"My body is made of water. Naturally, blades can't hurt me. In fact, even if I stood here and let you attack, you wouldn't scratch me."
Rakuya looked at the four tense old men with complete indifference.
The four remaining members of the Five Elders couldn't help but twitch at the corners of their mouths. This strong?
What stunned them most was that Rakuya could actually liquefy his body.
They had lived for decades, yet had never heard of a Devil Fruit capable of turning a person into water. Everyone knew the universal rule: Devil Fruit users feared water.
"Young man, are you a Logia-type user?" asked the long-haired Elder with the walrus mustache, rubbing his chin as he peered at Rakuya.
"No. I'm not a Logia Devil Fruit user." Rakuya shook his head.
"Then what brings you to the Holy Land, Mariejois?" asked the bespectacled Elder.
"Nothing really. I was bored. Heard the Holy Land had a nice view, so I came to take a look." Rakuya slouched back, crossed one leg over the other, and began swinging it lazily as if he were at a café rather than the heart of the World Government.
"Let's just hope you have the life to come and the life to leave." The sword-wielding Elder finished speaking and sent a swift blade of compressed air slashing toward him.
The other three Elders didn't move. They also wanted to use this strike to gauge Rakuya's true power, to see if he was worth investing in.
Watching the sword aura sweep toward him, Rakuya snapped his fingers. "Repulsion Shield."
The particles around him rushed together, forming an invisible barrier.
Boom.
The blade aura slammed into the shield. Smoke and shockwaves blasted through the chamber, splintering furniture and sending papers fluttering.
"Reckless," muttered the scar-faced Elder, sipping his tea with one hand and waving open the window with the other to clear the smoke.
When the haze dissipated, Rakuya sat exactly as before, legs swinging, unruffled.
"How is this possible?" The sword-wielding Elder stared at him. He hadn't held back much on that strike, yet Rakuya had blocked it as though swatting away dust.
The swordsman glanced at his companions. The other three exchanged silent looks.
"I thought the World Government had better manners. No tea, no welcome, just attacks. Look my clothes just got washed by Tsunade this morning and now they're dirty." Rakuya gestured at his spotless shirt with mock outrage.
The sword Elder almost choked. Dirty? After blocking his attack like nothing?
He opened his mouth to reassert some dignity, but the scar-faced Elder patted his shoulder. Seeing the look in those eyes, the swordsman turned away and said nothing more.
"First meeting, welcome," said the scar-faced Elder at last.
"I'm not feeling welcome," Rakuya replied flatly.
"Heh." The Elder smiled as though he hadn't heard.
"To have such strength at your age… truly a prodigy. Are you interested in joining the World Government?" he asked, leaning forward.
Rakuya dug a finger in his ear. "Join the World Government? Be a Celestial Dragon's dog? Sorry, no interest."
"You…" The swordsman Elder bristled at being called a Celestial Dragon's dog.
"Calm down," the scar-faced Elder raised a hand to block him.
"Big brother…" the swordsman said through clenched teeth.
"For the bigger picture," the scar-faced Elder's eyes hardened.
"Tch." The swordsman backed off, seething.
"Are you done yet? A bunch of old men making goo-goo eyes at each other. Disgusting." Rakuya held a hand to his mouth and pretended to gag.
"Enough nonsense. Hand over the bald one now," the long-haired Elder snapped.
"You think you can just order me? If you want him back, bring me forty Devil Fruits. No since it's a Five Elder, at least eighty." Rakuya held up eight fingers.
The scar-faced Elder's cheek twitched.
You think Devil Fruits are apples? Even for the World Government, producing eighty at once was no small feat.
"What? Too expensive? That's fine. When I meet Whitebeard or Roger, I'll ask them to trade. I'm sure they'd love to swap eighty Devil Fruits for a Five Elder." Rakuya smiled lazily at their silence.
Inside, though, he was wondering if he'd asked too much. Why weren't they panicking to redeem their man?
The atmosphere thickened. Both sides sat with their own calculations.
After a long moment, the scar-faced Elder finally spoke. "Eighty Devil Fruits, you say. I can give them to you…"
"Good. Show me the fruits, and I'll release him immediately." Rakuya's heart leapt at the agreement.
"But…"
"But what? Old man, spit it out at once." Rakuya frowned.
"I can give you one hundred Devil Fruits if you agree to one condition."
"What condition?" Rakuya asked.
"Join the World Government." The scar-faced Elder's eyes gleamed with certainty.
"No chance. Twenty Devil Fruits to make me work for you? Do you think I'm a fool? Maybe for twenty thousand I'd think about it." Rakuya cut him off without hesitation. He had no intention of honoring any deal once he had the fruits.
The Elder nearly coughed up blood. Twenty thousand Devil Fruits? Even emptying the Government's vaults wouldn't reach that number.
"Then let me change the terms," he said.
Rakuya gestured for him to continue.
"I'll add twenty more. One hundred and twenty Devil Fruits in total, in exchange for the bald man and for your promise never to stand against the World Government again."
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Don't forget to add this story to your Library, drop a review, and leave a Power Stone if you enjoyed it!
"Want to stay ahead of the game? Advanced chapters are up on my Patron. If you're enjoying the ride, swing by and check them out."
[email protected]/_theon
Change @ to "a"