Though the Feilong was much faster than other ships its size, Thomas and Co were barely a quarter of the way to their destination after a week on the sea. They had more than enough supplies to last an entire month, but Thomas was becoming restless after getting used to doing paperwork and always being busy.
Fortunately, just as Thomas was beginning to feel as though he had a case of cabin fever, a News Coo arrived with his monthly subscription and a thick stack of Bounty Posters. Before perusing the latter, he opened up the newspaper to find a bold headline, stating, 'ENIES LOBBY ATTACKED!' in all caps. There was also a picture of a beaten and bloody Lucy standing amid a crowd of Marines, seemingly releasing a warcry as she stood over the body of a man Thomas recognized as Rob Lucci.
"What the fuck?" muttered Thomas, his mind unable to comprehend how the Straw Hats found themselves at Enies Lobby. The Water 7 Arc wasn't one he rembered clearly, but he was fairly certain their main reason for assailing Enies Lobby was to save Robin. With the latter safely concealed, the only explanation Thomas could think of was that Franky had captured to obtain his knowledge of Pluton.
Reading through the article, the only things Thomas learned were clearly propaganda. It accused the Straw Hats of attempting to assassinate the Mayor of Water 7, taking advantage of the Aqua Laguna to devastate the city, hijacking the Sea Train, and 'massacring' hundreds of brave and loyal Marines at Enies Lobby.
Though Thomas did not doubt that Lucy had inadvertently killed people, she wasn't the type to perpetrate a massacre. Zoro had fewer inhibitions, but his mastery had reached the point where he could decide when and when not to cut through an object.
Setting aside the paper, Thomas began flipping through the updated Bounty Posters. His Bounty hadn't changed in the slightest, but there were quite a few new Bounties worthy of ntion. This included Chiron, who had been assigned a Bounty of 992,000,000 after being recognized as Drake's second-in-command, but the most notable listings were those of Lucy, Zoro, Usopp, Chopper, Franky, and, most surprisingly, the 'Dead Only' Bounty of Nami...
--------------------
[WANTED]
[Photo of Lucy smiling and making peace signs]
Dead or Alive
"Straw Hat" Monkey D. Lucy
Bounty: 280,000,000 Berries
Cris: Attempted Assassination, Hijacking the Sea Train, Attacking Governnt Officials, Assaulting Marine Officers, Kidnapping, Terrorism, Using a Devil Fruit to Commit Criminal Acts
--------------------
--------------------
[WANTED]
[Photo of Zoro grinning like a demon with a sword in his mouth]
Dead or Alive
"Pirate Hunter" Roronora Zoro
Bounty: 140,000,000 Berries
Cris: Attempted Assassination, Hijacking the Sea Train, Attacking Governnt Officials, Assaulting Marine Officers, Kidnapping, Terrorism, Maiming Hundreds of Marines
--------------------
--------------------
[WANTED]
[Photo of Usopp wearing David's outfit]
Dead or Alive
"Slingshot" Usopp
Bounty: 30,000,000 Berries
Cris: Attempted Assassination, Hijacking the Sea Train, Attacking Governnt Officials, Assaulting Marine Officers, Kidnapping, Terrorism
--------------------
--------------------
[WANTED]
[Photo of Chopper in his Monster Point, hands covered in blood]
Dead or Alive
"Monster Doctor" Chopper
Bounty: 75,000,000 Berries
Cris: Attempted Assassination, Hijacking the Sea Train, Attacking Governnt Officials, Assaulting Marine Officers, Kidnapping, Terrorism, Utilizing Illegal Drugs, Using Chemical Weapons on a Civilian Population, Using a Devil Fruit to Commit Criminal Acts
--------------------
--------------------
[WANTED]
[Censored photo of Franky striking a pose]
Alive Only
"Streaking Cyborg" Franky
Bounty: 88,000,000 Berries
Cris: Attempted Assassination, Hijacking the Sea Train, Attacking Governnt Officials, Assaulting Marine Officers, Kidnapping, Terrorism, Streaking, Illegal Body Modifications, Stealing Governnt Property
--------------------
--------------------
[WANTED]
[Photo of Nami wearing traditional Shandoran garnts]
Dead Only
"Lightning Tyrant" Nami
Bounty: 500,000,000 Berries
Cris: Attempted Assassination, Hijacking the Sea Train, Attacking Governnt Officials, Assaulting Marine Officers, Kidnapping, Terrorism, Theft, Burglary, Extortion, Using a Devil Fruit to Commit Criminal Acts
--------------------
Seeing the ring of drums framing Nami's head, Thomas had an expression of genuine disbelief as he asked, "How the fuck did she acquire the Goro-Goro-no-Mi...?"
Though he always suspected the Straw Hats would eventually encounter Enel, Thomas never expected one of the most powerful Devil Fruits in the entire world to fall into Nami's hands. The only explanation was that Enel had been killed, causing his Devil Fruit to respawn sowhere in Skypiea.
Considering Enel found the Goro-Goro-no-Mi in Skypiea, it wasn't too difficult to believe that it would respawn there. What Thomas couldn't believe was that Nami, of all people, had found it. He knew she had an affinity with weather and lightning, but this was far too ideal an outco to be coincidental...
Raising his eyes skyward, Thomas imagined he could see the wrinkled face of Zelretch smiling down at him. At the sa ti, he imagined how his future encounter with Nami would go. She never struck him, but she was prone to violent outbursts even as a fairly ordinary person. With the power to command lightning...well, it wasn't difficult to imagine why she had been given the moniker 'Lightning Tyrant.'
Deciding to look at the silver lining, Thomas muttered, "At least now I don't have to worry about them lacking firepower..."
As the Goro-Goro-no-Mi was a Logia that gave the user the power to transform into, manipulate, and emit lightning, it was one of the few Devil Fruits considered to make the user 'invincible.' It was hard-countered by Lucy's rubber body, but any other person would be overwheld by the fruit's ability to pump out lightning exceeding 200,000,000 Volts. If that didn't work, the user could simply escape at the speed of lightning, a velocity that could only be exceeded by the wielder of the Pika-Pika-no-Mi.
"Read anything interesting?" asked a voice from behind Thomas.
Turning around, Thomas found Chloe standing behind him in an outfit not all that dissimilar to Caenis's bikini jean-shorts combo. The notable differences were that she had on a pair of thigh-high striped leggings and, unlike Caenis, she didn't have much to show even when wearing scant attire.
Furrowing her brows, Chloe asserted, "You just thought sothing very rude, didn't you...?"
After putting up with Chloe's antics for more than four months, three of which were spent cohabitating within the Imperial Suite, Thomas barely had a reaction to her appearance and accusation, replying, "Despite the changes we've introduced to the tiline, Lucy and the Straw Hats still ended up attacking Enies Lobby. Nami also ca into possession of the Goro-Goro-no-Mi, a Devil Fruit that allows her to beco and manipulate lightning."
Raising her brows, Chloe remarked, "Sounds OP," before picking up the discarded newspaper. She had gotten along fairly well with Lucy during their short ti together, so she was curious to see what the article said despite knowing it was 90% nonsense.
With a reading rate exceeding 20,000 words per minute, Chloe grasped everything written in the article in a single glance, her face forming into a frown as she remarked, "These bastards don't hold back when it cos to laying out accusations, do they...?"
Exhaling a faint sigh, Thomas held up one of the many Bounty Posters as he said, "If only that were the case with my Bounty..."
--------------------
[WANTED]
[Photo of Thomas with obsidian-black skin covered in glowing, circuit-like patterns]
Dead or Alive
"Steel-Body" Thomas Jensen
Bounty: 71,000,000 Berries
Cris: Grand Larceny, Assaulting a Marine Officer, Resisting Arrest
--------------------
Adopting a mischievous grin, Chloe playfully remarked, "You have no one but yourself to bla for being such a 'good guy.' From the perspective of the Marine higher-ups, you probably aren't even considered a legitimate threat. I an, you literally marched the Marines attempting to catch you out of the city, all to avoid civilian casualties and collateral damage."
Furrowing his brows, Thomas set the Bounty Posters aside, responding with a lazy, "Yeah, yeah..." before eting the pink-haired imp's gaze and asking, "So, what's up? Today's Sunday, so we shouldn't have any training or lessons."
Shrugging her shoulders, Chloe revealed, "I was playing Mahjong with Caenis, Astolfo, and Ruby when things started getting a little heated. I ca outside to get so fresh air and noticed you talking to yourself. I thought you might have finally lost it, so I ca over to check. Now that I'm here, it looks like I was worried for nothing."
Exhaling a tired sigh, Thomas turned and leaned against the railing of the ship, staring out at the seemingly endless blue sea as he muttered, "There really isn't much to do when sailing from island to island, is there...?"
Making herself a little too comfortable, Chloe joined Thomas in leaning against the ship's railing with their elbows touching as she said, "Well, if the information we've acquired is accurate, Tokyoku should be similar to Japan in the late 1900s. They even make their schoolgirls wear bloors during gym class."
"..."
Looking down at the pink-haired nymphette, Thomas waited for Chloe to return his gaze before remarking, "You're such a degenerate..." in a dull, accusatory tone.
Instead of refuting the claim, Chloe narrowed her eyes and grinned from ear to ear. Though she had a keen interest in the relationships between n and won, most of her 'experience' was with other young girls. She enjoyed teasing Thomas, but nowhere near as much as she liked ssing with Illya, Miyu, and several other girls from her world.
Bumping into Thomas's shoulder, Chloe teased, "Maybe I wouldn't be so focused on other girls if I had a strong, kind-hearted man to depend on..."
Shaking his head, Thomas retained a cool head as he replied, "At this point, I barely even feel like aiming for my original targets. I might have considered it if you used a Spell or Devil Fruit to age yourself up, but I'm not exactly hurting for intimate partners..."
Exhaling a tired sigh, Chloe propped her head up on the palms of her hands as she muttered, "Illya and I are presently the sa age as your little Princess. If the Straw Hats end up training for two years, we'll be eighteen by the ti you start getting serious..."
Turning her eyes up at Thomas, Chloe added, "Other than Shirou, there aren't a lot of guys we can 'entrust' ourselves to in this world. Even if we found one, would you really allow a guy to move into the Imperial Suite and share the sa bath with your other won?"
Without missing a beat, Thomas replied, "There are baths in each room for a reason. There is also nothing 'requiring' you to stay in the Imperial Suite. It's just safer and more convenient..."
Adopting an uncharacteristically somber expression, Chloe's voice was barely a whisper as she asked, "So, that's it, then? We're completely legal back in our world, ntally mature, and fully willing, but you still won't lay a hand on us? You're going to make us find so random guy or have us wait until the end of your adventures to experience sothing you get to experience every day?"
"..."
Instead of imdiately responding to Chloe's words, Thomas rose from the taffrail and ran his fingers through his hair. He knew he wasn't exactly being 'fair.' In fact, back in his previous world, he would argue in favor of legal lolis being able to enter into physical relationships as the alternative didn't make sense. It was as nonsensical as that female politician from GATE attempting to talk down to and lecture the character Rory rcury despite the latter being a 961-year-old Demigoddess...
"Tell you what..." said Thomas. "If you can get Illya's, Miyu's, and Shirou's permission, I'll no longer make a fuss over your appearance. Deal?"
Without hesitation, Chloe slapped the taffrail and replied, "Deal!" with a massive grin on her face. She originally had no plans to pursue Thomas seriously, but his perpetually expanding Mana capacity was beginning to drive her crazy. Being around him and his Servants was like having a vast buffet in front of her but only being allowed to eat oatal. Sure, it might be her 'favorite' oatal, but variety was the spice of life...
Seeing Chloe abruptly vanish into thin air, a wry smile developed across Thomas's face. He felt like his toe had slipped over a line he himself had drawn, but he didn't let it bother him. Chloe had made so reasonable points, and now that he had decreased his height to a comparably ta 190cm, she didn't appear nearly as tiny as she used to...
With such thoughts in his mind, Thomas mused, "At least Benienma will be happy..." Not just because she was suddenly in the running as one of his bedmates, but because he would definitely be going to Hell if or when he died...
...
..
.
(A/N: Don't worry, Thomas. One day, you too will have a big boi Bounty...)
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