Bounties and Responsabilities.

"Join my crew!" Luffy yelled.

Everyone was shocked at his request, even Izanagi.

"Join your crew?" Izanagi.

"Yeah! Kaizo said that you are a cool sword spirit. I want a sword spirit in my crew, Shishishi!" Luffy.

Izanagi looks confused and Kaizo just speaks.

"He's just gonna insist until you accept, you've seen how he recruited everyone besides me." Kaizo.

Izanagi looks up.

"I know, it's just that this took me aback." Izanagi.

"So, you'll join?!" Luffy asked with stars in his eyes.

"Yeah, I'll join your crew." Izanagi.

Luffy celebrates and Kaizo calms him with meat.

"Ahem! Now, allow me to explain what Spiritual Power is: Reiryoku, more commonly known as Spiritual Power, is a power aligned with the spiritual sensitivity and willpower of the user."

"Every spiritual being and every Human has a certain amount of Reiryoku. If this amount exceeds a certain degree, it grants the person superhuman abilities. Those with such an above-average level of Reiryoku are very rare among living Humans."

"The most basic ability that Humans with a higher level of Reiryoku have is the ability to see ghosts: Pluses, Vengeful Spirits, and Ghosts alike. Reiryoku is most quickly increased when a Soul is in a life-or-death situation."

"Or at least, that's how it used to be in the past, nowadays, Spiritual Power is completely blocked off from anyone's body, this makes it almost impossible for them to use or even know about said energy, which is why there's so little information about it." Izanagi.

Everyone but Luffy nods, Luffy's brain is on overdrive and some come out from his head.

"Don't worry about the details, this is just a little bit of background for you to understand." Izanagi.

"How can we control Spiritual Power?" Zoro.

"That's the tricky part, you guys have only awakened so little of it, that you can only see it. To increase your level, we'll go for the most viable strategy." Izanagi.

Izanagi snapped his fingers and everyone got teleported to a dojo with many weapons on the sides. Izanagi grabs a wooden sword and points at the Straw Hats.

"I'll make you guys feel death, that way, your Spiritual Power will increase. Of course, fighting back is always allowed, show me your will to live." Izanagi.

Izanagi unleashes a powerful bloodlust, scaring Nami and Usopp.

"Hey, Kaizo! Your friend has gone crazy." Sanji.

"Idiot! How do you think I've been training all this time?! That old fart has killed me more times than Luffy has eaten meat, be careful, and my condolences. The weak ones tend to die first." Kaizo.

Just as he said that, Izanagi sent a powerful slash and cut Nami and Usopp in half, Luffy was horrified but then Nami and Usopp respawned on top of their "dead" bodies.

"See? No matter how much damage I can cause, while you're in here, you'll never be hurt or die. So, I can take my time to hone your powers properly." Izanagi has a sadistic smile.

We will miss the rest of the training montage since even thinking of a Straw Hat dying burns my soul and makes me cry. And so, our noble heroes trained (were killed) all night long until 6:00 AM.

Everyone woke up completely mentally tired, only Kaizo was fine with this and went to catch some fresh air in Merry's head.

"Ah! Nothing beats this seat, no wonder why Luffy never gets tired from being here." Kaizo.

Nami, Usopp, and Sanji tried to punch and kick the vice-captain but he evaded them and grabbed the main mast.

"Geez! Why so serious, fellas? Tough night of sleep?" Kaizo.

"Shut up! The last thing I want is to hear you spouting bullshit!" Usopp.

"You made us train for days inside your wretched mind!" Nami.

"Days? Oh, honey, it's been less than 12 hours." Kaizo.

"You modified our perception of time and left us there for two whole weeks!" Sanji.

"I don't see why you're so mad, Zoro and Luffy are just fine." Kaizo.

Kaizo points at Luffy and Zoro who're just enjoying the breeze that grazed their skin.

"I never knew how great a sea breeze can be." Zoro.

"I feel like I've taken a bath after being dirty for a whole year." Luffy.

The rest just look at them with weirded-out looks.

"Ok, I might've pushed you a little too far, sorry." Kaizo bows while grabbing the main mast.

"Still, we've gotten somewhat stronger." Zoro interrupted.

"Yeah." Luffy makes a fist and a red flare appears for a few seconds.

"This is quite interesting; it feels so familiar!" Luffy grins.

"And is not that far from what Haki does, with this, we'll be able to go to the Grand Line." Zoro.

"Yeah! Nami, what's the last island before the Grand Line?" Luffy.

"It would be Logue Town." Nami.

"Yosh! Set sail! We'll go to Logue Town!" Luffy.

*Grumble*

"But first, some breakfast!" Luffy.

(A few days later)

The crew has been training with Izanagi but the process is quite slow. While some do feel the difference between the energies, Luffy's the only one who has been able to use his Spiritual Power, even though it was only once and out of luck.

The crew had the last night free due to some "Life existences crisis" and deserved a good night of rest. Zoro is chilling near the helm, Sanji is protecting Nami's tangerine trees, Luffy is trying to steal said tangerines, Usopp is working on his [Tabasco Star], and Kazio is sitting on Merry's headpiece.

Suddenly, the peace and tranquility got ruined when Nami begins to discuss with the messenger bird.

"Another price increase? Don't you think it's a little too expensive?" Nami.

The seagull just looks depressed.

"Rais your prices again and I won't buy your papers anymore." Nami.

"What're you getting so riled up about? It's just a newspaper." Usopp.

"Daily expenses all add up, don't you know?" Nami.

"I thought you were done with saving up money." Usopp.

"Don't be stupid, from now on, I'm going to be saving up money for no one but me alone. There's no way I'm gonna be a penniless pirate!" Nami.

Kaizo hears this and shrugs.

'You sure about that?' Kaizo.

"Ok, ok, I'm in the middle of creating my secret [Tabasco Star] so keep away! An enemy who gets this in his eyes will be completely help-----" Usopp was cut off by a Luffy.

Luffy falls in front of Usopp and spills the tabasco on his eyes.

"Keep your hands off!!!" Sanji.

"Oh, come on! Let me have at least one!" Luffy.

"Absolutely not! These are Nami-san's beloved tangerine trees; I won't let anyone let a single finger on them!" Sanji.

"Oh, well. I'm in a good mood so, I'll just drop it then." Luffy.

"Nami-san! Your knight in shining armor has protected your precious trees!" Sanji.

"Thank you, Sanju-kun." Nami.

Zoro and Kaizo look at the distance and sigh.

"What a fool." Zoro/Kaizo.

Usopp just kept crying about the tabasco in his eyes.

While Nami was reading the newspaper, two fliers came out from it. They all look at the posters and are shocked.

"EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!??????" Everyone but Kaizo and Zoro.

[Marine HQ]

A group of high-ranking marines are discussing about two notorious pirates from the East blue.

"And so, due to them defeating: Buggy the Clown, Don Krieg, Arlong not to mentioned that we received reports from Syrup Village that they also defeated the believed deceased Captain Kuro. We believe that this bounty should be fitting for him." Commodore Brannew.

He slams a bounty poster on the board and shows it to be Luffy's.

"Captain of the Straw Hat Pirates, "Straw Hat" Monkey D Luffy. Bounty of 40 million berries. It may seem excessive, but his prowess is not only his overall strength, but the fact that such a person follows under him." Brannew.

He puts another poster and slams it against the board.

"He ransacked the marine bases of Shells Town and the 16th branch, suspected of direct offending the Head Admiral and crippling various marines, although we only have a partial image, it's been decided that this should be enough for us to use as a bounty poster." Brannew.

The poster shows Kaizo's side face with his blue pupils shining and he blue hair with some blood stains on it, he's shown with a cold expression.

"Vice-Captain of the Straw Hat Pirates, "Grimm Reaper" Daimon D Kaizo. Bounty of 45 million berries. The reason why his bounty is so high is mainly due to the fact that he's far more violent than the captain himself, he crippled the whole 16th branch even after the captain had told him to leave them alone. Such an evil pirate must be destroyed before he becomes stronger." Brannew.

That last part was a lie from Nezumi before he was apprehended.

[Going Merry]

"HAHAHAHA! Looks like we're wanted now! It says 40 million berries!" Luffy.

"Once again, you don't realize the consequences of your actions, we're definitely going to be targets for Marines now, what the hell was the HQ thinking!?" Nami.

"I'm more shocked that Kaizo got a higher bounty." Usopp.

"That's possibly due to my handywork on the 16th branch. I don't know how they got my name though? I only told Ririka's mother when I worked at their restaurant." Kaizo.

"That's enough for them to find out. Information gathering is one of their specialties after all" Nami.

"True, true." Kaizo.

"Ah! Kaizo's bounty is higher than mine!" Luffy.

"You just realized that?" Sanji.

"I was so happy that I finally got one that I forgot. It's not fair!" Luffy.

Kaizo jumps from Merry's headpiece and lands near Luffy.

"I mean, I am the strongest on the crew so, this much is fitting for me." Kaizo taunted.

"Ah?! You…! Just you wait, I'll definitely have my bounty higher next time!" Luffy.

"HAHAHA! Bring it on!" Kaizo.

The two crewmates discuss while they happily hit each other.

Another night passed and the Straw Hats were once again in Kaizo's mindscape.

"So, what'll be this time?" Zoro.

"Tonight, I'll explain what'll happen once your spiritual power fully awakens and merges with your bodies." Izanagi.

"Will we be able to shoot beams?!" Luffy.

"Nonsense! That'll be way--------------later on." Izanagi.

"Awesome!" Luffy/Usopp.

"*AHEM* As you know, Kaizo's Spiritual Power is naturally bounded by myself, his sword, and is a key part of his power as a Shinigami. The same would be applied to you but, there's no Zanpakuto left in the world besides me." Izanagi.

"Is it necessary that a Zanpakuto is used?" Usopp.

"Yes, the metal that a Zanpakuto is made is already extinct, that special metal allowed a better control over Spiritual Power and helped to create the sword spirits such as myself." Izanagi.

"So, we'll be losing many abilities that Kaizo can learn?" Sanji.

"Indeed, without the proper metal, any weapon used with Spiritual Power would never create a Spirit. However, there's a little way we can bypass this restriction." Izanagi.

"How? I thought you said it was impossible to create another sword spirit in here." Nami.

"Indeed, but we already have one of the components to create another sword spirit." Izanagi.

Kaizo then appears and sits beside him.

"You're not implying..." Kaizo.

"Oh, I am. We'll use myself to create your respective Spirits to aid you." Izanagi.

Everyone, but Luffy, was surprised by that.

"Wait! Wouldn't that mean that you'll disappear?" Nami.

"For a normal Zanpakuto that would be the case, but I'm the masterpiece created by Gorō Nyūdō Masamune. As a matter of fact, let me tell you a tale: centuries ago, my first wielder lacked power to defeat his enemies, but his Nakamas told him to use their power as well. My wielder grabbed their hands and with the little spiritual energy left, he created another weapon right there and then."

"The weapon managed to defeat the enemy, but many more were incoming. His Nakamas gave him their Spiritual Power and managed to create an arsenal of powerful weapons to stop the hordes of enemies. Said weapons developed a spirit that was connected to myself forever." Izanagi.

"Then, where are they?" Usopp.

Izanagi's expression saddens.

"No power in the world is free, there's always a path for shortcuts. They all connected their powers with my master. Said connection was more akin to a pact, were in case of one of them dying, they would cut-off some of his power. As such, my master's friends were killed to weaken him and the spirits faded right after due to the connection being severed."

"My biggest regret was not foreseeing something like that and saving my friends. Oh, ꈜꁝ꒐ꃔꈵꁲ, how I miss you." Izanagi.

Everyone's heads begin to rumble at the mention of that name and Izanagi immediately aids them.

"What was that?!" Luffy.

"I'm afraid I cannot tell you, or else, you would experience something similar again. Anyhow, are you interested in what I told you?" Izanagi.

Everyone looks among themselves and come to a conclusion.

"We'll do it! If the problem is us dying, then there'll be no problem since we're not planning to die." Luffy.

"I'm not gonna stop now just for some weird consequences, bring it on." Zoro.

"I'm just doing this because he asked me to become stronger. You better pay up if this doesn't work." Nami.

"A-as a b-brave warrior of the sea, I can't be intimidated b-by this." Usopp.

"I'll do anything Nami-san does!" Sanji.

"Lovesick moron." Zoro.

"Huh?! I'll dominate this Spiritual Power and kick you to bits, mosshead!" Sanji.

"Just try it, swirly eyebrows!" Zoro.

Izanagi sees the silhouettes of some known faces and smiles.

"You are right, Kaizo. They're perfect companions." Izanagi.

"Right?! This crew is the best!" Kaizo.

And so, another training session began.