I nodded with a simple smile on my face as I shot a concealed expression of finality the snail that had been placed before me. On the other end, Fawkes could be seen smiling victoriously. Throughout the actual discussion he had been the one to put forth the requirements and provide a baseline to the entire girth of the conversation.

Just before the s.h.i.+p had landed on the sh.o.r.es of the island I had dragged him aside to brief him on the entire situation. At first he was slightly p.i.s.sed that I was using him as a s.h.i.+eld but pretty much agreed to the entire plan when he learnt of the scope that Mimir was working on.

Then all I had to do was give him one of the transponder snails and carry another to charter a long distance negotiation.

The deal had elements of the things that had been discussed, with a few iterations that were offered by both sides.

Now, Mimir would hold access to a 25 percent of the contents of the Jewel Ice Sheet that remained with the Navy after Chinjou got his head thumped in. This along with a tactical alliance between Mimir and the Navy saw the two organizations sharing markets.

Mimir had a lot of things but precious materials was in short supply. The store house of the organization was so pathetic that all the devil fruits that it possessed came from the auction that I had partic.i.p.ated in, in Rubeck.

In exchange the Navy now held a thirty percent stake within the a.s.sa.s.sination circle of Mimir. What this essentially amounted to was that the Navy could now offer a.s.sa.s.sination services on behalf of Mimir and would thus have a ninety percent of all the housing payment that the missions they deferred to Mimir, further they would also gain a thirty percent of the housing payment that Mimir offered.

When one looked at this, it would seem that I had taken a loss on this matter, but with the reach that the Navy had and with the initial down payment of sorts that was the stake in the Jewel Ice Sheet, the amounts actually evened out and even turned up on the side of profits for my side.

This along with the sheer influence that the Navy held within the entirety of West blue was worth the small amount that we were paying for.

As I walked out of the curtained corner of the bar, the bar tender waved at me. The sky outside had long begun to darken. We had been in deep negotiation within those small quarter for more than just a few hours, but I was satisfied with the results.

With the deal finally ironed out I could traverse to the Grand line in piece. Mimir would not have a problem growing for the foreseeable future.

With a deep sigh I walked out into the temperate evening. The fountain in front of the bar gleamed with an a.s.sortment of colors as tiny bubble formed off the froth that was generated when the water streamed down.

Around the stone structure many families walked peacefully. At the side a couple could be seen holding hands as they walked around the fountain. To the left a mother could be seen chastising her daughter for trying to eat the bubbles that flew off the water.

With a smile I could not help but remember the unnamed island. My father cooking peacefully in the kitchen as my mother tried her hand at knitting me a sweater, then her expression of exasperation that would appear when she embroidered the sweater into her skirt.

My mouth couldn't help but curve up in fond memory as I walked away from the heartwarming sight. The lights that illuminated the streets cast a long shadow behind me.

A jaunty whistle on my lips as I walked back to the harbor and then onto my s.h.i.+p. The entire crew stood at attention as they stared at me.

Earlier in the day Angella had gone out to get herself a replacement for her rapier while Sorren had made a trip down into the hospitals to get a fair share of medical supplies. We would not be landing on an island any time soon so it was only right for us to h.o.a.rd while we still could.

With a dull smile I looked over at the rest of the crew. With a deep sigh and a step onto the helm I said "Next stop paradise!" and with that we were off.

The s.h.i.+p chugged along as it cleared the harbor. As night set in the crew all walked over to their posts, each one of them had a job to do and after the recent debacle none of them were slacking.

With a renewed fire in their eyes the crew made off, each one of them clear on their route. All except one

"Umm, not to question captain's orders and all, but why are we going toward the calm belt…. Hey why is no one answering me…. Heeeeeey?!!"

As the s.h.i.+p moved closer to the horizon, Scipio could be seen questioning his life, the sanity of his crew and that of his captain, not exactly in that order...

****************************

A roar of weapons echoed across the s.h.i.+p as the crew retreated. Fire lit up abruptly in the night sky as the s.h.i.+p's dull shadow gleamed eerily.

A young teenager could be seen wading through the fighting mob on the deck as he sought to escape. A box clutched in the crook of his hand stowed away in the lines of his black coat.

His fiery red hair gleamed weirdly as he pushed off one of the attackers. When his father had arranged for this s.h.i.+p to deliver him to his destination, he had already begin to question how adventurous his journey would truly be.

Now on the last leg, his entire s.h.i.+p turned out to be a group of unscrupulous turn coats as he ran to the edge of the s.h.i.+p he clenched hard at the thread that tied the final escape raft.

Luckily his s.h.i.+p had been attacked by pirates, using the distraction of the loud fight and the repeated sound of gunfire he lowered the boat into the tumultuous sea.

'I don't care what you say father! I am going on an adventure!!'