After the procedure was done, Sanji collapsed, foaming at the mouth.
Before leaving, Shun gave one final warning.
"Just to remind you… if you go to war with me, I'll find everyone connected to you."
"!"
POP-!
Shun left Momoiro Island in shambles in under three minutes.
"This brat saved Straw Hat boy and Ace boy, so I thought he was an ally, but… he's terrifying. I should let Dragon know," Ivankov muttered to himself before calling Dragon's Den Den Mushi, as if Dragon could ever make a move against anyone other than pre time-skip Smoker.
⸻
Shun quickly returned to the guild.
"Is Levy here?"
"Shun? I mean, Guild Master," Levy corrected herself mid sentence.
Even though they had known each other for years, they had never actually talked for more than a minute at a time. Yet in under five seconds, Levy's mind had already wandered through countless thoughts.
'Was it my turn now?'
"I need your help finishing a simple book, something like a children's story. I already have an example." Shun pulled out a famous book from the One Piece world. The title read:
The Liar, Noland.
"Read it first."
When Shun handed her a book she had never seen before, even if it was just a children's story and not a magic book, Levy became interested immediately.
She pulled out the famous magic glasses that allowed readers to finish books within minutes.
"It's interesting… I don't think he was actually a liar. There's probably more to the story," Levy unknowingly began giving her review.
"All right, I want you to write a book about a pirate named Shiki. Similar to that one, make him a liar and a coward."
"…"
Hearing Shun say such ridiculous things, Levy didn't know how to respond.
Just a few days ago, the Battle of Fairy Tail had happened, but who would have thought her next challenge would be this?
'Is he planning to slander someone?' she wondered, though she nodded anyway.
"That paper contains all the available information on him so far, summarized."
"Okay."
"Also, I already wrote the groundwork. Use it to help with your writing," Shun said seriously.
'He actually looks kind of cool when he's serious,' Levy thought, blushing slightly.
"That'll be very helpful." She smiled.
Their guild master wasn't looking down on a bookworm, he was even trying to write a book himself.
Shun pulled out the paper he had been carrying around for the last few days. It had more words than before.
When Levy glanced at it, she read:
"Chapter 1. The"
"…"
That was the entire page.
"Try to finish it within two days. It's an A Rank mission from me. There'll be fitting rewards."
Shun left without looking back.
⸻
Two days later, because of the four to one time difference, only half a day had passed in the One Piece world.
Levy handed Shun the result of her hard work. She even had dark circles under her eyes.
Just a few seconds after reading it with the magic glasses:
"Ha…"
"Shun?"
"Hahahahaha!"
"…"
The usually noisy guild hall suddenly fell silent.
Hearing such unfamiliar laughter coming from Shun was unsettling.
"Master?"
"Shun? What's happening?"
"This guy can actually laugh this much?!"
"He's probably planning something evil, or he already did and is waiting for the results."
Ignoring everyone's comments, Shun kept reading.
After finishing the script, he gave his review.
"It's a masterpiece. Especially the part where he goes around begging countries for boats and soldiers, telling them there's an enormous amount of gold in the sky, and only his ability can carry everyone up there and bring the gold back, only for it to turn out to be a lie. And how that became the foundation of his flying fleet. Then the story ending with him gaining the title, The Flying Fraud…"
Hearing Shun talk this much filled Levy with satisfaction.
Her sleepless nights had not been wasted.
"I guess we should change the title to Shiki the Flying Fraud."
"Yes!"
Before long, the two of them were left alone at their table, continuing to discuss ideas for the final version of the book.
"Let's go to my office and discuss it in detail."
Levy blushed at the invitation, but followed him anyway to the Guild Master's office, which occupied the entire third floor and welcomed no one without Shun's permission.
Previously, the guild only had the second floor reserved for S Rank mages. This was the upgraded version.
The rest of the guild, initially paying attention to them, eventually lost interest and failed to notice the two disappear upstairs.
Once inside…
Pant! Pant!
The two spent hours continuing their work until they finally finished the book.
They looked at the completed manuscript with satisfied expressions.
"Are you going to publish it in bookstores?" Levy asked.
"No, I was planning to copy it and spread it among a few people to lure this guy out and fight him."
"Why not try selling it to Sorcerer Magazine? It'd probably become popular with kids." Levy insisted.
"All right, you can handle that. You can keep all the profits."
Just like that, the story of Shiki the Flying Fraud was about to cross dimensions and worlds.
"What would you like as a reward?" Shun asked.
"Eh? A reward? It's fine, I had fun doing it." Levy waved her hands in refusal.
"Are you sure? A reward from me can be pretty high end. I can give you millions, or even kick Makarov out of the guild."
"I don't need money… but if you insist, could you bring me books like the one from earlier? Books from outside our continent."
Levy conveniently ignored some of Shun's words.
"A book… all right."
'I'll search for books from the Mushoku world. Since it's a world of magic, there should be plenty of interesting ones. There's a language barrier, but this girl would probably enjoy learning it too.'
'The reading glasses that help people read quickly… I should make copies for Aisha or the Seven Dwarves to help them study.'
Seeing Shun suddenly become lost in thought, Levy also fell silent.
"Ah, sorry. I spaced out. I'll bring you some magic books within a week."
"Really? Thanks."
Levy smiled and stood up.
"Since we're done, I'll head back."
"Okay, thanks again."
Shun smiled back, then noticed a small ink stain on Levy's right cheek.
"Wait, Levy."
"W-What?"
Levy's heart suddenly began pounding.
'Was he planning something else after bringing me here?'
'She has an ink spot that looks like a mole… I should tell her to wipe it off before she gets teased.'
Shun innocently pointed to his own cheek with his finger.
"…"
'W-What does he want?'
Levy's brain worked so hard that it felt like steam was about to come out of her head.
Seeing no response, Shun pointed again, then gestured toward her cheek.
'Is she embarrassed or something?'
Shun stepped closer and pulled out a handkerchief, but…
"Mmmm~"
For reasons completely unknown to him, Levy closed her eyes and puckered her lips with a bright red face.
"…"
Now it was Shun's turn to freeze.
'What is she doing?'
Using one hundred percent of his brainpower, Shun eventually realized the cause of this misunderstanding.
'Me?! I seriously had no intentions beyond finishing the book together.'
'If I tell her the truth and wipe the ink off now, she'll die from embarrassment. And if she thinks she's the only girl in the guild I rejected, she might spiral into depression, become a shut in, then eventually turn into a delinquent like her Edolas version.'
Within less than a second, Shun imagined Levy's tragic future.
For the sake of her future…
"Mmph~"
Shun moved quickly and met her lips with his own.
⸻
Meanwhile, Cana had been waiting for a private meeting with Shun for the past few days.
She wanted to discuss Gildarts' injuries.
After seeing that her father had lost an arm and a leg, the anger she felt over Shun's earlier fight with Gildarts had disappeared. Now she only wanted Shun to use his magic, but he had vanished for days.
Then after returning, he spent hours laughing with Levy, someone Cana had barely ever seen him speak to before.
'Those two are taking way too long… could they be doing something inappropriate?'
Cana shook her head.
It happened too suddenly. She had never seen them talk before today.
Even though entering the third floor without permission was forbidden, Cana was willing to accept the humiliation later rather than miss her chance to speak with Shun today.
'Who knows when he'll disappear again, and Gildarts won't stay in town long either…'
With a legitimate reason in mind, Cana knocked on the Guild Master's office door.
After knocking, she thought she heard something fall over, followed by movement inside.
But then:
"Come in."
A calm male voice invited her inside.
When she entered, Levy was seated at the guest chair with books spread across the table, while Shun sat behind his desk.
"Did you need something?" Shun asked.
Before Cana could answer, Levy stood up.
"Since the book is finished, I'll head back."
"All right. I'll bring the promised magic books from outside the continent in a few days."
Shun waved with his usual smile.
"Yes…"
Levy returned to her dorm room feeling completely drained.
Cana didn't notice it, but Levy's lips looked just slightly swollen.
⸻
"So… what happened?" Shun asked casually, not particularly upset about being interrupted.
'Ending things with just a kiss today is probably for the best.'
"It's about da, I mean, Gildarts."
Cana often called Gildarts by name around others.
"Can you heal his injuries?"
"He's injured? Wasn't he moving around just fine when he tried punching me a few days ago?"
'As expected, he's holding a grudge. I need to stop this before it reaches Master Makarov levels,' Cana thought firmly.
"He's mostly healed, but he lost an arm and a leg. Can you use your magic to restore them?"
She lowered her head.
She more or less understood that Shun's power wasn't traditional healing magic.
It rewound the target's body to a healthier state through time magic. That meant the longer an injury had existed, the more magic it consumed.
'It's probably been over a month already. His wounds healed long ago, and he even has prosthetics now…'
"I know it'll drain you, but he's my father. Please help him… and in exchange, I'll do whatever perverted request you want. Three times."
Cana spoke rapidly without waiting for his answer, revealing how nervous she truly was.
'This girl… seriously.'
"Or even four, if you want, ah!"
Shun interrupted her by pulling her into a hug.
"I don't know what kind of beast you think I am. Even if you did nothing and simply asked, I still would've healed him."
"Huh? Weren't you two fighting?"
"After that day, we went fishing together and kind of made up."
Shun wasn't entirely sure if they had truly made up, but they were at least talking normally now.
"Shun…"
Cana tightened the hug, genuinely touched.
Until…
"But since you already made the offer, I'll collect the reward later."
"…"
⸻
A few minutes later, the two headed down to the guild hall on the first floor.
'Levy's gone already? The stimulation must've been too much.'
Gildarts sat at the counter like a child told by his parents to stay put.
Hearing footsteps, he turned his head.
Without giving him time to react, Shun immediately activated his magic.
"Huh? What?!"
"Are they fighting again?"
Confused voices spread throughout the guild.
"Restore."
Crack!
Crack!
The prosthetic limbs attached to Gildarts shattered from Gildarts' own magic.
Soon enough, both of his original limbs were completely restored.
He even had the bonus of becoming a month younger.
Meanwhile, Shun looked at the broken prosthetics on the floor and became strangely sentimental.
'The moment a blind man regains his sight, the first thing he throws away is the stick that guided him his whole life.'
"Thanks…" Gildarts muttered, though he still didn't seem very happy.
'Honestly, I don't think he even cared that much about restoring them. Both of us are doing this for Cana's sake.'
"Don't think this means I accept you as my son in law," Gildarts declared coolly.
Cana immediately bonked him.
"You don't have a choice!"
"Heh, looks like this is karma for being a womanizer," Shun added mercilessly.
"!"
"You bastard… I'll live long enough to see your face in twenty years when your daughter gets tricked by some scumbag…"
"Don't say something so awful. It might be your granddaughter instead."
"!!!"
"I'LL KILL THIS BASTARD!"
"…"
Cana developed a headache watching the two most important men in her life argue like idiots.
——
After the task was done, Shun returned to the One Piece world.
As for the little argument with Gildarts, neither side took it seriously. After all, Shun had the ultimate trump card.
One question alone would be enough.
'Who do you think reunited the two of you when you couldn't even recognize your own daughter?'
On the other hand, Gildarts was mostly relieved. Despite Shun's occasional scummy nature, his daughter was with a man capable of protecting her from anything.
After his brief clash with the giant black dragon, where he had nearly died in a single exchange, Gildarts realized that instead of worrying about his own life, he had been worried about his daughter's future.
'Well, enough joking around. I should head to Weatheria. Their training arc is over, and they'll be setting sail tomorrow.'
'Since it's the last day, we can go all out.'
While thinking that, Shun created two pairs of Seaprism Stone handcuffs and entered the house.
"Shun! You're here!"
Nami greeted him energetically, while Robin smiled in relief. Today was their last day here but Shun wasn't visiting them, so when he finally arrived they felt relieved and glad.
Until both of them noticed what he was holding.
"…"
——
Yawn!
Shun woke up, cooked breakfast, then went to wake the two girls.
Their morning went smoothly.
"I'll take you two to Sabaody. Let me know when you're ready."
"Okay."
Robin and Nami were dressed far more modestly compared to how they dressed in the original timeline.
POP-!
——
They arrived at Grove 13, home to Shakky's Rip-Off Bar.
This place was not only the Straw Hats' reunion point, but also the venue for Shun and Rayleigh's book release event, though Rayleigh himself had no idea it was happening, despite being Shun's unwilling partner in crime.
Shun began constructing a simple yet modern looking high-end hall with proper air ventilation, large enough to hold around a thousand people.
'I don't think that many people will show up. This should be more than enough.'
'Anyway, today's the day. I can feel it. He's definitely coming today!'
Shun was unusually excited.