Somethings...

Jin looked a little surprised and asked:

"Mr Nero ... I have a question. Why do you treat me so well?"

Nero was a little surprised but replied with a smile:

"When Julio left you with me, I promised that I would take care of you well."

"That doesn't explain the fact that you even made me your successor, I really don't understand, we're not related or anything." Jin shook his head.

Nero was then silent. Seeing this, Jin said:

"I really am grateful for everything you have done for me, but I really need to know your reason for doing so much for me."

Nero closed his eyes for a brief moment and replied:

"When I was younger, I loved a woman, a noblewoman of Westeros only daughter of the Lord of the house ..."

"I got her hand as a successor to a wealthy Keyholder family and we were married."

"We were really happy for a few years, but suddenly her family came to visit, and they asked why we don't have children after all the time we were married."

"I never cared about that, but her family insisted that we have a child."

"Year after year, we remain childless and her family has threatened to take her back to marry another man, since she was the Lord's only daughter."

"They wanted a son to inherit the family."

"My wife was desperate, she didn't want to leave me, and then, we fu**** like there's no tomorrow to try to raise a child." Nero said with a bitter smile and a distant expression.

"With no results, the family said that she should return to Westeros in a month or they would come and get her by force. And they really did, but from what seemed like a miracle, my wife was pregnant."

"I was so happy, I thought I could finally live the rest of my life in peace, her family was also satisfied and everything seemed to be fine."

"Nine months later though ..." He said while clenching his fists.

"She had complications in childbirth, and the baby don't even opened the eyes ..."

"On her deathbed, she called me ... and I heard her say in my ear," This baby is not your son ... "." After saying this, Nero's breathing was irregular.

Jin remained silent.

After a few minutes, Nero seemed to recover a little and said:

"After that, I looked for maesters and doctors, and found that I was ... infertile."

"I despaired, my wife died for a child that was not mine and I was condemned to not having any children in my entire life."

After Nero said this, he was silent for a while until he continued:

"The reason I take such good care of you is, in large part, because of my own inability to continue my lineage." He then turned to Jin and added:

"But also because I saw in you a great splendor, I thought that by putting you as my successor, my ancestors could forgive me." He put his hands on Jin's shoulders and said seriously:

"Therefore, Jin, I ask you to one day abandon your surname, and adopt mine."

Jin sighed and forced a smile.

-At least this old man is not a lying hypocrite.

Jin thought.

"My surname, I don't really care about him, if that's what you want, then I'm Jin Xurz starting today."

Upon hearing this, Nero smiled and hugged Jin.

"Hahaha, I knew you weren't going to disappoint me."

A strange glow passed through Jin's eyes.

"So, do you know what you want as a gift?" Nero asked.

Jin thought for a while and replied with a strange smile:

"What is meant to be mine."

Nero stagnated and looked seriously at Jin.

"What do you mean?"

"I want what belongs to Xurz." Jin spoke slowly.

Nero was silent for a moment and shook his head.

"You are not ready." Nero said.

"I don't think you understand, Mr Nero."

"I am not asking for the post of Head of the Xurz family. I am asking for permission to use Xurz's resources." Jin explained.

Nero was a little surprised and thought for a moment before replying:

"This ... As long as you ask for my permission when you want to use family resources and I approve."

After hearing this, Jin sighed in disappointment and handed Nero a paper.

Nero looked suspiciously at Jin and read the contents of the paper.

It didn't take long for Nero to open his eyes and shout:

"Damn you! Do you want to bankrupt this family !?"

After hearing Nero's curses for a while, Jin began to explain:

"It is not necessary to buy all of these materials at once in these quantities, this list is about what I will need in the future, currently a small fraction of that will be enough."

After hearing this, Nero finally quieted down and asked:

"Even so, that would still be a considerable sum. What do you want to do with all of this?"

"...Some things." Jin replied vaguely.

A vein appeared on Nero's forehead and he asked:

"What things?"

Jin smirked and replied with a strange gleam in his eyes:

"You will have to pay to see it."

"... You." Nero stagnated and looked at Jin in disbelief.

-I knew, that old man is a gambler.

Jin thought victoriously.

"What's the matter? Haven't you bet on me before? Did I disappoint you?" Jin threw gasoline on the fire.

Nero seemed to be fighting internally, almost everything inside him said not to do this, but something was fighting back and saying "Yes! Do this!".

Jin then removed another paper, a quill and ink.

"Just sign here, it has never been easier to win a bet, you sign, watch and win a fortune if you trust me."

"SCOUNDREL!" Nero got up and left the room.

Jin however stayed in the same place with a wicked smile.

After a while, the sound of footsteps could be heard and Nero came back.

He looked at a contract for a moment, picked up the pen and melted with the ink.

After signing, Nero left without saying a single word.

Jin took the paper as if it were a treasure and laughed maliciously, a thunderclap sounded in the skies of Braavos, leaving the maids in the room startled by the sight of the little villain.

After a few days, Jin's birthday arrived, but no one had the courage to attend the party outside Titor and Jan.

Jin was not disappointed, in fact he thinks it better that way.

The four (Jin, Nero, Titor, Jan) feasted and laughed all night, it was one of the most fun nights for Jin.

Titor and Jan told stories of their adventures as young people and their achievements with women. Nero looked a little irritated because of Jin but he also had fun.

The maids were dismissed and only the guards stayed awake, joining the banquet shortly after Nero's invitation.

Looking around, Jin was satisfied and remembered Julio.

-How is that old bear doing?

The party continued until morning, when everyone dispersed.

-

The ships were burning around, the men fighting each other, the sun rising on the horizon.

The winds spread the fire, the ships crashed against each other, and the miserable scream of men could be heard.

Julio looked around as he endured the pain from a wound in his leg.

Looking at his leg, Julio smiled bitterly, an arrow had passed through it.

That wasn't the worst of it, the arrow was poisoned.

The wind made the fire spread even more, the smell of smoke and blood made Julio numb.

"Julio!" The captain screamed as he fought with his own crew, his body was bathed in blood.

Julio then saw on the horizon, where the sun was rising, two ships with flags he recognized, the Braavosi flags.

Suddenly, Julio felt a hand on his shoulder, turning quickly, he saw the bloodied lieutenant.

"We have to get out of here." The lieutenant said.

Julio just smiled bitterly and pointed at his leg.

Seeing the arrow in Julio's leg, the lieutenant's heart almost stopped.

"Old Julio!" The lieutenant shouted in anguish before he went to help the captain.

Julio knew his end was near, looking around, he was looking for a way to help the captain and the lieutenant to escape.

But all the ships, including the shipwreck boat, were on fire, the Braavosi ships were far away, and the location they are in is one of the most dangerous places to stay on land.

The fog covered the banks and the trees, the ruins of what were once great monuments could be seen on all sides. Valyrian ruins.

Looking at the dead men on the deck, Julio felt his heart ache.

The expedition was going smoothly, until they started acting strangely a day ago, and then...

Suddenly, interrupting Julio's thoughts, arrows suddenly fell from the sky, killing a few more men.

Looking at the nearby shores, Julio saw the stone men with bows and arrows, some of them incendiary.

He felt the strength of his body slowly disappear, but before he died, he wanted to do something, to do something so that their effort was not in vain.

Julio then went to the captain's cabin, there he took all the papers about the expedition and put them in a small chest, after that, he locked the chest with a key and threw it away.

Julio was about to leave when he suddenly saw something long covered with a cloth in the corner of the cabin.

Suddenly, creaks came from all corners of the ship, he is running out of time!

He went to the object and carried it with the chest.

Returning to the deck, only the captain and lieutenant remained, but they were seriously injured.

"Old Julio!"

"Lieutenant Captain!"

Arrows came from the sky again, hitting all three.

Enduring the pain, Julio saw his two companions being killed.

He cried out in anguish, and walked slowly to the bow of the ship.

The ship was slowly sinking, and the flames burned Julio's skin.

Eventually, he got to the bow, and there, he had a giant crossbow, which the captain said served in case they found a Kraken or some other big beast.

He tied the chest and the long object tightly with a rope and attached it to the crossbow arrow.

With his last strength, he aimed for the Braavosi ships, and fired.

Bang!

The sound of something penetrating the hull.

The crew of the Braavosi ship watched with astonishment as a giant arrow penetrated the hull of their ship, looking in the direction from which the arrow came, they saw several ships on fire and sinking.

While he was swallowed by the sea and flames, Julio smiled and stopped feeling pain.

-Until it wasn't too bad ... this adventure.

-Will we see each other on the other side? Captain, lieutenant ... little Jack.

-I hope he'll be proud of us when...

The Braavosi crew realized something was wrong, and started to make their way back.

Bang!

The screeching noise of a cracking hull, the crew looked at the ship next door, only to see large tentacles all over that ship.

The crew became desperate, and started attacking the Kraken and trying to get away from the attacking ship, but it didn't take long for the arrows to come, luckily they were far enough away for just a few to hit someone.

Because of the shipwreck boat captain, they had a giant crossbow at the bow of the ship, and managed to hit the Kraken in a way that blew it away.

Even so, the attacked ship was extremely damaged and would not take long to sink.

However, they were constantly attacked by arrows and it was possible for the Kraken to return after a while.

The captain then made the decision to abandon the damaged ship's crew.

They had to get away from that place as quickly as possible, before Valyria's doom finally devoured them.

After much effort, they finally made it out of the Peninsula and then set off towards Volantis.

Something strange, however, happened. On the way back, some men showed strange and aggressive behavior, and a riot took place.

Shortly after the riot, the rebels strangely died, one by one. Terrifying the rest of the crew.

It was only after that that they finally discovered the chest and the object that Julio had launched, tied to an arrow stuck in the side hull.

The chest seemed to be a special type and could not be opened without forcing the contents, the object however ...

A valyrian steel sword, with a lion as snitch.

-

hiss

The sound of a stick cutting through the air.

Jin was training at the sea lord's palace. I was still practicing the same movements.

Now he no longer needs to use soul energy to spend an hour straight repeating the movements, despite the fact that his nose bleeds every now and then.

Syrio was watching him from a distance with Alyn.

"He doesn't seem to have any talent for the sword, why do you praise him so much?" Alyn asked.

"He really doesn't have much talent for the sword, but that doesn't mean he doesn't have the talent. Did you manage to spend an entire hour making these moves over and over at his age?" Syrio asked back, making Alyn silent.

"He may not have an affinity for the sword, but I bet he can kill a man with one anyway." Syrio then added:

"Talent does not define prowess in combat. As long as he learns the basics of fencing he can become a great warrior."

Alyn then nodded in agreement.

"Where is your sister?" Syrio asked.

"She's taking etiquette lessons with Madame Lin." Alyn replied.

"Alyn!" Jin suddenly shouted.

"?"

"Come help me!"

"..."

"He wants you to help him, haven't you heard?" Syrio pushed Alyn towards Jin.

Sighing, Alyn said:

"Don't blame me if I hurt you the same way again!" He then picked up a wooden stick just like the one Jin was holding.

Jin stopped his movements and looked at him, starting upward afterwards.

Alyn deftly dodged and started exchanging blows with Jin.

Jin did not hit a blow and was almost always hit.

But suddenly, Jin's way changed and he seemed to get stronger and faster, anticipating some of Alyn's movements.

Alyn was surprised and started to get a little serious.

Jin realized something new, which he hadn't realized before for not practicing with someone while using soul energy.

By the time he started using energy, Alyn's movements were a little slow in his vision, and his body could better follow his movements.

Even so, the difference in technique is big, and Jin was defeated after a few strokes.

Jin breathed deeply, but now he was able to control his breathing better, and he didn't run out of air.

Alyn looked at Jin in surprise and asked:

"How did you manage to do that?"

After taking another breath, Jin replied:

"I don't know, I just did."

"Haha! It looks like these little muscles aren't just for showing!" Syrio said while patting Jin on the shoulders.

Jin smiled bitterly, he knew he looked a little strange with defined muscles at such a young age.

-Should I start wearing clothes with long sleeves?

Jin thought.

"Why didn't Riner come today?" Jin asked.

"She is taking etiquette classes ... And she may stop coming to training after a while." Alyn replied.

"Why?"

"Our father said that ladies should not train the sword seriously."

Jin understood, the sea lord must have forbidden her to come to train. He remembers that in this world it is really normal to have this difference in gender treatment.

"Little Jack!" A guard at the sea lord's mansion suddenly entered the courtyard.

"?" Jin looked at the guard.

"Mr Nero has ordered you to be taken back to the Xurz mansion." The guard said.

"It looks like the training ends here." Syrio said as he tapped Alyn on the shoulder and added with a strange smile:

"Come on, young Alyn, this will be an interesting night."

Alyn swallowed her own saliva, nodded, and after saying goodbye to Jin, he left with Syrio somewhere.

Jin then went to the entrance with the guard, and there were his personal guards.

After being escorted to the Xurz mansion, Jin saw Nero sitting at a table with a solemn expression.

-This old man ... He really likes to do drama.

Jin laughed despite not wanting to.

After he approached, Nero said:

"I'm not going to mess around, Julio is probably dead."

Jin opened his eyes wide and almost fell.

After sitting, Jin asked:

"Who died?"

"Julio, and probably the entire shipwreck boat crew."

After hearing Nero's serious tone, Jin was silent.

Julio is the third person, who took care of him in this world, who dies without being able to do anything.

Jin secretly clenched his fists and asked:

"How?"

Nero then explained about the expedition and that a single ship in the fleet returned, and with most of the crew itself dead.

The crew tried to sell a Valyrian steel sword secretly but they were discovered by men who had a certain share in the cost of the expedition, and were forced to tell what had happened.

They said they had parted ways with the rest of the fleet in a storm with another ship, and were on their way to the expedition's last objective, a ruin in the center of ancient Valyria.

Before getting close to the target, however, they saw several ships on fire and sinking close to the banks, and a Kraken suddenly attacked, causing one of the ships to sink.

On the way back there was a riot and most of the crew died.

After hearing Nero's explanation, Jin was silent with clenched fists.

"One more thing. They also had a special small chest, which was opened with the help of some nobles from Volantis, and which contained several papers about the expedition, and a certain map."

After hearing this, Jin was left with complex feelings.

He was planning to start implementing his plan in the near future, as he has Nero's approval.

But fate has put another choice in his front.

"Do you think ... that they will organize another expedition?" Jin asked

Nero snorted and replied as if it were obvious:

"There is always someone who considers himself to be infallible."

Jin then stood up abruptly and walked in circles, a craze he picked up after spending so much time with Nero.

After a few minutes, Jin stopped and asked:

"When do you think this expedition is going to happen?"

"Who knows ... But I know one thing, it won't be in the near future. Even the infamous captain of the shipwreck boat failed, it demonstrates the difficulty. They must spend at least a year or two planning." Nero replied.

"But I don't understand anything, you told me once that they had stopped at Volantis to refuel, it means that they had successfully explored Valyria before."

"I said!?" Nero narrowed the eyes.

Jin realized his mistake and fell silent.

Nero sighed and said:

"They did explore Valyria before, but they didn't go directly to the map's objective for any reason, stopping at various points scattered across the Peninsula."

"That's all the information I got, the nobles of Volantis blocked most of the news."

Jin then sighed, it looks like he has at least some time.

He then tapped his hand on the table and said:

"Tomorrow I will start buying the materials, you will soon see the things I plan to do and we will be the richest men in Braavos in a few years!"