gaga

Lin Yuan spoke up directly, without beating around the bush. "Guildmaster, you want me to refine a batch of Nine-Turn Golden Pills. What payment are you planning to offer?"

"Aren't you curious first about how many Nine-Turn Golden Pills we want refined?" The Azure Dragon Guildmaster was a bit taken aback.

"I prefer to know the payment first. That's what motivates me to refine pills," Lin Yuan replied with a smile.

In truth, as long as the Azure Dragon Guildmaster could gather all the materials for the Nine-Turn Golden Pills, Lin Yuan could refine as many as they wanted.

"Here's our proposal: Our Chamber of Commerce would like you, Master Yun Zhenzi, to refine twenty Nine-Turn Golden Pills. As for your payment, would one million top-grade Immortal Crystals suffice?"

The Azure Dragon Guildmaster pondered for a moment before speaking. One million top-grade Immortal Crystals was a colossal sum, equivalent to ten times the net worth of an ordinary Jade Immortal.

Five hundred years earlier, the many resources Yun Zhenzi had prepared for his own 'resurrection'—which Lin Yuan ultimately appropriated—would have amounted to at most one hundred thousand top-grade Immortal Crystals in total.

"One million top-grade Immortal Crystals?" Lin Yuan gave the Azure Dragon Guildmaster a second look.

"It seems you're not very sincere."

If it had been tens of thousands or hundreds of thousands of years ago, refining twenty Nine-Turn Golden Pills for one million top-grade Immortal Crystals might have been a fair offer. But now, with the Immortal-Demon War on the horizon, the value of various pills and resources is skyrocketing, and Nine-Turn Golden Pills are strategic-level elixirs.

"How much do you have in mind?" the Azure Dragon Guildmaster asked.

"One hundred million top-grade Immortal Crystals," Lin Yuan replied without hesitation.

"One hundred million?" The Azure Dragon Guildmaster's face darkened. Although the Nine Dragons Chamber of Commerce was large and wealthy enough to come up with that sum, he felt it was too high a price for refining just a batch of Nine-Turn Golden Pills.

"Or your Nine Dragons Chamber of Commerce can provide me with a piece of 'Immortal Source.' That would cover the cost of refining the Nine-Turn Golden Pills," Lin Yuan suddenly added.

Immortal Source comes from the Immortal Realm's origin and is said to be immensely beneficial for comprehending the rules. Only the Dao Ancestor of the Immortal Way and their disciples can enter the origin of the Immortal Realm, so very little Immortal Source ever flows out.

Lin Yuan, whether openly or secretly, had been unable to acquire even a single piece in the last five hundred years, so he was hoping to capitalize on refining Nine-Turn Golden Pills for the Nine Dragons Chamber of Commerce to get one.

The Nine Dragons Chamber of Commerce, with its significant influence across the Thirty-Three Immortal Domains, might have the means to obtain it.

"A piece of Immortal Source? Surely you realize its worth," the Azure Dragon Guildmaster said.

"It should be worth my refining of these Nine-Turn Golden Pills," Lin Yuan replied.

"I can't provide Immortal Source," the Azure Dragon Guildmaster declared, rising to his feet.

"It looks like we won't be doing business with you after all."

The Nine Dragons Chamber of Commerce might indeed possess Immortal Source, but from his perspective, Yun Zhenzi's services weren't valuable enough to justify parting with it.

"No problem. We can always work together some other time," Lin Yuan said calmly, watching as the Azure Dragon Guildmaster left.

Elsewhere in Cangwu Immortal City, another cave dwelling—

The Azure Dragon Guildmaster reappeared, greeted by a white-haired elder, also a Jade Immortal, who had been the one to recommend Yun Zhenzi to him in the first place.

"How did it go? Did you strike a deal with Master Yun Zhenzi?"

"No," the Azure Dragon Guildmaster answered with a frown.

"That Yun Zhenzi is shamelessly greedy! He asked for a hundred million Immortal Crystals or a piece of Immortal Source."

"A hundred million Immortal Crystals?" The white-haired elder pondered aloud.

"That is pretty steep. Still, given the current situation, you know how it is. With the Immortal-Demon War looming, the cost for refining something like Nine-Turn Golden Pills is bound to rise."

"But a hundred million is too high," the Azure Dragon Guildmaster insisted.

"With that kind of money, I could easily hire the top-tier master alchemists. Before the last Immortal-Demon War, Yun Zhenzi's pill-refining ability was only so-so. In the past few centuries, he has indeed produced some impressive elixirs, but that's a recent development. He's nowhere near those elite alchemists."

After all, the success of a pill-refining master can be subject to luck or "form." Perhaps at the moment Yun Zhenzi's state is good enough to produce a few pills of decent quality.

But what if, in refining the Nine-Turn Golden Pills, he falters? He might end up failing to produce even a single finished pill—and the Nine Dragons Chamber of Commerce would have to swallow the loss of those materials. Master alchemists are generally not liable for ingredient losses if they fail; that cost falls on the client. From the Azure Dragon Guildmaster's perspective, Yun Zhenzi simply wasn't worth paying that price.

"I thought he'd be more humble, being a newly minted 'master alchemist,' but he's just as greedy as the rest. All these alchemists, relying on the upcoming Immortal-Demon War, jacking up their prices—they all deserve to die," the Azure Dragon Guildmaster grumbled coldly.

A strange look passed over the white-haired elder's face. Exploiting the war to make huge profits—that was exactly what the Nine Dragons Chamber of Commerce itself was doing.

Lin Yuan, however, wasn't bothered that the Azure Dragon Guildmaster had declined his offer. His reputation as an alchemist had spread widely enough that strong individuals and various factions would regularly seek out his services, and he had little need for the Nine Dragons Chamber of Commerce.

"Seems it's really tough to get my hands on Immortal Source," Lin Yuan muttered with a sigh.

Based on the Azure Dragon Guildmaster's demeanor, Lin Yuan could see that even a hundred million top-grade Immortal Crystals was within the realm of discussion, but the notion of acquiring Immortal Source was never on the table.

"Must I really resort to seizing it by force?" Lin Yuan mused. He preferred not to create such a disturbance unless absolutely necessary. His strength still wasn't sufficient to run amok in the Immortal Realm; he mainly needed to remain under the radar for now.

"Huh?"

While mulling this over, he suddenly picked up on something.

"Master," Yun Zhenzi said, appearing at Lin Yuan's side, "the Palace Master of Feixian Palace requests your presence."

Feixian Palace is a key institution of Cangwu Immortal City, controlling the cave dwelling area. Its Palace Master is one of the city's major powers, second only to the Lord of the City.

More importantly, while the Nine Dragons Chamber of Commerce is a Jade Immortal-level faction relying on nine dragon Jade Immortals, Feixian Palace belongs to Cangwu Immortal City, which was personally founded by the Dao Ancestor of the Immortal Way. The Chamber's backers are Jade Immortals; Cangwu Immortal City's backer is the Dao Ancestor.

Swoosh.

Soon, the Palace Master of Feixian Palace stood before Lin Yuan.

"Master Yun Zhenzi," he said with a friendly smile.

"Palace Master," Lin Yuan replied with a slight nod, more courteous than he'd been with the Azure Dragon Guildmaster. The Palace Master was a giant of Cangwu Immortal City, and Lin Yuan was living under this city's jurisdiction. He had to show at least a little respect.

"I heard the Azure Dragon Guildmaster was here asking for a deal, Master Yun Zhenzi. Did you reach an agreement?" the Palace Master asked.

The Palace Master had caught wind that the Azure Dragon Guildmaster had inquired extensively about Yun Zhenzi before visiting him.

"No, we did not," Lin Yuan said with a shake of his head.

"Hahaha, the Azure Dragon Guildmaster is known for his domineering ways—he's never keen on compromising." The Palace Master chuckled.

"Maybe he just wasn't impressed by me," Lin Yuan remarked blandly.

"Master Yun Zhenzi's skill in refining pills is clearly not a matter of the Azure Dragon Guildmaster's judgment," the Palace Master said, smiling. He paused for a moment before continuing,

"Since things didn't work out with the Azure Dragon Guildmaster, how about working with our Cangwu Immortal City?"

"You wish to collaborate with me?" Lin Yuan looked at him, not at all surprised. Such a high-ranking figure coming in person definitely had something to request.

"What do you want me to refine?" Lin Yuan asked.

"It's the same request as the Azure Dragon Guildmaster's, actually—a batch of Nine-Turn Golden Pills," the Palace Master replied.

Nine-Turn Golden Pills are a strategic elixir. Not only does the Nine Dragons Chamber of Commerce regard them highly, but Cangwu Immortal City itself also has a massive demand. With the Immortal-Demon War on the horizon, the burden on the city will be enormous. Even one more Nine-Turn Golden Pill might save a Jade Immortal by instantly restoring them to fighting form.

"How many Nine-Turn Golden Pills?" Lin Yuan asked.

"For now, we require fifty," the Palace Master answered.

"Fifty…" Lin Yuan considered this.

"What payment are you offering, Palace Master?"

"I heard from the Azure Dragon Guildmaster that you wanted Immortal Source. All right, for these fifty Nine-Turn Golden Pills, I will pay three pieces of Immortal Source."

"Three pieces of Immortal Source?" Lin Yuan was genuinely surprised.

From the Azure Dragon Guildmaster's attitude, Lin Yuan had already gleaned how valuable Immortal Source was. He wouldn't even discuss it. Clearly, a sum like a hundred million top-grade Immortal Crystals was in play, but Immortal Source was not. So for the Palace Master to proactively offer Immortal Source as payment?

Lin Yuan did not doubt the Palace Master could easily afford a few hundred million top-grade Immortal Crystals if he wanted to, but he was instead voluntarily offering Immortal Source.

"I have a great deal of faith in Master Yun Zhenzi's alchemical expertise. Besides, there will be plenty of chances for future collaboration between you and our city. I just hope that when the time comes, Master Yun Zhenzi won't turn us down," the Palace Master explained.

Lin Yuan immediately caught his meaning. By offering three pieces of Immortal Source, the Palace Master wasn't just paying for this single transaction. He was securing a future relationship.

"You're that optimistic about me?" Lin Yuan asked with a smile.

"I simply trust in Master Yun Zhenzi," the Palace Master said.

"If you agree, I'll apply for the Immortal Source right now. I can have it delivered within half a month."

"Sure thing," Lin Yuan agreed. There was no way he'd refuse Immortal Source delivered straight to his door.

Within a certain mysterious space in Feixian Palace—

The Palace Master arrived and got to work on transferring the Immortal Source.

"Palace Master," spoke a shadowy figure who appeared beside him, disbelief filling their tone, "are we really giving three pieces of Immortal Source just for Yun Zhenzi to refine fifty Nine-Turn Golden Pills?"

Immortal Source is unimaginably precious, and three whole portions would be worth more than a hundred million top-grade Immortal Crystals on the open market, if such a market even existed.

There simply isn't a channel where Immortal Source is openly sold. Even now, right before the Immortal-Demon War, it'd be incredible to pay that price for a mere fifty Nine-Turn Golden Pills. Even the most elite alchemists typically would never quote such a figure.

"Do you truly believe Yun Zhenzi is just any ordinary alchemist?" the Palace Master said, casting the figure a glance.

"Huh?" The figure seemed puzzled.

"If he's not an ordinary master alchemist, then what is he?"

"You don't understand," the Palace Master replied with a shake of his head.

"Exchanging three pieces of Immortal Source to secure Master Yun Zhenzi's favor for future cooperation with Cangwu Immortal City is a worthwhile deal."

"Very well, I shall take my leave, then." Seeing that the Palace Master had no further explanation, the shadowy figure, weighed down by curiosity, departed.

Alone, the Palace Master sat quietly, lost in his own thoughts.

"In the last four or five centuries, the number of high-grade elixirs in Cangwu Immortal City has shot up drastically. Even a top-tier alchemy master couldn't sustainably produce so many high-quality elixirs without rest.

"And Master Yun Zhenzi… he was the one who moved into the city's cave dwelling five hundred years ago."

The Palace Master gazed into the distance, his eyes reflecting deep contemplation.

...

20 chapters ah

Worm nexus

The Doru Doru no Mi. Wax-Wax Fruit. Sanji recognizes that one. A warlord in the North Blue once owned it, centuries in the past. It's an interesting distinction between Bet and Mayim. On Mayim, powers repeat. Even if you get an excellent power, so long as one of its hosts before you was unsubtle, people will still know your strengths and weaknesses.

Mr. 3 is a wax-man, a Paramecia host who can generate massive torrents of wax from his body, starting out as a viscous slurry, before hardening into a substance harder than steel. Vivi doesn't know if he can keep it in the semiliquid state voluntarily, or if it has to harden. His power reminds you of Marquis, oddly enough, with the sheer variety of ways in which he can shape his cerakinesis.

"Never worked with the guy, but he's a monster. Sadistic, evil. I ain't a saint, but the stories I've heard about Mr. 3 freak me the hell out," Horlio adds.

Vivi narrows her eyes, concentrating. "He's a planner. He sits in the background, strategizing, coming up with ways to hobble the enemy without their even knowing of his existence."

"He likes to brag, I know that much. The Billions talk about him, he's an insufferable jackass who talks up a philosophy of evil. Motivates everything he does."

"Evil?" you ask, disbelievingly. "What do you mean by that?"

Horlio frowns. "You know. Evil. He's evil, and happy about it."

You stare at him. "Like… he's proud to be evil? Doesn't think he's actually good and it's actually everyone else that's bad or something, he just… thinks he's evil."

"That's what I said, isn't it?"

Christ.

Mr. 3's a complicating factor here. A wide-scale shaker with a good degree of ruthlessness, who could easily catch the Straw Hats off guard and disable most of them with the right kind of ambush attack. You're more and more thankful that Mr. 5 inadvertently gave you advance warning of the ambush on Foolshout Island.

"They have woman partners too, right? Who's his?" Nami asks.

"Miss Goldenweek," Vivi says. "She's… a bit weird, but not that bad, on a person level."

You aren't the only one to give her an incredulous look. Come on, Vivi. This is a woman who works alongside the 'proud to be evil' guy. "No, really!" she continues. "Out of all the officer agents I met, she's the closest to normal. Just this quiet girl, about my age. It's her power that's the real scary thing."

Vivi looks down at her outfit, one of the seaman outfits in Nami's size. "You guys haven't seen me use it, but she's the one who taught me a hypnosis technique."

You remember that from the manga. It was so ridiculous and stupid, you almost didn't want it to be real. "Can you teach me that? Hypnosis, I mean," you ask, almost without thinking. You feel a bit self-conscious for interrupting, but you didn't want to risk forgetting it in the midst of the glut of information.

The princess blinks. "Possibly? It took Miss Goldenweek a few days to teach it to me, and she only taught me a basic aspect of her Colors Trap, the Circles of Vertigo. And she had to prepare an outfit custom-made for me for it to work in the first place. I doubt I'll be good enough to show you by the time we get to Foolshout."

"We'll have to try sometime," you say.

She nods, before getting back on subject. "Miss Goldenweek is an artist who can accurately recreate the colors of emotions. She uses paint to make refined color images that hypnotize people. If you step on one of her symbols, if she gets one of her symbols on to you, you'll be caught in her trap, turned against your allies, unable to fight at all, dizzied to usefulness. Any number of effects, combinations."

"Hypnosis, huh? Someone oughta warn Luffy. He's simple-minded enough to fall for that stuff," Zoro remarks boredly. There are murmurs of agreement around the table.

Fuck. You think you might add Miss Goldenweek to the top of your to-do list. Either her or Mr. 3. If these two aren't even at the top of Baroque Works' rankings, just how powerful is Crocodile?

Vivi gives a list of the officer agents' descriptions, and those of you who are paying attention memorize them.

Other names are thrown around of potential, if lesser, threats. Messrs. 10, 11. Miss Monday, Tuesday, Thursday. People you could have beaten before you even joined the Straw Hats, from the sound of it. Gimmick fighters, the sorts of people on the very edge of uselessness.

You'd feel a bit mean pointing a finger at Vivi and her yo-yos, but… You almost suspect that the agents at the low-end of the scale serve more as motivation for lesser-ranked members to strive for greatness. 'If you do good work, maybe you'll wind up a frontier agent'.

You're about to suggest that the crew start forming plans of attack, going over what's known about Foolshout Island itself - what terrain will Baroque Works and Mr. 3 have to take advantage of, do they have any local allies they might call in, but then the ship rumbles. Right. You're still on the First Stretch, one of the more dangerous bits of Paradise.

The crew follows you when you instinctively rush to deck, and… waterspouts this time. Not far enough from the ship to destroy it, but enough to be concerning. Really now. You were almost worried it'd be something dangerous. "Zoro, mizzen! Sanji, Horlio, Vivi, main sa-"

Luffy's already in action. "Gomu Gomu no… Stamp!"

His foot launches out, sandal ramming out towards one of the smaller, less stable waterspouts, kicking through it and destabilizing it, making it sputter out and stumble.

If you had a week, you couldn't list all the reasons that shouldn't have worked. Doesn't matter. He's buying you all precious time. "-il. Usopp-"

You've gotten the hang of this. Every day, you make steady progress towards being better and better at being the Straw Hats' bosun, and Headway rewards you with the penultimate stage of perfection. You also become an even more superior pre-modern sailor in the process of guiding the crew out of the swarm of waterspouts.

On that note… "Gomu Gomu no… Gatling!" Luffy shouts, a look of undisguised rage on his face. Ah. That… yeah. He's taking his anger out on the waterspouts. His fists spring back and forth repeatedly, presenting the illusion of tens of punches flinging out at once for hundreds of feet of distance, pounding holes in the nearest spouts, that fill up again in mere seconds at most.

You doubt it's accomplishing anything in the long run, the ones he's hitting often aren't dispersing to that great an extent, but you think he might just need something to hit right about now. Just a shame it's something so diffuse, harder to really lash out against in the way he's used to. "You bastards aren't getting my crew!" Luffy roars, giving the nearest tornado a hateful glare. "Gomu Gomu no… Whip!"

His foot launches out again, and splits a mid-sized waterspout in twain with a sideways kick. The Merry's making good distance from the threat, and you don't have the heart to tell Luffy that it's almost pointless to keep fighting them. "Gomu Gomu no… Baaaaazoooookaaaa!" Another waterspout disappears.

The sheer pressure of the waterspouts, the wind force making them up, it diminishes the impact of Luffy's attacks, but he's making decent progress on his own. It's just that he probably won't be able to get them all.

You feel sort of bad that you enjoyed a moment of triumph from Headway just a few moments ago, and now Luffy is obviously… not in a good state. You give the crew the single to abandon emergency positions, and… you take giant albatross form. At this distance from the waterspouts, he's having trouble launching attacks with both the range and the power to impact them, and you suspect you know what his next move is.

Luffy grinds his teeth, and suddenly, he squats down against the deck, smashing into the fucking wood despite knowing that you'll have to fucking fix that, his legs closing down until they're only half the normal height, coiling together like a - "Gomu Gomu no Spring!" - yeah, like a spring- Oh. Oh no. He calls out the technique, before jumping, the force of his legs pressing against the wood - breaking it entirely and cutting a hole through to the storeroom!

But not only that, he's jumping towards the fucking waterspout! You barely even think before swooping towards him, talons changing from their gruesomely sharp state to something a bit more gentle, and you grab a hold of him, the two of you crashing together as you try to gently slam into the railing near the figurehead, but failing, bending the wood despite your best efforts.

"What the hell are you doing?" he snaps, glaring at you, furious, struggling clumsily in your grasp. "I had it! I could have beaten it!"

"It's a fucking waterspout, Luffy! We made it away! We're safe! It's not coming after us!" you yell in his face, still in bird form with a human voice.

"It tried to kill my crew!" he protests.

"It's gone now! You beat up loads of them, they aren't gonna come back after us. They aren't even alive!"

He seethes, not even responding, before growling incomprehensibly and slamming his head into the railing. "I hate this!" he shouts, clawing at his face. "That stupid Baroque Works guy and his stupid recording! I want to punch him in his stupid face and kick the crap out of him and all of his jerk friends! Everyone who wants to take you guys away, I want to blow them all away, right out of the sea!"

It's not Baroque Works, you realize. It's just the idea of that nebulous threat lurking in the background, that he's having trouble coming to terms with. Heretofore, anyone who threatened the Straw Hats had put themselves in convenient punching distance. But what about the threat that's over a week away, that's spread over all the sea, that sneaks into the shadows and hides? How does a straightforward kid like Luffy handle that?

Like this, apparently.

You abandon your giant albatross form and release Luffy. He gives you a suspicious look, lips curled into an angry pout. You return the glance, and try to give him an expression that's closer to sympathy than pity. You tentatively reach an arm out, and place it on his shoulder as he sits up. When he doesn't push you away, you lean in for a hug. It feels awkward at first, but he returns it.

"You gave me friends, real friends, for the first time in my life," you say softly, into his ear. "I'm with you. They're with you. We're all in this together. It's not just on your shoulders."

"I'm the Captain," he sulks, hands balled into trembling fists. Not just from the rain, you're guessing.

"And we're your crew," you retort quietly. He doesn't respond. For a moment, the two of you just sit there in silence.

"Yeah. You are. Sorry. I… got carried away," he says. He looks at you, seriously for a moment, before he starts laughing. "Aw, man. You're supposed to be the pointlessly unconfident one, not me, Taylor!"

You feel your face starting to burn. "Asshole." That just makes him laugh harder. You narrow your eyes at him. "Well, since you're feeling better-" you yank on his ear, pulling it to the side at an odd angle only possible because of his unique physiology, "-we can talk about how you just gave me and Usopp hours of work, you big rubbery-"

–

Vivi approaches you as you're finishing work on the hole in the storeroom roof, the water from the rainstorm luckily having been drained out without any damage worth considering to the stored contents, although you did burn through a bit more wood stock. "Impressive work," she remarks. "I've seen professional carpenters at work. I didn't expect to find one on a pirate ship."

"You think it's good now, see me in a few weeks," you say, grunting a bit as you finish shaving down a piece of wood for one of the holes in the deck railing. With the storm passed, you can finally start substantial work on repairing the damage from Luffy's impromptu therapy session. Usopp's helping, too, on the other side of the deck, after a few pointers.

"The crew has mentioned that you like to learn skills, and you do so well," Vivi remarks, giving you an affected friendly smile.

You aren't trying to be rude here, but you want to get this carpentry work done so you can move on to other things. "Vivi… I don't want to be mean here-"

"Sorry," she says, immediately, and to her credit, she does look regretful. "I'll get to the point. Your captain. He… seemed like he was in an emotional state there. Is he…"

"He'll be ready," you say, without a fraction of a doubt. "Luffy doesn't deal well with abstracts. That doesn't mean he's going to fall apart when we fight Baroque Works. Mr. 5 just rattled him a bit with that phone call, and we had to get him back down to Earth."

"'Fone'?" Vivi frowns.

Oops. You shake your head. "Don't worry about it."

"Alright," Vivi replies, not looking entirely convinced. "I suppose I'll have to see him in action."

You let out a little laugh. "Don't let a little moment of doubt put you off. You saw him punching those big holes in the waterspouts, right? Imagine those being Mr. 5's face. It might make you feel a bit better."

You begin repairs on the railing, Vivi still lingering by you, looking like she has something to say but isn't sure how to say it. You don't press her, but you don't push her away, either. "I need to save Igaram and Karoo. I need to save my kingdom. I don't… I don't know what I'd do if I lost… if I lost." She trails off.

Time to present confidence you aren't sure you have. "We won't lose," you tell her. "Words are words, and I'm not really great with talking, but… I told you the Straw Hats single-handedly saved the East Blue, evaded Smoker. Baroque Works will just be another notch on our belt."

You won't tell Vivi this, it would be counterintuitive to reassuring her, but you were considering shifting your focus entirely, to centering combat or combat-adjacent skills and powers only, but… you aren't a one-woman act. You have a crew backing you, you have a good idea of what's ahead of you, and you already have pre-established plans and projects. It's a close-call in your mind, but you don't think now is the time to be single-minded.

Finishing with the portside railing, you stand, placing your hand on her shoulder. "We'll save your country and the people you love, and we'll get stronger in the process. Together."

Vivi's taken aback a bit, but after a moment or two, she smiles bitterly. "Yeah. Sorry again. It's… it's been… I've been trying to keep it together, not knowing what Baroque Works has been doing to Igaram and Karoo, not even knowing if they're still… alive."

You don't know what to say. "I'm sorry," you settle for that.

She gently raps against the newly repaired railing, testing its strength, before resting against it. "Don't be. If they survive, it'll only be because of you."

"And my crew."

Vivi chuckles, brushing aside hair from her face as a gust of wind blows over the top deck. "Yes. And your crew. Thank you, Taylor. For… listening."

Location: Brooklyn, New York City, New York, United States of America, Earth, Milky Way Galaxy, Earth-Mahon, X-Men: Evolution Multiverse, X-Men: Evolution-jcw3

Date: Sunday, November 12, 2000

Vulcan Scrap & Recycling's entrance is an unremarkable one-story office building attached to an enormous warehouse, and an even bigger junkyard lot behind it, filled to the brim with recycled, cheap metal being dismantled and resold at a profit.

With the damage done to the Merry today in a matter of minutes, you've decided to dedicate some time to a project you've had in the back of your mind for at least a few weeks now. Upgrading the more sensitive bits of the Going Merry with modern metal parts, supplementing the existing wood with something stronger, or replacing it entirely.

You're in the plaid-carpenter-woman disguise again, and after placing an order for a few hundred pounds of various types of scrap metal for modifying the Merry, you spend a while wandering around the attached store, which is where Vulcan really stood out to you in the course of your asking around at kiosks. It sells specialty gear for welders, both massive, industrial grade equipment presently beyond the scope of your operation, and more low-key stuff for hobbyists and do-it-yourself gurus, which is closer to what you need right about now.

You get odd looks as a woman trying to buy welding tools in bulk, even as you do your best to play the part well. Your Disguise really carries the performance, and the improvements you thought of two days ago work well, but even with some damn good Acting, you see the sales assistant frown a couple times when he thinks he's spotted a whole in your narrative. A woman by herself with interests like yours is apparently uncommon enough that he's inclined to be suspicious.

You think metal-in-gas welding will be sufficient for what you have planned. You manage to talk the clerk into giving you a better deal on an older model of portable, battery-powered MIG welding gun, which your Blacksmith skill let you know was grossly overvalued.

It was recalled for long-term errors that popped up in the welding process - even coming dangerously close to blowing up in the user's face - but you're confident those issues wouldn't show up until the gun had been in use for a few years, and that's something you'll be able to resolve with the Repair skill long before that becomes an issue.

That, plus two masks, some welding gloves, sleeves, boots and pliers (these will be useful add-ons for carpentry around the ship as well), heat-resistant welding magnets (Usopp might be able to find non-repair uses for those in his own projects), a metal brush for making the final product just a bit prettier, an angle grinder, a pack of soapstone for marking, a filer, and a decent supply of nozzle gel - all of fills out your purchase list.

The final cost, after some more haggling and what can almost be described as bickering, is $2,089.99 Mahon dollars. There's some more waiting around Vulcan as they eventually determine that your cash isn't counterfeit, and the suspicious looks increase even more as they realize you're really paying in bills and not card.

But at the end of the day, you're a paying customer, and they have other things to do. You slip them a couple more twenties for some scrap steel and other materials that could be handy for the upgrade project, and then you lug in on to a rented welding cart and take it away.

You're frankly a bit humiliated by the stares as you come to and from Vulcan to pick up supplies, take them to a distant alley, and drop them off, and after you take back your rental deposit for the cart, you resolve to not come here again if you need to find more supples in this vein. Finding some sort of means to more easily transport goods without being noticed would be amazing.

You make your way to a hardware store far away from Vulcan, on the other side of town, and spend some more money for more substantial carpentry supplies and tools for the Merry. A combo set of saws on a seasonal holiday discount sets you back the most, but you also pick up an electric sander, power drill, screw gun, and a laundry list of screws, drills, and bits.

The bulk of them are recharged with batteries, only a few with cord, so while you'll eventually need to pick up more batteries or come up with a more exotic means of recharging, these will do just fine for a caravel without electricity. The total order sets you back by $487.33 in Mahon bucks, but now you can hopefully save yourself a fair bit of time, and teach Usopp how to do elements of your job, simplifying both of your lives.

Location: First Stretch, Paradise, Grand Line, Earth, Milky Way Galaxy, Earth-Mayim, One Piece Multiverse, One Piece-jcw3

Date: Saturday, May 28, 1532

"This is amazing, Taylor!" Usopp gushes, holding the Hammer welding gun almost reverently. You frantically give a second glance to make sure he isn't about to accidentally activate it. You've done everything possible to 'childproof' it while you're not actively using it, but this crew is ingenious in its foolishness, and right now, the two of you are in the predominantly wooden lounge room. "This is way beyond anything I've ever seen before! How… how much stuff like this does your Earth have?"

"A lot," you reply, a smile on your face, "But that's from my third Earth, not my home Earth."

"Oh. Yeah. Right," he says, and you're one hundred percent certain he barely retained anything you just said. You shake your head, and give him a moment. "So I can use these?"

You shoot him a stern warning look. "Only once I've shown you how. I have some other stuff to do today, but tomorrow I'll want to do some work around the ship with them." His eyes almost literally gleam. "They're mine, but I'm letting them be used for the Merry while we figure out how to give her some more longevity. Please, don't use them without asking."

He looks just a little crestfallen, but nods. "Tomorrow?" he asks, hopefully.

"If you promise to only watch me do everything first, then I'll let you try once we're in a good spot. We've gotta do it while Sanji's not working, since we'll have to shape the metal in the kitchen to avoid fires," you gesture at the brick composing the kitchen as you say that.

Sanji gives you an appreciate 'thank you' from his position in the kitchen. "You had a list of things on the Merry that were worrying you, right?"

Usopp nods. "Yeah, I've got it somewhere, but… aw, maybe it's just best I take a look around again first. I misplaced it when I was working on some formulas for maybe modifying the Gunpowder Star. Not really based on Boo Jack's stuff, but I was going over some stuff of his we dismantled when I came up with some ideas."

Curiosity piqued. "Like what? Do you mind showing me?"

–

"You're a genius, Usopp, you know that?" you shake your head in disbelief. "This… I don't know how you're pulling stuff like this off with a makeshift workshop on a wooden ship."

He chuckles in an affected deep voice. "Why, it's nothing at all for the heroic and multitalented Captain Usopp!" You give him a friendly side eye, and he sags a bit. "Back in Syrup, I had a lot of talent for tinkering. Sometimes I'd get dinner by making a little explosive at just the right size, shot out at just the right angle. Traps, bombs, all sorts of fun stuff. Just never had the focus to do anything with it until I signed on with Luffy."

You glance at the pile of assembled Gunpowder Stars. Worrying implications there. "How have you been holding up? With all that's been going on?"

It's his turn to give you a look now. "How do you think?" he gripes, examining one of his Lead Stars as he talks. "Might be able to make these a bit more aerodynamic with that file you got," he mutters. "Um, right. You were saying. I dunno. We got ourselves into a fight with another bunch of evil, scary, insane people. I share a latrine with a princess now.

I guess I have to stock up on tools, make more weapons. You've helped a bunch with that now. Not just with the free time to do that in the first place, but with tools that… wow. Those things you bought are so cool. Even if you didn't let me use the noisy ones, they'd still be gamechangers."

You let him ramble like that for a while. You suspect he needs it. While you do, you ask questions, on the specifics on the composition and construction of the Gunpowder Stars, his primary focus for the day. Headway loves it. In an hour's conversation, you go from an amateur hobbyist to a military-grade professional in bombmaking.

Location: Brockton Bay, New Hampshire, United States of America, Earth, Milky Way Galaxy, Earth-Bet, Parahumans Multiverse, Parahumans-jcw3

Sunday, January 16, 2011

Dad gives you a relieved smile when he sees you walk up to his room. "Hey! How's it going! You didn't come back last night, I was worried!"

You give an embarrassed smile. "Sorry, some stuff came up."

"On the Merry?" he asks, concerned.

You… don't want to tell him the full extent of what Mr. 5 threatened, but… "Yeah. You remember Mr. 5 and Miss Valentine? From the manga?"

His face falls. "Oh no."

You shake your head. "No, no, they haven't attacked us yet. The princess, her secret was revealed, and she tried to reach out to Mr. 8, her… I don't know their exact relationship. But they care about each other. She tried to call and warn him once Nami and I convinced her Baroque Works was after her. Mr. 5 had beat us to it, and her pet, Mr. 8, they've both been captured. So now we're sailing off to save them."

"They told you where they were?" Dad asks. "Why? Is it an ambush?"

"We think so. They know we have Vivi, they know Luffy's worth thirty million beri." You know for a fact you haven't told him about your bounty yet. It might be better to wait on that front, to convince him you can handle yourself a bit better. He's worried enough now as it is, and secrets from other worlds are temptingly easy to keep.

He looks out of place, having a discussion like this in his pajamas. "Well… you know I love you, and you know you've gotta be careful."

That ship has sailed. "I'm not planning to rush into anything stupid," you say. "Luffy will be there, Sanji too, and Zoro's almost better. Vivi's told us what our enemies are capable of… we're in a good spot, and I'll be in an even better spot in eight, twelve days."

He seems to accept your reasoning, or at least doesn't protest it. "So what have you been up to these past few…"

The conversation continues from there, and you give him a brief catch-up, before heading back to your room to work on more of that bullshit driver's ed program. It's easy. It's frustrating. It's nonsense. It's a waste of time, and the fact that you're guilty over concealing the truth from your dad about your bounty, about the full extent of Baroque Works… you don't feel any increase in your Driving skill. There's some decent progress made with the course itself, you'll probably only need another hour or so on another day to finish it, but… not the greatest possible result.

A bit disappointed, you head to bed.

Location: First Stretch, Paradise, Grand Line, Earth, Milky Way Galaxy, Earth-Mayim, One Piece Multiverse, One Piece-jcw3

Date: Sunday, May 29, 1532

You take advantage of the clear skies and quiet seas to show Usopp some basic tricks on how to use the carpentry tools. It's not a full crash course - you'll want to spend another hour or so doing that on another day, but you're confident he won't accidentally maim himself… less confident he'd be able to use them effectively.

The last of the repairs from Luffy's waterspout war are finished, and you manage to plug a tiny potential leak in the men's room as well. They're simple jobs, maybe about twenty minutes of work in and of themselves, but you're held back a bit by having to show Usopp the basics of operating the crew's new toys.

Usopp's damn clever, but even one of the smartest premodern people will have trouble adjusting to unwritten rules of modern technology, getting their minds around new concepts and assumptions outside of their framework. With your teaching and Usopp's innate intuition, you don't think it would take much effort to train him fully in using the woodworker's tools to their full potential.

At the very least, explaining to Usopp how to use the saws or drills and so on for specific problems in the ship reinforces your Carpentry skills, and you realize that you're about as good as an ordinary human could possibly be at woodcraft.

To Usopp's great disappointment and happiness all at once, you have to move on from basic ship repairs to the overarching project of reinforcing the Merry with scrap metal. East Blue oak is apparently insufficient for the rigors of Paradise, and you start with the poor, hapless tiller.

Your crewmate watches in something approximating awe as you expertly weld together a replacement for the tiller from scrap and old car parts, as well as supplementary reinforcements for rest of the whipstaff. You have a plan in mind for installing this without significantly disturbing the Merry, connecting it without risking it all ripping it off when a significant shock hits the structure.

"Holy crap, Taylor. That… that looked like it should have taken you days."

"Superhuman Blacksmithing," you grin. "Now you know how I feel seeing you make the stuff you do with only primitive tools."

Huh. You sounded like the 'smug advanced alien visiting Earth' trope now. "Good creepy," he mutters sagely

After getting approval from Nami to drop anchor briefly - "Hurry, though! We've got a good wind coming in an hour or so!" - you coordinate the crew in putting the Merry on hold. Nothing they haven't done before, but you haven't walked them through the process yourself, and there are some idiosyncrasies here and there to correct.

Crew gawking as you do, you hurriedly dismantle the whipstaff as it is now, and begin welding together, flashes of sparks and metal following you as superhuman strength practically hurls components into place, one-handed at times. Sometimes you call on Usopp to drop a specific implement down.

From an outside perspective, it must look insane and chaotic, but along every step of the process, you accomplish another step in your plan, Blacksmithing and Carpentry high enough that everything goes according to plan. To your satisfaction, you become a professional Shipwright in the process.

You get some stunned looks even from the rest of your crew, and your guests look almost horrified. "That… how?" Horlio asks, unbelieving.

"Practice," you reply. They don't need to know the details of Headway just yet, if ever.

Luffy bursts out laughing. "Shishishishi, you're scary, Taylor! Scary cool!"

Nami blinks as she looks at the new, practically shining tiller. "Um. Well. I guess we… raise anchor, everyone?"

"Let's give the new whipstaff a test first, alright?"

No problems. Not that you expected any. The steering mechanism is more resilient and responsive at once, which will give the crew an advantage when it comes to moving the Merry in a hurry… but it also means you have to spend a bit of time you might have used for regular training to teach everyone the new levels of strength they should get used to using.

You mentally class that under your regular Boatswain responsibilities, and you… don't want to talk about how hard it was to convince Luffy he didn't need to yank on… never mind. Not worth dwelling on.

You spend some time reviewing the medical text Crocus gave you, occasionally popping back into your bedroom on Bet to cross-reference stuff in the book to the internet, and you're incredibly satisfied with the results. Doctoring is a skill you have less of a frame of reference for, and while you're great at First Aid, assisting long-term recovery and solving more exotic problems is outside of your skillset.

But increasingly, that's no longer true. When you finish your training session, you're around the same level of skill as a typical doctor, a year or two out of med school, maybe one who's been apprenticing under a more experienced general practitioner. It's a noticeable jump, and even better, it comes with bonuses.

Yet more comprehension of First Aid, ways in which you can stabilize wounds, adjust splints, keep others or yourself going in a pinch, well beyond that which a normal human would be capable of. Not only that, but you gain what would be one of the greatest understandings of Anatomy and Medicine on Earth-Bet… just by spending an hour, maybe an hour and a half reading a presumably out of date textbook from a more primitive world.

Headway is bullshit, and you love it.

You don't have that same kind of luck with the Kachi Kachi no Mi. Fragile, slightly warm growths manifest on body parts as you try to expand your concentration and capabilities. You can just about cover your entire form with the formations, and you try to experiment, going further… only for the growths to abruptly crack and most of them crumple to the floor. A little humiliated, you try to casually and surreptitiously sweep your sheddings off the deck. At least if Usopp needs subpar ammo in a pinch, you can help him out on that front.

You spend a few moments considering your next move, when it comes to using things like Kachi Kachi on Bet. You have, as today has established, an absurd, broken ability. If the extent of it was discovered, you would rapidly become a resource to be acquired by the more powerful organizations on Bet. Best to limit your showing, at least temporarily.

You told New Wave you were a skill/combat thinker who could use ordinary skills to ridiculous extents, and at least for the foreseeable, immediate future, you'll stick to that when heroing on Bet. Maybe with some add-ons like Sube Sube or Ninjutsu that can be justified along your claimed theme.

After stopping by home to say hello to Dad and let him know you're alright, you return to the ship. You realize it feels like it's been a while since you spoke in-depth with Sanji. He… can be a bit forward, but if disciplined correctly, he's not that bad. He gives you a friendly smile as you enter the kitchen. "Oh, good evening, Taylor-san. Are you looking for Usopp? He was on lookout in the crow's nest last I checked."

You shake your head. "I was actually hoping to pick your brain on some survival stuff. Like, Foolshout Island is supposed to have giant cacti, right?"

"Mm, that's right. I'm not too familiar with it - even our guests haven't ever been there, as far as I'm aware - but I might be able to tell you a few things. Owner Zeff certainly made me spent enough time de-spining cacti imported from there."

De-spining cactus? What sort of meal… never mind. If all goes well, you'll get the chance to try it soon, you guess. "Huh. I think where my train of thought was going - was that I wanted to try to better understand what we're walking into. See if we'll be better able to handle the environment when we go, know the land better than Baroque Works. It's not their territory, either."

Sanji exhales. "Unfortunately, I suspect they're working to remedy that disadvantage as quickly as you're working on ways to counteract them." He specifies 'you', but you've seen him exercising on the deck, practicing his Black Leg style. The crew's all trying their best with the news of the coming conflict, in their own way. "But, if it helps, I remember Patty telling me a story, when I was helping him with his cake-ti…"

Their conversation devolves quickly from there, the cook sharing everything from old stories to fishing tips to horror stories from the Baratie chefs about what they had to do to survive before they arrived on the Baratie. It's nice. You poke him for details, and he shares memories and secondhand tales, and Headway rewards you with increases in not only the base skill of Survival, but additional bonuses to Fishing, Hunting, Naturalist, Skinning, and Tracking. Incredibly lucky break, that you only don't dwell on because it's about time for supper.

Dinner with the crew goes as normal. Horlio and Vivi are participating a bit more enthusiastically, the former Mr. 9 joining in the usual Zoro-Sanji bickering to nearly explosive results. With you, Vivi, and Nami sitting together, you have a nearly impenetrable bulwark against the captain's sticky fingers.

"Ah! Come on, Taylor, you're taking so long to eat that!" the captain whines as you smack his hand away… again.

You maintain eye contact with Luffy as you eat another piece of facehugger squid (don't ask. It showed up while you were gone, apparently.) slowly and deliberately. He almost cries.

Sanji refuses offers to help him clean up after dinner, and, about to head back to the women's room to relax for an hour or two before bed, you spot Usopp setting up his work station again. "Thought you were done for the day?"

He shakes his head. "Got an idea for a good trap while up on the platform. Wanted to draw out some diagrams. Wanna see?"

When he realizes you aren't actually experienced in trapping at all, he excitedly walks you through some basics. Rope traps, tripwires, and the like. If he wasn't constantly going on tangents about the new idea - something to do with lantern oil, as far as you can tell, the engineering is still a bit beyond you - you'd likely pick up more than what you would, just from a casual conversation.

At the very least, trapping seems easy for you to pick up on - your mind forms connections between a Trapper's knowledge and that of your Blacksmithing, Survivalist, and other skills, and it plays naturally into your preference for ambushes. Within an hour of a friendly conversation with Usopp, you can create basic traps in ideal conditions provided you have a decent amount of time.

You head to sleep, another productive day behind you.

Spoiler: GAINS AND ROLLS/ROLLS AND GAINS

You have two days to vote on now. Day 1 (Tuesday, January 18, 2011, Monday, May 30, 1532, Tuesday, November 14, 2000), and Day 2 (Wednesday, January 19, 2011, Tuesday, May 31, 1532, Wednesday, November 15, 2000). Voting closes on Monday, May 8, at midnight EST.

This option should be considered separate from the voting below, but: Should Taylor tell Danny the extent to which Baroque Works threatened the crew, or should she keep it a secret until she's a bit more convincingly powerful? Bear in mind other potentially relevant factors. You can include details on strategy if you'd like, Taylor will probably overthink this in-character, but I reserve the right to veto. This will be a free action if you choose to do it.

[ ] Tell him now.

[ ] Wait.

Day 1 has three actions available. Two are reserved for normal boatswain/First Stretch-related work on the Merry. One is reserved for finishing the driving project. One is reserved for the 'upgrade the Merry' project. Day 2 has four actions available. Two are reserved for normal boatswain/First Stretch-related work on the Merry. One is reserved for the 'upgrade the Merry' project.