The background story

(Unedited)

(Scientist Pov)

How did it all come to this?

How did I become so pathetic to be captured by pirates, my daughter held hostage in their hands with no fate other than dying. If I had to guess, it would be the day she ate her devil fruit, as well as the day I openly used mine.

It all started when Alice had turned five. Her mother and I had orchestrated the biggest birthday party we could, something that wasn't hard to do, as we were at the time one of the few nobles in the North blue, Germa kingdom.

I was one of the lead scientist of Germa, being one of the few that had the clearance to modify the genetic structure of other creatures. It was an honor to be given that right. That day I had just been given the order to implement an experiment that would remove human emotions of an fetus while it was still in the womb. It would in turn increase their combat prowess and make them perfect military commanders. Something that I was given the opportunity to execute on the leader's wife, Sora, who was pregnant with triplets at the time.

That day, after having finished with the procedure, I had arrived home, on time to celebrate my daughters birthday, to which people from all over the kingdom had come. Even Judge himself had visited, if only it was for but a moment.

My lovely little Alice had been so ecstatic, a bundle of joy bouncing up and down.

A true joy for our hearts.

It had been a big fanfare, as rows of people had presented gifts, all small but expensive, fit for a young child.

The day was long, going far into the evening.

In the evening, when all the guests had left, my wife and I had entered my daughters room. She was still up, too excited to sleep as she knew we would be giving her her present at the last moment.

That was when my wife handed Alice a rare gift.

A golden orb, shining brightly in the dimly lit room. On the top of it was a translucent little twig, indicating this orb was in truth, a devil fruit.

Urging her on, my wife let Alice eat the fruit, waiting patiently to see what Alice her powers would be. She would surely be an asset to Germa, no doubt.

With a single bite, Alice her face distorted, ready to spit it out only to swallow it with difficulty when she saw the expectant faces of me and my wife.

She smiled with difficulty, showing her empty mouth.

What both my wife and I didn't expect was for her to be enveloped by a soft glow, for just a second. A moment later, the teddy bears in her room stood up and snuggled up on her bed and hugged her to sleep. My little girl seemed so content at that moment.

My wife had become worried though, as she had expected it to be a zoan devil fruit.

With her worry on my mind, we both scoured through the many books that contained pictures of devil fruits, as well as their powers.

The devil fruit that my girl had eaten was the Waza-Waza-no-mi. She effectively became a miracle human. She had the power to make whatever she wanted come true, even if it was giving life to inanimate objects, such as he teddy bears. She had gained reality warping powers, yet she had the mind of a five year old.

We became worried, as the outcome was different than expected.

Days passed uneventful until her powers were discovered by Germa.

Judge had seen her incapacitate one of his bodyguards when they had loomed over her, scaring her shy soul.

Orders for her capture had been issued.

Having discussed this beforehand, I fled with my daughter, while my wife decided to ingratiate herself further into Germa under a different name, as she would help us escape with information from the inside. Well thought out, as she was a master at changing her appearance.

I killed every person on my path with the help of my own devil fruit, one that had been granted by Germa as it would help in my work. The Yamai-Yamai-no-mi. With the power to spread disseases and plagues, I turned every pursuer into a corpse.

The few that were strong enough to survive were turned into undead to stall our pursuers.

We passed many islands, all ending in misery.

At this point, when more than a few years had passed, I finally noticed the oddity in my daughter, as she didn't grow up, mentally or physically. She was stuck in the mind and body of a five year old.

When this despair hit me, a woman had approached me, telling me she could help, as she was a user of the Yaku-Yaku-no-mi, a medicine human. She could cure my daughter. I was hopeful, wishing for my daughter to grow up normally.

I was foolish.

The woman, the shaman on this island, had ripped out my daughters heart when she had the chance and fled.

With only my devil fruit as my ally, I had no clue as to how to keep my daughter amongst the living. The residue the shaman had left behind was corrupting my daughter, tearing into her with every second.

That was when I gave up caring, cursing this entire island to kill everyone, just so I could eradicate that woman, to avenge my daughter who would no doubt follow her soon after. A plague was the best way to achieve that purpose, especially when doctors were needed to cure it.

Turning my daughter undead, I managed to keep her alive and restrain the malignant power eating at her chest.

I had managed to kill half of the island in less than a decade, all the while trying to cure my daughter myself, only to be halted when her undead body resisted. I have never hated my own powers as much as I did then. It kept her alive, while also stalling my attempts to save her.

A glimmer of hope finally appeared when a fox-eared girl entered my hideout, her fire burning my undead but also seemed to cure them from all afflictions they suffered during that time and before that. As if my daughter had decided to grant me a miracle with her powers.

Sadly reality was different as I was beaten to the ground and my daughter held captive.

Now I was sitting in front of her companions, who had placed me face to face with the most hateful person in the whole world. The shaman.

I couldn't wait to tear her apart, but I couldn't.

My daughters life was at stake here and I couldn't risk it.

I needed to get her heart back, even if it cost me my life.

"What did you do with my daughters heart! Give it back."

Unable to contain my anger, I lashed out verbally, my fists slamming hard on the table as blood seeped from the sword wound on my shoulder. A minor problem if it could give me answers.

"I have no clue what you are speaking about."

The old hag replied, playing innocent, much to my chagrin.

"Don't lie you hag! You ripped it out of her chest, leaving her to die in my arms. Give it back! GIVE IT BACK!"

The old hag remained silent, yet the creepy smile spreading on her face sent painful shivers down my back. Her facade was cracking, even more so when she noticed Akane's crew members looking at her in suspicion.

"Haha...HAHAHAHHA!"

The hag burst out in laughter, buckling over as she clutched her stomach.

"You get nothing back. It isn't yours anymore. I cured your daughter. I only took what was to be mine as compensation. A life for a life."

She cackled, followed by a high pitched whistle escaping from her disarrayed teeth.

"If you want to get it back, you should claim it by your own hands, if you can. I can't wait to see your maimed bodies strewn about, ready to be collected by me to play around with all I want to."

The ship shook, rocking back and forth violently as multiple things had hit the side of the hull of the ship.

"ENEMY ATTACK!"

Ban's voice echoed through the ship, alerting everyone present.