Chapter 25: Reality Check

After waiting for Drake to return from one of her usual forrays, Thomas informed her of the news, only for the pink-haired Pirate to exhale a sigh before stating, "If you're this obsessed with the Straw Hats, why not just join their crew? We can become Shichibukai and expand our fleet without your 'oversight,' that's for sure..."

Furrowing his brows, Thomas replied, "I'm not obsessed with them. It's just that most of my knowledge of this world revolves around the Timeline and events their actions inspire. If we-"

Adopting a deadpan expression, Drake stared 'into' Thomas as she said, "That's bullshit, and you know it. Even if you learned about this world by watching the Straw Hats, the people and locations you reference in the Guidebook exist independently of them. All you're doing is making things easier for yourself, fearful that something 'unexpected' might happen. If this Straw Hat Luffy is the kind of person you say he is, do you genuinely believe your actions could derail his path...?"

"..."

Taking advantage of Thomas's silence, Drake added, "I've said this time and time again, but this is 'your' journey, Thomas. You're already planning to pilfer the female members of the Straw Hats. How do you expect to get away with that without 'changing' things up a bit?"

"I'm not pilfering anyone..." muttered Thomas. Before he could say he was just trying to help, however, Drake narrowed her eyes and retorted, "Yeah, using your knowledge of the past and future to manipulate their emotions and make them fall in love with you isn't stealing. Your intentions are 100% noble and pure. I must have just imagined they were exploitative..."

"..."

Exhaling a sigh, Drake's expression softened ever so slightly as she said, "Listen, Tom, I'm not accusing you of any wrongdoing. In fact, using your knowledge to guarantee the outcome you most desire is 'precisely' what you 'should' be doing. Before you came to this world, you were prepared to give up your literal soul for the opportunity to experience an adventure and break away from the mediocrity of your previous existence. Why are you hesitating 'after' you've been given the opportunity you yearned for? If you wanted to be a Hero or a Saint, you wouldn't have thrown yourself into a world of Pirates..."

With a defeated expression on his face, Thomas slumped his shoulders and questioned, "What do you want me to do? Travel around the world, kill whoever I please, and collect women like Pokemon? I'm not that kind of guy..."

Shrugging her shoulders, Drake replied, "I honestly don't care, so long as you're doing what 'you' want to do. Even if you decided to join the Straw Hats or spend the next decade training, I wouldn't protest as long as you lived the life you desired..."

Regaining her usual smile, Drake appended, "Though, if you're asking for my personal opinion, you should fight this Monkey D. Luffy directly. We're already planning to have Musashi steal the spotlight at Baratie. You might as well become one of the future Pirate King's rivals. If you plan to stand at the pinnacle of this world, you'll have to fight eventually."

Blinking in surprise, Thomas parroted, "You want me to fight Luffy...?" as if he couldn't believe Drake would even suggest such a thing.

Nodding her head, Drake explained, "You mentioned that the Straw Hats really grew into themselves after facing and overcoming obstacles. If we give them a 'baptism' of sorts and introduce them to the concepts of Haki early on, they could become much stronger in the future."

Though he suspected Drake had an ulterior motive, Thomas found her words 'very' compelling. If he truly became Luffy's rival, he could measure his growth against the rubbery youth at several points during the former's journey. Depending on the situation, he could even have his Servants help to promote the Straw Hat's growth, ensuring they would be even stronger than their canon counterparts...

After briefly considering the positives and the negatives, Thomas nodded in approval, stating, "It's a good idea. I'm also curious to see how I fare against this world's 'main character.' If I'm consistently around his level or stronger, I'll naturally reach the pinnacle of this world."

Returning a nod of her own, Drake added, "Just remember, our power is 'your' power. Use us well, and there's nothing in this world you can't do. Training with Chiron, learning to cook from Benienma, and fucking Caenis are just the tip of the proverbial iceberg. You have the means to cure all diseases, resurrect the recently deceased, advance technology, and rule the world. All you need to do is stop holding back..."

Punctuating her words, Drake adopted a sultry smile and spread her legs slightly. However, as it was the morning after one of her overnight forrays around the town, Thomas furrowed his brows and said, "I'll pass. You are an undeniably beautiful woman, but I'm not comfortable 'sharing.' Even if we never entered an actual relationship, seeing you with other men would piss me off to no end."

Shrugging her shoulders, Drake lazily replied, "It really shouldn't. Love is an illusion at best and a mechanism of control at worst. People should be free to eat, drink, and fuck whoever they please. Institutions like marriage just complicate things and make people miserable."

Though he didn't disagree with Drake's views on marriage, Thomas shook his head, asserting, "Call me a hypocrite if you like, but no man with even an iota of pride would be okay with his partner having sex with other men. It's not about possession...it's something more...primal..."

Rolling her eyes, Drake waved Thomas away, saying, "Yeah, yeah. Just let me know when you're ready to set sail. Speaking with you is frustrating..."

Following her words, Drake rose to her feet and made her way over to her private liquor cabinet. When Thomas had initially refused her, she found it somewhat cute. Now, she found it annoying. The double-standard of him wanting to sleep with multiple women but expecting said women to 'only' sleep with him made her want to kick his teeth in.

Understanding he had overstayed his welcome, Thomas exhaled a sigh before promptly departing Drake's cabin. He knew his views were more than a little hypocritical, but there wasn't much he could do about it. Even though he and Caenis weren't in a 'committed' relationship, he would feel betrayed if she were to have sex with another man. In that same vein, if she weren't okay with him sleeping with other women, he simply wouldn't. As fascinating as the notion of a harem was, having just one good woman was more than enough to keep him happy...

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After deciding that his first encounter with the Straw Hats would be at Baratie, Thomas spent his days monitoring the news, training with Caenis, learning how to cook from Benienma, and simply relaxing. Three months later, one of the events he had anticipated occurred: the announcement of the infamous 'Pirate Fleet Admiral,' Don Krieg's entrance into the Grand Line.

Though he couldn't remember every detail of the plot, Thomas knew that Don Krieg only spent around a week in the Grand Line before being forced to flee by Dracule Mihawk, one of the Seven Warlords and the man known as the Greatest Swordsman in the World.

Considering the distance between the Twin Capes of Reverse Mountain and Baratie, Thomas speculated it would take around 3-4 weeks for Don Krieg's ship to reach the floating restaurant. That meant that Luffy and his burgeoning crew were either around Orange Town or the Village of Syrup. Either way, it wouldn't be long before they sailed to Baratie in search of a Cook.

Confident in his assertions, Thomas explained the situation to his crew and made a few last-minute preparations before asking Drake to set sail three weeks later. The subsequent journey only took fourteen hours, so they had a few days to kill before things got 'interesting.' During that time, Benienma had a Shokugeki(Food War) with Zeff and Sanji, demonstrating her superior skill and teaching the duo a thing or two about Japanese and Hellish cuisine. At the same time, Beethoven enamored everyone with her music, while Drake openly flirted and consumed dozens of bottles of wine in a mere three days...

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"There's no way..."

Though he knew Zelretch would have done something to fuck with him, Thomas wasn't prepared for the 'reality' that awaited him when he saw the Going Merry approaching from the balcony of the Baratie. Nami was young but attractive, Zoro looked like a bit of an ikemen, and Usopp's nose was as ridiculous as he was expecting. What caught him by surprise was the fact that Luffy, the free-spirited and badass main character that Thomas had looked up to for decades...the man whose ambition it was to become King of the Pirates...the person Thomas was looking forward to fighting...was a woman...

Seeing the disbelief on Thomas's face, Caenis asked, "What's wrong? You look like a maiden that just strayed into a den of Cyclopes without a dress on..."

Tearing his eyes from the prominent pair of tits that were thinly veiled behind Luffy's red shirt, Thomas replied, "This world is different from the one I'm familiar with. You see that person sitting on the sheep's head at the front of the ship? They're supposed to be male..."

Raising her brows slightly, Caenis asked, "The skinny girl with the massive tits and no bra...?"

"..."

Taking Thomas's silence as affirmation, Caenis focused her gaze on Luffy, narrowing her eyes slightly when the wannabe Pirate King looked back at her, tilting her head to the side like a curious monkey. She was wearing a sleeveless red shirt with three yellow buttons on the front, barely keeping her tits at bay. Other than that, she wore blue jean shorts that were frayed where her thighs poked out, a pair of straw sandals, and a simple-looking straw hat.

"She doesn't look very strong..." remarked Caenis. She was pretty good at ascertaining whether someone was a threat, and the only impression she got from Luffy was a friendly, ostensibly harmless girl that had wandered out to sea by complete accident.

Though he still had an awkward, disbelieving look on his face, Thomas attempted to defend Luffy, stating, "For her to be here, she must have defeated Ax-Hand Morgan, Buggy the Clown, and Black Cat Kuro. I'm not sure how powerful she is, but she's at least strong enough to level a five-story building or smash apart a boat with a single kick..."

Breaking eye contact with Luffy, Caenis turned to Thomas, asking, "Will you be able to fight her? You still behave like an overly conservative ninny when we wrestle. Do you actually have the balls to punch a woman in the face if there's a chance you might hurt them...?"

"..."

Unsure of how to respond to Caenis's question, Thomas remained silent. This development was so far beyond his expectations that his brain had effectively shut down. If he hadn't promised to help everyone attain their wishes and make their dreams a reality, he might call out to Zelretch right then and there, demanding to be sent to the 'actual' One Piece. Instead, as the gears in his mind slowly whirred back to life, he started thinking about how Luffy's unexpected change in gender might affect the canon he was familiar with. At the very least, she wouldn't be marrying Hancock in the future...not without some shenaninganery from Iva...

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(A/N: I wonder if anyone else saw this coming~? Now, even if he wants to stick to the canon timeline, Thomas has no choice but to deviate. After all, this is no longer 'his' version of One Piece. Who knows, Yamato may be an actual man in this timeline (O w O)...)

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