It was a shame that Victor Shaw's Time-Time Fruit couldn't override the effects left behind by its previous user.
If it could, Victor would've caused no small amount of trouble.
He might've released Momonosuke and the others ahead of time just to hand them over to Kaido of the Beasts for his own amusement.
But even though Toki of the Amatsuki family was already gone, the temporal jump she triggered for Momonosuke and the four retainers remained intact.
Just like how the petrification caused by the Pirate Empress lingers even after her death, some Devil Fruit abilities transcend the user's life.
Such is the fearsome nature of advanced Devil Fruits.
And the Time-Time Fruit clearly belongs to this rare and terrifying class.
Victor gently brushed his fingers through Queen Sally's golden hair.
A gleaming gold fountain pen spun lazily in his hand before he casually flicked it away into his void-static dimension.
Ten seconds later, the same pen reappeared out of nowhere, dropping neatly back into Victor's palm.
By now, Victor had refined quite a number of techniques.
Time God's Authority This ability leaves behind a temporal afterimage at his current position, while his real body skips forward a moment in time. It creates an effect much like that of a Logia-type user, making it easier to dodge attacks.
The downside? He can't move during this phase, making him vulnerable to ambush.
Still, the afterimage is disposable it's mainly a decoy.
Domain: Banishment Much like a ROOM, this creates a closed temporal field where enemies are scattered across different moments in time. Victor can prepare in advance, then take out each one as they reappear, one by one.
Enhanced Banishment Want to time travel? Just pick the year.
This form of long-term banishment is essentially temporal imprisonment with a set sentence.
Victor wields it with the finesse of someone playing with toy blocks much like how Bartholomew Kuma handles his own power.
This is the ability Victor most desires to evolve, aiming for a kingly authority where anyone he targets is banished on a whim.
Time Return This lets him confiscate bullets, cannon blasts, sword strikes, or energy waves and delay their impact. He can then unleash them at a more opportune time.
But there's a catch an enemy needs to be present at the release point. Otherwise, it's a bit of a waste.
Time Trap One of Victor's few direct attack techniques. He can stash bombs or flying sword slashes in temporal space, then lure enemies into the designated area and spring the attack surprise guaranteed.
Time Storage He can store objects in a banished timestream and have them reappear at a specific moment. This is perfect for long-term storage or delayed deployment.
For example, he might hide an entire warship in temporal space, then have it emerge hours or even days later, fully intact.
It can even be used to protect people for a limited time.
The drawback? He can't change the object's location in space only the time it reappears.
This move might have allowed Victor Shaw to poach some of the warehousing and logistics business from Giberson the Warehouse King.
But Victor neither lacked money nor had any interest in playing the role of a warehouse tycoon.
The Space-Space Fruit and the Time-Time Fruit each displayed their divine mastery one along the spatial axis, the other along the temporal.
Yet as long as the frame of reference and the target of the ability differed, their resulting effects often became indistinguishable.
When someone suddenly disappears and reappears elsewhere, is it space that shifted or time that skipped?
Was that teleportation caused by spatial displacement, or by a time jump?
"Victor! The Konomi Kingdom has gone too far!"
Sally De Cannette snatched the golden fountain pen from Victor's fingers, angrily flipped through her tiny notebook past the pages on Garp, and scribbled furiously like a spoiled little princess holding a grudge.
She wasn't good at it, but she sure loved to play-act as a stern little official.
"What happened?" Victor asked, amused.
"King Inamochi IV of Konomi Kingdom only sent us 10,000 Berries as a congratulatory gift. And ten thousand catties of tangerines!"
"Ten thousand Berries?"
"Yes! Ten thousand Berries isn't even enough to cover a single royal banquet. Are they mocking us?"
Sally was so upset she looked ready to fly straight to the Konomi Kingdom and demand an apology in person.
This wasn't just about money it was about face.
In the East Blue, which kingdom dared to disrespect the Goa Kingdom so brazenly?
Goa was known as the most elegant and prosperous kingdom in the East Blue. Even the Celestial Dragons occasionally paid visits. Not to mention, it was the homeland of the Marine hero Iron Fist Garp.
"Don't be angry," Victor said with a smile, gently pinching her cheek. "I've been meaning to tour the East Blue anyway. I'll help you settle the score."
Once stability was restored in the Goa Kingdom, Victor was planning to expand its military strength recruit elite fighters and form an elite royal guard.
Come to think of it, both Fujitora and Ryokugyu two future Marine Admirals originated from royal security forces.
If his own security force could nurture even a few Admiral-level warriors…
Then building the strongest empire in all of East Blue would be well within reach.
And perhaps, just like the Germa Kingdom in the North Blue, Victor could one day wage a unification war across East Blue…
Until finally rising as the supreme leader of the Allied Nations at the next World Conference.
By then, even the Five Elders and the officials at Marineford would have to pause and carefully consider the words of His Majesty Victor Shaw.
"That's amazing! You're incredible, Victor."
Sally beamed, and this time, she didn't protest. She threw her arms around him and gave him a big kiss.
Sally didn't want to provoke Iron Fist Garp at least, not directly. But that didn't mean she was afraid to stir up trouble with the Konomi Kingdom.
She had clearly taken Victor's Goa Empire blueprint to heart.
Uniting the entire East Blue might be a lofty goal...
But starting by annexing a few neighboring kingdoms and forming an empire of her own? That idea was starting to sound awfully tempting.
"It seems the road to the Goa Empire begins with the Konomi Kingdom!" she declared.
Victor glanced at the ten thousand catties of tangerines piled among the congratulatory offerings, a puzzled look on his face.
Seriously? What kind of pitiful kingdom sends crates of tangerines as a wedding and coronation gift?
Disrespectful didn't even begin to cover it.
After pulling out a nautical chart showing Konomi Kingdom's waters, Victor made up his mind on the spot.
He would take the kingdom.
No hesitation.
Damn it...
Navy Branch 16?
Cocoyasi Village? Housha Town?
No wonder King Inamochi IV was so poor.
His kingdom sat squarely in the region controlled by none other than Captain Nezumi and Arlong.
That explained everything.
As it turned out, Inamochi IV had been stuck between a rock and a hard place. Pirates on one side, corrupt Marines on the other.
Still, even if the poor guy was being squeezed dry by both, he had the audacity to insult the Goa Kingdom?
That wouldn't fly.
Victor would personally plant the Goa Kingdom's flag in Konomi Kingdom and that would mark the first step in building the Goa Empire.
To be fair, the Konomi Kingdom was in a miserable state.
Not every Allied Nation had the privilege of hosting a Marine base.
In theory, Marine branches were established to protect World Government-aligned kingdoms.
In reality, Branch 16 had become a tool of oppression. Captain Nezumi had turned it into a den of corruption, collaborating with Arlong to cover up his crimes.
The entire kingdom had been reduced to a pirate-run slum.
Every Berry bled from the people went straight into Arlong's and Nezumi's pockets.
Now, they couldn't even scrape together a proper wedding gift. Just tangerines.
It was pathetic.
Victor figured King Inamochi IV had likely been intimidated or even outright controlled by Arlong and Nezumi.
If that was the case, then liberating Konomi Kingdom would be a righteous cause.
Bring it under the Goa banner.
And if Inamochi IV knew what was good for him, Victor might even let him keep a ceremonial title.
Duke Inamochi had a nice ring to it.
He'd be grateful, no doubt.
And more importantly, this would serve as the perfect example encouraging other minor kingdoms to surrender willingly, rather than resist.
Of course, if a ruler acted foolishly or showed disrespect even if they were a king from an Allied Nation Victor Shaw wouldn't hesitate to deal with them personally.
After all, the World Government didn't interfere in conflicts between Allied Nations.
As long as the heavenly tribute was paid on time, no questions would be asked.
However, if an outsider a pirate or a non-Allied Nation dared to invade the territory of an Allied Nation, then the World Government and the Marines would come crashing down with full force.
These were the ironclad rules laid down by the World Government.
The system was designed that way: non-Allied Nations were desperate to gain membership, and those already within the alliance would do whatever it took to keep their status.
With his plan to tour the East Blue now taking shape, Victor began carefully studying a detailed nautical map of the region. He combed through each kingdom's location and made notes on the territories that stood out.
"Four Leaf Kingdom… Accordion Kingdom… Moonlight Kingdom… Konomi Kingdom…"
The names rang unfamiliar in Victor's mind.
But as soon as he spotted certain Marine bases and town names within those borders, the dots quickly connected.
For example, within the waters of the Four Leaf Kingdom was a port town called Shells Town home to Navy Branch 153.
That area belonged to none other than "Axe-Hand" Morgan.
And further along the sea chart, within the archipelago under Polar Star Kingdom's domain…
He found Loguetown.