— — — — — —
"Why are you surprised? That news was heard around the globe!" Whitebeard muttered, looking exasperated.
"Uh… I really didn't know," Rimuru scratched his little head awkwardly. "Can I come along with you guys?"
Whitebeard stroked his chin. "Such a polite Demon Lord… that's a first." Then, with a grin, he dropped his classic line: "Hey— become my daughter?"
"I refuse!!" Rimuru shot back with a deadpan expression. 'If I didn't know what kind of guy you were, I'd think you were picking a fight. I don't even want to correct him on the daughter part. This old man will just tease me more if he knew.'
'Dammit! The truth is even worse, I'm genderless.'
"Gurararara… not interested?" Whitebeard actually looked disappointed. "Is it really that hard to have a cute daughter?" He glanced at his crew with a dissatisfied look. All he saw were a bunch of grown men. Not a single "precious little girl" among them.
Crack.
Yep, that was the sound of the Whitebeard Pirates' collective heartbreak.
'Seriously? Did we just get roasted for existing?' xN
Ignoring his crestfallen sons, Whitebeard rose from his seat and swung his massive arm. "Gurararara! Boys, to celebrate Rimuru's arrival—throw a feast!"
"Yes, Pops!" Their spirits bounced back immediately. In no time, the whole deck turned lively. Some were hauling out barrels, others were cooking, everyone busy and cheerful.
"…You guys just throw parties for anything, huh?" Rimuru asked, tugging on Marco's sleeve.
"This is nothing," Marco sighed. "Just the other day, Pops' reason was: 'We found a drowning Sea King, let's have a banquet and eat it!' Honestly, we party almost every day."
(Drowning Sea King: You just wanted to eat me (T﹏T)
Rimuru fell silent. '…Whitebeard would have been an amazing YouTuber and TikToker?'
"Marco, you haven't been slacking on training, have you?" At some point, Whitebeard appeared right behind him, wearing that deceptively kind smile.
Marco—the guy who'd once kicked around admirals—shivered uncontrollably under his "fatherly" gaze. He swallowed hard. "N-no, Pops. I've been training just fine! Actually, I suddenly remembered something I need to do, so I'll just—"
Before he could sneak away, Whitebeard grabbed him by the collar.
"Leave that to someone else. You've got time now, so let me check your training myself. I'll point out any flaws." With zero regard for Marco's protests, he dragged him off.
Moments later, the sound of pitiful screams echoed across the ship, enough to make grown men tear up. The entire crew shuddered in unison.
Rimuru folded his hands in silent prayer. 'Marco… rest in peace, buddy.'
Not long after, Whitebeard strolled back looking relaxed and cheerful. Behind him trailed Marco, pale as death, his regenerative powers seemingly unable to restore him. That was how heavy Whitebeard's "fatherly love" weighed.
"Rimuru, you're strong too, aren't you?" Whitebeard asked suddenly. "My Haki picked up something incredible inside you."
At his words, the crew froze. Their own Observation Haki wasn't nearly as refined, so to them Rimuru had felt like nothing more than a cute mascot, with maybe his wolf being the strong one. Hearing their father talk like this left them stunned.
"Even Pops says so?" Marco muttered weakly, still recovering.
"Oh…" said Diamond Jozu, squinting.
"Interesting," murmured Flower Blade Vista, stroking his mustache.
"Guess things won't be boring anymore," Thatch, the 4th division commander, grinned.
"You want to spar?" Rimuru smiled faintly. "Sure, but this place is way too cramped. We'd wreck the ship."
"There's an uninhabited island nearby!" someone shouted.
"Gurararara… perfect," Whitebeard laughed. "But don't start crying if you lose, brat."
"Ha! Just wait, old man. I'll take the title of 'Strongest Man in the World' from you and make you regret underestimating me!" Rimuru huffed, puffing his cheeks like a pouting kid.
Whitebeard fell silent, then hit him with a blunt, soul-piercing question. "...Strongest Man? You're a guy?"
'Why does that sound like a question?! Do I really look that much like a girl? I'm obviously a— …Wait. I'm a slime. Genderless, technically.'
Rimuru, who had been gearing up to argue, suddenly froze.
"HAHAHAHAHAHA!" The ship erupted with laughter.
'Laugh while you can. Once I'm done beating you into the ground, I'll show you what kind of Demon Lord I am.' Rimuru's aura darkened as he plotted revenge.
"Pops! We've arrived," someone called, cutting through the laughter.
"We're here, then?" Whitebeard hefted his weapon, Murakumogiri, and looked at Rimuru. "Need me to carry you over, brat?"
"Hmph." Rimuru turned his head away.
'Storm.' With just a thought, a gust of wind lifted him into the air, carrying him forward.
"…He can fly?" Whitebeard narrowed his eyes, watching Rimuru soar. Then a grin split his face. With a single jump, the Moby Dick lurched as the old man launched himself after Rimuru at breakneck speed.
— — —
On a deserted island.
Rimuru fixed his eyes on Whitebeard across from him. "I'm coming. Better be careful!"
"Bring it on!" Whitebeard stood tall, naginata Murakumogiri in hand, radiating confidence.
Rimuru focused his magic, kicked off the ground, and blasted power from behind like a jet, propelling himself straight toward Whitebeard.
"Not bad!" Whitebeard roared, swinging his weapon down in a mighty arc.
At the last instant, Rimuru twisted his magic output, narrowly dodging the slash, then drew the sword at his back and thrust at Whitebeard.
"Fast reaction!" Whitebeard muttered in surprise. His Observation Haki had locked on completely, yet Rimuru still slipped past. "Armament!" His body instantly darkened with Haki, right as Rimuru's blade came stabbing in.
The strike bounced harmlessly off. Rimuru flared magic again and tried to retreat, but Whitebeard wasn't giving an inch—his naginata was already cutting down.
The blade cleaved Rimuru's left arm clean off. But he didn't even flinch. He only leapt back and kept his distance.
Whitebeard frowned. "Rimuru, are you alright?" He hadn't meant to land a hit like that. He was sure Rimuru could block it. Maybe he had gone too far… but then he noticed something strange.
Rimuru's severed arm melted into a puddle of blue jelly, then flowed back toward him. In the blink of an eye, his arm was whole again—clothes and all.
The pirates watching from afar froze in shock.
"Was that… Logia regeneration?" someone asked.
"No," Marco shook his head grimly. "Old Man used Haki. There's no way that was fruit intangibility."
"What ability is this?" Whitebeard demanded, scowling. "Not Logia… yet it ignores Haki?"
"I'm a slime, duh!" Rimuru waved his freshly restored hand like it was nothing. "I'm immune to physical attacks, you know!"
"Immune to physical attacks?" Whitebeard's body began to hum with crackling white energy. His tone sharpened. "In this world, there's no such thing as complete immunity. If something can't be broken, that just means the attack isn't strong enough yet!"
"Naginata Rasetsu!" He swung Murakumogiri, sending a monstrous shockwave screaming across the island straight toward Rimuru.
Rimuru didn't dodge. He simply raised his left hand.
"Predator."
The quake slash hit—then melted away like water, sucked into his palm and erased.
"Thanks for the meal," Rimuru said with a cheeky smile.
"You little brat." Whitebeard growled. "Don't get cocky. Let's see if you still laugh after this!"
He tossed his weapon aside and lunged barehanded. He'd already figured it out—slashing was useless, ranged attacks pointless. If he wanted to test this slime, only fists would do.
Rimuru smirked and sheathed his sword. "Fine with me. Don't underestimate me though, Old Man—I'm plenty strong too!" He launched forward.
Their fists collided—one enormous, one tiny. The impact shattered the ground and cracked the island like glass. The sea around them erupted in towering waves.
Marco's scalp prickled. "That power… unreal. What are kids eating these days?" Then he snapped to command mode. "Everyone back! Unless you wanna get caught up in this, retreat now!"
But Whitebeard was even more shaken. In raw strength, he was being pushed back. His blows, empowered with Armament Haki and Quake-Quake Fruit, weren't overpowering Rimuru's strikes.
And Rimuru, too, was stunned. Ever since drawing the "Spatial Body" ability from the guild gacha, no one had been able to match his strength in hand-to-hand combat. Yet Whitebeard was going toe-to-toe, blow for blow.
Neither side backed down. Their fists blurred, trading endless punches, shaking the earth with every collision.
Whitebeard's body radiated Armament and the devastating quake power. Rimuru's entire frame burned with magic, condensed into shimmering armor. Every swing of his fist consumed torrents of energy, each heavier than the last.
From the Moby Dick, the commanders could barely keep up. Their Haki sensed only the vaguest shapes through the overwhelming force.
"Captain, what's happening? You can see, right?" some pirates begged, eyes wide.
Marco's face was grim. "Old Man's in trouble."
"What?"
"Rimuru's got some kind of invisible armor," Marco explained. "Every quake shock is being blocked. Not even the tremors are passing through!"
"What!? He's nullifying Old Man's Quake-Quake Fruit?" The commanders were floored. "Impossible! That power pierces everything—even intangibility. Nothing can block it!"
"That's magic armor."
The deep voice came from Ranga, finally speaking up after being ignored.
"…You can talk!?" Marco nearly fell over.
"Why wouldn't I be able to?" Ranga sniffed disdainfully. "I'm the proud leader of the Tempest Star wolves. Even lesser monsters can speak, let alone me. Humans… so ignorant."
Marco sweatdropped. "Uhh… right. Fine. Then what's this 'magic armor' thing?"
Ranga explained patiently. "It's a high-level technique created by my master, Rimuru-sama. By channeling magic outward to cancel damage, it creates an armor that nothing can pierce. Until his magic runs out, no attack can harm him."
"…Magic?" Marco blinked, brain stalling out.
Magic didn't even exist here! It was just a legend, something out of stories so people could dream… Actually, some people who didn't know anything called Haki and Devil Fruits 'magic,' 'superpowers,' and other names — but that didn't mean it was real.
So Magic? It doesn't exist.
Before Marco could argue further, a deafening explosion thundered from the battlefield.
.
.
.