"MARO! MARO! COME LOOK!"

The Queen glanced up in confusion from her paperwork, as Angel burst into the room with an excited grin on her face, waving around some papers and jumping up and down, sufficiently distracting the queen who let out a pleased sigh.

Demon followed quietly behind her but his grin was large as well.

Snatching the paper out of his outraged sister's hands, he placed them in front of Maro.

Maro's jaw dropped in disbelief.

"H-HOLY SHIT?!" The Dokkaebi shouted, probably alerting her entire castle. "WHY THE HELL IS IT SO HIGH? IS HE A MAGNET FOR HIGH BOUNTIES?!"

140 MILLION? 100 MILLION? 90 MILLION? 70 MILLION?!

SHE WAS SO PROUD OF THEM! THEY WERE WORTH 400 MILLION BERIS!

Yeah maybe Robin and Rosan wouldn't be so pleased with their incredible bounties but everyone else would be in their stead!

Her soldiers and Kanna peeked their heads into the room to see the three leader's laughing joyfully at the bounty posters.

Getting a closer look, they couldn't help but gap at the ludicrous prices on the Straw Hats heads.

S-Seriously?!

"I still feel like this is still too low for Rosan. They're underestimating how much of a monster he is," Kaori sighed. The World Government was beginning to understand how dangerously strong the Straw Hat Pirates were but they were still to slow on the uptake.

"Those shithead Marines probably wanted to give him a 5 billion bounty because of that ass whooping he gave them but the higher ups denied it!" Angel boasted, preening as she high fived a proud Gem.

"5 billion would be too low for him regardless," The bomber man said, getting an eager nod out of the redhead.

"That's exactly what I think!"

Demon, Mikita and Zala sweatdropped. "I think you're both idiots," the doctor said.

The two female agents nodded sagely.

"I wonder if you and I have to be wary, Angel," Demon hummed. "We look exactly like Master after all and are quite popular in the North Blue. You especially, are married to the most popular Queen in the sea."

Angel thought about it. "That's true... we'll have to think up some lies in case we ever get interrogated. I refuse to change my appearance and since we're so hot, they probably already memorize how we look anyways."

Her little brother snorted but nodded.

"Don't worry," Maro puffed up her chest. "They value my island far too much anyways because of what we contribute! Besides, if they send anyone after you two, I'll deal with them. The Marines are already hardpressed with the Grand Line so they can't expend too much effort but if they do, I'll be right there."

"And we will too," Gem agreed with a fierce glare.

All the soldiers nodded. "They won't want to go to war with Celadon anytime soon. We have far too many formidable soldiers, not to mention our unstoppable queen. They'd need to send at the minimum a Vice Admiral along with a plethora of Marines to deal with us all," Marianne added.

That was far too many resources to expend. It was simply not worth it... not to mention Maro could call Rosan at any time and the redhead specialized at eliminating large groups of people.

"Y-You guys are so fucking sweet," Angel gushed, dragging Marianne, Gem and Kaori into a hug. "Our soldiers are so adorable!"

"You're embarrassing me, Queen Angel," Kaori mumbled, returning the hug.

Marianne grinned happily and easily hugged the woman back.

Demon smiled as he hugged Mikita and Zala (much to their pleasure). "They're the sweetest. We appreciate you guys for protecting us."

"Of course!" They chorused.

"This is the one that managed to recruit you all?" Drophy (Miss Merry Christmas) pondered, gazing at the bounty poster of the redhead who Crocodile had dibs on with a contemplative expression.

Fat lotta luck that did him. The man lost without doing a damn thing and this redhead stole just about all his agents.

The former agents nodded in unison.

"He's the type of person who likes to appear unassuming but do not antagonize him. He's very dangerous," Kaori warned with a look of seriousness on her face.

Even she had underestimated the unassuming redhead and paid dearly for it... but at least it led her to Celadon.

"You're lucky he didn't speak to you and I did," Maro laughed, rubbing her shoulder length blue and white hair that was growing longer by the day. "He has much less tolerance then I do. Pretty sure he would have either tortured, killed, or shattered your self worth if you continued to resist."

By the way Mikita instinctively shuddered, that was a very true statement.

The blonde former agent was to never tell anyone what Rosan had done to Gem so only her majesty (and Demon and Angel) knew.

Honestly though… this version of him was a lot better… He didn't dig in his nose anymore and that was a huge plus for her... and he also didn't leer at her body whenever given the chance.

He was also very very strong now and even Zala couldn't help but balk at how easily he could have killed her on multiple occasions when they sparred with each other.

The agent really had been using his Devil Fruit wrong and combined with Queen Maro's harsh training regiment, they were all getting noticeably stronger.

Even Mikita was feeling useful. She had hesitantly asked Rosan how he would have used her Devil Fruit after the redhead thanked her for helping heal Robin.

Surprisingly, he had done so without hesitation!

"You should learn guerrilla tactics and some aerial combat," he had said intelligently, having clearly inspected her strengths and weaknesses. "In and out, using the speed of transforming into one kilo and the power of transforming to 10,000 to increase your close combat. The umbrella is cute but it would be more effective if you weren't holding it with one hand."

With that, he (and Angel) gave her a new parasol that she could attach to her person and activate with a button.

It was even equipped with a propulsion mechanic that shot her up faster! She was the ambush fighter that Maro very much needed and combined with Drophy, the two could finish battles without the enemy even landing a clean hit!

"T-Thank you!" Mikita told the apathetic redhead.

"There is no need to thank me. You helped Robin so this is nothing," he replied calmly, much to her shock.

With his help she even decked herself out with a rather powerful sniper she could use while floating just in case engaging in close combat was a bad idea.

She was quickly proving her worth thanks to the one who had called her worthless… It was strange but he was undeniably helpful and Maro was proud of her.

Now she just needed to gain Demon's affections… Which was harder said then done considering everyone seemed to want a piece of him, including her traitorous fellow agent Zala.

The blue haired woman never ceased in her attempts to flirt with the doctor, unlike Mikita and even now, she was greedily enjoying his hug (she was too).

She sighed.

The struggles of a woman in love.

"You guys are off today!" Maro beamed, paperwork forgotten. "Let's throw a party to celebrate the occasion! Marianne have you ever tried sake? There's this one flavor that tastes just like juice! The normal taste is too much for me so I like that one very much!"

Marianne opened her mouth to reply, but squeaked instead as Angel effortlessly hoisted the tiny girl up and turned her away from the goblin.

"She's 16, Maro!" The redhead scowled.

"So what?! I drank for the first time at 17!"

"THAT'S BECAUSE YOU COERCED ME INTO GIVING YOU SOME!"

"COERCED? WHY ARE YOU LYING? YOU PRACTICALLY SHOVED THE DRINK DOWN MY THROAT AFTER SAYING "I'M 18 I CAN MANAGE US BOTH!" YOU LIAR!"

"Let's just go get started without them. I'd like that drink myself," an unbothered Demon advised, idly pulling the resigned Marianne out of Angel's grasp and patting her head.

Poor girl was always in between the twos arguments now. They very clearly adopted her and the artist was beginning to understand that this was the norm.

The soldiers sweatdropped and nodded.

It was a good thing they had Demon. Angel and Maro were too much sometimes.

----------------------------------------

"Captain Buggy… Do you really think we should still go after them?" Mohji asked fearfully, staring at the bounty poster of the redhead who beat him within an inch of his life before choosing to spare him so he could relay a message.

The rising stars… The Straw Hats growth was downright explosive right about now considering they hadn't even met too long ago in the East Blue.

"Not now but eventually," Buggy decided. He still needed to get his revenge on both Straw Hat and the Red Devil but maybe they were a bit too dangerous right now.

"Eventually? They went from one bounty of 35 million, to 4 bounties that add up to 400 million," Alvida stressed cautiously, being the only intelligent one here. "We should cut our losses and just try to become allies if we ever have the misfortune of running into them again."

She didn't want to make an enemy of Rosan. His very first bounty was 100 million and they now had the Devil Child in their crew to boot!

"Ignorance is bliss, isn't it? The more you learn about a certain person, the less you wish you knew. Try not to poke a sleeping dragon too much," memories of that handsome redhead whispered into her ear as a feeling of death loomed over her.

They were out of their league. It was genuinely a miracle that they were even still alive because really, that Rosan could have killed them all whenever he wanted.

Buggy glanced at her and snorted. "I never took you for a coward, Alvida. Did the damn annoying redhead spook you that badly?"

Alvida contemplated just leaving these idiots. They just didn't know how dangerous Rosan was in comparison to the cheerful Luffy.

Red Devil was a completely adequate title for him.

"Red Devil? What a stupid title! Fire Fist is way better!"

Buggy barked in laughter at that. "Isn't it? I'll admit, Fire Fist is much flashier but Buggy the Clown is the flashiest of them all!"

"My older sister hates clowns. I dunno why, I think they're pretty funny!"

The clown scowled at that. "Your sister has awful taste. She just hasn't met me!"

"I think she'd hate you honestly. Your outfit is flashy but not in a good way to her. She's very stylish."

"Her loss…" Buggy said with a shrug.

"WHO THE HELL ARE YOU?!" The clown roared in disbelief.

Ace grinned at the crew and idly helped himself to a piece of of meat as he inspected the bounties with a proud look.

"You guys interested in allying with the Straw Hats? I don't think you should do that honestly. Rosan and Luffy are asses who'll make you feel bad about yourselves and no offense, I don't think any of you are interesting to them so it'll hurt even more," he advised kindly.

He was honestly trying to do them a favor. Luffy and Rosan could be totally insufferable and sometimes they didn't even realize it. These guys wouldn't stand a chance of allying with his brothers because neither would accept.

And if Rosan did accept, well... they'd find themselves quickly regretting that decision.

Ace sighed. His brothers were too much sometimes.

But hey! Look at their bounties! He was seriously proud of them for already garnering such high prices after just entering the Grand Line.

Rosan would be annoyed though. He probably didn't want a starting bounty this high. His poor redheaded brother, attracting attention wherever he went and not realizing it was his own fault for being so interesting.

Bah, his brother would be fine. This called for celebration!

"You guys were in the middle of a party right? Let's continue!" Ace grinned in a friendly manner, helping himself to 3 more sticks of meat.

"WHO THE HELL ARE YOU?!" Everyone roared.

Cabaji paused as he noticed the tattoo on the man's back and he finally began to make connections.

"Fire Fist is way better!"

The acrobat went white.

"Don't touch him," The second mate hissed warningly to the increasingly aggressive pirates. "That's Fire Fist Ace, the second commander of the Whitebeard Pirates!"

"Huh? You called?" Ace muttered, turning towards Cabaji and flashing the Whitebeard symbol on his back to the entire ship.

…

Buggy's eyes bugged in disbelief at that. "FIRE FIST?! WHITEBEARD?!"

WHAT THE HELL WAS HE DOING ON THEIR SHIP?!

Alvida went white for a different reason. This man had freckles on his face like how she used to and while that wasn't really anything special, a conversation suddenly came roaring to the forefront.

A memory of a certain redhead staring her down and hesitantly asking if she was someone named "Ace."

Oh dear Kami don't tell her—

"If I may ask, what's your relationship with the Red Devil and Straw Hat?" Alvida spoke up hesitantly, seeing that he wasn't hostile.

Ace polished off his drum of meat before grabbing another one and biting into it. "Rosan and Luffy? We're brothers," he replied without hesitation.

…

…

"WHAT?! THOSE TWO?!"

Buggy's jaw dropped to the floor. Those two were the brothers of fucking Fire Fist Ace?

"B-Brothers?" The clown stammered. Was that why they were all such monsters?! What type of flashy guy made these three?!

"Yeah, Rosan's my oldest sibling, Luffy's my youngest," Ace replied easily. This food was pretty damn good!

They had even more siblings?! What the hell was this bloodline...

More and more, Alvida was figuring out that the random group of pirates that she had written off were not so random.

Straw Hat Luffy and Red Devil Rosan were not just two upstart pirates. They were genuine monsters who cruised through the East Blue without issue for good reason.

They weren't just lucky. The Straw Hats were actually incredibly dangerous.

"Next time I see them I gotta congratulate them on getting such impressive bounties… And I gotta make fun of Rosan for being called the Red Devil," Ace mused.

There was no way his freakishly stylish brother would appreciate that title. Especially when Angel of Death was his old one. Didn't he mention something about wanting to be called a Force of Nature?

The freckled man looked at the crew in confusion. "What's wrong with you guys? If you don't hurry, I'm gonna eat all the —"

He fell to the floor, unconscious and began snoring.

"HE FELL ASLEEP?!"

Buggy sighed in misery. He was doomed to be tormented by Straw Hat no matter what it looked like.

At least this one wasn't completely insufferable and trying to kill a Whitebeard pirate was the stupidest thing you could do.

That meant there was only one thing left to do...

Party it was!

----------------------------------------

"Dadan! Are you there?!" Makino called out, knocking on the door to the bandits house.

Much to Dadan's begrudging appreciation (she ended up bawling like a complete sap), Rosan had refined their little hut into something much more livable and turned it from a crappy shack into a nice and comfy home.

"Makino?" Dadan called, opening the door to regard the bartender and ignoring the excited chatter of her bandits. "What's the matter? Need to borrow some of my boys to handle rowdy customers?"

The green haired woman smiled but shook her head. "Look!"

She held up two bounty posters for the Bandit Leader to see.

Dadan's eyes bugged. "WHAT?! WHAT HAPPENED?! WHY DID IT INCREASE SO MUCH?! WHY IS ROSAN'S FIRST SO HIGH?"

"I'm not sure! I thought we may have missed the last reveal of bounties but I talked to Maro and she told me this is definitely Luffy's second and Rosan's first," Makino replied.

She was rather shell-shocked herself to see just how high their bounties suddenly got and demanded Maro tell her what happened over the Den Den Mushi (Rosan had been kind enough to give her one connected to Aiko and Maro before he left... but not himself).

The Dokkaebi and her wife (it sounded like they were partying… why did they have to be located in the North Blue?!) told her all about what happened in Alabasta after she closed the bar early and to say she was shocked would be an understatement.

Her little Luffy fought and defeated a Warlord?! That was incredible! It looks like all the training Maro and Rosan subjected him to was paying off in dividends.

Rosan…

To see him with a bounty of all people left Makino shocked. Over the 10 years she knew him, the bartender realized that there were still so many things she didn't know about the redhead and would probably never know.

What she did know though, was that he was very much a person who preferred to work in the backgrounds.

She honestly expected him to not have a bounty this high for a very long time but not only was that not the case, it was his first bounty too.

She wondered what he did. He was an ass for not connecting his own Den Den Mushi to the one he gave her so she made sure to tell Maro to call her next time he visited.

"They beat a Warlord?!" Dadan gaped, practically glowing in pride. "HELL YEAH! THAT'S MY BOYS! MEN LET'S CELEBRATE THE OCCASION!"

"YEAH!" They roared, bustling into action.

The surrogate mother of her three troublemakers was a little concerned to see their prices so high but that paled in comparison to the joy she was feeling at watching them succeed in the perilous oceans.

Ace, Luffy and Rosan… Her boys were doing just fine.

"Makino, you come join too!" Dadan demanded.

The bartender smiled at their glee and nodded, just as happy for the pirates.

"I'll cook!" she announced.

The cheering got louder.

----------------------------------------

A figure fell on one knee, panting in exertion at the hell they were putting their body through.

They had long gone past their limit that their body could handle, but how could they possibly stop?

After all, the lifeless expression staring at them had lit a fire that demanded they keep going.

Ever after someone told them to slow down, they refused to do so. Only until they couldn't move anymore, would they stop for the day.

They always ignored everyone because they weren't him. How could they ever stop training, when their target was a true monster? When their target would eat them alive if they faltered for even a second.

No, they would need to put their all into getting stronger or they would be consumed by the depths of apathy.

The Red Devil… Is that what they were calling him now?

100 million… That would do him no justice at all. He was worth so much more then that measly price but he probably didn't show the world what he was capable of just yet.

No, this 100 million was just a taste.

They were honored... after all, Rosan had done far more then just give them a taste!

Ah, Rosan~ The years had done him so well. He was so handsome now! From that cute little face to this right here...

Alas, he was too handsome.

Dead eyes roamed over to the three unimportant bounties. The two males were completely ignored, leaving just the female to be scrutinized.

Nico Robin. Ohara's Devil. The Sole Survivor of Ohara.

The lover of the Red Devil based on reports.

Unacceptable.

That just wouldn't do. Nico Robin couldn't just go stealing Rosan from them!

Luckily, they had a solution!

Ignoring their screaming limbs, they picked up their designated Den Den Mushi and waited patiently for it to ring.

"Hello?" The voice on the line said.

"It's me," they said immediately.

"? I don't think I've ever seen you call anyone. Actually, do you do anything besides train? What's the occasion, Puppet?"

"Water 7," they said shortly, tone lifeless.

The voice on the other line was clearly surprised by that abrupt statement.

"You want to go there? No offense, but you're really not suited for the mission we designated the other agents which is why we didn't send you in the first place."

This was weird. They never asked for anything, never displayed any emotion and only trained or did assassination missions. Their strength was not in question at all after all the hell they put their body through but something as delicate as this, years into the mission was just not something they could afford to handle.

Puppet wasn't just a friendly nickname. That's what they were.

A puppet. And a puppet was not good enough to do what the others were doing.

"…I will go," they insisted robotically.

"Is this one of your instinct things? You always did portray good skills in that… It's gotten you out of quite a bit of situations." The voice on the line paused in contemplation. "Fine, you can go. I doubt you will, but make no indication who your allies are until it's time."

"Right."

With that, they hung up the phone and put away their Mushi to throw themselves back into training.

If they were just in Alabasta as led to believe, then eventually their log would set them on course to Water 7.

A hazy fog surrounded them until it formed into the Red Devil himself and they placed a hand on his tan cheek, unmindful of the fact that they weren't actually there.

No one could steal him. He was theirs and no one else. The Devil Child had no idea who she was with…

After all, Nico Robin thought Rosan was a devil but that just wasn't true.

Red Devil? What a stupid title…

The figure grinned psychotically and used their sharp nails to grip the cheek of the redhead in front of them even tighter with enough force to carve deeply into them.

Without hesitation, they crushed the head of the Rosan in front of them, watching as it dispersed into nothing and turned to face the hole filled dummy once more.

...He was an Angel not a Devil~

----------------------------------------

Her son was a pirate.

"My Queen? Are you alright? You've been staring at something for quite a—"

"Get out."

The voice came out measured, deep and commanding.

Jen, her secretary, jumped at the woman's tone and hastily departed with a shaky salute.

Once the door was shut, leaving the Queen to herself, Iris D. Raisa allowed her neutral expression to form into a deep scowl of anger.

Her son was a pirate.

The beautiful woman's immaculate teeth sharpened drastically and her desk began melting from the corrosion of her sharpened claws. Her well kept and tight purple battle dress began swaying before she forcefully smoothed it back down.

That idiot. What was he thinking?!

"Iris D. Rosan, how dare you become a pirate?" she snarled, feeling a familiar rage that she worked many years to get under control.

The face of her only child stared back at her and she felt her scowl somehow get deeper.

Despite her anger, she greedily drank in all the features of the son she had not seen since birth.

He looked just like her. For all intents and purposes, Rosan was a male version of Raisa and he was breathtakingly beautiful as a result, with a head of red hair framing a handsome bronze face and gorgeous eyes that could pierce the soul even through a picture.

There were some differences though.

His hair was spiky and shoulder length, opposite to her smooth and butt length hair. It was a shame that it wasn't smooth but she supposed he had to have inherited something physically from that piece of —

The next difference was the fact that true to Dragon's words, he actually did have heterochromia. His right eye was the purple he had been born with. The same royal purple as her own eyes. But his left… his left was a blood red that was the same color as their red hair.

...How was that possible? Did he eat a Devil Fruit? That had to be it because her son had two shining purple eyes that had stolen her breath away...

Which led Raisa to the biggest issue.

His expression, or lack thereof.

That expressionless face lacking the emotion he should have. Raisa knew that he had to have gone through something drastic based on the fact that Dragon informed her of him 10 years ago.

He had been missing from the island she had abandoned him at for who knows how long? 14 was just the age Dragon saw him at... it could have been far longer.

But even after 10 years, he still seemed to lack emotions? That just wasn't possible for their lineage. Even Raisa, the prodigy of her bloodline, didn't have complete control of her emotions, shown by how angry/worried she currently was despite the amount of painstaking training to get them under control.

Their emotions were an overwhelming torrent of waves. They didn't simply stop like it did with Rosan. They continued and continued like a hurricane.

How? How did he do that? Why did he do that? 14 was the earliest she was aware he lacked emotions but it could have been even earlier then that…

Did it have to do with the island she left him at?

She stared at his face once more.

100,000,000 beri… His first bounty was 100 million beri.

Not only was he beautiful but… but he was strong too. He had to be if he survived traveling between the seas at such a young age. He had to be if 100 million was his very first bounty.

Beautiful just like her…

Strong just like her (them)…

In all likelihood, he was a prodigy just like her too...

But he was a pirate just like him.

It felt like a slap to the face and Raisa's expression (which had unknowingly turned worried at the thought of what her son had to have gone through) morphed back into a terrible scowl.

If anyone saw her right now, they'd be terrified because Queen Raisa didn't get angry. No, the monarch of Wisteria was the picture perfect of composed at all times, ruling with a measured expression and not allowing anything to bother her.

Did that man... did he get everything he sought for? She remembered his words clearly before she was defeated in battle.

"Kahahahaha! My ambitions and your emotions would give birth to quite a strong haki user, don't you think Raisa-chan? Not to mention your natural talent... Hopefully they end up getting alot of things from you too, I want our kid to have as easy of a life as possible."

The mere thought was turning the temperature of the room blistering and she had to restrain herself lest all her paperwork get blown or burned everywhere.

Thinking of that bastard never did her any good. It only broke her composure and as queen, she couldn't let that happen.

The ringing of a Den Den Mushi interrupted her musing and the irate queen stared at it before schooling her expression.

Perfectly manicured fingers, with purple nail polish, picked up the phone and Raisa said, "State your business. I have other matters to attend to."

"Explain yourself, Raisa."

The woman raised an impeccable brow and took a seat (when did she get up?). "I'm afraid you'll have to be more specific, Sengoku. You should be glad we're even still talking, considering your severe lack of manners," she replied coolly, forcing herself to calm down lest someone catch her change in mood.

Sengoku let out a sigh of annoyance. "Forgive me for my attitude but I'm sure you can understand why I sound so urgent. After all, you and the Red Devil share a striking resemblance with each other."

Red Devil… such a stupid title.

Raisa didn't let anything that would suggest turmoil show on her face or in her voice. "I do have two other siblings so why exactly are you speaking to me as if I should be aware of this?" was all she said.

Two siblings who she hadn't talked to in years. Oren and Dalia were her older and younger siblings (both by 2 years) and Rosan's uncle and auntie respectively.

Raisa had tried her best to protect them from the judging gazes of their parents but that had not stopped the two of them from resenting the absolute prodigy that was their middle sister.

Years of being compared to her, did their relationship no favors and when Dalia had turned 16, she had went with Oren, who had long since gone, to have their own adventure together.

Where they were? The Queen didn't know. She had also went on her own journey at 16 but when she returned at 18 to claim the throne, they were long gone.

She had been rather hurt that they had left without a word but there was nothing she could do about it because she was the ruler of Wisteria now and had taken the title from her father and mother (who had both been killed soon after she had claimed the throne by that...).

If they had stayed then she would have been able to defeat…

Raisa clenched her fist.

She wanted nothing to do with them.

"Raisa, there is no need to be difficult. I would just like an explanation based on the information I gathered," Sengoku stressed.

Based on what he found out...

The Queen raised a brow. "I don't think I'm being difficult. Perhaps I'll be more forthcoming if you don't plan on baselessly accusing me, Fleet Admiral. I don't remember saying you could call me for idle chatter and this is something far more egregious."

The Fleet Admiral sighed. Raisa had no fear in her heart whatsoever no matter who spoke to her.

"I won't say you abandoned him... but someone did and as a result the Red Devil was taken in and raised by the soon to be lover of Gol D. Roger. Were you aware of that?" He asked bluntly.

According to extensive reports that dated back to years ago, this Rosan was actually raised on Baterilla. The only reason they had been able to find such information, was because he was documented on the island when they began their purge of all unborn children there.

The redhead was a toddler at the time so he hadn't been suspected all that much but to think he was being raised by such a person…

The world froze as she took in that information.

Raisa's eyes widened to epic proportions, sharp eyes glowing bright in confusion, as she heard that tidbit of information.

He… He was raised by who? Her son was raised by what?! The island of Baterilla was holding someone like that?!

Sengoku stroked his beard at that. Judging by the shocked silence, she really didn't know that.

"Not only that, at only 4 years old he completely vanished from that island and if we're to be believed, became the mysterious partner of Nico Robin, his current lover."

The monarch went white.

"What? But how?" She asked in shocked confusion, completely overwhelmed by the information she was currently learning.

Four?! He left that island when he was four?! How was that even possible? He had only been a newborn so she had not given him a Devil Fruit, so there should have been no way a four year old could escape that island by his lonesome.

And not only that, he was lovers with the goddamn Devil Child?!

W-WHAT WAS HE DOING?! WHAT ON EARTH WAS IRIS D. ROSAN DOING?!

Sengoku mercifully didn't comment on the noise of the melted desk getting smashed into pieces by her scaly tail.

The Queen huffed, purple slits positively glowing in fury, worry and annoyance at the information she was learning. Her cool facade was gone and that meant her infamous temper as a child reared its ugly head like an old friend.

"Why did you abandon him?" The Fleet Admiral asked curiously because that was very unlike the spunky little girl from who knows how long ago. "You haven't been married since you became Queen so I assume it pertains to that."

"What do you think?" Raisa hissed venomously into the phone.

Did he really think she was just going to talk about that? About why she went out of her way to abandon her only child?

Her heir?!

Ever since she was a child, Raisa had disproved of the way her parents raised her along with her siblings. As a result, she wanted a child of her to nurture and raise correctly.

In any other circumstance, Rosan would have been the perfect child. He was gorgeous, his eyes glowed brighter then even hers, he had an incredibly healthy body... He would have been a heir worthy of the throne but she would have never forced it upon him if he didn't want it.

But that was the problem. He was perfect.

How could she raise a child who filled her with just as much disgust as he did love?

His potential, his talents, his beauty. Everything about Rosan, it was just proving him right and she hated that. The redhead quite possibly shaped up to be the perfect combination of his parents and that was her worst nightmare.

A small part had hoped that he wasn't a prodigy... that he didn't have ambition. She would have preferred him a failure because then, she could have raised that failure eventually but no. He was none of those.

He was exactly like her wasn't he... a once in a generation prodigy... with ambitions that surpassed his talents.

What a terrifying child she had given birth to. Perhaps it was a good thing his emotions had been stripped from him somehow. If he was able to achieve this level with such a crippler on him...

Raisa clenched her fist, smoke unwittingly pouring out of her mouth.

Perhaps she should hunt him and his crew down (but could she really kill her own son?). She would be doing herself a favor ridding the stain on her legacy (but he was so beautiful and his eyes had been so pure). By him becoming a pirate, he had chosen to follow in that man's footsteps (but if she had just raised him like a proper mother... couldn't she have avoided this outcome).

Sengoku sensed the resentment in her tone and it confirmed his thoughts but that was yet another concern.

Who exactly was strong enough to not only defeat her... but rape Raisa in the South Blue? The Queen had traveled through the New World of all places and it was due to her own prowess that she survived.

No one would be willing to so brazenly attack her... she did not only have her Devil Fruit to defend herself... The woman was a fighter before she was a Queen.

"...Who is his Father? I must at least know this Raisa," Sengoku asked gently, hoping to not set off the Queen.

The woman's eyes narrowed in rage. "You must know? How dare you demand anything out of me? How about I fucking tell you what you should really know—"

The Queen caught herself and took a deep breath.

Raisa was very tempted to tell the Fleet Admiral what he must actually know and it was littered in vulgar language a queen shouldn't be saying but she held herself from lashing out any further.

Fine, he wanted to know? He could know. Whatever he did with the information, she didn't care.

"Cutter."

Her answer was short and to the point and it showed that she absolutely refused to delve deeper into it.

Not that she needed to.

Sengoku went completely still at that.

Surely she didn't mean…

No, she had to. It lined up far too well. He had been spotted and captured in the South Blue after all. The man had quite a bit of damage on his person already too. Burn marks, clawed skin, bite marks, clear signs of poison and a litter of other cuts...

All fitting injuries for someone who would have gotten into a fight with Raisa.

That would also explain his sudden Devil Fruit… he must have stolen it from Wisteria before being captured...

It was very likely Cutter didn't even know of his son's existence…

"For what it's worth Raisa, we have captured him," Sengoku told her.

"...The damage has been done. If that's all, I'll be going now," Raisa said rudely, shutting the phone without hesitation.

The woman frowned deeply and glared at her wrecked desk.

Of all the rotten luck… To be found by the wife of the Pirate King. How the hell was she supposed to know Roger was going to land on that island and end up bedding the woman who happened to be raising her son? He wasn't even the Pirate King yet when Rosan was born.

But that wasn't even the worst of it. Rosan began traveling the seas at four? How? She didn't give him one of the many rare Devil Fruits her family hoarded (it was a coming of age thing) so he shouldn't be able to survive at such a young age.

Was he really that much of a prodigy? Was he even better then she expected him to be? Did his natural talents surpass that of his mothers?

It's not like Cutter was talented... his sheer ambition and drive is what drove him to be so strong... Did Rosan have both the ambition and the talent?

Did he really inherent the best qualities from both his parents?

Whatever the case may be, Rosan left that island at too young of an age and he even met up with Nico Robin too.

She glanced at the Devil Child's bounty poster and scowled at the, admittedly, beautiful woman.

Did Nico Robin also manipulate him? Was she the reason he lost his emotions? Did Nico Robin groom her son into a puppet and eventually transform him into her lover?

Wench.

There were too many questions that she just didn't know the answer to and there was no way she'd be able to find them unless she somehow spoke to Rosan and if there ever came a time where they did meet...

Maybe she should have just kept him… Despite being utterly disgusted by his existence, she had still loved him.

The Queen sighed, anger tapering out of her and features transforming back to normal as she called in her secretary.

She needed a new desk.

----------------------------------------

"DALIA! YOU'VE GOT A FUCKING KID?!" A male screamed, inspecting the bounty poster with bugged eyes.

He was tall, broad and handsome, standing at 6'4 with shoulder length, smooth black hair and glowing purple eyes. His bronze skin was bulky and muscular, accentuated by the fact that he wore some shorts and no shirt, showing his figure off.

"ARE YOU FUCKING STUPID, OREN?! IF I HAD A KID, I THINK MY OLDER BROTHER WOULD KNOW!" A voice screamed back, poking their head out to glare at the idiot.

She was short unlike most of her family, and gorgeous, standing at 5'4 with curly red hair that stopped at her shoulder and glowing blue eyes. Her figure was modest and petite, contrasting her older sister greatly.

"Why the hell are you asking if I suddenly have a kid? I told you I don't want kids," Iris D. Dalia asked, stepping into view and getting a stray pillow thrown at her.

"Put on a shirt, dumbass!" Iris D. Oren grunted with a scowl.

"Ah shut up, you pussy! We've already seen everything from each other. We kinda grew up with each other y'know?" she waved him off, marching forward to inspect the bounty poster he was holding. "Oh? A bounty you want to hunt? Are we running low on funds?"

Before her older brother could answer, the woman grabbed the poster out of his hand and inspected it.

"Who's this hottie?" She crooned, staring at the redhead (go team red!) with a searching gaze.

"I was thinking the same thing… until I realized he was probably your kid," Oren said dryly.

Dalia blinked. "I don't have a kid. I've never been far from you for more then a month. How the hell do I have the time to have a kid under your nose? If anything, this could be yours! You're the dude here. Why are you spreading your seed around and not owning up to it?!"

"I like men, hence the "I was thinking the same thing" dumbass," her gigantic brother said blandly, staring unimpressed at her.

Oh right, he did.

"So he's not related to us? That means he's free game! What do you think I should wear when we meet?" Dalia beamed.

Oren held his head. "I don't know if you're talking about collecting his bounty or something else… but I think you're forgetting about our middle sister."

His youngest sister blinked before her expression morphed into horror and she dropped the poster like it were made of fire.

"T-That's Raisa's kid?! RAISA HAS A KID?!" Dalia gaped in disbelief. How the hell did she not see it? They looked exactly the same! DAMN IT SHE WAS SO DEPRAVED FOR LEERING AT HER NEPHEW!

"I find it a bit hard to believe, considering Raisa would die before letting any kid of hers leave her sight to become a pirate of all things but this is probably our nephew," Oren finished, grabbing the bounty again to inspect it.

He didn't think Raisa would ever let one of her kids become a pirate but she was also the type to spoil them rotten.

"But how?" Dalia said in confusion. "His face isn't showing an ounce of emotion on it. It's just a picture but... I just have this feeling something's wrong..."

Her muscular brother shrugged, purple eyes narrowing a bit. "Maybe he's an outlier. Raisa was a once in a generation talent so maybe her kid is an even bigger monster and doesn't have a problem with his emotions like we all do."

Him being an outlier could explain why he opted into becoming a pirate instead of claiming the throne. Their supposed nephew looked a little older then 16 right now.

"I'm so curious! Rosan's his name and they're calling him a Devil too… I wonder what he's like? Is he nice? Mean? Would he like if I gave him presents for his birthday? Maybe not if they're calling him a Devil... But maybe he would totally accept them from his awesome auntie!" Dalia mused.

She wanted to meet him!

"We could just look for him. We all look pretty similar so I'm sure he'd not attack us on the spot," Oren shrugged.

"You think he could beat the both of us?" The redheaded woman raised a brow and raked a hand through her curly hair.

"It's not about just him. Look at his crew. They have a combined bounty of 400 million and this probably isn't even all of them. Besides, his first bounty is 100 million and he's probably the son of Raisa, who kicked our ass at the same time all the time," he groused.

He had a point… They wondered what Devil Fruit was granted to him?

"One issue though… He's in the Grand Line and you know how hard it is to track someone in the Grand Line," Dalia pointed out.

She had a point… trying to track someone in that ocean was a task if they moved around a lot and well, he was a pirate. They could fly around but that would still take too long.

Oren hummed. It was a deep and powerful rumble. "Well, we can just visit Raisa in that case and question her."

Wide blue eyes focused on him and Dalia's jaw dropped.

"Are you nuts?! It's been years since we've last seen her and you think we can just drop in and say "Hey sis what's up! Heard you got a son now!" without her melting our skulls off?!"

"And it's our fault if she does," Oren replied calmly, despite his own nervousness. "We let our jealousy get in the way and left her alone with our awesome parents."

"And?! They loved her! All they did to us was punish our inadequacy," Dalia scowled.

"Which she protected us from to the best of her ability!" The older brother frowned, crossing his arms across his broad chest. "Raisa wasn't a bad sister to us, Dalia. She tried her best but we still got jealous and left without a word for 24 years. If anything, we're the terrible siblings for keeping no contact with her."

Raisa was being groomed to be the next Queen, yet she still made sure they weren't mistreated by their strict parents. She would distract them and chide them if they went too hard on Oren or Dalia. Hell, Raisa even once defeated their Father to show him that he wasn't as talented as she was either, all because he kept telling her siblings to be more like her.

"Not even you are like me. No one is like me," Raisa stated over their dad, glancing at him neutrally. "Stop trying to ask them to be me. Let them be themselves."

It was touching... but it just showed how out of their league she was.

To Dalia, the reason they were so strict was because of Raisa. She was a prodigy and they weren't so they had to do even more to catch up to her.

But it was never enough and once Raisa departed Wisteria to begin her journey (Oren had left 2 years earlier), she suffered for it.

None of that was Raisa's fault though.

They were just afraid to face the woman who they had wrongly left behind and were finding excuses.

Dalia sighed in misery. "I-I know it's just, we did her so wrong. She really loved us you know? Even despite the fact we were so bitter. She tried everything to mend our relationship, all while balancing the duties of inheriting the throne..."

"We aren't kids anymore, sis. Let's go back to Wisteria and speak to her about this. I can't believe she had a kid and we didn't even know about it…" Oren frowned, looking disappointed in himself.

"I don't want kids but I've always wanted to dote on a nephew," Dalia gushed, thinking about little Rosan.

Ah, just imagining him as a little baby had the short former princess squealing. Running around and tripping just like his Auntie Dalia!

"He's so cute!" She crooned, holding her cheeks and grinning.

She really wanted to meet Rosan now!

"You don't even know how he really looks. What are you gushing about?" Her older brother asked with a sweatdrop.

She completely ignored him.

"I wonder who his dad is… He's the spitting image of Raisa so it's hard to tell," Oren mused.

"Someone strong who she loves. She would never do a political marriage," the woman laughed, it was light and smooth.

Oren couldn't help the short laugh. Past the nervousness, he was excited to see his little sister again.

Little did they know, their sister wanted nothing to do with them.

----------------------------------------

When Robin and Rosan decided to go back to their crew, it was at what seemed to be the home of the one named Mont Blanc Cricket, the monkey man they ran into earlier… and his orangutan brother?

They were currently having a party so they guessed all went well.

The three in question, jumped in surprise at the sudden appearances and gained defensive postures, only to be calmed down by Nami.

"Don't worry, they're with us!" She assured, turning towards the two with a smile. "You're back!" Their navigator beamed.

"You guys were gone longer then expected… Did it take that long to calm you down?" Sabo asked with a raised brow. He didn't expect Rosan to stay angry for so long but then again, his oldest brother was probably the type to hold a grudge.

The redhead shook his head. "Robin managed to calm me down immediately but something came up and we went to check it out."

Right as he finished, Robin held up the ring to show them her Raid Suit. "Rosan had this made for me and it just finished so we went to get it," she explained.

…

…

…

"YOU GUYS GOT MARRIED?!" Sanji roared, eyes bugging in disbelief as he looked at the ring. It looked just like Rosan's and even had the amethyst stone, but the ring itself was black instead of silver.

"WHAT?!" Usopp screeched. "MARRIED?! WHEN?"

"WHY WEREN'T WE INVITED?!" Luffy roared in anger, marching up to his brother to shake him back and forth repeatedly.

HOW COULD HIS BROTHER MAKE HIM MISS THEIR WEDDING?! MARO'S WEDDING HAD SUCH GOOD FOOD!

Nami held her head. They probably didn't mean it like that but seriously, how did the two not come to such an obvious conclusion?

Sabo began laughing merrily at the sight of Luffy throttling their oldest brother. "You should have invited us, Rosan. Ace will be pissed to know you got married and he didn't get to see it."

Robin could see why they jumped to that conclusion and she blamed Rosan and his unique mind for her not jumping to such an obvious conclusion herself. She held back a long suffering sigh at the damage the redhead had done to her.

Case in point, Rosan calmly stopped Luffy from delivering his justice and said, "Are you all stupid? I'd mention getting married if it were happening. How did you even jump to such a conclusion as your first conclusion?"

"HOW DID YOU NOT?!" They roared back. Was this guy serious? Wasn't he supposed to be some type of genius?! How did he act so stupid sometimes?!

"Because my mind is not in the gutter," he replied calmly.

"THAT HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH ANYTHING!"

"Could you guys explain the situation to us?" Robin jumped in. She knew that Rosan was way too stubborn to ever concede something and he had already conceded once today. There was no way he was going to break a world record and give up twice.

Nami nodded, taking reign of the conversation.

After Robin and Rosan disappeared, Sabo informed the group that they managed to find information on a person named Mont Blanc Cricket who lived on the other side of Jaya.

Not wasting anytime, the group went over to where the man was located and were attacked by Shoujou (the orangutan man), damaging their ship even further.

"That ship won't survive much longer," Rosan said blandly, referring to the Going Merry. "The Grand Line is tearing her apart."

Their two former enemies flinched in guilt due to the damage they inflicted, looking towards the floor.

"She'll be fine! We just need you to repair her up!" Usopp insisted, smiling confidently. With Modification and the sniper, she'd be perfect in no time.

The redhead simply nodded. Modification was not a miracle worker. In fact, a fatal mistake he had learned far too late, was that wood as a material was not able to be modified very much. The reason the White Rose had suffered fatal damage, was because of how often he modified it.

While it was reinforced, if something managed to pierce it... the wood would suffer greater damage. He could in theory keep "repairing" the Merry but the more he repaired her, the less effective it would be.

That's why he didn't bother repairing a ship like Merry. She was just like the White Rose in that they were just a caravel but the White Rose didn't have to deal with the Grand Line and it rarely ever got attacked so it lasted him much longer.

With that issue solved, Nami continued where she left off.

They escaped from Shoujou to continue on their way to where Mont Blanc was located and eventually encountered the man while inspecting his odd home.

After a misunderstanding in which Cricket attacked the crew, he promptly collapsed due to the condition his body was in from diving repeatedly without rest.

The kind crew quickly treated the man and cleared up the misunderstanding with all three of the leaders of the Saruyama Alliance.

Rosan didn't really care about the tale of Noland the Liar but he did read it once to Maro when she was dealing with puberty and being especially bratty.

She didn't even like the book… At least Angel enjoyed it (she laughed a lot at Noland).

Noland claimed to have claimed an item called a Waver, who's full potential could only be realized after traveling to a Sky Island.

"Didn't Rosan get one of those?" Sanji pointed out, remembering the strange scooter that he managed to pick up from the ship.

"Oh right I did... if that's what they can do, then I want a few of those," Rosan commented idly, watching the way Nami's eyes glittered at his interest.

"I do too! I wanted one but with you we could take way more!" She said, getting a nod of approval out of the redhead.

Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator.

"Think about all the different tech they have," Rosan mused. "Let's take all that we can."

"You and I are on the same page, Big Bro! Let's get it all!" Nami beamed, holding out her hand for the redhead to high five.

"So greedy!" Everyone thought with a sweatdrop, watching the thief and hoarder discuss their goals.

They were always like this, discussing anything of value that they could take but it never ceased to amaze them how greedy the unholy duo was.

Robin sighed fondly. Rosan and Nami were quickly shaping up to actually be a troublesome brother and sister duo. They both had common interests and were insanely greedy to boot.

At least with them, the crew would quickly accumulate many resources.

"Right, so we're going to be using something called a Knock Up Stream?" Rosan muttered.

The Knock Up Stream was a powerful water stream that shot upwards into the sky. If the Straw Hats used it, they should be able to make it into Sky Island…

But that sounded insanely suicidal. Looks like Rosan would be taking a look at the ship after the three worked on it.

"You guys don't need to worry," the redhead assured calmly, grabbing the panicking Usopp and stilling him. "Even if our ship comes crashing down into the sea, at the very least I'll make sure you all survive."

Right… he could transform into a dragon.

WHY COULDN'T THEY JUST RELY ON ROSAN?!

"Riding a current into the sky sounds kinda fun," Sabo grinned.

"Right?! It'll be awesome!" Luffy cheered.

"You guys are only so unbothered because you have me standing behind you. Just like when we were kids," Rosan snorted.

"Isn't that exactly how you acted with me?" Robin raised a brow.

Usopp and Nami collapsed. Those three were definitely brothers and Robin was absolutely Rosan's best friend. The poor girl had signs of his influence coursing through her clear as day and maybe at one point she had been far more rational... but when you were stuck managing a psycho like Rosan, it was only a matter of time before you got infected too.

They were all completely insane and thought nothing of the ordeal coming up.

Cricket was confused at his confidence but liked it all the same. "You'll need a South Bird first and you'll need to get it quick."

He didn't realize it was night time with all the partying they did and the Knock Up Stream was showing up tomorrow… they were quickly running out of time right now.

"Of course I leave for a few hours and you guys lose track of time," Rosan sighed, watching his crew fearfully inch away from him. "Good luck catching the bird, I will be watching with great amusement."

The Straw Hats groaned.

"You won't help?" Nami asked.

"Consider this punishment. If it takes too long I'll help, maybe," Rosan assured.

"You are the worst," they all said at the same time.

The redhead raised a brow. "You guys have taken to saying that very often. Aiko says it a lot too but she very clearly loves me... Do you guys also love me that much?"

They groaned.

----------------------------------------

The South Bird was a species of bird that were native to Jaya. They had a unique body disposition in which their head was always inclined south.

Due to the bizarre nature of the Grand Line, the Straw Hats would need help to find the Knock Up Stream and the Log Pose would not be able to help so they needed to capture a South Bird to guide them towards the pressurized water stream...

"AHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

"Shouldn't we help them?" Sabo asked with a sweatdrop.

"I'm beginning to feel a little bad," Robin agreed, struggling to hold her amusement in.

"Robin can capture the bird instantly if she wants to. The fact that she hasn't, just shows she's as sadistic as me," Rosan shrugged.

The woman held her hands up in surrender. "It is rather amusing," was all she said.

Sabo's sweatdrop deepened. "You two are so twisted."

"I tried my best with them but some people are just innately problematic," Mod sighed forlornly.

The three were sitting on a rather comfy tree branch (courtesy of Rosan) as they watched the chaos unfold (also courtesy of Rosan).

Zoro was faring fairly well… but he got lost in the process. The green haired swordsman didn't seem to realize that he was walking in circles and they wrote him off as a lost cause. He eventually ran into some gigantic grasshoppers and was currently in the process of fighting them all.

Nami and Sanji were both afraid of bugs and unfortunately, this forest was full of them.

It was very clear their Navigator was seconds away from becoming a terrorist because Rosan was sure she was about to set fire to the entire area the moment a group of giant ladybugs showed up.

Usopp was with them as well and surprisingly, he was handling this the best… up until the giant bugs came out and began fighting them.

Chopper and Luffy (Zoro was supposed to be with them but he got lost in the process) were being chased by some fairly large bees and gigantic praying mantises.

Most impressive was that all the chaos was being orchestrated by the South Bird. It was commanding every bug in the forest to attack their crew.

"Sabo, do you have a girlfriend?" Rosan asked calmly.

The revolutionary let out a suffering sigh. "You know, Angel asked me that same question… No, I don't have a girlfriend."

"...Have someone you like?" He asked instead. After a moment's pause, the redhead added, "Mod-chan doesn't count, everyone likes her. You should have heard what Aiko said the first time she saw her."

"R-ROSAN!" The Devil Fruit shouted in embarrassment. Why did he always do this to her?! Couldn't he just leave her be?!

"Wait... what did Aiko say the first time she saw me?" Mod said in confusion.

Rosan raised a brow. "Do you want me to tell you exactly what she said?"

"...Yes?" Mod sounded unsure. Aiko was very nice to her and the woman was very mature to boot.

Rosan shrugged. "Rosan, how the hell is someone that hot trapped inside of you 24/7? Let that beautiful woman out to breathe and if she ever wants to enter the dating scene... recommend me. Oh and then under her breath she mentioned something along the lines of "the things I'd do to that woman... for once, I can see what Maro was talking about" but I could still hear her."

...

Mod's brain fried, as her face turned an atomic shade of red. "T-The things she'd do to me?! Just how many people are attracted to me?!"

"Just about everyone that lays their eyes on you. Don't worry, I made sure to hit Aiko for saying that right in front of me," Rosan replied easily.

"It's actually quite bizarre. You'd be very popular," Robin added.

"I had no idea I was so desired... but I'm not interested in dating! I already have my hands full with you three..."

"I agree. I will keep you as busy as possible so that you can never date a single soul," Rosan nodded like what he said was normal.

"Y-You did not just say that," Mod gaped. "Shouldn't you keep such unhinged thinking to yourself?! You just admitted to something completely insane!"

"Why would I keep it to myself? I can't have you thinking that someone else can take you away from me. You're my mother and no one can have you," Rosan said neutrally.

"...I thought your possessive behavior would have gotten better with age... but I can't believe I'm saying this, it got worse."

Robin and Ram laughed at her plight.

"…" Sabo took on a thinking expression. "No I don't really like anyone. I don't go on much missions with others. I'm either usually solo, or going on a mission with either Koala or Hack so I don't really have time for that."

"Koala/Koala?" Robin, Rosan and Mod asked at the same time. Hack didn't sound like a woman but Koala certainly did.

Sabo nodded, not sensing the danger. "Yeah, she's a year older then me and my best friend. She badgers me too much though... says I leave my post too often. She's the person I go on missions with the most."

"Badgers? She's overly worried about you?" Rosan questioned.

Poor Sabo didn't know what answering that question would do.

"Yep," he nodded. "It's pretty annoying but you get used to it."

Mod held her head. All her children were oblivious idiots.

Rosan nodded. "You should introduce us to her one day. She sounds like she's been taking good care of you."

Robin smiled in amusement. "Be careful when introducing her to Angel. She can be a bit much."

Sabo sighed in misery. "Tell me about it. One of the maids tripped and I caught her and Angel must have not liked the look on her face because she dragged me away and began talking about the birds and the bees to me. Who even does that?!"

"Our idiot redheaded sister," Rosan replied calmly. "I always find it funny how she's the only one in a relationship and she hounds us about our own."

"It's apart of her charm… she's unique," Mod admitted.

All of them were stupid in their own ways... Angel was a complete idiot when it came to relationships and being overprotective of her siblings, Maro was a perverted idiot, Demon was quite an idiot about how the way delivering words could affect someone, Luffy was Luffy, Ace was an unaware and stubborn idiot and Robin and Rosan were emotional idiots.

"Auntie Angel is awesome! Let her do her thing or I'm gonna snitch to her!" Ram beamed.

"Awesome is one way to put it," Sabo muttered fondly.

"I like to use demented," Rosan supplied helpfully.

"Angel wouldn't appreciate that. I think she's rather charming in her own... idiotic way," Robin giggled.

"HELPPPPPPPPPPP!" Usopp screeched, running from a hoard of pigs.

The three paused in their conversation and looked over at their suffering crewmates.

"I think they've suffered enough," Mod said.

"I've gotten my laugh out of it," Robin agreed.

Rosan hummed before his draconic wings sprouted from his back. "Okay, I'll put you in vision of one and you capture it."

Robin's response was to grab his hand and allow him to carry her.

Once he got her settled in the bridal carry, he set off.

Sabo snorted and dusted himself off, leaping off of the tree to go and meet up with the suffering crew.

He should apologize to them for Rosan. His older brother was a dick.

----------------------------------------

Capturing the bird took Robin and Rosan less then a minute, much to the sheer outrage of the wronged crew and the redhead offered them no solace whatsoever as they walked back to Cricket's home.

"I'm sorry, he barred me from helping," Robin smiled apologetically.

"Same here," Sabo grinned sheepishly.

"They literally caught it in like 30 fucking seconds!" Nami hissed, piecing Clima together to deliver justice on the two oldest there.

"Oh that reminds me," Rosan said, catching Clima and snatching it out of Nami's hand. "I forgot to tell you guys, but we've got new bounties."

…

…

…

"WHAT?!" They roared in disbelief and completely stopped.

New bounties? Since when?! What the hell did they say that reminded him?!

The redhead rummaged in his shirt and pulled out four bounty posters before presenting it to the crew.

It didn't take them very long to react.

"W-W-Wha," Nami's eyes were bugged, looking at each poster and turning progressively white as she looked at the sheer prices on their head.

400 million. They were collectively worth 400 million now.

What the fuck.

"WOO, LOOK SABO! LOOK ROSAN!" Luffy cheered, holding his bounty poster up proudly and beaming.

Sabo whistled, impressed by the massive jump and patted Luffy's Straw Hat proudly.

"Shishishi!" The rubber boy laughed, shoving it in a pale Usopp's face next.

"70 million eh?" Zoro grinned, eyes gleaming. "Not bad at all. What do you think, Lovesick Cook?"

Sanji's jaw dropped at the fact that there were only four posters and rapidly looked for the fifth. "W-Where the hell is my bounty?! There's no way the shitty Marimo and the shitty redhead got one first!" He balked.

That brought the conversation to a whole new topic.

"ROSAN HAS A BOUNTY?!" Everyone screeched.

The redhead was practically their assassin! He did everything in the shadows and out of sight to the point that they themselves hardly knew what he was up to until he deigned to explain it.

They honestly expected him to be the last of the crew to get a bounty but not only was that not true, he had the second highest behind Luffy.

The redhead in question, sighed. "Crocodile attacked us before I could kill those Marines so some managed to escape. They obviously reported me but besides the fact I blew most of them up... my display was not enough to warrant a higher bounty then Robin... mostly," he stressed.

"Blowing someone up totally deserves a bounty like that?!" Nami and Usopp thought in horror.

"That means they know something about you," Sabo correctly concluded. Even if Rosan blew up some Marines, they wouldn't just lightly slap 100 million on him.

It was clear that by placing this bounty on him, they were acknowledging him as the 2nd most dangerous Straw Hat and in a crew with the Devil Child herself and a renowned Pirate Hunter... that wasn't a decision they made lightly. There needed to be more reasons for why they'd think that then him taking out some random and, quite frankly, expendable Marines.

Rosan nodded. "Besides the fact that the World Government thinks Robin and I are lovers, they may also know that I traveled with her when we were younger and if I'm right… they know about the island where I was raised too…"

While they were vastly incompetent. The Marine's that were good at their job were good and Baterilla was absolutely an island that they would have documents on due to the large focus they placed on it.

Rosan had no doubt in his mind that they knew he was from that island, which meant they knew Rouge was his mother and if they knew that… They probably knew who Ace's father was.

That was troubling.

"Island you were raised?" Sanji asked curiously, wanting to know more. "You were born in the South Blue right? And you only recognize Portgas D. Rouge as your mother?"

They perked up at that. Rosan had been very forthcoming with information lately so they hoped he kept it up.

The redhead nodded, idly pushing a branch out of the way as they continued their trek back. "I was raised on Baterilla after my mother found me abandoned in the forest as a newborn."

...

What the hell did he just say? They remembered him saying he had gotten abandoned... but the moment he was born?!

"Abandoned in a forest as a newborn?!" Chopper balked in horror. "That's inhumane! You can't just leave an infant alone to fend for themself!"

Rosan's birth mother was horrible! How could she do something like that?! W-Wasn't she a Queen?

The others who didn't know were faring no better. That was just downright depressing!

"What's so special about Baterilla?" Usopp asked curiously.

Rosan grunted, eyes turning uncharacteristically dark and making them step away in surprise.

"For around two years, the Marines were deployed on that island and they began mercilessly killing newborns to prevent the birth of the Pirate Kings child," Robin explained.

Everyone froze at that.

They… They what? The Marines would stoop that low…? What was wrong with them?

"I wasn't killed because I was two at the same and was too old as a result," Rosan continued. "Unfortunately, my mother was pregnant with Ace."

Something went terribly wrong and more and more, as Rosan told them information about themself, it was like an intricate web was unfolding.

Why he was sailing the seas at 4… Why he harbored such resentment for the Marines… Why he and Robin knew each other...

"My mother held Ace in her belly for 20 months so as to avoid suspicion from the Marines," Rosan sighed. "But a person can't hold a child for that long without consequences and she died as a result… I saw it happen and made the decision to flee Baterilla at 4 years old. That's how I met Robin."

They felt their heart drop at the reveal and everyone stepped back in horror, gazing at the redhead in disbelief.

Robin put a hand on his shoulder and he flashed her a small smile, pulling her a little closer.

The story didn't hurt anymore. It had been 20 years.

"You… You watched her die?" Nami asked quietly, heart resonating once more with the redhead's story.

They really did have a lot of similarities in their past. To watch his own mother die… Nothing would ever begin to describe that pain but Nami understood it well.

"I was spying on her," Rosan said softly. "She didn't tell me the baby was coming because she knew how I was going to react. Deep down, Mom knew she wasn't making it and she tried to spare me the pain but it didn't work."

"I don't like Marines. I will never like Marines. I would never save a Marine and I'd never let a Marine touch me."

Now they understood why Rosan despised the World Government so much. They literally ruined his life from such a young age.

The shocked silence was broken up by the sound of a gigantic tree being snapped off its roots and they were surprised to see it was Sabo himself with such a look of rage on his face, it was uncharacteristic on the carefree blond.

The man's hand was formed into a fist and it was clear that he was the one that knocked it clean off its hinges.

There was a deep scowl on the revolutionaries face as he said, "It's not up to them to decide who lives and dies on a hunch! Why does the World Government get to flex such a gross abuse of power? This needs to stop."

Just because of one person, they ruined not only Rosan's life, but Ace's too? They would take all those expecting mothers and ruin their chance at having children, potentially scarring them for life?

That was unacceptable. This wasn't the first time the World Government ruined innocent lives and it wouldn't be the last.

This was why the Revolutionary Army existed. Because they could all see the deep seated corruption inside of the World Government.

"I couldn't agree more," Rosan nodded. "The world cannot be run by such a corrupt organization and that is why we live in this current era. My hate for the World Government will never die until they are dead. That is something that will not change, whether I have emotions or not."

"You and I are in agreement. They've wronged too many of us," Robin frowned, idly shivering as she thought about the Buster Call.

Such a terrible punishment, all to conceal history. The fact that they were willing to go to such extents... to summon such a...

The redhead scooped her up immediately and she instantly calmed down, sinking into his comforting grasp and banishing the memory from her mind.

Ever since she told him about the Buster Call, Rosan made sure she constantly sought him out whenever it was affecting her and she took that invitation with gusto, allowing him to be the mature one in those moments as she shuddered into both his and Mod's frames.

Deep down, she'd always be terrified of the Buster Call and would do anything to avoid having to see it again... Maybe that's why Rosan wanted something as destructive as Ragnarok… so if that time ever came again, he'd be able to protect her from another island destroying threat.

Rosan hummed as he offered her his presence.

There was a reason he learned so much abilities that could deal widespread damage and it was because of the looming knowledge of a Buster Call. If they ever encountered such a disastrous thing... He'd be ready for it. It didn't matter how many Vice Admirals they sent, he'd burn everyone of their ships down.

Their allies watched the two with soft eyes and realized that both of them had probably been wronged by the World Government in terrible ways.

They realized they didn't know much about Robin either...

"Wait," Nami said. "Why exactly does the World Government think you're lovers? I mean, I can totally see why we would think that but why would they?"

Robin, still relaxing in Rosan's frame, said, "Because my dear best friend right here hates getting his plans ruined so much, that he not only french kissed me to shut me up in front of Alabasta, he made sure to squeeze my butt too."

"You are literally never going to let that butt thing go are you?" Rosan muttered.

"I'm just recounting events and that's what you happened to do," she retorted.

…

"YOU DID WHAT?! YOU SQUEEZED WHERE?! TO WHO?!" Sanji roared in disbelief, watching Rosan not even flinch at her accusing stare with a look of shock.

"Oh yeah!" Sabo gaped at the memory. "I thought it was perfectly normal until Angel told me you guys aren't dating!"

Rosan shrugged, hoisting Robin up and placing her on his back due to the lingering memory of seeing her hurt. "I forgot you guys were watching the stream... I wanted to protect her. We were fighting Crocodile in the desert and she was hellbent on being the focus of his attention. I needed to convince him that she was hypnotized and Ram told me to kiss her so I did and became the brunt of his aggression."

"R-Ram did?" Sanji wheezed.

Damn it! His reasoning was sound but why was that the conclusion he jumped to to convince the Warlord?!

"You kissed her for so long! You didn't let up even once too," Sabo pointed out incredulously.

The redhead nodded, not seeing the problem. "It made it look more convincing. I could give you tips for Koala. I'm sure if you do it, she'll stop being so angry at you all the time."

Sabo had a thoughtful expression on his face at that, not realizing how terribly his brother was setting him up. "I'll keep that in mind. Some tips could be useful."

Robin looked at the back of his head with an unimpressed gaze. "You sure are confident in your abilities."

Rosan shifted his head to glance back at her. "Did you forget your weak knees already? You would have collapsed if I wasn't holding you. I'll be happy to show you again."

"You caught me off guard! It's just like when we were kids. You have no idea what asking is!" Robin protested.

"...But you and Mod-chan told me it was okay because you guys accept everything I do?" Rosan tilted his head in confusion.

"...Why do you think I'm not more upset with you?" The archaeologist retorted.

"Because you enjoy the physical affection but won't admit it," the scout responded. "Why do you think I hug you so much? You're too shy to initiate contact so it's up to me to do so."

"...It's quite literally because you are overly affectionate. Don't try and make up some insane reason to justify what you like to do. I admit that I do enjoy your hugs but you hug me for yourself, you selfish child."

"THIS ISN'T YOUR FIRST TIME KISSING?!"

Robin shook her head with a suffering sigh. "Rosan was my first kiss... Mod-chan told him he should do it to someone he loves and he didn't wait for her to fully explain it before planting a kiss on both our lips. He then proceeded to randomly tackle and pepper me and Mod-chan for a year straight because he's a spoiled brat and we can't say no to him."

"That was fun," Rosan admitted. "It was very funny seeing how embarrassed you two would get. When I was feeling particularly mischievous, I would kiss one of you for as long as possible just to see how embarrassed you could really get."

"I KNEW IT, YOU EVIL BRAT!" Mod roared in disbelief. She had been far too whipped and embarrassed to say anything back but she just knew he was smooching them for way too long!

"Ah, I knew I should have called you out!" Robin protested, glaring at the back of his head. Her childish crush on Rosan had deemed her incapable of telling him to stop.

"Don't be mad at me Robin... Mod-chan used to sick me on you so that I didn't do it to her."

Robin blinked in shock. "Mod-chan you did what?!"

The Devil Fruit went pale. "I-I thought you would have appreciated it more then I did!"

"That's your excuse? It seems like we need to have a talk tonight."

"T-That's not very necessary! It's been years!"

"Oh I know, we will still be talking though."

Rosan smirked as he successfully directed her ire.

Thud.

Nami held her head as Sanji fainted in despair.

Yeah, Robin and Rosan were never going to beat the lover allegations.

----------------------------------------

"What happened here?" Chopper asked in horror.

The Straw Hats gaped at the area where Cricket lived.

The entire clearing was a complete mess, their ship was heavily broken and the leaders of the Saruyama Alliance were bruised and bleeding heavily.

Cricket was breathing heavily as he crawled over to Masira and Shoujou.

"Don't move old man!" Luffy exclaimed, dashing over to him and steadying the man. "Chopper, come quick! They need help!"

The reindeer was already on the move, rushing over to the injured men with worry on his face.

Rosan's eyes were inspecting the broken ship instead of the men, eyes roving over the deep carvings.

That didn't look good to his eyes. He could repair it but the ship was as good as done.

A tap on his shoulder made him turn his eyes to regard his blonde brother and the Chief of Staff pointed at the insignia painted on the tree.

"That symbol belongs to Donquixote Doflamingo, one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea," Robin explained, surveying the damage with a neutral expression.

Rosan knew little about him but he did know that the Bellamy Pirates had been using this symbol instead of their own.

Someone with influence in the seas then? Other pirates didn't typically use other's symbols unless it was an Emperor's so this Doflamingo must have a lot of pull…

He'd ask Crocodile about him later. The man was bound to know something about his fellow Warlord.

The injured Cricket was trying to downplay the issue to the pirates, claiming that they needed to hurry up and finish the ship before the Knock Up Stream came but none of them were having it.

"They took your gold you spent 10 years diving for!" Usopp protested.

"You can't just give it up!" Nami agreed.

"Not enough time… Need to get you guys ready for Sky Island," Cricket insisted.

"We have time. I'll repair it later but look, Luffy," Rosan called, pointing to the tree and catching his brother's attention.

The look in his captain's eyes pleased him.

"I'll be right back," Luffy said, expression dark.

Rosan hummed. "I'll come with you."

That was not a request so his brother just nodded.

"Wait!" Cricket called out. "Don't worry about it! It's nothing!"

They weren't listening to him anymore though. Without any hesitation, two gigantic wings burst from Rosan's back and he grabbed Luffy's arm.

"I'll make sure they're back on time," Robin assured, grabbing his other arm.

Nami was about to protest but seeing Robin go with them put her more at ease. "Three hours. Be back before then!"

"It won't even take one," Rosan promised, taking off in the direction of Mock Town.

"He can fly…?" Cricket asked in shock, watching those massive reptilian wings flap until they vanished.

"Don't move!" Chopper barked, tending to his wounds with a serious expression.

He grunted and placed his head back on the floor, allowing the reindeer to continue working on him.

At least he knew why they were so confident they wouldn't die.

----------------------------------------

"YOU NEED TO RUN, BELLAMY! THOSE PIRATES YOU MESSED WITH ARE BAD NEWS!"

Bellamy had been in a pretty shit mood ever since tripping into a pie but working his anger off on those idiot dreamers put him in a great one.

It was a shame that dumbass Straw Hat or his shit redhead crewmate wasn't there. He'd have liked to really show them the difference in their strength.

But now he was being told those same weaklings were bad news?

Looking at the posters the terrified drunk placed in front of him, Bellamy let loose a barking laughter.

Those four? Seriously? They expected him to believe that four of the people he had trashed earlier today had a higher bounty then him?

Fucking ridiculous.

His laughter seemed to put the panicking bar at ease and they remembered just the performance those pirates put up against Bellamy.

Yeah, these guys were clowns—

"BELLAMY! GET YOUR ASS OUT HERE!"

The whole bar did a spit take at the idiot bold enough to call out the Hyena and the man in question, grinned in amusement at that.

"Well it looks like I get to work off even more steam," Bellamy cackled, pushing himself out to march out of the bar and deliver a beating to whoever just called him out.

If possible, his grin got wider at the three sets of eyes looking down at him.

"Well look what we have here!" The blonde pirate exclaimed, leaping onto the roof fearlessly to regard the weaklings. "We were just talking about you!"

Rosan didn't even spare him a glance. He was instead looking at some shaking grunt... who was holding multiple bounty posters in his hand that were no doubt of the Straw Hat crew.

Ah, so they knew each of their bounties and still acted this fearless? They must have thought they were fake...

How foolish of them.

"Luffy, make it quick. I need to get to repairing the ship," Rosan said boredly.

"Right. You get the gold ingots then," his captain nodded.

Robin couldn't resist the coy smile at the mounting annoyance on Bellamy's face, due to the fact that he was still constantly being ignored by the two brothers.

Despite that, the Hyena still appeared cocky. "Gold ingots? You mean from Old Man Cricket? No way am I giving those back!"

"Yes you are and I'm going to force you to," Luffy said calmly. He may have let himself get beaten up in the bar earlier but this was different.

They brought his friends into this.

Bellamy grit his teeth. The way these three were looking at him… Why was he the one being looked down on when this was just a group of third rate pirates?

The man's legs turned into springs and he crouched low.

He'd show them.

"CAN YOU EVEN THROW A PUNCH?!" Bellamy roared.

Rosan grabbed Robin and leapt off the tall building they were on, watching Bellamy use his Bane Bane no mi to rocket across the entire area.

Luffy would deal with him, he had other business to attend to.

"That's his Devil Fruit?" The redhead said calmly, raising a brow. "This is why he's so confident in himself?"

Robin had a small smile. "Not everyone can have exceptional Devil Fruits. Some are bound to have gotten the short end of the stick."

"I suppose so," Rosan grunted.

The crowd listened to the two ridicule the strongest person on Jaya's Devil Fruit with shocked gazes, wondering how they could think that Bellamy of all people had a weak fruit.

J-Just look at what he was doing right now! Straw Hat couldn't even react to him! How was that weak?!

The duo in question, landed directly in front of the pirate named Sarquiss and regarded the shocked man with a cool gaze.

Sarquiss went stiff at the speed of the man before straightening back up when he realized these guys were just frauds exactly like Bellamy said they were.

"I almost forgot that I told you to wait your turn. I'll have to make it up to you," Rosan greeted calmly, gazing at the taller man with a neutral expression.

"How will you kill him?" Robin asked curiously. It was a rather morbid question but they were both pretty messed up in the head so it was fine.

Mod snorted rather loudly. Robin thinking that was fine just proved how messed up she really was.

"I'll just stab him quickly and be done with it," Rosan replied easily.

The blue haired man quickly gained his bravado and smirked at Rosan.

"I'll have to admit, you almost pulled a fast one on us by spreading those fake bounties but Bellamy called you out on your fluke so now you look even dumber!" Sarquiss laughed, leering at Robin all the while.

"I was gonna let it go but we are pirates so after I take your life, I think I'll help myself to your little girlfriend. I'll show her what a real man is capable of."

Robin let out a deep sigh as the temperature shifted to something sweat inducing.

So much for a speedy death.

"Change of plans," Rosan said coldly, stealthily summoning one of his mechanical flies.

"I really wish you all would stop using me to set Rosan off. He really is quite protective of me," the Devil Child sighed.

The fly flew off.

The first mate of the Bellamy Pirates raised a brow in confusion. "If a weakling like him is walking around with someone like you, naturally they'll try and take blurgh—"

Sarquiss stopped mid sentence, hunched over and threw up… fire?

W-What was that? What did he just do...? Had he just thrown up... flames?

B-But how... he couldn't breathe fir—

The pain hit.

"ARGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" Sarquiss screeched, throwing up even more fire and the onlookers realized there was blood in the mix as well.

His insides… HIS INSIDES WERE BURNING! W-What was HAPPENING TO HIM?! W-WHO DID THIS?!

"ARGH S-SOMEONE H-HELP BLURGH," whatever Sarquiss tried to say, was cut off as he began heaving an unnatural amount of flames.

Everyone could only watch in horror and confusion as Sarquiss promptly collapsed and began retching fire and blood. The man was screaming as he clutched his chest harshly and began writhing in his steadily growing puddle.

He didn't hear the footsteps of the redhead but he certainly heard that quiet voice.

"Still think that bounty is a joke? Still think you're gonna show her what a real man is capable of? You can't because now I'm showing you what a real demon is capable of," Rosan whispered quietly, crouching on one knee in front of the tortured man. "You should have been content with the current woman in your crew but instead, you make comments about Robin like she's a piece of meat..."

"...Now, you can die slowly and painfully for making such idiotic comments. Then, you'll end up as the real piece of meat."

For the umpteenth time, Robin felt goosebumps on her skin at the sheer protectiveness Rosan displayed when it came to her.

"Rosan isn't joking around when it comes to you and honestly, I'm not either," Mod said softly, excluding both Ram and Rosan from hearing this. "He's going to do whatever it takes to make sure nothing gets in the way of you both again and I'll support every decision of his. He'll be the one to get offended on your behalf. He's going to be proactive where your passive. If it's your wish, it'll be his command. If you want someone dead, he will kill them and I won't stop him, Robin. That is Rosan's current conviction and I'm sure you know what that entails."

"That's… That's a scary amount of power to have," Robin admitted, knowing exactly what it entailed. Rosan was borderline insane when it came to his loved ones... and considering all the time he felt like he needed to make up to her...

She couldn't lie, it was a bit intoxicating to know that at any moment, someone who could be considered as a candidate for most versatile person on the planet, would answer to any request she had.

But Robin would never take advantage of Rosan's willingness to do anything for her because they were partners and as partners, they should rely on each other in equal measure.

It still felt very nice though. Perhaps she should use that a tad bit more. With just a hint of interest, Rosan got her the incredibly useful Raid Suit and was pushing her in training with a firm resolve, all the while protecting her from any and all threats.

Yes... she should abuse that privilege just a little more. Clearly Mod-chan didn't have a problem with it and Modification was far more resourceful then the Hana Hana no Mi.

"Bring me the gold," Rosan ordered the terrified pirates. He was no longer looking at the shuddering Sarquiss. After saying what he said, the man had stopped regarding his victim without a care in the world.

He hadn't even put a hand on him...

That scared them even more.

W-Was he actually a Devil like the posters? One second, Sarquiss was talking down on him and the next, he was throwing up actual fire.

What the redhead had actually done was rather simple.

Rosan summoned one of his mechanical flies and filled it with the destructive flames of Ragnarok before having it dive into the idiot pirates body. It then subsequently exploded and began soaking his insides with fire.

This was the result right here. This was what the fly would do to Crocodile if he grew tired of the man.

But to the onlookers, it didn't look like Rosan had done anything at all. To them, Sarquiss just began burning on the inside on his own accord.

To them, it looked like Rosan did all this with just a glance.

"He really is a Red Devil," They all thought in unison, terror seeping into their body as they realized that his bounty poster was very real.

"I gave you an order."

They jumped in terror and scrambled to get his gold, while everyone began scattering.

At the same time, Bellamy was bouncing around an unfazed Luffy.

"YOU AND THOSE THREE IDIOTS ARE THE SAME!" Bellamy cackled, rocketing off building after building and gaining momentum.

"WHAT CITY OF GOLD?!"

"WHAT SKY ISLAND?!"

"THE AGE OF DREAMING IS OVER! YOU'RE A DISGRACE TO ALL PIRATES."

Luffy didn't even bother tracking him.

"You wanna see me land a punch?" He asked quietly.

Bellamy careened towards him to land the finishing blow, laughing all the while.

As his momentous flight sent him straight into Luffy's path, certain to be a dangerous blow with all the speed he built, the rubber boy simply held out a fist and clenched it.

"SO LONG STRAW HAT!" He howled.

Luffy swung.

Everyone's eyes bugged out their skull, as Luffy smashed a fist into Bellamy's cheek with 100% accuracy, flattening the pirate into the newly created crater and embedding his knuckles on the man's cheek.

The spring man didn't even let out a scream as he was instantly knocked unconscious, blood leaking and teeth missing scattering across different parts of the floor.

"W-W-What?" Someone gaped, looking between Luffy, Robin and Rosan and whitening further and further as he realized the three of them were legit.

A man worth 140 million, a Devil worth 100 and Nico fucking Robin were currently at odds with them.

Chaos ensued instantly and everyone began running, lest they get caught by the three demons.

Rosan easily balanced the bag of gold in his palm as he watched the town empty out. "Come on, Luffy. Maybe the Sky Island will be more interesting then this place."

Luffy adjusted his Straw Hat and nodded. "Right, let's get outta here! How long was that?"

"20 minutes," Robin informed them with an amused smile. "You guys sure work quick. The flight here was longer then the action."

"Shishishi! This was nothing!" The rubber boy laughed cheerfully, allowing Rosan to strap the bag of gold to his back before grabbing onto his brother's hand.

Robin followed suit with his other and the redhead quickly took off.

"I only said an hour to be generous but I guess I should have shot for 30 minutes," the redhead muttered, disappearing into the sky quickly.

None of the three paid any attention at all to the suffering Sarquiss, still throwing up blood as his life force was slowly but surely drained by the fires slowly roasting him from the inside out.

His voice was gone so he could not even scream, only letting out raspy gasps as his insides burned and burned. His crew desperately sought out a way to save him while screaming his name but there was nothing they could do.

Finally, with one terrified whimper, the man fell over.

----------------------------------------

Sengoku frowned slightly. He hated inviting Pirates over but this needed to be discussed quickly and surely, lest the power struggle go out of sorts.

There were so many things to go over right about now that it was turning him gray.

Learning about Portgas D. Rosan and the Straw Hats only made his life more stressful.

Finding out a person's Devil Fruit was not all that difficult but they still had no clue what Rosan's fruit was.

The general consensus was that it was a Mythical Zoan Devil Fruit which was worrying enough considering he hadn't even transformed into his hybrid or full form even once and had still displayed a dangerous amount of skill.

Him wielding a Mythical Zoan, was supported by just who his mother was but Raisa herself didn't give him one of the many Devil Fruits Wisteria kept... yet somehow, he managed to still get his hands on a rare fruit…

It seems like some Devil Fruits really did choose their wielders. Perhaps the Iris line was one that just had a particular affinity to Zoan's.

Perhaps he had an undocumented Zoan type. It's not like the World Government had a log of every single Devil Fruit…

He would reveal more in time especially now that he was under such scrutiny. An undocumented Mythical Zoan was very, very dangerous.

Not only that... the Red Devil's father...

Nothing good would come out of dwelling on that. Raisa may have made a rash and immature decision, but Sengoku could not fault her for wanting nothing to do with Cutter.

Pushing the issue of Rosan out of his mind, he focused on the next one.

(If only he knew this one was also dealing with Rosan)

Crocodile was either free or dead but his bet was on free and that was no good.

The man had not made any noise yet but it was only a matter of time and if the words of the, believed to be, deceased Commodore Emma were to be believed, there was a traitor in their midst.

He thanked the woman for upholding her duties to the end and vowed to find the traitor who ended her life so that justice could be delivered upon them.

In the meantime, they'd approach Crocodile cautiously. Not just anyone could capture him and it was likely Daz Bones was free with him as well.

They would hold off on increasing his bounty but it was only a matter of time before the man made a name for himself again and now that he was no longer a Warlord, there would be trouble from the Logia.

Speaking of which, they needed to decide on a new Warlord of the Sea now that Crocodile's seat was vacant.

To his surprise, other Warlords besides Bartholomew Kuma showed up and the two who did were some of the most surprising, being Donquixote Doflamingo and Dracule Mihawk.

"Oh?" Doflamingo grinned curiously. "You actually showed up, Hawk-eye?" The blonde asked.

The World's Greatest Swordsman didn't even spare him a glance. "I'm just here as an interested bystander. I'm interested in the pirates you plan on talking about."

Namely, the Straw Hats. Not only was he slightly surprised that Straw Hat's bounty increased by so much, Roronoa Zoro was also on the Marine's radar now.

Not only that, but Ambitionless actually managed to get himself quite the hefty sum on his head despite shying away from attention and they managed to even recruit the Devil Child...

How interesting. It was wise for him to keep an eye on them all, they would accomplish many things and keep him entertained.

Doflamingo's grin widened. Seems like Mihawk was also interested in that blazing hot rookie crew and to be acknowledged by the swordsman, was one of the highest honors one could have.

Hawkeye didn't just show anyone interest after all.

In Doffy's case, he was more curious about not only the Devil Child, but the supposed nameless redhead who managed to gain a bounty higher then two of his crewmates who should be far more notorious then him.

After all, Roronoa Zoro was a renowned bounty hunter and Nico Robin was the Devil Child (Or perhaps Ohara's Devil was more apt now?), yet this blank faced redhead did something to warrant a higher bounty then the both of them? And not only that, it was his first bounty too.

Starting off with a bounty in the triple digits was a very clear warning. Off the top of his head, Doflamingo could only list Fisher Tiger and his good friend Reaper as the only ones with a higher beginning bounty because you needed to be exceptionally dangerous for them to be so willing to want your head.

Even that monster of a woman Hancock had not gotten such a high bounty despite how much waves she had made on her first voyage that had netted her the Warlord position immediately. Not anyone could just get a triple digit first bounty.

The Red Devil eh…? He wonder what secrets the man had that got the World Government so riled up.

Now look at Doffy... he had never considered himself very religious but yet here he was, finding himself interested in not only the Red Devil but the Angel of Death as well.

"If I may," a voice interrupted their conversation. "I'd like to join as an interested bystander as well."

Everyone went alert at that.

Who the hell was this?!

"You're Laffitte," Vice Admiral Tsuru said immediately, eyes narrowed in contemplation.

Laffitte was a former policeman of the West Blue and he was exiled due to his intense brutality when dealing with civilians.

Laffitte smiled at being recognized. "I'm glad you remember such an old story but that's neither here nor there. I've come to recommend a new Warlord of the Sea."

Everyone raised a brow at that.

"And who would that be?" Sengoku asked calmly, not really interested in any choice of his but biting because someone was stupid enough to actually come here on their own accord.

Laffitte wasted no time. "He goes by Teach."

"Teach?" Sengoku repeated, shooting his subordinate a glance.

"Never heard of him. The other pirates won't like if we appoint a nobody," Tsuru replied in slight confusion.

"Not to worry. We'll amend that soon so please give us a little more time," Laffitte guaranteed with a confident grin.

"Soon, you'll all remember the Blackbeard Pirates and you won't forget it."

Doflamingo laughed at the confidence displayed. "This sounds interesting! I say we give it to him, Sengoku!"

Sengoku only felt his headache growing at that ominous warning.

First the Straw Hat Pirates and now this supposed Blackbeard Pirate crew?

The world was fast approaching a different age and he wasn't sure that was a good thing.

----------------------------------------

"Men, it's time for a hunt!" Blackbeard grinned eagerly.

Teach looked down at the corpse of the pirate who died at the hands of the Red Devil and his smile widened.

He had no idea that both of Ace's brothers had been worth so much but it seems like there was a reason he bragged so much about them!

Not only was the Straw Hat boy worth 140 million, the redhead with buried dreams was worth 100! Even without any ambition he was still formidable enough to net that bounty?

He felt like he hit the jackpot! A crew worth 400 million? He was guaranteed to make a name for himself like this and becoming a Warlord would be guaranteed!

Then, he could begin his real plans in earnest and head straight to Impel Down... Hopefully he could find some interesting guys to recruit there.

Though… he didn't know anything about the supposed Red Devil because Ace didn't talk too much about what he was capable of... he just bragged about his brothers but never went into detail...

Apparently, Rosan made this man throw up fire without even touching him...

Blackbeard's eyes gleamed. It was such a shame the man rejected his offer to join his crew. He was the man who was going to become Pirate King after all and Rosan would have been the perfect right hand to watch him ascend to the throne.

It sounded like he had quite the Devil Fruit on his hand too. He wouldn't mind claiming it for himself if Rosan was really set on not joining his crew...

But perhaps that was also fate and Blackbeard was not one to ever question fate. He'd head out to go capture that crew and whatever happened, happened.

"Let's head out! I got a couple dreamers to meet!"

----------------------------------------

"I forgot how quick Rosan works," Nami muttered, watching the group of three come back nearly 30 minutes after leaving with an exasperated expression.

"We need all the time needed to repair this ship into workable condition," Rosan grunted as he landed gently.

Without any hesitation, they watched their redhead scout rudely push aside the salvage crew working on their ship so he could properly inspect it.

"Move," was all he said.

"Why does he have to be so rude?!" They all cried comically, watching him toss them to the side without a care in the world.

Rosan inspected the ship with a neutral gaze and grabbed the broken off front half.

"This ship is done for. No ship would survive being torn in half... this almost certainly has done severe damage to it and I've probably used up just about all of its repair points as well..." he thought to himself, gluing it back in place with Repair and doing the same with every other part of the ship.

"There. Now you can spend the whole time getting it ready," he commanded, assessing the ship and nodding.

He didn't have high hopes but Merry should at least be able to get them to Sky Island. Afterwards, they'd need to look into getting a new ship... This one would need to be Grand Line ready so he'd probably be giving the crew a hefty sum to spend.

The crew was rather poor without his money so he'd give them enough to get a fantastic ship.

All the pirates of the Saruyama Alliance, gaped in confusion at the sight of Rosan effortlessly repairing the ship to seemingly perfect condition but quickly got back to working on it.

The redhead calmly watched them as Robin sidled next to him.

"Satisfied?" She asked quietly, watching the Straw Hats and the leaders of the Saruyama Alliance happily chat about getting their gold back.

"There's nothing for me to be satisfied about. I simply did what you won't do," Rosan said softly as he turned away from critically gazing at the working men, to instead focus his attention onto her.

Robin liked that. He didn't waste any time acknowledging her.

"You know, every time someone has something to say about me, you violently teach them a lesson. Will this streak of over protectiveness ever stop?" She asked playfully, not minding it at all.

Rosan had always been overprotective of her, even as kids. Once he had learned of her past... of how everyone only saw her as the Devil Child, her best friend had become dangerously protective of her. If anyone even mentioned her title, he'd go feral in her honor.

She admonished him all the time about it but truthfully, she very much enjoyed it because it was one of the many foreign feelings she derived from him.

The redhead hummed. "If you really want me to, I'll stop. Just say the word," he answered truthfully.

Robin's playful smile was replaced by a confused frown at his words. "Why would I want you to stop?"

Was he being self critical again? He should know that she didn't have a problem with this.

She followed after the redhead and watched him reinforce the part of the ship the salvage pirates just finished on before taking another step back.

"I'm overbearing," Rosan admitted bluntly. "Thoughts of rationality, fly out of my head when you are involved and that's not always a good thing. Because of me, the whole world thinks we're lovers now."

Robin felt a slight stab at that but didn't notice. "Why is it so bad that the world thinks we're lovers?"

She didn't have a problem with it and they were just talking about pretending before but suddenly it was an issue?

Was being her lover that terrible of a thing?

"He just wants to protect you," Mod quickly intervened in hopes Robin didn't get the wrong idea.

Rosan wasn't the greatest with words and even though his intentions were good, that might not be too obvious so she'd guide this conversation into one that helped Robin understand his thought process. "You already have such a big target on your back and now he does too. Imagine the target if they figure out he's Reaper or has Modification? You, being his lover, would become an even higher priority threat. Especially if they found out, the one who killed a Celestial Dragon has the person reading the Poneglyphs for him. We already know the location of Pluton after all."

The Devil Child's eyes turned into one of understanding.

That's right. Rosan was steps away from having his bounty explode to levels that would look more fitting on a New World Pirate. It was all a giant snowball and if the World Government figured out everything... it would begin accumulating into something truly astronomical.

Reaper, the Angel who had killed a Celestial Dragon. Rosan, the wielder of the World Government's guarded Devil Fruit. Robin, the one who could read the Poneglyphs... and everyone thought they were lovers.

His bounty might not be the only one they should be wary of. Robin's target would increase to unprecedented levels too.

The redhead nodded. "I should have thought of something else instead of forcing you to kiss me... I'm sorry about that. How will you ever find a lover now?"

"WHAT?!" Ram roared immediately, outrage on her features as disgust filled her tone. "LOVER?! WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT, FATHER?!"

Robin, while not as crude, was very much thinking the same thing. "What are you talking about right now?"

A lover? What was he thinking?

Rosan sighed, frown settling on his features. "I might have ruined your chances of ever finding someone to settle down with because of my actions. Despite my possessiveness, I didn't want to ever stop you from potentially finding someone to love."

His best friend blinked at him and it filled him with a slight amount of doubt.

Why was she looking at him like he was stupid? He was looking out for her...

"Rosan… I don't know if you realize, but I'm the Devil Child... or Ohara's Devil now, and that ship sailed a long time ago for me, not that I wanted anyone in the first place. I'm 28 you know? If I wanted someone by now, I think I'd already have them," she told him, voice tinged with slight amusement and fondness.

That's why he was apologizing to her? That's why he was upset that he had kissed her unprovoked? Because he wanted her to find happiness with someone?

Honestly, what a Rosan thing to do. Only he would be more concerned about her love life more than she herself was.

Her little tiny menace was still there and that made her swell with delight.

"When the time comes where I do want to settle down… Well, I'll just settle down with my "lover". I'm sure he won't have a problem with that," Robin finished, smiling slightly.

Ram and Mod's jaw dropped at her bluntness.

"With… me? Why?" Rosan asked, voice slightly confused.

"Because unlike all the other people interested in me, you don't view me like a piece of meat, a tool to be discarded, or a demon in human flesh that can bring about the end of the world," Robin said simply, leaning a head onto his shoulder with a content smile.

"To you, I'm not any of those am I? To Portgas D. Rosan, I'm just Nico Robin, his best friend and sometimes, that's all a person needs."

Mod felt tears brim at her eyes at that heartfelt speech and the sap pulled a soft eyed Ram into a hug.

Rosan stared at Robin for a long while, before he grabbed her into a one armed hug that eventually evolved into a full embrace because he really did like his physical contact too much.

"Of course. To me you're just Nico Robin, my nerdy best friend who loves to read rocks and study a time she wasn't even born in," he sighed fondly, enjoying her pleasant smell.

He missed her. He really did regret taking so long to find her because she deserved to spend all those years of loneliness with him.

He'd make it up to her in anyway possible.

"Don't make fun of my interests," Robin admonished with a glare. "This is why I don't have a problem with you being overprotective because it gives me a versatile minion that I can boss around."

Rosan snorted at that. "But of course My Lady. I'm simply a humble scout following the orders of my superiors. Your wish is my command."

"Kahahaha!" Mod laughed. "At the end of the day, Rosan is just here to spoil everyone. He calls me mother but honestly, he's right there with me!"

"Fufufu," Robin joined with a teasing smile. "Being spoiled by the Red Devil is such an honor. I hope to continue using your services."

"Feel free, Mother! If he says no, we'll make him say yes!" Ram crooned.

Rosan sighed in annoyance. It was incredible just how much special treatment Robin got from both Mod and Ram but they must have got that from him because he was just as bad.

"So you'll really just settle down with me? What if you find someone you love?" Rosan asked curiously.

Robin rolled her eyes. "I won't. I have 16 years of lost time to make up with you and I very much doubt my supposed lover would appreciate how close we are because nothing would change in our routine. Right now, you're mine until I'm satisfied so I hope you don't find a lover either because that won't stop me and I'd rather not get into a fight about it," she said bluntly.

The redhead's eyes widened at Robin's statement. His best friend sounded just like him right now with how insane her statement was.

He approved tremendously.

"16 years... we'll be quite a bit older by then, you know? We should start thinking of places to stay," Rosan joked with a small smirk.

Robin was pleased he didn't have a problem with her unreasonable request. "I've been on the run for 20 years so I've thought about a place I'd like to settle down quite often. I'm thinking a place with a nice forest, a really big tree and a castle in the middle of it all."

The redhead nodded along with her, idly optimizing a part the salvage crew fixed with his Devil Fruit. "We have to make sure the trees aren't too dense either, I'd like to gaze into the sky while relaxing in a rocking chair while I reminisce with you."

Mod squealed happily (Ram had long since been cut off from being heard, considering she was celebrating rather loudly). "Oh that just sounds so adorable! I'd love that!"

"Oh right, by then I should have a body for Mod-chan too so it'll probably be the four of us," Rosan mused.

The brunette smiled at that and nodded. "A garden would be nice. We can get a bunch of crops from Maro and start growing them too. I hope you can ask Sanji for tips on how to make your already good cooking better."

Mod flushed happily at the fact Rosan was so set on giving her her own body. "Oh I can work on the garden ! Can I suggest a nice little waterfall too? It wouldn't be terribly difficult to create an artificial one in the middle of the forest with Modification. I'd love to just set up a reclining seat and listen to the water crashing."

"Not a bad idea at all," Rosan hummed with a look of contemplation.

"I WANT MY OWN ROOM WITH MIHAWK"S SWORD IN IT... EVEN THOUGH I'LL BE SLEEPING WITH YOU TWO A LOT... BUT I UNDERSTAND YOU'D WANT SOME ALONE TIME!" Ram shouted happily, face flushed from exertion after all the jumping and screaming she had done.

Rosan and Robin both blinked at her odd request.

"Mihawk's... sword?" Rosan repeated in confusion. "And how do you expect me to get Mihawk's sword to put in your room?"

Robin had another concern. "Do you have a crush on Hawkeye Mihawk's blade, Ram?" She asked, puzzled.

Mod's jaw dropped, as a dust of red covered Ram's cheek and she began shaking her head rapidly.

"N-No! I just think Yoru is really cool and I want it as a memento for when we crush him in our rematch!" She exclaimed with wide eyes.

"Yoru?" Robin mouthed to Rosan who looked rather unamused.

"I didn't know she had a crush on the sword. I didn't know she could even feel attraction," Rosan mouthed back.

Ram was too young for Yoru. Absolutely not. This crush had better die down.

Robin, being privy to his thoughts, snorted loudly at his disapproval.

He was definitely Ram's father alright.

The Devil Child sighed fondly. "Modification makes our life so much easier... I'll also have to ensure no giant lizards live on that island because with your power now, you'd destroy the island instead of a clearing."

"Pft... Kahahaha!" Mod burst out laughing at that.

"...Are you trying to get attacked right now?" Rosan said warningly, turning towards her with a challenging gaze.

Robin raised a brow, feigning confusion. "Am I not being a good partner by looking out for the concerns of my best friend? I wouldn't want the Red Devil to get his hands dirty with something as simple as some lizards when he's a regal dragon," she said rather mockingly.

Rosan sighed and shook his head. "Shut up. Wait... are we going to have to find an uninhabited island? Or are we going to be living on an island that has people on it?"

"With our reputation, I don't think the second one is an option. Imagine how afraid people would be of the Red Devil just living with them, tending to a garden..." Robin retorted.

The redhead glared at her.

"Please stop calling me the Red Devil."

"Why? I'm flattered that the world knows that one of your core inspirations is me. You're even taking bits of my moniker now."

"But my bounty is higher than yours and you used to be called the Devil Child… Doesn't that make me superior?"

"I've had my moniker for 20 years, you've had yours for about a week and I'm no longer being called the Devil Child. There really is no comparison. Not to mention, I'm older then you so it's obvious that they see me as your superior."

"All I'm hearing is that you're admitting to being old."

"Portgas D. Rosan."

"...You're only 4 years older then me. You're not old."

Robin smiled serenely.

She changed her mind. Having such such power over her partner was actually really quite fun.

"Well, you're not that old," he muttered under his breath.

Her smile vanished and she lunged, much to the shocked yells of everyone there.

----------------------------------------

"Who decided on this design?" A scuffed Rosan asked, smoothing out a neutral faced Robin's hair with his hand as she did the same to him.

The two then began fixing up the others outfits, trying to make it as presentable as possible while ignoring the amused looks shot their way from the brawl they just had.

"I'm sure that in just the span of a week, you've gotten into more fights with Robin then anyone else has," Mod giggled.

"Mother's logic flies out of the window when it comes to Father," Ram nodded sagely.

Robin hated that they were both entirely correct. She felt like a different person when Rosan chose to be insufferable and it was going to ruin her image.

"We did!" Masira and Shoujou puffed up proudly at his question. "Well, what do you think?"

"Don't ask him that! Please don't ask him that!" The Straw Hats cried comically in their mind.

"Zero points. Stupid animal choice. Stupid design. Chickens don't even fly for long... are you saying that you picked this terrible design because we'll fly for a short amount of time before dying?" Rosan judged critically, expression incredibly unimpressed. "You should have chosen a Dragon. If I could rate something in the negatives... I would... Actually, negative three points."

The two ape like men fell over in depression, rubbing circles into the dirt with their fingers.

"Did you have to be so harsh?" Cricket asked with an amused smile, tugging at his arm sling and stopping when Chopper glared at him.

"I was just speaking my mind," Rosan replied calmly. "Thinking of ways to lessen the blow has never been my thing."

He wasn't lying about that… except for when dealing with Meiko. Rosan absolutely despised seeing the blonde upset so he always watched his words when he felt like they might make her tear up.

(He didn't know that the tears were just to make him feel bad. Meiko had long gotten used to his blunt and rude nature so she utilized it to make him less of a dick)

"I think it looks cool!" Luffy replied honestly. He grinned at the ship and began slapping its side repeatedly. "Look, I bet Merry can fly!"

Shoujou and Masira instantly got back up at that and the three began dancing with each other, idiots that they were.

"Focus guys, it's time to head out!" Nami barked, ensuring that everything was in place.

The crew quickly clambered onto the ship on Nami's orders, as they began to set sail to the Emperor Cloud.

Cricket watched them all go with a neutral expression, glancing back at his retrieved gold and remembering what this random crew did for him.

They had no obligation to help him out. He had attacked them unprovoked, yet they helped him recover and even got his gold back from Bellamy...

"MEN!" He roared. "DON'T MESS UP! NO MATTER WHAT HAPPENS, GIVE IT YOUR ALL FOR THEM!"

"RIGHT!" They cheered.

"Straw Hat, no matter what anyone says, no one has actually proven that Shandora or Sky Island don't exist! People can laugh at dreams or say that they're legends and we'll let them laugh because that's part of the adventure!"

Luffy grinned and began nodding along eagerly, even as their ship began setting sail.

Cricket grinned in return. "Thanks for returning my gold. Don't go falling out of the sky now."

"Right!" The Straw Hat captain beamed, waving eagerly.

"Stay focused. I reinforced the ship while they were working on it but anything can happen," Rosan muttered, keeping his gaze forward.

The Straw Hats nodded at his words, straightening up in preparation.

"I'll be ready to transform at any moment," he informed them, pointing at his slit eyes to stress his point.

It never ceased to amaze them how useful Rosan was when he chose to be. They could understand why he didn't want them to rely on him because honestly it was practically cheating seeing how much he could do.

They were well on pace to make it to the Knock Up Stream thanks to the redhead helping speed up repairs (The Bellamy Pirates really did a number on it) and it was making all the weaker hearted crewmates nervous.

Rosan hummed a gentle tune as Robin sat next to him on the rail, enjoying the gentle waves and how they enhanced the redhead's voice.

"You have a nice voice," Sabo commented, much to the agreement of others.

He hummed often so they were aware of it, but he kept it rather short. This was the first time he hummed for an extended period of time.

The redhead paused to regard everyone listening. "Singing is one of the hobbies I enjoy more then others… Mom used to sing to me and I picked up her habit... I even learned how to play the piano because I like how it sounds with my voice the most. I tend to sing to Mod-chan and Robin so that they can sleep easier."

Ram absolutely adored when he was singing but she tended to knock out instantly, which was funny considering she was the last one among them that needed sleep.

"He's been a good singer since a child," Robin smiled. "I'm glad to know his voice getting so deep didn't change anything. The deepness actually helps me fall asleep faster now. It's soothing."

"Ah, I love when he sings me to sleep! It makes me feel like a princess," Mod smiled happily.

"That's why you should have been my musician!" Luffy complained. "You can play the piano and sing... that's perfect!"

They blinked at that, staring at the redhead for confirmation.

"I didn't want to be the musician, or the cook, or the navigator… so I just told him I'd scout," Rosan told them all.

They sweatdropped. That sounded exactly like Rosan.

"So you're the "humble scout"… because you didn't want to do anything else?" Nami asked, sweating heavily at their insufferable redhead.

"Sounds about right. I just told him the thing I could do easiest that barely required effort on my part. I used to scout my enemies all the time before I killed them so I figured I could do that for Luffy and it wouldn't require me to do too much," he explained.

"He's so scary!" The coward trio thought with a cold sweat.

He mentioned killing them so casually! Couldn't he be just a little normal?

They could understand why he was so… seemingly lazy though. He didn't want information on Modification to leak at all and he acted accordingly, keeping an offhands approach or working in the background so that no one noticed him.

From what they could tell, Rosan was actually amazingly active and it was rather surprising because they didn't see him really do anything when they first met him.

He would just disappear, come back, make a really rude comment when they inquired about it and successfully divert the attention off of himself.

But whenever he vanished, which was very often, it seemed like he was up to something that benefited someone in some way...

"You're very useful," Sabo remarked with an impressed gaze. "Any organization would kill to have someone as resourceful as you on their side. I know the revolutionaries would be salivating at your abilities. You'd help us out a ton just with what you bring to the table."

"That is why I do not show what I'm capable of," Rosan said quietly. "Many people would kill to have me. There is no user of Modification who has been able to do what I can because this fruit was made for me and not them. If the World Government realizes that… who knows what they'll do to me."

"Despite your wording... it's true that I am your Devil Fruit just as you are my wielder. I will never have such synergy with anyone else," Mod admitted.

"That is why I won't let them have me," Rosan assured.

If they ever captured him... Rosan wasn't so sure they'd execute or kill him.

Perhaps they'd use Mod's loyalty to him to keep her tied to the organization by turning him into breeding stock and feeding his children the Devil Fruit after getting their use out of him.

No matter what, Mod would never kill anyone born from him. She was his mother and that meant any children of his, would be her grandchildren. Killing them would tear her apart.

Perhaps the virus wasn't all that useless… In the case that happened, they'd be needed to escape.

"Mod-chan... in the event that outcome does happen... influence my child to your side. If they cannot be swayed from the World Government... you must take over that body and make it yours. You are your own person now and you've seen all we can do. Use that opportunity to live out your life."

Mod sat stunned at what Rosan said. "Don't! Don't you dare even bring up such a grim scenario, Rosan. How dare you even suggest such a future?!" She shouted angrily.

"I will do my best to ensure it doesn't happen... but you have to account for anything. I will not acknowledge a child born from me with the sole intention to subjugate you so please, free yourself. You have my approval."

"..." Mod said nothing before nodding tightly. "I... will honor your last wishes if that is it. But it won't get to that. I'll do everything in my power to make sure it doesn't."

Sabo nodded, expression serious as he immediately understood the gravity of Rosan's abilities.

He was planning on telling Dragon about the man's Devil Fruit to see if they could employ his help sometime… but he'd hold off on that for now. The Chief of Staff trusted his leader unconditionally but he wanted to earn Rosan's trust rightfully.

He wouldn't be able to forgive himself if information leaked and Rosan was captured as a result. His brother had been through too much.

"As if I'd ever let them capture you," Robin said, eyes stormy as she idly gripped Rosan with a firm hold. "I'll break them into pieces if they even think about it."

She already lost him once and she'd be damned if she lost him again. That depressing future he just brought up... there was no way she'd ever allow that to pass.

"Yeah! You're stuck with us," Nami agreed, poking her tongue out at the redhead. No way would she let them take away her annoying older brother figure! They still had way too much antics to get into!

"I still owe you that best meal," Sanji scoffed. Rosan may have annoyed him to no end but that didn't change the bond that the two had and the chef would risk his life for him without any hesitation.

"Y-Yeah you can rely on us!" Usopp agreed nervously.

The thought of the redhead getting targeted by such dangerous people scared him to no end but they were friends and Usopp was trying to be a brave warrior of the sea! If he couldn't protect the friend who motivated him, he'd never be able to call himself that.

"It's my job to make sure your safe and you bet I'll take it seriously!" Chopper said determinedly.

Everyday, Rosan was forcing the reindeer out of his shell and making him more comfortable in his skin. Day by day, he was getting more and more comfortable with the term "monster" because his scout was fine with being called that too!

"We're crewmates so of course we'll keep you safe," Zoro nodded like it were obvious.

It's not like it was needed... the scout was plenty strong on his own but if he ever needed a hand, obviously they'd give him one.

"Yup, you're my scout!" Luffy beamed.

"T-That's so adorable!" Mod squealed. Their little crew were some of the cutest kids around and she hoped Rosan realized he was apart of them sooner rather then later!

"They understand Father's importance so I approve," Ram grinned.

Robin gazed at the crew with a bit of wonder in her eyes.

Rosan stared at them all with that customary neutral expression of his. His head was tilted to the side and they could see the faint glow that was not there when they first met him (Chopper excluded).

It honestly looked like he appreciated their words.

Of course, they knew that was never the (obvious) case when it came to Rosan.

"My weakling crew is talking about protecting me," he snorted. "Worry about yourselves first. If I go missing for even a day, you guys threaten to sink to the bottom of the sea."

They all gained tick marks.

"SHOW SOME APPRECIATION, YOU DICK!" Nami, Sanji and Usopp roared.

"Thanks for becoming sacrificial pieces for me," Rosan said completely insincerely. "I won't forget your loss. Robin and I will shed one tear each."

Their tick marks deepened. H-He was so insufferable!

"You won't let me die?" Robin asked, voice tinged with amusement.

"Of course not, if you die, I'll be dead too because I'd have lost control… or Luffy and I died first," Rosan replied easily.

"Oh…" The Devil Child said, clearly surprised by his conviction. Her expression turned a bit worried at that.

"Rosan... please don't sacrifice yourself for me. I wouldn't be able to stand myself if you were to throw your life away for me," she said seriously.

The redhead immediately shook his head. "I won't ever throw my life away for you because that would mean that I can't spend another day with you... but if I do die trying to protect you, that means I tried everything in my power to keep you safe," he said sincerely.

Robin's eyes widened at that.

Rosan continued unimpeded. "I fight every battle with the intention to win and survive because I know people will be devastated if I die. I just got you back and you think I want to risk not seeing you again? I'm selfish you know," he smiled softly.

"Right..." Robin nodded a bit dazed.

Nami, Ram and Mod's eyes gleamed at that.

"Look at you, Rosan," the navigator crooned. "Robin sure is important to you isn't she?" She prodded.

The redhead nodded without hesitation, not bothered by the question. "I'd give her the world if she asked for it. She's done more for me then I can put into words and is the one of the main reasons I didn't lose my mind when I was younger."

"She's the rationality to my insanity so I'll protect that with my life," he finished, tugging his stunned best friend close.

"Oh he's good," Nami gaped a little. It probably wasn't even his intention but the redhead really had a way with words that just forced you to acknowledge them.

"Damn he's good," Sanji cursed. His love rival was way too good with his words and the chef should have known that considering they had inspired him for so long when he was younger.

He wasn't even trying right now! The redhead was just speaking his mind about what he honestly thought...

Robin's mouth opened a little at his matter of fact statement and she stared at her best friend for a very long time.

That… was really heart warming.

Rosan caught her gaze and she saw his eyes glow just a hint brighter.

Ram's gleam turned unsavory. Any moment now and they'd definitely throw caution to the wind and make out like in those romance books (she hated them so much) she had been studyin—

"WE SEE THE EMPEROR CLOUD!" The salvage pirates screamed.

"WHAT? WE SHOULDN'T SEE IT FOR ANOTHER HOUR!" Masira barked.

It's a good thing they were so on pace! If they were any later this might have turned disastrous…

The Utan Divers that were submerged under water quickly shot back up to confirm the location of the Knock Up Stream and without wasting any time, the Salvage Pirates began escorting the Straw Hats to it.

"HEAD TO THE WHIRLPOOL!" Masira demanded, as everyone quickly got into a flurry of action.

Rosan gazed down on the railing he was sitting on, as the wave's suddenly picked up in strength and began tossing the Merry.

"It's about time," he said calmly, focused on the task at hand and making sure to steady Robin as well.

She snapped out of her daze and nodded. "Try not to fall into the water. You might still have a hint of that clumsiness inside of you."

"Bite me. I haven't been clumsy since I was 8."

"GODDAMNIT!" Ram roared, punching a hole into the wall… and crumbling the entire section.

"L-Language?" Mod sweatdropped, backing away from the seething ring.

Perhaps she'd fix that after Ram calmed down.

The Straw Hats awe, quickly turned into horror at realizing they were being led directly into a whirlpool.

"WE'LL TOW YOU INTO THE WHIRLPOOL!" Shoujou yelled to them.

"SAIL INTO THE CURRENT! IF YOU MAKE IT TO THE CENTER YOU SHOULD BE FINE!" Masira shouted, over the heavy winds.

T-The current of… OF THE WHIRLPOOL?!

Usopp and Nami began screeching in fear, tears rolling down their eyes as the situation went from bad to terrible.

"NO ONE SAID ANYTHING ABOUT THIS!" Nami cried.

"STOP! STOP! LET'S GO BACK!" Usopp sobbed.

"Stop crying. Didn't I tell you? As long as you have me watching you, there's nothing to worry about," Rosan said calmly.

The redhead held out a finger and his little bird flew on it, chirping in happiness at having a perch to rest on.

"Good job, you can rest for now. You aren't needed at this moment," he praised quietly.

They all instinctively went calm at the measured voice of their scout and allowed his tranquility to wash over them.

Everyone watched with serene expressions, as a massive sea king burst out of the water, unconscious from the outrageously strong waves of the whirlpool before being brought back under.

…

"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH SAVE US! WE'RE GONNA DIE!" Usopp, Nami and Chopper screamed, hugging the redhead for dear life as panic once more washed over them.

Rosan closed his eyes and sighed. "Utterly hopeless."

"This is getting exciting!" Sabo and Luffy grinned. Besides Rosan, they were the only ones truly unbothered by what was going on and were just excited to see what was about to happen next.

"See ya guys later!" Luffy waved to the Salvage Pirates. "Why are you guys screaming so much! If we don't do this, we'll regret it for the rest of our lives!"

"I promised Ace that I wouldn't have anymore regrets so we have to go," Rosan agreed.

"Perhaps Rosan has been infecting me a little too much because the entire ordeal does seem fun," Robin smiled.

"We're already in too deep. We can't back out even if we tried," Zoro shrugged.

"You don't get to experience things like this often! Enjoy the moment!" Sabo grinned.

"I'll keep you and Robin-chan safe!" Sanji assured.

"They're all nuts!" The coward trio thought. W-What was wrong with these monsters?!

Before anymore panic could ensue, confusion took its place as the whirlpool vanished.

All of them blinked.

"It disappeared?"

"Where'd it go?!"

Nami went white. "It's already begun!"

Rosan's gaze went sharp at the sight of a ship approaching.

"HOLD IT!" A man yelled.

"Oh, look Zoro," Luffy pointed out.

The swordsman raised a brow. "Him again?"

"That's the guy from Mock Town who tried to recruit Rosan!" Nami gasped.

"You again?" Rosan's gaze narrowed even further. Unseen to all, his eyes began glowing bright.

"ZEHAHAHAHAHA! We finally caught up with you, Straw Hat!" The giant of a man grinned, showing off his missing teeth.

The redhead had thought he was smarter... but showing up like this was far too stupid.

Sabo's eyes narrowed.

"We're here to collect that bounty on you and the Red Devil's head! Prepare yourself!" Teach grinned.

Before anyone on the ship could even say anything, a gigantic wave of flames caught their attention and everyone watched with slack jaws as Rosan aimed and fired at the ship.

Teach's eyes bugged in surprise at seeing the torrent of fire rush towards their ship, courtesy of the Red Devil himself. "W-WAIT A SECOND! GIVE US SOME TIME TO AT LEAST CLOSE THE DISTANCE! THIS ISN'T FAIR!"

"BOSS WHAT DO WE DO?! OUR SHIP WON'T BE ABLE TO HANDLE THAT!" Jesus Burgess asked, eyes wide in disbelief.

"I thought you were smarter then you looked... but I was wrong," Rosan muttered coldly, slits staring at them without a hint of mercy.

"You are ruthless," Usopp squeaked, watching those giant flames wash over the ship with a white face.

The others nodded in unison. Rosan was not to be trifled with. On the sea, it wasn't very smart to go against the Dragon, especially if you had no way to close the distance.

"?" Rosan tilted his head at the fact that only one of them was screaming.

The flames eventually settled and what he saw, made him go cold.

"HOT! HOT! HOT!" Teach howled, shrouded in dark energy that protected his ship from the brunt of Rosan's attack. Despite protecting the ship, he was not so lucky and was hastily patting down the destructive flames of Ragnarok on his body.

Mod went white. "T-That power… That's…"

"Rosan?" Nami asked in worry, seeing the way the redhead froze.

"...The Yami Yami no mi," he whispered.

This was the man Ace was hunting. This was Marshall D. Teach.

That whole time... he had been talking to Blackbeard?

This was the man with the most threatening Devil Fruit to him.

Robin's eyes went wide. "That's him? That's Teach?"

"Teach? Who's Teach?" Sabo asked, sensing the malicious aura radiating off of Rosan.

The crew was confused as well. Did they know this guy? Rosan tended to know a lot of people so it wasn't that confusing but just who was this?

Rosan didn't answer any of them. The man's eyes began glowing even brighter and they watched as fangs began jutting out his mouth.

Teach watched as the Red Devil took aim at them again and realized he had a severe disadvantage at sea.

He was reduced to defending and if he tried to attack, their ship would break under his strength.

This was bad.

"WAIT! LET'S TALK ABOUT THIS!" Teach screamed over the hissing flames building up. "JOIN MY CREW! WE DON'T HAVE TO FIGHT RIGHT NOW! I HAVE BIG PLANS AND IT WOULD BE A WASTE IF ONE OF US HAD TO DIE HERE. WE'RE BOTH DREAMERS WHO WILL SET THE WORLD ON OUR COURSE!"

Rosan didn't say a word. The flames just kept building up until even the Yami Yami no mi wouldn't be able to protect the ship from the full effects. He might not be able to kill the man, but he could certainly sink him and make sure his crew couldn't save him by focusing the fire onto them next.

Teach needed to die here.

Rosan stood on the railing, eyes glowing as bright as the sun itself.

He would get rid of him right here and now instead of letting him escape for free. Ace would be upset but he would get over it quickly.

This was far too good of an opportunity.

"Annihilat—"

The Knock Up Stream activated.

Robin swiftly pulled Rosan back onto the ship as the Merry nearly capsized and tossed him over, clutching him tightly as he landed on her body and they both collapsed.

Teach watched with bugged eyes as his life was saved by a gigantic pillar of water knocking the Straw Hats high into the sky.

His ship was destroyed from the impact but at least he'd live to see another day. Fate truly favored him in that moment.

"Next time, we're fighting them on land," Blackbeard decided, holding onto a log.

"Aye Captain," his crew decided, all sweating at their near death experience.

----------------------------------------

"Angle my head at that Sea King."

Robin nodded and did just that, grabbing his head and gently facing it towards the falling monster.

The Straw Hats eyes bugged as Rosan opened his mouth and instantly charred the Sea King with the massive burst of flames meant for those pirates.

"Tch," he scoffed, watching the baked fish fall out of sight. "If we don't focus, our ship will end up like that too."

With that, he rested his head back on Robin's body and allowed her to rake a hand through his hair.

"He's definitely annoyed," they all thought, getting into a flurry of action to keep their ship steady and climbing.

"Are you annoyed?" Robin asked knowingly, using her Devil Fruit to assist with Nami's barking orders.

Rosan said nothing for a moment and Robin gently prodded him.

"I had him," he frowned. "He showed up gift wrapped for me but somehow, he managed to survive. I let the user of the Yami Yami no mi get away when I could have killed him."

"We could have rid the world of him but of all the things to save him… What terrible timing," Mod frowned. The Yami Yami no mi was no good in the hands of someone who was practically confirmed to be their enemy.

"WE'LL CATCH THE WIND AT STARBOARD AND SAIL TO PORT! WE'LL LET THE SHIP FOLLOW THE CURRENT!" Nami barked.

"AYE AYE!" They chorused.

"It's okay you two," Robin assured soothingly. She continued to run a hand through his hair to drain out his tension and smiled as the redhead allowed himself to relax without hesitation.

To think the boy who lost his trust in people at such a young age, could rest so easily in her grasp. It filled her with a warmness long forgotten, to know that Rosan still loved her so much.

"Ace will take care of him. We need to focus on surviving this ordeal and for that, we need you to not be grumpy in case something happens, okay?" She finished.

"Of course, mother," he replied eventually, eyes opening slowly to regard her.

"I prefer Robin-nee," she told him. "Mod-chan can keep the honors of being called Mother. She secretly loves it."

"D-Do not!" She protested, knowing damn well she did.

"You're my partner not my older sister," he said calmly.

Robin rolled her eyes at that. "It's no wonder people get the wrong idea. You aren't helping at all with their perception of us!"

The duo idly watched as the Going Merry began to fly from the efforts of the crew and Rosan snorted.

"Let them think whatever they want. You should only care about what the people who love you think and I should only care about what the people who love me think," he replied quietly, taking in the sight.

Who said ships couldn't fly? Actually… a flying ship didn't sound like a bad idea.

Actually… perhaps he could find a way to make the White Rose aerial. It was food for thought and would give him a way to fly around without summoning either of his wings.

"WE'RE FLYING!" Luffy cheered.

"This is great!" Sabo laughed.

"I can't believe it!" Usopp gaped with bugged eyes.

"W-Wow!" Chopper awed.

"Well whaddya know?" Zoro grinned.

"YOU'RE AMAZING NAMI!" Sanji screamed with heart eyes.

"Of course, your opinion is the only one that matters, Prince Rosan," Robin bowed mockingly.

She yelped as the redhead pinched her cheek and glared at him.

"Don't call me prince. I may as well not have royal blood," he demanded bluntly. "Good job guys. I didn't have to do anything just yet but if there's nothing past those clouds, I'll be ready."

"RIGHT!" They chorused.

Robin made sure to get him later. Trying to quickly change the subject after doing that would not go unpunished.

They all watched in anticipation as the end of the cloud grew nearer and nearer.

"Wait a minute…" Nami suddenly said, horror seeping into her as a realization hit. "We're about to fly straight through a super dense cloud."

That was bad, especially for their Devil Fruit users. That cloud, combined with the Knock Up Stream…

"What's the problem?" Luffy asked.

Judging by the way Rosan went alert, he also realized what flying through that cloud entailed but he was too late to do anything about it.

"O-Oh no…" Mod whispered in horror. If they really did go into such a dense cloud then—

The Straw Hats all gaped as they smashed into the clouds and water enveloped everything.

Rosan had never actually drowned before. When the sky was your domain, you didn't have to worry about falling into the ocean.

He guessed a sea in the sky countered that and it was disastrous as a result.

The redhead stayed calm under the effects of drowning, but that immediately vanished as he felt his connection to Mod and Robin die.

An almost mythical panic, one that he hadn't felt since Meiko died, seeped into his body at not feeling that steady hum of his mother's presence.

Where was Mod-chan? Where was Robin? Ram…? Where did they go? Mod-chan…? MOD-CHAN?! RAM?! ROBIN?!

WHERE WERE THEY?!

Was he… Was he alone again…? Alone to suffer… again?!

Memories of being shocked repeatedly, slammed into his body and Rosan began to struggle even more despite how nauseatingly weak his body felt right now.

The sheer panic he was in, had brought his buried trauma at the hands of Doc right to the forefront once more.

It was just like when he had seastone. He couldn't feel anyone, he felt so weak, he felt so helpless because he was imprisoned. Imprisoned with seastone and an insane doctor and there was shocking and his body was burning and burning and burning and burnin—

The redhead's eyes rolled to the back of his skull, as he was overwhelmed by the lack of air and the trauma of a time where he felt completely useless.

He fell unconscious with one last watery breath.