(Location: Grand Line)
(General POV)
Over the skies of Paradise, a giant ship with black sails flew majestically like no other ship had ever flown before. Normally when flying through the skies, the Black Pearl would be flying so fast, people would be lucky to glimpse it for a few seconds before it was out of sight, but right now it was in no hurry to reach its destination, for its Captain was lost in his own world of thought.
"Is he alright?" Nami asked Nojiko in a whisper as she stared worriedly at Jack. "He does this sometimes. Don't worry about it." Nojiko told her sister, though if she were being honest, she was actually a little worried. Sure, Jack had done this before, lots of times in fact, but never for so long. Jack hadn't moved from his chair in hours, and other than his eyes darting around the air in front of him, he gave no sign that he was even cognizant of what was going on around him.
No one but Jack could see the screen of his [STORE] in front of him, so to others it might look a little weird, but in actuality he was flipping through pages, buying Devil Fruits, putting bounties on a number of people he didn't particularly like, and planning as far ahead into the future as he could, which wasn't as far as he would have liked.
There were too many variables, especially when he took into consideration the number of things he had already done so far in this world. Nami and Robin would never join Luffy's crew, many pirates who were an integral part of the story were dead, as were probably thousands of Marines, which he had butchered like moths to the flame. Still, he prepared what he could, and that was all he could do.
The sun was just beginning to set over the horizon when Jack finally closed down the [STORE] screen, but that was only because he was hungry. There was still lots for him to do, and what felt like very little time to do it in. "It's about time you woke up, I'm hungry." Luke said with a note of irritation in his voice, one that earned him a frown from Jack.
"You have arms, why not make some food yourself?" Jack asked. "Oh please. The last time Luke tried cooking, it turned out to be charred chunks of garbage that nearly killed him from food poisoning." Nami said, reminding him of the one and only time Luke had ever cooked something. "Fuck off. I used whatever I could find, and despite having nearly everything in the world on this ship, it's damn near impossible to find anything." Luke said, not making a very good case at defending himself, but he didn't particularly care what Nami had to say.
"Anyway, what were you doing?" Luke asked, changing the subject to Jack and whatever the hell it was he was up to. "I was thinking about the future. Too many enemies and not enough allies." Jack answered flatly as he moved to sit at the table, then began making food appear in front of everyone. These were some of the best meals that someone could get in this world, and Jack could get them with a simple press of a button in his [STORE], but he was also not a bad cook himself.
Back in the East Blue when he wasn't training the others, he was training with Makino in the kitchen, learning all of the different techniques, and with the help of some recipe books and whatnot from his [STORE], he knew how to prepare some truly amazing meals that were right up there with the best of them.
"You know, a simple fix to that is to kill more of your enemies. We could go to Marineford tomorrow and-" Luke began, but Jack interrupted him. "I've told you time and time again, the Government needs to fall first, otherwise the rest of the world is going to suffer. Assholes they might be, but the Marines do put fear into most criminals throughout the world from causing chaos without a care." Jack said, ending Luke's idea before it had the chance to break ground.
"Fine. The DOGS can continue breathing for a while longer. You hear that Tashigi, your friends get to keep breathing for another day." Luke said, taunting the swordswoman. "Go to hell, Luke!" Tashigi shouted at him, then did her best to not look at him, though that still didn't stop Luke from making exaggerated impressions of Marines getting skewered with his food. "You are such a child." Nami told him flatly.
Ignoring all of this, Jack ate quickly before heading to the Library. It was one of the few places on the ship where shouting was prohibited, and he needed quiet to continue with what he was doing before. Going into the [Bounty] tab of his [STORE], he continued where he left off. Already he had created bounties for the Celestial Dragons, starting them each out at $300 million berries, though the Five Elders were each starting at $1 Billion berries, mostly because he didn't yet know how powerful they actually were, but he figured they were at least around Admiral strength. Speaking of the Admirals, seeing as no one had killed one of them yet, he had raised all of their bounties by half a billion, bringing their totals to $1.5 Billion each.
For the Warlords, Jack only put a bounty on Gecko Moria. Mihawk seemed like he could be reasoned with, so long as you didn't piss him off, and he didn't seem the type to kill innocent people, so Jack figured he'd meet the guy before he went and put a bounty on him. Jack was a big fan of Jimbe in the anime, and the guy was genuinely a good person/ fishman, and Jack certainly didn't judge, so he opted to spare him a bounty too.
He was honestly a little torn on putting a bounty on Boa Hancock, if for no other reason than the fact that she was the only reason keeping an island of women safe from the likes of most every other scumbag out in the world, and her people loved her. Jack wasn't sure she could be reasoned with, given her hatred of men, but he chose to give her the benefit of the doubt. If she agreed to not hurt innocent people after he dismantled the World Government, she was free to go about her business however she saw fit.
Doflamingo was out, for the simple fact that Jack had told Sengoku that he would kill him personally in a very public way, and if Jack was one thing, it was a man of his word, and he fully intended to keep that agreement. Crocodile was dead, and the Marines had yet to find a replacement for him, so that only left Bartholomew Kuma, who was actually a Revolutionary, one who Dragon had asked Jack to specifically not kill, and after Dragon had told him as much of Kuma's story as he knew, Jack was inclined to agree.
He never got to the part in the anime or manga where it explained Kuma's backstory, if it did, he wasn't sure, but to learn that he signed over all of his humanity for a cure for his child, Jack felt as if he needed to find a way to actually help the man. Bar that, he would bring what was left of him back to Dragon and his child, who he had learned was actually Jewelry Bonney. That had been a surprise to be sure, but one that Jack could work with.
After putting bounties on the Warlords, Jack began putting bounties on the Four Emperors, well, only two of them actually. He was a pretty big Whitebeard fan from the anime, and seeing as how the guy's only wish was to have a family, Jack figured he could let him do that, so he opted to not put a bounty on his head. Besides, Whitebeard was the only thing stopping a number of islands from being ravaged in the New World and in a number of the Blue Seas. Anywhere with his flag was under his protection, and if something happened to him, those islands would be fair game for every no name pirate looking to score.
Even though Jack didn't put a bounty on Whitebeard, he did put one on Teach, AKA Blackbeard. Even though Teach hadn't done anything this time around, and probably wouldn't due to Jack having eaten the Dark-Dark Fruit, he knew of the man's true colors, and he definitely seemed like the kind of guy who needed to be killed now before he became an even bigger problem.
Shanks was still unknown to Jack, seeing as how there was so little known about him after the Wholecake Island Arc, but at the very least, he didn't seem like a terrible guy. He stopped the war at Marineford, granted it was only after Ace and Whitebeard were both dead, but he still saved a lot of people. From what Jack could tell, he was simply a guy who didn't like to see needless slaughter and who also liked to party, which was almost the very definition of what any guild aspired for, so he refrained from putting a bounty on him, though that might change if Shanks tried to cause problems for him.
Big Mom and Kaido were complete assholes as far as Jack knew, especially Big Mom, seeing as how he knew far more about her than Kaido from the anime. Still, from what Dragon had told him about Kaido, the guy needed unalived sooner than later. He went through as many of their crew members as he could, at least the notable ones. The small-fry he left out for the simple reason that there were thousands of the bastards, and he wasn't going to waste his time on every little plebeian.
==========
WANTED
The Fat Cow (Big Mom)
$3,000,000,000
DEAD ONLY
Reward delivered upon kill
Warning: The Fat Cunt eats everything in sight, more so if they are her mother Carmel. She throws tantrums worse than a three-year old, and is bigger than a giant. Like her mouth, her legs don't close, given how most of her crew are her children who she uses like currency to build alliances. Traps involving food will almost always work.
==========
==========
WANTED
The Whiney Worm (Kaido)
$3,000,000,000
DEAD ONLY
Reward delivered upon kill
Warning: Kaido is a glorified watchdog to his master Orochi, so beware to not insult his master, lest you earn his wrath. He can be found in Wano, and is a whiney drunk. He's stupid, so be sure to use small words and speak slowly.
==========
Jack was just getting to the allies of Emperors, or future allies in the case of Germa-66, when suddenly he felt slender fingers slide softly through his hair before they settled on his shoulders and began to gently knead away the aches and pains he didn't know he had. "You've been distracted all day, and even though it looks like you've just been sitting there doing nothing, I know you've been up to something. Let me help you relax." Nojiko whispered into his ear, and in an instant all thoughts of bounties and people he needed to kill went right out the window as he followed Nojiko back to his room. It wasn't until noon the next day before Jack woke up, and that was only due to the pounding on the door.
*Knock!*
*Knock!*
*Knock!*
"Hey! Wake up already, we're hungry!" Luke's voice echoed through the door. Looking at the clock, Jack saw that it was a quarter after 12:00, and it was only then he realized how good of sleep he had to have had to have slept in that long. Looking beside him, he saw Nojiko still sleeping soundly, not having twitched even a little bit from the pounding on the door, though after what they did last night, he was surprised he was awake too.
'At least I can feel my legs again.' He thought with a grin as he quietly exited the bed so as not to disturb her. He rushed quickly to the dining room, gave everyone their food, then went back to his room. With Nojiko sleeping they wouldn't be going anywhere for now, and he was honestly not in any hurry.
*****
When they finally set sail again for Water-7, it was almost evening, but that didn't really matter. They would be arriving at Water-7 at nightfall, and Jack did his best work in the darkness. They were about an hour away from the city if they sailed like a normal ship when down below they could see what looked to be a lighthouse, or something similar to it. "What's it doing all the way out here? The city is still a long way off." Nami asked, voicing what everyone else was thinking.
"It's a station for the Sea Train. If you look closely, you can see tracks just under the water's surface. The train runs on those tracks, removing the need for a Log Pose or the risk of losing your way, transporting people to and from any island connected to it." Smoker explained, revealing what little he knew on the subject. "That's amazing!" Nami said after Nojiko lowered the Pearl so they could see the tracks.
As interesting as it was, none of them bothered to stop and learn more about it from the old lady at the lighthouse, and instead they chose to carry on towards Water-7. Upon arriving in the city, everyone gathered in the dining area of the ship where Jack was waiting for them. He knew the threat that lurked here, and he wanted to make sure everyone else did too.
"Alright, listen up. There are a few CP-9 agents working undercover in the city, and once they find out Robin's here, they'll most likely try to approach her." Jack began, but took a moment to pause when Luke moved to stand beside the woman in question. "I'm going with her." Luke said with a grin.
Not wanting to argue on the matter, Jack left it be before he continued, "I don't know if the World Government knows about the rest of you being a part of The Order, but to be on the safe side we're going to assume they do. So until we deal with CP-9, I want everyone to travel in pairs. Since Luke already volunteered, he'll go with Robin. I assume you're going to go back to the East Blue, Radek?" Jack asked the gateman, who simply nodded. He had other duties to attend to for The Order, so whenever they stopped on an island he always disappeared until they were ready to leave or unless they needed him, and he didn't think they'd need him to deal with assassins.
"Alright, well, I'm going to need Nami to come with me in the morning at least, so we can sell a bunch of the gold we got in Skypiea." Jack said, which immediately got a reaction from Nami. On the one hand, she was always trying to get more money, but on the other hand, she looked a little torn, if for no other reason than she could use that gold once she got her hands on the Gold-Gold Fruit, however Jack assured her that there would be more than enough opportunities to get more gold than she knew what to do with.
"Chopper and I will go back to the East Blue with Radek. I've started teaching some students, and I want to check up on them, but I also need some more materials from you. We're running low on a number of things." Kureha said, bowing out of the whole assassin ordeal. She was more inclined to help people than end them, and that was exactly what Jack planned to do with the assassins.
"Fair enough. So that leaves Tashigi and Smoker to go together, and Nojiko can come with me and Nami." Jack said, however Smoker had something to say to that. "I actually have no interest in walking around Water-7, so I'll stay here and watch the ship. Tashigi and Nojiko can go with each other." Smoker said lazily.
Jack wanted to argue that he had to go, but after looking back and forth between Nojiko and Tashigi, he realized he was being a little childish. He could walk around the city with Nojiko anytime he wanted, so it didn't really matter if she went with someone else for a change. "Alright then, so me and Nami, Luke and Robin, Tashigi and Nojiko, and Smoker is on ship duty." Jack said, finalizing everyone's teams and positions.
"Now Robin, when CP-9 approaches you, they might threaten you with a Buster Call, but don't worry." Jack said, which seemed to be the wrong thing to say because Robin suddenly looked scared. "A Buster Call?! You can't be serious! We need to leave! Now!" She cried in fright. "A Buster Call is when the Marines send the ten battleships and the five Vice-Admirals, right?" Luke asked Smoker, who gave him a nod of confirmation.
"You don't seem to understand the power of a Buster Call!" Robin shouted when she saw how lightly they were all taking the situation. "No, we understand it just fine. The Marines sent fifteen battleships with fifteen Vice-Admirals to the East Blue to try and take it back a while ago, and well, Jack erased them in a matter of minutes. And now that I've got the Rumble-Rumble Fruit, I bet I could take on a Buster Call too." Luke said, his words surprising Robin.
"Are you serious?" She asked in disbelief. She didn't think anyone could survive a Buster Call. "Of course. I've gotten a lot stronger." Luke said with a laugh. He knew what she was really asking, but she was being too serious for her own good, so he threw in a little humor to calm her down.
"Trust us, Robin. We've dealt with a lot worse. At least Jack has." Nojiko said calmly as she took her hand and gave it a gentle squeeze. "Anyway, like I was saying, they'll threaten you with a Buster Call, but we're going to deal with them before they ever get the chance to activate it." Jack said, then he made four pictures appear on the table. "These are the CP-9 agents here, but there are three other agents somewhere out there in the world doing who knows what." Jack said, then went on to explain their abilities and Devil Fruit powers in the case of Rob Lucci and Bluno.
Despite the fact that the others wanted to know how he knew all of this, they once more chopped it up to Jack being Jack, and simply bit their tongues. "Question. Since you're really famous, shouldn't you hide your appearance?" Robin asked Jack, and it was only then that he remembered there was a WANTED poster of him spread to all corners of the world, and this place was probably no different. "I'll wear a mask." Jack said simply, brushing off that problem, though Nami assured him that it would actually be a good thing that he was WANTED for so much because they could intimidate the gold shops for a lot more money.
With everything explained to them, they decided to get some sleep and carry on in the morning, that is, everyone save for Jack. He had no idea where most of his targets were, but he did know of one. Heading out into the darkness, Jack moved along the perimeter of the city until he found an ugly house that looked like a circus had built it. With Haki he could tell there were lots of people inside the place, but he really only cared about the one.
Entering the building, he stealthily moved about until he found a room where a man who looked part machine lay sleeping. Appearing next to him, Jack raised his fist and slammed it down on the guy's head, making sure he wouldn't be waking up anytime soon. He figured he had to do that, because the odds of Franky waking up when the compartment on his chest was opened up was pretty high, meaning it would be almost impossible to steal what he wanted without alerting him to that fact.
It took all of five seconds to find the blueprints for the battleship, Pluton, which Jack stored away inside of his [Inventory] before he left the place. He could have just bought the blueprints from the [STORE], but at the cost of $300 Billion, they were far out of his price range, however now he had them, he didn't need to do that. He had originally planned to burn the blueprints, but then he realized he could sell them to the [STORE] for a lot of berries, though he would save that for later. He wasn't a shipwright by any means, but even he wanted to look over the blueprints for an Ancient Weapon.
*****
The next morning after breakfast, everyone moved to do their own thing. Radek took himself, Kureha and Chopper to the East Blue, Luke and Robin headed off to go shopping somewhere, Jack and Nami went to go and sell some gold, Nojiko and Tashigi went to explore a bit of the city, and Smoker pulled up a lounging chair before laying down and going to sleep on the main deck.
After leaving the ship, Jack and Nami made their way through the bustling city of Water-7, and like Jack had told them the night prior, he was wearing a random mask he happened to buy from some guy's stall. At the very least, it would keep people from recognizing him, and allowed him to move about freely through the city. Nami asked around for the best places to sell gold, and being a pretty girl, people were more than happy to point her in the right directions.
They went to the most recommended place first, at which Nami practically robbed them blind. After revealing just who was under the mask, Nami got the buyer to pay them $750 million berries for what she estimated to be around $700 million berries worth of gold. That in itself was already a nice lump sum, but Nami didn't stop there, and the two of them hit every gold broker in the city with Nami pulling the same stunt as the first and using Jack's infamy to get the people to fork over more money. Jack did feel bad after the second place, being that these people had to make a living too, however when they went in, they would always let them offer a price before they did anything, and usually the number was so low it was downright robbery, which is why Jack was able to justify to himself to keep doing it.
By the end of their little excursion, they had gained a little over $5 billion berries, and that wasn't even a fraction of the gold still inside of his [Inventory]. The Arc Maxim alone was worth so much, Jack was tempted to sell it to his [STORE], but he didn't because he knew it was worth more than double if he sold it to proper vendors, and that was a price worth waiting for.
Once they had finished up with trading in their gold, Nami decided that she wanted to spend some of their newly acquired wealth. Jack honestly didn't care if she did, however he had no intention of following her around from store to store while she bought things. If he was going to be suckered into shopping with a girl, it was at least going to be the one he was sleeping with, which was why he simply dragged Nami into a sphere of darkness before he began moving about the city to try and find Nojiko.
During his search he happened to spot the mayor of Water-7, Iceburg and his assistant, Kalifa, who was actually one of the undercover CP-9 agents. Jack debated on whether or not to hold off on dealing with her, but in the end he decided there was going to be no perfect opportunity to deal with her, and that he may as well get it over with now.
Approaching the tall man with dark blue hair, dressed in a fancy suit, Jack walked straight up to Iceburg and handed him a folder, one that confused the man, but he took it nonetheless. The folder Jack had given him was Kalifa's CP-9 folder, showing who she really was and why she was sent undercover, and when. Iceburg was no fool, and knew the government would come after him one day in search of the blueprints, but he had never expected Kalifa to be one of them. "What is it, Sir?" Kalifa asked from beside him. "It's nothing. I need to have a word in private with Mr. Smith here." Iceburg said simply, then gestured for Jack to follow him to the Galley-La Company's main building, then told Kalifa to wait outside while the two of them talked.
Right away Jack noticed the WANTED poster of Robin behind Iceburg's desk, but he ignored that as he focused on the man himself who no longer seemed to be as calm as he was in front of his assistant, but actually seemed to be shaking slightly. "Who are you, and why did you bring this to me?" Iceburg asked while holding up the folder on Kalifa.
"The name is Jack Sparrow, and I gave you that because once they get their hands on Pluton's blueprints, they're going to kill you. Believe it or not, this city will not survive without your help. You've made yourself indispensable not only to the World Government, but to Water-7 as well. I will not allow this city to be erased." Jack said, then he took off his mask, revealing that he was in fact who he claimed to be.
Iceburg was indeed surprised by the revelation, and actually looked a little nervous at just the sight of him. Evidently rumors of his brutality were spreading far and wide, and in Water-7 Jack was known as some sort of demon. He had no idea where these rumors came from, but whoever was spreading them was certainly painting him in a bad light, which naturally made him think of the World Government. They were the only ones alive who currently had something against him, but he figured he could deal with the rumors some other time.
"Why?" Was all Iceburg could ask. To save a whole lot of problems, Jack made the blueprints for Pluton appear in his hands, which in turn shocked Iceburg, however before he could say anything, they were enveloped by black flames before they disappeared into nothing but ash. "To put your mind at ease, I want you to know I have no interest in the Ancient Weapons, and nor does she." Jack said as he gestured to Robin's WANTED poster.
Jack actually hadn't burned the blueprints, rather they went back into his [Inventory,] however he did plan to get rid of them in the [STORE] after he got the chance to look over them for a bit, so he would actually be getting rid of them. Again, to put the man's mind at ease, Jack revealed Robin's goal in searching out the Poneglyphs, and how she already knew the locations of two Ancient Weapons, however she would not be going to claim them, for she herself didn't wish for the world's destruction like the World Government claimed. On the contrary, he revealed the truth of Ohara to Iceburg, about how the scholars and everyone else on the island were killed because they were interested in the void century, something Iceburg had never even heard about.
The two of them talked for quite some time, with Jack revealing more and more information about the Government's schemes, and how Galley-La had been infiltrated by not only Kalifa, but by Rob Lucci and Kaku, both of whom were powerful assassins. After reading Lucci's file and finding out the number of people he had killed, Iceburg was mortified, and Jack could see he was a little fearful at what was going to happen next.
"I tell you this, not to frighten you, but to keep you informed about what I'm going to do. I'll deal with Kalifa, Lucci, and Kaku, but you're going to have to play it cool, elsewise the government might do something else." Jack told the man, who looked at him questioningly. "What do you mean?" Iceburg asked.
"Say they all up and disappeared without anyone the wiser, that might put suspicion on you, seeing as how you're their target and all, however if you spread rumors that some important documents disappeared at the time they did, the Government might think they found the blueprints and took them for themselves. Use your resources to remove suspicion from yourself and pin it on them, and don't worry, after today, they won't be a bother for you any more." Jack said, and at once Iceburg understood.
"When do you plan on dealing with them?" Iceburg asked curiously. "The sooner the better. I can deal with them right now, but you will need to call them here." Jack told the man, who was much calmer than before. Going over to the door of his office, Iceburg found Kalifa waiting dutifully for her next set of orders. "Kalifa, could you please bring Lucci, Kaku, and Paulie here? There is something important I need to discuss with them all." Iceburg told his secretary, who didn't hesitate to go and carry out his command. Had he not known her true identity and intentions, he never would have assumed she was working against him, however he had seen enough proof to know better.
"Why did you ask for Paulie as well?" Jack asked the man after he returned to his desk. "I trust Paulie, and unlike everyone else, he would never have believed Lucci and Kaku ran off somewhere. I think he deserves to know the truth, and besides, if Lucci and the others try to act out, I'm sure you can keep both him and I safe, right?" Iceburg asked, to which Jack only nodded. That was something he could do for sure.
It didn't take long before there was a knock at the door, and a moment later, Lucci and the others filed into the room. "You as well, Kalifa." Iceburg said when the woman moved to stand outside of the office. Once they were all seated in front of his desk, Iceburg looked to Jack, who was back to wearing his mask in front of the members of CP-9.
"I'm going to be blunt with all of you. I knew the World Government would try to target me for the blueprints for Pluton, but I would never have expected three of the most trusted people in my life to be undercover assassins." Iceburg said coldly as he looked to the three people in question to gauge their reactions, and given the suddenness of his revelation, they didn't even try to hide their surprise. "What do you mean, Iceburg? What's going on?" Paulie asked dumbly, however that wasn't his fault. He was the only one in the room not in on the information, so his confusion was justified.
"How did you find out?" Lucci asked, and he was really asking in his own voice, not in that dumbass cover voice that he used through his pet pigeon. It seemed he knew there was no point in trying to deny the accusation, because he knew Iceburg, and the man was never one to make false accusations. If he was confronting them, then he had seen enough proof to know the truth.
"Mr. Sparrow here was kind enough to tell me the truth." Iceburg replied, which is when Jack dropped his mask, revealing his face to the three members of CP-9 and Paulie, and to anyone who had seen his WANTED poster, they could tell without a shadow of a doubt that this man was indeed, Jack Sparrow. "It goes without saying, but you three are fired." Iceburg added almost as an afterthought, then gestured for Jack to step forward and take the stage.
"You know, ever since I was a kid and I saw you three on TV, I always fantasized about stopping you from committing all of your atrocities. You were vile scumbags, and I dreamed about coming in and being a knight in shining armor who defeated you, but now that I'm older, I realize it was just that, a fantasy. I also know there is nothing heroic about it, it's just taking out the trash." Jack said in what sounded like rambling nonsense to everyone else, but he didn't let that stop him from making his gun appear in his outstretched hand, and after unloading the magazine, Kaku and Kalifa were both dead, having been shot between the eyes before they could even react, however Lucci managed to jump out of the way of the blast, though the same could not be said for the pigeon on his shoulder. It was now just a puff of feathers falling to the floor, which seemed to anger Lucci more than the deaths of his two comrades.
"You're quick, I'll give you that. But not quick enough." Jack said, disappearing from his position beside Iceburg and reappearing beside Lucci and grabbing him by the arm. Lucci merely grinned at him for all of half a second, which is when his frown returned and he stared coldly at Jack. "What did you do?!" Lucci cried as he tried to get away, however he found that was impossible as Jack had a vice-like grip on him.
"Devil Fruits mean nothing in darkness." Jack said, then took a breath before he unleashed a stream of fire from his mouth like some sort of dragon right into Lucci's face. When the flames ended, Lucci's head was simply gone, which seemed to shock Iceburg and Paulie. "What the hell is going on here?!" Paulie cried out in rage and confusion, after all Jack had just killed three people he thought of as friends.
It took Iceburg a few minutes to calm Paulie, and after showing him their CP-9 files and telling him how their orders were to kill Iceburg after they got their hands on the blueprints for an Ancient Weapon, Paulie finally decided to listen to reason and believe them.
"So what now?" Paulie asked, then took a drag of his cigar. "We need to spread rumors about some documents being stolen from me, along with the fact that Lucci, Kaku, and Kalifa simply left." Iceburg said, giving the short of it. They would figure out the plan in more detail, however Jack didn't need to be there for it. "I'll be back later tonight. There's something else I want to talk with you about, but it can wait." Jack said, then left before Iceburg could tell him otherwise.
*****
It was only after leaving Iceburg's office that Jack remembered Nami was still trapped in a pit of darkness, and after making her reappear, he let himself be shouted at for a few minutes in the middle of the street by the clearly enraged orange-haired girl. "What's going on?" Nojiko asked curiously, both she and Tashigi appearing out of nowhere. "I'll tell you what's going on! Your sadistic boyfriend imprisoned me in darkness for hours!" Nami shouted angrily. "It was actually only like forty minutes." Jack said, but that didn't win him any favors.
"Calm down, Nami. I'm sure he has a perfectly reasonable explanation." Nojiko told her sister, then looked to him for an answer. "Thank you, Nojiko. You are entirely correct. Three of the four members of CP-9 were there, and I didn't want you to be dragged into the fight. I know I should have waited, but I wasn't sure when I would get an opportunity like that, and I just had to take it, so rather than risk your safety, I pulled you into a safe space." Jack explained to her, however, that did nothing to appease Nami.
"You already dealt with three of them?!" Tashigi asked in surprise. "I did. And all the while protecting two very important people." Jack said seriously, though Nami still didn't seem to believe him. "Look, I'm sorry I trapped you in a space of darkness, but it was for your own protection. However, to hopefully make it up to you, I'll give you something that you could never buy." Jack said, hoping to entice the woman with her greed.
"Oh yeah?" Nami asked skeptically. "I'll tell you later. For now, I need to go and find the last member of CP-9, so for now, why don't you stay with Nojiko and Tashigi? Whatever you buy will be on me." Jack told her, getting a gesture from Nami that told him exactly where to shove it. "Whatever you're giving her, it had better be good. I haven't seen her this mad in a long time." Nojiko said, then after stealing a kiss from him she ran off after Nami and Tashigi.
'Great, now I need to think of something good to give her.' He grumbled internally, not having a single clue as to what that could be. Still, he could worry about that for later, but for now he really did need to find the last member of CP-9. Jack had no idea how often they all communicated with one another, so if and when Lucci and the others didn't check in with Bluno, he might get suspicious and radio in for backup.
For over an hour he searched every bar he could find, but in the end he came up short and went back to the ship, and it was only then he realized that he could just ask Iceburg where Bluno's bar was, seeing as how it was the place where Galley-La liked to go and hang out after work. 'I may as well.' He told himself after realizing that Smoker was the only one there. Heading back out, he quickly made his way to the Galley-La main office where he found Iceburg going over some paperwork.
"Hey, quick question. Where is Bluno's bar?" Jack asked the blue-haired man. "Why do you want to know?" Iceburg asked with a frown. In response, Jack tossed another file onto the table. "Just how many more CP-9 agents are here?" Iceburg asked after flipping the folder open. "He's the last one here, but there are three other agents, plus their chief, Spandam on Enies Lobby." Jack answered simply.
After informing him of where Bluno's bar was located, Jack quickly departed, hoping to get this all over with so it wasn't hanging over his head any longer, however upon arriving at the bar, Jack was met with a surprise. "I take it, Luke is inside?" Jack asked Robin, who was reading a book outside the bar. "Yeah. He told me I didn't want to see what he was going to do, so to just wait out here." Robin said coolly. "I think you're right." Jack said as he moved to step past her, however Robin stopped him before he reached the door with a question of her own. "Luke, he… he's a kind man with a lot of anger. What happened to him?"
Jack paused, unsure what had happened to cause Robin to ask about Luke, and wondered if he should answer that question, but ultimately decided the truth was better than to leave her guessing. "Luke is kind, there is no doubt about that, and he does want to help people, but he's lost something important to him. The World Government killed everyone important to him and then took him as a slave, and in doing so they robbed him of all that he held dear. He closed off his heart, and now he is incapable of feeling much of anything towards people. He is incapable of feeling love." Jack answered, and he could see the shock and sadness in her eyes. Leaving her with that, Jack went inside the bar.
"You certainly didn't waste any time, did you?" Jack asked Luke, who was standing over a bound and bloody corpse that looked as though it had been cooked in the sun, but only after it had been through a blender. "He came after Robin just like you said he would. I knocked him out before he had the chance to get away, and after taking off his mask, someone who happened to be passing by told me that he owned this bar. I tortured him for any information I could get on CP-9, and he told me there were others on Enies Lobby. He told me about some of the things he's done, and I just snapped. I gouged out his eyes with my thumbs, and when he started screaming I tore out his throat. I-I used his legs as pincushions for my swords, and… and after some other things I fried his brain until it turned into mush. I-" Luke was speaking in a monotone voice, however Jack stopped him before he could continue to list the number of horrible things he had done. He could see some of those things, and they weren't things anyone with a conscience could do, or at least anyone who was in their right state of mind.
Unleashing a wave of fire over the corpse, Jack erased all evidence of what Luke had done before he moved behind the bar and grabbed a bottle before he began to pour two drinks. "I'm sorry. By killing him, you didn't get his Devil Fruit." Luke said apologetically as he moved to sit at the bar. "Don't worry about it. I'm sure it'll turn up somewhere." Jack said, already planning on buying the Door-Door Fruit in a few minutes, however this took precedence.
The two drank in silence for a time, then Luke suddenly said, "I'm going to Enies Lobby." "I'd be lying if I said I was surprised." Jack admitted without looking at Luke. "At least wait until tomorrow. You can get a full night's rest, I'll cook you up some food, then you can head out. You could take the Sea Train if you wanted, but I've also got an Eternal Pose to Enies Lobby." Jack told him, to which Luke simply nodded. He'd most likely take the Eternal Pose so as not to involve the Sea Train in his business.
"We're going to be here for awhile, so just follow my Vivre Card back here when you're done, just try and make sure not to bring the full might of the Marines with you when you do, otherwise we're going to have to call Haedrig to send everyone over, and you know they're not ready for that." Jack said, to which Luke simply nodded. "Thanks." Luke said, then downed his drink and waited for Jack to pour him another. "I killed the other three CP-9 agents." Jack said, earning a small laugh from Luke. "I could've guessed that. You wouldn't have come here if you hadn't." Luke said, visibly happier at the news. 'This guy.' Jack thought with a grin of his own, unable to stop himself.
*****
Later that evening, just like he had told Iceburg, Jack showed up back at the Galley-La main office, only this time he wasn't alone. He had brought both Nojiko and Robin with him, both women being important for the next step of his plan. Like he said, he had no intention of letting the people of Water-7 needlessly suffer, so using Nojiko's power, Jack intended to raise Water-7 from the ocean, though being someone who knew nothing of why the city was sinking, Jack knew he would need to consult Iceburg, however the man didn't entirely trust him, or at least he would be a fool to trust someone so easily, hence the reason for bringing Robin. Jack hoped she could convince Iceburg that she only intended to learn more about the void history, and hopefully in turn get him to show them all a bit of trust.
"Are you serious?! You can actually do that?" Iceburg asked in astonishment after Jack told him about raising the island from the depths of the ocean. "I am, and she can. Only I don't know what to do after we raise it from the depths. Will it just re-sink? Do we move Water-7 from here? Do we try to make so the city can float on the water like a ship? I don't know, but you do." Jack told the man, who was still recovering from his shock.
"Wouldn't raising the city destroy it? The Sea Train station would need to be moved back down to the coast, the tracks would need to be moved, and the waterways would need to be reworked. Are you sure it's wise to raise up the island?" Robin asked curiously. "It's true that we would need to remake many parts of the city, but unless something is done now, there won't be a city to save. We are a city of builders, and we can make it better than it ever was." Iceburg said seriously, wanting nothing more than to follow through with Jack's plan.
"But can you actually turn an island into a ship?" Robin asked, not seeing how that was even possible. "Under the right applications, it is entirely possible." Iceburg said, then went on to explain some of the things they would have to do to actually achieve that, though he stated that simply moving the island would also be good enough if they could find somewhere that had a proper foundation beneath the ocean. "Why not build one? I've moved islands before, so it shouldn't be too hard to bring a few abandoned islands somewhere to create a proper foundation." Nojiko said simply, as if moving islands was no big deal.
"Not a bad idea, but instead of islands, why not use pieces of the Red Line? The material that makes up the Red Line is almost unbreakable, so building up a foundation with it should make it better, right?" Jack asked, getting a frown from Iceburg. "You've just answered your own question. The material that makes up the Red Line is unbreakable, so to try and move it would be impossible." Iceburg said, but Jack wasn't deterred. "You leave that to me." He told the man, who simply didn't have a response for that.
They spoke for a few more hours about the whole thing before finally calling it a night. Iceburg agreed to move the city, however they would first need to build it a new foundation, hence the need to find a new location for where the city would be built. It had to be close by, but also somewhere that it wouldn't sink into the depths beneath the ocean.
*****
The following morning, Luke shot off through the sky towards Enies Lobby, meanwhile Jack had Radek open a gate for him to Loguetown, which was the nearest island to the Red Line that he was linked with. It was time to find out if he could actually gather the unbreakable material. Elsewhere in the world, Jack had no idea of the events that were about to unfold, events that would heavily impact not only himself, but thousands of lives.