II - The Truth Of The Sea Siren!

Back at Shakky's bar at GR 13, Luffy's crew was finally able to rest after their frantic escape. Hachi was quickly taken care of by Chopper so that he could be treated. Y/n also used her powers, as the pirates looked on in amazement, to help the fish-man regenerate. She managed to keep the blood flowing through his veins, while the reindeer did the surgery, continuing to transmit energy to the wounded man so that he could resist. Then Rayleigh took his place at the bar and began to tell his story. A story that Y/n knew by heart but still loved to listen to. He put so much warmth and life into it.

"I was the second captain of the Pirate King's crew", he announced to everyone's surprise.

Faced with the collective astonishment, sitting on the bar, Y/n could not suppress an amused smile. In the same way, this announcement always had the same effect on those who did not immediately recognize the pirate who was hiding behind the craftsman. But the tension rose again when Sanji asked why Rayleigh was then not dead, executed, like his late captain and the rest of the crew who had been captured. Her eyes darkened and Y/n lowered her head, drawing her knees to her chest. Rayleigh finally told the newcomers all about Roger's illness and his decision to end their journey by surrendering to justice. A pall of nostalgia passed over his eyes as he told them all this. Images of his friend's execution were playing over and over in his mind as a smile constantly stretched his face, remembering the 'panache' Roger had shown until the end of his life. Even as he described the execution of the former King of the Pirates, he remained confident and happy, delighted to recall those memories so dear to his heart. His voice had invigorating and soothing energy that conveyed all the esteem and friendship he had had for his captain.

Silence fell and Nami spoke again:

"On the other hand... I am surprised, I had never heard that Silvers Rayleigh had a child..."

At these words, she pointed to Y/n with a nod. Slowly, Rayleigh put her glass down and glanced at her. She leaned against the wall of the bar and leaned her head back, her eyes half-closed. For the pirates, this was an opportunity to look at her a little more closely. Behind her long eyelashes were eyes of a strange blue, in which the sky and the sea seemed to be united on a stormy day. Her pale face was framed by four strands of hair, also azure blue, two of which started from the base of her forehead and stopped at her chin, and two others, whose base was hidden behind them, fell on her chest, a pearl at the end of each. The rest of her hair fell nonchalantly over her shoulders and down her back. She was dressed simply, with a black bustier, soft trousers of the same color, and a sort of white tunic tied at the waist. No great ornaments, only two bracelets jingling from time to time around her wrists. There was no denying that she was a beautiful woman. She looked at Luffy, who was still stuffing his face and who swallowed sharply before staring at her, looking serious.

"You trust them more than anyone else, right?"

"Yes," he nodded, "they're my crew."

It was a token of trust. She straightened up and looked at them, one by one, ending up with Nami.

"I'm not Rayleigh's biological daughter, sure he raised me and taught me everything, but he's not my father."

She paused for a moment before continuing, the same smile stretching her lips and squinting her eyes with amusement.

"My father was the Pirate King, I am the daughter of Gol D Roger."

The silence that greeted this revelation fell on the room, as heavy as lead, then shattered:

"Wh- WHAT????!!" cried all the pirates, stunned.

"Wait, wait, that's not possible," Usopp stammered. "Roger died 22 years ago and then, it would be known if he had had a child, right?"

She laughed:

"Who says I'm less than 22 years old?"

Usopp opened his mouth before closing it again, confused.

"Don't panic," she reassured him. "If I can give a relatively quick explanation, my body is 20, but my mind is 24. I was born years before my father died, but my mother took care to stunt my growth and hide me from the world so I wouldn't get executed, and her too, in case it got out."

"A wise woman," Rayleigh commented.

"Mmmh," muttered Y/n.

"Wait, so you're the daughter of the Pirate King?!" repeated Chopper, who still couldn't believe it.

"Yes," she confirmed simply.

"That was the last request Roger made to me," Rayleigh admitted. "He wasn't sure if he was a father, but when he doubt, he asked me to go and check and take care of the child if there was one. It took me a long time to find her, but I finally kept that promise and raised Y/n here in the greatest of secrecy."

Robin reached into her bag and pulled out Lucia's wanted poster, which she smoothed with her palm before showing him:

"So your bounty has something to do with your father? 500 million for someone who's always lived in complete anonymity and isn't even a pirate, or a bounty hunter, or even a criminal, that's amazing."

"You don't have to tell me that," confirmed Y/n. "I honestly have no idea, I never had the urge to go and ask them if that was the reason. Maybe the Navy knows who I am, maybe not... Or maybe the bounty is only due to my powers..."

"Yes, your nickname is "The Ses Siren" right? What does that mean?" asked Sanji.

"There's a rumor that you can manipulate the sea, talk to Sea Kings, and Siren like a voice from the legends" Robin gasped. "Is that true?"

Y/n giggled before holding her hands out in front of her and in the palm of her hands, a small sphere of water was created, which she then twirled between her fingers.

"No, not at all, I ate the Mizu Mizu no Mi when I was little, so technically I have the power to manipulate water. I do have a good singing voice but I can only manipulate water."

"Such a fruit does exist in this world?" asked Franky with some doubt

"I don't know much about this fruit, I ingested it at a very young age, so much so that I can't remember if I swallowed it voluntarily or if I was forced to. In any case, I always grew up with these skills. My nickname of 'The Se Siren' comes from oversight by the world government. Since I can manipulate water, it is also possible for me to influence air or vegetation. If there is water, I can manipulate everything. I know that some of the higher-ups have seen me do some not-so-pretty things in my younger days and have embellished the reality. To them, I am an all-powerful monster, able to shape the world to my liking. So I just need to drink a lot every day."

She let a little time pass before continuing:

"But I admit that this power is insane... and I am unable to grasp its full extent. I think the Navy does too, my bounty is certainly due to the fear I inspire in them."

"Wait, there's a devil fruit that can manipulate water..." Franky pointed out, "but then you can't drown like the others, can you?"

Y/n chuckled and threw the water in Usopp's face and he was startled.

"HE!" he protested before running his hand over his face. A drop of water fell on his lips, which he moistened reflexively before opening his eyes wide. "It's freshwater," he said.

Y/n nodded and continued:

"It's more complicated than that, I can't drown in freshwater. On the other hand, I can't generate saltwater, and controlling it is impossible for me. If I fall into the sea, I won't drown instantly, I'll certainly have a delay of a few seconds, no more, but the outcome will be the same in the end. And the sea-stone is a pain in the ass for me. But then, I didn't have much to worry about, I'm not a pirate and I was living a peaceful life isolated from everything in this archipelago... until today."

The whole crew was silent, both fascinated and terrified by what she was revealing to them, by the person they were discovering. Only Luffy did not seem to be surprised, continuing to eat greedily. As he listened, Chopper thought to himself that for the first time Sanji was able to talk to a woman without losing his temper or giving her an affectionate nickname. The same was true of Brook, who had not made any of his perverse remarks to the young woman. The aura that emanated from her had even managed to annihilate their primary instincts, which were so tenacious.

"Y/n could be a real weapon of war for the Navy, but since they couldn't get their hands on her, they preferred to consider her as one of the main public enemies. Hence her bounty. And if it turns out they know about her father, that would only inflate the number." Explained Rayleigh softly

"A weapon of war? What do you mean by that, old man?" asked Zoro with a both sleepy and annoyed face.

Y/N turned her forearm into water:

"Luffy, do you trust me?"

"Of course I do!"

"I promise, you won't die", she declared with a strange smile on her face.

"Huh?!"

With a quick movement, Y/n shaped the water coming from her body to create a sphere that surrounded Luffy's body. In barely a second, the pirate captain waved in all directions, trying to get rid of this prison that was slowly drowning him. Without waiting, Y/n deconstructed the sphere, which fell back into a large puddle on the bar floor. Luffy gasped for air and swallowed hard, his wet hair falling over his face.

"To the world government," she explained, "I am dangerous in that I can annihilate the power of the devil fruit eaters. "

"Today, the whole world is ruled by men and women whose power is often derived from a fruit," Rayleigh continued. "Y/n could upset the established order by putting to death all those who until now have taken advantage of their power to extend their domination. And since she has never been willing to stand up for the Navy, she has become public enemy number one. She is a danger to both the piracy world and the world government."

The main interested party punctuated her statement with a small frank laugh before shaking her head:

"Of course, I will ask you to keep everything about my father and me to yourself, if we have done everything to hide it, it is not for nothing. I trust you completely, as Luffy's friends, there is no reason for you to be bad people. And I must admit that I'm quite admiring of your exploits, the Enies Lobby incident was very impressive, congrats!"

They all nodded, there was no question of even revealing this information to anyone they knew.

"Y/n works with me here," Rayleigh continued. "Her power is very useful for coating ships so she is my partner. Here we are neither the Dark Lord nor The Sea Siren, but simply two coater craftsmen. I am the public face of our little business and Y/n works in a closed workshop that no one can enter without my permission. The rest of my time is spent training her to master her power in the best possible way so that the day will come when she can live for herself"

He has a tender look for the young woman who has repositioned herself in a suit facing them. Weary of this emotional overflow, she swept these good feelings away with her hand.

"Okay now, that's not all, but what about their boat? I can't show my face outside now, and we've got an admiral who'll be here any moment."

"I'll take care of it, don't worry, I wasn't going to make your work anyway. You have the right to enjoy your reunion with the Straw Hat, aren't you? How long has it been since you've seen each other? I bet you got plenty of things to tell each other."

"About eight years, if I'm not mistaken," Y/n answered thoughtfully. "But I'm not sure that staying together is the best idea of the century either... argh I don't know what to do, the hell of the Navy!"

"Anyway, you've been gone a long time", concluded Luffy. "You've become pretty strong since then but you know, so have I. Besides, I want to fight you hehe."

Y/n couldn't help but laugh.

"You've made progress too from what I've seen, you've mastered your power now. I'll gladly face you if the opportunity arises when the situation is a bit calmer. In the meantime, I'm thinking of going away, until the 'admiral' hurricane passes and everything return to normal, I'll come and say goodbye to you when you leave."

"Really?" Luffy said with a disappointed pout. "Are you sure? I would have liked us to stay together for a while anyway..."

Y/n pushed her hat on her head with an affectionate gesture:

"Don't worry, with a bit of luck the situation will calm down and we can spend a day or two together. Try not to die in the meantime. I don't need to tell you not to look for trouble though, that's too late."

"We'll do our best, I promise," said Chopper.

Rayleigh proceeded to hand out a piece of her life card to each member of the crew. Y/n, for her part, addressed Luffy:

"Do you mind if I do something?"

"Erm... yes, go ahead," he replied, confused but confident.

Y/n then put her hand on Luffy's forearm and whispered:

"Pyxis' bound."

Immediately Luffy was amazed to see blue threads running down his arm to Y/n's arm, joining together in a symbol etched into her flesh. When she let go, the symbol began to glow steadily in a deep blue.

"This," she explained, "is a lifeline. It allows me to keep an eye on your health, and if your life is in danger I will know immediately. It's like a Vivre Card but engraved in my skin."

"So cool!" the captain exclaimed.

"Now that's convenient," Sanji remarked.

On the doorstep of the bar, they all said their goodbyes, with the promise to meet again in three days, when the Sunny would be ready to leave for the New World.