In search of the tree

The competition had started and Asdrerd was the only competitor.

He would have won even with a mediocre painting and could have kept his identity hidden.

However, Asdrerd could not... Once he started drawing, he would have finished the work with all his skills, without thinking about anything else.

He began to paint, without stopping, until the end.

People were looking enchanted and not even thinking about Spered. They were watching the painting take shape without being able to formulate a thought.

Once the painting was finished, Asdrerd put the Spered signature on it without thinking about it.

Once Asdrerd exhaled, he put down the tools and looked at his painting, nodding satisfied.

At that moment, his thoughts began to return.

He had noticed the drawing and the signature. He could no longer go back.

Seeing that people had their eyes fixed on the painting, Asdrerd took the opportunity to leave.

He walked without problems. People still had their eyes lost on the drawing.

There was even a thief in the crowd, who had his hands in a woman's purse. Like everyone else, he was looking at the painting.

After an hour, people came to their senses.

---

Asdrerd was relieved. It was getting complicated to keep three different identities. Now he had to play only two people, as a result, he could walk more freely. He could draw without fear of being discovered, and he had to learn to use even one less weapon, which would have saved him a lot of time.

Before the news about Spered started circulating, Asdrerd went to the weapon shop.

Entering the shop, he was immediately greeted by the girl with black hair.

"Welcome!"

Once she looked up, she saw Asdrerd.

"Ah! Come in, I will take you to the director."

She said in a respectful tone, then started walking towards the director's office.

Arriving at the office door, the woman knocked 4 times in rapid sequence.

The director inside was making calculations, to see the loss of money from the Color Criminal incident.

"Fuck! I lost too much money!" He cursed after seeing the sum of damages and necessary repairs.

Suddenly he heard a knock 4 times.

"4 times?"

He immediately began to think about today's appointments.

"Someone who requested entry to the third floor is there, but none too important."

He got up angry, thinking about the money.

The man opened the door and yelled, "Who the fuck are you with..."

He stopped his sentence once he saw the guest's face.

"...am I pleased to speak?" The director completed his sentence in the most respectful way possible, bowing.

"I would like to buy weapons," Asdrerd asked quietly.

"Oh no no, choose the weapons you prefer, they are our gift." Even though he needed money right now, he certainly could not charge their savior.

Asdrerd had said those words on purpose; he knew perfectly well that they would give him whatever he wanted. He also knew that the shop was running out of money. After all, it was his entire plan.

"Okay, I'll take everything I need for free."

"Sure!" The manager had smiled but was crying inside.

"I would like to become the new owner of the shop," Asdrerd said immediately after receiving confirmation from the director.

"What?" The owner exclaimed automatically.

"Don't worry; it's something that will help the store. There are only gains for you."

Feeling he could make money, he sat Asdrerd in his room and waited in silence for the boy's proposal.

"All I want is a fourth-floor dedicated exclusively to my crew. No one will be able to enter except yourself when I request an order. 𝗡𝗢𝗕𝗢𝗗𝗬! I hope you understand the words of mine."

The owner nodded.

"Nice! I will fully finance the construction of the fourth floor and all the various repairs to the shop. I can put my name outside the shop, to guarantee greater security. You will have to leave me a way to contact you and as soon as we request specific weapons, you will have to get them there or make them on the spot. It does not matter the price and the materials required."

"Really?" The owner was happy to be able not only to regain the lost money but also to be able to earn an ally like the Naked Angel. The name of the Naked Angel would not only have diminished the crimes inside the shop, but would also have made an excellent advertisement.

"Yes, in a nutshell, I will only be the owner of the fourth floor."

Asdrerd nodded to the happy director.

"Thanks so much!" The man thanked Asdrerd as sincerely as possible.

"Now I would like to buy a good quality gun and some bullets."

Asdrerd had already decided to use a gun in its normal form and a bow for the Color Criminal. The gun could buy it here, but the bow did not.

Otherwise, everyone would have understood that Asdrerd and the Color Criminal are the same people. He could not leave clues.

For the arch, he had already spoken to Mysha and had decided to use that mysterious wood to build his weapon. The arrows were not a problem, because he intended to create them with his power.

The owner gave him a gun.

"This is the best gun in the shop. It is light and perfect for an average distance. Easy to control and has some secret functionality."

After that, the man pulled a small lever located on the right of the gun.

"Doing this activates a mechanism within it. The liquid present in the door on the left will be automatically inserted into the first bullet. There is currently poison."

Asdrerd said nothing but was happy with this functionality. He was looking forward to trying with his color. Obviously, before using it on someone, he would have to test everything. He could not risk that at the outbreak he left some color or the like.

The pistol was silver with black lines on the sides. It was not too different in structure from a normal pistol.

---

The day of departure arrived early. 23 days had passed since they reached the island. Mysha had finished the ship project and therefore decided to leave to collect the necessary wood.

As Asdrerd was about to take Mysha in her arms and fly, the girl stopped him.

"Wait, we're waiting for someone."

"Hm?" Asdrerd tilted his head.

"Ah, here he is!" Mysha pointed to someone.

Asdrerd saw a known person approach.

A muscular man approached him with his forearms out of proportion to the rest of his arms. On them are the tattoos of two blue stars. He had a metallic nose and blue hair facing up. He was dressed in an unbuttoned Hawaiian shirt and briefs.

"Asdrerd, Franky.

Franky, Asdrerd."

Mysha introduced the two, while Asdrerd stared at her with a murderous look.

"Mysha!" Asdrerd yelled.

"I didn't have time to warn you, he heard about the tree we're going to look for and decided to follow us." Mysha quickly recounted how she met Franky.

"𝗡𝗢!" Asdrerd disagreed with bringing Franky.

"Oi Oi do you have something against me? Eh?" The man approached Asdrerd and acted as a classic bully.

"You are too weak, I cannot allow you to follow us," Asdrerd said.

"Do you believe yourself superior to me? Eh, Naked Angel? You think you know me?" Franky, being called "weak", got angry.

"Yes! I know all about your past, present, and future. I cannot let you die."

Asdrerd was afraid of changing the story. It also affected his life.

Mysha thought Asdrerd didn't want to endanger Franky and smiled.

Asdrerd took the two of them to an uncrowded place and then started talking.

"Mysha, I'm sure you know his past too. Right now, he calls himself Franky, so you think you don't know him. Cutty Flam! This is his real name."

"What? Then…"

Mysha knew the whole truth about Tom's affair and knew that Cutty Flam was alive, but she didn't know his appearance.

"Exact," Asdrerd confirms the theories that Mysha was thinking.

"I understand," said the girl, understanding why Asdrerd didn't want to take him with them.

"Just because you know my past do you think you know me?" Franky asked irritably.

"Yes. Now you are a cyborg and you can spit fire. You take a strange pose by shouting "Super". You are an old student of Tom like Iceburg and people believe you dead from the clash with the Sea Train. You love Cola and you are a skilled carpenter. Franky is a nickname that Iceburg gave you and you could say that Tom died because of you-"

"𝙎𝙏𝙊𝙋 𝙏𝙃𝘼𝙏!" While Asdrerd was telling about Franky, the cyborg stopped him with a shout.

"Okay, I wanted to make you understand I know everything about you," Asdrerd said.

"Please take me with you to collect that wood. Then I will never bother you again." Franky lowered his head and asked to accept his selfish request.

"Come on, why don't you accept? Franky and I could work together to build that arch for you." Seeing Franky's determination, Mysha tried to convince Asdrerd.

"Mmmm..." Asdrerd began to worry.

"Please, I want to build a ship that surpasses the master, I owe him this gift." Thinking that Asdrerd was considering the option, Franky went to his knees.

"This could cause some changes in the story... He shouldn't be like that; he might not meet Luffy..."

Asdrerd was evaluating Franky's behavior and started thinking about how he could avoid this change.

"Okay, but stay by my side. Once you are done with the wood, you will have to promise me one thing."

Asdrerd accepted Franky's request, then remembered something that happened last night.

"Oh yeah, Mysha I have to introduce you to someone too. It will join our crew."

**

Next Chapter: Xott Greppo