Chapter 70: Where it all began

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"Thank you for buying our Dials, mysterious customer!"

"Hmm..." 

Hearing the happy tone of the shop owner, I just nodded my head and hummed slightly a positive answer. Seeing that an incredible amount of Dials had been bought today, he was smiling happily and merrily.

However, when he heard my next words, he tensed up immediately.

I looked towards the sky with my red eyes gleaming and increased my pressing aura to make him feel slightly powerless.

"It seems like the flames of life are already reaching this place, and when it does, not even the strongest people will be able to stop them... Sir... Be sure to stay at home tomorrow if you don't want to suffer the consequences..."

"Y-yes?"

'Will something bad happen tomorrow? Oh god, I have to warn everyone!!' That was probably what this man was thinking about. The fear and caution that my words imprinted in him immediately made him exceptional and paranoid.

I guess I exaggerated a bit while talking about how tomorrow could be a bit hotter than today. But whatever, what's done it's done. Now I have to go and pick up the gold pillar that the Straw-hats left behind. Let's just hope it does not become too bothersome to carry it.

As for the Dials that I bought right now, I just picked some Heat Dials, Flavor Dials, Flash Dials, and finally water and Lightning Dials respectively. Although most of them weren't exactly used for fights here as the heat and the flavor dials were more used in the cooking area around this place, I had some pretty interesting ideas that might add some pretty epic weapons to my ship, and make it even deadlier than it is right now... However, that was gonna need time to finish, so it was just a plan for the future right now.

*Tap*

"Well, this is indeed a bit big for me to carry..."

After walking for some minutes I finally arrived at Shandora, and in front of me, a gigantic pillar made out of pure gold of the same size as a large-sized ship lied horizontally on the ground while being protected by some Shandians that looked calmly at the surroundings as if not expecting any visitors.

Unfortunately for them, I have come to visit.

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Back down at the ship, the crew was having lunch merrily while waiting for their boss to return. Yasu, who had been thirsty for a while, took out a bottle of beer and started drinking it without much thought.

Soon, he started laughing with a dumb expression on his face and started talking with everyone at the table with a cheerful expression on his face.

"Say guys, how did you meet the boss in the past? Since we have not interacted with each other that much prior to this mission, I'm quite curious"

Everyone got startled at Yasu's question and started looking at the air as if recalling something.

Tom, who was the first to react to Yasu's question, laughed heartily while recalling that moment when he was about to get executed by the world government.

"Tahahaha!! I still remember it vividly. You see, I was about to get executed by the world government because of some things I did back at where I lived. But just when the day for my execution was about to arrive, suddenly the boss appeared outside of my cell and invited me to join his crew! I was very baffled the first time I met him... " 

Tom scratched his beard and started recalling everything that happened that day, the moment when his career as one of the Atlas inquisition members began.

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Flashback...

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Inside a very dark and silent cell, Tom, a very big yellow-skinned gyojin, was now sitting on the cold ground looking calmly at the air while reminiscing his entire life with a small smile on his lips.

Be it all those moments when he created a ship for people, or that moment when he completed his greatest creation, or even those moments he spent teaching Cutty Flam (Franky) and Iceburg the office of being a Carpenter, all those moments were what gave him the greatest happiness in his life, and if dying meant to protect them, then he could gladly do so.

His execution was near, at most one hour more before he could be executed publicly, and although most people could break down in tears, Tom was not that type of person.

If he was going to die, then he had to do it with a Don!

*Cling*

However, at that moment he suddenly noticed a dark shadow appear outside his cell. Due to the darkness of the cell, he was unable to see who or what was standing outside of his cell. The only thing that he could see clearly, was the bright red eyes shining in the darkness and looking at him with amusement.

Tom just stared at the dark figure in front of him waiting for it to talk. The presence of this shadow could have certainly startled him, and even worried him, if it wasn't for the fact that its size was not even half of Tom's stature. No, it was not even the size of a normal human adult, it was even shorter. So although its presence was indeed intimidating, the contrast with its stature was certainly a downside.

Finally, after some seconds, the figure spoke aloud and looked at Tom with sharp eyes. However, unexpectedly for Tom, the voice of the figure was more childish than he expected.

"Tom, Owner of the company Tom's workers, and also the man who built the Pirate King's ship. Tell me, do you prefer to die here or do you want to continue living"

"..." Hearing the strange question, Tom just stared blankly at the figure thinking about the situation.

Finally, after some seconds Tom reached a conclusion and decided to ask a few things before answering this mysterious person.

"Are you perhaps part of the World Government? Because if that's the case, I'm sorry but I won't accept no matter what you say. I prefer to die than to help you guys"

The figure shook his head briefly before he turned to look at Tom once again.

"Do not worry about that, we are not affiliated with the World Government nor other organizations. Our plan is to recruit those whose destiny has been bound to death and have them help us to fight a powerful monster that will endanger the entire world somewhere in the near future, in exchange for changing their destiny. And you Tom, have been selected to join our crew. Whether you want to join or prefer to die here, depends on you"

Tom widened his eyes hearing this. The whole situation had turned completely crazy in just one moment. But one doubt arose in him when he heard those words.

"Why did you guys choose me...? No, how do you even plan on letting me out in the first place...?"

When Tom's words reached the ears of the figure, resentingly, the shadow grabbed the bars made of Sea-stone that separated him from Tom and started bending them with his pure brute strength. Something that astonished Tom, as even he, who has superhuman strength to the point where he can lift small ships with just one arm, would be unable to break through these Sea stone bars.

After a few seconds, the shadow finally ended bending the bars wide enough for Tom to escape. And then turned to look at him with a still calm expression on his face.

"Your carpenter abilities were considered an incredibly useful resource for our crew, but aside from that, the fact that you are about to die is one of the reasons why we are recruiting you. As for how am I gonna take you out of here... Well, that's easy.

*Thud!*

Suddenly from the side, the shadow took out the figure of a badly beaten man, and tossed it into the cell, before he then touched the man's face and started murmuring something.

Repentinelly, the face of the man started changing, and soon the entire body of the man started changing as well. But what surprised Tom more, was the fact that the man was starting to resemble him to an incredible degree. It was just a matter of seconds before the man became the perfect clone of Tom.

"That's how I'm going to take you out of here"

"A devil fruit? What an interesting power you have there... Fine, I will join you guys. I'm already old after all, and what better way to spend my last years than fighting a world-threatening monster?"

"Very well..." Suddenly, a small flame appeared on the hand of the shadow, and illuminated everything in the surroundings, including the shadow's real appearance.

"A kid?" 

Soon as the room got completely illuminated and the appearance of the shadow became clear for Tom, he noticed that the figure he has been talking to all along has been a kid. And although it indeed looked like the average kid you could find anywhere, he knew that this kid was not so simple.

"The name is Sid by the way" 

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Flashback End

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After that, Tom finished telling his story (Obviously avoiding certain details like Sid's name and his appearance at that time) and started laughing heartily while recalling all the amazing things he had done since then.

There was even a time when Sid asked him for the blueprints of Pluton, and when he told him that he didn't remember them, Sid simply shrugged his shoulders and grinned slightly saying that he was going to build an even more epic ship than that.

Obviously, he didn't believe him at first... But now seeing the very own ship on which he was standing right now, he was quite amused by the fact that Sid had somehow accomplished it.

However, he was still dubious whether this ship was or not stronger than the Pluton he had seen in the blueprints. Either way, only time could tell.

Soon, the next one to speak was Kuent, who had an expression full of bliss and reverence while recalling the moment when he met Sid.

"I will always remember that moment! It all began when..."

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Jarron7

Small arc on how the crew members met Sid! Also, sorry for the wait, I've been getting busier with school lately.

They don't stop sending homework...

Anyway, let's hope I can increase the chapter's schedule...

That's all for now.

See you later.