There was no limit to the horizon, the sky was clear, and the sun hung high up. Seeing that Isabel was enjoying their flight so much, Veyron did something that he would usually not do.
*WHOOSH!*
!!!
Suddenly, she felt the wind. Veyron removed the aerodynamic barrier. It would make their flight a lot slower but also a lot more palpable. He expected a reaction, but Isabel's hand clenched around his..., and she closed her eyes, inhaling deeply until she settled down and realised that indeed, she wasn't falling off.
'I am... flying... like a bird'.
"What are you feeling...?" Veyron asked her.
"Do you know how much I have tried to replicate this with my powers, but being completely unable to?"
"You just didn't work hard enough- ouch! hey!"
Isabel slapped the back of his head and pouted, "Hmph, how dare you say I didn't work hard enough? Every aspect of my power... I discovered so many aspects of it while just trying to fly..."
Veyron rubbed the back of his head, wondering why she had to go so far as to use armament Haki.
"So your powers... they are vectors, right?"
He took out a vibrecard and began following it at cruising speed, letting the wind brush through it as they spoke.
"Vectors? I don't know what that is... I can control 'lines', that's all", Isabel said dismissively, clearly trying to avoid the question.
"Yes, but... what sort of lines. A line is a vector. It has a starting point A and an ending point B, and therefore it also has a direction and a magnitude of length. There are all kinds of vectors... for example: Time, time is a vector. It is the way we measure it. We say the day started at A and finished at B, it heads towards the future 'direction' and has a length 'hours', we can't bend those rules. Time doesn't exist, though, it is just our way of understanding it".
There was silence for a while, and he awaited an answer but received a shocked stare.
'T-This boy... what did he just say?'
"Your mind is very complex, Veyron. But... what do you mean time doesn't exist?"
"It doesn't. The only thing that really exists is the present. Time doesn't exist outside of your mind. The future and the past are thoughts; the present is formed by all your current sensations. In fact, the time that you perceive is not even the same time that everyone perceives. Time goes faster or slower for different people depending on their perspective".
"E-Explain".
Isabel was flabbergasted; she plastered her body against him with shining eyes of curiosity. She thought it was nonsensical at first, but the more she thought of it, the more sense it made.
'Past and Future exist, certainly... but they can never be touched. I know that very well... there is no such thing as a devil fruit of time. And even I, who has the capability to 'touch' the timelines, am aware that even if they can be canalised, they can't be touched at will. So then, is time fake? Veyron, you're the first person who has ever told me this'.
For his part, Veyron stared at his curious and sexy granny and sighed in exasperation, 'Am I about to explain the general relativity of Einstein to someone from this world? Well, maybe if I tell her, she will want to open up a bit more about her powers'
"Well, before we even start, you should get to know the four greatest powers that control this world".
She gasped, "The four greatest powers? Are they people? Kings...?"
"They're kings indeed, but they're not people... they are forces. Gravity, Electromagnetism, Strong Nuclear Force and Weak Nuclear Force".
"Tell me more, Veyron".
**
**
A bit far from the shores of Rusukaina, a small boat sailed with three carefree individuals.
It has been only a few minutes since they sailed, with the island looking fairly distant. And yet, Miss Crocodile couldn't help but put her gaze on her two new lazy crewmates. Mihawk was sitting on a corner of the small boat, reading newspapers... and Robin was sitting on the other edge with a broad smile, writing some stuff while a dark hand held some sheet of paper. Her smile was broad and her happiness evident.
As for Rocks D. Alice, Miss Crocodile, she realised she was also leaning back carefree on her side of the boat, smoking a cigarette.
'This is... unexpectedly peaceful'.
"Wait, no... I need some space, dammit!".
Still, she had to find a reason to complain. How was it possible that the three of them, arguably some of the strongest in the world, had to share this miserable small boat?
"So...? Why are we sailing in this piece of trash? Don't tell me Veyron didn't even prepare a proper pirate ship for us?" She asked, indignant.
"Stop complaining, we're in the calm belt, and I don't want too much attention. Veyron's ships are too flamboyant and besides, our crew is supposed to be a force detached from the Liberators... if we go around using one of his steel ships, everyone is going to know where we belong," Mihawk said and took a sip of wine.
She put her hand inside the soft water calmly, and within seconds, something touched her hand, a Yuda Serpent.
"Take us around the Calm Belt, to the closest marine vessel".
Soon, without them even needing to do anything, the boat that was once adrift began cruising through the calm belt at increasingly greater speeds. The seas of the Calm Belt belonged to the Kuja; it was an undeniable fact... even the Sea Kings had to follow orders if they wished to survive in this ecosystem.
Miss Crocodile sighed when she saw this and calmed down a bit; at least they weren't just going adrift.
"La Cosa Nostra, what does that even mean? It sounds like something he'd come up with," She asked again to no one in particular.
"According to him, it means 'our own thing' as in 'belonging to us' which means this crew belongs to us, that's what he said" Robin giggled, then added with a slight teasing, lovely tone, "Or it could be that we all belong to him, who knows?~"
"Tch, that bastard... he didn't even touch me properly" Miss Croco blushed a bit, then discarded the thought as soon as it rose.
'Hmph, this is not love, don't get it wrong... I just want to fuck him, that's all. Since I am his slave for life, might as well enjoy myself with his body'.
She tried to convince herself that's exactly what it was. When she turned to look at Mihawk, she found the lady glaring at him before she set her gaze back on the newspapers, "Give him some time... he used to see you as a man, did you forget?"
"Hmph, he still gets hard whenever we are together... what a cute boy, he still thinks he can control his horny body that gets hard for any pair of big boobs he sees–"
"Ali, you're head over hills for him, aren't you?~" Robin hissed in amusement.
"S-shuddup–"
"She's right, every time we have a conversation, straight away you start talking about him. I understand, I have been there too," Mihawk added calmly.
"I-I am not–"
"Don't worry, once we establish ourselves, Veyron will come, you can spend some time with him to sate your hunger, we don't need you messing around like a lovestruck idiot~" Robin said, eyeing Mihawk, whose lips were also slightly curled up.
"I am not in love, dammit!"
After a bit of bullying, Crocogirl sat curled up in a corner, blushing and irritated.
"Our first objective is to get a ship. Veyron has already spoken with Uncle Tom a month ago to create a boat for us, we're just going to get it now.
"After that?".
"We're going straight to the New World. The Kuja are restricted from sailing to the New World, they'll take care of all of Veyron's matters in Paradise".
"We can't afford to get captured or make a mistake, otherwise Hancock is going to get cocky~".
"There is a particular mission that I have to assign to you, Robin. I understand you're aware you are Dragon's daughter".
Robin frowned and nodded, "Yes, what's wrong with that?"
"There is someone you're going to investigate before we sail to the new world. He is the new host of the Gomu Gomu no Mi, the devil fruit Shanks and I spent so long looking after".
"That is..."
"Monkey D. Luffy".
!!!
Both Robin and Ali perked up; the latter couldn't help but notice the D. in the name of the boy.
"My little brother? Mihawk... why do you want to investigate him?" Robin asked, standing up even... she didn't think she'd have to cross paths with her apparent little brother so soon.
"Because there is something you must know... the Gomu Gomu no Mi... it is not what it appears to be, and whoever ate it is fated not to have a peaceful life... I don't know why Shanks gave it to him, but one thing is sure, the boy is special".
Robin's frown flinched, and she exhaled a deep breath.
*WHOOSH!*
Soon her body got engulfed in shadows, and she flew off towards the East... to the East Blue.
"Is it okay for her to go on her own?" Crocogirl asked.
"Do you think she needs help? She's only going to meet one of the few family members she has left in this world. Let her be..." Having said that, Mihawk continued reading her newspapers peacefully.