Kuma froze a bit. He recognized the handwriting—and thank god he did, because Kairo wasn't certain about it.
He had made sure to smudge it just enough that the writing was visible, but not enough to fully recognize the style.
However, a very emotional person might mistake it for someone else's writing.
And Kuma was very emotional.
"...My father..."
He paused.
This writing style... it was his dad's.
Kairo felt like shit doing that to Kuma—the second best dad in One Piece, second only to GoatBeard.
However, he was sure Kuma would understand eventually. When he was able to hold his own kid and tell her everything, he would surely understand.
But for now, Kairo's goals were simple:
Go inside the Red Line to his village, retrieve some stuff, then go to Sabaody to get Bonney, then speak with Rayleigh and get something from him, and finally try to rescue Ace.
If that failed, use Bonney to get Whitebeard back to his prime.
If he couldn't get Bonney, use his reanimation jutsu and have the Marines back off when they realized the more of them died, the more enemies they would have.
Or—
Use blackmail material that would shatter the World Government's image if released.
Or—
Distract them and get Ace.
He had 30 backup plans, each cycling in his mind in case one of them failed.
There was no perfect plan. When you make a plan, always assume it could fail—and thus make a backup plan for it.
And a backup plan for the backup plan.
Inform your team of only two plans: the original and the backup.
Then inform someone you really trust of the third backup plan—and keep the fourth to yourself.
You can never be too cautious in these seas.
Long story short, always have an extra backup plan for yourself—one plan that no one else but you is aware of.
Kairo then paused... a bit.
Waiting for Kuma to answer his plea.
Then—
"...Agreement accepted."
Kairo smiled.
"I am glad," Kairo said with a small smile.
Though he wasn't planning on relying solely on the seal he gave Kuma—there were two seals in there.
While Kairo did not have a seal on Ace, he had his Haki signature memorized. So when the seal got close enough to Ace, the second seal would activate a bit away from him—and that would be the one Kairo teleports to.
This was a backup plan in case Imu figured out about his... slimy plans.
Yes, even though he just did all of this for Kuma, he did not put all his faith in it. Not because he didn't trust Kuma—but because he was practical.
And as a practical man, he prepared for everything.
Kuma closed his hand around the seal.
"...I will deliver it."
A pause.
"...And I will not interfere with Straw Hat Luffy."
Kairo nodded once.
"Good."
Kuma turned—
Then stopped.
"...If you fail..."
His voice dropped slightly.
"...there will be consequences."
"I understand," Kairo said calmly.
A beat.
Then Kuma vanished.
No sound.
No warning.
Just—
Gone.
'That Paw Fruit is really nifty,' Kairo thought to himself.
No, he wasn't thinking about stealing it. Killing Kuma served no purpose, nor did hurting him.
Now... to deal with the crew.
And all their eyes were on him.
"So, mind explaining?" Nami demanded, and Kairo knew he wouldn't get out of this without explaining.
He could lie...
The image of Luffy's face flashed in his mind. Yes, he took a beating, but... Luffy...
Kairo paused for a bit.
"Yo, what was that talk about Ace?" Well, of course Franky would be interested in that.
Kairo took a deep breath.
Okay.
"Yeah," Nami added sharply.
"Start talking."
"I have a deal with Morgans."
"WHATTT?!" —Usopp
"WHEN?!" —Nami
When the hell did he have time for that?
"When the hell did you have time to make a deal with that bird?" Sanji was baffled. The hell? How?
"It was after I killed the Celestial Dragon, during our stay in Water 7. In exchange for giving him firsthand info, if he gets interesting news, I get it too."
"Why would Morgans make a deal with you? He's a businessman—what does he gain from this?" Robin was a bit confused. Yes, Kairo's skills were top-tier, but Morgans was also very good.
"I don't know... what could he possibly want from the sole survivor of a clan that knows the world's full history?"
The sarcasm was heavy.
"Now is not the time for sarcasm!" Nami roared, and Kairo lowered himself slightly.
Why did he suddenly feel the urge to hide behind someone?
Was the cartoon logic of this world affecting him?
"...We've been in the Florian Triangle."
Another twitch.
"...How the hell did he reach you?!"
Kairo took out a Den Den Mushi.
Oh.
Oh.
Even Sanji—his biggest hater (and probably forever his biggest hater, because fuck him, how dare he hug Vivi and have Nami get so close to him)—even he was stunned.
Still—
"When did you even—" Like, when could he have gotten that?
"Like I said, during our stay in Water 7. Or did you think me going outside for hours on end was just to get fresh air?"
Well, damn.
Before the argument could escalate—
"...meat..."
Everyone froze.
Slowly—
They turned.
Luffy sat up.
Hair messy.
Eyes half-lidded.
Looking like he just woke up from the best nap of his life.
"...I'm hungry."
Sanji was already moving.
He had meals cooking.
Something had been roasting this whole time.
He kicked open the kitchen door.
"FOOD'S READY!"
What followed—
Was violence.
Luffy launched himself across the deck like a starving predator.
"MEAAAAAAAAAT!!!"
Plates?
Gone.
Bowls?
Gone.
Entire trays?
GONE.
A/N this is the last chapter I edited, before my pc had an issue, the next 3 or so chapter are written but they all rought draft and overviews, not ready to be seen yet.
To the peeps on WEBNOVEL, I had written all the way to the war, but file got corrupted, so I am now in the process of rewriting 2.5 arcs worth of content.