Chapter 2
Renard smiled as he left the Marine base with a nice full bag of money. The full bounty of Rika, ten million, and along with it came ten more points, bringing his total up to twenty. He considered his options. He could buy a single gold roll or two silver ones. While the temptation to save up was there, he needed more power to take on more pirates to earn more points.
In short, he needed to start small and work his way up.
'Roll two Silver Abilities.'
[ROLLING!]
[Varied Vision, Common Ability, Allows you to switch between Thermal, Infared, and Night Vision at will without impairing your regular vision.]
[Piercing Eyes, Uncommon Ability, Your eyes can see far and see through objects, and you can adjust the level perfectly according to your needs.]
[POINTS: 0]
He stared blankly at the results. What the hell was with getting two eye abilities at the same time? Not that he was complaining. With the two of them, he could basically see in any conditions. Even better, when he bonded with someone as a Klyntar, he could give them access to the same vision modes, making his bonding an even better thing than it was before.
His eyes scanned over the crowd until he spotted a rather attractive woman. He quickly activated his Piercing Eyes ability and smirked when he saw through her clothing. He took a quick peek and turned the skill off. He felt slightly guilty for doing it, but he was one hundred percent certain that any man would have done the exact same, their sexuality only changing the target they would have picked first.
As he walked, he caught sight of himself in a reflection from a store window. He hadn't really paid any attention to his looks, even when shopping, he just picked stuff that felt comfortable as a guy, or that Libra approved of as a woman.
Being honest with himself, he was actually fairly attractive. Thank GOD! Because he recalled some of the World Nobles as being ugly as fuck. He had golden blonde hair, fair skin with the beginnings of a tan due to all the time he'd spent in the sun recently, and dark eyes. The original Renard hadn't been fat, but the last few days of Conditioning being at work had quickly transformed his body into a work of muscular art.
The only negative he could see was that he needed a haircut. Like all World Nobles, he'd worn the same weird ass up-do, so his hair was fairly long. With that decided, he looked around until he found a barber and got his hair cut much shorter, short enough to spike up with a little gel. Much better. He'd have to come back later in his female form for another trim, though he'd keep his hair long as a woman.
With that taken care of, he made his way back to the place he and Libra were staying for the night. Tomorrow, they were heading off to find their next target, Doran 'Chainjaw' Pell, worth twelve million. He wasn't too far away at Notice Town, the town Bellamy was from. Something about that place must produce a lot of pirates.
He needed more money to buy a decent ship to sail, something like the Going Merry. With a ship that size, he could get to Water 7 and have a much stronger ship built.
Or he might get a ship from the gacha, or the ability to build one, or who knew what. He sighed. There was no point in planning that far ahead. For all he knew, by this time next month, he'd be sailing the Black Pearl or something equally ridiculous.
Right. Immediate issues only. Hunting down and capturing Doran Pell for some money and points.
-----Line Break-----
Renard stared blankly at the pirate ship bearing down on the passenger ship he'd booked himself and Libra on to get to Notice Town. The Jolly Roger displayed a skull wrapped in chains with two hooks hanging down from the sides. It matched the one for Pell's ship. His gaze shifted to Libra, and he smiled, “Well, maybe we'll get lucky, and all our pirate hunting will be this easy!”
Libra looked at him and shrugged. He chuckled and looked at the approaching ship, “Please fly us over so we can take them down.”
Libra lifted her scales, and he felt gravity shifting around his body as she took control of it. They floated into the air under the astonished gazes of the people on the deck who'd begun to panic at the sight of the pirates.
In no time at all, they were landing on the deck of the ship. The minion-tier pirates on the crew stared at the pair in shock while Pell scowled, “A Devil Fruit user? The hell do you two want on my ship?!”
Renard glanced at Pell, “We're here to capture you. It's embarrassing, really, but I am in desperate need of some pocket change.”
Pell's face turned red and veins throbbed on his forehead, “Pocket change?! I'm a pirate with a bounty of twelve million, and you come after me for POCKET CHANGE?!”
Renard nodded seriously. Compared to when he lived in Mary Geoise, twelve million WAS pocket change. Pell yelled, “KILL HIM! SAVE THE WOMAN FOR ME!”
Renard smirked and let a pirate get close so he could change into his Klyntar form and take the pirate over. Black goo burst out of the pirate and surrounded his entire body in a protective layer. It turned out that as a male he was Black and as female he was red. Using the pirate's body, he attacked other pirates with his fists, taking advantage of his enhanced strength and speed to deal with them.
At the same time, Libra was using her gravity magic to crush pirate after pirate into the deck of the ship under extreme force. It was barely any effort for her to take down such weak fodder. Renard left them to her and charged toward Pell. As he did, the man unwrapped a chain from around his waist that ended in a wicked spiked hook and began to swing it in a circle to pick up momentum.
Renard rushed in without any fear of the chain. Even if it hit him, it wouldn't stop him. Pell roared and lashed out with the chain, showing a fair bit of skill as the only part to hit Renard was the hook at the end of the chain. It hit with a fair amount of force and bounced off without dealing any damage. Renard's large head split into a wicked grin that showed off dagger-like teeth meant to rip and tear flesh with ease.
Seeing his attack do nothing, combined with the terrifying teeth, clearly scared the hell out of Pell. Renard laughed and closed the distance between them and lashed out with a very sloppy hook. Pell, much more experienced in fighting, easily dodged the highly telegraphed attack. Renard went on the offensive, throwing out punch after punch, but Pell managed to dodge them all with ease and still attacked with his chain to try and hurt Renard despite his own fear.
Libra, finished with the small fry, quietly watched Renard fighting the captain. She would have crushed the man with a gravity well, but Renard had asked her not to. She could see why now. While she was less martial than many of the other Zodiac spirits, she could at least throw a proper punch. Something Renard clearly couldn't do. To her eyes, it looked more like he was flailing about pointlessly.
At least he didn't seem to be taking any damage from the blows that the enemy was landing on him. His strange ability to possess people, change shape, and do other strange things baffled her. Well, none of it really mattered. She was summoned by him, and she would remain loyal to him.
Renard grunted slightly as the hook of Pell's chain slammed into his ribs yet again. While it didn't really hurt, it was really annoying that he kept getting hit without returning a single blow himself. Another blow came in and slammed into his head with enough force to turn it to the side. He growled, “This is annoying.”
Darkness exploded out of him as he used Grue to blanket the area. With that absolute advantage, he stepped around to the side of Pell to get out of his attack range. Once clear, he lashed out with a hook and finally managed to clock Pell hard enough to send him to the deck. Seeing Pell no longer moving, he reached into his body and pulled out a pair of cuffs. Learning that he could store things within his Klyntar body had been a game-changer for him.
After cuffing Pell, he released the pirate he'd been possessing and shifted back to his human form. The pirate was freaking out in the pitch black of Grue until Renard punched him unconscious. Only then did he release Grue and let light return.
“Libra, help me gather them all and lock them below deck. They've got to have a brig or something we can use.”
In no time at all, all of the pirates were imprisoned in their own ship. After locking them up, Renard looked over the ship and decided to take it for himself. It wasn't a galleon or warship, but it was a good size and in good condition. Thankfully, the main sail wasn't painted like many others were. Just taking down the Jolly Roger from the main mast returned the ship to a normal one. It was probably how Pell kept from getting captured.
He pulled up a sea chart and the next two bounties on his list. The first, worth twenty million, was the captain of the pirate group Artois 'Knifewind' Felix. He dual-wielded two large knives and had a penchant for violence. The second, worth eighteen million, Artois 'Split Smile' Marta, was his sister and first mate. Her nickname basically said why her bounty wasn't much less than her brothers'. Together they were worth a cool thirty-eight million.
Their last known location was a place called Seadrift City, which was south of Notice Town, on a small island just outside of the Calm Belt. There was also a Marine Base on an island west of Seadrift City. He plotted the course they would need to take to get to Seadrift City and worked with Libra to get them on course.
-----Line Break-----
Renard sat on the edge of his ship, still unnamed, with his fishing rod in his hand, casually fishing for his lunch. They'd been sailing for nearly a week since they caught Pell and his crew, and there had been no sign of their targets near Seadrift. Granted, the information was pretty old, so they could have gone pretty far. Frankly, it was probably luck that let them find Pell.
So, they were making their way toward the Marine Base to drop off Pell and pick up some more food for the ship. The line suddenly jerked hard, making him grin, “Yes! FOOD!”
Libra came over from the side and curiously watched. She found the weird sea creatures of the world fascinating.
Renard pulled hard on the fishing pole and reeled it in. Due to how massive fish could get, the fishing gear was appropriately durable with high-strength fishing line. It was a hell of a fight pulling up whatever was on the end of the line. It fought hard but was no match for Renard's ever-growing strength.
Conditioning had been working overtime over the last week, making him grow in strength in leaps and bounds. All anyone had to do was look at the crazy workouts someone like Zoro went through to see just how insane the Conditioning ability was. His impressive physical strength made it a lot easier for him to reel in the heavy fish on his line.
With one final mighty heave, he pulled the fish up to the surface. Without him having to say a word, Libra immediately used her gravity magic to pull the massive fish out of the water and drop it onto the deck. The fish was at least twice the size of himself and looked... normal. His perception of the One Piece world couldn't take much more normal stuff!
The fish bounced and struggled on the deck to try to make its way back into the ocean. Renard couldn't have that, so he quickly ran over to it and gave its skull one hell of a punch to kill it as fast as he could. Once it was dead, he used his lightsaber to cut open its belly to deal with its entrails. While he had all the weapons from the pirates, they were all shitty pig iron that couldn't hold an edge. Not like some no-name loser in North Blue would be sailing around with a meito.
He shifted into his Klyntar form to deal with the entrails by just surrounding and absorbing them. That way, they didn't go to waste, and he didn't have to taste them. Once back to his human form, Libra tapped on his shoulder. He looked at her, and she pointed off to the side. Renard shifted his focus and used his Piercing Eyes ability to take a better look at the blob on the horizon.
Piercing Eyes let him 'see far and through objects according to his will'. While using x-ray vision to perv on women had been his first thought, it didn't change the fact that he could use his vision as a telescope as well.
The incoming ship was large, larger than theirs and probably closing in on the size of a galleon. It also clearly wasn't a Marine ship. His eyes flicked over the main sail and frowned at the clear skull and crossbones. The skull had a thick horn coming out of its forehead, while the crossbones were a pair of twin sabers.
He quickly returned his vision to normal and ran to his cabin, the captain's cabin, and started digging through the information he had on the local pirates. It didn't take him long to find what he was looking for.
“The Bloodtide Pirates, captained by Kain 'Blood Horn' Darius, bounty thirty-eight million. Holder of the Ushi Ushi no mi, Model: Rhinoceros. The first person with a Devil Fruit I've run into.” He flipped to another sheet, “First mate Vance Liora, the 'Tide Reaper', a dual sword wielder with a bounty of thirty million on her head.”
He looked up at Libra with some concern, “They'll be pretty tough, but I think we can take them if we work together.”
Libra looked concerned but nodded in agreement. They stepped back out on deck to watch the ship as it continued to approach; it became clear they'd become a target. He thought for a moment, then decided on a plan, “Here's what I think we should do. I'll shift to my Klyntar state and bond with you. That will let us work together to use Grue to take care of the small fry and the first mate with ease. Darius will be harder to take down, I think. His Devil Fruit probably gives him some pretty good defensive power. We'll have to break through it.”
Libra let out a sigh but nodded in agreement.
Renard smiled and shifted into his Klyntar form to surround and devour the giant fish on the deck of the ship. He didn't have time to cook and eat it the slow way. It wasn't as fulfilling, but it did take the edge off and got him ready for the upcoming fight. He 'glooped' his way over to Libra and reached out with a tentacle, giving her the option to refuse to bond, even temporarily.
Libra hesitated for a moment. She was one hundred percent loyal to Renard and would never betray him. But she was a living, breathing, conscious being, and the idea of the goop in front of her being inside of her body was creepy! Still, she could see the advantage it would give them as they could work together through the use of Grue.
Finally, she reached out and touched the extended tentacle. At least the merging process felt like nothing. One moment, the puddle of black and white goo was there; the next, it was gone.
Renard didn't initiate a full bond with Libra, but this was the first time they'd bonded, and it was rather interesting. He could feel the difference between her and a normal human being. The differences were pretty minimal until he got to the magic within her. That changed everything. The moment he bonded with her, he understood how it functioned within her body and felt like he could replicate it as long as he was in his Klyntar form, meaning he could grant magic to other people by bonding with them!
While that was cool as hell, it was also useless to him in his normal human form.
The bonded pair waited for the pirate ship to get a little closer. As it did, they could hear the shouts and roars of excitement from the crew at the sight of a lone attractive woman standing on the deck of the ship. Libra and Renard waited until the pirate ship got too close to make a quick getaway.
'Ready, Libra?'
'Yes.'
Renard was surprised to hear her reply in her mind, but maybe he shouldn't have been. Psychic communication with those he bonded to didn't so much have voices as directly communicate thoughts and desires mixed together.
Libra ran toward the edge of their ship and jumped into the air under the astonished gazes of the pirates. To them, it was like she was delivering herself into their arms. In midair, he activated Grue, letting out a massive blast of darkness that covered both ships entirely.
As soon as Libra's feet touched the deck, her arms began moving up and down, directing her gravity magic to crush grunt after grunt into the deck of the ship. At the same time, he conjured up thick tentacles and lashed out to knock out the ones behind her. Working together, they had all the grunts knocked out in just a couple of minutes.
That only left the captain and first mate, who had somehow managed to find each other in the darkness. Darius Kain had activated his Devil Fruit. His already rather large body had become even larger, his skin had thickened like armor and turned gray in color, his feet had become thick and round to support his heavier weight, and a long, thick horn had grown out of the middle of his forehead.
Next to him stood Vance Liora with both of her sabers drawn and at the ready. She was tall and lithe, wearing simple leather armor that didn't cover much and was clearly more meant to distract men than actually protect her from attacks.
'Libra, crush the woman, I'll handle the man.'
'Okay.'
Libra slammed both of her hands down, doubling up on her crushing force hard enough that the wooden planks on the boat cracked and splintered around Liora's body. With her taken care of, Renard split from her without ending Grue leaving Libra as blind and deaf as anyone else would have been in the darkness.
He slithered across the deck of the ship and latched onto Darius. In moments, he was within the large man and found himself rather shocked. Much like when he possessed Libra, he could feel what made Darius different from normal people: his Devil Fruit power. From inside Darius, he could feel where the fruit had changed his body and allowed him to do the things he did with it. Call it lingeage Factor, genetics, or anything else you wished to, it was something that Renard could understand and replicate!
As he took over Darius's body, he could feel a third consciousness within Darius's body. Well, maybe 'consciousness' was a bit too strong a word, but there was something there. Something animalistic with a will of its own. The 'Devil' in the Devil Fruit, perhaps? Given it was a Zoan, it was likely an animal spirit, like the one animating Lassoo, the dog-gun of Mr. 4 that shot explosive baseballs every time it sneezed. Lassoo was originally a gun and was 'fed' the Inu Inu no Mi, Model: Dachshund, meaning the 'life' it had came from the Devil Fruit.
That same kind of spirit was definitely there inside of Darius, and it did NOT approve of Renard being there. Even so, the spirit was pretty weak and had no power to help Darius remove Renard or prevent Renard from taking over. However, it did warn Renard that he might have trouble or be completely unable to possess people with a stronger Zoan or better connections with their Devil Fruit. He definitely wouldn't be taking over people like Marco and his Tori Tori no Mi, Model: Phoenix, or Kaido's Uo Uo no Mi, Model: Seiryu. Not until he got a lot stronger!
Still, while the knowledge was interesting, it didn't stop Renard from taking complete control of Darius's body. As soon as he had control, he wrapped himself around Darius and dismissed Grue to allow the light to return.
Libra glanced over, but seeing Darius wrapped in black let her know they'd won. She shifted the gravity on Liora to guide her over to their ship. After cuffing Liora and stuffing her in a room alone so the men couldn't get at her, they began to transfer the other men and lock them up. It took about an hour, and having to punch a few in the face to knock them back out again, but they got it done.
Renard looked at the empty ship the pirates had been using and frowned. The ship had to be worth some money, right? How the hell was he going to tow it, though? His first thought was to ask Libra to use magic to do it, but, as strong as she was, he didn't think she could use her magic to tow the ship for hours or even a day or more to get to the Marine port they'd been heading for. It was still a day or so away.
He sighed and looked at Libra, “Sink it.”
Libra nodded and used her gravity magic on the main mast of the ship. The main mast was ripped down and out of the ship, breaking the keel and opening the bottom up to the ocean. Water flooded in through the hole, and within minutes, the ship was sinking beneath the waves.
Renard promised himself that he would be better prepared to tow a ship the next time, so he wouldn't have to sink perfectly good money.
“Right, let's get back on course.”
Libra nodded and got back behind the wheel while he made sure they were going in the right direction. Once he was, he went back to the most annoying part of his new life, fishing for more food before he starved.
-----Line Break-----
Renard stood in the cold drizzle, his Klyntar body now red, indicating he was in his female form, though he was possessing a male so preferred male pronouns. Renard stood at the wheel of the ship while Libra used her gravity magic to help them dock. Ironhaven was a large island with a steep rocky cliff coast and only this single massive natural port.
Ironhaven was on an important trade route and was constantly busy, as indicated by the large number of merchant and Marine ships docked throughout the port. Once they were docked and tied off, Renard stopped at the end of the gangplank and called out to one of the dockhands, “Go get the Marines, I've got a few pirates to turn in!”
The man stared at Renard, clearly terrified of his appearance, but quickly did as Renard asked when Renard tossed a small bag of money at him.
A short wait later, and a contingent of wary marines came to the docks and made their way to Renard. The one in the lead looked Renard over and asked, clearly skeptical, “You have captured pirates?”
Renard nodded and held up the three bounty posters for his prisoners, “These three.”
The marine looked over the posters, “Pell 'Chainjaw' Doran, Kain 'Blood Horn' Darius, and Vance Liora, the 'Tide Reaper'? You have all three of these pirates?”
“I do, though you will want a pair of seastone cuffs for Kain to restrain his Devil Fruit.”
The marine looked curious, “How do you have him restrained?”
Renard peeled back half of his face to show Kain beneath, “I have him restrained with my Devil Fruit.”
The Marines all took a step back in shock at the sight. The lead Marine, having clearly seen some stuff, didn't even blink, “I see.” He turned his head to the side, “Rogers, go get a set of Seastone cuffs, double time!”
The addressed Marine saluted and rushed off. While he worked, Renard continued, “I also captured both of their crews. They're tied up and should be easy enough to transport.”
The Marine looked impressed, “I'll let my Captain know.”
He sent another runner off. After that, Renard led them onto the ship and showed them the prisoners. After a quick examination, the Marine in charge nodded, “Well done. Men! Take them to the base! We'll execute the small fry and send the others to Enies Lobby!”
Once they got back on deck, they were met with the first runner, who now carried a thick pair of Seastone cuffs. Renard nodded and carefully peeled back from one of Kain's arms. The cuff was immediately snapped on, and Renard made a show of being 'ejected' from Kain and landing on the deck, where she reformed into her own body.
The Marines were clearly surprised by her looks. Not that she was female, she sounded female when speaking through Kain, but just how attractive she was. While in her male form, she had a swimmer's build that women would most likely enjoy seeing. As a female, she had long legs, a thin waist, a large bust, long golden blonde hair down to the middle of her back, and large blue eyes. Even in her current male attire, she looked like a bombshell.
“Alright, men! That's enough staring! Get the prisoners to the base!”
The lead Marine turned to Renard, “Follow me, and we'll get you paid.”
-----Line Break-----
[Feat Achieved! Pirate Bounty Collected! +80 Points!]
[POINTS: 80]
Renard left the Marine base with a big smile and an even bigger sack of cash. Eighty million for those three was one hell of a payday for her! Not just in cash, but in points too. Eighty was enough for four Golden rolls, which is exactly what she intended to do.
Once back on her ship, she stored the money away in the Captain's Cabin and sat on a stool.
'Roll four Gold Skills.'
She chose skills for one very important reason: it seemed like the best chance for her to gain some combat skills. She had no idea how to properly fight in any manner. Just getting a single hand-to-hand skill or a sword skill would help tremendously. She had no idea what else might be in the skill category, so she went all in and hoped for the best!
[ROLLING!]
[Intermediate Blade Weapon Mastery, Uncommon Skill, You are fairly skilled in handling bladed instruments and weapons such as swords and daggers. You know how to effectively move your body and weapon to make good use of it, being able to match most practitioners in skill and finesse.]
[Muay Thai, Uncommon Skill, You are an apprentice of Muay Thai, a powerful Thai martial art known as the "Art of Eight Limbs," utilizing punches, kicks, elbows, and knee strikes for devastating close and mid-range combat. It emphasizes powerful strikes, clinch fighting, and relentless conditioning to build endurance and toughness. With sufficient mastery, you can enhance your strikes with your internal energy.]
[Expert Biology, Elite Skill, You are an expert in the field of Biology, the study of life. You are intimately familiar with the biology of most organisms, ranging from mammals to cellular life. If you were to be given magic, you could probably figure out Biomancy rather quickly.]
[Adept Blade Weapon Mastery, Rare Skill, You are very talented at wielding bladed weapons, on the level of a veteran swordsman. You are able to effectively wield any bladed weapon, such as swords and daggers, with great efficiency and finesse.]
[Superior skill rolled in the same batch, lesser skill Intermediate Blade Weapon Mastery re-rolled.]
[Expert Performance, Elite Skill, You have the skills of an expert performer. You can play any instrument about as well as anyone can, and sing with a voice that impresses just about anyone. You can captivate large crowds with your performance, and imbue your emotions into your songs; you know how to sway crowds like an expert. You would be hailed as one of the classics and counted among the greats.]
[NO! This is bullshit! You should not be getting this many rolls! Especially not gold ones! Clearly, I fucked up on the system, so prepare for an update!]
“What the hell?”
[System update in progress... COMPLETE!]
[Points system removed, all previous rolls kept. Feats will now provide a specific tier reward from Bronze to Divine.]
[Ability slots restructured! For every two Abilities owned, the user receives one Ability Slot. Current number of abilities: 6, Slots: 3. Abilities may be changed at will, but will have a 24-hour activation period before use. Please select three abilities to equip; they will not be subject to the 24-hour activation period this one time.]
Renard stared blankly. This was bullshit! She'd been enjoying things just the way they were! Fucking ROB wanting things to be harder for her! She scowled and wanted to complain a ton more, but there was no point. She sighed and looked through her available Abilities and chose the three she felt were best.
“Klyntar Form. Grue. Conditioning.”
[Abilities chosen! 24-hour activation period now activated.]
[Traits may be toggled on and off. Race Change Traits may be rerolled.]
[Inventory system activated! Only system-granted items may be stored within this Inventory.]
[Menagerie activated! Non-human Familiars may now be stored in a system space. However, time does not stop for them; they will still need to be fed on a regular basis. They will not grow bored or dissatisfied while stored.]
[There! That's much better. You can get on with your life now.]
Renard clutched her head as information suddenly appeared that hadn't been there before. It wasn't a massive headache, but it was definitely uncomfortable and left a dull throb even after the information from her new skills integrated itself into her mind.
She sighed, but despite the nerf to her gains, she felt better than ever now that she knew how to fight. Not only had she gotten lucky with learning both sword and melee fighting, but Expert Biology synced really well with them by letting her know exactly where and how to hit someone to deal maximum damage.
Expert Performance... Well, at least she had a fallback career? It would definitely give her something to do while sailing between islands and looking for pirates.
No, she hadn't changed her plans. Hunting pirates was still the most likely method for her to gain Feats and increase her strength. Considering her knowledge of the world, she could think of a few Feats she might be able to pull off after getting a little stronger and increasing the size of her crew.
Right. She made her decision, “Libra! Cast off, we're heading East!”
-----Line Break-----
Renard stood on the deck of his ship and looked at the island in the distance. According to the map, it was the Deul Kingdom. He didn't care about that. What mattered was their proximity to the Red Line. It had taken them over two weeks and three stops to get here, but now that they'd arrived, he was feeling a bit nervous. He was about to attempt to do something drastic.
Upon arriving at the Deul Kingdom, the first two steps were easy. He sold his ship for a couple of million and then bought a small sloop that was faster, and, more importantly, lighter than their previous ship. It had enough space for four to five people, a small captain's cabin, and even space for several smaller canons.
Renard then stocked the ship with as much preserved and long-lasting food as he could, restocked his fishing supplies, and headed toward the Red Line while manning the tiller. He had Libra resting, after all, what he had planned was going to drain both of them heavily.
As they sailed closer to the Red Line, Renard and Libra lowered the sail before he turned to her, “Are you ready?”
Libra let out a small sigh but nodded in acceptance. Renard shifted into his Klyntar form and bonded with Libra. He immediately went about enhancing her body to the best of his abilities. Given how strong Conditioning had made him since he'd gotten it? That was a LOT.
Libra made her way to the center of the sloop and activated her Gravity Magic. With her magic activated, the ship began lifting out of the water and flying into the air. She would have been capable of doing this on her own, but bonding with Renard just made it a lot easier.
Under her control, the ship swiftly ascended into the air, climbing until it even went above the clouds. Even then, they still hadn't climbed above the Red Line. It took another minute for them to come to the top of the Red Line and get their first look at it from above. The Red Line was a barren wasteland of desert and mountains. As far as the eye could see, there was no sign of life.
Renard found that to be strange as hell, unnatural even. Maybe in a normal world, mountains above the cloud line being bereft of life made sense. In the world of One Piece, where people literally lived ON CLOUDS, and where life thrived in an ocean floating in the sky, the lack of life on the Red Line felt wrong.
There was nothing that could be done, so Renard ignored it and continued to help Libra control the gravity of their ship. Once safely above the Red Line, they shifted gravity to pull on the front of the ship, causing it to fly forward across the mountain range. Their goal? The East Blue.
Between Renard and Libra, they managed to get quite far, but the Red Line was even wider than they had imagined it would be. After hours of using magic on the ship, even their combined stamina was beginning to strain. With little choice, they looked for a relatively flat area to set the ship down so they could rest for the night.
Renald stayed bonded to Libra instead of separating to eat. He felt bad for having her eat so much food to feed his Gluttony curse, but him staying bonded to her allowed him to continue to enhance her. While he could jump start the process and give her a strong boost instantly, to get the most out of it took time. Letting them rest together for the night would boost the enhancement he was providing by quite a lot.
The next day, after a massive breakfast, they got back to work flying their sloop over the Red Line.
-----Line Break-----
It took them a total of three days to fly over the Red Line and land in the East Blue. Renard had no idea the Red Line was THAT massive. Sure, it was portrayed as tall, but the width was never truly shown. Upon landing in the Eat Blue, they'd spent an extra day just resting while Renard did some fishing to refill the larder.
Once rested and fed, they began sailing south and made their way toward the Polestar Islands, where Loguetown was located. They'd seen the island from the air and knew its general location relative to theirs.
After docking at Loguetown, Renard left Libra guarding the ship while he went into the town to buy what they needed. Asking around revealed that Smoker was still in Loguetown, so he was there before Luffy arrived at least. There was no telling if he would get Luffy's bounty poster while in the North Blue. Smoker being around was a good sign.
Aside from confirming that, he bought a local map so they could navigate the sea and get where he wanted to go. Aside from that, he had literal tons of food purchased and sent to his ship. He was really beginning to feel the squeeze of the Gluttony curse on his wallet. He'd have to see about getting some bounties here in the East Blue.
His last stop was the bounty office for information on the current bounties and their status. To his surprise, a lot of familiar faces were still active, though their current locations were unknown. He took a copy of the posters and finally returned to his ship.
Soon enough, they were sailing out, their destination? Orange Town.
-----Line Break-----
Renard looked through his spyglass at Orange Town. The place was bustling with people all going about their lives. There were no signs of any recent damage to the city from canon fire or combat, so it looked like he might have arrived before Buggy the Clown had. He hummed to himself and nodded, decision made.
He sailed the sloop out of sight of the town and anchored off the coast. They used the small landing slash lifeboat to make their way to the island, where they pulled it ashore. He led Libra into the town with a smile. He'd stay here until Buggy showed up, pound the snot out of the clown, and then wait for Nami to show up. She was his target. If he was going to need a navigator anyway, why not get his hands on the best navigator in the world?
Did he feel bad about wanting to steal Nami from Luffy? A little. Was he going to allow that guilt to stop him? Not even slightly. Luffy would find someone else; he had that protagonist aura going for him, so he'd figure it out.
He also expected there would be a feat of some sort for getting her to join his crew.
As they walked into town, they drew some attention, none of it negative. Eventually, an old man with white hair down to his shoulders and glasses approached them, “Welcome to Orange Town! I'm Mayor Boodle.”
Renard smiled warmly, “Nice to meet you, Mayor Boodle. I'm Renard, and this is Libra. We're bounty hunters.”
Boodle looked slightly confused, “Bounty hunters? Is that so? I'm not aware of anyone around here having a bounty.”
Renard nodded along, “You're right, of course, but we received some intelligence that Buggy the Clown has been seen in the waters around the Gecko Islands, not far from here. He may be heading here, and, if he is, we're hoping to capture him before he can do any damage.”
Mayor Boodle became very serious after hearing what Renard had to say, “I see. I admit, a pirate like Buggy would be a disaster if he ever came to a town like ours. I appreciate you bringing this to my attention. Let me lead you to our inn before I spread the word to the others. We'll keep a watch on the ocean and let you know if we spot a ship coming.”
Renard grinned happily, “That would be perfect!”
Mayor Boodle looked excited and nervous, “Not to doubt you but...”
“Am I strong enough to handle Buggy?”
Boodle nodded while looking sheepish. Renard laughed. He wasn't upset at the question. He was only eighteen and fairly handsome, working with a gorgeous woman; it was no surprise he didn't look the part of a bounty hunter to others, “Don't worry, Mayor Boodle, we won't have any trouble dealing with him or his crew.”
Boodle nodded and then led them into town toward a very small inn that was more of a bar with a spare room above it. Along the way, he introduced Renard and Libra to the local people, making sure they knew why he was there and to keep an eye out.
Renard had no idea how long it would be until Buggy attacked, but he didn't think it could be too long. Even if it was a while, that was fine with him; he needed time to train anyway. He hadn't had much time to train with his new skills, and he wanted to ingrain them into muscle memory as much as he could. This seemed like a good opportunity to do so.
-----Line Break-----
Laughter filled the town square as people danced, drank, and ate happily. They were celebrating a great harvest and dancing to the music that Renard was playing for them. One of the locals had an acoustic guitar he no longer played and happily sold to Renard for a low price.
It turned out that the skill Expert Performance really undersold just how good he was at playing an instrument and singing now. If he were back on Earth, he could easily become a rock star, making millions a year. Hell, if he used his female form, he could probably outperform Taylor Swift! The moment he began to play and sing, he became the life of the party and had everyone in a great mood. Even Libra seemed to be having fun listening to his music.
Thump!
Renard looked around, slightly confused at the sound he'd just heard. It was a deep bass sound he'd never heard before.
BOOM!
Everyone began screaming as a cannonball hit the shore and detonated in a large explosion.
“PIRATES!”
At that shout, everyone began running out of town. They'd been prepared to retreat for nearly two weeks now, so they swiftly made their way out of the town to safety. It didn't mean they weren't panicking, but they at least had a plan to follow.
Renard calmly set his guitar into its case and set it against his chair. Together, he and Libra made their way toward the docks, ignoring the incoming canon fire. If anything got even remotely close to them, Libra would catch it and reverse its gravity until it exploded in the air. They stopped not too far from the docks and watched the pirate ship coming toward them. The skull and crossbones with a big red nose were easily distinguishable as Buggy's Jolly Roger.
They waited as the pirates arrived at the dock and came charging off to loot the town to the ground. Libra and Renard got to work in perfect sync. Libra crushed the mooks under intense gravity while he charged in and used his Muay Thai to smash the ones she didn't crush. Fists, knees, elbows, and feet flew as he used his martial arts against other people for the first time.
Judging by how the mooks effortlessly broke every time he hit them, he figured his strength was pretty impressive at this point. At least on par with Luffy or Zoro at the beginning of their adventures. Given he was previously a soul and a spoiled, rotten Celestial Dragon, he didn't think that was too bad for the short time he'd been in the One Piece world.
“Who are you flashy bastards?!”
Renard looked up from the latest mook he'd broken and got his first look at Buggy in person. He definitely had a... presence about him. Though Renard really couldn't help wondering how it was biologically possible for Buggy's nose to actually look like a red ball. Regardless of genetic impossibilities, Buggy looked much like he did in the show, even down to his clothing.
“Well, I'm Renard, and the lovely lady with me is Libra. Nice to meet you!”
“ARE YOU MAKING FUN OF ME?! Why are you flashily beating up my men?!”
“Oh! Because you're pirates. Duh. Also, we're here for your bounty.”
Buggy scowled down at them, “Bounty hunters, eh? Mohji, Cabaji, deal with them.”
Three more figures appeared at the edge of the boat: two humans and one giant lion. They all stared down before leaping off the ship together. Mohji rode the giant lion Richie while Cabaji rode a unicycle. The two men stared at Renard and Libra with condescending looks. Cabaji was the first to speak, “We'll take care of them, Captain!”
Renard turned to Libra, “Deal with the idiot and the oversized house cat he's riding.”
He turned to Cabaji and slowly drew the sword on his waist. It was nothing special, a cheap, mass-produced one that one of the villagers had lying around and let him borrow. He'd trained his swordsmanship with it and planned to use it for the upcoming fight. Naturally, he could use his lightsaber, but doing so wouldn't give him much practice as it would slice through Cabaji's sword and then Cabaji himself.
The pairs split off. Libra led Mohji and Richie a little away from where Renard and Cabaji were facing off. Libra had listened carefully when Renard had told her about Buggy and his crew. She knew that Mohji was nothing without Richie, and while intelligent for an animal, Richie really wasn't all that strong either.
So she did what she always did in combat, where skill wasn't required, she crushed them. She focused all of her magic on the pair and crushed them into the ground with enough force to crater the stone and mortar ground.
“What in the flashy hell?! A Devil Fruit?! Is that why you felt you could take us on? One measly Devil Fruit?”
Meanwhile, Cabaji faced off with Renard. He sat on his unicycle, carefully maintaining his balance, “A swordsman, eh? I've dealt with plenty of your kind before!”
Cabaji leaned forward and pedaled rather than running at Renard. Renard studied how Cabaji was moving and frowned. He was... slow, and he clearly didn't know how to properly use a sword. Just his grip on the handle showed how unskilled Cabaji was with a sword. Considering the tricks Cabaji used on Zoro in canon events, it made sense that his swordsmanship would be weak; he wasn't a swordsman.
He was... disappointed. Cabaji was such a let down that he felt choosing to use a metal sword was a waste of time on his part. He casually stepped to the side and ducked low while Cabaji swung high and missed by a massive margin. Renard took full advantage of the massive opening and sprang up while lashing out with his sword. He sliced clear across Cabaji's chest with enough force to send him flying back to slam into the ground.
The only reason Cabaji survived such an attack was due to how dull the sword he used was compared to something like Wado Ichimonji.
Buggy looked between the pair while seething, “You flashy bastards think you're all that just because you have some fancy Devil Fruit power and can swing a sword?” He jumped off his ship and landed on solid ground to glare at them. He pointed at Renard, “Come fight me on your own if you dare!”
Renard blinked, then snorted. Of course, Buggy would want to fight him first. Buggy had eaten the Bara Bara no Mi, making him completely immune to swords not imbued with Armament Haki. Well, Renard didn't mind; he could use more than a sword to fight. Still, he felt like playing with Buggy a little since Buggy wanted to trick him.
Renard nodded to accept Buggy's challenge, “Libra, go ahead and start tying everyone else up.”
Buggy snickered and moved until he stood across from Renard, “You're going to die, you flashy bastard!”
Buggy pulled out two of his knives and charged at Renard with a loud shout. To anyone who didn't know the truth about Buggy, they might think he was a complete moron with how open to attack he was. Renard couldn't resist playing along. He charged as well and lashed out with his sword in an attack meant to disembowel Buggy.
As they passed by each other, Buggy dramatically collapsed to the ground with a loud thud. Renard made a show of sheathing his sword and even went so far as to speak, “Hmph, all talk.”
The next moment, he spun around and caught Buggy's dismembered hand as it tried to stab him from behind. He laughed and squeezed down hard on Buggy's hand, crushing it hard enough to make the bones creak. Buggy groaned in agony even as he climbed to his feet, “You... flashy... bastard. Release my hand!”
Renard chuckled at Buggy's demand, then, under Buggy's furious gaze, he walked to the edge of the pier and threw Buggy's hand directly into the ocean with enough force to prevent Buggy from taking control of it. Buggy's eyes bulged in shock as he lost complete control of his hand, once it was submerged in the sea. While normally sticking just a hand in ocean water wouldn't affect a Devil Fruit user, Buggy's case was a bit unique.
Most Devil Fruits would still somewhat work underwater. For example, Luffy's neck could still stretch when he was thrown underwater at Arlong Park, which allowed him to breathe with some help from others. In the case of Buggy though, the telekinetic connection between his hand and his body was severed by the ocean water. If it was retrieved, it would go right back to working like normal, but there was no way Buggy would be retrieving it anytime soon.
Buggy glared hatefully at Renard, “I'm going to make you pay for that.”
“You're going to try and fail.”
“BARA BARA FESTIVAL!”
Buggy's body exploded into a bunch of different pieces that floated in the air and surrounded Renard from all sides, “Flashily die you, bastard!”
Body parts came flying in at high speed, forcing Renard to dodge out of the way or get hit by who knew what part of Buggy's body. He did his best but failed to dodge an attack from behind as something slammed into him and sent him stumbling forward. He caught a flash of silver from the corner of his eyes and dodged on instinct. He hissed as the blade that would have slashed him from navel to neck only managed to graze his chest.
So far in all his fights, he'd managed to win without taking any damage. Though that was obviously due more to the overpowered nature of Grue, Libra, and a Lightsaber all being used effectively. Without them, Renard was a lot less combat-savvy and in clear need of some experience in real combat. Hence why he was holding back against Buggy. If he used everything he had, Buggy would be easily crushed and dealt with, but Renard wouldn't grow stronger. If he kept fighting like that, what would happen when he eventually came across someone who could counter Grue or Libra's gravity? He would be helpless even with the skills he had due to not practicing them.
Buggy was a mildly easy target to practice with, though the Bara Bara no Mi was rather difficult to deal with when holding back. It was perfect for practicing!
Renard lashed out with a powerful snap-kick that caught one of Buggy's floating pieces that looked like it came from his stomach. The piece went flying and slammed into a nearby building. The hit and impact both caused Buggy to grunt. His parts might be immune to being sliced, but blunt force trauma still worked and translated back to his floating head.
In the brief moment pain distracted Buggy, Renard struck. He dashed quickly toward where Buggy was standing before he exploded into pieces and grabbed both of his feet off the ground. Buggy's eyes widened in shock, “What are you doing?!”
Renard gave Buggy a truly evil grin and tossed both of his feet into the ocean to join his hand. Buggy's parts immediately began moving toward the ocean. His parts could only move so far from each other, and with his feet quickly sinking into the water, they were pulling the rest of his body with them.
He calmly watched as Buggy pulled himself together and used his combined weight to keep himself from being pulled into the ocean, “What the hell are you doing to me?! STOP THROWING MY PARTS IN THE OCEAN!”
Renard ran over and delivered a swift kick at Buggy's head, only to miss as Buggy shouted, “Bara Bara Emergency Escape!”
He quickly changed his attack and dropped while aiming at Buggy's spine with his elbow. He landed with crushing force, causing Buggy to scream in pain. He didn't let up and slammed his fist into Buggy's kidney with bruising force, causing the clown to lock up from the pain. Using that distraction, he grabbed Buggy's body and tried to throw it into the ocean.
Buggy, despite not being the greatest fighter, or even a good one, still managed to react, “Bara Bara Festival!”
Renard scowled as the vast majority of Buggy's body escaped his grasp. However, he still had a firm grip on two of Buggy's arm parts. He smirked at Buggy and looked meaningfully at the ocean. Buggy shouted in rage, “Don't you dare!”
He dared. In fact, he quickly ran over and threw the arm parts into the water. Buggy's parts once again were moving toward the ocean with even more speed and force. The more parts of Buggy that made it into the water, the weaker he got. Buggy pulled himself back together to stop being dragged into the ocean. His hateful glare only made Renard's grin widen.
“Well, Buggy, this has been fun, but I think it's time to end it.”
Darkness burst out of Renard, hiding him from sight and sound. Buggy launched his head off of his body to protect it and try to get it out of the darkness, while his body tried to crawl further away from the ocean and certain death. He considered his options and came to one conclusion. He shifted into his Klyntar form and possessed Buggy's body.
Due to the weirdness of Devil Fruits, even though Buggy's head was separate from his body, Renard was still able to wrap himself around it. He was actually surprised that Buggy was managing to fight back against him, taking full control. Even so, Renald was stronger and managed to crush Buggy's will down beneath his own.
Thanks to the massive increase in his understanding of biology, thanks to Expert Biology, he could derive much more information about Buggy's Devil Fruit power than he had the last time. It was fascinating, and he was certain that he could grant the ability to anyone he bonded with in the future. He was thrilled with the possibilities this presented. While he couldn't use the powers himself, working with someone else, they could become the most powerful person in the world!
Why the hell was he the most broken when working with someone else's body instead of his own?!
He needed a Familiar he wouldn't mind permanently bonding to, dammit.
He dismissed the darkness of Grue and called out to Libra, “Did you get the barrel?”
As a response, she dropped a barrel filled with ocean water gently on the ground next to him within Buggy's body. Renard smirked and controlled Buggy's body to climb into the water. With Renard wrapped around him, Buggy was actually protected from the water and not actually weakened by it. It was the same concept as wearing a diving suit.
“Collect his parts, please.”
A few moments later, the pieces Renard tossed into the ocean were tossed into the barrel, “Last step!”
Libra nodded and grabbed the top of the barrel. It had been cut into two pieces with half-moon sections cut out of the centers to make one whole hole. When put together, they made a solid lid with a hole for Buggy's neck to stick through. Libra locked them in place nice and tight.
As soon as she did, Renard left Buggy's body. Buggy groaned but hardly moved as the seawater sapped all of his strength and left him helpless.
[Feat Achieved! Defeated Buggy the Clown. +1x Silver Gacha Ticket]
[Feat Achieved! Minorly Derailed Canon. +1x Gold Gacha Ticket]
Renard hummed as he looked over his rewards. Honestly? He didn't think that was too shabby at all. Under the old system, he would have only gotten fifteen points. A silver and gold ticket was worth the equivalent of thirty points. That made him smile happily. He lifted the barrel of Marinating Buggy and looked at Libra, “We should go let the townsfolk know that it's safe.”
-----Line Break-----
Renard sighed as he lay in bed. After defeating Buggy, the town had gone right back to partying with even more vigor after having survived the pirate attack with minimal damage. A few canon shots had dealt some damage, but Buggy hadn't fired a single Buggy Ball, so the damage was hardly anything to complain about compared to what it could have been.
He looked at his rewards and decided how he wanted to spend them, “Roll for a Familiar with the Silver Ticket.”
[ROLLING!]
[Rachnera Arachnera, Uncommon Familiar, Monster Musume - Rachnera is a female Arachne with skills in a variety of fields. As an Arachne, she has a large body and enhanced physical stats as well as the ability to produce stronger than steel silk on demand. She is also a master seamstress capable of weaving fashionable clothes in seconds.]
He blinked at the result and tilted his head to the side. He barely recognized the name of the series, so he had to think about it for a moment. When he remembered, his eyes widened in shock. He might not have remembered her name if asked, but seeing it and her description, he remembered that she was the disturbingly hot half-spider woman in a silly harem anime about monster girls.
Well. She wasn't exactly what he was hoping for, but he also couldn't complain. Her being half-spider could be explained by a Zoan Devil Fruit. Her skills with her silk and making clothing could be amazingly helpful in saving money. Plus, if he was going to cosplay Venom, he needed some spider powers, and where better to get them?
Still, she wasn't quite what he needed, so, “Roll for a Familiar with the Gold Ticket.”
[ROLLING!]
[Mimikyu, Rare Familiar, Pokemon - A mysterious entity hiding beneath a shabby costume of another Pokemon in hopes of being loved and accepted due to its real appearance under the disguise being a severe cognitohazard. Mimikyu is capable of creating and controlling shadow constructs to attack and defend.]
Renard stared at the results, then laughed, “A real-life Pokémon?!”
He couldn't wait and immediately summoned the Pokémon from its pocket space. Mimikyu, hiding in its ratty Pikachu cosplay, appeared on his bed in front of him. It looked around before its eyes, small holes in the stomach of the costume, fell on him, “Mimikyu!”
Renard began vibrating in place. He grew up on Pokémon, and now he had one! He could hardly stop himself from grabbing Mimikyu and hugging the stuffing out of it, “You are so ADORABLE!”
The stuffed head of the Mimikyu's disguise tilted to the side like it was curious, “Mimi, Mimikyu?”
“That's right, you're adorable! You're my first ever Pokémon, and I don't think I could have gotten a better one!”
“Mi, Kyu, Mimikyu!”
The little puppet hiding the tiny ghost-fairy leaped at his chest, prompting Renard to catch him. He could feel something cold and otherworldly touching his arm from beneath the disguise that sent a shiver of existential dread down his spine, but he ignored it with all his willpower. He didn't care that there was a legit cognitohazard that could literally hurt his brain if he saw it beneath the cloth. It was a goddamn living... un-living Pokémon, and he was going to love it FOREVER!
He would definitely have to ask Rachnera to make Mimikyu a nice new covering. One that was extra cute to really make Mimikyu happy. Renard kept Mimikyu wrapped in his arms as he lay down, “Goodnight Mimikyu, I'll see you in the morning.”
“Mimikyu!”
-----Line Break-----
AN
10.1k words.
So, I have one small confession to make. I did reroll one of Renard's original rolls to change the outcome. But not for a reason you might likely guess. The first time I rolled the Golden Familiar Gacha, I got HK-47, the sassy, sarcastic, hilarious murder hobo from Knights of the Old Republic.
Now, don't get me wrong, I LOVE HK-47 as a character. However, there were two things that made me reroll him away. First, I honestly don't feel like I could do the character justice. HK-47 is a character beloved by many nerds, like me, and I would feel horrible if I mangled him. Not only might it upset you guys, but it would definitely upset me. Second, HK-47 is from a crazy-advanced civilization and is known for two things. He's one hell of an assassin, and he's an engineer. That would mean he would have databanks of advanced designs, and I don't think I want to introduce the possibility of high-tech weapons and spacecraft to the story until much later on.
Anyway, I hope you all enjoyed chapter 2!