A few nights later I am scouting the city for when I eventually deal with the nobles. I’m not able to properly wield Hellfire, let alone hold her, so right now she is on a weapon rack right above the headboard of my bed instead of on my back in a holster. Still no signs of any night patrol on the walls separating the Gray Terminal from the rest of the Goa Kingdom, so more good news for me. I’m not going to be looking for things including money to steal while I do my scouting, unless I hit upon a concentrated stash from a noble, the reason being Makino. She is way too smart for this island at times. She is twenty-six now and she opened the Party Bar when she was just twenty. She has been a thriving force behind the expansion of the village, now city, and she has been using my money to do so. At the rate things are going, she will be able to return my investment back to me several times over by the time I finally set sail. When she showed me, her book forecasting the returns on businesses that she invested in across the city and who owes her what, I will be leaving with at least sixty million Beri in the hull of my future ship. Back to scouting, I must stop wool gathering right now. As I have already made my way to the next set of walls further in. While there are guards patrolling the walls around the Hightown part of the kingdom, there are gaps that a quick footed person like me can exploit, which I do.

A few hours later I left the same way that came in, to my knowledge no one being the wiser of my passage. The Hightown area is still so damned big, probably three times the size of the former Foosha village, and much of my time was spent avoiding the night patrols. I couldn’t get close to the castle, too many well-trained guards, not like the mooks moving around the rest of the city. I did however hear some nobles still celebrating the burning of the trash, the Gray Terminal, like it barely happened the other day. More than one suddenly trips on their balconies, losing a few teeth each as their jaws collide with the railing or the stone floor.

I made my way back clean, no trace. Or at least I thought without a trace as my hearing picks up the swinging of a blade made too strongly just as I get to the wall that encloses Hightown. I slid to a stop and succeeded with Kami-e allowing me to bend like paper for just a few seconds. This allows me to see a blade flashing where my head was just a moment ago. I kicked off to get a bit of distance from the one who almost took my head. It’s the knight with the Corvus symbol. So, it’s time for round two. Not only am I much stronger now, but I don’t have anyone to worry about other than myself right now, so let’s make the crow eat crow. They swing at me and this time I’m ready. A bit of earth mana and then add some fire mana, and combined they make magma for about two seconds on the tip of my finger. Just enough time to slip my finger along the blade upon their next swing and turn it into less than a dirk. I feel more than hear the snarl of rage that issues forth from them as the blade of their longsword clatters to the ground, the heat from the instance of magma making a sizzling noise as the blade comes to a rest. So focused on their anger are they, that I’m able to run/slide between their legs with barely a movement from then, or maybe I’m actually performing Soru as it should be done. I test how good their armor is as I lash out with both fists, earth natured mana caressing my knuckles. Their left knee barely moves from my right fist, but my left fist proves that their codpiece under the armored skirt is lacking, very lacking as with a groan of metal, that anger turns into a blood-curdling scream as my fist squishes some very sensitive objects and continues. As far as I know, an injury like that is a career ending injury, or most likely, life ending if sufficient medical attention is not gotten promptly. I would finish him off just to be kind, but his snarl of rage/scream of pain, was loud enough to draw other nearby guards. The tearing sound of armor doesn’t help either. While I could easily deal with a large number of guards, what I don’t know is their part (if any) in the noble’s schemes. They would also be attacking to kill, while I would have to hold back significantly, thus getting bogged down in numbers eventually. As the shouts of ‘attack’ reach me, I'm already three-fourths of the way up the wall. I give one unlucky guard a concussion as I use them as a steppingstone just before I go into freefall down the other side of the wall. From there I am home free, getting home just as the sun begins to brighten the horizon. I give a caress to Hellfire as I enter my bedroom and then sleep till noon.

The next day, the news Coo has a paper announcing the death of the knight's top lieutenant, and I actually feel bad for the Goa Kingdom, for if he was a lieutenant, then their standards must be low to the point of pathetic. Yes, his armor was okay, and his sword was probably good quality, but from the moves we exchanged months ago compared to the quick bit the day before, there was no real difference except for me and my skills, meaning that he was coasting on his laurels, never actually improving, what a waste.

The main house door (reinforced since Gramps tore the first few down), slams against the wall. “Grandson, it seems that you have been busy.” Garp calls out as he enters the house.

“Hey, idle hands are the devil’s work and all that.” I say as leave my room, Hellfire in her holster upon my back.

“Now where did you get such a weapon? I was going to talk to you about that poor excuse for a ship, and the pirates that you seem to have scared into silence, but that weapon is no common blade, even I can tell that. I have seen several of the greatest Meito blades ever made, those of supreme grade, but that scythe tops every single one of them.” Garp says with rare admiration.

“Her name is Hellfire, and admittedly I’m not strong enough yet to have my aura hide her own massive power, but hey I have plenty of time to grow into said power.” I say back.

“Also seems that you need control if what Ace told me is of the truth when you almost beat him into a coma.” Garp says with a grin.

“It was just one punch, and he had it coming. Hellfire is sentient, human level sentient at that. She didn’t like Ace, Ace took offense, then she shocked him good with her power. Then while I was talking to her, Ace, the bright boy that he is, decided to beat the hell out of me to get me out of the trance. When I came too, and saw his work, my temper shot to volcanic in an instant, and so with one punch, I returned his ‘favor’. Admittedly that won’t help in the future, after all Ace needs what few braincells he has, so me knocking some loose is just counterproductive.” I say the last part with a deadpan look on my face. “So, what actually brings you to the island this time Gramps? It is too early for your ‘quarterly vacation’. Or did you really piss someone off this time and the heads wanted you out of their way to try and salvage what hair they have left.” I definitely have a grin on my face as I say this.

“While admittedly Ace is a lost cause on the braincells, I figured that you needed some more responsibility. They will also not only make up for past missed birthdays, but also should suffice for future birthdays for the next while.” Garp say with a grin that I don’t like on his face.

Then it hits me like one of his ‘fists of love’, “You said ‘they’. Please tell me these aren’t cousins of mine that you are saddling me with since you can’t be bothered to be an actual human being.” I say with a huff and a sigh, knowing that even if they are ‘cousins’, I’ll be stuck with them until I can pawn them off on someone else. I have training and the downfall of a kingdom to work on after all.

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Garp simply turns around and walks out the door, forcing me to follow him to get an actual answer. We walk over to his ship, where I start to hear the muffled sound of growling, and I'm thinking ‘WTF’. As we got closer, I saw someone working with three leashes. As what was attached to the three leashes comes into view, I freeze in a dead stop. Grandpa tries to get my attention by yelling in my ear, but no luck I’m dead to the world except for what I am seeing. Even Hellfire, who I haven’t even had for a week is shocked at the level of emotion flooding through our link. For right in front of me, dragging the sailor down the ramp are three big puppies, and they are the spitting images of none other than Chaos, Gaia, and Abyss, my direwolf companions that I didn’t even get to say goodbye to when I tied with Baal. They are tiny compared to the ones that they resemble, maybe fifteen pounds each at the most, but all muscle and energy. Then the winds shift, and somehow, I know they aren’t just the spitting images, they actually are Chaos, Gaia, and Abyss, for with a crack, they pull so hard on the leashes, that they dislocate the poor sailor’s arm with a scream as they pull their leashes free, all to get to me faster with excited barks and yips. There are tears flowing down my face in rivers of joy as I barely manage to stay standing while I embrace them, rubbing my head against theirs, getting covered in slobber from their tongues. I can’t understand their words, but empathy gets the feeling across nicely. More than my future with Hellfire, more than my hopeful future with Makino, more than my goal of being the freest, my home is wherever we four are at.

I’m so thankful that when I can get free, I give my grandpa the first true hug that I have ever given him. He himself is shocked at my emotional response, to the point where a tear flows down an inch from his left eye before it shrivels up and disappears, as the ‘hero of the marines’ doesn’t shed tears.

After we have calmed down, there are many things that need to be done. One is making sure that Ace knows not to harm my girls, at least until they can fight back to a great degree. Eventually they will be ready and able to assist in true life or death fights, but that is at least four years off, depending on their growth, which if my own is of any indication, then that growth should be explosive. Second is going to be accomplished shortly, which is introducing them to Makino, my favorite human that I can physically hold. Last is buying appropriate supplies for them for while we are living together in the house. Our communication while it is not straight speech, I can understand Chaos, Gaia, and Abyss via more mental images and nudges than just outright words. This also neatly solves a future issue, already having a crew for when I set sail. I don’t know what all I will have to do, but I hope that Makino can/will come with me. The girls will be learning as much as I will be when it comes to sailing, enough for us to hopefully get by before I find more humanoid people to join me in accomplishing my dream. If theirs get accomplished at the same time or along the way, then that is all the better.

Even with the differences in my mana between this world and my previous, I hope that I can still establish that direct connection with Chaos, Gaia, and Abyss that I had previously. That connection should allow many things, higher potential, faster growth, and longevity, just to name a few.

I take the leashes off the girls, and they follow at my heels as I head towards Makino’s home, still right above the Party Bar. Unlike Ace who barged in once and almost took a knife in the eye, I know to knock first and wait for her answer. So, I knock on her front door after going up the steps. She quickly answers the door, already dressed for the day. I had already communicated on our way over here that Makino is important to me to the girls, so they know to behave somewhat well, much better than if it was Ace they were meeting. “Hey Makino, nowhere near as bad as me technically ‘stealing a ship’. Gramps decided that I needed some more responsibility to keep me out of trouble, so he got me some pets.” I say with a big grin.

Makino looks down, and three sets of eyes look at her with curiosity. Thankfully all three are still in the cute and cuddly stage, meaning that Makino doesn’t shy away from wanting to play with them in between putting away the morning’s deliveries.

The next few months are a blast. Each morning has me and the girls racing around the growing city as we work on their stamina and endurance. Then while they rest and I’m still fairly fresh, I get more into my training on improving my technique. Then it is time for lunch over at Makino’s bar, where the girls are easily able to get treats from Makino or the other patrons. I did have to reprimand the girls for how they got back at Ace for his initial reaction when they first met. He had gone to kick Gaia just because ‘he could’ when he answered after I had given him a shiner for trying to. The girl's retaliation: doing their business all over his shoes and bed while he was sleeping, which as a result had him screaming to high heaven and needing to get said items replaced. I made the training so hard the next day that I had to carry them home as a result, but beyond that they were my girls so they basically skated on any other punishments. Beyond that my plans for the nobility had to be put on hold yet again as I wanted the girls to get so much stronger. They doubled in size to thirty pounds in that time frame of a few months, their growth being pushed and accelerated by said training. They were no longer even heavily exhausted from my morning run and I even had them sparing with me, though it was like comparing me to Gramps, there was still a huge gap in skill and ability. To help them further bridge that gap, I taught them the basics of the six techniques. That was initially a mistake as they began to hurt themselves from pushing too hard, so I had to set boundaries and limits for them to reach before working more on those techniques. My relationship with Hellfire was also improving during that time as she helped to greatly improve me use of fire-nature mana. I could now rotate a fist-sized ball of fire on my palm and have just the barest hint of white to show how hot it was getting. It was even more impressive considering that I could do that and split my concentration to fight one-handed with Ace.

While the life I was living was great, I wasn’t going to forget about the nobles and my plan for them, I just needed more information. I went to the Goa Kingdom and started observing during the daytime, but so far unable to get into the noble's area during that time of day as there was still too much activity. As well as visually observing the goings on, I also hid in alleyways and listened in on the words being said by the citizens. Tensions are apparently building due to the size that Foosha City was becoming. This was resulting in a decrease of the Merchant ships selling their cargo to the Goa Kingdom. That the Marines were in the process of building a base on the newly cleared outskirts of Foosha was icing on the cake. Some people, wanting a life different from being under the noble’s area of influence have also been permanently leaving the Goa Kingdom and moving to Foosha City. I could have possibly chocked this up someone spreading a bit of the truth about what happened to the Gray Terminal, if I knew someone capable of it. Still, I am barely able to contain my laughter at some of what I am hearing. I could have a chance at destroying the nobles without even entering their part of the kingdom ever again. If the regular folks continue to leave for Foosha City in hopes of a better life then they have in the Goa Kingdom, then eventually they will have no more lesser class folk to rule over. The nobles in turn might plan to take over the rest of Dawn Island should their coffers drop too low. After all the Goa Kingdom’s eastern border stops at the mountains, and too my knowledge no one in Foosha city owes allegiance to the Goa Kingdom, only loosely to the World Government as a whole. If such a thing does come to pass, I don’t know if the marines will choose a side, or just remain neutral. Whatever happens though, whether they attack, roll-over and die, or something else entirely, it should happen long before I depart on my journey in about a decade.

I still try to listen for information about Sabo, but no one with a similar appearance is to be found when I do manage the occasional look into the noble’s area. Nor is there any sort of poster with a reward for information about him being posted anywhere that I have found, so the search is on hiatus until such information turns up. When I tell this to Ace the next day, he breaks down in tears for one he considered a non-blood brother.