In Bardock's inherited memories, Viscount Adrian was a stern, middle-aged man. Bardock even knew exactly where he lived; his original body had attended a banquet at Adrian's massive estate with his parents when he was younger. He vividly remembered his parents telling him that no matter how obscenely wealthy a merchant became, they were legally forbidden from purchasing an estate like Adrian's without a noble title. The Viscount held immense political power in the royal capital, and offending him was an absolute death sentence.
'So, how do I deal with him?' Bardock mused, flying high above the affluent district. 'His noble status makes things incredibly annoying. It'd be best if he just disappeared quietly without leaving a single trace. Ah, I've got it! I choose you, Flying Nimbus!'
Relying on his old memories, Bardock circled the sky a few times until he finally spotted the sprawling estate. He glided down silently, landing on the roof before slipping down to a large balcony. Sure enough, this was Adrian's master bedroom.
"Leaving your window cracked open on a warm night? That's a fatal mistake, old man," Bardock smirked. "Make sure you learn from this in your next life."
He commanded the Flying Nimbus to slip through the cracked window. Like a creeping, golden fog, the cloud completely blanketed the sleeping Viscount, instantly paralyzing him. Then, a thin tendril of the cloud snaked directly into Adrian's nasal cavity and down his throat, completely blocking his airway.
Adrian Jolted awake, his eyes wide with absolute terror. But no matter how hard he struggled, his body refused to move. It felt like he was submerged in thick, hardening concrete. Within seconds, his lungs burned, his vision blackened, and he passed out from oxygen deprivation. A few moments later, he died a silent, suffocating death in his own bed.
Bardock waited outside on the balcony for a few extra minutes, just to ensure the Viscount was completely cold. Then, instead of recalling the Nimbus, he manipulated the cloud from the outside to meticulously lock every single window and latch the bedroom door shut from the inside. Only then did he completely disperse the cloud, leaving no physical trace of murder behind. It was a perfect, locked-room mystery.
"And that's a wrap! Time to head home."
Bardock summoned a fresh Flying Nimbus beneath his feet and soared back toward his villa.
The next morning, Bardock woke up early for his training routine and even cooked breakfast for his crewmates.
Shortly after, Andrew showed up at the villa, his head completely wrapped in bandages. "My Lord," he bowed deeply. "Following your orders, I've brought the entire Night Wolf Gang to heel. Everyone is in position. The moment anything happens in this city, you'll be the first to know."
He glanced around nervously before leaning in and whispering, "Also, My Lord... Viscount Adrian died last night. They found him this morning. His door and windows were locked from the inside, and he suffocated to death. Rumor has it the Royal Capital is sending investigators."
"Is that so?" Bardock replied casually, taking a sip of his tea. "Nobles are still just flesh and blood. People die all the time, don't they? Anyway, have your men at the docks keep a sharp ear out for any strange rumors brought in by sailors or travelers. Specifically, anything involving ghosts, zombies, or grave robbing."
"Ghosts? Zombies?" Andrew blinked, utterly confused. "My Lord, aren't those just fairy tales?"
"Less talking, more listening. The second you hear a rumor, report it to me. Now get out."
Half a month flew by in peaceful tranquility.
The royal investigators tasked with solving Viscount Adrian's death ultimately found absolutely nothing. With zero evidence of foul play and no suspects, they packed up and returned to the capital empty-handed.
Bardock had honestly expected them to track him down eventually. After all, dealing with nobles usually didn't require actual evidence—if a noble pointed a finger and said you were guilty, you were guilty. But since they never came knocking, he happily continued his daily routine.
His days were incredibly busy. Between grinding his physical conditioning, martial arts, and swordsmanship, he was also frantically studying navigation and meteorology. On top of that, he often joined Leo and Mansherry for Robin's mandatory "World History and General Knowledge" classes.
Realizing he was stretched too thin, Bardock handed total control of managing the Night Wolf Gang over to Robin. Unsurprisingly, the brilliant fifteen-year-old handled the underworld syndicate with flawless efficiency, organizing their operations into a well-oiled intelligence network.
Thanks to his insane training volume (and an endless supply of Blood Dandelions), Bardock's strength skyrocketed. Out of the six Rokushiki techniques, Kami-e (Paper Art) was the only one he hadn't mastered yet; he could flawlessly execute the other five in combat. His swordsmanship had also seen massive improvements. His swings no longer felt stiff or forced; the blade felt like a natural extension of his arm. He figured he was only one step away from officially becoming a Master Swordsman capable of cutting steel and launching flying slashes.
Leo's progress was equally terrifying. The Tontatta tribe possessed monstrous innate talent, and because Leo was so young and hadn't undergone strict combat training before, his potential exploded the moment Bardock gave him a structured regimen. The dwarf had already mastered Soru. He was so impossibly fast that he regularly sprinted around the city pulling pranks on big humans, and to this day, no one had ever actually seen him do it. He had also memorized The Complete Encyclopedia of Knitting, though he found that simply using his Devil Fruit to sew things together in combat was much faster.
Bardock didn't force Mansherry or Robin to learn combat skills. He only required them to participate in the physical stamina conditioning to ensure they could effectively use their Devil Fruits and run away safely in an emergency. If they wanted to learn how to fight later, they could.
Mansherry's proficiency with her Heal-Heal Fruit improved drastically from constantly producing Dandelions for Bardock. As for Robin, Bardock frequently sat down with her to discuss Devil Fruit theory, casually dropping hints about advanced techniques she would canonically develop in the future—sprouting giant limbs, full-body clones, and even her terrifying Demonio Fleur form. Whether she could actually unlock them this early was entirely up to her.
"Bardock. I have news regarding the 'ghosts'."
Robin walked into the courtyard, holding a rolled-up map, and got straight to the point.
"A sailor at the port claimed he ran into them on a certain island."
"A certain island?" Bardock raised an eyebrow.
"Yes. He didn't know the island's name, but he said it looked like it had been recently slaughtered by pirates. There wasn't a single living soul left on it."
"Did he describe the ghosts?"
"He said they were white, completely intangible, and floated through the air. There were several of them."
"That's exactly it! The person I've been looking for has finally appeared!" Bardock grinned, standing up. "Robin, since you came straight here, I'm assuming you already pinpointed the island's location?"
"Naturally," Robin smiled, unrolling the map and pointing to a small cluster of dots. "It should be somewhere in this general area. There are several small islands grouped together there. The sailor couldn't specify which one it was, so we'll have to investigate them ourselves."
"You really are the best, Robin! Good thing I've been studying navigation; I'm absolutely itching to get back out to sea."
"In that case, I'll go contact the Night Wolf Gang and have them load our ship with fresh supplies so we can depart."
"Perfect. I'll go tell Leo and Mansherry to pack their things. It looks like we're about to get a new crewmate!"
"Is the ghost a person, Bardock? Are they a Devil Fruit user as well?" Robin asked curiously.
"Yep! It's a Paramecia-type Devil Fruit that allows the user to summon and command ghosts. They can even project their own soul out of their body and fly around intangibly. It's an incredibly versatile ability."
"I see. Well, the weather is perfect today. We should be ready to set sail by this afternoon," Robin noted before turning on her heel to handle the logistics.
Just past noon, Bardock, Robin, Leo, and Mansherry boarded the White Dragon, the massive pirate galleon Bardock had commandeered. The Monkey King sloop had been securely lashed to the upper deck to serve as a high-speed rescue boat.
While Robin and Mansherry did a final inventory check of the supplies, Bardock and Leo inspected the rigging and the hull. Once everything was confirmed green, the four of them worked together to manually row the massive galleon out of the busy port. Once they hit open water, Bardock unfurled the main sails, and the White Dragon caught the wind, surging forward into the vast West Blue.
"Captain Bardock, how long are we going to be sailing this time?" Leo asked, dangling from the rigging.
"How long do you want to sail, Leo?"
"Me? I don't care! I love sailing!"
"Hahaha! Then we'll take our time! This trip is all about tracking down our next crewmate."
"A new crewmate? Are they strong?!"
"You'll see when we meet her," Bardock chuckled. "But just because we're at sea doesn't mean training stops! Leo, Mansherry, Robin, get ready! I'm deploying the Nimbus!"
Bardock unleashed the Flying Nimbus, letting it blanket the entire deck of the White Dragon. The golden cloud immediately surged upward, wrapping around the four crewmates and forming four distinct cloud suits.
However, the density of each suit was entirely different. Bardock's was incredibly dense, heavily restricting his movements, while Robin's was thin and light. Thanks to his growing mastery over the Nimbus, he could now maintain localized gravity fields around each individual without needing to physically tether them to one spot. They could freely walk around the massive ship without feeling pulled or anchored by the cloud.
It also served as an excellent safety harness—if any of them slipped, the cloud suit would prevent them from falling into the ocean.
'With so many Devil Fruit users on board, I seriously need to recruit someone who can actually swim,' Bardock sighed internally as he gripped the steering wheel. 'If the ship goes down right now, we're all screwed.'