Disclaimer: I own nothing, this is purely a fanfic for enjoyment.
Cross-over from various games, books, anime, manga, and movies.
The familiar characters you see here belong to their respected authors and owners.
"Speech"
Time*
Chapter 84: Preparations For Things
Hours later*
I let out a yawn as I held a book bound in thin brass sheets, its pages similarly made of brass and giving off a faint metallic clink whenever they shifted. This is the Justiciar's Uniqueness I recently obtained. Luckily, I got the uncontaminated version. Otherwise, I would have ended up with the Trunsoest Brass Book, a Grade 0 Sealed Artifact that continuously writes new laws on its own, eventually creating a system in which one would be punished regardless of what one does, including its user, unless one could negotiate immunity with it.
I'm not even shocked that I got another Uniqueness. After collecting all 9 Sefirot, I'm not surprised that I'm already starting to collect all the Uniquenesses next, and so soon, too. Now, with the Justiciar's Uniqueness in my possession, the total is 8.
Error, Death, Hanged Man, Visionary, Red Priest, Fool, Door, and finally, Justiciar.
Out of all of them, only the Red Priest's Uniqueness remains in a fixed form as a Sealed Artifact: Salinger's Blood Banner.
In any case, the Justiciar's Uniqueness brought more help than harm in its uncontaminated form, mostly through its Balance authority. It can Balance many abstract things, such as temporarily restoring the Balance between reason and madness, though only for 3 minutes at most. That's more than long enough for the Loss of Control authority to take effect, thereby reducing my chances of falling into madness even further.
"All influences created by Fate are Prohibited on this island." I declare as the Justiciar's Uniqueness immediately imprints this new Rule upon the area.
A good chunk of the Spirituality from the Justiciar Pathway drains away to establish it, and it continues to do so with every passing second. At this rate, the Prohibition will most likely last for a minute or two.
I close the book and tuck it underneath my left arm as I walk to the edge of the cliff. Looking down, I see Momoyo training the island's animals how to fight.
And somehow, she's actually succeeding.
I raise my left hand near my mouth as I begin shouting, "Momoyo, go near the water for a minute! A survivor will be coming ashore soon! This survivor will be important for the rest of our stay here!" Three-quarters of the Visionary Pathway's Spirituality disappears as I use Envisioning to ensure that what I have proclaimed unfolds and becomes reality.
In the next second, Alucard emerges from the water, gasping for air before face-planting onto the sandy beach with someone still trapped in her death-like grip.
The person she is holding is a relatively tall man with bandages wrapped around his arms, abdomen, and neck. He wears loose purple pants that end just below his knees, along with black boots.
"Ah! Alucard!" Momoyo shouted in shock, quickly rushing over to pull the No-Life Queen out of the water and drag the tall, unknown man onto the beach as well. "Who the heck is this guy?! And why is he wearing makeup on his face?! How has it not washed away?!"
"Master! I found this weird-looking guy who can change his appearance!" Alucard shouts up at me before breaking into a coughing fit, spitting out a large amount of seawater.
I take a step forward, then instantly appear beside Momoyo through Blink, a short-distance version of the Traveler's Door ability.
"This man is Bentham. He ate a Devil Fruit that turned him into an Imitating Human, allowing him to impersonate anyone he touches with his right hand by perfectly adopting their face, physique, and voice. The Devil Fruit keeps a flawless recollection of every person whose form he has ever copied, so he will never forget the appearance of anyone he has imitated. There's no time limit on the transformation, and he can revert to his original body by touching his face with his left hand, even unintentionally. The greatest strength of this Devil Fruit lies in its immense potential for deception and creating confusion." I answer Momoyo's question before going into further detail about Bentham's Devil Fruit for both her and Alucard.
"Uh, I did ask who he is. I have no idea what a Devil Fruit is, though I guess it's some kind of supernatural fruit that gives people powers in exchange for a price, going by the word 'Devil' in its name. And it's great that you explained this guy's Devil Fruit to me, but that still didn't answer my last two questions." Momoyo stares at me in confusion.
"He is an okama." I say casually, causing Momoyo to blink several times before slowly turning her stare toward Bentham.
"Can I go back to eating ice cream, Master? I wasn't expecting to be unlucky enough to end up in the water this time instead of on land." Alucard frowns as she lies on her side, exhausted and soaking wet, before finally releasing her death-like grip on Bentham.
"Go ahead." I reply to Alucard, and she disappears immediately without wasting another second.
"I wonder what kind of makeup he uses to keep it from being washed away." Momoyo stares intently at Bentham for a few more seconds. "Also, you said this guy is the survivor who's going to be important for the rest of our stay in this world. How?"
"He'll be the one in the spotlight while we're in the shadows, especially with his skills in deception and trickery, backed by years of experience and his Devil Fruit." I stop for a second to consider something. "Well, I can stay in the shadows while you and Alucard go crazy in this world. I just need to move steadily in the background, keeping all eyes off me until I get everything I need from this world before we move on."
I place my left hand over Bentham's forehead, then use Psychological Cue from the Visionary Pathway to implant a Cue within his mind. From now on, he sees both Momoyo and Alucard in a far more favorable light, treating them as his own leaders. He finds it difficult to betray or disrespect them, and even harder to think anything remotely negative about either of them.
"Do I need to listen to this guy?" Momoyo asks, looking as if she's ready to fight me the moment I say yes.
"No."
That earns a sigh of relief from Momoyo.
"Instead, he will mostly listen to you. Alucard is slightly lower than you, but he still sees both of you as standing above everyone else. I'll remain invisible to his perception." I remove my left hand from Bentham's forehead once I feel the Spirituality of the Visionary Pathway reduced to 10%. "And don't worry, I've already given him a set of fake memories on what needs to be done."
I exhale sharply before smacking Bentham across the face with my right hand. At the same time, I Steal his unconscious state, causing the Okama to wake up in pain and shout at the top of his lungs.
"Who hits someone unconscious that hard?! This is not a joke!" Bentham leaps to his feet, looking around with a flushed red face as he holds his bruised right cheek, still reeling from the sudden pain.
I stand up, patting the dust off my knees. Without saying a word to Bentham, I give Momoyo a small smile, only for her to return it with a confused look.
"Ah! Lady Momoyo! Thank you for freeing me from Impel Down! I thought I was going to be stuck there for the rest of my life!" Bentham performs a dramatic spin, twirling around with his left leg raised high while his arms curve upward to form a heart shape.
"Right." Momoyo places a hand on her hip, slowly blinking. "So..." She glances over at me just in time to see the Justiciar's Uniqueness change into a large white sign with words written across it for her to read, which only takes her a few seconds. "Are you ready to help me make a name for myself in this world, Bon Clay?"
"Oh, my gosh! Is it finally time to let the world see Lady Momoyo's grand opening?!" Bentham lets out a dramatic gasp, placing both hands on his cheeks as he looks at Momoyo with teary eyes, his whole body practically trembling with excitement. "I have dreamed of this for years!"
Momoyo looks over at me with confused eyes that practically scream: What the fuck?
I flip the sign, revealing new words for Momoyo to read while suppressing the urge to laugh like a madman. For some reason, I suddenly have the urge to do something crazy and stupid all at once.
I blame the Sefirot.
"Alright, go get some rest. We're going to Marineford in a couple of hours." Momoyo said to Bentham after reading the words on the sign.
"Will do, Lady Momoyo!" Bentham spun around a few more times before running off into the distance, heading somewhere deeper on the island to rest.
"Okay, so what are we doing after a couple of hours? Also, why Marineford?" Momoyo asks me right away once Bentham is no longer in sight.
"We're going to join the war between the marines and pirates." I grin at the dumbfounded Momoyo as she stares at me in disbelief. "To be precise, it's a war between the marines and the Whitebeard Pirates." I then give Momoyo a quick summary of One Piece's Marineford Arc, keeping only the most important details so she understands exactly what kind of battlefield we're about to enter.
"Wait, so we're going to become pirates in this world until we leave?" Momoyo ignores almost everything I just said. "I'd rather not be a pirate at all, if possible. I'm all for fighting and stuff, but I ain't going to raid innocents for their money or murder them in cold blood."
"It's okay. We'll just be the adventuring type of pirates, aiming for freedom and exploring the world." I say this without blinking an eye as I revert the Justiciar's Uniqueness back into its previous form as a book. "Just leave the murdering to Alucard and me, or Alucard in general. You can focus on fighting all the powerful foes, whether they are other pirates or the Marines."
"Why are you saying it like I can't kill when the situation calls for it? Have you forgotten about the times I've killed in the past?" Momoyo leans forward, giving me a small glare as she looks ready to throw hands over my comment.
"Hm." I actually have to pause for a second to remember whether Momoyo has killed before, and I think she has, just not as often as Alucard and me. "Okay, fair enough." That makes Momoyo smirk at me. "In any case, we should rest up and prepare to head off."
"But wait a second, Chikao." Momoyo squints her eyes at me. "Do you really need to stay in the background throughout our time in this world?"
"Yes." I pat Momoyo's head. "Yes, I do. After all, do you really want me to kill everyone off before giving you a chance to do anything?"
"No..." Momoyo huffs at me, then looks away with a faint pout.
"Good. Because there are a couple of people I need to kill and things I need to take before we leave this world. And maybe we'll have a bit of fun here by enjoying the food while we're at it." I pull Momoyo into a one-armed hug with my free hand.