Alliance

"Hey, pops, time flies, doesn't it, so what brings you to paradise?" My old captain wasn't having any of it. His eyes seemed to hold every single negative emotion.

After a second, Whitebeard sighed and collapsed back into his chair, "You were supposed to return months ago. Everyone thought you two died before we found out about your little rebellion. I hope that means you kill the traitor?"

"We chased him down and killed his crew. The name Marshal D. Teach is now a part of history to be forgotten," I said with a hard edge to my voice.

Whitebeard seemed neither sad nor happy, "Good, were you able to get his devil fruit?" My face contoured into one of discomfort, "Technically, yes, but the thing is...I ate it."

"What!!" Whitebeard sat on the edge of his chair, "You dare lie after what you did!" Before I could explain, further Pops lashed out, his fist rushing at my face like an unmovable mountain.

Holding out my hand, I created a barrier of shadow, which I was shocked to see crack as Whitebeard used his devil fruit. "As I said, I ate the Yami Yami no mi. I was able to survive having to fruits at once with a drug I created."

Clenching and unclenching his fist Whitebeard smiled for the first time, " I thought nothing could surprise me anymore. You go and pull off the impossible. To eat two devil fruits and survive. But by all rights, that fruit was Thatch's."

"That's fine, Pops just, think of it as payment for killing that bastard." The cook spoke up, waving off my apologies, "Besides, I think you put it to good use, storming the holy land and facing off against three admirals."

Turning back to Whitebeard, I got deadly serious, "Pops, I need your help. I sent you a letter, but this is better."

"You have some nerve, but I'll hear you out." Grinning, I reached into my void and pulled out a large flask and tossed it to the captain, "I have an army, but they're untrained. I need your help in teaching them."

Whitebeard popped the cork and sniffed the bottle before taking a swig, "This reminds me of the first time we met. You offering a drink and ask for my help." Rolling my eyes, I waited for him to finish the bottle, "You do know, even if I agree, I'm going to need more than this little shot glass."

"What do you want then?" Smiling, Whitebeard pointed at my chest, "I want an official alliance between your Chain Breaker Pirates and my Whitebeard Pirates and a supply of the same drug you used to break the natural laws of the world."

"No," I responded immediately, which cause Whitebeard to explode in anger again, "What do you mean no!!"

"I can't give you the serum. It's a matter of principle. There is only one other person besides me who knows how to administer the drug properly. If done incorrectly, death is almost certain."

I wasn't telling the whole truth, there was a proper way to use the drug, but the chance of death was less than one percent. Someone may also try and take the exact version of the serum twice, which I hadn't tested the results of. It pained me to even think about what an overdose would look like.

"Fine, you win." Whitebeard stretched out his hand, and I shook it, sealing the deal and our alliance.

Continuing the tradition, I held a big celebration to commemorate the agreement. Through the course of the night, I reunited with every member of my old crew. It was a fantastic night to usher in the horrible times coming ahead.

I didn't think that Whitebeard would start helping the day after. I woke up to the sound of hundreds of feet running on the packed earth. Looking out the window, I realized the sun wasn't up yet, but I could see shadows moving around the island, "What's going on?"

Leana asked, sitting up and looking around confused, "I think that they're training." Making my way down to the beach, I found Whitebeard and Marco looking over my running troupes, "What are you two doing? Has it even been five hours since the party?"

Whitebeard smirked, "Settled down, I've trained forces twice the size of this. In comparison, you're still wet behind the ear." Seeing no point in arguing, I watched. After an hour of jogging nonstop, Whitebeard allowed them to take a break.

"Are you trying to break them down?" I looked at my former captain, who was smiling, "I'm trying to see which ones are worth something and who's pulling this entire platoon down." Whitebeard projected his voice, making sure everyone panting on the ground could hear him.

Sighing, I left the two. I needed to get back to my lab.

[Sabaody Archipelago]

Shakky looked through the mail and smiled when she came across a letter with a seal of an oni skull, "So you finally decide to write back, at least I won't have to ruin my frying pan again." Shakky started to read as the door opened, and Rayleigh opened the door.

"What are you reading?" Shakky waved the sheet of paper, "It seems that your apprentice needs your help." Stroking his beard Rayleigh grabbed the letter and started to read, "He needs my help training haki. He's in paradise. I guess if I start swimming now, I can make it in a day or two."

Shakky smiled, "I'll make you dinner, and you can leave in the morning." Nodding, Rayleigh kicked off his shoes and sat down at the bar.

[Paradise]

Dragon looked at the letter from Soren, "Is he insane? He can't really be thinking about attacking the navy headquarters?" Sabo exclaimed, prompting Dragon to turn around, "Apparently, he has the help of the Whitebeard pirates and has an army of over a thousand."

Smiling, Dragon crumbled the letter and tore it to shreds, "Prepare my ship. I think it's about time I meat him."