The Five Elders simultaneously walked out of the secret chamber without talking or slight noise and eventually reached their meeting chamber, taking their positions as they sat.

With a coughed the one with a breaded white beard said "We need to adhere Lords Im order but this time the lord didn't put a deadline so we can fully understand that searching the 'shadow' wouldn't be that easy."

The other four elders nodded in understanding and one of them holding a cane and having a full of white hair mumbled "Of course, even the empty throne was helpless but then we could at least look at the recent activity. We might be able to find some clues."

"I agree!"

"So do I!"

"Seconded!"

Seeing this the eldest out of them concluded "Then, we will look into it for now and we should schedule a gathering to merge what we find ourselves."

But as they were going to finalize their discussion a messenger agent dashed inside and bowed to them with respect "Elders, an urgent report about the Spiral Island retrieval mission!"

***

Squak!~

The News Coo flapped its wings and flew away from the ship of one of the notorious pirates this time, the Roger Pirates ship - The Oro Jackson!

Where the two kids were on the deck, one with a straw hat in his head and one beside him with a noticeable red nose were reading the newspaper.

"Damn It! We are always in the limelight because of these goddamn newspapers!" Buggy cursed under his breath.

"Hahaha! Captain sure is famous!" Shanks laughed hard as he held the top of his straw hat and the loosened side of the newspaper fluttered in the wind and a wanted poster of Kozuki Oden fell on the ground.

"Damn you, Shanks!" Buggy irritatedly reprimanded Shank and picked up the wanted poster.

"This is the man who is in the headlines, the samurai who joined the Whitebeard Pirates." said Shanks and as they are going to turn the newspaper pages to see the article about it, a looming shadow covers them "Woahh! What an interesting fella, Whitebeard sure is a lucky bastard ahahahaha!"

Buggy and Shanks turn their heads to see the man in their back peeking at the newspaper they held "Captain!"

***

"Where in the world did you learn this training! you are being lazy, you bastard and you are just dirtying the pond!" the phantom cat is almost blown out of his mind when Pate asks to let him train himself in the pond.

But he let him be, knowing that the pond was not needed anymore when the eggs just needed to hatch for a few weeks.

It's just that this bastard kid just slumped himself on the edge of the pond and closed his eyes like he was on vacation instead of training!

"Hush hush now, you are disturbing the peaceful essence of this place because of your nagging." Pate didn't even look at the phantom cat and just waved his hand like he was shooing away the Guardian Forest.

"You bastard! Get out of there now!" if Pate hadn't asked him with a serious look, he wouldn't have let him do this kind of treacherous act!

"Sigh, I can't practice this weak body of mine. you know, I'll tell you that in exchange for the awakening of lineage blood power lies in my veins. My body wouldn't be able to take the massive toll of hard training, I'm destined to have a weak body for life." Pate said he's one of the biggest setbacks for acquiring a legendary bloodline power.

"Then how would you be able to exact your revenge if you are not going to be a powerful warrior?" the phantom cat was saddened because of this revelation.

"It doesn't mean having no powerful body, you will be a loser for life. There are many options to choose from, it's just that there is one requirement that you must adhere to." Pate lifts his hand with all his might and stretches his one finger.

The phantom cat looked at him "What is it?"

"Don't give up!" Pate said while he remembered one of his friends who said to him when he was in college 'What? Are you going to drop out because of one professor hindering you? don't give up because of one loser who is impeding you. If you give up yourself then you are the one obstructing yourself, not the professor!'

Letting his arms float in the water and feeling the weakness spread throughout him "I won't give up this time!"

"I still don't get you." the phantom cat looked bewildered.

"Ow, right. What is your name by the way?" ask Pate trying to divert the topic out of him.

"Guardian Forest, why ask when you know about it!?"

"That's a title, not a name idiot then you don't have one right?" Pate couldn't help but sneer at him.

"Hhhmmm, well I consider that as my name." the phantom cat thinks for a while as he really doesn't have one, they just call him Guardian Forest.

"Then let's call you PB (Pi-bih) then. It means fully black, I just used P instead of F because it wouldn't fit and of course, so we have the same P in front of our name. hehehehe!" after chuckling a little, Pate closed his eyes as his mind focused on a gauge limit of the system inside his mind.

Rules of Water: 0.000001 percent

He can't help but smile seeing that his assumption is bearing fruit 'I knew it!'

And he is trying to initiate another one that would play a much bigger role in his plan but still, it was futile but he will stay here, he has a few weeks after all.

Unbeknownst to him, the phantom cat was simply happy that he now has a name like everyone else 'I am PB!'

Three weeks passed by and Pate looked at his gauge limit of Rules that he gathered so far and can't help but feel desperate.

Rules of Water: 0.75001 percent

'Should I give up?'