"Jaguar D Saul" Morley said, her chubby lips growing wider by the minute."Despite how I acted, Saul was my only friend. I was devastated when he joined the marines, but I respected his choice"

"After he left I was all alone, but I still cherished the time I spent with him. Occasionally he would come back to Elbaf, always spending time with me and telling me about his stories and adventures and cheering me up. He even gave me the devil fruit that I had eaten as a present for my birthday. At the end of each of his trips, he would always ask whether I wanted to join the marines with him, under his division of course. He said that Giants were treated well in the marines, much better than normal treated them." Morley clarified.

"I was ready to accept,  even to the point of rehearsing my answer before his next visit, but when he asked that special question, a feeling of dread always stopped me from doing it"

"Now I know those feelings were not unfounded. When I learnt Saul betrayed the marines, I knew they were lying without a doubt." Morley said with a tne on conviction, clenching his fists as he relived the experience of hearing about his friend's death.

"Saul was the nicest person to me, and he would always fight for justice, true justice. Not the justice they spew out at the marines as an excuse for committing horrible acts" She snarled.

"Saul died doing what was right, which was protecting that little Nico Robin. The poor innocent girl has been on the run her entire life because of lies told by the world government. That's when I left Elbaf, pursuing my search for Robin so I could pay Saul back for all he has done for me. That search eventually led me to the Revolutionary Army, a place to fight back against the corrupt world government, as well as help try and find Robin."

August smiled, kicking the air until he was high enough to place a hand on Morley's shoulder. "We will find her, I'll make sure of it" August said with conviction.

"You remind me of him, only a little more violent," Morley japed. "You both share the initial D, do you know what it means?"

August nodded, "Enemy of the Gods, so the celestial dragons. If Saul died protecting Robin, then there is a high chance that Robin can do something to hurt these gods, which makes all those lies by the world government understandable from their view. If they placed a 90 million bounty on a little girl, then she must have knowledge of something dangerous"

Morley nodded, "It's a good theory. If Robin has something to hurt these Gods, then we must get to her soon, before she becomes alone and trusts no one. She needs a place to call home, and this is the perfect place"

August nodded, his eyes trailing away from Morley and took to the open field spanning miles.

"This place looks good" August said, bending down as he touched his toes, stretching his body.

"So? What are we doing?" Morley finally asked.

"Well...you'll see" August said with a smirk. "You are aware of my powers right?" He inquired

Morley nodded his head, not bothered to elaborate any further.

"Well, as you know I can break things like the ground" August explained, touching the ground which formed a few cracks,  "I would like you to use your powers to send chunks of earth at me. If I don't manage to destroy it in time, I will get hit"

August looked at Morley who seemed to have accepted, as shown by his trident which spun around quickly, creating swirls of air.

"I've learnt pain is the best motivator, so come at me!" August state, his smile showing his pearl white teeth.

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[2 months later]

I found myself in the meeting room, directly face to face with Dragon. Like always he had a serious look on his face, but it was more serious than normal, so it meant something was up.

"I have another mission for you" Dragon said, starting off the conversation.

"Oh cool, when is it? Should I fetch Sabo and the others?" I asked, pointing towards the door, ready to walk out.

"No, this is a solo mission" He said dryly.

I raised my eyebrows, repeating his words "Solo?"

Dragon bought both of his fingers together and conjoined them, "Yes solo, the more people on this mission the harder. The most important part about this mission is to not stand out and be unseen, and having a group of people would diminish that point, thus defeating the purpose of the word solo"

"Ok" I nodded, "But why did you choose me?"

"You're still young, so are the perfect height for this, not too tall or short to stand out. Your devil fruit is also good for causing chaos, it could easily be used as a diversion or distraction as well. I also trust in your combat capabilities in case something goes wrong. It's also time to start trusting you with more important missions, your one of our most promising members, so it's time to start treating you like one"

I nodded again at his reasoning, feeling a hint of pride at his explanation, "So, what's the mission?"

"Devil Fruit Retrieval." He said simply.

"Devil Fruit Retrieval?" I repeated what he said, indicating to him to elaborate.

"Yes, you know what they look like right? Here is a picture of the one we are looking to obtain" He said, handing a piece of paper with a rough sketch over.

I looked at the picture, staring at it for half a minute, making sure to memorise the fruit which was blue in colour with sharp curls. "Can you tell me what it does? I'm curious"

"It is called the Choki Choki no mi, it allows the user to cut things as if they were paper, it's a very strong fruit...one which we need to obtain"

'And what. So you can give it to Inuzuma, someone who doesn't even know Haki?' I thought, resisting the urge to punch Dragon for his future actions. He was right, the fruit was really good, but I still never understood why the devil fruit was given to Inuzuma.

"Ok, so where is it?" I asked.

"From my sources, the fruit will be auctioned at Sabaody archipelago, your task is to steal it from the auction without being caught. The fruit is very useful, but the nobles could care less about it, so it should be pretty easy for you."

"Mhm" I digested his reasoning, nodding once more. "Ok, I'll do it"

"Good, i'll prepare a boat for you to leave"

"Ah, there's no need" I said, "I already have transport"

"You have a boat ready?" Dragon inquired

"Not exactly, let's just say if you ever need any glass, call me" I said, leaving the room all the while blatantly knowing and taking pride in the confused look Dragon gave me.

I walked out the headquarters with my hands in pockets while whistling, making sure to say bye to my team before leaving. An hour later I arrived at the edge of the island, briefly looking at the endless sea. The way the sun reflected the water was beautiful, and I couldn't help but be mesmerized by it.

I snapped out of my daze, smiling at myself as I held out my palm.

"<Shatterbird>" I said, and the air cracked and shattered almost instantly, the glass compressing together to form the shape of a bird. The bird wasn't massive, but big enough to carry me while flying.

I took out a cushion from my pocket, gently placing it on the back of the bird before hopping onto the bird.

"Lets go Shatterbird, it's time to get a devil fruit"

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(???)

"That fruit is of the utmost importance, It would significantly boost the powers of a swordsman, we need it" The voice on the transponder snail said.

"Understood, I will retrieve the fruit without fail"

"Good, that is your purpose. Eliminate anyone who stands in your way"

"Got it"

"Also, remember you and your little team will be going undercover after this, so don't show your face under any circumstance" The voice reminded him.

"No Hattori then..."