
"The judges have been bought; they pardoned them."
"…Who gave them permission?"
"They didn't answer, but the answer is obvious. …Someone with higher authority than the fleet admiral."
"Those petty bastards…" Shun cursed.
"Is there anyone available to capture them?"
"Ah, Garp-san is heading there already," Hibari said.
"Garp, huh…" Though Garp was strong, he was unreliable.
"He was the only one available," Kalifa explained her choice.
"I see."
'Seems like this girl was stressing out while I was away for a few days.'
"I'll take over."
"Yes…" Kalifa happily gave the seat back. She wouldn't lie that she was excited to get the fleet admiral's authority, but… it wasn't anything like she expected.
Shun took the Den Den Mushi to give orders.
Bere bere bere bere.
The one he called was… Sengoku.
"Old man, when Garp brings the corrupted judges, give them a public execution and put a bounty on the people that got released."
"What? I'm not at the headquarters—" Before Sengoku could finish his words, the call was cut.
"All right, problem solved."
"…"
"As for us, we'll go to Dressrosa right now. It got delayed, but let's capture criminals."
The three were already on their way inside a paw bubble. Shun fed them to SHFC since their expressions looked bad.
'Did they overwork?'
After eating her share, Kalifa's mood became much better as she spoke,
"The World Government is buying seaprism stones from all around the world. Most of it is coming from the Wano Country."
What she was trying to say was clear. The other side was preparing for something, which was…
"Are they gonna try to assassinate me with seaprism-weaponed assassins?"
Shun agreed it was a very smart and better solution than brute-forcing their way like before with Garling.
"Most likely," Kalifa affirmed. Hibari's face turned pale, but…
"I'd love to see them try."
"…"
"But… are you worried about me?" Shun asked this time with a smile.
"Ha?"
There wasn't any cute response from Kalifa, just a cold look.
Before long, they arrived at the sky above Dressrosa.
"This really is a cheat ability," Kalifa praised the paw bubble.
Crash-!
Once again, Shun crash-landed the paw bubble, creating the usual paw-shaped crater.
"W-What happened?!"
"Something just fell from the sky…"
"T-That man is?!"
The crowd was already circulating the news of the intruder.
Meanwhile…
"We didn't feel anything even after the crash…" Hibari praised the comfiness.
"Of course. I'm always thinking about your comfortable transportation."
"…"
Under the eyes of the surprised crowd, the group of three ignored everyone and started walking toward the royal palace.
"Is Doflamingo even here, now that he isn't a Warlord?"
Shun asked, but since Kalifa wasn't making any comments, he must be here.
"According to the rumors, he is holed up in the royal palace without replying to calls from outside."
"He must have a lot going on," Shun pitied the poor man.
Usually, Shun would want to try the local dish when visiting a new country, but the group just ate inside the paw bubble on the way, so they just leisurely strolled.
Every step they took gathered the nearby civilians' attention. Among them was a secret princess of the Dressrosa Kingdom who was also a member of the Donquixote Family.
'What is he doing here?!' Viola was well-informed about the news around the world and obviously knew who Shun was. In fact, she was overjoyed when the Warlord system was overthrown, but Doflamingo didn't leave the country, and the Marines' help didn't come either.
'…Is he here to arrest Doflamingo?' Viola's heart pounded with excitement.
"Eh-!" Viola let out a scream as she suddenly started floating among the crowd until she arrived above Shun, and she fell straight into Shun's arms.
"I noticed you were staring at us quite passionately. Was there anything you wanted?"
"…"
The group continued walking despite having a woman suddenly fall over.
"N-No, I was just looking…" Viola was nervous for a bit, then she used her ability to check Doflamingo's position, only to discover…
"The Donquixote Family! They're escaping by ship! Hurry up!!"
"…"
Previously, she would be satisfied if they just left, but now that Shun was here, she wanted them dead.
'She is quite shameless.'
POP-!
Regardless, Shun created a paw bubble and started floating.
"Where are they now?"
"They're out on the sea, to the west!"
Soon enough…
"Oh, they're really there," when they arrived above the sky of the royal palace, they saw a faint silhouette of a ship in the distance.
Right when Shun was about to quicken their chase, the entire land below started to shift and began to form the shape of a giant man made of stone.
"Pica?! He is a top executive of the Donquixote Family. His power is the Stone-Stone Fruit; he can merge and assimilate with stones. He must've been left behind to buy time for them to escape! Be careful!"
"…"
The three were speechless at this girl suddenly becoming their informant.
"Viola! You dare betray us!" A high-pitched voice came from the giant man as he swung his giant fist at their paw bubble.
Shun alone got out of the bubble and decided to meet it with a "Crush-!"
Shun awkwardly threw a punch as he rarely ever fights in melee range, but with Whitebeard's fruit, the skirmish was never going to be a close battle.
Crash-!
A huge earthquake took place as the giant stone fell to the ground.
The stone man was broken into pieces.
Ignoring him, Shun went back and continued their chase.
When they got closer…
Countless gunshots were fired at them by a weird woman who had guns for all of her body parts.
But… it was a paw bubble. Not just a bubble; all the shots were repelled and fell into the sea.
Seeing that they weren't faster than this paw bubble and that they'd be caught soon, Doflamingo himself surprisingly came out while the ship continued escaping.
The crew had tearful faces as they shouted the same word over and over:
"Young Master!!!"
"Those guys are making me look like a bad guy here," Shun sighed.
"…Well, that's because you are one," Kalifa, out of frustration building from working in the fleet admiral's office, blurted it out before covering her mouth.
Hibari quietly prayed for her. They knew that though Shun might act like he didn't care now, he always brings it up in their next wrestle.
"…You want to capture me, right? Let them go," said the man known for having a permanent smug on his face, Doflamingo. At this moment, he wasn't smiling. He had been pissed off ever since Shun became the fleet admiral; everything went wrong for him ever since, but there was nothing he could do.
"Yes… but I won't let them go," Shun's words were cruel.
"…Why?!" Doflamingo asked with veins popping up on his forehead.
"They're weaklings now, but with the grudge they're holding against me, they 'might' grow strong. Even if they can't harm me, they'll go after my allies. That's why when I target people, I make sure to eliminate everything they have."
"!"
Doflamingo couldn't hold back his anger anymore; he was always the one to make his enemies helpless in front of him, but… this time the roles were reversed.
"…Birdcage." Doflamingo raised his hands and created a confining space made of strings. It was his trump card that never failed him.
Once it was complete, the Birdcage immediately started closing.
"Is he going to kill himself too?!" Viola's worldview was changing rapidly within the few minutes she spent with Shun.
"Doflamingo, was he always like this?!"
"Haha, you're quite naive," Shun let out a laugh at this 'mature' girl still being a naive one.
"What do you mean?"
"That's a clone."
"!!!"
"The real one is hiding inside the ship. Even the crewmates don't know, so their acting will be real."
"W-What?!" Viola turned her eyes toward the ship and realized Shun was right; there was Doflamingo.
The Doflamingo in front of them turned into strings that strengthened the Birdcage.
"W-What should we do? It's closing," Hibari asked. Shun had a few ideas to get out of this annoying technique; he could break it forcefully, or… the best one was just to stay still.
The paw bubble continued floating forward and met the strings.
To everyone's shock, the moment the two met, the strings were repelled back so violently that the Birdcage lost its shape, but didn't break.
Now the situation became such that the Birdcage was being moved with the paw bubble.
"The paw bubble has the ability to repel back the things it touches, but it's really sturdy."
Shun got out and had to use a move he almost forgot.
To their surprise, Shun swung a punch at the string, but didn't touch it, stopping right in front of it.
"Internal Destruction."
Break-!
The sturdy strings that felt unbreakable were soon destroyed by Haki that destroyed them from the inside.
"Hibari, take a picture." Shun threw a camera at her.
Though surprised, she replied, "Y-Yes!"
Click-!
"…"
"Not my picture."
"Eh?"
"Give it to me." Kalifa let out a laugh as she took the camera and took a picture of the Donquixote Family's ship.
Hibari's face flushed with shame.
"Keep taking pictures."
The next moment, Shun breathed out a hurricane that destroyed everything in its path.
Just like the time with Kong, the Donquixote Family sank into the sea.
However, this time, Shun floated the unconscious and weakened Doflamingo.
"Are you going to put him in prison alive?!" Viola asked. If anything, she wanted him to die right away.
'His fruit is awakened, so I was just planning to take it, but…'
"What does it matter to you?"
"!"
"He is scum that deserves to die!"
"So you want me to drop him into the sea?"
"…"
Seeing that Shun is willing to negotiate… Viola resolved herself.
"If you let me decide his fate, I'll do… whatever you want!"
"…"
Hibari and Kalifa knew where this was going, so they just took their seats in silence.
Shun nodded, and the next second, he devoured Doflamingo's fruit ability and… threw him into the sea.
"…"
It was an anticlimactic ending for a villain that ruled over her country for years.
Viola was silent on the way back.
While Kalifa was curious:
"There was a beautiful girl on their ship, but you still killed them all?"
"Huh? Do you think I'll go after any woman that breathes?"
"You don't?"
Hibari was amazed by her courage.
"Eh?" To Viola's surprise, the paw bubble stopped its movement.
And a scream followed:
"Kya-!"
Kalifa's clothes were torn apart, but she had a happy smile on.
Only then did Hibari understand; it was Kalifa's intention to invite Shun and let out her frustration that had built up.
"W-What are they doing?" Though Hibari was used to it, Viola had no resistance to it as Kalifa was using both of her hands against the wall of the paw bubble to support herself as she braced for the impact.
Viola was stunned seeing what they were doing right after ending their country's nightmare.
After what felt like forever, Viola and the others returned.
"You bastards! What did you do to the young master!" There was a guy waiting for them vengefully.
After dealing with him swiftly and throwing him into the sea, Shun fixed the entire palace that had been destroyed.
"!"
"A-Are you a god?" Viola asked in shock, but didn't get an answer.
"Kalifa, did you take good pictures?"
"Yes!" Kalifa, now satisfied, fixed her glasses with a confident smile as she showed the pictures. There were a lot of pictures starting from before the destruction and the aftermath of the Donquixote Family. There was a picture of the unconscious Doflamingo falling into the sea, too.
"Good."
"Thank you!" Kalifa saluted.
'Her 'hangry' mood seems to be done, huh?' Shun was amused by her change of mood.
Next, he went back and teleported Morgans and his crew from Shiki's island.
Shun gave them the pictures.
"!!"
"It's big news!!"
The bird and his crew were thrilled. Doflamingo wasn't just a Warlord; he was a big name in the underworld as a broker.
"Viola."
"Yes?"
"Tell them what Doflamingo did to the country in detail and help them write good news."
"!"
"Y-Yes!"
To Viola, it sounded like a life-changing opportunity to clear her family's name and let everyone know what exactly happened.
Finally done with the job, Shun entered Doflamingo's room and decided to take a rest.
——
"…With the newly increased funds, we've raised the salary of every Marine and are helping the rescued slaves to recover. Also, we're behind the World Government, but we're buying seaprism stones."
"Sounds good."
The three of them were resting on Doflamingo's bed just talking after a small exercise.
"Is there anyone making unexpected moves from the Warlords?"
"No, but… the Emperor of the Sea, Blackbeard, is on the move. They've been calling themselves devil fruit hunters, so they must be aiming for the Warlords now that they're not affiliates with us."
"I see…"
After an hour of sleep, Shun went back to the Demon Slayer world. After all, it was quite a waste to sleep in the One Piece world because of the time difference of four to one.
When he entered the house…
"Welcome. Are you tired?" Kie asked with a warm smile.
"You don't have to wait for me every night, you know?"
"This time I didn't wait for long…"
Slap-!
"I told you never to lie to me."
To her shock, Shun slapped her… butt.
Kie's face turned crimson red, but her first reaction was… to check right and left for any witnesses.
Luckily, the kids had already gone to sleep. Tanjiro would usually be awake, but after he started working as a fishmonger assistant, he started to sleep early.
Only after making sure no one saw did she start to complain, but… she was easily picked up as Shun headed for the shower.
For the next few days, Shun didn't work as hard as he did during the execution of the Donquixote Family.
He bribed a school to allow the kids to transfer in a mid-school program.
He went on dates with Kie now that the kids were gone. Then he would go to visit Hinatsuru, much to her agony.
She just wanted to gather information on Warabihime, who was suspected to be a demon, but she was requested every night by Shun. In the day she had to study ethics from the grandma; at night she had to deal with Shun.
'I hope the other two are doing their job… but I didn't receive any news from them recently.' Hinatsuru was worried
As for Daki, Shun never went to her again. He wasn't lying when he said it was just curiosity.
However… it didn't sit right with someone. That someone was none other than Daki herself.
She had been paying close attention to Shun's movements; after seeing his speed the other day, she was alarmed that he might be a Hashira in disguise, but…
All Shun ever did was request Hinatsuru every night, then gamble.
'This bastard has been coming to the Kyogoku house every night, but never asked for me again?!'
'Are you saying that lowly woman is better than me?!'
Shun had no idea what kind of woman's attention he had acquired.