Summary: Shopping! Discussion of the anger dude with a god complex!

  Warning! Chapters 44-47 were all posted back-to-back! Make sure you don't miss any!

  Chapter 46: History and Acquisitions

  Against his expectations, the first interesting thing to happen the next day was at breakfast, not when he went Dial shopping. Well, no…that wasn't entirely true. The first interesting thing had been waking up to a blowjob. Nami wasn't with him now precisely because he'd been quite insistent on repaying the favor, with extra, and had worn her out. It was thus that he found himself joining Robin for breakfast, as she closed the Journal Pagaya had given her with a snap. Curiosity was a powerful motivator, so Luffy was quick to ask the obvious.

  "Anything interesting?"

  Robin blinked, seeming to truly process he was even there for the first time. Had she…no, he wasn't pretty sure she hadn't slept. Well, that likely meant there was something of interest in the journal.

  "Quite a bit, actually, Captain. While it isn't remotely close to having a proper history text, there are a number of passages that paint an interesting picture. Context is cking, sadly, as the writer was journaling entirely for themselves and didn't include background as an obvious result. Still, there is no question that the original, of which this is only a copy, refers to some events of the Void Century."

  Luffy blinked, sitting up a bit straighter. This was something he had no real additional understanding of, either. There had been no answers in the story of he'd watched in his old life. Robin noticed his interest and smiled, taking a sip of a rather strong looking coffee before continuing.

  "There were quite a few mentions of a war, one that seemed to be extremely wide spread. A few specific nations are mentioned, all of which are part of the Founding Twenty of the World Government. All of them were seemingly allied against a single foe, though that foe was sadly not identified by name. The journaler seemed to believe everyone would know who 'the enemy' was. The only specific reference is that they were a 'vast, technologically advanced kingdom.'"

  Luffy pursed his lips, considering that for a moment.

  "The original creators of Pluton and other such weapons, perhaps? I always found it strange that the World Government knows of those but not how to make or use them."

  Robin nodded, then frowned.

  "There's something else curious. It is well known, at least to those that study history, that the term 'pirate' wasn't in use prior to the Void Century. Indeed, it was assumed that the term came to be only after the Void Century. This Journal contains a single passage with the word, however. It refers to someone named 'Joy Boy' as a 'pirate.' To my knowledge, that makes this the oldest known reference to such in existence."

  That name did spark a bit of memory in Luffy. His past life had stopped watching the anime that depicted this world only after the Fishman Isnd Arc. Which meant he had heard that name before. Though he wasn't sure what it meant. Considering for a long moment, he decided to share what little he did know.

  "I've run across that name, Joy Boy, before. It was a story about Fishman Isnd. Supposedly, there is an enormous ship on the seafloor there, right inside the city. It was meant to be raised, somehow, by the joint efforts of someone named Joy Boy and the fishmen, I think? But something happened and Joy Boy was forced to break his word, leaving behind a promise that someone else would finish the job eventually. I think the fishmen consider it a prophecy of some sort."

  Robin looked both surprised and intent.

  "Did that also happen during the Void Century?"

  Luffy scratched his cheek and struggled to remember. It was a pre-system memory, which meant it didn't benefit from his memory enhancement perk.

  "I…think so? If I recall correctly, he actually somehow left a message on a poneglyph there. Unlike all the others, it's not part of the overall set. That implies he knew how to create or modify them, at the very least. And they originated from that time period."

  Robin was clearly riveted on the new information, but Luffy was forced to shrug. He legitimately didn't know anything more about it.

  "Fishman Isnd is the only pirate-friendly passage through the Red Line into the New World. So we'll be going there eventually. Maybe the fishmen themselves know more about it that the little I do. My knowledge is second hand, at best."

  Robin frowned in disappointment but nodded.

  "It's an interesting bit of knowledge, at least. If that was the same Joy Boy that the Journal mentions, he might just have been the first ever pirate. One who was perhaps active in preying on one side or the other of this war that was mentioned in the journal. I admit I have to wonder if the war mentioned was the same one that the bunker on Jaya was a remnant of. If so, it would perhaps expin how this journal's original ended up here in Skypiea."

  Luffy nodded and started in on his breakfast properly, enjoying Robin's rambling as she dissected other bits and pieces of info from the Journal for him. None of it was quite as interesting as her main discovery, but he was more than willing to listen to her, given how happy she looked at finding even this small gem of knowledge about her Dream…

  ... ...

  It was hard to say if Luffy or the locals were happier at the moment. Upon his first purchase of a box of Dials, he'd quietly stored it away in his inventory. To his surprised, he'd gotten a notice from his System immediately after. That virtually never happened, so he'd made a quick check to see what was up. To his delight, it had proven to be, of all things, an update to his System Store. He could now buy more of the Dials he'd stored via Shop Points, of which he frankly had a rather rge stockpile due to rewards garnered from saving Abasta and helping out the people of Drum.

  The new detail had immediately shifted his pns. Instead of focusing on a rge number of a few specific types of Dials, Luffy had swept through the market with as broad a proverbial broom as possible. He'd purchased a handful of every single type of Dial he could y hands on. Including quite a few rare or outright extinct Dial types, once he'd shown that he was willing to trade 'rare' materials of his own from the Blue Sea. Good quality steel and other metals were worth a lot in a pce like Skypiea, and Luffy had plenty such stored away in his inventory. Not to mention his ability to access Abasta's markets via Vivi if he needed something specific to trade.

  Honestly, it felt like cheating. But he knew the locals were genuinely getting their value out of the barter. Meanwhile, Luffy still acquired entire crates of particurly useful Dials, so long as they were common ones. It would only be for the rarer Dials that he needed to waste Shop Points. He might have a lot of them, but they weren't endless. Needless to say, the free flowing of money and goods had made him popur with the locals. Doubly so as Dials weren't the only thing his crew were snapping up. Sanji was going gaga over the unique foods and spices, Robin was scouring everywhere she could for more books that made even the vaguest mentions of history, and Nami had decided to py fashionista with the local clothing scene.

  All in all, Luffy was extremely pleased, even if he was also waiting for the other shoe to drop…

  ... ...

  It took another two full days before that shoe appeared. After three days of keeping their noses clean, exploring the isnd, and making deals for rge amounts of Dials, food, and even some isnd cloud that Luffy was hoping to preserve through the use of something like a terrarium, the White Berets finally appeared. The locals flinched away when the Strawhats were 'cordially invited to Upper Yard to see God Enel.' Even if Luffy hadn't already been aware of what sort of monster Enel was, the reactions of the locals and the discomfiture of even Captain McKinley as he delivered the 'invitations' would have tipped him off that this was a trap. Nor was he the only one that noticed. Once he gathered his crew together, Hina was the first one to speak, voice ft.

  "It's obviously a trap."

  Kuina, Zoro, Nami, Nojiko, Sanji, Robin and even Vivi all nodded almost in sync. Luffy cracked a smile at that deadpan synchrony, even as Chopper, Usopp and Kaya all reacted with distress. He spoke over that distress in a calm voice.

  "Yes. I've expected it from the start. None of the locals were willing to speak about this 'god' or his priests. They seemed terrified, like they expected him to be able to hear anything they said. I suspected spies among the locals at first, but that doesn't seem to entirely fit since there was no one that wasn't terrified. While it could still be the case, I think it more likely that we're dealing with either a Devil Fruit or a powerful Haki user. Someone with an ability or combination of abilities that let's them spy at significant range. Like Robin and I can do."

  Robin nodded at that recognition and spoke up next.

  "I noticed the same thing. I'm used to looking for potential backstabs at every turn and regurly put out eyes and ears to get the y of the nd. This 'god' of theirs is named Enel, and I've seen strong hints that he may possess a logia Devil Fruit. Specifically, a lightning-based Fruit."

  Luffy blinked, surprised but very pleased that Robin had been proactive enough to find out that little tidbit. He'd been agonizing over how to warn everyone without a way to justify his knowledge. It had reached a point that he'd been just about ready to concoct a tale about visions or something, as he hadn't wanted to take his crew into danger of this level without warning them sufficiently. Besides, 'it came to me in a dream' actually seemed like the sort of thing that could happen on the Grand Line.

  "Excellent, Robin! Good work! I suspected an elemental logia myself, which is why I've been working on something with Kaya recently. We've worked out a method to sort of share my resistance to elemental attacks, to an extent at least. The fact that this logia user is a lightning user will only make it more effective, as I'm far more resistant to that than anything else."

  Kaya brightened, nodding, even if there was a tiny touch of suspicion in her eyes. He had been working on the trick with her, ever since he'd invested the points in his new elemental resistance Perks. She'd seen the value, given how dangerous elemental logia were, and had even been working on her own version that created a sort of shield against extreme effects instead of a resistance too them. So far, she could only use that trick on herself. The fact that he'd started this project and seemed to already be so far along with it right before running into an elemental logia user it was best suited against seem to be twigging some instincts for her. Thankfully, she didn't voice them aloud. Instead, she offered something else he hadn't expected.

  "Yes, and I've been taking some of that theory to experiment with my new Devil Fruit. You all already know that I can create 'buffs,' as Luffy calls them, that sacrifice one thing to boost another…"

  They did. Kaya had immediately set about working on a way to twist the usage of the Sick-Sick Fruit to her own ends. She'd started on a few animals they'd captured on Jaya, making sure her thoughts on how to use it were safe. Then she'd moved on to extremely minor effects on the crew. So far, the only one that she felt safe using was a 'sickness' that exchanged one trait for another. For example, it could make one far physically weaker, but in exchange boost the 'infected' person's reaction speed to utterly inhuman levels.

  "I haven't tested it yet, but I believe I've created a general 'elemental resistance' pgue. Currently, it makes you feel a little bit lethargic and develop a mild cough, but also bolsters a person's spiritual energy in such a way that they are extremely resistant to heat or cold. In theory, it should work on lightning too, but I haven't tested it…"

  Luffy consider that carefully, mulling over the advantages and disadvantages. Eventually, he shook his head.

  "I don't like the idea of making our fighters lethargic. However, if this goes as badly as it could…a fight between me and another lightning user could devastate everything on Skypiea. You might want to spread that pgue to the locals, before we leave. Assuming you're sure you can cure it."

  Kaya nodded firmly at that.

  "I can. I designed it to run it's course like a cold, anyway. It would burn out in three to four days for the average person, even if I did nothing."

  Perfect. Given Enel's psychotic pn to destroy Angel Isnd, that could save a lot of lives…assuming Luffy failed to prevent it from happening.

  "Definitely spread it before we leave, then. I'll buff everyone on our way to Upper Yard as well, to give us an edge. We have to consider that this 'god' likely has powerful minions too, however. So let's get some pnning in before we take up his 'invitation'…"

  ... ... ... ... ...

  A/N: So, a little tease for Robin. I figured that Skypiea, uninvolved with the WG as it is, would be one of the most likely pces in the world to still have some info. Mind you, I had to keep it simple...because Oda still hasn't revealed much about the Void Century. Which is honestly very annoying. Seriously Oda, finish your story so I can do clever things with it!