HI! I WANTED TO MAKE AN ENGLISH VERSION, BITE ME! ANYWAY, I HOPE IT SEEMS LIKE I PUT EFFORT INTO THIS, SO PLEASE! BE CONSTRUCTIVE IN YOUR CRITICISM!

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Chapter 1: I am Edward Newgate

Location: Marineford

The war that broke out on this land was a hellscape, a display of catastrophes, one after another. The World Government knew what would happen by announcing the execution of "Portgas D. Ace", the 2nd Commander of the Whitebeard Pirates Division. The Yonkou better known as, "The Strongest Man in the World", the one with the power to destroy the world, Edward Newgate. Blood was shed from Pirates and Marines, during the last hours of endless battle, which seemed as If days to go by.

Whitebeard maintained his reputation for being the strongest Yonkou, leaving a trail of destruction, and staining the pride of Vice Admirals, Swordsmen, Giant Warriors, and even Sea Warlords, who believed they were the strongest, their expressions by seeing the display of power of Whitebeard; He made them succumb to fear, that man ... no, that monster, was not something they had ever faced or wanted to face, never in their lives.

However, the World Government had their own monsters. The 3 Admirals, Sakasuki "Akainu", Kuzan "Aokiji", Borsalino "Kizaru", Garp "The Hero" and of course. Fleet Admiral, Sengoku "The Great Buddha". As well as the power of the 7 Sea Warlords and their vast military power against the entire Whitebeard fleet. In a war which seemed to lean in favor of pirates.

Nevertheless…

In the end, "justice" succeded, with the execution of Portgas D. Ace at the hands of the admiral, Akainu, whose action was not contested, given that Whitebeard himself gave him a worthy punishment for having put an end to the life of his " Son".

In the climax of the battle, each side was severely injured and full of losses, no one had the idea of intrusion of another unexpected party. Marshall D. Teach, ex-member of the Whitebeard pirates made his entry into Marineford, next to those who appeared to be prisoners of Impel Down, and a member of the Guard Staff, Shillue, announcing his betrayal to the World Government becoming part of "Blackbeard's Crew."

Although Whitebeard was able to pulverize Teach for a while; in the last second, his wounds and the pain accumulated during the war, at the same time as the two holes that Akainu made in his abdomen and chest, opened, leaving Edward at the mercy of his enemies; who, without compassion, seized their opportunity and riddled mercilessly with guns, spears, katanas and high-powered cannons.

The strongest man in the world, had been completely still after the rain of lead and cuts.

"I-Is it over?" Teach asked when he saw the immobile body of his former "Pops", which emitted smoke, dust and steam

"Whitebeard lost consciousness. I'm sure that, even if you poke him with one finger, He will fall to the ground right away," Shillue said, convinced that even someone like him couldn't still stand after that.

... not even close ...

"It wasn't you ..." Edward's dry and tired voice made Blackbeard's entire crew raise their weapons again, with expressions of disbelief

"AAAAh~, you are still alive?!" Teach backed away scared, already had a deep cut in the middle of his body and bleeding, and he felt his skull is almost fractured, after the beating that his "Pops" gave him.

Edward, tired between sighs, continued his parliament regardless of what Teach said

"The man Roger is waiting for ... at the very least, I can say that it was definitely not you, Teach" his comment left him slightly confused, but Whitebeard continued.

"Just like there are those who carry Roger's will. I am sure someone will carry Ace's will as well, ... Even if you extinguish their bloodline, there is no way their flame will be consumed. It has been passed since ancient times ... And in the future! Someday ... someone will appear, carrying those decades of history on their backs ... and challenge this world to a battle ... "

"Sengoku ... you and the World Government ... everyone will fear the immense battle that will engulf the entire world, which will eventually come." The aforementioned fleet admiral was indifferent to the statements of the dying Yonkou

"I am not interested ... but ... the moment someone finds that great treasure, the whole world will be turned on its head..." this time Sengoku frowned sharply, to which this old man might be implying or about to say.

"And someone is going to find it ... That day will definitely come sooner or later ... Gurarara~"

Sengoku's expression was furious

Whitebeard took a deep breath. And having the image of his old best friend's face. He didn't doubt what his last words were going to be.

"¡THE ONE PIECE ..."

"DOES EXIST~!"

"DAMN YOU!" Sengoku cursed what could be, the last legacy of Whitebeard

With its revealing final words to the Pirate world. The Great Yonkou, Edward Newgate, as known as "Whitebeard"

*Forgive me…my sons. I am responsible for rising one hell of a fool. But thanks to all of you, I had everything I ever wanted. This is it for me. I've been traveling for such a long time.*

"It was a great voyage."

*I am deeply grateful.

Goodbye, my sons! Thank you for giving this old man a … family*

He says goodbye to this world. Proudly dying standing.

Although he is dead. His Body doesn't collapse

In this war the number of wounds he received by swords was, 267. The number of wounds he received by firearms, 562 and he was shot with cannonballs 46 times, apart from resisting the attacks of the 3 admirals of the navy.

And even so. On his proud back, where his fleet's Jolly Roger is tattooed, in Testament to his Pride, upon the back of his body, throughout his whole life as a pirate.

Not a single wound of retreat scars it!

*I can be at peace ... now ...* Edward saw darkness once he felt his soul leaving his body, without hesitation, he let the judgment that heaven has for him, be a fair one, even if he is aware that he will end up in hell as every good pirate, he will live his other life as he pleases.

*If I had the chance to start over ... I would probably end up being a pirate again ..., just kidding, Gurarara~* in his innocent laugh, he let that which led him to the underworld do its job, and leave the problems left to the living, his time was over.

.

.

.

.

"Do you think so? How boring"

*Right? Making the same decisions a second time, something you would only ... expect ... from ... naïve ... brats ...* Edward stopped thinking for a moment, and then started thinking again

*Huh?*

BAM

Like a large concrete block, Edward fell into what appeared to be a refined wooden floor, oddly enough, it did not end up breaking, quickly regaining his composure he immediately realized many things, not only returned to his body, just recently he felt like his soul left the living world, that strange voice that took him out of his trance, transported him to an extremely rare room and in his opinion, "rustic" and "aristocrat"

"How did I get here?"

Edward looked around, it was a fairly large bedroom, with huge shelves full of books, and study objects, including a living room with a fireplace and two armchairs, one of which suspiciously adjusted to his size and dimensions, next to one More common size and very decorated one. Exploring further, there seemed to be no doors or windows, it was like an immense space, but it clearly occupied only four corners, too strange, even for a man like him who has seen almost everything.

"Did you finish your inspection, Mr. Newgate?"

The voice that was clearly noticed now, was of a female, in front of the giant pirate man, an unknown figure appeared, but, if he had to put it in perspective, it was a beautiful woman, incredibly beautiful, wearing a white dress with silver designs, and a veil covering her face, only exposing her pink blond hair. However, her beauty was not an important factor for Edward since he also keep his guard up, taking a defensive pose.

"Please refrain from your hostile suspicions about me, I can assure you that I am not an enemy" she raised her hands, letting him understand that she was completely unarmed.

"Ah, yes ..." Edward didn't undo his guard, since he has met many people who are capable of doing even more damage without using weapons

"I see, I understand your confusion, and I understand your reasoning to distrust me, but please, quietly, take a seat, and listen to what I have to say, just that I ask. I'm sure I can assist with any questions you might have right now" She calmly settled in the small chair, Edward did not take his eyes off her, at any movement she could make that seemed suspicious, but seeing his few options available, and as the current situation is completely unknown, he decide to accept her request, accommodate in the sofa.

*Hm, it doesn't feel so bad, I would have liked to have one of these in the Moby Dick* he thought.

"Thank you very much" she respectfully inclined her head to see how he accepted her offer. Despite that, Whitebeard pointed her out and with a withering look, exclaimed.

"Let it be clear, I do not understand very well what happened, or how I get here. But no matter how you explain my situation, it will be up to you to make me believe if what you say is true or not. The moment I see what you say are nothing but nonsense, I will make my way out of here ... by force" emphasizing flexing his fist imbued with Armor Haki

...

"I'm not worried", she replied with a rather calm attitude, making Edward raise one of his eyebrows slightly impressed.

"Ho, and can I know why?"

She smiled.

"Because I'm sure, someone like you will know if I'm lying" he can easily see a confident smile under her white robe, Whitebeard seeing her confidence and arrogant attitude, evoked his characteristic laugh with euphoria.

"GURARARARA~! You're not as flimsy as I thought, well, mysterious lady. I'm all ears"

With this, the hooded woman revealed her face, Edward, who just a moment ago was laughing, was now with his eyes widened, and in shock, the person in front of him was someone who thought he could be nothing more than a ghost, someone who should have had passed away many years ago.

"R-Rouge?!" He was about to shoot out of his chair, it was impossible for him, but ... her white and fragile skin like winter snow, freckles on her cheeks and silky pink blond hair, it was impossible to confuse her, Roger boasted of her every time he had the opportunity when they visited her port, every time she appeared to offer them liquor and snacks during their visits.

Before Edward could say anything, she had already put her hand in front of him and stopping him, allowing her to take the floor.

"I'm sorry, but I'm not Portgas D. Rouge, I can understand your confusion, you're not the first person to make that statement" she said, Edward still upset, held back his actions and calmed down a bit.

"I-I see, I'm sorry…" he slowly settled back in his seat. Now, she started making her explanation.

"My name is Gabriel, I am an Archangel, a heavenly entity that is in charge of" reviewing "the souls that pass into the underworld. My job is to examine the life that this soul had, and depending on their actions, they will be sent to Paradise or Hell."

Explained the now self-proclaimed "Archangel", Edward remained stoic at her revelation, he was on the Sky Island, he could clearly say that this woman was one more inhabitant and was only delirious ... however, he questioned the fact of being alive, no, not only to be alive, the wounds on his body disappeared completely, he didn't even have his characteristic scars.

"Do you have any idea how many people die every day? You have to make revisions at high speed" made his point in testing an idea he had in mind; for some reason, a reason as to why he was here

"Yes"

"And yet, why do you take your time with me? I don't want to feel important nor special, seventy-four years, that shouldn't be so much for someone like you. Unless, that my meeting with you is for something, outside of you line of work. Am I wrong?" He said with a daring look, the Archangel was silent for a moment, suddenly, she made two cups and a kettle appear on the table, then began to serve what appeared to be coffee.

"Sugar?" she asked with a cheerful and calm expression, Whitebeard just nodded, and took his cup, which was adjusted to his measurements, he started to no give a damn about it anymore.

"As for your question, Mr. Newgate. Indeed, my meeting with you is something completely outside the limits of what my profession asks me. But there is a reason for that."

"And that reason would be?" He began to take a sip of his cup, with a raised eyebrow, and a selfless but expectant look.

"You were chosen to be reincarnated" she clap jovially

"¡PFFFFFFFF!"

Edward quickly spit out his drink, if before he was confused, now he was at nothing, definitely what this woman was telling him could either be lies, or he was under the illusion of some devil fruit user or even at this point magic, or chemicals like hallucinogenic gases.

"Oh my, excuse me, I surely should have made this statement a little less subtle, my mistake. Napkin?" she offered to clean the remains of coffee on his face and clothes, Whitebeard regained his composure once again

"Reincarnate ... you say? You mean ... Come back to life?" he asks quite skeptically

"Yes and no. Reincarnating means replanting your soul in a different place, with a new body, but retaining your memories and whatever else you have kept from your past life." She explained

"Is there a reason as to why, I, from among many other people have been chosen to reincarnate?"

"If you wish, I can name the most prominent ones, fufu~" she smiled happily, making a book appear, a GREAT book, whose cover he wrote in gold letters. "Edward Newgate," she opened the book on a random page.

"You freed countless young people from slavery, and offered them a home among your ranks for your fleets"

"I just needed to recruit more men, that's all" he crossed his arms, staying indifferent, she just smiled and turned the page

"You protected countless islands from the greed of other pirates, and defended their inhabitants without thinking twice"

"T-They are part of my Territory. As a Yonkou, it is natural that I enforce those islands that carry my Flag, that is obvious."

Next page

"You freed hundreds of Gyojin from slavery, and even took their entire island under your name so that no other side put their hands on them."

"I just wanted to settle my debt with Jinbei, nothing more, nothing less"

Next page

"You respected Roger's execution, even though you wanted to avoid his death, you didn't object it, or tried to move a little, since your friend and rival had already made his decision"

"..." Edward did not made a come back this time, it was true, even if the strongly sprouted veins on his legs begged him to go rescue his friend, Roger had already told him that he wanted to start this "revolution", and that the only way to do it, was to start there on the day of his death.

"And how can we forget your greatest merit. Risking everything, your life more than anything, for rescuing your "Son". All your actions on Marineford are worthy for someone who has earned the right to have another chance." she smiled warmly and closed the book, Whitebeard remained stoic and silent. All this talk, had reminded him every moment in his life, every decision, every regret, every laugh, every tear, pain and joy, it were those little moments along with his family, that made him feel so…good.

"I've ... listen enough" he abruptly got up from his seat and stared at Gabriel, he was sure of something, he was still not convinced. "Tell me, young lady. You told me why I should be reincarnated. But what I want to know is Why I will be reincarnated. I am sure you have some kind of mission, or purpose for me" he crossed his arms waiting for her response, she to his surprise, put her head down a little, showing a rather sad expression

"You will be reincarnated in a world. That is facing a very difficult situation."

Edward continued listening.

"Right now, a group of sorcerers want to invoke four legendary heroes, who are said to end the threat that attempts to destroy their world" she explained.

"Sorcerers? You know what? Never mind. Then, you want me to be one of those legendary heroes."

She shook her head in negation.

"Unfortunately, they were already selected, they will be invoked shortly, but ..."

"But…?"

"It will not be enough, I have seen what these boys are going against, what they will face is not something they are used to, they looked extremely confident and arrogant in their first fights, but I am afraid that the catastrophe will consume them and they will not be able to protect anyone" slowly tears began to fall down the archangel's cheeks

"What threat are we talking about?"

"They are called "Waves", from time to time, they are released on the mortals realm, before this did not happen, but the seal that contained them has weakened over time, soon, there will no longer be intervals between the Waves, and eventually, they will consume the entire world, those Waves, unleash dangerous creatures, monsters, demons of all kinds. The heroes will fight until their last breath and ... in the end, they will all perish."

He clenched his fists tightly; he saw her tears ran through her beautiful face.

"That's why I do this! I don't want anyone else to suffer! Since ancient times in every generation of heroes that are sent, and even if they succeed, their story is doomed to repeat itself. A-At least, this time, I want do something" Finally, the calm woman broke into tears and a genuine cry for help, Whitebeard seeing this, a shadow that covered his face, his discontent, slowly, put his giant hand on the head of the Archangel, this alertly looked up, seeing an smiling Edward

"The last thing this old man needs to see, is a young woman crying. Tell me, what do I have to do?"

She, seeing his conviction and the seriousness in his words, she quickly wiped away her tears and put on a warm and grateful smile again.

"You have no idea of the good you have done, and yet you decide to continue doing it, there is no doubt that you are a good person"

"I grew up watching many people do horrible things, I just wanted to make a difference. Then I realized that the only way to do so, was to be a free man, and there is nothing freer than a Pirate, Gurara~"

She nodded smiling, and began making preparations for reincarnation, she had to hurry, there was not much time to lose.

"I will explain some basic information about the place you will arrive, while I finish making the Magic Circle" she told him about how the 4 heroes will be invoked in the Reign of Aultcray King in the Melromarc country, she don't know the names of the heroes, since they change with each generation, but they are always The Hero of the Spear, The Bow, The Sword and The Shield. Gabriel put special emphasis on the latter

"Shield, you say?" he asked as he stood in the circle, she had made

"That's right, there was a time when he had special respect, but, an involuntary accident caused his name to be tainted, the generation that came after that incident ... The Hero of the Shield became the most belittled, and in each later story, he ends up being the first to die, or he ends up committing suicide due to the hatred and contempt of the people, however, his power is hidden in his willpower, in the deepest part of his being, in each story, he is alone , and that power can never be exploited. But this time, this time it will be different, at least, at least I hope so. Sometimes, the story does not change just by adding more things ..." she was undecided in her words for a moment, seeing this, Edward had to put his words into work

"Girl, if what this kid needs is something that raises his confidence, then I'll make sure to give him a role model to clear his name. Trust this old man, I've had lots of brats under my mantle, one more is always is welcome, Gurarara~" with his big smile and his cheerful laugh, Gabriel cleared her doubts and started the magical chanting

"Thank you, Mr. Newgate, without a doubt you were the best choice for this reincarnation, though, this is more a wish of mine than an action of the system, I just hope they don't scold me for this"

Something unexpected went through Whitebeard's mind at that moment, a thought that eaten his mind at some point in his conversation ...

"Hey, Gabriel"

"Yes? The spell is almost over."

"Tell me, did someone else come before me ... who also had the opportunity to be reincarnated?" He asks, a little sadness could be noticed in his speech, while clenching his fists tightly, Gabriel decided to be as honest as possible.

"Few earn that right. You are, in fact, the first exception, usually people who die of old age or due to cardiovascular disease at a late age, are given normal treatment like other souls. The reason why I brought it here for his reincarnation, I already explained it, it is my wish ... "

Edward left his hopes low, maybe he just thought about it too much.

"I see ... it's not like there was the possibility-"

"But! He was allowed to"

Whitebeard whose gaze was tired, heartbroken and dejected, had now filled with hope.

"What did you say?"

"Because he died at such a young age, isn't it obvious that he would get a chance?" she smiled warmly, Edward's old heart too, filled again with hope

"I see, so Ace couldn't just choose to have peace, as soon as he was given the option to start another life, he didn't think twice. This boy, always full of energy and never staying still. It was obvious that he wanted to move on. As his Father, I am really happy"

Whitebeard to receive the news and to see how the portal light grew stronger, closed his eyes, hoping to see what the future holds for this old pirate

"Good luck, Edward Newgate, whether this life or another. I am sure you will continue to be a good man. This spell will reincarnate you on the outskirts of the city. During the trip, you can choose what clothes and weapons to wear and use. Farewell."

The light filled the room for a brief moment, once the reincarnation was over, the body of the old 21 Ft giant disappeared.

The forest near the kingdom of Melromarc remained calm, nature was elegant, wide grassland and lush trees, frankly, it was a beautiful natural green, in the middle of the forest, on the grass a huge sacred circle of white color was drawn, shining strongly, a beam of light shot towards the skies, creating a distortion in the wind, it was only a fraction of a second, impossible to be noticed in human sight.

In the middle of the circle, a young man stood up slowly, wearing light yellow baggy pants which, part of his calves were put inside it's big black boots, a dark purple bow tied at the waist, a sleeveless vest colored white, with red lines at the ends covered in his upper torso, but exposing his stocky abs and hard pectorals. This young man also wore a black bandage tied to his head, from which stood a long blonde hair. In every sense of the word, this young man in the eyes of any young lady was incredibly handsome.

"When she said that I would have a new body ... I wouldn't believe she meant this ..." The young man looked at his arms, his body, and touched his face, felt his long hair. After finishing checking everything, he took a deep breath and shouts to the sky, no, beyond the skies themselves, to be heard

"I FEEL FIFTY YEARS YOUNGER! GURARARARARA~!"

Edward Newgate felt more than good, he felt unstoppable, a new heart, new kidneys, new liver. A whole new and young body, HIS, new and young body. He looked around inspecting the area, obviously looking at the huge castle ahead, before making his way, he realized that there was something blinking in his line of sight.

"Hum?" when he noticed that icon, suddenly a huge image appeared in front of him, that startled him to the point of making him fall, a little shocked, he got up again

"I know I have a new heart ... but that was unnecessary. Let's see what this is" he reopened the huge box that showed a lot of names, numbers and other ramifications

(One Piece OST: The Very, Very, Very Strongest)

EDWARD NEWGATE (24 years / 2.66m / 8.72Ft). LVL 1

STRENGHT: +500

PERCEPTION: +200

ENDURANCE: +400

CHARISMA: +150

INTELLIGENCE: +250

AGILITY: +150

LUCK: +100

ABILITIES

OBSERVATION HAKI: LVL 1

Ability of Perception and Agility to feel life forms and prevent attacks

Perception of living beings: 50m radius

Premonition of enemy attacks: 5m radius

ARMAMENT HAKI: LVL 1

Strength and endurance ability, cover your body with an invisible armor, with high offensive and defensive ability

Increase defense and resistance by 30%, increase attack by 20%, chance to cripple by 15%

CONQUEROR HAKI: LVL 1

Ability of Strength and Charisma. Power over the will of their enemies, those affected will lose consciousness or to a lesser extent, persuaded to cooperation

Effect radius, 15m. It only works on enemies whose resistance and strength both physical and mental, is lower than that of the bearer, otherwise you can only "stun" the enemy, if you manage to weaken your opponent enough to meet the requirements, it can also be effective against high level enemies

UNIQUE SKILL: ¿LVL ...?

Gura-Gura Fruit

Allows its user the power to create or distort the vibrations and vectors in any medium, land, sea and sky. Turning it into a "Tremor Man" Also change the tilt axis of any terrain, create devastating shock waves in any direction.

Colossal Destructive Power

PASSIVE SKILL

Feel the vibrations in the land, sea or air

WEAPONS

…Waiting…

V

-Open-

That option was shining brightly and tilting, so Edward, even without fully understanding what this thing meant, he had the impression that he should concentrate on the same way he did to open the other square, the option emitted a glow. glowing, the box closed, and in front of him, the light began to form and materialize in a long gun

"She even had this prepared for me. I may not know what all nonsense was, but I can safely say what is in front of me" without hesitation, the great pirate took the handle of what will be a great spear, his "body" of Crimson leather adorned with a black ribbon that wraps around it in a spiral, at the end a gold plate with an outstanding blade of perfectly sharp black metal

"My Bisento, old friend, even if it was only a few moments, it felt like years, it is good to have you with me even in my new life ... Hum? A note?" indeed a piece of paper was tied next to the gold piece, Edward took it to see what was written

"A gift, I wish you the best of lucks" - Gabriel

"Hm, cunning girl. You knew that I would not dare to get a new weapon if I could not have my Bisento" already with his old weapon on his side once again, Whitebeard checked his statistics again, seeing if they had been updated

WEAPONS

*Spear weapon equipped*

MURAKUMOGIRI: LEGENDARY WEAPON

Weapon Blessed with an Unbreakable Material, capable of channeling the powers of the Gura-Gura Fruit and Armament Haki

*Blessed? That angel girl surely made some tweaks, I won't complain if it continues to work as it did before. That "Unbreakable Material" thingy is a left over, Gurara~*

Said and done, he made his way to the castle of the Melromarc family where surely the heroes have already been summoned, you had to go fast, it wasn't far, but Edward also didn't want to walk with a new heart.

"If I get tired with this body just for traveling this distance. That angel girl will take a good scolding. Gurarara~"

In the Melromarc castle, in front of the King's room, four young men had been summoned in front of his presence, each one of them was a young man, almost everyone.

"I am the King of this country, my name is Aultcray the thirtieth 2nd ruler of Melromarc. You, my heroes, if you save this country, you will be immensely rewarded. Besides that, I have prepared help funds. I ask you to work to the fullest ... now, I will listen to your names" the King asked with a high stand towards the 4 young people who looked quite relaxed, except for the one wearing the green sweater, who still looked quite confused

"My name is Kitamura Motoyasu! I am Twenty-one years old, I am a university student" the oldest of the four presented himself, with a somewhat smug smile, despite being a good-looking boy at first sight

"Mine is Kawasaki Itsuki, I'm seventeen years old, I'm from High School" the young man showed a friendly and cooperative smile

"I am Amaki Ren, sixteen, I am also in High School" he evoked an indifferent and reluctant expression

"U-Um, my name is ..."

"I see, Ren, Itsuki and Motoyasu, well ..." the King ignored the last young man who was about to present making him startle

"Um, I haven't said mine yet, your highness!" He caught his attention, even though the King looked at him, with such eyes that showed a feeling of disgust and hate towards his presence.

"Ah, the Shield Hero, of course. Go ahead" he gave the word, although a little threatening in his tone of voice

"… Iwatani Naofumi, I am Twenty years old, I am also a University student" the remaining Hero appeared, a little nervous about the glances he received.

*What's going on, something about this whole situation doesn't feel right? Darn it…*

On the outskirts of the castle, a considerable number of middle-level adventurers were seen entering, apparently the King announced the arrival of the Legendary Heroes, and requested adventurers from the guild to provide their support. Although they were already organized in advance for the Hero assigned to them, of course, none of them are there to join the Shield Hero, direct orders from the King himself and the Major Princess.

At the Entrance to the Kingdom

The Knights who guarded the wall and the suspension bridge yawned from boredom, today they had a very bland and uninteresting day, they almost wished that something out of the ordinary would happen, anything was fine for them.

TREMOR

Their wish was fulfilled.

"AGH! SOMETHING IS COMING AHEAD, AT HIGH SPEED!" One of the watchtowers warned how a large gust of land was being lifted by…. ¿A man? RUNNING AT, THEM?!

The soldiers were in shock, they had never believed that a human being could have as much strength in their footsteps as to lift so much dust when running.

"TAKE YOUR WEAPONS, IT CAN BE AN ATTACK!" all the knights present took their swords, next to them also met sorceresses with their staff raised, ready for the assault at any time.

"IS GETTING CLOSER!" the cloud of earth was a few meters away, however, the mysterious figure put the heels in skidding, in an attempt to stop with all his might, causing the earth curtain to fire on the guards in front of the door

One of the magician girls conjured a spell using her staff.

"WIND SCATTER!"

The cloud of earth was completely dissipated in the blink of an eye, by the powerful air spell, revealing the mysterious figure at once. He was a man ... a BIG man, once straighten, he wiped the rest of dust off from his blonde hair and outfit, revealing a young and handsome face, with a calm but firm glance, in a relaxed and smiling expression

"Sorry for the mess" even his voice was incredibly masculine, the young sorceresses blushed at the sight of such a man. The gentlemen said nothing because they got quite nervous. He was strong, they could see it with the naked eye.

However, the commander armed himself with courage, pointing his sword made his statement

"Who are you?! What is your business in this land?!" the blond-haired young man remained stoic, later, with a broad and carefree smile, he replied

"My name, you ask ...?"

In the King's throne room, he who had already clarified and explained the situation to the invoked youth, proceeded to make his next announcement.

"Because the legendary weapons have the irregularity of repelling each other, they will affect the growth of their power. Therefore, I asked the Adventurers Guild to send me their best members, they will assist you four in your training, to become the heroes that will save this country" it was then that the doors opened behind them, letting in a large group of distinguished characters

"It seems that these adventurers have already chosen who they will follow ..." the King smiled, not only watching the groups form, but also how his order was perfectly followed.

"OK NOW, CHOOSE THE HEROE YOU'LL ALLIED WITH" I order the King

Quickly the groups were made, the young Ren took five people, Itsuki got a group of three, Motoyasu his team of four and finally ...

"A-Are you kidding me ...?" the Shield Hero, Iwatani Naofumi, was completely alone.

"For something like this to happen, what a disgrace. It is probably because the Shield Hero has little preference, among other things ..." his glare of disgust said many things, except compassion for the situation of the young man confronted

The comments of the public were also not to made wait, making contempt, mentions and negative opinions about the user of the Legendary Shield.

Naofumi found himself in a very stressful situation at this time, not only was he brought to a different world without his permission, he is now enduring the mockery of a crowd of strangers, mocking the item that choose him by a random turn of events.

A piece of trash.

Please, a shield?

Useless.

"Hey, this is the Royal Chamber, you can't be walking around as you please!" one of the guards, who looked like the most important, due to the design of his armor, stopped the young man of great height and good-looking that was climbing floors as if he were in his house

"Hoh? I apologized for the boldness, but I was called to attend one of the Heroes" replied the young man with a calm attitude, the royal guard quickly under his weapon

"I see, you're from the guild. You're a little late, we thought those who entered recently were all of them. Follow me" the guard guided him to the room where the meeting was held, after a few moments he was in front of the big door of exaggerated decoration

"Thank you ..." the boy was about to open the door, but was stopped again by the guard

"Something wrong?"

"Not really, I just wanted to make sure that you were informed of the King's requirements" the young blond was seen in a small predicament, but, remembering perfectly what was previously told, he could get an idea of what the King would ask for in specific, if it refers to joining one of the heroes.

"Avoid teaming up with the Shield Hero, right?" he replied without hesitation, the guard saw him for a moment, until he let out a sigh of relief.

"Yeah, I just wanted to confirm that. Go ahead," he nodded.

*That was close, you're lucky. I was about to use Haki* he thought

(ONE PIECE OST: OVERTAKEN)

The young man opened the door with a slam of his hand, announcing his entrance and calling everyone's attention, and it was no surprise that suddenly someone bursting the main door with a slam would raise the eyes of the entire audience. The person quickly revealed himself, an incredibly tall, strong and good-looking young man, displaying a long, high-quality kinda spear weapon on his shoulder, which looked quite heavy, a thick, hard chin, with a blond hair sticking out of the handkerchief tied to his head, many of the girls in the audience, and even some adventurous gave romantic sighs.

"It seems that you have some competition, Motoyasu" Itsuki made a joke to his partner, who didn't take it very funny

The King who witnessed the daring act of whom, seemed to be another adventurer of the guild, although he was someone who had never seen before, sincerely, felt a bad feeling about him, precisely for one thing.

*This man ... is strong* so it is, just by seeing him, he could feel that this young man was overflowing with an implacable spirit, as if he had gone to hell, he conquered it, turned it into his summer home and returned to the upper world just to eat and drink liquor. That was the impression the King had when he saw this man.

When the blond-haired boy arrived a few meters from the King, he checked his area, the three young men who already had their equipment made, and one of the boys who only had a pretty woman on his side, it was very obvious who among the boys were the one he is looking for. The King made a stubborn gesture to get his attention

"A-Are you another adventurer? I must say that your sense of time is bad enough, I will let it pass. So, make sure you choose the hero you will follow correctly" the King really emphasized that he should join one of the others three heroes, unfortunately he already knew who he was here for.

So, without hesitation, he took his weapon and pointed his blade, slowly but directly in the direction of the young man, who only had one member on his team.

"Are you ... The Hero of the Shield?" the reaction of the crowd and the King himself plunged into surprise and disbelief, as well as the girl who had joined him

*H-He is... He is defying the King's order?!* That was what the public was weighing.

The young black-haired man, who was somewhat nervous and intimidated, swallowed a little bit of saliva, but he also addressed the tall man with some hesitation

"Y-Yes ... my name is Naofumi Iwatani ... a pleasure" the mysterious man smiled satisfied and returned his weapon, planting it on the ground and leaving the blade pointing up

"Naofumi ... a good name. From now on, I will follow you as your partner. Shield Hero" announced the mysterious man, both the crowd and the King himself were in denial, that someone so powerful suddenly appeared and decided to team up with the person they least loved.

The mysterious man reading the reaction of the public, using an aura of power as well as a little pressure with his Conqueror Haki, he announced

"Is something wrong? I'm sure I'm free to choose which one to follow, right?"

No one objected, not a single word came out of their mouths, not even the other three heroes dared to speak, a cold sweat fell down their foreheads, they felt that if they said something that contradicted his word ...

HE WOULD DESTROY THE CASTLE COMPLETELY

The demonstration of his will power made Naofumi doubt whether accepting this guy was a good idea. But something was certain, with him on his side, maybe people could value him more.

"Hey, Shield Brat ..." the hero was startled when Edward started speaking to him, but one thing caught his attention

"Brat? But…I am almost sure that the age difference between you and I is not that much" Naofumi said, to which the young man gave himself an imaginary slap.

*Mental note: Remember that I am no longer a seventy-year-old geezer* thought to himself, clearing his throat

"Anyway, I ask your name, won't you ask mine?" The boy with the shield blinked a little before he realized that, he got embarrased and apologized to him.

"I would also like to hear your name, young man. Since it is the first time I see you" the King himself also expressed his curiosity, although the blond did not give any importance to his speech, in fact, he has been turning his back on him since he came, although the King decided to said nothing about it.

"I am a person who travels a lot. I rarely stay in the same place. Although ..." he express, leaving his explanation to the expectation

"Although…?" the King encouraged him to continue

He smiled broadly

"Wherever I go. People always seem to remember my name" the others present when they saw his expression somewhat superb, could more or less understand why, he gave the image of someone incredible, of course, his attitude right now, in words of the youngling. He looked cool.

"W-What's your name ...?" Naofumi finally asked the question everyone was waiting for an answer

The man put on a satisfactory smile, grabbing his weapon and putting it back on his shoulder, raising his fist to the level of his chest and clenching it tightly, the veins of his muscles sprouted, some saw surprised as some kind of transparent, unidentified color sphere formed in his fist for a brief moment.

"I am ... Edward Newgate" finally revealed his name, even though no one in the room has ever heard it in their lives, they preferred not to question it.

Naofumi who did not know that name, did not care, put a welcome smile and extended his hand to seal his union to the team.

"It will be a pleasure working with you! Edward-san!" Without hesitation, the former pirate took his hand for a shake, Naofumi could almost hear the bones of his hand cracking, of course, Edward tried to be careful.

"The same I say, Naofumi"

But someone got into the manly greeting of the two newly made new friends.

"E-Excuse me, but I forget to introduce myself to you too." Whitebeard watched as that young girl with red-pink hair intervened between the two.

"Sure, go ahead ..." he asked, although, quite disinterested, it seemed as if he won't bother to remember it.

She, although indignant inside, was not going to let show her true colors, not yet.

"You know me as Mein Sophia, it will be an honor to work with you too, Lord Edward" she bowed, although little interested, Whitebeard preferred not to make a note of the event.

"If you say so, little girl"

With all settle, the King made a gesture to be heard by those present since he had another announcement.

"Seeing that there are no other adventurers who have decided to enlist today. I conclude that these will be the teams. Very well, the funds will be distributed to the heroes every month. Hero of the Shield! Due to your circumstances I will give you a greater bonus than the of others" announced the King

Motoyasu's group received a bag with four hundred silver coins

Ren's team was given the value of six hundred silver coins

Itsuki's squad, four hundred silver coins

While the Naofumi trio, they gave him Seven hundred silver coins

"Originally, they were eight hundred, but with the addition of your new partner it was reduced. Even so, it will be enough for a good team," explained the King to the Naofumi group, who was amazed by the large amount, however, Whitebeard made a careful observation. regarding this "distribution of money"

*So each group gets one hundred coins per member, I don't know the value of the coins in this world, and how the quality of equipment and weapons operates in the market, so I could not make or have a reference with the money of my world or its benefits, but there is something I'm sure. Gold will always be gold, no matter where you go. Silver is good, but you could only get half-use equipment. I doubt that the King of this country would allow the "heroes" that will save his kingdom, to have only a certain amount of money, without using the most influential currency, or the fact that they will only buy second-hand equipment ... it seems somewhat suspicious*

His line of thought was interrupted, when one of the young men decided to open his bag to inspect the amount, although the servants advised to do it outside, Whitebeard could notice the unmistakable yellow glow that bag emitted, without hesitation he took his blade and without prior notice broke the bag.

"W-What?! ... Hey!" Itsuki complained when he saw how, for confirmation of Edward's suspicions, the money he collected was indeed gold coins, with that, he proceeded to glare at the King, a diabolically intimidating aura formed around him, dense enough to be perceived by others.

"What's the meaning of this ... 'your highness'?"

Aultcray felt regretful, he tempted his luck a lot when he tried to do this deception, he never thought that one of the boys would be dumb enough to disobey what they were told about opening their bags outside. Now, this man's immeasurable anger was on his head, or rather, his neck. He had to find a way to persuade him.

"S-Surely it was a misunderstanding. This morning a shipment of liquor came, surely that bag was the payment for that order, am I right?" he put one of his butlers into the matter, who nodded fervently

"I-Indeed, we're sure there was an error, we will bring your real bonus right away"

Whitebeard made a face of disgust and much displeasure, but his aura dissipated, earning a sigh of relief from those present. Even so, he approached the Bow Kid who was collecting the coins with his team, which he decided to help, to the surprise of the team and others, even more surprising were his next words

"Sorry Kid, but I wasn't going to let Naofumi or me get rip off just getting here" he apologized as he picked up the coins, his big hands made the job easier and finished faster.

"I-I understand, as long as you explain why you did it, it seems good enough. Thank you for helping" he offered a grateful smile.

"Hm, don't even mention it. Here, catch" he threw the last gold coin he picked up, with that done, the servant returned with a spare bag for Hero of the Bow and the correct bonus for Naofumi's team.

(Seven hundred gold coins, acquired)

Said and done, the King made a gesture to be heard, had to regain his composure after suffering such a scare from that monster, raised his hand and exclaimed loudly.

"HEROES! YOU CAN ALREADY START, YOUR TRIP TO MAKE YOU STRONGER AND SAVE THIS COUNTRY REST IN YOUR HANDS!"

With this, he dismissed the group of adventurers, quickly taking his exit from the castle. The King breathed a sigh of relief, but at the same time, anger and disgust eaten him inside-out. He called his most trusted staff to discuss the current elephant in the room.

"I want you to investigate as much as you can about this so called ... 'Edward Newgate'. Bring me all the information you can collect from him" he ordered, so that his subjects nodded and began their mission. Leaving only the King and his councilor

"I've never heard of him. Must He be a foreigner?"

"Foreigner or not. He is getting in my way to get rid of the Shield. That by itself is reason enough to execute him, but not yet. Not without a good reason that doesn't make anyone ask questions" the King squeezed the edge of his throne strongly, until veins sprouted in his hands, this whole situation was a danger to him and his plans, not to mention the future of his country.

"I have to assume that's why your oldest daughter is with them, isn't it?"

The king this time outlined an unpleasant smile

"That's right, Malty is without a doubt my best card, if by cheating and coaxing it is, if she is with them. I have no doubt that she can handle those two without problems. I trust her abilities to hide her true colors and make a quick but effective backstabs, hehehe~"

When Naofumi and his new companions left the castle, the first thing the boy with the shield did was thank Edward for having noticed the "mistake" with the money bag, now they have a much better amount of goods.

"Although, seven hundred gold coins. I think it's an incredible amount ... I don't know how much could we use, or how much is need it ..."

"You think so? 'Cuz for me, it isn't really that much of a good loot…" Edward said, taking a surprised look from his two teammates.

"Lord Edward speaks as someone who has seen greater Treasures" Mein said.

"Well, the place I come from ... you could say that I had my own bonuses, of course, all of them earned rightfully in my line of work" I explain with a proud smile and a little guilty. *Sure, all that nice gold was stolen, Gurarara~*

"It is incredible to have someone with monetary experience like you Edward-san, although I am sure that Mein-chan will also know how to use the money" he smiled at his adventurous companion

"That's right, please you can put your trust in me, Lord Hero"

"Starting our adventure with seven hundred gold coins, it seems like a good enough first step. Now it only remains to find a decent store to get some good equipment" proposed the tallest young man, to which the red-haired girl with a charming smile, stood in front of them

"I know the perfect place! I have a little presence in that store since I am his best customer, I am sure they will give us a good recommendation!"

"Really?! You're amazing, Mein-chan!"

"I'm sure they will even have good equipment for someone like you, Lord Edward" the one named put little motivating expression, he didn't seem very interested

"If you say so"

In that way, they left in the direction that Mein led them, not far from the castle, the three saw an establishment that had a sword and shield of decoration on its door, when entering the premises, they sighted equipment of all kinds, of all quite varied sizes and weapons, Edward took a look at the objects with his new "vision", could see the value they represented, weight, attack and defense values.

*The materials don't seem bad at all; I can even say that the cheapest items still have good quality. There is no doubt that the blacksmith of this place is an honest man who loves his work* he thought while examining the works done by the owner of the premises

"Oh, but If it isn't Mein-chan!"

Speaking of the devil, the blacksmith owner of the premises, appeared and fell on the railing, of course, he was surprised to see two new faces along the girl who always came to his shop

"Oh, what do we have here. It seems that now you have a team, hehe" he smiled when he saw his potential new favorite customers, especially when he saw the adventurer who stood out from the two, it was then that his eyes fell on the weapon he wields

*What ... is that ...* using his "appreciation" ability, he inspected the weapon that the young man was carrying, slowly took off from his rail and went slowly to see more closely, the other two were surprised by his change in attitude, They were curious to see him so interested in the weapon his partner carried.

Edward who kept looking at the objects of the place, could not help feeling that someone was too close to him and glaring at him, when he turned to see, was none other than the blacksmith of the store, who did not take his eyes off his weapon

"Hey, would you mind, keep the creepy eyes out of me?" I call your attention to what he woke up from his trance

"O-Oh, sorry, sorry. It was not my intention to bother you, I just couldn't help but see the weapon you wielding, it's not something I see every day." Edward, seeing his genuine interest, noticed that he had no doubles intentions, so he let the blacksmith be able to appreciate his weapon from head to toe, if he thinks he can understand the nature of his antler weapon, maybe he can ask him to make an improvement, if he ever needs it, or take care of the blade edge.

The blacksmith inspected the weapon thoroughly

"There is no doubt, the metal with it was forged must have been of an incredible quality, if anything outside these lands, not to mention its peculiar design, apart from being quite heavy. You must be very strong, boy" the blacksmith praised Whitebeard put on a superb smile

"Well, it is necessary to have good equipment if you venture in places like those that I have been" he presumed quite proud, although it was true, the youth he had in his previous world was full of incredible adventures.

"I see, I can totally see that, but can I ask ... Where and How Did you get it?"

"Hm, it's a pretty funny story, you see ..."

"Ahem!"

Both men were interrupted in their exchange of friendships about weapons, directing their attention to the lady who caught their attention and the young man who only whistled staring around the store

"I'm sorry to bother you, but we have the Shield Hero here, hoping to get new equipment. You can have your men's talk later" both Edward and the blacksmith snapped their tongue, they were really getting along.

"Sorry to suddenly ignore you guys, that doesn't usually happen. Very well, shield boy, choose what suits you best, I have a variety of items for your choice" the boy smiled innocently and excitedly, beginning to see what to take with him

"If you want my opinion Naofumi, as you are new to this, I am sure you should go for something simple and easy to use, a small blade seems like a good weapon to start with. Since I am sure that the enemies we will face, will be small and weak" Edward recommended, to which the hero nodded, looking for something that matches what his friend said

"A legendary hero using a simple dagger? It doesn't seem right to me, a Hero should use something that evokes respect, a big sword should be what you use, My lord" Mein commented, which Naofumi couldn't help but consider, is He would not be strong enough to carry a large sword, but he also didn't want to use a simple knife, after all, he wanted to make the other heroes eat their words by making fun of him.

Even if his friend Edward's recommendation was the most logical and reasonable. He ended up accepting Mein's proposal, and started looking for a correct sized sword.

"I-I think Mein-chan is a bit righter, besides, I'm sure that with training I will get used to it right away"

Whitebeard couldn't help sighing in disappointment.

*Hm, lil' brats and their hormones *

Once he found a fairly decent sword, he proceeded to wield it, the excited young man kept thinking about the things he would do with that weapon

*It really is heavy, but I will get used to it* he thought excitedly, however, something strange happened, a corrupt energy sprouted from Naofumi's body, startling him causing the sword to be rejected and shot out of his hands, going straight to Edward, who he didn't even flinch, and catch the sword between his index finger and middle finger, using Armor Haki, of course.

"Be careful if you are going to use your sword as if it were a spear, boy" he lectured as he returned the sword to his shelf with the rest.

"I'M SORRY, I DON'T KNOW WHAT HAPPENED!" He apologized; it was then that he saw a red icon appear in front of him in his field of vision

Legendary Weapon - Agreement Violation!

A Hero cannot use another weapon with the intention of fighting, other than the Legendary Weapon in his possession

Naofumi, shocked, gave a desperate and annoyed expression

"Are you kidding me?! ARE YOU SAYING I CAN'T EQUIP ANOTHER "WEAPON" BESIDES THIS SHIELD?!" he collapsed on his knees, defeated and completely emotionless on the floor

"My lord ..." Mein saw him with a "sad" expression; being there on the ground, the blacksmith scratched the back of his head thinking what else he could do.

FOOTSTEP!

It was then that Naofumi felt something heavy on his shoulder, when he turned, he saw Edward, with an enthusiastic and quite cheerful smile.

"Don't worry, that's why I'm here. If you can't fight with that thing, then I just have to do it for you, right?"

Naofumi was surprised by his words

"D-Do you mean it?" Edward helps him up and slapped him on the back

"What are friends for?"

"Even though you are someone quite strong, you decided to follow me, even if I am not the most outstanding hero of the rest" again, under his discouraged head, Whitebeard grimaced, remembering what Gabriel told him, and what he promised

*I have to give this boy more confidence*

He sighed and then turned to the raven with an incredibly serious look

"Listen to me, Naofumi. I was never always someone strong, I had my problems before, but I knew how to get overcome them. I learned from my mistakes and my weaknesses, and I turned them into my greatest strengths. If I could do that, then you too, after all, we are equals, or am I wrong?" put his fist on the hero's chest, to which the young boy, seeing the support he received from whom he considers the strongest person he has ever met, could not help feeling motivated again, he with a more focused expression and decided nodded strongly

"Yes, I'm sure I'll meet your expectations, Edward!"

He laughed at this.

"Gurarara~, you say that, even though you're the team leader, you make me sound like I'm a captain!"

*Even If I was* he thought that to himself

"Well, if you can't use weapons. You can still get a nice set of armor, say, what is your budget? Of course, being the hero and all, I can make you a small discount" also added the blacksmith to encourage our no longer decayed hero

Whitebeard approached the railing; he is the one who knows how to negotiate here.

"Making an approximation. What would you give us for 250 silver coins? Of course, only for Naofumi's use"

With the proposal on the table, the owner inspected the physique of the shield hero.

"Hm, I can give him a basic set, a medium quality one, protective clothing and a chainmail with a discount, as a courtesy of course"

Whitebeard put his hand on his chin doing some calculations

"I see, what you could give him for ... 5 gold coins" the blacksmith sharpened his expression, realizing that the tall man was gambling with him, of course, even if he didn't try to convince him he would still sell him a good quality set.

"For five gold eh? I could give you a lightweight metal armor, convenient to use and with very resistant decent material, of course, the normal chainmail comes free with the purchase of this set"

"It seems perfect, fine then-" Mein was interrupted when Edward put his hand to shut her up, of course, that annoyed her, but preferred not to made a tantrum

"What do you think if I give you four gold coins for that armor set, and the remaining coin for a metal chainmail of better material. I've seen the ones you exhibit, and they are all aluminum, silver and other unreliable metals, of course unless you are not happy with the price I offer you, we can always visit another place" the blacksmith thought about his proposal, apparently he saw through his previous offer and used the "courtesy chainmail", to haggle for one of better quality, obtaining a complete set of near high quality for the same price.

He couldn't help but smile.

*This boy is dangerously clever*

"Well, your offer seems fair to me, I will go check my warehouse for your friend's set"

Whitebeard laughed victorious, for him it felt great to be young again and experience exploring the world, without having an oxygen tank attached to his back

"You are a man who knows of making good business, Sir Edward" Mein praised to see how he got a good team at a reasonable price

"I learned from the best"

"I didn't quite understand what happened, but I'm glad you manage our income, Edward" Naofumi praise him too

"Don't mention it, I will teach you how to haggle, it is all a matter of realizing how they try to sell you a product, that way you can see through the initial offer and look for a point where to make your play" he explain the basic steps, to what Naofumi paid close attention, as if taking mental notes of what he said

Mein preferred to ignore their talk; she was more mired in her thoughts about how the recent turn of events.

*This man is incredibly clever, no, incredible would not be the word, he is dangerous, when he appeared, I thought he was just a handsome muscle brain guy. But after revealing the deception with the gold bags, and now with his negotiation skills, there is no doubt that it will be a great danger to execute the plan. However, I can overcome this, I just have to be patient* stayed out while the two talked

Sometime after the blacksmith returned with Naofumi's new armor set, he test it, although it made him look like some kind of bandit leader, with the green cape, metal chest protection, knee pads and metal parts on his legs, next to the boots, and those capable of stocky leather shells on his thighs, really looked like a strong and worthy equipment for a hero, in the words of Mein of course

"Now you look like an adventurer, boy" the blacksmith praised proudly when he saw his work being employed by one of the legendary heroes.

Whitebeard put the money on the railing, as discussed, five gold coins for the complete set, Mein said she already had good equipment, so she asked for nothing, there was only one left

"What?" everyone stared at the tall blond man, waiting for him to buy something, but it seems that he was not even interested.

"Aren't you going to ask for anything? Sure, I don't have armor that fits you, but I can make one, obviously I don't think you need another weapon, but if you want, you can come from time to time ya know? Give maintenance to your blade for example" the blacksmith happily proposed, even seeing Naofumi's expression and his 'Just do it' gesture, he could feel it necessary to give himself a relieve, maybe help him with his equipment

"Hm, I never really needed an armor set, I'm really tough and it might get in my way, so I'll leave it for today ..." He turned to the door, leaving his audience somewhat disappointed, however, he couldn't help but start remembering some Marineford events, his own son stabbed him with a sword in the abdomen, having been deceived by an admiral, he received countless shots in the body, Kizaru and Aokiji pierce him with light shots and ice spears, and how can he forget that bastard Akainu, made two Holes in his chest and stomach, with all those accumulated wounds, he couldn't end Teach's life on his last attempt. Would having armor covered with his Haki changed something back then? Now he was in another world, and a new life, he couldn't afford to make the same mistakes.

He stood still for a moment and turned to see the blacksmith, to the surprise of his companions, because they were convinced that he didn't wanted anything, he made a fake cough gesture

"Thinking about it, and considering certain past experiences. I think I'll ask for an iron armor piece" Naofumi smiled to see him being part of the team getting his own set too, it's not as if their money would run out from one day to another, there is still plenty enough.

"That's the attitude boy, tell me what you want, I can surely made it!" the blacksmith also showed an enthusiastic smile, seeing his client, he knew that he had to make an armor that was on par with him

"Hm, in that case, I want a frontal armor, just that. To protect my chest and abdominal area" the blacksmith easily get the idea of his request

"I see, you want a single-sided iron breastplate, well I can do it, I just need to take your measurements, come with me it will be fast"

Whitebeard nodded, left his Bisento near the counter and followed the blacksmith to his cellar, Naofumi stayed with Mein, she was calm, he was nervous. The silence between the two was cold

"Don't you think it's suspicious?"

Suddenly she started the conversation, with a rather odd question

"Pardon?"

"I mean that guy, don't you think he's suspicious?"

"N-Not really, why do you say that?"

"I just say, suddenly he entered the King's royal throne room, ignored his presence and even turned his back on him most of the time. I had never seen anyone do such a thing, not to mention that he specifically chooses you."

"W-What do you mean?"

"Well, maybe he already knew that our group would be given a larger amount of money, you even saw our income increase sharply, by ensuring that we received gold coins."

"Y-You say he'll tried to rob us?"

Mein smiled to herself, planting a seed of doubt and distrust in Naofumi's mind, who, for a brief moment, also suspected of his new friend possible intentions

"It's not a guess. I am completely sure that he will, a duo like you and me against that powerful guy, we have no chances of winning, obviously when he has the opportunity, he will steal everything we have. I've heard stories of strong adventurers who joined specifically to groups rookie adventures, just they can take advantage of their income and steal it, this may be one of those cases"

Mein was satisfied with her work, in this way, thanks to the distrust planted in Naofumi's mind, he will distance himself from him, making her work easier.

(One Piece OST: OVERTAKEN)

"I don't believe you"

"Excuse me?"

Naofumi whose expression was hidden by his hair. Revealed a serious face, straight forward and completely convinced in the words he was going to say

"Since I arrived, I haven't had much idea of what happens around me most the time. But even I can notice something important."

He took a stance that filled him with conviction, putting his clenched fist at chest level, the same way Edward did when he met him

"Almost everyone here has something against what the Shield Hero represents, since I arrived, I have heard them call me useless and that a shield is worthless in the battlefield. But Edward ... he has been the only one who called me Naofumi since I got here, and I can see in him something that I haven't had before "

Mein saw completely surprised, from one moment to another the confidence and conviction of this child rose so much

"And ... what would that be, my lord?" she didn't want to ask, maybe that'd give him more courage

With a serene smile, full of confidence and a vision of what the future holds. He made his statement without doubt in his heart.

"Someone to rely on"

The honesty in his words were genuine, he never had someone like him, Naofumi Iwatani, never had a person who influenced so much in his life, his decisions, his confidence and self-esteem as Edward has been doing since he arrived. There was no doubt, if there was a person who will be by his side without hesitation, it had to be him

Mein remained skeptical, the situation did not look good, her best course of action was to pretend an apology and wait for another opportunity with a new plan

"I see ... I'm sorry for expressing myself that way about him, my lord, I'll make sure to apologize to him"

Naofumi nodded, they could hear voices coming back from the store's cellar

"Regarding the thickness and weight of the armor piece..."

"Yes, I understand, I'm sure they won't represent a problem in the making process..."

"No, I mean I'm sure I can tank it, I just want to make sure it will withstand most heavy attacks."

"I see, I see"

The two returned as they discussed their terms, Whitebeard greeted his comrades and took his Bisento again

"Welp, business over"

"I will have your armor ready in ten days. It is a piece of work that will take time, but I assure you it will be worth it"

"I can believe that; here as we promised" Whitebeard give; to the blacksmith's surprise; he had left the payment they discussed already on the table, twenty gold coins

"That much?!" Mein saw the amount of money surprised; how can one-piece armor can be worth so much.

"I guess you asked for something with lots of quality" Naofumi said, seeing how happy his partner was

"You could say, I wanted to give myself a little something, Gurara ~"

The blacksmith was surprised too, even though they had established that he would only charge ten gold coins

"Why…?" he asked himself

"I just don't want you to regret doing it, in case something happens, I'm sure you wouldn't give up on that amount of money, or to disappoint me, don't you think?" the young blond man put on a somewhat murky smile, the blacksmith could not help rethinking what he had gotten into

"Are you some kind of demon?" he laughed tiredly

Whitebeard left a sincere and happy smile

"Maybe. Who knows?"

With this the group left the store, satisfied with their new equipment, to a field where they can find monsters to level up, on the outskirts of the city, there was a meadow where low-level monsters appear

A Wild Orange Balloon has appeared!

These little beings that look like balloons, actually had a furious expression, and their entire body was a jaw with two large fangs, although incredibly weak, Whitebeard barely bothered to eliminate them, pierce them with his Bisento or crush them with his own hands, but there were something that bothered him, it was normal that they are weak enemies, but ... they almost barely give him XP, although He heard from other adventurers that climbing to level one is very easy. These things were giving between one to zero points of EXP, these results were very troubling for him

*I don't like how this looks* thought not so much for him, but more for his friend, who was the one who really needed to level up

Naofumi and Mein on the other hand, had their own affairs

"There it is my lord, do not be afraid, they are very weak demons!" encouraged the adventurous female to our growing hero

"HERE I GO!"

"The problem is that they are very aggressive" as soon as Naofumi tried to attack him, the round animal had already bitten his head, and at great speed, a fierce swarm of demon balloons pounced on them. Of course, in the blink of an eye, the balloons fell to the floor, to the confusion of the adventurers.

"Eh? Did they lose consciousness?" they saw their partner Edward take advantage and stab them with the blade of his Bisento, finishing them easily, of course, with the help of Mein and Naofumi who also tried to see how much damage he could do

He took one of the balloons.

"What are you doing boy?" Edward asked

"Since my defense is abysmal, I want to know how high my attack is" a rather menacing but comic look for a poor demon balloon that was unconscious

Whitebeard crossed his arms and I wait to see what happens

"TAKE THIS, SUFFER MY WRATH!"

POMP

Although his fist sank into the body of the globe, it only bounced causing zero damage, frustrated Naofumi, continued to attack again and again, screaming angry at all lungs, just like a small child

*There is a lot to work on..." Edward thought when he saw the unfortunate strength of his friend

PLOP

Finally, the balloon exploded and turned into those yellow strips that Edward saw in the rest of the balloons he burst, although I almost took them all afternoon, Naofumi felt satisfied with his achievement, even though he only gave him a point of EXP

"This material, that comes out of this creature... Can it be sold right?" Edward asked Mein which was taken by surprise, it was at that moment that it occurred to her to try to lie, but seeing the serious and little impatient expression that his partner had, it was for sure not a good idea to do so.

"T-That's correct, in fact, there are places that pay well for their skin, since it can be used to make sport balls, and patch clothes and stuff" she was honest in her response, although she did not want it to; with that said, Edward took her word and together with Naofumi collected all the skin of the monsters they killed.

(ONE PIECE OST: MINATO MURA / BAR THEME SONG)

Feeling that they did enough for today, they returned to the village, to celebrate their small success in one of the taverns of the Adventurer's Guild. Of course, Edward took the look of several members, because they had never seen him before, and who accompanied him, was none other than the Shield Hero, although the guild received direct orders not to associate with him, for some reason they didn't know. Anyway, their orders were swift, since the tall and strong man they came with, began to demand they bring him liquor, A LOT of liquor

"E-Edward-sama, I don't think that's the best way to ask for service" Mein tried to calm him down, without success

"I will not wait, girl! I have not tried a single drop of alcohol since I arrived here, I have a dry mouth" I refute, Naofumi never thought that "role model" had this strong relationship with drinking

*Did I choose wrong? ...* his comic expression described well to see his partner demand a jug of liquor, instead of the normal base that the waiter brought, it almost seemed that he was going to throw his drink on the floor for that, with everything and table

Until finally, between two of the members of the kitchen staff, brought a barrel full of their best fermented beer, Whitebeard's eyes shone when he saw his precious elixir, he did not wait

"UP IT GOES, GURARARARA ~!" He punched the barrel, and with one hand he began to gobble up that incredible amount of alcohol ...by himself, all the members of the bar gathered to see such a feat, he just kept swallowing and swallowing, until he tilted the little that was left of the barrel full of alcohol, he finally put the barrel on the floor and cleaned the rest that was left in his mouth

"Not bad! ANOTHER ONE! GURARARARA~! EVERYONE DRINK WITH ME, MY TREAT! GURARARARA~!"

The bar of adventurers that until recently was quite calm with daily and civilized conversations, became a party where men acted as children and women behaved spoiled girls, a great noise accompanied by the unique and strange laughter of the young blond haired man who was in his third barrel of beer, even without showing signs of getting drunk, a band also accompanied with music, a piano, violin and flutes made it as if they were celebrating. Celebrating being free adventurers, doing what they please and getting unimaginable riches

A party to remember. It was as if this unknown man had reminded them of what it is to be alive, to be young and to love their freedom, a strange sensation, but in their words ... it didn't feel bad

Of course, both Naofumi and Mein tried to ignore it, since this was not exactly what they would be into.

"They are really having fun" Naofumi started the conversation

"They are loud, but you can tell they are happy, being stupid ... but happy" she laughed a little when she saw the silly face that some drunken adventurers made by putting sticks in their nose and holding them with their lower jaw, doing a rather silly dance, but funny

"Yes ... I wonder if my days will be like this every day, going on adventures with my comrades, going back to a bar, making a celebration and see them finding a reason to drink until they pass out" Naofumi saw Edward in a arm wrestling competition with several adventurers , being undefeated and breaking the table in the process, laughing with that weird laugh of his

Mein had a glass of wine, the alcohol they had was not as bad, but it was not much to her liking.

"Would you like some?" she offered him a glass of wine to which Naofumi rejected

"I'm not good with drinks"

"I see, I guess this whole situation is really not your thing then" she emphasized the punching festival that became the guild bar, apparently one of the drunken adventurers spilled his drink on Edward, one thing led to the other and ...

"WHO'S NEXT?! COME DAMN IT, THIS OLD MAN STILL HAS LIFE LEFT IN HIS BODY TO KEEP FIGHTING ON!" Despite being one of the youngest compared to the other adventurous men, he continued to refer to himself as "Old Man"

What surprised them the most is that Edward remained quite sober, although he took god only knows how many barrels of liquor, gave him credit for that, although they had to pay a portion of the damage, twenty other gold coins went away for the arrangements, in the end they had to go to rest at an inn near the bar. Once lodged, each one made his way to his respective room. Edward fell like a stone in his bed, although he did not want to admit it, he felt somewhat dizzy, and was in his right, he hadn't had a single drop of alcohol in a long time.

"Their "beer" wasn't so bad, but I miss the taste of Holy Mountain Sake" with that in mind, I close my eyes to get into a deep sleep

Until the next morning. That the early sun set began to rise once again

.

.

.

.

"NAOFUMI IWATANI! YOU ARE UNDER ARREST!"

There was a hustle outside

"WHAT THE SHIT ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT?! I WAS THE ONE WHO HAS BEEN ROBBED! DON'T YOU SEE IT?! MY EQUIPMENT IS GONE! MY ARMOR AND MY GOLD IS GONE!"

[PUNCH NOISE]

"SHUT YOUR DAMN MOUTH UP, YOU SICK FUCK! YOU ARE UNDER ARREST; YOU'RE CHARGED FOR CRIMES OF RAPING AND SEXUAL ABUSE!"

[PUNCH NOISE]

"WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU SAYING?! I HAVEN'T TOUCH A SINGLE WOMEN IN MY LIFE, I AM STILL VIRGIN!"

[PUNCH NOISE]

"TIED HIM AND TAKE HIM TO THE KING AULTCRAY FOR HIS JUDGMENT!"

[PUNCH NOISE]

"TAKE YOUR HANDS OFF ME, DAMN IT! EDWARD! EDWARD, I NEED HELP, EDWAAAAAARRRD!"

[HARDER PUNCH AND HIT NOISES]

His room door looked like was going to be crash it down, but then the screams and hits suddenly stopped, until the door was opened by another group of men in silver armor, who when seeing the blond adventurer sleep soundly, with a bubble coming out of his nose, they preferred not to make a fuss, they had done enough, they only approached the side of his bed, where his gun was lying next to the wall, the biggest and strongest of the group tried to take it thinking that it would be nothing

He grab the spear and…

The Melromarc soldier did everything in his power not to break his back while trying to hold the weapon, thinking as if it were a pen

"I-IS HEAVY~!" he whispered loudly as his veins sprouted on his forehead and arms, the other soldiers were alarmed and proceeded to help him, in the end they needed a total of ten men to carry the Bisento, a cold sweat went through their bodies, thinking that this young man was carrying this as if it were a wooden stick

"This guy is scary ..." one of the soldiers mentioned as they try to get the weapon out of the room

"To think we saw him carry this all day ..."

"I'm so happy his asleep ..."

PLOP

The bubble that came out of his nose burst, making him react for a moment, the soldiers turned white and pale, their blood froze and their hearts stopped completely ...

"... grr ~ ... brats ... stop ... playing with my mustache ... grr ~" the adventurer fell asleep again, again, another bubble came out of his nose seconds later, and began to snore

The soldiers sighed in relief; the fright they took tonight will never be surpass.

In the King's room, the same place where they were called on the day of their invocation, the three heroes were next to the King's court, while Naofumi was on the ground, the spears of the royal guards pointing his body.

Mein, the girl who gave him, her confidence and appreciation, was crying, snuggling in the arms of the Spear Hero Motoyasu, the rest of the heroes saw the helpless Naofumi with disgust, like he was a disgraceful living being, as if they were looking at a garbage bag full of food it could which was opened by mistake, letting out its disgusting and rotten content whose foul odor would make the strongest man vomit.

That was the feeling Naofumi was getting from them, from seeing the look on their eyes

"You ... from the moment I lay my eyes on you, I knew you were going to bring nothing more than problems ... you ... FIEND! I WAS WONDERING WHEN YOU WERE GOING TO SHOW YOUR TRUE COLORS!" the King exclaimed with an anger that had not been seen before

Naofumi, incredulous of what happened, tried to advocate for himself

"T-THIS SHOULD BE A DAMNER! I AM SURE THAT IF YOU ASK MEIN OR EVEN EDWARD ...! YES, THAT'S RIGHT, I AM SURE EDWARD COULD KNOW WHAT HAPPENED!"

Seeing Mein among those present, he tried to reason a way to clarify his crime

"Mein, it's good that you're unharmed as well! A thief entered our room last night and ...! Y-You have to explain what happened, I'm sure it's just a simple misunderstanding!" but, instead of advocating his situation, Mein began to cry, covered her face, and began to sob, as if she had experienced something horrible

"Mein?" he was confused by the actions of his partner

"That's enough! You… DON'T ACT AS IF YOU DON'T REMEMBER WHAT YOU DID!" Motoyasu stood in front of Mein protecting her and giving her a safe space, however, Naofumi could not help noticing something, the clothes that Motoyasu were different from the armor with which he saw him before, in the fields of the orange demon balloons, in fact, now he had a chunky leather protector on his thighs, a silver steel chest plate, and other pieces of quality metal on his hands, legs and boots, even a green cape, next to a chainmail ...

Everything was very familiar in his new outfit ...

"Where did you get that…?" Naofumi pointed his outfit

"Oh, this. Mein gave it to me, we met by chance in a tavern last night."

All this was ... like a joke in very bad taste

"After meeting Motoyasu-sama. I returned to the room where ... and he being drunk, the Shield Hero he ... he forced himself on me and ..."

Mein's sore and tearful face made the other heroes see their "partner" in complete disgust

"I, I was so scared that I screamed and ... it was then that Motoyasu-sama came to my rescue ..." she burst into tears again

Naofumi did not understand anything that was happening. He was charged with a crime he did not commit, accused by a person he knew and trusted, but now, now he's in a situation he never wanted, or rather, never thought he would be. He didn't deserve any of this, he never wanted this, to be in a world he doesn't know, being booed by people he doesn't know, only because he's the "Shield Hero"

Naofumi felt nauseous, as if a black lump and negative emotions devoured his stomach, slowly rising to his chest and contaminating his heart, the feeling of betrayal, was the worst he has felt

"Mein ...?" to see between the sobs of his former partner, who, for a brief moment, let her face be seen, only to show an expression that made Naofumi explode with anger inside

She stuck out her tongue, with an expression that clearly said, "YOU FELL FOR IT", while the other heroes expressed their opinions of disgust about him, Naofumi had an internal conflict over what had just happened, and came to a single conclusion

*I WAS DECEIVED! THAT BITCH! FUCK!*

He burst into anger against those in front of him, among the entire parliament, a group of soldiers appeared showing the ten men holding the polearm spear weapon

"You are all later than expected" the King watched as his guards struggled to carry the spear

"It's heavier than it looks, Sir" said one of the soldiers, they finally dropped it.

The three-meter weapon fell to the ground with a great rumble, leaving a large crack and crevice with its shape, drawing the attention of others, including Naofumi, who recognized the weapon

*I-It can't be ... him too?! Impossible…*

"YOU DIDN'T ONLY DARE TO BETRAY ME AND TAKE MY STUFF TOGETHER WITH OUR MONEY! YOU ALSO TOOK EDWARD'S WEAPON?! ADMIT WHAT YOU DID, YOU SCUM!"

Furious to see that not only was he the victim of that woman's deceptions, now the only real friend he has left, was also deceived by his carelessness, his mistake in really trusting someone from this cursed place.

"Man, you're nasty" Ren the Sword Hero, addressed Naofumi with a colder attitude than usual

"You have realized that Motoyasu has obtained enough money to cover the equipment of all his comrades, right? I bet you did things like that with your friends before coming here, you are unbelievable."

"You're right, we shouldn't have to show mercy on him ..." Itsuki also passed the motion

"As if someone were to believe something you say! You damn rapist!" Motoyasu put Mein in a big hug, protecting her

In front of Naofumi, every negative emotion in his body was ready to explode in a flurry of venous words, which will go directly to the ears of the scoundrels who dare to treat it as garbage

*No one of them believed in me from the beginning ... none of you. They brought me here first, why should I protect people who treat me worse than trash? They…*

With his head down, he stood up again, this time showing an expression whose only emotion he showed was, pure hatred

"Well, I won't give them a damn shit… IF YOU HATE ME SO MUCH, THEN YOU JUST HAVE TO SEND ME BACK WHERE I CAME FROM!" spit out his words in rage

*Why do I have to come all the way here to make myself feel this way? This world can go to hell for what I care*

"Although I would very much like to return a type of hero like you… until the end of the next wave there is no guarantee that we can do it. The research we did indicates that only four new heroes can be invoked, when the previous ones have died."

His argument took a turn of events, right now, the one who was laughing was Naofumi

"What a joke ... If you want me to leave, you will have to sink with me! If you just kill me then your precious world will not be saved!"

Naofumi's mental state was deteriorating

"GIVE YOUR RETARDS THE RIGHT ORDER!"

At that time, many of the guards really wanted to beat him up, however, the king had to consider his options, the legend requires the four heroes to stop the Waves, but, he already knows that, he just wanted to confirm that his plan has gone perfectly, corrupt the Shield Hero and vanish him from history, to which he smiled victoriously in his mind

"I cannot kill you. As long as you serve to fight the Waves, I will not impose any punishments from now. However, all the people of this country will know what you have done."

Said and done the King had given the order to his guards to raise their weapons against him

"Naofumi Iwatani, you can leave-"

BREAKING

EXPLOSION

(ONE PIECE OST: THE VERY, VERY, VERY STRONGEST)

The main door, the large reinforced oak door, made to protect the King's room, had been completely shattered by a powerful shockwave, the residual wind gust threw the guards to the floor, the heroes stood as high as they could.

Naofumi, seeing the dust and earth dissipate, he noticed a huge, really huge shadow, maybe over six meters high, it was a human form, but the part of his head could be seen two ends protrude, as if it were a Half moon mustache, of course, the wind blow the dirt and dust quickly. The shadow that Naofumi saw disappeared, revealing only to someone who believed he would not come to help him. The dark emotions that drowned his heart were eliminated by the bright silhouette of the person in front of him ...

"E ..EDWARD ... NEWGATE!"

Whitebeard ... was angry, no, angry would be an insult, the wrath he had right now was immeasurable, not only woke up to find that his Bisento had disappeared, also his partner and the other girl who accompanied them, it was then that He talk to the receptionist at the hostel, who told him that some guards took him, apparently for abusing a woman who accompanied him.

It was at that moment, that an unbearable anger formed within him. Razed with how much guards he meets once entered the castle, of course, finally when he reached the door, it was blocked, so he had to use his "special ability"

Once inside, he saw Naofumi without his armor set or any piece of equipment they bought, the other three boys were here, and also ... the girl and the king were struck by the angry look of an enraged Yonkou

"E-EDWARD NEWGATE, EVEN WHEN I DECIDED TO SPARE THE LIFE OF THIS SICK MONSTER! HOW DARE YOU TO DETROY PART OF THE MELROMARC ROYAL FAMILY'S CASTLE!" the blond-haired young man said nothing, his face covered by the shadow of his hair and his handkerchief, he only let them see how the veins sprouted on his forehead making it clear that he was furious. He made his way to them

FOOTSTEP

"T-The King is right, even Mein-chan showed what this dirty rapist tried to do to her" Motoyasu shield the redhead girl with his body, he could feel the anger of that man in his skeleton

FOOTSTEP

"Even someone like you should have realized the hidden motives that Naofumi had with this woman" Ren also tried to put weight on his partner's words, although his hand was touching his sword

FOOTSTEP

"It's true, Newgate-san. I'm sorry your friend has committed such a horrible crime, but you won't be able to justify it or prove his innocence in this way" Itsuki was the only one who had no intention of using his weapon

FOOTSTEP

The twenty-four-year-old man, who easily outperformed everyone's height in the room, slowly raised his fist, the veins sprouted, an image shining purple and white appeared. Everyone saw the image of a skull on crossed bones, dark purple, the skull had what appeared to be a long crescent-shaped mustache, with a smile drawn too, it was a smiling skull

"Owner"

The spear that the soldiers brought a while ago, which was stuck in the duel due to its great weight, was suddenly struck breaking the floor, and traveling at great speed, the handle passed under the feet of the three heroes causing them to fall on the ground, Whitebeard took his Bisento, inspecting it was intact

"I didn't come here to listen to any of you. I recognize a hoax when I see one"

Seeing that the heroes in front of him, while the King was also nervous trying to call as many guards as he can, there was no one to contact

Whitebeard directly saw the young boys who had been invoked together with Naofumi from day one, for a moment he thought he could make friends those four, in reality, Edward still believes in that, but right now, he had to take out the dirty dishes

"I am deeply disappointed. I hope you think about that."

With a collective "What?" On the part of all those present, an incredibly powerful aura shot out almost throughout the room, it was something completely invisible that only Edward could see, in the blink of an eye, both the guards who were here and those who had arrived, as the three heroes, Mein and the King. They all fell to the floor completely unconscious

Naofumi, who was still awake, saw that strange power astonished.

*That was, just like the last time* to his surprise, Edward stuck his Bisento on the floor and sat in front of him

"It will take'em a while to wake up"

"I-I see, umm, thanks, you know, thank you very much for coming" even if he won't show it, Naofumi really felt like he was about to cry.

"Hey"

"Hm?"

He put his fist on his chest again

"That's what friends are for, mate"

Naofumi Iwatani, who, up to this point, was inside a dark bubble full of stress and resentment, was burst by a golden needle, to reveal a light that glowed incandescently.

"Thank you…"

Naofumi held his fist tightly, and cried, a genuine display of emotions, for many he could look pathetic and childish. For Edward, he only saw a man who freed himself from a terrible weight he carried, so he offered a warm smile.

"Well, it's time for the booty"

...

"Booty?" Naofumi stopped his emotional moment of manly tears to see how his friend suddenly began to plunder the place

"These people stab us in the back, although they said they wouldn't accuse us of problems. Don't you think we're still in our right for having revenge?" Naofumi could see him put on a funny sinister smile, which he also joined

"Heh, you're right"

Not only did they recover the money, Naofumi was not going to miss the opportunity to recover the equipment that he bought fairly with HIS money. Leaving poor Motoyasu, not only without his financial bonus, but also in pajamas

"And now that?" Naofumi asked his crime partner carrying several bags full of gold

(ONE PIECE OST: RUN AWAY)

"Now ... WE RUN!"

Edward ran at a really fast pace, Naofumi didn't understand it at all, but when he heard the groans of the King's guards and the others, he finally snapped out of it

*Are you kidding me…*

The Shield Hero made his way out as quickly as possible

"WAIT FOR ME!"

The King was first waking up and seeing both Edward and Naofumi running away not only with Motoyasu's equipment, but with several money bags and stuff from the throne, he didn't hesitate to shout at them

"GUARDS! DON'T LET THAT DUO OF IDIOTS ESCAPE WITH THAT MONEY!"

Meanwhile, our true heroes were running at full speed through the castle, both Edward and Naofumi had a satisfying smile on their faces.

"GURARARARARARA ~! CATCH US IF YOU CAN, BASTARDS!"

The guards entered the castle to subdue the criminals

"COME BACK HERE, YOU DAMNED THIEVES!"

"GURARARARARA ~! LAUGH WITH ME NAOFUMI! GURARARARA ~!"

Guards appeared behind them and from some other halls, but they didn't care

"STOP NOW, IN THE NAME OF THE LAW!"

Edward asked his partner in crime, while escaping from the guards taking as much gold as possible and valueable from the castle. Naofumi Iwatani, for the first time since arriving here, felt that he achieved something significant, something big, something rebellious, he was happy, this feeling of adrenaline, persecution, adventure. There was no way to express it, except for one thing. He inhaled as much air as his lungs could, and announced to the world

"TRY TO CATCH US IF YOU CAN, YA IDIOTS! GAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"

"THAT'S THE SPIRIT, BOY! GURARARARARA ~!"

"GAHAHAHAHAHAHA ~!"

"GURARARARARARARA ~!

The two, a pair of idiots, laughing as if it were all a joke for them, escaped the castle with a big smile on their faces, and kept running and running. Until Naofumi finally gave in to his knees, the guards stopped following them for a while anyway, he sat on the ground to catch his breath

"That ... that was ..."

"Intense? Funny? Dangerous?"

"ALL OF THAT! I still can't believe that we stole all their money, even get my equipment back, Gahaha~" he laughed again, it might become an habit

"I'm glad you like it. That's the life of a person who feels free, Gurarara~"

"Free, you say? Yes, I like how that sounds" Naofumi looked up at the sky, thinking about the things that await him from here onwards

"I think it will be better to keep moving, we must also find a place to hide our loot, carrying it with us can be dangerous"

"You're right. We'll also have to find a place we can use as shelter if necessary."

Edward noticed how the looks of several villagers showed displeased stares towards Naofumi, this caused him annoyance, meaning it was time to move

"Naofumi"

When he saw the serious expression of his partner, he nodded and got up to move on. Not long after walking, while Edward checked the surroundings, someone grabbed Naofumi from his chest armor and stamped it against the wall

"Bastard, taking advantage of your partner in that way, not only that, I also heard that you stole the equipment of one of your fellow heroes"

The person who lashed out at Naofumi was none other than the blacksmith from the shop who attended them the other day, his fist held high ready to hit the shield hero

However, his arm was stopped dead, before this sudden action, he turned around, to see that he was none other than his business partner

"What are you-"

The blacksmith was about to claim, but seeing Edward's face, which showed genuine seriousness, he released his arm

"If you have time to beat up this lad. Then you have time to listen to what I have to say." The blacksmith surprised, left his hostile acts, Naofumi straightened and returned to the side of his partner

"So?"

He looked at them for a moment, then gave a defeated and tired sigh

"Let's go to my shop, this place is too noisy"

Edward along with Naofumi proceeded to explain the whole thing to him, the Shield Hero even showed him that the equipment that he took from Motoyasu was actually the one he had bought that day, Edward helped support his explanation, however, for him something still it did not make sense

"Why did they go as far as doing this?"

Naofumi was the one who answered

"I am sure they have something against what the Hero of the Shield represents. Not me, it may be a hatred caused by the hero before me, or even generations ago."

"It's our best guess, we still don't understand where this hatred towards Naofumi comes from. Or rather, the whole concept of the Shield Hero and what it represents in general."

The blacksmith took a sip of his coffee

"I think I understand what you are trying to say. But, let it be clear, I am still not convinced that everything you say is true."

"The story of Naofumi sexually assaulting that girl is fake, no matter how you see it. Do you really expect this laddie to have enough courage to even invite a girl to dance? Much less trying to commit a crime of sexual abuse"

"Edward-san ... that hurt a little"

"Am I right?"

Naofumi was going to refute it ... he then backs it down

"…But you're right"

The blacksmith sighed

"Well, I guess at least we can agree on that" for some reason Naofumi felt that his image had been damaged, but in a different way

"What other rumors have you heard?"

Edward took a sip of his coffee

"Something about how no one should listen to anything the Shield Hero says, that he must be completely ignored, his lies are worse than poison, and that he is a lower being than scum, that's what I've heard, aside from his crime of sexual abuse "

Naofumi again, was filled with conflict over how they have worsened his image even more, but he knew he had allies, he was not alone in this.

"I see, haven't they said anything about me?"

"For the moment, I only heard that you are the bodyguard of the Shield Hero, a mysterious adventurer who became strong based on cheating and deceptions, so they also have you in their blacklist. There are even those who say that your strength and power are not even real, that you use some kind of illusion magic of some sorts, or something like that… You don't use it, right?"

Whitebeard had a hard time drinking his coffee when he heard such stupidity

"Certainly, I make sure to take care of Naofumi, prevent him from suffering any damage, since it is not strong enough yet. But to say that the fruit of many years of effort and training are a lie ... unforgivable" they could see the veins sprout in their muscles by his wrath

"Right? Even I can say that is a lie, I saw your strength for myself, and although it may not seem like it, I have a good resistance against hypnotic or illusion magic."

"Seriously?" Naofumi asked

"You would be surprised at the number of adventurers who try to use these methods to get sales, or in the process of getting free items and sets in other places. But to me, no sir, nor dead I dare to sell my products that way, I am even naturally kind to make discounts. But come to my store expecting something free from me, that would be the last straw"

"I see, good to know," the hero took another sip of his drink

"And? What do you guys plan to do from now on? They may leave you alone for now, but as things got worse, they may have a little more grudge to pick with ya. I mean the King and the other three heroes, of course."

"They'll stop whining about it eventually, also, if the rumors of my strength being false, ends up killing enough of their brain's cells to the point of they thinking they can beat me down. Then I'll make sure to teach them a lesson, Gurara~"

"Don't worry, we'll make sure to be careful, and with Edward's help, I'll level up enough to finish this Wave thing as soon as possible." Although he liked his conviction, Whitebeard had something in mind that he needed to express

"Naofumi, I need to talk to you. Alone" the blacksmith when he saw Edward's gesture, knew that it was something important, so he retired to his cellar to make a list of materials

"What is it?"

"Yes ... it's about the leveling up thing…"

"What about it? I know it will not be easy, but once we are with the greatest enemies you will see that we will reach the top!"

Edward was worried, so he took his Bisento and showed it to Naofumi to see it himself

"When we were fighting with those balloons yesterday. I realized something, the EXP we won went to zero several times, in short, we gather zero EXP, for every three balloons eliminated."

Now the hero was worried, although he was told that to pass level one was enough to kill at least twenty of those balloons, that day they killed about fifty, and even then, his level bar barely raised a little.

"Now that you mention it, it's weird. But, each of us four were separated as much as possible. How did we lose so much experience?"

Edward again, showed a regretful expression

"I'm afraid I found out too late, regarding that legendary weapons can interfere with obtaining the EXP"

Naofumi turned pale when she understood what her partner was trying to say

"Y-You're saying ..." Edward showed the Stats of his Bisento to Naofumi.

MURAKUMOGIRI: LEGENDARY WEAPON

"I-It can't be ... you also own one" Naofumi looks desperately under his head at the level of his knees, thinking about what they could do.

But Edward had already taken the floor

"Not all is lost. You see, this weapon alone was made to challenge everything, including the rules of this world."

*Although I'm sure this is also the work of that girl*

His partner raised his head now with a little more hope

"What do you mean?"

Edward showed him the Stats of his weapon again, pointed to a part that said description, going down seeing some interesting notes, such as the ability to channel his bearer's abilities, return to his hands when he is "called", adjust his size to dimensions of its owner or allies, kept going down until it found a different section than what it has seen in other weapons, including its own shield

CLAUSES

"What is this?"

"These are rules, requirements, things like, what it requires to be used by other people, I mean that the members of my team can use my Bisento if I allow them to. But that is not what I want you to see, it is below "

Naofumi kept going down until he found the last section

RESTRICTION BREAK

In the remote case of making a team with another member using a legendary weapon, and fighting away from each other is not an option. To cancel this rule of legendary weapons, they must get a third member who uses normal equipment, bringing balance to the team.

"W-What the hell? Is there even something like that?"

"As you have seen, we must find a third member who is willing to fight with us"

"Impossible"

Edward saw the somber and hopeless expression his partner had, again, that same look he had when he first met him

"The whole country is against us; how will we find a third member"

Edward also had his doubts, but if anything taught him to live seventy-four years, and become the strongest man in the world is that ...

"There is always hope. We will find someone who puts their trust into us, I'm sure."

"Seriously, how can you be so optimistic?"

"When you reach my age you will know, Gurarara ~"

"My age, you say? You are only four years older than me"

"It is a considerable distance, in my opinion"

Again, he put on that optimistic smile, which make seems him as someone able to overcome anything. Naofumi really found peace by seeing his friend's good mood and optimism

"Well, if you say so, let's go to that field full of balloons, maybe we can, even if it reaches level two if we start killing them all day"

Edward slapped him on the back

"Well said!"

"Hoh, I see that they could reach an agreement" the blacksmith had returned from the cellar, to which Edward and Naofumi got up to say goodbye, of course, the blond adventurer gave him three gold coins

"And that's for?"

He simply smiled

"For listen to us" the blacksmith smiled back, it was a touching moment

Until a large stack of bags with gold coins and other artifacts fell from Naofumi's cape and Edward's belt, this was the one who spoke

"B-By the way, you wouldn't have a safe or vault to store this, would you?" the blacksmith when seeing the brilliant treasure, more than surprising, preferred only to continue with the flow of the situation

"I'm not even going to ask where you got that from, don't worry, I too have my own 'hidden treasure', I'll put it in my cellar"

With an awkward smile, the duo managed to bring only a small amount of money, only the necessary. Thanks to his friend from the gun shop, they got enough copper and silver coins to pretend not to have a lot of money, although of course, they hid some gold coins in their clothes in case they needed more money

They had to separate to reduce the fall of EXP, but since Edward was like his partner under a mutual agreement or "contract", both earned EXP equitably, unlike when he was with Mein

*So she didn't even bother to explain me how the system of this world works, that bitch ...* he preferred not to bother with that and only focused on leveling up

The day was over, but finally they reached level 2, the increase in their Stats was not so great anyway, they only increased twenty points in each attribute

Edward commented that he received fifty points from something called "Skill Points," Naofumi explained that this is because he has unique special abilities, so if he fills the box of points that requires that ability, he can level it up.

"Interesting, I guess I'll invest it in ... my Observation Haki"

Points Correctly Invested

Observation Haki level 1

50/500

450 points left for the next improvement

*So, it's not enough ... well, that just means I have to keep working hard on it*

Naofumi by his side, found interesting ingredients while passing near the trees, found a fairly rare medicinal plant, even weirder, his shield reacted to the leaf, and the gem absorbed it, when Naofumi took a look, he saw that simple leaf I unleash a branch of quite varied abilities

"Are all these ... branches of this small shield? I heard that you can level up the legendary weapons on your own, but ... this is new. So, both levels and materials used change the restrictions, the Orange Protection must be from the demon balloon ... on another note to the Leaf Protection..." Naofumi checked the description

[LEAF SHIELD]

Equipment Bonus. New skill: Harvest Skill +1

When they met again, Edward noticed that Naofumi's little shield was no longer metal, now it looked like a kind of plant.

"A new skill?"

He smiled satisfied

"More than that, I discovered some things that will be very useful in the future, there is a great possibility that I can create medicines, and use magic that strengthens recovery" he said smiling at his new attachment.

"I'm glad to hear that, it shows that we are making progress. Now, with these materials and the medicinal plants you have, I think we could sell them for a small fee."

"Why do we need more money?" Edward grimaced annoyed and hit his forehead with his fingers

"Fool, we are packed with bags full of gold coins, we will become the target of thieves, bandits and mercenarys until the end of our days. We must pretend that we only carry copper coins and hardly silver coins."

Naofumi rubbed his forehead, it leaves a mark

"The hit with that weird armor of yours was not necessary"

"Don't cry either, come on, we have to do business"

The owner of the nearest store seemed to exchange materials of all kinds. The large number of orange pieces of the balloon demons and the fangs of a wild demon fox that Edward brought, next to the rare medicinal plants that Naofumi had, the merchant approved the items

"Their quality is impressive, not to mention that these medicinal leaves I had not seen before, apart from the intact fangs of a wild demon fox, yes, this can be sold for a good price."

"If you want a point of reference to get the leaves, they are outside the castle, in the lush forest, twenty degrees northbound" that part was able to say thanks to Edward having a very good sense of direction

"How much will you give us for all this?" Edward, noticing the suspicious look of the merchant, I have no doubt that a threatening stance is possible, although the merchant did not flinch

"You know, I've heard rumors from you. About the criminals who ransacked the castle taking advantage of the fact that one of the heroes committed certain delinquency, and considering that one of you are the Shield Hero, and his companion, the illusionist, as far as I know ..." Both Naofumi and Edward looked at each other for a moment with those shadows covering their faces

"Hm?" the merchant doesn't know what he got into

Just a moment later ...

"HIIIIII! FORGIVE ME! I'M SORRY TO BELIEVE THOSE RIDICULUOS RUMORS, I'M SORRY, I AM SO, SO SORRY!" the poor man was holding on to Edward's Bisento because he was now in the tallest tower of the castle, how did he get there? Edward put strength in his legs to make great leap

"Really? The truth is that I doubt it, you know, all that stuff about how I'm a weakling, I think my arm is getting tired of holding this heavy weapon" he began to loosen his grip, the merchant to see his death of several meters tall, yielded to their demands

Items sold

5kg of Demon Balloon skin - 100 copper coins

5 ounces of medicinal leaves - 60 silver coins

Wild Demon Fox Fangs in perfect condition - 2 gold coins

Edward and Naofumi had a fist bump when they saw their teamwork paying off, happy with their results, they went to a bar. Of course, this time taking care of appearances, Edward tried not to be demanding with food or drink, they wanted to give the image that they were bankrupted, the perfect excuse would be to say that they spent everything on their equipment and weapons, seeing Edward's spear weapon may be a good quarter, even if it attracts the greedy look of certain individuals

The cheap food really had no flavor, and the cheap liquor was literally water with flavoring, but it was their best choice

"This is ... a lil' pathetic" Naofumi mentioned, he knows firsthand, that they are really rotten with gold, and not being able to use it ... although Edward already told him, all this is so they can clear his name from the rumors.

"Is fine, there was a time of my childhood where I ate from the garbage, this is nothing ..." Naofumi preferred not to ask the context of the anecdote of his partner, although if he would like to know more about him, he is sure to tell him time

"Oh Hoh, but what do we have here. It doesn't seem like someone wanted to eat with our heroes, here" if the food was tasteless, now it was spoiled when a duo of strangers approached their table

The rumor about Edward's false strength really affected them more, now they didn't have that "intimidating" factor to avoid problems

"How about we become your friends, huh~? I bet we'll make a powerful team, Kykikiki~"

"Man, we're such good friends, Dahahaha ~"

Both adventurers were really filling their patience, however, once Edward finished his lousy quality liquor, he took the floor

"First of all, the employment system is completely commission based"

Naofumi finished his meal with a plastic taste

"40% of the profits go to me and another 40% to my partner, you are free to do what you want with what's left"

Both heroes put the money from their respective plates on the table and between the two, spoke directly to the annoying subjects in unison

"You will pay for your own equipment"

Both bandits were outraged at the proposal so condensable unfair and greedy that they proposed the duet

"Y-You're a hero, right?"

"And you show yourself being someone strong but kind, right?"

"Don't be so stingy, how about ... how about you…pay us in advance" having shown their true intentions, both bandits drew their knives with all intention of robbing them

Of course, both Edward and Naofumi knew how they should deal with scum like this

A balloon bit the fat bandit's arm while his friend ...

"W-What the fuck?! An orange balloon demon?! You're watching this ..." When he didn't receive a reply from his partner, the chubby looked at the floor as debris of dust and wood fell from the ceiling, looking up, his mouth fell when he saw his partner stuck in the ceiling, only his head, his body moved like a candlestick

"Did you like my magic trick ..." the fat bandit, as well as the rest of the clientele at the bar, looked at the poor guy having been thrown that way to the ceiling upon receiving Edward's Uppercut

With sprouted veins on his biceps and triceps, he display a menacing aura

"I call that trick, 'Knock Out'" the scared chubby ran out, Edward jumped hard and pulled the other guy stuck in the ceiling and left him sitting at his table, Naofumi left him a recovery potion so he wouldn't be left with resentment.

They left quickly but calmly, the last thing they wanted were the king's guards chasing them today. Although they did their best to get the most fun out of their current situation, there really was little they could do. No one in this place, damn, maybe even out of this country wanted to be their third wheel

"We managed to level up, but, as I assumed, our Stats will not change anything in the time we have left when the next Wave arrives, with this penance of reduced to zero EXP, it could take years to reach level 10 if we continue as until now" Naofumi was discouraged

Edward, seeing his current situation, wanted to make the best of it, but he couldn't. His partner was right, they were in a vicious circle where winning is not part of completing the lap

"Impel Down was not built in a day, I'm sure we will find a way for someone to join us" Naofumi knew that was something about him, but still appreciates trying to cheer him up

"If you say so."

...

"You can get out of there. I know you've been watching us" Edward noted the presence of a possible enemy, he detects it thanks to his Haki, the hero of the shield turned, in fact, someone looked from the shadows of the alley

"Wow, wow. So, the rumors are true, you can detect the presence of others through their vitality. A terrifying skill, if you ask me" the mysterious subject was revealed, he was a man of short stature, black crown , monocle encrusted with gold and a pretty elegant and eye-catching clothes, a pretty creepy smile, looked like the guy who would wait at the elementary school entrance to offer infants candy

"You seem worried, young men"

"Who are you?" Naofumi was the first to ask, of course, he was ready to throw a demon balloon

Edward on the other hand, did not feel hostility on his part, in fact, he was neither armed nor felt any kind of magical power within him.

"Whatever you call me I leave you to your interpretation and preference. I am simply a businessman who saw two poor boys in need of help" he replied without losing his creepy smile

"If you're here to offer yourself as our comrade, you're on time. It's hard to find reliable people these days."

"Fufufufu ~, "comrades" you say, what a useless notion. What I offer you is no trick. But if a talented person who could never betray you, my masters"

With his respectful bow, he ended up getting Naofumi's attention, however, Edward felt he had seen this kind of scenario before, and it was disgustingly familiar.

"You are the Shield Hero, right? And you must be the Husky Illusionist, right?" Edward's cables were disconnected

"Husky Illusionist…they say? I swear I'll make the guy who comes out with these names see his own teeth*

"By your reactions I can tell that I am right. It is as rumors say, only demons travel by his side, leaving disasters where they go"

"Heh, I guess the name suits you" Naofumi decided to tease his friend with his new emblem given by the public

"My eyes do not deceive me. Despite the ignorant happiness you show to the public. I can see the internal conflict that are carrying inside and that is slowly consuming you two. I am desperate to see the outcome of our meeting, fufufufu~"

With few options, since hitting him was not a very viable one, they decided to follow him and see his offer ...

They were going to regret it

The work environment of the little man was basically a big circus tent, although to some extent they were not so surprised

He guided them into their depravity burrow, where he showed them something that, at least Edward, did not want to see again, not in a different world.

"So ... you sell slaves" Naofumi said when she saw the large number of cages, where the crimson red eyes of the beasts crying for blood to quench their thirst.

*If I learned something from my life as a pirate is that…it doesn't matter where you travel. The only thing that changes are the landscapes, people don't* Edward thought to see those rotten beings whose mind and will were broken to be brainless servants, however, if he had to go this way to help his friend, so be it

"I have more demi-humans than anyone else. The best of the best"

"Although I don't like the idea, I think it's our best chance. What makes demi-humans so different from humans?"

"They are humans in fact, it is simply that there is a part of them that is out of the ordinary. People say they are close to being what the demons are, which makes it particularly difficult for them to live in this country."

"So, it's practically a racial fear towards them for emulating certain characteristics of demons" Edward intuited what the slave gave his sign of approval.

"You can see it as a very valid point, young Illusionist"

Veins sprouted in his muscles again

"Do you want to check if the pain caused by these "illusions" are fake?" the slaver was not affected by his threat

"I see, you don't look so different from the man they mentioned."

The slaver showed them a cage with their best merchandise

"This is my recommendation ..."

He showed a level 75 wolf beast

"As you can see, with his statistics he can make an excellent fighter"

*It's way above our level, although I don't doubt that Edward could beat him up ... I hope*

*My true strength is restricted in this world by my level. I think it would be unwise to underestimate or belittle high level monsters*

"As for the price ..."

Naofumi interrupted him

"Don't be too ahead of yourself. You know we can't buy this, so you showed us the most expensive one, isn't it?" the dark-eyed boy saw through the bargaining of the slaver

"Well, well, well. Looks like you are a customer who has developed good eyes" he praise him for noticing it

"I learned from the best"

Edward didn't know if he should feel proud, but he still gave his approval for his haggling

The slaver led them to the area where his cheapest products were

"Tell me, what are you looking for?"

"Something cheap, quite durable. Probably something that is not designed to be used at home" Naofumi explained, if they wanted to get what they needed, they should speak in their language, even if they disliked it a little

"A Man would be good"

Got no response

"... in any case it would be something set to battles, but his abilities will be deficient. Is that okay? And in regard to that rumor ..."

Naofumi unleashed his anger in one of the cages, showing an expression of rage

"I DIDN'T DO IT!" the slaver did not flinch

"Hm, like your partner, you don't look different from the man they mentioned"

Finally, they arrived at the new tent, this place had beasts that were more similar to humans with certain minor differences, to more notable ones. Edward with his Observation Haki could feel how the vital energy of many of these poor creatures was fading, which caused him great pain

"Well, then. In this room, as you can see, I can offer you quality products at low prices ... they are somewhat difficult to control, but with proper training you can do it fast, you have a good illusionist after all"

Whitebeard could swear that one of those slaves in cages, a giant dog with bright white eyes and long mane just said "Ed…ward" from its cage, apart from breaking his heart, I also scare him a little

Naofumi went to check what could be useful, while his companion, looked strongly upset by the environment he was in, these creatures were not free, but he knew that it was too late for them, there was nothing to do to give them back that part that made them more human than "demi"

"Cough ... cough"

A small life form...with awareness. Edward, feeling the weak but fervent soul of a little creature, hurried in its direction with all his might

"Young Illusionist?" the slaver saw the large adventurer go desperately in the direction where the foxes, cats and of course, the last raccoon he had left

Edward took off the canvas mantle that covered the cage, revealing a little girl, with brown hair and brown fluffy ears and tail, the poor life in his eyes evidenced that she has been eating badly, sleeping badly, poor hydration, and with a cold that could lead to pneumonia

(ONE PIECE OST: THE PATH TOWARDS THE SUN)

"Naofumi ... I found what we were looking for ..." he crouched down to the level of the little girl, who, scared, cornered herself at the bottom of her cage, when she saw a really tall man suddenly appear.

"What's your name? Don't be afraid little girl, I won't hurt you ..." he showed her a genuine friendly smile, the little girl was still scared, her cough also got worse

But, seeing the calm and compassionate expression of that blond-haired sir, the little raccoon girl stopped curling in her cage, slowly approached him, even with fear in her heart. Even so, Edward, worried, decided to open the cage, to the surprise of the little girl, she got startled and returned to the corner of her cage

Now with the bars open, the man knelt down, left the weapon outside her line of sight, and extended his arms, showing her, that he was harmless, that he will not harm her, that no one else will hurt her anymore

"Come ... don't be afraid. I'm not going to hurt you. I promise you I won't, come on, I'm going to get you out of here" the little girl, seeing his genuine act of kindness, his soft voice that didn't have a hint of evil, small and hot tears began to ran down her little pink cheeks, without thinking twice, she ran desperately to the man who offered her a way out of her misery.

The man received her in his arms, held her tightly, as close as possible, she cried, cried silently, then let out a weak voice in her sobs ... for the first show of affection she received in a long time.

"It's alright, shhh, shhh. Everything's fine, because now I'm here ..." she sank her head into his strong chest, and refused to let go, instead of being upset, the man unknown to her, slowly patted her head, with delicacy, he didn't care if she was dirty, or if she wasn't normallike the others. He didn't let her go.

"Thank you ... thank you, thank you so much ..."

The man also shed a few tears, this made him feel, so nostalgic ... when was the last time he felt that way ... Years? Decades? He didn't know, but he wanted to keep this moment, and turn it into a nice memory.

"Tell me little girl, what's your name?" he pushed her away from his chest so she could see his face.

"R ... Raph ... talia"

"Raphtalia ... what a nice name, Gurarara~" she didn't know why, but she felt a warmth in her chest when she heard him laugh.

"W-Who ... are ... you?" with innocent questioning eyes, while the man wiped her tears with his handkerchief, leaving his long hair free.

"Heh ... well ..."

He showed her a smile that would be marked in her memory, something that encourages her to smile also in the future, for her, a symbol that will give her courage, a beautiful feeling. The presence of this man, and whose words would sow the beginning of a shining future ...

"... I am Edward Newgate ..."

"... but you can call me ..."

"...Pops..."

... a path to the sun ... the beginning of brighter days to come ...

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／|＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿ _ _

〈 To BE CONTINUED…/ |

＼|￣￣￣￣￣￣￣￣~ ~ ￣

I HOPE YOU ENGLISH FOLKS LIKE IT!

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