Chapter 66: Endless Possibilities

Though there were a few delays, the Going Merry was ship shape and ready to sail after seven days on Little Garden. During that time, Thomas had the chance to meet Broggy and Dorry, but, other than their size, there wasn't anything particularly interesting about them. They had spent the last hundred years fighting to settle a dispute over who killed the biggest Sea King, so they were pretty detached from the rest of the world.

More notable than Thomas's encounter with the pair of giants was Lucy, Zoro, and Usopp's first encounter with Chloe, Illya, and Ruby. The former, somewhat surprisingly, had aspirations of being a Magical Girl that could fire off laser beams when she was just a small girl. When she realized it was possible to be a Magical Girl 'and' a Pirate, she had an expression like her entire life had been a lie.

Like Lucy, Zoro and Usopp also took an interest in the magical trio and, more notably, the Install Cards. The discovery that Chloe and Illya had Bounties of 500,000,000 gave Zoro an overwhelming desire to challenge them. Chloe happily accepted his challenge, and, as could be expected from someone with B-Rank Agility, the ability to teleport, and the ability to feel the 'optimal path' during combat, she wiped the floor with him.

Though she only had the False version, Chloe's Mind's Eye(B) functioned similarly to Advanced Observation Haki. Even without consciously guiding her actions, she could evade Zoro's attacks even when he started flailing at random He nearly caught her off guard with his Sanzen Seikai(Three-Thousand Worlds), but she managed to teleport behind him, evading the attack completely.

While most people would have had their spirits broken after being 'toyed with' by a vixen resembling a little kid, Zoro threw himself into his training with even greater vigor. Chloe happily accepted his challenges the first couple of times, but by the time the Going Merry was repaired and ready to depart, she was actively avoiding him.

Though she surpassed Zoro in speed and skill, Chloe couldn't compete with him in strength and endurance. She was the type that had terrible fuel efficiency, so she could only fight for a few minutes at a time before needing to take a break and resupply her Magical Energy. Since she did her best not to injure Zoro during their spars, he was almost always ready and raring to continue, eventually culminating in her using Thomas as a scapegoat.

As excited as he was by the prospect of contending against and even defeating Zoro, Thomas only sparred with him a handful of times using the EMIYA Card. He won every one of their matches, benefitting from EMIYA Mind's Eye[True](B), but having someone swinging swords at his face and actively aiming for his vitals was extremely stressful. Not just for himself but Vivi, Caenis, Astolfo, Atalanta, and Benienma.

To preserve his sanity, Thomas restricted Zoro's challenges to once a day. He might have been willing to do more, but as Ruby had warned, most of his memories of their battles were hazy, like trying to recall details from a dream. His Mastery with the Card had increased from E- to E-Rank, but he didn't feel like he was learning anything, only accumulating stress.

Fortunately, while Zoro could be very 'passionate' about training, he was a fairly reasonable person. If Chloe and Thomas didn't want to fight him, he wouldn't press or pester them until they accepted. Instead, he would click his tongue before wandering off to hunt dinosaurs with a blindfold.

With the hope of awakening his own Observation Haki, Usopp attempted to emulate Zoro's behavior with limited success. Witnessing the perennial battle between Broggy and Dorry had inspired him to work harder, but he still had a long way to go before he could call himself a 'Great Warrior of the Sea.'

When he wasn't fumbling about with a blindfold, Usopp, along with Vivi, Nami, and even Lucy, sat in on the lessons Thomas was receiving from Chloe and Ruby. Even non-magical beings could practice Magecraft if they had the proper knowledge, a catalyst, or a magical item with stores of Magical Energy. The Install Cards were a good example, but there was actually an entire school of Magecraft known as Formalcraft, colloquially called 'thaumaturgy for dummies.'

Since Lucy had readily agreed to help them collect Install Cards, Chloe had no qualms about teaching them the basics of Formalcraft and how to create magic catalysts. She even talked Illya into letting Usopp and Nami experiment with using Install Cards, lending the Grade 3 Archer(David) to the former and the Grade 4 Lancer(Diarmuid) to the latter.

Seeing Nami in a dark-green, skin-tight bodysuit was quite the feast for the eyes, but it quickly came to light that lending her and Usopp Install Cards wasn't practical. Like other Install Cards holders, they lacked the internal Magical Energy to sustain the transformation for more than a few minutes. Chloe proposed the two form a Master-Servant Contract with Thomas, allowing him to provide them with additional Magical Energy, but neither were particularly comfortable with the idea.

Fortunately, just by being around Thomas, the Install Cards gradually filled with Magical Energy. Even when he wasn't shrouded in his veil, he constantly exuded it from his body like a radioactive stone. Thus, while other Install Card users would have to wait a month to get a single minute of use out of their Cards, Nami and Usopp only had to wait a few hours to get an equivalent number of minutes. Using the Cards didn't help the duo get any stronger, but having a fully charged Card on hand could save their lives in an emergency...

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Though no one got sick during the stay on Little Garden, Nami listened to Thomas's suggestion to make a detour at Drum Island before sailing for Alabasta. He had already informed everyone of his decision to leave the crew, at least temporarily, once they liberated Vivi's people, so revealing the existence of Chopper was necessary to ensure they made it through the Grand Line without succumbing to illness.

With Astolfo providing directions, it took the Merry seven days to reach a Winter Island whose skyline was dominated by several enormous, drum-shaped mountains. They looked more like smoke stacks or nuclear towers from Thomas's perspective, but he was far more interested in the island's residents than its topography.

Exhaling a sigh that caused a large plume of icy condensation, Thomas muttered, "Looks like my influence has fucked the timeline sideways..."

As she was only a few meters away, Nami, wearing thick winter clothing, asked, "Is something wrong?"

Since Lucy had permitted him to 'spoil' things until they parted ways at Alabasta, Thomas nodded his head and replied, "In the timeline that I'm familiar with, the Straw Hats encountered a villainous King by the name of Wapol on their way to Drum Island. Defeating him leads to the creation of a new Kingdom under a man named Dalton. In other words, if we don't take care of Wapol during our stay, the people of Drum Island will suffer once he returns."

Recognizing Wapol's name, Vivi's expression hardened as she added, "Wapol is a cruel and vicious man. Once, when I was just a little girl, he made an excuse to strike me after my father embarrassed him. There are even rumors claiming that he banned the practice of medicine among his people, forcing them to pay exorbitant fees to be treated by his personal army of Physicians..."

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Hearing Vivi's remark, Illya, wearing an outfit remarkably similar to her Fate Stay Night counterpart, exclaimed, "That's awful!" before adopting a resolute expression as she added, "We have to do something!"

Smiling wryly, Thomas pointed out, "I wouldn't have brought it up if I planned to ignore it..."

"Ah..."

Feeling embarrassed, a faint blush colored Illya's cheeks as she half-turned and hid the lower half of her face in her scarf. As she did, Ruby used her wing-like appendage to cover her non-existent mouth, giggling in amusement.

Inserting herself into the conversation, Caenis asked, "So, what then? Are we just going to wait around until they show up?"

Shrugging his shoulders, Thomas replied, "I don't know. The people that sent Wapol fleeing from his country happened to be Blackbeard and his crew. With the introduction of Install Cards, there's a chance he and his men never even came to Drum Island. We'll need to go ashore to gather information and confirm the situation."

Raising her brows, Caenis asked, "And then what? If Wapol and his men are still in power, we'll have to overthrow them directly. And then we're just going to hand the reins of the Kingdom to a group of people who lack the power to liberate and protect themselves?"

Though Caenis's words weren't directed at her, an awkward smile marred Vivi's face. A King or Queen that lacked the power to protect their country and lead its citizens wasn't qualified to rule. This thought had crossed her mind several times since her initial encounter with Thomas and was one of the reasons she had been prepared to give him 'everything,' as, without external help, Alabasta didn't have a future.

Noticing the awkwardness in Vivi's expression, Thomas placed his hand on her shoulder, a silent attempt to comfort her as he said, "Once we free the people, it's up to them to decide their path. If I recall correctly, Dalton was elected as King by the people of Drum Island. He also chose to live among them instead of ruling from the castle, so even if we destroy the latter and raid its treasury, it shouldn't matter too much. Blackbeard and his crew would have cleared it out during their raid."

Though Nami was more than satisfied by Thomas's proposition, Illya's expression revealed discontent as she said, "That money belongs to the people of Drum. We can't just take it for ourselves!"

Shaking his head, Thomas replied, "You're wrong. While Wapol certainly extorted them, the people parted with that money to preserve their lives. Also, even if we tried distributing the money equally, the people most affected by Wapol's policies would protest because they would know who was least affected by it. The more sensible thing would be to entrust the funds to Dalton, but if he is suddenly given a massive fortune, others will eye both it and the position of Monarch with envy."

Blinking in surprise, Nami remarked, "Wow...you can be pretty smart when you want to be."

Ignoring the orange-haired woman's remark, Thomas directed his gaze to Illya, his expression and tone softening as he said, "Don't worry. I'm not suggesting we empty the treasury and leave the people of Drum to fend for themselves. We'll find a way to ensure the money finds its way back to the people, just not directly."

Refusing to be ignored, Nami asked, "Are you thinking about having Beni create one of her Inns? If it's true that you can move people and objects between them, you could use the treasure to acquire goods and supplies from other islands, transporting them to places like Alabasta and Drum for a fraction of what it would cost to ship them."

As Nami had inadvertently exposed the plan he had spent weeks coming up with, Thomas's left eye twitched. He originally planned to discuss the matter with Vivi once they had liberated Alabasta, replacing Crocodile's casino and much of Baroque Works' existing infrastructure with Enma-tei. By spreading them across various islands, he could effectively control the flow of goods and money, eventually establishing them as a substitute for conventional banking...

Exhaling a sigh through his nose, Thomas replied, "That depends on the situation we find ashore. But yes, if possible, I plan to build an Enma-tei. Not just here but on several islands throughout the Grand Line..."

Recognizing the endless potential of such an idea, illusory Berry symbols appeared in Nami's eyes. If Thomas could construct an Enma-tei on every major island, he would invariably become one of the wealthiest and most influential people in the entire world. If the World Government fell, which seemed increasingly likely, it was virtually guaranteed...

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(A/N: Thomas D. Jensen, the Seventh Emperor of the Underworld. AKA, the Bathhouse King xD...)

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