One Piece: Dream of Immortality

Chapter 477: Overture



Toko slept soundly in the way that only a child could. Sitting half upright, empty bowl held in one hand to the side and spoon in the other. She snored lightly as a string of drool dripped to the ground.

"Now that Toko's asleep, you don't mind keeping an eye on her for a few hours, do you?" Cherry asked Kin'emon.

"I already told you that this is no place for a child!" Kin'emon hissed. "Where in the world do you even have to be at an hour like this?"

"A little less than a quarter of the world back the way we came along the Grand Line," Cherry said honestly.

"What?" "What?" "What?" "What?" Kin'emon, Wanda, Shishilian, and Dogstorm asked simultaneously, all equally confused.

"I'll keep an eye on her," Pedro spoke up.

"Me too!" Carrot chirped.

The latter two were already aware of Cherry's mysterious travel methods via den den mushi, so they naturally understood what Cherry was saying. The other four could see that there was something they weren't in the know about and left it at that. If Cherry wanted them to know, she'd tell them; there was no need or cause to interrogate one of their benefactors.

"I'll be back soon!" Cherry waved goodbye and sauntered off.

...

Cherry's cloud-like flames billowed out of the den den mushi she had found. It had been a few days since she had visited Mary Geoise, so she thought she'd have a look and make sure the revolutionaries hadn't gotten themselves caught or something stupid like that.

It was earlier in the day in this part of the world; around noon, Cherry would guess. Right about now, the kings and queens of the Reverie would be talking politics in the castle.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

"Oh my! It's been a while since the last time we crossed paths," a familiar voice entered Cherry's ears. Two hands grabbed one of Cherry's own. "Your skin is immaculate! You must tell me your secret!"

"I'm afraid not, sweetheart. My secrets are mine to keep, and aren't meant to be shared with one night stands," Cherry said, gently pulling her hand free from Princess Sandwich's grasp.

Princess Sandwich pouted. "This is the thanks I get for bending over backwards for you. In more ways than one, I might add!"

"Hehehe! Well, I might repay the favor in another way at some future time. Right now, I'm quite busy-" Cherry was cut off by thunderous explosions going off in the distance.

"Er, you wouldn't mind making sure whatever that was doesn't come anywhere near me?" Princess Sandwich asked, peeking through the closed blinds in the room.

"I'm sure you'll be just fine. The revolutionaries aren't here for the Kings, Queens, or their families," Cherry blabbed, enjoying every second of Sandwich's shifting expression as she processed the words.

"revolutionaries?!" Sandwich squeaked.

Sleeping with a pirate, even an infamous one, wasn't that big a deal for someone of her status, but if Cherry was linked with the Revolutionary Army and was then linked back to her... Let's just say it wouldn't end well.

"Get out! Don't let anyone see you leave, and don't come back here either!" Sandwich started pushing Cherry towards the door by the shoulders. "I was hoping for another romp to pass the time, but the risks just aren't worth it!"

"Hehe! Sorry, but I'm a taken woman, now. Don't worry, though; no one will ever know I was here," Cherry said.

Cherry blurred out of sight; fast enough to make marine captains doubt their eyes, let alone an untrained princess. She kept her word. No one noticed her leaving the building that Princess Sandwich was staying in.

"That woman has no fear at all, does she?" Cherry muttered to herself as she bounded over rooftops. "I half expected her to scream when I popped out of the snail, but she didn't even flinch. Maybe it's because she has already conquered me?"

That was something she could think about later, though. Right now, it seemed that she had arrived just as the revolutionaries had set their plan into motion.

That meant she had a few things to get done inside of a rather short window of chaos. On top of those tasks, she had to make sure that none of the revolutionaries, Kuma, or the slaves they would free got killed. It wasn't her responsibility, but it would leave a bad aftertaste. 'Please tell me they don't keep all their treasure inside that big nasty castle...' Cherry thought as she carefully watched the scurrying rats that were the celestial dragons. The greedy little things were very likely to make sure their wealth was safe first and foremost when something like this happened.

She ran across Karasu freeing slaves a few times, but she didn't get in his way. He was only one man, though, so she did help out a few stragglers by throwing pebbles at celestial dragons who trained their guns on them.

Ten minutes of that was enough for her to get a decent mental map of several underground vaults within the residences. Later, she would rob the fuckers blind while they were busy complaining to whoever would listen to their bullshit about their freed slaves or stolen food supply.

'Where did Sabo go, though?' Cherry wondered.

She didn't have to think too hard about it. There was only one place in Mary Geoise that she wasn't monitoring with her Life Sense. 'Probably in the castle, huh? Ugh, I really hope I don't have to go in there after him...'

That made her uneasy. She didn't think there would be anything in the castle that could truly threaten her, but that wasn't a guarantee. Not that she wouldn't dive in anyways, if she had to.

"One thing at a time, Cherry," Cherry told herself.

The next of Cherry's "personal errands" that she came here to do, was to expand on the damage done by the Revolution's attack. There was only so much that the four of them could accomplish here, so she would make sure that it would hurt a little more by the time they left.

With the celestial dragons now mostly fleeing for safety away from the chaos, she had nigh unrestricted access to their homes.

One by one, she set little fires inside the ostentatious mansions. Nothing they would be immediately detected, but in places that they were sure to grow out of control given some time. With any luck, the celestial dragons would be homeless by the end of the day.

Their wardrobes would go up in flames, too, leaving them to wear only what they had on their bodies right now. The celestial dragons would soon become celestial beggars; a fate worse than death from their perspective. Not that such shameless wretches would ever really put their lives on the line for anything.

"Man, it'd be great to do this to some music. The whole of Mary Geoise in flames to the tune of an orchestra. Maybe some cannons included in the percussion? That would be perfect!" Cherry said. If only Brook were here; she was sure that he would think of something cool to play right now.