Shaking his head Shigeuchi poured out another measure of whiskey, his earlier comment about getting drunk apparently forgotten as he downed the shot and immediately refilled the glass. [color=gray]“I’m not talking about the book being banned; we both know it’s going to be banned and I know that’s not going to stop you. I’m talking about you getting us all killed when you try and attack Impel Down for chapter whatever of your story…”[/color] The pirate paused at this point, glass raised halfway to his lips as he remembered why Luffy went to Impel Down in the first place; to save his brother, according to the stories at least, who had been arrested and was scheduled for execution.

His brother, who happened to be Ace of the Whitebeard pirates, whose capture led to the Battle of Marineford between the Whitebeard pirates and the Marines, the death of Whitebeard and the rise of Blackbeard, and a shifting around of the members of the Shichibukai. It was arguably one of the three most important moments in pirate history, along with Roger’s death and Luffy finding One Piece, with Whitebeard’s dying words kick starting the second golden age of piracy. Luffy was at the centre of all of it, not yet a household name like the Yonko or the Shichibukai but someone with a growing reputation and the world’s eyes on him at that moment.

Before all that however was Impel Down. The not-yet-Pirate King broke into the most infamous prison in the world, defeating the supposedly invincible warden and freeing a number of high profile prisoners all in an attempt to rescue a family member.

Shigeuchi gave his captain another wary glance, gears turning as he tried to somehow read his mind and find out if he was planning what Shigeuchi was afraid he was planning, if he had even planned that far ahead at all. Eventually he gave up, closing his one eye and shaking his head; if it came to that he would just have to adapt to it and do his best to keep the brat alive, just like he said.

[color=gray]“Roger, Whitebeard, Shiki, Luffy; you're heading down the same road as them, even if your just trying to follow their footsteps. Just tell me you’re taking this seriously and that’ll be enough for me.”[/color] Being first mate was always more trouble than being the captain.

At the mention of being followed, Shigeuchi’s eye began to move around the room, head still pointing forward as he tried to surreptitiously scan the room without alerting whoever was following them that they had been made. It took three passes before he noticed her, but eventually he saw a scrawny young woman in dark clothing sitting a few tables away; she didn’t draw any attention to herself and managed to blend into her surroundings quite well despite not looking like the kind of clientele this dive usually catered to. If he hadn’t been told to be on the lookout for a young woman he might not have spotted her, but once he saw her she stood out from the rest. [color=gray]“Over there; hood, mask, lots of weapons. Doesn’t look like the type to spout off about justice if I had to guess.”[/color]

In his searching he had also seen someone else. A man with long hair and strange facial scars standing at a nearby table, trying to listen in to their conversation with much less subtlety compared to the woman in black. It seemed they had attracted a fair amount of attention this time; that tended to happen when you arrived at the docks in a flying ship, but this much focus was still somewhat unusual. Shigeuchi leaned back in his chair, downing the shot he had poured earlier before speaking loud enough to be heard by either of their shadows. [color=gray]“Lots of eavesdroppers today. Maybe we should find somewhere else to drink?”[/color]

[@Reflection][@ladyonyx04][@KillBox]