"Yes, Big Brother Bepo. Yake-sama saved me."
"I'm the Ark Pirates' cook, meow!" Anna said excitedly. It was not easy to meet a friend from home out on the sea.
"Anna, don't get so worked up. We'll be crewmates from now on," Yake said with a smile. Although Bepo was not particularly strong, being cute was enough. Besides, he was a navigator. His skills were average, but they were sufficient.
"Really? That's wonderful! Big Brother Bepo, we can go on adventures together from now on, meow!" Anna happily hugged Bepo's big belly, while he merely scratched his head with a foolish grin. He had been worried about how he would fit into a new pirate crew, but he had unexpectedly run into someone he knew.
"Where are Robin and the others?"
Yake had yet to see Robin and the others, and he could not help finding it strange.
"Ah, Sister Robin and the others are very busy. They'll probably be back tonight."
"Alright, then play with Bepo for now. I'm going out for a walk. Luo, come with me!"
Yake brought Luo to the base of the Golden Bell.
"Luo, do you know what this is?"
Yake pointed at the Poneglyph on the base and asked.
"Captain Yake, I've never seen anything like this." Luo shook his head, indicating that he did not know.
"I came here to carry this text to the ends of the world."
"These were words left behind by Gol D. Roger. These writings are Poneglyphs, scattered across the world. Their contents include..."
"The meaning represented by D."
The moment Yake finished speaking, Luo immediately lost his composure and grabbed Yake.
"Captain, you must know something. Please, tell me!" Luo said with a ferocious expression, the veins on his forehead visibly bulging.
Yake seemed to have anticipated Luo's reaction and was not surprised.
"Luo, our pirate crew set sail to seek the truth of history! One day, we will personally uncover the meaning of D. Immortality was never my goal," Yake said meaningfully. Luo was meticulous; force alone could not make him stay aboard willingly.
Only by unifying their goals could they become true companions.
"Captain, I..." Luo had indeed previously thought Yake had invited him aboard solely for immortality. Now that Yake had pointed it out directly, Luo felt as though he had judged a gentleman with the heart of a petty man.
"Luo, if my original intentions ever change, you may leave at any time. That is a man's promise."
Yake placed a hand on Luo's shoulder and spoke seriously, then turned and left, allowing Luo some time alone.
Yake had already gone far away, yet Luo remained standing there without moving, staring blankly at the writings before him whose meaning he did not understand.
Birka, Yake's hometown.
After moving Birka here, Yake liked sitting in Birka's forest whenever he had nothing to do. After all, this was where the turning point of his Fate had begun.
Yake calmed himself and spread his Observation Haki over the entire Sky God Kingdom, sensing the atmosphere of this newborn nation. He quickly located Robin, Reiju, and the others. They were dealing with some troublesome pirates, though they were only somewhat troublesome. With Robin and Reiju's strength, opponents of this level merely required a little more effort. Still, Yake intended to lend them a hand.
He would announce to everyone that he was the Sky God Kingdom's one and only master.
"Thor's Divine Punishment!"
Yake fired lightning into the sky, where it dispersed and shot off in every direction, punishing the pirate trash causing trouble.
"What troublesome recovery abilities," Robin said with a headache. She had encountered a Zoan Devil Fruit user who simply would not die no matter how much she beat him. After being knocked down, he would quickly rise again, and his body was covered in sharp spikes. Robin could not easily use her abilities against him, so she had been preparing to call Perona over to hit him with a Negative Hollow and finish him off.
"Ha ha ha! Ignorant woman, I'm an Urchin-Urchin Fruit user! You can't do anything to me! Take my Death Thorns!" the pirate laughed wildly, aiming the spikes on his body at Robin as he prepared to fire.
However, the Celestial's punishment had already arrived. A pillar of lightning struck precisely upon his head. When it dispersed, he had already lost all signs of life, his entire body charred black. If he had not been a Zoan Devil Fruit user, he would have long since been reduced to charcoal.
The same scene played out in every corner of the Sky God Kingdom. More than a dozen pillars of lightning descended at once, and pirates died with them.
"Whew, it seems the captain has returned..." Robin let out a sigh of relief. She finally understood how Shanks had felt.
Yake withdrew the lightning and said coolly, "Birka's forest is forbidden ground. Are you not afraid of death?"
The figure behind Yake slowly replied, "To meet here, everything is guided by Fate! God Yake."
Yake turned around and found the man somewhat familiar.
He was a tall man, more than a meter taller than Yake. He wore a strange hat, an eyepatch over his right eye, a black cloak, and carried a long rifle whose muzzle resembled a horn.
He was none other than Blackbeard's future crewmate, the sniper born in East Blue known as Supersonic Van Augur.
Luffy had only just set sail, and Teach had not even obtained the Dark-Dark Fruit yet, though it would happen soon. Blackbeard had not had time to recruit crewmates, yet one of his future subordinates had already found Yake.
It had to be said that Blackbeard truly had an eye for crewmates. Every person he found was capable of standing on his own. The Van Augur before him could shoot a flock of seagulls far in the distance from a rooftop on Gaya Island's west coast—even God Usopp had cried that it was impossible.
In the One Piece World, where firearms were not particularly advanced, there were exceedingly few marksmen capable of such a feat. Usopp could not do it; he was merely a magic-bullet shooter. Perhaps his father, Yasopp, could.
Yake was secretly delighted, but his expression remained unchanged as he asked with interest.
"What is your purpose in coming to find me? Is it because of Fate?"
Van Augur removed his hat and politely bowed in salute to Yake before slowly explaining.
Two years ago, he had been in Mock Town and witnessed Yake's battle against Garp, the vice admirals, and even the admirals who had surrounded Mock Town. When Yake's Lightning Dragon fell from the sky, Van Augur had believed he would be killed. He had closed his eyes and stood where he was, waiting for death.
When the Thunderclouds filling the sky had dispersed, the surroundings had become ruins, yet he himself had remained completely unharmed. Van Augur believed everything was guided by Fate. He had searched the seas for traces of Yake ever since, firmly believing that as the gears of Fate turned, they would one day meet again upon the sea.
"God Yake, please allow me to join you. I want to witness the... final destination of all this Fate."
Yake fell silent after hearing Van Augur's explanation. A meeting of Fate? No. Van Augur and Blackbeard were the true meeting of Fate, while Yake had been changing Fate all along—Robin, Reiju, Anna... and even Van Augur before him.
Seeing Yake remain silent for so long, Van Augur was not anxious. The turning point of Fate had already arrived. Either he would die here, or become part of Fate...
"Your name."
"Van Augur."