Shirou's Thirty Million Avatars

Chapter 34: The Reason for the Bounty

Another night, within the White Mist Space.

Gathering here with his other selves once more, Tenshoushiro felt a whirl of emotions.

Same night, different starry skies—each self lay on rooftops or beaches, gazing at the stars.

This kind of thing was truly fascinating.

But—

Tenshoushiro suddenly turned, expressionless, staring at Mizukageshiro and Tohsakashiro:

"Two beasts! I despise you."

"What did I do?" both Shirous asked in unison.

"Hmph! Marrying a sixteen-year-old minor, letting her be your pillow and feed you—beasts! Perverts!"

"Mei and I are childhood friends, and in the Naruto world, people mature early. Isn't that normal?"

"I don't care! You're still a beast!"

Before he could retort, Tenshoushiro turned to Tohsakashiro and said darkly:

"Last night, you didn't even spare a six-year-old girl. You're even more twisted!"

"Don't say things that lead to such misunderstandings! We just fell asleep leaning on the sofa together. Six-year-old Sakura is like a little sister to me."

"I don't care. In short, you're both beasts."

The two Shirous exchanged glances and asked with a smile:

"Are you... lonely?"

"No friends, no one you can fully trust or speak your mind to—it hurts, doesn't it?"

"How could that be?"

Though he denied it firmly, Tenshoushiro knew they were right.

They were all himself—one handshake, and every thought was laid bare. There was no room for lies.

Kuroshiro had his Fairy Tail companions, Tohsakashiro had Rin and Sakura, Mizukageshiro was married, Basha had Nero, and Slimeshiro had the goblins as allies.

Only he had no one he could fully trust.

Even old butler Hayman could handle tasks, but he couldn't be entrusted with everything.

The most obvious sign was that they all had someone to watch the stars with, while he was alone.

Just then, Slimeshiro suddenly spoke:

"Thanks to the supplies you sent, my territory's foundation is almost set. I can't keep freeloading forever, so I won't take your stuff for nothing."

"In exchange, I've placed some of my recovery potions in the vault. Use them as you like."

"For the adventurer's guild you're about to establish, recovery potions should be a big draw."

"Ohh... as expected of me, you're really on the ball," Shirou said with a smile.

Though he'd already learned this during the handshake, hearing it again from him was still nice.

Even if a limb was severed, as long as the broken part was intact and not too much time had passed, the recovery potion could restore it completely.

Such a potion was incredibly useful for those who ventured out to sea.

"I want some recovery potions too," Kuroshiro suddenly said. "But I have no treasure. The only thing I can trade is some gold coins from the Fairy Tail world."

Slimeshiro quickly replied:

"No need to trade anything. We're all ourselves—just use them freely. But there's a limited supply. Small amounts are fine; for more, you'll need to order ahead."

"By the way, you all know what the herbs look like. Search for them in your own worlds too."

"As long as you find the herbs, you can turn into slimes and synthesize recovery potions yourselves."

True.

Shirou nodded slightly. That was a good idea.

But herbs of that kind didn't seem to exist in the One Piece world.

Still, he could try turning into a slime and experimenting with One Piece herbs to see what he could synthesize.

"We have your Predator ability, but we don't share Great Sage, so we can't tell what the potions we make do."

"You can leave the potions you make here. When I have time, I'll come in and use Great Sage to appraise them for you."

"Thanks, then it's settled."

"No need to be polite. We're all ourselves—what's mine is yours..."

One Piece World.

That morning, the sun had just risen, the temperature hadn't yet peaked, and a gentle breeze brushed against the face, refreshing the spirit.

In such splendid weather, a grand opening ceremony was underway on the 31st Island of the Sabaody Archipelago.

"...I hereby declare the Adventurer's Guild officially established!"

Shirou's clone—Acunologiya—stood before the guild's gates, exuding a faint pressure.

The moment he finished speaking, a group of former slaves, planted by Shirou in advance, rushed forward eagerly.

"I want to sign up!"

"Excuse me, can becoming an adventurer really get my wanted poster canceled?"

"I want to post a quest—hire someone to escort me to Water Seven!"

Among the planted crowd, a few genuine people drawn by the guild's advertised benefits were mixed in.

On the third floor of a building across from the Adventurer's Guild, Shirou and Hyman sat facing each other, sipping tea while watching the lively street below.

"Are all these your plants, Hyman?"

"No, without your orders, young master, I didn't act on my own."

"Looks like a good start. Once we recruit more people, we can try setting up branches elsewhere. But too many clones, and I can't sustain it."

Temporary clones were fine, but for a clone to stay stationed at the guild long-term, it would need at least a third of his Chakra.

At that rate of normal Chakra depletion, the clone could last three to five years without issue.

Of course, combat would drain Chakra heavily—a major battle could burn through it quickly.

But the thing was, Chakra was only part of his strength; even without using it in battle, his power wouldn't suffer.

"At that rate, if I maintain clones for a year, I can probably split off about fifteen."

"Fifteen guild branches—compared to the whole sea, that's a drop in the bucket."

"If you're short on manpower, young master, we could pull people from CP0 or the Marines," Butler Hyman said hesitantly.

"Absolutely not!"

Shirou refused without a second thought.

He was setting himself up against the Marines and the World Government—how could he do that?

Though retired or disabled Marines might be a different story.

On the island where Fisher Tiger's fleet was docked.

A Marine Captain, who had been discussing sending the former slaves home with Tiger, suddenly spoke as he spotted a News Coo flying overhead:

"Hold on, Mr. Tiger, let me buy a newspaper first."

"Sure, get me one too."

After paying, the two picked up the papers and read.

The front page featured news of the Adventurer's Guild's upcoming opening.

Among the listed benefits, the most eye-catching was this: sailing under the Adventurer's Guild's flag meant no wanted poster would be issued.

The flag itself was striking—a small bird perched on a branch.

"What kind of flag is that? A bird?"

"Still, this should cut down on the number of pirates."

The next moment, a wanted poster fell out of the newspaper.

Fisher Tiger, bounty 300 million Beli.

Crime: infiltrating Mary Geoise and murdering multiple Celestial Dragons.

Not a word about freeing the slaves.

The Marine Captain's expression shifted, and he said quickly:

"Mr. Tiger, please leave immediately. I'll pretend I never saw you. I'll arrange for the former slaves to be sent home."

"Thank you very much. I'll leave it to you."

Fisher Tiger nodded slightly, not refusing the kindness.

Chapter 35: Aren't You Going to Run?

Boa Hancock was sixteen now, more than three years since she'd been sold into slavery.

For three years, she'd lived a hellish existence.

She was often forced to fight beasts and other slaves for the Celestial Dragons' amusement.

On top of that, she had to do menial chores like cleaning toilets and hauling trash, never getting enough to eat.

Occasionally, she was also made to perform in shows.

For example, if a Celestial Dragon wanted to watch a realistic stage play, it would inevitably involve corpses, animals, and enemies—most of which would be supplied by slaves.

Fortunately, she was a petite woman, so she didn't have to crawl on all fours with a Celestial Dragon sitting on her back like the male slaves did.

But even so, watching the slaves around her die day by day, her hatred for the Celestial Dragons deepened with each passing day.

This kind of life was utterly hopeless.

Countless times, she wanted to end it all, but thinking of her two younger sisters, she forced herself to stay strong, comforting herself while also comforting them.

Not long ago, her master lost a bet and handed her over to another Celestial Dragon family.

Forced to separate from her sisters, but as a slave, she had no right to refuse. She could only pray to the heavens that they would remain safe.

On the fifth day at her new place, a servant of the Celestial Dragons suddenly called her and another girl of the same age together, ordering them to fight in an arena.

She was no stranger to this—Celestial Dragons were all capricious, acting on whatever whim struck them.

That day, she met her current master: a little boy of eight or nine.

As she cautiously observed, she suddenly heard him say that whoever lost would have to eat the Zoan Caterpillar Fruit.

No deathmatch—that was a good thing. But eating a caterpillar fruit? Absolutely not!

Despite thinking this, to avoid exposing her origins from Amazon Lily, she neither used the Nine Snake Secret Technique nor the Armament Haki she had secretly trained.

Her opponent, on the other hand, showed no mercy, fighting with everything she had.

In the end, Hancock lost the match.

At that moment, her heart turned to ash.

But the young Celestial Dragon didn't produce any Devil Fruit. Instead, he laughed and said he was just joking.

'What a nasty brat. When he grows up, he'll definitely become a scumbag.'

After changing masters, life seemed the same, yet somehow different.