March 9th, 1513
A few weeks have already passed. Right now Raeven is back on his job, inspecting and checking for his crops. Beside him is Sanji. Yesterday Baratie docked on the port to congratulate and visit them, and also they are here to get their booze that they ordered.
"I still can't believe how fast your crops grow, Raeven-san," Sanji said as he looked at the plants. Ace told him that they were just planted 1 week ago, then he looked at Raeven. "Maybe Raeven-san has something like Harvest Harvest Fruit or Mature Fruit," he thought.
"It's because of the seeds I used; they are made to be fast-growing, high-endurance, and high-yield crops. Cross-breeding seeds is easy," Raeven said, which made Sanji smile stiffly.
"You said you want to get some spices that are hard to find at East Blue, right? You can take all you want; have Ace guide you there," Raeven said.
"Thank you, Raeven-san. Don't worry; if I encounter a rare plant, I'll bring it to you," Sanji said as he immediately ran away. Raeven just waved his hands at him, and he continued to check; this time he is checking his trees.
Right now they have a lot of fruit trees. Monet, Robin, and Stussy are the ones who mainly use them; one for pastry making and the other for flavors of medicine.
After checking all of his crops, Raeven headed to Grove 30 and 31, which are planned to become a pasture. If they want to become self-sufficient as much as possible, then they will need to take care of farm animals.
When Raeven arrived at Grove 30, he saw Kuina, who is here to check the surroundings and was drawing something in her drawing book.
"Good work, Kuina; you're really very dependable," Raeven said, which surprised the girl, and she hurriedly greeted Raeven.
"Raeven-san, I'm just doing my job," Kuina said.
"How's your training going?" Raeven asked as he looked around Grove 30 and 31, which are near each other, so in the future they can make a bridge in the middle of it. Grove 30 will be a flatland with grass, a perfect pasture for cows, and Grove 31 will be their home.
"Raeven-san, I already awakened my observation Haki, and I already learned 4 of the Rokushiki; only Tekkai and Geppo are lagging a bit behind.
"4 Rokushiki and Observation Haki—you're really talented, Kuina. Sending you here is a wise decision that your father made," Raeven said.
"You're right, Raeven-san, you are training us, and the meal and house are free too. Big Sister Monet even made an individual diet for us, so I can only do my job well to pay you guys back," she said.
"Don't focus on your job too much; just focus on your training. How is your swordsmanship now?" Raeven asked.
"Don't worry, Raeven-san, I'm already a swordsman, not a mere sword user anymore; I already learned to sense the breath of all things," she said proudly.
"Koushirou will be shocked when he visits you, okay? I won't disturb you anymore. Be sure to rest after you finish your sketches," Raeven said as he walked away. He needs to apply fertilizer to the mangroves so they will grow quickly and healthy.
Paradise
Sabaody Archipelago
Grove 12
Grove 12, also known as the Safe Spot, is a massive trading place. Grove 12 has a port that can accommodate 15 warship-sized ships around it, and on its port you can see different kinds of flags; all of them are from the Underworld. As the largest trading port in the whole lawless zone, violence is banned on Grove 12; anyone who fights here will be banned by the Underworld.
Of course there are still loopholes in that rule, and kidnapping, abduction, and assassination are still normal; those who will fall for those things are not fitted to stay here.
"What a filthy place," Hancock said as she looked at Grove 12 just beside Grove 13.
"Sister, Donquixote Doflamingo is here," Marigold said.
"Doflamingo, Lord Husband told me that this man is not that simple," Hancock said as she looked at Doflamingo walking towards her group with his signature walk.
"Fufufufu, Pirate Empress, it's a pleasure to meet you," he said as he stopped 10 meters away from Hancock and her group.
"Donquixote Doflamingo, did you bring the money?" Hancock asked.
"Fufufu, Diamante, show them the money," Doflamingo said as Diamante walked forward with his subordinates and placed 5 large chests on the ground; he opened them up before he came back beside Doflamingo.
"1.5 billion worth of gold; now that you see that I have the money, where is the fruit?" Doflamingo asked. Marigold first looked at the chest; after confirming the value of the gold, she nodded to Hancock and Sandersonia.
"Give them the fruit, sister," Hancock said to Sandersonia, and she appeared beside Marigold in a blink of an eye, which surprised a lot of Doflamingo's crew.
"Fufufu, very good, Diamante, take the fruit we're leaving," Doflamingo said, then Sandersonia placed the devil fruit chest on the ground, and she helped Marigold to carry the chest of gold.
"Boa Hancock, say my regards to Shinigami, fufufufu," Doflamingo said as he and his crew walked away.
"I expected them to attack us," one of the Kuja Pirate Crew said, and the others just nodded.
"I expected that too; sadly, they didn't do it. I don't want to give that devil fruit to them at all," Marigold said.
"We didn't know what kind of devil fruit that is, but Rayleigh-san said it's a Paramecia devil fruit. No one wants to gamble about that, so it's better to sell it," Sandersonia said.
"Sadly they didn't attack; let's head back. With this money we can buy a lot of things," Hancock said as she turned and walked away.
On Doflamingo's side, Trebol is currently walking beside Doflamingo while looking at the devil fruit they bought.
"The hobi hobi no mi—buying it at that price is still worth it. With this devil fruit, our plans will proceed smoothly, Doffy, hehehe," he said.
"If you gave me the signal, I could have snatched this devil fruit, and we wouldn't need to pay," Diamante said.
"That's what we usually do when dealing with small fries, but those groups are not easy to deal with, especially those 3 sisters, Speed Fruit, Love Fruit, and an Ancient Zoan Devil Fruit user. If Pica were here, then we could have snatched the fruit, but without him here, our advantage is gone," Doflamingo said.
"Don't worry, the money that we used will come back once we build our empire. Our next target is the heavenly tribute and the position of a warlord, fufufu," Doflamingo added.
Back at Grove 13
Shakky's Rip Off Bar
"The deal turned out to be smooth? Looks like Joker knows you guys very well," Shakky said as she looked at Hancock and her crew.
"I'm itching for a fight; sadly, they just headed out," Marigold said.
"Donquixote Doflamingo is a very cunning man; the fact that he paid you guys means he didn't want to fight you, or he and his crew were not guaranteed to win. Like the Dracule Family, he cherished those members of the Donquixote Pirates," Shakky said.
"Shakky-san, we're heading back to Snake City; I don't like this place too much," Hancock said as she stood up.
"Then make sure to bring my orders earlier this time; the place badly needed those solar panels," Shakky said as she waved her hands.
As Hancock and her crew exited the bar, they heard an explosion, which came from Grove 14. When the smoke cleared out, they saw the newly appointed Warlord Jinbe and 3 Doflamingos in a standoff.
"Fufufu, your men started the fight; now you want me to back off?" Doflamingo said to Jinbei. 2 of his String clones are currently grabbing two fishmen at their necks while the original Doflamingo is blocking Jinbei's punch using his strings.
"Donquixote Doflamingo, I know that they started the fight first, but you already taught them a lesson. If you want to kill them, then I won't go easy on you," Jinbei said as he prepared to attack.
"Fufufufu," Doflamingo laughed as he grinned maniacally as he prepared to attack again.
"Young master, according to information from our men monitoring the ships, it's only 1 day away from our meeting point; fighting here right now will delay our operation," Trebol said.
"Lucky fishes, next time tighten the leash on your dogs," Doflamingo said as his Dark Knights vanished and he passed Jinbei and the fishmen.
"Hurry and apply first aid to Chew and Arlong," Jinbei said as he looked at Doflamingo's back.
"Boss Jinbei, I have a friend near here; maybe they can help us. We don't have enough medicine anymore," Hachi said to Jinbei, and Jinbei just sighed.
"Once they are patched up, we are leaving; let them do whatever they want," he said as he walked towards Grove 13, where Hachi said his friend is.