Departure

(Two Months Later)

Rex grapples with the massive Goayu bird, his arms barely wrapping around the bird's neck as he ruthlessly headbutts its jaw infusing Hasshoken into each strike.

Caw!

The bird cries out in pain, flying higher to scare Rex off, but it wasn't working.

Rex shimmies up the bird's neck, wanting to get to its mouth. Rex then pries the bird's beak open, and leaps into the bird's mouth.

The bird is shocked by this action, but think's itself safe, soon, it discovers it was wrong.

Rex starts punching the bird's esophagus from the inside. Even in Big Pan's massive body, he was still smaller than the bird's throat, but his strength was enough to penetrate it.

Leaping from the esophagus to the trachea, Rex quickly collapses the bird's oversized windpipe before rushing up to its brain. The pink, fleshy mass seems so innocuous, but Rex knows that's all he needs to destroy for the bird to die.

Pummeling the brain ruthlessly, Rex only stops when he feels the bird plummet. Time to go.

Rex punches his way out through the bird's eye, freefalling through the sky. Waiting until his speed was just right, Rex activates his parachute through his back pocket. The war was over.

Cheering greets Rex as he lands on the newly built fifth branch. His crewmates grin as they watch the massive king Goayu bird fall from the sky, slamming into the ground with a thud.

"There can only be one King and it's me. Plus, feathers are way out of season." Rex says, looking down at the bird's carcass.

In the past three months, the King pirates had grown increasingly invested in the Torino war. At first, it was Rex ordering his crew to help the Torinoans, but now his crew was dedicated to them.

It was hard not to like the Torinoans. They were a kind people, willing to share anything they had from knowledge to food to housing.

The Torinoans taught Kid and Rex's shipwrights about their advanced technology which they used to enhance the ship.

Kid had surprised Rex, having both a talent and interest in technology. Seeing a rocket spear go off one time was enough to pique Kid's interest and Rex had given him the additional position of head shipwright.

Meanwhile, Rex's doctors learned some Torinoan medicine and received some Torinoan herbs as gifts.

The war had also helped in crew relations with the new crew members being thoroughly integrated with the old. Rex had explained his fruit to Big Pan and now he was almost always fused with him. The other crew members had become friends and there were even romances in the crew.

As Rex looks at this village that his crew helped to build, he sighs. "Get ready, we set off tomorrow."

The crew is surprised at this but nods and arranges their affairs.

Truth be told, Rex would miss the Torinoans more than most of the crew. He had formed deep bonds, particularly with Jidanbo. Still, the Marines were after them and if the World Government discovered the Torinoans, they would undoubtedly want to subjugate them. The King pirates had to go.

At nightfall of this final day, Rex scales the tree to the very top and finds what he desired. Twenty Goayu eggs.

Each of those eggs would grow into powerful, flying creatures. If Rex could bind with one of them, he would gain a flying host, bringing countless utility. Rex leaves eight eggs for the Torinoans, so that they could tame the Goayu birds and breed them out for protection and takes the remaining twelve for himself.

Then, Rex bends over, finding a single black feather stuck in the leaves of the highest canopy. His only clue as to the true instigator of the war.

(The Next Day)

Rex waves at the Torinoans, his new ship, the King Gucci, yes after the fashion brand, sailing off into the distance. Every crew member says their goodbyes before the island disappears behind them.

"Are you going to miss them?" Rex asks.

"Of course." Jidanbo responds, "They are my family. But still, hearing the world as you describe it, Torino truly is a paradise. I need to use Torino's medical skills and knowledge to better the world, only then can I return home."

Rex smiles, his finger clasping his new Doctor's shoulders. "Every jacket has its season. For this season, you leave your Torino jacket behind, but soon, it'll be back in style, and you can don it once more."

A tear spills out of Jidanbo's eye. "That was beautiful."

Then Rex turns to the sea ahead of him.

"Helmsman, set a course for true north! Destination, Reverse Mountain! Senior Officers to my quarters."

Rex leaves, before gesturing for a lost Jidanbo to follow.

There were currently eight senior officers of the King Pirates. Kid was the first mate, then Bonney, Killer and Gem were the second echelon and Pan, Porche, Shelly and Jidanbo were the third.

"Is this finally it!?" Kid's eyes gleam. "Are we finally going to the Grand Line?"

"No." Rex shakes his head. "We still haven't fully broken in the sacred mantle that is piracy."

"Then why are we going to reverse mountain?" Killer asked.

"Before we go to the Grand Line, I want to go to either the West or North Blue to broaden our horizons further and search for a good navigator. Bella, as much as I appreciate her, will be useless in the Grand Line, where weather changes at the flip of a coin."

"The West or North Blue?" Bonney asks. "Why not the East?"

Rex shivers at the mention of that sea before shaking his head. "Absolutely not."

'Are you kidding me?' Rex thought. The east blue is a death trap with monsters like Garp, Shanks and St. Jalmack walking around. One mistake would mean certain death and Rex very much liked his life.

"What is in each blue?" Killer asked, knowing Rex would have his strange knowledge.

"Of the two, the West is far safer with the only noteworthy powers there are the Happo Navy's Don Chinjao and Gecko Moriah. Other than them, no one else will pose a threat to us.

In the North, however, death waits around every corner. There is the 'Corrupt King' Avalo Pizzaro, the Germa 66 and the Donquixote Pirates, all of which could end us with a thought. There are several other strong pirate groups in the north comparable to us, and dozens that could put up a good fight against us."

Rex said, presenting the facts. If the East Blue was the weakest Blue, than the North was the strongest with the South and the West being around equal.

Then without fail, the cadres vote.

"Let's go to the north."

Rex isn't surprised. His crew were all adventurous and he would have looked down on them if they chose the west.

While the West Blue had some good potential crew members like Robin or Daz Bonez, they were nothing compared to the North Blue's bounty of potential.

The Vinsmoke members, Basil Hawkins and Law, Monet and Sugar, Blackbeard's Doctor, X Drake. So many choices, and that was ignoring the abundance of strong Devil fruits that could be reaped there.

"Then it is decided, we're heading to the North Blue after this. Killer, inform the crew."

With that, the officers scatter. There were many preparations to make and not much time to make them. In a matter of hours, the ship would be at Reverse Mountain, and they had to be ready.

But little did Rex know, there was a huge event occurring at his destination.

"Captain Hina, the Devon Pirates are closing from left flank and the Foxy pirates are attacking our right! What do we do?" A panicked marine shouts, as the ship jolts receiving another cannon shot to the rear.

"Don't we have cannons of our own!? Fire!"

The crewman pales, but quickly shakes his head. "We have been firing, but Devon just whips our cannon balls into shrapnel and Foxy slows them down before his crew redirects them!"

"Fine, Hina needs to think." Hina says, pinching her brow. "Stop firing on Devon and focus on Foxy. Space out the shots so he can't use his Noro Noro beam on them and hit the slowed cannonballs with additional cannonballs to give them maximum power when his ability wears off!"

"Yes captain!"

"And get me an ETA on Commodore Gion and Rear Admiral Onigumo's reinforcement fleets!"

Hina then lit her tenth cigar, feeling that they had gone by way too fast. She was now down two ships for a total of three remaining and the pirates hadn't even suffered a nosebleed.

Hina's ships were now heavily crowded with the Marines from the other two ships having to abandon ship and her operations were hanging on by a thread. She had been retreating for an hour, but in a few minutes, she would reach Reverse Mountain and she would have nowhere more to go.

Hina clenched her fist and prayed that Gion would arrive.

Meanwhile Rex who had no idea what was going on, sailed peacefully towards Reverse Mountain, looking through a catalogue of ships modifications.

Kid had been busy the past two months and King Gucci was far better a ship than its predecessor.

First the ship was much larger, to accommodate Big Pan's size and the increased crew. The ship was also more durable with a metallic endo-skeleton made to reinforce the hull.

There were also some improvements to crew quarters including a larger captain and first mate's quarters. The kitchen now had proper cooking equipment and there was a dedicated sick bay.

But the biggest improvements were the weapons and propulsion. Using Gem's DNA and Torino's technology, Kid had really gone crazy with the guns. There were now RPGs on the ship as well as nautical mines, smokescreen emitters, even some low-toxicity chemical weapons. As for propulsion, Kid had optimized the sails and added short term rocket boosters to the ship, but they were untested and for emergencies only.

Rex signed off on each modification with a smile. While he hadn't yet reached the level of technology he visioned for his final ship, these were definitely steps in the right direction.

Rex then reviewed some policy changes submitted by Killer. Killer had long become the head of labor management on the ship, and handled tasks and etiquette. This was a job he took seriously and Killer had noted each and every of the 49 infractions that had happened in the past month.

Rex sighs and reads through them, hating this particular jobs. After that, there are shopping lists from each department and requests from the crew. Being a pirate was tiring work.

Finally, Rex finishes the last task he has to do and lies back on his nice, soft…

"Captain Rex! You're needed on deck!"

Rex looks up at the ceiling with a forlorn of expression. The god of relaxation must really hate him.

Rushing to the deck, Rex can immediately see the problem, there was a huge battle taking place at Reverse Mountain. Almost a dozen marine ships face off against five massive pirate ships. The battle sends ripples across the sea that Rex can feel, even a good few miles away.

Shaking his head, Rex sighs. "Turn the ship around. A good jacket knows to leave when the heat turns up. We should leave before anybody noti…"

"VESTA REX!!!" A booming voice calls out from behind the King Gucci. "I've finally found you! Because of you, I had a bounty placed on my head, my friends abandoned me, my girlfriend left me because I was ugly! Now pay up for ruining my life!!!"

Rex turns back to see a fuming bald man with a scarred head rushing towards him in a small ship.

"Who are you?" Rex asks annoyedly, seeing that the combatants of the Reverse Mountain battle had stopped their battle, likely having heard this man.

"I'm Galdino, you bastard!!!" The man screams out angrily, enraged that the man who disfigured him couldn't recognize him.

"Right, right. Never heard of you." Rex says with a yawn. "Killer, go deal with the birthday candle. As for the rest of you, prepare for battle!"

Killer nods, looking back at Galdino. He had to admit, fighting him would be an interesting experience. Leaping from the King Gucci's bow to Galdino's ship, Killer grinned as he wielded his doubled blades.

Rex then stares at the distant pirate ships. If he had left earlier, it was okay since no one had seen him, but now it was a matter of appearances. Fleeing now would be equivalent to sacrificing every shred of honor his pirate group had.

Rex had to at least fight for a while then he could leave.

However, as Rex nears the battle, he begins regretting his decision.

Using his spyglass, Rex confirms his suspicions. It was the Devon and Foxy pirates.

Rex gets his first look at the so-called 'overlord' of the South Blue. If it wasn't for her distended nose, Devon would be quite attractive.

Devon was currently engaged in fierce battle with Gion, where the future Titanic Captain was having the upper hand. A similar fight was happening between Foxy and Hina where Foxy is winning, but Rex is still impressed by Hina's growth being comparable to Kid's.

"Vesta a-Rex! It is-a you!" Foxy says, seething with rage. "You are-a my-a mortal enemy! I wish-a to fight you for a thousand-a rounds! You must-a die for my-a heart to be-a satiated!"

"Who are you?"

Foxy freezes, causing him to be punched in the face by Hina before scowling at Rex.

"Ok, Kid, Gem and Pan, I need you three to stay here and protect the ship. Gem, shoot down anything that moves, Kid, you defend and Pan, I need you to get in the water and drag the ship around the fight to Reverse Mountain. Bonney, you're with me. Let's wreak some havoc."

Rex then runs to his office with Bonney, returning in full tiger print. Bonney was riding Tiger-Rex as he bounded towards the nearest ship, Foxy's.

Landing on Foxy's ship, Bonney dismounts and the two quickly cut down a number of Marines and Foxy's subordinates.

While Rex had been focusing on refining his Big Pan mode, he hadn't forgotten about Tiger print and came up with some new moves.

Poison Tiger. Dashing through the fodder, tiny pockets open up on Rex's claws out of which a paralytic poison drip out. The poison stains Rex's claws and he quickly cuts most of them once causing them to fall to the ground paralyzed.

Rex takes a moment to look at Bonney and is awed at her fighting style. While he had seen her use it on birds before, it was a whole different kind of mesmerizing when used on humans. In front of the Marines, Bonney never used her devil fruit, so instead she used the martial art, derived from Seimei Kikan, which was a sight to see.

"Gorilla righty!" Bonney cries, her right arm rapidly growing hair which hardens into nail-like ridges. Bonney uses her engorged arm for a variety of uses from shielding to punching to rubbing off flesh like sharkskin. All in all, the petite pinkette is a site to behold.

Soon, all of the weaklings are down, and Bonney moves to engage Foxy.

Bonney was still mad about the eating contest where Foxy had snuck super spicy peppers into the other contestants' meals to force them to quit eating. She had won, but it wasn't pleasant.

The combined force of Hina and Bonney is enough to hold back Foxy, turning Rex's attention to the most dangerous individual in this battle. Devon.

After a quick visit to Foxy's unguarded treasure room, Rex leaps to Devon's ship, just in time to relieve a greatly fatigued and injured Gion.

"So, you're the famous Vesta Rex." Devon cackles. "I suppose I should thank you. You distracted the Marines during that Davy Back fight making me a fortune and you drove Foxy into a corner netting me an excellent subordinate!"

"Partner!" Foxy cries out from his fight, but a look from Devon silences him.

"Still, no matter how good you've been for business, I've got to kill you here. Even though I'm leaving the South, I still can't tolerate that newspaper that said you were comparable to me. So come boy, let me show you how a real pirate fights."

Rex and Gion trade glances, deciding to momentarily set aside their arguments before charging in unison. This fight would determine the whole battle.