Chapter 3: A Hint of Caution

After being tossed unceremoniously onto the deck and left to dry out in the Sun, Thomas pushed himself to his feet to get a better glimpse of his surroundings. There wasn't much to see on the deck itself, so he walked over to the bow to look at the sapphire sea below.

Noticing Thomas's actions, Drake narrowed her eyes and said, "If you fall overboard, I'm letting you drown for a few minutes before saving you. I'm not against taking a dip in the ocean, but doing so fully clothed is a good way to get an infection in places the Sun doesn't typically shine."

Though he nodded his head, Thomas didn't step away from the bow as he mentioned, "We'll need to be careful when we enter open waters. There are giant creatures in this world known as Sea Kings, some of which can exceed five kilometers in length. I'm not sure how powerful you and the other Servants are, but I can't imagine taking out such a massive creature with the cannons we have available..."

Raising her brows slightly, Drake questioned, "Are you being serious? Five kilometers...?"

Nodding his head, Thomas added, "There are whales the size of islands, turtles with active volcanoes on their backs, and a colossal elephant that exceeds 35km in height. Beyond that, there are islands floating in the sky, places where tens of thousands of lightning bolts strike continuously, and a carnivorous plant so large it's classified as an Archipelago..."

"..."

Realizing she may have underestimated the world of One Piece a bit, Drake took a moment to consider how she might deal with the threats Thomas was referencing. Her Noble Phantasm could level entire islands if she had enough funds or was supplied with sufficient Mana, but if there were monsters as powerful as Thomas suggested, there had to be people capable of dealing with them. If not, there should be weapons capable of doing so.

While telepathically piloting her ship, the Golden Hind, around the island, Drake turned to Thomas and said, "Tell me about the people who stand at the peak of this world. For you to aspire to stand among them, you should have at least a basic understanding of their strength, right?"

Nodding a second time, Thomas revealed, "Those standing closest to the peak, at least on the surface, are the Four Emperors. Among them, there is a man called Whitebeard, known as the Strongest Man in the World. He consumed a Devil Fruit that lets him create tremors, not just through the ground but the sea itself. At full power, he can flip islands or produce tidal waves more than a thousand meters in height. When he traded blows with another of the Four Emperors, a man named Shanks, their attacks caused the clouds tens of thousands of meters in the sky to split..."

"..."

Sensing no falsehoods in Thomas's words, Drake fell into a lengthy period of silence before stating, "We may need to put a pin in our plans to sail to Laugh Tale. If there are threats like that lurking about, we'll need to focus our efforts on stockpiling wealth and increasing our strength. Fortunately for you, I happen to have 'incredible' luck, so gathering funds shouldn't be an issue. I have a sixth sense for treasure and booty."

As Drake had never donned her captain's jacket after jumping in to rescue him, Thomas's eyes lowered to her voluminous and shapely ass. Her white trousers were almost like yoga pants in their texture and quality, so there was very little left to the imagination...

Though she could sense Thomas's gaze, Drake just shook her head and exhaled a faint sigh through her nose. If he were an ordinary member of her crew, she would have drawn and quartered him. However, as he was her 'Master,' she had to tolerate his presence for the sake of her dream...

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While the average frigate would struggle to reach 30kn, Drake's Golden Hind had a cruising speed of 65 knots, roughly 120km/h. This was 'much' faster than any non-powered vessel in One Piece, so it only took them a few minutes to circle the fairly small island Thomas had been marooned by Zelretch. Unfortunately, there wasn't so much as a single port or town in sight.

"Looks like we got ourselves a deserted island," mused Drake. She was a little annoyed they hadn't found a town, meaning no alcohol, but after learning about the perils that awaited them out at sea, she was marginally more cautious than usual.

Turning to Thomas, Drake asked, "What do you think about mooring here until we've finished assembling our crew? At the bare minimum, we need a cook, a doctor, and a navigator if we want to set out to the open seas. If you want to stick around for the rest, that's up to you."

As it had only taken him half a day to summon Drake, Thomas figured it would only take around 4-5 before they could completely assemble their crew. That would give them considerably more options moving forward, so he didn't hesitate to reply, "I say we stick around until everyone has assembled. Who knows, maybe I'll get lucky and summon someone who can fodder even the largest Sea Kings...?"

With an affirming nod, Drake controlled the Golden Hind toward the shore, laying anchor in a remote, crescent-shaped bay. She could take the Hind 'much' further inland but didn't think Thomas's Mana would hold out at its current levels. Thus, after ensuring the ship wouldn't drift too far with the changing of the tides, she taught Thomas how to lower one of the ship's two dinghies into the water before having him row them to shore.

Though he suspected Drake could steer and propel the dinghy with her mind, Thomas did as she instructed. He wasn't in the best condition, so if he was serious about standing at the top of the world, he needed to begin training his body immediately. People like Zoro could casually lift tens of thousands of tons post-time skip, and monsters like Kaido could 'erase' small mountains with a single Boro Blast. Struggling to row a boat placed him closer to the bottom in terms of strength in One Piece...

Seeing through Thomas's thoughts, a faint smile adorned Drake's face. Being weak wasn't a sin, but 'remaining' weak, especially in a world filled with monsters, was asking for death. She and the other Servants would do their best to protect him, but only a handful of them might be willing to die for him. After all, doing so meant the end of their dreams, negating the reason they agreed to summons in the first place.

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If they had to choose between him entrusting everything to them and doing his best to improve, Drake and the other Servants would obviously prefer Thomas to be as powerful as possible. His knowledge gave them an edge if they bided their time and didn't introduce any drastic changes, so, depending on where they were in the timeline, they were incentivized to sit back and do a bit of training. Not just Thomas, but all of them...

After making landfall, Drake instructed Thomas to drag the dinghy ashore before saying, "You stay here and focus on summoning our cook. I'll head inland and see if I can't hunt something. Try to steer clear of the forest's edge, even if the temperature rises. For all we know, there could be tigers, lions, bears, or wild boars inside. If you get attacked and I'm not around, it's game over. Others could flee into the sea to escape, but you'll sink to the bottom even in knee-deep water."

"..."

Looking to the dinghy, Thomas seriously considered flipping it over and just concealing himself underneath. Drake immediately saw through this, asserting, "It's not a terrible idea, but the mentality of hiding away will not permit you to get stronger. Just stay alert, and if you feel like you're being watched, you probably are. If that happens, shove off with the dinghy and just float around in the bay until I return."

Finished with what she had to say, Drake materialized a pair of ornate flintlock pistols before making her way into the jungle with a predatory smile. Thomas had told her guns were fairly common, even among the most powerful pirate crews, so she was confident she could deal with most threats. If someone were willing to wager with her, she could shoot the wings off a fly from 20m. She also didn't have to worry about ammo, as, much like her pistols, she could materialize as many as she needed. It just consumed a bit of Mana...

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With nothing better to do, Thomas stood near the edge of the dinghy, ready to shove off at a moment's notice. Instead of just paying attention to the jungle, however, he periodically shifted his gaze to the sea, wary of any amphibious creatures that might lurk up from the depths. There were even humanoid Fishmen in the world of One Piece, so caution was always advised.

Fortunately, nothing disturbed Thomas's contemplative vigilance besides the periodic sound of pistol fire. That was a good thing, as he had a lot to think about now that he was absolutely sure he wasn't simply dreaming or having a very realistic hallucination. More than a day had passed since his arrival in One Piece, so unless he had spontaneously awakened the ability to have prolonged and incredibly lucid dreams, this was his new reality.

Though he had considered what he would do if he found himself in the world of One Piece, several times, actually being inside of it left Thomas feeling uncertain. He had imagined himself having all kinds of Systems, assembling a harem of all the most attractive women from the series, and going toe-to-toe with people like Kaido as if they were beneath him. Now, with the power of a relatively normal human, he felt so far out of his depth it was difficult to decide his next course of action.

The most obvious thing to do was simply focus on his training, scratching and clawing his way to the top inch by inch. However, if they were already post-time skip and events like the Paramount War had already happened, Luffy and the rest of the Strawhats may very well discover the One Piece before he had even a fraction of the strength needed to set sail. As for his 'dream' of creating a harem...he could go to a bar every night for a month and maybe only pick up a single woman. Unless Zelretch had blessed him with an insanely handsome face or something, attempting to woo world-class beauties was simply that, a dream...

Fortunately, while his prospects of getting together with women like Nami and Nico Robi were fairly slim, Thomas was fairly certain he would have at least a little luck if he ventured to Zou or Wano. He didn't consider himself a furry, but some of the members of the Mink Tribe were pretty cute. They were also 'very' affectionate, so he might be able to manage something if he lent them a hand during a time of need.

While thinking of the women he had dreamed about forming a harem with, one stood out among the rest, largely because she was a relatively recent addition to the series, Yamato. She had a fairly exotic appearance, but she was his favorite female character in One Piece, even if she identified as Kaido's son. He didn't know how the mechanics of fucking a woman more than two and a half feet taller than him would work, but he was more than willing to try...

Freeing Thomas from his reverie, Drake emerged from the jungle dragging a leaf-green tiger that was more than 4m in length and had a unicorn-like horn protruding from its head. Seeing it caused a powerful shudder to run through Thomas's body as, for a brief moment, he believed that Zelretch might have deposited him on a safe island.

What Thomas didn't know was that he 'was' on one of the safer islands in the South Blue. A few hundred kilometers away, a 4m long tiger may as well be considered a cub...

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(A/N: The MC is 6'2'', roughly 187 cm. Yamato is 8'8'', roughly 263cm xD...)

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