When Ace learned that Mihawk will train him, he became very excited. After all, Mihawk is the currently known strongest swordsman in the world; if Raeven were not here, he would be the face of the whole warlords.
Raeven and Ace had a talk. Raeven said to him that their family is not a pirate group that wants to plunder and raid, but he won't stop him from doing what he wants. Luckily, the current Ace is not the one raised by bandits; with his mother still alive and elder brother figures around him, he became disciplined, though still childish. His current personality is not the same as his original one.
"Your father, Roger-san, is a very strong swordsman; his swordsmanship is flashy, flamboyant, and most of all, very lethal," Mihawk said to Ace at the start of their training.
"The sword you are holding was one of the 12 Supreme Grade Blades, named Ace just like you," he added.
"Your first training is swinging your sword 100 times. Once you've done that, rest for 10 minutes and run around the training field for 5 laps," Mihawk said, and then Ace drew his sword, which was very hard for him because it was too heavy, so Mihawk gave him a bamboo sword to use first.
The whole morning is dedicated to physical training. After eating lunch, Ace has an hour of free time; after that, he gets 3 hours of knowledge lessons from Robin. After that, he is free to do anything he wants, which he uses to help his mother in the house.
April 24, 1506
It's Stussy's 18th birthday, and the Sixis Island is having a festival mood. Everyone on the island is currently preparing the training field as the venue of the banquet. Raeven and the Kuja Pirates are busy cooking massive portions of sea king meat. Mihawk is with Enel preparing the drinks for the banquet, while Monet and Robin are busy making the cake for Stussy.
Stussy is currently busy receiving her gifts and guests Rouge, Ace, and Sugar are with them. A lot of gifts have been sent to Stussy, but not everyone can come and attend her birthday party. The first guest to arrive is Shakky with her staff, then Morgans arrived with his left and right eyes, his two subordinates. After that, Rayleigh and Crocus arrived, and then Koushirou's family arrived last.
Night came and the banquet started. Koushirou sat beside Raeven with a glass of gin in his hand. He was about to say something when Raeven gave 10 Senzu Beans to him.
"What are these beans, Raeven-san?" he asked.
"It will cure your wife like magic; just let her eat one of these, and be sure not to tell anyone about this," Raeven said. Koushirou was surprised. How did Raeven know that his wife needed medicine? But he didn't ask anymore; he stood up and walked towards his wife, who was happily chatting with Rouge.
When Rouge saw the bean that Koushiro gave to his wife, she just smiled and said that after she ate that, she should forget about it and never tell anyone about it. The couple just nodded, and Koushirou stored the beans in a pouch.
The next day Koushirou said that they will return here sometime, as his father, Kozaburo, said that he will give a sword to Kuina. The Wado Ichimonji he made before was not enough, and with the materials that the Kuja Pirates and Raeven gave to him, he forged a worthy sword for his granddaughter.
The sword he is making is made from a design Raeven gave to him; it's a drawing of a pure white sword with a total length of 6 feet. It's pure white from the tip of the blade to the pommel of the sword, and its name is Sode no Shirayuki.
It took a lot of specialized material and a lot of time, and finally Kozaburo completed it. At the same time, he finally managed to break through and enter the realm of the highest blacksmith; he created one of the 13 Supreme Grade Blades, a katana named Sode No Shirayuki. When the citizens of Sixis first saw the sword, they were shocked by how beautiful it was. The more surprising part is that if you covered it with Armament Haki, it would not turn black, but it would shine more, and it would emit a cold temperature, which suited the blade. Raeven really wants to have it, but it's for Kuina, so he lets it go.
Sugar finally made a decision; she ate the Logia Snow Fruit. Now the Dracule family officially has 2 Logia-type devil fruit users. During this time, Raeven offered the Seraph fruit to Mihawk, but he rejected it, saying that his swordsmanship should be pure, so Raeven didn't push him anymore. Now the devil fruit will wait for someone worthy of it.
A few weeks later Shakky called, and she had some grave news. She said that there's a rumor spreading about the amber lead. The rumors said that it was poisonous and everyone should throw away things that are made from it. When Mihawk heard this, he looked at Raeven, who just smiled.
"I already know about that, which is why I forbade you guys from buying anything that is made from that material. Though not contagious like the rumors said, amber lead can cause poison that can affect your DNA, making the life span of your descendants shorter," Raeven said, which shocked everyone.
"You told me before that the ruler of that kingdom and the world government already know about it, but they didn't stop the mining of it, right? Then who spread this kind of rumor?" Mihawk asked.
"Maybe someone who really cares about the citizens of the kingdom. The symptoms of Amber lead poisoning at the later stage are quite lethal; the poison will melt you outside till you die, and right now the only cure for that kind of sickness is our Senzu Beans," Raeven said.
"I read it before; amber lead is not poisonous if you just leave it in the environment, but once it is mined and processed, it will release a poison," Monet said.
"If the citizens of Flevance ignore this rumor, then in the future they will all die," Mihawk said.
"Greed is not something easily suppressed; if they don't believe, then just let them. Not everyone is as clueless as you think," Raeven said, and with that, the discussion ended.
October 12, 1506
It's fall, and the last harvest for this year just ended. Enel's ship bolt got a major upgrade; now it became a small-sized ship that he uses to sail around the island while he's training the kids and the trainees on endurance swimming. Monet finally passed the medical exam she took from Vegapunk; she is finally a certified doctor.
Stussy, Robin, and Monet are known as the academic achievers of the family, while Enel, Raeven, and Mihawk are the combatants of the family, and Sugar is their mascot.
After inspecting the harvest, Raeven returned to his brewery to check the stocks while counting the barrels and estimating the amount of produce of this year's harvest, and then he remembered something.
"System Sign-in"
*DING* [Congratulations, host, for signing in; your reward is Perfect Susanoo (black).]
[Using Susanoo will drain your stamina/endurance just like devil fruit and Haki.]
"What the hell? A Susanoo? Let's gooooooo," Raeven shouted and celebrated. Who doesn't want a giant warrior like a Gundam? And with his endurance at max, he can use it permanently. Now even if he doesn't reach giant-like height with his perfect Susanoo, height is nothing.
A few moments later he calmed down, and he imagined Susanoo + Zoan transformation. What will he become?
"Maybe I'll become like Lord Death (Soul Eater), just a bigger form? Just stop thinking about it now; my devil fruit power won't be seen right now, maybe in the future, but for now, silence is enough. Fortunately, no one dared to trouble their family; with the speed of Strife, which can carry all of their fighters, no one is dumb enough to attack anyone or anything that flies their flag.
Grove 13, Saboady Archipelago, currently declared as the safest place in the entire archipelago, is controlled by the Idol of the Seas, Shakuyaku herself, and she is backed by the Kuja Pirates and the Dracule Family; only those who want to die will cause trouble here.
Raeven walked out of his brewery, and then he walked towards his farm. He sat down on a chair and watched silently the bare farmland. On the road towards his farm, he could see Ace holding a small chest running towards him, and on his tail were Monet and Rouge.
Raeven just watched them while smiling; when the three of them reached him, Ace quickly hid on his back.
"Big Brother, Ace picked up that devil fruit chest and ran away while we were doing a routine cleanup inside the castle," Monet said.
"I didn't pick it up; the chest told me to get it," Ace said quickly.
"Don't defend yourself. How can a chest talk?!" Money said she's pissed. This is the first time someone picked up a thing because the thing said to pick it up. She doesn't believe it.
"Wahahahaha, a chest won't talk, but a devil fruit will; especially individuals with conqueror's haki can sometimes detect their wills," Raeven said as he picked up the chest from Ace's hand and opened it up. He took out the float fruit and gave it to Ace.
"I know that you're not lying, and by the looks of it this devil fruit chose you. Now I'll tell you about this thing," Raeven said as he faced Ace.
"This is a devil fruit, a Paramecia devil fruit called Float Fruit. If you eat this fruit, then you will have the ability to make every nonliving thing float. Of course, the larger the target is, the harder it will be for you to make it float the first time, but once you make it float, controlling it will be easy."
"Also, this fruit is from one of your father's rivals, the golden lion Shiki," Raeven said.
"Then if I eat this, I won't be able to swim anymore, right? Then I don't want this; I want to be able to swim like everyone else," Ace said, which made Monet and Raeven smile.
"Then that's not a problem; if you want to eat it, then eat it. As for the curse of the sea, I'll handle that," Raeven said.