Chapter 48: Futureproofing

Though it felt wrong, Thomas left Vivi collapsed on the roof, leaping off of it and down to the streets below. Then, since most of the Baroque Works members were focused on Zoro, he started sneaking up on several from behind, doing his best not to splatter their heads as he knocked them out.

Upon realizing that Thomas was attacking them from behind, most of the remaining Baroque Works members began to flee. His presence indicated that the Numbers had failed to stop him, so they didn't favor their odds of taking him down.

Ignoring the thirty or so people fleeing, Thomas made his way over to where Zoro was taking a break, asking, "How was it? Did you get to test your swords...?"

Shaking his head, Zoro replied, "People like this aren't proper opponents. A few wielded swords and daggers, but they just flung them around like fools..."

Shrugging his shoulders, Thomas asked, "What did you expect? They are dubbed millions and billions for a reason. Their only redeeming quality is their numbers."

"Fair point," replied Zoro. Then, after looking around, he asked, "So, what now? Knowing you, you must have some kind of plan."

Nodding his head, Thomas replied, "We're going to chase out the Bounty Hunters and occupy the city for a few days. I'll explain the specifics once Lucy and Usopp are awake."

Instead of questioning Thomas's decision, Zoro rose to his feet and gave one of the people littering the ground a kick to the face, just hard enough to wake them up. The man held his nose and shouted, "What the fuck...!?" but quickly lost his vigor when he looked up to find Zoro staring down at him, his expression demonic as he said, "Wake your friend and then get the fuck out of our town. Anyone remaining after an hour will be buried here. Got it?"

With sweat streaming down his face, the large and muscular man began waking his colleagues, passing along Zoro's message before moving on to the next person. Some were hesitant to flee the city, viewing it as a death sentence, but the presence of Thomas and Zoro was more than enough to convince them. They couldn't defeat the duo with 50:1 odds, so there was no way they could oppose them while injured.

As the members of Baroque Works gradually left the city, Thomas left the body of Miss Monday to Zoro before returning to where he had left Mr. 9 and Vivi. The former had managed to crawl his way several blocks before concealing himself in a small residence, but the trail of blood made it easy to find him.

After tossing Mr. 9, Miss Monday, Igaram, and the 'unconscious' Vivi into the city's underground prison, Thomas and Zoro returned to the tavern to find Nami waiting for them, fully awake. Upon seeing them, her hazel-brown eyes briefly lingered on Thomas before returning to her drink as she asked, "So, how'd it go? I tried sneaking out to have a look, but Beni materialized out of thin air and asked me to stay inside..."

At the mention of her name, Benienma stepped out from behind Thomas, a serious expression on her face as she said, "I can't be in two places at once, dechi. It's easier to protect everyone when they're together."

"Yeah, I heard you the first..." replied Nami in a half-hearted tone. Then, after emptying her mug, she slammed it onto the table before staring at Thomas and Zoro, repeating, "So, how'd it go...?"

With Zoro splitting off to grab a drink for himself, Thomas was tempted to do the same. Fortunately for Nami, Astolfo had convinced him that being standoffish probably wasn't the best way to handle the situation. Thus, as he made his way over to sit across from her, he responded, "Everything went pretty much as planned. We chased off the low-ranking fodder and placed all the Numbers in individual prison cells. There are presumably a few people lurking in basements or hidden away in secret compartments, but Beni should be able to chase them out."

Without needing to be told directly, Benienma promptly disappeared to carry out her Master's 'order.' She quickly found a few people attempting to ransack storehouses and pillage several private vaults, so she chased them off or killed them, depending on how they reacted to her presence. Those that simply sought to preserve their lives were allowed to take rice, water, and other supplies before fleeing. Those that viewed her as a child and attempted to take her 'hostage' were never seen again...

While Benienma was off terrorizing the more opportunistic members of Baroque Works, Thomas detailed his plan to Nami and Zoro. They were surprised to hear that he could convert ordinary sand into arable soil but quickly accepted it after he demonstrated the ability to transmute a glass of water into wine.

Unsurprisingly, Nami promptly asked, "Can you turn minerals into gold...?"

Smiling wryly, Thomas answered, "It's possible, but doing so without a suitable catalyst is exceptionally difficult. Like, it's a hell of a lot easier to turn silver into gold than it is to transmute something like lead."

Hearing that Thomas could create gold, Nami's valuation of him changed slightly. She had a deeply ingrained obsession with money, so someone that could produce gold from comparably inexpensive minerals had high value.

Noticing the glimmer in Nami's eyes, Thomas's expression morphed into a deadpan as he pointed out, "You're a part of the future Pirate King's crew. Once we reach the point where we can rival the Yonko, do you think you'll have problems with money...?"

Adopting a wry smile, Nami replied, "Unless we go around robbing people, then yes. Lucy doesn't care about money, and Zoro is a muscle-brain that only thinks about swords and getting stronger. That's why I'm in charge of the crew's funds. If Lucy could purchase whatever she wanted, the Going Merry would be filled with produce from bow to stern."

Shrugging his shoulders, Thomas asserted, "Well, we won't have to worry about that in a few years. Drake agreed to set aside 30% of whatever she plunders using the 'knowledge' I shared with her. On the absolute lowest end, that's several tens, if not hundreds of billions in pure gold."

While Nami's eyes became as wide as someone that had just won the mega jackpot on a slot machine, Zoro spat out the wine in his mouth. A few million Berries was enough for the average person to live comfortably for the rest of their lives. Hundreds of billions was comparable to the GDP of a nation...

After swallowing the knot in her throat, Nami asked, "And you're going to share that with us...?"

Reverting to his deadpan expression, Thomas replied, "Like Lucy, I don't care about money. I do, however, understand its importance. Lucy's path will invariably bring us to a head against the World Government, so we'll need 'trillions' if we're to oppose them and expand our forces. I'm leaving most of that to Drake, but I would never neglect saving to cover personal expenses..."

Realizing how 'short-sighted' she had been, regret hit Nami like a truck. She had planned to exploit Thomas's knowledge to accumulate the funds they needed for their voyage. Now that she knew he had been preparing their finances in advance, she couldn't help feeling a little guilty...after all, even before her altercation with Vivi, Lucy had insisted that Thomas just wanted to help...

Recalling Thomas's words about her using him, the excited smile faded from Nami's face. An impulsive urge to apologize welled within her, but before she could, Thomas offered the words he had prepared earlier that afternoon, stating, "Relax. I am well aware of the reasons you have trust issues. That's why I decided to prove I can be trusted through my actions rather than just feeding you information..."

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Adopting a faint smile, Thomas added, "Instead of hearing you apologize, I would rather hear you say 'thanks' once we reach the end of our journey and you're able to achieve your dream. Until then, feel free to doubt me all you like. It helps to keep me honest..."

Rising to his feet, Thomas prepared to leave the tavern but stopped when Nami called out to him, expressing, "Vivi was right...you're a good person, Tom. I regret not noticing it sooner..."

Regaining his smile, Thomas offered a casual shrug as he replied, "That's life. Now, unless you've something important to discuss, I have a Princess to attend to and a soft bed calling my name. We'll finish this discussion in the morning."

Though Nami looked like she had something to say, Thomas turned away and promptly departed the tavern. He had already decided to 'ignore' her until after they regrouped at Sabaody and set sail for the New World. Until then, he was going to be doing his own thing...

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After 'dragging' Vivi from her cell and escorting her to her room, Thomas removed the cuffs from her wrists, asking, "Was that really necessary...?"

While massaging her wrists, Vivi replied, "One of my dreams growing up was to be an actress. It's what allowed me to maintain my cover and become a Frontier Agent of Baroque Works, so I take it pretty seriously..."

Nodding his head, Thomas replied, "I see..." before adopting a wry smile as he asked, "How's your stomach...?"

Instead of simply answering Thomas's question, Vivi hiked up her blouse to reveal a smooth and toned abdomen befitting an exotic dancer. More importantly, there wasn't a single sign of blemish or bruising as she gave it a few light smacks and said, "I'm much tougher than I look."

Though manners obligated him to look away, Thomas stared intently at Vivi's exposed navel and stomach. The latter noticed this, but instead of fixing her blouse, she adopted a faint smile and traced her fingers along the line of her abdomen as she said, "You were even more powerful than I expected. I never once imagined you withstanding bullets and cannon fire without suffering at least a minor injury..."

As Thomas was still shirtless, Vivi allowed her gaze to wander. She hadn't been lying when she said she had a preference for tall and muscular men, and Thomas was built like a 'palace.' He exuded a certain 'majesty,' and simply looking at him gave the impression he could protect anything with his powerful arms and perfectly sculpted physique...

Despite feeling a little unnerved by Vivi's 'intense' gaze, Thomas resisted the urge to turn away, forcing a smile as he joked, "Let's not get ahead of ourselves, Princess. I still need to save your country..."

"Ah..."

Hearing Thomas's words, Vivi immediately averted her gaze, a crimson hue spreading through her cheeks and ears as she replied, "Forgive me. I momentarily forgot myself..." in a polite tone.

Shaking his head, Thomas teased, "I worked hard to acquire this form 'specifically' for beautiful women to admire. It's just that if you were to give me the green light right now, I probably wouldn't be able to refuse. Not after what happened this morning..."

Though he was tempted to point out that Vivi's words had saved him from a state of mind that had plagued him for years, Thomas felt that would be a little 'too' cringe. Fortunately, his playful remark appeared to be more than enough as Vivi looked up at him with a gaze that caused his heart to skip a beat as she softly replied, "I don't mind..." while staring directly into his eyes.

Seeing Thomas open his mouth and stare at her with a stupefied look on his face, Vivi narrowed her eyes and smiled as she said, "I said it before, but you're a good man, Tom. I believe that, even without the promise of a reward, you wouldn't abandon my people and me to our fates. I trust you with my life..."

Punctuating her words, Vivi slowly removed her white, form-fitting shorts without breaking eye contact. Afterward, she pulled her hypnotic blouse over her head, freeing her large, milky white breasts. She still had a bit of growing to do, but her three sizes were already 90/55/88. In other words, she was firmly within the realm of an F-Cup...

With Thomas frozen like a statue, Vivi took the initiative to approach him, tentatively touching his left pectoral as she softly mused, "I 'really' don't mind..."

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(A/N: This isn't a sailing ship...it's a fucking battle cruiser xD...)

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