Chapter 2: Leader of the Wild Hunt

Chapter 2: Leader of the Wild Hunt

Despite the Sun descending over the horizon, Thomas continued pumping Mana into the Captain's Card. With what he knew of Zelretch, the elderly man was a massive troll, but he was also a 'good' guy. He was the kind of fellow who hated villains but laughed in the face of those that struggled to oppose fate. Once he took an interest in you, there were only two fates that awaited you: excellence or becoming a cripple.

After living a mundane life filled with regrets and failures, Thomas was determined to turn things around. One Piece was a world where even a weak cabin boy with absolutely no talent could become a Captain, on the verge of becoming a Rear Admiral, in just three years. So long as you had a strong enough will, you could even reach the point of slicing mountains in half or destroying entire islands with the force of your punches...

Though he didn't know what 'fate' awaited him at the end of his journey, Thomas intended to make the most of the situation he had found himself in. He had stumbled into a scenario that most people could only dream of, and, if given a chance, he was certain that many would forsake even their families and friends for the opportunity to swap places with him.

Determined to change his fate and experience a thrilling adventure he could only imagine previously, Thomas continued channeling his Mana into the Captain's Card late into the evening and into the early morning. He eventually passed out after eating some of his rations, but he held the card and logbook close to his chest as he curled up atop a makeshift bed made from palm leaves...

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Stirring Thomas awake, a deep yet feminine voice asked, "How long do you intend to sleep? It's already past noon."

Before Thomas could open his eyes, he received a face full of hot sand, startling him awake and compelling him to shout, "What the fuck!?" as he glared at the person responsible. Immediately afterward, his face and jaw went slack as a woman who transcended the traditional beauty standards appeared before him. She had wavy, crimson-pink hair, fierce blue eyes, and while there was a large scar that ran across her face, it only served to give her a 'heroic' appearance.

Lowering his gaze from the woman's face, Thomas's eyes widened when he got a good look at her massive tits, practically on full display beneath a stylish red captain's jacket. Below that, she had on a leather corset that hugged her slender waist, form-fitting white trousers that emphasized her wide hips and plump thighs, and dark boots that extended past her knees.

Instead of chastising Thomas for his rather overt ogling, the pink-haired woman crossed her arms under her breasts, the two enormous melons threatening to burst out of her vest as she mused, "It seems my Master is a bit of a deviate. Not that I mind, mind you. We just have more important matters to attend to right now. First and foremost, the name's Drake, Francis Drake. I'm the Captain of the Golden Hind and Commander of the Wild Hunt. I'd say it's a pleasure to meet you, but you don't seem all that reliable with those scraggly arms and your indolent appearance..."

Catching Drake a little off guard, Thomas practically jumped to his feet, punching the air as he shouted, "Jackpot!" He had already expected the cards to summon characters from the Fate series, but he never imagined his first ally to be Drake, a legendary pirate and an absolute bombshell of a woman.

Raising her left brow, Drake asked, "Has the Sun cooked your head? You had best get ahold of yourself. You might be the Master who summoned me, but don't think I won't beat you into shape if you keep behaving like a fool."

Though he was still recovering from the shock of having a gun pressed to his head, Thomas managed to reply, "I want to become strong enough to stand at the pinnacle of this world. Reaching Laugh Tale will require all of us to possess such strength. As for where it's located...we would need to find all of the Road Poneglyphs and have someone translate them if we're to locate it..."

Since she had no idea what a Road Poneglyph was, Drake just nodded her head, trusting that Thomas knew what he was talking about as she asked, "Do you know anyone that can translate them for us?"

Returning a nod of his own, Thomas replied, "There is a woman named Nico Robin who possesses the ability to translate them. Other than her, there is a boy called Momonosuke. The problem is, I have no idea where we are, much less 'when' we are. We need to find a town or flag down one of the seagulls that distribute the news. By monitoring world events, we can plan our actions accordingling."

Nodding her head in approval, Drake said, "Sounds good." before turning around and abruptly walking over to the shore. Before Thomas could ask what she was doing, the pink-haired woman extended her hand toward the sea, shouting, "Come forth, my fated vessel! It's time to set the Sun anew...!"

Following Drake's shout, a large wooden vessel breached out of the sea like a whale before crashing down. It would appear diminutive next to the larger ships in the world of One Piece, but its spear-like bowsprit, sleek hull, twin masts, and numerous cannons gave it the impression of a swift, exceptionally fierce vessel that could cut through larger vessels like a hot knife through butter. After all, despite having a modest length of 37m, it was outfitted with four artillery cannons near the bow and fourteen flank cannons along its port and starboard sides.

Turning to the stunned Thomas, Drake narrowed her eyes in amusement as she mused, "You have my permission to come aboard. We'll sail around the island and see if we can't find a harbor or port city. If there isn't one, we'll lay anchor somewhere and come up with a different approach."

Without waiting for Thomas to respond, Drake casually leaped the more than sixty-meter distance between the shoreline and her ship. She was far from being considered the most powerful Heroic Spirit, but her power and agility were beyond anything a normal human could hope to achieve. As for Thomas, thanks to his Devil Fruit, he couldn't even swim...at least, he 'assumed' he couldn't.

With Drake watching him from the bowsprit with a teasing smile on her face, Thomas inhaled a deep breath, placed his logbook into the water-tight satchel, and stepped into the sea. He didn't feel anything at first, but the moment the water reached past his knees, he felt like he had chugged an entire bottle of tequila. What little strength he had immediately left his body, his legs giving out and his vision swimming as he sank beneath the gentle waves...

Nearly as soon as Thomas submerged, Drake removed her hat and jacket and dove in after him. She already knew he couldn't swim due to the Devil Fruit he had consumed, but she was curious to see what its actual effects were. Now that she had confirmed that Thomas was a stone that couldn't even tread water, she would either need to keep a close eye on him or tie a rope around his waist during inclement weather. If he fell overboard and plunged to the bottom of the ocean, they were all sunk...

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(A/N: This is a weak-to-strong story, so don't lose patience if the MC isn't tea-bagging Whitebeard by chapter 5.)