One Piece: Fist of the World

Knock knock!

Just as Rhode was familiarizing himself with Busoshoku Haki, a knock on the door jolted him from his surging emotions.

Hanging the [Shark Cutter] saw blade back on the wall, Rhode considered dedicating a room to the various weapons he had acquired.

After all, they were all treasures that had aided him.

Of course, shoes and other miscellaneous items were unnecessary.

With these thoughts flitting through his mind, Rhode opened his door.

"Nia, what's wrong?"

Looking at Nia standing before his door, Rhode appeared puzzled.

"I have something to tell you. Is this a convenient time?"

Nia held her bounty poster in her hand, glanced into Rhode's room, and gestured for him to invite her in to talk.

"It's convenient."

Leaving the door ajar, Rhode walked to the table, opened his small refrigerator, and retrieved a can of Coke for Nia.

"Do you mind if I join in?"

Neru's voice suddenly came from the doorway. Without waiting for their response, he entered, pulled up a chair, and sat down, his green eyes fixed on Nia.

"I can probably guess what you want to say."

"Then I'll just get straight to it. It's not particularly secretive. It's just that everyone was around earlier, and I didn't know how to bring it up."

Nia opened the Coke and took a sip, then slapped her bounty poster on the table.

"Very beautiful. What's the matter?"

"Look at the mark below, Rhode."

Hearing Neru's words, Rhode lowered his gaze and immediately noticed that Nia's bounty was different from the others.

"ONLY ALIVE?"

Rhode looked up at Nia before him.

"That's quite surprising."

Rhode's face was inquisitive, as if he sensed a hidden secret.

In the original timeline, the only other person he knew who was treated so differently was Sanji. His bounty had been changed to "ONLY ALIVE" due to the Vinsmoke family's influence.

Could it be that the Catwoman on his ship also had a special backstory?

"I've never told you before, but my full name is Ernest Nia."

Nia looked steadily at Rhode and revealed her full name.

"I am Nott Rhode."

"That's not what I meant!"

Nia felt her fist clench.

"Ernest is a noble family of the Dawson Kingdom and wields influence in their country no less than that of the king."

Neru, sitting beside him, added.

"Dawson Kingdom?"

Rhode frowned slightly.

Although he didn't have as much intelligence as Neru, he still knew some basic information.

The Dawson Kingdom was a powerful nation in the North Blue and a member state of the World Government. Even within the World Government, it held significant sway and had always been one of the fifty countries participating in the World Conference.

The country was renowned for its strong intelligence capabilities. The military intelligence department within the kingdom was well-known throughout the underworld, rumored to have intricate connections with intelligence brokers worldwide.

The family that controlled the military intelligence department of the Dawson Kingdom was none other than the Ernest family.

"A genius from a side branch striking back? Or an illegitimate daughter stranded outside?"

Various thoughts flashed through Rhode's mind in an instant.

The change in Rhode's expression didn't escape Nia's notice. Catching the gossipy glint in his eyes, Nia was speechless.

"Although I don't know what you're thinking, my story is very simple!"

Nia said unhappily.

Unexpectedly, after revealing her identity, the first thing she received was gossip from her companions.

"I am the eldest daughter of the Ernest family, but I dislike the family's shadowy existence, so I left two years ago."

"So it turned out to be a rebellious noble lady!"

"Excuse me, but with the Ernest family's intelligence network, if they wanted to bring you back, it would only take a maximum of two months."

Neru added quietly.

As Rhode's right-hand man, he needed to assist Rhode in dealing with matters he wasn't adept at, whether external intelligence or internal unity.

"Maybe it's because Neo has been covering for me."

Since she had already revealed it, Nia no longer held back and told her story exactly as it was.

As the family that had been in charge of the Kingdom's Military Intelligence Department for generations, the Ernest family was destined to deal with all sorts of dark matters, but Nia had never been interested in those things since childhood.

Espionage, hiding, infiltration, betrayal, assassination...

These things that the Ernest family relied on for survival all filled Nia with disgust from the bottom of her heart.

So, the night before she turned seventeen and was to officially enter the Military Intelligence Department and begin taking over the family's power, Nia ran away.

Relying on the power of the Devil Fruit she had accidentally eaten, she transformed into a black cat and quietly left the family without alerting anyone.

Then followed more than two years of wandering life at sea.

"Wait, how old is your brother?"

"He's two years younger than me and should be almost eighteen years old now."

"According to what you've said, your brother is truly an absolute genius!"

Rhode stroked his chin.

"After you ran away, he took your place and took over the family affairs. He was less than sixteen years old at the time, yet he could already control your family's intelligence network and had been covering for you until now."

"He's different from me. He's been an absolute genius since he was a child. People in the family say he was born for this."

Speaking of her brother, Nia's tone was complicated.

"In that case, just let your brother take over the family power. Why do you have to get involved?"

"Because of the king!"

Resentment filled Nia's voice.

"The current king, Dawson Bourbon, is greedy for pleasure and neglects state affairs, but he has a strong desire for power."

"He believes that the power held by the Ernest family is too great, which is detrimental to his rule. So, he demanded that the Ernest family marry into the royal family to divide the Ernest family's power and consolidate the king's authority."

"So you became the unlucky one chosen for the marriage."

"Who wants to marry that old geezer?"

Even after two years, Nia still seethed with anger whenever she mentioned this matter.

"I am free! Whether I want to get married or not, and who I want to marry, is my decision alone! Neither the king nor the old fogeys in the family can force me to do something I don't want to do!"

"Well said!"

Rhode stood up and applauded Nia.

"We should have such a spirit in the Rhode Pirates. We aren't afraid of even the Seven Warlords of the Sea, let alone the Dawson Kingdom."

"You are my partner; I will protect you!"

When Nia wasn't looking, Rhode patted her head.

Speaking of which, he had wanted to pat her head for a long time, especially when she was in her half-human, beast form.

That was a cat-eared girl, after all!