A Young Sailor's swordsmanship 3

Someone other than the original commissioner paid for an extra chapter! Enjoy.

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"Grandma?" Tanya asked on day seven of waiting for Father's new ship to get built. As she understood things, the delay was more waiting for the carpenter, apparently a merman that Grandpa knew the brother of, to get to it rather than the actual construction. Tanya had halfway expected pressure to be applied to speed things up, skipping the line, but the quote was nine days, which was short enough that Father was willing to just wait it out.

Tanya was seated on a tall stool behind the bar, given crayons and paper to entertain herself with while the Rip-off bar had customers. Tanya was making a self portrait, as there was a mirror. Father was helping Grandpa on a 'coating' job, which was apparently covering a ship in the odd resin that the mangroves secreted, allowing it to travel underwater. This world…

"Yes sweetie?" Grandma asked, finishing the pour of the pirate's drink. It was an up and coming rookie crew, led by "En Guarde" Ramba, bounty eight million beri. He was tall and thin, Tanya guessed that he was about sixteen or seventeen years old.

"Why are my eyes weird?" She asked, pretending that she only now noticed the odd black rings in her eyes.

"That's a long story." Grandma deflected, "But the short answer is your Daddy has them, so you do too." That was how genetics worked, yes. She wasn't expected to know that, though.

Thus, "Oh..." She said, drawing it out. "I like stories."

"I'll tell it to you later." Grandma promised.

That was as good as she was going to get. Was it because she didn't want the random pirates to hear it? "Okay!" She replied cheerily.

Tanya examined her self portrait. While she was never what she would call a good artist, she had enough practice from her first life that she could at least get the blobs of colored wax to be in roughly the correct shapes, even if her lines were sloppy. But all of that practice was with pencils, colored and otherwise, so it was an understandable flaw.

Would it look better if she used a 'chibi' style instead of attempting more realism? …Eh, line work would be even more critical in that case, probably not.

"Hey, this kid's actually pretty good." Commented one of the pirates, his mug of alcohol spilling on one of her stray crayons, the yellow one.

Tanya narrowed her eyes at him, glaring as she moved her tools and work away from the splash zone. Well, when you compared her work to a normal five year old, it certainly looked impressive. "Go away." She said bluntly, taking a rag and cleaning the crayon… which was melting. How strong was that booze? She looked around to find a place to discard the lump of yellow wax.

"Yes, if you could step away from my adorable granddaughter, your blood will remain on the inside." Grandma said with a bored tone. She collected the wax and wiped Tanya's hand clean.

"You threatening me?" The pirate said, slurring his words. He went to pick up Tanya's drawing.

Tanya drew her knife with her other hand and stabbed the man's reaching limb. Making a split second decision, she withdrew the blade and fell backwards away from any retaliation, landing hands first and flipping back to her feet. "I warned you." Grandma said in a sing-song voice endlessly amused as Tanya hid behind her apron. "You do remember that this is one of the lawless groves, right?"

The pirate looked like he was going to escalate matters when Captain Ramba interrupted. "Drop it." He commanded, although he did not draw his thin sword that was properly sized for his two and a half meter height. It was people like him that made Tanya understand why Yoru existed. Even if Father, who was of a more ordinary size, looked kind of silly with it. "We are the Dueling pirates, we do not bully children."

"Yes, Captain." The pirate grumbled, walking to another of their number who was taking out some bandages.

Surprisingly, the pirates just paid their bill instead of forcing Grandma to beat them up for it. In return, she gave them some valuable advice for navigating the New World's political landscape. It was summarized as 'join up with Whitebeard', because of their sense of honor.

"Those boys are going to get chewed up and spat out by the New World if they don't join him." Was her final prognosis once they left, as she cleaned up. The Rip-off bar was incredibly profitable… but it also wasn't very popular and advertised via word of mouth and referral fees to a few locals who point loot-laden pirates to the place. Getting three pirate crews a week to patron the establishment was more than enough to keep them afloat, and this was the fourth crew Tanya had seen. "It'd be a shame if that happened."

Tanya had just finished the third drawing, a portrait of her grandmother (the first was a request to draw what she remembered of her mother, the picture was rough enough that 'herself aged up and dressed as a prostitute' was an accurate description) when Grandma had finished and sat herself down next to her. "It's you." Tanya explained, putting in some enthusiasm in her voice.

"It's very nice, Tanya." Grandma said sincerely, giving her a big hug. Soft… "Now, what do you know about Devil Fruits?"

"Magic fruit that tastes bad." Tanya replied, "gives you magic powers but the sea hates you." Why so many pirates thought that was a good trade… actually it was quite explicable, there were many possible scenarios where Tanya could see herself eating one. If it meant she could turn back into an adult right now, for example. Or, while she was making wishes, turning back into a man, or becoming able to fly again.

"That's right." Grandma said, patting Tanya on the head. "Well, there are three different categories: Paramecia, Zoan, and Logia. The important one for this story is Zoan: these fruits have the spirits of animals in them, and by eating it you gain their strength and vitality, plus the ability to transform into them, both in full and partially."

Tanya nodded thoughtfully. "Like a dragon?" Tanya asked.

"Yes, exactly." Grandma replied, patting Tanya's head again. "Kaido ate the Fish Fish fruit, model: Azure Dragon." Wait, as in the guardian beast? "The reason for your eyes is also a mythical Zoan devil fruit: the Tweet-tweet fruit, model: Vermillion Bird." Ah, exactly like the guardian beast. She assumes there's also a Black Turtle and White Tiger then. "When a Zoan-using mother has a child, minor traits can get passed on. In most cases, this makes them a bit bigger or hairier or whatever. But with a mythical Zoan, the traits are greater. Five hundred years ago, the Kuja Empress ate that fruit, and since then the Eyes of Suzaku have popped back up a couple dozen times."

"Cool!" Tanya said earnestly. It was like a bloodline limit… how chuuni.

"That's some secret lore of the Kuja, by the way." Grandma added. "Don't go telling people about your special eyes." Grandma's indulgent tone darkened as her next warning was said with a calm warning tone. "Especially the government." Before immediately brightening back up and bringing out some kind of flatbread wrap for her to eat. "Eat up, good food is hard to come by on the sea, enjoy it while you can."

Tanya took a bite of the delicious food. By the taste… beans, cabbage, and some leafy greens soaked in some kind of butter sauce. One particular thing Tanya liked about this world was the massive breadth of flavor the spices had, even if the restaurateurs who decided to multitask their charity by giving her experimental dishes at a discount if not free tended to complain on how difficult it was to get a steady supply of anything spice-related, requiring constant innovation. The age of piracy made shipping pretty much everything very inconsistent. "It's good!" She made sure to say before taking her second bite. As usual, her acting skills earned her another pat on the head.

Honestly, she probably would have liked to be here instead of going off with Father. She wondered why her grandparents were so against it. Were they being so friendly in an attempt to spoil her? Hm.

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Tanya had confirmed that Father didn't actually understand Wanogo, which Grandpa confirmed was the proper name for the language, although he wasn't very fluent in it, claiming to have only picked up a few things from a crewmate. She claimed to have learned it from the same fictitious old woman that she had told Izo about, although the time frame involved was different. As such, she was given naming rights to the new ship, and Tanya chose 'Kamisogi', or Paper Funeral. Well, it was also a pun on God's Funeral…

They had lucked out on the weather this time, and she got to see how Father managed to sail on such a tiny boat when things were calm. Apparently, he had a sword technique that let him sail faster. Really. The boat's keel and rudder was a metaphorical blade, and by focusing his will with his hand on the tiller, he could sharpen it, allowing him to effectively reduce the resistance the water imposed on the boat's movement. With ropes to direct the sail, combined with his nearly supernatural awareness of the chaotic winds near the Red Line, he outpaced the various merchant vessels on the sea lane, darting around any they encountered with ease, and did it all without having to stand up.

Tanya had a rope tied to the mast around her waist the whole trip, of course. While she didn't lose her balance and fall down this time, she remembered the trip to Sabaody, and didn't want to take any chances until she finished acquiring her sea legs. "Why are there so many merchant vessels?" Tanya asked.

"This is the primary trading lane between the Grand Line and the East Blue. Or rather, the primary trading lane between the East Blue and everywhere else in the world." Father explained, otherwise focused on steering the ship. "A lot of them are shipping supplies and materials to the largest construction project in the world, Tequila Wolf."

That was actually pretty interesting. "What is it?" She asked curiously.

"It's a bridge." Father replied, "No one I've ever spoken to seems to recall where it's supposed to be headed. The Celestial Dragon that commissioned the project is long dead, or so I assume. Construction started over a hundred years ago." That seemed like a safe assumption, but Tanya didn't like how he felt the need to clarify that point. This world…

"So… How are we going to find Shanks?" Tanya asked.

"Ah. I knew I had forgotten something." Father said, turning to the right and, after two minutes of sailing due east of the Red Line, found a spot where the ocean currents were utterly dead, which didn't make any sense to Tanya. Why were they becalmed? "Okay, now me and your grandparents have prepared a little care package in case you ever get separated from me." He stood up and walked into the small covered section of the ship, coming back with a pouch that looked like it was supposed to be worn around the waist. "You should wear this under your clothes, on your back." He instructed, before opening it up. The first item he removed was a sheet of paper. "This is Vivre paper."

"What does it do?" She asked. It looked ordinary…

"Watch." He tore off a small piece and held it in his palm. After a beat, it started moving, as if tugged by a mysterious force, directly towards her. He moved his hand to her left, and it changed directions to keep following her. "Do you recall when my mother clipped your nails?" He asked, to Tanya's nod. "This paper incorporates them, and it will be drawn towards you." He tore it in half, putting one half back in the bag and the other into his pocket. "If you give a piece to a friend, they'll be able to find you, no matter where you are."

Ah. She understands. "You have some vivre paper for Shanks." She guessed.

"Correct." Father replied, patting her on the head. Tanya found herself smiling, a glimmer of pride fluttering in her chest at being correct. Damn moody little girl body. "Now, this is a compass." He said, taking one out and opening it. "If you open it on this side, it will always point north in the East and North Blues, and south in the West and South Blues. If you're on the Grand Line, you'll need to use the other side." He turned it around, and it just gently spun around. "This slot here is where you need to put the vivre paper inside," He put the sample piece into it, "twist it like so, and…" He showed her the compass again, which was now unerringly pointing at her.

Tanya twisted it in the opposite direction, and noted that the paper was now removable. She did so and closed it.

He took out a large locket and opened it, showing four spaces filled with vive cards. "This one is mine." He explained, pointing to the one in the top left. "This one is your grandfather's, this one is your grandmothers, and this last one should get you to Amazon Lily. It's for Gloriosa, the Empress before my mother. She's old, but the paper hasn't burnt up so she's still alive." He flipped the locket. "There are four more chambers here, but they're empty." Father was clearly planning ahead here.

"I understand." Tanya said seriously.

"The rest of the bag are incidental things." He continued, taking things out and putting them back in after a few words. "If you take this letter to a Marine base, they should contact me. This isn't a lot of money, but it is enough to book passage on most islands to a safer harbor, and possibly enough as an advance payment to get them to follow your compass. Finally, this is an extra knife. Just in case." It was a copy of his own knife, the one that looked like a cross pendant. "I'll follow through with any reasonable promise you make on my behalf."

Tanya stared at her father. Why on earth did Being X give her such a doting parent? The first time, it was clearly so he could hurt her by getting her killed. But the second time?

It didn't make any sense.

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[Dracule "Hawk-Eyes" Mihawk, Warlord of the Sea, age 30]

Mihawk had never expected to become a father. To be more specific, he never saw himself as a husband. He had never seen much point in romance, and any urges he had were satisfied cheaply enough with prostitutes. He always made sure to deal only with experienced, successful ones, who could all handle the various methods of preventing pregnancy without needing to bother him about it. Sure, it was more expensive, but he was wealthy enough to not care about the difference.

That wasn't to say that he didn't believe Tanya's lineage. The Eyes of Suzaku were difficult to fake. The last time he visited Nishihoshi, while he didn't remember the exact month, going back sixty-nine months was the correct year. He didn't specifically recall visiting a prostitute at that time, but odds were that he was drunk.

What gave him pause was her attitude. She was surprisingly hard to read with his Observation, she swung from calculation to bewilderment to frustration to contentment at speeds that made it difficult to determine what she was thinking. Mother and Father assured him that rapid mood swings like that were normal for children.

He didn't have a lot of opportunity to check out how her life was when waiting for him, but he got a little bit: instead of trying to get adopted by someone, she let the Marines build her that one room shack on her mother's plot of land and essentially live on her own; communities like that frequently had groups of children being watched by a rotating group of parents, the fact that one of the children didn't have a parent participating in the rotation was just accepted.

Father said that it sounded like she was polite and quiet because she relied on the good will of her neighbors to eat, get her clothes mended or adjusted, and to learn things such as how to read, which she somehow managed to learn earlier than most kids despite not having parents to teach her. Not annoying them became vital, and it reminded him uncomfortably of some of the former slaves he's seen.

Mother speculated that this was also why she deliberately acted cute when people were interacting with her, to garner sympathy.

What was clear was that little Tanya was an incredibly intelligent little girl. She saw and understood matters far beyond her years. It made him… a little paranoid, to be honest. On one hand, she was actively trying to manipulate him into supporting her. On the other hand… she had a completely unsuspicious motivation to do that. She understood that fathers were supposed to provide for their children, and given how she acted when she first met him… he suspected that she was completely ready for him to just walk away. She was prepared. She had arranged for the sale of her house in advance on the off chance that he showed up, able to be finalized, cash in hand, in minutes. She knew exactly how much each of her tabs at the various eateries were, and was able to pay them all twenty-three of them quickly and efficiently. Talking to the butcher yard's foreman to get him the sale price of that Sea King, which he had never bothered to do before after killing one, took longer than all of the other business combined.

At the same time, she had indirectly revealed her plans for if he had bluntly refused her, as another stop was informing a carpenter that the "plans" were no longer needed. She even reclaimed a deposit she had given for them to keep it! She had essentially gone out of her way to make it clear that while she demanded that he give her money, she didn't actually need him. Well, that was his impression after thinking about it on the trip to Sabaody. He does his best thinking while sailing.

Was she Cipher Pol? Father couldn't completely rule it out when he had posed the question, only thinking of it after days of trying to understand his new daughter. Cipher Pol trained their agents young, and they certainly had motive to attempt to control him through her. He would not put it past the World Government to come up with such a plot upon finding a genuine bastard child of his.

But… it didn't quite fit. While Tanya clearly knew that she was strange and tried to act cuter to compensate, it wasn't a 'fear for life' kind of anxiety. Cipher Pol agents can't fool his Haki. Their training brutally suppresses their emotions, and while Tanya was mature for her age, even adult at times, she was nowhere near emotionless. She desired his approval and worked diligently with her training, far beyond what he expected of her, and was outright confused whenever she got expensive things, unused to luxury. It was cute. Unless she was secretly some master manipulator that knew exactly how to pull his strings…

Every hint that she could possibly be cipher pol… was just so strange. Why would they give such a spy any combat training at all? Any sensible plan would just assume that Mihawk would train her. Her body was strong enough that having some training would make sense… but why would they teach her Soru or Geppo? It was his best instinct as to what that thing she keeps doing with her feet while practicing is, but… it didn't make any sense. For one, she's five. There is no way she would have ever been capable of even attempting that technique. But her mistakes were as if she already knew it in full, and was used to relying on whatever leg technique she was not using, but she couldn't do it anymore.

He wondered if she could use Geppo if he taught it to her. It was the most difficult of the Six Powers to master, most of that fighting style being more of a primer to prepare oneself for Haki development more than anything else. He didn't, strictly speaking, know the theory behind how Geppo was supposed to be done… But he's certainly seen it enough back when he was still dueling his way up the Navy's chain of command. It was diametrically opposed to his sword style, but it would probably be better to let her develop a style more suited to her than to copy his own, right?

Whether or not she had Cipher Pol's mitts on her… Father was right. She was still his daughter, and she was bound to put a little bit of entertaining chaos in his life. Maybe she should grow a beard…

After all, his duels have started to get a bit dull.

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[Dracule D. Tanya, age 5]

When the sea wasn't trying to kill you, sailing was quite nice. The wind's strength was a lot like how it is in the sky, and as the small boat cut its way through the waves, it was almost like flying. They had entered the East Blue proper, and were following Father's vivre card for his friend.

Tanya had decided to climb the mast, and was hugging it on top, legs resting on the yard, which is what the cross-bar that the sails hang from is called. The skies were magnificently clear, and the sun was pleasantly warm as it beamed down on her pale skin.

No matter how much sun she got, she never tanned. It was a little weird, but this world was weird, so it barely registered. She's not really sure if she'll ever get tired of having such good eyesight, too. Each wave was unique, and after watching her father sail, she thought she might have started seeing the slight distortions in the air that indicated the clash of strong winds. She had even started making it a game of seeing if she could predict his turns, and while her success rate was not great, it reached about half in the last hour before they entered the much calmer East Blue, it had improved over time. Of course, whether she was reading the winds or her father… she didn't exactly blind herself. Hopefully, he'll teach her how to sail like he does. She knows well how important speed is in battle, after all.

Wait… "Land ho!" She shouted down to her father, who was polishing Yoru. She could make out a fishing boat with nets out, and in this world, that meant land was near.

Father didn't even question her declaration, checking the vivre card again and making a slight adjustment to their course, before tugging on a rope and furling up the sail to half-mast. They started slowing down, but at a lower rate than Tanya would have expected from halving their acceleration from the wind.

A rather small Sea King reared up out of the water, but before it could get a full head of steam and attack, Father did… something, and it sank back into the water, turning and swimming away. Physically, he just glared at the thing, but Tanya sensed… something greater. Actually, she's felt that before, when Kaido attacked…

Tanya walked off the boat when it docked, only to be reminded that she was tied to the mast after taking two steps off. Ah, she forgot that it was there… How embarrassing.

She wondered which of the other boats belonged to this Shanks person? At a guess, it was the fanciest one, with the Jolly Roger that featured crossed swords. It had a figurehead that reminded Tanya of a viking longboat.

A place like this was likely too small to have a Marine presence, so the populace was likely either complicit with these pirates by accepting their plunder as payment for services, or they were being extorted and terrorized by them. Given how the looks they were given were more curious than scared or relieved, she was willing to bet the former. She also doesn't think her father had been recognized.

A pair of old men were playing what appeared to be chess, and father walked up to them. "Where is the captain of that ship?" He asked politely.

"That good for nothing?" One of the old men asked rhetorically. "He's down the road, Party's Bar." He took a good look at father's sword. "Don't fight him in town, bounty hunter. He's a no-good pirate, but he'll take it outside if you let him."

Tanya had started walking as soon as the man pointed, and burst out into a run when she heard the name of the bar. She had been limited to a tiny boat for the last three days, broken up only by light swordsmanship training and an admittedly fascinating lesson on the constellations in preparation for lessons in navigation via the stars. As it turned out, this world lacked an equivalent to Polaris, a bright star that coincidentally was perfectly placed to remain in one spot during the regular rotation of the planet. So one had to use a set of seven stars which formed the constellation 'Genbu' in order to figure out which way was north. Similarly, in the south hemisphere the 'Suzaku' constellation performed a similar role.

Anyway, Tanya was feeling restless. Her child body was bursting with energy, and she needed to burn it off. More importantly, she wanted a hot meal. The trip was short enough that they were able to eat decently, but it was all cold.

The bar was filled with pirates, as she had expected. The mood was jovial, everyone was laughing or eating. At the bar was a man with red hair and a straw hat, a girl that looked about nine with brighter red hair that had half of it dyed white… or possibly the other way around, and a boy that Tanya guessed was six or seven, with black hair.

Tanya sat herself on the other side of the boy, and the bartender, a green-haired young woman who had been giggling at a story the red haired pirate was telling, excused herself from and moved to Tanya. "Hello little girl, do you want some juice?"

"Yes." Tanya said immediately. "Also, I want food." In addition to the hundred thousand beri that was stashed in the emergency bag under her dress that Father had given her, which was frankly the main reason she didn't feel the need to keep within sight of the man, she had about ten thousand more in a small change purse that was decorated in Kuja flowers in the same style as Father's coat. She opened it up and flashed two 500 beri coins to prove she could pay, looking around at what the various pirates were eating. "I want a plate of that." She said, pointing at a man who was eating a fish dish that was still steaming along with some rice that was yellow with a hint of red from whatever flavors they infused them with.

"Ah, the catch of the day, good choice." The bartender said, before opening a small window that presumably led to the kitchen. "Another on the hook, Party!" She glanced at Tanya, assessing her. "Plate the guppy." She added. From her experiences singing in a bar, she knew that the staff of places like this found amusement in making obtuse names for the dishes. The bartender then got Tanya some fruit juice. It was orange, but she knew better than to expect citrus. Tanya took a drink. Oh, this actually tasted like oranges. How surprising.

"Hey, who are you?" The boy asked, confused. He presumably saw new faces rarely enough that any new one was cause for investigation.

"My name is Tanya." She replied, "What's yours?"

The boy grinned. "My name is Monkey D. Luffy, and I'm going to find the One Piece and be King of the Pirates!" He announced proudly.

The man at the bar laughed at the boy. "I just told you about the One Piece today, Luffy."

"I'm gonna do it!" The boy insisted.

That sounded familiar… like she had heard of it before, but ignored it. "What's the One Piece?" Tanya asked.

"It's Gold Roger's treasure!" Luffy explained. Ah, Gold Roger was the name of the 'Pirate King' who was executed about nine years ago. He supposedly kicked off a 'Golden Age of Piracy', and if he had left a mysterious treasure… that'll do it. "Whoever gets it becomes the Pirate King! The freest man in the world!"

Tanya nodded along with the boy's excited explanation. Yes, that made sense. "Money is freedom, yes that makes sense." Tanya replied.

"Everything this world can offer is there." The red-haired man elaborated. "At the hidden Island, Laugh Tale."

"What kind of a name is that?" Tanya asked.

"Roger named the Island." The man explained. "No one knows why…" He trailed off, waving his hands like his statement was spooky.

"For your sake, " She said to Luffy, "Let's hope it's not because he's going to have a good laugh when you find out the island doesn't exist."

"No way!" Luffy said, affronted. "Laugh Tale is real! I'm going to find it!"

The older girl also seemed offended. "Shanks wouldn't lie!" She insisted. Oh? So this was who Father was looking for? Tanya glanced towards him. Her Father had somehow managed to get to the bar without noticing, and had a drink in hand on the other side of the red-haired pirate.

Tanya put her hands up placatingly. "I wouldn't dream of accusing a pirate of telling a tall tale to his face." She said with only a little sarcasm. "I'm sure he told the story as best as he knows. But… he's just a random pirate in the East Blue." She explained quite reasonably. The man seemed quite amused at this conversation. "Who knows how many ears and mouths that story went through before it got to him. Lots of people who could have lied or exaggerated parts of the story before he heard it."

The girl seemed rather troubled at Tanya's logic, hesitant to contradict her. Luffy, on the other hand… "Shanks is the greatest pirate!" He declared. "He said he was there when Roger died!" Tanya looked at the young pirate. He looked about… mid to late twenties? He would have been an older teenager… plausible.

"I was there, too." Father said. Coincidentally, Tanya's plate of food arrived at around that time. "Even seconds from death, one foot in the grave, Roger had a remarkable charisma to him."

"I can remember that day like it was yesterday." Shanks said solemnly. "He shook the world with his words, and he knew it." He turned to the bartender. "Hey Makino, can I get something to help me sober up? I have to duel Mihawk in a few hours. Nothing big, but he'd get pissy if I beat him while I'm not at my best."

"More like you'll need every ounce of reflexes you can get or you'll lose." Father retorted, an amused smirk on his face. "Not that it'll help."

"Wow! You're going to fight, Shanks?" Luffy asked, excited. "I've never seen you fight before!" He tugged on the other girl's arm. "Uta, Shanks is going to fight!"

The girl smiled widely and nodded along. "Yeah, Shanks fights Mihawk one or two times a year, it's always so cool to watch!"

"You know, you're kind of late." Shanks said as Tanya ate. "I expected you back like, two weeks ago."

"You know how it is." Father said idly, taking a drink from his beer. "Random pirates found my safehouse, looted the place. So I had to find a new place, get more wine, the usual."

"That's why I don't bother with owning land." Shanks replied cheerily. "My life is all on the Red Force."

"Right, so I went to Nishihoshi to get that West Blue red, and I found out that I had a daughter." Shanks sputtered, spitting out the water he was drinking in surprise. "So dealing with that took another week while I got a new boat."

"You mean you brought her with you, are you insane?" Shanks asked, surprisingly reasonably. "Where is-" Shanks paused and looked Tanya straight in the eyes. She waved.

"I was meeting you, of course I brought her." Mihawk explained, as if getting a new boat to accommodate her wasn't a declaration of a more long-term arrangement.

Shanks paused at that, looked at his glass of water, and immediately turned back to the bartender. "Give me another beer."