36.
The ten-year quest hadn't been much different from a standard S-Class mission, save for the monster itself being a bit trickier. This one, for instance, could regenerate. It repeatedly grew back its tentacles, so Shun simply took that ability for himself and decisively finished the fight.
He stood over the corpse of a giant octopus—the target he'd been sent to defeat. It had taken him three days, mostly because the creature was exceptionally good at hiding.
"Did the Lord of the River finally fall?" "Hurray! Prepare a banquet for the lord magician from Fairy Tail!"
The tribespeople, clothed in simple garments, were ecstatic. Apparently, the octopus had been preventing them from fishing, threatening their food supply.
"Nah, I'm good," Shun refused, and with a flicker of magic, he teleported away. With the ten-year quest complete, he had at least a full year of freedom ahead of him.
He focused his magic, spending nearly an hour in deep concentration before pressing his right paw to his heart. The next moment, the familiar sound followed.
POP-!
"…"
Shun was violently expelled from the Fairy Tail world.
---
When he opened his eyes, he found himself in a town called Orange. "Where am I? Did I fail?" he wondered, confused. He walked aimlessly for a bit before slipping into a tavern. To avoid drawing attention, he turned invisible, stole a fresh newspaper, and left.
"So, where am I, and what year is it even?" he muttered, skimming the headlines.
His eyes widened with each line he read:
· "The Evil Revolutionary Army Conquered Centaurea."
· "A Celestial Dragon Punched in the Face! Criminals Escape in 'Celestial Dragon Hit-and-Run Incident'!"
· "Second Division Captain Ace's Public Execution in One Week! Will Whitebeard Pirates Show Up?"
The importance of each headline grew, leaving Shun speechless.
"Damn, I'm late for everything," he sighed. He quickly acquired a map and rushed towards Logue Town with a single goal: to get every Eternal Pose he could find. His real destination was Impel Down. That place was a veritable supermarket of abilities for him, and his Fairy Heart magic was the infinite currency to get whatever he wanted. He didn't mind saving Ace from becoming a donut, but he was determined to max out his rewards first.
With that thought, he took to the air. In just about an hour, he reached Logue Town. If he weren't scared of getting lost in the vast ocean, he would have headed straight for his real target.
Given the current timeline—just after the Straw Hat crew's defeat and separation at Sabaody—Shun still had a chance to acquire what he wanted. In Logue Town, he bought an Eternal Pose for Sabaody and immediately set off.
He arrived at Sabaody Archipelago soon after; only six hours had passed since he'd arrived in this new world.
"Seems I still underestimated my own speed," he noted.
The island was under heavy marine surveillance in the wake of the "hit-and-run" incident. Patrols were everywhere.
"Who were the lunatics that punched a Celestial Dragon, especially at a time like this?" one marine grumbled.
"The same ones who attacked Enies Lobby recently," another replied.
"The Straw Hats again? They're fearless. It's almost impressive."
"So, what did you mean by 'a time like this'?"
"Haven't you seen the news? In exactly seven days, they're publicly executing Fire Fist Ace! That's why the Marines are recalling all elite forces to headquarters. Not that I've been called, hehe."
Amid the chaos, almost all the shops were closed. To get the specific Eternal Poses he needed, Shun realized he had only one lead.
Still invisible, he approached a shop called "Shakky's Rip-off Bar" and slipped inside. The moment he entered, a silver-haired old man detected him.
"Kid, you're quite strong. What do you want here?" Silvers Rayleigh asked without malice, genuinely impressed by the boy's stealth. He hadn't noticed him until he was already inside.
"I heard you ran away after getting beaten by Kizaru. I guess I can't trust rumors…" Shun remarked with a dramatic sigh. "I want an Eternal Pose, or information on where to get them."
"Oh? Where do you want to go?" This time, a mature woman behind the counter asked.
"Tequila Wolf and Weatheria."
The two old partners were confused; those islands were obscure and unimportant to most.
"I have them," Shakky said, "but it will be difficult to reach Weatheria. It's a sky island."
"That's fine. I just need the pose." To demonstrate, Shun began walking on air right in front of them.
"That ability?!" Rayleigh was taken aback. He had just recently met the man who used that very same power. Did Kuma die already after saving the Straw Hats? Is this a new user? But it's too soon, and his mastery seems even greater than Kuma's… Possibilities raced through his mind.
"Well then, pay up. Ten million Berries for both," Shakky stated.
"This shop lives up to its name," Shun chuckled to himself. He left and returned ten minutes later with a suitcase full of money. While his SHFC business back home kept him wealthy, in this world he was penniless and had to be… resourceful.
"Alright, thanks for the business." Though confused, Shakky didn't ask questions and sealed the deal.
She handed him two Eternal Poses—compact, ornate compass-like devices, each with a glowing eternal log pose set in the center, their decorative frames hinting at the cultures of Weatheria and Tequila Wolf.
"Thanks," Shun said, turning to leave.
"Wait." The old man stopped him. "I won't ask about your ability, but what's your name?"
"It's Shun, though there's no point in telling you."
As Shun turned invisible again and vanished, Rayleigh muttered to himself, "Shun… There's really no point in telling. I've never heard that name before." He laughed softly and went back to his drink.
——
"First destination: Tequila Wolf," Shun muttered to himself.
His goal was simple: Nico Robin and Nami.
Considering his past life, his forgotten years, and his current age, he was mentally over fifty years old. Fifty years without a girlfriend or wife. In Fairy Tail, the only women who showed interest were, troublingly, little girls. He'd met only two legal adults: Ur, who had been avoiding him lately, and the other… was his mother, who looked like a child herself.
So, while his real target was the power buffet of Impel Down, he was determined to max out all his rewards in this world—starting with its heroines.
Nico Robin and Nami were famously easy to win over—provided they hadn't already joined the Straw Hats. Once Luffy cemented his place in their hearts, the difficulty of swaying them skyrocketed to an SSS-rank impossibility. At first, Shun thought he was too late for everything, even missing his chance with Boa Hancock. The thought was deeply depressing.
Then, a brilliant plan formed. The Straw Hats were separated. This was his chance.
His plan was meticulous; he wouldn't use force. With his power nearing an unstoppable level, forcing his will on others would render the entire endeavor pointless. He knew that path led only to becoming a mindless brute, forever searching for a worthy opponent to fill the void.
Soon, he arrived at Tequila Wolf, the prison island where Nico Robin was sent. It was a terrible place, surprisingly located in the East Blue. If I'd known that, I wouldn't have gone all the way to Sabaody, he thought with a sigh.
Tequila Wolf was a massive stone bridge under construction for centuries, a project driven by the World Nobles. This colossal, pointless task was fueled by the forced labor of slaves, criminals, and political dissidents—one of the darkest secrets of the World Government.
Since Robin was destined to become a prisoner here, Shun decided the most effective role for him was that of the prison chief. He sneaked into the chief's office and, without ceremony, teleported the man to the chaotic streets of Sabaody. Whether he lived or died was irrelevant. Shun considered copying the man's appearance, but he was too ugly. Instead, he used a simple memory-alteration spell he'd learned from Master Hades's library—a magic used by a man named Mest. It was a fragile spell, easily broken if the targets noticed inconsistencies, but if any jailers grew suspicious, he could always send them to join their former chief.
Now seated in his new office, he leaned back and waited. Nico Robin would arrive within a day.
Deciding to survey his new domain, Shun took a walk. The place was every bit as horrific as the stories claimed. The air was thick with despair. Brutal guards armed with whips and rifles drove emaciated prisoners, who hauled massive stones from dawn until dusk. The workers were housed in cramped, filthy barracks on the bridge itself, given just enough food and water to keep them laboring. The most crushing thing was the palpable absence of hope; the bridge was a 700-year project with no end in sight, a monument built on meaningless suffering.
Shun sighed and ordered all jailers to assemble immediately. He didn't care about security; he wanted everyone present. Only about eighty percent showed up, the rest likely dismissing the new "brat" of a chief. They were about to learn a fatal lesson.
Shun glanced coldly at the assembled guards. "I was appointed here by direct order of Fleet Admiral Sengoku," he announced, his voice cutting through the murmurs. "In fact, he is my blood-related grandfather. I will not tolerate disobedience. The previous chief disliked this sudden change in command. He has since... disappeared. What do you suppose happened to him?"
A wave of fearful whispers swept through the crowd. "No way..." "He was killed?" "And none of us knew... His connection to the Fleet Admiral must be real!"
They had come to curry favor, but now they were simply glad to be alive.
Shun's eyes narrowed. "I notice some of your colleagues are missing."
One guard stammered, "S-Sir, they thought the island's security shouldn't be left unattended and stayed at their posts..."
"I said everyone must come," Shun said, his voice dangerously quiet. He suddenly punched the wall beside him, shattering the stone with casual ease. The guards flinched back. "So they believed my words were nothing?"
After a moment of feigned anger, he calmly issued his next order. "Alright. Pick up your guns. Kill them all. And ensure not a single prisoner is harmed."
A stunned silence followed. "W-What?" "Did we hear him correctly?"
"Must I repeat myself?" Shun released a sliver of his magical power, which washed over them like a physical weight, a perfect imitation of Conqueror's Haki. The guards immediately snapped to attention, scrambling for their weapons.
What followed was two hours of brutal, internal carnage, witnessed in horror by the prisoners. The guards who had disobeyed the order were systematically hunted down and executed, their numbers dwindling further as some fought back.
When it was over, the surviving guards—now one hundred percent of the force—stood trembling before Shun, unable to meet his gaze.
"Good," Shun said, his voice flat. "Now, clean up the mess. Do not order the prisoners to do it. You will clean with your own hands. You have seen the cost of disobedience. I trust it won't happen again."
With that, he returned to his office. He felt no remorse; these scums had deserved their fate. As a righteous man, he was simply cleaning the island before his heroine arrived.